Good Ol' Riften (Open)

[Ja'Raska]

Ah, Riften... there was no place more unpleasantly wonderful in Skyrim. With the Thieves Guild lurking about in the shadows and the Ratways beneath it's streets, Riften was the worst place a long traveler could go unless one had connections in the city. But one was never truly alone with Ja'Raska within the city's walls, the oddball Khajiit liked to think he was friends with everybody and often vouched for complete strangers. Sometimes it got him into trouble with the Black-Briars, but the cat didn't really care, unless it effected the Guild.

On that particularly gloomy day, Ja'Raska sat on the steps in front of the Temple of Mara playing his lute for no real reason. Normally he would spend his time drinking mead at the Bee and the Barb, but a fight had broken out there earlier and he didn't want any part of it. Getting into a fight wasn't at all Ja'Raska's cup of tea, in fact the Khajiit would do just about anything to get out of a physical altercation. Perhaps that was why he was sitting in front of the Temple... what person in their right mind would pick a fight in a holy place? Not only that, but Ja'Raska enjoyed seeing all of the loving couples shuffle in and out of the temple. It was a glimmer of hope in such dark times, and hope was hard to come by. Hidden under his shirt was his own Amulet of Mara, but what person would marry a Khajiit thief? Ja'Raska chuckled quietly at the thought.

Strumming the lute in his clutches, Ja'Raska gazed out at the market place and watched people shuffle about in the rain. It was rather amusing actually... to think that those poor people just paid a fortune for a new piece of jewelry or armor to have it end up in the pocket of a thief... the Khajiit envied their blissful ignorance but pitied their foolishness. He never really understood why compelled people to travel to Riften, there was something mysterious and interesting about the city of Thieves. Ja'Raska knew all about that, for he was one of those people who always managed to find their way back to the city.

[S'kvari]

"Ugh... I hate this place." A female Khajiit growled as she walked toward the marketplace. "Damn thieves everywhere... And if one more filthy thief touches me... I swear." The Khajiit continued to mumble her hatred for Riften until the sound of music caught her attention. She had been hearing it for sometime, but never actually listened to it. Curious, the fiery woman followed the sound until she saw another Khajiit playing a lute a little ways away. She knew her Imperial armor would give away her alignment, but did she care? Not in the slightest.

Soon though she lost interest in the man, as she completely loathed the men of her own race. So she just walked on by the gateway to the temple, almost sure that she would be forced to speak to the musical cat.

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska's silver eyes were focused on the ground as he plucked at the strings on his lute. His mind was completely focused on the rhythm of the peaceful song he played, but when his nose caught the scent of another Khajiit he glanced up. Imperial armor in Riften? Odd, but Ja'Raska could have cared less. The male Khajiit kept himself out of the civil war, therefore didn't really care if a Stormcloak or Imperial passed him by. Although, the Stormcloaks usually spat at him for taking up space in Skyrim.... but Ja'Raska usually just shrugged it off and went on with his life. But a Khajiit in Imperial armor was quite curious.

The thief gazed up at the Kahjiit passing him by, still strumming the lute's strings. Curious to know more about the woman, sat up strait and turned his full attention on her. "Spare a septim for a fellow Khajiit?" asked Ja'Raska, stopping mid song and setting his lute on his lap. His tail swished from side to side steadily as he waited for some kind of response. Something in the back of his mind told him to not expect anything, but Ja'Raska still remained optimistic. Maybe she would stay and chat awhile? That would certainly be nice, he especially enjoyed the company of Khajiit, but he didn't want to waste her time if she had more important things to attend to.

[S'kvari]

She stopped and looked over at the other Khajiit. Since her helmet was off, her displeasure was clear in the fact that her ears were straight back. Fuck... This is what I was afraid of... Ok, don't tear his ears off. He just wants money... which I've got plenty of. She thought. With a sigh, she walked over and hande him a few Septims. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Don't make me regret it." The obviously annoyed woman said.

