Vilkas, having listened to Aela and Sotek snipe at eachother, groaned. He barged through the pair of them and systematically slapped both of them on the back of their heads. He then headed off down the ramparts and away from the fort.
“Let’s get that bloody dragon before you two kill each other”.
Farkas followed his brother along the mountain path that would take them to the valley while Aela dropped behind with Sotek. She pointed to Vilkas as she spoke quietly.
“He hit us. Can I bite him?”
Sotek shook his head but then smiled at her.
“No, we’ll both bite his arse”. A second later Sotek changed form.
Moments later Red was standing next to him, then with a deafening roar they both charged past Vilkas, scaring him half to death.
“Oh, bloody hell... Dam you two, for the love of peace and tranquillity”.
Farkas watched them both tear down the mountainside as he leisurely strolled past Vilkas who had a fist raised in anger. As he watched the two werewolves run, a thought popped in his head.
“And there they go. Let’s make a bet”.
As Vilkas watched them both disappear down the trail, he turned to Farkas as an evil glint filled his eyes.
“Bet on what?”
“Those two, what else? Sex or a deer? What do you think they’ll do?”
Vilkas looked along the trail then smiled.
“Too easy. Food, then sex”.
Farkas chuckled then threw a bag of gold towards Vilkas.
“You’re on, food then the dragon. He has the want of a kill in his eyes, not lust”.
Within a minute they both heard the unmistakable squeal of two deer as they were promptly ripped apart. Red howled out at the wanted lust for flesh and blood.
Vilkas, upon hearing the cry, looked over towards the mountain where the dragon rested and nursed its wounds.
“Now they’ll either tear up the path, or tear into each other”. Patiently they both waited for the pounding of paws up the mountainside, or the passionate howling of Red, but all they heard was silence.
In truth, Scarface and Red were doing neither. What they were doing, was slowly creeping along the mountainside. Just below them were their prey. But unlike before, this time they had Vilkas and Farkas in their sights. With a slight nod, Scarface launched himself straight in front of the two Companions with Red just a fraction of a second behind him. Even before they landed, Farkas screamed out in terror as the two forms leapt out from the shadows. He fell to his knees in shock, while Vilkas turned and started running up the mountainside in a blind panic.
Farkas stared at the two of them in disbelief as he gripped his chest.
“My heart, my heart. I’m dying”.
Red changed her form then Aela pushed him to the ground with her foot and held it against his chest, pinning him down in the dirt.
“You’ll die alright, you bastard. How dare you both bet on us. We bloody heard you, you pair of bastards”.
At that point Vilkas came back. His mind was confused, and he felt embarrassed. These two factors drove him to a state of anger, one which he didn’t overly bother to control. Angry was an understatement, he was livid.
“You two stupid bloody morons! You worthless dogs! What the hell were you thinking? How bloody dare you do that. Aela that’s too damn far, you know it is. Nothing we done equals that, you gone way over the red line”.
Sotek, who changed just after Aela did, threw his finger against Vilkas’s face.
“Over the red line? Damn you both. You tried to erase it. Scarface’s and Red’s emotions aren’t a bloody betting game, they take it personally, as do I. You two want to rip into us then fair enough, I’ll allow you that, but they get left alone”. Sotek then turned around and headed off down the mountain path, leaving the three Companions behind him.
Aela went to follow him, but Farkas gently pulled her back.
“Let him go. He’ll calm down in a few minutes, you know that’s all he needs. Vilkas, he really went ape at you”.
Vilkas who took the lead, simply nodded in response.
“Yes, he did, didn’t he? I wonder why”.
As they neared the bottom of the path, they all spotted Sotek sitting on a rock. He turned towards the group then made his way towards them, sighing loudly as he approached.
“Oh, rats and don’t know. Something other than rats? He is sorry he lost it back there. He lost his temper. It’s just ... With everything else, those two, he’s a bit overprotective with them. That’s his escape… My escape from everything, Aela’s escape. He doesn’t… I don’t know if you two understand it, but we’re free, no rules. There’s no restraints and no one to tell us we can’t. All there is, the only thing... Is the will, if we want it, then it’s ours. Scarface, he’s the only thing I have that can hold his own”.
Vilkas nodded in understanding then a small wicked grin filled his face. He clicked his fingers together as a flash of inspiration struck him.
“So that’s it, you’re pissed off that you’re a looser”.
Aela gave him a shove then stormed over to Sotek.
“That’s a load of bull”.
Sotek shook his head as he tapped himself on his chest.
“Is it? That Dragonscale armour, it’s supposed to be nigh on indestructible. I’ve had to replace your bow, and my chest armour twice now. It’s supposed to be tougher. If you want further proof, then look at my archery, let alone close combat”.
“Do we have to?” Asked Farkas.
That earned a quick glance from Sotek who in turn held his hand out to his shield sibling in defeat.
“Touch’e”.
Aela stared at Sotek for a few seconds then looked back at the others. The next moment she slapped him hard across the face.
“Snap out of it, you moron. You out foxed that dragon, didn’t you? You gave it a right kicking. It’s still there you know. Right there watching us, I can feel it. Now I’ll damn well tell you what we’re going to do Sotek, lizard that sulks in the gutter. We’re going to kill that dragon, go see who or what is at the top of that blasted mountain, then we’ll head home and you can figure out why that armour cracked. Shift it, now move...” She gave him a shove then strode past him angrily as she headed for the other mountain path.
Vilkas rested his hand on Sotek’s shoulder as he whispered to him.
