“Oh Mikael, I’m
so sorry! I’ve probably ruined your chance with the College now. All because I had to go and jump onto that stupid chandelier. I was doing so well up to then too!”

“Relax Kitty! I must have told you twenty times, it’s fine. Just a little lighthearted comedy to end the show.”

“You say that, but how can I even show my face again? Everyone will be laughing at me.”

Mikael stroked her ears. “No they won’t. You
know they won’t! Kitty, I need you tomorrow, and I need you to be confident. You know you’re an awesome dancer. Best I’ve ever seen. Probably the best that’s ever been! But you don’t have to be perfect. That leap was unbelievable! I had no idea you could jump that high.”

“I’m telling you, the stories they’ll tell will be the stuff of legend. No one will believe it who wasn’t there.”

“Even if I couldn’t get down?”

“Even so.”

Mikael laughed. “Hurt me? You’ve gotta be kidding! Everyone in that room was jealous of me, I tell you. In fact… I wouldn’t mind re-enacting that last part again without the bikini!”

Kitty smiled at him but a little sadly. “Thanks Mikael. Normally I’d be more than happy to oblige. But I’m feeling ashamed. I’m… just not in the mood. I’m sorry.”

“No, I understand. But really, you’ve nothing to be ashamed of and a lot to be proud of. One thing’s for sure, when we walk into the College tomorrow they’ll have heard all about it.”

“Oh, you know that’s a myth made up by horny guys who will do anything to get their rocks off. Well, mostly a myth anyway. I’m fine. But Kitty, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

“Well then, ask away!” Kitty replied, curious.

Suddenly he had her full attention at this odd delay.

Then he knelt beside her at the side of the bed…

“Kitty! Mikael! What’s wrong? Are you all right?!”

Mikael opened the door just in time before the glowing ebony axe struck it.

“What was it? Kitty? What happened?”

Kitty was looking at her dumbfounded for a minute before she found her voice.

“It’s… it’s okay Uber. I just… well, nevermind. I’ll explain tomorrow. Sorry, I can’t tell you right now. But it’s fine. We’re fine. Please, go back to bed.”

“No!” the Khajiit shouted, perhaps a bit too strongly. “No. Thanks Ubergard, but this is NOT something you need to be concerned with right now. I promise.”

Ubergard looked askance at Mikael who admittedly looked a bit guilty about something, but she’d known him long enough to trust him… mostly.

“You better not be trying anything… unnatural with my friend, Mikael!” warned the big Argonian with her blade resting uncomfortably against his genitals in a flash.

Uber looked behind her to Helfer who was caught looking at her butt, but quickly came to attention and nodded agreement, then smiled back at her unapologetically.

“You have a point. Well, if you’re sure all is well, then goodnight again!” she said cheerily as if nothing had happened. “Come on Helfer, looks like we’re not needed here.”

“I wonder what that was all about?”

“Only time will reveal these things, it seems. Come my Ubergard. Lay back down and let me help you to relax,” Helfer invited her soothingly.

“You are very protective of Kitty, my Ubergard. Perhaps you have love for her?” Helfer asked innocently.

Ubergard partially suppressed a moan of pleasure before answering. “Only the love of a knight towards her lady, I assure you.”

“I see. This is admirable for a guardian such as you. But you are too tense. Surely you know your lady is in no danger here? Relax. Let your body float. I will keep you warm tonight.”

“You are… very very good at this, Helfer.”

“And now,” Mikael began…

The sparse but typical crowd began to resume their conversations as the bard’s song ended.

“You’ve seen them on the roads and in their caravans, selling their wares and smiling their enigmatic, toothy grin. You’ve laughed at their odd accents and mannerisms. Perhaps you’ve even cursed at their agility and stealth. But tonight, I bring you another side of the Khajiit. Tonight you will marvel at their physical grace and prowess. Tonight, I present to you for the first time, from the sands of exotic Elseweyr… (dramatic pause)… CatDance!“

In Khajiit culture, this would may have been considered an insult or even an invitation to love making – but in the predominantly tailless culture of Skyrim it was simply something exotic and provocative as Mikael had assured them it would be. By the time they came back together to stand face-to-face in front of Mikael they had certainly gained the full attention of everyone in the tavern who soon realized that what they were seeing was not just a couple of dancing Khajiit, but something far more interesting… a performance!

In dance, Kitty had explained to Helfer earlier, inhibition and the concept of personal space needs to be discarded. The performance is everything, and there is no part of the body exempt from it’s use as an expression of the dance. Helfer understood almost innately and had no problem with any of the moves Kitty suggested they do together, regardless of the body parts involved.

