Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-25828117-20191002222622/@comment-5583506-20191008031835

"Hah! That's amazing!" the Khajiit boy laughed. "Now do Baijjan!"

Kashya cleared her throat. "One second", she said, before putting up her act of the old Khajiit. "'How do you do, little cub? This one will hug you and kiss you now!'"

The voice was uncannily similar. Kiro had a hard time believing that the old woman's voice could come out of Kashya that way.

He burst out laughing and giggling. "Stop it!" he said. "That's just too similar! You are scaring this one."

Kashya smiled. She didn't really have any other friends aside from Kiro. Other kids tended to steer clear of her as they found her appearance frightening. "Creepy Kashya" they called her. A cursed cub who should never have been born. "A stillborn child, born to a corpse is a bad omen", their parents would say and dissuade their own young from ever approaching her. Kiro was different though. Trouble just seemed to run off him like water off a duck's feathers. Her appearance or background was not enough to sway him from ever speaking to her or playing with her, and she appreciated that. She led a lonely life, even more so now when her father had his hands full with Tsavirra.

"Glad you liked it", she purred. "It took this one some training to get her voice just right."

"What about this one?" Kiro asked curiously, his ears perking up. "Could you do this one?"

Kashya knew Kiro's voice outward and inward. It had a slight rasp to it, and he had a tendency to drawl mid-sentence.

She gave it some thought and then put his voice to use. "What do you mean this one?" she said askingly in his own tone. "This one and that one. Sooo confusing! Kiro does not know what to do. Makes Khajiit's head spin. Oy, oy, oy!"

Kiro giggled. "Stop! You are giving this one belly aches!"

His parents were no different than those of the other kids in the neighborhood. They didn't like that their son hung out with the cursed daughter of the Senchal Lions' captain. Though not particularly wealthy or noteworthy in society, they had big plans for their son, none in which she was to be accounted for. Though Kiro had other friends, especially boy gangs that roamed the streets during day and made life a bother for the Senchal Lions, he seemed to enjoy her company the most, even at the expense of some rude remarks from his other friends. She was forever grateful to him for that.

Kiro scratched his head, and the two cubs watched as the sun began to set in the distance over Senchal. The surrounding landscapes slowly turned into soft shades of turquoise and burning orange. They liked to play outside the city walls, playing hide-and-seek among the cattle or tag along the rivers. Kashya usually won, though she sometimes got the impression that he let her win. They had been playing for the entire day and were now seated on a rock close to one of the streams the farmers used for irrigation.

"Hey, Kashya?" Kiro said.

"Hmm?"

"There's something this one has been wanting to do now for quite some time", his voice began to drift off and she took notice. It was the same voice she herself had whenever she had done something bad she needed to admit to her father. She definitely didn't like it, and she doubted that Kiro felt comfortable as of now, whatever he wanted to say.

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"You know", he began. "Do you know Ra'zid and Tsamba?"

"Yeah, I know them. They threw a rock at this one once."

"Did you know that they are together?"

She cocked her head. "Together?"

"Yeah, you know like in 'together' together. Like mother and father. Well, not really like mother and father, but you know what Kiro means."

"Kashya thinks so", she said vaguely in hindsight. "What about them?"

"Well, this one was thinking that they just seem so happy together, right? Even when they are not mean to you or anything. And then there's you and me. And this one was wondering if you would like to be ... you know." He began to stammer and she could that his hands and feet began to shake. "You know", he repeated. "If you would ... Would you like ... uhm ... This is coming out all wrong. This one was just wondering if you would like to be together with Kiro? Like those two? Like mother and father, but not ... together like them? More like your father and Tsavirra?"

Kashya blinked. She sort of understood what he was getting at, but then again he explained it so confusingly that she was afraid she would get the wrong impression. "Together?"

He nodded. "Together."

"You mean like ... holding hands and stuff?"

"Holding hands, hugging ... kissing ..." He added the last in so quickly that she believed that he thought he wouldn't notice or that maybe it made him embarrassed just to say it. "If you want to?"

She smiled and took his hand. "Kashya would love to!" she chirped, more enthusiastically than she had intended.

