Turos stared on in horror as his shield-sister Aela kneeled over the broken body of her lover.

"Oh, Skjor..." she sobbed. Tears rolled down her face, streaking her teal war paint and eventually coming to fall on Skjor's face. She ran her fingers over his face as if to memorize its shape.

"I'm so sorry. What can I do, Aela?"

"Go. Now!" she commanded fiercely. "I'll take care of him. I need you to tell the others what's become of him."

Even with all of the strength and battle-prowess he possessed, the Dragonborn dared not disobey the grief stricken woman. He found the nearest door to the outside and ran to the Jorrvaskr. He too was grieving for the loss of his shield-brother, but knew his emotions could not possibly be as deep as Aela's. Skjor had been her mentor, her friend, and eventually her lover. They'd been in the Circle together for years before the Dragonborn came along.

As his long legs carried him over the rough terrain, Turos contemplated whether or not this was his fault. Had he not taken the wolf blood last night, perhaps Skjor would still be alive. The gates of Whiterun loomed in the distance. The Dragonborn later did not remember passing through town, but remembered only being breathless. He sought out Kodlak, who was in the company of Vilkas as usual.

He did not want to bear this message with that man here. Vilkas hated him and would love to use any excuse to see the Dragonborn scolded.

Somehow the words came out anyway. "Skjor is dead. Aela is with him at Gallows Rock."

"You left her alone at a Silver Hand camp! What business does a whelp like you have to be hunting that lot?" Vilkas cried in a rage.

"All of the Silver Hand are also dead by our hands. She wouldn't leave Skjor."

"Calm your fire, Vilkas. Aela is a grown woman, and she makes her own decisions." Always the voice of reason, the Harbinger came to the rescue.

Kodlak turned his head to face the Dragonborn and eyed him curiously. "It would seem that you have made your own decisions too."

His scent. It must have given him away. He was not used to the newfound power of the wolf's senses that were available to him even in his human form.

Vilkas glared at the Dragonborn before taking his leave. An uncomfortable discussion with the Harbinger was sure to follow. Turos bent his head in shame. It was several moments before Kodlak spoke.

"I wanted you to be in the Circle. I was only hoping that those two wouldn't take it upon themselves to do what they did to you. But it was also your choice; you knew of the blood long before your time."

Kodlak dismissed the Dragonborn with a respectful nod of his head. The Dragonborn went to his room and did his best to clean up from his night of carnage. Weary, he collapsed onto his bed.

He slept only fitfully, tossing turning, unable to keep the beast from his mind. How were the other Circle members able to function if the beast would not let them sleep deeply? Irritated, he flung his pillow at the doorway where it happened to hit his least favorite person at Jorrvaskr.

"What is the meaning of this? I should skin you alive, you disrespectful little mongrel."

"Vilkas. Did Aela get back?" asked Turos, not bothering to apologize for the pillow.

"Aye. It was a daft thing for the both of you to do. Skjor too, but I'll not speak ill of the dead."

Vilkas left the Dragonborn's doorway with the abused pillow.

"Can I have that back?" Turos called.

Vilkas made a rude hand gesture without looking back.

'Taking that as a no…'

Aela would not come out of Skjor's room. She'd taken to sleeping in his room where his things still held his scent. Tilma brought meals to her, which were sometimes disregarded.

"The poor dear has lost the love of her life!" Tilma whispered to Turos as she brought back a plate of untouched food.

On the 4th day after Skjor had died, Aela left his rooms to take a bath. Turos noticed her scent was different, though he was not sure how he knew. His inner wolf seemed suddenly less interested in the woman. Had she bathed with some strange soap?

Vilkas' wolf noticed the change too, but he was not left wondering.

"Aela is with child," the dark man said.

"How can you possibly know that?" Turos queried

"Fool boy, you forget that I have been with the beast blood for a decade. I know what the wolf knows. You would too if you'd pay attention."

While stewing over Vilkas' words, Turos almost missed seeing Farkas come running down the steps to Vilkas frantically.

"Aela's weeping again. Have you noticed she smells pregnant?"

Turos' eyes bulged at the affirmation of Vilkas' assessment. He wanted to punch the smug look on the broody twin's face off.

By evening, all of the Circle and Kodlak knew, but no one had confronted Aela.

"It may not stick with the beast blood. She may not want it, without Skjor around. She's not showing at all. She's still probably early enough to get some abortifacients from Arcadia. This is not our business until Aela makes it so. If none of us could smell her, we wouldn't know."

The men resolved to act as if nothing was amiss. Playing dumb would be especially easy for Farkas.

As Turos was leaving Jorrvaskr, Aela approached him.

"Turos, can you help me with something?" He nodded warily, ready to feign surprise at the news of her pregnancy.

"Good!" she went on. "We're going to do something very secretive. No one can know about this but us."

Oh no. She was going to ask him to procure the herbs to terminate her pregnancy from Arcadia's Cauldron.

"We're going to get revenge on the Silver Hand for what they did to Skjor."

Dumbfounded, Turos didn't answer her.

"You will help, won't you?"

"Of course!" he was so relieved that he agreed instantly.

Her eyes flooded with relief, and then tears. The huntress flung her arms around Turos' broad shoulders in a tight embrace.

Turos smiled, in the clear and listened intently as Aela instructed him on all the locations of Silver Hand hideouts.

"Do make sure you remember those well. I can't come with you."

"Excuse me?" Turos was getting tired of doing the dirty work for everyone here.

She shrugged. "Someone's got to stay here and run interference."

There was a moment of hesitation by Aela. "Also, it seems Skjor left a gift for me. I'm expecting," she admitted nervously.