Work Text:
Aela was unable recall the last time she'd been this nervous- actually, that is a lie. It had been her initiation quest; the woman had been terrified that somehow, she would fail, and dishonor the memory of her ancestry. Thankfully, those fears proved pointless, since here she was, all these years later.
And now she was experiencing the same emotion. The need to move, pacing out the anxiety. The newblood, Nora, was to be initiated into the Circle tonight. A risky move by its very nature, what with three of those members being unaware that there was, ideally, going to be a sixth among them.
Then there was the issue of whether Nora would even be willing to accept it. The Huntress knew their newest initiate was aware of the Circle's blessing; but what had Vilkas and Kodlak filled her head with? There'd been no change in interaction between her and the Circle, which meant it wasn't an issue with her- however, she showed no interest. No questions in hushed tones in the middle of the night.
Aela was aware that Nord had a level head and took most things in stride, but this seemed more than just passive behavior, which she found odd.
Nora's love of the hunt was hardly a secret. The young girl still had much to learn, having only turned 18 this past summer, but she had the passion and drive, in addition to not being much worse off than Aela had been at her age- so the redhead was slightly confused as to why her Shield-Sister gave no indication to care in the slightest about Hircine's Blessing.
Still though, she and Skjor would go through with initiating the newblood. Vilkas, Farkas, and Kodlak would leave the pack given half the chance, and that thought sent Aela into a panic. A pack was suppose to grow, not diminish, and though she'd still be loosing half her pack, it was better than not having Nora join them at all.
And then of course, there was the possibility that Nora would refuse, when offered. That was a genuine concern, (especially if she ran off to Kodlak; better to ask forgiveness than permission and whatnot) and one Aela hoped was unfounded. The newblood had only been with them a few seasons, but the Huntress found herself quite attached already. It would no doubt hurt to have such a deeply personal invitation refused- doubly so for Aela, who was to be the Nord's forebarer.
The familiar mix of pleasure and pain seeped through her bones, relishing in the comforting sensations brought on by the change. Somehwhat soothed, Aela stood next to the stone basin as she waited on Skjor and Nora.
Before too long, the pair of them entered, Nora's face one of entrancement before the young Companion started like a spooked horse when she realized Aela was in her transformed state. She couldn't help the soft whine; barely audible but unquestionably there. Skjor ignored her while he spoke to Nora.
As a werewolf, Aela had a tricky time understanding Common, since neither her body nor her mindset were programmed for it. That didn't mean she was oblivious to the soft tone Nora spoke with, the apprehension clear in her voice. Once more Skjor speaks, this time more soothing and assuring, which calmed both the whelp and Aela, who'd been more and more convinced that her fears were becoming reality.
Finally, Nora nodded her head, more confident but still nervous- Aela couldn't discern if it was the good nervous, like when one was hunting, or the bad nervous, like when one realized they were the one being hunted.
As she held her arm out, Skjor's blade sliced through her skin easily; the blood pooled at the bottom of the basin. Excited shivers shot down Aela's spine as the other Nord approached, cupped a handful of the red liquid and brought it to her lips.
As Nora's body accepted the change, Aela wanted to howl in joy-until all Oblivion broke loose.
Having remembered how Farkas almost mauled Skjor during his first transformation, Aela shifted her weight, ready to distract the whelp long enough for Skjor to change, if that was what it came down to. The small, subtle action startled the new werewolf, and she bolted out the entrance.
Oh no.
The door to the under forge was closed, but that seemed to be a minor detail as far as Nora was concerned. Ever the huntress, Aela stalked towards her, tried to herd the Nord to the other end of the underforge- Nora might not know it, but there was a path that led outside Whiterun, where no guard or citizen would be able to see them. The newly turned were threw her weight against the door repeatedly and the action only gree more frantic as Aela attempted to ward her off with snapping teeth; her scrambled motions happened to hit the right spot, causing the door to slide open.
Divines, Daedra, and minor saints.
If Nora had simply been panicking in the underforge, that would be one thing. To have a newly turned (less than three minutes old) werewolf running loose in the streets- that was a serious problem. As the younger woman bolted in one direction around Jorrvaskr, Aela headed the other and once more tried to cut Nora off to herd her in the right direction.
