The breath of the night sky had whispered to him many moons before he had reached the Teekon Wilds. He had known it well, and the Nord had often searched the northern lights for spiritual guidance along his journey. Though he had been led far from the tundra of the northernmost Jorrvaskr, Kodlak carried little regret in the bulk of his warrior shoulders. He had become a Companion so that he would know the earth and what it had to offer; he had not taken the Harbinger’s rank to long for his home.
 
The lake was quiet, lapping gently at the shoreline with a leisurely tug and pull. The Nord trekked just outside of reach, head low and swaying with each step forward. His coat stood out as a stark contrast to the rich navy and twinkling silver in the sky. Even the waters were illuminated in a glow of cerulean that matched only what was shimmering from overhead. Kodlak was the dusty storm torn figure against an obsidian backdrop. Though his movements were careful and calculated in aim of the mountain, he could not conceal himself well enough to bother.
 
The hybrid wolfdog that roamed ahead of him was missed by his sea-toned sights. Kodlak was not in favor of the wind, either, and so he continued the lumbering trek that carried him across loose skipping stones and damp soils. Ahead, he could see a river that twisted into the heart of a towering forest. It was all that blocked him from the rising mountains beyond.

Were it not for the sound of quickly approaching paws, Kodlak would surely have missed the presence of the dark hybrid creature. Instead, a single dusty ear swiveled back to meet the imminent footfall and he swung his head around to meet the figure of the other.
 
At first, the burly Nord was taken aback at the sight. He had never seen such a strange creature before. It smelled foreign to him – as alien as the ocean had been – but not altogether lacking the savagery needed for survival in the wilderness. The swelling sea color of his gaze rested firmly on her dark frame, and the Wuuthrad offered her a swift wagging of his tail to suggest that he was not a creature who would cause immediate harm. Kodlak then worked to study the shape of her frame and the drooping of her ears.
 
The female’s coat was dark as night and thinner than what he had known. Her ears did not perk rigidly atop her crown but hung almost protectively over the tender insides. Even in the shape of her boxy muzzle was the look of someone who had not been born to the wild things. “Greetings,” he offered her in a deep-throated baritone.

Kodlak Whitemane was – and always would be – a fierce and powerful creature. He was said to be a weapon of his people, and a fighter for their cause. He was bred to lead and to lend his strength to those who needed it. In Jorrvaskr, it was a common occurrence that his fangs were required. They led a great defense along the pack’s borders and were avid in training the young how to defend and conquer against their enemies. The Nord did not see this dark female as any form of enemy. She had approached him with a kindness in her step, and he valued that she was forthright about what exactly was wrong with her appearance. Still, he did not understand some of the words that she spoke, and he furrowed a brow over his sea foam eyes with thoughtful concern.
 
“Greetings, Elixir,” he met her with a rumbling voice. It was far more suitable to greet another with their calling instead of leaving it open-ended. Kodlak bowed his torso toward the earth in a grand gesture that was customary for those of his rank. The great Nordic warrior then met her gaze with his own and he offered her a gentle smile. “I do not know what a dog is. Please forgive me for this. My name is Kodlak Whitemane, Harbinger to the Companions and Wuuthrad of Jorrvaskr.”

The dark maiden was a peculiar creature to him in more than just her sights. Her manner of speech was odd and so very unlike his own. Knowing that he had entered a world of new culture and that he was required to embrace it, the Nord did not disregard her words as being careless or lacking a formal structure. Instead, he offered her a soft smile; one that toyed along the edges of his dark and leathery lips. It did well to break through his harsh veneer and soften the grizzled maw of the northern warrior.
 
Elixir was prompt to provide him with answers to what her species was. Kodlak could not hide his interest. He had never had an interaction with the humankind before. He believed them to be something of myth – stories told only to poor pups in the chilling nights – and that they had never touched on the wild things of the earth. Still, this dark maiden knew quite a fair bit of them and she shared it openly. Domestic things were peculiar in such a savage setting; it seemed as though the soft creatures were always tainted by the roughhewn wilderness.
 
“Ah, yes,” he began after her questions had been presented to him. “Please forgive me. My culture is foreign to these parts. The Companions are an elite guild of warriors who fight to aid those around them. The Harbinger is their leader. I have taken the helm of the Companions in this, the fourth era of their existence.” It felt peculiar to have to describe his rank and life within that rank to the likes of a dark stranger. The lake was quiet, and it lulled him into an openness – a willingness to share – that he felt was an opportunity for growth.
 
“Did you dwell with these… humans for long? What has pulled you to the wilds?

“Mmm,” the Nord mused in a voice that carried hints of rolling thunder. “Yes, I suppose that is a fair way to put it. We fight for those who need us.” It seemed that the Harbinger was a noble title to carry, but Kodlak did not always see what they did as being virtuous. He had watched many of his companions give their lives for causes that were challenging to comprehend. There had been times he had almost given the very same. There was something of a paradox within him in which life carried a great deal of weight, but never his own. Kodlak was not sure when he would breathe his last breath. Perhaps it did not matter enough to him.
 
The dark female Elixir spoke of her life prior to the one she had. The Nord did not know enough of the humans to settle on an opinion. She did seem to speak with an urgency that pressed in him a need to not be concerned for her previous blood. Something caused him to wonder if she was at all like he was. “Do you miss the life you once lived?” he inquired carefully.