Archive of Our Own

It was hard to keep track of time in a cave.

Vilkas and Farkas had no idea how long it had been since the mage had kidnapped them, or why he had done so in the first place. Not that it would have mattered if they did. Their entire world was contained within the four walls of their cage, a grid of iron barely large enough for them to lay down.

After what might have been two days, or three, or maybe even a week, the sound of footsteps approaching from the cave entrance got their attention. A moment later, a giant bear of a man clad in shining armor appeared and engaged the mage in combat. Neither of them could follow what was happening, but in the end, the result was plain to see -- their captor was dead, his head lying on the ground several feet away from the rest of his body.

"Fucking asshole," the man muttered to himself. He spun around and started to walk back out of the cave without looking in Vilkas and Farkas's direction.

"Mister? Aren't you going to save us?" Vilkas asked.

The man froze and slowly turned to face them. He blinked once, twice, then shut his eyes and rubbed fiercely at them before opening them again.

"You're just kids. That fucker was kidnapping kids?"

Farkas nodded silently.

"Fuck. Let's get you out of there."

The key to their cage was in plain sight on a nearby table. It was the work of a moment for the unknown man to open the door and stand aside. Farkas was out first, with Vilkas right behind him.

"Woah, there," the man said as they wrapped themselves around his legs. "Let's get you out of here, okay? Where do you live?"

At that, both Vilkas and Farkas frowned.

"They...they're dead," Farkas said.

"Who? Your parents?"

"Yeah. They tried to protect us, but..."

"Shh. It's okay, I can guess what happened. You don't have to say it," the man said. "We still need to get you somewhere safe, though." He frowned in thought, then sighed heavily. "Fuck. Kodlak's not going to like this."

Kodlak indeed didn't like it.

"I didn't realize the Companions were also a daycare service," he said deceptively mildly. "An impressive feat, really, to keep such a thing hidden from the Harbinger."

Jergen scowled and looked away. "What was I supposed to do? Leave them there? They would've been dead in a matter of days. A week if they were lucky."

"That is certainly true enough, and I cannot fault you for aiding two innocent souls in need. But I must impress upon you the seriousness of your decision. These children are your responsibility now."

He looked sharply at Kodlak in surprise. "You're joking. Me? I've never even been in a relationship that lasted longer than the morning after. I'm not cut out to be a parent!"

"And yet here you are, with two young boys in your care. Will you turn them away at this juncture, despite all you've done for them already?"

Jergen grumbled mutinously to himself, but he already knew the answer. "No," he admitted.

"Does that mean we can stay?" Vilkas asked.

"It does indeed," Kodlak confirmed. "This is your home now. Jergen, why don't you show them to their room?"

"What room? We ain't got private rooms here. Only the Circle does."

"And now these children do as well. I believe the one opposite Arnbjorn's is currently unused."

"Fine. Come on you two, this way. Let's get you cleaned up first, then you can get settled in."

Jergen debated with himself all the way to the bathing room over whether to give Vilkas and Farkas some privacy or if he should stay and supervise. In the end, his own need for a bath was the deciding factor. He stripped down alongside them, studiously avoiding eye contact as he did so, and settled in for a proper scrubbing.

Blood and dirt always seemed to find a way underneath his fingernails. It was honestly rather annoying.

Fortunately, the boys were old enough to clean themselves, although not without a fair bit of roughhousing in the process. Jergen let them carry on for the most part, with only a stern look in their direction when their horseplay started to send water splashing over the edge of the tub. He finished before they did, but waited until they were done as well before standing up to dry himself off.

Once again, he avoided eye contact with them while he was exposed. He knew he was being somewhat ridiculous -- he was hardly a shy man, as the other Companions would readily attest. But Kodlak was right. These boys were his responsibility now. They were far too young to have gone through the kind of shit he'd rescued them from, and he didn't want to be the one to ruin whatever innocence they still had.

Assuming there was any left to be ruined at all.

He got dressed in short order, made sure the boys had done the same, and took them by the hand to guide them to the private rooms used by the Circle. Just like Kodlak had said, one of them was currently unused and free for the taking. There was only one bed, but it was more than big enough for two children who couldn't have been more than six or seven years old.

"Alright. This is your room. You can take a nap if you want, or you can come upstairs with me and get something to eat. Your choice."

"I'm not tired," Vilkas said.

Jergen looked at Farkas, who simply shrugged.

"Food it is. Come on, then."

It was a little too early for dinner, but there was always some sort of food available in Jorrvaskr. The boys sat down next to each other and gazed with wonder at the spread -- bread, cheese, cold sliced meats, assorted fruit, and several bottles of mead and ale that Jergen hastily moved out of reach before either of them could try to sample it.

"Take whatever you want," he said, reaching for a bread roll and cutting it open. He stuffed it with several pieces of the closest meat at hand -- beef, from the look of it -- and topped it all with a piece of cheese before closing the whole thing back up and taking a bite. "I mean it," he added when he saw neither Vilkas nor Farkas had moved since they sat down. "Help yourself."

"But there's so much," Farkas said.

"I'm not saying eat it all. I doubt you could even if you wanted to. But you live here now, and that means you get to eat our food."

Farkas nodded silently and grabbed a selection of meats for himself, along with a piece of bread and a pair of apples. Vilkas copied him a moment later, minus the apples. Soon they were tucking in as if they hadn't eaten in days.

The thought made Jergen grimace, even as he tore into another sandwich. He had readily shared his rations with them on the way back to Whiterun, but dividing a single person's food supplies among three people meant everyone had been forced to go at least somewhat hungry. It was nothing he couldn't handle, but children were a different story. Depending on how long they'd been kept prisoner in that cave, it was entirely possible they hadn't gotten a solid meal in over a week.

Only a few minutes after they had sat down, the other Companions started filtering through the room to gawk at their newest residents with varying degrees of subtlety. Jergen suppressed a snort; for all that they prided themselves on honor, he knew they liked to gossip as much as anyone else. First it was Skjor, then Vignar and Brill, and after that the faces started blending together. None of them were particularly creative with their inquiries, either.

One of the last people to come through was Arnbjorn. He was Jergen's senior in terms of both age and membership, and a member of the Circle -- the upper echelon of the Companions.

"Yes, they're twins," Jergen said the moment Arnbjorn sat down beside him. "No, they don't have any family left that they know of. I don't know if they want to become Companions, I haven't asked. And yes, I'm probably going to fuck this all up somehow. Any other questions?"

"Nah, you covered it all," he said, reaching for some food of his own. "How'd you know?"

"You're not the first one to ask. Not by a long shot. No one here's original."

Arnbjorn laughed. "Fair enough. Are you sure about this, though?"

"I have to be, don't I? It's not as if Kodlak's going to let me get away with shirking responsibility for them now." He let out a deep sigh. "Fuck. I don't know what I was thinking."

"That they were two tiny, perfect holes for you to fuck whenever you wanted?"

"What? No!" Jergen exclaimed.

"Pipe down, I was only kidding," Arnbjorn said with an impatient flap of his hand.

"Good. I told Kodlak I'd take care of them, and I meant it. I don't want anyone here forcing them into something they don't want."

"So it's fine if they start it, then?"

Jergen frowned. "I doubt they're old enough to be thinking about that."

"For now, maybe, but it's only a matter of time. I give it a week before they walk in on one of us fucking. And then they'll be curious."

"You're probably right," Jergen admitted with a sigh.

"I know I'm right."

"Does that mean you'll help, then?"

Arnbjorn leaned back in his seat and grinned. "Nah, I was thinking I'd watch. Be the fun uncle while you fumble your way through this shit. Should be entertaining, if nothing else."

Jergen threw a bread roll at him.

Vilkas and Farkas were visibly starting to tire by the time they finished eating, so Jergen brought them back to their room.

"We ain't got any sleeping clothes in your size," he told them. "We can get some tomorrow if you want, but for tonight, you'll have to make do."

Vilkas looked down at himself with a frown. "There are special clothes for sleeping in?"

"Yeah, there are. Not everyone bothers, though."

"What about you?"

Jergen snorted before he could stop himself. "Fuck no. I sleep naked. Always have."

"That's what we did back home," Farkas said quietly.

"Then you can do it here too. Now get some sleep, as much as you want. You've been through a lot."

"Thanks, mister," Vilkas said.

"Call me Jergen. It's my damn name."

"Thanks, Jergen," he corrected himself.

"Yeah. Thanks, Jergen," Farkas said.

"You're welcome. If you need me, I'll be in the sleeping quarters down the hall. Feel free to wake me up if you need to. Good night."

"Good night," they said in unison.

Jergen left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the boys alone for the first time since the cave. It was a long moment before either of them said anything.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" Vilkas said.

"Yeah," Farkas agreed. "If only that man...if he hadn't..." That was as far as he got before he lost himself and started to cry.

Vilkas promptly wrapped his twin in a hug. "It'll be okay. You'll see," he said through his own tears.

"I miss them, Vilkas. I miss ma and pa."

"So do I. But Jergen saved us."

"He did, didn't he? I...I'm glad he did."

"Yeah. Me too."

They held each other like that until the tears stopped, then undressed and got into bed together to fall into an uneasy sleep.

Neither boy knew what time it was when they woke up the next day, but it didn't matter. They got out of bed, got dressed, and left the room.

"Ah, you must be the young ones Jergen brought in," a woman's voice said.

