WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS HEAVY SMUT IN IT SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT STUFF THEN SKIP THAT PART OF THIS CHAPTER!

Hope didn't know long she had been standing out in the hallway, staring down the direction Vilkas's room was in. It could of been hours fall all she knew.

Every time she would take a step down the hall, she'd retract it and then curse herself for being a coward. 'Come on, this isn't the first time you've had to do something like this with Vilkas.' She told herself as she remembered the night she told him she knew what he was. So, after shutting her eyes for a long moment and taking a deep breath, she finally starts walking and this time forces herself not to stop.

A heavy sigh leaves Vilkas as he sits on the edge of his bed with his elbows resting on his knees and his head bowed. He stared down at his bare feet on the floor and couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Not what happened with Hope after she killed the dragon, but what he did afterwords. 'Such a moron.' He told himself as he lifted his hands up and pressed them against his eyes.

He wanted to talk to Hope, tell her he didn't mean the things he said, but he didn't know where she was. When they returned to Jorrvaskr she wasn't there, he looked everywhere in the building and couldn't find her. So for all he knows...she's gone, she's run away and honestly...who could blame her? To have all of that happen to her in one day...in no more than a month...Vilkas didn't blame her at all, he just wished he could've said he was sorry before she left; if that's what she really did anyways...

A hesitant knock on Vilkas's door makes him jump. He sits up straight and looks at his door with furrowed eyebrows. Why would anybody be bothering him now? What could anybody possibly want? He sighed as he slowly stood from his bed and made his way over to his door. The only person he could really imagine bothering him right now was Kodlak and it was kind of expected. Especially since he didn't really say anything to him about what he did when they returned to Jorrvaskr.

But to his surprise, it was Hope that stood on the other side of his door. "Liah." He says her real name with out thinking and she doesn't who any sign of noticing. All she does is give him a small half-smile before looking down towards the floor. "I..I was looking for you earlier but couldn't find you..." Vilkas began, but he's suddenly at lost for words.

He feels so ashamed for what happened and how he acted towards Hope when he really should of just been there for her and comforted her. "I uh..." He sighs as he rests a hand on the back of his neck. "I thought maybe...you had left.." He admitted.

Hope quickly looks back up at him with her eyebrows pinched together. "You thought I left? Left for good?" She questioned and he nodded in response. "I'd..never do that..at least not for good..." She said with her eyes going back down to the floor. Now Vilkas is the one looking at her with his eyebrows pinched together, catching on to the upset tone in her voice.

Hope slightly looks back up at him before quickly looking around her. "Would it be okay if I came in? I'd rather have this conversation in private." She said and Vilkas nodded while standing to the side to let her pass. When she's in the room, Vilkas shuts his door and then turns towards her. She has her back to him and her head down. He watches her slowly wrap her arms around herself before speaking. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier..." She said quietly.

"Why are you apologizing? I should be the one to say sorry." Vilkas replied as he walked around to her front. She slowly looks up at him and this time holds his gaze for a moment before looking away again. "I wasn't thinking, I just panicked after...what happened." He explained. "I just..." He trails off, his eyes scanning the ceiling of his room before he sighs and slowly wraps his arms around Hope-taking her by surprise just a bit. "I just don't want to lose you..." He whisperers as he brings her body to his. She tenses up under the muscles of his arms but then relaxes and gets lost in the embrace for just a moment, but only a moment...

Hope slowly places her hands on his chest and pushes herself out of his arms, making him look down at her confused. "There was another reason why I wanted to talk to you..." She said, refusing to look at him because honestly if she did, she knew she would break.

Vilkas stares at her hard, trying to read the emotions in her eyes and in her voice; and he just knew...he wasn't going to like what was coming next.

"Tomorrow..." She trails off to swallow a hard lump rising in her chest, a lump that hurt so much that it made her chest ache. "Tomorrow I have to leave." Her voice breaks and her eyes water. She tries to stay strong, but she can't and the tears begin to flow. "What do you mean you have to leave?" Vilkas questioned with his eyebrows furrowed.

Hope slowly looks up at him, showing the tears in her eyes and the small quiver in her lip. "I have-" She has to stop to wipe her tears away and to try and regain control of her emotions, but it was hard. He watches her wipe the tears away from her eyes with the palms of her hands, she then takes in a deep and steady breath before speaking again. "You know..that weird thunderous sound we heard outside of Whiterun?" She asked and Vilkas nodded.

