Chapter 9 - Inigo
There's this Skyrim companion mod on the forums called Inigo by CDCooley, which puts this Khajiit companion in Riften jails that you can recruit. Personally, I think this mod is the best out of them all. Inigo has such a vibrant personality and the voice acting is done incredibly well. I really recommend that you try this mod out sometime if you can, Inigo is a close second to best Skyrim companion in my opinion. Serana will always be number one, of course.
I wouldn't really consider this chapter canon to the story, it was just something I wanted to write for fun, sooo yea.
"These people seem.. nervous. And that makes me nervous." Serana whispered sideways to her traveling companion, strolling as closely as she could to the other woman as possible over the brine and grime covered walkways of Riften.
The city was nowhere as impressive as the others had been, even Ysgramor's tiny little Windhelm, with their towering brick spires and spotless streets. No, this place was far from what the vampire would consider "nice".
The air smelled of salt and fish, mixed with the ever unpleasant mingled scents of the market on the other side of the canal cutting through the road. The peoples' chatter was too hushed, as if they suspected they were being listened in on no matter where they were, and their expressions were constantly guarded and full of suspicion. Serana felt as if every single person that passed her by was about to either plunge a dagger in her back or make a grab for her valuables.
She was extremely uncomfortable, eyes constantly searching their surroundings to maintain tabs on every being that moved.
Serana snapped her gaze forward when she felt the mortal next to her nudge her gently with the side of her arm. "Do not worry. They won't try anything." The Dragonborn assured her, a faint smile detectable in her words.
The vampire had to break into her own subdued smirk at that. No, they certainly wouldn't. For once, the Volkihar heiress was not cursing the presence of her mortal friend's rather intimidating helmet, it was actually doing her a favor at the moment.
The Dragonborn walked the streets of Riften fully prepared for battle, adorned from head to toe in armor and a glistening ebony sword on her hip. Naturally, common citizens gave her a wide berth.. well.. except for one brave soul.
Serana's fingers lifted to mess with the rim of her hood, adjusting it so that the sun no longer glared into her eyes. She sighed.
Louis, that was his name right? Well, Louis had asked the most dependable woman in Skyrim for help, and of course, she accepted. Of course the Dragonborn had agreed to a request for the most mundane kind of work possible, working out a botched deal on the purchase of a horse.
Serana truly and dearly loved this woman, but honestly she was at her wit's end with what she was being dragged into this time. It wasn't as if they held the very fate of Skyrim in their hands, no, they just had to assist every single poor fool that came begging for help.
"We don't have time for this, you know." She mumbled to the woman at her side sourly, instinctively ducking her head as a guard emerged from the pillared opening in the wall leading to the Temple of Mara. His fading footsteps sounded as heavy thumps echoing in her skull over the wooden boardwalk.
The vampire heard the Dragonborn's amused huff once the guard had left, and her irritation spiked.
"Come on, Serana, this won't take that long. Sibbi is a massive brat and a pushover, I'll be able to sort this out no problem." Red eyes darting sideways to pierce the stoic woman with her look of discontent, Serana watched her shrug indifferently instead. She was intrigued by the impishness lighting the woman's tone when she added in a silky voice: "Besides, the Black-Briars are practically wrapped around my finger already."
Really, Serana could not explain the chill that traveled down her spine, hearing the Dragonborn speak in such a way. That woman could really be sultry when she put her heart into it.
The Jarl's palace, if it could actually be called that, was nearing, and Serana tossed a wary glance its way before managing an equally wry response. "Oh, and pray-tell, how did that come to be?"
They now stood before the small shadowed tunnel leading to the dungeons in the stone wall below the balcony of Mistveil Keep, where the Dragonborn stopped with her back turned to Serana. Her body shook with a small chuckle, sounding slightly ashamed with herself when she responded. "A lady doesn't.. ah.. blackmail.. and tell."
Now that was interesting. Hidden by her hood, Serana raised a dubious brow at the woman now pivoting herself around on her heels to face the door.
"Oh, you're terrible." She tsked, moving to follow the woman as she advanced into the tunnel.
The Dragonborn simply threw a brief look over her shoulder, showing the corner of her mouth quirked upward, before turning to the wooden door and gripping its brass handle. She twisted the knob with a click, and stepped inside.
