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Hunting the Hunter

By: Enithermon



And now for something completely different...

Hey there, this is a bit of random fantasy based on the Elderscrolls games put out by Bethesda. So yes, most of it, excepting the bits I messed with and made up, is the intellectual property of the fine people at Bethesda. Bethesda you're the bomb, please don't sue me or anything. ^^ 

On another note, if you're a 'Fire' reader, this may or may not be your cup of tea. Considered yourself fairly warned, but you never know until you try. This also isn't a 'quicky', if you catch me, so be warned there as well. 

Other wise, have fun! Or criticize me brutally, whatever turns your twisted crank. ^^

-enithermon

*********

A tiny drop of sweat coalesced somewhere under leather bindings and began to move, sliding in a halting zigzag along a pronounced collarbone. It shifted, collecting momentum, snowballing its way along the tendons of the throat, down over the chin, skirting the ear and tightly pulled wine coloured hair. It rested briefly at the inward curve of the temple, a shimmering stalactite reflecting ash grey skin and the cool blue glow of the ruin's ancient mana soaked walls. Long, leather bound legs tensed around a fallen ornamental column of smooth white stone, and slim dark fingers flinched against the taunt bow string, running a wave of tension through the dangling inverted body. 

The tiny drop shivered, trembled, fluxed, and dropped. Blood red eyes watched the drop fall, a tiny blue star, and followed it with the glinting head of a steel arrow. The drop hit the mark's back, and the gray skinned ogre reared its head up to its source. It opened its razor toothed maw to release a terrible roar as it sighted its prey, his yellow eyes flashing ferociously. He let out a gurgling sound instead as the arrow pierced the soft flesh of his throat, and another as a second pierced the yellow glare of his left eye driving him to his knees and rending the soft tissue of his small brain. 

Inanna nocked another arrow and waited. There had been three of these guar-brained monstrosities in the great hall, and if one had scented her, it was likely the others had too. She thought of all the curses she knew in every language she could think of to pass the time and draw her mind from the ache in her thighs and the blood slowly pooling at the top of her brain. Lucky for her she had a heart like a wild boar's and it pounded away, fighting gravity to keep her legs from growing numb. When she finished her list, and there was still no sign or sound that even her hunter's ears could pick up, she descended, dropping with a soft pat barely louder than her falling bead of sweat had made. 

She salvaged what she could of her arrows, the one through the eye coming out easily. She managed to get a shallow one out of the shoulder as well. It was a lousy shot. She'd been aiming for the throat, but she consoled herself with the defense that she'd been running backwards over rubble at the time. She'd stupidly aimed the first two at the heart forgetting that the muscle there was so thick and hard even an Orc probably couldn't get a sword all the way in there. These creatures were a minimum of eight feet tall and practically as thick as tree trunks, and those were the runts. Ogre's were never armed, but they didn't need to be. If one of those fists ever got a grip on you it would snap you in half like a piece of stale bread, and a solid blow would turn your insides to scrib-jelly. 

She wasn't even going to try to get the arrow out of his throat. She'd probably shred her wrist on his teeth getting it out. She cocked her head at the creature as she crouched over it, wiping her arrow heads off on its dirty loin cloth. The teeth would be worth something, she knew of alchemists who used them, but loosening them might take too much time. 

She licked her lips and glanced at the entry to the grand hall. From somewhere inside came a long huffing howl. It was unsettling, but not worrisome. She'd hunted these things enough to know that it wasn't a sound of agitation. It did remind her that she didn't have leisure hours to sit around pulling teeth, and that it wasn't beasts she was hunting today.

She patted her rucksack to make sure nothing had shifted unduly during her little acrobatic display. The nimbleness was a relatively new skill, she used to be a hunter among her people, strong and fast. Home to her was a brutal and barren waste that made the body hard and the mind sharp, that or it killed you. Living in the shadow of the red mountain was a trial of will, and her tribe endured it enthusiastically. Her new career wasn't nearly so brutal or honourable. 

Really, it wasn't more than that of a glorified thief. The skills she'd learned as an Ashlander came in handy, but sometimes the situation, such as this one, called for slyness and a certain level of flexibility, both of which had been hard won skills born of necessity. She was Dunmer, the dark-skinned mer, and like most Dunmer was a skilled and natural death dealer, but when a thousand gold pieces are at issue, and you're working on a deadline, 'run away' quickly becomes a valid and practical option. She had what she came for and after several hours of hard and dangerous labour in the labyrinth of the ruins, now she just needed to tuck tail and get out before anything else decided to waylay her.

She took one last look at the hulking nine foot mass and took off at a light sprint. She'd come in this way and killed anything that might stop her already, so no need to maintain the any semblance of stealth. She lept up the steps to the exit, three at a time. The blood rushed through her legs satisfactorily and she slowed only as she approached the door. Time for stealth again, one never knew what would decide to make camp in the surface ruins. She could only hope the minotaur carcass she'd left on the doorstep would be discouragement enough while she got through with her business. The door opened up into a spiralling staircase and she immediately heard a voice. 

"Bloody murder" she whispered under her breathe, stepping over the minotaur, instinctively double checking that it was really and truly dead. This was the irritating part where she had to decide to stick her neck out or shoot first and ask questions later. Sometimes she preferred the ogres. There was no question about what they would do to her if she said good day. These folk could be friendlies, and she really didn't like shooting friendlies, but they just as easily could be something else. 

She couldn't quite make out everything they were saying but she caught the words, "tracks," "the beast...this way," and "in the ruins," and decided they were probably hunters. She held her bow up so the tip would be visible as she rounded the stairs, and be the first thing shot at if anyone had an itchy finger. No shots so far, that was a good thing. A couple second later she was pulling herself onto a crumbling pillar base and waving jauntily, bow still in hand. Somewhere far off to the left and out of sight a cry of alarm sounded.

That's when the shots started. Luckily she'd seen the man off and ahead to the right reach for his arrow and was already making for higher ground when it sliced through the air where her chest would have been. Her arrow was already in flight before his landed and caught him in the right shoulder, a decent enough shot to put him out of commission as a bow man. She couldn't see his face, but the names he was calling her told her it was a fellow Dunmer. 

She grinned and swung her bow as she pulled another arrow and released it into the chest of a noisy Nord woman charging her from behind with a rather frightening looking battle axe swung over her head. Unfortunately she was wearing a plated chest piece and the arrow did little more than slow her charge. Which suited Inanna well enough because it gave her the extra second she needed to get a clear aim at her face, and get her bow pulled that much tighter for her second shot. She released just as the woman was close enough to split Inanna like a log and the pale fierce blue of her eyes was visible in the thumb thick gap in her visor. 

A thumb's width was wide enough and the Nord and her axe clattered backwards into the debris of the ruins before she got the chance. The noise was satisfying, but it also dulled her ears to a third assailant coming from her right who she caught out of the corner of her eye at the last possible second. She was able to avoid the blow of the sword, but it nicked her bow, sending it sliding out of her hand and skidding over a wall and onto a lower level of the ruins. It also knocked her off balance and put her on the ground. 

"S'wit" she cursed with a growl, and rolled on her shoulder away from a second quick blow that contacted with the stone next to her head and sent a ringing into her sensitive ears. She got a look at the face under the leather armour and saw a grinning khajiit standing over her, already swinging again. The cat-people were fast, and this looked like one of the big strong ones too. She rolled again, only this time towards his legs and managed to push out one of his --or perhaps her --legs throwing the arc of the blade off enough to save Inanna once more. The quick kitty gained its balance and laughed throatily. 

"Be still dark one. Ma'jira want to help you meet precious ancestors." 'Definitely a female', Inanna thought as she redirected her foot from the groin to the knee, 'good thing she spoke up, I would have wasted a move.' This kick connected more soundly and the khajiit stumbled, opening herself up to a quick knife wound in the thigh which made her buckle even more. Inanna wanted to pull away, to gain her breathe, but then the cat could too, and if you had an opening on a khajiit you kept it open, that was rule number one. Number two was never let them get those claws into you, that's some nasty business there. She rolled up onto her feet, flanking her opponent and went for the gap under her leather helm, only to find she was too slow and was knocked off her feet with a wild back hand. She went sliding, and used the momentum to roll herself over the edge, hanging a second before dropping and diving for her lost bow, ignoring the taste of blood in her mouth. She'd been lucky it had been a backhanded swipe. 

Again she was too slow and the pissed off kitty came flying after her. Inanna's instinctive reflexes saved her as she rolled on her back and delivered a two legged kick into the stomach of the pouncing female. It was a two in one. She knocked the air right out of her and sent her sword clattering to the ground and maybe even within Inanna's reach. 

She didn't want to take the chance that it wasn't and clawed her fingers instead, thrusting her palm up against the khajiit's belly and let loose every ounce of destructive force she could muster on such short notice. She breathed hotly through her teeth as the wave of flame coursed out of her fingers and through the lithe feline body and blasted her away and off of her. 

Dragging herself to her feet Innana snatched up the sword, and broke into a run. The Khajiit was still stumbling to her own feet. She was a tough one. The blast had injured her though, making her slow and disoriented. Inanna regrouped her energy in a single deep breath and charged with a feral shout, slamming into her adversary with every ounce of strength she had left, forcing the blade through the light leather armour and into soft flesh. The force of the blow sent the khajiit careening back, twitching and gurgling. 

Inanna watched, panting a little from the exertion, before finally deciding to take pity on the writhing figure. She palmed another dagger and finished the job as quickly and painlessly as possible. She left the sword where it was, as it wasn't worth the effort of wrenching it out of the body. She moved to collect her bow, still breathing hard, feeling a little worn all of a sudden. She hadn't over stretched herself or anything, but if she didn't reign it in a little with the brute force nonsense she would soon. 

No sooner had she bent to pick up her neglected weapon than she felt the fine hair on the back of her neck lift and her skin twitch as if a cool breeze had run over it. The air, however, was heavy and still. She moved slowly, lifting her bow into position, curving her body so that she could snatch the arrow and twist in one movement. Whatever was watching her was behind her, was close, and was quiet enough to be incredibly deadly. 

She whirled, her arm arching, arrow in hand, nocking and aiming, pulling in one long fluid motion, and she saw it, huge, and right in front of her, less than fifteen feet away. Her fingers moved on their own, her body trained by rote to act without thought, and she looked into its eyes almost too late. The eyes shocked her...they appeared to be looking back, really looking, like they were somehow aware, and they were the most incredible shade of green she'd ever seen, set in a broad and tawny head. 

There were no bared teeth, no tensed muscle, no sign of fear or aggression. An absurd voice inside of her screamed at her to turn the shot, sounding too much like a death wish. But gut feelings were what kept her alive, and she was very much a creature of instinct. At the last quarter-second she twitched, tilting her bow and let out a loud sigh as the arrow whispered harmlessly into the woods, landing in some tree with a soft thunk. The adrenaline was still pumping through her and she tried to keep her hand steady as she lowered the bow. If it was going to attack, it would have already, she'd just given it an opening.

'It' looked like mountain lion, but it was much much bigger. The size of a big warrior Khajiit, but it was a quadruped. She'd heard of cat-people who walked on four legs, but this didn't strike her as that. It was too much like an animal, not a beast-man, and they were too far north for that weren't they? But its size was unusual, and those eyes. They were watching her in a way that was far too intelligent to be normal. 

She'd hunted since she was a small child, and she'd never seen a look like that from anything she'd faced. Even the 'sentient' beasts like minotaurs and draugh didn't look at you like that, hell most bandits could even muster up that much thoughtful appraisal, just angry snarls or dumb looks of shock as you ran them through. Cats could be smart, but not that smart.

"Hello." She said softly, her voice still rough from the physical rush of the fight. Its head turned slightly to where her arrow had wizzed off to. "I didn't have to miss." She offered, both as an apology and a warning, if it could understand her, and she had the very disconcerting feeling that it could. It locked eyes with her again, and she thought she saw...what? amusement? A sort of gleam? Was she going crazy? Too much time spent alone wandering around in the dark?

Then out of nowhere the animal's relaxed stance changed and its body tensed, she knew that stance, it was going to spring...but its head was facing the wrong way...toward her, but not at her, behind her. A millisecond later her fingers where once again wrapping around an arrow and her body twisting in that old familiar pattern. This time she let the bolt fly without a blink of hesitation and tensed with a gasp as a dagger flew past her shoulder. It was a rough shot, not enough tension, and the arrow hit low, the hip or the leg perhaps, but she couldn't see where exactly because the former bowman was now a throat-less corpse under a great golden body. Leave it to a fellow Dunmer to get the drop on her. 

Her guard was back up, and she dropped into a crouch, crawling to a ledge for cover as she scanned the ruins for more movement. She'd been an idiot to let it drop, but she'd forgive herself for being distracted by the lion. She held her breathe and listened. All she could see was the still forest and all she could hear was the light click of claws on stone. She turned back to the big cat and found him already on his way over, circling her at a respectable distance. This one was a male, she noted as he circled. I hope that wasn't his girl I skewered she thought with a smirk. He licked his muzzle to clean the remaining blood and watched her, his body still tense and head lowered. 

"That it you think?" She whispered as she turned away to scan the woods and the clearing below the ledge. She still had her throat, so clearly, as bizarre as it was, they were on the same side. She turned back and he looked out past a low wall and lifted his head. She crawled over to the wall he seemed to be pointing to and peeked over the side, grimacing at the sight that greeted her. 

Nearby was another, bigger, Khajiit with its light armour in bloody shreds and farther away a pale skinned man of some kind, she couldn't tell which, was slumped against a tree, his head attached in only the most technical sense of the word. There was a third body face down in the long grass. From this angle it was unrecognizable, but the awkward splay of the limbs was confirmation of its status as no longer among the living. She slid back down the wall and sat back against it, sizing up the odd beast.

"Well I guess it's two to three then...I'm calling the bowman a draw." She smirked, then winced as the adrenaline slowed and all the little aches and pains started rearing their ugly heads. Her face hurt the most. The Khajiit had really given her quite the knock. She felt her jaw gingerly for any damage worse than a few bruises. As she did the great beast edged closer with a lowered head and made her pause as she eyed him warily. He stopped when she stared back at him, no doubt having sensed her tense up with caution, and turned away instead, leaping up on a big stone block. He turned giving her one last long look, still thoughtful, before leaping off the other side.

"And then he was gone." She muttered, pushing herself up and taking a peak in her bag. Thankfully nothing inside was damaged, thank the ancestors for Ayleid craftsmanship. She collected herself, the rest of her things, and whatever gold she could find on the bodies...not like they needed it anymore, and started her long journey back to civilization. Thankfully Cheydinhal was the nearest walled city, and it was the closest thing she could call home next to the dump of a shack where she currently laid her head in the waterfront district of the imperial city. She'd have to pay for her bed there, but the place was crawling with Dunmer, so she usually got a decent meal and a cheap room without too much effort and a minimum of dirty looks or smarmy comments. 

She pulled into town in record time having miraculously encountered nothing hostile on her way, not even an irate mud crab. Once or twice she felt the hairs on her neck stand up and she found a nice high rock to survey from, or take pot shots from, which ever became necessary, but never saw anything. She half wondered if that big cat was tailing her, but figured in the end she was just jumpy from all the excitement, and the overwhelming strangeness of the afternoons events. And it was strange. 

She wracked her brain trying to come up with an answer for that weird cat and came up with none. She even considered Daedra...but she could only think of one daedric prince who might randomly traipse around mundus as an animal, and the beast that had helped her didn't look like a psychopathic poetry writing mad-god. Then again, what did that look like? She chuckled to herself. She'd had the honour of meeting the hero Nevarar, who had come to their tribe for guidance in the quest against the false gods of the tribune. And she'd --yes, she, and a Breton, who'd have thought it -- had had some interesting stories about that particular god. One involving a fork, a bull netch, and an insane Argonian lizard man...but that was neither here nor there, and it didn't involve smart green-eyed lions. 


Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02



The world in which this story is based and the terminology used is the intellectual property of Bethesda, this is a bit of Elder Scrolls fanfic type fun with a were twist. You can also safely assume that anyone doing anything 'untoward' is of legal age...ect.

Now that that's out of the way...enjoy! Oh, and comments of all creeds and colors are seriously like crack now, so please, be my pusher man.

yours, Enithermon.

**

Inanna swore and wiped her hands on her thighs. What was with all the sweating? Normally she was cool as a frost atronach. 

These last couple months she'd felt like she was on fire, more than she normally was that is. Even before she dripped all over that ogre she was feeling like this. She'd seen a healer, but she was apparently fine, now it just seemed to have gotten exponentially worse. She let out a mildly exasperated sigh. She didn't like to wear gloves as she worked, but clearly there was no choice. 

She hopped up into an alcove behind a headless statue and pulled out her thinnest gloves. She needed gloves when she did a lot of shooting, so she always had a couple pairs on hand. This was a stealth mission however, so shooting was going to be out. A little work thrown at her from the fighters guild. Apparently a good customer needed an artifact 'recovered' but it needed to be done in a fashion that wasn't exactly up the fighter guild's alley. She had asked why the client didn't want the thieves guild, and was told that, apparently, they were on very bad terms with one another. 

So here was little old Inanna, playing sneaky thief. It's harder than it looks. The instinct is to just kill the things that get in the way. 

She smirked. She had a feeling she knew the score. At the moment she was in an old fortress north of Skingrad, it was the Skingrad hall that had outsourced to her after all, and she didn't doubt that it was the mysterious Count of Skingrad himself who was the nameless client. She was especially suspicious because who in their right minds wanted to make sure a coven of vampires wasn't hurt...really? 

Except...perhaps...family? She'd gotten around. She'd heard all the rumors, and knew damn well why the Count and the thieves guild weren't exactly on each others 'friendlies' list. A little hint to the unwary, the sentence for theft in Castle Skingrad is death...no doubt by bloodletting, seen to personally by the Count himself. That little tidbit aside, Skingrad was actually quite a pleasant city, and in excellent wine country.

She really needed to stop sweating, it was going to give her away, they'd smell her from miles off. "I hate my life." she murmured and headed down a side corridor that had collapsed in on itself. There was no way through, but the rich dark earth and tree roots had punched a hole in the stone wall. 

Time to play hunter. On second thought, who was she kidding? She loved her life. 

She grabbed a couple handfuls of dirt and piled it, calling up a tiny ball of ice in her palms, which took far more effort than it should...but then she did run hot. She placed the ball on top and then melted it instantly, turning the dirt to mud. The mud would mask her scent as well as dim the glow of her life essence. Not by much of course, but every little bit helped, and if she stayed low, they might assume she was one of the nasty wolves they had prowling around. This would help throw those clever noses off too.

It was a long day. Endless hours of crouching and waiting; biding ones time in dusty alcoves and dim corners. It wouldn't have been so bad if she really was hunting them. Then at least she'd have that sense of satisfaction when she slipped up on them and went in for the kill. 

She didn't like Vampires much. The ones from home were a nasty brutal lot, even by Dunmer standards...though again the Telvanni were always the exception to the rule. These ones didn't look too different, gaunt, and feral, and red eyed. From the Vampires that is...not the Telvanni. Then again...not much of a difference there either. 

Boy, she was thinking about the Telvanni a lot lately. She could have joined that house, a clan friend had offered to find a sponsor for her...but she wasn't really interested. She had other priorities, and locking herself up in a Tel stronghold for a few centuries wasn't one of them. 

She smiled as she looked down on the two vamps below her as she lay belly down on a long wooden log that was meant as a trap, but was currently providing her with excellent cover at the moment. That is provided no one turned on a life detection spell and looked waaaay up. 

She knew damn well why she was thinking about those crazy sorcerers. Her little friend Green eyes. She was still reeling from disbelief over the whole thing. 

Well maybe not reeling, but it was quite a head shaker. Not necessarily upsetting mind you. In fact, she'd managed to admit, it had been a lovely evening. She might even try it again some time. Only it had been three weeks and she hadn't seen him around anywhere. She'd even stopped by the lake a couple of times...just in case. It was ridiculous of course, she was acting a little like a young girl with a crush...but she had to admit...she was starting to really miss running into him. It was always interesting at least, and it was getting harder and harder for things to keep her interested. It was going to be hell by the time she was three hundred, she could only hope she'd find something, or someone to keep her from dying of boredom by then. 

Finally. The bloodsuckers were wandering off. She waited and sent out a low level life detection of her own, waiting until they were out of range. She wasn't stupid, they'd feel it the moment she started drawing up her magica it if she did it in the same room as them. 

The undead struck her as being more sensitive to unseen powers than the mundane ones. It made sense, they were trapped somewhere between the plains of life and death, that should give them a unique take on both. So even if she didn't have to 'cast' spells, since, like most Dunmer, her magic use was intuitive rather than learned or prescriptive, the signature inherent in it could still be sensed by those sensitive to the movements of unseen powers. 

Many couldn't sense intuitive magic, but she didn't want to take the chance that these creeps could. 

She carefully lowered herself to a nearby ledge and dropped with cat like grace into a watchful crouch. She giggled mentally even as her eyes scanned the room intently, green would be proud.

Jackpot. Three large chests stood against one wall looking very much like they were full of wonderful toys. She was tasked to liberate as much as she could so it didn't look like she was here for something specific. She got to keep as much as she could carry. Good thing she had invested in a feathering ring then eh? 

Too bad she still had to sneak out without getting too many holes in her throat. Like, for instance, any at all. 

Two were unlocked (cocky vamps) and contained all manner of wonderfully light weight and expensive items. Many of which were magical. She didn't take the time to figure out which did what, just took what she could. There was a lovely looking sword in the third, larger trunk, which had been locked, though just barely. It looked Elven, and had a lovely gold hilt with green glass details. A bright shimmering green which stood against the gold like willow leaves in sunlight. She bit her lip. It was probably too heavy to sneak out with....it might get her killed...but it was such a pretty, familiar shade of green. Green on gold. 

Self control was never one of her strengths. She wanted what she wanted, when she wanted it. She sighed and strapped it awkwardly over her shoulder, trying to snug it under her bow without it banging away and letting everyone one know there was a none too sneaky Dunmer crawling around in their secret hideout.

There was also a nasty looking dagger. It oozed Daedric magic and had red markings scratched onto its black hilt which glowed faintly. She recognized the script, she'd seen it many times in the twisted Daedric temples that proliferated back in Morrowind, but she didn't recognize the language itself. 

Reaching out with those skills of perception that all Ashlanders were taught along with the sword and the bow she touched the magic of it with her own. She saw red, the red of fire and blood, and her senses were filled with the scent of charred flesh and sulfur. She smirked, smelled like home. It also smelled like one of the four corners of the house of troubles, the lords of chaos and destruction. Molag Bal perhaps...wasn't he supposed to have fathered the vampiric race? 

She shrugged. Either way it was hers now, so long as she could hang onto it at least. Possession was nine tenths of the law after all. Or at least it was in her mind.

The blade looked more like volcanic glass than anything metallic, and was probably just as sharp. She picked it up using a cloth and wrapped it carefully, laying it inside her satchel snugly so it wouldn't be jostled. She had been told to collect a 'unique black dagger' and she had a feeling this little beauty was precisely what she had been charged to find. She didn't even want to know what it did, so long as it didn't do it to her. She was careful to never make direct contact with the thing, it was always best not to screw with Daedra.

There was still no sign of the vamps, so she checked around the room for anything interesting. There were a couple of rare books she decided to 'borrow' and a fair amount of gold locked in an ornate looking desk. The place was a dank ruin, but they had decent enough taste to furnish it nicely. The desk was quite handsome, but she couldn't exactly carry that out now could she? A shame too, it would have looked lovely in her new home. Furniture was her favorite part of the non-nomadic lifestyle, the 'only what you can carry rule' made things like tables and chairs rather tricky items to own when you were always moving to new hunting grounds. 

She was about to quit the room when she heard voices again. She edged to the far side of the room and crushed herself up against the wall, behind a narrow support. It wasn't the greatest spot, but it would have to do. Hopefully she could keep her heart from pounding and giving her away. She'd heard that some of these creatures could hear a beating heart if close enough.

She kept one eye on the vamps as they re-entered, talking lowly, and another on the room trying to find a quick way up and out of their hands if it came to that. She figured if she could get to the desk she could jump up to catch a ledge with her fingers then pull herself up enough to use the other pillar as leverage with her feet. She'd have to be quick, because the alarm would be up by then. They both had their backs to her, and one was moving towards the chests. 

Azura take her. She made her move, skirting the wall behind them as softly as she could. Their momentary distraction with the recent robbery actually bought her the time she needed to get to the desk and pull herself up over the rail before they saw her.  

She blinked and they were gone. They must have spelled themselves invisible. That wasn't good. 'Could they all do that?' she wondered. There was a shout below her, then more in the darkness echoing through the winding catacombs of the ancient fort. The only thing she could do now that was smart was run, and fast. 

She decided she hated playing thief. She tore through the halls, winging past startled vampires and leaping down entire flights of stairs breathing a silent thanks every time she landed well. The last thing she needed was a twisted knee or ankle.

Almost there, just a little further... 

A sword came out of nowhere and she threw herself forward into a dive, feeling the blade breeze over her head. She fell into a roll and then back up onto her feet, pushing off from a crouch into another sprint, this time with a not-so-startled vampire hot on her heels. 

The doors! 'Please let it still be day.' She slammed into the door and squeezed through it the moment she could fit. 

Oh dear. It wasn't night, but it was close. She had maybe a few minutes before it was safe for these things to be wandering around unprotected. Then again, maybe they had wards. She didn't wait to find out and half ran, half slid down the hill atop which the old fortress stood. She stumbled near the bottom, and took the lull to look back. She couldn't see anything, but then, they may still be invisible. 

She huffed and kept going, her chest tight with exertion and adrenaline. She slowed so she wouldn't stumble again and get herself turned into lunch because of a sprain. How humiliating would that be? 

She spotted a cave ahead and made straight for it. It looked like an old mine. She slipped inside with one last look behind her and pulled out her bow. At least she could kill this stuff she consoled herself. 

She sniffed the air as she moved cautiously deeper into the surprisingly dry cavern, her eyes glancing at the old wooden support beams, waiting for one rotten one to snap and bury her under a ton of rocks. She moved into an open room, dimly lit with torches and sniffed again. Goblins. 

She slipped into an empty looking side hollow when she thought she heard a voice behind her. She frowned and wedged herself behind a big wooden support. The walls were thick with mine dusk and she resisted the urge to cough as she disturbed the old layers of untouched filth and cobwebs. The voice drew nearer. 

"Are you sure? I thought I saw something go around the back of the cave."

"I'm sure I saw something open the door. It was from a distance, but I'm sure of it."

"It could be a goblin. Ugh." She smirked. Vampires also had sensitive noses. More so than she even. That one sounded like a Bosmer, so he must be really suffering as he was doubly blessed with sharp senses...or cursed as the case may be. The other one, the smart one who saw her, was female, but that was all she could tell. Human perhaps...or was once. She heard a screech from deep inside the caverns, then more quite close by. Then she heard it much, much closer. 

The vampires swore and started fighting as a small herd of goblins charged into the room. They could only stay unseen if they did nothing, and it was a little late for that. She was grateful the mud, and now dust and dirt, was still covering her scent, not that she would be easy to pick up in this rank cavern. After a good twenty minutes of screaming and cursing the vampires prevailed and decided she wasn't there after all. Of course she was no dummy. An hour and a half later she extracted herself from her very uncomfortable position and decided to go exploring. If they had half a brain they'd wait outside as long as they could just in case. All she had to do was survive until dawn. 

She grinned nastily, with lots of bared teeth, and selected an arrow. "Here gobby gobby gobby." She purred quietly and soft-shoed it down the nearest corridor. The hunt was on. Green would be so proud.

**

Dawn broke, and Inanna strutted out of the cave sleepy and feeling very satisfying, though very heavy. As it turned out the goblins had an absolute ton of fun swag they'd been stealing from moron adventurers. 'Horse, here I come.' Maybe she'd even get one of those sleek black ones they kept in Cheydinhal. She didn't much care for horses, but she'd probably look terrific on one of those. Maybe she'd get herself some black leathers as well, then she'd look dangerous. Thankfully the heaviness didn't last long because she was in Skingrad not two hours later. Apparently she'd run a lot farther than she'd thought. The fear of imminent death can have that affect on a person. 

She sold off all the small bits, crystals, uninteresting jewelery, and everything from the goblin caves, but kept the magically infused items, and of course the weapons. She then took a long hot bath, and a long nap and headed over to the fighters guild after meandering a bit just in case anyone was following her. One never knew.

She got there, she got paid, got rid of the nasty Daedric knife, and all was well. Apparently the client already knew what had been done, surprise, surprise, and was 'at least glad no one was injured', and that no one knew who was responsible, aside from the thief being female of course. No amount of hoods and mud were going to cover this pretty piece of flesh up. 

It probably helped that she hadn't come back right away. That meant there was no trace of her or her loot in Skingrad when the vamps turned up to investigate, no doubt suspecting their old friend his lordship as their primary suspect. It also meant everyone could lie convincingly when they were asked if the weapons had turned up there. 

'No sir, no weapons here.'

She decided to take off before sunset, no doubt they'd be back, and she didn't want to be there when that happened. She was feeling energized, and flush, so she made good time in her high spirits. 

It was still the small hours of the morning, not too much after midnight in fact, when the Imperial spire came into view. She might as well camp there for a bit, get rested and have someone take a look at her new toys for her. She hadn't given up her little shack there yet since it was coming in handy as a way point, and was less costly in the long run than shelling out for room and board every night. She was rounding a familiar bend, eying an Ayleid ruin askance as she passed it. It was known for bandits. The more you killed the more came back; they were as bad as bloody weeds.

She heard a shout and rolled her eyes, pulling out her bow. Here we go again. It was an awkward movement because she still had the Elvish sword strapped to her back. She turned toward the sound and waited. Oddly it was coming from the opposite side of the road rather than from the ruins. To her surprise a big cat came bounding out of the trees. She couldn't get a good look at it, but she could see an angry red mark running up its side and another near its neck. The cat was about to bound off the road again when it noticed her standing up the rise in the path and turned its head sharply. Her line of sight was suddenly filled with green eyes.

She grinned, instantly energized by a surprisingly powerful bolt of excitement and pleasure. It was cut off by another shout and a handful of noisy louts barreling through the woods after him. She turned her bow and the arrow slammed into the head of the first man out, pushing him back into the others. Green looked back and intelligently took the opportunity to disappear towards the ruins. 

She fired another two off in succession and made off herself, using their startled confusion as cover. They hadn't seen that coming. 

She slipped down along the lower wall of the ruin, keeping close to the cold stone. She could hear them clamoring around over head, loud enough to wake the dead. She could only hope they did, and were killed for it. She saw something move in the long grass. 

"Muthsera" she whispered towards the movement. It stopped then shifted, coming towards her. She saw the glimmer of his eyes first. He slipped up next to her, as silent as death and crouched low against the wall. "You look like hell, Serjo." She murmured and touched his face gingerly noticing more than just the two injuries she had seen before. 

He was in no condition to keep fighting like that. No wonder he was using plan B, 'run away.' He didn't look happy about it either. 

"I saw three come out, are there more?" he nodded then used a claw to draw a line and an x in the soft sand around the base of the ruin. That was a lot. "I imagine you've already taken out your quota on top of that.." he nodded once. 

He looked ready to drop. He needed a healer. 'Damn it, why couldn't she have been a healer?' She sighed morosely and looked around, trying to find an effective out. They were close to the water, and the ruin was directly across from the waterfront. She was a good swimmer, and he looked tired but strong enough..."look," she whispered in to his ear so they couldn't be overheard, not as if the shouting overhead would let the hunters overhear anything, "You're probably not keen on water, but I've got a little place, you can see it from here, and there's a back way right near the water...they might not even see us leave..." 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02



He turned away before she could finished and started creeping out toward the water. Good man. He was too smart to play hero and knew when to suck it up. They'd actually made it well over half way before anyone even noticed. The shout of alarm was distant enough that she almost missed it. 

They made it, finally, and slunk out of the water sticking to the shadows. 

"There" she whispered and pointed to a rickety looking shack with a big wood storage at the back. She slid a panel out of the wood storage and crawled through, moving a second panel. "You first," she whispered, "I have to close up behind." He shuffled through the tight squeeze and she crawled after, fitting the panel and securing it from the inside so no one could follow without damaging it and making a helluva racket in the process. 

Once inside the one room shack she slid a dresser in front of the secret door and ran over to start a fire, the faster they were dry the better. They weren't dripping anymore at least, but they were still soaked. She stripped her now water-heavy leather armor off and tossed it behind the foot of the bed with her gear, then grabbed a blanket from a cupboard and lay it out in front of the fire.

Her damp shirt clung to her and she shivered. She'd better get it off. She could feel rather than hear him pacing about behind her, so she was looking for him when she turned. She was not, however, expecting to find a broad, tanned, muscular chest in front of her. She stumbled and made to scream, but a hand came up over her mouth and tipped her head back. 

She blinked. 

He blinked back. Big green eyes. 

He smiled. "Quiet Red, you'll wake the neighbors."

Red?

"Green?" she asked when he released her. He chuckled. "How...?" She looked down and interrupted her own question. "We need to find you a healer...now." The waters of the Rumare had washed his body clean of blood, but there were wounds everywhere. He winced and held up a hand.

"Just give me a moment to catch my breath. It will be fine." He gestured to the bed, "May I?" She blinked.

"That's a silly question, of course you can." She grabbed his elbow and helped him sit. Wow, those eyes looked even better in this face. His hair was a sandy brown and fell in damp, curling, shoulder length tendrils. It was probably wavy and delectable when dry she mused. The rest of him looked pretty mouth watering as well. He was as big as a Nord, all tanned and muscular...and even better looking. His features were finer, more...Bretonish. He definitely had to have some Mer blood in there she decided.

She released his arm when she realized she was staring and turned away, digging through her drawers for something dry. She tossed her wet shirt over a bed post and pulled out a clean dry one, pulling off her chest wrap before slipping it over her shoulders. She found some dry underwear as well. Her skin was clammy, but it was warming up slowly. At least she wasn't all sweaty yet. She smirked at herself as she mentally qualified the word 'yet.' Down girl.

She pulled out a plain looking healer's robe that was too big for her and shook it out. It had belonged to a pilgrim she'd let stay with her a few years back. Apparently celibacy had been optional for his order; lucky her. She'd hung on to it just in case and because she was a bit of a pack rat. Now she was glad she did. Though it might be a touch on the short side...it would have to do. She held it out in front of her and turned around. 

His eyes were closed and he was sitting with his legs open and his big hands resting fingers-in on his knees. Every muscle and tendon seemed to tense and go taunt, as though he was supporting some great weight on his slightly bent shoulders. 

His brow was stern and his square jaw tight with concentration. It was quite the image. She tried to impose his image on that of the lions and found it difficult. Her gut told her it was him, and she felt comfortable with him, and certainly drawn to him in a strange, indescribable way, but she did wonder if this was the same creature who'd taken her by that lake those few weeks ago. 

The memory made her stomach stir with excitement. She could feel her hands dampen against the material of the pilgrims robe.

'I said, down girl.' 

Without warning a gentle, cool, yellowish glow, like sunlight, began to emanate from him, and she watched as the big ugly gash along his side slowly closed up from the inside out and shrunk until it wasn't much more than a deep scratch. The saw no spell and was intrigued. It seemed he understood intuitive magic as well. The other wounds seem to fade as well, leaving only the mildest of scratches and faded bruises here and there. Nothing serious.

She smirked, she'd done worse to people she liked. But then...Dunmer. 'Seriously, what don't you understand about the word DOWN'? She shook her head at herself and handed the robe to him. 

He looked up. The usual vibrant glow was out of his eyes, he looked terrible. He took the robe and she went about looking for something to eat. There wasn't much and she was a lousy cook. But there was plenty of wine and sujama. Now if she had a little ash yam, a little wickweat, a few stone flowers, and could bind it all with a little resin then viola! He'd be as strong as a blighted Kagouti. Too bad this wasn't Morrowind. 

"Haha!" she crowed, Flin. Not much was left, but it would do in a pinch. She poured two glasses and gave it to him, scraping a chair across the floor to sit in front of him. She propped her legs up on the bed and crossed her ankles. "Don't worry, this is the expensive stuff, it won't make you stupid." He raised the glass to her in a salute and took a sip. His face screwed up a little. 

"This is the expensive stuff?"

She smiled blandly. "Where I'm from it is. Import laws, you know. "She waved a hand, then cocked her head at him in appraisal. "I thought this whole situation was bizarre before. But now...is there a reason you didn't tell me you could...you know...do that?" he sighed and looked down at his glass.

"A really good reason?" 

She chuckled at that. "I'll take a half decent one."

"Well that's good."

"I bet."

He cleared his throat, he really didn't have a good reason, not at least in light of what happened the last time he'd seen her. 

"We're trying to keep our existence hidden."

"Good job you're doing." Damn but she sounded like Mirisa just there. That's why Mirisa doesn't like her, they're too much alike. They'd probably rip each other apart. It might be fun to watch if they weren't both capable of doing real and lasting harm to one another. She smirked and held up her hands, "I tease. So" she continued "you thought I might give you away if I knew what you were? That hardly seems likely. What are you by the way? You know, unless you want to play twenty questions again?" He couldn't help but smile at that.

"We're shifters, or sort of."

"Shifters? Like werewolves?" She'd heard of cases from Solsthiem, though many believed they were just rumors and fairy tales.

"Not quite. We don't have an 'in between' form, and you can't contract it. You have to be born that way." He looked up and saw her rubbing the back of her neck absently and he winced at the reminder. It had a rough few weeks for him. 

"I see. Are the others like you?" 

"Yes."

"Are there lots?"

"Not anymore."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Is it those hunters?" He nodded. She did look sorry. He knew he could trust her. He nodded again.

"They've been hunting us down for years, and it just gets worse. We keep having to move from place to place to avoid them, but they keep catching up. Originally we're from the Dragon Tail range, and further north, but we find ourselves being pushed farther east. It's harder because of the little ones."

"Little ones?" she asked when he paused to take a drink.

"The children."

"Ah. Do...do you have any?"

"A daughter. My mate was killed several years ago. Now there's only a few of us. Mirisa...blue as you call her, lost her mate as well. There is only one mated pair left among us right now."

"So you and Bl-Mirisa, aren't...you know..." He shook his head, then frowned and wondered if it was wise to say too much.

"You? Do you have any children, or a...partner?" he asked steering the conversation away from him. She laughed. 

"I'm a bit young for that." 

Young? Hadn't she said she was in her eighties? She was older than him. 

"Then again...I'm getting close...and they say if you sleep with non-Mer it can induce fertility early. I've certainly done my share of that in the last twenty years. You see, we have rather lengthy bouts of infertility in my race..." She stopped and frowned.

"What is it?" She shook her head and looked down at her drink and rubbed her palm on her bare thigh. He'd been trying not to look at them and he winced as he got an eyeful and was forced to tear his gaze away and tried not to breathe too deeply. 

He'd been right about it being painful. He hadn't passed a single night not filled with thoughts of her, and more than a few of which were ended with him waking in a cold sweat. It was all he could do to keep himself from following every time he caught her scent while hunting. It was like a beacon in his brain, pulsing away. And here she was, half naked, drink in hand, and so incredibly, painfully...he gritted his teeth and forced the feelings down. The urge to claim her again was a powerful one, but it would just make it worse for him if he did. She was Not his mate. She'd never consented. He needed to crush the idea and bury it. Deeply. Very deeply.

She frowned even more and turned her palm up to look at it as if there were something written there, then arched a brow at nothing in particular, muttering something he couldn't understand under her breath. 

"Red?" he asked when she continued to look lost in thought. Her head snapped up and she open her mouth, then laughed. 

"Is that pay back for calling you Green all the time?" He smiled back.

"That, and I don't know your name." She blinked. 

"I guess you don't do you. Inanna. It's actually a Khajiit name, but that's a long story." She leaned forward over his knee and put out a hand. He took it and felt a little shock run up his arm, though it was not unpleasant by any means. The way her eyes widened ever so slightly, suggested that she felt it too. He took a deep breath to shake it off. It was, for obvious reasons, a huge mistake. He swallowed hard as her scent filled his head and his mouth began to water.

"Inanna" he repeated. He hadn't released her hand.

"And you might be?" He opened his mouth to respond when a knock came at the door. He was disappointed when she pulled away. Her small hand slipped from his like water through a sieve. 

"Hold that thought." She said lowly and jumped to her feet. She slid soundlessly over to the door and peered through a crack in the frame. She said nothing. The knock came again. 'Fetchers' she thought. It was the hunters. She could tell by the expressions on their faces, though she could only see two of them.

She backed up until she was near the fire. Then gathered her breath waiting for the next knock.

"Fetch off s'wit." She hollered. "Can't you see I'm not interested." She grinned at the surprised look he gave her. 'And here I bet he thought I was a lady.' The knock came again. "Knock one more time and I'll rip your arm from its socket and feed it to a guar, N'wah." They didn't knock, which made her smile. They could tell she was serious. They weren't quite as stupid as she thought. Pity.

"Open up, we know you're hiding the creature. Give it up and we'll let you go." 

She looked at her friend who was watching her from the foot of the bed. 

"Choices, choices," she whispered to him with a sly smile. He frowned. He didn't honestly think she'd give him up did he? No matter. "Do I know you?" She asked in a saccharine sing-song voice. There was a pause.

"No" they answered uncertainly.

"Are you with the legion?" Also sing song.

"No." This time irritated.

"Are you a city guard?"

"No!"

"Then sod off drunk."

"But the guard is on its way." The voice warned. Damn. Inanna felt her smile fade fast. She'd have to think of something. She needed something to sow doubt in their story. But her hair was still wet, he was still covered in fresh scratches, even the healing spell he'd worked on himself couldn't get rid of everything, and they were both tired and worn out. They most certainly looked like they had just got into a fight and swam across the lake. Besides, you did not fight or argue with the guards, so that option was out. The waterfront guards knew her, and some rather well, but if their story didn't sell, then even the ones who liked her weren't gonna buy. 'What was their story?' She thought tapping her teeth,' what could cause scratches, make them sweaty, damp...oh wait...yes, that'. She grinned evilly.

"You shy?" she asked under breathe.

He frowned. "No." 

"Good."

Feric almost groaned when she whipped off her shirt and tossed it over a chair. When she did the same with her briefs he stopped breathing. He hadn't forgotten how alluring she was, with her lithe body, wonderfully curved and tightly muscled at once, but the reality was so much better than memories and heated dreams. 

"Get naked."

"What?"

"I don't have time to explain and argue just do it. Do you trust me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Then with my life." And my tribes, he added silently and morosely.

"Good, strip." She grinned. He cocked a brow at her, but complied. What else was he to do? Though frankly, a not so tiny voice was thrilled at the prospect and his head was rapidly filling with inappropriate and untimely thoughts. 

"Alright," he said standing in front of her, hands on his hips, using every ounce of will to suppress his growing erection, "now what?" 

She turned around and cleared the table with one arm, letting a plate smash on the floor then hopped on top and leaned back, spreading her long legs and completely exposing the dark slick folds of her already glistening sex to him. The sight incinerated the last of his will power. He swore under his breath and saw red, or rather red and silvery gray. He had to focus hard to hear the rest of her words.

"Now you need to take me. The rougher the better, this has to look good. If you need a pick me up there's some suj..."she looked up at him, then down, and got what he thought could only be described as a feral look in her eye, "...then again, maybe you don't." She met his eye and held an arm out to him, inviting him to join her on the other side of the room. Since every fiber of his being was already desperate to take her, and had been for days, it didn't take any more coaxing than that. 

He was up against her, wrapping her legs around his waist, and pressing his mouth down hard against hers before she had the chance to offer any more encouragement. He realized as he ravished her mouth with his tongue and listened with unending pleasure to her low moans, that this was their first kiss. He tried to make it a good one. She tasted as good as she smelt, so it certainly didn't lack enthusiasm. 

He pulled away breathing hard with a desire that was rapidly flooding his veins and bringing on that dangerous dark fog again. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and grunted as he felt a fist close roughly in his hair to drag him back down to her red, swollen mouth for more.

He shifted sliding himself against her sex, finding her already wet and hot and ready, and pressed himself eagerly into her. She reached between them to guide him and he groaned against her warm spicy tongue as he was pulled inch by inch inside her. She felt just as good in this form. Better even. He could feel her smooth elastic flesh under his fingers, and the silky brush of skin against skin. He pressed inside of her and she wrapped around him, pressing her fingers and nails into his back, keening low in her throat. 

He closed his eyes and for the moment let himself fall into the fantasy that had plagued him nightly for the last month. He let himself want her, let himself have her, and pretend, for that brief moment at least, that she really was his mate. He nearly died from pleasure.

He felt so good. She couldn't remember the last man who felt so good. Was there ever one? She panted as he began to thrust into her with long, driving movements, and clung to his shoulders, loving the hard muscle playing beneath her fingers. He felt...heroic, god-like even. Maybe he was Daedra after all, or one of those benign imperial Gods. Only something divine could feel so incredible. Somewhere in her mind she knew it could be the fertility talking. But at this point, who could bring themselves to care?

She figured it was probably the onset of fertility which had been messing with her body and her head. When he had brought up children it had finally struck her as the likeliest answer. It wasn't too early after all, and she was living in the Province of Cyrodiil now, so more Men than Mer were available to her. Extreme hormones would certainly explain why she was OK with screwing a lion in a...oh lord, but he felt so good. No, fertile or not, he was perfection. 

She ran her tongue up his neck when he buried his face in her hair, pressing her back against the table, which was beginning to groan under the strain of his thrusts. He tasted good too. He growled softly, and she would have laughed if she wasn't so busy letting out whimpering moans of pleasure. What a sexy sound the growl was too, it was sending the most wonderful shivers up her spine. Let's see if she couldn't get him to make it again. Oh my, she could. She growled back and dug her nails in, scoring his back and thrusting her hips up to meet his.

She could feel him leaving his own finger size bruises on her hips and backside. All the better for when people come charging in looking for answers. And even if it wasn't, she was going to love having a keepsake to remind her later anyway. The marks he left on her neck could be felt, but were impossible to see without two really good mirrors and a flexible spine. Speaking of which...

She was flat out on her back clutching at the edge of the table for dear life, one leg hooked over his arm, and the other over his shoulder as he pounded mercilessly into her when the knocking started again. He slowed. 

"Don't you dare stop" she growled and ground her hips against his. He squeezed his eyes shut and made a grimace.

"As you wish." His voice was rough and gravely and made her shiver from her toes to the top of her head.

"Open up Inanna." A voice called from outside. Her lover chuckled darkly and slammed into her hard, making her cry out loud enough for everyone else to hear, so they knew exactly to whom she belonged. 

"Indeed." He murmured as he thrust again.

'Oh, you wonderful, naughty...'

"Inanna. It's Maximus you need to open up, we have reason to believe you're in danger. Please open up, we will use force."

"Go away" she yelled back breathlessly.

He leaned even further over her, still pounding, using the table as leverage as he gripped the edge behind her head. Max wasn't the only one using force. She wrapped her arms around him as she felt and heard the door buckle under the first blow...it should only take three, she thought, and she pressed her mouth to his. 

And she was so enjoying herself. What a horrible waste. That was good though, she wanted to be pissed. She wanted him pissed. They would be. Those fetchers won't know what hit them, and they needed to sell this. The truth sold itself, but she just prayed they'd get to finish it later. If they didn't...someone would die...not a joke. The next slam came, almost knocking the door in. Third times the charm. She heard, or rather felt him begin to growl in her arms. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02



"Easy big fella" she crooned, running a hand down his neck and back, that was the last thing they needed. "Remember...not a big mean cat...who's going to rip their throats out...right? That's my job. You're just...an innocent bystander." She gasped out between thrusts. 

He nipped her neck where it met her shoulder in silent response, making her shiver again. He was really good at that.

"If you're good, I'll give you the rest of my neck and let you make me your chew toy again later" she whispered heatedly in his ear. It was his turn to shiver. 'Oh you like that do you.' She was so lost in the little exchange and the exquisite feel of him moving inside of her that she nearly forgot about the banging on the door. He gave her one last pounding for good measure, making her strangle out a cry just as the door broke in and a guard followed by two hunters stumble through the door. 

A second before they knew what they were looking at however, namely a slinky naked Dunmer wrapped around a big, naked piece of heaven, a cup smashed behind the head of one of the hunters and a second was in mid flight, headed for the second hunter's chest. The second hunter ducked to the side then looked back in shock where it shattered over the bed. "Max!" Inanna shouted in fury jumping up from the table as soon as Green released her.

Her big mean cat was trying to reign his own fury in, and he was obviously in possessive mode because he shunted her behind him before she could charge off, and let out a menacing sound. Always the gentleman. She bit back a smile. She went around the other side instead, grabbing a dagger off a shelf where she'd left it for this purpose, and marched up to him, Max that is, naked, furious and wild eyed. He was eying the naked man on her heels. It looked like he caught on because he looked down at her finally and gave her a subtly sheepish look. Max always did try to look out for her. 

She got right up into his face and snarled pointing the business end of her dagger at him and poking it into the well polished steel of his cuirass. He knew she wouldn't use it on him, but it emphasized her point...as it were. He looked suitably wary. He knew her well enough for that at least, he was an imperial, not an idiot, though the two things usually overlapped in her opinion. 

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't flay the lot of you right now." She snarled giving the other two looks that would sear the wool off a sheep's back. She even let the fire bubble up with a little barely controlled sizzle in her eyes. They both backed up until they were more or less on the safer side of the doorway. Max cleared his throat. 

"I apologize Ina, these...people, led us to believe you were in danger." She glared at him and snorted once the other two were safely intimidated back out the door. She imagined her cat was giving them quite the look as well. She could feel him behind her emanating malice and frustration in heady waves making the hairs on the back of her neck raise up. Oh please let them finish later. 

"You were worried about Me? Seriously Max?" He sighed. 

"They brought the captain in on it. I wouldn't have let them, you know that." She sneered. The new captain was an ass. He was little more than a pasty faced juvenile with an uncle on the council. 

"Tell me, how exactly did they convince junior that I was in danger?" She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. He failed to repressed his smirk, and cleared his throat again. 

"They said a.." he paused and glanced at the big, still naked man glaring at him over her head, "well that you were harboring a..."

"Spit it out."

"Werewolf...or something...of some kind."

She let her face fall into the best 'oh my god what kind of idiot are you, you can't be serious, are you completely brainless' look she could muster. He almost blushed. Score another one for the evil dark elf. Cue the sinister laugh.

"Max" she said, softly this time, sweetly even. 

"Would you tell your captain I need a minute to get dressed, then I'll come outside and we can settle this matter, but" and here her voice hardened, "if those fetchers take one step in my house again, I will gut them for trespassing and hang their heads over my door as a warning. Got it?" He didn't look intimidated before, just embarrassed and a little concerned, but now he did. They'd fought together, and he knew well the devastation she could wreak when she had the mind to, and like most people, he was under the impression that she was every bit as hot-headed and reckless as she let on. 

He nodded and left, not taking his eyes off her face until he was out the door. Her big cat leaned in over her shoulder and she felt his breath against her ear.

"I believe you about that bandit now." She whirled around on him giving him a look of mock consternation.

"And you didn't before?"

He grinned. 

"Come on," she said, patting his arm, "put your war face back on, it's time for the second round." He sobered and nodded, grabbing his discarded robe as she dug out fresh leathers and a corseted blouse. It was her 'dashing rogue' look. The local boys loved it. Not least of all the straight laced imperial guards. 'I'm sure junior's no different.' She mused. 

