EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth stopped where she was and stared Janius squarely in the eye. The glare she gave told that she did not find his explanation to be particularly acceptable. "Why? Why did I have to see that? Why couldn't you just explain it? Do you not think that I trust you...or do you not trust me? I can understand things if you explain them to me, I don't have to be shown an example. I'm not some naive child anymore, not like when you met me. I'm starting to think that you still want me to act like that."

A moment later, Colors managed to catch back up, after having been caught in a brief conversation back in the skooma den. "There you are, I..." He began, but once he noticed Kaleeth's angered expression, he put it together with her reaction back in the den and realized rather quickly what was going on. "...think I'll be going back to the ship. Yeah, um, we'll talk later." He said as he slinked away from the pair.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter quickly started to laugh. "Run out of ideas, have you?" He joked as he brought up his hand to her cheek. "Don't worry, you don't need to force a conversation anymore. I could lay here in your arms forever, were it an option. I just wonder what the others will think? If they're anything like Tzirret, they'll probably be expecting it."

After a short delay, Peiter added another comment. "Oh, and it's mammoth. Hard to find in the south, but rather good."

There was a delay before Kaleeth could find the words to respond. She looked away, contemplating as she looked into the bag of moon sugar in her hands. She was not happy about being brought to this place, that much she was sure of, but she did not know what to think about Janius. He had not been the one to bring her there, but if he knew about it, then surely he could have stopped her before they took the time to visit such a foul place. When she looked back to him, her expression showed her frustration. She locked eyes with him, and every so slightly bared her teeth. "If you knew, then why would you let Colors take us there? You couldn't have thought I would actually like that place?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter scratched his head, obviously confused. "I'm...not really sure how you go about talking to a tree. Or thinking with them. I'll just have to trust you on that one. At least you were able to get what you needed out of it. Lycans so often have problems with their memories, I wish we could give that solution to them all. Tzirret, I know he doesn't really like to talk about it. He doesn't like to talk about a lot of things, but I think it relates to his turning. He always skirts around that topic in conversation. If I had to guess, his caravan was attacked by werewolves. The same thing happened to me and, well, seemingly half the others in the clan. Tzirret was a lot younger than me when it happened, though. We just have to support him however we can."

Once the Argonian woman exchanged the bottle for a pouch of moon sugar, she returned quickly. Kaleeth just wanted to get out of the place quickly, so she had counted out the correct amount of coin during the wait. The two made the exchange, then the woman motioned towards the door to the back room. "Would you all still like a private room?" She asked.

Kaleeth shook her head. "Oh, no. I...don't think that privacy will be needed for just moon sugar. We will probably just go." She answered.

The Argonian nodded, thankfully believing the excuse. "Of course, that is fine. But, if you ever find yourself with the coin, you know where you can find us."

The three started to leave, though Colors could not help but to turn back and give his own farewell. "I certainly regret that I could not engage in your services today, my dear, but I promise you will be the first person I talk to next time I return."

Kaleeth left immediately with Janius, allowing Colors to catch up once they were out of the building. She clutched the bag of moon sugar tightly, and overall seemed unsettled. Once they were out of earshot of the guard, she finally spoke up. "Did you know it was going to be like that, Janius?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

It's about time for me to get to bed, goodnight.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter raised his brow and gave a curious gaze to Sabine. His knowledge on the Argonians and the Hist was not especially extensive, so he had little context beyond rumors and a few scattered mentions of them he had read in books. He knew of Hist sap from Argonians he had spoken to and knew that it was special in some way, but he didn't see how that would matter to a Khajiit. "O-kay. I'll admit, I honestly have no clue where you're going with that. What do the Argonians' trees have to do with Tzirret?"

Colors scratched his head nervously. "That...might work. At least we'd be buying something." He said. He straightened up as soon as the Argonian woman returned. She held out a small bottle of skooma and looked to the group expectantly, at which point Colors tried to think quickly. "Ah, there you are. We've had, uh, bit of a problem. It seems my fool of an Imperial friend here managed to forget his coin purse. Luckily, his lovely friend here actually had the presence of mind to remember hers. Perhaps a pouch of moon sugar instead? Twenty coins by my memory, right?" He explained, giving a smile as he continued in Jel. "Honestly, I think it's a miracle that his kind ever managed to bring ours into their Empire. Even if it was by treaty."

