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The gentle, nipping flurries were an uncommon sight over Whiterun. It was the northern part of the country that often saw the most snow, alongside the mountain ranges — but well into the month of Evening Star, the snow possibilities rose elsewhere.
Snow reminded Uskerva of the few things she missed about Wrothgar. The bitter cold, her sister who disappeared long ago, and the Wrothgar horker (that she swore tasted better than Skyrim’s). For better or for worse, she lived in Skyrim now, both operating as the Companions Harbinger and preparing to finish off the World-Eater once and for all. She still got her snow days and her horker meat, and that simply had to suffice.
The bulky Orsimer woman relished in the tiny flakes adorning her mahogany hair as she made her way through the city. It made her feel like a child again — wanting to dance around in it — but the fatigue of being actively on her feet for so long had been catching up to her. She could always do that later.
To even the smallest ankle-biter, it was easy to tell that Saturalia was fast approaching. Garland stretched across houses and walls, lanterns were wrapped with bows, wreaths above doors. It was a healing balm on her sapped spirits. Saturalia was Uskerva’s favorite holiday, after all. The spirit of togetherness and giving always endeared her, but she usually didn’t have anyone to give to or celebrate with.
For the first time in her twenty-six years of life, she could celebrate it as intended: with family and friends. The Companions were her family, now, and many citizens of the city were her friends. Needless to say, she was rather excited at the idea of spending that time with them.
The woman took her time strolling the main street on her way back to Jorrvaskr, admiring every little detail on every building that was decorated for the holiday. It made her heart warm to know that even in a dark time like this, the people still yearned to come together and have a grand old time while she did her best to keep them safe. To know that a light shone in the darkness, to know that they wouldn’t give up as long as she didn’t…it gave her hope. She wasn’t immune to those despairful thoughts, either.
Behind her curtains of red hair, her ear tips suddenly pricked up when she approached Whiterun’s central well. Her lupine senses alerted her to the distant pitter-patter of small boots slapping on stones, closing in on her location. She stopped walking to allow the individual to catch up to her. It only took but a moment for said individual to become visible: none other than little Mila Valentia, a basket handle gripped tightly in her hands as she ran in from the Winds District.
“Whoa, slow down!” Uskerva cried out to the Imperial child, “I don’t want you to slip and fall!”
Mila adhered to her warning and took her pace down; only because she knew that Uskerva would tell her mother she was being foolish if she didn’t. When the girl finally caught up to the towering Orc, she beamed up at her with a bright smile. “Hi, Miss Uskerva!” She chirped.
“Good morning to you, too,” the Orc pleasantly replied, matching her grin.
“Happy Saturalia! Mama told me to give you a gift as a thank you for all your help this year.” While Mila dug into the basket to procure Carlotta’s present, Uskerva found herself suddenly lost in thought.
Was it really Saturalia already? The time had flown by out in the wilds, and with her somewhat scattered memory, it was quite difficult to keep true track of the date. She almost wanted to panic, but swallowed the idea. There was time to indulge in her favorite holiday; it was early into the day. And if Aela hadn’t raided her wardrobe, then her sack of forged statuettes that she intended to gift were safe.
“Here you go!” Mila reined her back into reality by handing her a book. “Mama said you like to read, and she hopes that you don’t have this book already.”
When passed the book, Uskerva ran her gloved thumb over the name engraved into the cover. “The Crown of Freydis”, by Taleon Mythmaker of the Second Era. It was, in fact, a book she’d somehow never read before. The Orc dropped it into her bag carefully. She was charmed by the child’s (and by extension, her mother’s) generosity, and opened her arms wide for a hug in a crouch.
Mila accepted the gesture and wrapped her arms around Uskerva’s pauldrons.
“Thank you, and you tell your mother I said that as well.”
“Okay!” She said with a giggle. But she pulled away just as swiftly as she embraced her. “I have to go now and give a gift to Miss Hulda. But it was nice to see you! Bye!” The little girl zipped past and up the stairs to The Bannered Mare, disappearing behind its heavy doors.
And with tired steps, Uskerva continued her ascent towards the mead hall. Just beyond the front doors, she could hear and smell a celebration in full swing. The loudness of her siblings wasn’t anything new, but today it threatened to form a headache. However, the scent of succulent meats, pies, and stews was promising enough to have her yank the door open and make herself known.