Then again he might swing in another direction, in which case, that was a bonus for them, because even in a pilgrim's robe her cat looked good enough to eat. On the other hand she wasn't sure she wanted someone else drooling over him but her. She frowned. She was getting possessive. She grinned to herself. Must be love. 

"How do you want me to play this?" he asked tying his belt. She shrugged.

"However you feel comfortable. If you want to be the strong silent type that's fine, but if you think you can talk them down...I trust you. What can I say? I'm flexible."

He smirked. "I noticed." He walked past her letting his hand brush lingeringly against her hip. 

'Be still my heart it is love. You naughty little...' she bit down another grin and reapplied her pissy look. It wasn't hard, all she had to do was imagine they were going to take him away from her, and she would be left lonely and frustrated. Round two. Fight. 

He strode out first and set up shop in the corner of her little porch, leaning back against the rail with his arms crossed over his chest in a menacing fashion. Strong and silent it is then. He glared them all down with a more than convincing, mostly because it was true, 'I'm going to rip out your hearts because you just kept me from getting laid' look. That was the look she'd been going for after all. 

She noticed with pleasure that not one of the men could look him in the eye, not even the hunters. A man's a man after all, even when he was Mer or beast. They felt his pain. One of the hunters frowned at her. 

"That's her...I'm sure of it." He muttered. She was hoping they wouldn't have seen her face earlier. Damn.

She ignored the hunters and approached the pasty, sallow eyed Captain, and gave him a patient, just for you, type smile. 

"Sir, can I ask why your men just broke down my door and interrupted me with my...guest?" He already looked uncomfortable and embarrassed, this shouldn't be too hard.

"Captain, this man is dangerous, we need to take him into custody. He and this...elf girl killed our men and escaped across the Rumare. They need to be arrested." One of the hunters said, stepping forward. He was a hard looking Imperial. He was also mercenary, in all senses of the word, she could see the cold flint of it in his eyes. 

This must be their fearless leader. Pretty ballsy of him, making that claim with nothing backing him up but the word of his own men. 'Who's paying you and how much,' she wondered. Must be a lot, this was some dedication for one guy, magnificent though he was, in any form. 

'Hands off s'wit, I saw him first.' She growled mentally at him. She gave the man a dry look. 

"And who might you be?"

"My name's not important." he snarked back.

"Really? If you're so unimportant than why have you wasted mine and the captain's precious time with foolish fairy tales. If you want to play with undead things, I'm sure I can find you directions that don't involve kicking in the doors of taxpaying citizens." 

"How kind" he sneered.

"I do love to be of service, Sera." 

'See, I can be civilized too'. She turned away abruptly and dismissively, filling the captain's vision with her own lithe self and smiled. "I understand your need to be concerned for the citizens under your watch Captain, but, and forgive me if I offend, it would seem odd to take the word of these...strangers over that of one of your own." She let her eyes go a little wide and glassy.

He blushed and straightened. He is young, she thought. Of course she had laced those last four words with something mildly suggestive. Well perhaps a little more than mildly. She continued before he could speak. 

"I'm sure your lieutenant here can testify that I've been a remarkably upstanding member of the community. Though, with a story about...what was it...werewolves? Well, it certainly makes their claims a tad... dubious. I'm sure you'll find the obvious and most reasonable answer is the correct one. Namely that these people are mistaken, or confused, and have, very rudely, interrupted my night off and destroyed a perfectly good door for nothing." She pouted and glared at the lead hunter in a very put out manner.

It was all true. She'd been helping pay taxes for at least four people on the waterfront since the new ridiculous tax laws were introduced by that S'wit Lex, and she'd helped clear all the goblin dens along the waterfront among other things. Max very helpfully described just that to his superior, who nodded in a wise and thoughtful way that no one was buying. Then, as if by divine intervention her neighbor showed up, one of the ones who tended to drink away his tax money. A sweet imperial drunk who frowned and stumbled over. 

"These Sssssss'wit bothering you, Ina?" It was so cute how he used Dunmeri curses...she'd taught him after all. "She's all right now, you leave her alone...you...rrracccists." She smiled sweetly. This was just her tax septims hard at work.

"No love, don't bother yourself. Our captains going to set things straight, don't worry, you go home and get some sleep." He grinned and nodded, saluting her and the Captain sloppily. Ha! That ought to cinch it. The little tyke would feel compelled to now. Must put up a good show for the rabble after all. He looked like one of those types who think people need to like you to be an effective leader. Well whatever floats his boat. As an added bonus, people were starting to gather down the street and in doorways. She turned back and gave the Captain a trusting and expectant look. 'So easy'.

Max, she could see, wasn't buying it, but he was already on her side, so who cared, this show wasn't for him. The Captain sighed and cast an irritated look at the hunters for making him look bad in front of his adoring people.

"I apologize for the inconvenience madam, I will have someone come to rectify the damage in the morning."

"I appreciate that sir." the hunters started sputtering and the captain turned on his heel and marched off waving away their objections in irritation. The fearless leader took off after him, and the other three were left standing around and only grudgingly followed when Max told them to shove off, though more politely and officially than she would have. 

She knew they wouldn't go far. That left Max and his little trainee Burt, her, and her unhappy cat. 

"So...what the hell is going on Inanna?" Ah Max, why can't you just be dumb like everyone else? 

"Why, what makes you think there is?"

"I know you." He smiled and leaned forward in a real friendly way. She saw Green straighten and saunter over. It was casual...but not too casual. Max caught it too and gave her a little more room. Men.

"Oh?"

"People don't just kick down your door for no reason. Who'd you piss off? And they especially don't do it with bull reasons like werewolves..." he added "though with you I wouldn't be completely shocked."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know." She smiled remembering yesterday's adventures, "Well there was that coven of vampires up north....but they don't know who they're pissed off at." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Seriously though, werewolves, couldn't they come up with better? I think they must be loonies or something. That's just nutty. I can't even believe the captain went for that crap, wet as he is." She paused for effect to look pensive. "Maybe though...their more dangerous than they look," she said looking off thoughtfully, "I mean if they actually believe what they're saying...you think I should be worried? What if they come back?" 

She did look worried. She was worried. She couldn't lie to him, he was too slick, but she could stretch and mold the truth, and she needed him to have their back. 

He bit. How could he not, she was technically telling the truth...enough of it the truth that is.

"They did seem pretty gung ho." She only gnawed her lip and watched the road they had disappeared down."Look Inanna, we'll keep an eye out, yes? Can't have strangers picking on one of OURS now can we?" She smirked at him and he chuckled. "You worked him pretty quick lady, it was embarrassing to watch."

"Yeah well, he's what, all of ten years old? I've got a few years on him."

"He's thirty." 

She shrugged. "A child either way, and clearly a stranger to the fine art of manipulation."

"Speaking of strangers, are you going to introduce us to your friend?" she looked up to see the two men staring each other down over her head. Ah, here we go.

"Sure. Max, friend, friend, Max. Huzza." She chewed her lip and looked down the road as if ignoring them in favor of worrying about the crazy werewolf hunters, though she kept them firmly in the corner of her eye. They were giving each other the up and down/test your manly mettle kind of look. It was best not to get involved with this sort of thing. Especially when you've slept with both men. Eventually they seemed to come to some sort of conclusion on their own and both puffed up a little. Green moved first. He held out a hand. 

"Feric." It was the first thing he'd said since they'd come out, and the first thing he'd said to anyone besides her. The way he said it told her instantly that it was his actual name. Max shook the proffered hand and nodded in an approving way, apparently also picking up on the truth of it.

"Maximus Severin. Inanna and I are... old friends. We go back." 

'You've been fairly warned stranger' Inanna mocked in her head.

"You got a last name?"

She continued to feign disinterest and flay her lip but she caught the smile on the corner of Feric's mouth.

"Some call me Green." She was glad she was looking away and already biting her lip, it made it easier to contain her laugh.

"That's an odd name."

"An unusual woman gave it to me." Well no lie there.

"So you're a pilgrim are you?' he was looking the man over. "Don't look like the pilgrimage type."

"More a traveler really. Looking for a new place to settle down. "

"And you got stuck with her, huh? Hard luck friend." He gave him another up and down look. "That can get dangerous, traveling on your own."

"Indeed it can." 

"You fight?"

"When I have to."

She raised her thumb to worry the nail, or rather to look like she was, really she was just covering her smile. 'boys will be boys.' She looked back at the two, looking mildly interested, knowing full well Max's next question. He thinks he's found a new buddy and wants to share his toys.

"What do you carry?" 'Hah!' She was so good. Green, Feric...she liked that, Feric, it sounded...masculine, and a little bit dangerous, like...feral. Well he open his manly mouth to answer when she pushed off the rail and interrupted. 

"I'll go get it. You should see it Max, its real pretty." They both blinked at her in surprise. She smiled sweetly at Feric as she passed and he frowned slightly in return. "Don't go anywhere." 

She went over to where her gear still lay piled on the floor behind the bed and surveyed the damage. She frowned. The sheathe was still damp. Ah well, she'd take it naked. Most things were better that way. She came out whistling and swung the blade in a jaunty arc. Feric looked at her over his shoulder and raised a brow. Max looked suitably impressed. 

"That is right pretty." The glow of magica was restrained but still noticeable. "What's it do?" She swung again before anyone could answer and the blade bit into the wood rail sending a stream of ice crystals careening along the banister. So that's what it did. Pretty indeed. Max whistled appreciatively. "May I?" he asked looking between them. Feric laced his hands behind his back and gave a placid shrug as she handed it over. 

She had to admire how unperturbed he looked. Cool as a frost atronach. The more she saw of this man the more she liked what she saw.

Feric watched in apprehensive curiosity as the little imp handed the sword over to Maximus. He liked the man. He got that same feeling of trust when he looked at him as he had with Inanna. He was honorable. Inanna liked him, hell she'd slept with him, he could tell, but they were clearly friends for more reasons than that, and he instinctively trusted her judgment. So far she'd not led him astray. 

In fact she just kept proving him right, and in the most delightful fashions. But now he wondered what she was up to. 

The two guards both looked the weapon over admiringly. Feric did too, it was clearly a very fine blade, worth quite a bit. He was curious how she got it, and why she was calling it his. He didn't normally have to use weapons, he came equipped with his own, but he'd figured long ago it couldn't hurt to learn.

He could probably put that pretty little piece of razor-sharp heaven to good use. He smirked to himself, the sword too.

After a fair amount of hefting and commentary the sword was handed back. He could see her moving in. He smiled. She wasn't sure he could use it and was going to try and keep the fact that he couldn't from becoming common knowledge. He got it now. This was just a show for her friend so he'd seem a normal fellow with neat toys. No werewolf there. His trust in her was well placed. He stepped forward, taking the blade before she got the chance to grab it with some sorry excuse about putting it away before it drew attention or some other rubbish...though he had to admit, her lines so far had been well placed. She read people well.

He hefted the blade lightly. Very light, excellent balance. A fine and dangerous weapon. He turned it once and stood it beside him, having no scabbard, then rested lightly on the pommel and proceeded to ignore it, why should he show interest in his own weapon after all. He did look at Inanna however, whose eyes were positively glowing. Apparently she approved. 

"So," he asked. "should we be worried about them? Is it safe to stay here? I wouldn't want Inanna to be in harm's way because they've mistaken me for some sort of mythical creature." The guards wholly approved of that sentiment. Ferric knew they would. He could read people to. 

"We'll post a guard in the area, keep them out of the waterfront till this can get cleared up. Course, like I said, I know you Ina, so if you go sneaking off when no one's looking, none'll be surprised. You like watching your own back, I know."

"Like, perhaps if there were some kind of distraction and I took advantage of it?"

"Sure it could happen...like say...an hour?"

"That would be convenient."

"Stranger things have happened."

Feric looked back between the two and resisted the urge to smile. He wondered how many times he'd done this for her. Who had he gotten involved with? Necromancers, and now Vampires? Remarkable creature. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02



An hour and a half later they were over the bridge and on their way towards Cheydinhal. Maximus had lent her his horse to give her a head start, with the promise that she'd leave it with one of his friends at Roxy's Inn. It was big with the Imperial legion. 

Feric didn't seem any more comfortable on a horse than she did, so she was glad to be rid of it when they arrived at the Inn. Maybe she'd forget about horses after all. It did cut down on time though, and gave them a lead on the hunters. 

They couldn't have followed to know where they were going anyway. They were too busy being arrested for possession of skooma. That's why you never fought the guards. They knew how to fight dirty. She chuckled darkly in her head and watched the man moving cautiously through the brush ahead of her.

They'd decided to stick to the bush, and didn't cut onto a road until they were near Lake Atrius, nearly a quarter of a province and a day's trek away from the Imperial city. The first moon was slowly making its way to the sky's apex, casting its dim glow between the leaves in little gray shafts of light. She wondered how his night vision was...from what she could tell it was pretty darn good. Did he see in color? There was an interesting question.

It wasn't far from there to their final destination, a little know ruin just east of Fanacasecul. She didn't even think it had a name anymore. Of course, she'd been there before. That was where she'd wrecked her ankle killing necromancers. She'd healed of course, but she knew that one hallway would forever give her the creeps. Apparently, he had mentioned, they'd cleared it out after she left, but no one goes down there much. The smell of some things just lingers.

She was a little surprised he was taking her with him. He'd explained on the way what they'd been dealing with, and how for the last fifty or so years they'd been hunted and picked off one by one, for reasons none knew. They'd become reclusive and distrusting and spent their lives on the run. They'd been slowly been making their way across the continent trying to outpace their pursuers and were rapidly running out of continent. Such a terrible way to live. It bothered her that after explaining how they trusted no one that there she was on her way there. Again.

She was surprised he hadn't killed her, and said so. He chuckled and agreed, which in hindsight seemed a little ominous.

"Feric?" 

"Hm?"

"Tell me again why I'm not dead yet?"

He chuckled. "Are you conceding that I could take you out in a fight?" She giggled back.

"Not hardly, just wondering why you haven't tried."

He shrugged. "I got the feeling I didn't have to."

"That it?"

He made a waffling motion with his hand. "I suppose we also might need to start relying on someone outside who knew the area. We're like blind rats in a maze here. We've not done ourselves any favors by being so cut off."

"Ah, a means to an end...that I understand." He gave her a dark look over his shoulder. 

"I wouldn't call you that."

"Wouldn't you? I would. I'm an effective tool. I don't mind being put to use, it's what I do for a living after all, what I've always done, and I'm good at it." He was still frowning at her. She grinned back.

"I'll even do it for you for free...because I like you. You know, I'm glad we ran into each other again, I was starting to miss you...though it might be a bad sign that someone always ends up dead when we do get together like this. Now turn around and pay attention, there's undead ahead." 

He shook his head at her and turned back with a barely suppressed smile. The undead were just a couple stray skeletal guardians who'd wandered too far from home. She had to admire the way he handled his new sword, she wouldn't have guessed he could, seeing as he was usually all about the tooth and claw...literally. It took all of a minute before they were on their way again. 

"I do you know." She said after a bit.

"What's that?"

"Like you." She was walking beside him her hands folded behind her back and giving him a sly sideways glance. He stared straight ahead. She leaned in a little. 

"You're supposed to say, I like you too." she whispered conspiratorially. His mouth twitched.

"I like you too."

"REALLY? That means so much. What a sweet fellow you are." He let out a low warm laugh that made her hair stand on end and her stomach melt into her boots. She could really get used to that. She shook her head. What was she thinking...'I know what you're thinking you crazy hormonal woman, you're wondering what a lion-Dunmer cross would look like'. She laughed at herself. Well that's life. You take what you can get. Apparently she can get a part time were-lion. Good for a once a month romp of sex and violence. Really, a lot of people back home would consider that a perfect relationship.

They still didn't get a chance to finish though she groused to herself. Ah! Maybe that's why he's taking her home. One can only hope.

"You look like you ate the canary." He muttered looking over at her.

"How about you eat the canary pussy cat...and I'll play the canary" 

She looked at him and his eyes went wide. So did hers and she covered her mouth with her hand, choking on a laugh. She must be getting tired, that had been a private thought.

"I completely just said that out loud, didn't I?" He nodded and coughed back his own laugh.

"Pussy cat?"

She fell into a fit of exhaustion induced giggles. "I'm sorry Serjo, I meant it in the most intimidating, manly way possible." He grinned at her and shook his head. 

"What does that mean, Serjo? And..what is it? Muthsera?"

She smiled. "They're Dunmeri titles. Muthsera, or Sera for short, means sir... or madam. It's really only a title of respect. You say it to people you like, or are afraid of, or want something from. Serjo means...hrm, lord...I suppose. That's what you'd call the leader of your group, if you didn't think you could take him that is." She grinned. "It's merely a title of respect as well. I might call my Ashcan Serjo. Or the wise woman. I called my father that when I really wanted something, of course he was too smart to fall for flattery, but it amused him."

"Ashcan?"

"Our leader, the head of the clan. It's a position of high honor not least because the one who fills it is expected to be able to keep it. We're within our rights to challenge him, but we better be damn sure we can back up our mouths with our fists. Of course a good leader listens to his people and it doesn't usually come to that. That's what the wise women are there for as well, to bring balance to the authority of the clan leadership." He frowned at her.

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That I was our alph- or...rather...leader" A slow smile spread across her face. 

"I didn't Serjo. Though that does explain some things."

"Then why would you call me that?"

"Like I said, I like you." She winked at him and walked on ahead, letting her hips sway a little more than usual. Knowing his eyes would follow.

Feric watched mesmerized by the hypnotic movement of her swaying body as she moved ahead. He shook his head, tearing his eyes away. He couldn't do this. It was bad enough already with what happened in the city. He needed to just stop. That's it, no more, it was over. He wasn't going to do even so much as shake her hand.

But he still needed her. They needed her. He didn't want to think he was using her or that she was a tool of some kind, like she'd said.

He cared about her. He couldn't help that now, in the back of his mind she Was his mate even if she couldn't be in reality. Even if he hadn't done what he did, she was now the closest thing he'd had to a friend outside the tribe since he was a cub. Before all this happened, and everything fell apart. He sighed and followed sullenly after her.

They were, or rather she, was greeted by a low growl up ahead. He couldn't see who it was, but he'd recognize that sound anywhere. 

He laughed despite himself when Inanna threw her arms open and cried "Blue! Did you miss me? I missed you." Mirisa came out of the brush as he caught up and she gave him a dark look. 

"Cool it Mirisa. We're here...on business." If she were in a human form she would have smirked...he could tell. He was serious however. 

"It's getting worse. Get everyone together in the main room, we need to talk."

**

Inanna sat perched on an old Ayleid cask and looked around. She was in a smaller hall, with nothing in the way of furnishings. Necessarily of course. They'd come here only with what they could carry and no money or way of providing for themselves without drawing attention, hence, he'd explained on the way, why they needed her. It was nice to be feel needed.

Then again not everyone felt that way. Speaking of which, Mirisa, who was now an attractive and well built blond woman, was standing off to the side with a younger but also well built dark haired man. They both wore robes, which made sense considering they were easier to take off in a hurry. Neither of them payed her much attention, except for the occasional suspicious glance, so she felt free to let her mind and eyes wander. There wasn't much to see however. Ayleid ruins were pretty stark, just pale, luminescent walls and columns lit with the blue glow of strategically placed crystals whose enchantments had long outlived the civilization that had created them. It was pretty, in an eerie, depressing sort of way. 

Feric returned after not too long, having changed into new clothes, and was escorted by a man and woman. The woman bore a striking resemblance to Feric and she wondered if she was a sister or cousin. The man was fair haired like Mirisa. The two were clearly a couple as they kept brushing against each other as they walked. Well, that's sweet, she thought without the slightest hint of sarcasm. It really was. It was always nice to see a pairing born of mutual respect and desire. That must be the mated pair Feric had mentioned. All of them had the higher, not quite angular Bretonish facial features and strong looking Nord-like bodies. It must be a racial quality. By no means unappealing either. 

Feric introduced her and explained that she was going to serve as a contact for them in the cities until they could find a way to get their feet under them. He then proceeded to explain how he'd been ambushed while leading another group away. Apparently they were beginning to catch on. He'd managed to take out five but the numbers were stacked against him, and he'd tried to escape but was trapped in towards the ruins. She remembered him scratching a nine in the sand. 

"Fourteen?" She asked softly from her perch behind him, he looked over at her and nodded. The others looked at her to. 

"And how many did you get?" It was Mirisa who asked, looking snide as always. Inanna decided not to rise to the challenge. She had a feeling there was going to be plenty of that later if they still wanted her around. The look Mirisa gave her was territorial in the extreme. She wondered if it was over the place or the man. She shrugged in a non-committal fashion.

"I killed one." It had been a good shot, she'd seen him go down. It would have taken quite the healer to bring him back from that. "I didn't bother waiting to see the effects of the other shots...I had more important things to worry about. Though they made enough noise to sound like they were only wounded...so if you're looking for an exact body count, I hazard it was only one."

She said nothing in response and turned back to Feric. Inanna looked back as well and caught the other woman, Bellane she was called, still looking at her when everyone else had turned their gaze. Inanna gave her a little smile, which she returned before they both turned their attention to the boss man as he described their flight across the lake and into the city and how she convinced the guards to help them escape afterward. She managed to keep her expression neutral as he very elegantly skipped over the exact technique used to convince them he was just a friend having a visit and that the hunters must be crazy. She almost sniggered though when he described her methods as...effective.

She didn't of course, she had a better game face than that, even wired, hungry, hormonal and looking for blood. However, if Mirisa didn't stop giving her that look she might just wipe it off for her. 

'Easy girl, that's just the fire talking.' She admonished. She still hadn't gotten to finish with Feric, and she was, frankly, exhausted and cranky. Someone was going to have to pay for that. Maybe she'd just march back to the city now that Feric was safe and take it out on those hunters. It was their fault after all. Fetchers.

"Inanna?" She blinked and looked up towards the voice. They were all looking at her.

"Yes?"

"I was just asking if you wouldn't mind.." his hand drifted as if to signify the room. She caught his meaning.

"Waiting here while you go talk about me in another room? Not in the slightest." She smiled mildly. He nodded and gestured to the others to leave. He followed, though not before casting one last look back towards her, giving her a nod. She wasn't sure what it signified and she was too tired to figure it out, so she just nodded back. When they left she scooted back on the chest and leaned back against the wall and stretched her legs out before her. She had grabbed a cowled cloak before they left so she pulled the hood up and down low on her forehead. She crossed her arms and ankles and closed her eyes. It wasn't as good as real sleep, but it felt restful enough until she could finally let herself pass out.

No sooner had she settled back however, she heard a soft twitter coming from the door. She smiled under her hood but stayed completely still. The twitter was hushed and she heard the light rustle of material coming toward her. From under her hood she saw a small pair of feet come to a stop in front of her and an equally small hand reaching out gingerly to touch her long obsidian bow which leaned against the wall next to her. She waited until his fingers reached the bow and lingered just long enough to feel the vibrations of the enchantment running through it. Long enough to be distracted by it and forget the dark hooded figure...if just for that fraction of a second. She snapped her arm out from under her cloak capturing his wrist and making him leap with a startled cry. She swore if she hadn't been holding him in place her probably would have gone through the roof. 

She chuckled lowly, she couldn't help it, and lifted her head. 

She knew what she must look like with two red eyes gleaming in the darkness of her hood, it could be intimidating to those who weren't used to it. The boy couldn't be more than seven and had a disheveled mop of wheat colored hair. He stared up at her wide eyed, but with more curiosity than fear.

"tch, tch." She clicked with her tongue, "You have to learn to be sneakier than that my fearless one." She released his hand and flicked her eyes behind to see no less than four more children clumped in the door way. He blinked at her a few times then grinned cheekily, apparently pleased with the title. He thrust his hand out. 

"I'm Talon" he said with an even bigger smile. 

"That's a dangerous sounding name Talon. Do you live up to it?" she leaned forward slowly, pulling her hood back. He nodded vigorously as she shook his hand back.

"I haven't lost a rabbit once this year, and I pinned Ambrose." 

"I let you." Grumbled a voice from across the room. That must be Ambrose. He looked a couple of years older. She beckoned the group over. There were two very little ones who bolted over, only to find themselves timid once they were close. 

"That's Sonja and Serus." Talon offered, and motioned to the older children who were walking more cautiously toward them. "That's Ambrose and Mori" The lot shied away a moment shuffling nervously, then were simply overcome by their curiosity.

"What are you?" the two smallest chirped in unison.

"What's your name?" Talon asked before she could answer. 

She held up a hand as all five opened up into a torrent of questions. She laughed. "One at a time please. To answer your question," she gestured to the little ones, "I'm Dunmer. Have you seen Elvish people before?" They all shook their heads. "Well most look like me, but they're a different color, paler. Only we Dunmer are dark. Some call us dark elves." She smiled toothily at Talon. "And my name is Inanna."

She proceeded to answer their questions, which were many since they'd never heard of Morrowind, and had only ever heard of Mer, never seen one. She also explained in a limited way why she was there, not sure how much Feric wanted them to know about the hunters. Ambrose nodded thoughtfully when she explained that she was there to help out and potentially act as a go between. He looked like more of a thinker than a fighter. He also had a strong magica aura about him. He'd be great mages guild material if they ever managed to get integrated into Cyrodiil in any proper fashion, she thought, eying him thoughtfully.

"The hunters are getting worse. We need to find help, it's too much to keep running like this." He sighed. See, smart kid. 

"I leave you for all of five minutes and look at you. Leave her alone already, she's probably tired." Inanna looked up to find a pretty fair haired girl with what looked like a nice size chunk of something roasted and a chunk of bread in a cracked bowl.

'Ah, my hero.' She thought as her stomach reacted to the smell of food. 

"Shoo, you lot. Talon can you take the twins back to our room?" Talon pouted. Inanna saw another figure slip into the room: young, lean, and male, but he kept to the shadows and just watched. Sneaky boy. She pretended not to notice.

"Ahhhh, why do I gotta watch them?" he complained even as he vacated the seat he'd taken next to her on the stone box. Mori made a face at him, which the new girl, who must have been somewhere in her mid to late teens, noticed. 

"And you can go make sure he does it Mori." The girl made another less pleased face and grudgingly nodded. 'Well, we all know who's in charge here.' Ambrose seemed content to follow along without orders nodding politely to Inanna before leaving. He even has good manners, the mages would eat him up...in a good way of course... the other good way. 'Mind out of the gutter Mer.' 

Was she ever going to do some nasty things to those fetching hunters.

The cute little blond shook her out of her reverie. "Sorry. They...we don't see many strangers."

Inanna shrugged. "It's fine. I don't mind." The girl gave her a weak smile and just sort of stared at her for a bit, then blinked and looked down at the bowl, as if suddenly remembering why she'd come there in the first place.

"Ah, sorry, here." She held out the bowl. "They said you might be hungry."

"Thank you." She replied with a nod, accepting the food. "I'm Inanna by the way."

"Aina." 

Inanna gestured to the space next to her recently vacated by Talon. "Have a seat Aina. Talon kept it warm for you." 

Aina looked at the spot a little askance, weary of the stranger. She was old enough to be suspicious. Good on her.

Eventually she complied and settled herself in neatly, watching Inanna politely out of the corner of her eye. Inanna watched as the shadow at the back of the room seemed to move suddenly when the girl sat. 'Looks like the shadow belongs to someone.'

"Don't worry Shadow," she said, looking up over the top of the bowl, "I don't bite. Why don't you join us?" She saw Aina look with mild surprise over to where Inanna was looking. The boy...or rather 'young man' as he was clearly a couple of years older than Aina though not much older, stepped out of the shadows and looked her over with a healthy mix of distrust and calculated appraisal. She liked him already. He was like Mirisa, but without all that hot temper crap. He was going to be smart, fast, and deadly. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 02



He'd make a great Dunmer, he already had the jet black hair, she noticed idly. He wasn't as fair as most of the rest, no doubt one of the group who'd been adopted by the tribe. He had dark brown eyes, near black, and tanned skin. With Aina's blond hair and blue eyes, he even looked the part of her shadow. He approached and came to hover a few feet away, nodding politely.

"This is Lucas." Aina pipped in after neither of them offered to do more than stare each other down. "Lucas, this is Inanna." Inanna inclined her head, though she was certain Lucas already knew that.

"How do you do Sera?" She murmured politely. "I'd offer you a seat as well, but furniture appears to be at a premium." She glanced around the empty room.

He stiffened visibly. "We can only keep what we can carry." He said tightly.

"I know." She said softly. He didn't seem to know how to answer that, so he just shifted and glanced towards Aina, who cleared her throat.

"So...so you will be helping us then?" She asked carefully, tipping her head towards Inanna. Her eyes were light blue, but there was something about the shape of them that looked rather familiar. This must be the daughter he spoke of. Inanna nodded. 

"However I can, if you want me to."

"Why?" Lucas's voice was still strained. She met his narrowed gaze, her face twisting into a sardonic grin.

"Why not?"

"It...it ah, does seem rather strange that you should put yourself out for complete strangers." Aina offered more diplomatically.

'Definitely the daughter of...what? Alpha he was going to say? Yes, the Alpha's daughter. A leader in training.' 

"Well...I consider your father a friend, not a stranger. So it's not so extraordinary."

Aina blinked at that. "Friend? Didn't you just meet?" 

Inanna shook her head and smiled. "No, we met over a handful of mutual enemies a few months ago and ran into one another a few times since. I was here before, clearing the cellar, as it were...you didn't know that?"

The girl frowned; obviously displeased that something had slipped by her. Lucas looked equally put out. 'Such a difficult age,' she thought, keeping her smile of amusement to herself. But then she considered anyone under thirty to be too young for her. Most of her own people would still consider her young and impetuous, and she was rapidly approaching her first century.

"I wouldn't worry about it." She offered. "He probably didn't want to mention it until he was a little more sure of me himself." It sounded like a reasonable explanation to her. She wondered if he'd told anyone about that first encounter. She assumed Mirisa might know since, as Feric had explained, she was his second. She could only guess that he hadn't mentioned the one at the lake. Aina nodded politely and promptly changed the subject.

Aina told her a little more about their people as she finished her food, though she remained careful and politic in what she said, so she told her very little more than what Feric had already explained during the trip back. Lucas remained silent, but hovered nearby at Aina's shoulder. She thanked Aina who gave her a sweet but tired smile. 

It broke Inanna's heart to see such a young person having to worry like these two obviously did. They should be out on the hunt, wild and fearless, not hiding timidly in these pitiful ruins waiting and worrying like old women. The two excused themselves and left, Aina clearly distracted, and Lucas casting a few more covert glances at Inanna before they vanished.

She wasn't alone too much longer as Feric returned not long after his daughter and her protector had left. He returned alone. She was tired and getting a little edgy, but he was a surprisingly welcome sight and she felt her spirits lighten. She smiled and stood, stretching her arms over her head and listening with satisfaction as the bones of her spine popped and cracked themselves into a more comfortable position.

He winced.

"You ok? You look as tired as I feel."

Her smiled deepened and she sauntered towards him, laying a hand on his chest and looking up into his eyes. 

"Not too tired." She purred. She may have been ready to drop a minute ago, but there was something about this particular man that had her blood pumping. Even hormones didn't explain her intense urge to wrap her legs around him and pin him to the nearest wall. It was like some strange alchemy or enchantment, but her other senses could detect nothing like that. Maybe he was just that good.

Feric held his breath and tried to ignore the hand on his chest and the scorching look in her eyes that screamed 'take me now.' A good portion of him was delighted by the prospect and warmed by the memory of her sleek frame writhing under him, but a tiny sliver was ringing the warning bells and telling him to get as far from her as he could. Whatever remained of his tired mind was howling madly and demanding he take her and crush her body with his so he could sink his teeth back into that delicious flesh.  

He very carefully reached up and removed her hand and took a step back needing desperately to get space between them.

"We, ah..probably shouldn't..." he muttered, and glanced towards the door, thinking he heard something and feeling on edge. She frowned at him. He felt like an asshole as he watched her usual expression of amused confidence slip for a brief second in confusion before she recovered her easy humor and shrugged. He had started this after all, but he knew if he continued he wouldn't be able to walk away as casually as she would once she decided she'd had enough.

"Sure. You're the boss." She turned away and went back to grab her things. She looked back and smirked at him, "Let me know if you change your mind. I promise I won't tattle." She winked as she passed him.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got a place a few hours from here." He shook his head.

"Don't go tonight. We haven't got much, but there's plenty of space. We have sleeping mats, so you can get at least a couple hours sleep first. You won't be as sharp if you go out there this tired." He watched her pause to consider it, fighting down his own conflict, and quashing his less reasonable desires to see her stay, the ones that weren't particularly interested in making sure she got sleep that night. 

Eventually she nodded.

"Yeah, alright, I might as well. Where do you want me?" She hadn't put anything suggestive in her tone or words, but he still couldn't help but think of exactly where he wanted her. He clenched his jaw then cleared his throat.

"Well, if you follow me I'm sure we can find something. 

She followed him through the maze of halls she'd seen at a passing glance the last time she was there and he took her to a smaller ante chamber. There was a fire pit set up and a couple of bed rolls laid out beside it.

"No one's using the room, so you get it to yourself." He gestured to the room. "Like I said it's not much, but you can get a few hours sleep at least. Feel free to stay as long as you need to." She nodded. 

"So they're ok with me then?" He nodded.

"Enough for now at least. Everyone understands the need for outside help right now, but it's still unnerving."

"For you?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head. "No." His mouth quirked. "I probably shouldn't admit it, but I trust you." Again she was touched. Where she came from trust was an important thing, perhaps the most important, and it was never given easily or lightly. She smiled faintly. But then she trusted him too didn't she? She'd not thought about it, but now, looking at him contemplatively, she knew implicitly that she did. His smirked widened, though there was a certain self-conscious quality to it, it looked a touch forced.

"This is where you say you trust me too." he whispered to her, and she laughed breaking the slight tension that had been created by his admission.

"I trust you too." She answered still laughing. He smiled, his eyes glittering and for a moment it looked like he wanted to say something else. He paused however and his smile faded. He only nodded and looked down, breaking her gaze.

"Well, I should be letting you get some rest then. Sleep well." He nodded to her again, barely making eye contact before turning and leaving the room rather hastily. Hastily in her opinion anyway. She let her mild smile slip off when he left, it was making her face ache. 

She growled low in her throat. She was used to getting what she wanted, and she couldn't think of anything she wanted more right at that moment than the man who'd just walked out the door. A tiny voice questioned the force of that desire, but most of her just wanted to hurt something. She lay down and stretched out on the bed roll and closed her eyes, her mind slipping into sleep with thoughts of all the clever methods she planned on using to eliminate the competition, starting with the hunters. 

She slept deeply and dreamt of spiders in the darkness. It was a good omen.



Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



Hi there! I was hoping to get a teeny bit farther along in the plot before posting, but I thought, 'heck, I'll just post it when it's done.' Thanks for your patience and kind comments. 

love and mush, enithermon.

*****

Inanna held the wax bar over the single wavering candle flame and watched the thick red tip begin to warp. She caught the single drip in her hand, saving the smooth finish of the desk, and pressed the melting bar to her neatly folded letter. It had been a week since she had returned Feric to his people, and she'd heard little from him since except for brief greetings in passing. They'd thankfully heard little from the hunters as well. It was, however, only a matter of time. 

From what they'd told her, it wasn't the hunters who were the threat, and she agreed. They were just appendages. This would be like fighting a draugh. Why spend hours hacking at tentacles when one well placed hit in the jugular would accomplish the same in a much shorter time? She should know. She'd spent one very long afternoon tangled up with one, literally, just a month after her fiftieth. It had been a hell of a way to commemorate it. Inanna leaned back in her chair and chuckled. She couldn't understand the language it had hissed at her...but she got the gist of what he 'meant' to say, she was sure, just as he probably caught the meaning of everything she'd gurgled back. Gurgled, because they were underwater...and he was trying valiantly to choke her to death with one of his five remaining tentacles. Her lips twisted up in fond remembrance. 

She was no church follower, indeed like most of her people, she felt the worship of the tribunal was a sacrilege, but that hadn't stopped her from attempting the pilgrimage, not least of all because someone suggested she couldn't do it. Of course a Morrowind Pilgrimage, is not a Cyrodilic one. 

Here they merely tramp around the idyllic country side and bless themselves at quaint little alters before moving on. Conversely, to fully complete the pilgrimage of the seven graces, one is required to wade through muck, fight draugh warlords, drown oneself, and then go traipsing into the Ghostgate to visit with corpus stalkers and ash zombies and the gods know what else. She'd even made the pilgrimage to Gnisis temple. There you fight a Dremora guard as he describes-- with all the growling, hissing, charm of a denizen of the darkest realms of Oblivion--all of the horrifying and downright kinky things he's going to do to your skull once he's severed it from the rest of you. Luckily she'd finished the fight before he could move on to other body parts, though not before she discovered that Dremora have absolutely no problem with necrophilia. Gross. No one needed those images in their head...attached or not.

Drowning herself had been the biggest challenge. The will to live is a hard thing to fight. Then again the corpus stalkers were no picnic, those are almost as bad as zombies...almost... she shuddered slightly and replaced the quickly cooling sealing wax in its little shelf. 

She loved this desk, it wasn't as nice as the one the vampires had gotten their clever undead hands on, but the wood was rich and dark and the faces of the many drawers carved out handsomely with fine little abstracts. She admired it a little, letting its beauty push out all the weird nasty thoughts that had somehow snuck into her head. She blew on the wax seal to cool it faster and waved the folded sheet in the air before tossing it in a drawer and standing to stretch. She'd been giving it some thought over the last week, while she'd been slipping supplies to Feric's people a little at a time, not wanting her actions to be obvious to anyone who was interested. Of course, who exactly might be interested was precisely what was first and foremost on her mind. 

Who, why, and where, and more or less in that order. The 'how' would be ascertained once she knew what she was dealing with. She'd asked, but no one had any answers as to why they were being hunted, only that they were. Whoever it was had others do their dirty work, and it was dangerous work, so they were probably wealthy. Feric had been personally ensuring that the fatality rate was incredibly high among those who took the job.

She shuddered again at the thought, though this time for an entirely different, and more pleasant, reason. She gritted her teeth and forced herself, only half successfully, back to the topic at hand. 

She tapped the banister thoughtfully as she made her way upstairs. The expenditure on disposable mercenaries also indicated that this probably wasn't personal, unless the person was completely mad. That was possible, but her initial guess was that it was motivated by compensation of some sort. This was a dangerous and long term hunt, so the motivation must be a powerful one.

And what was the most powerful motivator? Power, obviously. There's a reason all roads lead to the imperial city. 

They'd been chased and hounded for over fifty years...that also indicated either more than one person, an organization of some kind perhaps, or a very wealthy, very dedicated Mer, because no human she knew could keep that up this long, not all on their lonesome. 

Feric had also informed her that the bodies always disappeared, and were never left behind. This told her that the bodies were important rather than just eliminating the people. They could, after all, take a token from the body, rather than drag the whole thing back to their employer if it was for the purpose of proof. Of course who would be interested in bodies...besides necromancers. 

Oh hell, please don't be more of those, she groused. Thoughts of giant shape shifting zombie lions sprung unbidden to her mind and she got a rather nasty taste in her mouth. The memory of the dead imperial on the alter sprung up as well, his face morphing into another more familiar one...she forced the image away before it could fully form. She wasn't going there.

She grabbed an apple from the little nook of a kitchen and crossed into her room. She held the fruit in her teeth as she stripped, and threw herself down on the wide, soft, bed and chewed thoughtfully. Well, regardless of whether it was a rich Mer, or a society of some kind, she knew just the person for the job of getting the inside information for her once she'd tracked them down. She'd written three letters. One to Max, asking him to meet her at the Roxy in two weeks, one to her mother and father, because she was, if nothing else, a good daughter after all, and one addressed to a Tel on the far side of Morrowind. 

The contents of the third read only this: Sister, I need you. Cheydinhal. Always, The Velothi.  

Three threads, and tomorrow she'd send them shuttling across Tamriel. In the mean time she needed to rest and think. She had asked Feric to come along on the next hunt, or rather the next game of hide and seek with the hunters. Mirisa had been there, and balked slightly, but had the good sense to not complain out loud. 

She'd been back and forth several times so far. Cyrus and Bellane, the mated couple were always pleasant, and although Mirisa was also generally polite, she watched her with all the good will of an assassin sizing up their mark. 

She was also put off by the fact that, although he was friendly enough and appreciative of her help, Feric seemed to be keeping his distance. She guessed it was for form's sake in front of his tribe...pack...pride, whatever. Perhaps they had a taboo against messing about with outsiders. She'd have to ask, because seeing him so often and not getting to do anything about it was making her edgy.

She still hadn't taken her frustration out on anyone yet, as she was still trying to hold out for when she finally got that big cat alone, but more and more she was wondering when that was going to happen. She'd even had a few offers from a couple of rather well built fellow adventurers, but something in her told her to turn them down. She followed that voice, like she always did, but it left her pretty tightly wound. She almost started a fight with an Orc in Newlands lodge just two nights ago after he made inappropriate comments about her physiology. 

Normally such comments would pass without notice, or occasionally even encouraged, but she was looking for an excuse. Sooner or later she'd find one. 

The memory gave her another chuckle. Dervera, a fellow Dunmer and the charming proprietor of Newlands lodge, and Borba a local outfitter had seen the look in her eye before the other Orcs had and had turned her around and marched her straight out the door, one at each arm. Borba warned her about messing with the Orum gang, and Dervera about the danger of catching the attention of the city guard, but she didn't care, she just wanted to sink her fist into someone's face. Eventually they'd convinced her to go for a run instead. It had taken the edge off but it wasn't the same. 

She sighed. She was really starting to look forward to this hunt. But good lord...nearly a week, she didn't know if she could wait that long.

She wanted to get one of those hunters alive so she could get some answers. They wouldn't know much, but one had to start at the bottom and work their way up. She would also need to start collecting useful toys. She'd examined, or had appraised, a number of useful items taken from the vampires, and had begun stock piling numerous potions and scrolls which would come in handy. There were a few items she didn't have that she suspected by the end she'd need, but it was going to cost. She tossed the core of her apple in a waste basket by the dresser and closed her eyes. 

Screw it, she hadn't really wanted a horse anyway.

**

"Tell me Shadow, can you use a bow?"

Lucas started and whipped around from his post over the ruin's entrance. She'd come to recognize him even from a distance by his dark undercoat. Despite having a slimmer build in his humanoid form, his cat form was equal to Owyns in size, though perhaps not in muscular density. He growled half-heartedly and resumed his post, looking daggers at her. She only grinned back. She'd been playing this game with him every time she returned. The first time she had to dodge a startled attack, now she just got dirty looks. 

"Well?"

He huffed, and she watched fascinated as the crouching lion transformed into a naked young man in a matter of seconds. There was some sort of magic involved with the change, she could feel it if she touched it with her will, but it was subtle and deeply innate, as natural as the summoning of an ancestor guardian is to a Dunmer. You just want it enough, and it happens. She had a vague memory of being soothed to sleep as a very small child by a guardian she'd accidentally summoned when waking from a nightmare, Great Uncle Assurban, if memory served. She suspected this transformation was similar.

"Why would I use a bow?"

"To thin and weaken your enemies from a distance before you meet them in battle." she intoned with a dramatic wave of her hand.

She sat down next to him at his post and looked out to watch the woods as well, her grin gone. He gave her a sidelong glance.

"Is it not more honorable to simply face them head on?"

His voice indicated that it was neither a question nor a statement. Rather it sounded like an empty quote. She knew he still found her suspect, but he'd relaxed enough around her to carry on a conversation. She found she enjoyed them immensely in the brief moments she found to speak with him. He may not be as tactful as Aina, but he was capable of subtlety when he was calm.

"Oh, I don't think you think that."

He said nothing.

"I would like to teach you." She continued, still looking out over the stonework ledge, her hands folded placidly in her lap. "I brought you one of my spares. I'll leave it inside. If you're interested meet me back up here after the hunt." She glanced over to him to find him frowning at her in confusion.

"Why?"

"Oh, that is your favorite word, now isn't it?" She gave him a small smile. 

"Shall I play Nocturnal to your inquisitive Hermaeus Mora, and tell you that some mysteries run too deep?" 

His frown deepened.

"What is hermes mora?"

She opened her mouth to correct his pronunciation and explain, then changed her mind and waved the question away. This was no time to start explaining the mysteries of the Daedric Princes, especially those of secrets and knowledge.

"That's too big a question, and Ambrose will want to hear the answer as well, so it will wait." He sighed.

"Dare I ask what he has to do with it?" She chuckled.

"Oh I think that will become apparent on its own...eventually." She twisted her lips into a smirk. "Alright, straight up, I think you'd be good at it, you have a natural predilection towards stealth, though you need to watch your back a little better," she paused to give him a teasing wink, "and it can't hurt to learn."

He shook his head. 

"I've learned to use the weapons I've been given."

"And well you should, and to their most effective at that. But there are many things to learn and many of them useful. Don't you want another tool to use in protecting what's yours?"

He looked at her again. 

"We do need everything we can get." He admitted, also giving her a stern look with his dark eyes. She had a feeling he was inferring that this was the reason for her continued existence, and chuckled again.

"Want and need are two different things my love." 

He blinked once and looked back out towards the tree line, which was waving softly against the clear morning sky. The movement was hypnotic. She watched his expression turn distant. He let out a long sigh.

"Sometimes they're the same."

His melancholy subdued her. The day was going to be beautiful, and the warm golden sun played through the young spring leaves, sparkling gaily at the two dark figures crouching in the shadow of the bright stones. 'Tell me about it,' she thought morosely, and let out her own long sigh. 

She turned back to her companion...but he'd already returned to his feline form and was slinking off towards the tree line. She pulled her braid over her shoulder and toyed idly with the tip, dragging it thoughtfully over her lips, contemplating where the line was between 'want' and 'need,' and when the hell she'd crossed it. More than once she'd almost taken someone for a tumble...in either senses of the word, but she knew it wasn't going to do her any good: as sure as she knew the sun rose in the day and the moons at night.

Somewhere out among the softly waving trees a low and soft sound came to her, a low howling groan. Too low to be a wolf or troll, so her hunter's ears told her, and too high to be an ogre. She closed her eyes and in the mirror of her mind she constructed the shape of the chest that could make such a sound, the distance, the direction, and smiled. Minotaur...and she'd bet her bow on it. The sound came again. There was something mournful in it that sat out of sorts with the warm sun that still danced in red flecks through her eyelids. For a moment the red lights became the red blighted winds, her darkened lids, the bleak ash filled sky, and the sound that reached her ears was the distance moan of the silt striders as they swayed blindly on slender legs...

"You look deep in thought"

Inanna almost bit her tongue in her effort not to start at the sound of the low voice behind her. Now she knew how Lucas felt. God damned sneaky bloody cat. She leaned back and tossed her braid over her shoulder, her gaze following. He looked great. He always looked great. And what was that sensation inside her...butterflies? What, was she twenty all over again? To the sixteen hells with THAT noise. Fetcher.

"Oh, not really. Just listening to you while you thought you were sneaking up on me." She lied through her broadly grinning teeth. She fluttered her lashes and bounced lightly to her feet, propping her fists on her hips. "We ready?" He gave her a mild smile and cocked a brow at her. 

"Not unless you have some clever plan you want to voice first." She cocked a brow right back at him.

"No sir. Just leave me one alive."

"Why's that?"

She turned her smile into a treacherous grin and wriggled her shoulders. 

"In-for-ma-tion." He nodded, and gave his head a half-shake. It was his standard response to most of the things that came out of her mouth these days.

"I'll try to restrain myself." She chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder as she walked past him.

"Don't try too hard. You're more fun when you don't." She winked at him over her shoulder and hopped down over the ledge, landing next to the door below. She turned towards it as it opened, revealing Owyn and her favorite blond haired, blue eyed pain in the ass. 

"Mirisa, Owyn." She nodded politely, and they inclined their heads politely back. Mirisa looked past her toward Feric.

"Are we ready then?" 

"As we'll ever be." He muttered dryly.

Inanna turned towards the sound of his voice, thinking of something smarmy and delightful to say. Except he had removed his clothes and she was treated to an unimpeded full and frontal view, and, consequently, her intentions were dashed suddenly and brutally against the rock hard sculpture of a man before her. All she could do was look busy putting on her gloves as she swallowed the shattered remains of her last coherent thought. She gave her glove an irritated tug. These were some hormones. How long was fertility supposed to last? 

Mirisa, thankfully, came to her rescue.

"Are you sure you can keep up? I'd hate to have you fall behind." The challenge sang out to her inner bitch and repaired her mazed thoughts. She narrowed her eyes and curved her lips into the picture of sweetness. 

"You're such a darling to be so concerned. Isn't she the sweetest thing? I mean really!" she cooed turning to Owyn, who was also undressing, and though also a very, very fine specimen, didn't seem to have an effect on her. Huh...fickle hormones then? She shrugged mentally, he was too young for her anyway. He tossed his robe behind a broken column and glanced at Mirisa uncertainly. 

"Like candy." Mirisa snapped irritably.

"Oooh, feisty." Inanna grinned gleefully as the woman morphed and stalked past her, growling low in her throat. Feric was now comparatively safe to look at, though giving her a look that she interpreted as a plea to behave, and she followed at a trot as the three big cats turned away and melted silently into the trees, heading in the direction Mirisa had spotted the hunters the day before. She drew her bow and relished the giddy shiver that traveled up and down her spine. 

Let the games begin.

It was easy enough for her to keep up, as accustomed as she was to running great distances when the need arose. The view was pleasant as well. It wasn't every day a girl got to watch such perfect predators in action and not be too busy fighting for her life to appreciate the spectacle. Inanna couldn't help but admire their powerful grace and the deadly silence of their movements. She'd be a liar if she said she wasn't particularly enraptured with the massive beast who led the group as he weaved his way through the dense woods. 

She was therefore a mite disappointed when the three of them suddenly broke off, Feric heading to the left and the other two to the right. She veered slightly to the left, but kept a central position, slowing to weave more carefully between the trees and tossing out unobtrusively low-level detect life spells into the surrounding brush. It wouldn't do to run into something unprepared. She heard a snarl ahead and peered through the brush. The light indicated a clearing, and if they were smart, they'd have a bowman or two set up for shots into said clearing. 

Can someone say ambush? 

She looked up, and kept moving to her left, skirting a good distance from the tree line. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



Score another one for the clever dark elf. Pink glowy thing dead-ahead. 

She cozied up to a tree trunk to get a closer look. A Bosmer from the look of it, apparently they were everywhere these days. If people weren't careful the obnoxious fetchers were going to take right over. 

They made damn good bowman though, and who else would look so comfy teetering on a branch. She didn't have the best shot, but she readied her bow anyway as she slipped from her cover. The bowman was distracted and looked like he was lining up his own shot. She sidestepped at a rapid trot to get an opening and fired. He cried out and fell from his perch as she moved in quickly, overpowering him in a quick and one-sided wrestling match. She crouched at the foot of the tree, waiting to see if anyone would investigate the mer's cry, but they seemed occupied with other things. She decided to take the Bosmer's old position to see what was what. 

Just as she had suspected; the view was spectacular. The open field was practically an arena, shut in on all sides by heavy woods. Perfect for an ambush. Could she call it or what? One of the cats had gotten lured in. She didn't doubt for a second it was the young Owyn. What a sucker. He was circling a hunter who had her sword drawn. She looked like she knew what she was doing, and wasn't giving the cat many openings. 

Inanna scanned the tree line for the glint of an arrow head, or a shifting in the trees that was neither leaves nor birds. She didn't spot another bow, but she did see something else, a prowling shadow that a first glance she thought might be one of her own party.