But as the last drum beat sounded and she held her position, she was aware that there was no sound in the room. Had they pushed their audience too far? She broke her ending-stare into Helfer’s eyes to momentarily look at Mikael. But he was smiling back at her reassuringly before the applause of the audience rang out. The breath she hadn’t realized she was holding suddenly was released and she returned to her proper position.

When the third dance had concluded, Mikael spoke apparently to the two dancers but in truth was addressing the audience. "Thank you very much ladies. I’m sure after that you two could use a break! We will return in a short time.”

Helfer laughed along with them, asking “Helfer did well then?”

Kitty ignored the lapse back into third-person. “Helfer did beautifully!” Then she turned back to Mikael. “So can I assume it went off as well as you expected?”

“Even better,” he replied. “I think even Lisette was impressed!”

“I heard her playing along with you. The combination of drum and her… flute?… sounded very good too, at least to my ears.”

“Indeed! I’d asked her to accompany me if she wanted to, but I wasn’t sure if she would. I think your entrance convinced her to give it a try. That tail thing you did was great!”

“You liked that? But we should be carefule if any Khajiit might be in the audience. They might take offense… or misunderstand and get too frisky. However, for you poor non-tailed races, I think you rather enjoy some tail in your face!”

“Oh, we do! But we must get back soon before our audience gets restless. You know the last three dances then?”

Kitty looked to Helfer who nodded confidently.

Mikael found himself amazed at the flexibility of the two Khajiits, though he didn’t mention it. But he found himself unable to look away from the sight of his lover stretching in ways no male could dream of. He’d known this Khajiit now, in every sense of the word, for quite some time and he found her endlessly fascinating as well as sexy as hell. As a bard, ‘love’ was not a word he really felt he understood. But at that moment, despite knowing that it was nothing short of pure physical lust that had pushed him over the edge to the decision, he realized that he would ask Kitty to be his wife. This was someone he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

Kitty of course knew he was enjoying the view but thought no more of it than perhaps it would lend him some inspiration later that night. She did indeed need to stretch and loosen her muscles for the next set of dances. However, as she and Helfer returned to the room below, she did notice that he did not speak and seemed to be deep in thought.

“Helfer?!”

Shyly, the Khajiit stepped forward, nodding to the giantess. “Yes. It is I, Helfer. Kitty loaned me this dress for our dancing tonight. Is it not beautiful?”

“
You are beautiful, Helfer.” Ubergard stated, hugging her closely in an uncharacteristically emotional display for the normally stoic Argonian.

Ubergard did as she was bidden, but gave Helfer a nuzzle under her chin before she let yer go.

“Well,” Mikael said sarcastically, “If you two can separate for a minute or two, maybe we could go down and get something to eat?”

“Absolutely!” agreed Kitty, “But Helfer, we should put different clothes on first. We want to impress when we go down to dance. Mikael, did you get our clothes washed?”

“Yes, they’re right over there by the bookshelf.”

“Ok, let’s put these back on for now Helfer.”

A few minutes later found the four seated at a table in the tavern below, having finished their meal and were now relaxing and listening to the local bard.

“That is Lisette,” Mikael was explaining to Helfer.

“She sings very well, to my ears. Do you know her well?” Helfer asked.

At this question, Kitty listened closely. She was coming to recognized little quirks in his mannerisms and in particular was watching to see if he revealed some past intimacy with this ‘Lisette’ as he had done with some others. Yet his response seemed somewhat cooler than the ever-so-slightly warmer tones that he used when talking about his old lovers.

“But she agreed to let you play and us dance tonight?” Kitty asked.

But before he could reply, Helfer asked a question of her own. “Why would she have to agree? This isn’t her tavern. Only the owner need agree, right? She just works here and should do whatever the owner requests, no?”

Mikael sighed and leaned forward as he began to explain. “Bards are a special case. Well, at least those of us who have reached our level. When we agree to work for a tavern or inn, we have certain privileges accorded to us for our knowledge of the craft. We are, in effect, the masters of the entertainment.”

“But what if the owner disagrees? Surely he has the right to kick you out if he wants to?” Kitty asked.

“Yes. And we don’t see eye-to-eye on often. But we do have mutual respect for each others talent. She was willing enough. I think she also wants to see what you can do with your dance.”

“So why don’t you two get along then?”

“I opposed her inclusion as a bard. Actually, I opposed her entering the College at all.”

“And why would you do this?” Helfer asked.

“What? Only because she is female?” Kitty asked incredulously.

“It… was a different time back then. It’s clear now that I was in the wrong, and I’ve told her so many times since then. But yes. I was of the opinion that only males should be allowed to become a bard.

