Saira's (Shajira's) adventures, my first piece of writing!

Somewhere in the Inner Sea

The boat leaked, and it smelled of it's inhabitants. Shajira hated it. Water was always dripping on her no matter where she lay in the little hold they had forced her into, and the thin prisoner's clothing wasn't enough to keep it from matting down her fur, which by this time was dirty from first her stay in the Imperial prison, and now this raggety thing they dared call a ship. And to think, the furless use these things on the SEAS, how crazy are they? She wondered to herself, curled in a half opened crate which afforded her the best protection from the water. The guards simply added to the miserable conditions, abusive and loud at the best of times, now when they had to check on her by the captian's orders in the middle of the night and this horrible weather, she could hardly avoid a beating even if she was being polite. Which she wasn't often, and that was giving her a fair collection of bruises to go with whatever diseases she might have picked up over the months of confinment in the dirt.

A few days ago they had picked up another prisoner, but he was asleep now, and hadn't bothered to talk to her. Then again, he was a Dunmer who had for years used her kind, and the scaly Argonians, as slaves, and that didn't inspire the utmost respect from either side for the other. She smiled a very feline grin, showing her pair of fangs in a playful manner as she nestled her head atop her thighs in a ball within the crate and fell asleep. The dreams were strange, there was a voice... it sounded sort of maternal, it went on about how it had taken her from the Imperial prison... then strange landscapes flashed before her eyes as the voice faded into insensability, as most dreams do, but strangely one voice out of the chorus told her over and over; to wake up. Her eyes opened, and she hissed angrily, like a cornered tabby cat, as the scarred face of the dunmer filled her vision. "Pah, Khajiit." He grumbled, and her ears flattened against her head as he continued, " I'm Juib, and you cat, were having a serious spasm. Bloody wake up because you kicked me in the face." His hand drifted to a long scratch from his ear, down close to the jawline.

"Shajira." She anwsered. He blinked before replying, "I suppose that's your name, then." He turned away as the guard came to the doorway. It was a man, and he looked Nordic, and smelled it too, all mead and stink of sweat. He picked her up by the collar of her shirt, which surprised her as she expected it to rip far more easily than that, and dropped her on her feet. "Come on. We're here, and I want you bloody smelly cat off my ship." She rolled her eyes, but said nothing more as she flattened down some of the silvery fur on her arms and followed the guard to the hatch out of the hellpit of a boat. "Down onto the dock, they've been waiting for you." The Redguard on the deck told her, and pointed down to where a guard stood on the dock, as if she couldn't understand the words. Always so "helpful" these guards are. Not like I was going to jump in the water instead. I hate water.

Nice start. I'll be interested to see where you take this.

Nice to see a khajiit story too.

Oh, a Morrowind fic. Haven't seen those anymore in a while. (well, the ones that start with the prison ship.) Brings back memories.

So far, you've got some good characterization down. Even though you keep things short, you manage to describe how the guards and Jiub feel about your character.

Awww, a story about a Khajiit! Mmmm I love kitties..this is gonna be good. Really good start here, nice decription of the Kitty and her feelings. I'll follow this one!

Good work Lady Saira! (Oh and welcome to the forums in general and the Fan-fic section in particular)

Yes! Very nice indeed.
I did play Morrowind for about 20 minuets...
And I do recall the ship!

Anyway, the writing is very nice. I feel like I really am being told a story. The way you talk and what not. It joyfulizes myself. You know, if you can make verbs to nouns... By golly! I'll make nouns to verbs!!!
Topicize, Computerize... see? Some of them work!

Thanks everyone!

Landfall, Seyda Neen

She looked down at the guard who stood waiting at the foot of the ramp, tapping his foot impatiently as she liesurely wandered onto the dock. "Your papers didn't include where your from, care to fill me in?" The guard sounded tired, this was something he had done a hundred times before and wasn't in the mood to do again. She smiled, "Wherre do you think I'm from?" The guard rolled his eyes, and marked the sheet with a slick cliffracer tip pen, Elswyr in the simple scratches that most guards signed thier forms. She winked at him, and he sighed, and just barely audibly muttered, "Bloody Khajiit." Then in a louder, and more degrading tone, "Come along, you have to on into the Census and Registration building." Once again she was annoyed by guards insistance that as she was a Khajiit that the simplest conclusions would have to be explained, for whatever reason. Maybe it was because they thought she was a thief like the sterotypical Khajiit that they always pictured. Well, at least they'd be right about something. A sly grin spread across her face as she thought this, causing the guard to eye her suspiciously as she entered the building.