No. It was a hunter, definitely a hunter, but also a creature worthy of the 'sneaky kitty' title. The Khajiit vanished, only to reappear further along the clearing. He was slipping in to flank the lion. She approved of the maneuver. It took a cat to hunt a cat apparently. 

The sly devil vanished again. It was too far to throw out a life detect without sucking herself dry for a respectable chunk of her day, but she had eyes in her head, and he would have to spring his trap sooner or later. 

She readied her shot and sighted along the trajectory of the Khajiit's path. Her eyes ran over the smooth shaft. In and out he stalked, watching for his chance. She too waited patiently. In the corner of her eye a small yellowed leaf rocked past her vision and landed on her bended knee. The target paused and crouched, its body coiling tightly. Her own muscles contracted in time with the hunters, and the string of her bow reached peak tension just as the figure uncurled. The body and the arrow flew in tandem, and met in mid air, collapsing together in a roaring heap just a foot from Owyn, who jumped back, startled, and opened himself up to a blow from the swordswoman. 

Inanna hastily nocked a second arrow and sent it hurtling toward the first hunter. It didn't do much more than startle her, but this gave Owyn his chance, which he took with brutal relish. The arrow had struck her pauldron and glanced off harmlessly, but it made her flinched and step awkwardly back. The lion took the moment to take her out the quick and dirty way. A huge paw, flashing with bright claws, came down quickly, slicing over the fighters face. A terrible scream went up as she stumbled back clutching at her eyes.

Inanna fired another arrow into the Khajiit before turning her eyes back to the woods. She could hear the shouts of men and mer, as well as the occasional snarl. Owyn had finished with the woman in the glade and had, intelligently, gotten the hell out of there. Apparently he'd finally comprehended that sticking his ass out in the open wasn't the most brilliant way to keep it from getting shot full of arrows. 

But oh, what have we here? 

The Dunmer dropped from her perch into a silent crouch. Red eyes glinting, and full red lips peeled back in a chilling smile. 

Feric let out a low growl of satisfaction. Every nerve in his body was alive with adrenaline. He scented the air. The tang of blood hung heavily, but he was down wind of something else. He tasted fear, light and cloying, but close. He let out another purring growl and leapt over a fallen hunter, slipping silently into the brush. 

He caught sight of his prey a moment later. A dark skinned man. Sweat glistened on his brow as he clung with his back to a tree, his sword drawn. Feric lowered himself into a crouch, digging his hind claws into the earth. The man swung towards him, his head cocked, as if listening to phantoms. 

"Hello? I...what is that?" 

Feric listened. He could hear nothing. Was that man so terrified he was hearing things? So much the better. Now if only he'd hear something in the other direction. He coiled himself for the leap, waiting for the right moment. 

But before the man turned away and that moment could finally come, a dark blur rushed out behind him, as if materializing from the air itself.

The man arched forward, a spray of red paving his fall. 

The blur rose from the kill, lithe and serpentine, morphing into a slender female holding a still-dripping dagger. He'd never scented her, he hadn't even heard her.  

She chuckled. "A little spell goes a long way." She was still looking at the body beneath her, apparently talking to herself.

A familiar smell reached his nose and he stepped out of his cover without thinking, instinctively drawn to it.

The dark mer whirled towards him in a crouch, her lip curling into a feral expression before quickly twisting into something else. Her eyes glowed and her grin was ferocious. He felt every hair on his neck raise in silent response. 

"Did I steal your kill?" She whispered with a twinkle in her eye, going down on her hands and knees and crawling toward him, mimicking his own cautious approach. 

He answered with a low, pleased growl and couldn't resist brushing his cheek against hers when she crawled up next to him, or inhaling the heady scent of her earthy spice which blended tantalizingly with the scent of excitement and adrenaline still drifting off of her. There wasn't the slightest hint of fear. That fact filled him with pleasure and pride. The reality that he couldn't truly claim her as mate was, for this moment at least, suppressed by excitement and instinct. He knew this dangerous female and was pleased to mark her as his own. More pleased still that she let him.

She made her own low sound, something between a purr and a groan and slipped her hand up along the side of his still bloodied muzzle, rubbing her cheek decisively against his in return. Her hand slid along his face to his neck and clenched into his fur. His cock twitched in response and his claws, still extended, flexed involuntarily. 

"Well we're still not square, so don't think you're off the hook. You owe me." She whispered in a low husky voice against his ear.

The meaning of her words was lost to him, but the seductive promise held in her dark tone was most certainly not. He turned his gaze on her with a shiver when they were interrupted by a soft sounds in the brush beyond. They clearly both heard the distant rustle and snapped back to attention. 

It was too far up wind, but he knew it wasn't one of theirs...too noisy. He looked back at her and she was gazing up into the trees over head. She turned to him and grinned mischievously. 

"Think you can herd 'em over here?"

He cocked his head quizzically.

"I figure we better take one alive now, before we get carried away." She said, answering, and clearly understanding, his silent question. She jerked her head back towards the clearing in a general gesture. "It's getting pretty quite out there. I don't think we'll get another shot." Indeed, she was right, he'd not heard a single growl or shout for quite some time.

He nodded his understanding and peeled away, though not before giving her one last lingering brush as he slipped off towards the sound, earning a low chuckle in his wake.

Feric circled wide getting himself back upwind until he caught the scent he was looking for. It was moving away from the clearing, and away from Inanna's position. 

He slipped in behind the target, not having scented or heard anything else, and let out a low growl, just loud enough to be heard by the man he tracked. Feric saw him pause up ahead and turn to listen. He let out another sound and watched as the man scanned the trees then took a hesitant step forward, his short sword at the ready. 

Feric wheeled and moved back towards Inanna, brushing against a large lilac bush and glancing to see if the man caught the movement. He had, and was following. It took three more tries until the man finally decided he knew what he was seeing, and came crashing after him at a run.

Feric tore away and led him back, slowing to let him catch up and letting the human catch the occasional glimpse when it looked like he was having trouble keeping him in sight. 

'Must be getting low on real hunters' he thought sardonically. This one was certainly no tracker, and he was too bulky to move very quickly over the uneven terrain. Feric almost lost him when he bound over a fallen tree and made a hard left around a hidden cluster of boulders, leaving the hunter to scramble awkwardly over and around the same impediments only to catch his foot on a bramble of roots and take a bit of a tumble. He grinned to himself...now if it had been that scary little dark elf on his heels, he might actually have a bit of a challenge. Good thing she was on their side. Though, he considered, that might be fun to try sometime.  

He slowed up as he neared his goal, letting the clumsy oaf bear down on him. 

The man was of course startled to come across the body of his fellow hunter, still laying face down in the blood soaked dirt, but he was clearly more startled by the shout that came at him from above. The sound startled Feric as well, who had expected a silent attack like the one which had taken out the last hunter. 

He swung around to watch the scene unfold once he was sure the man had frozen in his tracks.

"Mine!" Inanna cried as the hunter came into sight, stumbling slightly when he looked down to see the Redoran on the ground. 

She flung herself from her perch and landed squarely on top of him, her foot in his big Nord chest. He went down, and his weapon went flying. 

He stumbled to his feet and Inanna danced back, a dagger in one hand and a slowly building spell in the other. It wasn't an everyday sort of spell, not for her at least, and not one she was good at casting, so she had to build it gradually, carefully, mouthing words in a barest whisper. She needed to buy a little time.

He righted himself, and his face twisted in concern when he noticed his sword was on the wrong side of the dark elf girl in front of him. However, his concern seemed short lived and he smirked at the sight of her, no doubt thinking he could break her over one knee, and made like he was going to charge forward. 

He stopped short when she grinned madly and tossed her dagger carelessly sideways into a nearby tree, where it stuck with a soft thunk. She crooked a finger at him.

"Come on big boy, now we're even; let's see what you've got."

She laughed, a giggling, half crazy sound, and cast a quick wink at Feric who was watching with a glint in his eye that she did not perceive as pleasure. He'd just have to suck it up. 

She laughed darkly in her head as the Nord hesitated, his confidence clearly waning, perhaps perceiving that either she really was crazy, or he really was in way over his head. He seemed to decide on crazy because his smirk returned. It wasn't an unreasonable supposition after all, so she didn't hold it against him. 

His eyes darkened. 

"I'm gonna break you in two you crazy bitch." Yup, he definitely went with the first hypothesis. Good for him. Better for her. 

Feric growled menacingly and fidgeted in the corner of her vision. He must not have liked that last comment. Did she mention what a gentleman he was? 

"Now, now Serjo, let's not have any of that." she said sweetly, her eyes locked with the Nord's who was circling away from the cat and toward her, "I did call this one after all." She showed her teeth. "I get to play first." 

He lunged for her, suddenly, and she danced away. She would have been stupid not to expect it. She was many things, but stupid was not one of them. She even managed to give him a light smack on the back of his head as he stumbled by. Just to get him riled up. Her life was just so much damned fun. 

"Tag, you're it." He grunted and turned on her, missing her once more. "Here, let's make this more interesting." She planted her hands on her hips and jerked her head at him. 

"If you can stay on your feet for the next thirty seconds, I'm yours, body and soul. If not....well," she grinned, "then you're mine. Come on, I'll give you the first go." She tilted her head up, as if prepared to take one on the chin.

"Say your prayers then dark elf," he muttered with a snarled. He strode the remaining steps between them and cranked back a meaty fist to clock her one. She dropped to her knees, tilting her head the very moment he had committed to the blow.  

Her own palm connected with his stomach as his fist passed impotently through the air just inches overhead. It wasn't a blow on her part, just a cool dark palm against a leather cuirass. Her eyes never left his face, and she could read the confusion there. No dark elf where his fist should be, no pain where her own blow should be. 

He doesn't feel the spell until his knees buckle and shoulders slump a second or two later, and he finds himself kneeling face to face with her. 

"No." He gasped, his eyes growing heavy, and limbs trembling. 

"You lose." She said sweetly as he slumped forward, overcome with exhaustion. She rolled her eyes and pushed him off her onto his front so she could bind his arms behind his back and prop him up against a sturdy looking tree. 

She stood, clapping non-existent dust off her hands and huffed a satisfied breath. Looking over at Feric she saw that he had been joined by the other two. Well, who didn't like a good show. 

"Well...that's that then." She nodded to the new comers and nudged the Nord's leg. He moaned, but remained dead to the world. Technically it was called an 'enervation' spell, but she liked to think of it more as her 'nighty-night' spell. She grabbed him by the collar and patted his face and got nothing. She must have really laid it on him. Either that or this guy's got no endurance. She smirked. They just don't make them like they used to. 

She leaned down and called up a minor dispel, something she actually was good at, and slapped him hard across the face with it, leaving a nice pink splotch on his cheek. He woke with a start and a grunt.

She tossed a glance over her shoulder to see the lions prowling around behind her before focusing on the task at hand. Azura willing, it wouldn't take too long. 

"So what should I call you?" She asked when he blinked open his eyes.

"Go fuck yourself." She gave him a mild smile, then backhanded him hard enough to make her fingers start to ache. 

"I think we got off to a bad start. Your name fetcher?"

"Emperor Uriel."

"What a coincidence. I'm Queen Barenziah." She laid the overenthusiastic sarcasm on thick...just in case he was, then gave him a sneering smile. "How's about us two regal types have a nice chat then, monarch to monarch? But let's not be so formal eh? You know, I've always liked the name Billy. How about I just call you Billy. It just seems so much more friendly. Yes?"

He didn't seem to like that and lunged forward. 

"I'm not telling you anything." How cliche. His bonds kept him from completing the move and she straitened up, shoving him back up against the tree with her boot on his shoulder. He looked past her and his eyes widened. What, just notice the three oversized lions now? 

"Ok then, let's go with Jack since you don't like Billy. I like Jack too, Jack is good. Do you prefer Jack?" She paused and tipped her head in the direction of the cats without looking at them. "This'll probably take a while folks, we've got a hostile witness on our hands. You might as well go home and rest up." She continued to look down at her prey. 

"Me and Jack here are going to get to know each other."

"Like hell we're leaving you alone with him."

She turned at the voice and looked over at Mirisa, who was standing naked in front of the other two. Well that explains why the Nord was staring; she was giving him quite a show. Inanna schooled herself and nodded. 

"You're right, there might be others still kicking about, it's better if another stays." 

Mirisa wasn't expecting that, and couldn't hide her surprise. Inanna was quite certain it was not her safety that she was concerned about. With another internal chuckle she continued. 

"Would you mind staying? I'm sure the boys will be OK on their own." That threw her for another loop. Even the two lions behind her were clearly taken aback. Mirisa blinked, then shrugged, then looked to Feric, then shrugged again. Inanna wanted to laugh so badly it was making her jaw ache. 

"I suppose." she murmured, giving Inanna a hard look that screamed, 'what's your game?'

The answer: throwing you off of yours. Just for kicks no less. Who says you can't mix business with pleasure. She gave her best impression of genuine and sincere appreciation.

"Thanks. I'll feel better knowing your keeping an eye on things." Right, and Molag-Bal likes long walks on the beach, rainbows, and fluffy kittens. After he rapes and eviscerates you, of course. 

Ah, Daedric hobbies. 

Mirisa's eyes were still narrowed, but she nodded. 

The two women watched the others leave before Mirisa turned on her.

"Alright, what are you up to?" The lady don't mess around, gotta hand that to her at least.

Inanna shrugged. 

"Nothing. No game. You don't trust me, and if I were you I wouldn't trust either of them alone with me," she waved towards the direction of the recently departed Feric and Owyn, "since one's a baby, and the other thinks I'm...well, swell." She smirked. "I knew you'd only be satisfied if it was you who stayed to keep tabs." 

Perfectly amiable, perfectly reasonable: only partially true. In reality she didn't want anyone to see what she might have to do to this s'wit to make him talk. Owyn might not be able to handle it, and she sure as hell didn't want Feric seeing that side of her until she was sure he was too hooked to care. 

Mirisa already hated her, or gave a decent impression of it, so no harm no foul. 'This is what we like to call damage control.' She thought morosely and shrugged again. 

"What should I care? Knock yourself out." 

Oh do. Pretty please. With a cherry on top.

Mirisa smirked. 

"I suppose that's true...enough."

'A girl after my own heart, too bad she's always in such a snit.' Inanna smirked back. Apparently they'd reached a sort of understanding.

"May I?" She asked, indicating the man still glowering at them silently from under his tree. Mirisa sneered slightly and waved to indicate she may proceed

"I suppose. Do what you feel you must."

"My thanks, O gracious one." Ok, they'd reached an understanding; they weren't braiding each others hair and giggling their way through a trashy romance and a box of chocolates. 

She proceeded to bore the life out of all three of them with the most insanely useless interrogation routine she could come up with. It was hard for her to be this incompetent, exhausting really. But eventually it paid off. 

She was down on one knee next to Mr. Go-fuck-yourself, when Mirisa finally snapped. 

"Oh for Kyn's sake, he doesn't know anything. This is taking forever." Mirisa grumbled from her post, returning once more to her humanoid form. Inanna'd been playing nice, using basic drain spells, slapping him awake and asking the same boring questions over and over. The same crap an imperial guard might use if his or her supervisor were watching. All upright and business like, and it was, predictably, getting them nowhere. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



What was worse, she knew, was that she wasn't giving Mirisa anything to rat her out for. Oh no, she was on her best behavior. If she was torturing anyone here is was definitely Mirisa. 

"Patience is a virtue." she called over her shoulder. And she was the most virtuous mer who ever lived. She was a fetching saint.

"If you're getting antsy you can always do a walk-about and see if the others have anything useful on them. Otherwise...don't interrupt." She gave her a half-smile and cocked a brow at her. 

Mirisa hefted a sigh and shifted back. She shot one last unimpressed look at the Dunmer before trotting off into the woods to look for something more interesting to do.

Inanna gave it a few minutes and watched the trees carefully for movement before deciding it was safe to begin in earnest. She began by obliterated all expression from her face and made a slate mask of it, turning slowly to look at her victim, cocking her head and holding his gaze for a very long moment before twisting her mouth into a smile that stayed miles away from her eyes. 

"Alone at last. I thought she'd never leave." He shuddered slightly under her palm. He must have felt the winds change she thought darkly. 'No more cloying zephyrs for you my friend.' 

She stood suddenly and stretched her arms high over her head, letting the bones of her arms and back snap and pop loudly. She then pivoted on one foot to walk languidly away, tilting her head back to let the warm sun spill down over her face. It was such a beautiful day. She stopped, about ten or twelve feet from him and spread her arms out, palms to the clear blue. Taking in a deep long breath, she let out a low "mmmmm" of pleasure. 

She turned again, smiling a bright eyed smile...with lots of teeth.

"You know what I call this Jackie my boy? I call this the perfect start to a perfect afternoon. The sun is shining, the day is young...there's a beautiful girl..." she drawled out with a lewd sway of her hips as she sauntered back over to him. She wet her lips quickly and tipped his chin up with her forefinger. "Don't go ruining it now by making me torture you to death." 

He was still giving her his hard look. There was trepidation there, to be sure, but he thought she was bluffing. Oh dear. We can't have that now can we? 

Inanna swung a leg over him and knelt straddling his lap, running her hands down his chest, pausing to pick at the leather bindings of his armor. 

"So...what's your sign big man?"

He blinked in confusion, then sneered in disgust. 

"Get off me you disgusting dark elf whore." He rasped out. Clearly he was still feeling the drain she'd laid on him. Good. 

He spat at her. She cocked a brow at him and wiped the spit off her cheek and onto his shoulder.

"Gee, just trying to be friendly. Some people...no manners at all. Your mother would be very disappointed." She patted his cheek. "That's ok, if you're not going to be polite, I'll just skip the niceties." She saw him stiffen, preparing for another blow.  

Instead she just ran her fingers lightly up to the sides of his forehead, drawing light massaging circles over his temples. He blinked up at her in confusion. She watched as his pupils contracted ever so slightly. Oh ho, was he starting to get nervous? 

She flattened her palms and closed her eyes, focusing hard and reaching out with her will, her very self, to touch the self of the other in her hands. It was an intimate act, and invasive. 

She felt what little will remained in him and pulled it out, unfolded it before her, feeling its contours like a lover feels the face of their beloved in the dark. She saw a glow, golden, like sun, like a field of wheat, like a crown. Something rose, strong and steady, immune and unshakable, a mountain, strong against the ravaging wind, unbendable, unbreakable, and masculine... it pushed against her and resisted her exploration. She had what she needed. She released him and snapped back into herself as her eyes shot open. 

His face was a sheen of sweat from the strain of resisting her though all that energy had been spent for nothing. She smiled placidly down at him and sat back so that she was half straddling him, half sitting on his legs.

"I'm The Steed. Not terribly interesting really. We're notoriously impatient though. Oh, and fast...we're really very fast." She began conversationally, then chuckled. "Guess I should have told you that before I let you take shots at me eh? But you," She poked him in the chest, "you are The Lord. And that is Very interesting. It means, big strong man that you are...it means I can whittle you down to zero and you can just," she made an exploding gesture with her hands, "pop yourself back up to a hundred and ten percent." She smirked. 

"That is so long as I don't get too carried away. Of course," she continued, her smile becoming serpentine, and turning her eyes liquid, "it also means so... much... more. Doesn't it?" 

She pressed her finger to his lips. 

"You don't have to answer. If fact, let me tell you a little more about myself." 

She laid her palms on her thighs and squared his eyes with hers. She morphed her expression into one of hardened intensity.

"My name is Inanna. I am Dunmer. I am a huntress of the Urshilaku, born, raised, and trained in the blood and ash of the red mountain." She rose slowly so that she once more leaned over him, drawing her mouth to his. "I am death... I am destruction," Her lips were inches from his, and she drew the full force of the flame into her, or rather, out of her and the heat of it burnt like cinnamon over her tongue, "I am fire." She breathed the last words against his lips, and she saw him shudder. She laughed darkly. 

"I think you begin to understand...My Lord." She drew her hand from her thigh and slid it up over his stomach, letting it emit a low heat that pierced his leather, but did not burn. But he could feel it...oh how he could feel it. Nord, and born under the Lord, doubly weakened and sensitive to that one element. Her element. 

Long dark fingers wrapped around fair skin, and though they did not tighten or flinch, the flesh beneath turned from white, to pink, to dusky rose. The Nord whimpered as a terrible scent, like burnt offerings, reached his nose. 

"The question is," she whispered against his mouth, "who has the deeper well? Are you wondering if I will weaken and fade before you need call on your precious blessing, or if the depth of my destruction is equal to your great strength, or perhaps that it is far, far greater?" 

She pulled away slightly and chuckled again. 

"I can go all night like this. I have incredible...stamina." She looked thoughtful. "Though I suppose if I were to increase my efforts..." she fanned the flame by a fraction, enough to make him cry out against the pain, and draw a stream of tears from his eyes and whimpers from his throat, "I suppose then I may only be able to keep it up for a few hours...maybe up to five or six...I don't know...I've never had the chance to try it." She turned her eyes upon him again. "Why don't we try together?" 

Slowly she increased the heat, swallowing back her own revulsion at the scent of burning flesh, and her own disgust at the torture she was inflicting on the man. Her free hand curled in on itself, still sitting on her thigh. 

This was no way to die. This was no fight, no hunt, there was no honor in it, and she was no sadist. But he had information, and she had made her decision. If a Dunmer can't protect what's hers, she doesn't deserve to keep it. She kept her twisted smile plastered to her face and shielded her thoughts from herself. 

Whimpers turned to cries turned to screams. Finally she released him. 

"Sorry about that, you see what I mean about getting carried away...I'll try to keep my excitement from getting the better of me. Now, shall we? Or do you have something you want to tell me? I don't need much...just a name..." 

She shrugged and ran her hand along his jaw line. The flesh at his throat was burnt to the point of mutilation: seared, black, and broken. Her stomach turned a little at the thought of touching it again, but she swallowed that as well and let her hand trace delicately down his chin towards the mess that used to be skin. She pouted slightly. 

"I'm sure this is no way for a Nord to go." She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Not with a roar and a blade...but with a whimper...up in smoke." She leaned away.

"No." He gasped hoarsely. That was quick. Small miracles.

"Hmmm? I didn't quite catch that."

The flesh made a horrific crinkling sound as she pressed her hand back over it. The fist in her lap tightened.

"Please..."

"A name."

"I...I don't know the name..."

The flames flared brightly in her eyes, red on red on black.

"I...there's a fort...but I don't know who hi...hired...please..."

"Where?" he whimpered and said nothing. She tightened her grip and snarled.

"Tell me and I'll let you take another shot at me. Hold your tongue and I'll burn you alive, one limb at a time." 

His terrified eyes shot open into hers, searching for and finding what they needed. The truth.

"Wariel...N-north, uh, of Kavatch."

She released him and leaned over, running a finger over the ropes, igniting the dry strands. 

She backed slowly away as the ropes snapped open and the man rolled forward onto his hands and knees. She turned her back to him and retrieved his sword. He was looking up at her when she turned to toss it in front of him. She watched silently as he took up the blade and rose to his full height. His wounds were gone and his eyes glowed with strength and violent hate. She braced her legs and stood, arms hanging loosely at her sides, still unarmed.

"White has first move." She said softly and without humor or sarcasm; her facades were stripped, they had no more use here. Now there was only the two of them. Two fighters facing in single combat, the way it should be. Lord Boethia's final and favorite dance. 

He cracked his neck and twirled his short sword once before he began to circle. She matched him step for step, the opening prayer of the ancient ritual. He tested her, teased her, leading with his right foot forward, her left foot back. His blade flashed and she spun away, leaning, drawing him in, as he pushed her back. Boethia was as much a lord of seduction as combat. The two intersected in so many interesting ways. 

Her opponent's eyes burned with fury, and hers with elation. She felt the wind of his blade on her face, and it felt like freedom. One last frustrated swing, and the tip caught against the branch of the tree she'd been dancing towards. 

She dipped, to quickly for him, and came outside his sword arm, catching the wrist for leverage, and slung her leg high over his arm only to twist it violently back. The shoulder popped, and he released the blade. She caught it up in the same movement and twisted the blade, driving it forward and up into his throat. A quick death, taken in battle. 

"It's all we can hope for in the end." She murmured to the body that now lay at her feet. 

"May you find welcome in the halls of your ancestors." 

Her hands were damp again. She wiped them on her leg before realizing it wasn't sweat, but blood, and her own blood. The nails of her left hand had bit into the palm, leaving a row of little crescent wounds. It must have been from when she'd tortured him. Strange how she'd never felt it.

There was a soft sound behind her. Mirisa. She released a sigh. 

"Well, looks like we have a place...which is a start." She murmured, casting a glance over her shoulder.

The blue eyed lion shifted into a blue eyed woman. 

"I heard."

They stood watching each other. Inanna was looking for a hint as to what was going on behind those indigo pools, but Mirisa was giving her that strange contemplative look that had so stunned her when she ran into Feric that bizarre and fateful day. And so, she remained inscrutable. 

She knew Mirisa had seen most of it, and probably the worst parts, which she could live with as she had no illusions about getting her to like her. That didn't mean she wanted it getting back to Feric. That wouldn't do at all. 

"I guess we should go then."

"I guess so."

Ugh. This was going to go nowhere fast. Inanna sighed again and turned away to find her bow and wrench her blade out of the tree where she had left it. Mirisa was already shifting back and passing her, giving her a fleeting look before taking off in the direction of home. 

Inanna trotted obediently behind her, her feet finding their path autonomously from her mind. She let them, and preoccupied herself with wondering how exactly she got herself in this delightful position.   

**

As thoughts wandered, a letter arrived.

It arrived in a small boat which moored itself on a small wharf, which sat, mild and unassuming, on a small island. Upon this little piece of white sand and grey stone, stood a few small and twisted trees, or rather slender hard trunks topped by smooth and colorful buds and canopies of mottled gold and green and red. Mushrooms: as drawn by a child or madman. And, over these giant mad mushrooms, loomed a thing more spectacular and monstrous. A tower, twisted and leaning like the spires of a daedric temple, yet smooth and flowing it its form. A massive organic trunk sprung from the ground, twisted round with thick hard vines and swollen buds, and capped with its own bright and prismatically colored dome, the bottom lip of which tipped out over the unassuming little wharf some fifty feet below. 

From some strange knotted portal at the lower regions of this strange warped growth emerged a young Khajiit male. His fur sleek and carefully groomed, and his ears pierced with many fine gold, obsidian, and amethyst rings. His light silk robes fell gracefully about his lithe form as he wound his way down the thickest of the winding vines, molded flat and smooth, wide enough that three could walk abreast and not fear slipping from the edge onto the tangle of roots and sand below. 

The ferryman who stood at the dock bowed to the Khajiit, who, if not for the telling silver bracers around his wrists, might have passed for a noble anywhere else in the Empire. But the ferryman served house Telvanni, and so did the finely cut slave before him. Both knew it pleased a Telvanni lord to have servants and slaves who could put the elite of any other house to shame with their dress and manners, even when that lord was an eccentric recluse whose servants and slaves were rarely if ever seen. The slave took the letters, among them one signed 'Velothi,' and returned the bow. The ferryman touched his broad flat hat.

"Have you any deliveries Muthsera?" He asked politely in a gravelly voice.

"Not today Sera, But my Master is expecting supplies from his brother soon, perhaps we will see then my friend." The Khajiit's Dunmeri was nearly perfect, altered only by the slight sibilance engendered by speaking through a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Send my regards to your honored Master. Be well till then."

"I shall. Be well."

And off the letter went, tucked safely in a silken pocket as it wound its way around the bloated stalk, and into the knotted portal. Had it not been tucked away, or for that matter, had it been a sentient thing, it might have been awed and amazed at the sight that would have greeted it upon entering that strange tree, for inside the colors where as bright as the capped roof and the mottled walls were luminous, shimmering membranes stretched between elegantly curved vines as thick as a man's chest. The walls themselves throbbed with energy, life, and power, and the whole was lit with a humming glow that seemed to emanate from everywhere at once. 

This was the servant's entrance.

Dar'Basha shook back his sleeves and murmured a well used incantation. His bracers were not actual slave bracers, that is, they did not hamper will or strength. In fact they did quite the opposite. They had their uses, but were ornamental for the most part and only a symbol of his station. He was free to have his will, and as seneschal and one of the few servants allowed access into the great lord's private chambers, he needed it. As it was, the only way to access said chambers was to levitate four stories up to it and into the roof of the great dome. 

He floated demurely up past a myriad of splendid and amazing sights that would have your average imperial farm boy gaping in awe and landed lightly on the wood-like floor of his master's chambers. The room in which he stood was something like an empty round chamber with nothing but a great hole in the center and a series of circular doorways running round its perimeter. His sensitive ears caught voices and he followed the sound, knocking politely at the portal in question. He heard a heavy sigh and winced.

"One moment." The Khajiit relaxed, if it had been a bad time, the response would not have been so polite. This was merely a mild annoyance, which was merely standard. 

"Come."

Dar'Basha entered and bowed. The scents of machinery, alchemicals, and Akaviri cherry blossom tea mixed strangely in the air and made his nose twitch. 

"Honoured Master. Madam."

The room was one of the tower's work rooms, or rather one of the master's work rooms. On a bench against the far wall were a range of little metal bits and pieces and part of what looked like the remains of a Dwemer centurion sphere along with a good number of apparatus which looked better left untouched. 

Like many of the more reclusive Telvanni, he was something of an experimentalist when it came to the esoteric arts. He was also renowned as a very clever artificer, and a leading figure in cutting edge arcane technique. This fact gave his small but select staff a great deal of pride and, necessarily, a great deal of nervous apprehension.  Now and then experiments, particularly of the 'leading edge' variety, were known to get out of hand, and more than one curious sorcerer had met their end the hard, and often explosive, way. 

The master stood rigidly in the center of the room and nodded in acknowledgment. He was a tall, lithe Mer with hard narrow features. His skin was a light silvery grey and his hair stood in short gold and auburn spikes, a testament to his mixed merish heritage. The style would have been almost youthful if not for the heavy grey that had begun to permeate it. So, instead, it combined with his hard gaze and often intense silence to give him the somewhat off putting appearance of being slightly mad. The effect was bolstered by an unusual web like tattoo which dominated the left side of his face and neck from hairline down to the collar of his exquisite teal robes. A select few knew just how far down it continued. No one but he knew what it was for. 

Madam, for her part, was not the mistress of the house, but a favored guest, and, Dar'Basha knew, one of the 'select few.' 

She was sitting demurely by the work table lifting a cup of tea to her red, heart shaped lips which were set very charmingly in an elegantly pale heart shaped face, which in turn was framed with carefully arranged glossy chestnut curls. Over the delicate cup two smiling green eyes shone out towards the Khajiit as he handed over the packet of letters, and she wriggled the fingers of her free hand in greeting.

"There aren't any incendiary spells this time I hope?" She called lightly from across the room. The Seneschal bowed deeply to her when the Master had turned away, flipping lightly through the pile. 

"I am afraid, Muthsera, I could not detect anything, but then my skills are only passing fair."

"Oh don't be so modest Bash, you did catch that last one. Besides, I'll personally attest to how very skilled you can be." Her lips curved into a slightly wicked smile. 

Dar'Basha glanced to be sure the master was still turned away, then gave the woman a sly grin in return.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



"Don't you ever stop flirting?" They both turned to the tall mer who had never looked up from his shuffling.

"My dear Faves, surely you've figured that out by now. It's what I Do." She placed her tea cup back on its saucer and slid it onto the precariously cluttered bench. 

He didn't look up but walked over and dropped half the pile in her lap.

"Make yourself useful and tell me if there's anything in these I need to care about." He turned and paced back toward the door. 

The Breton lady lifted the pile with the air of the hard put upon and stood smoothing her ivory damasked silk dress out with a soft rustle. She looked at the first address and screwed up her face, tarnishing the effect of her elegant movements. 

"I gave you the mundane ones." He murmured, as if sensing her expression without seeing it. The seneschal's angle allowed him to catch the hint of a smile that briefly graced his features.

"You're sure? This one is from your sister. She was more than put out that you didn't show up to her daughters coming out party last month. I wouldn't want her ire accidentally spilling out on me. Whatever form it takes. That woman's a right harpy when she wants to be."

"I don't see why, I sent that ring."

"Which ring?"

"The conjurer's ring... someone told me she was studying that at some point."

"I told you that...and wrong niece. That was your sister's daughter. And you gave it to her on her birthday...which you also missed." The servant bowed his head to hide a smile as Master Andes rolled his eyes.

"If I went to all these things I'd never get any work done."

"You don't have to go to all of them...just a few, once in a while. Speaking of which it's your darling little brother's 550th this year, and you have to go."

"Say's whom?"

"You're unhappy sister." He looked up from the letter he was reading and cocked a brow at her from across the room as she waved the letter at him.

"I thought I said to tell me anything I need to care about. Dar'Basha, would you find something to send my niece...whichever one is supposed to be getting things..."

"Llaearah" The Breton supplied. 

"Llaearah." He echoed. "Get her..." he looked around searching for inspiration and paused on the lady who had reoccupied herself by flipping through the letters, "Desdemona? "

"Hmm?" 

"Is that a new dress?"

"No...you bought it for me last year."

"Ah. Is that sort of thing still in style?"

"Akaviri silk never goes out of style, darling."

"Then I must have good taste."

"The best."

"Get her one of those..." he made a vague gesture to the dress, "things."

Dar'Basha bowed.

Faves flicked his eyes up to his attendant.

"Someday soon would be nice."

"Don't go quite yet Dar'Basha, you'll also need something for a funeral. It seems Aunt Noreema has finally succumb." the Breton murmured from her side of the room.

"To what?" Lord Andes asked, looking finally interested.

"The Morag Tong." 

"Ah. Good."

"Why good? What self respecting Telvanni hires assassins? It's in bad taste. It's so...House Hlaalu."

"Who's to say it was a Telvanni and not a Hlaalu? Regardless, to answer your question, it is good news as my mother convinced her to entail her fortune away in the case of foul play. So now that idiotic s'wit son of hers will get nothing."

"That doesn't seem terribly fair."

He shrugged. 

"It's standard practice. Besides if the foolish Altmer can't protect what is his, he doesn't deserve to keep it. You should have seen how my brother dotted on mother. She was not a stupid woman. She lived to see nearly 13 centuries you know."

"Who gets it instead?"

"It will be dispersed to the rest of the family."

"So I assume you're going to this then?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, for the love of Mara, why not?" She asked rolling her eyes, though her tone was far less surprised than her expression indicated.

"It will be a public ceremony, and the Nerothren family still wants my blood, if you'll recall. I'd be a pretty target indeed. And they've become rather insistent, particularly after that incident at Shishi."

Desdemona tapped the letter against her lips in a playful way. 

"Incident? Don't you mean massacre?"

He shrugged. 

"It's no fault of mine they chose to go charging head long into the fray with those Redoran barbarians while I was in the middle of a very sensitive experiment. Honestly, do I look like a baby-sitter?" 

"Regardless, it might do you good to get out and get some practice. Theoretical studies are one thing, but nothing works the old magica muscles like a little practical application." 

He merely glanced at her with a small smile, which she returned before continuing with another thought. 

"You know...it makes sense to make the stipulation that the children have to keep their parents alive, as you pointed out, but entailing it to the rest of the family doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

"Oh?" He cocked a brow and gave her a very intense look, one that raised most people's hair on end. She returned the expression with a sceptically amused one of her own.

"It seems odd of your mother to suggest such a thing when it would only encourage the rest of the family to do their best to knock the poor lady off, or as you so eloquently put it the other day, 'taking the last word'."

He said nothing, but his eyes took on a slight glow and his lips twitched again.

"Tell me darling, did your mother add such a stipulation to her will?"

"No...she did not." His twitch became a full blown hint of a smile. 

"Ah."

"Indeed."

She grinned evilly. 

"I see where you're family gets it from. Dangerous fetchers...the lot of you. Especially your sister." She added with a grimace. He did chuckle at that.

"It certainly wasn't father."

"Oh, be nice, I've heard he was an absolute miracle worker with alchemicals...he's still a bit of a legend. It's not his fault he was an Altmer. And he was rich..." her smile turned sly again. "You know how we ladies get around a fat purse. Your mother couldn't help but be enamored, I'm sure."

"I'll be sure to tell that ancient bat, Lord Haelo, you said so." He turned and finally waved the servant off, who in turn bowed and backed out of the room, his ears twitching as he attended the conversation as long as he could.

He caught light feminine laughter, "Be my guest, he's not fool enough to believe my attentions are born from anything else...even if they are."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Honestly, Sera, you know me, I'm like a moth to the flame. Why do think I put up with all this Telvanni insanity you people call existence? The man oozes power, even at his age...especially at his age, just standing next to that sort of raw force gives me a little tingle."

The servant heard another chuckle, this one much deeper, and the question, "Just a little tingle?" At which he let out his own little chuckle as he serenely floated downward, nearly colliding with a young and frazzled looking lord.

"Gads! Excuse me!" the young man bit out, surprised and angry at the impediment. The two hovered a moment before the Servant, well mannered as he was, made a half bow and asked how he might be of service to the man whom he finally recognized as the young Lord Peridir Andelor. To which the young lord responded with the demand, and very loudly, that he see the servant's master immediately. 

The servant's master, having ears himself, heard the very noisome young cad from where he stood several floors above and left his charming companion to look down at the two of them.

"For Pity's sake Andelor, why are you shouting in my hallway?" 

"You!" the young man started and flew rapidly upward nearly knocking the Khajiit again in his haste. "You stole her. You have absconded with the very light of my being, and have holed her up in this wretched prison. I demand you quit your acquaintance this instant or I shall be forced to make terms!"

The servant, knowing his master's supply of patience was minimal entered the nearest side corridor, putting himself well out of blast range.

"What on earth are you babbling on about?" the much older mer asked with a weary air. 

"I am in love!" The young lord declared vehemently, landing with force to accentuate the declaration and shaking an irate fist.

Faves Andes stared blankly at the boy a moment before turning on his heel and walking away with a tossed out wave.

"Muthsera, I believe this mess is for you." He called as he left the central chamber. He was replaced in the door way by the lovely lady in question, who blinked in surprise at the red, or rather purple, faced young man in front of her. 

"Per, Mon Chere, what on earth are you doing here?" She whisked forth with a brilliant smile and took his hand, kissing him lightly on both cheeks in the Breton fashion. She ran a hand over his shoulder and arm as if to pet him into order, disguising her light charm spells. Not that she needed it, she would likely insist, but practicality calls for thoroughness. 

"Why you seem in such a flurry? Whatever is the matter?"

He seemed instantly mollified by the spell and the warmth of her greeting. He returned her smile and clasped her hands as she gave him an innocent and bemused look. 

"Come away with me. Come away this instant. I can offer you so much more Desdemona, he can't love you the way I do." He clasped at her arms and gazed at her feelingly. "You must know how absolutely and ardently I adore you!" 

It should be noted here that it took real strength of purpose for the heroine of the scene not to wince at such extraordinary use of alliteration. She certainly had. 

She smiled sweetly and took his hands again. 

"I think you're quite wonderful, darling, you know that. We are such excellent, excellent friends. But it would be very unladylike to simply walk out on my host...certainly this discussion could wait until I'm back in Sadrith Mora? 

"I'm quite stunned you came all this way Per dearest. I'm very flattered of course, but I don't think you need be quite so overcome, now do you? It really is quite shocking." 

Of course he was overcome, and told her so, and she was forced to gently pry herself from his arms several times before she sensed he was beginning to listen to reason. It was tricky work using charm and calm spells on Telvanni, even the lesser ones, though luck was with her in that he wasn't as quick on the uptake as the quality of persons she normally rubbed shoulders with. 

Of course her clever work was all undone when the youth suddenly went stiff as a board, his fingers still gripping her arms, his mouth hanging open mid word, making him look remarkably like a plaque-mounted slaughter fish. 

She sighed and looked over her shoulder giving the stony-faced mer, who stood cross-armed in the portal behind her, an arched and exasperated look. She turned a much sweeter countenance back to Andelor and peeled his finger off her arms before patting his. 

"You took too long. Another minute of listening to that simpering and my ears would have started bleeding." quipped the cool voice behind her. She gave the boy a pitying look. 

"Oh dear. Well, Per darling, you know, sometimes the wanting is better than the having." He made an odd sort of choking noise which caused her to wince. "We'll talk later...alright?" She gave him a dainty peck on the cheek and vanished, literally, from sight. 

A moment later the paralyzed lord found himself hefted into the air and, rather cruelly, suspended by insubstantial fingers over the four story drop below. The other Telvanni only then condescended to step out from the doorway. 

The young lord struggled against his magical bonds, a light sheen of sweat beginning to coat his forehead, and his eyes flickering nervously. The spell that held him was too strong, too well constructed and by too experienced a wizard to be broken so easily.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." The Telvanni murmured taking another step forward. "It's a long way down."

There was the softest of laughs at his shoulder, hardly audible, even to his mer ears. Faves felt, but did not react to the light telekinesis spell that ran up the center of his back like the teasing caress of slender fingers. His expression remained contained, as did the instinctive shiver that threatened to accompany the sensation. He did, however, lean imperceptibly into the actual fingers which followed in the wake of the ghostly touch along the small of his back. 

Pointing a hand in the direction of the young lord --who still gasped and gaped and struggled, his face, normally a handsome bluish black, turning a somewhat purplish color from the exertion-- Lord Andes narrowed his eyes in concentration and twitched his fingers ever so slightly, turning the young man a truer shade of violet.

"Now, I will put you down, and forgive the trespass and go back to my work, and send you on your merry way with the expectation that you will never come back without formal invitation, because if you do I will squeeze you until you're minuscule brain explodes out of your ears."

He eased the burden and telekinesis until the young man could manage a nod of assent.

"Excellent."

He flung the body to the floor and out of harm's way with the flick of a wrist. Andelor drew himself to his feet, pulling himself together with a glare and a sharp tug of his tightly fitted blue silk waist coat. He shuddered, his expression dark.

"And what of the lady?" He began, more embarrassed than phased. "Am I not to see her?" He tipped up his chin in coltish defiance.

As he spoke the delicate invisible fingers worked their way across Faves's back, becoming two arms which snaked unseen about his waist to rest lightly on his stomach just above his heavy braided belt as a soft body pressed against his hip.

"I could care less what you do...or who you do it to, so long as it's not done in my house. Muthsera Doucet comes and goes as she pleases. Where she goes, and what she does, is her business. Not mine...and not yours."

The two small hands slid slowly along the belt.

"Now, if you please?" He gestured to the vertical hall and cast upon him the withering gaze he was so well known for. The gaze increased in intensity the lower the two little hands slid. Andelor bowed stiffly and exited with an angry huff.

"Enjoying yourself?" Faves asked the invisible someone, his voice tinged with more than a small dose of sarcasm.

"I can see that you are." a soft voice murmured from his left shoulder. "See what I mean about practical application? There's nothing like it."

There was a long pause.

"You didn't actually bed THAT did you?"

"Ugh. No, thankfully. Can you imagine what he would have been like if I had?"

"Then why even entertain his nonsense?"

The hands ceased their movement and rested on his belt, the body behind him pressing in with a soft sigh.

"I believe I did it for you Serjo."

"Oh?"

The voice chuckled, and the invisible body shifted.

"Well, I lent myself to your sister when she first complained to me about your distinct lack of interest in her family affairs, and she in turn lent me to Lady Andes who tasked me with getting rid of a grasping potential daughter in law." She sighed. "Now I'm stuck with the silly fop."

"Tell me again how that was for my benefit?"

"Well if I placate your family for you, then they'll overlook your oh-so callus nature and continue with your funding for your experiments, giving you more time to spend on all those wonderful toys you come up with."

He chuckled at that and found one of her wrists with his hand. 

"Which I can then give to you to play with?"

"Well, if you wanted to..."

He whirled around, the wrist still caught in his grip, and drew her closer to him. He looked down where he knew her face was looking back up at him.

"Either way, I do not want your pet projects turning up here."

"Oh, but you so enjoyed it."

"It was a waste of precious time."

She scoffed. 

"You waste oodles of time as it is. I've been here distracting you for months now."

He leaned in toward the epicenter of the invisibility spell.

"I find your input...constructive. Besides which....some few things are worthy of wasting time on."

"Am I one of those things, Faves?"

"You are occasionally amusing."

She pulled her hand gently from his.

"Flatterer." 

He smirked, and she removed herself from the hall. He cast a detect life and was surprised to see nothing. His smirk widened and he headed to the work room, spelling the door locked behind him and taking a few steps into the room.

He cast again and watched with sharpened eyes for the flux of one spell repelling another. He didn't see it, but felt the familiar signature of it, like a silken ribbon drawn languidly over his skin. He whirled suddenly, hurtling a spell from his fingertips, simultaneously breaking the illusory invisibility and pinning the little Breton to the wall.

"You're no fun." 

She was smiling as he sauntered up to her with his set unreadable expression. He lifted his fingers and she slid up the wall accordingly until she hovered at eye level with him.

"Do you recall the last time I dangled someone over that drop?"

She pursed her lips and arched a brow.

"Markedly. I seem to recall you rather enjoyed That as well." 

He frowned. 

"I was livid."

"And rock hard."

He smirked. 

"You were naked."

"So were you."

She squirmed a little to test the strength of the spell, finding it every bit as effective as young Andelor had a moment earlier.

"If you want to dig that amulet out I can give you a repeat performance."

His eyes darkened and the spell tightened around her, pressing her harder into the wall.

"If you ever even think about trying to slip that thing on me again I'll do a lot worse than threaten to drop you down the Tel."

She laughed at that. A low sound, like rich, dark chocolate.

"What's wrong Faves, didn't you like being at my tender mercy?" she drawled out. "Mmmm, I could have killed you, you know. It would have been sooo easy. You were as weak and pliant as a little lamb." 

She watched with unrestrained excitement as his eyes flashed in remembrance.

"Drained...totally powerless. Tell me you didn't like it...not even a tiny little bit."

"I didn't like it." He breathed out tightly in a dangerous whisper, closing in so that her face was only inches from his. 

"Liar."

The word came out in a gasp as she reacted to a second spell which was running in rather alarming patterns up the insides of the calves and thighs. She continued to squirm.

"You still haven't told me where you found that evil device."

She smiled through another gasp and turned into the finger that was tracing down along her ear and jaw. She took a moment to steady herself as the ribbons of sensation moved higher, as if somehow under her skin, electrifying her from the inside out.

"I can't tell you all my secrets Faves, or I'll cease to be so very amusing to you." 

"I'm sure you'd think of something."

"Well, I can be very creative when I want to be. Why don't you put me down and find out?"

He tilted his head and ran his eyes up and down the length of her body.

"I think...not quite yet." A small smile reappeared on his face as the ties of her dress began to slowly unravel themselves. 

"I think someone has a new favorite spell." She teased breathlessly.

"Oh? Who would that be?"

"I'm not telling."

"Oh no?"

"You'll just have to make me."

His small smile turned wicked and he snapped his fingers. A stout, fully armored Dremora appeared beside him. 

"Yes Master." it rasped, clearly not pleased at having been summoned. Dremora never were.

"Zoreth, I need information extracted from this young lady. Do you have any suggestions?"




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



The Dremora looked the now rather flushed and only half dressed Breton over and gave her a dark smirk. She gaped at Faves.

"You wouldn't!"

His wicked smile turned sinister.

"Oh, you're bad." She cooed in a low voice. 

"Whatever would the other Telvanni say if they found out?"

"Who gives a damn."

The Dremora grinned in earnest.

*

Hours later there was a knock at the portal door.

"What?" Faves called from his languid position sprawled across the long couch set up along the far wall. He drew in a quick breath and stilled the fingers that were lazily following the intricate lines tattooed across his chest. 

"Shall I have dinner prepared Master?" The voice called through the door.

"I suppose." He answered. 

"Is it that time already?" He murmured to the ceiling. A long leg draped over his thigh shifted higher.

"I told you I was distracting."

"Yes, I suppose you are. I didn't even finish opening the mail. Whatever will I do with you." 

He glanced down at the floor where several unopened letters had been scattered and reached for the nearest one. The seal was of unassuming red wax. He broke it with the flick of his thumb and shook it open in one movement, then frowned at it.

"What is it?" Desdemona asked, propping her chin on the back of the hand that lay on his chest. He turned it to face her. 

"I'm not sure. Does that mean anything to you?"

She read the three lines and sat up with a start and an "oh!"

"What?" 

She looked down at him and quirked a smile.

"Well it looks like I won't be distracting you anymore. That, my dear, is a summons I can't refuse."

He frowned. "I thought your sister went into the east?"

"No, not my actual sister, but the closest thing to it. Remember me telling you about Ina, the one who acted as a guide for Emily and I in the wastes?"

"The insane Ashlander?"

She chuckled. 

"She's not as crazy as I made her sound. I just told you the particularly interesting stories. She just has....an unusually voracious appetite for life."

"That's a poetical way of putting it."

"Why thank you darling. I do try."

He handed her the letter and gazed up at the ceiling. She watched his face as if seeing the wheels turning, a small smile playing on her own.

"I suppose she'll be dragging you around on some wild escapade?"

"One can only hope."

He sighed.

"Take Dar'Basha with you."

She blinked at him in surprise.

"But...he's your senechal..."

Faves shrugged as much as he could without dislodging her from his shoulder.

"He's getting antsy...it's not good to have a 'Dar' around who's getting antsy. They start looking for ways to entertain themselves."

She smiled down at him and he cocked a brow at her.

"Are you worried about me Faves, you big softy."

He smirked. 

"Well if you don't come back...who's going to keep my family out of my hair. You ARE distracting it is true, but you have your uses." 

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Told you so." She grinned. "You're going to get so bored without me."

"And I might finally get some work done." He added dryly. 

**

Inanna toyed contemplatively with the tip of her braid. Lucas's first lesson with the bow had gone predictably. Part of him wanted to learn, she could tell, but he had a morose streak two leagues wide which caused the whole thing to end in one of those, 'this is hopeless/what's the point of trying/ blah blah blah' moments. 

That kid needed to lighten up. He did have potential though, with or without the "Beware: Angst" sign tattooed on his forehead. 

It also brought back some memories. Ah, to be young again. At least he hadn't started worshiping Daedra yet—an obligatory phase for any disgruntled youth. Well Ok, HER disgruntled youth. Really though, is there any other kind?

She'd try again tomorrow morning. In the meantime, she had things to do, people to see. 

Rearrange that phrase however you like—it was still true.

Inanna was tired of waiting. In fact she had a plan. It involved getting her way. It also involved payback. She strode down the quite halls of the Ayleid ruin entertaining a very self-satisfied smile. She liked payback. She liked getting her way even more.

She had volunteered for the second evening watch, just before Mirisa took over, and before everyone would be more or less settled in for the night. Feric, she knew, would still be awake, and most certainly alone. Now her watch was over, everyone was asleep, and Muthsera-Mirisa was happily occupied. 

Her plan went something like this: 

Step one: corner the prey. Step two: get him as hot and bothered as she was. Step three: walk away. Hang out to dry and repeat as necessary. 

The time for patience and subtlety was at an end. She was going to switch things up a little. 

She'd waited too long as it was, and as much as she wanted him, she had absolutely no intentions of being the one to come crawling on her knees like a bitch in heat. Even if that DID sum up the situation pretty accurately. She had every intention of letting him suffer a little first. It was only fair after all.

She pulled out her braid and shook out her hair with both hands, wetting her lips with her tongue. She found him alone as expected. 

Step one: check. 

"So, I have a couple of questions for you." 