Unfortunately, Nora had been out of the underforge first, and Aela wasn't quick enough to make up for the lost time. The younger woman bounded down the steps, and Aela came to a screeching halt, mind reeling as she tried to figure out what to do. They could hardly go down there; the tell tale shrieks of ladies and lower bellows of guards and men as they realized what was among them. They couldn't risk the entire town figuring out Jorrvaskr housed werewolves.
So much to trying to keep Nora's transition a low-key event.
Sticking to the shadows, most of their attention was focused on the young Were, who was bolting for the gate. Skjor's voice was a harsh whisper in her ear, urged Aela back -or at least to shift, she was sure. The Huntress stayed where she was, though, keeping an eye on Nora. She wouldn't allow the younger woman to be killed- that wasn't happening. Yet there was still the issue of the entire town rousing, trying to slay her.
Even as one of the guards shot her with an arrow, Nora's mindset seemed more that of a prey than predator, not even turning to defend herself. That would be worrisome in the future, but not completely unexpected for now. She was probably still in shock.
Much like with the underforge door, when the gates didn't give on their own, Nora threw her weight against them, rattled the very frame on its hinges. One of the guards yelled something, and then the gates swung open.
This was not going anywhere close to planned. She could hear the halls of Jorrvaskr waking up from all the commotion (and some stupid wench who would not stop screaming, even though the 'threat' was long gone.).
The fallout could be dealt with later- Aela's main concern was getting Nora back under control. Turning back to the underforge, she snuck away from the startled citizens, slipped through the pathway and outside Whiterun.
As she lifted her head, Aela scented for the new blood, in an attempt to determine which direction she was headed. Nora had come towards Aela, as opposed to going the opposite direction.
While she broke into a dead run, the Huntress followed her nose, blind to anything else as the familiar pattern of the chase fell into place before her.
Though Nora's head start was only a small one, it took Alea a bit longer than it should have to catch up. There was no rational pattern, even if purely on an instinctual level, to the path she chose, and every now and then Aela tripped herself up by anticipating the younger woman would go one way, when in reality Nora went another.
The scent of blood filtered through, assisted in the blinders being pulled off Aela's eyes. It's not Nora's, but her scent was lingering with it. All she knew was that it smelt like prey, yet could not determine whether it's an animal, or an unwary human who met their untimely demise.
Aela silently crept through the underbrush, without so much as a snapped twig to give her away, despite her size. There was a break in the tree line, and she found the whelp, muzzle deep in a deer's belly.
Had she been capable of doing so, Aela might have cracked a grin; not even an hour old and Nora'd already made her first kill. Though, from the ravenous sounds of tearing and tugging, and sinew popping, she wondered just how wrapped up Nora was in her prize; that would have to be fixed before it became a habit.
The odd angle of the neck indicated she'd snapped it with her teeth. Aela made a soft, short noise to gain her attention. Nora froze, head slowly lifted from the deer's belly as she eyed the older werewolf with a soft growl, in an erroneous attempt to warn her off the kill.
Aela's body language shifted from relaxed and open, to a clear display that she was the dominant of the two- a pack only worked when everyone knew where they stood, and she wanted no misunderstandings.
As she held her ground for a moment longer, Nora finally submitted, tail tucked slightly as she returned to the deer, motions more frantic, clearly worried Aela would snatch her prize from her. Aela ignored this- she was capable of getting her own if the mood struck her, and she wasn't vindictive enough to take it just to prove a point.
Mindful to not spook her, Aela made her way towards the young woman, watching her. She was, much like in her human form, smaller than Aela, with an oddly subtle, dainty look that didn't quite match expectations, given her Nordic heritage. This held true in her beast form, though it was hard to call any werewolf 'dainty'.
When she was close enough to touch her, if she was so inclined, Nora stopped gorging herself and carefully watched Aela. The girl was likely just acting off instinct right now, giving no rational thought to her actions. Watching as Nora turned, Aela was slightly surprised when the younger female nuzzled her submissively, a soft whine at her throat while she lapped at Aela's jawbone.
As she shifted away, Nora was quick to follow, her deer apparently forgotten.
Aela observed her and noted Nora seemed far more settled than before.
She was extroverted with her surroundings, would trot off to investigate this, that, and the other thing before promptly returning to Aela's side.
The huntress paid no real attention to her path, both woman and beast content at the moment to wander with her new pack mate. Continuing down that imaginary path, the wilderness called and cooed soothingly at the two women. The air was brisk and crisp, attempting to nip at them, though their coats kept the cold at bay.
