Getting to Know the Harbinger

Aela

*...and now for Aela's point of view of the events following Kodlak's cleansing...*

Aela sat down with a sigh to finally eat some dinner. It had been a week since Kodlak's funeral, and they'd finally made it back to Jorrvaskr that afternoon. Vilkas and Farkas seemed to mostly be back to their normal selves, but Kaya, their new Harbinger, still seemed to be in shock.
Aela had offered to help her friend move in to the Harbinger's chambers but Vilkas had gone down to help as well, and Aela suspected her shield-brother wanted some alone time with the new Harbinger.
Aela was happy enough for that but a little surprised honestly.
She'd never thought the brothers would take interest in anything beyond honor and glory in battle... she definitely never thought either of them would turn into the romantic type, especially not Vilkas... but the whole trip back from Winterhold she'd noticed the way Vilkas was stealing glances at Kaya... Aela had never seen such a soft look on her shield-brother's face... it was adorable actually...
...and it made Aela's heart ache...
She had thought at one point, years ago, that Farkas looked at her the same way.
At the time she'd wanted nothing to do with that idea. She was a warrior, a Companion... there was no room on her life to settle down with a lover. She was a battle hardened huntress... she craved the call of Hircine's hunt, and she certainly didn't need a man...

Most people had thought she and Skjor were involved... which was laughable honestly, he was like a father to her, a mentor and close friend. He'd helped soften the blow when the brothers chose to give up transformations along with Kodlak... when they rejected an entire part of the lives they'd shared... when they turned their backs on the hunt... when they broke Aela's heart...
No, she didn't need a man...
...but that didn't necessarily mean she didn't want one...

Skjor had been the only one to go hunting with after that. The hunts kept her sane, so she hadn't cared about the rumors they started. Let them think what they wanted... the only man she'd actually wanted had basically already rejected her anyway...
That was part of why it hurt to see Vilkas stealing such tender glances at Kaya... those soft expressions made him look like his brother...
Aela hadn't realized how she felt about the bigger twin until she'd basically lost them both. She thought she'd gotten over the whole thing years ago, but now that Skjor was gone, she was alone, and her heart just ached.