Tales of a Quite Peculiar Cat Vol. I
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Posted by Meli - Filed in TSC: Long Story - #"TSC: Long Story" #'TSC Book and Terminal Event' #"TSC:Skyrim" - 1,680 views
By Rubyn Frey
Our tale begins in Elsweyer, with a kit who was a little too curious, finding herself amongst the feet of the elders in the markets or climbing onto the low sloping roofs and finding hiding spots to overhear the more noble Khajiit or visiting Justicas.
Our kit, Ji'sari, had a way of quite deliberately being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being marched back to her parents after learning the very thing she was seeking, very often smiling to herself.
On one such occasion, Ji’sari, her green eyes glinting in the sunlight, had been intent on reaching the warehouse where her father worked to hear his fate after an accident had led to his position being placed in jeopardy. Ji’sari had been forbidden from visiting the warehouse at any time, and knew that if she were seen then she would be in more trouble than a fish in the desert sands. Climbing from an upper floor window, Ji’sari made her way across the lower rooftop, and leapt to the next, the warehouse was in a lower district near the city walls so she had to drop to the ground and carefully climb the next building without being seen.
It took most of the afternoon for Ji’sari to reach the warehouse, local people and merchants milling around the streets, the occasional pickpocket unseen by most, but quietly observed from her various hiding places upon the rooftops.
Waiting outside of the warehouse were a small number of heavily armed Cathay-raht, wearing the mark of the Justicars, not the ruling classes. Ji’sari was perched in a small nook on the rooftop opposite, still observing the movements below, wondering how to reach the building where her father was due to learn his fate.
Noticing an increasing number of people coming through the street, Ji’sari quietly dropped from the roof and mingled amongst the legs of crowd until they passed close by the warehouse, noting that some old broken crates were stacked haphazardly against the wall where she could hide amongst them.
Once the crowd cleared the kit looked for a way up, knowing that small though she was, the crates could not be trusted to support her. A shuttered window gave her a way up, Ji’sari was glad that she was still allowed to run barefoot, the claws being quite helpful for climbing.
The roof space was clear, only guarded at night when opportunist thieves prowled the district. Creeping across the roof, she tried to identify where her father and his employer were meeting, her keen ears picking up on a heated conversation on the far side.
Moving very slowly she approached the voices, just able to make out her father's amongst the others, more than three people were in the room below it seemed. Settling down atop the roof to listen in, Ji’sari failed to notice the creaking below her, ears straining to hear the words spoken below. As one of the voices grew louder, and accusations were being made toward her father by a rather haughty mer, the roof below her gave way, Ji’sari landing in a cloud of dust upon a desk.
A rather plump Khajiit, clad in silks sat down heavily upon a chair behind him, raising a bejewelled hand to his brow. A Justicar stepped forward and dragged the kit to her feet upon the desk. Her father, a weathered old thing shuffled his feet as a second Justicar surveyed the hole above them.
“So, what do we have here? A thief, a spy?” Mused the first Justicar, “hmm, I wonder...”
“No,” interrupted her father, “this one is mine.”
“She's a rather cute little thing, for a cat,” the second Justicar rubbed one of Ji’sari's ears while the kit bit her tongue.
A large sigh came from the larger Khajiit as he stood and placed his palms together, “this one senses that it is time to bring matters to a close before the moons are high and hot sands are pleasant underfoot.”
“Very well, we are not tyrants, however the goods cannot easily be replaced, therefore some recompense is expected.”
“Khajiit is a hard worker, the value of this cannot be underestimated,” the Khajiit bowed his head, “you will have your recompense, but Khajiit keeps his position.”
The Justicars nodded in return, and turned to leave, pausing, the first Justicar turned to Ji’sari, “I have my eye on you cat.”
The door closed and the three Khajiit breathed deeply.
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