Nora pressed against Aela's hide, tension and nervousness rolling off her in waves. Pausing, Aela double checked the area around them; there wasn't any prey around (they wisely made themselves scarce as the pair made their way through the woods), though she could catch the scent of a sabrecat. It wasn't anywhere near them though, and even if it was, it wouldn't be any threat to the the two weres.
Aela knew the reason for Nora's apprehension; her fear of sabrecats was hardly a secret.
Giving an unimpressed huff, Aela's disinterest, paired by the fact that she continued moving, was apparently all the reassurance Nora needed, as she trotted away to sniff at something else.
In a way, Aela envied the new blood. The first transformation was always the most intense, and everything was so much more clear. Though her memories of her own first were vague and rushed, they were fond ones regardless.
Part of her knew that they should probably head back; after all, the entire purpose of tracking Nora had been to bring her back to Jorrvaskr. Yet another part wanted Nora to enjoy this first high, take in as much as she could, as her world would never be clearer than it was currently.
Casting a glance backwards, Aela observed the new werewolf. As the seconds ticked by, Nora seemed to grow more and more comfortable with herself and her surroundings, moving a bit further off and not looking to Aela for reassurance as frequently.
There was a break in the trees; moonlight would have lit the canopyless area up, but clouds had rolled in, casting everything in dark shadows. Not that it bothered the females' eyes any, both continuing on their unplanned path.
When they came across a great river, the two werewolves hesitated slightly, silently debating whether to simply follow it or try crossing; there were large boulders in the river, large and wide enough across that they could manage it if they so chose.
Deafened by the water, and down wind, Aela hadn't noticed the trolls until the creatures were almost right on top of the unsuspecting females. With barred teeth, Aela had fluffed her fur and laid back her ears, presenting an unquestionable stance of dominance. The trolls didn't pause to the obvious display, still coming towards the pair with the intent of fighting. Vaguely, she can hear Nora's awkward growling, her vocal cords not quite cooperating with this new state of being.
It was difficult to hear over the rushing river, but the trolls stomped against the earth, the very ground vibrated and shook. Nora stood next to her, their fur brushing together but not quite pressing against the older Nord's side.
As muscles tightened underneath her pelt, Aela barred her teeth and held her ground. Still the trolls came towards them; Aela wasn't the first to lunge, surprisingly. Nora shifted beside her, opening her mouth for what was intended to be a ferocious snarl. The resulting sound would have been comical outside the current situation. While Aela had intended to wait for the trolls to come to her, Nora lunged at one of them, her teeth scraping across the beast's chest at an odd angle. Aela wasted no time, charging the second one before it would have the opportunity to gang up on Nora. Far more experienced, Aela was quick with her teeth and claws, gouging out the troll's eyes and snapping at his throat.
The body fell as a bloody heap at her feet. A sharp crack split the cold air, followed by a soft whimper, clear above the deafening roar of the river.
Rage flooded Aela; as she spun around towards Nora, the Companion didn't need to know the details- only knew Nora'd managed to seriously injure herself. Black blood was dripping from both beasts; the troll's movements were significantly slower, but Nora still didn't have complete control of her body, and seemed to have injured her hip by the way she was limping. The young Nord's teeth snapped at the troll's throat, giving an excited whine when she finally found good purchase. Clamping down, the girl shook her head vigorously, claws raking at any ground she could grasp hold of while she ripped grooves into the beast's front.
Slowly, the knees started to buckle. As its ability to support itself failed, Nora leaned her weight on the troll and pushed it onto its back. A wet squelch pierced the air as she reaffirmed her grip on the creature, arms pinned the weakly thrashing body.
In the short time it took Aela to reach Nora, the troll was nothing but a steaming corpse. Nora had trouble unlocking her jaw and settled to simply rip the troll's throat out before she coughed up the flesh and fur in her teeth.
She was favoring her back right leg, never quite settling her weight on it. Casting a glance towards Aela, Nora pawed at the ground before she gestured as if she intended to lay down. Aela herself had her own injuries, but they were not as severe and she knew better. As she stalked to Nora's flanks, she snapped her teeth at the young Nord and growled.
If she laid down, she'd fall asleep, and when she fell asleep, she'd shift back- and she'd be naked. Even with Nordic blood, there was no way she would survive the night without a stitch of clothing on her; not out here.
