He sighed, "Because I don't see many of my kind around here anyways and I thought that man was following you because he wanted a pelt from you."

"I assume Delvin doesn't go for pelts," I said.

"You-you know him?"

"Not quite," I leaned back against the table and crossed my arms.

"But you know his name?"

"I know his name and that he's part of the Thieves' Guild."

He stared at me for a long minute, "You stole from a member of the Thieves' Guild?"

"No," I shook my head, "He stole from me; a pure gold chain. I took it back."

"So he's after you to get back something that's not even his?"

"Exactly."

I couldn't tell if Omazirr believed me or not, but he stared at me for a few minutes either way and eventually he placed a bottle of mead on my lap. He sat next to me, a bottle in his own hand and he stared at me for a long minute yet again. I turned and stared back at him as he drank from the bottle.

"What?" I asked after another minute passed.

"You realize that man will still be after you if you leave here, yes?"

"Yeah, I have that figured out already."

"Are you going to leave here?"

"I don't have authority to stay."

"No, but you could," a woman's voice chimed in. "Nazir, Babette, Gabriella. Leave, please."

I turned and saw the woman with the blonde hair at the entrance to the room and everybody except for Omazirr and her left.

"Astrid?" Omazirr questioned what she was doing and what she meant.

Astrid walked over in front of me and stared down at me for a long time, "You're a Khajiit. That's as obvious as Alduin from Mara," she compared.

I was a little familiar with the Nordic deities, but I wasn't that sure.

I glanced at Omazirr and said, "So it's like The Skooma Cat and Azurah?"

He nodded, but seemed unsure and looked back to Astrid.

"Khajiits are known for their stealth and sneak abilities. You're quiet, cunning and sneaky. What else could be better for an assassin?"

Assassin. "It's funny. I keep hearing you guys say assassins, but I'm not sure what you mean entirely. If you're all assassins, what's your name?"

Astrid smiled, "Have you ever heard of the Night Mother? Or, perhaps maybe I should say the Black Sacrament?"

The Black Sacrament. "Dark Brotherhood?"

"Yes. I believe you have the potential to be a great assassin like Omazirr. From what I hear, this could be a great opportunity for you. You're being hunted, you need a place to stay, you have the main skills an assassin should have... we could assist you if you assist us. You just need to say 'Yes' to becoming a Dark Sister."

"Is there... some sort of initiation I have to go through?"

"No-" Astrid started to say, but Omazirr cut her off.

"Not quite, but at the same time, yes. Since we're similar in race, I assume Astrid will have me learn what you know about sneaking, stealth, sound and how well your ability to kill is," he looked to Astrid for confirmation.

"Correct," Astrid said, "After he judges what you can do, I'll assign you some contracts. The contracts range from easy to difficult, and sometimes I'll send you with a partner. Other times you should go alone unless you believe you'd need the help. For the first few contracts, I'll send somebody to watch over you just to make sure you get the hang of it. The contracts are fairly easy.

"Sometimes, you'll be given certain terms like killing the victim in a certain way; maybe an arrow to the neck or by using a life-draining spell-you do know how to use spells, right?"

I faltered, "I've dabbled in magic here and there but I'd have to work on it a bit."

"Babette could probably help you. At least with potions, anyways," Omazirr said.

"Well, if you fulfill the terms of the contract, you'll get an extra sum of money added on to the pay the client is offering. You can use the money for whatever you want; it's your kill and nobody is allowed to take that away from you. We just have some rules of our own here that you should try your very best to follow.

"The first rule is not to get seen when you're on a contract. If you're seen and put in jail, it's your job to either get out or to pay your sentence. If you have a bounty on your head, you better pay it while it's low so you don't get caught up on another contract."

"How many contracts can I do at a time?" I asked.

"You can do as many as you want, but I wouldn't go over three at a time," Omazirr said, "when you have more than three, you could possibly mix them up and that wouldn't be good, now would it?"

"The second rule is not to attack the Dark Brotherhood or betray us."

