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redguardtovii replied to your post: Tovii gave a wide smile to the other Redguard and waved frantically at him. “Hallo!”

“Not much, too cold,” she said, but patted the white drape on her shoulders. “Vriend bought me cloak, so mostly okay. You?”

'You must have a good friend there, then. This is all I've got so far.' He pulled his own fur hood up around his ears to demonstrate, hiding most of his head but for his eyes and smile. 'A cloak would be a better idea, I think.'

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'Ah ha, a name! It would be a pleasure, Aanhalen. Let's go.'

Lathar set off at a slow pace, not wanting to outrun the newly acquired companion. It wasn't long before Tsabashi, already striding some distance ahead, vanished against the dark clouds and snow, but the road was straight and her pawprints were marked out in the frost.

As he followed them, Lathar glanced between the ground and Aanhalen. There wasn't much to tell from looking at her, but she wasn't travelling with a caravan, and didn't seem laden down with the trinkets of a merchant. A thief, possibly, but if that was the case then not an exceptionally skilled one. He smiled at himself. Perhaps sometimes the simplest way to gather information was just to ask.

'Where have you come from? Not Windhelm, I'm assuming. I haven't heard of many Khajiit who would consider those Nords friends. Were you travelling with a caravan?'

So, Two Khajiits and a Redguard go to Windhelm...

“Nord trouble?” she asked, looking confused. “Nord friends.” Unless the dark man was mistaking Nords for someone else. 

“Aanhalen can go?” she asked, tail swishing nervously.

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'That's a relief. Having two of you being silent at me would get decidedly unnerving.'

At the grin and sidelong glance which accompanied this, Tsabashi's ears flicked back and she began to stalk on down the path, the way they had been heading before. The snow lay thicker that way and her tail began to sway back and forth beneath the tattered cloak she wore, whiskers flicking to dislodge the snowflakes.

Lathar waited a little longer, and then seemed to make up his mind about something. He pointed an arm down the road in Tsabashi's direction, far more theatrically than was necessary, and said,

'We're on the road to Windhelm. You're welcome to join us, although it may not seem like it with her, and we'll get you into the city without any trouble from the Nords. What do you say?'

The way the man spoke — it was similar to how Family had spoken to her. At least when she had made them happy.

Her fur laid flat against her body again, and her ears perked at the familiar language. At his question, she nodded, allowing a short, barely-audible purr to accompany her nod for emphasis.

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'That would be because I have been,' he sighed, pushing a hand back through his hair. 'Not by choice, I assure you.'

He climbed the rest of the steps, closing the distance between himself and the Dunmer. Usually he would have extended a hand at this point, a reasonably safe bet at politeness in any corner of Tamriel, but given what it had been rummaging through so far today reasoned against this.

'Lathar Tosti. A pleasure to meet you, although given my current state I don't expect you to say the same.'

kierathedunmer started following you

The search beneath the streets of Riften had not gone according to plan. Plankside was quiet, deserted, and despite his extensive search Lathar Tosti could not find a single trace of his quarry. All there was to be seen on the walkways and jetties was filth and stinking, forgotten barrels. The sight of an unfamiliar Redguard pacing the streets must have raised the alert.

He couldn’t find Tsabashi, either. Perhaps she had scented their man and was now engaged in some thrilling chase through the Ratway, but that was her lookout. The only other person Tosti could see was a Dunmer, up on the bridge over the canal, and as he climbed the steps back to Riften’s more savoury level he raised a hand.

‘Hail, Dunmer. Have you seen an Orc pass through here?’

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Tovii gave a wide smile to the other Redguard and waved frantically at him. "Hallo!"

Lathar's smile deepened. After all the places he had travelled and all of the people he had met along the way, the sound of a kinswoman speaking with a rich, Hammerfell accent still warmed him. He waved a hand at the snow and answered in the same language.

'Enjoying the weather?'