He was standing over a fire pit, looking thoughtfully into the flames and looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah? What's on your mind?"

"I have a theoretical situation I need to run by you."

"Fire away." She smiled at that. Good image. Weirdly appropriate.

"Well, let's say, if I were to introduce Mirisa to my friend Max...and they were to hit it off, theoretically," she added, noticing his raised brow, "would there be any problem with them getting together?"

"How do you mean?" He frowned at her and shifted, looking less than completely at ease.

"Well, would there be some kind of taboo or anything against it, would the pride have a problem with her seeing someone outside the group. She could probably stand a roll in the hay. Might take the edge off her, if you catch my meaning."

He smirked and shrugged. 

"I can't see that being a problem." He chuckled. "Hell I might even encourage her. It might actually do her some good." He gave her a warning look which was mitigated by an irrepressible smile, one that made her innards writhe. 

"Don't you dare tell her I agreed with you though, or I'll tear you a new one."

She smiled and breathed deeply in. 'Oh if only you would.'

"Ah. Good. That brings me to my second question." He smiled at her gamely, no doubt expecting her to offer to arrange such a meeting, which wasn't that bad of an idea now that she thought about it. Mirisa probably had the same standards she had. The old 30 second rule. If you could fight her and remain standing for at least 30 seconds...you had a better than fair chance. If not? Well usually that was the least of your worries. 

But this was not the aim of her next question. Oh no, this was a tad more pressing. 

"Which is?" He goaded her as she paused to organize her thoughts for her oh-so important question, and to let the silence become emphatic. She cocked a brow at him.

"Why aren't we fucking right now?"

He gaped and, after blinking himself into a state of understanding, lost the color in his face, which he promptly regained a split second later in the form of a reddish flush.

'Oh Serjo, did you just blush?' It was the most adorable expression she'd ever seen. If he didn't watch it she was just going to pin him to his shadow and ravage him within an inch of his life. To hell with retribution, she'd take what she could get. 

No! The plan...must stick to the plan.

"Um...I, uh" He stuttered, searching for words, or excuses.

"Nuh-uh. None of that." She said waving a finger at him. She put her hands on her hips and advanced on him slowly. 

"Do you have any idea how incredibly, painfully, fist-bitingly worked up I've been for the last two weeks, waiting for you to find time to fit me into your busy schedule?" She stopped in front of him, poking him in the center of his big chest, which was a little below eye level— she wasn't terribly tall— and glared balefully up at him. "I nearly killed a man in a bar fight you know." She added grimly with pursed lips. 

Ok, maybe not killed...gently maimed perhaps. She didn't just kill people without reason. She was a reasonable mer after all. Usually. Except, apparently, when it came to big, strong, green-eyed were-lions. In which case she was about as reasonable as a horny Dremora doing lines of moon sugar off a Sanguinite's ass: not terribly. She'd seen that once, and for the record, reasonability was the last thing on anyone's mind at the time. 

'Hmmm, sanguinites, I bet one of their parties would do wonders for my mood.' Ugh, no, she wanted this one, and for some inexplicable reason, only this one. Damn.

"Well?" She asked testily, plagued by thoughts of sangunites and were-lions, the combination of which was making her uncomfortably hot around the proverbial collar...among other places. His face took on a pained expression and he looked away at the ground next to her. 

"Inanna..." his voice wasn't much more that a whisper. It sounded pained. Her hackles dropped almost instantly. Her accusatory finger was removed and replaced with a soothing palm instead. 

"Yes Feric?" she encouraged, her voice almost as soft as his. Those green orbs flicked up again, catching her gaze. His eyes were filled with a myriad of expressions and emotions, most of which blended together in a way that made them unrecognizable. But she did recognize a few, and that was enough for her. 

Her other hand came up to his chest as well and smoothed up to his shoulders and back down again as she pressed lightly into him, her head still tilted up to his. He stared down at her, and though he was clearly conflicted about something, she could see her own intense longing mirrored back at her. She could also see his fingers twitching in the corner of her eye and felt the very real, very hard, evidence of his arousal pressing into her stomach as she crushed in a little closer. 

Her own breathing had become some what labored and her fingers trembled imperceptibly with the power of her arousal as she slid one hand up the side of his neck and under the loose waves of his hair, twining her fingers at the nape and gently, instinctively, drawing him closer. 

He gave her no resistance, his eyes darkening with lust as their lips met with a soft groan of mutual want. 

Her mind hissed in approval and she moaned softly as she felt his hands finally make up their mind and reached for her, taking her first by the hips, then sliding slowly up her waist and back. He pulled her closer as she ran her tongue lightly over the crease of his lips, teasingly asking permission. 

He granted it, and she blissfully proceeded to taste and explore the warm heat of his mouth with hers, her eyes falling closed with pleasure. He groaned into the kiss as her tongue playfully mated with his, his hands fisting into the light material of her shirt. 

She gave a little whimper of delight as he took over the kiss and his movements become hungrier and more demanding, his mouth devouring hers with unrelenting intensity. She had to struggle not to get lost in that kiss as he reduced her to a cooing pile of desire. 

Afraid to lose their momentum she wasted no time in loosening his belt and spreading the top of his robe open to run her hands possessively over the swell of muscle that covered his chest and wonderfully defined stomach, once again marveling at the erotic perfection of that body.

She slid one hand down the grooved center, following the light line of silky hair that trailed its way over his abdomen and beneath the loosened belt that was now barely holding the rest of his robe together. 

They both gasped as her fingers found the smooth head of his cock hidden beneath. She opened her eyes just long enough to see that his were shut tight and his face contorted in an expression of pained ecstasy. She licked and nibbled at his bottom lip, pulling it taunt with her teeth as she wrapped her fingers around his hard length with a firm squeeze. 

It throbbed in her hand like a beating heart. She shifted her hips anxiously, already feeling her own sex respond, pulsing in time with his: hot, wet and aching. The desire to feel him inside her was all consuming, terrifying even, or would have been if she hadn't already been too desperate to care. It was all she could do to remind herself to breath as she continued to stroke his smooth length and imagined it spreading her open one more time. 

'Oh just once more, oh please...please...' 

Suddenly his gripped changed and he took her by the shoulders, pulling away from her and stepping backwards toward the wall. He slipped from her fingers, and she groaned at the loss. 

She blinked a few times, remembering herself...and the plan. That's right, she came here with a plan. Must stick to the plan. She pulled herself together and went with him, walking him backwards as he half-heartedly held her at bay.

"I can't..." he breathed out as she pressed into him once more.

"I beg to differ." She breathed back, trailing her lips along the underside of his jaw. One hand deftly loosened the ties of her specifically chosen linen pants while the other began to squeeze at the bulge under his robes. One of his own hands reached down to stop her, but she caught it and pressed it against her bared stomach with hers over top, guiding it under the material until she felt his hand cup the mound of her sex. 

A soft gasp escaped her lips and he groaned as she pressed one of his fingers between the slick folds with her own. She arched her hips against his hand, instantly wanting more. His fingers curved upwards, searching for purchase inside of her even as he shook his head no. 

"I can't...we can't do this...you don't understand..." his voice was a whispered groan.

"Then explain it to me." Her mouth was pressed up against his jaw, her teeth nipping at his skin. His eyes were still closed, and his hips rocked unconsciously against her hand, much as hers were grinding against his.

"Ina...damn it, I can't explain...not here like this.." "Why not?" She groaned. Gods, she could feel the heat of him throbbing through the robe. He was so hot...so hard...

"I want you too much." He gasped, as if it made any sense, what...so...ever. 

Her laugh sounded more like raw sob as it tore form her throat. 

"Tell me why that's bad?"

His fingers had pressed into the entrance of her now soaked cunt, the thick tips forcing their way past the tight ring of muscles. She clenched down, making both of them moan, her from the wave of stomach tightening sensation it caused, him from the promise of that taut grip wrapped around something else. 

She quit nibbling on his ear to look up at him for an answer. He gave it to her in the form of a hard kiss that took her breath away and left her clinging to the edges of his half open robes. She rocked her hips impatiently and panted his name out against his lips, immediately regretting it when, at the sound of her voice, he gasped and broke the kiss, pulling his mouth and hands from her body. 

Every inflamed nerve in her body screamed out in protest and her last rational thought went up in flames like parchment on a bonfire.

"Damn it Feric. I need y-...this." Had she almost said that she...admitted 'That'...out loud? God, who was this man? What the hell was he doing to her? And more importantly, why wasn't he doing more?

"Please" she begged, "I can't take it." She couldn't help herself, couldn't stop it from slipping past her lips. What the hell was wrong with her? This wasn't like before, this was worse, ten times worse. He had her begging. No one made her beg. Damn him. 

There was that pained, almost apologetic expression again. He didn't need to be sorry, he just needed to start making up for it. She was more than willing to let him. She pressed forward, but he only swung her around and pinned her to the wall she'd backed him into. 

"I'm so sorry Inanna." He wasn't looking her in the eye but hanging his head. He too was breathing hard and she could feel his hands tremble faintly, though it was barely perceptible since her own body was vibrating like a plucked string drawn to tightly across a bow. 

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Then fix it damn it." She growled, not completely understanding what he was talking about, nor completely caring. Her whole existence was dominated by a single thought. Scratch that, make it two thoughts: 'Him' and 'Now.' 

His eyes shot up to meet hers and the barely restrained hunger that shone out at her made her whimper and arch eagerly away from the wall, her hands reaching out for him again, roughly yanking the rest of his robe open. She groaned low in her throat as his cock sprang free. He caught her hands too late, but managed to pin them over her head before she could make any further progress. The feel of the smooth cold wall against the overheated flesh of her hands and arms as her loose sleeves fell away caused another shiver to run through her. When it combined with his tight grip and fiery gaze she was sent over the edge and reduced to a quivering bundle of nerves. 

"I can't fix it."

"Oh yes you can." She groaned out, twisting in his grip. He was beginning pant again. He kept her hands pinned over her head with one hand while the other slid down her arm and over one breast where it lingered before slipping to grip her waist. 

He leaned into her, brushing his mouth against her sensitive ear sending another series of electric shivers down her spine. Did he know what that felt like? He had to. But he remained still, his head bowed into the crook of her neck. She could feel the tension in him, the conflict. 

"What are you afraid of Feric?" She squirmed again, fearful he'd regain his composure too soon and leave her to suffer alone in this state. 

"If being with me shames you, I swear I won't say anything. No one needs to know." 

He shook his head and turned to look at her once more.

"No. Never." The vehemence in his voice stunned her. "I'm...I would be proud...believe me, but this...this isn't as simple as you think it is."

"I'll make it that simple Feric." They stared each other down. He finally gave her a small shaky smile.

"I fear it's too late for that."

"Uh, for the love of...I'm not proposing here, I'm just asking you to finish what we started. Please..."

He let out a broken laugh and closed his eyes. 

"Feric?" He didn't respond, but the fingers around her wrists tightened.

'And therein lay the problem', he thought with another bitter, silent laugh. 

"Feric?" He looked into her eyes again and let out another groan. The heat, the pleading, the raw lust and desire he saw in those blazing garnet eyes, saw written across her features, and felt in the way she writhed against him broke over him once more, calling out to his own insatiable hunger. 

That wasn't true, it wasn't totally insatiable. There was one thing that would satisfy him. 

He let out a growl and pressed himself unthinkingly against her body. She slid a leg up against his, wrapping it around him, cooing, and moaning, and begging. He could smell her pheromones now, distinctly, mixing with her natural spice and the powerful scent of her arousal. It made his mouth water and his knees weak. 

He slid a hand up along the smooth length of her stomach and under her loose shirt to cup the round, pert breast beneath. Her skin felt like warm velvet. He ground his hips against her, feeling nothing between her hot sex and his naked cock except one fine layer of linen. 

How easy that was to remedy. How easy it would be to claim her, here, now, completely, forever....




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



"No..." he gasped again, pulling away.

She cried out and the sound cut deep into the core of him. It sounded terrified. He could feel her need. It emanated from her, matching his, singing out to his...oh god, what had he done? 

He knew then, unequivocally, that she could feel it too, the effects of the mating. She felt that same unrelenting pull, and it was making her just as crazy as it was making him. He was ripped in two, torn between fear and desire, between his fury and guilt for having done this to her and the joyous high of knowing she really was his, irrevocably. 

He had released her at some point and now stood over her, his hands propping him up against the wall behind her head. He felt her arms wrap about his neck, and her body melt into his.

"You still owe me Serjo." she whispered hotly against his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. He did, and she had no idea just how much. He was determined to suffer for what he'd done, but it would be cruel to withhold satisfaction from her when it was he who had caused the need. He bent his head, trailing kisses as he went, along the curve of her ear. She shivered against him. He purred back.

He brought one hand back down around her waist, fitting her lithe frame into the crook of his arm, while the second slid to the loosened waist of her pants. He didn't stop there, and she let out a soft cry as the tips of his fingers found the top of her slit and pressed against the hard nub hidden beneath. 

One of her own hands slid down to return the favor, but he caught it and wrapped it back around his neck. He returned her questioning look with a deep unhurried kiss, not letting up until he felt her fall into him once more. 

He slipped his hand over her mound, tugging the edge of her pants lower at the same time, giving him freer access. Her arms tightened around his neck as his fingers once again found and parted her slick center and delved deeply inside. He shuddered at how hot and wet she felt wrapped around his fingers and struggled to ignored his own insistent and demanding arousal. 

She writhed in his arms, making low, warm, almost purring sounds which only drove him further into distraction. His hand moved on its own between her thighs, rapidly increasing in pace, his thumb seeking and finding her swollen clit and grinding it furiously, eager to wrench her pleasure from her. 

He wanted to hear her cry out again as she had in that field. He wanted to hear her whimper and moan in release, in ecstasy. He wanted to be the one to give that to her, wanted it more than he wanted his next breath. She let out a small cry and buried her head against his shoulder. He groaned.

"That's it baby," he encouraged in a heated and broken whisper against her ear. She shivered again and her hips bucked, pressing her perfect little body tightly against his. He could feel her whole body tighten, trembling with sudden tension. He could feel his own body throb in excited response and his grip on her waist tightened involuntarily.

"Cum for me." He gasped, and, as if on command, her hips jumped frantically against his hands and she muffled a long high cry against his shoulder. She shook and twitched like a leaf in a wind storm, and he was forced to squeeze shut his eyes and grit his teeth against the need her release stirred in him. 

There was nothing in that moment more wonderful or more torturous than the feel of his alluring little mate climaxing in his arms. He held her tightly, as much to keep her safe in the throes of her passion as to occupy his hands so that he did not simply rip the rest of her clothes from her and answer the calls of instinct right where they stood. 

When her trembling subsided he pulled away slowly, and with great difficulty to look down into her face. She looked back at him with half glazed eyes. He cupped her face gently and deepened his gaze, as if with that one look he could say all that he wanted and feared to tell her. 

Her eyes darkened and turned questioning. He leaned forward, drawing her into a long intense kiss, full of both desire and the bitter knowledge that it was likely the last chance he'd have to do so.

Inanna pulled away with a gasp for air as he finally broke his kiss. She was well acquainted with lust, she'd seen it often enough, and in many different eyes, but the look in Feric's eyes as he gazed once more down at her was almost frightening in its intensity. It was like a physical blow that left her breathless and weak. Yet when he touched her, his movements were heart-achingly tender. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone.

"I'm sorry." He leaned in before she could respond and pressed his warm lips to the shell of her ear. "I will make it right, I promise, whatever it takes. And I hope you will...that you can, forgive me."

He pulled away, closing his robe and turning at the same time, and swept out of the room leaving her staring blankly after him. When she finally blinked herself back into reality she slumped against the wall and slid slowly to the floor. She stared for a long while at the darkened doorway, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"What...was that!?"

She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and let out a mournful groan.

"I need a better plan." 

A delicious left over shiver ran it's course through her body, making her wriggle against the wall in pleasure and frustration. She smiled faintly. 

"A much better plan."

**

"So..."

Feric looked up to see his sister looking down on him, a toddler on one hip, her balled up fist on the other.

"So?"

She smiled softly, but deviously.

"Don't play coy little brother. Tell me about her."

"Who?"

"oh please." She rolled her eyes and shook her head, making the impish Sonja giggle. She smirked and shifted the girl to the other hip. Sonja thrust her head against her mother's shoulder and stared up at Feric through her golden curls as he stood. He returned the look and winked at her.

"You sure that's appropriate?" He asked and nodded at the little one. She rolled her eyes again.

"I'm not asking for details...I just want to know why you're mopping around like a kicked dog."

"I have a lot on my mind."

"I bet."

He frowned at her. "The hunters..."

"Are nothing new." She interrupted. "This..." she waved a general hand at him, "is. Listen you are clearly miserable, and none of us are deaf or blind, nor are we stupid. If you want her, tell her. It's pretty clear she isn't going to turn you down."

He snorted. "It's not that simple."

"Nonsense. I can't think of anything simpler." He returned her smarmy look with a glare and opened his mouth to respond, only to close it again a moment later. He wanted to tell her, if he could tell anyone it was her, but he just couldn't bring himself to. He sighed instead and glanced away. When all this was over, he'd figure it out. Find some way to fix his mess...whatever that meant. 

He glanced back when he felt a hand on his arm. Bella was giving him a pitying look. He must really look like hell, he almost never got that look from her.

"Fine...don't tell me, but please, promise me you'll at least consider it. You're not doing anyone any favors getting yourself tied in knots over this." He nodded. What else was he supposed to do?

She left, and he decided to take a walk. He intended to make a perimeter check, but as soon as he neared the edge of the woods a number of voices caught his attention. 

In a clearing, not twenty feet in, was Inanna with bow in hand and Lucas standing close by watching her intently. He could hear as he neared that she was explaining something, occasionally smiling and touching his shoulder as she spoke. He felt a momentary pang of completely unreasonable jealously which he quickly shook off as he edged in closer. Behind the two of them sat Aina with talon sharing her rock and Ambrose nearby whose mop of orange-red hair identified him immediately. To another side lay Mori stretched out on her flank in a patch of sun, her eyes slitted barely open, and next to her, in the same warm looking spot lay Owyn, though he was wide awake and upright, watching the proceedings with interest. 

He could see and hear now that Inanna was demonstrating her grip on the bow and talking constantly as Lucas watched carefully, occasionally interjecting with questions. 

His back was to Aina so he couldn't see her and Talon's growing smiles. Feric turned his gaze towards the spot where theirs was directed and grinned despite himself. They were looking at the arrows she was shooting into a distant tree. It wasn't until Ambrose finally let out a snicker. Lucas rolled his eyes and turned to him imperiously.

"I don't mind an audience, but please hold off on the sniggering until after I've made a fool of myself."

Inanna for her part was keeping an impressively straight face. When Owyn let out a growling purr as well Lucas frowned and turned to see what they were all looking at, a rare grin breaking across his face as he was greeted by an arrow drawn happy face smiling back at him. 

It was a gratifying sight for Feric. Owyn, Ambrose, and Mori had joined them at a young age, and Talon was still quite young, having been found as a small kitten, his unusual name owing from the fact that Cyrus, drawn by his mewling, had near literally pulled him from the talons of a greater mountain eagle. Lucas, however, was already thirteen when they came across him and had been surviving alone for years before that. 

It wasn't that Lucas was ever troublesome or difficult, he was in fact the opposite, always quick to make himself useful and ready to help without complaint, but he was a little morose in nature. He generally kept to himself and carried himself in silent seriousness, rarely laughing or smiling, and only seemed to speak to Owyn and Aina with any regularity. 

Of course Aina he had latched onto immediately, both because she was the closest to his age and the one who had found him and brought him to the pride to begin with. Aina didn't seem to mind his almost constant presence so no one else had either. 

Though, he thought with a frown as Lucas took up the bow, they were both technically adults now...

He wasn't sure he liked where his thoughts were taking him. Unfortunately they were going there more often these days. 

He started as Aina let out a cry.

"Lucas!"

The others, save Talon who was struggling to pull Aina's hands off his eyes, were laughing heartily. 

Ina grabbed the bow from him, though her own grin was a mile wide, and gave him a playful shove before releasing several carefully placed shots and obscuring his rather suggestive masterpiece. 

"You better watch it mister." Aina warned Lucas as she let Talon finally pull her hands from his eyes with a bitter complaint about not having any fun.

"What?" He asked innocently, with a not so innocent look on his face.

She stood up with a rare smirk on her face. 

"I said you better watch it or I'll be forced to give you a lesson in manners." 

He arched a brow.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Her smile broadened into a grin as she untied her robe, tossing it to the side. He couldn't see Lucas's face now, but his daughter looked gleefully ferocious. He watched her with a mixture of pride and sadness. She looked so much like her mother, and at that moment so free and youthful, like she should be, not living in fear in sunless dungeons.

Inanna snatched up the arrows on the ground and moved to the edge near Ambrose and Talon, whose hair she ruffled absently as she turned and sat. 

He saw her smile and a glow of delight in her eyes that once again seemed to reflect his at the sight of the two young lions circling one another in the bright clearing. 

Lucas had a little size on her, but she was strongly built and compact. It was not an unbalanced fight. 

It had been a long time since he'd seen these two go at it, and he was curious to see the results. They were both cautious, so it was a long time before Lucas made the first tentative move. They hesitantly lunged and dodged earning heckles from Talon who was anxious to see a more action than they were willing to offer. Finally Aina managed to get in on Lucas's flank and charged at him, knocking him over and sending them both tumbling in a blur of activity until he managed to get on top and she responded by throwing him off with her hind legs. Lucas slammed hard into a nearby tree and landed slumped on his side, his back to the rest. He seemed very still. 

Aina watched him carefully for a moment, then let out a plaintive yowl and padded close, nudging him with her nose. 

Feric had risen from his place, as had Owyn and Ambrose. However, before any could approach, Lucas rolled abruptly, knocking Aina's legs out from underneath her and was on her in the blink of an eye. With a snarl he clamped his teeth over her suddenly exposed throat. She went limp in submission, and he backed off slowly.

Ina clapped and grinned from her seat. Aina rose, no longer a lion, and gave Lucas a dirty look, slapping him lightly on the shoulder as she passed.

"Cheater." 

Even as she pulled her robe closed Owyn was already entering the ring prowling around Lucas with a playful growl. Talon was delighted, and ran over to prod the sleepy Mori awake, wanting to make a tournament out of it. 

Feric's eyes were drawn back to Inanna who was speaking softly to Aina and Ambrose, both of whom were listening with interest not unlike what Lucas had shown in his archery lesson. 

She held out her palm in front of her and a small red mage light appeared in her hand. She said something else which he couldn't make out over the growls of the two male lions still wrestling between him and them. Ambrose clearly looked excited but Aina laughed and shook her head. Ina smiled slyly and said something else, at which Aina's amusement faded.

Feric was seriously considering circling to the other side of the glade to eavesdrop when Ina took his daughters hands in her own, turning them palm up. However a rustle in the woods behind him turned his attention before he could make up his mind to do it. He looked over to see Cyrus emerge from the heavy brush and stalking up behind him. They greeted one another and Cyrus silently communicated that his scouting had been uneventful. Feric was unsurprised.

It would be at least a week before another group of hunters were sent out after them so he wasn't expecting to find anything. They would have a brief reprieve for a few days at least. Still, as good as Mirisa was, he was loathe to leave his family for more than a couple of days at a time. They would have to move quickly if he wanted to see this fort Inanna had discovered. She was hopeful that they might be able to recover information on who was doling out the orders, if not an explicit location.

He turned away from the glade, leaving Cyrus to watch the wrestling. Feric felt he needed to go with her, to see for himself what they were up against, but after the previous evening he was hesitant to let himself alone with her for so long. 

It would be two days to reach Kavatch, and that didn't include any stops, and just as long to return. Could he handle being alone with her for nearly a full week, with no excuses. He shuddered at the thought of having a repeat performance of last night. He knew if it happened again there would be no way he could resist her. Not that he'd done a great job of it so far.

He'd been avoiding her all day, but sooner or later he was going to have to bite the proverbial blade an either tell her why they couldn't continue with this, or at the very least make it explicitly clear that it couldn't happen again. It was a conversation he was not looking forward to having.

**

Ambrose had been a natural with magic and seemed to have an impressive reserve of power, as she suspected, though to her surprise Inanna had discovered that Aina possessed an even deeper well of energy to draw from than he did...greater even than Inanna had. 

They were both shocked and delighted when she managed to get them to heal a small self induced cut on her hand. It wasn't even very hard, really only a matter of teaching them how to draw on that power and externalize it. It wasn't hard for her either since she'd used her little magic trick to get a read on both of them. 

Mysticism...the lame duck of the magic world, but great at parties. 

Inanna made a sour face and shook out one of her silk undershirts before refolding it carefully for packing. That was her other great skill. Illusion would have been crazy fun, alteration and restoration unbelievably useful, and conjuration...well maybe not, but still a lot more impressive than limp wristed mysticism. 

Her great grandmother had been a wise woman, so she blamed her. What would she care anyway...she was dead, and the old bat was too good to answer her summons as it was. The battleaxe. She shook out another shirt violently before pausing and taking a breath. 

She didn't really care about the mysticism, and she couldn't be bothered with Muthsera grandma and her pestering her about not training with the current Wise woman. She may not answer summons, but she did occasionally show up for fun to torture her progeny.

No she was ticked off at someone else entirely.

She had kept herself busy and distracted playing with the kiddies, keeping her mind off other things. Other annoying, frustrating, and distracting things. That is until said 'thing' had shown up five minutes ago to inform her that they were leaving together tomorrow morning for Kavatch in a businesslike manner, barely making eye contact, and not sounding to thrilled about the trip himself. He sounded even less thrilled when she told him they had to make a side trip to Chorrol on the way.

It had briefly crossed her mind to throw something at him, but she'd kept her mouth shut and just nodded, and returned his business-likeness with her own. 

She couldn't figure out this hot and cold routine of his, but, she had decided, she would make use of the coming week to get him over it. It wasn't like he didn't have every reason to want her, what sane person wouldn't? Honestly!

He DID start it after all. So what the hell was his problem? God-damn-bloody-sneaky-drop dead gorgeous-fetching- s'wit of a lion!

She adjusted her pack violently on her lap and started making her inventory. She gentled her movements, not wanting to break anything, but she still wore the same sour expression. 

She usually worked alone, so she'd have to be extra careful with what she took. She liked to travel light, but she figured a couple mild healing elixirs might be in order, not to mention a few fatiguing potions for her arrows. They can't catch you if they're too tired to run after all. On top of that went her rope and her tack. 

The three R's of adventuring: ropes, rations, and restoration. Don't leave home without them.

She'd been hoping to pull a 'sneaky thief' like she had with the vamps, but with Feric she figured there were going to be some casualties...which was ok to. It might get a little messy, but so long as they took their time it wouldn't be a problem. They'd just have to take them one by one, nice and systematic. 

She huffed. Either this was going to be fun as hell, or the longest week of her life. She didn't have a great feeling about it. 

Her only consolation was that she'd be meeting Max for a drink at the Roxy on the way back. She'd probably need it by then. 

She smirked into her pack, maybe she should invite Mirisa to join them there...it was only natural that she'd want to meet him, as beta and what not. She grinned. 

Well as long as someone was getting laid, that would make her feel a little better. Her grin faded. Who was she kidding? No it woulnd't. This was going to be rough. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03



She lay her shirts on the top of the pack and closed the flap, cinching it tightly. 

She looked around the empty room and listened to the now oddly familiar sound of clicking claws and soft murmurs and growls coming from the hallway. Her grin came back. Yes, it was going to be really, really, really rough. 

She'd see to that personally. 



Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



Thanks for your patience. I really do hope you enjoy this installment.

yours, enithermon.

***

Silence. 

It filled every crack of the dense, pine scented woods which cut a swath of grey green across the treacherous terrain of northern Cyrodiil. Filled it near to bursting. No sign of life, no wolves, no squirrels, no birds...even the wind which usually rattled through these cliffs was apparently on vacation, leaving the air heavy and still. 

Silence. Some people worshiped it, some people were afraid of it. Inanna was just plain old sick and tired of it. They were half way to Chorrol and she could still count the number of words spoken between them on her fingers. The fingers of one hand no less. Pathetic.

"Ok, this is getting old fast."

"Tell me about it."

She turned back to look at him, startled by the response. So far he'd stuck to his lion, aka 'I don't want to talk about it,' form. She stopped and pulled her pack off, fishing out his clothes for him before tossing them at him indecorously. 

"I am telling you."

He looked at her, his face calm and stoic and unreadable. 

"Nice poker face...remind me never to play with you." She re-tied her bag and slung it back over her shoulder, and waited just long enough for him to get his sandals done up before moving again, intentionally veering their path and taking them down the hard way over a series of high mossy boulders. They were kind of pretty with the waterfall of moss cascading over them and little rock flowers blooming around them, but they looked tricky as hell to get down. She tightened her pack straps before hopping quickly down, skipping from boulder to boulder in rapid succession, landing finally in a light crouch in the soft forest floor below. Ha, beat that sucker. She turned around and looked back up at him with a mild smile. She wasn't bitter...no sir, not little ol' her.

He looked down, looked back to her, then down again at his sandals.

"You know, this would have been easier if I hadn't changed. You did that on purpose didn't you?" He grinned, his white toothed smile lighting up his face and making those blazing green eyes dance. It lit hers up too. Dunmer see, Dunmer do, she couldn't help herself, a smile like that is catching...catching and addictive.

"I admit nothing." She put her hands on her hips and cocked them. "What? You're two feet not good enough to beat mine...you're going to let a girl beat you?" He narrowed his eyes, but his smile barely faded. 

He arched a brow at her. "Come now, you know I don't mind being beaten by someone worthy of it, or either sex..." he smirked deviously, "but it ain't gonna be you sweet heart." She blinked in surprise at that. 

She was still laughing when he landed, admittedly with every bit of ease as she had, in the soft loam beside her. 

"Ha!" He crowed playfully. She shoved his shoulder. 

"You got lucky."

"I don't need luck." 

She rolled her eyes and continued on, picking her way around a few lesser boulders, occasionally letting a branch or two snap back behind her. One finally caught him and she heard him curse softly.

"You ok back there?" she asked sweetly. 

"Brat." 

She smiled at the trees in front of her. "What happened to 'sweet heart'?"

"It was just payback for that pussy cat crack." She chuckled and threw him his hard earned smile over her shoulder. He returned it.

"Does this mean we're friends again?" she asked lightly.

"Were we not before?"

"You tell me." She cast him another look, this one a touch more arched.

His gleaming smile dimmed, unfortunately, and he sighed. "I'd like to think so. I don't want that to change."

"If you tell me this is a 'let's just be friends' speech, I swear I'll gut you."

"Ok. I won't tell you."

Thwap.

"You know, pine needles don't taste nearly as good as they look. Just so you know, for future reference."

She could only laugh. And boy did that ever feel good.

The trees were thinning a little as they approached what appeared to be the Gold Road. She paused to let him catch up, casting her eyes to the sunset hues of the sky. 

"What do you think? Should we keep going and push through, or just call it a day?" he asked as he skirted a stump to come up next to her.

She frowned at the setting sun. "These woods can get pretty dicey, and the terrain is...interesting in the dark." He nodded. 

"I think I remember passing an Alyeid well once in this part of the world, does that sound about right to you?" 

She nodded. That would give them cover and a convenient source of power if things got ugly. 

"You read my mind boss." 

He gestured for her to lead the way.

"So?"

She turned back and arched a curious brow at him.

"So what?"

"Do we get to be friends again...even though I'm pissing you off?"

She blinked at him a moment then grinned. This delightful creature sure was full of surprises. 

"Only because you just said that." She pursed her lips. "But don't press your luck bucko." 

He looked so relieved that she felt she was in instant danger of softening again. It was going to take some work to be a hard ass about this. But she had plans for this pussy cat of hers, and she wasn't going to let a little thing like pity get in her way. Nope, not her. And they were lovely plans too; he was going to be sooooo mad at her for it...but lord was he going to enjoy it while it lasted. She had to resist the urge to cackle manically. 

"I'm not sure how I feel about that expression on your face." he gave her an appropriately cautious look. He might be sweet, but he sure wasn't stupid, this one. 

"Oh, nothing to worry about, I assure you." He let out a single dry chuckle. "Why doesn't that reassure me?" 

@@@

"Hon, baby!"

The willowy mer stiffened and turned, one pale brow arching impossibly high over a crystal blue eye, which had narrowed somewhat, matching the sneer which twisted his lips. 

"It's Honditar. How many times must I remind you? You insufferable child."

Feric could practically feel the acid seeping out of the Altmer's pores. He was typical Altmer: tall, slender, with gold skin and pale silvery hair and, of course, he oozed condescension. However, as they approached him as he stood idle under the canopy of the great oak which defined the central square, Feric did notice a few unusual traits. At just a few inches over six feet he was actually a little short for an Altmer male, many of which were as tall as seven feet, though equally slender as to make them less imposing. With his mane of silver hair, this mer looked a little wilder and unkempt than was typical as well. That's not saying much of course, Feric still felt like a ruffian next to him, but high elves were renowned for their almost obsessive fastidiousness. He was also wearing the dark greens and browns of a woodsman and a fine elven bow was hanging off one of his shoulders. 

He glanced at his companion who was giving the mer an ear to ear grin, clearly unphased by the less than warm welcome. Not that Feric was terribly surprised by that.

"Oh don't be that way, luv. You're not still sore about me kicking your shiny gold ass half way across the empire are you?" The mer's brow arched even higher, though how was a wonder.

"Gods only know what you're talking about." She mimed taking a shot on a bow, aiming the invisible arrow at the rose window decorating the front of the mages guild. 

"I seem to recall you cheating." He murmured with a sight sneer.

She was still grinning. "All's fair in love and bouncy-bouncy." She turned and winked at Feric. "War too." He kept his face placid and his eye rolling to himself. She'd been so quite for so long that it was odd to see her hamming it up for someone again. Still, he couldn't fault the performance. It was tough to tell sometimes what performance was for whose benefit. If he hadn't already seen her turn it off and on with so many others he'd have jumped to some conclusions about her himself. As it was he was just mildly confused.

Honditar let out a sigh and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes in a very un-Altmer like way. "It was an archery contest, and you jumped the hind with a knife."

"Ah, ah, ahhh, not until after I'd already slowed it down with arrows...I did technically shoot it, eventually." The mer turned to Feric and scoffed, gesturing to Ina with an open palm. 

"Incorrigible. Clearly you see what I mean." Feric hadn't really realized it but he'd been chuckling to himself and shaking his head at her, easily picturing her leaping from some tree like a feral thing. Hell, he'd already seen it firsthand. Feric gave the Altmer his best smile and held out a hand. The mer took it. 

"Feric, and yes, I'm beginning to feel your pain."

"Honditar. Don't let her suck you into one of her games, and if you do, pay very close attention to the wording of her bets."

"Speaking of which you still owe me money." Ina interrupted poking Honditar in the shoulder and earning another glare from him. 

"Ah, is that the reason for this particularly charming visit?"

Feric watched her eyes go wide in mock innocence. 'Honditar! Is it so shocking that I'd just want to say hello to a good friend?" The pale brow jumped again.

"Friend?"

She shrugged. "Honoured acquaintance then." Feric watched curiously as her face shifted to something a little more somber, "I always make time for people who take their archery seriously."

"Ironic, since you don't."

"Hog wash." 

The high elf clasped his hands behind his back and began making a circling inspection of Inanna. Feric stepped back to let him pass, and Honditar inclined his head politely in acknowledgment.

"No bracers, no gloves, Imperial fletching on," he paused and drew an arrow from her quiver with delicate fingers, as though he were pulling something unsavoury out of his soup, "Ye gods, what is this?"

"Chitin, that's eons of tradition right there Hon baby."

"Ugh. With glass heads?"

"Don't knock it till you try it."

"I'd rather not"

"Is that a bad thing?" Feric asked politely. Both curious and inclined to get on the mer's good side, even if Ina wasn't. The last thing he needed right now was another enemy.

The mer was still giving the little imp a look of supreme distaste. 

"That depends...would you consider a necromancer sewing a Bosmers head on an Argonian body with Orcish legs a bad thing?"

"More like human legs," Inanna interjected. "Let's be accurate in our criticism now."

"More like disturbing, if not horrific."

"Precisely."

Inanna threw back her head and returned the fair mer's haughty look.

"I...am an artist!"

"You're a hack."

"I could still take you." She narrowed her eyes at him and tipped her face up to his. "I bet those slender Altmer bones of yours would snap like dry twigs." He leaned in.

"I'd like to see you try it with a cranium full of my arrows."

"That a dare?"

"Try me."

Feric cleared his throat, suddenly concerned that this was getting a little out of hand. They seemed like old acquaintances, but he wasn't sure just how good or bad the blood actually was between them. They both turned towards him. He nodded toward a city guard who'd thankfully chosen to pass by at that moment. Inanna grinned and Honditar gave him a mild smile and straightened.

"Fear not Feric...I wouldn't do more than take the little twit over my knee. That is how one deals with children is it not?" 

Ina stuck her tongue out at him and Feric suppressed a chuckle and the Altmer's lips twitched in an obvious attempt to suppress his own mirth.

"Honestly though, what brings you to my corner of the province?" He gestured to a stone bench. The two of them sat, but Feric opted to remain standing and kept an eye out for interested eyes and ears. They were in the guild district so most people were going about their business in a brisk manner, unconcerned by the reunion taking place in front of them. So his job was pretty easy.

"I'm actually looking for Glistel, but that slippery little minx is never around when I want her." 

"What makes you think I know where she is...it's a big town. Other people's business is hardly my concern."

"A little birdie told me you and Glistel have an understanding."

The mer pursed his lips again. "Next time you see said birdie you should tell him he needs to keep his big Dunmer mouth shut."

She chortled. "You should know better than telling him anything Hon, he's worse than a Dres courtesan." He sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly.

"Yes, yes he is. S'wit." 

She laughed and patted him on the arm. "You need to stop hanging out with us Dunmer, we're wearing off on you."

"Well, dare I ask what you want the esteemed Lady Glistel for?"

"Oh you know...girl stuff."

"Very likely."

"What can I say, it's 'that time of the century'" she husked out in a loud whisper.

"Is it indeed? Our little Ina is all grown up is she? How terrifying." He paused and looked down his nose at her. "You know it's often a false start the first time around, so don't be disappointed if it doesn't pan out for you...so to speak."

"Gee thanks dad." 

He shrugged.

"Alright then. I'll get a hold of her for you. The Oak and Crosier at midnight?"

"Why there?"

"The pretty little Khajiit who runs it makes a superb venison pie. You'll like it. And her too, she's an affable sort of girl." Feric could have sworn the mer accentuated the word affable, and raised his own eyebrow at the high elf, who only gave another mild smile in return.

Ina just nodded. "Gottcha." 

The mer sighed again and patted her on the knee, an affectionate gesture which surprised Feric, though he kept it to himself.

"Good to see your head's still attached little girl. Try to keep it that way....Glistel would be put out to lose another gossip, and you know how unbearable she is when she's upset."

"To spare you the inconvenience, I will try."

"Very kind." He stood, brushing smooth the non existence wrinkles from his clothes. He bowed slightly to Feric to who nodded back. 

"A pleasure."

"Indeed. Till we meet again." The mer gave him a quick glance. "Nice to see your taste in company is improving with age, Inanna." He smiled slightly when Feric let out an involuntary cough. "Good day to you both." He called over his shoulder as he strode leisurely away with a wave.

Ina jumped up off the bench. "Faaaantastic. One down. Let's go find Modryn." She sidled up next to him and slipped her arm under his. He obediently accepted it. So much for not touching her, he mused...but then, he had to pick his fights, didn't he? Besides, she felt rather nice pressed up against him, and she smelled like...damn it. For the love of Kyn, why did she have to smell so bloody good all the time.

"You ok in there big guy?" 

He cocked his brow at her. "Pardon?"

She motioned to her head with a spinning finger. "I can see the wheels turning."

"Ah. Yes...I'll live...probably." he groused. She chuckled.

"You're an odd duck, kitty cat."

"Says the insane Imp." 

"Admit it, we'd make a cute couple of weirdos together. We can run away and join a circus...be the freak show." He suppressed another chuckle.

"Like you, I admit nothing. Who's Modryn?" he changed the subject. She narrowed her eyes at him then cleared her expression.

"He's the little birdie who can't keep his beak shut, and he's our man in the Fighter's guild. He's also why I had to drop in to the book store earlier."

"If he can't keep his mouth shut should we really be talking to him?" 

She grinned. "Clever boy. No, he's good about the real stuff, he's just a sucker for a romance. Deep down in that black heart of his, he's really a big softy."

"We need them for this? The fighter's guild?"

"Not necessarily, but we're already here, might as well make introductions before things get hairy. He's a good guy, and well respected in the guild. He's even a family friend of the new Guild master and his kin, every member of which is in the guild, even their teeny tiny little sister, who is surprisingly scary in a fight. Big things in small packages, you know? Anyway, there is no one better than Modryn to have next to you in a scrap, he's utterly fearless...well maybe you want him out of sword range if he IS literally next to you, he gets a little wild, but definitely good to have on your side nonetheless. I wouldn't want to fight him, that's for sure." 

She had walked them over to a long three story building nearby and led them inside. To the right was an impressive arrangement of weaponry arranged tidily on tables and racks, to the left a huge circular table covered in baskets of bread, fruit, empty bottles of ale, and a large half naked Orc. Ahead was a wide stair case and on it a sight imposing enough to make the arsenal and the drunk Orc look like doilies and kittens.

A Dunmer, at least 6'3, not including the rise of a bluish black Mohawk over an otherwise bare skull, clearly dressed for action in less than polished steel mail, with a claymore strapped to his back and a mace to his hip, was making his way towards them, his blood red eyes flashing furiously. A scowl that could churn the stomach of a hardened soldier plastered to his lean well worn face, a face which bore the signs and marks of many years, and many more battles.

"Gro-ba!" He shouted, loud enough to make them both wince as it filled the room and bounced off the walls. "Get the hell off the table before I rip off your head and piss down your neck, you sniveling, pointy-toothed, guar-herder." 

At the sound the sleeping Orc startled awake and rolled indecorously onto the floor. The dark skinned elf clunked down the stairs, his snarling face turning on them. Feric had to fight the urge to turn around and walk right back out. In the corner of his eye he saw Ina catch her bottom lip in her teeth. The Orc stumbled to his feet and trotted past them out the door, his head bent low as if expecting something to come winging by it any second, and giving them a sheepish smile and nod.

"Raised in a god-damn barn. " He stopped in front of them and tilted his head, looking down at Ina. "Ashlander. What do you want from my life now? Skingrad run out of vampires?" 

Inanna stepped forward, her face placid and bowed slightly, holding out a folded leather skin in both hands. He lifted the corner and peaked in. Feric knew from seeing her buy the stuff that all it contained was a set of paint brushes. His scowl lessened slightly, though it remained for all intents a nasty unwelcoming expression. He nodded at Feric. 

"Well, you going introduce me woman, or are you just going to stand there gaping like a Nord with a leaky brain pan?"

"Serjo Modryn, this is Serjo Feric. Feric, Modryn." 

Serjo? He'd never heard her call anyone else that yet, it definitely piqued his interest. Feric offered a hand to shake. The Dark elf had a grip like a bear on scooma. It was no wonder she called him Serjo. He was half tempted to check for broken bones. The grim dark elf gave him the old up and down. 

"You looking for work? You look like you might last an hour or two." Feric arched a brow at him, but followed Ina's lead and said nothing. The guy wasn't endearing himself very fast, though like Ina said, it was probably better to have this one on your side. He sighed internally, if these were Ina's friends he'd hate to see her enemies, he felt like he was perpetually walking a razor thin line with her, and them. Modryn tilted his head towards the stairs. 

"Head up, show your friend here around, I'll be up in a minute."

"Is the old lady around?" She asked as she started towards the stairs.

"What do I look like, a watch dog?"

"Kinda. You do bear a passing resemblance to a nix hound."

To his surprise the Dunmer warrior laughed, a low gravelly sound. "Watch your tongue or I'll watch it for you."




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



She fluttered her lashes over her shoulder. "Oooh, promise."

"Yeah, I'll cut it out and nail it to my desk for safe keeping. Now get a move on woman." He nodded to Feric and strode out the door after the Orc. Ina smiled at him. "Is Gro-ba ever gonna get it. Modryn swears like a sailor, but he has very particular ideas about proper behaviour. He almost cut my feet of for putting them on his desk once."

He smiled back, not doubting her words. "How did you talk him out of it?"

"I didn't. I'm lucky I can run so fast." She shuddered dramatically. She led him up a couple of flights and into a large office, plopping into the chair and waving him into the one next to her. "I think he likes you though, so that'll help."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "He said I'd last hour or two, that's hardly encouraging."

"Trust me...that's high praise. He told me he could break me over his big toe when I first met him." 

"You're sure this is a good idea?"

She rolled her head back and toward him. "Oh yeah. At least...I'm pretty sure."

Ah, brother.

"If it's not you do know that Mirisa will kill us both? Or rather she'll kill me after I kill you." She saluted. "Aye aye boss man." She swung her legs up onto the desk in front of her and crossed her ankles. Feric rolled his eyes and leaned forward, pushed her legs off the furniture. 

"Hey!"

He gave her a low growl. "I don't particularly feel like going for a run, thanks. So keep your feet on the floor or I'll hold you down while he removes them." She gaped at him like he'd just turned pink and grown gills.

"Sounds like he's not a total idiot. Funny he's working with you, Ashlander." Feric smirked at her. She may not have noticed him sneaking up the stairs, but he did. Her eyes widened then narrowed slightly glittering with sudden awareness, as though she was coming to the sudden realization that two can play at that game. If she wasn't...she should be. She turned her lopsided grin on Modryn.

"Yeah, but I'm not looking for work, and neither is he."

Modryn dropped into the big chair behind the desk with a heavy sigh and the noisy clank of armour. Interesting how he had been so quiet coming up the stairs. Full of surprises these Dunmer. He suspected that like Ina, there was far more to this mer than met the eye. 

"Then what are you bugging me for, I've got a ton of jobs and not enough people. We're still dealing with the fallout from all that Blackwood nonsense. First they steal all our jobs, then all our people, and to top it off they go and get themselves blown up by junior. He could have left some of them alive, enough to come crawling back and up our body count at least."

"He's working out of Leyawin these days right?"

"Yep. And I'm stuck up here doing all the work. Fetcher."

"I'm sure he'd disagree. " She grinned again and he shrugged then leaned down and pulled a bottle out from one of the desk drawers along with three absolutely miniature glasses. He filled them and passed them out as he talked.

"I bet he would, the lunkhead. Not as bad as his brothers mind, but a lunkhead Nord regardless."

"I thought they were half Nords?"

"Whatever. The other half is imperial, just as bad." He glanced at Feric and took a tiny sip from his glass. "No offense."

"None taken." Feric took an equally small sip from his own glass. He was glad he did. It burned like hell going down. He looked down at it. It was mostly clear with an unwholesome greenish tinge.

Modryn raised his glass. "Good eh? Aged Greef, spiked with black anther." Feric glanced at Ina and she shrugged.

"It's a Vardenfell thing, very popular with those crazy Redoran kids. But hey, whatever doesn't kill you...doesn't kill you." She saluted them both with her glass and tipped it back.

They carried on with a good deal of guild gossip for a few minutes and Feric took a moment to look around. The office was actually quite nice, everything seemed clean and well organized, the furniture was heavy but ornate, and the walls were covered with elaborate hangings, unsurprisingly with primarily combat related imagery. Over all it was an unexpectedly pleasant space, not something one would expect from people who fight for a living. The two of them stopped chatting and placed their empty glasses on the table. Feric dutifully killed his as well and waited with his hands folded in his lap, wondering, and not for the first time, why it was he was letting Ina drag him along. He was beginning to share Mirisa's concern that he really wasn't thinking straight after all. He watched her, wondering if the pull of mating hadn't finally gotten to him and over rode all of his better sense. He knew he wanted her, that was painfully clear, and her perpetual nearness over the last couple of days had only exacerbated that fact, turning uncomfortable urges into excruciating ones. More than once today he'd been forced to tear his eyes from hers, from her mouth, the line of her neck, or the curve of her hips. Even her slender, agile hands drew his admiration. He literally had to force himself to look for faults just to keep himself from pulling her behind the nearest tree or building and having his wicked way with her. The worst part was the knowledge that she'd be more than happy to try turning wicked into something closer to downright depraved. That little bit of information did nothing for his self control. To say the least.

He swallowed and cracked his neck, attempting and failing to change the course of his thoughts by trying to find the conversation interesting. It really didn't help.

Modryn lifted a hand and muttered something inaudible. Feric couldn't tell what he did, but the air changed somehow, felt thicker, quieter. A heavy silence.

"Ok. Enough small talk. What's all this about. This might be a social call, but I know you like mixing business with pleasure, so get on with it." 

Ina smiled and tilted her head back, as though she were listening to some distant sound. Feric frowned. He could hear nothing, which was disconcerting in itself since he could usually hear a good deal more than most. She nodded, satisfied, and cleared her throat.

"You want the song and dance, or can I count on you to say yes no matter what?"

"Neither, but I lean towards the latter." She nodded again.

"In that case, Feric is part of a rare race of shape shifters who are being killed off by some unknown faction, for unknonwn reasons, and they need friends, badly. So I'm going around giving them my friends." If he'd still been drinking he would have spit it out. He had expected a lot of things to come out of her mouth, but the naked truth hadn't been one of them. Modryn seemed unaffected.

"Why, what's in it for you?"

"My good deed for the day." They both stared at her. Modryn with suspicion, Feric in shock. She turned to Feric first. She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes was unmistakable, he could practically hear the unspoken words rattling around in his brain. 'trust me.' 

Could he? Or better yet, should he? He knew what he wanted to do, but he wasn't so sure he could trust that anymore. Everyone who knew her seemed to look at her a little askance, if indulgently, why should he be any different?

Inanna could see that Feric was not thrilled that she'd just outted him. For a moment she regretted not giving him more time to get to know Modryn, but then, an instant later, she remembered that they didn't have any freaking time. She knew this Dunmer, better than most, and she knew that Modryn was a sure thing, and she'd stake her life on it. Feric was just going to have to trust her and deal. She hoped for his sake, and for hers, that he could. Modryn was still looking at her like she was going to rob him blind...which was really annoying 'cause it sure as hell wasn't going to earn her any points with Feric. Was he trying to mess up her game here? He probably just didn't give a damn.

She sighed and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "Look, I do have my reasons, and no I'm not trying to screw you over, and yes there might be a something in it for you, including a good fight and possibly good recruits, and yes...I will owe you one, personally...maybe two. Are we good? Are you in?"

He leaned back. "Two?"

"Maybe."

He grinned. "Yeah, alright, let's hear it. What do you need Ashlander?"

"Nothing yet, a safe house maybe, just in case. Maybe back up in the future. It'll all be short notice since we're figuring it out as we go along." She licked her lips and considered how much she should fill him in on. He was a tough nut, and Dunmer to the core, he always knew when she was screwing with him, or when she was holding back. He was one of the few who hadn't been soften by easy living in the lap of the empire. "I'm currently in the process of hunting down the culprit, and I don't intend to stop until they're eliminated." She shrugged and leaned back, crossing her arms. "We'll see how that pans out and go from there I guess. I'm also asking you not to take them up on any job offers..."

"I see."

"So?"

"Two favours."

"Fine...jerk."

"Done." He leaned forward and they shook hands, a single solid pump.

She beamed at him. "You're the best second cousin twice removed a girl could have."

