F-R-I-E-N-D - Cries-At-Night/Jo Storytime

Cries-At-Night sniffed the air. What was this? It was exotic, and smelled of...mead! Not the smell of wet dog in this place, but luxurious, delicious mead. Cries bounced lightly down the stairs, following the sense of the smell and looked to her left. She stopped in her tracks, frozen.

There he was.

His fur was silken, and draped in expensive fabrics - alien markings covered his shoulders. This was a well-groomed, well-travelled Khajiit. His head was buried in an old, dusty object - a book! Cries knew what those were. Some of the older girls had them, and could even read them! Stories of heroes and villians, of demons and dragons. Of adventure and freedom. Freedom. The young Argonian felt a chill down her spine - that word still gave her goosebumps.

He was walking towards her.

She let out a small squeak, and scurried back up the stairs, almost falling over her tail. She hid behind a pillar and peeked aroundto continue gazing at him. His walk was confident, a warrior's walk - was this cat-man a "hero"? She stared intently. Suddenly, he stopped. His huge ears pricked upwards, and he looked around. Cries froze again, holding her breath.

"I wonder" his voice was rich and arrogant "if I have a fan, hmm?". Cries held her breath - this cat-man was the coolest! "H-h-h-hello, mister cat man" came her barely audible reply. The Khajiit turned to face her - Cries recoiled, but his face was kind. He didn't look like he was going to hurt her, at least. "Why don't you come down here and tell me what you are looking at, little cub?".

Cries walked around the pillar and down the stairs, fiddling with her sleeves. "I, um, I saw you...um, reading..."
"Ah! A fellow academic!" boomed the Khajiit, smiling. "You are already a notch above these smoothskins, yes?" He gestured to a sleeping Vilkas, mead in-hand, snoring loudly at the great table. Typical Nord.

Her heart dropped.

Cries looked at her feet, tears in her eyes welling up at her shame. "I, uh...I..." The Khajiit looked her small frame, puzzled. His eyes followed the gleam of her scales, along her arms, to her collarbone, to her necl - to the cold gleam of the collar around her neck, of the cuffs she would forever wear at her wrists and ankles. Stupid Khajiit, he thought - fool! For a second, immense anger flowed through his body. Elves, no doubt, slaver scum. Dunmer.

He almost spat.

An idea formed in his head, and he swiftly moved to fix his mistake "My name is Jo, little cub" he held her hand in his, and shook it briskly "And what is your name, my lady?" Cries snapped out of her stupor - her, a lady! Her mood immediately brightened. "C-Cries-At-Night, mister Jo!" She shook his hand eagerly. Jo smiled and took his hand back - for a small she-lizard, she had quite the handshake. "I tell you what, lady Cries - would you become my reading apprentice? I am in need of someone who can help me read through some books - sometimes even a Khajiit as clever as I can stumble. My writing, as well - Khajiit gets tired sometimes, yes? Someone who I could practice with would be most helpful"

The little Argonian had frozen, staring in bewilderment at him. Jo wondered if he has said something untoward.

"Y-you would teach m-me these things, mister Jo?"

"Of course, of course! You have a long way to become as proficient as me, lady Cries, but I am a gentleman and a gentleman always helps a lady, yes?"

------

"Your abode is quite comfortable, lady Cries!" She shut the door behind him and motioned towards the set of chairs in the corner of the room. He walked towards them. "I have some books I bought with some bounty money! They looked nice, and the man at the shop said they were about special elves - about the Dwemer!" As Jo sat down and made himself at home, Cries almost ran to her small bookshelf. "They made metal men and flying ships and bows that shot arrows so fast, you couldn't see them!...Well, that's what the man said anyway" Jo nodded politely - the Dwemer were not his subject. It was the she-cat's love - her love of the damned Dwemer had almoed them both on more than one occasion. He wondered what would she was up to now...

"Here!" Jo was snapped out of his daydream, a pile of books dropped on the table in front of him "I bought these books! And I bought some drinks too! I like to drink them at nighttime by the fire - they make me feel warm and happy" Cries produced some dragon mead ale and some Honningbrew from the tiny kitchen at the back of the house, drinks in each hand, smiling happily. Jo couldn't help but smile too. This girl had barely been dragged up, treated poorly or worse by her supposed masters and had somehow escaped that hell and shame, only to make a small living for herself, by herself, in Whiterun of all places. A sudden swell of paternal gusto gathered in his chest - he had decided. He would watch this house from now on. He would not let anyone hurt her. He would not let those filthy elves or anyone else touch her again.

"Mister Jo?" Again, he blinked and suddenly was back in the small house. He looked in front of him. "Are you okay? I can walk you home if you want?" There she sat, with eagerness in her eyes and worry in her voice. Jo cleared his throat, and began to open his first bottle. "Of course, my dear! I was simply preparing my, uh, mind for our evening endeavours". He popped the cork off a bottle of dragon mead and passed it to the Argonian "Ladies first, of course." Cries smiled a toothy grin and began downing the bottle. Jo started laughing "Ah my Cries, I had forgotten how much you lizards can drink. Ah well, bottoms up!" Quickly opening up a bottle of Honningbrew, he gulped down a few mouthfuls. This was going to be a great evening, he thought.