Heat enveloped the Orc in a heartbeat. The firepit was crackling, the table had featured a hearty feast fit for ten greedy lords (or perhaps a bunch of ravenous, drunk warriors), and the dining hall was surprisingly well-decorated. By the stairs, furniture had been shifted around to compensate for a large Saturalia fir tree, looking heavy with a plethora of decorations sat upon its branches. Her red eyes sparkled in wonder at the scene before her.
It didn’t take long for the Companions to hush, expecting an envoy or a farmer in need of help to wander inside. Instead, stood before them, was their newest Harbinger — someone they expected to be out for a few more days.
“Heeey, look who it is!” Torvar shouted with a drunken slur in his words, face flush. “Y’came back just in time for a good one!” He kicked his feet back against the table and nearly fell from his chair.
Ria, equally as drunk, giggled and waved lazily. “Oh wow, welcome back!”
One person in particular seemed stone cold sober, and had a look in her pale blue eyes that could kill. She stood — perhaps a bit too abruptly, catching Farkas’s attention. He tugged on her arm with a laugh and a jeering comment, but she slapped his hand away and muttered something snappy towards him. His mood faded, and he turned towards his brother instead.
The fiery woman marched up to Uskerva as banter slowly returned to the air. Once up close and personal, her bold features softened, brushing away the Orc’s hair to press her lips against her cheek firmly. When she pulled back, her face was alight with a gentle smile.
“Happy Saturalia, my love.” Warmth dripped from her words, her tone a stark contrast from the commanding barks she used to order people around. Her bare, freckled hand found purchase upon her other cheek. She didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that Uskerva’s skin was still cold and dry.
“Aela, my dear…” Uskerva dreamily sighed before pulling herself together, “I didn’t even realize that was today.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re back in time. We’ve got a special gift for you.”
“We?” Her thick eyebrow went crooked in confusion. “Is this…a group gift?”
The Huntress shook her head. “Not really. But I insisted, and so did Njada.”
Uskerva’s lips pursed. Of all the Companions adjusting to the newest whelp becoming the Harbinger, Njada struggled the hardest to accept her. All her attempts to ease the tensions between the two fell fairly flat, and she certainly wasn’t a mind reader. This gift could’ve been anything.
But if her own partner oversaw it, then could it have been all that bad?
“Njada!” Aela barked as she whipped her head towards the kitchen doorway and began to snap her fingers.
“WHAT?” Her cranky response came loud and clear.
She pouted and curled her fingers into a frustrated fist. “Do you not have ears? Uskerva’s back.”
The feisty Nord’s grumbles were barely audible over the other conversations happening, but she continued to speak, seemingly to nobody in particular. “For the love of…” Sounds of raucousness soon arose from the kitchen, and she finally bit back at Aela. “You didn’t task me with something simple here! Come help me!”
“Oh, come on, how hard can it be?”
There was then a sudden crash, and Tilma cried out a “Goodness me!” Njada had more colorful words to pepper in for Aela’s sake.
Uskerva attempted to investigate from where she stood until Aela threw her hand up over her eyes.
“It’s a surprise,” she asserted. “Besides, I think you’ll catch on pretty quick.”
“But is Tilma okay?” The Orc whined.
“I’m sure she’s alright. Didn’t sound like she got hurt.”
Surely enough, Njada came stomping into the dining hall, grunting and groaning as something struggled in her grasp. “Gods dammit, Aela, this was your idea so you should handle it.”
Aela scoffed. “You asked me if you should do this. I don’t want to hear it.” She moved her hand from Uskerva’s eyes to the Orc’s left hand, grasping it tightly.
Njada approached with her hair down and a nasty grimace plastered on her cheeks. She donned protective gloves that seemed to wrestle with a somewhat small creature.
This creature, thick with brown and white fur, was scared to be held by her and whined and scrambled to get away. It had flattened ears that were much too big for its little head, and the most adorable pink nose. Wide, icy blue eyes suddenly locked onto Uskerva. The ears perked up and a little tail wagged ever-so-slightly.
Most likely, the little furball was a Husky puppy. A Snowdog. Maybe a mix.
Uskerva’s jaw had dropped. This creature had gone and stolen her breath away. Aela watched her lover’s reaction with unbridled glee, patting her arm and looking quickly between the gift and the gift recipient.
“He’s your problem now. Here, take him.” Njada voiced her disgust loud and clear as she held him out towards her Harbinger.
Suddenly, Uskerva remembered to breathe and scrambled to scoop up the little pup in her arms. The oft-formidable Orc now trembled like a scared babe as she stared at the dog resting calmly in her arms. He began to lick at the dried blood stained on her Wolf armor.
