When Kodlak awoke, he found Danica hovering over him.
"You're awake, thank the Eig-Nine! Thank the Nine"
"Where?"
"The temple" She soothed, helping him with a health potion "You were brought back here by Gunnar"
"Gunnar? Where is he?"
"Right here"
The two looked to see a blood splashed Gunnar, Farkas, Vilkas and Alea coming into the temple, all looking rather tired and worn. But strapped to Gunnar's back was a familiar looking axe.
"Wuuthrad" Kodlak managed.
"Aye, we finally managed to bring the damned thing together again" Gunnar sighed "And I wanted to know something"
The old warrior came to the old harbinger's side and kneeled down so that they were closer. He reached out and took one of Kodlak's paled hands in one of his blood stained ones. The old warrior took a moment to look at their clashing hands, his stained with blood and the colors of life and not yet too worn against the near bloodless, age worn hand in his.
"We're ready to go free your soul, but..." He sighed "If we do, you will lose the strength of the beast blood... and it's likely that you will die, do you truly want this?"
"I told you already" Kodlak wheezed, gripping Gunnar’s hand as hard as he could "I'd rather die human then live a beast"
"Alright"
"Do not mourn me Gunnar, my time to go to Sovngarde" Kodlak managed a small smile "And it was an honor to meet a man like you before then"
Gunnar sniffled but let go of Kodlak's hand and got to his feet.
"Then we're off and, goodbye Kodlak, go to Sovngarde"
Gunnar walked out while the other Companions said their goodbyes and final words, never expecting to see the old Harbinger again, before leaving for Ysgramor's tomb with heavy hearts.
~
The trek was long and tiring.
The four Companions barely rested, walking and running almost night and day, only stopping when their tired legs couldn’t carry them anymore and the hunger and thirst threatened their mettle or if the weather proved too harsh.
During this time, none but Gunnar seemed to have it together.
Alea cried often, bursting out into tears in such random bouts that they often remained on guard for animals and bandits. Gunnar had to comfort her, like he was of older kin, just to get her to stop sniffing miserably all the time.
Farkas suffered two panic attacks when he saw Frostbite Spiders, one of which he ran into nearby foliage and Gunnar had to go hunt him down and drag him back. Both times Gunnar calmed him down and reassured him that nothing would happen to him with all four of them there.
And Vilkas… well, he was an emotional mess. His feelings were jumbled and scattered, and whenever he tried to reach out and make sense of the mess, it often scurried away.
He was mad because this whole mess was Alea’s and Gunnar’s fault, because with Gunnar’s age he should have known better than his wild revenge killing spree. And mad that the old man because he could have gotten someone else killed, or worse himself, and hadn’t bothered to think about that little fact.
He was sad because he was losing Kodlak, a man that had been like a father to him and his brother for years. And sad because he had lost Skjor, another person who had been there for years, that had died such a horrible death and had such little time to be properly mourned.
He felt longing because he knew he wanted now of all times to be by Gunnar’s side, to throw himself at the seemingly perfect old man. He longed for that peace that he had had before Gunnar arrived and for those feelings that the old man stirred in him and his wolf, for the life he had brought into the Companions. And he longed for that wholesomeness that had been there but a while ago as all the Companions sat around in the Great Hall enjoying life.
But he couldn’t speak any of these things right now. Farkas was busy dealing with his fears and undoubtedly his own sadness of Kodlak’s soon coming end, Alea was to blame for the whole mess and Gunnar… was out of the question. He was the reason everything was so jumbled and messed up, he was the reason the Companion’s lives had changed so much, he was the reason Vilkas felt so conflicted.
So the knight stewed in his inner turmoil as they struggled to make it further north, letting his thoughts and emotions churn in hopes that they’d settle themselves soon.
Old Scales 37a/42
"You're awake, thank the Eig-Nine! Thank the Nine"
"Where?"
"The temple" She soothed, helping him with a health potion "You were brought back here by Gunnar"
"Gunnar? Where is he?"
"Right here"
The two looked to see a blood splashed Gunnar, Farkas, Vilkas and Alea coming into the temple, all looking rather tired and worn. But strapped to Gunnar's back was a familiar looking axe.
"Wuuthrad" Kodlak managed.
"Aye, we finally managed to bring the damned thing together again" Gunnar sighed "And I wanted to know something"
The old warrior came to the old harbinger's side and kneeled down so that they were closer. He reached out and took one of Kodlak's paled hands in one of his blood stained ones. The old warrior took a moment to look at their clashing hands, his stained with blood and the colors of life and not yet too worn against the near bloodless, age worn hand in his.
"We're ready to go free your soul, but..." He sighed "If we do, you will lose the strength of the beast blood... and it's likely that you will die, do you truly want this?"
"I told you already" Kodlak wheezed, gripping Gunnar’s hand as hard as he could "I'd rather die human then live a beast"
"Alright"
"Do not mourn me Gunnar, my time to go to Sovngarde" Kodlak managed a small smile "And it was an honor to meet a man like you before then"
Gunnar sniffled but let go of Kodlak's hand and got to his feet.
"Then we're off and, goodbye Kodlak, go to Sovngarde"
Gunnar walked out while the other Companions said their goodbyes and final words, never expecting to see the old Harbinger again, before leaving for Ysgramor's tomb with heavy hearts.
~
The trek was long and tiring.
The four Companions barely rested, walking and running almost night and day, only stopping when their tired legs couldn’t carry them anymore and the hunger and thirst threatened their mettle or if the weather proved too harsh.
During this time, none but Gunnar seemed to have it together.
Alea cried often, bursting out into tears in such random bouts that they often remained on guard for animals and bandits. Gunnar had to comfort her, like he was of older kin, just to get her to stop sniffing miserably all the time.
Farkas suffered two panic attacks when he saw Frostbite Spiders, one of which he ran into nearby foliage and Gunnar had to go hunt him down and drag him back. Both times Gunnar calmed him down and reassured him that nothing would happen to him with all four of them there.
And Vilkas… well, he was an emotional mess. His feelings were jumbled and scattered, and whenever he tried to reach out and make sense of the mess, it often scurried away.
He was mad because this whole mess was Alea’s and Gunnar’s fault, because with Gunnar’s age he should have known better than his wild revenge killing spree. And mad that the old man because he could have gotten someone else killed, or worse himself, and hadn’t bothered to think about that little fact.
He was sad because he was losing Kodlak, a man that had been like a father to him and his brother for years. And sad because he had lost Skjor, another person who had been there for years, that had died such a horrible death and had such little time to be properly mourned.
He felt longing because he knew he wanted now of all times to be by Gunnar’s side, to throw himself at the seemingly perfect old man. He longed for that peace that he had had before Gunnar arrived and for those feelings that the old man stirred in him and his wolf, for the life he had brought into the Companions. And he longed for that wholesomeness that had been there but a while ago as all the Companions sat around in the Great Hall enjoying life.
But he couldn’t speak any of these things right now. Farkas was busy dealing with his fears and undoubtedly his own sadness of Kodlak’s soon coming end, Alea was to blame for the whole mess and Gunnar… was out of the question. He was the reason everything was so jumbled and messed up, he was the reason the Companion’s lives had changed so much, he was the reason Vilkas felt so conflicted.
So the knight stewed in his inner turmoil as they struggled to make it further north, letting his thoughts and emotions churn in hopes that they’d settle themselves soon.