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At the noise the tail curled downwards, fur fluffing up around it, and on the other side of the wall Tsabashi's ears began to twitch. The only way back to the office, back to safety, was across the path of this woman and her dog, and no matter how fast she ran she would still have to climb in full view to the rooftops.

Tsabashi's best was to distract her. She tensed, prepared to run, and poked the end of her muzzle out of her hiding place.

Hamda looked up to the sky smiling, then she looked to her left and noticed a fur tail, she blinked her eyes wondering where it came from. She talked to her puppy, Arwen, “Arwen! look! is that another dog? but it’s a little big to belong to a small dog!”

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The hiss made Tosti smile, despite the look his own Khajiit companion gave him. Nobody could give a Look quite like a Khajiit, with her lip curled back and her ears pulling back, but he continued to address Aanhalen in warm and friendly tones.

'You don't like strangers? I can see that you and Tsabashi are going to get along wonderfully. That's my friend here - and my name is Lathar.' After a pause, along with a glance at Tsabashi, he added, 'Do you speak Tamrielic?'

Aanhalen eyes the other Khajiit carefully before she noticed the Redguard, who was greeted by a hiss. She stared at both of them, unsure of whether or not they were hostile.

Though the sheer fact that neither of them had made any sort of aggressive movement towards her should have been enough, but she wasn’t used to others, so she couldn’t be sure.

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kierathedunmer started following you

The search beneath the streets of Riften had not gone according to plan. Plankside was quiet, deserted, and despite his extensive search Lathar Tosti could not find a single trace of his quarry. All there was to be seen on the walkways and jetties was filth and stinking, forgotten barrels. The sight of an unfamiliar Redguard pacing the streets must have raised the alert.

He couldn't find Tsabashi, either. Perhaps she had scented their man and was now engaged in some thrilling chase through the Ratway, but that was her lookout. The only other person Tosti could see was a Dunmer, up on the bridge over the canal, and as he climbed the steps back to Riften's more savoury level he raised a hand.

'Hail, Dunmer. Have you seen an Orc pass through here?'

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wonderhamda started following you

As a kitten, Tsabashi had always wondered what the streets of Windhelm were like, behind the tall and dark walls she could see on the skyline. Back then she had never understood why she and her littermates were kept in the camp across the river. It must be warmer inside the gates, and food would be easier to find, rather than picking rabbits off the mountainside.

The reason, it turned out, was because the local Nords treated Khajiit as slightly less human than skeevers. At least skeevers could find their way inside. Now Tsabashi crouched behind the walls and watched as a young woman - a Stormcloak - left the Palace of Kings. If she saw the Khajiit intruder ducking behind a stone pillar, or if the puppy at her heels picked up the scent of ash and fur, then there was a good chance she would call the guards.

Tsabashi held her breath and waited.

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After a momentary frown, Tsabashi shrugs and spreads her paws out. Besides her claws, and the filthy fur matted across them, there is nothing to see, although the coffee smell strengthens.

That's not magic, though. That's probably the Redguard striding down the path behind her. Observant eyes would mark him out as a sailor, or an ex-sailor, from his swinging gait. Ocean salt and steel join the scent as he gets closer, speaking to first Khajiit in a deep and sea-soft voice.

'Found it. Looks like some kind of instructions, you'll have to take a-'

He stops, seeing another Khajiit on the road. After glancing curiously between the two, he nods.

'What have we here? Greetings, Khajiit.'

Tsabashi cocks her head to the side, ears flicking forwards, but says nothing. She mostly smells of ash, although there is a definite hint of Hammerfell coffee clinging to her fur.

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Tsabashi cocks her head to the side, ears flicking forwards, but says nothing. She mostly smells of ash, although there is a definite hint of Hammerfell coffee clinging to her fur.

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Tsabashi

((New and purple.))

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Lathar Tosti

((New and improved.))

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Tsabashi

Ash-In-Her-Fur