Surprised, both Vilkas and Farkas turned to face the speaker, a middle-aged woman with greying hair. She had a broom in her hand and was sweeping the floor. "Yes. He did," Farkas said quietly.

"No need to be nervous, dears. My name's Tilma. Let me know if you need anything."

"Yes, Miss Tilma," Vilkas said.

Tilma tittered softly to herself. "My, aren't you polite? Go on, then. Jergen's upstairs if you're looking for him."

Jergen was indeed upstairs, sitting at the table and working his way through a meal. He was fully decked out in armor, and what little skin was still visible was covered in sweat.

"There you are," he said when he saw them. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. We did," Farkas said.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. Come on, sit down and eat."

"What time is it?" Vilkas asked.

"Lunchtime. You slept straight through breakfast."

"Oh. We're sorry."

"Don't be. I told you that you could sleep as much as you wanted, and I meant it. We can give it a few days before we start waking you up at a decent hour."

"What counts as a decent hour?" Farkas asked.

Jergen waggled his hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. "Eh. I figure around eight or nine, maybe. You're young, there's no need for you to be up at the crack of dawn."

"Oh. Okay." He took some bread, cheese, and fruit for himself, as did Vilkas, and they ate in silence for several minutes. "What should we do?" he asked eventually.

"That's up to you, isn't it? What do you want to do?"

Farkas frowned slightly. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm going to go take a bath once we're done eating. I've been training all morning, so gods know I could use one. Why don't you two stick around here for a little bit and get to know everyone? You saw most of 'em yesterday, but I'm sure you had other things on your mind at the time."

"Yeah," Vilkas admitted. "We did."

"It's settled, then."

Once Jergen had left, Vilkas and Farkas looked around the room. A lot of the faces were somewhat familiar from the night before, but they couldn't put a name to more than one or two of them.

Farkas ended up gravitating towards the man Jergen had first spoken to when they arrived.

"Hi, mister," he said. "What's your name?"

The man smiled gently at them. "You can call me Kodlak."

"Hi, Mister Kodlak."

To his surprise, Kodlak gently wagged his finger at him in admonishment. "What did I say you could call me?"

"Mister Kodlak?"

"Not 'Mister Kodlak.' Just Kodlak."

"Does anyone here want to be called Mister?" Vilkas asked.

"Very perceptive of you. To answer your question, no. Feel free to call all of us by our names. Although..." Kodlak leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "Between you and me, it's still a good idea to call Miss Tilma just that. It pays to get on her good side, you see. She might sneak you a few sweets if you do."

Farkas giggled. "What kind?"

"Oh, all sorts. She's a wonderful cook. Why, if she likes you enough, she might even take requests. But you didn't hear that from me," he said, tapping the side of his nose with a wink.

Both boys giggled at that.

"It's been a pleasure talking with you," Kodlak said. "But I must take my leave soon. Was there anything else you needed from me?"

"No. I don't think so," Vilkas said.

"Very well. If that ever changes, please don't hesitate to let me know. This is your home now."

The rest of the Companions were similarly welcoming when the twins came up to them. Skjor knelt down to let them examine his muscles up close, then flexed for them while they hung off his arms. Vignar, a dark-skinned man with greying hair, sat down with a book, quill, and ink pot and took meticulous notes as they told him the story of how Jergen had saved them. His own servant, a man named Brill, bustled about nearby, bringing drinks as they talked in between assisting Tilma with her duties. Arnbjorn let them sit in his lap as he regaled them with stories, each boy perched on an enormous thigh with only his hands for support.

Then there were the wolves.

Each one was a true beast, several feet tall at the shoulder and easily twice the weight of either Vilkas or Farkas. Yet they had been tamed enough to be kept as pets, and were perfectly willing to let the boys get close with nothing more than a curious sniff at the unknown humans entering their space.

Their willingness to feed them scraps of meat from the table helped.

"Better be careful around them," Arnbjorn said. "They're big enough to eat you right up." He made a playful biting motion in their direction to emphasize his point.

"They wouldn't do that," Farkas insisted. "Look at them!"

The wolf he was playing with indeed looked decidedly uninterested in eating Farkas, content to receive a belly rub instead.

"For now. But you never know when the big, bad wolf will attack, do you?"

Farkas's smile slid off his face. "Really?"

"Nah, I'm just fucking with you." Arnbjorn knelt down next to Farkas and ruffled the wolf's fur with him. "They know they've got it good here. Free food, no predators, and friendly humans ready to lend them a helping hand whenever they need it...or an ass."

"What would they need someone's butt for?" Vilkas asked.

Arnbjorn grinned but didn't answer them directly. "You'll find out soon enough," was all he said.

In a matter of days, Vilkas and Farkas had more or less settled in at Jorrvaskr. Jergen had left on another job, but the other Companions made sure they got to bed on time, didn't sleep in too late, and ate regular meals.

Then, one night, Farkas woke up to the sound of a door slamming open.

He bolted upright and looked around with wide eyes. Their own door was still closed, and the only other person in the room was his twin, still asleep beside him. He slowly relaxed, only for a loud thud to make him tense up again.

"Vilkas. Wake up," he said, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Wha...what?"

"Something's going--"

He was interrupted by yet another loud thud. Then there was a meaty slap, followed by another, and another.

"...on," he finished.

Vilkas's eyes had gone wide as well. "Is someone getting hurt?"

"I...I don't know. Should we go look?"

"Maybe we should get someone instead. What if..." Vilkas trailed off, swallowed hard, and continued, "What if it's someone bad?"

A man's voice added itself to the cacophony, but neither Vilkas nor Farkas could make out any actual words. It sounded like they were simply groaning out loud.

"I'm taking a look," Farkas said. He got out of bed before Vilkas could say a word in response and left the room. The instant he did so, the source of the noise became clear.

Across the hall, the door to Arnbjorn's bedroom was wide open. On the bed inside were two men -- Arnbjorn and Skjor. Skjor was on his hands and knees; Arnbjorn was kneeling behind him and gripping him by the waist with both hands. Both of them were naked and wildly thrusting their hips together.

Vilkas appeared at his shoulder a moment later. "What are they doing?" he asked.

"I don't know."

Arnbjorn heard them and looked in their direction. He broke out into a sharp-edged grin when he saw them watching. "Looks like we've got company, Skjor."

Skjor looked over as well. "Ah, damn it," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Did we wake you two up?"

Farkas nodded silently, too engrossed by what he was seeing to form words.

"Sorry about that. Go back to sleep."

"Nah, let them watch," Arnbjorn said, still grinning and thrusting away. "They've got to learn eventually, don't they? No time like the present."

Skjor's face went through a variety of expressions before settling on resignation. "Fine. But you get to explain this to Jergen when he gets back."

"He knew something like this would happen eventually. It'll be fine. Besides, look at 'em. They don't have a stitch of clothing on. Like tiny little morsels of meat. No one goes out like that unless they want it. You like what you see, don't you boys?" he asked. His wild grin hadn't wavered even once since he first spotted them. He had, however, moderated his movement slightly. Now he was smoothly pistoning his hips back and forth, revealing more and more of his penis to the children every time he withdrew before plunging back in.

"I...what are you doing?" Farkas asked instead of answering, an echo of his twin's earlier question. He was indeed naked, like he always was when he slept. So was Vilkas. But he didn't understand what that had to do with anything.

"We're fucking. Do you know what fucking is?"

Both boys shook their heads.

Somehow, the man's impossibly wide grin grew even wider. "What about your cocks? Have they ever gotten hard?"

Farkas nodded wordlessly.

"Next time it does, play with it. Stroke it. Suck it. Shove it in each other's ass. Best fucking feeling in the world."

"Arnbjorn--" Skjor began, only to get cut off by a particularly sharp thrust that stole his breath. Once he could speak again, he said, "That's the worst explanation of sex I've ever heard in my life."

"Was it wrong, though?"

He sighed. "Not completely."

"That's what I thought," he said before turning his attention back to the boys. He stopped thrusting and withdrew from Skjor completely, resting on his haunches to expose himself in his entirety to the boys. He took his penis in hand and slowly stroked it as he asked them, "So what do you say? Want to see how a real man fucks?"

Overwhelmed by everything he was seeing, Farkas couldn't find the words to respond.

"We'll go," Vilkas said when it became apparent that his brother wasn't going to say anything. "I'm sorry we interrupted. Please don't be mad."

Arnbjorn was still grinning. "Mad? Why the fuck would I be mad? You boys can interrupt me like this any fucking time you want. And if you ever feel like trying it out for yourself..." He abruptly slammed his penis back into Skjor without warning. "...you know where to find me."

Vilkas nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and grabbed Farkas by the wrist to drag him away.

"What was that?" Farkas asked once they were back in their room with the door closed behind them. He could still hear Arnbjorn and Skjor doing...whatever it was they were doing, but now that he had seen it for himself, it was easier to ignore.

"Sex," Vilkas said, almost to himself. "They were having sex."

"But the man...Arnbjorn...he called it fucking. And neither of them is a girl."

"I think it means the same thing. And maybe you don't need to be a boy and a girl to have sex together."

"Maybe. What about the other thing, though? About playing with ourselves? Our...cocks?"

"Yeah," Vilkas said. "That's what he called our penises."

"Right. That." He looked down at himself -- he'd never given that part of his body much thought until now. "Did you want to try playing with it? Like he said?"

"You don't want to go back to sleep?"

Farkas shook his head. "Not really."

"Alright. But let's get on the bed, at least."

