Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

Note (11/25/2020): And we're finally back! Got my game working again and life has settled down, so to speak anyway, so I've been enjoying experiencing Skyrim and the mods I'm using in this story again. I know not that many people really care about this story but I have lots of fun things planned and in general, Noir really is a beloved character of mine so I owed it to her and to myself to give this story another shot. That said I'm still taking screenshots galore but unlike before the story doesn't revolve around that or gameplay, I'm literally just focusing on the characters getting to know each other. So yeah, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and if you do, well it'd be nice to get my first review soon. *gives readers a cute pleading look*

Chapter 4: Unusual Quirks

Bishop's POV

Up until now, I've only heard rumors about the Dragonborn; but after actually seeing her in person I can tell you that her being an 'unusual Khajiit' is the understatement of the century. I mean sure, for a Khajiit her face looks bizarrely human and frankly, she doesn't really talk or act like any of the other fuzz-balls I've met in my travels but I just don't get it. Why was she so eager and willing to risk her own hide for a bunch of total strangers like that? How can she still smile at me like that like it's no big deal and make jokes so easily after we almost got mauled by a goddamn dragon?

Seriously is being the Dragonborn nothing but some kind of twisted game to her? Is she in it for the thrill? Or is this crazy cat girl really that naive? Is she THAT oblivious to the constant danger she seems to keep putting herself in...?

Hell if I know...

Ugh, whatever! It's not like I actually care one way or another, I scoffed, draining another tankard to wash down these pointless thoughts. The only reason we're here together is because I'm paying her back for helping me out back there and to make sure those Forsworn didn't carry her off to be sacrificed for some bloody ritual. That's all it is.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I glanced up just in time to watch Noir walk back into the tavern wearing something other than the leather armor I saw her in earlier. Guess Noir must've asked for some dry clothes to borrow because in the meantime so she was wearing a simple white tunic that was clearly a bit too big for her so it partially hung off her shoulder. The rest of the loose fabric was held in place with a leather corset and to complete the look she was wearing a pair of brown pants and worn-out boots which were flecked with small bits of dried mud.

As I watched Noir make her way across the room, I couldn't help but admire the way her body moved as she expertly cut her way through the crowd towards me. And for a second it almost made me forget how deadly this woman was while we were fighting that dragon only an hour ago. It's hard to put into words exactly, but it was almost like watching a sabercat in action going in for the kill where you could see the raw power behind each attack and there was a strange sort of wild grace to her movements.

To put it bluntly, Noir could be pretty vicious when she needed to be. I almost feel bad for her enemies since I'd hate to be on the receiving end of Noir's blades. That's why I made it a point to remind myself that this woman isn't half as dainty as she looks.

Anyway, I think the mead was starting to get to me at that point since I couldn't tear my eyes away from Noir. But then again, neither could the rest of the slobbering idiots in the room who were gawking at her ass as she passed by their tables which made me want to stand up and punch their lights out. Not that she couldn't do it herself and add a few cat scratches to their faces for good measure. As soon as our eyes met though I couldn't help but grin once I saw those creeps lose their bravado the instantly they realized she was already here with someone else, namely yours truly.

I wasn't about to waste the opportunity to let them forget it either so I said a bit louder than I probably should have, "Took you long enough, I thought you fell in and drowned in the bath ladyship."

"Gods Bishop, just how many drinks did you have? And besides, I wasn't gone THAT long. Let's hope you didn't accidentally drink mine while you were at it," she replied with a hint of amusement, sitting down in the empty chair beside me where she actually began to count the number of tankards still sitting on the table that hadn't been removed yet.

Before I could respond, the innkeeper's wife brought us another pair of fresh drinks along with our food with a little help from her daughter. Looking at it all I quickly realized I went a bit overboard ordering this much all at once, but I figured we were both starving after that intense battle earlier. Besides, I'm sure that the almighty Dragonborn could easily afford it and it seems I guessed right about how hungry she was when I saw how Noir's tail began to twitch happily as she inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma of the freshly baked food.

As for her drink, I was a bit confused at first when she suddenly asked if they had any snowberries on the menu. In response, the innkeeper's daughter brought over a small bowl of them which Noir deftly began to cut in half with a knife. Once she cut enough of them I watched as Noir began pressing the cut berry against the flat of the blade with her fingers to extract the juice from it to pour into her drink.

Is this some sort of weird Khajiit custom or something? I wondered, or maybe she just REALLY liked snowberries so I had to ask-

"Hey what exactly are you doing with those?" I asked, watching Noir do the same thing with the rest of the berries in the bowl until she was satisfied and turned to look at me while stirring her drink with the knife.

"Oh nothing much," she smiled contently, "I'm just making snowberry milk. I've only been to a few taverns that serve it already made so I usually end up adding berry juice to my own whenever they don't. And in case you're wondering I know this might seem weird to you but I have another reason for doing it besides loving snowberries in general. I do it because not only does it taste good, but these berries can help boost your resistance to the cold which comes in handy in a place like Skyrim."

Raising an eyebrow I snickered, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't snowberry milk usually only served to kids...?"

