Stay with me here during this chapter, okay? I was not exactly in my best state of mind while writing this. I had relationship drama going on. Okay? Thanks... I hope you guys understand if this chapter is bad... I guess you can consider this a filler chapter.

"Ah!" I sat up in my bed quickly, shaking my head vigorously as I turned cold. I was only in my underthings (what we today would call a sports bra and night shorts) and as I looked down, my cot, my blanket, and when I turned back, I found my pillow was wet, too! I looked up to find an impatient Omazirr standing at the edge with a pail in his hands.

"About time." He grumbled something about having to walk outside to get water to wake me up and then he spoke up. "There's somebody here that the Sanctuary needs to welcome. Get up."

I groaned. "Back to the jerk, I see," I mumbled things to myself and slipped out of the cot, throwing on my Shrouded Robes. "That was really uncool, you know." I watched as he walked to leave my room, then stopped and turned back to give me this death-glare that made my blood go cold.

"Uncool? You want to know what's uncool? Having to go outside and get a bucket of freezing water to wake your lazy ass up!" His voice was taught with an angry toughness.

"I was up late!" I defended.

He scoffed, his tail moving quickly back and forth as his eyes narrowed on me, "Maybe if you hadn't fallen asleep so early you wouldn't have been up late!" He walked out of my room and slammed the door shut behind him before I could say anything else.

"Well, isn't somebody tense today!" I shook my head as I fixed up my robes, then realized what Omazirr said. "Hm... I wonder who's so important that Omazirr has his tail in a knot..." After last night, I was hoping he would have been a little nicer... Yeah, remember the remark I said before about getting whiplash from these people? Well, I could definitely see it coming from Omazirr.

I pulled open my door and shook off the cold breeze that hit me. Did underground always have to be so cold? Rhetorical question, of course. As I padded into the main room, I was... dumbfounded?

There stood, as plain as day, a man dressed in a black and red jester's outfit... he even had the hat. The hat. What. The. Hell?!

Everybody stood around him as though he were really putting on a show, but Astrid was talking to him and the rest were just... there. So Veezara saw me and slyly waved me to come over and join the crowd. I hated him for it.

When I stepped up to all of them, the jester stopped and glanced at me as I intruded into the crowd, "He he he he he he he! Who is this that I do see? Is she a sister now reborn? Or is she an intruder to be scorned? I am Cicero at your service! And this here is my Night Mother!" He turned to a big crate behind him and held his arms out as if showing off an extravagantly decorated box.

"Uh... Night Mother?"

His face turned solemn but he quickly replaced his frown with a creepy smile, "Yes, yes! My Night Mother! My Night Mother! Don't you touch her or I'll harm every little hair on your head!" He leaned forward and plucked a strand of fur from my head. He plucked it right from a sensitive spot, too.

I found myself cringing in pain one second and the next I was releasing this feral hiss with my hand stretching back, claws protruding from my fingertips. His eyes widened as he realized the mistake he'd made.

"Feral! Feral!" He started jumped around the small circle of us, hiding behind Gabriella and Arnbjorn and Astrid. He continuously peeped over their shoulders, still muttering feral, "Feral kitty! De-claw her! De-claw her!" Meanwhile, the others had to stifle their laughs and giggles.

"Enough!" Astrid stepped away from Cicero and turned to face him.

"I agree." I told her. I shoved my hands into a pocket in my Shrouded Robes and felt my hand curl around the golden chain. "If it's fine with you, Astrid, I'd like to skip this little meeting and go over to Whiterun for a while."

She eyed me and glanced back at Cicero. "Very well."

"Cicero will go with you!" The jester popped out from behind Astrid. "I will make up for my rudeness!" He suddenly dipped himself forward in a bow and I shook my head.

"I don't think so. We have things to discuss still." Astrid crossed her arms angrily over her chest.

"Things? Like what?"

I shook my head and turned away. "I'm going." Before I left, I made sure to equip the Orcish dagger I'd found in the woman's home.

I was walking for an hour or so when something running through the trees and bushes behind me made me pull the dagger out of my pocket and slowly stop walking. I stepped behind a tree quickly and waited, waited to see who was following me as my heart started to race and I became nervous.
When the footsteps got closer to the tree, to the point where they were on the side of it, I brought up my arm and raised my dagger with the other arm, letting out an "Ah!" as I threw my body against the person with my arm at their neck.

I was brought face to face with an appalled Cicero, who immediately started saying, "No danger! No danger! I am not a stranger! It's only me, Cicero! I assure you!"

I found a snarl covering my lips as I stepped away from him slowly and sheathed my dagger. "Why are you following me?" I yelled.

"I wanted to venture to Whiterun with you!" He clapped his hands and smiled, "I like Whiterun! Can I come? Can I come?"

I groaned and rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. If you couldn't tell, I already wasn't fond of him. "Fine," I told him. "But when we're at an inn, you're sleeping in another room."

"Oh, goody, goody! Where are we off to?"

"I have to visit my friend at the Skyforge." We fell into an easy, yet uncomfortable walking pattern side by side.