They sat down on the sheets facing each other. Neither of them moved for a long moment.

"I don't know what to do," Farkas admitted eventually.

"Me either," Vilkas said. "Let's just...start touching them and see what happens."

Farkas nodded and reached down to grasp his penis. It felt the same as it always had. But in his mind's eye, he couldn't help but compare it to Arnbjorn's. Its size alone...it had to have been bigger than his arm. He couldn't imagine having a penis that large. He stroked it back and forth like Arnbjorn had done to himself earlier. It slowly grew and hardened as he did so.

"Hey...this actually feels pretty good," he said.

"Yeah, it does," Vilkas agreed.

They continued like that for a few minutes until, without warning, Farkas tensed up and let out a loud cry.

Vilkas immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed to his twin's side. "Farkas! Are you okay?"

"Oh gods...that felt so good," Farkas panted out.

His answer brought Vilkas up short. "You're not hurt?"

"What? No. Come on, why did you stop? You've got to feel it for yourself!" He reached out without waiting for Vilkas to answer and started stroking his penis for him.

Vilkas pulled his hand away and replaced it with his own. "Let me do it," he said. "At least this time."

Farkas nodded in agreement and sat back to watch. Sure enough, barely a minute later, Vilkas's face screwed up with pleasure and he let out a cry just like the one that had escaped Farkas.

"See?" he asked excitedly. "Didn't that feel great?"

"Yeah...it really did," Vilkas said, panting as he did so.

Just then, the door to their room opened to let in Arnbjorn. He was still naked, and his penis was still hard, although he seemed unconcerned about both. "Are you boys okay? You were screaming."

"We're fine, Arnbjorn," Farkas said with a wide smile.

He looked back and forth between them and smirked. "So I see. Decided to try jerking off, did you?"

Vilkas frowned. "Jerking off?"

"Yeah, jerking off. You played with your little cocks until it felt good, didn't you?"

Both boys nodded eagerly.

"Good." He squatted down beside the bed and took their penises in his hands, lightly rubbing and fondling them. "That's real good. Look at you. So young, but that doesn't mean anything. You're learning what it's like, and that's what matters." Then he let them go and stood upright again. His own penis looked even larger up close, hard and rigid and pointing straight out from his crotch. A large bead of clear fluid was forming at the tip. "I'll leave you be. Have fun playing with yourselves. I always do. And if you ever want to talk about this with someone, or even just watch, my door's always open." He left the room with a final smirk and a wink in their direction.

"Did you want to keep going?" Farkas asked Vilkas once Arnbjorn was gone.

"No. I'm kind of tired now."

"Oh. Okay then. Good night, I guess."

"Yeah. Good night."

They climbed back under the sheets together. In a matter of minutes, both of them were asleep once more.

Jergen was waiting for them upstairs when they emerged for breakfast.

"Jergen!" they exclaimed together. "You're back!"

"Hey there, you two. Miss me?" he asked as they hugged him.

"Yeah. The others were all really nice, though."

"I'm glad to hear it. Come on, eat up."

They were still eating when Arnbjorn staggered upstairs. He was utterly naked, and several dry, crusty streaks of white were visible on his chest. Skjor was right behind him, freshly washed and clad in a pair of pants but no shirt.

Jergen wasn't impressed. "Arnbjorn," he said. "What's going on?"

"It's fine," he said as he sat down next to Farkas. "They walked in on me and Skjor last night, they know what's what."

"Is that so?"

Skjor grimaced but nodded. "Yeah. I think we woke them up by mistake. Wasn't on purpose."

"I see." There was a long moment where no one said anything until he sighed. "Fine. What's done is done. Although I hope for your sake nothing else happened."

"Why? Don't you want a piece of the action?" Arnbjorn asked with a leer.

Jergen leveled a stern glare at him. "If that was a joke, it wasn't a very good one."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't expect me to cover up for them anymore, though," he said, just in time for Kodlak to hear him when he appeared for his own breakfast.

"What's this about covering up?" he asked.

"The boys walked in on Arnbjorn and Skjor having sex last night," Jergen said before Arnbjorn could do more than open his mouth.

"I see," Kodlak said as he helped himself to some eggs and a selection of fruit. He then looked directly at Jergen. "Do you disapprove?"

Jergen shook his head. "I want to, but I can't."

"Yeah, because I was the one who told you something like this would happen in the first place," Arnbjorn pointed out.

"Yes, I know. You've made your point."

"Is Arnbjorn in trouble?" Farkas asked.

"No, he isn't," Kodlak said. "Jergen was simply...surprised to hear about last night's events."

"Don't see why he would be," Arnbjorn said. "Fucker's the biggest slut in the building."

Jergen rolled his eyes. "Just because I've slept with everyone in Jorrvaskr--"

"Ain't saying it's a bad thing," Arnbjorn cut in. "And none of us are far behind you anyway. But there's no way they could've gone much longer without walking in on someone. If not me and Skjor, then someone else. You, Vignar, Kodlak, even Tilma gets some."

"I guess you're right. It's just...they're kids, Arnbjorn. I was hoping they'd get to stay kids a little bit longer."

"Learning about sex has nothing to do with that, Jergen," Kodlak said. "Although the circumstances were certainly unfortunate, all children start exploring their bodies eventually, do they not? It's a part of growing up."

"As long as a man's got his cock, he'll never be bored," Arnbjorn added, taking his own in hand and waving it around.

Jergen flipped him off, even as Vilkas and Farkas giggled.

After that conversation, seeing Arnbjorn -- and also the others on occasion, but mostly Arnbjorn -- walk around naked became commonplace. Apart from that, however, very little changed. He was still loud and almost aggressively sociable, still prone to teasing, and still encouraged them to sit in his lap whenever they wanted. Now, however, there was nothing to hide all of him from view as they sat and talked together, and he did nothing to stop them from exploring his body. If anything, he encouraged it.

"You like playing with my cock, don't you?" he asked one day. Farkas had indeed been playing with it, picking it up in his hands and amusing himself by poking and prodding at it.

"It's so big," he said simply. "You don't mind, do you?"

Arnbjorn grinned. "Not at all. Knock yourself out, little snack."

He did exactly that, making Arnbjorn's cock swiftly grow hard under his touch. But even after he stopped, Arnbjorn did nothing to hide his aroused state from anyone watching, sitting in the open with a boy on each leg and his cock standing proudly erect in front of him with precum dripping from the head.

Even Jergen had loosened up somewhat. Although reluctant to let the boys play with his body like they did with Arnbjorn, he no longer had anything against them looking and answered any questions they had frankly and honestly. Some of them were more embarrassing than others -- "Why is Arnbjorn's penis so much bigger than yours?" was a standout in that regard, one that he unfortunately had no good answer for other than "He's just lucky, I guess," -- but on the whole he thought he was managing well enough.

At least until dinner a few days later.

"Jergen, can you teach us about sex?" Vilkas asked while they were eating.

Jergen nearly choked on his bite of chicken. "What?" he asked once he had recovered from his coughing fit.

"Can you teach us about sex?" he repeated. "We already know a little bit, but not a lot." Beside him, Farkas was looking on earnestly, clearly just as invested in the answer as his twin.

He gaped at them, temporarily at a loss for words. Around him, the other Companions weren't even trying to hide their mirth. "I can, but...can it wait until after we've eaten?" he asked. Pleaded, really.

"Okay," Vilkas agreed.

"Alright. We'll take a bath together after this. I'll explain it then."

The bathing room looked exactly the same as it always did. It did nothing to calm Jergen's nerves.

He stripped down alongside the twins and set about scrubbing himself off in short order. Vilkas and Farkas copied him, looking back and forth between him and themselves to make sure they were cleaning the same body parts in the same order. It was almost adorable in its own way.

Once they were done, however, he could delay no longer. He took a deep breath to steady himself and asked, "How much do you know about sex already?"

"It's something boys and girls do together...or maybe whether you're a boy or girl doesn't matter. We're not sure. We have penises, but Arnbjorn calls them something else. And we can...jerk off, he called it. It feels really good," Vilkas said.

"It's a start, I guess. Okay. From the top. First off, you're right, you can have sex with boys, girls, or both. Beyond that...you have a penis, like you said. All boys do. Different people call it different things -- dick, cock, prick, member, you name it -- but it's all the same in the end. With me so far?"

Both boys nodded. They were fairly obviously eyeing Jergen's own dick through the water, but he could hardly blame them for that. And, well, it was a convenient visual aid.

"These are your testicles," he said, lifting his dick aside to show them his balls. "Again, lots of different names for them. Balls, nuts, sack, and so forth. They produce semen...or they will, in your case. You're too young for that yet."

"What's semen?"

"Semen is...it's a fluid that comes out of your dick when you have sex. You said you've started jerking off?"

Both boys nodded.

"You know how it feels really fucking good at the end?"

Another nod.

"That good feeling is called an orgasm. Once you're old enough, that's when you'll shoot semen. Or seed, or cum, or jizz. It's the name thing again. If you're having sex with a girl -- or a woman, I guess -- semen is what can get her pregnant. No semen, no baby."

"You said once we're old enough. When will that be?" Vilkas asked.

"You boys are...what, six? Seven?"

"Six," Vilkas said.

"Give it a few years. At least five, but probably more."

"But that's so long," Farkas protested.

"I know, but there's nothing to be done about that. It'll happen when it happens."

"Arnbjorn said there were several ways to play with our...cocks?" Vilkas asked hesitantly. "Can we say that?"