"Well...in case you didn't know...I guess that came from a group called the Greybeards."

'The Greybeards...' Yeah, Vilkas had heard of them before and he even had a hunch earlier that it was them..but he didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to know because he knew it would...they would...

"And apparently...they were calling for me..."

Yeah...Vilkas already knew...

"What are you going to do?" Vilkas asked with a voice he tried to keep strong...but struggled to..

"I..I have to go to them..." She answered. "Why?" Vilkas quickly questioned, making her look at him again. "So what they were summoning you? So what when you killed that dragon you absorbed its soul? So what that you're the dragonborn!" He shouted, taking them both by surprise. "To oblivion with the Greybeards! To oblivion with the dragons! You don't have to do a damn thing!"

Hope stares at him surprised for a moment, watching his chest fall and rise rapidly. Seeing the clear struggles he was going through with everything happening inside him. Vilkas was never good at handling his emotions, especially when things like this happen to him...and Hope knew that. So her eyes soften and her hand slowly reaches up to rest on the side of his face.

She feels his jaw tighten beneath her palm but then slowly relax against it. They stare into each others eyes for a long moment, allowing the overwhelming thickness in the air to disperse and the emotions inside him to come to a halt. Then she gets a hold of her own emotions before speaking. "You know...you know that's not true." She said making him tightly shut his eyes and move his head away from her hand.

She watches him turn and walk towards his bed. He sits down on the edge of it and runs both of his hand through his hair, scratching at his scalp on the way to the back of his head. Hope slowly approaches him. She lets Vilkas sit there for a moment in silence, allowing him to get a hold of the emotions inside him once more.

After a small moment of silence, he slowly lowers his hands from his head and looks up at Hope with eyes that showed much heaviness. "But why you do you have to do it?" He asked in a quiet tone of voice, one that showed the types of feelings inside of him and one that broke her heart. "I don't know..." She answered with her bottom lip trembling. "Why is it always you..." Vilkas sighed as he dropped his head again and rested a hand on the back of his neck.

"I wish I could answer that..." Hope replied with a small, sad smile. Vilkas scratches at his head at a fast and aggravated pace before quickly standing up and grabbing Hope by the shoulders. She looks up at him confused and surprised. "If you're going, than I'm going with you." He said with a confident and stubborn voice.

Hope gives him another sad smile. "You can't." She tells him. "Why?" Vilkas asks with his hands remaining firm on her shoulders. "Because this...this is something I have to do alone...at least...for right now." She told him.

"That doesn't really answer my question." Vilkas pointed out, showing his irritation. "It does answer your question Vilkas, you just don't want to accept it." Hope replied.

Vilkas lets out a loud and aggravated groan before roughly letting go of Hopes shoulders and walking around the room at a fast pace. Hope watches him for a moment before speaking again. "Vilkas, please just try to understand-" He cuts her off. "Understand what? That you're leaving by yourself and doing gods knows what out there!" He shouts.

"Understand that you, yet again, want to refuse my help and die!?" He shouts again. "Vilkas, this is the only way I can find out anything at all! You saw the destruction for yourself at the tower, you saw what a dragon is capable of and you've learned that there are more than one out there!" Hope argues. "If I'm...if I am really...Dragonborn than you know like I do that...I'm...the only one that can..." She stutters as the words spill from her mouth because they just sound insane. Dragonborn, the only one that can stop the dragons, the only one that can keep others from sharing the same fate as Helgen. No, that wasn't her, it wasn't supposed to be her...but then again..it was and the road laid out before her was clear.

Vilkas suddenly comes to a halt and Hope stares at him with her eyebrows knit together. She watches him slowly lift a hand up to his face and grip the bridge of his nose with his fingers. She waits for a moment before speaking again. "The Greybeards...are the only ones that can help me Vilkas...the only ones that can make me understand what is happening and what it is I have to do..." She was right, Vilkas knew she was right but he didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to think about her leaving and imagining what Jorrvaskr will be like with out her...what he will be like with out her...

