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Whether it was due to the brandy or the effects of some possible potion in it, Quill-Weave found herself quite at ease a half hour later. The conversation had shifted to Casta's books, and while she still didn't much like Crassius Curio, she had to admit that he did possess a certain roguish charm.

"Do you have any experience with Khajiits yourself then?" Crassius was asking.

"Oh, not intimate experience. But occasionally some will wander into the tavern I frequent. We have only one lavatory so... well... I've peeked on occasion. For purely research reasons of course!"

"Of course," Quill laughed. "So what they say is true then?"

"Oh, it's true enough," Crassius nodded. "I've seen them up-close."

Quill looked at him askance.

"Look, it is true my interests tend to that nature, I'll not deny it. I like to think I have many interests, but that is certainly high on my list. And I invest considerable time and effort into my interests, I can assure you of that. It's not my only interest!"

"Male khajiits?"

"I like to educate myself on all aspects. Though I am obviously drawn most to the feminine."

"Aren't we all?" Quill laughed. "But I have read the Three Legged Guar..."

"Sure!" Casta laughed. "Just before you got here!"

Quill scowled at Casta. "Well, yes." she admitted, then turned back to Crassius, "Still, I did read it. I suspected there must be some interest in males by the author to be able to write that well from the feminine point of view."

By this time, Crassius was laying on the floor on his stomach while Casta sat cross-legged beside him. Quill had yet to renounce her chair but had at least assumed a much more relaxed posture, draping her feet over one side and lounging on the other while twirling her tail idly in the air.

"I have to admit it was purely imagination. But I have had intimate conversations with females before. It is a fascinating thing, to try to imagine what the other sex must experience. It is said that mages in ages past used to be able to change their sex at will."

Quill-Weave rolled her eyes. "Well, for that matter it is said that Argonians can do the same. I assure you, it's bullshit!"

"Ah," Casta said as she held out her glass for a refill. "Which brings up just as valid a point, doesn't it? What must it be like not only to be a different sex, but to be a different race? Do other races experience - not just sex, but the entire life experience - similarly?"

Crassius got up and refilled Casta's glass. The reason he was laying on his stomach was immediately obvious and he resumed his place on the floor - "so as not to distract from the intellectual conversation" as he had put it.

"That is so," Crassius said, turning to Quill-Weave. "Even just the simple possession of a tail like yours must make for an entirely different life experience than we can imagine!"

"As far as I can tell," Quill began her answer. "It really doesn't. At least not nearly as much as possession of a penis seems to."

"Or breasts," Crassius pointed out.

"Well, I'd say less so, but still... After having lived in human company so long, I just don't observe much difference between how we experience the world. Speaking of which..."

Casta sighed. "Here it comes."

"Now Casta, we agreed to be brutally honest, right? She has a right to express herself."

"Can we talk about the elephant in the room?"

"My penis?"

That set both Casta and Quill-Weave laughing.

"No, Crassius. The Lusty Argonian Maid."

"Ah. I thought it was only a matter of time. Go ahead. Let me have it. You have to admit it's the most popular work I've ever written though. It's hard to argue with success, but may I assume you don't approve?"

Quill drew in her breath before beginning.

"That damn book has done more to harm the reputations of Argonian females in the realms than anything else! Now every damn drunk and lecher thinks we're ready to drop to the floor and polish their spears at a whim. I can only imagine what it must be like for any poor Argonian that has chosen to be a housekeeper! Why the fuck did you have to write it about an Argonian?! It's derivative too. I can name you at least three other works that are so similar that - if their authors were alive today, they could rightfully claim plagiarism! WIth that damn book..."

Crassius's smile was broadening with every word, but he interjected, "Play. It was a play."

Quill continued, "Okay, 'Play'. That got turned into a book for horny men everywhere to sate their own lusts over. What the hell were you thinking?!"

Crassius finished his own drink and refilled it, tossing in a couple ice chunks from the bucket before responding.

"Quill, come down here. I want to talk to you about that book seriously, and it's difficult when looking up your skirt like this."

Quill gasped and closed her legs.

Crassius patted the space beside him, and Casta took up a position nearby.

Quill refilled her own glass and lay beside him.