She fought against that opinion of mine and won. So much so that it’s hard to believe it was ever an issue. But it was and she has a long memory.”

Ubergard then joined the conversation, “You don’t strike me as sexist, Mikael.”

“I can see you meant well, but that attitude is clearly sexist too. You can’t protect all the females of the world from the world you know,” Kitty said.

“Oh, I know that now. I know a
lot more now than I did back then. But I was young and idealistic and I thought, as many thought at the time, that it was our role to protect females. I’ve since become much wiser. Though I think Lisette doesn’t believe that I have done so.”

“Somehow I can’t picture you as a dainty lady living in high society. No, it’s females like you, Ubergard, who prove how silly that male-centered attitude was. Silly in retrospect. But it was prevalent at the time and we males who strove to uphold it thought we were doing good.”

Helfer then rose from the table and changed the subject. “So, friend bard, when do we perform?”

“As a matter of fact…. right away! Why don’t you and Kitty go back up and put your dresses on. I’ll take over for Lisette with some normal songs and introduce you when you come down?”

“That’s a good plan. Ubergard, I’ll return shortly. We shall meet after our performance.”

Helfer laughed as she and Kitty rose to return to their rooms. “Certainly!”

“What do you think now, Kitty?” Helfer asked her as they were getting out of their clothes later. “Do you still think Ubergard is not attracted to me?”

“Oh, she’s attracted to you without a doubt! I’ll say no more on the subject. It’s really not an area I have much experience in anyway, and I’d probably just mess it up. Your relationship with Ubergard is just that – your relationship. I’ll butt out.”

Mikael responded to her formally, “I am Mikael the Bard from Whiterun, here on my annual pilgrimage to the College along with my companions, the Khajiits Kitty and Helfer and the Argonian Ubergard.”

“Mikael?” the guard responded in a suddenly far more personal tone.

The bard struggled for only a second with his memory before he responded with “Gertrude! Is that you under there? When did you become a gate guard?”

The guard removed her helmet revealing apparently the Gertrude that Mikael had expected. “Oh, Lynnette and I passed the formal test a few months ago. She’s stationed at the palace now. Are you staying at the college?”

“No, we’ll be staying at the tavern. Why don’t you drop in after your shift? We can catch up on things!”

“It’ll be pretty late, but we’ll be there!” Gertrude replied, then sniffed the air a bit. “Say, you’re a bit ripe Mikael. Best use the communal bath after you get your stuff sorted out at the Skeever. It’s new. Just inside to the right. Elisif herself uses it to help promote cleanliness in Solitude. It’s pretty nice.”

With that, the guard resumed her duties and the four passed within the gates.

“Oh certainly. In fact, they’d probably insist. Solitude is a city that prides itself on being the least barbarous of Skyrim’s cities. The communal bath is a tradition going back to the founding of Solitude, but the old bath had fallen into ruin, so this new one is good news indeed!”

“And there’s no problem with males and females sharing of it?”

“None at all. Again, Solitude has a much more civilized attitude than Whiterun you’ll find. But let’s get set up at the tavern first. It’s right over here.”

“The Winking Skeever?” Kitty asked as she looked at the sign over the door. “Sounds vaguely obscene.”

Mikael just laughed and shrugged as he held the door for her.

“Nice place! These rooms are much bigger than back in Whiterun,” Ubergard noted.

“Two rooms? Aren’t you being a little extravagant Mikael?” asked Kitty.

“Oh, I got us a special deal. 2 for 1 in exchange for performing for them tonight. Their resident bard is really quite good, but everyone gets tired of the same entertainment night after night. Plus with your dancing…”

“I see. Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m going to go check out that bath right away. I’m feeling a bit ‘ripe’ myself!”

Helfer looked at Ubergard inquiringly.

“Oh, of course Helfer. You don’t need my permission! Go on with Kitty. I want to check out the security here.”

“No, you’ll be fine. Just don’t be shocked by other residents using it with you. Don’t worry, it’s not considered a sexual thing here. I’ll be along later, but I need to set up things with the Bard here for the next few days first. But leave your clothes here. I’ll have them washed while you’re out.”

“If you’re sure…” Kitty said, hesitantly.

“I’m sure. Here, you can put this towel on if you’re feeling embarrassed, but it’s really not necessary here.”

“Nevertheless…” Kitty said as she accepted the towel and wrapped it around herself. “At least till I get used to it.”

Helfer, already naked, obviously had no need of a towel for modesty so Kitty wrapped another over her shoulders as well. After getting assurance from Ubergard that it was really OK to leave her for a while, the two Khajiits found their way back outside and across the path to the bath.

“Oh!” Kitty said as they approached the bath. “Someone’s there already!”