The Argonian's eyes narrowed as she gave Colors a disapproving look. There was a brief moment of silence before she finally answered. "Well, Colors, at least you decided to mention your lack of coin before making a purchase this time."

Colors laughed. "Yes, I learned my lesson. I know those claws of yours are not just for show, my dear. Sorry for making you go through an extra trip, but I'll be sure to make it up to you later."

As the Argonian woman turned back around to retrieve the moon sugar from the counter, Colors let out a sigh of relief before turning his attention to Janius with a satisfied expression. "You're welcome." He said pridefully.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter shook his head. "Me? No. Well, my mother once tried to convince me to court the daughter of a merchant in Chorrol, but she was about as likable as a case of ataxia. That lasted about two weeks before she decided I wasn't giving her enough attention. In truth, the attention I did give her was too much. As for Tzirret, I can't really say for sure, but my guess is a no. He's young and, well, you know him. He can hardly talk to anyone that he hasn't known for a while. I wish we could help him, honestly. It would be nice if he could be as happy as I am now." He said, giving Sabine another kiss on the cheek.

Kaleeth looked across the room once more with disgust. This was not a place she ever would have wanted to come to on her own, no matter what she was offered. Turning to Janius, she shook her head with an expression that showed some degree of frustration. "What? No, why would I ever want this? This place is awful; why didn't you tell me what this place was like? Come on, let's get out of here and back to the ship. I want to get away from here."

Not even waiting for a response, Kaleeth walked back over to Colors, who was staring down the Argonian over by the counter. "This place is awful, colors, and so is this skooma stuff. You can stay if you want, but we're going to go."

Colors' eyes widened. "What? No, no you can't do that!"

Kaleeth's gaze narrowed. "Yes, we can. I'm not spending any gold in this place."

Colors started to shake his head as he stepped forward and started to speak more quietly. "No, no, you don't understand. You can't just come here, ask for skooma, then leave. That's not something customers do, not normal customers. The people that do that are the ones working for the guard, or other skooma dealers. They'll think that you're just trying to confirm they have the product, and they won't like that. At all."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter started to laugh. "Well, I wouldn't really call it advice, exactly. I think he said you were crazy, or confused or something. I wouldn't put much stock in it though, he was very drunk. Honestly, I wish we both would have been in a better mood solely so we could have been there to take advantage of the opportunity. Next time we get ourselves some alcohol, we definitely need to get him to drink it. A drunk Tzirret is far more entertaining than I could ever have imagined."

Kaleeth was not exactly sure what Janius was intending when he went over and opened the door off to their right. She had smelled something strange coming from that direction when they walked in, but it was only once she looked inside that she realized what it was. On the other side of the door was a large room, about the size of the one they were in, but much more crowded. Along the back wall, there were six or so areas with dividing walls that the customers used to mate with the prostitutes, separated from the rest of the room only by curtains. Although, some did not even bother to close them. In the center of the room, there was no furniture to speak of, only cushions and blankets strewn about across the floor, not that any of the clientele seemed to care. Most were very much high on skooma, some drinking it, others smoking it. Some, other than the euphoria they were feeling, looked otherwise perfectly normal, but many were much farther along in the stages of addiction. Their clothing was ragged and torn, and their bodies looked almost decayed. Some were malnourished, and many just laid back on their cushions, twitching and laughing from their high.

Kaleeth looked to Janius with obvious fear. "I don't understand, Janius. What is this?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter wrapped his arms tightly around Sabine to hold her as closely as possible. Looking down, he gave her another kiss. "Sabine, there is no way in Oblivion I would even consider being anywhere else but right here at the moment. Your embrace just feels far too good to give up."

Colors nodded in agreement. "Yes, though, uh, I may come back to you myself shortly, my lady." He said, looking the Argonian over from head to toe.