With a sigh Vilkas slowly lowers his hand away from his face and looks down at the wooden floor beneath his feet. He stands there in silence for a moment, trying to think of anything he could say that might change her mind..but non come to him; non come to him because he knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind. She was stubborn, hard headed, independent, and brave. She was the bravest, strongest, and most beautiful woman he had ever known.

Gods she was so beautiful and just having her scent around him always made him go crazy and just picturing himself with out that, with out her, tore his insides up. Vilkas tightens his jaw as he turns his head away from Hope. He's gotten so used to being around her he doesn't want to think about things going back to normal with out her.

But it's not forever, right? 'I need to do this alone...at least for now...' The words she spoke just moments ago float in his mind. For now...only for now was she leaving, only for now was she going alone. He didn't know exactly how long "for now" was going to last, but it was something to hold onto. Something to remind him that...it wasn't going to be forever. Something to remind him that she will come back, she will come back to him.

Although she was leaving for now, she was still here tonight and she was still here with him...

So, with out even thinking about it, Vilkas turns and after one giant step he wraps his arms around Hope and immediately connects his lips to hers. She's surprised at first, her body tenses against his but then slowly relaxes as she starts to kiss him back. They stand there for a long moment, lost in their passionate kiss before Vilkas pulls away and looks deeply into her eyes with one hand resting on the side of her face.

"Stay with me tonight." He said, taking her by surprise again. Hope stares at him with her eyes wide and eyebrows knit together. "I know you probably have to prepare for tomorrow but..." He trails off to slowly press his forehead into hers while keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "Just...just stay here, with me tonight. I don't know how long you're going to be gone and I just..I just need you here with me tonight...on your last night..."

Hope stares at him for a moment, her eyes wide and her lips just partially open. She knows she shouldn't, she knows it would only make leaving harder, but...she kisses him anyways. Bringing him into a deep and passionate kiss that he takes over quickly. She knows what she's doing is wrong, she knows it'll be just as hard for Vilkas to say goodbye, but at the moment she doesn't care and neither does he. Because at the moment they have each other and that was enough.

Vilkas slowly moves his hand to the back of Hope's head as she finds herself being backed up into a wall. He presses her into it and presses himself onto her, taking in as much of her as he possibly could. He places a hand on the dip of her back as he slowly grips her hair between his fingers. Earning him a quiet moan like back at Bleakfalls Barrow. Vilkas can't help himself when he grips her hair a bit harder to force her head back a bit so that he could treat the soft flesh on her neck with butterfly kisses.

She whimpers when he stops at a certain spot located on the middle of her neck. He takes notice to the sensitivity of the area and begins to suck on it, leaving a fairly dark bruise, leaving his mark. Hope grips his shoulders tightly as she feels him slowly slide his tongue up her neck to her jaw line. She tightly pressed her legs together, desperately trying to fight against the unfamiliar feelings appearing in her body.

She was breathing hard while Vilkas moved his hand from her back to his side and started to feel up her curves. He was moving fast, gods, Vilkas was almost acting like an animal against her but he couldn't help it. The moment she kissed him, he lost it. He let go of control and allowed the lust he had held back and the want he had for her to surface.

She gasps when he quickly grips her bottom and he takes the opportunity to claim her mouth once more. He feels her tense up against him when he slips his tongue into her mouth but after a small minute, she relaxes and allows him take control over her mouth.

They're lost in the deep and heavy kiss for a long moment before Vilkas grips her leg from behind and lifts it to meet his hip. Vilkas's fast movement surprises her, even scares her because for a moment she thought she was going to lose her balance and fall. She quickly pulls away from Vilkas and holds onto him tightly, still not sure if she had good enough balance like this. But Vilkas had her and he wasn't going to ever let her fall.

She holds on tighter when Vilkas slowly lifts her up a bit from the floor with the hand that once was holding her hair now holding the other side of her bottom while the other remained gripping onto her leg. He looks down at her, watching her slowly peer down at the position he had her in now with his eyes clouded over with lust.

Slowly, he moves her leg to the side a bit and pushes his pelvis against her core. Causing a sharp gasp to escape from her. She tenses up bad against him and holds onto his shoulders tightly as she looks back up at him. Another unfamiliar feeling shoots through her nether regions when she sees the look in his eyes. When she sees the want he's been holding back for a long time now.

