We dismount, tie our horse to a post, and go into the inn. For some reason everyone falls silent and eyes my lover. The long inn is packed full of people, and all of them have stopped what they're doing to look at us. The Khajiit doesn't do anything, but I can see the fur on the back of her neck beginning to stand up. I almost chuckle because it reminds me of a cat I use to have, whenever someone came up to him he would puff himself up. My father ended up kicking him so hard his neck snapped, but I tend to ignore that fact. My lover and I make our way over to the bar. The innkeeper completely ignores my friend, continuing to clean a dirty mug with a dirty rag.
My love clears her throat and the man finally looks up, but he looks more than displeased. The Khajiit pulls out some gold and places it on the counter, tentatively saying, "We'd like a room.". The fur on her arms is beginning to come to attention, and her tail is slowly doing the same. The man looks us both over, then flicks the gold away and snarls, "No damned cats in my inn.". The inn begins to rumble with people quietly talking. I expect to hear them complaining about the innkeeper not letting my friend rent a room, but it's quite the opposite. All of them are agreeing with the man, and a good chunk of them are snarling that my lover should leave. My lover sighs and looks ready to leave, but I'm not.
My love swore she would fuck me when we got a room at an inn, and I don't have any idea when we'll find another inn. I step forward and ask, "What about me? Can I get a room?". The man chuckles and says, "I'm always ready to rent a room to a proud Nord of Skyrim. Put the cat outside and I'll give you a room.". I suppose I could sneak my love in somehow or she could climb in a window, but she shouldn't have to go through so much trouble to get a room. I'm honestly confused about the situation, so I ask the innkeeper, "Why in oblivion can't my friend rent a room?".
The Nord man puffs himself up and tells me, "Ulfric Stormcloak won't allow damned Khajiit is his army or city, and I won't let any in my inn. And, if you keep talking about it I won't allow you to rent a room. I'm not fond of friends of cats either.". I don't know who in oblivion Ulfric Stormcloak is, but I feel a seed of hate for him being planted in my heart. I go to say something, but something happens before I can. My lover and I have been walking for quite a while, so it's no surprise she's tired. The woman leans slightly against the bar, the side of her arm the only thing touching the wood. The man pounces like a saber cat on a fawn. He throws the liquid in his mug at the Khajiit, howling, "No cats on the table!". My friend's face gets soaked and she instinctively hisses, shaking her head and sending droplets of the liquid flying.
The inn erupts in laughter, the innkeeper laughing hardest of all. I feel my fangs itch for a neck to bite and take a step forward, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I turn and see my lover looking at me. She shakes her head and whispers, "There's too many. They aren't worth it. Please.". I look back at the innkeeper, the man now containing himself. The Nord smirks and snarls, "Now get out of my inn! I don't welcome cats and I don't welcome friends of cats!". My lover takes my hand and tugs me, but I remain in place. I need to memorize his face so I can smash it in at a later date.
The Khajiit's hand tugs harder and she whispers, "Please, he isn't worth the time. Come on.". I allow the woman to lead me out, but I look at all the faces around us. I have to fight back the urge to smash them all into a pulp. I might not be able to kill them, but I have an idea that'll give them another thing to get upset about. Right at the door I stop, pulling my lover around and positioning us so all the inn can see. I grab her and yank her to me, locking my lips with hers. The inn ignites like a fire, thousands of screams going up. "Whores!". "Cat fucker!". "Imperials!". I have no idea what the last one has to do with anything, but I'm certain it's an insult. I pull back and yank my friend out of the inn, both of us jogging a safe distance away. We end up stopping by a lumber mill, a woman currently yanking logs back and forth.
The first thing out of my lover's mouth is, "I'm sorry we couldn't get a room. I forgot this place is under Stormcloak control.". I wave my hands to stop her and ask, "Can you explain who Ulfric Stormcloak is? I'd like to beat his face in. And, why you couldn't rent a room?". The Khajiit assures me, "It'll take a few minutes.". I sit down on the ground. My love chuckles and sits down beside me, clearing her throat before she begins. "A few years ago the Empire of Cyrodill and the Altmer of the Summerset Isles got into a war. Keep in mind, the empire basically owns Skyrim at this point. Now, the Altmer were winning big time, so the emperor made a treaty to stop the war.".
