Eyes Opened

Life of Your Own

The dark had started to fade, eyes slowly opening as you looked upon the very kind face of Farkas. Your lips pulled into a soft smile. "Oh. You're awake." He smiled. You tried to sit up but Farkas placed a strong hand on your shoulder. "Relax." He spoke softly, you simply eased back into your comfortable bed. You glanced around, noticing that you were in a room, not a sewer.

Vilkas sat in a chair with a book, but looked up after putting his finger on the page. "Farkas is right you nee-" He paused as your eyes met, swallowing hard. He shifted in his chair, staring at you. You had to wonder how bad you looked if he stopped mid sentence. Your hand weakly moved to your hair, now colored by magic. Your hand moved to to your nose, past your brow then down to your lips. Everything seemed fine, nothing hurt. "No." Vilkas spoke curtly. "There is nothing wrong with your face. Pardon my stares. I just noticed you kept your eyes. I didn't expect that. Most people when offered to 'fix' what's wrong with them would jump at the chance."

"I liked the way I looked." You spoke weakly, your hand finally coming down.

"So it seems." Vilkas had a hint of a smile on his face.

"You've been asleep for a few hours." Farkas sat on the side of your bed. "It's already night, we can head back in the morning."

"Didn't... you head back...?" You asked groggily.

"Vilkas wanted me to. He can be rough, so I thought it would be best if I stayed."

Vilkas looked to him. "I'm not that harsh brother." There was a slight chuckle in his voice. Your brow rose, surprised he had a playful side, but since meeting you he was starting to get a bit softer.

"Yea. To me, or the other circle. But- To the whelps, especially the new ones..."

"I'm not a whelp." You protested weakly, closing your eyes and relaxing your head into the soft pillow.

"You are." Vilkas closed the book after earmarking the page. He stood up, setting the book on the nightstand next to you. "But you are not our whelp."

Your brow furrowed albeit a bit painfully. You tried to sit up but Farkas applied light pressure to keep you back down. You took a moment, looking to Vilkas before taking in a deep breath. You had missed it before but he was smiling. His sharp tongue always found a way to cut into you, even when he was joking. "Yeah, so..." Your face relaxed. "Thank you for giving me the few lessons you did."

Farkas smiled softly. Vilkas nodded. "It was nothing. I-" He looked to his brother for a moment. "I've been thinking. Perhaps it's not very honor-bound to let someone who was in your kind of trouble just out into the world. You've been living with your parents for years, did they teach you how to care for yourself?"

You cleared your throat. "Well I... I do know how to cook as you know. I'm no Gourmet or anything, but I can make simple things. I've also have training in Alchemy, a tiny bit in smithing, nothing hands on... I've watched warriors fight but when I could, I spent my time in the blue palace, with our court Wizard. She's tough, strict. More so than even you, Vilkas." You teased for a moment. "So I'm better at enchanting than anything else. My mother put me in the bard's college for a bit too. I didn't care for it. Singing about the lives of others isn't as fun as living it. Or so I imagined." You sighed. "If I had to care for myself I could do it, I think. For how long, I don't know. Most of my money is gone now. A room at the Mare will take a lot of it."

Vilkas cleared his throat, looking to you. "Then stay in Jovaskarr, with us. The old man was right, we do have spare beds. It's not as if we accept all who apply, so they will be empty for a while. Stay there, heal us every now and then, maybe enchant a piece or two and you have lodging."

You raised a brow, staring at him. "So you want me to be a servant...?"

Farkas held his laughter in, Vilkas staring at your with a visibly twitching eye. "I never said that new blood."

"New blood?" You retorted. "So now I am your whelp." You watched as his face heated up with a bit of color.

"Mine...?" He shook his head. "No, I just call everyone that I-"

"Oh." You sounded a bit disappointed. "You can't even be bothered to learn my name?" Hearing him sigh heavily you heard his brother laugh, bringing a small smile to your lips.

"I can't win with you, lass. Can I?"

"Depends on your definition of winning." You didn't miss a beat when you spoke. He looked at you with a bit of respect in his eyes. "You won my trust already. Not many guys would drop everything to help a damsel for no reward."

"I came with my brother."

"Then why did you try to send him away?"

Farkas shook his head, watching the back and forth. Vilkas took in a deep breath. "Are you trying to test me?"

"Yes." You said bluntly. "Farkas told me that you were good with words. I was seeing how good. Your words are a charmer, usually, I'm told, when they're not directed at people like me." You chuckled for a moment. "But, we apologized. I'll lay off for a bit. But teach me more about weapons in exchange, please." You smiled sweetly at him, after a bit of thought and internal struggle the man agreed, pulling his chair up to your bed. You cleared your throat. "Yes." The word hung in the air for a while, before he looked more confused than ever.

"Yes, what?"

You chuckled. "Yes to staying at the hall until I get on my feet." Farkas smiled. "I'm going to be a live in healer for a while. Honestly I'm surprised you didn't have one before. It is such a great idea."

Farkas hummed. "Well. We might of had one but Aela likes a challenge. She seems to be okay with you though, so maybe we're okay."

Vilkas nodded. "We will be okay. Let me deal with her."

You looked to Vilkas, your bursts of arguing with him had fallen to the wayside. Farkas smirked a little, before poking his brother's shoulder. "You do that. She'll probably jump at the chance to show her how to draw a bow. If she's willing to learn."

You perk up. "I am!" Vilkas looked to you with a sly smile. "I want to try all the weapons. I will find one I can be comfortable with. I want to go back now."

Vilkas chuckled. "Oh, no. You still have some time to recover. You're excitement is a bit contagious though. How about I tell you some of the history of the companions. I know as much as Vignar now, though I can still remember it." His light tone was soothing, his voice soft in your ears. It comforted you to hear his chuckle when he spoke. It was a sweet melody, one begging you to get to know him better. "It will help you sleep, then you won't be so antsy to get back and start training."