Catching the side of the door with her palm, Serana slipped into the darkened room behind her, peering over the mortal's horned helmet to see a short hallway that only led left. The Dragonborn headed toward it, the vampire quick to pursue and staying close to her back as they were ushered through another double door by the single jailor on guard at the entrance.
After passing through the guards' barracks, they stepped into the large, central room of the dungeon. It was two-storied, the walls lined with metal bars and brick. The floor they stood on consisted of only four jail cells, the two on the right side empty, and the two on the left occupied.
The Dragonborn stood motionless at the doorway for a moment, her head tilted in the direction of the inhabited cells, as if expecting the pompous-sounding voice that almost instantly called out to her.
"Nightingale! Is that you?" Red eyes narrowing dangerously, Serana's attention drifted in the direction of its speaker: the silhouette of a man currently pressed into the bars of his cell at the furthest end of the left wall. Her lip curled at the sardonic laugh he barked out from across the room. "Hah! Aren't you a sight for these sore eyes!"
"Sibbi..." The Dragonborn only sighed in exasperation, footsteps muffled by the straws of hay littering the stone floor as she approached him. Serana trailed after her, her expression of distaste never leaving her the clearer his likeness came to be.
Sibbi Black-Briar looked downright slippery. He was handsome, unfortunately, but he was that kind of handsome that gave off an air of dishonesty and trickery. Welcoming though untrustworthy smile, dark eyes sparkling with mischief, and a face that just spelled out trouble. He looked right at home separated from them by those cell bars, his quarters lavish and flaunting his supposed noble status.
Serana instantly disliked him.
The Dragonborn positioned herself at the barred door of the Black-Briar's cell, lifting her hand to prop them on her hips. "I am here on behalf of Louis Letrush." She stated in a flat tone to the still-smirking mortal man, who unhanded the cold metal of his gilded cage to lean back on his heels and cross his arms arrogantly.
"Ah.. of course. I assume he wants his horse?" Sibbi's lips parted to flash his teeth in a humorless grin, eyes downcast. "That's going to be sort of a problem.." The mortal man huffed, raising a hand to rub at the nape of his neck. "You see, the thing is.. I don't actually 'own' Frost myself."
Oh, that's just great. Serana inwardly hissed, unaware that she had unconsciously mirrored the man's aloof posture, staring him down past the armored figure of the Dragonborn.
The Dragonborn reacted in a much more professional way, helmet tilting to the floor as a heavy breath left her. "Sibbi, you don't even own the horse that you already sold to Letrush?"
Sibbi Black-Briar had a very punchable face, Serana decided, as she continued to observe the flippant attitude he treated the most important woman in all of Skyrim with.
"Yes, that is correct," He retorted airily with a not a care in the world, freeing both of his arms to hang by his sides. "You see, technically he is owned by the Black-Briar estate, which technically is all owned by mommy-dear, you know the one, Maven." Sibbi's eyes squinted, emphasizing this with a pointed look to the Dragonborn.
Serana smothered the growl rolling up her throat by swallowing, forcing her eyes to find anywhere else to focus on. Any second more of having to listen to this man and she just might tear through those bars to rip his lying tongue right out through his teeth.
Her wandering gaze landed on the cell adjacent to the Black-Briar's, looking curiously to its strangely silent occupant. The Dragonborn's scathing response to the mortal man was muffled to her ears, as she tried making out his features.
"Sibbi, have I ever told you just how much of a massive fool you are?" Serana heard the Dragonborn say, though she was more interested at the moment with the other prisoner. At first, his figure was bewildering, before the vampire managed to piece together his appearance through the heavy shadows shrouding his cell.
Two pointed ears atop his head, lanky legs bent in front of him where he sat on the ground, and a tail snaking out from behind him. He was a Khajiit, and he was peculiarly uninterested in the drama happening just a couple of feet away from him.
With a jolt, Serana remembered what had been occurring before she decided to block out the mortals' conversation, and hastily tuned back in on their exchange of words.
"You know, Sibbi, I bet Maven would be very interested to hear about all of this." The Dragonborn prompted in a droll tone, cocking her hip outward with a gauntlet-covered palm still against it.
"Sure, sure, okay, kick a guy while he's already down." Sibbi whined dramatically, stepping closer to the bars with a pleading expression. "Look, love, I can make this deal even sweeter."
Serana felt a tick in her brow at love, and she hissed quietly through her teeth.