He keeps his eyes on hers as he slowly begins to grind himself against her core, causing friction that they both desperately ended up needing. Her leg muscles tense in his grip as her breathing quickens while he continues to grind into her. He did so, because he needed to know if this was what she really wanted. He needed to know now if she wanted to go any further because he feared once he's started...he won't be able to stop; and by the looks she gives him as well as the slow movement coming from her hips, shows him that she wants him, no, needs him.

So with out wasting any time, Vilkas quickly sweeps her off her feet, earning him another surprised gasp before laying her down onto his bed. As he climbs on top of her, he takes a moment to enjoy the way she looks laying beneath him. He admires how her hair spread out around her, looking like waves of blood and her lips, glowing red from all of the passionate kisses he gave her. In fact, looking at them and admiring the color he made them only made him want to kiss them more. So he does and she kisses him back. He feels her slowly move her arms around his neck, bringing him closer so that she could take as much of his lips as he was taking of hers.

He slowly pulls away from her and looks into her eyes, seeing the innocence in them. She wanted to be with him, but he could see she was nervous, afraid even. So to try and calm the nerves inside her, he places a soft kiss on her lips and then another on her cheek before trailing his lips down to her jawline. She closed her eyes as she felt him kiss along her jaw-line until he reached her neck and began to kiss down it, earning himself a small whimper.

Gods, the sounds she made and the way she moved beneath him as he ran a hand down her curve drove him crazy. It almost made him lose control, lose control of himself and the wolf inside that was begging to be let released so that it could claim her like it had been wanting to for so long now. This moment thought, surprised him because it was not a moment he would of never imagined himself in with her in the beginning.

In the beginning...gods the beginning seemed so long ago now, when she was nothing more but a girl who wanted adventure and excitement-and he was a boy who could hardly stand to be around her for a time, but after a time, he found himself wanting nothing more but to be around her. He was crazy about her and he regretted that it took this long to admit that.

She tenses up when she feels Vilkas's hands start to unstrap her armor, but she doesn't stop him. She watches him fight with the leather strips with eyes filled with hunger and want, for a moment she could see the wolf inside him behind his eyes but she knew he was holding it back, in fact..she knew he was holding a lot back right now by the way his muscles and jaw would tighten every time she so much as breathed.

Vilkas kept his eyes glued to her torso as he struggled with the last strap, desperately wanting to see what he's imagined and dreamed about for months. Finally, it's undone and he doesn't waste any time opening the leather caress that hid her body from him. A frustrated growl leaves his throat when he sees -like most women- she had a breast cover on. He starts to move his hand to undo the ties around her neck, but to his surprise, she's already reaching for them.

He looks at her and notices a red blush had taken over her freckled cheeks. He slowly runs a finger down her cheek before lowering his head down and placing a deep kiss onto her lips. The kiss relaxes her and even gets a bit more heated as she starts untying the ties behind her back. When she's done pulling them loose, Vilkas slowly pulls away and looks down at the now undone cloth lying on her breasts. Before even reaching for it, Vilkas looks back to her to make sure it was okay and her eyes tells him that it was okay.

Vilkas exhales a hot breath of air as he slowly reaches for the thin cloth and pulls it away. Heat fills his body and reaches his head as he looks down at something he'd imagined for a long time now and they were better than he ever thought they'd be. Slowly, he moves a hand to one and grabs it gently; causing Hope to stir and move beneath him, but not because it was uncomfortable, because it was new and it stirred new things inside her.

He massaged the one breast as he grabbed the other one and he couldn't believe how well they fit in his hand, it was almost like they were made just for his hands. Hope presses her legs together tightly as she breaths heavily beneath him. Vilkas slowly leans down and kisses down her neck as he continues to massage both of her breasts. Hope whimpers when he kisses down from her neck, to her shoulder, and then to her chest.

First he only admires the brown-pink buds before slowly taking one of them in his mouth, earning a jump and small whimper from Hope. He can't help but smile as he sucks hard on her breast, everything he does surprises her and he can't wait to see how she reacts to the rest of everything he had planned..he just hoped he will be able to control himself because honestly he was having a hard time doing that.

Vilkas kisses the bud before moving to her other breast and giving it the same kind of treatment. Now Hope was a mess under neath him, her heart was beating hard against her chest and heat was spreading all through out her body causing her to press her thighs together hard. She moaned a bit louder than she meant to when Vilkas nipped her nipple and he was pleased by it.