------

"So, Bourlour never knew his arrow killed the wicked Daedra in the end?"
"No, my dear, he did not. It is a sad tale, I think."
They had spent hours reading and conversing, devouring a steady supply of wine and mead. Jo has started by trying to teach Cries-At-Night the Tamriel alphabet, but progress was slow. The girl was an eager learner, but her non-existent education was a huge obstacle to overcome. Jo could not get mad at her, of course, but his hatred of her masters deepened. He wondered if he should seek them out and punish them, for her sake and his ancestors.
"I guess, but the bad guy dies at the end! I think Bourlour would've been happy knowing that" Cries smiled her crocodile smile and downed another tankard. "One more?"
"I don't think I can, Cries" He stifled a burp - not in front of a lady - and finished his own tankard. "The sun is coming up and my bed is calling". He went to stand up, but the world started to turn. He stumbled in a drunken haze. He could hear the girl tittering. "I am fine! Fine! I just need...a lie down"
And with that, the Khajiit was out like a light. He slumped forwards onto the thick carpet in front of the fire. "Ah, my bed. Night night, my love".

Cries clapped her hands together excitedly - Jo had taught her how to spell her name. Well, the "Cries" part at least. She looked about for another piece of charcoal to practice with - she got up off her chair, and climbed onto the table, knocking over books and empty wine bottles. "I know it's here somewhere, mister Jo. Come here, you little Skeever..." She slumped on her belly, her legs dangling off the edge of the table. She looked to the ceiling. Her travels in Skyrim had taken her a long way - she wondered what her old master was doing. She giggled to herself - never again! Never again, never again. She was free and her body was her own. She blinked once or twice, and fell asleep. Her dreams were pleasant.

------

"Morning! Morning! Time for some breakfast! Breakfast! Eggs-eggs-eggs-eggs-eggs!" Cries sang loudly, cooking some eggs in the kitchin. Jo immediately regretted waking up. He regretted having ears that could hear. His head was heavy and his belly was in Oblivon - how unlike him to get completely drunk in front of a lady. "Cries, my dear, try to keep your voice down, I am trying to - "
"You're hungover, mister Jo! This is what you get for trying to out-drink an Argonian!" she cackled, and went back to singing her inane song. Jo moved around on the floor until he had the willpower to lift himself up. "I admit, I might have gotten...sozzled" Cries came away from her cooking, and danced on the spot. "Sozzled! Sozzled! My new favourite word!" She stopped dancing and put her hands on her hips. "Mister Jo, you shouldn't get drunk in front of a lady" Ooof, he thought. This little lizard isn't as dumb as she appears. "My dear, would you get me a drink of water?" He stood up now, trying to ease his aching back. "Yes, after all, I am the host!" Cries sang, and bounced back into the kitchen. She filled a tankard of water. "Here you are, esteemed guest" She bowed gracefully.

Jo drank the water greedily. "Thank you, my lady" He passed the tankard back to the girl and winked - Cries grinned and took the cup from his hands."My lady, I must leave you now, but worry not - I am not going far. Just a few errands here and there". Cries looked around from her eggs cooking on the fire, worry etched across her face "Are you leaving Whiterun?" Jo shook his head "No, no - I'll be in Jorvasskr, like yourself. I saw the Companions cloak on your door, yes? You must be a very strong girl. Maybe one day we will work together?" He smiled when he saw the girl grin back to him - he wondered how strong she was in a pinch. She walked towards him, still smiling her cheeky smile and sighed. "Thank you for helping me, mister Jo. Can we be good friends from now on?" She clasped her hands to her chest and closed her eyes. "I feel alone sometimes, and I feel sad." Jo put his hands on hers "Of course, my girl! From now on, we must not be strangers, hmm? I will come over to teach you more words, and I will teach you to write more than just your name. Maybe one day, you will be like a hero in a book, yes?" Cries covered her mouth with her hands. "I could - could be a hero?" Jo put his arms around her shoulders, and put his other arm to the celing, Cries' following his flowing claws. "This is all yours, Cries-At-Night, Young Companion. Skyrim, Tamriel, beyond - this is your life now. Grasp this opportunity with both hands and live! Live!" He let go of her hand, and she looked at it in wonder - silouhetted against the light of the morning sun peeking through the rafters. She heard the front door creak open, and heard the bustle of the market outside. She turned to the door, lowering her hand.

"I shall see you soon, lady Cries-At-Night"

And he was gone. A sadness immediately fell over her heart, but she eyed the leftover brew from last night and the books Jo had been reading through. She was not to be called to Jorvasskr today, and so the little Argonian locked the front door, poured herself some mead, gathered up her cooked eggs in a bowl and curled up on her favourite chair in front of the fire. She took a swig, and picked up the copy of Vernaccus and Bourlor Jo had read to her - she remembered what the book looked like, it's cover. She opened the book to the first page, popping a hot boiled egg in her mouth. She had already memorized every word, but she wanted to impress mister Jo. She wanted to become a hero like in the books.

"Hall-Hall-Hallgerd...walked into the King's Ham that L-L-Loredas evening..."