“When coming back from a hunt, we ended up noticing this runt wandering on his own. My heart just couldn’t leave him there like that. But Njada wanted to give him to you specifically, ” Aela explained as though Uskerva wasn’t about to burst into tears.
Her throat tightened while the waterworks began, tears rapidly flowing down her cheeks. The puppy took notice of her unconscious whines and barked at her, but this only served to send her into a full sob.
Words were incredibly hard, but Uskerva was incredibly grateful for the fluffy little blessing.
Njada’s lip curled. “What— why are you crying? Seriously?”
“She’s happy,” Aela growled.
The dog yapped again and turned his attention to lapping up her tears, turning some of her cries into little chuckles. “Y-you two…thank yo-ou…” She stammered through hiccups.
“Of course, my love,” Aela said gently.
“Yeah, whatever. You’re welcome.” Though her words were rough, Njada couldn’t bring herself to look at Uskerva, cheeks turning pink.
Before setting him down to explore, she kissed the puppy’s head right between his ears. Aela and Njada were then pulled into a hug without much warning. Aela was pliable, but Njada hissed.
“Okay, too far,” she demanded.
Except Uskerva did not relent for a good minute — only stopping to wipe her face with the fur of her gloves and sniffle. “I’ll have to come up with a name for him. I’ve always wanted a dog…I just never got the chance. Not even when I settled into Skyrim. Just been worried about the dragons.” A shaky sigh escaped her. All the excitement had vanished, leaving behind an exhaustion that weighed on her soul.
“Maybe we ought to get some food and ale in you, then finish the gifting exchange?” The ginger’s hand pulled again at Uskerva’s, trying to urge her towards the table.
“That sounds lovely, yes.” She let Aela lead her away to a seat. Her stomach had remembered that she skipped breakfast and now growled in yearning for the delicious mammoth steak that was certainly starting to cool. Just as she was about to sit down…
“Are you kidding me?” Njada cried out.
Her head whipped back around to the warrior now hopping away from the dog. His leg was lifted, and a puddle formed underneath her feet.
Uskerva’s response vastly differed from that of her siblings. While they all laughed to varying degrees, Uskerva could only mutter, “I guess he’s not housebroken.”
“Oh, that means he likes you!” Vilkas made himself sound as sincere as possible, knowing very well that it was a lie.
“Shut the fuck up,” she snapped. Once out of the puddle’s range, she ripped away her shoes and called for Tilma to clean the mess the dog had left behind, only to then storm downstairs for another pair of shoes.
Uskerva planted herself at the table and immediately piled her plate high. Fork and knife in hand, she first dug voraciously into the mammoth steak. The food and the alcohol eventually both made her nearly fall asleep at the table, but this was the first time she ever felt such a way during Saturalia. She was thankful for what she had this time, and how she would have it for many more years to come. Uskerva couldn’t even say it’s all she’d ever wanted because her (now-fulfilled) desires were much simpler and sadder than that — she never thought to think bigger.
Conversations droned on while the Orc tried to blink away the heaviness in her eyelids, slowly losing focus on any individual words and instead getting stuck in her thoughts. She lounged in a tired haze with a couple of her more sober siblings urging her off to bed for a quick rest. However, she was too busy admiring her new family. The delicious food and drink. The fact that they all had the giving spirit about them. The fact that they were spending the day together. How it all culminated into a perfect first Saturalia. Aela and Farkas practically dragged her out of her seat and led her towards the stairs, saying something about how big she was. The words were yet again getting muddled together in her weary mind.
Then, a brief spot of clarity hit.
“Wait! The puppy…can he come with?” She pleaded with such a childlike inflection that it was hard to say “no”.
Aela scanned the room for the dog and saw him sniffing Tilma as she dried the floor. “Vilkas, bring the dog,” she calmly ordered.
“If you insist. I’ll be down there in a moment.”
Farkas soon left Aela to undress Uskerva of her armor, the process slow and intimate. Aela’s hands slipped around her beefy body and rubbed against old scars on her back and her chest. By the time Vilkas made his way with the squirmy dog in tow, Uskerva was half asleep and tucked neatly into bed. She woke up enough when the dog was placed beside her to pet him, but her eyes quickly slipped closed again with her hand on his back. It was the closest she’d get to cuddling him until he got more used to her.
But in those last moments awake, she felt truly loved. By everyone under Jorrvaskr’s roof…her new family.
There was a first for everything, even a dog.