"Of course, anything you desire. I will go get your skooma at once. For a single dose, the price is only fifty gold. If you have need of anything else, just come find me." The Argonian said before walking over to the counter. As she left, Kaleeth gave Janius a look of uncertainty. This was not a place she had been expecting to go, and it was making her uncomfortable in more ways than one. It's location in the city made her nervous, not to mention the fact that it was a brothel. As well, fifty gold was quite a lot to spend at once, and a slight bit more than she had on her. Janius would have to pitch in if they wanted to buy it. "Are you...sure about all of this, Janius? That is a lot of gold."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter moved up to join Sabine without hesitation, but throughout her entire recollection of the events three years prior, he was entirely silent. His expression remained somber in sympathy for the horrors she described, and even after she was finished, he had a hard time speaking up. He looked away, debating internally on how to respond before looking back nervously. "I...don't know what to say about all of that. I really don't. I never knew what you all went through. Divines willing, you'll never have to again, but..."

Peiter looked back, trying his best to look encouraging. "We'll be careful. We know the enemy is here now, so we can be on our guard. And if we...do get captured, we can make sure they don't know we're together. So they can't exploit it. I know it's not perfect, but it's a possibility that may never even happen. It's a...hypothetical. But, what isn't hypothetical is what we have right now, with each other. I'm happy being with you, that's something I know."

With no further delay, Colors led the pair into the gates of the city itself. He walked them away from the most crowded streets, towards parts of the city not as popular with visitors. The area he brought them to could be described in no other way than as a slum. The buildings were worn, and often decaying, much like the people themselves. And in that, the skooma den Colors brought them to was no different. Vines were growing up the side of the walls, and much of the paint that had once adorned it had now been chipped away.

Before they stepped inside, Colors spoke up quickly. "Ah, this is it. Right in the basement. Don't let the looks fool you, it's really a wonderful place. They'll take care of any need you have in here. Not that you two need those kinds of services, of course, but you can get a private room, if you want it."

Heading inside, the building looked entirely abandoned until Colors brought them down a set of stairs in the back of the building. He knocked on a door at the bottom, after which someone inside cracked it open for a moment to look out at them, then opened it fully to allow them in. He was a Cathay, armed an armored. He said nothing, but seemed to do his best to look intimidating. Colors, meanwhile, gave him no attention as he led Janius and Kaleeth through another door into the main room. Overall, the room itself seemed rather normal, apart from the door near the back which had been replaced with a very solid iron gate. There was a counter to the left with a Khajiit woman behind it, with a few other tables and chairs scattered across the room. There were several others in the room as well, but none looked to be customers. All of them except for one were women, and all were wearing rather revealing clothing. Off to the right there was another door, and by the smell of skooma emanating from it, it was where the customers went to enjoy their purchases.

Several of the women in the room looked at each over for a moment once the trio entered, then sent the Argonian among them to greet their customers. She had light green scales with matching feathers, and her entire demeanor, from her movements to her tone of voice, seemed to be meant to be seductive. "Well hello there, is there anything I can get for you this evening?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Peiter nodded his head. As much as he was enjoying Sabine's embrace, her behavior was something that had filled him with questions he simply could not get out of his mind, and he certainly appreciated the opportunity for some answers. "Okay. I'll admit, I'm curious about, well, what on Nirn happened yesterday. Between your first reaction and Tzirret, of all people, trying to give me drunken relationship advice, I felt like the world was trying to play some elaborate prank on me."

Slightly reluctantly, Peiter let go of her and walked over to one of the hammocks. He sat down, though he nearly lost his balance as the hammock rocked back and forth until he was able to keep it steady. "I guess I should ask if everything is alright. I mean, I didn't actually offend you or anything, did I?" He asked.

Colors looked at Janius quite strangely, cocking his head to the side slightly as he turned to look at him. "Yeees, that's how one usually goes about getting it. I know a place over...near the residential district. Real quiet, real discrete, not that it's too necessary in Senchal. Any den that pays its bribes will get a pass, along with its customers. I know the owner of the place, you should say she's a...friend of mine. We can get a decent price, though I doubt you would want to buy more than one bottle, else people start wondering where all your gold went."

Kaleeth gave Janius a look with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Are you sure it's alright for us to get skooma, Janius?"