"If you want. I call it a dick, but you can use whatever word you want. Gods know I'm in no fucking position to get mad at you for your language anyway. And yeah, he was right. You already know how to masturbate, so I won't bother going into detail there, but--"

"Masturbate?"

"Jerking off. Wanking."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be. The point of this is to teach you. Anyway, you can use more than just your hands to get off. Girls and women have a vagina instead of a penis. It's a little hole in roughly the same place. You stick your dick inside and thrust it back and forth and it feels fucking fantastic. But you can do that with any hole, not just a cunt."

"Like someone's butt?" Farkas said.

Jergen looked at him in surprise. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"

"That's what Arnbjorn was doing to Skjor."

"Oh, yeah. You walked in on them, didn't you? Still wish it hadn't happened like that, but there's nothing to be done about it now. You're right, though -- you can fuck someone in the ass. Feels just as good. You should make sure everything's clean first, though."

Both boys made a face at that. "Ew," Vilkas said.

"Exactly," Jergen agreed. "But if you do it right, it's worth it. Especially for men. There's something inside us called the prostate, and it's big enough and positioned just right so that you can sort of press and rub against it from inside. And it feels incredible. Honestly, it's the entire point of anal. At least for the guy on the receiving end."

Vilkas and Farkas accepted that with a nod.

"Now, there's one other way to fool around with someone. Oral."

"What's oral?" Vilkas asked.

"In general, it means having to do with the mouth. When you're with a woman, you can eat her out -- lick around her cunt, stick your tongue inside, maybe even nip a little bit with your teeth if she's into that. If it's a guy, you can suck on his dick like a piece of candy instead. Just make sure not to bite him."

The boys winced and covered themselves.

"Yeah. Doesn't sound fun, does it?" Jergen said rhetorically. "Like I said, be careful."

They nodded frantically in agreement.

"The last thing you should know about is consent. There's a word for having sex with someone who doesn't want to -- rape. And it's a crime. One of the worst crimes, even."

"Worse than killing someone?" Vilkas asked.

"Depending on who you ask, yes. So whenever you have sex with someone, make sure they're okay with it first. Promise me that."

"I promise," they said together.

"Good. So...yeah. That's sex in a nutshell. Or at least the basics," he said. "I...didn't plan on having this talk with you so soon, to be honest. I hope I didn't fuck it up."

"No, it was good. Thanks," Vilkas said.

"You're welcome. Now let's get out of the water before we turn into prunes."

The boys giggled but obeyed. They stared openly at his dick when he stood up, but after the talk they had just had, that was hardly a surprise. He gave them an encouraging smile and refrained from putting his clothes back on after he dried off, letting them look their fill.

Then Arnbjorn walked in, naked as usual.

"Oh, hey Jergen," he said with a grin after he took in the scene before him. "Giving our little snacks here the talk?"

"Just finished, actually."

"Good. It's important to teach them early." He reached out and started stroking Jergen's dick, heedless of their audience. "Now they can help you get off when you can't find someone to fuck."

Jergen slapped Arnbjorn's hand away. "They're kids, Arnbjorn. I'm not going to make them do anything they don't want."

"Your loss, but whatever," Arnbjorn said, already getting into the tub for his own bath.

Jergen's explanation of sex opened a whole new world of possibilities for Vilkas and Farkas. Every night, before they fell asleep, they played with each other. Sometimes they jerked each other off. Sometimes they sucked each other off instead. And sometimes they tried to stick their penises inside each other's butt -- emphasis on tried. No matter what they did, they couldn't quite make it work.

They tried not to let it get to them too much. Their hands and mouths brought them plenty of pleasure as it was. But it was frustrating nonetheless.

"Should we ask Jergen for help?" Farkas asked one night after another failed attempt.

"He doesn't like doing more than letting us look, remember?" Vilkas said.

"Oh. Right."

They fell silent as they considered their options while idly playing with themselves.

"What about Arnbjorn?" Farkas suggested.

Vilkas considered that. "I don't think he'd mind. Is he still awake?"

He was, as it turned out. The door to his room was closed, but he opened it when they knocked.

"Hey there, niblets. Need something?" he asked them with a grin.

"We need your help," Farkas said. "Vilkas and I...we keep trying to put our penises in each other, but it's not working."

Arnbjorn rolled his eyes. "Fuck's sake, you're still calling it a penis? Really?"

"Is...is that a bad thing?"

"Well, it's not wrong," he admitted. "But if you're trying to fuck each other, you can at least start calling it something else. I won't be able to take it seriously otherwise."

"...Jergen calls it a dick," Vilkas offered.

"That'll do. Come on in."

Once they were inside the room, Arnbjorn closed the door behind them. He was naked, as he had been ever since he greeted them, but the twins had seen him like that often enough for it to be completely unremarkable by that point.

"So. What's going on?"

"We want to put our pe...our dicks in each other. In our...ass," Farkas said. "But we can't."

Arnbjorn sat down in a chair and gestured at the bed. "Go on, then. Show me what you're doing."

Vilkas lay down on his stomach. Farkas knelt behind him, took his dick in hand, and pressed it against his twin's ass.

"No, no, stop," Arnbjorn said instantly. He got up and pulled the boys apart. "Fuck, Jergen only told you the basics, didn't he? You've got to get hard first. A soft cock ain't going anywhere."

"Oh. We're sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. Better, even. Means I get to help you out personally. Here, let me."

That was all the warning Farkas got before Arnbjorn's mouth was on his dick.

"Oh..." he managed to get out.

Arnbjorn pulled off and looked at him with a frown. "Don't tell me you haven't sucked each other off yet."

"We have," Vilkas assured him. "But we're not very good at it."

The frown morphed into another grin. "Keep practicing, you'll get better. And you can always come to me if you want to try your luck with something bigger."

Vilkas eyed Arnbjorn's cock with no small amount of trepidation. It was big enough when it was soft, but it had started filling out and lengthening of its own accord as he sucked Farkas off and was now intimidatingly large. Even as he looked, precum started leaking out from the tip. "Maybe later," he said.

Arnbjorn said nothing in response as he returned to Farkas's cock. He licked and slurped and hummed around its length until it hardened completely in his mouth. Only then did he withdraw. "There we go. Try it now."

Vilkas and Farkas got into position again, and this time, Farkas seemed to be making some headway. However, Vilkas let out a sharp cry before his brother could get all the way in, making him stop and pull out in concern.

"Vilkas, are you okay?" he asked.

"Hurts..." he forced out.

Farkas looked at Arnbjorn in confusion. "You said it was supposed to feel good. So did Jergen."

"You get used to it the more you do it. Come here, mincemeat," he told Vilkas. He picked him up, lay down on the bed, and set Vilkas on top of him. Up close, the size difference between them was even more apparent -- his own cock, thirteen inches of hard, throbbing flesh, pressed against Vilkas's soft and child-sized two. He wrapped his arms around him and held him close, skin against skin and cock against cock. "He's all yours now," he said to Farkas.

The twins threw him identical looks of concern, but Farkas did as he was told and pressed forward once again. Vilkas's face immediately screwed up with pain.

"Shh," Arnbjorn said. "You want to make your brother feel good, don't you?"

Vilkas whimpered but said nothing as Farkas slowly entered him bit by bit. Several minutes later, their hips were flush with each other.

"I...I did it. We did it," Farkas said.

Arnbjorn patted Vilkas on the back. "See? Nothing to it. He can start fucking you properly now."

Farkas shook his head. "Not until he's ready."

"Hmph. Fine."

It took several minutes before Vilkas was relaxed enough for them to continue. The moment they did, Farkas's face lit up.

"Oh gods," he whispered as he thrust back and forth. "Vilkas, you've got to fuck me next. This feels amazing."

Arnbjorn grinned at him. "It does, doesn't it? And you can do it whenever you want."

Then Farkas found Vilkas's prostate, making him cry out again. This time, however, it was one of pleasure instead of pain.

"Oh gods," he said, a mirror of his twin's earlier oath.

"Was that his...his..." Farkas trailed off, unable to remember the right word.

"His prostate? Yeah. That's what makes it feel good for the guy on the bottom."

"Wow."

Even if they hadn't said as much at the start, it would have been clear at a glance that this was their first time having sex. Their moments were clumsy, their faces openly surprised at every new sensation. But it was equally clear that they were loving every minute of the experience. There was no doubt in Arnbjorn's mind that they'd be looking for more once they were done.

His cock twitched and let out a fresh wave of precum at the thought.

Both boys were shaking and moaning too much for him to tell exactly when their orgasms hit, but eventually they stopped, panting and gasping for breath.

"Want to do him next?" he asked Vilkas.

"Yeah! You've got to!" Farkas exclaimed suddenly, all fatigue forgotten. "It feels so good!"

"But...it really hurt at first. I don't want to do that to you."

"It'll be okay. It stopped after a while, right? Come on, Vilkas. For me?"

Vilkas was powerless in the face of his twin's pleas. "Okay," he said.

It wasn't quite that simple. Farkas still had to pull out, Vilkas needed to get hard again, and they needed to arrange themselves so that Vilkas was on top of Farkas instead of the other way around. But those were all fixable problems. Arnbjorn suckled on Vilkas's tiny cock just like he had done to Farkas, Farkas lay down on top of Arnbjorn with anticipation written all over his face, and then they were ready.

"I'll go slow," Vilkas promised as he slipped inside.