Nora ignored her, pawing a bit more before she shifted her weight down. Aela snarled lowly, displeased. This time the nip was harsher, and closer to her injury.
A sharp yelp and Nora was back up, turning to Aela submissively, a confused whine at her throat. Aela merely reached out and licked at the wound across Nora's jawline, the blood running down her neck. She had to get them someplace safe for the night; Nora wouldn't be able to hold up to a trip back towards Whiterun like this- not without shifting back.
It wasn't the best of options, but crossing the river was their only choice at this point. The crossing was safe here- there was no guarantee it would continue to be so if they moved further up or down river. Tail wagging low, Nora pressed up against Aela and shivered slightly. That was not a good sign; she needed to get Nora across the river before she shifted back. Aela could handle it from there.
Aela had to shift from leading to herding when Nora expressed her reluctance to cross. There were no other options right now; if Aela's memory didn't fail her, there was a cabin across the way, deep in the trees. A snap of her teeth, just above Nora's hip lit a fire under the young woman, limping across. Her grip only failed her once, the girl's hand slipping from underneath her before scrambling for purchase.
Once the river was behind them, Aela slipped in front of Nora once more, leading from a distant memory on where she thought the old cabin was.
The woods were quiet, the river behind them nothing but a faint whisper. Leaves and twigs snapped underneath the pair. Every now and then Nora would stop, refusing to move until Aela would start to herd her. The shivering increased, and the older Nord knew Nora would change back any minute now. A break in the tree line appeared, presenting the women with a quaint but sturdy cabin. When she nipped at her again, the girl froze as she felt teeth in her hide, casting a glance to Aela.
The Nord swiftly moved towards the cabin, nosing the door open; it was long abandoned, but she didn't want to run the risk of someone being inside and catching them off guard.
Unsurprisingly, it was empty.
Slipping through the doorway, Aela felt a bit cramped in the cabin. This sensation only intensified as Nora entered. However, that didn't last for long- the girl was shaking violently, probably unable to comprehend that this was the indication her shift was about to come to an end, and fighting it out of fear and confusion.
The trembling stopped, only for Nora to collapse and shift back to a human. Rather than passing out, she held on to consciousness, though seemed very dazed and confused, alternating between sluggish and rapid-fire blinking, and trying to talk, though her voice was currently failing her.
Mindful of her claws and Nora's hip, Aela scooped the younger Nord up before she carefully deposited her on the bed tucked away in the corner. Whoever had preserved the furs had been a master at their craft; though naturally they were in a state of... disrepair, being left unused for so long, all things considering, they were in good enough quality to get her through the night.
At some point, while Aela was rather awkwardly gathering (read: ripping) the furs off the walls and out of the chests, Nora had nodded off and was now asleep. While part of Aela wanted the younger girl awake, it was now significantly safer for Nora to sleep. The house protected them from the windchill, and the furs would protect against the cold. Setting them at the foot of the bed, Aela's eyes were quick to note each injury. The beastblood had already gotten to work on healing her injuries, though she was barely hours old and her body didn't yet know what to do in an effective manner. Thus far though, her wounds had stopped bleeding. Instinct guiding her, Aela felt the natural inclination to do what she could to help her pack mate. Most of the cuts were on Nora's font and sides; this made it easier for Aela, since she wouldn't need to move the slumbering girl, who currently was on her back.
As a were, there wasn't enough room in the bed for Aela to sit, so she adjusted herself as best she could on the side. Muzzle out stretching, Aela carefully lapped at one of the injuries- Nora didn't so much as twitch, too out of it to notice even in sleep, it seemed. Much like with dogs, werewolves possessed an agent in their saliva that helped heal injuries; a powerful tool when paired with their natural abilities.
And in the morning, Aela didn't remember how she got in the bed with Nora, under the covers and with limbs entwined, but to be honest, she couldn't bring herself to care that she had. Nora's smaller body was pressed against Aela's, searching for heat away from the early chill- dawn has yet to break. The girl's head was tucked in under Aela's chin, hands loosely grasping at her back and shoulder.
Though innocent enough (sharing body heat was hardly a rare occurrence in Skyrim), there was something decidedly intimate about their current position. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that Aela's nose and one of her hands had fingers laced in Nora's hair. Or the fact that their legs were entwined rather closely; but Aela could care less, shutting her eyes to enjoy the quiet. They'd plan their next move in the morning, after day break.