Of Dunmer and Khajiits (HoratioxZitacamron95)

[Horatio]

Behnik nodded, eyes narrowing slightly, he was here for work, right. The cat had used that vague description enough times when people had gotten to nosy about his business. It had been his standard reply when he was doing (mostly illegal) jobs in Markarth. Of course, you couldn't even take a stroll around Markarth without having to do something illegal to get by.
Behnik reached up to trace a scar on his cheek, the bright pink of skin standing out against the black fur. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten it anymore, all the battles kind of blurred together. Something to do with Hargravens maybe? The Khajiit chuckled at the question, as much as he liked Solitude, he was still an outcast and had only come here after he'd been banned from Markarth. "No, I'm only passing through, I'm from the Reach," he never told anyone about his home in Karthwasten, except his closest companions, he let people assume he was a wandering hermit, no true place to call home.
"Okay Behnik, let's go adventuring," Cosnach finally approached them, his sword at his hip and his bow strung to his back.
"About time Cosnach," Behnik smirked, punching his friend's shoulder.
"Sorry, my vision was a little blurry, took me a minute to find my sword,"
"Hopefully you never have that problem in bed," Behnik winked at the blonde who glared. The cat laughed and turned his attention back to Xavad. He lifted his hand towards the elf, putting the paw near his ear and smiling as he wiggled his fingers and came back with a piece of gold. He laid the coin on the bar.
"Nice meeting you Xavad, get some Stros M'kai rum on me," he then stood straight and walked towards the enterance, Cosnach following with a slightly staggering step.

[Zitacamron95]

Xavad only smiled at Behnik when he did his little trick and placed the coin on the bar. It was a childish thing to do, but in someways he had found it slightly amusing. He couldn't understand why he even thought such a thing, if something like that had been pulled off by anyone else, he wouldn't have even smirked. There was something about this khajiit that just seemed to be completely different from his other targets, and he couldn't figure out what that difference was. He couldn't even figure out what it was about Behnik that stopped him from just following behind the two and killing the both of them the moment they got to their destination point. It was as if he was stuck to the spot he stood in now and couldn't go any further.

The dark elf simply nodded when the khajiit continued to speak, but he wasn't completely listening anymore. His eyes just stared into the khajiit's as if he was trying to figure out what forced him to stand so still. He didn't say a word as the two left the inn and he stood there for a moment wondering what to do. Finally, after a few seconds in the silence of his own head he was able to force himself to move, and look like he hated the world again. He glanced at the gold piece that sat on the bar, he didn't exactly drink alcohol on a regular basis, it was bad for someone that needed to be able to get out of certain situations quickly. He considered just taking it, but decided that he'd just leave it on the bar for some other drunken idiot to use as payment for another drink.

Xavad finished off the wine and went to his room at the inn, he had it rented out for a while, so there was no reason to not continue using it. He knew that he should have been out there going after the khajiit, but something had stopped him from even doing that. The only reasoning he could come up with, was that if it was the black sacrament he'd be forced to take on that mission as well and blow his cover with Behnik. He would just have to leave everything the way it was and just allow others to deal with whatever happened from this moment on.

[Horatio]