"Not much changed, but the worship of Talos was banned. Ulfric Stormcloak fought in the war, and felt the emperor has betrayed the Nords. So, he murdered the King of Skyrim and began screaming about Talos. It's all just a ploy to become King himself, but some people still follow him. They're all usually Nords who don't like outsiders, but they still follow him. He's taken over about half of Skyrim, but the empire has the other half. Whiterun is neutral. Now, Ulfric dislikes anyone who isn't a Nord. His followers don't like anyone who isn't a Nord. They bully Dunmer, Khajiit, and Argonians the worst. In Stormcloak territories Dunmer are forced into poverty, Khajiit aren't allowed into the cities, and Argonians are given the worst jobs available. That's about all there is to it.".
I ask, "Does the empire treat you this way?". She shakes her head, stands, and tells me, "Long live the empire. Long live the emperor.". She helps me up, then says, "Come on, we need to find out how to get to High Hrothgar.". She sees the Nord working and walks up to her. The two share a short exchange, then my lover returns and says, "There's a path of 7,000 steps across the river.". She takes my hand and we both begin walking, crossing the bridge and reaching the base of the mountain. As we begin walking up the steps my lover runs her thumb over the back of my hand, promising me, "The next time we're in a nice room I swear I'll give you the night of your life. I'm really sorry you had to see all of that, I forgot Ivarstead was under Ulfric's control.".
I rub her hand back and assure her, "It's fine. I'm just shocked at what happened. Does that occur in every city you go to that's under Stormcloak control?". She shakes her head and tells me, "Usually the guards stop me before I'm even in the town.". Our conversation is cut off by a few wolves bounding down towards us. Two short hits later and we're walking over their corpses, continuing up the mountain. The path of grey stones is slippery with snow, the place barren besides the occasional tree that pops up growing out of the mountainside. It's almost peaceful.
We see a man sitting near a stone tablet sticking out of the snow, but we ignore him and keep walking. The journey is slowly becoming more boring. We don't feel like talking, nothing is attacking us, and the wind isn't even blowing. My friend suddenly asks me, "Do you think there's really 7,000 steps?". I shrug, then notice she's looking at the ground. I hold in my laugh and ask, "Are you really counting the steps?". The Khajiit nods and tells me, "I'll tell you how many there are when we reach the end.". I shake my head and allow us to once again fall into silence. We pass some more people, and the air slowly thins as we climb higher and higher up the mountain. The steps go up, down, and curl around the mountain. Finally, we reach a place where the steps are sandwiched between two cliffs.
My friend freezes, draws her bow, and says, "Look up there. Frost troll. Get some fire spells ready, I'm going to shoot at him.". I look up at the cliffs and see a troll scavenging around on top. My friend releases an arrow and the beast howls, looking around for who attacked him. My lover laughs and fires again, but this time I join her and throw a ball of fire at the monster. It screams and falls down, his body still on top of the cliff. My lover puts up her weapon and tells me, "Good job.". We both keep walking, but soon we reach the giant temple that can only be High Hrothgar. I take my lover's hands and ask, "Anything to say before we go in?". The Khajiit swallows and says, "700.". I blink and ask, "What?". My lover explains, "There are only 700 steps.". I chuckle and tighten my grip of her hand, pulling her up the stairs to the temple.
My lover freezes at the top and I turn to her. The woman freezes and mumbles, "I'm scared.". I instantly turn and wrap my arms around her, asking her, "Why? What do you have to be afraid us?". The Khajiit looks at the ground and tells me, "What if I'm not the 'Dragonborn'? What if it was a mistake? These people are really important in Skyrim, and they're masters of 'The Voice'. I didn't even know what I was doing. I just shouted.". I rub her back and assure her, "What you did was an amazing feat, and I've never read about anyone doing anything similar. You're the damned Dragonborn, and who cares about 'The Graybeards'? They weren't around when I was around, or I at least didn't hear anything about them.".
"Besides, they're monks. They have to be if they live all the way up here away from the world. Monks wouldn't hurt you, you're the person they're looking for, and they'll show you what you're doing. I should be more concerned, they might not like random strangers wandering into their halls.". The Khajiit looks up at me, winds her own arms around me, and asks, "You really think all that's true?". I nod and assure her, "I believe it with all of my heart.". The woman leans in and I lean in to meet her halfway, both of us enjoying the kiss. When we pull back I ask my lover, "Are you ready to go in and face your destiny?". The woman nods and whispers, "I'm ready.".
Note: 'A Life Across the Ages' is out, and so is 'Maid in Whiterun'. While 'Maid in Whiterun' is the current winner, I might still do 'Sticks and Stones'. However, it would be after two of my stories are over.