Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-25828117-20191205184926/@comment-5583506-20191208160323

"Are you ready to talk?" Arnolf asked the Khajiit in the cabin once Ravin had informed him of her regaining her consciousness.

She had been stuffed down into one of the bunk beds with enough furs to make anyone cook within a matter of hours.

"Where ... is this one?" she asked.

"The Pale Coil", Arnolf replied, eyeing the Khajiit suspiciously now that he had seen the symbol on her back. "Now to the basics. What name do you go by?"

The Khajiit blinked. "This one goes by the name of Kashya."

"Well then, Kashya. Would you mind telling me just what the hell was going on out there? We examined some of the driftwood pieces and discovered that some of them had been burnt. And then there is the matter of the singed part of your fur. Could you tell me what happened?"

The Khajiit female seemed unresponsive. Her still face was like coming face-to-face with a wild predator in the middle of nowhere. You couldn't tell what was going through its mind, but you knew for damn sure that this beast would be able to rip you apart, and render flesh from bone, if it so desired. And there was a bad hunger to Kashya's eyes, he thought. Something about this Khajiit didn't sit right with him, and he wondered if he had somehow made a huge mistake letting her aboard.

"This one was on a ship", she said vaguely. "She fought pirates. Then there was a deafening roar from somewhere below her. Flashes of yellow and red. Dark smoke rising in plumes. Then this one was thrown into the water. Cold and dark."

"An explosion, huh?" Arnolf stroke his beard. "Good riddance to the pirates, I suppose, but just how the hell did you end up on that ship? Were you taken prisoner and then escaped? Fought your way out and set the ship ablaze?"

Kashya shook her head. "She was travelling with others. We were heading east before we were ambushed. A fight broke out. Her companions made it out. Kashya didn't. She wanted to remain."

Arnolf cocked his head. "Remain?"

"Remain to kill or be killed."

Suicidal fool.

"I see", the captain muttered. "Well, I suppose you got there halfway. The pirates were most likely all destroyed, but yet here you are. Alive and well."

Kashya blinked, she didn't seem particularly overjoyed about the fact to be back in the world of the living.

"So what became of your companions?" Arnolf inquired. "Where were you headed?"

"Anvil."

He scoffed. "Well, that's a coincedence. We are bound for Anvil as well. Mayhaps you will meet up with them there?"

"No. This one does not think so."

"Why not?" The captain cocked his head. "Should you not find your friends?"

"Kashya does not have any friends", she said. "And she doubts they ever regarded Kashya as a friend. We were travelling companions. Nothing more."

"Everyone needs a friend", the captain shrugged. "Why not go back to them?"

Kashya blinked. "This one has no purpose", she said vaguely. "There was one in the group who claimed otherwise, and said that there was a greater plan for this one, but Kashya does not believe in such things. She joined the group out of a desire of her own to fulfill, but seeing as even that failed, there is no reason for her to go back. They will be just fine without her."

Arnolf did not ask as to what said desire was, but decided to let it slide. He was more curious about the markings on her back and whether or not he should be worried. "That is ... pretty sad, Kashya", he said in an effort to comfort.

"Sad imlies there is a state of being that is out of the ordinary. This however is not out of the ordinary to this one."

"It is still sad for an old seadog like me to hear", Arnold offered. "I couldn't imagine a life where I didn't hear the bellows or hearty chuckles of my crewmates nearby."

"This one is no sailor."

"I know. I can tell that much. Which brings me to another question I have been meaning to ask."

Kashya blinked.

"The markings on your back", he stated. "You are a Dark Brotherhood assassin, are you not?"

Kashya remained still. "Yes", she said, still with that blank expression on her face.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just toss you overboard again", the captain said as his face darkened. "I will not have a murderer on my ship."

Kashya blinked. "This one is in no condition to resist", she said. "If you find it that necessary to be rid off this one because of her profession, then go ahead."

"You are a strange one, aren't you?" the captain sighed and scratched his head. "You are not even going to resist, or even plead me not to?"

"What would be the point?" the assassin asked. "Would that sway your mind? Matters of life and death are of little concern to this one, Nord. Throw her back into the sea if that is your wish. This one has no intention of arguing against your decision."

Arnolf sighed. Not only did she look strange, she was strange. An assassin that didn't care whether or not she lived or died. He began to see a pattern here, considering what she had told him regarding her reason for staying on an exploding ship.

"You can stay", he said. "I am not spiteful enough woman off my vessel when she is at her weakest, even though it would certainly be for the better. Women aboard a ship means bad luck, even moreso when she happens to be a cold-blooded killer."

Kashya just blinked and nodded. As she adjusted the furs her face all of a sudden twisted into an expression of utter disbelief and dismay as she glanced down underneath them. "Where is Kashya's apparel?!"

"Out to dry", the captain offered. "It was soaked to the point where it might have become water itself. Ravin the healer was the one who undressed you and tended to your burns. And as a healer, it's all confidential to him, so you don't have to worry. No one else here has seen you naked."

Kashya breathed out heavily, clutching hard to the furs. The captain took note of her reaction and couldn't tell whether it was good or not to get a sense of personality from the woman.

"We will be reaching Anvil soon", Arnolf offered. "You can then take your armor and weapons and go wherever you so desire, and maybe we can both sleep easier at night."