"There's no need for that. He's a big boy, he can take it," Arnbjorn said. "Isn't that right?" he asked Farkas.

Vilkas shook his head. "No. I don't want to hurt him."

Arnbjorn rolled his eyes but relented. "If you say so."

Fortunately for Farkas, Vilkas was indeed able to go slowly enough to prevent the worst of the pain. It wasn't completely effortless, but after a few false starts and several minutes of simply laying together once he was fully seated inside him, they were able to fuck each other properly for the second time that night.

"You were right, Farkas. This is great," Vilkas said as he pounded away.

"I told you," Farkas said, somewhat breathlessly.

Arnbjorn simply looked on with a wide grin that threatened to split his face apart. His cock, still hard from earlier, was pinned underneath Farkas's body. Every thrust Vilkas gave made them slide back and forth, rubbing against his manhood in all the best ways and spreading his ever-growing amount of precum between them. He tightened his grip on Farkas, the better to chase after even more of that wonderful friction.

Then Vilkas came undone with a loud cry and collapsed on top of them.

"That...that was incredible," he said. He pulled out of Farkas and rolled over to lay beside Arnbjorn. Farkas followed suit and cuddled with his twin, leaving Arnbjorn suddenly bereft.

"Hey. You two still with me?" he asked.

There was no answer.

When he looked closer, he realized they had both fallen asleep. "Fucking unbelievable," he muttered to himself. In truth, he was also somewhat tired, but there was no way he'd be able to sleep in his own aroused state. Giving in to the inevitable, he took his cock in hand and started stroking.

As he masturbated, his gaze fell upon the naked boys slumbering beside him. He reached out to caress one of them with his free hand -- Farkas, on closer inspection. He moved his hand so that it was cradling his ass. A lone finger brushed over his puckered, slightly twitching hole. There wasn't any cum; it would be several years yet before either boy started making any. He didn't care about that in the slightest. They were so young. So small. So perfect. He couldn't wait to find out what they looked like with his cock stretching them wide open.

The tip of his finger slipped inside. It wasn't much, just up to the first knuckle, but it was enough to make Farkas twitch in his sleep. Undeterred, he pressed deeper, fucking Farkas on his finger while masturbating with his other hand. Less than a minute later, his own orgasm hit and he came all over himself.

Only then did he withdraw his finger from Farkas's ass. He didn't bother to clean up, instead falling asleep where he was.

Arnbjorn woke before the twins the next morning. He didn't move at first, content to lie there with their naked bodies by his side. Only when his morning wood started aching too much to ignore did he truly stir, grasping it with both hands to perform his daily ritual.

It wasn't long before his actions woke the boys up.

"Mmph...Arnbjorn?" Farkas said blearily.

"Morning, cutlet."

"What are you...why are you masturbating?"

"It's what I do most mornings. Ain't you ever woken up with a hard on?"

Farkas nodded.

"There you go, then."

Vilkas stirred beside his twin. "Mmm...morning, Farkas," he said. Then he saw Arnbjorn. "Morning, Arnbjorn," he added.

They said nothing for a while, seemingly content to watch Arnbjorn jerk off.

"Can we have sex?" Farkas asked.

Arnbjorn snorted. "You don't need anyone's permission for that. Do whatever you want."

"No, I mean...with you. I want to fuck you, like Vilkas and I did last night."

Arnbjorn stopped what he was doing, almost unable to believe what he had heard. Then his face lit up with a brilliant grin. "Fuck yes we can."

It took them a while to get into position. Farkas wasn't yet strong enough to support Arnbjorn's legs, and Arnbjorn didn't feel like exerting the necessary effort himself so early in the morning. In the end, they settled on Arnbjorn turning around so that he was face down with his ass exposed. Farkas lay on top of him, and then he was inside.

"Oh," Farkas said in surprise.

"What? Don't you like it?"

"I do," he assured him as he started thrusting in earnest. "It's just...it's easier with you than it was with Vilkas."

"That's because I'm older than you. Bigger. Now stop talking and start fucking."

Farkas did as he was told, and Arnbjorn let himself revel in the fact that he was having sex with the boys at last. Then Vilkas was kneeling in front of him, his own cock visibly hardening.

"Can you...blow me?"

Arnbjorn pulled him forward and took the entirety of his cock and balls in his mouth at once, to Vilkas's audible surprise and delight. His lack of size made it easy, and soon both boys were making sounds of pleasure that had him crowing with delight inside.

Then the door burst open and Jergen stormed in. He was stark naked, but that only slightly detracted from the fury evident on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing, Arnbjorn?" he demanded.

Arnbjorn pulled away from Vilkas's cock. "What does it look like we're doing?" he asked sardonically.

"You're fucking them!" Jergen cried out. "They're kids, Arnbjorn! Kids! You can't just take advantage of them like this!"

"Jergen. Look at us," Arnbjorn said. "Really look at us. What do you see?"

Jergen started to reply, only to close his eyes and take a deep breath. When he opened them again, he did what Arnbjorn said and looked at the scene before him. "You...you're lying down. Farkas is on top of you. And Vilkas..."

"I was sucking him off, yes. Now tell me -- who's taking advantage of who here?"

"...the boys," he said reluctantly. "They're the ones in control. Did they...are you...was this what they wanted?"

"They asked for it."

"We did, Jergen," Farkas said. "Both of us. Me and Vilkas."

"Yeah," Vilkas confirmed.

Jergen sagged in place. "I...I'm sorry, boys. I came to wake you up, and you weren't in your room. Then I heard you from outside and I thought..."

"Thought you needed to stop us, did you?" Arnbjorn asked with a smirk.

"...yes."

"Well, you don't." Then his smirk turned into a leer. "Although as long as you're here, and clearly interested," he said, nodding at Jergen's half-hard cock, "feel like joining us?"

Jergen glared at him. "Watch it."

"I'm not hearing a no."

"Well now you are. No. I'm not interested in fucking kids, Arnbjorn."

"And if the kids are interested in fucking you?"

"That's...that's different," he said.

"How?"

"They're kids!" he exclaimed. "A dick like yours, you'd split them in half!"

"You don't know that. For all you know, they'd love it."

"It's not a matter of how much they'd like it. It's bigger then they are!"

Arnbjorn lifted himself up slightly to look at his cock. "I'd say more like a quarter their size. A third at most."

"That's not the point!"

"Then what is?" he demanded as he lay back down. "Listen, Jergen. Right now, I'm having sex with two wonderful little meat shanks, and we're going to keep going until we've all cum. And if they decide they want to do it again later on, you won't be able to stop them."

"Is that a threat?"

"Just stating facts. Unless you're going to keep watch every night to make sure they don't come over for a visit?"

Jergen held his gaze for a long minute, but eventually looked away. "No. No, I don't plan on doing that. I...I'm sorry for thinking the worst of you, earlier. And boys...I'm sorry for startling you."

"It's okay, Jergen," Vilkas assured him.

"Yeah, it's okay," Farkas said.

"Fine," Arnbjorn said. "Invitation's still open, by the way. You can join us if you want. Or just watch if that's what you prefer."

Jergen didn't say anything, but the way he left the room and shut the door behind him rather more forcefully than he needed to was answer enough.

"Guess it's just us, then," Arnbjorn said. "Ready to keep going?"

"Will Jergen be alright?" Farkas asked instead.

"He'll be fine once he cools his head a bit. Now come on, fuck me like you mean it."

Because they were so young, and also because they were so small, Vilkas and Farkas climaxed without getting Arnbjorn anywhere close to his own. Once they were both sated, he flipped over again so he was on his back once more and took his cock in hand to bring himself the rest of the way.

"Wow..." Farkas breathed as he took in the sight. "You're so big."

"That I am," Arnbjorn said proudly. He couldn't tell them why, not without giving away the greatest secret in the Companions. But that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the attention. "Want to touch it?"

It was almost, but not quite, a redundant question. Both of them had played with his cock before, but it had always been upstairs in the common room with others watching. Here, though, they were actively helping him get off. And that made it all the sweeter.

"Fuck...getting close..." he gritted out.

"Should we stop?" Farkas asked.

"No. Keep going. Almost...there!" Arnbjorn exclaimed. Cum shot out of his cock, landing on everything from his waist up -- his face, his chest, his stomach, even the wall behind him and the  sheets they were laying on. Unfortunately, Vilkas and Farkas were spared, but that was a small price to pay for the awestruck looks they now sported.

"What happened?" Vilkas asked. "What's this stuff?"

"It's cum," Arnbjorn said. "Makes a mess, but I like it that way. Also tastes pretty good."

"Really? You can eat it?"

"Sure can. See?" He swiped at some on his face that was threatening to drip into his eyes and licked it off his fingers. He then scooped up a more generous amount from the puddle on his chest and held his hand out to them. "Nothing to it. Want to try some?"

Instead of answering verbally, both boys took a finger and sucked it clean.

"It tastes funny," Farkas said. "But...I think I like it."

"Me too," Vilkas agreed.

Arnbjorn's grin grew even wider. "Want to try it straight from the source?"

The boys turned as one to look at his cock. It was still hard, and the final dregs of his orgasm were steadily oozing out. "You don't mind?" Farkas asked.

"Not at all. Help yourself."

Farkas nodded at that and started suckling on the end of his cock. If Arnbjorn hadn't already been hard, having such a young boy servicing him like that would have done the job immediately. As it was, he was so turned on by the sight that he already felt ready to cum again despite having just done so.