"Oh! Cicero wants Skyforge steel! Sharp, sharp for easy stabbing!"

"Stabbing?" I asked. Who said anything about stabbing? Wasn't he a jester - supposed to be about jokes and all?

"Yes! Stabbing! You know..." he pulled a knife out of his pocket and started to jab at the air in front of him. "Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab! Stab, stab, stab-stabbity stab!"

I found my eyes widened as I looked away from the jester and shook my head slowly. "Don't do that when we're in Whiterun."

It took us a while and a stop at an inn along the way, but we got to Whiterun. I'll admit now that having a jester along was pretty amusing although deep inside I still held some hate towards the guy. He plucked a strand of fur from my head! Not only did he invade my privacy; he touched my fur! He threatened me, too! As if his Night Mother is so sweet, anyways! From what I've learned about his ramblings, he's obsessed with her. If that's the case, why did he come with me to Whiterun instead of anybody... else.

I stopped dead in my tracks, realizing that nobody said anything about sending anyone with me to protect me from the Delvin guy... I'd have to ask about that when I got back... maybe they figured they'd fill Cicero in on the situation and then let him come and accompany me? No... maybe?

I shook my head as we walked to the front gates and the guards there stopped us.

"What business do you have here, Khajiit?" At least he called me a Khajiit and not 'cat'.

"I need to speak with the man running the Skyforge."

"Eorlund?"

I nodded as the two guards exchanged glances, and, unlike the guards at Riften, they let me in without a problem. However, they didn't fail to give Cicero a glance as he passed them by.

As we entered Whiterun, there was a woman at a forge of her own, and she looked at us and said something about going to her for armor and weapons. Well, I wasn't looking for armor or weapons, so I ignored her and started up the stony path. We came to a circle with a set of steps along the left side of us, so we walked up them and crossed over a small bridge. People were all over the place, I noted, as I saw Jorrvaskr. I started up the steps that lead to the big building, home of the Companions, and made my way around it. I looked behind me to see that Cicero was still there, but when we came to the back, we were stopped by a woman wearing, disturbingly, next to nothing. She looked like a hunter, but she definitely wasn't wearing too-great armor.

"What are you doing?" she asked me directly. She had her arms crossed and a bow was at her back. We were about the same height, though I was a little shorter. She had this brownish hair that went to, about her shoulders, I'd say.

I raised my head and replied, "I need to see Eorlund."

She looked over my armor, "You dress like an assassin."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Calm yourself, please. I'm not here to var dar him."

Her brows raised a little, giving me this questioning glance. "Var dar?"

I cursed under my breath, "I apologize. I have a habit of letting my Ta'agra slip through into my sentences no matter what language I'm speaking. What I mean to say is that I'm not here to kill Eorlund. If you don't believe me, you can accompany me up to him."

"That won't be necessary!" I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned to see Eorlund himself. "Ajivha!" He held his arms out and I turned to hug him.

"Eorlund! It's been so long! How do you still remember me?"

He chuckled, but didn't let go of me. "It's hard to forget the most adorable Jha'khajiit I ever saw in Tamriel on my trip there. You still have the same eyes and ears!"

When he finally let go of me, I glanced back at the girl and she looked shocked.

"You know her?"

"Of course I do! But that's a story I'll tell you another time!" He turned to me. "Come on up and I'll show you my Skyforge. Bring your... fellow, too." He glanced at Cicero, who was actually just standing there for once.

I smiled and the three of us made out way to the top of the Skyforge.

"So, why did that girl look so shocked when you hugged me?"

Eorlund chuckled, "I guess it's because I don't usually hug people. Or maybe it's because you're a Khajiit and she just wasn't expecting me to know you. Anyways, I see you took me up on your offer of coming here. You didn't come all this way just to see the Skyforge, did you?"

I smiled as we took a seat on some rocks. Cicero was looking around at everything, but he was careful not to touch things.

"No. Things have changed since you left, Eorlund. You've stayed the same, though, I see."

"I try not to change." He smiled. "So, what did you need then, friend?"

"Well, while I was wishing to check up on you after coming to Skyrim, I thought of my parents and I remembered you said you had the Skyforge up here." I pulled a locket out of my pocket and handed it to him. "Do you think you could get my parents' names on that?"

"Do'Marash and Abarina?" He took the chain from my hand and looked over the locket. "Aye! Should be easy enough. I could have it done within the next few days. I'd have it done sooner but I have important weapons to craft first."

I smiled. "Thank you, Eorlund. I appreciate it. Besides, the longer it's off my hands, the better."
He nodded, although I saw his brow raise a little. "So, what happened, if you don't mind my asking?"
"To my parents or about the locket?"

He shrugged his shoulders, still looking over the gold, "Well, I was asking about your parents but you can explain both if you like."

"My parents were killed by wolves two years after your visit. I was ten at the time."

"Would have been about ten years ago, aye?"

"Aye," I nodded. "I'd like to have something to remember them by and nothing could be better than a locket dedicated to them at this moment."

"I see where you're coming from. And the reason it's better off of your hands?"

"It may take a while to explain, my friend."

He chuckled, "I've got the time."