[Ja'Raska]

He immediately noticed the annoyed look on her face and felt guilty for angering her. All Ja'Raska had wanted was a coin and a civil conversation, but had managed to piss off the kind lady somehow. When the female Khajiit approached him and handed him a few septims, his eyes lit up with delight. Looking over the shiny coins, Ja'Raska smiled. Even if she was rather cranky for no apparent reason, she had showed him unexpected kindness and he was grateful. Very few outsiders dared show their gold to anybody while in Riften, so she was either very confident or was too trusting. Now that spectators had seen the exchange, it was only a matter of time before somebody tried sticking their fingers into the female khajiit's pockets.

"Thank you for your kindness," Ja'Raska said with a smile. Glancing around for a moment, the Khajiit turned back to the women beforehim. "Keep an eye on your pockets, kind stranger, the thieves in this town tend to... flock around outsiders." After pocketing the septims she had given him, Ja'Raska picked his lute off his lap and leaned on it for a moment. "If you need anything while you're in town, Friend, come find me. Talos guide you." Then he began to strum the strings of his instrument again, wondering if she would stick around and talk any longer.

[S'kvari]

"I know of the thieves. I've had to kill many of them." She snorted. "The only things I'm worried about them taking as the two amulets I carry, and I could always buy new ones." She referred to her amulets of Mara and Talos, the latter of which she kept hidden.

The woman didn't know why she hadn't already tried to rip the man's ears off, as she couldn't stand men of her own race. Perhaps it was because he wasn't trying to hit on her. That made him alright in her book. So she sat down on the ground in front of him. As soon as she did, her feet started to ache and the twinging pain became obvious on her face. Even for a Dovahkiin, the walk from Solitude to Riften was not easy. "So what is your name? Or shall I call you cat?"

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska was pleasantly surprised when the woman sat down in front of him. For the entire duration of their conversation, the male Khajiit half expected to be stabbed, burnt, or any other lovely outcome to occur. She had seemed very annoyed with him up until that point, but something seemed to ease her, otherwise she would've just kept on walking. Ja'Raska wondered if something he had said interested her or if she was just bored and needed something to do. Despite what it might have been, the Khajiit didn't mind at all. Her company was gladly welcomed, even though it was still sprinkling out just a bit.

"Any name you wish for me to have will suffice, friend," he replied with a chuckle, "You can call me Cat if you'd like, or Ja'Raska." His gaze turned onto his lute again while he set it aside. It was rather rude of him to continue playing while they conversed. Ja'Raska's attention drifted again, he focused on her amulets. He couldn't see them very well, nor did he look for too long. Ja'Raska didn't want to seem like he was gawking or anything. "An amulet of Mara?" Normally people wore them when they were looking for a spouse. The male Khajiit wore his own amulet of Mara in hopes that somebody might show interest in him. Ja'Raska wasn't avidly searching for a wife, he figured it would happen when it was meant to happen. He didn't blame the women of Skyrim for not showing interest in a scraggly old Khajiit that looked like he just crawled out of the dirt.

[S'kvari]

"Yes. I wear it because it was a gift from my mother. I suppose it's part of the reason I have to claw many Khajiit ears off for hitting on me." She replied. "Damn men... can't keep their grubby paws to themselves." The last part came out as a hiss. She knew though that that wasn't really the reason. The woman knew full and well that it was either because she was Dovahkiin, smokin' hot with a hard-to-get attitude, or both. Nobody ever looked past her body or pedigree, and frankly, it pissed her off. Still, the Khajiit wasn't bothering her yet. He hadn't hit one her once so far. "Anyway, the name's S'kvari, Legate of the Imperial Legion, Dovahkiin, yada yada yada. All that fun stuff."

