(Hi friends. This is an important note, so please read; I've struggling a lot with alcohol addiction issues for a very very long time, and I'm finally trying to become sober. I'm going to be rewriting the earlier chapters; 95% of this fanfic was written when I was under the influence of alcohol and a lot of plot decisions I made are going to end up deadending this story. This chapter is, as you can see, unfinished. The characters will not change, the general flow won't change, just some minor details tweaked and rewritten in a more consistent style. I will be posting a temporary update chapter each time I finish a chapter so you can read it as I revise.
Thank you to all the kind people who have viewed, reviewed, and sent kudos to me throughout the past few years. I really appreciate it; you are the ones who drive me to keep writing. Otherwise this would just be another stupid self aggrandizing tale.)
When Jo'shak and Jenassa returned from retrieving Lilija's things from the Drunken Huntsman, Joe once again complained about Lilija's lack of enchanted backpack and the weight of the thing, they could hear lively singing coming from the interior of Breezehome as they approached.
The door, the front windows, every orifice in the building was wide open. Dust flowed out the front door, Lilija appearing for a brief second with a broom and a vengeance. She ducked back into the house without noticing her two friends approaching, her singing continuing as she enthusiastically cleaned, punctuating the end of each verse with some flourish of her skirt, shake of her hip, or spin;
"Dance with me until the boiling fever's sweated out,
Till the pails of grief run bottomless on the flames that brought the drought.
Switch on the bright lights, turn on this town,
Run me through 'till I turn to powder, then dash me on the ground!
Leave my blue suede shoes by the door!
Break them in, and ask forgiveness come Sunday morn,
All these floorboards are barely worn!
Break them in and ask forgiveness come Sunday morn,
Break them in and ask forgiveness come Sunday morn!"
Joe and Jen observed from the doorway, hit slightly dumbstruck by her change in mood and attitude; What in Oblivion is wrong with that woman? Was a thought that often crossed both adventurer's minds since meeting the odd redhead, and they really hadn't known her long at all. Joe tuned into her singing more, and found himself tapping his foot along to the beat. Lilija had a pleasant singing voice, not the best he had ever heard- that place belonged to his precious Ta'rhija- but her voice range dipped low and went high, so she was better a singer than him already. Also why was she saying Sunday instead of Sundas?
Joe took initiative and stepped through the foyer waving to her as their eyes contacted, then dropped Lilija's bag onto a chair. He was about to greet Lilija as he did this, but was interrupted by a very distinctly familiar yowling screech from inside Lilija's bag.
Lilija dropped her broom in surprise, then ran over to her bag with an expression of great confusion, undoing the strange pressure clasps on top and flipping it open. A black, fuzzy blur dashed out of her bag and wound itself around her ankles before disappearing beneath the bookcase directly behind Lilija.
Joe whipped his head up to look at Lilija, an intense but indescribable look on his face, and asked, "Did you pick up a large, long haired black cat?"
"Uh…..yes? He, uh, fell into one of the canals here, 'n nearly drowned against the debris gate." Lilija replied, confused as all hell, "Pulled him out and took care of him, was that a bad decision?"
"No, this one thanks friend Lilija, because she inadvertently saved this one's older brother." Joe was already in motion to look under the bookcase, then drag out the black cat by its rear legs. Into his arms was the kitty in just a moment.
"Greetings, big brother Zaykari!" He proclaimed, holding the ragged cat covered in dust bunnies out at arms length so that once the realization hit Zaykari that he wouldn't claw the shit out of Joe's face. Which he immediately tried doing.
Lilija, Jenassa, and Lydia watched the debacle in stunned silence. Joe scruffed his "big" brother, the black cat finally hanging limp from his hand. He tutted, shaking his head, "What would mother say if she saw you treating this one in such a way?" His only response was an angry spit and hiss. If Lilija squinted her ears just right she could maybe hear words.
(Lyrics are from "Come Sunday Morn" by Carbon Leaf.)