"First, I can't argue with anything you said... except one thing. First, it is derivative. Hell, it's practically copied verbatim. And yet it is so popular that it has completely overshadowed those other works. What about it is so different do you suppose? Surely it's not the maid aspect - nor even the master/servant roles. You tell me, what makes it different?"

"It's an Argonian maid," she replied confidently.

"Yes. And not only that, it's a lusty Argonian. It is abundantly clear that she is lustful. She lusts after her master. Agree so far?"

"Well, yes..."

"Now, before this book, what literature can you think of that depicted Argonians at all? Besides historical, can you think of any actual stories that featured an Argonian?"

"I can think of a few actually."

"FIne, fine. Tell me, did any of them portray the Argonian emotionally? Any actually describe the inner feelings of the Argonian? Any even female?"

"Well... no. They're usually minor characters."

"Always?"

"Okay, maybe they're pretty much always minor characters."

"Agreed. Now, let me continue my rebuttal. Who does this lusty Argonian lust after?"

"Her master, naturally."

"Is her master another Argonian?"

"Well no. It's implied he's... well, it's implied he's you."

"Ah yes. A blatant self-insert. For what it's worth this was one of my earlier works. But my point is that the master is rather clearly not an Argonian. Granted he's married, which ups the tension and the taboo nature a bit, but the point is that she is attracted to a male who is not an Argonian."

"I don't see the relevance. And he is her master after all."

"True. But do you get the sense that she's lustful after her master because he's her master?"

Quill shook her head, though she didn't yet see where Crassius was going with this.

"Quill-Weave, before this work I propose to you that all of Tamriel somewhat feared Argonians. Between your reptilian aspect, ability to breathe underwater, teeth that only a large Khajiit could rival. Frankly, your kind are physically intimidating. There's no denying it. And because of that the other races keep you in the background. Simply put, we fear you because you are the unknown. Even in fiction, your motives are often unclear, your thoughts hidden. Not to mention the ever-mysterious Hist."

Suddenly Quill could see his point, but she didn't interrupt.

"The Lusty Argonian Maid is, I propose, the first work of art that - if you'll forgive the term - humanizes the Argonian. It gives them emotions that we can understand. Certainly lust is such an emotion. And better yet, lust for a human. As if even the fearsome aspect of a sharp-toothed lizard can be swayed by such a deeply-human feeling such as desire. That is something we can relate to."

"I..." Quill began, and Crassius gave her time to digest without interruption. Even Casta was looking at her.

"I've never really considered that."

"I thought not," Crassius said with finality.

Casta spoke in the silence that followed while Quill continued to consider Crassius' argument.

"Did you think about any of this while you were writing 'Lusty'?"

"Of course not. I was just writing an innuendo-laden story about a scaly maid polishing her master's spear. I'll not lie about that. But the effects of the play - and the book - far exceeded what I'd set out to do. I've had years to consider why that was, and this is what I've come up with. I think it resonates with people - well, men at least - that otherwise have felt confusion over their feelings about Argonians. And not just female Argonians. If female Argonians can have lustful thoughts just like they do, maybe male Argonians aren't so different from themselves either. Maybe they're really pretty much the same, underneath the scales!"

"Okay. I get it," Quill-Weave said. "Maybe I've been too critical of that. I do concede your point. Still, we're not all a bunch of in-heat females dying to get our loaves squeezed."

"Oh, Quill. You know that's just a male fantasy. It doesn't change. Any man who doesn't already know the difference between a fantasy and reality... Well, he has more problems than this little escapist fantasy can cause. The vast majority of us know what is bullshit-wish-fulfillment, and how the real world works."

Quill was quiet for a while after that, while Casta and Crassius talked about their different creative processes. But she wasn't really paying attention anymore. She was thinking about the relationships between the races of Tamriel, and the more she thought about it, the more she had to agree with Crassius' assessment on the popularity of the Lusty Argonian Maid.

Maybe it did cause some men and mer to assume all Argonian women were lustful creatures - like Blackie had initially at the bar when he'd whistled at her. Or Weather, who had openly admitted his attraction to her Argonian form. Without the social changes that the Lusty Argonian Maid had caused, would either of those men dared to even broach the subject? Maybe she really was being far too hard on Crassius, even if he had only planned to write a silly sex romp with an Argonian. The runaway success of the story hadn't been his plan, but in some very real ways it had lessened the barrier between the races considerably.