“It is of no importance,” Helfer assured her. “Did not Mikael say this shared bathing is acceptable in Solitude?”

As they climbed the steps to the bath, Kitty spoke to Helfer. “Helfer, I noticed you called her ‘Ubergard’ a little while ago. What happened to ‘UberGOD’?”

“Oh,” Helfer replied. “Ubergard told me it began to bother her, so Helfer calls her Ubergard now too. I am still learning. I wished not to offend but to honor her, but this she did not like.”

“And I see you’re using ‘I’ now too, at least sometimes. Very good Helfer. You are a fast learner!”

“Thank you Kitty. Hel… I try to be.”

As the men stood to greet them, Kitty found it was completely impossible not to steal a glance at their substantial genitals. Yet it was their muscled chests that really held her gaze.

"Thank you Bierand! We’re strangers here I’m afraid, and not really used to your customs. I am known as Kitty, and my friend is Helfer. I come from Whiterun with Mikael the Bard.”

“Well met then, Kitty. Come, sit here by me. You can tell me of your travels and I will tell you about Solitude. For instance, I assume by your use of that towel that you’re not used to our bath. I assure you, you needn’t concern yourself about being naked here though. We locals might look askance if you were wandering the rest of the city without clothes, but around the bath here, it’s expected.”

“It… well, it will take some getting used to for me,” Kitty said as she removed the towel and stepped into the water. “But I’m willing to try!”

Bierand glanced down. “Of course. The body does what it does, and it would take a poor excuse for a man not to appreciate female beauty such as you two have, Khajiit or no! But please, never mind that. What brings you to Solitude?”

Kitty found herself warming to the smith and sat beside him. “Well, to be honest we’re here at the request of our Bard, Mikael. He is on his annual trip to the College and asked me to come along.”

“Oh, Mikael is here with you? That’s wonderful news! Will he be performing at the Skeever?” asked the other man, whom Kitty noticed was comfortably chatting with Helfer too until she mentioned Mikael.

“Oh yes! And Helfer and I will be dancing for him as well. That’s why he invited me. He seems to think I have some talent for dancing.”

Bierand replied, “Well I’ll have to see this then! A pair of fine Khajiit females dancing with Bard Mikael’s music? I can’t imagine anything finer to do on a lovely evening like this.”

“Helfer… I mean, ‘I’ will happily do this for you, friend Sorex. But what is this?”

“That,” Beirand interjected, “we call ‘soap’. It helps you get cleaner than just soaking in water. And it smells good too. What do you say, Kitty? I think you’ll like it. You just rub it into the skin, then rinse it off with water. Since the tub is constantly flowing water through, it doesn’t build up either. Here, let me show you how it’s done. Come here in front of me… Yes. Like that. I take the soap and rub it into your skin… well, fur in your case, like this…”

Kitty had to admit that the feel of the blacksmith’s incredibly strong hands working the soap into her fur was exquisite. “Oh Helfer, you’ve
got to try this!”

Sorex laughed, “Hey, not till she’s done with me yet!”

“Do I use the soap properly?” she asked Sorex.

“Oh yes, very properly!” he moaned. “Just remember not to extend your claws and it’s heaven!”

Helfer laughed, “No, no claws!”

“Well, that depends on you. You can do it yourself of course, but if you trust me I’d be happy to continue!”

“Oh please! Your hands are wonderful!”

“Then by all means, stand up and I’ll finish you. Just, you understand I can’t help… this.”

Kitty nodded, knowing what he meant. “If it doesn’t bother you, it certainly doesn’t bother me! But please, continue!”

Helfer suggested Sorex do the same.

At this, Sorex laughed but adamantly refused to clean it off, so Beirand ended up cleaning two Khajiit butts that evening.

“Well,” Kitty commented as she was relaxing later with Sorex, “At least you’re not hard anymore!”

“There is that. Thank you both though. It’s been a wonderful bath! My apologies for it turning rather sexual, but nature does as nature wills and it has been quite a long time for me. However, I need to be off to get ready for tonight! I very much look forward to seeing your dancing ladies.”

“Oh, I’ll be there! Until then, goodnight Kitty. Goodnight Helfer! And I’ll see you later too Sorex.”

“Goodnight,” they both said in unison.

“I suppose I should be going too. As I said, I work at the Skeever so you’ll see me around tonight anyway.” and with that Sorex left the bath to the two Khajiits.

“Wasn’t that wonderful?” Kitty asked Helfer.

“It was wonderful,” Helfer agreed. “But perhaps the details need not concern Mikael or Ubergard?”

Kitty nodded vigorously and then laughed. “Helfer, if I had any doubts at all about your intelligence before, they’re gone now!”