She could not even begin to explain just how satisfied she was, when the Dragonborn suddenly lunged for the man, hand slipping between the bars to secure the collar of his expensive robe and jerk him in her direction.
Black-Briar squeaked in alarm, frantically throwing his hands forward to slap into the metal the woman had effectively pinned him against. Serana could hardly contain her amusement, seeing the previously pretentious mortal with his cheek smashed against one of the bars and dark eyes widening in fright as the Dragonborn slowly leaned nearer.
"Listen, Sibbi. This deal was a sham, and it's off," The mortal woman asserted in a low, threatening tone. "I expect you to repay that man what you conned him out of, understand?"
Sibbi nodded wordlessly with some difficultly, still trapped against the cell bars until the Dragonborn straightened herself, and released him with a light shove backward. Black-Briar stumbled, before regaining his footing and brushing at the front of his manhandled robe nervously.
Trying to hide her content smirk, Serana pressed her knuckles to her mouth.
Black-Briar cleared his throat a little shakily, before finding the voice he had apparently lost when the Dragonborn had decided to get violent with him. "It's going to be a little difficult to do that, from in here."
The Dragonborn shifted herself so that she was sideways from him, toward the door they had entered the room from. "Looks like you're going to have to work that out with mommy-dear." She sneered mockingly back at him, taking a step.
Serana untangled her arms and started to follow, but was stopped in her tracks as the woman halted without warning right in front of the forgotten Khajiit prisoner's cell.
He rested cross-legged in the center of his cell, completely bare besides the simple pair of trousers he wore, showing off the strange shade of dark blue that was his fur.
Between his hands he clutched a glass jar, where the vampire could detect the fluttering form of some kind of insect. His face was pulled quite close to it, nose nearly touching the container, as he mumbled deliriously beneath his breath.
"What's that Mr. Dragonfly? The world is a dangerous place?"
He was talking to his bug. Her chest fluttering with newfound amusement, Serana stole a brief look at her mortal companion while the Khajiit continued to speak quietly to his tiny friend.
"..Well yes, I suppose so, but it can be beautiful too."
The vampire saw the Dragonborn's helmet covered head tilt, still hovering just at the door of his cell. After several seconds of rapt silence, aside from the Khajiit's ongoing monologue, it seemed that her curiosity had grown too strong, and she spoke out to him. "Uhm.. hello?"
The Khajiit's head shot upward in an instant from the jar containing his "Mr. Dragonfly", wide and startling yellow eyes seeking out the woman.
Finally granted with a clear view of his face, Serana was able to make out the cloudy white markings around his muzzle and brow, and the impressive set of scars cutting over the broad bridge of his nose.
His long ears drooped once he had acknowledged the Dragonborn, a sad look shining in those animal-like pupils. "Ah. It is you. Come here to kill me at last?" His head dipped in shame, chin nearly to his chest. "Thank the Gods.. I can bear this guilt no longer..."
Now Serana was really beginning to feel pity for the poor Khajiit. He was obviously out of his mind, from what.. she didn't think she would even like to imagine. Just how long had he been in this dungeon?
The Dragonborn took a step backward from the front of the cell, genuine confusion expressed in her body-language rather than her unseen expression. "Excuse me, what?"
"I know I must die," The blue-furred Khajiit declared boldly, setting aside his bug-friend's jar on the straw peppered floor. He lifted his face fully to the standing woman, lips set in a determined line. "Beware though, my newfound honor demands that I defend myself."
"..Huh?" The mortal woman only sputtered in reply. "Do I know you?" She inquired incredulously, following the Khajiit's movements as he began picking himself off the stone ground to stand.
"I am in no mood for jokes!" The prisoner suddenly exploded, though Serana could hardly take him seriously when he bristled at them in nothing but his loincloth. "Strike me down! Take your revenge!" The Khajiit demanded, spreading his arms wide out at his sides.
"Just ignore the poor sod. He's entirely mad." Sibbi Black-Briar piped up unexpectedly from his own cell, propped up in one of his cushioned chairs with a half-eaten bit of bread in his fingers.
Serana and the Dragonborn simultaneously needled him with an unimpressed glare that quickly had him getting back to his own business. He took a tentative bite of his food with averted eyes.
They both looked back at the blue-furred Khajiit, who had lowered his arms and faced the mortal woman with a persistent look upon his face.