Vilkas joined his twin, taking turns with Farkas as they both tried to fit the enormous member in their mouth. After a while, Arnbjorn started helping them. Two giant, meaty hands came to rest on their heads, pressing forward on whoever was sucking him off at the moment. Their lips stretched obscenely wide around his girth; their throats bulged as he forced himself ever deeper into their gullets. After what might have been a minute, or an hour, or anything in between, he lost control and came for the second time that morning.

The effect was immediate. Farkas gagged on the sudden explosion of fluid and pulled away; Vilkas was luckier, in that he hadn't been the one sucking Arnbjorn at the moment he climaxed, but curiosity overcame sense and he leaned in to sample his load for himself. He, too, was swiftly overwhelmed by the sheer volume, and withdrew a moment later.

After the boys had recovered, however, they went in for more, just in time for a fresh load of cum to spurt out and cover them all.

Once everything was said and done, the three of them were a mess. Vilkas and Farkas in particular were completely drenched, and Arnbjorn wasn't much better. If it was just him, he would've happily gone upstairs for breakfast just like that, but the boys' involvement complicated things.

"We should go clean up," he said reluctantly. "Don't want Jergen getting his pants in even more of a twist."

Fortunately, the boys agreed.

After that night, Arnbjorn became even more shameless. Unless he was training or preparing for a job, he refused to wear anything around Jorrvaskr, and openly masturbated in front of the boys with a knowing smirk.

That wasn't the only thing he did, either.

"Fuck's sake, Arnbjorn," Jergen said. "Can't that wait until after breakfast?"

"It could, but I'm horny," he said simply. He was on his hands and knees, with one of the wolves the Companions kept as pets railing him from behind. "Why are you so upset, anyway? There used to be a time you'd be right here with me."

"Yeah, but that was before the boys started living here."

"They've fucked me in the ass, Jergen. Several times each. What else is there to keep from them?"

"Oh!" Vilkas exclaimed. "Is this what you meant, Arnbjorn? When you said the wolves sometimes need a helping ass?"

"Yeah, you got it," he said.

"Animals get horny too," Jergen said reluctantly. "Although I want to make it clear that no one here expects you to offer yourselves to them like Arnbjorn's doing. It's just something he likes to do sometimes."

"And you."

"And me," he admitted. "And Skjor, and Kodlak, and...well, everyone, really. But don't feel like you have to do the same. And if you do ever feel like trying it out, make sure one of us is there. They can hurt you if you're not careful."

Vilkas and Farkas nodded obediently, although their attention was still on Arnbjorn as the wolf continued to pound away at his ass. Then the wolf suddenly froze, its cock buried as far as it could go.

"Oh. Did it cum?" Farkas asked.

"Even better. It knotted me," Arnbjorn said.

"Huh?"

"Wolves and dogs have a bulb at the base of their dicks," Jergen explained. "When they cum, that bulb expands to lock them in place for a while. We call that a knot. It can hurt if you're not expecting it, but if you know it's coming, it can feel good to be stretched out all of a sudden."

"Good? Try fucking fantastic. It's the best part," Arnbjorn said.

"I'm trying to be neutral here, Arnbjorn."

"Fuck that. Hey, you two," he said to the boys. "Why don't you come over here and let me suck you off? I ain't going anywhere until this knot goes down."

Vilkas looked down at his plate. "But I'm still eating," he said.

"Later, maybe?" Farkas asked.

"Come on. You can finish eating later."

"They said no, Arnbjorn," Jergen said, a note of steel in his voice. "Respect their decision."

Arnbjorn opened his mouth to respond, only to close it without saying anything. "Fine," he gritted out after a moment. "Surprised you're not yelling at me for offering to blow them in the first place, though."

"I'm not happy about it, but I've accepted that the boys are sexually active now...no thanks to you. As long as it's their choice, I can live with it."

"Hmph. Good to know, I guess."

Vilkas and Farkas did indeed let Arnbjorn suck them off once they finished eating, although they declined his offer to play with the wolf once its knot had deflated enough for it to pull free. Instead, they went outside to watch as the others trained, coming inside only when Tilma emerged to let them know it was time for lunch. Then it was back outside once again until dinner.

Such days quickly became routine -- not watching everyone else train, necessarily, but generally following that same lack of structure. Vignar occasionally pulled them aside for brief tutoring sessions to make sure they weren't growing up uneducated, and Tilma and Brill never turned down a helping hand with the chores if they offered, but that was it. Unless someone specifically needed them for something, they were free to do whatever they liked.

And what they liked to do most was each other.

Jergen still wasn't thrilled that they were having sex, but he was realistic enough to admit that there was no point trying to stop them. Especially not with Arnbjorn egging them on at every turn. Instead, he settled for reminding them about the importance of consent.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to ask -- when you boys have sex, is it because you both want it, or just one of you?"

"What do you mean?" Vilkas asked with a frown.

"Suppose you're horny and Farkas isn't. Do you fuck him anyway, or do you do something else if he's not in the mood?"

Vilkas was aghast at the thought. "No! I wouldn't hurt him!"

Jergen let out a relieved sigh. "Good. That's exactly the right answer."

"Really?"

"Really. Remember we talked about this a few months ago? Anyone you have sex with needs to be okay with it. Otherwise it's rape."

Now both boys were aghast. "Oh no! I don't want to rape Vilkas!" Farkas exclaimed.

"And as long as you make sure he wants it first, you never will. Simple as that."

One night, just before the twins fell asleep, Arnbjorn let himself into their room.

"Good. You're still up," he said when they turned their heads to look blearily at him. "Which one of you wants to fuck?"

"Not now, Arnbjorn," Farkas said, his voice slightly muffled by his pillow. "We're tired."

"...what did you say?"

"We're tired," he said again. "Can we do it tomorrow instead?"

There was silence for a long moment, until...

"No. No, I don't think so," Arnbjorn said in a low voice that was barely above a growl. "I'm horny, and that means I'm going to fuck someone. You or your brother. Take your pick."

"We've already had sex with each other, though," Vilkas said. "We want to go to sleep now."

"Too fucking bad," Arnbjorn said with a snarl. "You owe me, you little shits! I'm the reason you know how to fuck in the first place!" He pounced on Farkas, pinning him to the bed and lining himself up with his hole.

"No! Stop it!" Farkas cried out. "I'll -- AAAAAHHH!"

Vilkas watched in horror as Arnbjorn drove his cock mercilessly into his twin. It was so big, and Farkas was so small, that there was no hope of it being painless even under the best of circumstances...and Arnbjorn had thrust the whole thing in without warning. He scrambled out of bed and ran as fast as he could. Arnbjorn didn't try to stop him, too caught up in fucking Farkas to pay attention to anything else.

"Jergen! Jergen!" he called out.

Fortunately, either Jergen was still awake or his yelling had woken him up. "Vilkas? What is it?" he asked as he came out of the communal sleeping quarters. He wasn't dressed, but that was the least of Vilkas's concerns at the moment.

"It's Farkas! And Arnbjorn! He...he's hurting him!"

Jergen's face morphed into a rictus of fury. "Stay behind me," he said.

Vilkas meekly obeyed and followed Jergen back to their room. The closer they got, the easier it was to hear Farkas's screams of pain. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh.

The sound of Arnbjorn raping his brother.

"ARNBJORN!" Jergen bellowed the moment he was in sight, surely waking up everyone in Jorrvaskr. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Arnbjorn froze. So did Farkas.

"He wanted it," Arnbjorn said. "Not my fault I'm hung, is it?"

"No he didn't!" Vilkas exclaimed. "You came in and asked if we wanted to have sex, and we said no because we were tired, and you just did it with Farkas anyway!"

"Is that true, Arnbjorn?" said a new voice.

Everyone turned to face the new arrival. "Kodlak," Jergen said.

"Jergen. Arnbjorn. I believe I asked a question. Is what young Vilkas said accurate?"

"Of course it isn't!" Arnbjorn said.

"So you say, but the sight before me suggests otherwise. Why, Arnbjorn? Why would you do this?"

Arnbjorn scoffed incredulously. "Are you seriously asking me that? You've seen what they're like lately! Prancing around naked, fucking each other in front of everyone...you can't blame a man for wanting part of that!"

"There are two problems with that explanation, Arnbjorn," Kodlak said while taking a step towards the bed. "The first is that you yourself are the reason for their recent behavior. Do not think it has escaped our notice that you are the one who has been encouraging them to be sexually active in the first place."

"You can't seriously be blaming me for how Jergen's kids are--"

"The second," he said, cutting Arnbjorn off completely and taking another step towards him, "is that even if you were not somehow the reason for your own misfortune in that regard, the fact remains that you are raping a child." Quick as a snake, he reached out and took Arnbjorn's arm in an iron grip. "Release him."

"Kodlak, what are you--"

"NOW."

Arnbjorn flinched and obeyed without another word. Farkas whimpered as his cock pulled free but remained where he was, limp and unmoving. Vilkas promptly rushed to his side.

"Jergen, if you would be so kind as to wake the others, if they are not already," Kodlak said, calm once more. "There is much we need to discuss. Immediately."

Jergen scowled at Arnbjorn. "There better be some fucking consequences for this, Kodlak. I won't be held responsible for what I do to him if there isn't."

Kodlak inclined his head. "This will not go unpunished, I assure you. The others?"

"Yeah, sure. Give me a minute."

Once Jergen was gone, Kodlak turned his attention to Vilkas and Farkas. "I am sorry to leave you like this, children, but this must be addressed. Please accept my deepest apologies for what has happened."