[Ja'Raska]

Hearing her reply, Ja'Raska couldn't help but laugh a little bit. While he never had women crawling after him, the male Khajiit knew what she meant. Any woman that had an Amulet of Mara was often chased after by a herd of desperate men. It was rather humorous to watch... especially since he used to be one of those guys. Ja'Raska fell for a Nord woman once, he loved her dearly but she was afraid to marry a Khajiit. While it hurt, he understood and they went their separate ways. After that, Ja'Raska never really actively flirted with anybody, rather, he waits for others to flirt with him. But none of that was really important, and the Khajiit had just been lost in pointless thought.

"Ah, perhaps you should keep it hidden then?" Ja'Raska suggested with a shrug.

Ja'Raska was, however, surprised to hear that the Khajiit before him was a Dovahkiin. He had heard the legends of old and felt the earth shake beneath his feet as the Greybeards called out for the first time in hundreds of years. The male Khajiit wondered why she was telling him all of these things about herself. Maybe she was famous and he just didn't know it? He didn't even know she was the Dragonborn until she mentioned it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, S'kvari," he replied, "But I wonder... is sharing such information with a stranger wise?"

[S'kvari]

"Yeah. It is. Wanna know why?" S'kvari said with a devilish grin. Finally her true personality was brought out. That cocky, confident, but strong Khajiit she was sworn into the Imperial Legion as. "I haven't met a soul able to beat me at anything."

[Ja'Raska]

Her confidence was impressive, but was it being confused with blind arrogance? Ja'Raska wasn't sure, nor did he really even care. If she wanted to keep saying she was unstoppable, that was her own problem. It was good to have such faith in oneself, and she seemed to have good reasons as to why she was so confident. A Dovahkiin with the Imperial Army at her back. Any assassin would think twice before going after her.

"What about the other mysterious Dovahkiin are said to keep popping up," Ja'Raska said rather casually, "And the dragons that haunt the sky? Do you have any worries about them?"

[S'kvari]

"Dovahkiin attacking another? Really?" S'kvari scoffed, but then she looked away. "I'll admit. I do worry about the ever nearing fight with Alduin." It wasn't often that she admitted something like that, but it did her good to admit her own limits.

[Ja'Raska]

The Khajiit just shrugged. It wasn't likely that the Dovahkiin would turn against one another, but it wasn't impossible either. The legends said that only one Dovahkiin would slay Alduin, but which of them deserved that honor? Perhaps one would turn against the others so they could be the one to fight the monstrosity of a dragon. They would go down in history as a hero, who wouldn't want to be a hero?

"Well, if you are the Dragonborn from the prophecy, there should be no reason to worry, right?" Ja'Raska asked, curious to know if she truly believed that she would be the one to slay Alduin. "Have you spoken with the Greybeards? Perhaps they could assist you in some way..."

[S'kvari]

"There are three of us in the prophecy. Three radically different Dovahkiin. All from radically different factions. Imperial Legion, Stormcloak Rebellion, and a Sellsword. If we don't work together, Skyrim and it's people are as good as dead..." S'kvari snapped. This Khajiit knew little of how bad this had really gotten. Alduin was too strong for just one Dovahkiin. They learned this when her original travel partner was killed because she faced Alduin alone. S'kvari knew she would never chose a Dovahkiin as a travel partner ever again. That was a mistake in the first place.

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska didn't bother listening to the talk of the town when it came to worldly matters too much. He was trained to pay attention to any talk of coin or large sums of gold or valuables, so he was a bit out of touch with what was really going on in the world. It had been so long since he left Riften, too long... Sometimes the Khajiit missed the open road, playing his lute at an inn for a free room for the night and a hot meal, and all of the incredible people he met along the way. Ja'Raska loved his home town, but didn't like to sit still too much. Perhaps it was in his caravanning Khajiit blood, but he just couldn't stay in one place too long without a reason. He stayed in Riften because of his adoptive family... Ja'Raska owed the Thieves' Guild everything and had little to off in return but his unwavering service.

"Perhaps the world is meant to die?" he mentioned, curious to know how she'd respond to that, "Regardless, it's always possible to find common ground between people when the fate of the world rests in their hands. It might be wise to track these other Dragonborn down and start working things out sooner than later."