vvardenfellcat

“So what all have you done so far?”

The Khajiit beamed, having found a few more leaves to carefully braid into Ghost’s mane, tail curling up happily.

“Food, drinks. Uh…haven’t gone too far with drinks yet, though. Ghost likes to steal some of it sometimes. I’ve met and chatted with some people too, I’ve never been to a festival in Skyrim before and I gotta say, it’s really cool!” He finished a braid, tying a shred of hay on the end to keep it in place.

“I think I tried all the pies so far that I’ve found. And the drinks. Still working on the roasts and other dishes. I want to try some of everything before the festival is over.”

boarchasers:

On an occasion like this, and after being given a tankard of mead, Trond was prepared to take J’hasi at his word. After a quick glance around to make sure the commander wasn’t about to jump out of the crowd, he eased his helmet off and took a mouthful of his drink.

‘Already helped drag away two people for inappropriate behaviour. Caught a pickpocket, too. Well, I helped. One of the other guards told me about it, anyway.’ He paused to eyeball the nearest festivalgoer, who hurried on with renewed purpose. ‘Hard work, you know. Not everybody gets a break on festival days. Can’t fault the food, though, you’re right about that. I’ll admit that much.’

The Khajiit grinned.

“I s’pose. A guardsman’s work is never done. Crowds of people with free access to booze, lots of potential for mishaps and misbehavior.” He was about to take another drink, only to realize he’d emptied his tankard already. As if on cue, Ghost came over, her massive hooves near-silent on the leaf litter, poking her nose into her master’s chest, quietly inquiring about the presence of yet more treats. J’hasi stroked her mane.

“Sorta why I don’t bring anything important to these things. Empty pockets make for disappointed thieves.”

“Where is the alcohol? Please don’t tell me that I came to a party without any mead, at least.”

J’hasi grinned, his horse nibbling at his scarf and puffing hot air into his mane as he pointed the way towards the groups of people enjoying the festivities.

“There’s booze ‘n drink over there. Good stuff. Lots. The mead is super good, I haven’t tried a lot of the drinks yet but th’ food is super good.” Ghost nickered, burying her nose into the scarf at the back of his neck, determined to find more treats on her master’s person.

“What is your favorite thing about the festival so far?”

“Oh, oh! The food! Dust, the food is so good, and they got this spiced pumpkin mead, I think it’s pumpkin, and so much pie, I think I had like ten kinds, and there’s this roast pork and sweet apples and venison and roast chicken and-” Ghost snorted into the Khajiit’s ear and he giggled, hugging her around the neck, actually stopping for a moment to breathe. His mane was mussed and he distinctly smelled of the aforementioned mead and fallen leaves. J’hasi beamed, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet.

“M’tryin’ to try all the different foods but there’s so many and my mouth is only so big.” he giggled. He was possibly a little drunk.

“Are you taking part in anything this evening?”

The Khajiit looked up with his mouth full and then some, a strip of chicken dangling from his mouth. He made some sort of muffled reply, then frowned, licking it up and finished chewing and swallowing before trying again.

“Uh…food. Maybe archery contest? S…sorta on the buzzed side now, so m’not sure about shootin’ right now.” Ghost was nearby, lipping up and crunching on some various veggies the Khajiit had gotten for her, her ash-grey tail swishing and brushing the back of his head.

“Someone told me they were going to have spiced ale. Is that true?”

“Is there?” The Khajiit looked up at Ghost, who had shoved her nose into his drink and got the mostly-empty tankard stuck on her muzzle. She tossed her head a little before lowering it, patiently waiting for J’hasi to pull it off, finding that the last few dregs had been slurped up.

“If there is, I haven’t found it yet. Still working on trying all the food yet.” It took him a moment before he recognized the stranger, and the smell coming off of them. He swallowed, then grabbed a handful of Ghost’s mane to tug her to follow.

“Speaking of. Going to. Now.”

“Someone told me they were going to have a pie-eating contest. Is that true?”

“Dunno, but if there is, whoever’s competing is lucky. The pies here are amazing! I’ve only tried like…five? I think? But all of them have been really good, like the pumpkin one and there’s this one with berries in it and-” Ghost nudged the Khajiit with a small nicker, then nosed at his pockets, searching for a snack. J’hasi pat her neck and stroked her forehead down to her nose.

“The apple ones are amazing, too. Good spice to them.” he finished before he dug around in his pockets, searching for his knife, and an apple if he still had one.

shadows-of-almsivi:

Moraelyn’s eyes brightened immediately, warmed with immediate kinship at the sound of such fluent Dunmeris. “Oh, thank the saints, someone who speaks the language!” he smiled, skirting a haystack to come closer. He bowed his head a little in new greeting, brushing a little wall-dust from his gloves. “Nightmarish, I’m afraid. Hard benches and poor roads make for sour bedfellows, especially with the weather being as it is from the north.”

He turned his face gratefully to the sun, smiling softly at the view over the amber forest. “But, ah, you’ve the right of it. Sometimes it feels as though there isn’t a scrap of colour in this whole province, and then you find places like this…”

He glanced towards the Khajiit, now noticing the great mare who lipped at her master’s mead-tankard inquisitively. “Oh, what a darling she is!” he half-sighed, visibly restraining himself from petting her shaggy mane. The woven-in leaves were a delightfully festive touch, setting off the pale fur quite nicely. “Yours?”

J’hasi grinned, gently dissuading Ghost from his drink for the moment, setting it down to work on cutting another slice of apple for her.

“<Yeah! Though it might be more fair to say that I’m hers, since she was the one who found me first. You can pet her if you want, here.>” The Khajiit finished cutting a slice, grinning and keeping the mare at bay long enough to hold out the slice for the Dunmer to take.

“<You can feed her if you want, too. She’s harmless, but she’ll be less inclined to try and eat your hair if you give her something else to chew on instead.>”

“So what all have you done so far?”

The Khajiit giggled, gently pushing Ghost’s nose away from his tankard, the mare insistent on having another drink.

“Food, drink, that’s about it. Might try a contest later, depends on how sober I am when it starts.” He took a drink from his tankard, grinning when his horse decided that nibbling on his ear was the best way to get his attention. He licked his lips.

“Y’should try some! They got really good stuff. Iunno what’s all in this, but it’s really good, and then there’s this roast pork and apples, venison, loads of pies… I don’t think my stomach is big enough to try everything, but it’s worth a shot.”

boarchasers replied to your post : “I didn’t know /you/ were going to be here.”…

Regardless of Trond’s thoughts on the subject, this didn’t count as a bribe. Did it? It was merely partaking in the festival spirit. He frowned, for the look of the thing, before caving in and taking the proffered tankard. ’…thanks. Enjoying the festival? Not getting up to anything you shouldn’t be?‘

The Khajiit grinned, tapping the side of his tankard against the Nord’s before taking a swig from his own, licking his lips afterwards.

“S’great! I haven’t been to a festival in ages. There’s loads of food and drink and stuff to do, though I haven’t really done much other than eat and drink so far. And yes, I’ve been on my best behavior.” he teased, giving the guardsman a two-fingered salute before taking another drink, emptying his tankard.

“You’ve done anything yet, or didja just get here?” J’hasi asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.