Elrin considered this with a glance to the side. When he sat up, Valthala straightened his back and met his eyes evenly. He forced a neutral face. 

“Then I want you awake when the rooster crows,” he stated. “I want that sword on your back and your hands ready to bleed. If you don’t—”

“I know.” Valthala said quickly, jumping to his feet. 

Elrin snatched his forearms. “I’m not done yet.”

He waited until Valthala stilled before he spoke again. His green eyes bore into his very soul. 

“This isn’t something you can just pick up and forget about whenever. This takes years. This takes discipline, and I won’t let you make a fool out of me for believing in you. Do you understand?”

Valthala nodded, both excitement and his nerves stirring. His grip on Elrin’s forearms tightened. “What should I do first?”

“First,” Elrin began. “You leave this room, lock the door behind you, and let me sleep.”

REUNION [valthala, vilkas, sinico] - its migghhtt be a short oneshot lol, afterlights HUGE so i wanted to jump right into the action!!

Was Elrin thinking of his own failures? Or was he thinking of him, pleading to any God that was listening to spare him from the same fate?

Fate.

The same fate that took his family made him the Dragonborn.

The blade moved another fraction. A startled gasp escaped Valthala as his gauntlets began to give way. Metal sank deeper.

Blood bubbling down Elrin’s open throat.

Blood trickled down the side of his neck. 

Elrin’s face, again, but younger and unscathed, looking down at him with quiet pride after his first real hunt.

Vilkas’ eyes meeting his as their swords locked, something proud swirling in those icy blue depths eleven years ago.

Valthala’s eyes shot open. The world blurred into silence. New power surged through his arms. He could not let Elrin lose another brother.