"But you're not the one who...who raped him," Vilkas said.

"That may be true, but you are still under Jergen's care -- and through Jergen, me. You should never have been forced to endure this. This was our failing, not yours."

Vilkas didn't really understand, but he realized there was no point arguing. "Can someone help Farkas, though? I think he's hurt."

"I will send Miss Tilma along shortly."

"No need for that," Tilma said, appearing in the doorway. "I'm here."

"Thank you. Please tend to Farkas. Come, Arnbjorn."

Kodlak dragged Arnbjorn out of the room, closing the door behind him. Tilma gently cleaned Farkas up with hot water and towels, then applied a poultice for any lingering pain he might be feeling. Once she was done and Vilkas assured her that Farkas was the only one who'd been hurt, she let them be, her only order being for Farkas to sleep on his stomach that night to ease the pressure on his rear.

Sleep was a long time coming for them that night, but come it eventually did.

The next morning saw Vilkas -- and only Vilkas -- cautiously peeking out of their room.

The door to Arnbjorn's room across the hall was wide open. The room itself, however, looked different for some reason. It took Vilkas several minutes to realize why.

It was empty.

The furniture was still there, but everything that had belonged to Arnbjorn was gone. No clothes. No armor. No weapons. No personal effects.

It gave Vilkas hope.

He went upstairs to find breakfast already underway. There was still no sign of Arnbjorn.

"Morning, kiddo," Jergen said. "Where's Farkas?"

"He's still asleep. I didn't want to wake him after...after last night."

"It's okay. I understand."

"Where's Arnbjorn?" he asked.

"Arnbjorn is no longer with us," Kodlak said. "He has been expelled from the Companions. He will trouble you no more."

"It was a sight to see," Jergen said with a soft smile on his face. "I've never seen Kodlak so angry in my life."

"Why?"

"Arnbjorn has sullied the honor of the Companions. He raped your brother, and in doing so, he betrayed us all. And so we have cast him out," Kodlak said.

"I wanted to kill him, but Kodlak overruled me," Jergen said.

"We are men of honor, even if Arnbjorn is not. If he sets foot inside Jorrvaskr again, his life will be forfeit. But not before."

"I know that. I was there when you told him. I still want to gut the bastard."

"If you happen to encounter him again, you may do what you wish. I am sure he will understand."

Jergen rolled his eyes but subsided. Vilkas, meanwhile, prepared two plates of food -- one for him, and one for Farkas. Jergen excused himself from the table and helped bring it all to their room.

"Farkas?" Vilkas said quietly when they arrived.

There was no response. Farkas lay there, unmoving.

"Guess he's still asleep," Jergen said. He knelt down and took Vilkas in a hug. "I'm sorry about what happened, kid. I should've seen what was going on."

"I'm sorry too," Vilkas said.

"What for?"

"For listening to him. For doing what he said. For acting like he did."

"That's not your fault. He was an adult. A Companion, like the rest of us. A little coarse, a little shameless, but someone you should've been able to trust. Someone we did trust. And he betrayed that trust."

"I...I'm glad you saved us, Jergen. Thank you."

Jergen felt his eyes grow wet with tears. "You're welcome, Vilkas. You and Farkas both."

Farkas remained skittish for the next several days. He clung to Vilkas and Jergen at all times, and while he wasn't entirely uncommunicative, he was nonetheless far quieter than he used to be. It was as if he was a shadow of his former self, an echo of the scared child Jergen had brought to Jorrvaskr so many months ago.

After several weeks with no sign of Arnbjorn, however, he slowly started coming out of his shell once again. It wasn't an instantaneous transition, but every day saw him a little more talkative. A little more cheerful. Then, one morning, Jergen entered their room to get them up for the day, only to find Farkas laying face down and Vilkas thrusting away at his ass.

"Huh. Didn't see this coming," he said once he realized what was going on. "You're still okay with having sex? Even after...well, everything?"

"If it's Vilkas, it's alright," Farkas said. "Although...I wouldn't mind if it was you, either."

Jergen blinked in surprise. "Really? Why?"

"We trust you," Vilkas said simply.

"I...well, I'm touched, boys. Really, I am. But--"

"But you don't want to. We know," Farkas said despondently.

"--can it wait until after breakfast, at least?"

Both boys blinked, suddenly unmoving, then turned as one to look at Jergen. "Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah, I do," Jergen said. "I know I've turned you down a lot before. But it's clear you're not going to stop having sex any time soon, so...I'll get over it. Just promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"If I ever do something that makes you feel uncomfortable -- anything at all -- tell me immediately and I'll stop. I don't want to hurt you. Not like Arnbjorn did."

Their smiles were identical. "We promise."

After breakfast, they retreated back to the twins' room.

"So...how are we doing this?" Jergen asked. "What do you usually do?"

"It depends," Vilkas said. "Sometimes I fuck him. Sometimes he fucks me. Sometimes we suck each other, or jerk off. With Arnbjorn...we always fucked him, or he sucked us. His dick was too big for anything else."

"Yours is a lot smaller," Farkas added.

Jergen couldn't hold back a grimace at that. "I know it's true, but...maybe don't say it quite like that? A man's got to have his pride."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. Sounds like one of you will be fucking me while I blow the other, then?"

"Yeah. Unless...do you think you could fit inside us?"

Jergen looked down at himself. There wasn't much to see, since he still had his pants on, but it was the thought that counted. "You know, I probably could. Your dicks are way bigger than mine was at your age, so if you're fucking each other without a problem..."

Vilkas nodded and tugged at Jergen's pants without another word.

"I've got it, I've got it," Jergen said. He stripped in short order and stood naked before the boys. They scrambled to do the same. "Yeah. I think this could work," he said once he could compare them directly. "But only if you want to," he added quickly.

This time it was Farkas that spoke. "I want to."

And there was really nothing Jergen could say to that.

He lay down on the bed, his dick slowly hardening in anticipation of what was to come. Farkas knelt beside him and started sucking him off, but Jergen had a better idea.

"Over here, kid. Sit on my chest."

Farkas was confused, but obeyed. Once he was in position, Jergen repositioned him so that he was facing away from him with his ass exposed, then leaned in to eat him out.

"Oh, gods," Farkas moaned. "That feels so good. Don't stop, Jergen. Please."

Jergen smiled into Farkas's asshole. After a while, he switched from his tongue to his fingers, only to switch right back after a few minutes, then again soon after that.

"You ready for the real thing?" he asked eventually.

Farkas nodded eagerly.

"Go for it, then."

Farkas turned around to face him, took a deep breath, and slowly sank down over Jergen's dick...all the way to the base, to his visible surprise.

"That...that was easy!" he exclaimed.

Jergen didn't quite understand. "What do you mean?"

"It always hurts a little bit when Vilkas and I do it," Farkas said as he started bouncing up and down on his length. "Your dick's bigger, but it didn't hurt at all!"

"That's because I stretched you out first."

Both boys stared at him.

"Don't tell me you've been fucking all this time without stretching each other first."

Two identical shakes of the head.

Jergen threw his head back with a groan. "Fuck. I really should have told you about this as part of our talk. I'm sure Arnbjorn didn't bother, he likes it when it hurts."

"He never seemed too worried about that," Vilkas agreed.

"Shit, we've been ignoring you, haven't we?" Jergen realized. "Come on, join us. What do you want us to do with you?"

"I don't know. Anything, really."

"Be careful with words like that. I get what you mean, though. Sit on my face, I'll eat you out like I did your brother."

Vilkas eagerly obeyed. Soon he was writhing with pleasure as Jergen plundered his depths. Jergen couldn't see what he and Farkas were doing thanks to the ass blocking his view, but he could hear them perfectly well.

"Hey, Farkas?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yeah."

Jergen let them carry on. He continued rimming Vilkas, kept thrusting up into Farkas, and marveled at how much had changed in the months since he first rescued them from that cave. It wasn't long before he felt his orgasm building, but Farkas beat him to it.

"Ah...ah!" he cried out as he spasmed in place.

"Can you do me next?" Vilkas asked Jergen once his brother's orgasm had run its course.

"Sure can," he said. "How did you want it?"

"Same as Farkas. Me on top of you."

"Alright. You can hop on once your brother gets out of the way."

Farkas removed himself with alacrity at the reminder. Vilkas took his place a moment later, and his reaction was much the same as his twin's.

"Wow. This really is easier."

"See? Stretching's important. So is lubricant -- oil and the like works well. Spit can help a little bit in a pinch, but it's not ideal."

Vilkas nodded, too caught up in fucking himself on Jergen's dick to focus on the conversation. While he did that, Farkas lay across Jergen's chest and threw his hands around his neck.

"Thank you," he said.

"What for?"

"For doing this. For helping us. For everything."

"Doesn't feel like I've done much, to be honest. But you're welcome."

Farkas nodded but didn't stop cuddling him as Jergen fucked his brother. Vilkas came undone in short order, just like his twin. Only then did Jergen stop holding himself back.

"I'm getting close," he told them. "Where do you want my cum?"

Vilkas squirmed in place, still impaled on his dick. "In me?" he half-said, half-asked.

Jergen smiled. "I can do that."

He refrained from shouting out loud as he came, but it was a close thing. Farkas was there to take his place the moment he pulled out, devouring the cum inside his brother as if it was a feast. He shook his head fondly at the sight.

"I assume you can take it from here?" he said as he gathered his clothes.

