"I Would Stand At Her Back, That The World Might Never Overtake Us..."

Crumbling Down

The week that followed was difficult for the Companions. Aela returned with Skjor's body the following day, and they had a funeral.
Aela moved her things to Skjor's old bedroom and gave Aylin her old room. It made Aela feel a little better, and it wasn't right for Aylin to still be stuck in the whelps' room now that she was a Circle member.
Aylin seemed quiet and lost in thought for several days after the funeral. Farkas uncertainly tried to find happy-medium between being there for her and giving her space. He wasn't sure it was working at all and he was afraid she was becoming distant... then one night he was lying awake in his bed when he heard the door to Aela's old room open and someone slip outside. It only took a quick sniff down the hall to confirm that it was Aylin. Farkas threw on a tunic and followed. He found her sitting at the rocky outcropping at the edge of the skyforge. She gave him a sad smile as he approached. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her golden hair was messily blowing in the breeze. She was wearing a pale blue tunic-like dress that he'd never seen before.
Farkas sat down beside her on the rocks looking over the wall and out at the plains beneath Whiterun. They sat in silence for several minutes before Aylin finally spoke.
"It was my fault," she said quietly, staring out at the plains. "I took too long to get control and Aela and I weren't there to back him up."
"That wasn't your fault," Farkas replied gently, "they shouldn't have tried to turn you in secret, and he shouldn't have gone in alone."
"They said Kodlak was trying to get rid of the gift, which was why you and Vilkas wouldn't have helped us."
Farkas sighed, "I agree with Kodlak and Vilkas," he said quietly, "but if I knew you wanted to take the beast blood I would have been there to help you."
Aylin put her face in her hands and shook her head. "I thought I wanted it... " she sighed. "I thought it would make me stronger and help me with this Dragonborn destiny I'll have to deal with... but this... it never turns off... I have to always be in control..." she shook her head again, "I didn't know all the details... they rushed me into the decision... I should have come to you..."
Farkas's mind flooded with a mix of sympathy, anger, and regret.
"I'm sorry," he replied in a low voice, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "I probably should have told you more about it back at Dustmans Cairn. I didn't want to scare you away from the Companions, so I used Skjor and Aela's description of it. I shouldn't have sugarcoated the truth."
Aylin let out a bitter sounding chuckle.
"Don't you dare try blame yourself," she said shaking her head, "you've been nothing but friendly and helpful to me since I got to Whiterun."
Farkas had no response to that but to move his hand slowly to her other shoulder and give her a gentle half-hug. She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder, making him very aware neither of them were wearing their armor. His wolf pulled at him to make his move, but Farkas knew that this was not the time. She didn't need a wolf trying to claim his mate right now, she needed her shield-brother, her friend. Farkas was also aware that she could hear his heartbeat as well as he could hear hers now. So he focused on keeping his pulse even, and just held her there for several minutes as they looked out at the plains.
Farkas thought about how much had changed since that day he'd first seen her...
Aylin had come such a long way from the traveling hunter from Valenwood who'd escaped Helgen and then charged into a fight with a giant... she was a proper warrior now, not just a whelp. She was a full fledged member of the Companions' Circle. She had been known to wipe out entire bandit camps alone, or with just her housecarl for backup... Farkas was proud of her, which only made his wolf want her more.
But now was not the time, he reminded himself, that was not what she needed now.
"Kodlak thinks he's figured out a way to cure us," Farkas told her after several minutes.
"Really?" Aylin looked up at him eagerly.
"Vilkas and I have been helping him collect information, and he's been studying it for years," Farkas said with a nod. "You should go talk to him about it tomorrow."
Aylin looked back at him with a relieved smile. "I promised Aela I'd help her take care of some things tomorrow," she said, "but I'll go talk to Kodlak when I get back."
Farkas nodded and Aylin put her head back on his shoulder for a moment before she turned and wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him. He did not manage to keep his pulse steady as he slowly wrapped his other arm around her.
"Thank you Farkas," she mumbled into his collarbone. Farkas responded by simple holding her a little tighter. A moment later he heard her heartbeat pick up speed, as if she'd suddenly registered how close they were. She picked her head up and slowly let go of him. Farkas slowly released her as well, wishing she would protest, but she didn't. He looked down at her and saw she was blushing.
"I should get to bed," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
"Alright then," Farkas tried not to sound too disappointed as she got up.

The next morning Aylin greeted Farkas with her usual smile and they shared breakfast before she took off on Aela's mission.
She didn't come back until late the following day. She'd greeted Farkas warmly as usual, but hadn't spent time to talk before going to bed, and the next morning she headed back out after a quick breakfast. She was gone all day again, and the pattern continued the whole week. It was driving Farkas crazy, he missed her. She didn't seem to be trying to keep things from him, she was just hardly there, and when she was, she was too tired to talk much. Farkas didn't like not knowing what was going on. What information he did get out of her sounded like Aela was on a violent warpath. It worried him. He told Kodlak his concerns and when Aylin returned one afternoon Kodlak summoned her to his study.
Farkas went out to the yard to train Torvar. He assumed Aylin would be out to train when she got done in Kodlak's study, since she was home with daylight to spare. But she never came. Farkas quit his own training a little early to go inside and see where she'd gone. To his disappointment, he learned she'd left on another mission. She'd barely had time to put her stuff down, he thought grumpily as went down to his room. His feelings were hurt. When he opened the door something small in the middle of the floor caught his attention. It was a folded sheet of parchment... it looked like it had been slid under the door. Confused, he picked it up and read:

Farkas,
Didn't want to interrupt your training. I'm done hunting with Aela. I'm off on an errand for Kodlak now. You were right, Kodlak's figured out the cure. I'm glad I'm getting to help find it now too.
I know I haven't trained with you in a week. I swear I'm not slacking. I'll be back as soon as this is done.
— Aylin

Farkas reread the letter twice before he folded it back up with a sigh. He went back upstairs and noticed Lydia was having dinner with Vilkas. Farkas thought they should initiate the housecarl as well, she was even here when Aylin wasn't now... though that might have been more to do with Vilkas... Farkas shook his head and brought his dinner down to his room with him. It didn't make him feel any better knowing Aylin had gone off wherever it was alone. He finished dinner with an extra bottle of mead and went to bed early.

Farkas awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of his door opening. Several things registered in his mind at once; there was a commotion coming from down the hall; three figures were in his doorway; and he smelled silver. The three Silver Hand members rushed into his room, but Farkas was already up with his great sword in hand. With a furious battle yell Farkas cleaved into two of them at once. The third managed to catch him across the arm with his sword and the silver burned. Farkas gave another howl of rage as he pulled his sword free and swung it mercilessly down at his assailant. The Silver Hand member raised his sword to deflect, but Farkas came down with such force, skyforge steel proved to be stronger than silver, and the man died quickly.
Farkas heard similar yells of rage coming from his brother's room and he charged across the hall. He arrived in time to see Vilkas dispatch of his last attacker as well. The brothers exchanged understanding glances, before Farkas darted back to his own room. He put his armor on in record time, and then charged down the hall to the rest of the fray.

All of the Companions fought well, every one of the whelps had impressed that night. The Silver Hand had had them outnumbered ten to one, but the Companions had still prevailed. Or at least that was what Farkas thought... the few survivors escaped over the wall, running with their tails between their legs, and Farkas went back inside to survey the damage.
What he found inside made Farkas's whole world come crumbling down... there, in the middle of the hall, stripped of his armor, Kodlak, Farkas's second father and mentor, lay dead.