He rolled his eyes and ignored her, turning to Feric. "So what's this about shape shifting?" 

**

To his credit Feric didn't rip her head off when they left the guild hall. Though he had remained rather quite as they sat upstairs in a comfy corner of the inn gradually making the most of a bottle of Surille's finest. A little sweet for her taste, but she still liked it better than Tamika's which was just a smidge too fancy schmancy for her. Honditar had been right about the venison as well. Now that dinner was over and the wine almost gone she found them sitting and waiting for her contact in not quite comfortable silence. He was toying with his glass, watching the table top contemplatively when two lanky figures plopped down beside them. 

Honditar and Glistel. Honditar had lost the bow, but that was it. Glistel was also dressed for work, though her clothes consisted of a tight silvery grey blouse and long grey silk skirt which complimented her dark, almost bluish skin and short black hair admirably.

"While I live and breathe. How are you doing you old dog?" Glistel punched her in the arm and grinned. She was her usual friendly, in your face, self. She flopped an outstretched hand down on the table top and offered it to Feric to shake. He took it. "Glistel. Pleasure. What's your deal partner?"

She watched him shrug as he withdrew his hand and motioned it toward her. "Just playing her shadow." An almost smirk pulled at his lips. "And waiting for the other shoe to drop." Glistel chortled.

"Yah, I'll bet. So I've been told you want to chat?" She asked turning rapidly back to Inanna.

"Indeed. I've got a project that may require calling in a few favours. I was hoping you might know some people who owe me favours."

"Oh?" Glistel's eyes twinkled.

"Yeah, you know...the green rabbit...the purple muskrat, the orange hamster...those guys." They all stared at her a moment before Glistel broke into howling gales of laughter. Honditar rolled his eyes and Feric looked confused. Eventually the laughter calmed and Glistel wiped her eyes. Inanna smiled placidly.

Glistel leaned forward on one elbow and pointed a finger at her. "Listen...I can do you one better."

"What...better than the fuchsia weasel? Impossible!" Her sarcasm was less than subtle. It was well known by many in 'the guild' that she wasn't too hot on their fearless leader, the infamous 'Grey Fox.' Truth was she couldn't stand the guy. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. He just wasn't smart enough, clever enough, or interesting enough to be the leader of such an interesting group of smart clever people. It made no sense to her. She couldn't believe for a second that such a dullard of an imperial could have found it in himself to steal anything from a Daedric prince, let alone an artifact of any real power. Ah well, one of life's little mysteries.

Glistel gave her another grin. "Yeah, tell me about it. The deal is, M has been wanting to talk to you, so if you're needing favours, M's the fella you wanna talk to." 

Inanna leaned back giving Glistel her best 'I know what you're up to' look...even if she didn't. "Does he now? Should I be worried? This isn't something to do with the blue squirrel is it?" Glistel rolled her eyes.

"Jeeze, will you cut that out already, some one'll hear you."

"So?"

"So, not everyone shares your feelings on that particular matter. You're not even in the club for Pete's sake, what do you care anyway?'

"He irritates me." She enunciated the three words carefully. "M should have his job. Or better yet, the A-man should. That guys talents are being wasted playing nanny to all the youngsters."

"Again I ask why you care?" Inanna shrugged and glanced at the others at the table. Feric was still toying with his glass, feigning interest in it and Honditar was downright ignoring them and waving over the railing at the proprietor with a peculiar hand gesture. She gave him an 'all clear' sort of nod. 

"Honditar...I didn't know you were a club member." He cocked a brow at her. "I'm not."

"Then what's with the secret hand shake?" He smirked at her. 

"Like you, my dear, I am a free agent, and though I find myself in particular company from time to time, I don't care to be tied down. I still know how to play the game...and the field." Glistel shot him a side long glance.

"Oh really?"

His smirked widened. "Professionally...of course." She arched a brow at him and turned back to Inanna.

"So, are we good to go? You eaten?" she looked to Feric who nodded. "Alright then Mr. Shadow, why don't you two walk this way?" She stood and Honditar rose as well. Inanna and Feric followed suit.

"Green."

Glistel was just turning away and she paused.

"It's Mr. Green." he repeated with a mild smile. Glistel raised a brow and nodded, giving him an appraising look. Inanna felt her stomach tighten a little and she sidled up next to him, slipping her arm under his. Did that mean he wasn't cross with her then? He didn't spare her a glance though, so she couldn't tell for sure.

They followed them out of the inn at a leisurely pace, looking for all the world like a group of friends strolling home from a late dinner. She squeezed his arm and he glanced down at her. She gave him a questioning glance...the 'you ok type,' and he gave her a small smile and brief nod...the 'for now' type. She was getting the feeling she was starting to tread on thin ice. Well she'd done nothing but right by him so far, hadn't she? He just needed to loosen up and have a little faith. He said he trusted her, and she knew he wasn't BS-ing her about that, but something was up. She could sense the wariness in his body, like a ripple of tension that ran like a current from his body to hers, making her skin twitch in ways she did not like. She wondered if he wasn't in some way afraid of her. That was a weird thought. It felt some how wrong. Terribly wrong.

A guard walked past them as he made his rounds through the church district. He eyed them up carefully, particularly taking note of Glistel, something Inanna could help but catch. That wasn't too good. She must be getting a reputation. Feric leaned in, his mouth against her ear, his lips brushing the sensitive ridge and making her insides tingle. 

"Turn and look at me like I've just said something terribly sweet, and possibly suggestive."

She glanced up at him, doing just that. The tingle made it easy. "Suggestive of what," she murmured back, pressing into him a little more with her own rather evocative wriggle.

He winked and gave her a smile which turned the tingling into an all out throb, then glanced up at the guard who was now watching them instead of Glistel. Feric gave him one of his sun-bright smiles and a macho nod. The patrol man seemed to be as fond of those smiles as she was because she literally watched as his guard fall as he returned the smile with an 'attaboy' smirk of his own. 

Boy maybe she was the one who should be afraid of Feric, that was some heavy duty charisma he was oozing, and she had just proved her own lack of immunity to it. She wouldn't have thought it, but he was a born lady killer. And here she thought she was the charmer...she could only hoped that he used those powers for good. Inanna watched out of the corner of her eye as the guard went back to ignoring them.

When they arrived at the small non-descript house at the end of road, one of many small non-descript houses clustered on this side of town, Glistel turned and made a sweeping bow, indicating that Inanna proceed. Honditar plopped himself...well he plopped about as much as any mer with altmer blood can plop, onto a long bench near the door and made a similar waving gesture, only to Feric instead.

"Have a seat Feric, Glistel will do our prowling for us." He glanced at Glistel and she winked back at him. Feric looked to Inanna for her thoughts and she tipped her head. 

"It shouldn't take long, but it sounds like it might be touchy business. He might not like the extra company." If he was unhappy with that plan he didn't show it. 

**

"Muthsera Inanna, just the woman I was looking for." Malintus smiled as he came out from behind the bed screen, his boots in his hands and wearing his simple leathers and a wool shirt. He was one of those people with the natural ability to simply blend in. There was nothing about him that stood out, just your average uninteresting imperial...well at least on the outside. She nodded to him.

"Did I wake you friend?"

"Nah, just getting up. There's only one bed, so I got used to sleeping in shifts."

"Got?"

"Heh. Well Glistel doesn't sleep here much anymore, just enough to keep up appearances." She chuckled. "I love how you have to 'keep up the appearance' of being an interracial couple living in sin. Usually it's the other way around. This is why I picked Cheydinhal instead of this place...they could give a flying leap who I have living with me." 

"Oh they'd notice...they'd just keep the rumours circulating behind your back and be a little more subtle about it."

She shook her head. "Funny how that crap still matters to people."

"Well it's working for us. They're all too busy asking the stupid questions to ask the real ones." He chuckled and waved her into a chair at the kitchen table. "Can I get you anything, food? Drink?"

"No, I'm stuffed. But thanks."

"Venison?" he asked as he plucked an apple out of a basket and started peeling it with a nearby paring knife. 

"Yeah, at the Oak and whatchamacallit."

"Good stuff that." The peel curled in out in one long unbroken rope onto a tin plate.

"Neat trick." 

He grunted. "Thanks."

"So..."

"So."

"You want something?"

"Do you?" 

Oi, this was going to be a long conversation.

"Glistel told me you wanted to talk."

"And you're here looking for favours." 

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Now how do you figure that?" She didn't remember anyone having time to let him in on what was going down. Unless the sneak had been pulling some kind of invisibility spell at the inn. Shocked she would not be.

He sliced into the apple and lifted it to his mouth with the blade, pausing when he noticed her expression. He chuckled and lowered the blade.

"You know it's looks like that which give you away. You like to think you're sly, but you're as open as a bloody book sometimes. I was only making an educated guess. Usually we come to you, it's rare that you come to us. Honditar told us you were asking after Glistel. I just put one and one together. I also heard from a mutual friend in the waterfront that you had some kind of run in...and that someone none too friendly is looking for you. Apparently they've been asking a lot of interesting questions about a feisty little Dunmer with red hair in the company of a tall Nord type individual. Sound familiar?"




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



She gave him a sour look. "And what did you tell them...and I use the 'royal' you." He smirked and gnawed his apple thoughtfully. 

"Nothing yet." 

She sighed heavily. "What is 'yet' costing me pray tell." His smirk turned into a grin.

"Nothing...yet."

"So evil." 

He chuckled. "Listen here girl," he left his apple on the plate and leaned in on his elbows. "You're half way in already darling, you're practically family. God knows Armand has been trying to get you in for years."

"I have commitment issues." She smiled playfully at him.

"That you do. My point is...we'll keep your secrets, 'cause you keep ours." She softened a little at that. He was right. Mutual dirt is safe dirt. They were stuck with each other.

"Yeah ok. Listen...I need some secrets, and I'm willing to bet you're just the folks who can help me with the leg work. I'm trying to find some people."

"The people who are hunting you down?"

"Yeah...that 'Nord looking' fellow, he's a good friend and they were after him first."

"What he do?"

"Nothing. They just want him and his family dead. The why is still in question. They're...special, so in a way it makes sense, but the exact way it makes sense...I just don't know. I'm headed to Wariel, to see if I can't find out more...they have a headquarters or something there, or I hope they do. I was thinking you could get someone to watch for anyone, like a messenger coming or going...and where they come and go. Don't even need to get dirty...that's our job."

He looked at the table thoughtfully. "What you want is access to our information networks." She shifted slightly as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah, pretty much.'

"Big favour."

"Yeah."

He looked up at her from under his brows. "We'll do it, that and more, if you do us a favour...but it's a doozy." She took a breath and steeled herself.

"Let's hear it."

"Well...I guess I'll just come out and say it. We need someone dead, and we need the dark brotherhood to do it...and we may need them again in the future. What I'm thinking of here is a sort of...professional arrangement, one business to another. 'Cause deep down, that's what we both are, and the not so legal sort at that." He made a dismissive gesture. "We have enough in common." He paused again and clasped his hands. "We're going to need someone to be our contact and we need someone who is both inside and outside of our 'organization.' Someone like you."

She swallowed. 

"Why not someone like Hon?"

"Honditar?" he only said the name, but the subtext read, 'are you fetching kidding me?"

"Why someone outside?"

"You know the policies, no killing. No blood on our hands. We're not assassins and we're not thugs. Plus a lot of guild members aren't big on the brotherhood. Hell most sane people aren't."

"And the Grey Fox is sanctioning this?" 

He cleared his throat.

"Well that's the other thing...he has not. He doesn't believe we should have business dealings with their particular kind." He opened his hands in a helpless gesture. "However, no other options seem to have availed themselves. I feel compelled to do what I feel needs to be done for the sake of the organization."

He didn't like it did he? Well she didn't either...but she liked it better now that she knew the Fox didn't. 

"You're perfect for this Ina. You're smart and tough, and more importantly you don't scare easy...besides from what I hear the dark brotherhood is more or less an on the books institution where you come from."

She sighed. "Yeah...but in Morrowind they're a business first, and crazy cult second. They seem to be the opposite here. There, if you want to do business you walk up to them and ask for a contract and voila, all done. What's more the night mother is an actual woman so if you don't like the way she does business you can track the bitch down and take it up with her personally...from what I hear they've got some kind mystical spirit crap going on here, and you have to 'summon' them with some kind of nutty deadric ritual. Not my cup of tea, let me tell you. I got out of that mess none too soon, and I don't fancy going back, thank you kindly."

He nodded. "The Night Mother ritual." He pulled something out of his front pocket and unfolded it, smoothing the parchment before turning it towards her with the tips of his splayed finger. She read it. She'd need a skeleton, a human heart, nightshade, four tallow candles...

"You're kidding me. You want me to do this?" She looked at him, very seriously. "Do you understand what you're asking me? This is boarder-line necromancy!" She stabbed her finger at the paper. "A corpse! It needs a bloody fetching corpse! You are aware of how completely unacceptable that is to a Dunmer, don't you? Never mind an Ashlander?"

He shrugged apologetically. "You take out bandits all the time...couldn't you...you know..."

"Luv, there is a world of difference between taking a life, and desecrating the corpse afterward with creepy hoodoo."

He sighed and folded his hands on the table. "Please Ina...I'm pretty much begging here. The world is changing, faster than we can keep up with, sometimes we need more than the old rules can offer...sometimes we have to bend them. But I need you for this Ina." His serious expression broke again. "And hey...think about it, you do this and we're over your knee girl. Especially me since I did the asking. All you have to do is tell the wrong person and I'm up the creek."He grinned and spread his arms, "I'm your bitch." She really didn't want to do this. Of all things she could do, this was sooo the last one, or damn near. 

"Tempting." She gave him an award winning smirk. Not sly my ass, she thought through her perfectly believable smile.

"Isn't it though?"

Not really she mused. Well...having the whole guild available to her was an interesting thought...useful...very useful. She gnawed the inside of her lip, reaching out and toying with the strand of apple peel. She thought of Feric sitting outside, waiting for her...counting on her. Then she thought of Lucas and Aina, of the cubs, of all of them. The last of their line...the last of a race perhaps. 

"Times are changing." She repeated softly, still fingering the shiny red peel. Would she bend her own rules to save a people? Could she walk away if she didn't? How many lines would she cross? She had a sinking feeling there would be very few left to cross when all was said and done.

"Ah hell...Azura take me...let's do it. Give me about a week though...alright?" She looked up at him. He looked surprised. "You look like you weren't expecting that response."

"Part of me wasn't. I know how your people feel about messing with the dead..."

"Yet you still ask me?" He shrugged again. Not dismissive, she decided...just uncomfortable. She let it drop. "Here's the deal. The people looking for Feric's family are hunters, hired swords and mercs mostly, and they are hunting lions."

"Lions?" he frowned at her.

"That's right. So if you hear about anyone looking to hire lion hunters...you let me know." He gave her an odd look but nodded.

"And watch Wariel...anything going or leaving?"

She nodded. "I suspect after we're done with them they'll be sending word back to whoever hired them, letting them know there's been a problem, so you'll have to work quick. Is that going to be ok?"

"Your wish is my command my lady.'

"Hmm, I like that, I could get used to this upper hand business." 

He chuckled. "You're doing us a huge service. You're doing me one as well."

"Tell me about it."

She wondered how much of her soul she'd have left to barter by morning. Pretty soon she'd be handing out IOU's. Get it while it's hot people, it ain't gonna last long. 

**

Feric watched as Glistel wandered off behind the house, her hands behind her back, her heel scuffing idly in the dirt. Inanna was one of the few dark elves he'd spent any real time around, so it was interesting to see how very different the two seemed to be. They were both confident and easy going, and of course shared a very similar sly smile when they thought they were getting away with something, but Glistel was dark skinned, blue black in colour rather than the lighter grey, and dark haired, with a heavier, curvier build and was nearly half a foot taller than Inanna. Her voice was also very different. Inanna had a smooth, rolling accent, and something dark and rough, quicksand he had once thought it. Glistel's was higher, more nasal, and her accent almost twangy, though in a charming, friendly way. 

"Say, where is Glistel from?" He asked leaning back against the wall, and stretching his legs out in front of him. Honditar glanced over at him a moment then looked back up the road. 

"Morrowind."

"She sounds different from Inanna" and Modryn he added to himself.

Honditar nodded. "Inanna is an Ashlander from the north of the island Vardenfell. The people, and culture, are very different there. Glistel was born into house Dres, a dying house...though not to any family of great wealth or repute, and in the south, on the mainland. Morrowind is a large province, it stretches from the Nord territories of Solthsiem to the Argonian swamps. Each house and region is unique, though they are all a force to be reckoned with." Feric arched a brow at him. 

"Then how was the empire able to overcome them so easily?"

Honditar chuckled. "Indeed." He nodded. "They are a strong people...but they are also a divided one. The houses have been divided since the making of the tribunal...now that their gods are dead, and the Neverar returned to unite them...well, it remains to be seen how long they will be held under the foot of an aging emperor. Inanna is convinced it will not be long." He paused, his eyes tipping up to the star filled sky. He sighed. "But she is young and an optimist I suspect, and her relationship with the Neverar gives her greater faith in her impact on the Dunmer than is perhaps realistic." That caught Feric's attention.

"Inanna has mentioned this person to me, but has said very little. She said only that she met her, that she acted as her guide in the Ashlands, but little more."

Honditar arched his own brow at that. "Surprising, for a while it was all she wanted to talk about...or brag perhaps is the right word." He smiled that indulgent smile Feric remembered from before. "From what I have heard the three of them, Inanna, Emily...that was the Neverar's original name if I recall, and her sister, another Breton, something starting with a Desire...or something, I think. A bard of some sort. How a scout, a bard and a twenty year old mage's apprentice managed to defeat the entire house Dagoth, and destroy the tribunal as the cherry on top...well, it seems far fetched to say the least. Inanna has told some very tall tales about their adventures." He smirked a little, and Feric found himself slightly and irrationally irritated by it, perhaps for Ina's sake. "Though some are so outrageous one is almost forced to believe they are true."

He looked away and nodded."Truth is stranger than fiction...or so I've heard." he gave his own smirk. "I'm sure if you asked her what she was up to now, she'd tell you something like...oh, I don't know, like she's been adopted by a pack of werewolves," he paused with a small smile, "and, after stealing Daedric artifacts from a coven of vampires...and having battled a few necromancers, swam the Rumare with a giant mountain lion." He gave the mer a smirk to match the sardonic tone of his voice. Honditar laughed lightly. 

"Your imagination is almost as wild as hers."

"I suppose she's wearing off on me."

"They do tend to do that." He cleared his throat. "So where are you headed after this?" 

"Toward Kvatch, I believe."

"North or south." Feric looked at him again. The mer looked curios, but not in a way that made Feric uncomfortable. 

"North."

The mer nodded. "You'll want to keep north of the cities then, there are some decent paths through the mountains, clear and unoccupied. I've heard that the two of you are being looked for so it's better to stay off the roads. There is a good camp, usually empty though occasionally a roost for bandits...Last Chance I think it's been called, or something of the sort. It is almost directly north of the city, far from habitation and close to an Ayleid well. It will probably serve you well if you need to find shelter for the night." The Altmer paused and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think there is an Ayleid ruin to the west and a fort to the east, you'll know you've overshot if you hit the western ruin. Would you like a map?"

Feric smiled and shook his head. "I've been through that area...I think I even remember the camp you speak of, though faintly. With your directions, it should be easy enough to find again. Thank you." 

"You're very welcome. Oh...and steer clear of any small settlements you find on the way...there are many dangerous people living out in the forests between us and Skingrad. I'm sure Inanna will guide you, but be wary."

"I will." And he would.

The door swung open behind him with a loud creak and a small hand came down on his shoulder, giving it a faint squeeze.

"Feric, this is M."

**

Inanna had indeed led them north as Honditar had suggested, keeping them both entertained with her unending stories of the many near misses had by herself and acquaintances in the places they passed through and around. The forests they travelled through toward Skingrad, though apparently dangerous, were beautiful. The trees were tall and lush and the spaces beneath open and covered with mosses, ferns, and a wide variety of brilliantly coloured flowers. As they moved into the mountains the terrain became less verdant, more rocky, and much more familiar. It tugged at something deep inside him to be here, in a place so similar to the home he had been forced to flee. 

They found the camp easily and finding it empty made a small fire. It was clearly a well used hunting camp, so a fire, even if seen, would not look out of place or suspicious. They'd eaten and Feric watched Inanna as she crouched, knees up, on a well worn log near the fire, drawing lines in the sandy earth with the head of an arrow as she dangled it loosely between her hands. 

"What are we doing Inanna? Are those people trustworthy?" She looked up at him and smiled gently.

"Modryn is. The others...trustworthy enough, though it's best to go with your gut on it...I didn't tell them everything, and they're sort of beholden to me." She gave him a pointed look. "But really, if you need something from that group, go to M first, and to a Redguard in the waterfront named Armand. Don't tell anyone else too much." She looked thoughtful. "Actually you remember that Orc?" 

"Gro-ba? The drunk one?"

"Yeah, I've worked with him a few times while doing jobs for the fighter's guild, and trained with him a bit. He's good too, friendly, doesn't ask too many questions, doesn't hold stuff over your head...everything is on the up and up with him, just say you're a friend and that should be enough....and you know Max. Max is good people. But you probably got that already." She smiled again.

He nodded. It was pretty much what he thought. He was glad she thought so to, there was a lot more at stake here then his sorry hide...and he was beginning to feel the weight of the risks he had been taking, controlled though they were, and the burden of failure if he miss stepped. "And what's the plan for tomorrow?"

She grinned at him. "Well we can do the stealth thing...but I thought it might be more fun to kick ass and take names...plus it might be hard to sneak in with the two of us." She raised the arrow and tapped the tip against her lips thoughtfully. "It might be best if we take out as many as possible. Let them know you're not screwing around any more...send an unmistakable message. They aren't safe until you are." She gave her patented sideways grin. "That ought to fuck with their heads eh?" 

Feric felt a pang of something, annoyance perhaps, frustration...they needed to get this done quickly, to flush them out and ended this madness before he lost what little remained of his family. He sighed and leaned forward on his knees rubbing out a growing headache which was rapidly forming in his temples. "I don't know...I don't want them to think I'm throwing down the gauntlet, that might just bring more heat down on us, and there's too much at stake for that." She lost her grin and came over to him, plunking down on the log and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Feric...I get that you're worried, I'm worried about them too, that's why we're here, but you can't let them cow you anymore. This is what they want, for you to keep running and hiding, and you must have noticed by now how that's working for them. If you don't make a stand and show them you're going to be pushed around, then they will continue to hound you." He glanced at her face, she looked excited, eager. "This is your chance to turn this game around, to be the hunter and not the prey. The prey never wins Feric...they just keep staying alive until the next round. If you want to come out on top, you need to own them, now." 

He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. Was this a game? Did she take nothing seriously? Didn't she understand what was at stake here? 

"Grow up Inanna. That's not how it works. This isn't about winning or making a point, this is about survival, about making sure our children have a place in the world where they can grow and thrive. This isn't one of your games." He gave her a derisive look and was about to continue but paused when he saw her expression change, or rather vanish. She blinked once and her face became as smooth and still as polished stone, flat and empty. She pulled away slowly, sitting up. It was a look he'd never seen on her face and he felt his heart drop suddenly into his stomach. 

"Inanna, look, I didn't mean..." she held up her hand.

"Of course you did. People don't say things they don't mean only to take it back, they say things they haven't the tact or duplicity to keep to themselves." Her voice wasn't angry or hurt, just smooth and even. He wished she were angry. He'd never seen her face and body so empty of expression, so very still, it alarmed him.

"Inanna, I just meant..." She stood before he could reach out to her, incredibly anxious to take back the insult that had made her withdraw. She smiled slightly, it wasn't tight, but it was polite, empty, and her eyes whirled with nothing he could recognize.

"That you don't think I take anything seriously." She finished for him. Her smile did turn tight then. "I understand that I come off that way to most. Don't trouble yourself too much. More often than not it's intentional, so I shouldn't be surprised." She turned her head away from the fire and towards the darkness of the starless night. "I think I'm going to do a perimeter sweep before we settle down for the night. We're a little exposed up here." He could only nod when she turned back to him, her face serene. She tilted her head and walked away to collect her bow.

She stooped to pick it up then walked in the direction of the ridge. He watched intently as she stopped just before disappearing into the shadows and paused a moment only to turn and walk back. She came to stand in front of him and squatted down, resting her arms on her thighs. He watched her uncertainly, expecting her to finally lay into him, almost hoping she would, but her demeanour remained unchanged. 

"I understand that you and I barely know each other, really, and that you're unused to dealing with Dunmer, so I will tell you something that most outlanders rarely learn, unless their observant or smart, because it's not something we ever bother telling them. It will be very useful to you in dealing with my people should you need to in the future, and with me if you wish to continue to do so. Don't, ever, assume, anything." Her gaze was even and intense. "We were led, and shaped by Boethia, Mephala, and by Azura, the lords of deceit, webs, and of the hidden doors of knowledge, among other things, and we've been woven by their clever fingers into the image of their servants. Have you ever seen a Spider Daedra or the Winged Twilight?" 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



He continued to meet her fiery gaze as he shook his head. 

"If you do, then in that brief moment between surprise and fear, you might see something very familiar." Her mouth lost its hard line and curved slightly. "When Azura cursed us with our black skin and red eyes, she did not turn us 'into' 'dark' elves, she was merely exposing one of our many secrets as punishment for harming one of her favoured heroes, for not fearing her wrath. We were dark and strong long before we were ever Dunmer. As Chimer, our golden beauty was only one more illusion, one more thread in our web, a toy and tool we had taken away for being naughty children. 

"What I'm saying, Feric, is don't trust what you see, what you hear, there is no way to know how much of it is real. When we wish it we can do laughing what others do in terror or tears, and we can seem cold to what would fill others with joy. Take it for what it is, nothing. I may be young, but I'm old enough to understand this at least."

He felt his throat close. "Are you suggesting," he asked, a little hoarsely, "that I shouldn't have trusted you?"

"I'm saying, trust what you know."

"And how am I to know, if everything has been a lie? Do I just hope to eventually understand the nature of the beast?" He felt his anger rise once more in his chest.

She chuckled, but without humour, "There is no way to be sure of that either, even we surprise ourselves occasionally, and not everything is a lie Serjo, that would make it easy." She smirked, but briefly. Her voice remained cool. "If you need to know the truth, then know it with that one thing that has kept you alive this long, despite the challenges, despite the hunters, and it will keep you alive after this night. Trust in that Feric, whatever it is."

He remembered something young Lucas had said about her when she first arrived. He hadn't trusted her, and said she wouldn't do anything for free, that she must have some other motivation. Feric couldn't help but wonder now, as he met her steady gaze, what that motivation was.

She stood and looked down at him her face cool and sober again. "I will take your words under advisement Sera, take care you do the same."

**

Inanna watched him as he slept, surprised but pleased that he hadn't changed back to his lion form as he normally did. It would make her plan easier this way. She fingered the length of rope as she padded slowly and quietly over to him, careful not to wake him. She knelt at his head and dropped the rope beside her, running her fingers lightly through his hair, murmuring the words of a light spell. He continued to breathe evenly and deeply. She sat there for a while, considering, and reconsidering her actions. She knew it was probably just the fertility that was making her crazy, that made it impossible for her to keep him out of her mind for more than a few minutes and which drew her to him like an especially foolish moth to an especially bright flame, but she couldn't be bothered to care. Something in her wanted this, and wanted it badly...who was she to question the purgatives of nature, picky hormones or not. She could have done a hell of a lot worse. 

She knew what she wanted, and she was loathed to be turned away, but his recent response to her made her hesitate, made her sit and watch, made her cautious. He had told her he trusted her...and yet...

Then again, she thought with another smile, what better way to help him get over it. To reassure him of...her affections. She had been a little harsh...and maybe, yes, a little dramatic...so she did sort of owe him one. She'd had time during her watch to contemplate his words. She'd been a little unfair to him. He had been witness to her playing so many roles with so many people, what was he to think? And she'd never really played a role with him...though she was apt to tease and play, it was for no other purpose than their mutual pleasure. She had never given him some clear design of who she...for him she just was. And that was why his words had stung more than they should, and why she'd been so petulant in response. Maybe she did need to grow up a little, but he needed to trust his instincts. She didn't know how she knew what they were, but she did know. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. She knew they were the same as hers, identical. She couldn't explain it...and she didn't seek to. 

Besides, he still owed her one...with interest. Her smile turned into a mischievous grin. "To hell with it." She whispered, and picked up the rope. 

Feric shivered as a cool breeze ran over his chest. He turned to escape the sensation and felt his hand catch on something. His blinked his eyes opening slowly and groggily only to find another completely different sensation, something soft and wet and hot wrapped around something a lot lower than his chest. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut again, bucking his hips up toward the source of the heat and felt it tighten and grip exquisitely around his cock sending a shock of pleasure up the shaft and skittering swiftly through the rest of him. 

His eyes shot open again and he jerked awake, completely this time, and swore as his arms remained where they were tugging painfully back in the sockets. He repeated the curse, and was stopped from struggling only by the heart stopping view between his thighs. 

He watched, agape, as her full red lips slid with painfully deliberate ease up his length until they finally released him with a gentle pop and curved into a seductive grin. Her ruby eyes glittered, beautifully framed by her liberated locks of dark hair. She raised herself up from between his legs, her naked obsidian body snaking along his, glowing softly in the moonlight. He caught a hiss between his teeth as she hovered over him, dragging her pert breasts and smooth flat stomach over his engorged cock. Apparently she`d started without him. He clenched his jaw and resisted as best he could as that silky skin kept gliding across his, hot as a fire brand, and just as hard to ignore. The worst came when that smiling face appeared over his, and she arched her back, rubbing the slick flesh of her sex up along his shaft, teasing the head by rotating her hips, and forcing a moan from his throat.

"Ina..." He growled in warning, contemplating trying to buck her off, but deciding instantly that the little minx would probably take that as an invitation. "What in the sixteen hells do you think you're doing?" He managed in a rasping voice.

She leaned in, giving him a pouty look. "I should think it's pretty obvious." She chuckled, a low wicked sound, akin to a stage villain about to toss a blond-haired blue-eyed maiden off a cliff. "Though thinking of pressing charges, I believe the legal term is...raptus violentiae?"

She twisted her hips again and flicked her tongue along the valley of his lips. He let out another involuntary sound of pleasure but managed to hold himself still, even if it meant every inch of him was a taunt with the effort of it. "Inanna, stop this."

She shifted her hips again, this time pressing harder against his cock, engulfing the pulsing head ever so briefly in her tight flesh. His breathing became rapid as he strained to fight the electric sensations beginning to pulse through him as her body gripped him, his own body betraying him by twitching and flexing enthusiastically against her. His flesh knew hers, remembered the feel of her body, and recognized it as somehow his.

"You're mouth says no..." she whispered huskily against his ear, the diamond hard nubs that graced her perfect breasts leaving burning trails as they skimmed across his chest. He tried the ropes again, finding them surprisingly loose. It made him pause and he looked deeper into her eyes as she rose up over him again, straddling his middle with her tight muscular thighs and rubbing her glistening pussy against his stomach. He could catch the sweet and musky scent of it already. The scent mixed with the enticing sight and threatened to overcome his senses completely. That red haze that always seemed to follow the sight of that sweet, glistening pussy crept slowly into his mind.

"I can break out of these bonds easily. All I have to do is shift...if that." It wasn't so much a threat as an observation, but he knew it sounded like both. She was welcome to take it that way.

She shifted her hips, pressing them back until his erection was tucked soundly against her taut little ass. Damn but she all heat and silk this girl...he wasn't sure how long he was going to hold out at this rate. Another thought overcame to him as the fog slid deeper into his mind...should he even bother holding out? He couldn't go through with it, yet how could he not? He had to...

She rubbed herself up and down his length again, her soft lips tracing the line of his jaw, his neck, down his chest...

"Then do it." She murmured huskily before taking one nipple lightly between her teeth and sending a shard of sensation through his back and right to his groin. He arched under her reflexively, nestling his manhood deeper into the smooth globes. She gasped slightly, her finger curling up on his chest as she gripped him to keep from being bucked off, scoring him lightly with her nails and earning another hissing growl of a moan from him. 

She was worried for a moment that he might actually hold out on her again, but the look in his eye as he glared up at her was filled with more lust than irritation, so she decided to persevere. If she was anything, it was persistent. Of course it was hard not to be motivated when the prize was as sweet as this one. She rocked against him, and took a moment to begin mapping out his sculptured body with the tip of her tongue, and occasionally her fingers when the sheer size of him seemed too much for her mouth alone. She took in the clean male taste of him with unending pleasure, humming her approval as she eagerly devoured every inch of the broad chest that lay before her. He seemed to be content enough to let her, that is if his low sexy moans where any indication of his mood. But he was by no means her prostrate victim, not by a long shot. She could feel the tension running through him as he strained against her mouth and hands, every fibre and tendon alive with the same dangerous potential as his dark expression. And they both promised so many delightful things.

She liked that look, those intense green fires burning into her own, it made her insides quiver with a rare and electric fear. This was no broken gelding bucking beneath her. She briefly recalled the way he'd pounded her into her kitchen table and experienced another delicious shudder. Definitely not broken...no, he was working just fine.

She wet her drying lips and arched her back again, longing to feel him pressed against her now aching center and quivered as he let out a low growl and raised his hips to meet her. She twisted deliciously, teasing them both with the almost spread of her sultry folds around that rock hard staff. 

He growl again, tensing against the ropes. 

"Dangerous to play with fire." He snarled out in a voice which made her flesh jump with more of that thrilling menace. She smiled back and slid a hand down over her belly, letting it linger over the pearl of her clit, her lids fluttering closed as she made a show of grinding her fingers against it, causing her hips jerk, pulling the thickly swollen head a little deeper into her heat. 

She gave in. She had to, unable to resist the screaming need inside her as it rapidly became all consuming. She rotated her bottom once more, pressing back and down against his pulsing cock until she could finally feel it stretching her entrance with its more than impressive girth. Size might not be everything, but it sure as hell was something. By all that was holy, was it ever. She panted softly as she let the wide head linger, holding that tight ring of muscle open and aching. 

"I Am fire," she managed to husk out as she returned his hot gaze with one of her own, her fingers twining in the short soft hairs of his chest. "Would you like to play with me?" She grinned before letting out a soft groan as she twisted her hips one more time, still torturing them both in the most wonderful ways.

"Are you giving me a choice?" His gravel voice was dripping sarcasm, but his body sent another message as his hips shifted up, driving another inch or three into her with a decisive shove and pulling an involuntary whimper from her throat. 

Her laugh, already husky and broken, hitched as he drove his hips up to meet her yet again. "If I wasn't...giving you a choice...you'd know it...Serjo." She panted out as she slowly began to answer his thrusts with her own, impaling herself with short eager strokes until he was buried deeply, and so perfectly inside of her, filling her completely. She groaned as he shifted, grinding into her, his lips curving into a sinister smile which matched hers with unnerving accuracy. 

She started to slide herself off his length but he drove up hard in a jarring thrust. She gasped and felt the air pushed from her lungs as he slammed into her depths, catching her and sending her falling forward onto his chest. She let out a surprised and breathless cry, gripping him with her legs to keep herself astride his still tensed thighs. 

He drove up into her before she could fully right herself. Then he did it again, and again, mercilessly forcing himself up to the hilt each time. 

She fought to regain control of herself with a growling moan of frustration and desire, thrusting back, matching his fierceness with her own until she was giving back as good as she was getting. And lord but it was good. Each driving push was like being bucked off a wild stag, and just as unforgiving...near painful...but breathtakingly so. 

She could feel the corded muscles of his body bunching and rolling under his skin, feel the silky hair which trailed the length of his chest and stomach against her breasts each time she fell forward. She wanted him, she wanted all of him...and she never wanted it to stop. She let out an abandoned groan as she drove her hips back to meet his primal rhythm, all the while fighting for air with ragged gasps. 

She took hold of herself enough to register his reaction and it brought a fierce smile to her lips. His own head was back, his jaw tight with strain, his face contorted with pleasure as he too was conquered by the intense heat of their coupling. 

"See...that wasn't so hard was it?" She managed with a thick purr, letting her eyes fall shut as she fell back into the delicious throb of pleasure which was already building higher towards its pinnacle with every rocking bounce of her body against his. 

"You have no idea." He growled back, his voice low and raw, vibrating like a dessert drum through her body. 

She grinned again and slowly opened her eyes, ready to ask him to show her just how hard it was, when a rough tug on her thighs made her start. She looked down at him, golden and shining in the moonlight, and realised, rather quickly, that the ropes were no longer where they should be. His hands were on her legs, and he gave her that wicked cat grin as they grasped her ass tightly and she found herself very suddenly on her back, her lungs empty, and the rest of her very, very full. 

All she could manage was an involuntary cry of pleasured pain as he drove ferociously into her. She half expected him to pound the living daylights out of her in some sort of wild and utterly twisted punishment, so she was staggered when he paused there instead and leaned into her, pinning her to the ground with his body and whispering hotly in her ear. 

"Hard enough for you?" 

Oh, was that a challenge? Her whole body lit up in elation. The answer was most certainly yes, but she was never one to turn down a dare. She gave him as haughty a look as she could muster and cocked a brow as he pulled back just enough to catch her expression. 

His response was to wipe her smirk right off her face with a deep kiss, turning her response into a helpless whimper. It was nothing but teeth and tongue, and he bit at her lip roughly before claiming her mouth in a back twistingly raw tongue fuck. 

That alone was enough to make her eyes roll, but he didn't bother stopping there. One hand left her thigh to slide up her belly, engulfing one breast in a rough hand, squeezing carelessly, and pinching hard at her nipple, tugging the pebbled flesh until she was moaning hard against his mouth. She whimpered and squirmed beneath him, grinding ecstatically, her nails coming up to dig into his backside, her own mouth tearing from his to catch his lobe in her teeth. He groaned in her ear and she smiled through another soft cry as he ground right back, pressing deep into her core. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying out again. He wasn't going to win that easy.

"I don't know," she whispered back in a panting voice, "I expected more from an alpha male." The sound he made caused the hairs on her next to stand on end, her stomach to flip flop, and her already slick center to flood with liquid flame. She might have called it a growl, but it was too ragged, too furious, and too wild to be contained by such a small word. 

That sound was all the warning she got before he grasped the backs of her thighs and pulled her up and back against him, forcing her ass into the air as he rose to his knees and plunged straight back down into her. She grasped futilely at the bare ground for a hold, finding only the edge of sleeping roll she was laying on. She gripped at it for lack of anything better and held on for dear life as he slammed her violently into the ground.

"Better?" he grunted, continuing to plough into her, his movements gaining speed and rapidly becoming unrestrained and erratic. She struggled to think of some clever comeback, but she was done for. The waves of pleasure and need were too powerful to fight and she was simply overwhelmed with it as her body crested towards climax.

She groaned, a low animal sound, "God, yes, Feric...please. Going to..." 

She cried out in her own tongue and her hips bucked and jerked wildly, her eyes widening and staring unseeing into the night sky above them. He gripped her that much tighter, still thrusting hard into her, forcing more and higher cries from her gasping lips. 

Feric shuddered at the sound of her voice and watched with primitive satisfaction through his lust hazed vision as she writhed helplessly and erotically beneath him. Her head was thrown back and she hunched her lithe body against his with desperate need while she rode out his brutal onslaught. He clenched his jaw as the feel of her silky wetness tightening and contracting around him sent lightning through his blood and lit up every nerve in his body. Once again all he could see was her, and all her could feel was the ecstasy of her sweet, hot sex pulling at his cock in hungry spasms.

"Feric..." her moan sent another pulse through his spine and he felt his sack tighten in response as she pushed him so dangerously close to his limit. A little longer...he wanted to stay with her a little longer...Ina...his mate...his... He dug his fingers into her thighs as he plunged one last time into her depths, a raw cry ripping from his throat as his release was finally torn from him and pulled greedily inside of her by those pulsating walls. Filling her...the thought made him groan and shiver with erotic pleasure. 

He gasped as the last rope of cum pulsed deep inside of her and half collapsed over her, panting hard to catch his breath and slow his racing heart. 

He held himself up by his elbows, but just barely. Her legs were still bent back between them, her slick thighs pressing tightly against his ribs. She made no move to untangle herself, but clenched her legs tighter and ran her fingers between them and over his sweat slicked chest. His head fell forward into the crook of her neck and remained there a long time as he listened to the sound of her own slowing heart and breathed in her rich scent as they gradually cooled in the night air. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



"Do you even understand the meaning of the word 'no'?"

He felt her lips brush his ear. "Oh come on, you wouldn't like me as much if I did." Her voice was still raw and breathy. He shivered as she ran her tongue up the side of his neck and her fingers trailed lightly through his hair. He nipped her shoulder in return and pulled away, rolling off of her and onto his back, laying still on the hard packed earth, his vision filled with a clear star filled sky. 

"We shouldn't have done that."

He heard an exasperated sigh beside him.

"You can't be serious."

He turned to look at her and she rose up on one arm to glare down at him. His eyes automatically followed the long line of her body over the curve of her waist and hip and along her slender legs. Her skin still shone with sweat and sex. She looked like a nymph carved from the night itself, perfect and surreal. Gods but she was beautiful. He was utterly doomed.

He smiled slightly, but he could feel it was a pained smile. Up was down, right was wrong...he didn't feel like he was living in his own head anymore. His smile vanished and he shook his head to clear it. He looked away. 

"I am. I care for you Ina...but we can't do this again. Alright?"

"Why?" he arched a brow and turned to her once more, surprised by the plaintive quality in her voice.

He didn't answer the question. 

"I thought you were mad at me." He said after a long moment. She pursed her lips and he tried not to stare at the full red rose of it.

"Was...and am going to be again soon at this rate..." She rolled her eyes and sighed with a frustrated wave of her hand. "Fine...whatever. Thanks for not sending me to bed without my supper this time at least." She groused with a pout and lay back down, turning away from him, muttering something under her breath in a language he didn't recognize. He was pretty sure he didn't want to understand it. 

She had been angry with him, and cold...so why would she suddenly want him again? He frowned, the creeping feeling of insecurity he'd had earlier returning as the warm lingering glow of pleasure slowly faded. He didn't like this feeling, this not knowing. He was going to have to fix it.

She squeaked as he rolled her onto her back pinning her arms and legs with his own, using his mass to hold her down. Her momentary surprise was replaced with a soft, lazy smile. 

"I thought you said we weren't going to do this again."

"We're not." He looked down at her with a deadly serious expression. Her smile faded and she cocked a brow at him.

"I know you're bigger and stronger than me...but I can still roast you if I wanted to."

"You won't" he answered, his voice still quiet and serious.

"Oh?" Her own expression turned a little harder. A little more like the one she'd given him earlier that evening, the one that had prompted him to do what he was doing now. But a little bitter-sweet smile tugged at the corners of his own mouth.

"You can no more hurt me than I could hurt you."

"Isn't that what you're doing right now?" He returned her cold smirk. "Are you in any physical pain?" She didn't answer, but narrowed her eyes. "I didn't think so."

"What are you doing Feric?"

"I'm going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer." Her expression shifted again to something he didn't quite recognize.

"Do you now."

He gave her another hard look and tightened his grip on her wrists.

"Yes."

She tilted her head to the side and shifted underneath him, though she retained eye contact. His jaw tightened as he tried to ignore the softness of her body underneath him and the sleek smoothness of her damp skin against his, not to mentioned the lingering cloud of scent, of arousal and sex, still clinging to their bodies. She softened a little and almost smiled, though it looked almost melancholy, disappointed.

"I've never lied to you, Feric."

"But you haven't told me the whole truth either." He challenged, willing himself stick to his goal. The temptation to just release her, trust her, and let her have her way was very real at that moment. Not just because his mating instinct asked it of him, but he really did trust her, right to the core of him he trusted her. Despite what she had said, he knew he could, he was as sure as he was the sun would rise in the morning. But this was something he needed to know, that he needed to hear. He sighed when he saw her face harden again. "Ina..." he paused and took another breathe, "look, I trust you. I don't care what you said earlier. I do, but there's something I need to know, and I need you to tell me."

"Need or want?"

"At this point I'm not making the distinction." 

She did smile at that.

"You don't need to hold me down...I promise I won't run away." Her smile widened and her voice took on a low purring quality. "Unless you like having me pinned under you, Serjo." He closed his eyes and turned his head away as she emphasised her point by writhing underneath him again, this time deliberately pressing her body against his. He gave her a warning look and grunted. It was half a sound of admittance, half of annoyance. She sighed when he remained still and tense above her.

"Alright Serjo, what is it you want to know?" He turned his gaze back to meet hers. "What do you want Inanna? Why are you helping us?" She cocked her head at him and gave him an appraising look.

"I told you...I like you." He sighed.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

"It's true."

"But what is in it for you? What are you hoping to get out of this?"

"Someone's been spending too much time with Lucas." 

He let out a dry laugh. "Tell me."

"No." He blinked. He had expected a run around, hints and intimations, half truths and equivocation. He had not expected an outright denial.

"No?"

"No."

"Why not?" he asked in disbelief, his shock and dismay ringing clearly in his ears. She laughed, obviously hearing it to.

"You want honesty? Here's honesty-- I won't tell you what I want because admitting it will give me a strategic disadvantage, and frankly I already have enough of those with you already."

"With me?"

"Yes with you."

"Are we in competition?"

She smirked. He released her hands and raised himself so that he was kneeling over her, still looking down at her face, though this time in confusion.

"Well that's a pretty picture." she murmured, her eyes tracing the length of his body appreciatively.

He sighed and got off of her, picking up his discarded robe and wrapping it around himself. She watched him. 

"You said I couldn't hurt you...you said you trusted me...so what's the problem Feric?"

"What is it you want from me Ina?"

She sat up, pulling up her knees and wrapping her arms around them. 

"Haven't I made myself explicit?"

"If you're so explicit, then why won't you say it...another game?"

"Oh Serjo, everything is a game...but unlike most people, I take my games very seriously." Her smile left her face. "You know what I want." She paused to watch him watch her right back. "I think you want it to." She laughed lowly and sighed. She gave him a genuine smile, though as sad as the one before. "More often than not it's the prey that leads the chase."

Ah. Was that really it? Just the call of mating? He supposed it made sense. He turned away and sat heavily on a nearby log. He'd half hoped it was something else, this only confirmed his fears and deepened his guilt. As if reading his mind she continued on. 

"Are you disappointed, Muthsera? Were you hoping for a more exciting answer?"

He leaned forward and rested he elbows on his knees, looking over at her.

"Different perhaps. I...I can't Inanna. If I could tell you why..." he trailed off, uncertain of where he was going to go with that. He could tell her, there was nothing stopping him but his own fear.

"Why can't you?"

"I'm a coward."

She laughed. "At least you're honest." He smiled wryly down at his hands. "Tell me, since we're being so earnest right now...do you want me Feric?"

"I think that's pretty apparent." 

They looked at each other a long moment, the air between them heavy with their silence. Her voice was soft. "Where I come from, when we want something, we take it. No hesitation, winner takes all...that sort of thing."

"I noticed." he muttered. She chuckled a little only to sigh and shake her head once more.

"I really don't understand Feric. Are you planning to explain it to me eventually?" He nodded, still looking at her.

"I will."

"It's really bothering you isn't it? Whatever it is you can't tell me."

"You have no idea."

"Well...I guess I'll have to trust you on that as well. But," she raised a finger and gave him a warning look, "I'm NOT going to like it, and you better bloody well tell me Everything when all this hunter crap is dealt with....understood? And it had better be Real good." He gave her a half-smile and nodded again.

"Yes 'mam." She huffed out a breath and looked very put out, giving him a peevish look. 

"I am not happy." She leaned over and grabbed her discarded silk shirt, pulling it over her head, and laying back down on the roll. She turned away and he couldn't help but notice the way the material clung to her hips and backside, accentuating her long bare legs by just barely covering what lay beyond. He wasn't too happy either.

"Wake me up when the Masser is done." She muttered into her arm. He glanced up to the night sky. The great red body loomed high overhead, the smaller, paler one tucked timidly behind it.

"Yes 'mam." He murmured softly. 

**

Inanna lay belly down on a low hillock watching the fort with narrowed eyes. Nothing. No one in or out all morning. Maybe they travelled at night. Geez...not more vampires...Yeah that fetcher probably set her up. No honour among thieves anymore. What was the empire coming to? She glanced to another of the rolling hills which surrounded the fort and tipped her bow up slightly. The long yellow grass waved back. She nodded to herself. Alright then, here goes nothing. 

She was on her feet and moving in, keeping low, dodging from bush to bush and finding cover where she could. The fort was naturally well placed, sitting on an especially high rise in the landscape to afford better lookout views and minimize an enemy's ability to catch the forts residences unawares. Luckily the landscaping had gone to the birds over the last few centuries, so there was plenty of long grass and low scrub to hide the lone enterprising sneak. She hoped Feric was keeping up because she could catch no sign of movement on his part. He could be anywhere as far as she was concerned...but then it was as far as the enemy was concerned as well...so bonus. Soon enough the high broken tower was looming over her, its crumbling walls providing tantalizing and convenient views of the court yard. From her position she was able to count three, one up and two down, making rounds within the walls. It was more than she expected to be outside on guard, and that fact made her a little nervous. Then again these weren't your normal brain dead bandits, so she should have expected a little more organization and care. 

She squinted up at the top guy. It looked like a human of some kind, bowman, fair skinned, but that was all she could catch. The two inside were wearing helms, one of fur, which was good as it made him easier to pick off, and the other looked like it might have been chain...but her glimpse had been brief, so it was hard to tell. She decided the bowman needed to come down first. They were circling the walls and the only way she could see them was when they were on the far side of the yard from her, and even then it was through a crumbling break in the wall, and not a hugely wide one at that, so she'd have to time it carefully. 

She readied herself when he came around, lining up the shot with one of the distant bricks to keep her arms steady while she waited for him to circle around again, counting out the seconds it took to make the round. It was a long shot, so she tensed back the bow as tight as it would go. Finally the glinting tip of a carried bow came into view, she breathed in, let out a little air, and fired while the iron was hot. 

She half expected it to miss, or hit a shoulder and do just enough damage to cause an alarm to go up to spur the others into action. But it didn't. It nailed the guy and she watched with baited breath as the arrow caught him in what looked like the throat and even lifted him backwards into the wall from the force of the blow. She released her breath and watched him go down, waiting uneasily for an outcry. She would have given him the extra arrow treatment, just in case, but the walls obscured her view, and randomly shooting arrows through cracks in the walls might catch a little more unwanted attention than she needed.

Thanks be to enchanted weaponry. One more thing never to leave home without. There was no sound so she slipped up to the base of the wall, creeping her way around the back end of the fort where the grass was longer and a few bristly pines provided some small amount of cover. She paused at a ragged V shaped gap where the wall had crumbled. Some of the well aged stones still bore faint traces of some massive blast which had tore the fort a new one back in the day. She ran a hand over the scarred stone and wondered how many spell swords and battle-mages had teamed up to make such a mess. She paused and listened when two voices drifted towards her from the other side of the gap. Male and female. She had thought the two downstairs were both men. Either she was mistaken, or there were more than two. She glanced into the courtyard. It was a mess. Most of the second tier was in pieces, and there was nothing at all left of the higher levels. She spotted someone moving into her field of vision and set another arrow in her bow. She couldn't see where the other two were...but what the hell, she'd shoot and run...they'd be easier to pick off once she'd lured them out. Where was Feric anyway?

