Thanks again for the nice comments! But I must admit, I'd still love you, my new dear regular readers & guests who frequently send comments, to make an account so I can reply to you :)

Anyways, another chapter. Have fun!

It was almost dawn and neither Vilkas nor Farkas had slept that night. This was not unusual, especially after one of them had just returned from a mission. Stories had to be told and the mead in Farkas's room didn't drink itself after all.

They were sitting at the small bar they had built almost a decade ago. As much as they loved the meadhall and the company of their shield-siblings, there was nothing the twins enjoyed more than the occasional evening together, just like in good old times when they would sneak out of their rooms as pups, robbing a bottle of mead from the larder, not realizing that half of the Companions were in fact werewolves and, due to their sharp senses, well aware of the nightly mischief the young orphans caused. However, they let them get away with it most of the time.

It was safe downstairs. Even though they could still feel the nightly call of the moon, the closeness to the earth soothed Vilkas's blood and allowed him to stay calmer than he was above ground, and especially under a clear sky. Now they could feel the moon retreat and the earth awaken.

Vilkas had told his brother in detail about his trip with their new protégée, leaving out only the Dragonborn-business. "There is more to her than hits the eye" he confessed, "but it is not my place to tell you. I hope she will do so of her own accord when she is ready."

Farkas nodded, trying not to feel offended that his brother, whom Sanja seemed to hate only a few days ago, had learned of a secret that he, who even revealed his beastblood to her, was not to share. However, it was her choice, and Farkas was sure that his brother would let him know if it really were important.

"So, we're going to turn her into a real warrior?" Vilkas shrugged. "I suppose we have to. She will not last very long like this." His brother nodded in agreement. "Have you spoken to Skjor and Aela?" Vilkas shook his head. "Not yet, no. I don't think she should train with Aela yet. Their styles are too similar, even though Sanja's is less refined. I believe it best to start from scratch with something completely new. And Skjor..." Farkas nodded. No more words were needed, they both knew exactly that training with Skjor at her current level was not an option.

"You know, I am glad the two of you get along now" Farkas suddenly confessed. Vilkas frowned in response. "Escaping a death trap together will do that to most people, as you know. However, that does not mean I will go easy on her." Farkas shook his head. "Of course not."

Sanja slept the sleep of the just. No dreams haunted her and when a firm hand shook her awake, she felt well rested and ready for action. It took her a few moments to realize who exactly was crouching beside her bed, silently calling her name in order to wake her.

"Mornin' Farkas" she grinned. "Good morning whelp. Ready for action?" he whispered in order not to wake up anyone else. As she sat up in bed, Sanja yawned and lazily stretched her limbs. "I s'ppose so."

Her shield-brother chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Good, then get ready. We are waiting for you in the courtyard." With these words he got up and left the bedroom.

The young woman yawned once again, then finally swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up. After tying her messy hair into a lazy braid and putting on some simple clothes, she made her way upstairs, grabbing a slice of bread on the way.

As soon as she opened the doors to the courtyard, she could smell dawn. Dewdrops covered the ground and the sun was just rising at the horizon. It was a beautiful morning and the young woman was full of confidence and energy... until she saw the twins.

Farkas was grinning widely while Vilkas had his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking at the young woman. They were standing beside the small tables in front of the courtyard, not really looking any different from the usual. Farkas was wearing his steel armour and Vilkas his favourite wolf armour. What made Sanja drop her breakfast in surprise and slight shock however were not the twins, but rather the things spread out on the table beside them.

"Good morning, whelp" Vilkas greeted, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement at the shock in her eyes. "I hope you slept well. Today is going to be a long day!" Sanja did not for a second doubt the truth in his words. "Vilkas... what is this?" she finally asked. He just raised an eyebrow as if to ask her if she was serious. "What does it look like to you?" Farkas was chuckling, trying hard to contain his laughter. Her face was just too funny.

"It looks like your armour, and ridiculously large weapons." she admitted.

"Don't be silly, whelp. I am wearing my armour. This is your armour." He lifted the chestpiece of the smaller wolf armour to emphasize his point. It had obviously been crafted for a woman. "And these are your weapons." He pointed at the Skyforge steel greatsword, the warhammer and the battleaxe lying on the table. Sanja swallowed. They had to be kidding, right?

She took a few cautious steps towards the twins, hoping that she was just dreaming. But when her fingers touched the cold, smooth surface of the armour, she realized that this was, indeed, reality.

Farkas gave her a wide grin while Vilkas just looked as indifferent as usual. "Go on, try it on. Eorlund will be here shortly to make all the necessary adjustments. The armour must fit perfectly in order to serve its purpose."

Sanja began to panic. "Vilkas, I cannot wear heavy armour! It weighs a ton!" she almost shouted.

