The Many Phases of Khajiit: the Alfiq

You want to know more about the furstocks? This one explains.

The Alfiq are the jolliest of Khajiit, having the size of a housecat but the heart of a lion--or a peacock! You may already have met one but just did not know it, thinking it one of your mewling kitty-cats that you feed milk and fish.

Not that an Alfiq would take offense at such offerings, but then you may never be able to get rid of it! This is one reason why many Alfiq dye their fur or wear hats and vests, so that outlanders are not exposed to such dangers of servitude through misidentification.

Alfiq have a large reputation, you see, larger than their size, and to a point, most comical! They will carry themselves with extreme gravity, until this one distracts them with a string or a rustling leaf, which they simply can’t resist to catch. And catch they will, for Alfiq are very good at magic, at disappearing and reappearing where they should not be, to stick claws or tooth-fasted rapiers into their prey. The prey only hopes Khajiit has not put the poison on their weapons, or have no stickable gaps in their armor for Khajiit to exploit so.

That this "prey" sometimes turns out only to be a feather would make all the outlanders laugh, but this would never dampen the Alfiq’s spirit--much to outlanders' chagrin, this one thinks. Always telling stories of their own antics, those Khajiit. This one even hears one Alfiq tale of bedding a Senche-Raht, told with much fluffed fur and upright tail, ignoring all the catcalls when asked how he did not die under the Senche-Raht’s claws. This one thinks this Khajiit was exaggerating, but one never knows with an Alfiq. Perhaps somewhere, there is a Senche-Raht expecting a family of many little Alfiqs and Senche-Rahts, and we would never know it, yes?

Khajiit have many such tales about Alfiq tricksters and heroics, and not all told by Alfiq themselves. This one recognizes the same stories in your language, though of course you outlanders make the Alfiq into humans or house cats wearing boots instead--how ridiculous is that?

For all the stories of adventure and bravery, the truth is that many Alfiq are employed in watching grain for insects or moon sugar from dishonorable thieves. Their high, clear voices, so beautiful when singing wordless ballads in Ta’Agra, also have the distinction of being impossible to ignore when they give the alarm.

And they give that alarm often and loudly, so much this one thinks Alfiq just like to hear themselves talk when nothing more interesting is going on! Alfiq would be very good spy for their small size this one thinks, if not for unfortunate flaw like this. Alfiq told this one story of outlander making this mistake, bringing Alfiq into home as pet kitty-cat. Then Khajiit get to tell many tales about outlander’s own exploits in bedroom, yowling same remarks about Lady Senche-Raht in lusty Ta'Agra until outlander can find no more comfort in bed. What do you think of that? Very much like the Alfiq, to pay back catcalls by becoming a calling cat.