Chapter Text
Aela shouted as she released an arrow in the direction of the beast charging towards Farkas. He steadied his stance as the troll came barreling in his direction and the arrow slammed into its shoulder. Farkas could see the blood flowing from the wound, but the troll seemed unaffected from the injury. He glanced over to Ria as she pulled out her sword, Farkas followed suit, his greatsword slightly shining in the dull light of the gray afternoon.
Moments before the troll reached melee range a dual-pronged arrow came flying through the sky striking the troll in the side of the neck. The troll cried out, stumbling down onto one knee. He heard Ria charge the beast as soon as it fell, but he instead tried to see where the new arrow came from. Across the field he spotted someone on a horse. They were in full armor so he couldn’t see much of their face, but it seemed they were taller than he was and they had their sights locked on the troll as they docked their bow to shoot another arrow at it. This one hit at the same time as another one of Aela’s arrows and the dual impact felled the beast almost instantly. Ria quickly made a gash across his chest to ensure the kill.
The helpful warrior trotted their horse up to the troll and hopped off next to Aela.
“You're a good shot!” Aela boasted, always pleased to meet someone who shared her affinity with a bow.
“Thank you. Just luck really, I'm still getting used to using a bow.” They responded, surprisingly soft spoken. They slipped off their helmet and spoke again, their back to Farkas, “I hope I wasn't intruding, I just couldn't let that brute run rampant so close to a family farm.”
He hadn't been caught off guard like this in years, Farkas had expected a burly Nord not too different from himself, but when the archer turned his way they, she, was anything but. Her high cheekbones implied elven heritage. Her light eyes in contrast to her deep woodsy colored hair were bewitching. Her hair looked like it was once painstakingly braided into a beautiful and intricate design, but days of traveling and helmet wearing had made strands poke out all over and a long chunk of dark mahogany fell in front of her left ear.
“Shit” he muttered bewildered as he vaguely heard Aela invite the woman to Jorrvaskr.
----
Another gray day stretched out over the Gildergreen tree beneath the stairs leading up to Jorrvaskr. Farkas stood atop the hill watching down on the few townspeople mill about and a couple young girls looking for coin. He wasn't too focused on anything in particular until a sight caught him by surprise. Under the tree was the Dragonborn, a fighter who just yesterday he watched sparing with Vilkas and Aela with a ferocity that he hasn't seen in anyone without wolf's blood.
She,Téli, had been spending a lot of time at Jorrvaskr the last few days since she came to Whiterun. After she met the few Companions and helped fall a troll last week with ease, she had been coming by to both train and do any little errand the Circle requested from her. She did every task no matter how small or opposingly violent with no question. And she did them well. There were even rumors that said she could take down an actual dragon single handedly. She was obviously a mighty warrior.
Here she was squatting down to an orphan child with a soft smile across her face. The little girl looked enamored as she listened to whatever story Téli was telling. Her eyes looked so peaceful and kind as she reached into her pack and pulled out a few gold pieces, not copper, gold pieces and handed them to the child. She also handed over a netted bag full of apples and yams to the girl with a little laugh as the girl squealed in appreciation. The sound somehow floated across the courtyard all the way to where Farkas stood and he was floored by the sweetness of the sound. He had never really thought about how nice laughter could sound, but he quickly decided laughter could sound beautiful if coming from the right person.
"What are you looking at?" Vilkas' voice sounded, breaking Farkas from whatever weird draw the warrior down below had on him. Vilkas' matching dark hair to Farkas' own blew in the damp breeze.
"The tree." Farkas answered. Only a partial lie.
Vilkas looked down to the tree and cocked his head to the side. "Aye, it is looking much better these days. Whatever magic the Dragonborn achieved is a blessing to Whiterun." Taking step closer to his brother, "What do you think of the Dragonborn? I'm still not convinced we can trust her to be a Companion."
Fumbling over his words at first, Farkas managed to respond. "I..I think she is strong and....soft."
"Soft!?" Vilkas spit out the word with confusion until his gaze caught said person patting the head of a girl by the tree, with an almost maternal look in her eyes. She then picked up their pack and smiled as she made her way up the stairs leading to Jorrvaskr. Looking back to his brother, Vilkas saw the lopsided smile Farkas typically saved for a particularly delicious meal or newly tempered set of armor. Vilkas let out a tuft of laughter, "You like her!"
"Quiet!" Farkas hissed as Téli reached hearing range of the twins.
"Good day." She greeted, smile still intact.
----
Farkas couldn't understand why she was so enthusiastic today. It was pouring rain and the whole city seemed to be in a somber mood. Every one except Téli. She showed up at Jorrvaskr early in the day, begging Farkas to follow her. He couldn't say ‘no’ to her, he was too caught up in how pleasing she looked. This was the first time he had seen her without armor. She was indeed of elven descent, tall and willowy, despite her obvious arm muscles that came from wielding her large steel warhammer. Her simple gray and blue dress was perfectly tailored for her, and as much as Farkas liked a solid woman who stood strong in armor, he couldn't help but flush at the sight of her gentle yet supple curves. Her hair looked recently washed or at the very least combed out. Every part of her looked as soft as he thought it would.
She now pulled on his arm as she dragged him down the steps leading toward the main gated entrance to Whiterun. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed to the left where a row of houses stood.
“There it is!” she exclaimed with glee.
“There's what?” he asked, looking between the buildings around.
“This house!” she clarified, letting go of him to running up to one of the houses. “This one right here is all mine.” Pulling out a key with a flourish before turning to open the door. She runs inside and disappeared, leaving Farkas to follow behind shaking his head in amusement.
She showed off the mostly empty building like it was a castle made of gems and gold. She explained how as much as she enjoyed doing jobs for the Companions, doing jobs for the Jarl paid better. It also opened up real estate opportunities.
“I moved in last night! I finally got to bathe without worrying about who else in the inn might try to steal a peak. I got to sleep in a decent bed, and I actually cooked breakfast today. It's silly and domestic, but I love it.” Téli said happily.
“Does this mean you are hanging your armor up? Going to be a city girl now?” Farkas laughed.
“Heavens no. It's just nice to have somewhere to come home to after diving into caverns or fighting dragons.” She walked over to a little fire place, striking up a little fire to warm the house. “I've spent enough time in Whiterun this past month, I know it's a nice place to come home to.”
Farkas took the seat next to her, pulling himself close to the newly growing warmth the fire could offer his damp clothes. He watched her as she added some wood to her little fire. Her clothes were now also pretty wet, but she didn't seem to notice how they clung or maybe she just didn't care. Vilkas had pointed out to him a few days ago how comfortable Téli acted around him and he still didn't know how to take the news.
“Why are you showing me your house?” He asked when she glanced his way.
“Because I'm excited.”
“But why me?”
“I..” she started before chewing her bottom lip for a moment in thought. “Well, you've always been nice to me. You trust in my skills. You are far more clever than you think you are. And you don't ever act like I'm harassing you by just being around, which honestly is how a lot of people seem to act around me.” She shrugged, “Mostly, I just like spending time with you. I know this isn't as exciting as slashing draugrs...” She trailed off, but it didn't matter, Farkas was through the roof with joy. He couldn't remember the last time someone had so many kind things to say about him. It was also the first time he felt this enamored with someone outside of his family and the Circle.
He was smitten. Vilkas would never let him live this down.