Farkas gave an affirmative hum, too occupied with eating Vilkas out to respond with words.

"Yeah, we've got it," Vilkas confirmed. "Thanks, Jergen."

"You're welcome, boys."

Jergen still preferred to have sex with people his own age, but there was something about the twins that made it impossible for him to say no. Fortunately, they didn't ask for sex with him too often -- a few times a month, at most. Whenever they did, however, he came running, and they joined together in bed once more for another night of pleasure.

The other Companions never said anything about their arrangement. Jergen was grateful for that. Just because he was having sex with children didn't mean he wanted to talk about it.

Days stretched into weeks, then months. Vilkas and Farkas's birthday came and went, celebrated by everyone in Jorrvaskr with a cake Tilma had made just for the occasion. They even got a new member, a woman named Aela who specialized in archery and became fast friends with Skjor. For nearly a year, all was well.

Then word made it to Whiterun that the Empire was at war with the Aldmeri Dominion.

Given the speed at which news generally traveled throughout the Empire, it was probably more accurate to say that they had been at war for several months already. But when Jergen heard that the Dominion was looking to outlaw the recognition of Talos as a god, he couldn't hold his tongue.

"The fuck do those elven bastards care, anyway? If they don't like Talos, that's fine, but what about the rest of us?" he demanded of no one in particular at dinner one evening.

No one had an answer for him.

"I mean, we've got a shrine to Talos right fucking here! It's barely a stone's throw from Jorrvaskr! What's going to happen to it?"

"That would depend on who wins the war, I imagine," Kodlak said.

Jergen clearly wasn't happy with that answer, but he let the subject drop. The next day, however, it became obvious that he was still angry and frustrated.

"What did that poor training dummy ever do to you?" Skjor asked him.

"It existed," Jergen snarled out. He promptly deflated with a sigh. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm just so fucking mad at the Dominion right now. I feel useless here."

"You're not useless -- you're a Companion. You're helping us keep Skyrim safe."

"I know that, but what do we fight most of the time? Animals and bandits. Not elves." He ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck this. I'm going take a bath."

Over the next few weeks, Jergen grew more and more agitated. He never quite lashed out at anyone, but his temper was clearly on a knife's edge. Only with Vilkas and Farkas was he able to moderate himself, a fact the others happily took advantage of by pointing them in his direction whenever he got too irritable to handle.

Things finally came to a head in Rain's Hand.

"I have something to tell you boys," he said to Vilkas and Farkas one night. They had just finished having sex and were lying in bed together. "I'm leaving to go fight in the war."

Both boys froze. "When...when will you be back?" Farkas asked.

Jergen shut his eyes. "That's the thing, kid. I don't know if I'll ever come back. This is war. People die in wars."

"Then why go? Why not stay?"

"Because...because if I didn't, I'd feel like I was betraying part of myself. I can't just stay here and do nothing."

Farkas sniffled. If Jergen were to look at him, he suspected he would find him fighting back tears.

"When are you leaving?" Vilkas asked him.

"Tomorrow."

"What? But that's so soon!"

"I know. I'm sorry, boys. I'm sorry for abandoning you like this. I promise I'll do everything I can to make it back alive. But if the worst happens...if I die out there...know that I love you."

"Jergen..." one of them said.

"I know I haven't said it much," he said hoarsely. "Fuck, I don't think I've said it at all until now. I know I haven't done a great job of showing it. But I do. I love you both."

"We love you too, Jergen," Farkas said. He and Vilkas hugged him from opposite sides, and he gave in to his tears at last.

"I'm glad to hear that. So glad..."

They drifted off to sleep like that, unmoving from their shared embrace. When Vilkas and Farkas woke up in the morning, Jergen was gone.

It was the last time they ever saw him.

"You know, I do believe you might be the youngest Companions on record," Vignar said as he perused a records book.

"Really?" Farkas asked.

"We basically grew up here. It makes sense," Vilkas pointed out.

"Don't sell yourselves short," Vignar chided him. "It's your training and skill that got you this far. To be inducted at sixteen is no small feat, no matter how you were raised."

"Fair enough. So what do we do now?"

"Now? Nothing in particular. We will throw a party tonight, of course, but at the moment, your time is your own. I trust you two will be celebrating in your usual way?"

"You know us too well," Farkas said with a smile. He threw an arm around Vilkas's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "What do you say, brother? Want to break in our new bed?"

"It's hardly a new bed," Vilkas objected as they left Vignar to his devices and went downstairs. "None of them are."

"But it's new to us, and that's what matters."

"If you say so."

A few minutes later, they were in the communal sleeping quarters. They had been there before, but never as residents. Now that they were proper Companions, however, they couldn't justify having a private room anymore unless they were part of the Circle.

"We did it," Vilkas said once they were naked and in bed together. "We're Companions. Jergen would be proud."

"He'd be proud no matter what," Farkas said.

"True. He would."

"I miss him, Vilkas."

"So do I. But he left, and now he's gone. All we can do is move forward. Now shut up and fuck me."

"Gladly."

They had sex often enough that there was no need to prepare each other anymore. Vilkas lay on his back, Farkas climbed on top of him, then Farkas shifted his hips so that his dick was lined up with his twin's ass and pressed forward. It slid in with only a hint of resistance. The moment he was fully sheathed inside, he leaned in to capture Vilkas's mouth in a kiss.

"Fuck," he said when they broke apart for air. "I love you, Vilkas."

"I love me too."

Farkas laughed and gave a particularly sharp thrust that stole Vilkas's breath. "Asshole," he said fondly.

"Dick."

"A dick that's fucking your asshole."

"You are. And I love it. Just like I love you."

"We got there eventually," Farkas said with another kiss and a smile.

They continued like that for a time, long enough for Aela to finish with her own training session and come in to fetch a change of clothes.

"I heard you made it in. Congratulations," she said as she got dressed.

"Thanks. Will we see you at the party?" Vilkas asked.

She snorted. "Of course you will. And you better fuck me stupid while we're there."

"We can do that."

"Good. I'll see you then."

"Should I be jealous?" Farkas asked with a smile once she was gone.

"You never know," Vilkas teased. "Your dick's nice and all, but you're not a woman. I might just get tired of you and leave."

"You'd never do that."

"You're right. I wouldn't. I'll always be there for you, no matter what."

"Gods," Farkas breathed as he sped up his thrusts. "The things you do to me, Vilkas..."

Vilkas smiled back at him. "I know. You getting close?"

"Yeah. I'm almost...there!" he cried as he spilled himself inside his twin. Once his orgasm subsided, he wrapped his hand around Vilkas's dick and helped bring him to completion as well, covering his chest in streaks of white that he promptly licked up.

"Hey! I wanted some of that for myself," Vilkas protested.

"Help yourself, then," Farkas said. He kissed him again, except this time his mouth was full of Vilkas's cum. Vilkas eagerly accepted the offering and swallowed it down, only to attack Farkas's mouth again immediately afterward.

"More," he panted out.

"More what?" Farkas asked, his dick already re-hardening within Vilkas.

"Everything."

"I can do that."

They fucked their way to a second orgasm together, then Farkas withdrew in order for Vilkas to penetrate him in return. They were working their way up to a third when a soft knock on the door heralded the appearance of Tilma.

"It's almost time for the party, boys," she told them.

"Is it? We'll be up soon, then," Farkas said. Despite his words, he didn't move an inch as Vilkas continued to fuck him.

She giggled at them. "Don't take too long, now." Then she left, leaving them alone once more.

"Well, you heard her. Guess we've got to cut this short," Vilkas said.

Farkas's arms shot out to hold him in place before he could withdraw. "I don't think so, brother," he said with a smile. "You're going to keep going, and you're not going to stop until your cum's dripping out of me. Got it?"

Vilkas smiled back, even as he sped up his thrusts. "And then what?"

"Then we'll go upstairs just as we are, and we'll do this all over again in front of everyone."

That did it for Vilkas. He lost control and came inside Farkas with a loud cry, then took Farkas in hand and helped him finish as well. Only then did they pull apart at last and lay down beside each other.

"I love you, Farkas," Vilkas said. "I'd do anything for you."

Farkas turned his head to stare incredulously at him. "Do you honestly think you're alone in that?"

"No. But I wanted to say it anyway."

Instead of replying verbally, Farkas leaned over and kissed Vilkas full on the mouth. Vilkas returned the favor enthusiastically. They stopped only with great reluctance.

"We really should be getting upstairs. They'll start without us if they don't," Vilkas said.

"Yeah, they would." Farkas stood up and walked to the door, only to stop when he realized Vilkas hadn't done the same. "Vilkas?" he asked.

Vilkas was staring at him with slightly wide eyes, frozen halfway through putting his shirt back on. "You were serious," he said.

"About what?"

"When you said we'd go upstairs as we are."

Farkas walked over and plucked the shirt out of Vilkas's arms, then took him in a full-body embrace. Their cum immediately smeared across them both, which he ignored. "Of course I was. Why would I do anything to hide the best thing in my life?"

Vilkas let out a suspicious-sounding sniffle. "You can't just say things like that," he said weakly.

"Too bad. I just did. And I meant every word of it. You're everything to me, brother. I'd sooner die than lose you."

There was silence for a long moment as they simply held each other. Then Vilkas reclaimed his shirt, tossed it aside, and looked Farkas in the eye.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

Farkas took Vilkas's hand in his own with a smile, and they left the room the same way they would face the future.

Together.