Kiro sat still for a moment and just regarded her under silence as if he needed a minute just to let her answer sink in. Was that a yes? Were they truly together now? There was only one way for him to find out.

"So ... uhm ... do you want this one to ... to ..."

She looked at him expectantly. Was there more he had to say?

"To kiss you?" he finished briefly, stuttering at the end.

"Oh", she said, looking somewhat confounded. "Uhm ... this one supposes that we could try?"

"G-great!" Kiro said, trying his best to hide his excitement as he steadied himself and turned to face her more intimately. "Do you want to like ... close your eyes or something? This one doesn't know how to do this."

"This one doesn't either", Kashya giggled nervously. "How would your parents do it?"

"Oh, father just grabs a hold of mother every now and then, spins her around, holding his arm around her waist like this", he explained as he mimicked the move and subtly placed his arm around the small end of Kashya's back. "And then he just presses his mouth against hers."

Kashya could feel her little heart flutter wildly within her chest as she looked at Kiro. Her first kiss was about to happen. They just sat there in the same position for the longest of times without either of them moving closer, Kiro's arm still around her back. Whenever he looked as if he tried to approach her, he withdrew with hesitation. Ultimately he made his move and approached her, gently pressing his lips against hers. Just a little peck, but they stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. It was impossible for Kashya to keep her eyes closed as he had told her, and the same went for him. They just stared at each other awkwardly as their mouths touched each other, yet she thought it was the most incredible of feelings. She only awoke from the dream after something pinched her at the left side of the chest.

"Ouch!" she growled and withdrew from Kiro, rubbing her nipple through her dress. It ached painfully. "What are you doing?!"

"S-sorry!" Kiro said, lowering his ears. "Father did that on mother once. She seemed to like it."

"Well, Kashya is not your mother, Kiro", she moped, still massaging the spot where he had pinched her. "That hurt", she said indignantly.

Kiro sighed and moved away from her, his arms shaking, yet she could tell he was trying to steady himself. "This one is sorry", he apologized. "Y-you don't even have any ... uhm ... You are not shaped like mother. This one should have known better."

Kashya muttered something incoherent. It still stung at the side of her chest, yet on the inside she felt all warm and fuzzy. What was all that about?

"It's ... it's okay", she said, still in a foul mood. "Just don't do that again. This one is not a toy, Kiro."

Kiro just nodded in response, clearly too embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid to talk back. Probably all at once, knowing him. He was a known troublemaker, yet feared every second of having to be held accountable for his actions. And yet he kept getting himself into trouble as if that was what he was born to do.

Seeing his docile demeanor softened her anger. "It felt good though", she said. "The kiss, that is. That felt good."

Kiro side-glanced at her, a small smile appearing on his lips. "R-really?" he asked.

"Yes. And despite the pinch this one still wants us to be together. And this one wants you to kiss her again."

Kiro breathed out and looked at her, all of a sudden with big, starry eyes. "Right now?"

She giggled. "Yes. Right now."

Once they got back to town, the sun had already set. They walked side by side to keep each other company until they had to split and head for their respective dwelling. Kashya bid her beloved friend farewell and ascended the stairs to her home.

She opened the door. Her father sat by the table and ate while Tsavirra sat in his lap, whispering sweet words in his ear. He didn't even turn to notice his daughter entering, but instead kept eating. "You are late", he stated accusingly.

"This one was playing with Kiro, father", she said.

"This one does not like that boy", he said flatly. "Too much trouble. He gives Khajiit's men a run for their money during the open market hours at midday. Pickpocketing, stealing, and sabotage. He should be locked up and not playing with this one's daughter."

Kashya did not know how to respond to that. She did not like to hear her father talk about Kiro that way, especially now when they were together. Just like the captain and Tsavirra was.

"So what did you two do this late?" he said, not paying her any heed or raising his voice. "Has he been touching you?"

Kashya turned stiff. Was that really such a bad thing, if he had? They had been kissing, and he had been ... Well, he had apologized, and she had accepted his apology. There was nothing more to it than that. And the kissing ... It had felt incredible. Would her father be cross with her if she told him about the kissing?