Vilkas plants a kiss on top of that bud before running his tongue down her body, making her back arch. He stops at the top of her pants and leaves small kisses on her thighs before grabbing her pants by the side. He was ready to pull them off, but she stops him by quickly grabbing his wrist. "Wait..." She breaths, making Vilkas sit up and look at her.

He watches her slightly bite her lower lip and eye his cotton shirt. She was beginning to feel weird being the only one exposed like she was. Vilkas gives her a half grin before reaching up and pulling his shirt off, revealing the hidden muscles and chest hair beneath. She examined and admired the way he looked, she figured he would look...really good and he did. She examines the dark chest hair spread out on his upper chest and then followed it down to a hair line that disappeared into his pants.

She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was too nervous. Gods, even after how far she's come and everything Vilkas has done to her, she was still too nervous, too shy. 'Don't be...' She tells herself, but it was easier said than done...

Still though, she slowly reaches out and rests her palm against his abdomen, feeling the hard muscle that's been built up in his abs over the years. She shyly looks up at him and he seems to be enjoying it. Vilkas looks into her eyes as he slowly lays his body down on top of hers, pressing his chest against her breast so that they were completely skin to skin. He shivers when he feels the soft skin of her mounds press against his hard chest. He leans his head down and takes her lips into a deep kiss once again, enjoying every second of it.

Hope slowly ran her hands up his sides and to his back. She feels him shiver violently when she gently runs her nails down his back, she can't help but run her nails down along his ribs and to his abdomen-giving her another violent shiver from the massive Companion on top of her.

Vilkas shifts himself between Hope's legs and begins to grind himself into her core again, causing Hope to dig her nails into his sides on accident. The action earns her a deep groan though, one that rumbles through his chest and into her, sending waves heat down her legs. Vilkas can't resist the urge to pick up his pace, so grinds against her faster and harder with his hot breath hitting the side of her neck. Hope holds onto him tightly as she breaths and moans against his ear, encouraging him to keep going.

"Vilkas." She breaths, making him come to a slow stop. He slowly kisses up her neck towards her jaw before leaning up to look down at her. His eyes are full of lust as they look deeply into Hope's eyes. "I don't think I can wait any longer..." He whispers, his voice husky and dry. He watches her eyebrows quickly pinch together and her eyes show a bit of fear. He stares at her for a moment before speaking. "..If you don't want to go any farther-" She cuts him off. "I-I do." She stutters. "I do, I've just..." she trails off, her voice showing her nerves. "I've just never done anything like this before..."

Vilkas's eyes soften as he runs a finger down her cheek before leaning down and giving her lips a soft kiss. "I know..." He whispers before giving her another kiss. "Tell me what you want." He said while leaning up again. Hope stares up at him for a moment, her eyes showing more of her nerves than before. "I..." She trails off, becoming too shy to say.

Vilkas watches her bite her lower lip for a second before finally answering him. "I..I want you..." She admits with her cheeks showing a bit of color. "Are you sure?" He asks and she nods in response.

She hears a deep ragged sigh leave Vilkas as he leans down and kisses the freckles that decorate her upper chest. He then runs his fingers down her curves before stopping at the top of her leather pants. He doesn't waste time by taking off her bottom ware piece of piece, he just grabs her pants along with her small-cloths and pulls them all off at once, including her boots.

Suddenly feeling exposed, Hope quickly closes her legs to hide herself as Vilkas tosses her cloths to the side. He then gently rubs the sides of her legs while also planting small kisses on the tops of her knees. Hope bites her bottom lip as she slowly opens her legs back up, completely revealing herself to him.

Her heat hits him like a wall and for a moment, he thought he was going to completely lose himself. He has to take a minute to regain control over the beast inside and once he does, he takes in Hope completely for just a moment. Looking down at her, seeing everything of her was just mesmerizing. "Gods..." Vilkas breaths as he quickly pulls down his pants as well as his own small-cloths and tosses them to the side, exposing him and the painfully hard member that was hidden beneath his trousers.

He slowly lays down on top of her and kisses her neck as he reaches down and gently begins to touch her. Her body tenses and she's immediately a moaning mess against him as his fingers find her most sensitive area. They run circles around the bundle of nerves before a single finger is dipped into her so that Vilkas can know exactly how tight she was.