"I'm.. sorry," The Dragonborn began, typically feeling at fault for the obviously deranged cat-man's state. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Who are you?"
"You don't remember? Ah.. that must be my doing also." The prisoner said, crestfallen. His yellow eyes fell to the floor, tail tip flickering back and forth against it. Mr. Dragonfly fluttered about lazily in his jar at his feet. "I.. am... your so-called 'friend' Inigo."
"Inigo." The Dragonborn tested his name for herself, pausing as soon as it left her mouth as if trying to recall any memories of his acquaintance.
"I was the one who tried to kill you, I am guilty. Kill me." Inigo insisted sadly, gesturing toward himself with his clawed hands.
Well, Serana was at a total loss for words.
Her red eyes drifted toward the Dragonborn, who sensing the feeling of the look on her, peered over her shoulder at the vampire. Serana saw her lips part, mouthing a silent what? which the Volkihar heiress could only give a hopeless shrug to in return.
Sighing, the Dragonborn went back to facing the Khajiit's from the other side of his cell. "Um.. well.. you didn't actually kill me, obviously... so uh.."
Inigo peered back at her sorrowfully, and Serana watched the Dragonborn's second condoling exhale with a swelling feeling of dread. "Uh... one second, Inigo," She requested, fully turning to step toward Serana.
Oh, oh no. She wasn't.
Eyes narrowed and clearly conveying her growing suspicion as the woman came closer to her, Serana could hardly believe what she was hearing when her companion at last said to her in a whisper:
"Serana.. I want to take him with us."
"What?!" The vampire seethed faintly, anger all along with shock and pure disbelief swirling in her head. How could she even suggest...
"..He's not some.. helpless kitten on the side of the road, you can't just.. pick him up!" Serana shot back at her, gaze darting past the mortal woman's helmeted head to the jail cell that housed the outlandish Khajiit. "You aren't seriously considering this, are you?"
One glance at the woman's stubborn set of her jaw was all the vampire needed, even before she retorted. "Look, he obviously feels as if he owes me a debt or something.. and I can't just leave him here to rot with that regret for the rest of his life."
Serana made no effort to stop or hide the roll of her eyes, directing her disapproval at the side of the brick wall instead of the mortal in front of her.
"Alright.. fine." She agreed begrudgingly through gritted teeth, hearing a breath of relief from her mortal companion and the clinking of armor as she left the vampire to sulk at the railing blocking off the opening to the lower floor of the dungeons.
"Hey, Inigo," The Dragonborn captured the blue-furred Khajiit's attention once more, small though warm smile starting at the edges of her mouth. "I don't really remember much about what happened, but it sounds as if you still have an obligation to fulfill. Come with me."
Inigo seemed to brighten, his large ears perking. "I.. fight with you?"
"Yes, Inigo, repay your debt to me with the blood of my enemies." The mortal woman offered along with her smile, raising a clenched fist.
The Khajiit formed fists as well, shaking them in a display of bluster with his tail lashing excitedly behind him. "Or die defending you, yes! I accept! I feel lighter in my heart now that you have given me this opportunity, it will be just like old times!" Inigo flashed the two of them a sharp-toothed grin, and in all honesty, Serana found his newly-acquired enthusiasm.. cute. She would never admit it, though.
The Dragonborn must have agreed, for she rewarded his outburst with a very rare bit of laughter. "Well, sure. Give me a moment, Inigo, I'll get you out of there."
True to her word, it only took a simple appeal from the nearest jailor on duty, and Inigo's door was open.
The vampire observed from her place between the cat-man and Sibbi's cells as the Khajiit took his first step into freedom, clutching Mr. Dragonfly's jar in his hands and beaming at his.. well it would be appropriate to call the Dragonborn his savior. Just as she had been to Serana not long ago.
Lost in nostalgic thought, Serana remained motionless as the chatting Dragonborn and Inigo started for the exit.
Well, they had one thing in common as far as she knew. Perhaps.. this Inigo would not be too much a challenge to get along with.
"Heh. Looks like you've got some competition." Sibbi Black-Briar commented from behind the safety of his cell's bars.
Serana felt her brow twitch, and turning her head to him, she growled.
The mortal man startled and shrunk further into the recesses of his quarters as the vampire parted with a huff and stalked off.