"Dear", Tsavirra said, cupping Ka'rin's chin and turned his face to meet hers. The two met and shared a kiss. "Don't be so harsh on the girl."

''If the two of them are kissing, why would it be bad for Kiro and Kashya to do the same? ''she reflected.

"As you wish", Captain Ka'rin said nonchalantly. "Yet someday she will thank for me having been so harsh", he said, and Kashya found the message clear that it was directly aimed at her rather than her new mother. "She's got bad blood in her. Bad blood can only be purified by driving the bad away. Stern discipline. That's all that's needed."

"Still", Tsavirra cooed, "she is only a child."

The two of them spoke as if she wasn't even there, and she didn't really mind. Her father had missed to put out supper for her this evening, so she reckoned it was just straight to bed at this point.

But before she could begin to move, her father spoke directly to her. "Kashya", he said. "It's time for some changes around here."

Kashya wondered what these changes could possibly infer.

Captain Ka'rin wrapped his arm around the back of his lover and turned to face his daughter. Their two faces focused on the short Khajiit girl at the end of the parlour. "Seeing as Tsavirra here is soon to be this one's bride, and that soon enough there will be new cubs running wild here in this house, we feel that there just isn't ... enough space for all of us."

Kashya's gaze shifted. First from Tsavirra, then to her father, then back to Tsavirra, and then back to her father, where it remained fixed. "Wh-what do you mean?" she asked anxiously, feeling as she was about to be punished for something.

"It's time for you to move out", her father stated flatly.

The truth came crashing in on her as subtly as a sledgehammer to her face. This home was all she had. It was her comfort zone, even if there was no love in it to be had. Where was she supposed to go? Tears began to well up in her eyes, as she realized the horrible truth of the situation. She was being kicked out.

"N-no, no! Please!" she pleaded with sobs. "This one wants to stay."

"No", her father replied coldly, unmoved by his daughter's tears. "You are leaving tomorrow."

"No, please", Kashya objected desperately. This was all too sudden. "This one will do anything! This one will be good! She won't ever see Kiro again! She will behave."

"This has nothing to do with that boy or your behavior", the father sighed. "This home just isn't big enough for all four of us."

"F-four?" Kashya sniffed.

Tsavirra seemed a bit concerned about the situation, yet ever so discreetly touched the near visible bump on her stomach.

"This one has arranged for a place for you to work and live", Captain Ka'rin said. "You won't starve, and you won't go homeless. This one will take you there tomorrow."

Kashya began to bawl. Everything just felt so heavy all of a sudden. Like she was carrying the whole weight of the world within her chest, forcing her down to the ground. "Nooo!" she cried. "Nononononono!"

Her father seemed more annoyed and resolute than touched, slamming his fist hard into the table surface, causing the mistress by his side to wince. "Curse you, child", he hissed. "Be quiet! This one is ordering you to be quiet!"

Kashya shook uncontrollably and did her best to steady herself and hold back her tears, but her eyes just kept running. "Wh-why do you hate Kashya so? She just wants to stay ... stay and ... she will behave! She will! Please, father!"

"My decision has been made and it is final", he told her harshly. "Now go to bed and we will speak no more of it. As soon as you have finished breakfast this one will take you to your new home. If time and work allows, this one might come and visit, check in on you from time to time to see your progress. You won't even have to leave Senchal. You can still meet with your friend and come and see me and Tsavirra at any time."

Kashya was still sobbing. How did he expect her to go to bed like this? There was a puddle on the floorboards where she had buried her face. A tear drop hung on the edge of one of her whiskers.

"Y-yes, father", she sniffed. She tried to act as appropriately as expected of her, but she couldn't even buy her own act. She felt miserable and even more lonely than she had ever felt before. If her mother was somewhere up in heaven, looking down from her cloud, could she see? Did she take pity on her?

The girl stumbled up and lumbered her way up the set of stairs to the loft that was her room. The bedding was already made and she curled up underneath her blankets, sobbing so heavily she could feel her chest rise up and down. "Kiro", she whimpered, clutching her pillow tightly.