Behnik cursed as he ran up another flight of stairs and dodged an arrow simultaneously. Those 'suspicious mages' had turned out to be worshippers of the Wolf Queen, Potema and were trying to ressurect her so she could once again rule Skyrim. Why did this always happen to him? He went in expecting a simple mission and came out almost dead. It happened far too often to be coincidence.
He sighed in relief as his attacker fell dead, an arrow in his throat. He yelled a thanks over his shoulder to Cosnach as he continued his way up the ruined tower to stop the ceremony going on at the top. Guards attacked him at every turn but his reflexes were fast and his claws were deadly. He was dripping with blood, most not his own and he was exhausted. Before even finding this chamber, there had been mages, vampires and summoned creatures either playing guard or lazing about their self-made camps. Frankly, he was surprised they'd made it this far. If he had known the dangers, he would've recruited Ghorbash and a few of his fellow mercenaries. Cosnach and him must be blessed by the Eight.
The cat grimaced as he made it to the top of the ruin, a trail of bodies littering the stairs behind him. There were five mages standing around a stone pedastal and shooting out of the pedastal was an unearthly white light. The leader of the group was chanting a prayer to Potema and she seemed to be nearing the end. Behnik leaped forward, grabbing the nearest mage and slashing his throat. The other three stopped their mumbling and surged forward to give their leader time to finish. One shot a fireball at the Khajiit and it hit him right in the stomach, burning through to the skin. He hissed but didn't cower, instead letting the pain fuel him to leap at the mage and rip his heart out. The other two advanced on the angry cat but suddenly an arrow went through the left one's eye, quickly followed by another to the right one's heart. Behnik wasted no time and rushed to tackle the lead mage. She let out a piercing shriek and seemed to be trying to kill Behnik while also cursing him and calling him a fool. Behnik rolled his eyes and ripped her vocal chords out.
He stood shakily as the magical light faded away, almost seeming to whisper with words of revenge from Potema.
"Nice shooting Cos," Behnik raised a hand to the burn on his stomach, it was red with his blood. And now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he felt a few shallow cuts along his arms and back.
"You should see me when I'm pissed drunk," Cosnach chuckled weakly, there was blood dripping through his hair and he seemed to have taken a dagger to the waist.
"We should get patched up and then back to Solitude, I bet the Jarl will want to hear of this," Behnik reached for the pack on his belt where he kept his healing kit.
-
The walk back to Solitude was a slow one, Cosnach was groggy from the blood loss and Behnik winced with pain everytime his stomach muscles stretched. He growled when Cosnach suggested this is why he should wear a shirt or maybe even armor.
They made it to the city gates around early morning, having left the morning before. Behnik couldn't wait to see the reaction of the Jarl and her servants when he told them the surprising turn of events. But mostly he couldn't wait to tell them so he could then go see a healer and go to bed.

[Zitacamron95]

The night was Xavad's best friend, though it felt like it came at such rare intervals for him, even if it came daily. He enjoyed the darkness even if he wasn't working, it just gave him that feeling of safety. There was nothing more to worry about when he was under the night sky, especially when all there was around him was a silence and a few guards taking the night shift. He was used to staying up late and sleeping during the day, if he actually cared to sleep, he found it easier to just stay awake when he was on more important jobs, or decided to take on more than one job at a time. He was one of those people that took a few jobs that were miles away from the other and then made sure he got them all done before reporting back to someone about the job he had done. The Brotherhood enjoyed that about him, he was quick to get the job done and move onto the next without a break in between, but that could have been because they raised him that way.

He moved slowly in the dark, everything around him making more noise than he did, all the passing guards only thought he was an innocent civilian taking a night stroll because he couldn't sleep. He was quite good a faking a yawn or two when another person passed, little did they know he was actually following another civilian that lived in Solitude. He did owe a friend of his a favor, and this was the last favor he planned on giving to him. When Xavad had been trying to sleep, he had gotten a bit of a rude awakening in the middle of the night. He had an odd conversation with one of The Dark Brotherhood members that had apparently been in the area without him realizing it. It only just occurred to him that the man had been watching him sleep for a good ten to twenty minutes before waking him and asking for the favor, which made the dark elf keep a mental note of having a good talk with his friend about personal space. It didn't matter what sexuality Xavad was, that was creepy in every sense of the word, there was nothing cute or romantic about it.

The dark elf shook his head when he saw his opportunity, his target had turned into a quiet ally where nobody was looking. He quickly and quietly crouched down and got closer to his target. In one swift movement he pulled out his dagger, stood up and sliced into his target's throat. He made sure his hand was over his mouth so not a sound could escape. Xavad's soulless eyes just scanned the area as the blood and life of the imperial in front of him seeped out. Once he was sure that nobody had seen the act he placed the body on the ground for someone else to find. He sheathed his weapon and went back tot he inn. He didn't spend too much time in the room he had rented, only getting a change of clothes and placing the murder weapon safely away. He knew that sleeping tonight was no longer an option, so he just went out into the darkness once again and found a good place to sit and stare at the stars for a while, something he hadn't done since he was a child.