"That should technically be the first rule," Omazirr said, "but that's kind of obvious."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "As long as you stay faithful to us and don't tell any of our secrets, we won't make you pay, but we're not going to baby you, and seeing that you're a Khajiit as is, you probably grew up with disrespect from others."

"I know how to take care of myself," I told them.

"For the most part," Omazirr whispered under his breath. My ear twitched and I shook my head a little.

"Do you like what you hear? Have a spot in your soul for what you're being offered? think you can do it?"

I thought about this for a few minutes as both of them stared at me.

"Well, I suppose I could see myself as an assassin..."

"But due to that man following you," Omazirr spoke up and looked at Astrid, "I'd like her to have somebody with her at all times as backup if he attacks her."

"Understandable," Astrid nodded.

Omazirr and Astrid left the room and told me to do whatever. Whatever? They tell me I could join the Dark Brotherhood and then... they just leave like that? How nice...

I sat there, hoping somebody would come in, see me sitting there and strike up a conversation.

Luckily, my hope was answered.

A Redguard man eventually came in. He saw me sitting there alone and, for some reason, took a seat down at the table near me.

"Abandoned by the one who saved you, I see."

"Omazirr?" I asked, "I guess you could say that."

The man nodded, "So, you'll be part of the Brotherhood soon. I'll be watching over you when you take your first contract. I'm not going to baby you, but I was told to make sure the Thieves' Guild doesn't get you. To that extent, I will help you, but here's a small warning; until you're an official Dark Sister, don't expect a warm welcome. Expect the cold shoulder from many including myself."'

I nodded, "I expected that already. I get it enough as is."

He chuckled, "Yes, but from us it isn't because of your race. It is because you're new and we aren't sure if we can trust you yet. For all we know, you could be a spy wanting to rat us out, but I'm trusting you're not like that if you're here anyways."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't plan on ratting anybody out, so don't have thoughts like that in your mind."

He stood up from the bench and walked away, coming back with bread in his hand. He sat down again and looked at me, "Well, you can call me Nazir."

"And you can call me Ajivha."

For the first few hours after Nazir's encounter, I decide to go around and familiarize myself with the other people.I learned that Babette was a Breton vampire. I also learned that she would give me potions and ingredients, for a price, of course. She could also train me in alchemy.

Gabriella was a Dunmer who had a pet Frostbite Spider named Lis. She made quite a few sarcastic remarks, but eventually welcomed me to the Brotherhood, but she added on as I walked away, "But you're not a true assassin yet."

I learned that Festus Krex is an Elder member of the Brotherhood. He seemed mean upon first approaching him, but after speaking for a little, he appeared nicer than the others, and openly told me that his preferred weapon was magic. He said, "There's a spell for everything, I assure you." He taught at the college of Winterhold for two years but he left because nobody seemed to appreciate the destruction magic he was teaching. I asked him if he could teach me some spells sometime, and he said he wouldn't mind at all.

When I later approached an Argonian named Veezara, he only glared at me continuously, so I assumed he hated all Khajiits. He introduced himself and said, "Just because Festus was nice to you, I won't be the same, and if you don't know anything about Shadowscales, I say to stay out of my way and not to get me in trouble if I have to do a contract with you. I'll help you and you better help me if we're in a bind, but we're not friends and I don't personally want to be friends with you."

You can see how welcoming he was.

Finally, I met Arnbjorn. Astrid's husband. He didn't have much to say, but he said what he had to flat out, "I'm a werewolf. I love Astrid. I'm a blacksmith. I'll make you weapons and armor, tidbit, but I won't treat you like a child. You're here to murder people. Not make friends."

I started to go back to the kitchen, but Omazirr sneaked behind me and grabbed my arm. He started pulling me through the Sanctuary and eventually he said, "This is my room." He told me he would show me to my room later, but first he had to talk to me.

Did I already screw something up? Or did he have a contract for me already? Or was I not supposed to be talking to people? I hoped I didn't do anything wrong...