Sheesh!

Elsewhere :

Shakeesh scowls as he slowly walks through Falkreath, getting denied shelter from yet another local who refused to aid him simply for being a Redguard. These Nords would only look out for themselves, and since the inn had been denied to him, he'd have to sleep outside and risk freezing to death. He could go seek aid from the Jarl or his Thanes, but from what he heard about the man, he'd be more likely to accuse him of being an assassin than grant aid.

His Thanes wouldn't be much better, he'd seen one of them earlier, drinking mead and drunkenly making known his distaste of the Dark Elf refugee's that'd begun entering Windhelm. Again, the Nord's dislike of foreigners rears its ugly head, and Shakeesh could only shake his head and wonder why he'd come to this frozen wasteland in the first place.

"Ah yes... The Companions..." he murmurs to himself, having wanted to join them once he made it to Whiterun... Unfortunately, it looked like he'd not even make it to their doorstep before failing his journey. He'd only taken enough gold to reach Whiterun, not nearly enough to afford a tent, pelts, and other things that one would need to survive in the frozen wilderness that was Skyrim.

Without much else to do, he sits down on a crate sitting between two buildings in an alleyway, contemplating his next move. He may have to resort to theft to survive, something he would have never considered a few months ago.

If it weren't for that boy and the Innkeep Valga, he would've been ready to journey to Whiterun once he'd made enough gold doing local jobs to fund the trip... He grips the crate tightly and growls under his breath at how pathetic he was, his brows quirking when he feels the back of his hand scrap something.

Taking a look, he notices a small strange symbol carved into the base of the building he was leaning against. It looked like a square cut in half to create two triangles, with one smaller triangle sitting alone above them. Grafitti, perhaps?

"Hello there, Mr. Down-On-His-Luck." a voice with no known source states, causing Shakeesh to rapidly sit up and reach for his weapon.

"Who's there!" he demands, eyes scanning the alleyway for the intruder.

"It depends on who it is asking, for you? This one is called Jotdarra, the Redguard should mind where he rests, yes? Many would-be thieves around." the stranger, obviously Khajiit with their speech mannerism remarks.

Shakeesh scowls, "I would like to see who dares." he angrily yet confidently retorts, despite the knock to his pride the boy had given when they'd faced off.

Jotdarra chuckles from wherever he was hiding, "Awake you may be a force to be feared, but asleep? A slit pouch is best hope, a slit throat is worst. But, This one did not come to speak in circles. The Reguard needs help, gold, This one can provide."

"I don't deal with those who are too scared to show their face." the Redguard states before standing and going to leave, not wanting to stay around this Khajiit infested spot.

The Khajiit's chuckle stops his stride however, "As This one said, be careful where you rest." at that, the crate where Shakeesh had been sitting opens up, revealing a Khajiit in leather armour, decorated with a leather hood. Shakeesh was about ready to run the annoying creature through with his sort, but stops to consider just how the thing had gotten in the crate in the first place... Had it just been hiding there the entire time?

"You. You're a Thief." the Redguard remarks, quickly recognising the Thief Guild's signature armour.

Jotdarra nods, "Yes, but This one thinks you have the makings of one."

"Do not insult me, I'm nothing like you honourless pickpockets. Now leave me be or I'll drag you to the Jarl and see what he thinks of you. Not just a Thief, but a Khajiit sneaking around his city."

Jotdarra frowns with his fangs poking from his cat-like maw. "Jotdarra thinks that this would be most unwise. Who else will help stop the hairless one from freezing outside, hmm?"

...

"Just come out with it, what do you want? I won't play games with the likes of you."

Jotdarra tilts his head to the side before motioning Shakeesh to follow, the Khajiit climbing further down the crate as if the thing had no bottom. Indeed, it looked as if it was connected to the building's basement.

Shakeesh was tempted to just leave, but a brisk wind that caused goosebumps to rise on his skin disavowed him of that notion as he quickly followed the Khajiit into wherever it'd gone. He climbs down, making sure to close the crate lid as he does so.

The ladder was longer than expected, leading down to a long hallway that open up into a small cavern. One that had a couple people milling around, all of which looked terribly suspicious.

"Do not look anyone in the eyes, or one will find them replaced with steel." Jotdarra casually adds as he makes his way to a crappily constructed shack.

"Stop, we're here now, just tell me what you want."

Jotdarra finally nods, "This one believes that the Redguard would be useful for some work. Jotdarra does not have six arms, so delegation is needed. Work for gold, what one does with it is not Jotdarra's concern.

Shakeesh squint and folds in arms in consternation, "And what 'work' would I be doing?"

The Khajiit shrugs as his tail sways boredly behind him, "The Redguard will work for me, who is one of the Thieves Guild, an associate. Thieves Guild Thieves, the Redguard will steal, sometimes listen, rarely harm. Is this acceptable?"

...

Shakeesh couldn't really refuse... He knew of this base's location now, he knew the Thieves Guild wasn't known for murder, but it wouldn't be unheard of for someone in their sights to 'Disappear', whether or not they were involved directly was another matter entirely.

"Fine, what would you have me do?"

The Khajiit smiles, "Jotdarra believes this will be a beautiful partnership."