"I really don't like whoever Aela doesn't like."

"Well if that's true," I said, chewing on a lavender bunch, "then you don't like Alpha Females or lesbians. And Aela herself is an Alpha Female."

Vilkas cranked his head sideways and looked at me. "Aela does give me a hard time. But I'm quite a submissive type, besides what I show off. She's the Alpha of the group, period, besides maybe Kodlac of course, so that's why I listen to her. Whoever's in charge is fair game."

"Hm." I walked, continuing to think of what Alpha even meant, and if I beat her would that make me so. Because we just came from Kodlac who expected me and Vilkas should go on a date, aka hang out together for a while to get to know each another since the following events today (which I will try to record all of but probably won't until the very end of me and Vilkas' conversation), after me coming from the Cairn with Fakas, happened:

"Farkas, I don't even want to do this. The freakin' dyke..."

"She's a pretty straight woman if she adores my muscles all that much."

"W-what do you mean by adores your muscles?"

The brothers rounded the corner to where I had my hands on my hips in contemplation of the thing I would say to Vilkas. It came on pretty easily, almost unnaturally so. "There's Vilkas. Where's my hug?" I said. Villas turned back to stare at Farkas, I guess thinking I was talking to him instead.

Farkas folded his arms and nodded to me while staring at his brother. Vilkas' lips curled away from his teeth. I smiled in return. "Go hug her," Farkas said."

"Whoa, whoa, we don't have to go there. I was just kidding," I said, walking past them and back to the back of Jorrvaskrr where the humming of voices attracted me.

"Oh, you're here," Aela noticed me, and the rest of the members did as well on the instant. Kind of ironically , right?

"Why do you even care what she thinks?" I asked as we walked farther back to Jorvaskrr. Nothing was new here in Whiterun that we could do.

"I told you. If she's the Alpha of the group, I trust her. Her judgement is infallible."

"But you're not a Companion just going off what someone else says."

Vilkas jerked like I pinched him, because I was right. "I'm a Companion from wanting to protect the Companions from rabble-rousers like you."

After Aela noticed me and so did others, Kodlac nodded to Vilkas. Villas spoke, "Yes, it's time for your ceremony."

I turned around, looking at all of them. "Really? What kind of ceremony? Oh, yeah, we got your Fragment of Ysgramor, Sir." I glanced at Farkas and the man looked back at me with a grin.

I frowned, not knowing why Farkas was grinning. "Yes. Good. That is why we are having this ceremony," Kodlac replied.

"Oh..." I blushed. "So what do you need to do to me? Draw my blood?"

Farkas' Adam's Apple moved, Aela groaned, and the group made a small, connected exhale. Kodlac chuckled, "Now that's a different ceremony. You shall stand in the middle or some other desirable place," I looked at Vilkas at that point because I wanted to stand on Vilkas' head, "and we will make a circle around you. We will wish blessings," Kodlac nodded to Vilkas.

"Desraim. We accept as our new Companion member. We will stand for each other -"

"You are my sword and my shield," intercepted Farkas, "and I'm yours. I will never leave you in the heat of battle. I promise."

The rest of the Companion members glanced at Farkas, trying to hide their incredulous expressions and some were trying to blink slowly even though they needed to quickly clear reevaluate what just happened.

I laughed, walking with Villas and his annoying reasons for accusing me of being unsafe. As an official Companion, now. So none of that submission to the Alpha's opinion of me crap would even matter or make sense for him to consider. "All you guys were rabble-rousers," I notice I spoke of their troublesome nature aloud even though it wasn't my intention to. I just really felt if they were once dangerous to each other, how come I couldn't be, now (even though I already confirmed I wouldn't) ?

"But now we have some sense," Vilkas rubbed his gauntleted knuckles. I thought about how half-way silly we were to be walking around all armored, just on a 'day out', but the world was crazy: being a mercenary especially, one wants to be armored for unexpected events.

"And you have a new member." I wanted to make that clear. None of Aela's suggestions about me made sense anymore. I wasn't betraying them or giving them a bad name anytime soon because now I was an initiated newbie, not someone they couldn't trust.

Would he believe me? -

Vilkas immediately bit his lip, drawing blood at my words. He growled with the same kind of depth that Farkas did when he got annoyed - and to get Farkas to that point I had to almost be dead. So his temper was definitely easier to provoke than Farkas', I see.

He didn't say anything. It made me mad. And if he was still mad at me, then we should, as we could have battled it out normally earlier before coming out here, do that. "You wuss. You wouldn't even fight me," I said to hopefully provoke him and in disbelief of his unhelpfully-stubborn-to-accept-me attitude.

"I said I would!" He brought back defensively, his gait coming to a stop, and me daring in my mind for him to raise his hands. "But Kodlac urged me not to -"

"Wuss." My eyes pierced his. Please twitch a muscle or something so I can punch you, I thought. But he did something unexpected.

"We're both being immature. Let's start over again. I'm sorry," he exposed his palms that were lying at his sides.

I looked to his eyes and saw them dripping with sincerity. I guess the tables of his opinion of me were turning in my favor, already.

"Without your help in the war, I will be doomed." And yes, I almost fainted from that answer. "You are my shield-sister and this is what these times are for, not for lolligagging and being mad for trivial means. I love you if it means more protection for me and for you both, and for my shield-family." I widened my eyes in disbelief at what a simple walk-together could do, and glanced for a second at the stream of water running through the area near the Cloud District entrance, but when I thought a little harder about having almost died several times, alone I remembered that this is what life really is all about: surviving, and not dying. And not bickering with one's actual family, because they were all I had, indefinitely, if anything broke loose. He was right, and even if I thought it was a rather quick change in opinion from him, it shouldn't have been so: he's probably been thinking about it, his wrongs and his blind foolishness, for a while. They, as a faction, didn't need another put-out. They needed a whole 'nother Companion to help lead them into battle. They needed the Dragonborn to protect them when the dragon's come as well as other threats that reach Whiterun and other cities, such as the bandits bullying city traders and shipments, the draugr haunting city crypts, and they needed a Dragonborn to recover ancient artifacts like the fragments of Ysgramor which are sacred the Companions, and such. Whatever the Companions needed to do, they needed someone new because finding men willing to fight in a group for honor and glory and not just for selfish spoil isn't successful in Skyrim nowadays, and their people could die. War creeping around it's corners affects the citizens in ways I'd not like to know. Which is apparent in many cities, and while they have a girl willing to fight for the justice (and fun) of it, I suggest they keep and revere me and see me as a useful asset.