Familiar Faces [Ja'Raska]

[Ja'Raska]

Casual conversation? This entire little encounter was just too interesting. During their first meeting, Ja'Raska got the impression that S'kvari could've cared less about what he was doing... yet she actually did seem interested in what he had been up to. What had changed? Ja'Raska was dying to know the answer and didn't just want to assume...

"Oh, just picking pockets, locks, and stealing galore!" Ja'Raska responded with a chuckle, "Broke into a house awhile back and had to climb out the chimney so I didn't get caught. I've been coughing up ash everyday since."

He drank a bit more of his mead and looked back at her, "What have you been up to?"

[S'kvari]

"Ah, killing dragons, pissin' off the General and livin' life. Exciting right?" She answered, downing the rest of her drink and getting another. "Ash you say? That can't be healthy. Why didn't you just sneak past them. Surely as a thief your sneak is high enough."

[Ja'Raska]

"I would have snuck past them if that had been an option. The people living in the house all woke up and started walking around. I was lucky to even have the chance to climb out of the chimney." the Khajiit told her with a smile. He was damn lucky that the fire in the fire place had burned out, otherwise Ja'Raska wasn't sure he would have made it out without getting burnt really badly.

He set his mug down, but didn't order another drink. Ja'Raska wasn't much of a drinker and two mugs of mead were more than enough for the light weight. "Every once in awhile, being very skilled in sneaking about just isn't enough. Luck has a lot to do with it as well. But enough about me, tell me about some of these dragon fights!"

[S'kvari]

"Some were easy and not worth mentioning. However, there was one dragon that I fought with Wilhelm. Ancient Dragon. I would have been toast if Wilhelm hadn't been there. Dragon threw me then tried to set me on fire." She explained, taking yet another big drink. "Not fun, I assure you."

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska cringed just thinking about it... He had never fought a dragon before, but knew he probably wouldn't even stand a chance. Everything about a dragon just made him nervous... they were so dangerous and unpredictable.

"Oh, I definitely believe it," he told her, "I've never fought a dragon and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I never did. There's a dragon that likes to hang out on the mountain behind Riften though, Jarl's got a bounty out on it, if you're ever interested."

[S'kvari]

"I am interested actually. However, I know better than to go alone. Won't hurt my feelings if you say no, but would you like to come with me? It'll be good experience for you." She chuckled, finishing off her second tankard and getting another.

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska nearly choked when she asked him to go with her. He had just brought it up casually and hadn't been expecting an invitation to go. In all honesty, the Khajiit had absolutely no desire to see a dragon, let alone fight one.

"I... suppose I could go..." he responded, glancing away. Ja'Raska didn't want to seem cowardly... but he really didn't want to die trying to impress her either. "Why don't we go a little bit later? That way I can remember having fun before I go out and die." He laughed after he said it.

[S'kvari]

"The giant lizard isn't going anywhere. Take your time." She said, downing her drink once again. "And you aren't going to die. I'll make sure of that." She seemed rather sure of herself, as always, but something was off. Something in her voice told more than what she was saying, yet she didn't act like there was anything else.

[Ja'Raska]

When she said that, Ja'Raska felt a little bit relieved. He didn't want to go mindlessly pick a fight with a dragon, even if S'kvari was there and did the bulk of the work. Fighting just wasn't really his style, even though he was capable. Ja'Raska much preferred to sneak around and avoid fighting. It had been a long time since the khajiit had killed anything.

"And i'll do my best to make sure you won't die either," Ja'Raska replied with a chuckle. He noticed the subtle undertone in her voice and couldn't help but wonder... was something wrong? It was a bit concerning actually... S'kvari was normally so confident and vocal. "Is something wrong?"

[S'kvari]

"Hm? Nah. Why?" She asked, finishing the last of her drink and standing up. When she stretched, her lean muscles rippled, giving an indication just how deceptively strong the cat was. She gave him a smirk and stood there, awaiting his reason behind asking.

[Ja'Raska]

With her reply, Ja'Raska was swift to answer, "No reason, just curious." He pretended not to notice when S'kvari got up and stretched, just to play hard to get. The thief wasn't entirely sure what her intentions were, since he was getting rather mixed signals, but it was still fun to toy around.

"I've been thinking about investing in some better armor. The set I have is nice... but definitely won't do if I'm going to be dragon hunting with you when you come to Riften."

[S'kvari]

"What you have is fine for a weaker dragon." She said, not even realizing that her stretching was even remotely an issue. "You are quick on your feet though, you'll do fine. When you are ready, just come find me. I'm heading up." With that, the Legate walked off, her tail occasionally swishing about as she walked.

[Ja'Raska]

Even though S'kvari said his armor was good enough to fight a dragon, Ja'Raska wasn't quite sure he believed it. His armor was great for his profession but fighting anything or anyone usually ended up tearing right through it. The higher ranking guild members always nagged at him for not being more careful... but it wasn't really his fault.

"Why waste any more time? I'll just follow you, unless you'd like to go through our secret passageway to outside?"

[S'kvari]

She stopped and looked over at him. "Secret passage? I like secrets." She laughed, walking back over to him and waiting for him to lead the way.

[Ja'Raska]

Ja'Raska scratched his chin, wondering if he had just made a mistake by mentioning the secret passageway in and out of the Cistern... He did really need to grab the new armor he had gotten though, perhaps he'd run into Dante on the way? The khajiit smiled fondly when he thought of his oldest friend, the two had quite a bit of history together and Ja'Raska really wanted to tell him that he was going to go get eaten by a dragon.

He said nothing further, but led S'kvari to the fake cabinet in the back of the Flagon. The khajiit unlocked the door and headed into the Cistern where the Thieves' Guild headquarters were. Before he did anything else, Ja'Raska went to his bed and storage chest and grabbed the Ebony Mail he had just gotten. He put it on and made sure that everything was nice and secure. His eyes scanned around for Dante, but soon lost hope that he was actually there. Then he frowned, but headed to the secret exit. Ja'Raska climbed up the ladder and opened the cover above his head. Once he got back to his feet, Ja'Raska pulled the chain and the fake coffin above their heads slid back and let them out.

"I'm probably going to get my head torn off for showing you our secret passageways..." Ja'Raska grumbled as he waited for S'kvari to join him outside. "Let's make this dragon slaying thing quick... I'm meeting somebody later tonight."