"I…" Shad began, but he hesitated. What was the right way to word it? Was there a right way? He didn’t know if he should go into all the reasons for asking the favor in the first place. Should he even ask for the favor?
Then again, he had come all this way. He couldn’t just give up now.
“Not all the werewolves we caught deserved… what they got,” he started, looking away from her so she wouldn’t catch the shame in his eyes. “The Companions, least the ones I been ‘round - they’re real good ‘bout who they choose ‘n they keep an eye on ‘em ‘n everythin’. I mean, they’ve kept their secret for a long fuckin’ time, y’know? Y’don’t do that by killin’ ‘n turnin’ everyone y’come across. Plus, they’re doin’ some good for Whiterun…”
The Nord forced himself to pause, rambling on and on about a group of werewolves Niel didn’t know or care about probably wasn’t going to help him.
“M’just… askin’ that… if y’come across a werewolf that don’t seem feral, that ain’t eatin’ someone, that can turn back to a person… ask their name. Ask ‘em if they’re in the Companions, ‘n if they are - send for m’so I can come get ‘em,” he said, and finally managed to meet her eyes again.
“I’d like to ask y’to see where y’gettin’ y’weres, though - I mean, how they came to be, all of ‘em - to see if y’could find a pattern, maybe some feral or fuckin’ crazy bastard’s turnin’ people left ‘n right just cause they can. But I ain’t gonna do that. Hard to get straight answers from anyone when they’re fightin’ for their lives let alone a pissed off werebeast that just wants to leave.”
He finally took a drink of the spiced mead she had given him, having almost forgotten it completely as he searched for the words to say and now seemingly needing it as his throat seemed to close.
“M’just… close to some’a the people in the Companions,” he emphasized, giving the chief a look. “Another thin’ - if y’catch a werebear… let m’know immediately. If it ain’t killin’ anyone, try to keep it locked down as well as y’can til I get here. I’ve only met two other werebears like m’n one of ‘ems dead. The other… he’s helped m’a lot more than I thought anyone would be able too. I owe him.”