She took the shot. The hunter stumbled, but didn't quite go down...letting out a shout of alarm and pain which set off the others, one of whom suddenly appear directly in front of her. She jumped back and released the arrow she was readying in her bow. It barely pierced the leather armour. The woman stumbled back, yarding the arrow out of her armour and pulling a sword at the same time. 

Ina suddenly wished, and not for the first time in her life, that she was better at distance magic. She could see the one she already shot pulling himself together and moving towards them, and knew the other one was there somewhere as well. She could turn and run...but she had the sudden notion that doing the opposite of what was expected was what this situation called for. She swallowed her nerves and lunged at the woman just as the sword was fully freed from its sheath. They went down like a ton of bricks. Ina rolled off her and sprung towards the broken stairs on the other side of the courtyard. She pulled up a ball of fire in her hand and leapt up onto the center of the staircase whirling with her bow in one hand and a growing ball of flame in the other. She made it as big and flashy as she could...they didn't know she couldn't get much distance on it, and she wasn't about to tell them. 

She gave them her craziest grin. "If you want me...you're gonna have to come get me N'wah." They hesitated, and for a moment she thought she had a good plan formulating, involving a lot of jumping around maybe, but good...but a shadow came at her from an angle she had thought clear a moment ago. The Bosmer must have just come out when he heard the shouting. She was about to whirl on him and unload the mass of flame she'd worked up but something else came out of the air from behind them all. 

A massive, silent body slammed into the wood elf who let out a brief scream before falling silent. They all whirled to look down at the mangled body, two of the hunters stumbling back and away, gazing in horror at the mangled corpse and looking around for whatever did the damage. She could take a guess, but he was already gone. She took the lull to dock her bow and leapt at the third hunter, giving him a chest full of fire ball. He stumbled away screaming, falling to the ground desperately trying to claw away the unnatural heat which she knew was eating him up, inside and out. She rolled away and to the side, pulling her knife and waiting for the next comer. There wasn't any. She heard a scream beside her, and turned just fast enough to see the blur take out the last hunter before coming to a skidding halt, clods of earth and grass flying out from under long gouging claws. She'd barely registered the sight when the door next to her swung open and the dagger in her hand was flying toward an angry face. She was a little slow and the spell that hit her got her square in the chest, knocking her onto her back, her body jerking violently as the electric pain coursed through her body and a scream ripped through her insides, tearing her apart, but dying on her tongue as she gaped open mouthed at the blue sky. 

It felt like her lungs had been wrung empty like a damp rag. There was a snarl behind her, and another scream. A golden head appeared over hers and she grinned up at it with a wince. 

"Hey don't give me that look...I'm invincible don't you know?" She ruined her bit of swagger by immediately coughing up what felt like half her lung. 

"Ow." She rolled up onto her knees, her limbs shaking and skin still buzzing with the lightening currents that had just made a respectable attempt at cooking her alive. 

Something felt wrong...something inside...that couldn't be good. She coughed and grabbed a large vial from her belt, choking the bitter liquid down with another wet cough. It was a shame she needed this so soon. This was why she worked alone...it got too damn confusing when other people were involved. He was pretty scary though, which made her feel a bit better about the whole mess...she wouldn't have to watch his back quite as hard as the thought she might. 

She got to her feet and checked her equipment, looking around at the same time. Six...no seven bodies already, he must have got a new one when she keeled over. Well whether he liked it or not, they were definitely making a point. The place looked like a war zone.

Luckily there wasn't much to the rest of the fort. It was smaller and half collapsed making it easy to navigate as there were only so many viable paths. They only encountered two people on their way through the winding corridors, both of which she nailed before they could send up an alarm. It made her wonder why they'd all been at the entrance. Preparing to leave? 

They finally came to a heavy set of doors which in her experience indicated that they were nearing the heart of the place. If there was anything here to help them out it would be in here. Feric was prowling around behind her and she heard him huff. She looked back over her shoulder, her hand on the door ring. He lifted his head and jerked it toward the door. She released it and threw out a life detect spell. She smiled as Feric lit up before her like a night-market light show, shimmering with the reddish glow of the living, the brilliant light marking the impressive strength of his life force. Through the door a number of small shimmering lights appeared as well. Maybe another three, and relatively close. She held up a hand to indicate the number and nodded at the door. She cracked it, just the tiniest bit and saw a large well lit space with a figure moving about. He was in mixed armour...freelance rogue type no doubt. The still shimmering spell told her the other two were just around the corner. She closed the door and backed away.

"What do you think...should we wait until they leave and ambush, or go in spells blazing?" His eyes darted to a side corridor and she was about to nod agreement when he whirled again and the hair on his neck stood on end. The spell was just starting to fade, but not before she caught several glowing lights hovering through the walls around them. Crap. Someone came home, and they were being quite about it. She motioned to the corridor and then took up a position against the wall next to the second passage. She renewed her spell and watched as the place lit up again. They were everywhere. Damn damn damn. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



To her consternation the figures near her side of the passage halted at the bend in the corridor...they must have someone casting similar spells. To hell with that noise. She tipped out her bow and cursed softly as a rather impressive fireball scorched the wall facing her. She was lucky they were using fire, it had been big enough to let her feel the heat of it, and had she been anything but Dunmer the backlash would have hurt like nobody's business. She let out a groan of pain, then turned to wink at Feric to let him know it was for show. If they thought fire was working they might keep using it. He nodded and crouched low. She held up two fingers and pointed to his passageway indicating the lights she saw moving in towards them from that direction. Luckily most of them seemed to be coming up her way. She tipped out her bow again and another fire ball came winging down the aisle. 

"Feric," she whispered. "If things get ugly, I'm going to yell 'I give up,' after I do that you'll have four seconds to get your ass down one of those corridors and as far from here as possible." She noted his expression. "Trust me, I'm going to make a mess, and you don't want to be in the middle of it...K?"

He made an affirmative nodding gesture and she cocked her head at the fading lights coming up his alley. They both got ready. 

She turned her back, and slid down the wall, tipping an arrow into a vile she'd found on one of the bodies near the entrance. She was no alchemist but she could usually ferret out the difference between a potion and a poison by smell, and this particular item smelled none to healthy. She adjusted the bow and stuck a hand out, waiting for the sensation of a nearby cast to come, then twisted into the corridor before the flame even hit the wall, knowing the mage had yet to recover and would be blinded by their own light as the spell exploded behind her. She fired into the middle of the robed figure and watched just long enough to see them go down. She readied another arrow even as she ducked behind the wall. Another fire ball came and she repeated the shot, noting the mage was still kneeling. She made for a head shot and fell into a crouch as the two big figures came around the other corner. One came at her, the other went down as Feric leapt on his back, his teeth burying soundly into his throat, ripping it open with a single, violent twist. 

In a mind-blowing stroke of bad luck the three that she had detected behind the door chose that moment to join them, no doubt hearing the shouts. Feric whirled to meet them. She offered him what help she could, sending her next arrow into their midst, but taking a nick to her shoulder in the process as the hunter who was originally going to get the arrow got his stay of execution. Luckily most of it was deflected by her armour, but it still didn't feel too hot. She caught the next blow with her bow, using the ebony curve to turn the blade as she caught one of her daggers up in the other hand to slash the big warrior across the face. His heavy armour didn't give her many options so she jumped at him as he was stumbling back, clawing her fingers towards his face, letting her fire sear through her fingers. They went down in a pile, rolling away from each other, him whimpering in pain and searching for something on his belt, her already reaching for another arrow. Feric was pinned back against the door, snarling and trying valiantly to dodge lunging swords, taking swipes at them where he could. She lodged an arrow in to the back of one skull giving him some space, and he used it to lunge at the leg of a khajiit with a long spear. He got his leg, but he also took a nasty looking wound from the spear as well. 

A holler behind her and the sting of an arrow tearing at the flesh in her leg made her turn from the scene. A bow woman, also Dunmer, was loading up another shot, and the mage she thought she killed was closing in as well, looking a little worse for wear, but still on his feet. Behind them were at least another two bodies worth of backup. 

She dodged the next arrow only to find the big knight she'd grappled with back up and slicing at her with his sword. The khajiit was behind her as well, though on the ground and bleeding profusely. She snapped up the spear from his weakened grasp and thrust it up to block a powerful overhead swipe from the knight. She managed to keep her head, but was forced to her knees. She twisted the spear, sending the blow off to the side and swiping it down to catch one of his legs, taking him down just long enough for her to whirl the spear towards another attacker. She knocked another blow away by a second hunter and was about to make a thrust when a fiery blast hit her from the side, tossing her rag-doll style into the wall. It hurt, but it didn't kill her. She was up a moment later, the spear still in hand, thrusting the shoddily made thing into the nearest soft body. She'd do just about anything to have a decent chitin spear right about now. It hit home, despite its inferiority, and she jerked it back, pulling said body toward her and using her free hand to finish the job with a lesser dagger, seeing as her good one was already lodged somewhere in some one. The manoeuvre did the trick but at the high cost of leaving her flank open. 

This was absurd. She couldn't fight locked in like this. Did she look like the muscle? No, no, she didn't, thank you very much. No, he was busy playing pin cushion in another corner somewhere. Screw this noise. She parried another thrust and went for the legs, trying to make a move for the door to find some more room for this Punch and Judy show. She was almost ready to make a dash when a terrible sound or pain rang out, reverberating through the halls and making her innards twist in disturbing ways. She turned and saw Feric rolling away from an opponent, a swath of red cutting across his side in a way that made her nothing less than sick to her stomach.

That moment of distraction cost her and she felt the tip of a blade make itself at home in her back. She thrust the butt of her spear backward and into her attacker, twisting to wrench the offending blade out with a shock of searing hot pain. She felt it all the way to the ends of her hair. She let out her own terrific shout, though hers was a battle cry as she lunged at the fresh bunch of hunters cornering Feric again. They both started at her shout and turned to face her, one paying for it as claws tore into her back, another going down beside her as the spear whipped under his leg. She whirled again, letting Feric finish them off.

She gazed wide eyed at the crowd choking the hall. There was still at least half a dozen of them, seemingly manifesting from thin air, and a few of the injured seemed to be reaching for potions as they crawled to safety. She could feel her own body weakening with pain and blood loss, and knew that wound of Feric's wasn't going to let him keep going for much longer. She took a deep breath and shouted.

"I give up." The two nearest her paused in surprise. One-one thousand. She lunged at them, sword in one hand, spear in the other. Two-one thousand. She batted away a sword with the spear shaft, only to have the damn thing break under the force. Cheap imperial garbage. Three-one thousand. She tossed the fractured butt into one hunters face, ducking under his arm as he swatted it away, and swiped wildly at another with the sword, forcing them back. Four-one thousand. She tossed herself back into the corner she'd just tried to escape. She wondered if they were confused yet.

Her darting eyes couldn't find the tawny gold hide anywhere. Now or never. 

She took a deep breath, raising her hands over her head and thought hot thoughts. Something sharp and painful came down on her arm, and something heavy slammed into her ribs. She forced herself to ignore it, easy now to do as she felt every square inch of her flesh light up with molten heat, filling her mouth with the taste of flame, blinding her with its light. It was only seconds but the build felt like ages. There was so much of it, and so hard to control, it took every ounce of her will to contain the swelling blast, not to mention the murmur of a cast. Yeah, it was that kind of spell, too big to just feel it out. Somewhere in the distance between the depths of her mind and the outside world she heard a call of alarm, slow and deep as if through water. 

She blocked it, blocked everything and opened her eyes. She opened her eyes and let go. 

It raced through her, spilling out of her. She could feel the heat of it, knew by its intensity that if it hadn't been her own heat, it would have seared the skin off of her in seconds. She was still too blinded by the massive explosion to know what it had done to anyone else, all she could do was hold on as the spell ripped through her endlessly and at lightning speed and filled the space around her, forcing its way down the two facing passages. She prayed hard that Feric had made it far enough down the third. 

She couldn't tell how much time had passed, how many seconds or minutes, but it did pass, and eventually the last courses of power whisked suddenly from her body, deflating her instantly and dropping her like a master-less puppet. She crumpled against the wall her head lolling in a sick and dizzy way. She was groaning. She knew it only because the sound was giving her a head ache. 

She slowly opened an eye, expecting the sight that greeted her, but still having to swallow hard to repress the urge to gag. The smell didn't help. She got to her knees and crawled her way out of the corner, trying to turn her mind toward finding Feric, keeping her eyes away from the broken black and red skin, and holding her breath against the unappetizing scent. The ones closest to her had taken the brunt of it, and it showed. She made it as far as the entrance to the side corridor before she had to stop and rest against the wall, her breath coming in short painful gasps. She was shaking and realized quickly that she couldn't really move one of her arms. Broken. She felt up her arm and found the break. It seemed like a sharp, clean break. Things were looking up. 

Riiiight. 

A huff made her look up from her arm. Feric was padding, or rather limping down the hall toward her. She started to smile, more grateful than she could say to see him still on his feet. Her relief faded fast when he looked up at her and she saw the fog of pain that dulled them to a dismal grey colour. His eyes rolled a little and he shuddered, his body transforming in slow motion, as if it took all of his energy to do so. 

"Feric?" she called softly, moving to go to him, but finding her body too broken to let her. He was on his hands and knees, panting softly in pain. He shifted so that he was leaning in a half sit against the now slightly blackened wall behind him, opening his eyes to gaze into hers from across the hall. 

"You look like hell warmed over. I thought you said you were invincible?" He rasped, giving her a weak smile which contorted rapidly into a grimace.

She would have laughed, but something in her chest hurt too much. She lifted her unbroken arm and pressed lightly into the firm leather. Oh, god, there it was. Broken rib. She was lucky her lung was in one piece. She breathed in, and squeezed her eyes shut against the terrible aching, throbbing... fuck it, maybe she'd just die here and leave it at that. Then again, her ancestors would never let her hear the end of it. Fetchers. They'd have all of eternity to rib her about it too. She opened her eyes and appraised Feric. He was bleeding. A lot. Her stomach turned violently again at the sight. She whimpered and coughed. 

"Yeah well, I usually work solo. I would have been just peachy...if I hadn't been watching...your...fine ass." She managed a half smirk. There was so much blood. 

He snorted. "Well, thanks ...for watching it then."

"My pleasure." 

His eyes darted over towards the chaos of bodies. "What...what did you do exactly?"

"Something a friend taught me...invented. Effective...but exhausting" she grunted and let her head roll against the stones. There was a long pause filled with the sound of laboured breathing.

"Let's...let's not do that again."

She nodded weakly. "Agreed. Feric?"

"yea?" He gasped out through another wince as he tried to move against the wall. He left a smear of bright red across it as he moved. She swallowed hard.

"Can...can you" she paused to take as much a breath as her ribs would allow her, "heal?"

He furrowed his brow and closed his eyes for a few seconds before snapping them open with a soft moan. She felt the sound somewhere deep in the center of her. She dug deeply into her own mind, reaching for whatever will might yet be dredged out of it, but it lashed back at her making her head swim. Tapped out. 

No. 

No, no, no, and no. This was not going to go down like this. HE was not going to go down like this. She turned her eyes to the group of bodies. Alright. She could do this. Someone had to have something. She would have taken a deep breath to steel herself, but the effort might have killed her. She rolled over onto her knees and let out a shocked cry of pain when her right hand touched the ground. Oh that's right, broken. Inanna felt the overwhelming urge to just scream the pain out until she just lost consciousness. She was panting almost to the point of hyperventilating, which did little to ease the pain in her chest. She just couldn't win could she? She needed something, something to distract her from the pain. 

She dug into her hazy shattered mind and found a thought. An old Ashland poem, it was the first thought that came to her. 'Good enough.' She recited it to herself. She recited it again. And again. 

She was at the first body, leaning on her left arm. Dammit, an archer. She'd only have God damned poisons. There was another close by, big, lots of armour...oh that's right, him. Good, that was good. She dragged herself over to the body, using her legs to push herself and her one good arm to pull. She leaned against this body as well, propping herself against the charred ridged plate mail. If it was hot to the touch, she couldn't tell. A wave of nausea washed over her and her vision fuzzed in unsettling ways. She let out a low groan. She must have over extended her will. As if confirming the thought, her head pounded unkindly. Dammit, and she lost the poem. She reached for it again, but it was gone. Everything was gone but the blinding pain. She'd just have to do this the old fashioned way...grit her teeth and bear it.

She started searching the body, looking for a pouch or belt, grunting and whimpering through the pain. Oh, thank the gods, any of them, all of them. She tugged the little pouch open. There were two small vials. She grabbed one and popped the top with her teeth, tears trickling down her face as a whole new pain made itself known. She ran her tongue over her teeth after letting the stopper fall into her lap. None were broken...it must be her jaw, she twisted it. Well it wasn't broken at least, fractured and bruised maybe, but not broken or dislocated. She sniffed the potion. It didn't smell too bad, but she wasn't much of an alchemist, especially not with foreign ingredients. She tipped a little into her mouth. It didn't taste too bad either. A little medicinal, but that was expected. She waited a moment, swishing it in her mouth as best she could before swallowing. The new throb in her jaw seemed to dissipate slightly. Well that could have been in her head, but she wasn't feeling any worse. 'As if that's possible.'

She gripped the open vial in her teeth and grabbed the second one before swaying up onto her knees. She pulled the second vial out of her mouth and shuffled awkwardly on her knees to where Feric lay half propped against the wall. His eyes were closed. There was even more blood. Far too much blood.

"Feric?" She called as firmly as her body would allow without knocking herself out with the pain. Nothing.

"Green?" Her insides roiled, and she had to work to keep her hand steady. She was still moving toward him, but the last few feet may as well have been as vast as the Sea of Ghosts itself.

"Feric!" She practically hollered, ignoring the pain, as well as the tears that ran freely in streaks down her face, "open your fetching eyes, god damn it!"

And he did. She let out a gasp of relief...but the relief was short lived when she saw his eyes. They were so dark, staring, focused on nothing. She crashed down next to him and dropped the stopped vile into her lap, awkwardly lifting the open one to his lips with her left arm while the other lay useless beside her. 

"I need you to open your mouth and drink." He made a murmuring sound.

"Drink." She insisted pressing the lip of the tiny jar against his mouth. He murmured again and something like 'can't' came to her ears.

"Fuck that. Drink damn you. Open." She grunted and slid back onto her knees. Her heart was slamming hard into her throat, as fast as a rabbit's. She was hyperventilating again. She wasn't going to stay conscious much longer like this. There was...just too much pain...

"Drink!" She cried desperately. "You are not dying on me you son of a bitch. I am NOT dragging your sorry corpse back to your daughter. Drink! Please...don't do this to me Serjo." She breathed this last thought out with a choked sob of pain and frustration. 

His lips parted, just a tiny bit, just enough, and she tipped the vial and shoved her arm under his chin, forcing it up. He choked and coughed, but eventually it went down. She grabbed the other off the floor from where it had landed. Her vision was spinning wildly now. His face was a blur, just smudges of colour, she uncorked the vial, feeling the cork out with her lips and yanking, pointing the business end of the vial at him before stopping herself. She spat out the cork and brought this one to her nose and lips. It smelled and tasted the same, she thought, but then she could hardly see or think, oh Azura...don't let her kill him now. She blinked the stars away and aimed for the long straight smudge of dark colour where she thought his mouth should be. Her fingers brushed along it. It was warm, slightly damp. She felt breath, that meant his lips were still parted, she hoped. 

She swayed once, then steadied herself. She couldn't really feel much for the moment, it was like being really, really, sick drunk. That wasn't good. She was shutting down. Poem, poem, where was the poem. Stay a-wake. She tipped the vial a little, her fingers making sure it went in. Some words came to her "weal and woe" she whispered in Dunmeri. "two souls...in faith...with never..." no that wasn't right. She tipped the vial all the way up. Her fingers were on his jaw. She could feel the warm skin, but she couldn't really see it any more. Stay awake you stupid chit, don't go passing out now. "To bind two souls..." yeah that was right. That wasn't the first line was it? "First and last?" No, that was the last line...how Did that stupid thing go again? 

There was something warm on her face. 

"Ina?" A voice...careful...shaken...male. 

"What is it?" She asked still murmuring in Dunmeri. 

"I...I don't understand you...are you...can you hear me?"

"Hmm? Yes." She frowned, what was he speaking? "Yes." She answered again in common. "Can you hear me?" Her eyes were open again, she was looking at a shifting blur. A shifting blur with stars. It might have been pretty if it didn't make her want to throw up. A short, disbelieving laugh.

"Feric?"

A sigh.

"Thank Lady Kyn."

"Heal yourself."

"What about..."

She frowned hard at the blur. "You're no good lame...heal yourself, before I ...really put the hurt on... you." She threatened lamely.

"Woman,you're mad, you know that?"




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 04



She grunted and swayed. 

The warmth on her face disappeared and she felt a cold hardness against her back. She was throbbing...no, beating, like a drum, hard and fast. She was fire, burning. Ooohhh, but not in a good way, oh no, not good at all.

Hang on, hang on.

Warm again, but good warm. On her face and neck. "Good?" She asked softly.

"Enough. We have to get you out of here."

"Heal me."

"I can't."

"Heal me."

"Inanna, I can't. We can only heal ourselves."

"No. You can. Aina can. Just do it. Don't argue." She opened her eyes one more time. Still just shifty colours...and that pounding drum. What was she doing?

"Aina can?"

Ah, yes. 

"Come on green. Lay it...on me."

"I...how? I've never..."

"Like you do for yourself, same thing... I mean. Damn, I...it..." She paused to breathe...but that made the drum pound louder in her ears. "ugh, same as...just, just transfer it out of you...think of me...instead. Think it. Send it out. You...just...have to, uh, want it enough. Right?" She fumbled for the warmth on her face and pressed it into her. "Focus."

She waited, and she listened to the drums, and she thought about the broken poem. And then she was warm. Warm in her face and neck. Warm in her shoulders and arms. Her arm popped in a funny way, and then there was pain. Pain everywhere. She cried out. Screamed. She had to, there was just so much of it, so much pain; In her arm, her chest, her head. Something warm and sticky was on her back, something stinging in her thigh. She vaguely recalled a sword wound and an arrow to match the sensations. 

Her eyes snapped open. Her vision was still fuzzy, but only around the edges. Feric was looking down at her, his eyes looked drawn and grey, his hands weren't warm anymore, but they still held her face. 

She blinked a few times, then lifted her arm. It still hurt, but it wasn't broken. Just bruised probably, maybe even the remains of a fracture. But better. Functional. Good enough. She grinned wearily at the worried face looming over hers. 

"See? I'm always right."

He let out a little sigh.

She watched his worn out eyes as he gazed back down on her, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I hope you didn't over-stretch. How... I mean, how's your head? Dizzy? Vision?" She gave him a once over. Except for the worn out look, he seemed ok. Nothing broken or bleeding, that's what mattered.

He shook his head. "I'm fine, I'm alright. I'll live" He blinked and his fingers tensed against her face. His voice softened. "Thank you." 

She nodded, and swallowed. "Right back at you." She took a deep breath. It didn't feel great, but she could do it without bursting into tears. Faaaantastic! She reached up and covered his hand with hers and closed her eyes, enjoying for a few moments the feel of his fingers on her skin and the divine joy of being able to breathe deeply. She felt his forehead come to rest against hers and a different kind of pain tightened her chest. She clenched her jaw and fought the urge to get all weepy and emotional. 

"So...let's get this show on the road than shall we? The super-secret plans aren't going to steal themselves. Not that we've been very good thieves so far." He released her as she pushed forward and started making motions to get up.

"Come on, we have to get you to a proper healer." He reached for her again, holding her elbows and pulling her up against him. She chocked back another wave of emotion and forced her face into a wry grin, gingerly untangling herself from his protective arms, careful not to look him in the eye lest what she see there undo her entirely. She took a deep breath and collected herself.

"No, no, we've come this far, we need to see if we can find anything. Besides, I don't think we left anyone alive down here." She sighed and looked at the disaster in front of her, both happy she could actually see again, and disheartened at the sight. "Pretty damn impressive of us, I've got to say." Her voice shook slightly as an uncontrollable shudder, caused by her over-draw, jerked through her. She passed her eyes over the carnage and spotted a singed grey blue robe a few feet down the hall. 

She tottered on her feet using the wall as support. "Oi." She groaned. "Feels like a chunk of my brain exploded." He stood with her, holding her shoulders to steady her, his face a mask of concern. 'Oh Serjo, you're such a dear.'

"Inanna, you're still hurt, if they come back..." She smiled through her head ache, which was a hell of a feat if she didn't say so herself, and patted his arm. Well at least the pain was keeping her too weak in the knees to go...well, weak in the knees, at his touch. Oh joy. If those were her two options now...'then someone, please, resurrect yourself and put me out of my misery.' Where was a necromancer when you needed them?

"I'll be O.K. , we'll just have to keep our collective heads down. Besides, if we leave now, there's no way we'll get back through here a second time. Right?"

He didn't look convinced, and shook his head. He looked around huffing out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh, don't be such a baby. Don't tell me that was your first near death experience? What are you, some kind of rank amateur?" She grinned as hard as her mind and body would let her without either shattering. Frankly she was in a mood to feel sorry for herself, but she knew he couldn't take it just now. He looked ready to toss her over his shoulder and march her to the nearest priest. Which, under other circumstances, might be charming as hell...but they had a work to do. She'd mope later, on her own time. Maybe he'd want to comfort her, the old fashion way...right, not with her luck. Her grin threatened to falter, but she was a stalwart soldier.

"We better move then."

"Good man." She slapped his shoulder, harder that she should have, because they both winced, and she pulled out of his hands with an apologetic grimace. 

He shifted, though it seemed slower than usual, like he had when he was injured, as though it took more effort. He made his way to the door they'd been aiming at before all hell broke loose and looked back at her over his shoulder.

"Hold on a minute." She called. He paused and waited as she pushed herself off the wall, willing her legs to keep her standing. Her head swam a little, but she made it to the bluish robe and ignored the wide staring eyes and contorted death mask that belonged to it as she went through the pockets.

"Aha!"

She found a wax paper package and opened it revealing small roundish disks. They were brittle and dry to the touch. Ugh. It looked really, really healthy. She screwed up her nose as she bit into it and made a face. Flax cookies with dehydrated bits of what she could only assume were once blueberries, at least in a former life. It was worse than it looked, there was something odd and bitter underneath, something plant like, something not really meant to be eaten. She pulled out her water, which sadly was still quite warm from her little imitation of a bomb, and washed it down as best she could before snapping the lid on her skin closed with a pop, and thrusting another cookie in her mouth. God was this mage a masochist or something? Hadn't they ever heard of honey? 

In the poor dead bastard's defence, it seemed to be doing the trick. The fuzz on the edge of her vision seemed to be dispersing, and her legs had stopped wobbling, or at least the wobble had been reduced to a mild muscular spasm of some kind. She even felt the first distant sizzles of fire in her blood. Potent stuff these cookies. Too bad they tasted like the wrong end of a rough night. She walked up to Feric and returned his quizzical look with a cocked brow and a shrug, then gestured to the door. 

"Awer ouu." She muttered through the hunk o' sawdust still crammed between her teeth. She just couldn't bring herself to start chewing. Ugh. 

**

He was livid. 

He looked up at Inanna who was giving the stump next to him a fixed glare from across the tiny glade. The look in her eye was so intense he shifted away from the hunk of wood, imagining it might burst into flames at any second. They sat in the dark in silence, both of them mulling over their thoughts with clouded expressions on their faces. There was no fire as she was concerned about attracting attention. He had to agree though it worried him knowing she was still recovering from her wounds. He wanted to take her to a healer, but she insisted it would lead the hunters back to them. She was right, but he didn't like it. He had even tried again to help her heal with his own powers, but exhaustion and inexperience made him barely more than useless. 

And all of that for an Initial. A God damned initial. He sighed. Then growled. Then paced.

"What's wrong Serjo?"

The calm caress of her voice washed over him, settling the hairs on his neck, and he paused to look up at her as she stood from her crouch, turning her gaze to the darkness.

"Did you scent something?"

She turned back to him, and he responded in the negative. She rubbed her hands against the tops of her thighs and cast her eyes into the darkness one more time before coming to his side and sitting on the stump. She propped one naked heel on it and laid her cheek against her knee, turning her head to look at him. She smiled a tired smile. She was only wearing pants and the wrap again, having removed the torn and bloodstained layers of leather and silk in order to tend to the wounds not completely closed by his attempt to heal her. He had been a little stunned to find he could, but then when every one of the pride could heal themselves, there was no need to learn to heal others.

From this angle he could see remains of the sword wound she'd taken in the back. It had gone deep, and despite his efforts, and a vial of whatever she'd fed him found in a store room, had only just stopped seeping. He was amazed she'd found the strength to drag herself over to him, never mind get up on her knees and force feed him potions.

He padded over to her, the urge to be near her easily overwhelming his perpetual caution. Everything else just seemed to cease mattering. She was injured. His mate was injured. He needed to be reassured that she was going to be ok. She watched him and lifted her head. As he neared her the scent of her filled his mouth. To hell with it, he could care less right now. He needed this. Needed her. 

He reared his head gently, brushing her shoulder and face with his cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against it, squeezing and caressing him back. Apparently he wasn't the only one in need of comfort. She kept her face buried against his neck, breathing slowly.

"I know I'm supposed to be cut off and everything, but I can think of a better way to...assure each other of our mutual good health." He lifted his head from her lap to regard her. Her face was soft, open, and gentle. He was more than tempted. 

She didn't wait for an answer but slid to her knees in front of him, mimicking their positions on their first night together by the waterfall as she smoothed her hands over his head and neck, nuzzling his cheek with her own. He let out an involuntary purr and nuzzled her back, flicking the length of her ear with the tip of his tongue, his growling purr mounting when he felt her shiver in response. Sensitive elven ears. He smiled to himself and nestled his muzzle against her neck and shoulder, flicking her warm salty skin with a tender lap before brushing lightly down her shoulder over the bruises and scratches. She whimpered, an almost inaudibly sound, unconscious, he knew, and he looked back up to her. She gave him a small smile. 

"It was broken." She raised her other arm to run her fingers over her ribs. She fingered open the knot holding her wrap and loosened it, letting it slide from her body. He was only momentarily distracted by the vision of her bared breasts. Far more immediate was the sight just below her right breast, a broad pool of blue black against her dark grey skin. "I broke one of these too. It's alright now though...just bruised."She touched it carefully, her eyes looking down to assess the damage. The sight made his heart ache that much more. 

He pressed against her again, careful not to get too near her bruised side, rubbing his cheek against her left breast, catching one soft nipple with his tongue, feeling it harden instantly in response. She gasped and curled her fingers into the short fur behind his ears. He took it as encouragement and rubbed a little harder, tickling the skin of her neck with his whiskers. She laughed softly, then groaned. A small hand slapped his shoulder lightly. He growled back playfully.

"Don't make me laugh," she murmured against his ear, "it hurts." 

He pulled away a little and she grinned at him, cupping his face and kissing his bridge of his nose and between his eyes. He gave a mild head toss in his own expression of amusement. She chuckled again. 

"I told you to stop that." She gave him a mock pout, then blinked when he pulled away and turned from her. She frowned at his retreating back, getting to her feet confused by his sudden change in attitude.

"Feric? I was only teasing..." He turned back to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming. And what have we here, was that mischief they were gleaming with? "I'll be damned" she whispered to herself with a smile and followed him in to the darkness, her wrap forgotten, wearing only her clinging leather pants and a mischievous grin of her own. 

She narrowed her eyes and peered into the darkness. All around her loomed huge boulders skirted with long waving grass. The overcast sky turned everything into shifting shadows, dark shapes in the night. Even so she was amazed that 400 pounds of muscle could vanish so easily before her. She stepped forward cautiously, her skin tingling with excitement, goose bumping despite the warm humidity that hung in the summer air. Her ears perked at a sound, a rustle, out of place among the hum of crickets and peace beetles. The air was heavy with impending rain and windless...something was moving out there. 

It came again and she whirled to the right, dropping naturally into a ready stance, instincts taking over, her aches and pains forgotten as her adrenaline surged. She listened hard for another movement. Something brushed the back of her thighs and she bit back a cry, whirling and finding the space behind her empty again. Her heart pounded in her chest and she twisted her head about the grass with a grin. Sneaky kitty. She caught a shadow move in the corner of her eye and pretended to ignore it, scanning the darkness under the overhand of a nearby boulder instead, silently sidestepping her way toward the initial movement. She thought for a moment she could make out a denser shadow hidden in the tall grass. She licked her lips and lunged toward it. It darted away to the right and she grinned turning to the left. That ought to mess him up.

She tore around the side of a sloping boulder and climbed atop the craggy thing peering out over the edge for her quarry. She chuckled silently to herself. Looks like he was taking her prey analogy literally. Well that was ok by her, so long as he was still willing to play once he got caught. 

There. He was crouched low under a boulder across from hers, no doubt waiting for her to come out from behind it. She waited, breathing as quietly as her excitement allowed her, and gazed down at his patient figure. Finally he slunk forward, vanishing intermittently in the shadows, until he was almost under her. She wondered if he'd seen her already and was toying with her...it was a low enough ledge that she was on after all. She decided to risk it and dropped from the rock. He saw her coming too late, and fell into a crouch beneath her.

She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him, letting her fingers dig into his fur like the claws of a mountain lion jumping a deer. He snarled and dropped his front to shake her off. She slid forward on his back, feeling the bunch and ripple of his massive body beneath her, straining between her thighs and causing a shiver of desire and fear to course through her. Not the least of all because of the memory of last night's activities which were still oh-so fresh in her mind. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face there as well, clinging for dear life. He reared up and she let out a small squeal, but didn't let go, her arms still tight around the corded muscle of his neck. He landed again and stood there, his body tense and legs splayed defiantly. She wriggled forward again and brushed his ear with her mouth. 

"Does this mean I win? What's my prize Serjo?"

Feric suppressed a shudder at the husky sound of her voice whispering in his ear and rolled his shoulders under her, enjoying the strange but delightful feel of her writhing weight against his back. She tightened her legs about his waist and he growled with pleasure. He was almost sorry to have to do what he did, but he grinned as he did it nonetheless. He twisted suddenly, and shook, sending her rolling off of him with a soft thump. He twisted again and was on her before she could open her mouth to complain. She let out a soft cry as his jaws came down around her throat and she stilled. His mouth watered slightly as he stood there, her slim throat held tenderly in his jaws, her breathing short and frightened, her scent a deep and heady musk, tinged with fear and an intoxicating dose of arousal.

"Yield" she whispered softly and he slowly released her, licking the unscathed skin of her throat. She returned the gesture by running a hand over his neck and squeezing the back of it. 

He continued to caress her as he had earlier, scenting and marking her stomach and breasts, watching with pleasure as her eyes grew heavy and her breathing laboured. He chuckled to himself and nuzzled back down to her waist, taking the band of her leathers in his teeth and tugging before releasing it again, lapping at a scratch over her hip. His way of saying he'd do it himself, but there was already enough damage done to her tonight. She giggled, a light playful sound, almost girlish, so rare to hear on her lips, and reached down to untie the bindings and slid the tight material down over her lifted hips. Instead of laying back as he expected her to, she got up on her hands and knees. His own arousal flared to life and he felt his cock twitch anxiously as he watched her, admiring the slow sensual movements of her lithe body.

He growled in consternation when she didn't immediately turn her back to him, but crawled forward and he watching in confusion as she skirted around him. He was about to turn and follow when an unexpected sensation stopped him, and a small hand wrapped around his already engorged and intensely sensitive cock. He growled low in his throat and hunched his hips reflexively, digging his hind claws into the dirt. She was undeterred and he shuddered as what could only be her mouth wrapped hot and wet around the tip before slowly sinking his now pulsating member deeper, swirling her quick and talented tongue around the length as she went. He tried to look back to see her and caught sight of her small rounded ass instead, rocking gently as she moved her mouth over his heat. 

That sight was more than enough to set him off and he bowled her over with a side step, forcing his tongue between her thighs without even bothering to right himself. He ran his tongue down the length of her, eager and hungry for the spiced nectar he could scent so clearly in the air around them. Her legs fell open without resistance and he heard her moan softly as she arched her hips up to meet the next stroke of his tongue. The next moan was muffled by his own growl as he felt her return the favour once more and the head of his prick dipped back into her waiting mouth. He pressed forward automatically, pushing deeper and her hands grasped his hind legs to try and slow the thrust. He shuddered and recalled his control as best he could, forcing himself to still. He managed it, though his body shook slightly with the effort, and he returned with renewed vigour to the swollen lips spread invitingly before him, grinding his tongue against her clit and purring as he felt her moan in response. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



Once bitten, twice shy.

That's how it went right? Well... it was true enough, but biting he could handle. In his case it was more like, 'once nearly hacked to death with swords, twice shy of said swords.' Didn't quite trip off the tongue in the same way though, did it. Feric huffed.

Normally he wasn't one to be wary of a fight, and he could say with absolute and confident certainty that Inanna wasn't either. To be honest they both reveled in it most of the time. He could read it in her eyes and body, and saw that she got the same electric charge out of it as he did...but there was still an awfully big "however" at the end of that thought. After the debacle at Wariel, he was feeling unusually inclined towards using avoidance as his primary mode of conflict resolution. Inanna was, for the most part, content to go along with this. After all, he hadn't been the only one loitering on deaths front porch.

It was in part because of this that they had come to an unspoken agreement to avoid Skingrad and Chorrol, and had stayed well north of the roads on their return trip, taking the hard routes and using the streams and natural caverns to complicate their trail. Even with proper trackers Feric knew they'd have a bitch of a time following them, and he was pretty sure they were fresh out of those at the moment. 

But one can never be too careful. 

He felt hot breath ruffling the fur on the back of his neck and tilted his head. 

"You don't suppose there's such a thing as too careful, do you?" A low, laughing voice whispered into his ear. He flexed his claws and wondered, and not for the first time, if she was somehow in his head.

He shook his head in response, but without turning his gaze away from the group of trolls milling about in the small ravine below. They were cutting it a little close, but the trolls would unequivocally muck up whatever trail remained.

"I hate those things. They smell worse than goblins....barely, but they do. Let's just roast them all and get on with our lives." Feric did turn his head then to cast a dirty look at his smirking partner. She only grinned back with her trade mark cockeyed smile and slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. 

"Y'er no fun, Serjo." 

He flicked his tail and turned his attention to the three lumbering beasts lurking just below the boulders the two of them were presently perched on. The trolls were wonderfully stupid creatures, and half blind, but they could move fast once they caught wind of you. Their sickly greenish color also made them difficult to spot until they were nearly on top of you. As it was, the reverse was true in this case, and it was he and Ina who were nearly on top of them. 

Feric did his best to ignore the feeling of Ina's small, slender body pressing lightly against his side as he watched the trio slowly meander off in a new direction. When they were sufficiently out of sight he flicked his tail in satisfaction and felt her murmur against his ear. 

"Aye aye captain."

She was off, and he kept close behind, watching the nearby group as he and Ina skirted the clearing and headed toward another grouping of boulders which he hoped would take them back out of the little forest valley. They were almost there when she signaled and they were forced to duck in behind a collection of low brush. She held up two fingers and he sniffed the air. There were more and they were close, very close. The damn things must have just come around the side of the rock pile they were headed towards. They crouched in low together, frozen in readied positions. She looked at him and held up her fingers. Tiny flames danced gaily across the tips. He shook his head again and she pouted dramatically before flicking her hand and dispelling the fire. His eyes lingered unintentionally on the fullness of her lower lip as she chewed it absently.

As they waited his attention slowly began to slide...again. He resisted the urge to growl but his claws flexed as he rolled his shoulders in annoyance. 

It had been impossible to keep his attention off of her since the night of the storm, more so than usual that is...and he really hadn't thought that was possible. After she had passed out he'd moved both of them under an overhanging rock for cover and they'd spent the night curled together, kept dry by the boulders and hidden by the long grass. When they woke he was on his side and she was wrapped around him with her head and arms resting on his hind flank and her long legs under one of his paws. She'd wriggled against him and blinked her eyes open with a startled, and then sly, smile. 

Her voice had washed over him like rough, raw silk, waking and thrilling every part of him with two words: 'Morning Handsome.' That was all it took. That, and the naughty little grin which accompanied them. It was then he'd realized how utterly lost he was and how much he really did want her. No, not just want...need. He had to have her, there was no way around it. Maybe it was the words, or maybe it was how right she'd felt curled up against his flank, or perhaps it was the recent reminder of how short life really was. Near death experiences had a tendency to make one aware of that particular fact. He felt an irrepressible shudder run through him at the thought. It had been far too close.

Whatever the reason, something had happened. Something that had changed his mind about claiming her, or at least his response to claiming her, since that ship had sailed. He shifted restlessly and shot her a glare when she poked his side, telling him to sit still. She shot his look right back at him. He sighed inwardly and turned away and back toward his wandering thoughts. 

It wasn't that he hadn't wanted her before, that had remained unchanged, what had really altered was what he planned to do about it. Ignoring it wasn't going to work, or rather, hadn't...at all, and the mating couldn't be undone, at least not easily or without great sacrifice. So really there was only one reasonable option left: make her his.

It wasn't an unappealing thought. Of course, just how he planned to do that was a mystery and the problem had kept him occupied and reserved for the bulk of the journey. 

Also disconcerting was the fact that Ina seemed different now as well. She was still her usual self: confident, smart-mouthed, and playful, but there was something else there, an edge of some kind, and a distance. He let it go considering the scene they'd just come out of wasn't exactly rainbows and roses, but the sense that something was off, that something had changed, pulled at the back of his mind in disconcerting ways. 

Eventually, and he imagined to Ina's chagrin, the troll's moved on and they were free to make their way out of the ravine unscathed and unchallenged. When they had reached the other side, and were safely away Ina caught up to him and prodded his flank with her hip. 

"You're taking me hunting when we get home." she grumbled at him.

He only had one response to that. He purred. She laughed.

@@@

Right on time. God I'm good. Inanna smiled with satisfaction at the sight of Max's horse strung up with a long line of Bay mounts, all huffing and shifting and generally looking bored silly. All Bays, all between 16 and 17 hands, with matching saddles, bridals—imperial issue...they come standard with the armor and the self righteous attitudes. Again though...she'd take them over the Indoril guards of Morrowind, who were just uptight pricks. Uptight pricks with control issues, actually. Yeah a little smug superiority was alright, at least they were polite. And they called her ma'am...which was just plain adorable. 

There were one or two outliers in the string of equestrian conservatism, one stubby little painted horse who looked like it had an attitude problem, and a mild looking white gnawing absently on what ever it was horses were supposed to gnaw on. She knew guar would pull up big wads of wick wheat and grind that stuff for hours on those big flat teeth of theirs. She guessed it must be something similar. At any rate, they let her know it was a slightly mixed crowd tonight for supper...but still pretty heavy on the legionnaire presence...not surprising for Roxies.

She turned away from the sight and Feric watched her curiously as her eyes scanned the woods. Come on come on come on....aha! She resisted the urge to chortle in triumph as a be-robed blonde emerged from the forests edge. 

Innana waved at Mirisa, and happily absorbed the priceless look Feric was giving her. It was the little things in life that always gave the most pleasure.

She had indeed invited Mairisa to meet them here with the promise of being able to update each other on their respective situations more than a day earlier than if she'd waited at home...but the real reason she invited her was sitting inside while his horse counted flies.

Mirisa nodded and joined them as they made their way to the door. Inanna took the lead as they fell in behind her to begin their respective run downs of the last few days' activities. She pointed them in the direction of the familiar pasty white face of Bart the trainee when they joined her inside. She herself looked around for the trainer. He found her first and wasted absolutely no time whatsoever.

"Hey, who's the blonde?" Max asked nudging her in the ribs. She grinned and slipped her arm under his. If he wasn't going to dick around, then neither was she.

"Well let's find out shall we?" She dragged him over to the table before he could protest and shoved him out in front. Feric, who was already sitting at the table cast a glance up at her. His face held placid indifference, but the twinkle in his eye told her he knew exactly what she was up to. "Max, you know Feric, and this here's Mirisa his..." she gave Feric the 'your turn to jump in' look and he smiled and let her hang. She screwed up her face back at him and Max gave her an uncertain look. Mirisa snorted in disgust at the whole spectacle and held out a hand.

"Cousin...actually." 

"Really?" Ina blurted, for some reason surprised. That, she did not know. Usually she was good on picking up on blood lines...for some reason Ashlanders all were. 

As the humans say, blood is thicker than water...and as the Dunmer say, 'and it spills just as easily.' She chuckled to herself. Reversing human expressions was a national pass time. 'The pen is mightier than the sword...' : 'Then draw n'wah, so we can find out.' Draw...get it? 

Mirisa shrugged and turned her eyes on her, pulling Ina back into the present. "By marriage." 

Ah.

Max's face fell as he shook her hand. She loved playing cards with him, he was a god-damned book. And M thought she was obvious...Ha! 

"Oh...you're married are you?" There was a twinge of hope in his voice and Ina fought hard to choke back what she knew would be a shit-eating grin. She didn't dare look at Feric knowing that the look he would probably give her would make her crack for sure. 

She so knew Max'd like her. He liked tough chicks...not those delicate wilting flower types. He had good taste that way. Present company included.

Mirisa shook her head. "Widowed."

"Oh....I'm sorry."

"Sure, it's been a few years." Mirisa shrugged. A negligent gesture, but Inanna still caught the shadow of long buried pain flit over her features. Suddenly all desire to have any fun at her expense vanished in a poof of guilt. Ugh, this was going to leave a bad taste. Man, Mirisa was always trying to ruin her fun. 

No, you know what? Screw that. Mirisa still needed to get laid, heartbroken or not. In fact it was good medicine. She found her inner grin again and shoved Max into the seat next to Mirisa. This wasn't fun at anyone expense...it was a public service.

"Sit, I'll get drinks." She winked outrageously at Mirsia whose brow crinkled slightly before she caught on and rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"You alright?" Max asked as he adjusted himself in his seat to keep his fancy-ass imperial plate from catching on the furniture. That's why she wore leather, that and the way human armor rattled around. Anything worth killing would hear you a half-hour before you ever hear it, and likely return the favor before you get the chance.

Ina shrugged her musings away and watched Max and Mirisa out of the corner of her eye as she made her way over toward Roxy to place an order. Mirisa looked for a second like she was going to set Max straight and on his merry way, but something else flitted across her face and she smirked instead. 

"Yeah...I'm alright." She let out a humorless laugh. "I think your friend is trying to play matchmaker."

"Oh..ah," he laughed, slightly uncomfortable, then grinned and shook his head with a shrug. "Sorry about that...'fraid it was my fault...I asked about you."

Mirisa's face opened up for a split second in surprise before turning back into her standard hard-edged smirk. Ina missed the next exchange since she neared the bar and thus the cavalcade of off duty guards and soldiers who milled about blocking her view. She did catch the appraising look in Mirisa's eye though. And why shouldn't she look. Max was a man in his prime, barely forty and in great shape. In her professional opinion it was the perfect age for a human, where the brains finally catch up with the brawn before things start heading south for the winter years. She nodded, satisfied.

Her work here was done. 

She allowed herself a self-satisfied smile as she saddled up to the ancient, mangled counter Roxie called the bar and leaned forward on her palms.

"So, who does a girl have to fuck around here to get a drink?" She called to the broad-hipped woman who was bent over behind the bar and giving a few indiscreet guards a memorable view of her ample cleavage. "By Talos, Roxy, you need to get a license for those things, else they're gonna take you in for causing a public disturbance." She exclaimed loudly.

A few of the legionnaires and mercs who were slumped along the bar and drifting around behind her chuckled in appreciation. 

One who was clearly on duty and in full armor lifted his head from over his stew and looked sideways at the dark elf next to him. She winked at him and he grinned. 

"Hello Glenroy." she murmured to the darkly tanned imperial.

"Hello beautiful." He smoothed back in a deep baritone. Another warrior in heavy armor that matched Glenroy's— armor she recognized as something more impressive than just regular legionnaire fare— leaned in and peaked past her partners shoulder to get a look at Inanna. Inanna nodded politely to her and was about to have Glenroy introduce them when Roxy stood up and pushed a chunk of the strawberry blonde fluff she called hair out of her eyes and adjusted her weaponry in her corset. An act which earned an approving grunt or two from her audience. She huffed. 

"What can I get you chere?" the curvy little Breton asked, her pink cheeks glowing from exertion. 

"Something that doesn't taste like imperial swill." 

The Breton only grinned. "Desole, my love, that's all we carry." Inanna shook her head in mock disgust. 

"Terrible." 

"Hmmm." Was the only reply.

She sighed. "Well, I'll take what I can get then I suppose." She tipped her head toward her table and received a comprehending nod. "Got any interesting news to add to the order since I've so graciously decided to bear the swill?"

Roxie shrugged. "Nothing interesting that won't cost you a little extra. Though," she paused and smirked, "you wouldn't believe who's move back in next door."

"Oh god, you're kidding me?"

"Nope."

"Don't they understand that when you die, you're supposed to stay dead?" She asked with earnest frustration. Not that long ago, maybe a year or two past, Ina had helped a legionnaire empty out a nest full of nasty zombies and their necromancers. Now it appears they had returned for another round. "No,"she continued, "they wouldn't would they. That's sort of their 'thing.' Fetchers."

Roxie had her back to her, filling one of the glasses, but kept talking. "Well, the news there is that I'm offering up a little cash bonus to anyone willing to do something about it."

"Well...I'll take it into consideration." Ina offered in a non-committal fashion, then changed the subject."Where's our lady Malene?" Inanna asked conversationally looking around for the square-jawed Nord woman who usually handled the bar.

"Night off."

"Ahhh...you're a good over-lord Roxy."

She snorted as she placed the first mug in front of Ina. "Hardly. That mopey Redguard bribed me for it so he could take her to a play in the city." Ina arched an eyebrow. "Platonic of course" Roxy added with a smirk. 

"He still mooning over her?"

"Naturalment. Until he dies." 

"Poor bastard." Glenroy muttered beside her.

She turned on him. "You wouldn't be caught dead doing that now would you Glen?"

His partner laughed. "Him? He hasn't got a romantic bone in his body."

"Hey now," he defended good naturally, putting his hands up in front of him in a warding gesture. "I happen to have a very romantic bone...." he grinned slyly, "and it's pretty big too."

"Ugh" said the dark haired imperial woman beside him.

"I second that." Muttered Inanna, then leaned across Glen and offered her hand to the woman. "Inanna by the way."

"Jena, pleasure." 

Ina glanced at the man between them and Jena elbowed him in the ribs "I hope that's not how you pick girls up." He chuckled and nodded to Ina who had withdrawn and was laying a few coins on the counter before collecting her beers. 

"I don't know. How do I pick women up Ina?" Ina tilted her head and looked thoughtful.

"Well...I seem to recall something about 'put your hands in the air and turn around slowly'" Glenroy chuckled at that but Jena looked a little uneasy.

"Is that so?" She asked looking between them before her eyes settled on Ina with a new wariness. "You run with that sort of crowd?" 

Claude, another regular, and (she knew) a talented freelance battle-mage looked up from his beer and smirked. "Ina runs with all the crowds...don't you sweetheart?" Inanna smile sincerely, and laughed.

"I like to think I'm 'equal opportunity'. But," She said turning back to Jena, "it was a misunderstanding." 

Glenroy snorted. "She got off on a technicality."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'cause 'technically' I didn't do anything wrong."

"She broke into the council room." Pipped another voice from down the bar. Everyone here knew this story...legionnaires were like old-hens when it came to gossip and this was very old news. Jena's face opened up in surprise.

"In the palace?"

"I fell." Her lip twitched.

