Getting to Know the Harbinger

Trouble with Camping

Vilkas sat grumpily in the dim light of early morning poking at the fire, trying to stir the embers from the night before back to life. They had camped just a few miles outside of Windhelm and it was cold. Vilkas's mood also wasn't helped by the fact that he really hadn't slept well... and neither had Kaya...

Kaya was still in the tent, huddled in their furs, waiting for Vilkas to get the fire going again before she got up. Being only half Nord, she didn't handle the cold nearly so well, and it had snowed overnight.

Then the primary object of Vilkas's irritation came out of the other tent. Vilkas scowled as Farkas stretched and let out a satisfied groan before he walked of away from camp, presumably to relieve himself.

Vilkas was still scowling when Farkas returned with a sleepy grin on his face.

"Brother," Vilkas began with a quiet grumble, "I know you love your wife... but do you really have to make her scream it to all the gods while I'm trying to sleep in a tent right next to yours?"

To Vilkas's irritation, Farkas chuckled. "Sorry," he said with a grin that looked anything but, "I give my wife what she wants... whenever she wants it."

Vilkas rolled his eyes.

"Besides that," Aela said, smirking as she opened her tent flaps, "don't try and tell me you weren't doing something very similar when the two of you disappeared after dinner last night."

Vilkas just glared at Aela in response. The beast blood ensured they couldn't keep things like this secret, but it was still none of their business. He wasn't about to tell them anything about how he'd enjoyed having the legendary Dragonborn pinned to a tree with her pants down several hours prior...

"We at least had the decency to get out of earshot first," Vilkas replied irritably.

"Yeah, but we'd have to go a few miles for you to not hear Aela," Farkas pointed out, looking obviously proud and a little bit smug.

Aela just snickered with an unashamed grin. Then, turning to Farkas, "you complaining, icebrain?"

"Nope," Farkas chuckled, "Vilkas is the one upset he apparently can't make his wife—"

"Alright!" Kaya cut him off, throwing their own tent flaps open. She looked almost as irritated as Vilkas was as she stepped out of the tent with the furs from their bedroll still wrapped around her, but when her eyes met Vilkas's she had a hint of mischievous smirk.

"To be clear," Kaya snapped, rounding on Farkas, "my husband doesn't have shortcomings in the... topic in question..." she faltered slightly and Vilkas could tell she was embarrassed with the conversation. "I'm just usually a quieter person than Aela..." she continued a bit more quietly, "can you take a guess why I prefer to be so quiet?"

Then Vilkas's wolf spirit suddenly sensed an air of danger building around her as her voice lowered.

Farkas and Aela exchanged uncertain glances, clearly unsure if they were still teasing or not...

Vilkas smirked, wondering what she was planning... he had told her about the conversation he'd had a few days ago with Farkas about her dragon shouts... and she had actually admitted that that was part of her reasons for usually keeping her voice low...

Then they all saw that despite the ominous aura coming off of her, Kaya couldn't keep a slight smirk from her face either.

Farkas chuckled, shooting Vilkas a teasing grin.

"You're embarrassed?" Aela suggested teasingly.

"I just always assumed Vilkas wasn't that good," Farkas shrugged, still chuckling, "since he doesn't have as big of a p—"

"FUS!"

A small shockwave burst from Kaya's mouth and sent Farkas stumbling backwards to land on his ass in the snow and Aela stumbled slightly even off to the side. Farkas blinked up at her in shocked amazement.

Vilkas stared in surprise as well. He'd been at least partly expecting that after what she'd said, and he was still surprised by it.

He had come to terms with the fact that his wife was the Dragonborn, and he was finally getting used to seeing her in the dragon scale armor... but he'd never seen her use her legendary power... and he certainly hadn't previously expected the first time he'd see it to be a situation like this...

"That... that was..." Farkas stuttered.

"A dragon shout," Aela said, eyes wide in awe.

"...Wow..." Farkas mumbled, still sitting in the snow.

"Congratulations," Kaya retorted with a smirk, "you're the first one to be hit with the Dragonborn's thuum since Alduin."

Vilkas laughed at Farkas's dumbfounded expression. Then Aela laughed too, and soon an entertained grin spread across Farkas's face as well.

"You might also be the first person to get shouted at and live to tell about it," Kaya added, smiling in amusement as she turned to huddle beside the fire next to Vilkas, "apart from the Greybeards of course."

Vilkas chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

Farkas's eyebrows rose in slight alarm at that, "you sayin' that could 've killed me?"

"That? No," Kaya giggled, "that was only one word, and a bit restrained at that," she assured them. "I have other shouts that I have outright killed people with though... like fire breath..."

"Remind me not to make you mad for real then..." Farkas shook his head as he got to his feet.

"Don't insult my husband's manhood," Kaya shrugged with a smirk.

"Oh come on," Farkas complained, "he's my brother, I have to tease him a—"

"Well since you're twins I'm going to assume whatever you say about size goes for both of you," Kaya interrupted.

"Now that's not fair!" Farkas disagreed as Vilkas laughed.

"I mean, the last time we were young enough and immature enough to actually compare, I—"

"Nope!" Aela interrupted Vilkas, holding her hands in the air, "nope, shut up brother, I don't want to know!"

Vilkas just laughed harder, feeling satisfied that Aela finally seemed to be as uncomfortable as she and Farkas had made him and Kaya the night before. He hoped they wouldn't continue this theme, but he suspected they would...

By Ysmir, this was going to be a long trip...