Soon as she was inside, she knew that she didn't like the place. It was stuffy, and there were the poor quality candles spilling ash into the air, burning her nose with the thick scent. Even worse the "Census Officer" was an old man, who like all old furless, smelled horribly, and his voice was so droning, that she was afaid she'd fall asleep there and then in this place. It'd take forever to get the smell out she decided as she patiently anwsered the questions asked of her... with a little variation when he asked her occupation, calling herself an "Acrobat" instead of thief. The man raised his eyebrow questioningly, but said nothing. So thier not ALL as dumb as they look. The man gave her some official looking forms for the captian in the next building, and dismissed her. She went through the door that the guard in the room so grasiously opened for her, then jumped when it closed with a bang, him slamming it behind her. There was a sharp pain at the end of her tail as she went to keep walking, and looking back she saw that some of her fur had been caught in the jam of the door. She pulled her tail free, and continued on into te next room, which was full of pewter silverware, a lockpick, food, and a dagger jammed into the table.

She took it all, and unlocked a little box that once opened revealed a small pile of golden soverigns. She left the room with nothing, but her pockets were full, and she was hiding the lockpick and dagger, just in case it was some sort of ridiculous test thought up by the guards to catch thieves. It turned out it was. The captian in the next room frisked her immediatly, an expert at it to be sure, but tired of the ritualistic nature that had been applied to these motions, and therefore missed the dagger, and the lockpick, though he did let her keep the ring, found in the waterbarrel outside, which was on her finger. He shrugged at her, "Standard procedure." He said as a way of apology. She nodded, and he took the offered papers and looked them over, "Seems to all check out. On your way then." She turned, but her tail caught on the table, the close quarters of the room not designed for the comfort a Khajiit, and the captian kindly helped her to her feet and out the door. Soon as he was back inside she patted her pocket gleefully, fatigue and uninterest had dulled the captian's senses, and he hadn't noticed her filch the key from the shelves as she got up. Maybe it won't be so bad living here among the Dunmer after all.

HA! I remember something similar to that!
Funny how I forgot all those things...

But yea, a nice read. It continues to please and I hope you continue!

Yup, I certainly recognize this. Nice work. You do the Khajiit perspective nicely.

Sweet! I hope Kitty will be ok now in Seyda Neen....Meow, as I said before; kitty-stories are awesome.

I'll be watching.....rest assure

Onward into the breach!

Seyda Neen

She was still content in the fact that she had lifted the key from under the nose of the captian when an annoying little Bosmer came running up to her. She tried her best to ignore the annoying little mer, but he insistantly tried to get her attention. "What?" She asked crossly, tired of listening to his niceities and dribble. He put on the most pitiful face that Shajira had ever seen, it looked like he was either about to cry, or pulling her tail in the saddest way possible. "Well..." He started, in a whining voice common to Bosmer, "The guards around here are corrupt... or at least some of them are... and they keep taking my ring! It's a family hierloom, but they keep insisting it's stoeln property and taking it from me when they frisk me..." Over the duration of his little tantrum, she had closed her hand over the ring that she had nabbed, running her thumb over it, then smoothly as could be she slipped it from her finger and into the palm of her hand. "Shajira believes that this may be your ring?" The little fellow stared down at the ring in her hand with such a look of relief, it seemed a wieght had been physically lifted. "Thank you, thank you." He stammered, "I'll tell my friend all about you! Really! He runs the only tradehouse in town, and I'll get you some real deals." He nodded so quickly as he said this, Shajira was curious if he head was going to come off. "Shajira is happy to help." She said, then waved her farewell. What a annoying little bother he is. I wonder what he'll tell his friend? I'm an easy scam? I'm nice? Stupid Bosmer.

The town wasn't a desination of interest to officials except as a passing through for new immigrants to the Vvardenfell, so besides the Census office, little Imperial gold was spent on keeping the town representable. There were shacks along the shorefront, and for the bit more wealthy, small houses up higher on the high ground out of the marsh that had spawned from the illkept vegetation. My kind of place. She smiled to herself, as she wandered throughout the town, exchanging greetings with the townsfolk, who seemed to desire to keep to themselves rather than to assort themselves to the rabble that came in from the mainland of the contient, and to her surprise there were only a few Dunmer in town. Of course, what would a Khajiit from the Imperial Province know about Morrowind? She shrugged to herself, and decided that talking to herself was a habit she should've left in the prison cell she had languished in, there were real people out here to talk to instead. Her left ear twitched, berating herself had her miffed, and she decided there and then to go buy some new clothes. Impulsive as ever, she headed straight to the tradehouse entirely set on shoplifting whatever she wanted, and as she opened the door she was already sizing everything up.