Noir's ears folded back slightly as she admitted sheepishly, "Well...technically yes, but unlike the rest of you Nords I don't drink mead all the time like its water. The last time I decided to risk having a few bottles had...mixed results. In fact, I think the first time I drank too much I woke up up in the rafters of the inn curled up with a rug from the floor after getting a bit carried away while explaining to an old friend of mine what the difference between a pelt and a rug is..."

After pausing to take a drink of her strange snowberry concoction and setting the mug back down, Noir continued with a snicker, "According to him I was loudly complaining about how I never understood why bandits enjoy yelling that they'd like to make rugs out of my fur. But I mean who in their right mind -bandit or not- would ACTUALLY skin a Khajiit to make a rug out of their pelt? That's about as creepy as me saying I want to skin a human."

"Whatever you say little miss snowberry..." I teased, taking another large bite out of my goat leg. "Anyway, you gonna eat now or what?"

"Oh, right!" Noir nodded, softly nudging her drink aside to make room for the hearty bowl of venison stew she ordered and enjoying a few spoonfuls.

After that, we ate our meals in silence but since she finished long before I did, Noir turned to me once the barmaid took the empty bowl away and said, "By the way, I was going to ask you something important but maybe I'll try again later when you're sober. Either way, thanks again for your help with the dragon earlier and for saving a seat for me. Ah and the sprain isn't as bad as I thought so you don't have to worry about me, it should be alright after a day or two."

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm not that drunk," I began grumpily before adding with a wolfish grin, "So don't get any funny ideas about running off to play hero again on your own because I'm telling you its a bad idea to push your luck waltzing around like that with that ankle. What's more, you're obviously gonna need someone here to watch over you til you're back on your feet, so it might as well be me. S'not like I've got anything else better to do."

"Right," Noir replied skeptically, shaking her head and draining the rest of her snowberry milk before adding, "By the way you never answered my question. I still want to know what in Oblivion a 'ranger' is supposed to be..."

Noir's POV

By the time we finished talking, I was the one who ended up carrying HIM back to the room he rented us for the next few days and I did my best to get Bishop onto the bed without dropping him since they're not exactly the softest in the world unless you have lots of furs on top. Honestly, the floor was going to be just as uncomfortable given how they're both made of stone. I know the Dwemer originally built this city but you'd think the people who lived here would have switched out these stone slabs for something actually comfortable.

Sighing, I went to see if my armor was still wet and sure enough yes, the leather was still damp but that's probably a good thing so it let me make a few adjustments while it was still pliable. I've been meaning to reposition some of the chain mail in the middle layer for weeks now since it slipped out of place during a fight after some stitching came loose. I really like this set so I really didn't want to have to replace it any time soon. That said I probably should get a new cloak at least since the old one is a bit too threadbare for my liking.

My eyes started to drift closed while thinking about all this so I curled up on the extra bedroll they provided when Bishop rented this room, carefully placing my daggers beneath the pillow, and as usual listened to all the small sounds around me until I felt like it was safe to finally let myself drift off to sleep. This was the first time I've actually been to Markarth and it smelled like wet stone and there was a cold metallic taste in the air, not to mention I could hear the murmuring of patrons just outside our room and the steady flow of the waterfalls outside powering the watermill. I caught a glimpse of it when Bishop carried me to the inn since I wasn't able to convince him to let me down any sooner.

I smiled to myself in my sleep because for some reason I had a good feeling about Bishop. Sure he seems to complain and grumble a lot, but Bishop did step in to protect me, and more than that he even offered to help until my ankle has fully healed. I've already mended it for the most part with some healing magic but he's probably right, I've been pushing myself too hard trying to keep myself busy while waiting for Delphine to finally contact me again...

It's more than that though. I can't really put my finger on it apart from the fact that it feels nice to have someone care about my well-being too for once. I've missed this feeling ever since Kaidan and I parted ways. While I might not openly admit it, I've always felt a little lonely and that feeling only grew worse when I was taken away from everything I knew and brought to this place. And here in Skyrim, sure the other Khajiit accept me as one of their own, but at the same time they know we're not exactly the same since my kind are rare even among our race so there are very few of us.

That's part of the reason why I stand out so much in Skyrim; well besides the fact that I live in a land mostly covered in snow and my fur is the dark color of charcoal. I'm also considered different for other reasons I can't control since I was forced to give up my original way of life and I was punished when I didn't comply. Just the memory of that person eventually turned my dreams into a whirlwind of nightmares mixed with old memories which made me toss and turn in my sleep until suddenly my eyes snapped open and I bolted upright, gripping my daggers at the ready...

Still breathing heavily I snuck a glance over at Bishop who was still snoring the night away and gradually relaxed my grip, lowering my arms and after tucking them under my pillow again I settled back down in my bedroll. I hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time so it was strange to have one now, however, I wasn't alone anymore so that alone brought me some comfort. It might not last, but I wanted to enjoy it for as long as I could.

And who knows, maybe Bishop could become someone I can confide in and he can help me finally put the past to rest the same way my friend Kaidan is while trying to piece his own together. I wouldn't know until I asked if he's willing to stay with me a little longer. That is if Bishop REALLY has nothing better to do and was only saying that to act all coy with me. Good thing two can play at that game and I'm eager to see what sort of mischief we can get into from now on as long as Bishop does decide to stick around.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see what fate has in store for us...