---
After a long while, he heard footsteps come through, when he actually looked at who it was he was surprised to see Behnik and his companion walking back from their adventure. "Looks like you got yourself into quite the mess," Xavad chuckled as he looked at the two messes that were most likely headed to get their reward.

[Horatio]

Behnik blinked sleepily and stopped his limping stride to look over at the elf. He took a moment to recognise Xavad and when he did, he gave a small smile, "Yes, a few pesky bandits turned out to be an entire coven of witches," he took another step and placed his hand over his bandaged stomach. Dibella, burns hurt worse than any other wound.
"Come on Bane, we need to get you to a healer," Cosnach gripped his friends wrist. They'd drunk some health potions but that only dulled the pain and healed their insides. They needed salve for their cuts and burns and probably lots of rest. Though Behnik was known for thinking a few hours nap in the sun was all he needed before he could go adventuring again. Stupid cat.
"I want fish and milk for breakfast," the Khajiit pouted, Cosnach yawned and rubbed at his tired eyes.
"We'll get ya some, after we report to the Jarl," he put an arm around Behnik's waist and tried to get his friend to walk again, but Behnik was focused on Xavad.
"What're you doing out here?" he asked, full of curiousity. Cosnach rolled his eyes, Behnik got like this when he was tired and it was best to just wait him out.

[Zitacamron95]

Xavad thought about the whole adventure turning from a small mission to huge work for only two people. It almost made him smile, but that smile was most likely just for the misfortune of others. He shook his head, "Sounds like someone didn't do a good job of warning you about how bad the situation was." He didn't say much else as he thought about a few times he ended up going on an adventure that was way over his head. He still was successful, but how he ended up making it back alive was something even he would like to figure out. He was one of those people that worked alone, he didn't need others ruining his missions and it probably would happen since he was always trying to keep things quiet and done without others around him noticing exactly what had happened.

When the two got into an argument about what they were doing next, Xavad just stayed quiet and watched the two. He wasn't too sure what was wrong with the khajiit, but he was sure that it was the lack of sleep and blood loss that was getting to him. He didn't want to say anything, since he was sure that it would cause a lot less trouble if the two just died of blood loss, it was a lot less work he had to do on his part. It would also make it easier to play innocent, since he was technically innocent in that case. He was sure that wasn't going to happen any time soon and the two would turn up just fine after seeing a healer and getting rest, he'd just have to figure out a different way to see Behnik dead.

Then when Behnik asked him another question, he just looked up and smirked, "Couldn't sleep, so I just walked for a bit then sat down and stared at the stars." That was the complete truth, with a few missing details, but it was still the truth. Xavad was good keeping up a good lie, but there was no reason to lie when it wasn't necessary. He stood up and brushed himself off a bit, he even had his hood pulled down, since gravity was like that when someone was looking up at the sky. He just let it stay that way for the time being, since there was no reason for it at the moment. "If you would like, I could get rid of your wounds," Xavad offered before he even realized what he was saying. He had no idea what was coming out of his mouth, but it just sort of came out before the thought presented itself, that had never happened before. "I trained in The College of Winterhold for a little while and know a bit of healing magic."

He did spend a bit of time at the college, but he was well trained in the art of destruction magic more than the art of healing, he still knew the simple spell and it had come in handy when he found himself in tight places. It wasn't like he had used magika all that often, but it was one of the many places he had been dragged off to at one point in his life.

[Horatio]

Behnik grimaced, he didn't trust mages. It came from the Forsworn attacking Karthwasten, sending their Briarhearts in as a sort-of guard. They'd claimed Karthwasten was helping Markarth and swearing fealty to the Silver-Bloods when all the villagers were doing was surviving, loyal to themselves, not some rich family. Behnik still woke up in a cold sweat from memories of being tortured by a Briarheart for 'crimes against freedom'.
Ever since, he'd been weary of mages and prefered good old fashioned sword against sword. He viewed magic as powerful and useful but not a test of real skill.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think we've had enough of magic today," he gave a small smile to show no hard feelings and then continued walking towards the open city gates, Cosnach following sluggishly.
Behnik turned to look at Xavad over his shoulder, "Perhaps you can buy me a drink at the Skeever when I'm well again eh?" the cat was never one to alienate new possible allies.