Farkas put a hand on her shoulder in order to calm her down. "Relax, whelp. That's why we are here."

Vilkas nodded. "You will learn to wear it, and you will gain the necessary strength in time." "However," Farkas interfered, "You will have to wear it every day to get used to it."

Sanja's heart beat fast. She would be almost immobile!

"Is there anything I can say or do to avoid this?" she pleaded. The twins answered in unison. "No."

"Yeah... thought so..." she mumbled. "Very well, will you at least help me to get into this monstrosity?" she asked.

The twins gave each other a victorious smirk. With a few practised movements they adjusted the different pieces and helped Sanja into her wolf armour.

The young woman almost landed on her face as she tried to make the first few steps in that impossible metal suit. How could Vilkas wear something like that and yet be as graceful in battle as he was? Sanja did not understand it.

Farkas took a closer look at the young girl. It was odd what difference an armour made. Now she looked almost like a warrior. Still a bit too young, but the steel forced her to stand straight which made her look taller and more confident. He really was hoping this would work. Her discomfort was obvious, but it had to be done.

"Why can't I wear light armour?" she finally asked. "Because..." Vilkas began as he fastened another buckle at the side of her armour, making her exhale stromgly in the process "...you must be prepared for all eventualities. Once you are sufficiently proficient in the use of all tools, you are free to choose your favourite. Until then, however, you will do as we say. Now, choose your first weapon."

He nodded towards the weapons on the table. Sanja gulped. "Did you not just say you would choose for me?"

Vilkas shrugged. "You will use all of them sooner or later. It hardly matters with which one we start for the techniques are very similar. They all have their advantages and disadvantages."

Sanja shrugged and stiffly walked over to the table. She first lifted the greatsword. "Its is heavy... but much lighter than I thought it would be." She tried to hold it with both hands, repeatedly changing the way in which she held the blade. "You swing it like a club. Maybe you should start out with a different weapon until you get used to using both hands simultaneously."

Sanja put the greatsword back on the table and lifted the axe instead. As soon as she gave it an elegant swing, she smiled at Farkas. He just grinned back. "I didn't see that coming, but it's a good choice."

Vilkas nodded. "Just like Ysgramor himself."

"I didn't think it'd be easier to wield such a heavy axe than a sword" she admitted. Vilkas walked over to her and pointed out the way she naturally held the weapon. "Your hands are close together when you hold a greatsword. On a battleaxe or a warhammer, your hands are further apart. The weight is more evenly spread and it might be easier to balance the weapon. Of course it always depends on the weapon itself."

Sanja looked at him in awe. She had dreaded this day, but now that her time had come to learn from the twins, she felt her heart beat with excitement. "Very well, let's get started!" she shouted joyously, heading towards the courtyard, eager to start her training. The twins nodded at each other and followed the young woman.

Sanja was in pain. So much pain. And the embarrassment... It had only been a few days since she last hid under the covers of her bed, hoping a dragon would swoop down and eat her. She thought she was over that. But she could still hear Farkas's laughter, remembered Vilkas shaking his head in disbelief.

Divines, this was so humiliating! What did she do to deserve this?

Damn the man who invented steel armour to Oblivion! They really could have warned her about the few steps leading down to the courtyard before she made a complete fool of herself by landing on her face and hurting herself enough to force them to actually cancel the training session.

Her only comfort had been that, apart from the twins, nobody had been around to witness her clumsiness. Nevertheless, the noise she made while falling was enough to wake several of her shield-siblings and the story spread quickly. Sanja knew Njada would never let he live this down.

But what bothered her most for some reason was Vilkas's disappointed look. How he shook his head just like he did when he first met her. As if she was still hopeless. Which she probably was.

Sanja felt like crying. She had tried so hard to impress him, and was sure she had succeeded on their little field trip. But now all that seemed forgotten and she had to start from the beginning again.

The young woman stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom, counting the candles on the chandelier, unable to move far due to her aching limbs. Why did it bother her so much what Vilkas thought about her?

She bit her lower lip. For days Sanja had been able to avoid these thoughts, but now that there was little else to do, her mind began to wander. She wanted Vilkas to acknowledge her. To see her as an equal. She wanted to make him smile more often, to hear his laughter like the day before when they had returned to Jorrvaskr. The look he gave her after her fall this morning hurt more than all the bruises combined.

She couldn't do this. She was no warrior, and she doubted she would ever become one. This was a bad idea from the start. She should just forget about it. There was bound to be another dragonborn somewhere out there. Why in Oblivion should she of all people be the one to save the world? She couldn't even walk down a few steps without injuring herself.

Maybe the life of a warrior was not meant for her. Maybe Vilkas was right when first met her. Maybe she really did not belong here.

Maybe she should just leave.