She gasps and her legs tighten around his waist as he slowly fingers her. She's tight and he's afraid he might hurt her, so he knows he needs to be slow and careful. Two things he's always had a hard time being when in bed with someone...but Hope was different and he would do anything for her.

Vilkas removes his hand from her womanhood and lifts his face to hers so that their eyes can meet again. "Are you ready?" He asks and she slowly nods, her fear beginning to resurface in her eyes but she doesn't let it get in the way. She was ready, she was ready to just be his.

Slowly, Vilkas shifts his hips, pushing the tip of his member into her tight core. She gasps and jumps at the sudden pain and clings onto him tightly. Vilkas stops for just a moment, letting her adjust to his size before pushing more of himself inside her and she gasps again with tears forming in the corner of her eyes this time.

She breaths hard against him as her nails dig into his back as he continues to push himself into her more. Once he's in all the way, it taks everything he has to stop and to wait. He looks down at her and wipes her tears away before kissing the trails they left behind on the sides of her cheeks.

He continues to kiss her face as she moves her hips just a little bit, motioning him to continue. Vilkas can't help but sigh in relief when he starts to thrust inside of her, feeling the warmth and tightness of her core around his length was just maddening and every single time he would move inside her he was sure he was going to lose himself; but he doesn't, he keeps it under control, for her.

Hope whimpers and moans against him, the feeling of pain almost being too much but slowly, she starts to feel the pain begin to fade away and turn into a strange kind of pleasure she's never experienced before. Her tears stop and she moans his name as he whispers sweet-nothings into her ear. His speed picks up a bit, causing a bit of pain to reappear inside of Hope but it doesn't last long.

Vilkas breaths hard against Hope's neck, trying to contain himself and make it last as long as possible. But it was hard, it was damn near impossible because everything about Hope was perfect. From the way she held onto him, the way she moaned his name, and the way she felt. He'd never been with anyone like Hope before and this made him want nobody else but her.

"Gods, Vilkas." She moans as she starts to feel an unfamiliar knot form in her stomach. It was uncomfortable and made her squirm beneath him. Her body was begging her for a release and she felt like she wasn't going to be able to deny it and neither could Vilkas. He couldn't hold it back anymore and the moment he releases himself inside of her, she does the same and both of their hips come to a very slow stop.

Vilkas stays laying on her for a moment, enjoying the small lightness in his head and the relief of release. Hope lays still beneath him, her breathing slowing down and her arms staying around him. Vilkas slowly pulls out of her, causing a shiver to erupt from them both. He sits up and looks down at the blood on his blanket.

Hope takes notice to his staring and slowly sits up to see what he's looking at. Her eyes widen when she sees the blood. "What's that!?" She quickly asks. "It's okay." Vilkas reassures her. "Is that from me?!" She quickly asks again. "It's okay, It's okay." Vilkas quickly reassures her again as he gets up from his bed to grab whatever he could to clean up the mess.

After he gets everything and themselves cleaned up, Vilkas covers Hope up with his blankets and gets underneath them with her. He turns his head to her and catches her staring at him with a heavy blush on her face. "What?" He asks with a small smile. "I just..didn't think I'd be doing this when I came here to talk..." She admitted with her eyes moving down towards the sheets.

Vilkas can't help but smile as he turns and wraps his arms around her body, he then pulls her up against him and rests his forehead on the top of her head. "I think it was a good talk." He joked and she quickly snorted in response.

They both lay there for a good while, enjoying the small moment they were sharing but that small moment was quickly taken over by the reality of things. Hope lays her head on his chest and runs a finger through the hair that decorated his torso. Vilkas rubs her back as he stares up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Finally after a long silence, Hope breaks it. "You know..you know I'm coming back right?" She asked. "I'm not going to be gone forever..."

"I know." Vilkas sighed. "At least you better, come back that is because if you don't you know I'll come looking for you."

Hope chuckles in response as she buries her head into him, making him tighten his hold on her and if he could have it his way...he would never let her go.

The next was hard and slow, especially since Hope was sore but most of it was from Vilkas trying to slow her down. But in the end he stopped and helped her gather her things. He walked her up the stairs and to both of their surprises, the Companions were all waiting for them.

