Eyes Opened

The Cauldron

Arcadia stood next to you as you were mixing a potion on the table. "You've grown over the last month. It's amazing. I might hire you as my assistant." She smiled softly.

"Thank you. You've taught me well." You stood up, rubbing your back.

"Are you still sore? Vilkas probably weighs a lot. Him tackling you to the ground couldn't have felt good."

You blushed a little, looking back down to the bottle as your poured in the liquid. "Well yeah, he was heavy and my back was scraped but it's not like he could help it. He was being a little sweet."

"Sweet?" Arcadia hummed lightly. "Well it was a good story. Sometimes I find it hard to believe."

"No, what's hard to believe is now I run jobs for them every now and then. It's not hard to believe a strong man like him could protect me. Carry me all the way back here." You smiled softly as you corked the bottle before looking up to Arcadia, who was smiling mischievously. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I didn't say a word." She walked to the counter, sitting on a stool and leaning on the wood with folded arms. "Just that I didn't expect him to be the one. I figured it would be Farkas."

"Figured what...?" You tilted your head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Your first crush. I expected it to be Farkas. He always swings by to see you. Boy's not the brightest torchbug but he's got a good heart."

You stared at her, thinking about the words carefully. "Farkas? But he's my friend. I-" You blinked, the conversation finally setting in. "Wait, crush? On Vilkas? What are you talking about? He's snobby and rude-" You leaned on the table, holding the potion in your hand, toying with it. You studied the liquid inside. "Handsome... strong. Well read. He's smart and his tongue is made of silver and-" You looked up to Arcadia, with wide eyes. "By the nines, I have a crush on him."

Arcadia chuckled. "There it is. I was wondering when it would dawn on you." She sat up. "You going to do anything about it?"

Your head shook slowly. "N.. No. What's there to do? I'm not his type. Nor Farkas' for that matter, but on that note: gross. Farkas is sweet but he's always been just a friend to me. Maybe for a split second... eh, even then- no. Just a caged woman dreaming of something more than she had, he was just the first guy to be nice to me." You sighed. "So now I have to deal with this. I wonder if there's a potion I can make that lets me forget."

She chuckled. "You can forget but you'd just fall back into these feelings again. It's not like the boy's going to get any less attractive."

You sighed. "You're right. He's also gotten less rude to me." You held the bottle close to your chest. "I even made him this potion. Ugh, I couldn't get him off my mind long enough to not inject him into this part of my life too."

Arcadia smiled. "Ah, to be young." Arcadia looked down. "You know... it's been slow today. As if your heart's not into it fully. Why don't you pack it up and go home? You've been talking about the work you've been doing for them for a week now. Maybe an Alchemist's life isn't for you."

"Then what? This is what I'm good at."

She hummed. "It seems to me courage is the one thing you're good at. Farkas told me you ran from home- a situation you didn't want to be in, changed your face and now go out with them on a regular basis to learn to fight. It takes courage to face the wilderness, especially with Nords. They never back down, no matter what." Arcadia looked to you. "So go, be the woman you want to be. Don't settle."

You simply nodded before walking to the door. "Thank you, Arcadia." She gave a soft smile as you opened the door, only to be greeted by the sight of Vilkas with his hand out. The man seemed spooked, which was not helped by your words. Your own heart jumped at the scare of him hearing anything that was said. "Vilkas! Oh, what are you..."

"Oh.. I uh..." He was stumbling over his words. "Were you leaving?" He was looking at you with those eyes, the ones you loved on you. "I uh, didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't. I uh..." You looked back to Arcadia who nodded. Your eyes moved back to him. "I was actually just getting off. Slow day. I'm not feeling too motivated today." He nodded to you. "But I did make something for you" You tapped the bottle, shyly. He seemed a little surprised.

"For me?" He took the bottle as you held it out. "But what-"

"Because you carried me all the way back to Jorrvaskr. Vilkas that was a horrible day. The worst I've had out and you got me through it." You smiled sweetly to him. "It will make you stronger. Not that you need to be just if you're ever in a pinch..."

He looked up to you, smiling. "I'll hold onto it, just for a rainy day. But you didn't have to do that."

"Oh!" You laughed, waving him off. "No trouble at all. I just had to find Emperor Parasol moss..." Arcadia's eyes widened looking to them both her jaw hanging open. "And troll fat."

Vilkas' eyes widened. "You... took down a troll?"

"Well... it was wounded already but yeah." You smiled. "I used a potion coated arrow to lower it's defense of fire, then my enchanted bow. Farengar was hard to convince to use his table, but I did it." You sighed. "I couldn't save the man it was after, though."

"All this... for me?" He nervously chuckled with pink cheeks.

You paused, looking up to him. It was a minor victory, but you managed to flirt with him a little without wreaking everything. The dynamic you had was sweet, it would take a delicate hand not to ruin what you had. "Well I mean... yeah. You did make sure I was safe and warm. You even let me use your bed when I was hurt. You didn't have to sleep on the floor..."

"It was no problem. I wanted to make sure you were okay. If you needed water during the night or got hungry I wanted to be there. We helped each other, it wasn't me saving you. This is what Shield siblings do."

You smiled softly. "But I'm not a shield sibling..." He blushed a little harder, rubbing his chin in thought. You looked back to Arcadia. "I'll see you later on?" You nodded before looking back to Vilkas, stepping out into the market. "So I suppose I should get out of your way. You came here for a reason."

He looked to you. "I came for you, actually." Your heart swelled a bit, looking at him. "I have a job. Bandits have captured Amren. His wife is paying us good money to get him back. They've asked specifically for you to come, for your healing magic." You felt a little deflated, rocking back on your heels and looking at him. "And... If I'm being honest... I'd like you to accompany me. I find myself feeling safer with you at my side."

"So you... want me at your side?" He heard the way that sounded, forcing him to rub the back of his neck.

After a moment he looked to you, holding the potion you made him. The man gulped. "Yes." It looked so hard for him to say that. "If... if you'll be at my side. Especially after what happened last time."

You blinked. "That wasn't your fault. You did everything you could." You paused for a moment before looking into his eyes. "I'd be honored to stand by you. You can see how much better I am that way. Besides, Amren has been nice to me, so has his wife. I want to help in any way I can." He raised a brow looking at you. After a moment you looked down. "W.. What?"

"Nothing, you just never seem to stop impressing me." Your eyes shot up to him. "You know more people in Whiterun than the whelps. You care. It's amazing." It was your turn to blush softly. "Let's go get some stuff. It's going to be a few days trip." You nodded before he started walking back towards the mead hall, a smile on his face.