82 Unfinished Business III

I'm taken aback by his question and I stop to seriously consider my thoughts on the beast within.

"I'm... Torn... I love the power and strength it's given me. Just the other night I wiped out an entire nest of vampires single-handedly! But..." I say with pride before a dower feeling overtakes me.

"But?" Skjor prods with interest.

"But, the beast within is strong... And I can't always control when I change or what the beast does... So I think I understand why some view this as a curse... But personally, this is a blessing, even with the drawbacks." I say honestly.

"Good... Good..." Skjor says with a nod before laughing, "And as for your 'problem', you're still a pup so it's okay that you don't understand." He says clasping my shoulder.

"What don't I understand?" I ask in confusion.

"You say, 'The beast does this' and 'The beast does that', but you don't see the truth. This boon doesn't give us a wild untamed wolf... It awakens the beast within all of us. It is not apart from you, but you in your truest, freest form. The next time you change, try embracing rather than commanding them. Now, go see your people, they've been getting worried." Skjor says patting my shoulder and starting to leave me alone.

"Hold on, why're you asking me this? What's going on?" I ask before he walks off.

"Right now? It's nothing... But I got a bad feeling that a storm is coming, and I always trust my instincts. See you around new blood." He says leaving me alone in my thoughts.

'Is that all I really need to do? Accept my beast... And is that even true? Am I really just a beast who wants to kill and fuck? And what's this about a storm? What have I done to the main story?' I think to myself as I walk back to the Tower.

Once back, I noticed that the damage from the earlier raid by the Silver Hand has completely been cleaned up, and that progress has slowed with Lokir gone, but all the framing timbers are in place and I can see portions of the wall taking shape while I see the kids playing in the courtyard together.

Agni is quietly weaving a flower crown with Sophie while Aventus is watching Benor and Stenvar spar with glee. And Lucia seems to be studying letters and numbers with Mauricurio.

That is until they see me approaching and Sophie, Lucia, and Aventus drop what they were doing and rush towards me shouting, "Papa's home!" in unison, before tackling me with a bear hug.

And speaking of bears, a chubby little Crimson waddles over to me from their resting place and plops down on my feet before chewing my ankle.

"Did you miss us?" Lucia asks with a giggle.

"We missed you papa!" Sophie says while squeezing me tightly.

"Yeah! And did you get us any presents?" Aventus asks cheekily.

"Of course, I missed my little brunsumz!" I say hugging them back as a term I'm unfamiliar with slips from my mouth and the kids tilt their heads in confusion.

"What does bro-som-z mean papa?" Lucia asks as she tries and pronounces what I said.

And then it pops into my head, "Dragons. You're all papa's precious little dragons!" I say wrapping my arms around all three of them and twirling them around me in a circle causing them all to laugh hysterically before we all tumble down in a heap.

It's then I recall what's happening in Whiterun later tonight and I stop laughing.

"What's wrong papa?" Lucia asks in concern.

I sigh deeply before getting up from the ground, "One of papa's friends died earlier during the commotion in town. And there will be a funeral tonight." I say as the rest of those in the Tower finally notice my arrival.

Over a dozen people gather outside the Tower most perturbed is M'rissi, who seems to be refusing to even look at me. I decide to try and make up for leaving her all alone after having sex later since there will probably be a raid on the Silver Hand after the funeral.

"Dragon's Maw! Attention!" I bellow causing the majority of those present to stand up straighter and a couple to pound their fist against their heart.

"For those of you who have not yet heard… Our friends in the Companions suffered a tragic assault by the same band of brigands that assaulted our base not too long ago. Among the causalities was Vilkas, a trusted senior member of the Companions. And while I was not close with him, I respected his martial ability and crossed fists with him as my trial to become a member of the Companions. Thus, I invite you all to attend the funeral rite with me tonight. What say you?" I ask after concluding my speech.

Looking at each one of them, everyone but Marcurio, Falion, Jonna, and Agni, step forward. Even my kids step forward after a few moments of deep thought.

"Thank you everyone, for those not coming it will be your responsibility to watch over the Tower. Those who're coming with me, let's change into suitable attire and head out." I say, heading into the refurbished Tower to change out of my armor and into a respectable set of miners' clothes.

I wait for everyone to finish getting changed before leading the band into Whiterun and up to the Skyforge substantially filling up the space alongside the Companions. Though I make sure my band stands behind the Companions so as to not overshadow them and to simply show support for their loss.

I stand up with the rest of the Companions alongside Skjor and Aela as my children stand quietly behind my watching the funeral. Kodlak stands listlessly beside the edge of the rocky outcropping overhang. Farkus stands beside the Skyforge with a torch in hand as I catch Balgruuf staring stoically at the pyre out of the corner of my eye with Proventus standing beside him.

Vilkas is without his armor, shrouded in a Companions' banner as he awaits his final rest.