Kodlak was the first to react to the sound of the downstairs door opening and once he got out of his chair, the others followed. They all stood and waited for Hope to appear at the top of the steps. She looks out at all of them surprised and confused. "What's going on?" Vilkas asks.

"We all wanted to give you a proper goodbye before you left." He said as he and the others approached Hope. She knew it was going to be hard to say goodbye before, but now she felt like it was going to be impossible with everyone now with her.

The Companions all walk her to the gates of Whiterun and then down to the stables where she was going to take a carriage. They all come to a stop in the middle of the road before Hope turns around to face everybody. Kodlak approaches her first and gives her a warm smile as he rests a hand on her shoulder. "Best of luck to you girl, I know a lot has suddenly happened to you but I know you can handle it. You're an honorable woman and an honorable warrior, if anyone can do this, it's you." He said with a confident nod and smile. She nods back but...less confident. "Just remember what I said before, you're never alone and Jorrvaskr will always be your home."

Her chest suddenly tightens and she feels her eyes water, but she keeps it together..at least for now.

Now Aela approaches her with a bow in her hand. Hope looks down at the bow and is surprised when Aela hands it to her. "This bow has seen me through some tough times and has served me well. I know it will do the same for you and also let it be a reminder of what you've gone through to get to where you are." She said with a big smile as she took Hope's wooden bow from her.

Hope examined it for a moment, admiring the carving on its golden surface. She'd never seen elven weapons before but have heard of their beauty and power. She looks at Aela with a grateful smile before placing it on her back. The moment its in place, she can't help but feel it was just meant to be there. "Now take this." Eorlund quickly cuts in, making her look at him.

Aela lifts an eyebrow up at him before taking a step back so that he could approach Hope. "After I heard you lost your sword, I began to make you this one." He explained as he held out a sheathed sword to her. Hope looked at him for a moment before looking down at the sword and slowly unsheathing it.

She's taken by surprise when the swords beautiful designs reveal themselves to her. "Skyforged steel, now every Companions has one." He said with a proud smile after his work was revealed. "I don't know what to say..." Hope said as she looked between him and Aela both. "Don't worry about it lass." Eorlund shrugged. "Just give me that dented piece of iron scrap you've decided to use and we'll call it good."

Hope couldn't help but chuckle in response as she untied the sheathed sword she had and handed it to him. She then quickly tied her new sword to her belt and looked back up at the Companions, her family. "Don't get killed welp." Was all Skjor said with his usual frown, but Hope had a small feeling that he cared a little.

Ria quickly gives Hope a hug. "You come back to us you hear?"

"Yeah, because with you gone we'll only have more work to do..." Grumbled Torvrar, but Hope knew he also cared. Though times were rough with the Companions, she knew she made some friends and...more.

She said her goodbyes to the rest of the Companions before turning to Vilkas who was standing a few feet away behind some of the others. He had his arms crossed and his eyes away, still obviously unhappy about the situation but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. The Companions took one last moment to say goodbye to Hope again before turning and walking away, leaving her and Vilkas alone.

Vilkas watches them walk away for a moment before turning to face Hope. She stood in the same spot, her arms wrapped around herself as she looked at Vilkas with sadness filling her eyes. Vilkas's jaw tightens as does his muscles as he slowly approaches Hope. they both stand there for a long moment before he can no longer hold back and embrace her.

She wraps her arms tightly around his neck as he buries his face into her neck so that he could smell the scent of her air one last time. No, this won't be the last time because she will come back. She will survive on her own and she will come back to him.

He will wait for her return.

END

NEXT STORY-FALTERING HOPE

Thank you guys so much for reading this story and I hope it was a good one! I'm sorry for such a late update, I just wanted to make sure it was a good and long chapter since it was the last one and I hope it was for you guys! I want to thank all my loyal readers and all of the kind comments you guys have left! I know this is the end of this story, but it's not the end of Hope! I am going to write another one so that we can continue her journey as Dragonborn and see just how it effects her and Vilkas! It may take a while for it to be posted though because I'm going to write out a lot of chapters before posting so that I can keep up with posting a chapter every week with out you guys having to wait! So keep your eyes open! Thanks again guys! I hope you enjoyed this story!