"Ten stories with no injuries?" Glenroy asked wryly.

"I'm from Morrowind...we're good with heights."

Jena cocked a brow at her. "Levitate is still a banned spell in the empire."

Ina grinned. "Feather Fall."

"Technicality" muttered Glen, stooping back over his soup. 

Jena frowned. "Why would you want to break into the council room anyway...nothing is in there."

"I'm guessing just to see if she could," said another voice behind her and another familiar imperial face leaned in with a leer beneath his legionnaire helm and grazed the small of her back with his knuckles. 

"Watch it, Mattius." She purred and gave him a sardonic look. She was about to tell him what she'd do if he didn't when a strange shiver ran up her spine. Some one was watching her...hard. She cast a casual glance around the room to find green eyes boring into hers from a dark face. Her humor faltered and she blinked just as Feric turned his gaze away and rejoined Mirisa and Max in conversation.

She caught herself at the last second. And plastered a big naughty-girl grin on her face. "Well ladies and gents it's been a lark, but I've got things to see and people to do." She sent a parting wink in Jena's direction and sauntered back to her table with two fists full of mugs and a soft smattering of chuckles behind her. Thank you ladies and gents you've been a great audience...tip the waitress, etc, etc...




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



She didn't have to do or say much when she got to the table since the lot of them were already chatting away without her. Young master trainee was off somewhere and Max was listening intently as Mirisa gave him the skinny. They accepted their beers from her with little more than an acknowledging nod. Feric caught her eye briefly, but turned his eyes back to Mirisa quickly enough. She slid into an empty chair beside him and leaned forward, her chin in her hand— pure listening mode. She also kept her eyes forward, but there was some strange awareness, like tension or electricity humming between her and Feric that was insanely distracting and she had to fight to keep her attention on what was being said. Something felt...odd. 

She shook it off and returned to the conversation. It was all stuff she'd heard before. Mirisa was leaving out the really juicy details, like where there were currently hiding and that they were in fact part-time lions, but Ina was surprised that Mirisa was giving him as much as she had. 

She explained that they'd originally come from the Dragon tail mountains and had several of what she referred to as reclusive 'villages' scattered through the mountains which would share hunting grounds and inter-marry such that nearly all of the groups had some family tie to the others. She, for instance, had been the cousin of Pern, Feric's late wife, and when their people started getting attacked and disappearing, close groups banned together. That was how her and her own partner had ended up with that particular group. She had been very close to Pern, like a sister apparently, so it had made sense to group together. The same went for Feric's own sister who had stayed with her brother and sister, having been still single when they'd first abandoned their home almost two decades ago in search of safe haven.

While she said all this, Ina could feel that weird tension slowly increase until it was eating away at the back of her mind and causing her to shift uncomfortably in her seat. A quick glance at Feric told her that he was feeling something similar...though his face was outwardly calm. Somehow...she just new. As Mirisa kept talking— describing the journey through the mountains, their movement from city to city, being slowly hunted across the Imperial province—Ina crept a hand along her thigh beneath the table until the back of it came to rest against his own, which rested on his knee. She turned it palm up so that she could run her thumb over the back of his fingers. 

She clenched her jaw to suppress her surprise when he startled her by lifting his own hand and bringing it right down over hers. For a second she thought he meant to push her away, but he just left it there, covering her own, palm to palm. 

Mirisa wrapped up her explanations, but the strained tension had already begun to diminish, so that by the time she was done, it was little more than a gentle hum, like the murmur of distant crickets on a warm summer night.

Feric surprised her again by jumping into the conversation before she could. "I suppose you're wondering what all this means to you." He asked Max with a wry smile.

Max turned and looked at him with mild surprise. "Well...I hadn't gotten that far yet..but I suppose that would have been one question that would have come up."

Feric nodded. "Inanna asked you meet us because, as Mirisa explained, we're on our own here and friendless. I know we've not much to recommend us, and no proof of our innocence aside from there being no proof of our guilt..." he paused and gave a warmer yet still wry smile, "and of course this crazy imp's good opinion..." The men both chuckled and both women raised an eyebrow at him archedly. Go female solidarity. He ignored them and continued unfazed and as charming as ever. "But I like you, and I feel I can trust you...so I suppose we're asking you to trust us...and if, or when you can, to help us as well. You've already done it once, and I wanted you to know how deeply I appreciate that and that we would like to continue to know you, and perhaps offer what we can in return. I'm sure that after we've put an end to this—"

" 'If ' we can put an end to it." Mirisa interjected.

He tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Yes, if we can, then we'll likely be more help to you and yours, whether that be your own personal family and friends or the Imperial guard itself." He sighed and looked down at his lap a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, the hand covering hers, squeezing as he did so. "There isn't much more to add really, at this point." He smiled that smile of his...the one which felt like a bright summer's afternoon, and Inanna watched Max succumb to it. Really though, the guy didn't have a chance. Those smiles were dirty pool. They were as bad as Des's smiles, and hers were practically lethal weapons...she was sure that in some provinces they were considered as such. All Max could do was mumble something to dismiss the thanks then grunt as men are often wont to do when they're given praise they don't know how to take. 

After that, the conversation carried on amicably with Inanna drifting in and out of it. She was still distracted by the hand holding hers and by all the other plans she needed to take care of in the coming days. 

Her girl, Des, she of the killer smile, would be arriving shortly, unless there had been some major difficulty. Difficulties were sort of Desdemona's thing though, so Ina couldn't see it being a problem. When they had worked and traveled together that had been her schtick. Ina tracked down the baddies and Des facilitated. 'Facilitate' doesn't sound like much on paper, but it was shocking how often uncooperative ship-masters, suspicious locals, and greedy politicians (among others) seemed to pop up in the middle of a venture and put a major wrench in the works right at a critical moment. Des could navigate the cities and courts like Ina could the wilderness, so between them they'd had quite the racket going. 

And, had they had both been card players working their respective games, then Emily, the Neverar, would have been the ace in the hole. She was the young progeny, the miraculously unlikely hero: a sweet young girl who became a crucible for a dangerous mix of political intrigue, destiny, and a healthy dollop sheer dumb luck...and not always the good kind either. The result was the creation of a living breathing weapon of immense power—god killing power, squeezed into the delicate body of a barely legal mage's assistant. 

What a twisted fetching world they lived in, and in what a weird bloody time. But that was over now. Des and Inanna were all that was left of that venture. Left to comment and remember like some tragic chorus lingering over the wreckage after all the real heroes, and gods, and villains had long fled the stage.

"What do you say Inanna?" Ina blinked back to attention with a start and looked up into Max's expectant eyes. Damn. Where in oblivion was her head?

She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry luv, I've got a million things running through my brain just now. What is it you want to me to weigh in on?"

He chuckled. "Nothing...just noticed you drifting." They smirked at one another.

"Prick." 

He grinned and saluted, then turned back to Feric. "I'll keep my ear to the ground and send word to Ina if anything particularly interesting crops up. But you" he pointed at her, "you're gonna owe me something." His eyes glinted. She narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yeah?"

"A name."

"No fetching way."

"Oh come on Ina...for the love of Talos, give me something, anything, there's a promotion coming up and I need it. It's bad enough I fraternize with the enemy already. That doesn't look good for me." He softened his words with another smirk, but she shook her head. 

"First off, half the legion has fraternized with me buddy...so don't think that's going to work. I was a bridesmaid at Jessica's wedding --"

"She made captain by the way—"

"--if you'll recall. Just me and a house full of you people...plus one— and good for her but don't interrupt. Secondly, no. No names." she paused to consider it. "But..." she crooked a finger in making him lean over the table toward her and she lowered her voice considerably. "There's dissension in the ranks. There's some shit going down with the higher ups that the furry one don't know about. Who knows...maybe they'll turn him in themselves at some point."

He rolled his eyes. "Fat chance. What kinds of things though?"

She shrugged. "Well, a lot of it is just rumor, since I'm not in with the 'higher ups', and frankly I'm not sure if I believe it myself, but" she paused to lean in even tighter, "I've heard the DB thrown around in hushed tones during a couple of back room conversations. So something could be going down there, maybe even in the way of a hook up. Though-" She leaned back and paused to take a sip of her beer then reconsidered mid swig, lowering the mug to glower at the unappetizing contents. Imperials and their bullshit mass-produced crap...first the spear, now this...what ever this was. She hesitated to call it ale, that was for damned sure. Her stomach turned slightly, and she frowned harder at the mug. 'Well there goes my iron stomach' she though bitterly.

"Damn it woman, 'though' what?" She looked up from her swirling bits of what she could only imagine were once drowned rat, and smiled bemusedly. 

"Though," she continued, "I know the blue squirrel is supposed to be violently opposed to that particular group of people, so if there is dissent it might be related to that...if it's all true."

"Rumors, eh?"

"Yeah. But you never know."

"Shit."

"I second that. Don't know if it'll do you any good."

"Yeah a name would be nice."

"Not gonna happen...though I can tell you the count of Skingrad is still miffed with them. Won't do business with them, period."

He rolled his eyes. "What law abiding Count or Countess would."

She only had a 'you -must-be-joking' look as a response for that. "Shall I make you a list?" She added after a moment to emphasize her point.

He waved her off. "Yeah yeah, I get it. Anyway, I'll send word if anything comes up, otherwise I'll catch you in another week or so baring any more run ins with necromancers or these hunter fellows."

She frowned at him then looked around the table. "Necromancers...did I mention that?"

Mirisa chuckled. "You really were out of it just now weren't you? We were just telling him about the 'basement' as you call it." 

Ina smirked back. "Well I hope you said nice things about me." She frowned as a thought suddenly came to her, jostled loose by the mention of the necromancers. "You know...why don't you two head off without me...I think I want to take care of some business locally before I head home. I'll meet up with you later once my affairs are in order."

All three of them raised a curious eyebrow. "Should we be concerned?" Max asked with a smile.

"Indeed." Feric added, though with a darker expression. His hand constricted around hers again before releasing it completely. She stood, stretching her arms over her head and cricking her neck. 

"I'll be fine." She noticed Feric's beer was only half finished. "You gonna drink that, light weight?" His expression softened back into a wry smile and he slid it toward her. She rewarded him with playful smirk of her own and saluted the table with the mug before putting it back on the table to everyone's confusion. "I don't want to drink it...I was just going to tell you not to bother, it's not worth the havoc it's going to play on your innards." She pointed to her own still full mug as evidence.

"Yearnin' for the liquors of home?" Max asked laughingly. She squinched her face up in disgust.

"Hardly. Have you tasted Greef? Or Sujamma? I mean it works great, but as for taste... those Redguard kids though, they brew a damn tasty Ale." She twiddled her fingers at them. "Don't wait up." She turned and called out to the Inn keeper, "Roxie baby, consider your neighbors evicted." Roxie looked up and smiled back, waving. Ina saluted the general room. "If I don't come back, boys and girls, then drink a round in my honor...but don't even think of putting it on my tab you cheap, Imperial bastards." the room grunted at her and a few tankards raised in farewell.

She was out the door and nearly at the woods' edge when her name sounded out behind her. She turned to find Feric making his way over to her, alone. He came to stand before her, toe to toe, but he didn't reach for her to touch her. His expression was neutral, and mild, and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Who is the DB?" He opened. She resisted the urge to smile.

"You're not going to get all control-freaky on me are you?"

He remained mild. "I merely wish to know what I may have to deal with in the future. The people under my care are my responsibility after all."

She nodded. "I seriously doubt you'll have to deal with them...and if you did I'll have to go ahead and gut some people for misbehaving...but DB is common shorthand for the Dark Brotherhood. You heard of them?"

He frowned and tilted his head like a dog who'd heard something strange...or really, like a cat. Literally like a cat in this case. "I've heard the name in passing, but I'm not familiar with them. Are they thieves as well?"

"Of a sort. They're assassins." She tilted her head back at him and slipped her arms around his waist, pressing her body against his. He left his hands at his sides, but she felt his body lean slightly into hers in a way that encouraged the contact. It may have been subconscious...but she wasn't choosy. She didn't pull away, but ran her fingernails up his spine instead. "Full disclosure?" She asked with a light smile.

"Not holding my breath." His voice was a dry growl...but she could see the hint of a twitch in his cheek...the one which usually accompanied a full blown boyish dimple, though it didn't quite make it that far this time. 

She chuckled. "Wise man. But," she pulled one arm from around him and laid it on his chest. "if you can keep this a secret...and I mean secret...no one, at all...maybe Mirisa...but even then it might not be so hot...but anyway, if you can keep a secret, I'll let you in on it." His expression was still difficult to get a read on when he nodded. She shrugged mentally and decided to proceed. "The guild asked me to be an unofficial, off the books intermediary for any illicit interactions with the DB, the kind of interaction that they would never, ever have...naturally. Of course illicit is redundant since everything either club does is technically illegal, or at the very least questionable by the standards of decent folk. In exchange, the guild, or at least certain members, are in my pocket until they see an opportunity to get out of it again." 

A little smile finally appeared like a ghost, hovering around the corners of his lips. "Ah, so they aren't helping you out of the goodness of their hearts."

"Nope." He nodded.

"That actually makes more sense." He let out something like a humorless laugh. "It's relieving in a way." She cocked a curious brow back, and he shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, the thought of you in that position is unsettling at best...but at least I know where they stand now. I suspected there was a cost, and now I at least know what that cost is."

"So you're OK with it?"

"No." That earned him an even higher brow arch. He chuckled for real this time, "But I'm not going to get all 'control-freaky' about it." She smiled back, and wrapped both arms around his waist.

"There's hope for you yet, handsome."

"Hmm." He finally moved and wrapped his arms about her as well, capturing her much smaller frame in his embrace and resting his chin on top of her head for a moment before bending to brush his cheek against her ear. The movement sent a tinkling rain of sensation down her neck and into her limbs before miraculously settling in her belly where they joined those damned butterflies that always got so fetching restless in his presence. It reminded her of the weird feeling she had gotten in the Inn when he was staring at her.

"Hey...what was that in the Inn anyway? That look you were giving me at the bar?" She asked the shoulder she was leaning against. It shrugged at her.

"You don't want to to know."

She smirked back at the shoulder. "Control-freaky?"

The shoulder slumped ever so slightly. He made an ambiguous sound which may or may not have been a grunt of begrudging affirmation. She purred. 

There was a long moment of silence in which she pet the shoulder, though she wasn't quite sure if it was done with approval or condescending remonstration. Eventually he sighed and changed the subject. 

"Are you sure it was such a good idea giving that information to Max, all things considered?" He whispered against her ear.

She smiled against the fold of his robe. "I know what I'm doing. You sure it was such a good idea swearing fealty to the legion?" His chest bounced ever so slightly under her cheek.

"Trust me."

She pulled away far enough to look up into his face and smiled. "Done." He smiled gently back and brought a hand to the side of her face so that his fingers could trace its outline from temple to jaw then leaned in to brush his lips against hers. 

He brought his forehead to rest against hers. And she tilted her's upward as she caught the warm, clean scent of him in her nose and mouth. He exhaled and she flicked her tongue out across her lips to catch it. There was something calming, soothing, about his scent, his very presence. It was like drifting to sleep in a cool green meadow on a warm day. She just wanted to curl up against him and melt into oblivion, floating lazily adrift in his wake. He sighed heavily, pulling her out of her musings, and she returned the sound, less than anxious to return to reality.

"Whatever you're doing...be careful?"

"I always am." He pulled away and gave her a comical, disbelieving look. 

"Appearances can be deceiving?" He intoned with a slight smirk.

She gave him her twisted grin and patted him on the cheek. "See, I told you there was still hope for you." He smirked back and graced her lips with another light, feathery kiss.

She dropped the smile and reached up to grip the back of his head, her fingers twining and fisting in his soft golden-brown locks, and proceeded to show him what a real kiss was supposed to look like. He was making progress, after all, and that was to be rewarded. 

And damn but he tasted good.

@@@

On any day one would find the air in Moss Rock caves cool to the point of frigidity and the grey moss coating the walls from which it took its name, near dripping wet as it clung to the porous walls. Now, though still clinging with determination, it was black and singed, and the air about it was stifling and thick with heat. 

The smell of death which usually lingered, lingered still, though the sharp tang of fresh blood now mingled heavily with the stale rot. The floor of the great alter room was scorched from the middle of the room outward, with nothing but a small, crouching figure at the center of its dark bloom. 

A gloved hand reached up from where it rested on a tensed thigh and twisted in the air with a flourish. 

"Tada!" 

With a sigh she stood, and pulled off the ruined gloves, tossing them to the equally ruined floor. 

"Gross." Inanna grimaced and spat the grizzly taste of blood from her mouth as she wiped the splatter from her cheek with the back of her hand — an unfortunate byproduct of close range combat. The victim this time around was a young human woman she'd finally taken out after a few rounds with both the material and summoned zombies that had been protecting her. She was surprisingly young for a head mistress. At least Ina had assumed she was since her robes were more elaborate than the others. She felt a pang of conscience over the girls youth...but the sensation was quickly overwhelmed by the more immediate and palpable nausea brought about by the sight and smell of the various corpses littering the room, all in varying states of putrescence and decay. And most of them having nothing to do with her presence there. "It was like this when I got here, I swear." she muttered.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



A few looked as though they'd not even had the chance to be buried, suggesting that these necromancers weren't even polite enough to wait until their subjects quit the ghost on their own time and no doubt had a personal hand in speeding their deaths along. 

Ina sighed one last time and scrapped something unwholesome looking off her leather curias with the edge of her knife blade. Probably some unnameable bit of zombie. There were enough of them littering the floor, so there was bound to be a bit of splatter. She nudged the body of the head 'mancer with the toe of her boot, half expecting it to jump up and try to eat her face, or something equally grotesque. But, there was nothing but the looming, heavy silence, and the fetid smell of death and rot which clung to the alters and hangings which decorated the cavernous chamber. 

Ina's eyes were drawn to the main alter. It was a strange statue which resembled a giant, white, boney hand. Something like the desiccated remains of a giant trying to claw its way out of the earth. An appropriate enough image for its purpose. Beneath the skeletal structure was the main alter, upon which another young woman lay, looking still fairly fresh, though as dead as anything else in the room. Her lifeless eyes stared up toward the white claw with a ghastly look of expectation. 

Ina closed the girl's eyes with a quick movement, and got out of the room. She'd thought it might be appropriate to use the main mancer in her own quasi-necromantic ritual...but somehow, in that room, the thought gave her more chills than she could handle. Another body in another room would serve just as well...and there were certainly enough to choose from in this place.

She finally settled on a man she'd come across in one of the far rooms. It still seemed 'right' for her to use a necromancer in the ritual...especially since the ritual was so abhorrent to her. At least there would be some karmic balance at play, and when she went to her ancestors for absolution from the crime, they might see the poetry in it themselves, and the dark justice in the choice she'd made, even if they disapproved of the ritual in the first place. How could they not. She still hadn't done more than choose a body and a place and she was already feeling the acid creep up her throat at the thought of what she was about to do.

She grunted and dropped her bag o' supplies onto the cavern floor. She had doubled back to the imperial city to do a little shopping after her and Feric had parted ways, and purchased a few common ingredients for arrow poisons and a few random odds and ends from a variety of suppliers to cover her purchases on the off chance a merchant was familiar with the night mother ritual. She'd then returned here, to this hole, to get the damned thing over with. It was poetic justice to use a necromancer, yes, but it was also a perfect cover. Her being here would not be unexpected seeing as she was not only known for her hate-on for necromancy, but Roxy had recommended it in the form of hard cash, and publicly. And if someone did come across the ritual, it would only be distinguishable from the other horrific sights in the place if the eyes which found it knew precisely what they were looking for. For that they'd either have to be a necromancer or someone who'd performed the ritual themselves...in which case they weren't telling anyone.

She swallowed another gurgle of acid in her throat and knelt to pull out her supplies. She also pulled out a piece of carefully folded parchment. The words scribbled across the top read: "The Black Sacrament." 

"Lovely." She muttered and spread the paper out on the floor next to her, then with another heavy sigh and a twisting in her gut, she got to work. It was a messy job, but relatively quick. It wasn't the first time she dome something like this...though usually it was with her own blood and not someone else. She'd made a few alterations to the ritual, added a circle of blood around the body and inscribed it with Deadric symbols she knew would amplify the spell. Deadric was confusing. It all used the same alphabet, but there were multiple dialects. A precious few words and signs were fairly universal. So she kept to those. There was no need to accidentally piss one Deadric prince off by using the wrong language in their rituals. The last thing she needed was to go to all this trouble only to have the damn thing not work. Hence, also, her taking the risk and amplifying it. Besides, the Dark Brotherhood worshiped Sithis, and it wasn't clear if he...or it, rather, was even Deadra at all.

Inanna eyed the scene carefully and dispassionately as she prepared the blade with the nightshade flowers, crushing the delicate petals against the steal and getting it good and covered. She held the hilt between her palms, point down and stared blindly at it. Before she could lose her nerve she set her jaw and stabbed the already mistreated remains arranged within the circle while reciting the suggested incantation through clenched teeth.

"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear." 

She felt not only the fool for letting such trash leave her mouth, but markedly unclean as well. The creeping disgusted feeling grew as she continued...but that seemed to be it. There was no sign or signal that the spell was doing anything other than creating a knot of self loathing in the pit of her stomach, so after a dozen incantations she stopped and tossed the blade away from her and into the shadows of the cave. She wouldn't want to use it anymore anyway. The feel of it would forever be slimy to her because of this, so it was best to just find herself a new one. 

She watched the candles, and opened up her other senses to the space around her. It felt black, and oozing, and awful...but it would considering the kind of magic performed here over the years and which had no doubt leeched into the very walls of the cave through close and prolonged contact.

There was no way to know if it worked. The instructions gave her no indication of what was to happen, but she figured if it had worked then they'd find her easily enough. She had advertise at Roxies that she'd be up there clearing out the riffraff, so if these assassins had half the professionalism of the Morag tong, they'd put two and two together and figure the rest out on their own. Frankly there was no way she was spending another minute there, and if they didn't like it...fuck 'em. S'wit.

She gathered the instructions and held them aloft with one hand while the other produced a small flame which she held underneath it. She wasn't going to need it again. She did it once, but that was fetching it. If they wanted to go ahead with the proposed arrangements, then they'd need to find some other way of getting in contact with her...cause this way was out. And if it didn't work they could go find some other sucker, 'cause she'd given it more than a fair effort.

"I need to consider a career change." 

She huffed and stood, slinging her pack back over her shoulder. She reminded herself one more time why she was here, and why she was doing this crazy bull, and let the memory of green-gold willow leaves carry her back out into the early evening air.

"Roxies ho." she muttered, and began the trudging march back to the inn where piss warm beer, indifferent food, and less than comfortable beds awaited her. She sighed. She'd better skip the ale...she was already feeling queezy enough as it is.

@@@

Her evening at Roxies started out uneventfully. She ate, drank (hot water to settle the stomach...which no one held against her, considering), and turned in. It was quiet down stairs, even for the late hour, just a couple of regulars and two patrol men who'd stopped in for a pint and a hot meal. The regular barmaid was wiping down the counter, and Roxie was sitting in behind, counting her money. She usually gave both guards and legion a pretty hefty discount that cut into her profits, but that also meant she was never robbed and never had any rowdies, so in the end, she did well for herself. It was amazing how expensive it could get if you have to replace the furniture once a month because some drunk decided it would look better as a pile of splinters with a body on top. Now Roxie wasn't literally counting her money like some jaded gold hungry fiend, just going over the accounts...but really, ten of one, not quite a half-dozen of the other...

Roxie set her up, cleared her tab (it was reasonably small, thank Azura), and Ina pocketed the leftovers. It was enough to cover expenses and maybe a weeks worth of food and lodgings for a for a small person. Freelancing could be lucrative, but more often than not, it merely kept the head dry and the stomach more or less full. Life was fairly cheap, and there was always some desperate schmuck who'd volunteer if you decided something was beneath you. That's not to say that there weren't some jobs that were just too crazy...but not many, not when you're hard up...or when you reeeeally want that new big, soft, comfy bed. Gods but she missed that bed. 

As it was, her rules were simple. No strongholds full of heavily armed guards, and no harming innocent bystanders. Other than that, she was pretty easy. Oh, and freedom of artistic expression, that was an important one. It was her way or the highway. Which worked since she usually took the low road as it was. Ha!

The patrolmen who were loitering around on break were new to her, one was up from Leyawin, and happy to be farther north and out of the swamps. The other was recently rotated back from a tour of duty in the Sommerset Iles. Apparently the beaches there are fantastic, even if the locals leave something to be desired. Somewhere around eleven she made her way upstairs and crashed in one of the two private rooms. She was lucky and they were both unoccupied, so she had her pick. Like she'd said, quiet night. 

She slipped into her loose fitting pants and sleeveless pullover, the only clothes she still wore from back home, partially because they were so damned comfortable, but mostly because no one really saw them when she slept. As much as she'd love to trade her imperial duds in for some good old fashioned netch leather and bonemold, she couldn't since it give her that 'fresh-off-the-boat' look. That she didn't need. It was hard enough being a dark-elf here in the heart of imperial country. There's a general sense that a Dunmer would rather slit your throat than look at you. If she were to be honest, she'd admit the reputation had been properly earned. Most Dunmer probably would feel that way. One of their most popular curses, N'wah, meant foreigner or outsider. Not the most friendly peoples on Mundus. She'd worked hard for her reputation as being 'one of the friendly ones' so there was no use ruining that by flashing her colors unnecessarily if she didn't have to. You can't always get what you want...right?

Inanna had fallen asleep to images of the wastes, to fire hot dust storms, and swaying wind chimes, but she awoke to silence and frigid cold. It wasn't morning. She cracked her eyes and rolled them toward the cracked window over her head. Still dark. Hours before sunrise yet. But even so, the cold was all wrong. It wasn't early morning cold...it was a chill your soul kind of cold. The flesh on her arms felt raised and tight, and her skin tingled. She kept her eyes to the wall and her back to the room. Her fingers were already wrapped around a hilt beneath her pillow and they tightened on their own. She didn't move, but worked at keeping her heart and breathing steady as she wrought a silent spell. Not a cantrip, but something native to her, those other senses, as she called them. Slowly it spread through the room, like creeping fingers, touching and tasting, and feeling out the shape and nature of whatever was happening in the room around her. 

Someone was spelling the room cold. Someone was also silencing the room, deadening the sounds and creating a barrier between the room and the rest of the Inn. Her eyebrows flinched as she frowned to herself. Silencing made sense, but what was the utility of the cold? Unless...

The fingers of magica finally wound themselves around the source of the spell. It was in the room, and the signature of it...well, the unnatural cold in the room had nothing on the cold that radiated from the person, or thing, standing just a few feet away behind her. Her own magica withdrew almost immediately. That brief contact had been enough. Dark, cold, empty...a void...but not a void. There was something in there, something watchful and dangerous. She'd caught sight of it in flashes of red. 'Azura take me.' She hadn't thought they'd come so quick.

With a deep breath, she rolled slowly onto her back, keeping her eyes closed and her arms over her head. A vulnerable position if one didn't know she had a knife hidden in one hand and the lick of flame slowly building in the other. She squirmed slowly and shifted a leg to slide the blankets down to her hips. At the same time a slow smile spread across her lips and her eyes crept back open as she turned her face toward the source of the magic. Invisible...no, chameleon. There was a shift, darkness moving in darkness. She arched a brow. 

"You know," She began in a low sultry voice, "you should really think about knocking...you never know what a girl might be up to in the dead of the night." Her voice hardened on the word dead and her smile showed a hint of teeth.

The rippling shadow melted away to reveal a more solid shape, though equally black. The figure was shrouded in dark robes and a deep hood was pulled low, entirely obscuring the face, save a portion which revealed the vague shape of a jaw. That tiny hint told her it was likely a man before he opened his mouth to confirm it. 

"You appeared to be sleeping quite soundly. It seemed a shame to interrupt your rest." He took a single step forward and made a sort of half-bow. "And my deepest apologies for the intrusion madam, but unless I am mistaken, You called to Us." The voice matched the look: dark, smooth, a hint of sharpness around the edges and whispered in a soft almost-amused-but-mostly-bored-almost-hiss...creepy. Well hello Mr. walking cliché, how do you do? 

He continued, "The night mother has heard your prayer and I have come as a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood to hear your petition, and to see to it that your wishes are properly executed." She couldn't be sure but she thought she saw a hint of a smirk at his own wording. Executed indeed.

Inanna pursed her lips. "Yeah. That was me who called all y'all." She twisted her lips into a dry smirk of her own and hopped off the bed to her feet. She paused to tilt her hip then stretched her arms high over her head, the knife still in hand. He didn't budge and merely folded his hands, gloved with black leather, she noticed, in front of him. She smiled over her shoulder at him as she gave him her back and retrieved her satchel from the foot of the bed. She took her sweet time, letting him get a good look at her rear-end.

It was obvious, this I'm-not-afraid-of you routine, but so was his I'm a spooky-assassin-boo! act. Like demanded like, no? Of course he was a spooky assassin, and he was, obviously, creepy and dangerous, but like hell she'd let him fluster her...even if her skin had begun crawling like it was trying to get out of the room, with or without her. She pulled the leather bound folder out of her bag and handed it to him, her knife still palmed, but pointing in a polite direction. 

"I'm not sure if you're the one who can comment on it, but this is what I was charged to deliver. I'm not the client per-say...just the messenger. Oh, and, my name's Inanna, nice to meet you...pray tell, what be yours?" She fluttered her eyelashes and gave him the cheekiest grin she could muster, but given the circumstances it wasn't her best. Then she waited for a response. And waited.

There was a long pause, in which the cold and silence reigned. She got the feeling he was sizing her up, waiting for her to crack. She wasn't sure if she did or not, but eventually he spoke. "Lucien. Lucien Lachance." Oh, Azura please! He had to be a Breton to come up with a corn-ball name like that. If he noticed the expression that probably flitted across her face, he didn't let on. "You say you are not the client, and yet it Was you who performed the ritual, was it not?"

"I believe I've already admitted as much."

There was another pause, this time much shorter, before one gloved hand finally reached for the package. The other reached up to tug the hood back a bit more to reveal an angular, yet, she admitted (begrudgingly) handsome human face. Not entirely what she expected, as he had a little scruffy shadow around the jaw, and was surprisingly young. He looked about 30ish to her eyes, and not likely much older. He cocked a brow at her and she shrugged. What? Are assassins immune to being checked out all of a sudden? Freakiness and sex appeal were in no way mutually exclusive...quite the opposite for some people in fact.

While he opened the package and removed the parchment from within, she made herself comfortable at a nearby table, idly twirling her knife between her fingers before imbedding the tip into the wood with a muffled 'thunk'. She indicated he take the other chair. His lip twitched slightly.

"Thank you, no."

He continued to read and she watched him. So, this was an assassin of the dark brotherhood. She never met one before, Morag Tong sure, but not the DB. She could see it. Besides the getup, and the whole 'tall, dark, and creepy' thing he had going on, it was painfully clear that this was not the sort of guy who frazzled easily, or who one would enjoy meeting in a dark alley (how's that for a stereo-type). And yet here he was in her bedroom in the middle of the night. Lovely. 

He had an aura of danger, and one got the impression that if you crossed him, he would slit your throat and move right along. No sleep lost, and he probably wouldn't even remember it the next day. 

His face was impassive, but after he'd read the last paper and refolded the parchment back into its leather envelope, he surprised her by pulling out the other chair and seating himself across from her, laying one forearm almost casually upon the table. He pulled his hood off completely. He had long, straight black hair which was tied neatly at the back of his neck with a leather thong. Also black of course...naturally. The envelope vanished into his robes, and he turned his gaze on her. Definitely a killer. Hard mouth, cold eyes...and something else that one just couldn't put one's finger on, but you knew it when you saw it.

"The ritual was altered."

She raised a brow at the unexpected opening. "Ah...yeah. Hope that's not a problem. I wanted to make sure it got through."

"So it did." She watched him warily and nodded. Oooookay.... 

"The instructions also tell you to wait in a secure location. Did you truly believe the most popular legion watering hole in all of Tamriel would be conducive to our particular business?"

Ahhh...that. Hehe. She smiled coyly. "What's more secure than an inn full of soldiers?" Ina continued, wetting her bottom lip, "Though to be honest, I wasn't expecting such speedy service." He was staring silently at her again, like he was trying to peel her apart with his eyes. The room dropped in temperature. She shivered, and sighed. "Look, let's just drop the melodrama and get to the heart of the matter. I'm not part of the guild, I'm an intermediary...doing it as a favor, if you care, so let me know if you want me to take a message back, but don't expect me to know anything. Oh, and I'm absolutely not doing that ritual again, so you'll have to decide between you how you want me to get in contact with you ...if that's what you so desire." 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



"I am aware of your situation. The letter has informed me of the intended arrangement. And no...I do not care. In regards to the message...I will take your proposition to the night mother. We will find you if and when our dread mother chooses to respond. And as for the melodrama..." he rose slowly from the table and pulled his hood back up so that only his face from the bridge of his nose and below remained visible, "...well, that's just one of our many services. Part of the package, if you will, and free of charge." She could see a slight smirk pull at his lip again as his long fingers wrapped delicately around the handle of her knife and pulled the tip from the table. 

He whirled it dexterously before presenting the handle to her with a courteous nod. She accepted and one of the gloved fingers brushed her own forcing her to suppress a full blown shudder. He must have noticed, or knew somehow, because his barely there smirk widened slightly. "A pleasure doing business with you madam. I do hope we'll meet again." She couldn't say for certain, but that definitely sounded like a threat to her. 

She nodded, not yet trusting her voice. He paused at the door. "By the way," he murmured over his shoulder, "Some of your methods are a little sloppy, occasionally even bordering on recklessness...but much of your work shows definite promise...and even, I would presume to say, a certain amount of style." He turned back slightly so that she could see his eyes. "I especially liked what you did with the Redguard. It was very...efficient. Excellent knife work."

The door closed and, after listening to her pounding heart beat for the better part of eternity, Inanna melted in her seat with a low groan. "That's it. I'm going into retail." She leaned forward until the tip of her nose and forehead rested on the table. "Or maybe inn keeping. I'll buy Roxy out in the morning." 

The tiny window to her tiny room was open, and now that the silence spell had bled away, the soft yet persistent sounds of evening had begun to filter in. It was calming. She had to admit, now that there was time to think strait, she'd been pretty nervous. She wasn't one to fall for put-ons and shows...but these guys were definitely professional showmen if that was indeed all act. But it couldn't be. It wasn't. That guy had been truly creepy, even in hindsight. 

Her head shot up. There hadn't been any Redguard necromancers in the caves. Not one.

What... the... hell.

@@

It was another soft summer's night. The air was warm and the cool little breezes that tripped down from the Jerral mountains rustled through the trees with a playfulness it seemed to reserve solely for the summer months. You'd never think to look at it, that such a lovely night was full of nasty, scary, dark things. It was easy to imagine on a evening like this that the dark was a safe place, and that things like bandits, and deadra, and necromancers, and paid killers weren't lurking in the shadowy places. But they were...like they'd always been. But before her was one of the shining places. A bright pearl, glinting in the moon light. 

She was still unnerved by the assassin's strange comment about the Redguard and was hesitant to come back here right off, or even at all. But, after the last couple of nights she'd had...well, the pull had been too hard to resist. It was like she just...wanted to be nearer, and being nearer, the weird vibrations and anxieties were magically soothed. It was a little odd. But hey, who was she to question what worked. There was a human saying about horses' mouths that was somehow applicable...but it eluded her at the moment.

She approached the ruin from an odd angle, hoping to catch Lucas off guard if he was around. She didn't see him and guessed one of the heavies was on watch instead. 

As if hearing her thoughts something stirred as a warning in the bush next to her. Inanna crouched and automatically palmed one of her knives...just in case. A lion emerged and greeted her with a small huff. 

"You're pretty sneaky you know that...didn't hear you coming at all till you shook that bush for me." The lion tilted his head and his pale blue eyes glinted. "How are you tonight Muthsera Cyrus?" She had a hard time recognizing them from a distance, but up close she could make out the distinguishing speckles of charcoal gray in the fur along his throat, and a small scar over his left eye which seemed much more apparent in his lion form than in his human. 

He shifted and crouched down next to her, perfectly unfazed by his nudity. He was of a slimmer build than most of the others, but he was still pretty darn easy on the eyes. He had....a runners body, she'd say. Much like a fellow Ashlander actually, if she were to think about it. Which clearly she was. 

"Not too bad, yourself?"

"Eh." She made a face, recalling the less than pleasant way in which she'd spent the last couple of days.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you've smelled better too." She cocked a brow at him.

"What's that supposed to mean." He smiled kindly at her.

"Well I don't mean to offend your feminine sensibilities, but you smell like you've been rolling around in someone's grave."

She chuckled. "Yeah I suppose I must." She'd scrubbed, but some things did tend to linger. "I wonder how many baths it's going to take to get clean this time." She'd been down in those caves a decent while...she didn't doubt that the smell had permeated right to the bone. Did she mention Gross? 'Cause yeah...

She nodded at him, her eyes drawn up to his small white scar. Normally she didn't pay much attention to scars, since she saw a lot of them, but she'd noticed that none of the others seemed to have any. No doubt due to their unusual healing abilities. She cocked her head in silent question and pointed to his brow. "How'd you get that little nick anyway? Don't you guys heal up on your own pretty good?"

He grinned sideways at her and rubbed a finger over his scarred eyebrow. "Yeah...I left it on purpose. I got it the day we discovered Talon...he was just a little thing. I don't know how he even survived on his own. But I was hunting when I heard him just a-squealin' to wake the dead. I came up on him just in time to see a mountain eagle snatching him out from under a ledge."

"Oh yeah? I've never seen one of them. They're pretty rare, huh?"

"They stay to the north mostly--they're bloody huge. Nasty claws too. I recognized the cub in it's claws for what it was and managed to wrangle him from the bird before it was able to take off. Got this as a souvenir." He chuckled. "And Talon got his name. We took him on as our own after that." He sighed. "That...well, it was before the twins came along, so we figured it was the right thing to do, and he was such a sweet little thing." 

She grinned and recalled the last time she'd been down here, and Talon's idea of a greeting party. He'd organized an ambush with the twins...and it was a sad fact that it had, for the most part, worked. She defied anyone not to be startled by three flying balls of fur at six am on a Morndas morning.

"Sweet? That one's a born troublemaker...adorable, sure, but he's a ballsy little ankle-biter." 

He couldn't argue with that, so he just grinned back.

A distant sound distracted them both momentarily, but it was far enough off not to be a major concern. He sighed and continued, his face turning serious.

"It was also before we found Moira, Lucas, and Owyn. I'm still hoping we'll find more, but I'm not as hopeful as I used to be. The quality of the hunters has been slowly dwindling, and I worry that this is because the better ones are elsewhere, hunting others." 

"You think that's likely?" She shifted her weight onto her other foot and rested her elbows on her knees, still crouching. 

He shrugged and held his palms up helplessly. "I can't know...which is perhaps better than knowing we're truly alone...perhaps."

"Feric?"

"He has faith that there are others. He thinks that if he made it, there must be others who made it as well...he underestimates himself sometimes." He looked down at his hands where they rested on his knees, mirroring her own position. "I'm older than the others here...seen more...so I know better. I don't think any of them, Mirisa, Feric, Bella—even Owyn—know their own worth. That's why I worry. They're all exceptional, really, so if anyone made it out, they would be amongst that small minority." He shook his head. "I was the best tracker and hunter of my own pride...and as far as I know, the only survivor. If there are others...there won't be many. I...I don't know how we will rebuild."

She wanted to tell Cyrus they would—could—but she didn't know that either. Even if they did find others, would it be enough? Could they have children with others outside their race, and if so would they have the same abilities? If not...she'd done, and would probably do more questionable things, and for what? No, that was an asinine thought. She was doing it because the being crouched next to her was decent and kind, and he didn't deserve to have his family destroyed. He'd welcomed her into his home...they all had. Even Mirisa, in her own way...a way not unlike her own people's since they were notoriously suspicious about strangers and didn't like to make it easy. In her books, that was more than enough. Other...feelings...didn't have to factor into it. Hormone induced or not, the right thing was the right thing. 

A hand squeezed her shoulder. "Hey, sorry. Didn't mean to be a sad-sack there. Don't look so glum, you're prettier when you smile."

She smirked. "Awwww. No, no worries. You just got me thinking is all. But, I better get going. I need to grab some supplies from town before I go back to the ruins and it's almost morning."

"What were you doing up here then?"

She gave him a naughty sideways grin. "Hoping for a chance to torture Shadow, but the little bugger eluded me."

He smirked back. "He really is like her shadow sometimes, isn't he." He nodded, knowing instantly the true reason for the nick name. "But that happens. It was years before Talon let me out of his sight, and Owyn still acts like an infatuated puppy around Mirisa. They lost everyone, so there needs to be someone to fill the void."

"What about the other two?" 

"Well Ambrose seems equally taken with everyone, but Mori...she tends to keep to herself. Not in the obvious way that Lucas does, she plays and joins in, but really, she's a closed book. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's difficult...she just does things her own way."

She nodded. He gave he a smile and a wink and transformed. She caught herself from reaching out to pat his shoulder as he began to move past, but he saw the movement and brushed his cheek against her arm. The gesture warmed her and she was forced to reign in the ah-shucks feeling it was giving her. Man hormones sucked. She wasn't sweating any more, but now she'd not only lost her iron stomach, but was getting all sentimental to boot. 

She watched the big cat slink away and mentally slapped herself back to attention. There was work to do. It was time to stop screwing around. For a moment Inanna considered continuing on to the ruin and finding her preferred cat. That weird pull made it difficult to resist. Instead she cast a suspicious glance into the serene darkness, half expecting to see watching shadows hidden among the brush and brambles, then melted back into it herself. 

There were scary things roaming the night...she'd just have to make sure she was the scariest. Mwahaha, and all that.

@@@

Her trip back to town had been uneventful. The early morning hours had seen the streets deserted, save one hooded figure she'd seen from a distance, though it was clear they weren't interested in anything she was up to. She managed to gather up a decent number of supplies...a few new bed rolls and a few tools, but mostly food with a couple of luxury items thrown in for good measure. How anyone could live without access to salt water taffy, she just couldn't understand. The Imperial stuff wasn't as good as the kind made on the east coast of Morrowind, but that was nothing new. 

Looking over what she had, she decided it was probably time for another purchasing run, but it could wait until she got back.

She left the supplies in a small side room designated for storage when she returned to the ruin. It was steadily starting to look half decent thanks to the frequent trips she'd been making, but it was still slow going.

Most people were up and about but she found Feric asleep, though still in human form and propped up against a wall, looking very much like he'd fallen asleep by accident.

She padded slowly over to him and leaned in close to his ear. "Morning handsome." He didn't move but his lip twitched. He wasn't asleep after all. "What, no honey for the busy little bee?" The twitch pulled even harder at the corner of his mouth.

She straddled his lap and knelt with her hands on his shoulders thinking to tease him, but to her surprise his hands came down around her hips of their own accord and pulled her closer, sliding underneath her to cup and squeeze her ass. He inhaled against her hair then pulled his head back giving her a disgusted look.

"Ugh, you smell like....dead things." He sniffed again and cocked a brow at her. "And Cyrus."

"Zombies."

"I thought you hated zombies." He tipped his head to look at her askance. 

She grinned wryly. "What better reason to kill them?" She pursed her lips and frowned then screwed up her face at him while poking him in the chest. "What are you doing sniffing me for anyway? Serves you right if you got a nose-full bucko."

His expression became suddenly hard to read...which was telling enough and she smirked again.

"Awwww, you're not jealous are you? Mister 'we can't have sex, so sit on it and spin?' You," she poked him hard in the chest, "aren't allowed to get jealous since you can't bring yourself to claim your stake, big boy."

He arched a brow at her and smirked. "I changed my mind." Now that wasn't suspicious. What was he up to?

"So, after all that hoopla and angst about 'I can't tell you, but I really want to, please don't hate me...' blah blah blah... after all that, you just suddenly—poof— up and change your mind?" 

His expression was neutral. Too neutral. "It wasn't all that sudden." He smiled slightly. "Maybe I just couldn't resist you anymore."

"You never could." 

He sighed, "No, you're right about that." About time he admitted it. Still, something felt...weird. Her mind flashed back to the night of the storm. It had gotten pretty heavy at the end, and had her thinking strange, un-Inanna like thoughts...L-word type nutiness. But that she had already brushed off as heat of the moment crazies. Still...she pursed her lips at him and narrowed her eyes. 

"I think you're up to no good."

He squeezed her rear and grinned slyly, both actions conspiring to give her all kinds of warm and extra gooey feelings where she had no desire to be having feelings right at that moment. She shifted in his grip, but that only made it worse. Of course, that didn't stop her from doing it more. "I don't think I trust that grin of yours." His face shifted, still smiling, but there was an edge there, something a little more serious.

"Trust what you know Inanna."

She grabbed him by the collar of his robe and pulled him close until they were nose to nose and growled softly. She let her fire come up so that her words fell hotly against his skin. "You can't use that line....that's my line."

"Is your name on it?" She saw his lips twitch again and hers twitched involuntarily in response.

"You have to ask permission first," she whispered threateningly against his, oh-so-close, lips. Then pressed her groin on tighter, feeling something lovely and hard pressing right back. 

It was silent, but she could feel the suppressed groan rolling around in the back of her throat.

"Please may I use you're line?" He whispered with that hint of a smile still playing at the corners of his mouth.

"'Please may I use you're line,' what?"

"Please may I use you're line, you dangerous little imp?"

She giggled against his mouth. "Well, when you ask so nicely..."

"Ugh." they both turned the their heads toward the sound of disgust at the same time. Mirisa stood in the doorway naked, her arms crossed over her ample, yet impressively perky breasts. Maybe she should really do more to try to talk Mirisa into giving Max a chance. He'd be sooooooo grateful if she hooked him up with that hot piece. 

"You're lucky...saved by the bell." Ina purred maliciously, turning back to Feric and opting not to reply to Mirisa just yet. 

He gripped her ass again and slid his hands down her thighs.

"Ummm, I said 'Ugh...'" they looked back at Mirisa who only rolled her eyes and turned back into a cat and trotted off. She still looked thoroughly unimpressed. Expressive eyes these kitty cats have. 

His hands were still busy...and while she wouldn't normally complain...it was disconcerting having him do it 'before' she tortured him within an inch of his sanity. Her hands came down over his and stilled them and she turned her expression serious.

"Honestly though Feric...is something up?" He sobered as well. 

"Yes and no."

"Same crap you're not ready to tell me."

"Pretty much."

"Am I going to have to put up with more hot and cold bullshit?"

His lips twitched a little again. "Pretty much." It was her turn to make a disgusted sound and she tried to pull away...his grip kept her in his lap."Something's changed." He was frowning, looking at her with a cocked head. 

"Yeah." she agreed. She felt it to. Something was up, different. Not bad necessarily, but definitely disconcerting...mostly 'cause she didn't have the foggiest what it was or what to do with it.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, his voice soft with concern and his vivid green eyes searching her face. She noticed that his pupils had dark gold rings around them which bled into the green. Pretty.

"Besides the usual?" she shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"You smell different." he offered softly. She grinned. 

"I smell like the dead, remember?" 

He remained serious. "No. Since the night we were caught in the rain...I just put my finger on it." The way he was looking at her, like he was looking 'into' her, was making her insides roil...and not in the fun 'I'm-a gonna get me some tail' kind of way either. 

"Not as good?" Her voice didn't sound as firm as she wanted it to and she cursed silently. Fetcher did things to her...things other people shouldn't be able to do. He made her doubt...hesitate. What happened to nerves of steel. Except with zombies of course....zombie-less nerves of steel. Ugh, he made her think nonsense to.

"No." he shook his head. "you smell--excepting the dead things-- terrific. But it's different. He shook his head as if to clear it and sighed. "I don't know." He smiled wearily. "Go take a bath." She recovered herself, still feeling shaken, but having no intentions of showing it. She gave him a lascivious smile.

"A kitty cat type bath?"

He chuckled. "That I'd like to see...but I doubt you're that flexible." She laughed. Then gave him an over the top 'come hither' look, running a finger down his chest.

"Maybe you'd like to help me with the...hard to reach areas."

He grinned "not with you smelling like that I'm not." she gave him a playful shove and got off his legs, receiving a swat on the ass for her efforts. She pouted over her shoulder at him. 

"Fine then, I know where I'm not wanted." she stretched her arms over her head in a long sinuous curve and sashayed away, rocking her hips enticingly. She cast a glance over her shoulder to give him a smoldering look, but it was lost on him. His eyes were still glued to her swaying hips as she passed through the door. She smiled to herself as she turned away. She could live with that. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



Inanna found Feric's sister, Bellane, more commonly known as Bella, watching over the three youngest cubs in one of the empty halls. "Hey there, I was just heading up into the light of day to wash the smell of 'yuck' out of my hair, you want to come with to the lake? I figure it'll be safe enough for the cubs with both of us there." She nodded to the fur balls who had ceased their wrestling in order to watch her. Bella raised her head up from her paws, blinking, then grinned and shifted. 

"God yes, get me out of this bloody dungeon." 

Minutes later they were at a small lake that lay just south east of the lair. It was bigger than the one she'd met Feric at, but with a less impressive waterfall. The rocky and uneven terrain in these parts made these little watering holes common enough that they didn't have to wander far afield for the pleasure of a bath...the non-kitty type at least. 

Inanna wasted no time and the little ones were hot on her heels. She got out of the way fast enough not to get a face full of fur, but didn't miss the accompanying splash. When the littlest one came up he had shifted back to his human form and grinned ear to ear. She could only grin back and send a gentle splash back at him. He sent an equally gentle splash back at her. Talon, however, she felt free to go ahead and dunk with a vengeance, and did so. At which point all three went in for the kill...the little sharks. 

One half hour of vengeance, counter vengeance, and counter counter vengeance later, Inanna dragged her defeated self out of the pool and flopped dramatically onto one of the more flat-ish boulders lining the miniature lake. 

"Mercy, you vicious little creatures." She groaned and threw her forearm over her brow "I am vanquished." The itty bitty ones giggled, and Talon gave her one last splash for good measure. She gnashed her teeth at him and got up off the rock, heading for Bella's drier perch so that she could dry off a little before she got dressed again. She sat next to the woman and Bella gave her a wry smile in return. 

"Can't believe you let those little beasts beat you."

Inanna chuckled.

"Three to one, the odds were against me." She yawned and turned her gaze out over the surrounding trees. "You wanna take a go?" Bella shrugged. 

"Maybe. I just like to sit in the sun mostly...that damned ruin is so dark and damp...just plain hideous really." She turned her face up to the burning ball in the sky and closed her eyes with a contented expression on her face. "I miss the sun."

They sat for a while in silence. Though Ina found it to be a companionable enough. She hadn't spent much time around her, but Ina found Bella a very easy person to be around...her husband too for that matter. There was something...comfortable about them. Something oddly familiar.

"So how long have you two been mated?" she asked after a while. Bella turned back to her, as her eyes had been busy scanning the trees for signs of danger, then shrugged.

"Twelve years. Not long."

Inanna arched a brow at her. "Not long?" She laughed lowly. "I've never stayed with anyone that many years in a row, not even my parents."

"Well, eventually you might want to have children, then you'd likely find someone to settle in with. That's what usually happens...and to the best of us." she winked at her, earning a chuckle. "...or would you?" She asked, arching a brow and giving Ina a sly grin.