It was dim in the house, and the smell of alcohol was thick, pouring down from the second floor giving it the feel of a oversized tavern. An Altmer stood behind the counter, his golden skin seeming to shimmer in the light of the hanging lanterns which gave off a comfortably yellow light, a older dunmer woman stood in the corner looking over the goods, and gave her a suspicious glare as Shajira's tail brushed against the table. Arriel's smile didn't fade as she didn't approach the counter, instead he simply watched her as she touched the clothing stored on the shelves that ran the length of the wall, admiring the material. She had been in the prison for two years, and only through her constant will to stay in shape had kept her from wasting away. Not to say she was as quick as she once was, playing snatch the chain could only keep you so practiced. She did manage to slip a packet of saltrice into the front of her shirt, but she didn't dare try for anything else, lest he become too suspicious of her touching everything. She wandered to the counter, and traded off what little silverware she had retained, and used the septiums from that and those she had got her paws on earlier to buy a iron short sword of fair quality, new clothes, and the curiass made of a curious leathery material native to Morrowind, Netch leather she was told as she inspected it. Good enough. She decided, purchased it, and left the little shop.

Oh, a very nice addition to your story.
I didn't play the game much so I can't remember this part really but, somethings I kind of remember.

Continue indeed!!!

Ah the memories. But I've seen a little change, no package for that bloke in Balmora (whose name I won't even try to spell), interesting tangent to take, I am fascinated to see how this develops.

Good stuff.

Only thing I'd mention is that 'an annoying little Bosmer came running up to her. She tried her best to ignore the annoying' jars slightly because of the double use of 'annoying' but that's only a matter of style and doesn't matter in the slightest.

I couldn't think of another word for annoying at the time
Only a short update this time, too.

Seyda Neen, Still!

It had been hours since she had left the tradeshop, and since then she'd been trying to avoid the locals, only a few of them were interested in talking, and she had the feeling that even fewer liked her. The two guards that patrolled the town were suspicious of her, she assumed as most guards were of all of her kind. Well, at least in my case their right... A large tree grew beside Arrielle's shop, some of the branches had warped the planks of the boardwalk that wrapped around the building, and as she climbed to the upper branches omnious clouds were growing in the twilight horizon. There was going to be a storm in the morning, and she was going to need somewhere to sleep out of the rain. See looked down into the growing gloom in the town square, Eldafire was nice to her when they first met, despite they had met when Shajira ran into her on the way out of Arrielle's. The tall altmer woman was old, by human and khajiit standards, and had a most grandmotherly personality. Shajira scrambled down the tree, slid down roots, and set out to find her... friend. Eldafire was standing on the edge of the little island that held a pair of the residents houses, looking out toward the sea, the large bug like Silt Strider stood near an overhanging cliff, and the sun was setting on the west, sending a red glare across the waves.

It was such a forlorn scene that Shajira hesitated before she approached the other woman, "Helllo, Eldafirre." The altmer woman looked about shocked before she saw Shajira, "Oh, I do so love Khajiit's accents." Shajira felt abashed, like a kitten being mauled by her mother for a failing. "I was wonder if..." She paused, thinking of how to ask someone she had only met that day to stay in her home, "Yes, dear?" Eldafire asked. "If I could stay the night in your home?" Shajira blurted out. The altmer's face lit up, "Oh yes, you can most defenitly stay! Well?" Eldafire had already started off toward her home, and Shajira had to run to catch up. "...I'll have to clean up a bit first..." Eldafire was still going on amiably, but it was hard to hear as she was still walking briskly, only barely slow enough for her to keep up. Spry for such an old lady... Shajira thought to herself as Eldafire opened the door to her house.

AHH!!! I can't remember but, I swear I read another story where someone stayed with someone... Blast! I can't remember.

It's good of you to keep the additions coming along. They really help sometimes I have seen if you do small amounts at a time!
Nice addition!

I like the descriptions on the surroundings, it makes it story feel real. It's also good to keep the pace slow like you are doing, this is my style of writing. suggestions are, don't forget to tell the readers about the appearance of the characters so that people who haven't played TES know what they look like, and people who have played TES can recall the scene. Moreover, since the main character is non-human, it may become difficult to individualize her from others in the same race, due to the fact that their faces are hard to distinguish by us (don't many people have the feeling that all asians look alike?), but a simple trick to over come this problem is to give each character some special token on his face or body - for example, an argonian with purple fins.

Sweet! gee I like the lil' kitty, and of course Eldafire would let her spend the night! So please continue this!

Meep! Seem I've left this untouchd for a long while... I'll update it later today!

I really like the personality you give this character- you are doing a great job of describing things from a Khajiiti point-of-view. Nicely done.