“Do you feel better for that?”
Sotek winced in pain as he barely spoke.
“Owww”.
Farkas chuckled as he followed Aela behind.
“I thought as much. Come on, before we all cop one from her. Oh yes, and Sotek...”
Sotek grumbled as he followed behind.
“Yes, yes, he knows… Ten lousy gold”.
It took them a good hour or so to make their way to the other track that would lead them up the mountain range where the dragon was. As they ascended the trail, they could feel the warmth of the morning sun on their faces. Aela shuddered slightly as the morning rays soaked her body in warm soft light.
“I always feel a bit weaker at dawn. It’s kind of odd really”.
Farkas nodded.
“Yes, we noticed”.
Aela couldn’t help but stop in surprise as she looked back at the group.
“Pardon?”
Vilkas half smiled as he explained.
“You’ve been like it since you were a wee little baby. You were always weak and tired at dawn. The Harbinger recons it’s the wolf in you, laying dormant after the night. You must have felt the intense feeling of Red’s strength in you during dusk?”
She blankly looked at Sotek who simply shrugged his shoulders.
“Yea, but I thought that was just the anticipation of the night”.
“It’s the beast blood in you. The same goes for Sotek here. Throughout the night you two are a lot more aggressive and stronger. Once dawn hits, you become drained and sluggish. Surely you noticed as well Sotek?”
He cast a strange look at Aela as he shrugged his shoulders a second time.
“Can’t say I have, at night we just let rip, and run with it. I presumed we were tired in the morning because we spent half the night awake”.
Vilkas gave a knowing smile then drew his sword. Raising up the Skyforge steel broadsword with just one arm, he pointed up ahead.
“Speaking of running with it, Farkas with me”. Farkas drew his sword and shield then the two brothers charged up the mountain path towards the dragon that was watching them ascend the mountain.
Arrows flew along the path towards the dragon as Farkas and Vilkas rapidly closed the gap. Sotek charged forwards too, but instead of casting his swords or using his axes, his hands erupted in flames and ice. Fireball’s and ice spears flew from his hands as he closed in. Every hit with Aela’s bow caused the dragon to screech out with pain as flames cloaked its badly wounded neck, which was Soteks target. His ice spears tore into the flesh, freezing it while his fireballs torched the cold scales as Vilkas and Farkas hacked off great chunks of flesh. But as Sotek had predicted, the dragon could do nothing to prevent the inevitable.
With just vengeance left, it turned to Sotek and lunged at him, causing him to dive out of the way. Then once more Sotek found himself being the unwilling participant in a cat and mouse game, while the others pressed home their attacks.
If there were signs of the dragon’s demise, then Sotek never saw them. the dragon burst into flames as its soul was torn from its body. Sotek was so consumed with the fight that he didn’t even notice the dragon had died. He absorbed the dragon soul, while he was still firing off spells. Aela shouted out gleefully but Sotek wasn’t cheering at its death, instead he collapsed on the floor and slowly rolled on his back. He laid there for a few minutes, watching the others on the plateau. After he gave Aela a slight wave of his hand, his arm fell to his side as he rested, trying to get his breath back.
“Damn, he was tough. Farkas you were right he’s a tough bastard”.
Vilkas sheaved his sword then discreetly started walking towards the top of the pathway. He eagerly shouted out as he broke into a run.
“First to the loot gets it”.
Aela growled at him then changed her form. Moments later Red shoulder barged Vilkas’s leg, sending him crashing to the ground as she ran up the path, leaving everyone else behind. Vilkas picked himself up as he cursed out loudly. “That cheating bitch of a whore”.
Farkas turned around in alarm and shook his head at him.
“Don’t go calling her that”.
Sotek walked alongside them then gave a smile.
“Oh she is though, but she’s Scarface’s whore”.
The next second Aela shouted down from above them.
“Sotek, I heard that. Red’ll have a word with you later, and with Scarface”.
Sotek’s shoulders dropped as he looked at the two Companions that were both grinning at him.
“Aww Hircine no!”
As they got to the top, Aela dangled a large bag of gold at Vilkas as she smiled broadly.
“Over three hundred gold, all mine. Sotek, there’s a word wall there”.
Sotek approached it as he had done with the other word walls he encountered. Once again bright blue trails of light were pulled from the wall as Sotek absorbed them. This time however he didn’t seem overly happy.
“Fear... I don’t think I like that one”.
Aela walked over towards him then angrily thrust a soul gem which she had found, in his chest, forcing him back a foot.
“Well you’ll bloody fear me, moron. Red ain’t your stinking whore”.
She then started heading down the path but then stopped and looked at the group.
“Farkas, how long will it take you two to get down the mountain?”
Farkas looked down the mountainside at the path and took stock of its route.
“At a leisurely pace, about forty-five minutes”.
She then grabbed Sotek by the collar and gave him a hard, passionate kiss.
“Then again, she might be his bitch. I reckon he’ll make it in about five minutes, if he’s quick and desperate enough”. Without another word, Aela transformed then Red stood right up and back pawed Sotek, sending him hard to the floor. She growled out at him then started running full speed down the mountain.
Sotek stared at her then turned to the others.
“I just can’t win”. Moments later Scarface took full control of his body and he once again changed. In seconds the werewolf stood up to his full height and howled out. Both Vilkas and Farkas were still blocking their ears when Scarface charged down the pathway in pursuit of Red, fully intent on making her his bitch once more.
Farkas chuckled as he watched Scarface disappear.
“I think you just did”.
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