Inanna shrugged. "Oh sure, I guess. I'd be happy enough to be knocked up if I managed it, but that doesn't mean I'd settle down permanently with anyone." 

Bella paused to consider this and Inanna began combing out her hair with her fingers, letting her eyes wander back over to the edge of the wood. 

"Is that usual? For Dunmer I mean?"

"Yes and no. Really, there is no 'usual' as far as I'm aware. Family is big, kinship is important, with those you choose and those you're stuck with in equal measure, but relationships of a sexual nature tend to be a little more fluid. We live a long time, and people change. Besides, the whole institution of marriage is as much political as anything else. That goes for Ashlanders almost as much as for the great houses. Plus we have a pretty strange fertility cycles by human standards, and if a husband and wife are in different places when it hits, then the whole ensuring rightful progeny thing, that so many marriages seem fixated on, becomes a moot point. If you're a man and you want to pass on your legacy, the only thing you can do is find a Mer female in fertility and hope it sticks."

She laughed. "Are you trying to tell me your men are all cuckolds?"

She shrugged again and smiled. "I wouldn't say that. From what I've seen, it's an odd balance of possessiveness and understanding. And it goes both ways. If you're with someone because you choose to be, then you aren't going to be keen on sharing. However, if you're separated for some long period of time, and you dally, it's generally understandable. Of course" she paused holding up a warning finger, "if you're obvious about it, or pursue something without their blessing while they're still right there, then that's considered the height of impropriety and is most definitely frowned upon."

"So basically if you're discreet and sensible about it, no one bats an eye?"

"More or less...though really it's so variable...and so many choose not to be in permanent or formal arrangements which changes things completely. Take my mother for example. She had a lover whom she was very fond of, I dare say she even loved him, but she was on an extended scouting trip with several others on inter-tribal business during a period of fertility. My father was among them, and since he was a pretty piece of flesh, and since she was stuck there and feeling frisky, she decided to jump his bones in order to take the edge off. I, of course, was the product. She came back and left with her lover. When she discovered she was pregnant she returned so my father could see his child, and I generally spent my growing years between them. Really it worked out for the best since the partner of her choice couldn't give her children anyway."

"Huh. Was that difficult, going between parents? Did you ever feel torn?"

"No, not at all. They'd often spend some time together with, and even without me. Though sometimes I'd miss mother and Do'Sekket when they'd be gone for long periods of time, especially when I was stuck at home with the tribe and Serjo-papa, er my father," she smirked and shrugged at her slip, "made me study with the wise woman. But when I was old enough Mother took me with them to teach me to hunt. Do'Sekket...Sek-sera I used to call him, was her original lover, and was also like a father to me. He was a skilled hunter and absolutely devastating in a fight, a master of at least two hand to hand martial arts that I knew of. He taught me as much, or more than either of my blood parents. He was never fully accepted by the whole tribe since he was an outsider, but he was accepted in the degree that my mother and I had laid our claim on him and accepted him as family."

"And he didn't mind that you weren't his? That he was raising another man's child?"

Inanna stopped combing her hair out then and brought her knees up to her chest to rest her arms on. "I don't know. Like I said, he and mother couldn't have children anyway. He wasn't Dunmer, but he seemed just fine with it, he was always good to me, and I adored him. We were heartbroken when he died. Even father was a little broken up about it. They had a great deal of respect for one another, and eventually became close friends." She chuckled, "And naturally they bonded over the delights of dealing with a teenage version of me. 

"The most terrifying experience of my life was when I was in my early twenties and they both were told by the same rat that I'd skipped out on the wise woman and had been mucking around with Deadra instead. They both came at me at once. Father literally turned purple he was so pissed. Not so much about the Deadra thing, but over the disrespect he felt I'd shown my teacher. I got a epic lecture on the ancestors, followed by Sek-sera taking me out behind the proverbial woodshed and kicking my ass in a very serious way. He didn't approve of Deadra worship."

"What did 'mom' have to say about it?"

Ina chuckled darkly. "She sauntered over after they were done with me and had left me propped up against a tent pole, bloodied and bruised. I remember looking up at her, and feeling her tap my leg with her boot. She said, "ya' liked that?" I being the smart ass kid I was answered, "yeah, it was all right...but I could have done without all the talking." She just nodded, and told me to stick with Azura or Boethia, because, and I quote, "those other sly fetchers are a right pain in the ass." She told me to consider it a lesson in 'not getting caught,' though if she did catch me playing patty-cake with a bunch of cackling Sheogorath worshipers she'd disown me. Apparently that was her only stipulation. No Sheogorath...and stop getting caught." 

"Sounds like an interesting woman."

"You don't know the half."

"What was he anyway, her lover, if he wasn't a dark elf like yourself? Human?" She paused and looked uncertain, "Is, is that ok to say, 'dark elf'? I've never heard you use it."

Ina did grin at that. "It's fine. We don't use it, but I don't get worked up over those things, it's pretty much common usage here...though if you ever travel east, I'd stick with Dunmer so as not to twist anyone's knickers." She grinned. "And, ah, he was a Khajiit." 

Bella started slightly, her eyes widening briefly as well, then narrowing with mirth. The both laughed. Bella looked like she wanted to say something, then just shook her head, still chuckling.

They both fell silent again, watching the cubs and the forest's boarder in turns. After another long while it was Inanna who felt compelled to ask another question. 

"Do...do your kind tend to make permanent partnerships then?"

Bella turned to her with an unreadable expression on her face. "We do. Always."

"I have trouble imagining that." 

Bella laughed. "And I have trouble imagining what you've just described so entertainingly."

Inanna gnawed her lip thoughtfully. "Not at all?"

"No."

"Ok....theoretical question. Let's say your mate disappeared on a long trip, and didn't come back when expected. A great deal of time has passed....years even, and you've seen nothing of him...you wouldn't take pleasure or comfort in another?"

Bella smiled softly and looked back out over the still splashing cubs below them. "I couldn't. Not if he were still alive. At least I couldn't imagine that, seeing as it's not ever happened to me."

"Well, that's the thing, you can't know that. How could you?"

"I could...we....well we know. It's the link."

"Link?" That certainly peaked her interest. "What kind of link? Like a magical binding or something?"

"Yes, actually, it is a little like a binding. There is a bond, a connection formed with ones mate that can't be broken or even ignored really, and it draws you to the other and dampens any attraction you might feel for another. You can still feel attraction, but it lacks the same intensity and pull you feel with one you've fully mated with. I've only had one real mate, but I've heard you can feel it, unequivocally, when they pass, or even when they're in great pain or distress."

"Have you felt that?"

Bellane's face darkened. "I..there was a time when I might have, but I was experiencing such pain myself, that I could not discern his from mine to tell any difference."

Inanna considered dropping it and changing the subject since whatever was going on in the woman's head wasn't pretty, and she wasn't so good with the consolation thing, as a general rule. She didn't have to make the decision because before she could think of something to lighten the mood, Bella continued, still looking off into the woods.

"The twins weren't our first cubs you see. I was in heat shortly after we mated," she darted a glance back at her, "we too have long cycles of fertility..." She sighed. "A little girl. Yasmin. She was four."

"The hunter's?" Inanna asked, her voice sounding incredibly tight to her ears, and an itching heat that wasn't fire burning her throat and face.

"Yes. Ambush. Many were lost and injured. Mirisa's mate as well." Her voice and face were calm...no doubt that stillness that comes after one has exhausted themselves of their sorrow so many times there is nothing left to do but be still and calm. There was another long moment where Inanna fought to find something to say. She could not.

"I'm sorry." It wasn't much...it was nothing. But what can one say or do? To say? Nothing. Do? Well...for the first time since she's lit those damned candles, that sick feeling disappeared. That's what she was doing. If it meant getting dirty. Fine. If it meant displeasing the ancestors...fuck 'em, they were generally stuck up jackasses anyway. It was worth it. It was worth it to see that this kind, good hearted person didn't have to watch another of her small children slaughtered. 

Her eyes turned to the twins and talon. It was worth it. There were lines one didn't cross, those were the rules...but even those rules had exceptions. She decided to make the exception. She would claim them, it was decided. They might not like or get it, but they didn't need to. Her ancestor's would probably pitch a fit...but again...fuck 'em. They're dead, what are they going to do but whine?

They both stared out at the distance for a while, and had fallen into such a thoughtful silence that Bella's words almost made Ina jump when they came.

"Do you want me to braid that for you before it dries? I do a mean Breton twist...I get lot's of practice with three young girls. Mirisa isn't really the type one asks to braid her hair." She smiled mildly. Inanna returned the smile with a stunned look, then thought, why not. She repeated the thought out-loud. 

Inanna felt a little shy about it as Bella turned and indicated Ina turn her back to her. It was a weird feeling. It felt a little like she was a child who'd been called in alone to see the wise woman and hadn't done anything wrong...that they knew of. She relaxed pretty quickly as Bella's fingers ran lightly through her hair, loosing what tangles remained with gentle skill, and pulling the length of it into workable segments.

"Tip your head forward a bit." 

She obeyed. Then waited. Nothing happened. Then Bella dropped the hair she'd been holding.

"Bella? Everything ok?" Nothing. Her ease was gone and she was on high alert, throwing out her senses in all directions and whipping around to find Bella. She was kneeling right there looking back at her with wide eyes. "Bella? What's wrong?" She only blinked and inhaled sharply.

"Ah...um...I, ah, nothing. It's nothing. Turn around, I'm sorry." 

Like hell it was nothing. She gave the stuttering woman a disbelieving look. And Bella gave her a strange little smile, and then a weird half laugh in return. "Please...it's ok..." she didn't finish the thought, but grabbed Ina's shoulders and physically turned her and taking up her hair in a firm way that said, 'we are now no longer talking, so sit and be quite.' So she was. The shy feeling was worse now, however, and she fought not to squirm in her seat as the her hair was slowly twisted back from her face and swept up to be tucked in a knot at the back of her....oh....damn. Her neck. The bite marks...she'd have to know what that was all about, and who'd put them there...damn.

She wondered if she should say something, or if Bella would say something. Oh man. So awkward. 

Eventually Bella finished and patted her shoulder.

"There, all done." She wasn't going to say something. Ina sighed. Neither of them looked at each other.

"Bella..."

"..."

"Was it the...marks that freaked you out?"

"A...a little. Sorry about that. I wasn't ex-...he never said anything is all. It surprised me. I figured he'd have at least...well, never mind."

Ok, now this was ten times worse than being trapped alone with the wise woman. She sighed again.

"Listen, I...I don't think he wants it getting out...you know? Trying to focus on the job at hand and get that over with first..."

"Yeah."

Ina licked her lips then turned and looked at Bella who had been frowning at her lap. She looked up and their eyes met. Inanna's were hopeful, Bella's were searching. Eventually they both gave up on looking for whatever they were looking for and gave each other a small tentative smile.

"Awkward, eh?" Inanna smirked. Bella chuckled in response.

"You said it sister."

The weird tension was momentarily broken, though Bella was still thoughtful and there was still a strange expectancy in the air. There were a few attempts at speech which ended in expressive exhalations until Bella finally just shrugged.

"Well, shit."

Inanna snorted out a chuckle. 

Bella's face then went through a remarkable transformation, from amused wonder, to sudden, blinking shock, to incredulity, and finally settling into a darkly amused leer. "You know...it occurs to me that in order for him to leave those marks he would have to have been --"

In the corner of her eye she spotted Talon preparing to jump off a rather high jagged looking rock and sent him a heartfelt mental thanks.

"Talon," she called with some sternness, interrupting Bella's observations, " Come down from there, that pool isn't deep enough for a jump like that, you'll crack your head open." Talon made a face, and she flicked her eyes at Bella to see her smirking knowingly back at her. She cleared her throat and turned a searing glare on the impish little boy. "Now boy, or I'll crack it for you." 

She was was about to jokingly tell Bella to kindly stop smirking at her like that, but something else caught her eye in the distance, a flicker of movement beyond the edge of the woods. It was almost non-existent and easy to dismiss as wind to sunlight playing on the leaves...but her gut told her differently. She frowned and nodded to the woods edge.

"I think I saw something...You see anything?" She glanced back to find the other woman giving her an even wider smirk...she smirked back. "No, I know. Talon was avoidance...but I honestly think I saw something." Bella frowned and looked behind her. They both watched the forest, but there was nothing. Still...

Bella shifted and growled softly, not taking her eyes off the forests edge. Inanna licked her lips and quickly dressed, pulling her clothes on in record time and arming her bow the moment it was ready. The three cubs stopped their play and looked towards them, pulling themselves out of the water and shifting as well. The group made their way slowly back to the ruins, they could only go as quickly as the shortest legs among them. Bella and Ina could have managed to carry them in an emergency...but that would have left both of them unarmed, so they padded cautiously along instead. 

They encountered nothing until, in a little clearing about 100 yards from the ruin, they were stopped short by a rustle in the brush which was followed by the emergence of a club wielding minotaur. The creature turned to them instantly and snorted, its black eyes widening. It let out a great bellow and Ina lifted her readied bow as soon as her mind processed the shift in its weight to its left leg. 

Before it could take that first step or she could fire her first shot, a silent streak of gold came down on the beast from above. A small lion landed on the creatures shoulders, it's claws digging into the meat of its shoulders and back as the bared teeth clamped down around the beasts throat. 

The minotaur thrashed in response, trying to throw the animal off. Ina cursed and held her fire, waiting for a clearer shot. There was too much thrashing and she didn't want to hit the lion. At first guess the size told her it was either Ambrose or Mori, and her knowledge of their respective temperaments told her it was likely the later. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



The lion was surprisingly silent as it dug in, making the larger beast howl in rage and pain. Finally the little lioness yanked its head back, taking a chunk of the beasts throat with it, and flinging herself off of her prey and well out of flailing range. The minotaur whirled to confront its attacker, but stumbled and fell to its knees instead. 

The kitty cat watched and circled the fallen enemy in 'cat and mouse' fashion. Inanna decided to end the scene before the minotaur had a chance to find its second wind and fired off the arrow she'd been patiently saving. It struck the creature's head behind one of its horns and it went down with one last whining groan. 

The little cat tossed her an irritated look. The message was clear as day. 'You stole my kill...spoil sport.' Inanna sent back a look of her own, her eyes darting briefly to the younger cubs bouncing excitedly behind her and Bella. Mori seemed to catch her meaning and looked away, apparently deciding her time might be better spent cleaning one of her paws instead of silently debating whether or not she'd acted irresponsibly via a glare-off with the dark-elf. Damn right kid. You'd lose anyway. 

Ina didn't know what was being exchanged between Mori and Bella but at the end of it, Mori looked a little less full of herself and had opted to keep near Ina instead. Apparently Bella's glares were a lot more expressive—and effective. 

Still...that was an impressive take down. Kid had skills. Mori had fallen in step with her, so she slowed, letting the others get a little farther ahead of them. 

"Nice kill." she murmured lowly, her eyes still watching the woods for more interruptions. In the corner of her vision she saw the small lion look sharply at her. "Quick," she continued, "you didn't mess around and went for the throat, then moved away to reassess. A good move. Just don't let your success change your strategy. Always try to make it quick, always go for the throat...never underestimate an opponent. Cocky equals dead." The cat had stopped and was staring at her when Ina turned to look back at her over her shoulder. "One day, you'll get cocky and you'll find out for yourself. You better hope the lesson doesn't kill you." She narrowed her eyes and jerked her head forward. "Come on. Move it or lose it kid."

She came. She watched Ina warily out of the corner of her eye, and Inanna tried not to smile. For a second there she'd sounded like her mother.

@@@

"You smell much better, kitten."

Inanna jumped and whirled at the soft whisper and the feel of warm breath against her neck. Another breath, this time against her ear, made her spine tighten and her own breath hitch in her throat. Sneaky god damned cat. She didn't even get the chance to chew him out about it. Before she could he grabbed her arm and was herding her down a long hall. As she trotted after him, her legs forced to work double time to keep up with his much longer ones, she couldn't help but notice they were working their way toward the timed gate where she'd first entered the lower levels of the ruin. 

No one really went down there much, so her curiosity was peaked. Peaked enough to keep her moderately compliant instead of thrashing him for the manhandling. It wasn't even the fun kind of manhandling...or elf-handling...or whatever. What in Oblivion was he up to?

The gate had been propped open with a large stone, so they needed only to duck beneath it this time. Her curiosity built to a near burn, and she was just about to give in and ask what it was he thought he was doing when he stopped suddenly, whirled on her, and slapped her ass with the most adorably boyish grin she'd ever seen.

"You're it." 

She blinked and gaped— carp like— as he took off down the hall. After a second she heard a metal gate slam somewhere ahead of her, and the sound startled her back into reality.

She found his discarded robe around the corner and knelt, gathering the still warm cloth in her fist. So, a little game of 'hunt the hunter,' eh? Her lip twitched, and her guts twisted in interesting ways. The thought unearthed memories of the last time they played 'tag,' and naturally evoked the memories of the results of that game. Namely of her being being fucked absolutely silly by a massive, fanged cat in wet grass during a thunderstorm...you know, the usual...just another day at the grindstone. 

She giggled...then frowned. Some heavy stuff had been going through her head that night as well. She'd brushed it off, but she couldn't ignore the fact that things had, well, changed. And here she had a choice. Play, or pack up her toys and go home. He'd given her another invitation. He hadn't come on to her again like he had the very first night, except like this. Did she dare? 

She grinned. Who was she kidding, it was too much fun to pass up. 

'Besides,' she reassured herself for the umpteenth time, 'that was just heat of the moment stuff, nothing to get weird about. It was all good. They liked each other, and they had a good time together, where was the harm in that? Like she'd said before, no one was proposing...it was just a game.

'Unlike most people, I take my games seriously.' The ghost of words past, whispered in her ear. 

Screw it. That was more a habit than a rule anyway. Let the games begin!

He was a tough opponent. By the time she finally spotted him she'd been half ready to give up. She almost suspected he let her catch a glimpse of him: a shadow of a moving something flickering down a nearby hall. She spotted the movement from the far side of one of the massive abandoned great halls. From that distance it could have been a trick of the eyes, especially with the heavy shadows and the way the blue-glow from the remains of the magic infused walls seemed to ebb and flow like the breath of a sleeping animal. Instinct told her to follow.

She didn't follow right away, however. After all, her instincts weren't saying 'go, run!' they were saying 'there's that sly bastard...now what do you want to do about it?' Yes, that's right, sometimes her instincts asked questions. She trusted them, she didn't blindly follow them. Mostly. 

So, Instead of rushing off, she sidled around the room and up to the cold silvery-white stone of a pillar set next to the hall where she'd spotted the moving shadow and started to climb. He was trying to lure her, she was sure. He was good enough to evade her if he wanted to, especially with a head start. Well two can play at that game. The pillar was no good on its own, too straight and not nearly broken enough to make a comfortable perch, but it leaned just enough to the side to allow her access to another ledge which ran across the wall and over the hall entrance. 

She crouched there, and waited, snickering at her cleverness. And here he thought he was so sneaky and clever. Eventually he'd return when it was clear she hadn't followed him, no doubt in an attempt to double back and take her out when her back was turned. 

She waited. And waited. Eventually her legs began to grow a little numb from holding her position and her arms tired. How dare he ruin her perfectly devious plan. With a defeated sigh, she dropped down before the hall entrance. Nothing, not even a 'something's-fishy-here-vibe'. The bastard must have gone on. "Damn." 

She turned back to the room, only to find herself tumbling ass over teakettle across the smooth marble tiles. She rolled into another pillar and ended up stunned and on her back. She was hardly able to find the breath for a delayed cry of shock when a face appeared above hers and she found herself pinned beneath a large male body, with her wrists held firmly over her head. 

At this point her breath was too busy being sucked from her body and her tongue too entangled to articulate anything, even if she had thought of anything intelligent to say. She bucked against him, attempting to rip her wrists free, despite the fact that her mouth had other ideas and was busy nipping at his lower lip and battling his tongue with her own. His heat and scent filled her senses and she found herself pressing against him more than she was trying to pull away.

And then he was gone, leaving her stunned and dazed on the ruin floor. Her eyes popped open to reveal the arches of the distant grey-blue ceiling She could feel the cold of the stone through her thin pants and loose fitting shirt. Funny the things you don't notice when your mind is otherwise occupied. She pulled herself up and reassessed.

This was not going to work. Her prey was too fast, too sneaky, and too strong. What's worse...he knew her weakness. Well...one of them. At any rate, she wasn't going to be able to find him, and waiting him out was clearly not an option. Nor was setting a magical trap for him...since that would injure him and defeat the whole purpose of this game. Namely, getting laid.

She looked around, noticing the cocky s.o.b had left her a little hint in the form of disturbed rubble near one of the exits. She wasn't going to get him the old fashioned way...so she was going to have to cheat.

There was an overhead walkway in one of the side chambers, at least as far as memory served, and if it did serve, then that walkway was about ready to come down. Perfect. 

When she got there she found it wasn't too high up and therefore an easy climb. The stone work came down just as easily, and one careful jump and a blood curdling scream later she was stretched out over a brand new pile of ruble, her limbs splayed rather awkwardly over the shattered remains of the walkway. 

Feric was grinning to himself as he prepared his next ambush, alight with the excitement of the hunt. But the adrenaline in his system spiked in a less pleasant way when a crash and sudden scream rang out through the halls. He was on his feet and veering madly through the dim corridors before his conscious self had time to start panicking. It caught up with him when he entered the great hall from which the scream had come only to find a small, slender body laying unconscious over what looked like the fallen remains of an overhead bridge. Or, at least, he prayed she was only unconscious.

"Ina..." He fell at her side and his hands shook as he cupped her face in his hands, leaning in to search for any sign of life. He felt a faint stirring of air from her lips and closed his eyes in relief. His heart came out of his throat as he reopened his eyes to find them looking deep into the glowing red embers of her own. "Thank god." He whispered, reaching up to cradle the back of her head. He paused half way as he noticed the lopsided grin on her face and felt something hard and...sharp lightly tapping his side.

"Gotcha."

He looked down to see a knife pointed at his stomach. He gave a shocked look, not quite certain he was seeing what he thought he was. His heart was still pounding from terror and panic and for a moment all he could do was stare in disbelief. She couldn't possibly have...just too...what was she thinking!?

"I-Ina...I...you faked it!? Kyn! What...Are you mad? Do you have any idea how..." He pulled away and got to his feet glaring at her, shock, relief, and anger all converging on him at the same moment. He inhaled deeply and pointed at her accusingly. "Don't...ever..do that...again."

He practically snarled at her, but she just smirked, then pouted absurdly. "Aww, come on, you left me no choice. If you'd played nice and fell for my other trap, we'd already have moved on to the next round." He continued to glare speechlessly.

"I'm serious Ina." He growled, his voice hoarse with emotion. She must have heard it...or seen it in his face, because she immediately sobered and rose as well, sidling up to him and laying her hands across his bare chest. 

"I'm sorry Serjo...I shouldn't have frightened you. I just hate to lose." She ended with a naughty grin and leaned up to nip his chin, acting as if his death glare were a come hither glance instead. He was loathe to admit that it was working. It didn't hurt that he was still naked and she was rubbing her body against him in very suggestive ways. And he could feel every inch of her lithe, firm body beneath her thin shirt and pants. Every inch.

For a brief moment he fought her, willing himself to stay angry...but fingernails were tracing patterns down his back, and his stiffening, treacherous prick was twitching distractingly as it was pressed against her stomach.

His hands were on her drawstring, his mouth on hers, and his ire and panic long forgotten as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down to her and into a longer and deeper kiss. Her heat and taste made his cock surge to full attention and he groaned in delight as she shimmied out of her pants, giving his hands free reign to grip and squeeze her sweet little ass. Her shirt quickly followed.

However, to his unending disappointment, she slithered out of his arms the moment the flimsy material hit the floor and stepped back away from him. Although, he admitted to himself, the distance was giving him a spectacular view. One worth enjoying while he could. 

She was perfect: long and lean from head to toe, her toned muscles flexing with subdued strength as she moved, her slender feet skimming the stones so gracefully it was as if she were barely touching them. She began to circle him, and he was content to turn with her in order to keep admiring the slow sway of her hips, and the way the blue of the ruins glistened on her dark, naked skin, making it glow. Her dark red hair was pulled back, but a few disobedient strands had already fallen loose to frame her narrow, delicate face and ears...those red lips....those burning eyes. 

His eyes slipped lower, and he heard her chuckle, noticing no doubt, the way his eyes lingered on the pert rounds of her breasts. Perfect handfuls...or mouthfuls he amended, feeling his cock jump at the images accompanying the thought. She paused and tilted her hips toward him, resting her fists above them jauntily.

"My, my, my," she whispered lowly, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you wanted me Sera." He tore his eyes from her tilting hips and the smooth mind-bendingly sexy V of split flesh between them and glanced down at his own now-throbbing erection before finally meeting her eyes with a sardonic arch of his brow.

"Gee...you think?" he asked dryly. Her smirk faltered into a real smile for a moment before she tilted her head and gave him the same naughty, lustful look he remembered so well from her little shack on the waterfront. A shiver ran up his spine as he remembered the details of that encounter. 

Her smile widened. "Mmmm, I like that look on you. You look...hungry." She was teasing him now, but he couldn't see to what end. To make him crazier? In the mean time the sight of her, that sexy purring voice, and the myriad of explicit images running double-time through his brain were really starting to wear on his patience. He stepped toward her instinctively, and she stepped away, waving a finger at him.

"Ah, ah, none of that." Her grin turned malicious. "I had to work for it Serjo...now it's your turn. If you want me...you're gonna have to catch me first." Before he could comment or object, she was gone, sprinting at surprising speed toward one of the side entrances.

He quailed only a moment before his body and his instincts took over and he turned on his heal and went after her.

Inanna hid her surprise and jogged sharply to the side when she found that Feric had somehow managed to catch up to her and head her off, blocking her intended path. Now, she wasn't slow by any means, so she had good reason to be caught off guard. Sure she would have expected it if he were still in his feline form...but he wasn't. Yet some how he'd managed to move that impressive bulk of his with a speed and agility that one would never have expected. 

It was, frankly...kinda hot. Scratch that, it was really fetching hot. Meow.

He recovered easily and dodged with her, cutting off another escape route, but leaving the first undefended. She feinted to the left and sprung to the right, almost making it ...if not for the hand that came down around her forearm, gripping her hard.

Her response was completely instinctive and before she could reign it in her other arm was lashing out toward his jaw. At the last moment she managed to pull the punch, hoping to weaken the blow, but it was unnecessary. He'd shifted his weight to let it pass harmlessly through the air in front of him, consequently throwing her off her own balance as she adjusted to compensate. He was forced to release her arm however, allowing her another opportunity to strike or escape.

For a split second she intended to stop the game and apologize, but by the time she'd formulated the idea, she was already too busy leaping out of the way of a fierce lunge to give it any more thought. Instead all she could do was dance back away, her focus totally aimed on keeping her feet under her and her ass off the ground.

He continued to distract, coming at her with an immediate left hook, and then a wrist grab...and then she suddenly realized as she hastily blocked a rapid flurry of tellingly weak strikes, that she was on the defensive, and that the bastard was using his size and strength to corral her into the rubble she'd originally used as a lure to catch him. 

Why that no-good, sneaky...godamned...incredible...bloody sexy...

"Fetcher!" She cursed as a piece of broken stone scraped her ankle and another caused her to stumble. Her darting thoughts brought with it a dangerous lapse in her awareness of her surroundings and she found herself suddenly spun and caught from behind. Solid arms crushed in around hers, pinning them to her sides as she was lifted off her feet. 

She might have put up more of a fight if the entirety of her conscious mind wasn't already completely focused on the long, hard cock pressed tight against her ass. That and the veritable pool of wet heat between her legs as her body responded none too subtly to the sensation. 

His chest felt like hot steel against her back and she groan softly as his lips brushed the length of her sensitive ear. His growling whisper was almost lost in the sensation of the hot breath caressing the shell of her ear and the resulting tingle running down her twisting spine. "Does this count as my thirty seconds?"

"What? What in Oblivion are you talking about?" She gasped back, confused that he was choosing to waste air on things like talking at a time like this. Especially when he should be turning her around so she could suck it out of him instead. Hell, there were a few other things she wouldn't mind getting her mouth around at this point, or better yet, he could be the one doing the sucking and licking. Yum.

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling as a silent chuckle shook his body against hers and consequently caused that lovely stiff prick to slide a little more firmly between the rounds of her cheeks. 

"Thirty second rule." He repeated, grinding his hips upward and sliding himself teasingly along the crease of her ass. It took her a minute to fully register what he was saying...understandably. 

When she did, she laughed. It was a broken, breathless sound, and it ended with another low moan as she writhed more intently against him. "Sweetheart, we both know you could last a hell of a lot longer than that." She breathed out. 

"Now...since we've settled that, why don't we move on to part two...where we fuck each other senseless, preferably somewhere kinky. Since it's tradition and all...Oh look, Ayleid-ruin-cum-necromancer den! Looks like we're good to go." She arched her back against him none too subtly and tightened her ass around the teasing member rubbing against it.

It was his turn to laugh brokenly. To her unending disappointment, he also put her down. Her bare feet tottered somewhat on the cool stone tiles and her legs trembled liked a bowl full of scrib jelly. It wasn't enough to disable her, but it was a pretty strong reminder of what her big ole kitty did to her. She had flashes of fond memories past— a long, rough feline tongue strategically placed, a firm hand mauling her thighs and ass, a thick, hard cock pounding her mercilessly...from behind...or into the kitchen table...




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 05



Ok...that's it, no more Mrs. nice-elf. 

Feric gazed down at the flaring curve of her hips as they swelled into the perfect, luscious round of her ass, his mind awash with all the many and delightful things he could...would be doing to it. The possibilities were endless. 

He started to look up and around to see if there was a convenient flat surface handy but was cut short by a dusky hued meteor crashing back into his arms and nearly knocking him off his feet. 

He staggered backward to find footing as she wrapped herself around him, her strong, slim thighs closing vice-tight around his waist while her arms captured his neck and shoulders. He could only hang on, gripping her ass as her fingers dug into his hair, pulling him to her and violently crushing his mouth against hers. 

After that it was all tongue and teeth and heat...a furious battle to keep from losing all control and drowning in the overwhelming insistence of the other.

And was she ever insistent. She was furious and wild like he'd never seen. Her teeth pulled and nipped at his lips and neck and her heels dug sharply into his back, as if trying to crush and squeeze him like grapes through a wine press. It was...well, it was damned erotic, and he couldn't have repress the low growl emanating from his chest if he'd tried. He was already too far gone to even notice it, thrust, as he was, so rapidly and deeply into the red haze of desire.

The nip of her teeth on his skin, the sharp prick of her nails as she scored his back...so much like the prick of claws...the low, satisfied rumble in her throat as she plundered his mouth...so much like a contented purr...

He let out a low groan and lifted her higher, spreading her with his fingers and thrusting eagerly upward without the slightest pretense to form or grace. She didn''t seem to mind and reached between them just as eagerly to grasp the shaft and guide it home.

They cried out in one voice, both exhalations filled with a strange contradiction of urgent need and grateful relief. As he slid easily into that hot, silky sheathe, he was struck by the how utterly perfect she felt around him. That was the word...the one that kept leaping to his mind when he looked at her, touched her...and now the way he fit inside of her... so completely perfect.

He squeezed her tight, grasping her hips as he pumped into her, reveling in her fiery heat and gasping her name into her cinnamon scented hair. 

He wasn't sure how long they stood like that, wrapped around one another, desperate to be inside the other, but it was long enough to bring him to the edge and cause his legs to begin to weaken as his climax approached. After one final thrust, he pulled her off of him, causing her to growl her disappointment. He didn't make her wait long and blindly found the nearest flat surface to collapse against for support. He didn't bother to move or adjust her, only lifted her back onto his shaft the moment he was even partially settled. 

They moved slower this time, less frantic but no less intensely. Inanna squeezed in against him, hugging her body to his, her limbs clinging like hungry vines, her equally voracious mouth leaving hot trails with her lips and teeth along his neck and shoulder and chest. 

"Dammit..." she husked out, her head bent down so that it rested beneath his chin, "why can't I get enough of you?" 

He could only laugh at that. The feeling was more than mutual. 

She looked up at the sound, but there was no humor in her eyes, just desire and something else...something more desperate. He wanted to believe it was lust...but he knew it wasn't. She slid a hand up the back of his neck, and gripped the base of his skull by winding her fingers into his hair, using the leverage to grind herself against him, her swollen, panting mouth parting invitingly. He took the invitation, slipping his tongue gently between her lips and shuddered at her oddly tentative response as her own small tongue flicked delicately against his. Their bodies mimicked their mouths, moving together in a slow, breathless mating...gentle, yet near shaking with strained tension. 

She broke the kiss just enough to admonish him for his laughter, but not enough to sever the warm contact of their lips. "It's not funny. It's making me crazy. You're not supposed to do this to me. No one is."

"Believe me, Ina, I feel the same. I want you. So very badly. I can't stop thinking about you." He whispered back, partly in confession and partly in condolence, but only after another long slow kiss. She whimpered and bucked against him in response and he felt a shudder pass through her. 

Again he was torn by both longing and guilt. He needed to tell her, to admit what he'd done, and instead he was pushing her deeper, strengthening the bond between them. But then, perhaps it wasn't the bond that was singing out to her...perhaps it was only her...no, he could keep the truth from her, but not from himself. And he couldn't keep it from her much longer. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and clutched her tightly. 

Inanna groaned again as another wave of pleasure wracked her body, her hips jolting as it hit with an electric pulse. So good...he felt so good...scary good. Terrifying. She wanted him...so badly. And she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no amount of will power, or 'down-girls' were going to be enough to tear her away from him. Not even the fear that this realization caused was quite enough to untwist her fingers from his hair, or still her desperately grinding hips. 

It frightened her...and she was afraid. 

Really afraid, like she hadn't been in a long damned time. It was one thing to let go, to give yourself over to lust and desire...to want freely and be utterly unapologetic. It was something else entirely to find yourself helpless to it, to be not just unwilling but unable to stop yourself.

But...he was gripping her just as hard as she gripped him...his moans sounding just as low, and pained, and needful...it was comforting at least. If she was losing it, at least she'd have some one to lose it with.

She bit her lip and slid her hand between them, her fingers seeking the place where their bodies joined, and felt the warm, hard silk of his shaft as it slid into her, and the tight stretched flesh of her own sex as it opened to accepted him. Her body wanted him, accepted him...and then there was that word again...that awful little four letter word. She'd used it in the past, always lightly or dismissively. An empty word, one she hadn't believed in. Hadn't. Past tense. Was that where she was now? Azura, how did this happen? 

She felt his fingers slide lower down her ass to rest, like hers, at the apex of her thighs. They slid over her pussy, caressing the stretched lips and running lightly over her own questing fingers. The sensation of that contact was indescribable. 

She gasped and tore her head from where she'd hid it in the crook of his shoulder only to have her gaze caught in the brilliant green trap of his eyes. There was so much to see in those eyes. It was frightening, it made her heart clench in her chest, it made her insides melt like butter in an oven, but more than anything, it was completely and utterly thrilling. 

As if complicit with her thoughts, her body clenched around him, sending rivers of electricity rushing through her. She gasped and thrust that much harder against him, but she didn't look away. She couldn't look away. Those eyes just kept burning into hers, and it was as if there were something reaching out from those eyes and right into the core of her. It wrapped around that core, tightening its grip until she was panting and gasping for breath. 

She was only half aware of what her body was doing, but the cresting wave was building past the point of distraction. She was no less caught in that green spell, but now it was contending with the unrelenting tug of her approaching orgasm. Up and up it built, pulse after pulse, until finally it broke over her. 

But this time it was different. Instead of the usual explosive, starry-eyed, screaming-at-the-top-of-your-lungs wave of feral pleasure, it was like being punched in the gut. Hard.

Her body sized, every muscle and tendon suddenly rigid and immobile, her spine snapped drum tight, and her toes and fingers curling with the painful strain of it. Instead of a scream, or cry, all that left her lips was a breathless whimpered 'ah' of surprise. Her lungs felt empty, and that thing which had been coiling around inside her had gripped her heart so hard she thought for a moment it might have stopped. And then it squeezed, squeezed all of her. The closest thing that came to mind to describe it was having an ogre wrap both it's meaty fists around you and try to wring you dry...only without the sensation of snapping ribs.

Feric gasped as her body tensed and her slick passage closed around his cock as if it were trying to tear it off. It didn't help that it had been expected. He'd been too caught up staring back into the all consuming fire of her eyes, hungry and turbulent with emotion. He had been drawn, heart in throat, ever deeper into those eyes until everything else was only distant noise...until now, and she'd pulled him suddenly and inextricably back into himself. 

He groaned as she tightened again, this time feeling his own body tighten with hers... and then release with hers. She made hardly any sound, but continued to cling fiercely as that incredibly tight passage continued to flutter and pulse around him, milking him until he was drained and exhausted. 

There was a long silence that followed, the air around them still except for their syncopated pants as they fought for air. Slowly he ran his hands up her back, feeling the damp skin under his fingers as it prickled with goosebumps in the cool stale air of the catacomb like chamber. Her own hands had slid around his waist and remained there, her face hidden against his shoulder. He wondered briefly at how he could feel so exhausted when they'd barely seemed to move at all. He wasn't sure if she was trembling from the cold, but he knew his own hands were shaking from something else entirely.

Inanna groaned and adjusted herself against the body still holding her up. Her limbs were molasses slow and heavier than an Altmeri epic. "Well" she muttered into the shoulder she was using as a pillow, "that was...different." Feric let out a soft half-grunt in reply. 'Yeah, I hear that,' she thought groggily. 

She considered extricating herself in order to regain some control over the situation, or at least say something clever ...to regain her composure as it was...but she was feeling far too wasted to manage even the smallest amount of sauciness or cheek. So she just gave in and cuddled up where she was, giving his waist a brief squeeze before fully committing herself to being totally done in. Show's over ladies and gents, nothing more to see here. 

Since she was thusly committed, it was with extreme disappointment that she felt her makeshift pillow stiffen underneath her. Not 'good' stiffen either, more like, oh-shit-something-is-very-wrong-stiffen.

"Oh, shit!" He hissed. 

See? what did she say. Feric grabbed her ass and held her tightly as he dropped them both to the floor and in behind the big, marble...'oh man, I really hope that isn't the tomb it looks like'....'cause if it is'... 

There's kinky and then there's just...'Ew.'

"What?" she hissed back, keeping her voice a low whisper, in case the 'oh shit' was something nasty with ears. His hand came up over her mouth anyway. She was more or less still in his lap, though more in a sprawling and awkward way than anything sexy like. She was going to crawl off of him to get into a less tangled position, but froze when she too caught on to what 'oh, shit' equaled. 

She didn't bother to move the hand from her mouth, and just stared at him, her eyes widening to match the horror in his own.

"Lucas, stop...there's...ah..."

"What the hell is that?"

"Um..."

She mouthed her own rather colorful curse against the palm of his hand and he shut his eyes, looking an awful lot like he was about to start praying.

"I think it's clothes." Murmured a soft female voice.

"Whose....wait...I think I know whose. Oh, man..." Ina grit her teeth as the she heard the shit eating grin in his voice as clear as if she were seeing it on his face.

"We should go. It's none of our business. I'm...sure everything is fine." Aina whispered. Lucas wasn't quite as delicate.

"I don't know, we both heard that crash...we should look around, someone might be hurt." The grin was still front and center. Aina made an exasperated sound. Inanna winced. She hadn't thought of that when she'd downed the bridge. Obviously someone else might hear. Idiot. Feric was also glaring at her, she glared back then pulled his hand off her mouth to stick out her tongue in order to more eloquently express her feelings on the matter. He started it. It wasn't her idea to play naked tag in a crumbling, underground city. 

"Lucas..." The warning was clear ...and headed.

"Fine, spoil sport." It was actually sort of interesting hearing them together when they were alone. Lucas sounded so much more relaxed, playful even, his voice light and teasing. "Hey...since we're down here...and alone..." 

Aina giggled.

Ina's eyes shot to Feric's and it was a good thing too. Her own hand clamped down hard over his mouth and she gave him a pointed glare, willing him into silence. He didn't submit completely, but at least he kept his comments to himself. He didn't look too please, but there wasn't a chance in any of the sixteen hell's she was going to let his sweet kid see her naked, sweating self sprawled all over daddy dearest. 

That's the kind of 'awkward' that can kill a person. Plus Aina would probably hate her guts for it. If that meant Feric had to keep his 'dad' instincts in check for five minutes, then she'd make sure he did.

"Come on, let's go." Lucas this time. Another giggle. 

"You sure? Like you said, we're all alone..." There was a long pause and Ina was ninety percent sure it was only because their mouths were otherwise occupied.

Inanna was forced to jab Feric's ribs with her elbow to keep his attention. Dammit. Take your flirting elsewhere, kids, or else we'll all be very sorry. It would have been cute if Feric wasn't slowly turning purple with the restraint it was taking to keep his mouth shut. There was another giggle, followed by a soft, feminine gasp. They both jerked their heads toward each other, then scrambled over one another to peek over the edge of their hiding place. 

Inanna let out a sigh of relief. It was nothing. Lucas had his arms around her and was kissing her, but it was gentle and tentative...like she said, cute. She was about to smile until she saw the look on Feric's face. 'oh, shit' was right. 

She tackled him. There was no other option. She pinned him down by sitting on his chest, both hands over his mouth, and listening anxiously for an indication that they'd been caught.

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"Um...no." Lucas chuckled. "I was sort of distracted."

"We'd better go."

"Yeah, you're right. The last thing I need is Feric trying to castrate me before I ever get the chance to have kids."

Feric mouthed something against her hands, which she imagined was something like 'Damned right.'

Aina laughed at that. "He wouldn't do that." Feric nodded vigorously that yes he would, and Ina fought to keep from laughing...or at least from laughing out loud. "He likes you."

"Sure, so long as I keep my unwholesome thoughts to myself." Again, vigorous nodding. Inanna was shaking now with silent laughter. There may have been a tear or two as well.

"And what are these unwholesome thoughts?" Oh dear god. If you want to see your next birthday, you will not answer that question Lucas. Seriously. It didn't help that there was a not so innocent silky note in Aina's voice when she'd asked the question.

"Ah...heh, I...I'm just kidding around." Thanks be to Azura! Good boy, smart boy! Now run!

"No you're not." Oh you little tease. Well, good for her...not so good for poor little Inanna who was now definitely tearing up with laughter as she valiantly attempted to keep the irate father of said tease pinned beneath her. Lucas made a sound like he was clearing his heart out of his throat. 

Aina finally took pity on all of them and broke the tense silence that had followed her rather bold little statement. "I'm just teasing you. Come on, let's get back before we're missed and Talon and Mori do something we'll all regret."

Feric was still underneath her, but she waited a few minutes before releasing him, just in case. He glared. She grinned.

"There's nothing funny about this." He growled.

"Are you kidding? It's hilarious."

"I'll kill him." She rolled her eyes as he sat up, tumbling her off of him. They both stumbled to their feet, perfunctorily dusting themselves off.

"No you won't." 

He glared and grit his teeth, his body tense as he stabbed an angry finger pointedly towards the doorway his daughter had disappeared through. "You heard them—"

"Yes and it's not a big deal. She's a big girl, and clearly she can look after herself." Inanna, mimicked his stance and crossed her arms over her chest as he had. "Besides, they're both technically adults...free and legal, can't do much about it anyway." 

He glared. "The key word there being technically."

She glared back. "No...the key word being adult."

"With all due respect," he growled again, "she isn't your daughter."

This earned him another eye roll. "No, but if she were I'd say the same damn thing. And," she continued, not letting him interrupt as he clearly wanted to. "I'd feel fetching blessed to have a kid as responsible and level headed as Aina...or Lucas for that matter. They are good kids, and you should trust them." She'd been stalking up to him and poked him in the chest to reiterate her point. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his chest so he could lean down and put his face inches from hers.

"I realize that. I'm not an idiot, Ina, but don't think for a second I'm going to just look the other way while they let their hormones get the better of them and end up doing something they can't take back." Ina felt the smirk that plastered itself to her face most keenly. Parenthood, thy name is hypocrisy. He grunted and sighed. "I know...I know...but it's different." He didn't sound all that convinced. 

She raised her free hand to his face and stroked it tenderly. He was really quite adorable when he was all pissed off about something. She couldn't hold back the much more gentle smile which replaced her smirk, a smile which grew when he returned it with his own look of wry uncertainty. "I'm not saying you should ignore it. Please by all means make them squirm— put the fear of god in them and ruin their fun...that's not just your right as a parent, it's your job..." her expression twisted back into a sardonic one, "but not when I'm sitting freshly-fucked and leaking in your lap. It's called timing, Feric. Some moments are less appropriate than others, and that was the least appropriate one I can possibly imagine...and I can imagine a lot." She patted his cheek and dropped her hand.

He open his mouth, then closed it immediately, blinking at her. Then he bowed his head and laughed, rubbing his face with his hands as she pulled away. Eventually he met her eye again, though this time looking more bemused and wondering than anything else. She grinned back. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, or saying anything at all for that matter, he reached out, took her face in his hands, and planted his mouth squarely over hers. 

He pulled back from the kiss, but didn't release her entirely, and smiled down into her surprised face. "What was that for?" She husked out, cocking an inquisitive brow. He could think of a few answers to that question, but none he felt entirely comfortable voicing at that moment. So he just kissed her again.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



Dear readers: 

I've decided to post what I have thus far, in order to mitigate the effects of that rather blatant 'cliffhanger' ending of the last post. This isn't especially short, but it isn't the length of the average 'Hunter' installment, so if you feel dissatisfied, I apologize, but it was this or making you wait that much longer.

So, bearing all this in mind, and remembering how very much I adore you...

WHEN LAST WE LEFT OUR INTREPID HEROES:

****

"At least I have moral standards, you treacherous snake."

"And I so hope they comfort you when you die, sad and alone."

Feric had simply stood watching, agape, as the strange scene played out before him, but now it was just too much. The last thing he needed was attention drawn to them by her getting into a fist fight in the middle of the street...and people were starting to stop and stare. No doubt they were hoping to get a vicarious thrill out of seeing two attractive females trying to rip each others hair out in the mud. 

He knew better though. Ina would just clock her. Or set her on fire. That wouldn't be pretty. But before he could intervene and pull them apart, the two women suddenly lunged towards each other and...hugged?

* * * *

"Desi!"

Inanna practically squealed as she wrapped her arms around Desdemona's waist, lifting the slightly taller woman off the ground in a tight bear hug. Des was laughing and cupped Inanna's face in her hands and peppered her cheeks with kisses when she wasn't too busy hugging her back. Ina eventually pulled back with a grin, gripping the Breton by the shoulders as she looked her friend over. "Woman, you look even younger than the last time I saw you..."

Des chuckled and tossed a few wavy locks of silky chestnut hair back over one shoulder with a sly, flirtatious grin. "I keep telling you the Telvanni have their uses...I'm not the masochist you seem to think I am." Ina returned the grin.

"No, just a 'gold-digging whore', remember?" Des giggled at that and slipped her arm through Inanna's. 

"Don't tell me you really Are still giving it away for free?"

"Give? Like hell. If I see something I want I take it."

"Speaking of which" She drawled in a low whisper, "...I couldn't help but notice the cool drink with the granite jaw and the FAN-tastic arse." 

Inanna watched as those devious, sharp eyes zeroed in on the man still standing behind her...and still looking very confused, she noted as she turned her own eyes in the same direction. Crap. 

"He's not loaded, or a psycho wizard, so leave him alone." She whispered harshly. Des started, then, with a very evil grin, glanced back at her with a flutter of lashes.

"Chere, I know I like my men tall, dark, and Obscenely rich, but I am open minded. Also, most of them are sociopaths, not psychotic...there's a marked difference, thank you very kindly. I do have some standards." 

"Bull...and stop looking at me like you think you know something. You don't."

"You Are allowed to call dibs you know. If it's important to you, that is." Still, that knowing grin remained. Bitch. She could be such a...a...bitch. She really was like a sister...and that was probably why no one got under her skin quite like Des could. Ina still hadn't figured out how she did it. Of course on the flip side, few people could be quite as much fun.

She was going to respond but Feric was suddenly before them and Des was pulling away to offer him her hand like some damned courtier. To Inanna's intense satisfaction, he took a minute to stare at it in confusion before accepting it, hesitantly, and giving her a polite nod. "Feric, this is Desdemona Doucet. My sister." His mildly befuddled expression became a deeply befuddled one as he looked between them.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed."

Desdemona laughed again, pulling her hand away and patting Ina's arm with it. "Not by birth, obviously, but by circumstances quite beyond our control...but then you can't choose your family, can you? They are thrust upon us by fate's fickle hand, and we mere mortals can do naught but acquiesce and endure her cruelty as best we are able."

Again with the befuddlement.

"Bard." Inanna offered dryly.

"Ah." He seemed to gather himself up then, and right before her eyes mutated into the 'slick charmer' version of himself she'd seen him pull out for most of her other acquaintances. Like a conjuror's trick—Tada!. "Forgive me," he smiled, "I was momentarily thrown off by the unusual exchange earlier. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you." She cooed.

"So, you just arrived?" Ina interrupted curtly, and she hoped, discouragingly. She wasn't normally the possessive type...but dammit, she saw him first. Maybe she should just brand her initials on his ass and put an end to it. 'Cause Des was right about one thing...it was pretty fantastic. The thought brought a faint curling smile to her lips. 

They both turned to her and Des nodded. 

"Indeed. But, in accord with the customs of your illustrious people, I didn't come empty handed. I brought you a present."

"Oh, goody."

"Don't be acidic dear, you'll like it, trust me." She turned and waved to someone up the street. Inanna's eyes followed, then widened.

"You're kidding me..."

Feric watched as the two men he'd noticed earlier joined them, the dark elf in the lead, and with a smile slowly creeping across his harsh, angular features. Features made that much more unnerving by a series of jagged lines tattooed across his forehead and temples. 

"Hassour!" She cried, striding forward to meet him. Feric half expected her to jump him like she had the woman, but to his surprise she came to stop in front of him and lay her hand over her heart and gave what looked like a rather formal bow, one which the foreign looking Dunmer returned. They exchanged a few words in Dunmeri as the Khajiit came to join Desdemona. 

"Feric, this is Dar'Basha, a friend from Morrowind, and my companion. Dar'Basha, this is Feric. I'm afraid I have precious little else to offer about either of you. She smiled and flicked her hand apologetically with a shrug. The Khajiit bowed. "A pleasure. As she said, I am a friend of Muthsera Doucet," he gestured to Desdemona, "I presume you are an acquaintance of her 'sister'?"

"Ah, yes. How do you do." 

The Khajiit tipped his head. "I am well, sir." The Khajiit was certainly polite enough, though politic and vague, but Feric had to admit that his presence made him rather uneasy. He was not unaware of the irony of that discomfort, but the fact of the matter was, his only experience with the species had been as hunters. But then, if it hadn't been for Inanna, he could have said the same thing about the Dunmer. 

It also didn't help that he was still feeling a might thrown and uneasy about what had passed between Ina and the Breton woman, and once again had to wonder why all of her supposed friends seemed more like enemies. Though, he considered, she and the other dark elf seemed to be on more traditionally friendly terms, if he could go by tone of voice alone.

As if on cue, the two finally joined them. Introductions were made, and it turned out that the Mer was apparently a close cousin of hers and a fellow Ashlander. He was passing in the same direction as Desdemona and so had decided to accompany her to see Inanna before turning north to his own business. 

Desdemona immediately suggested they all retire to the inn up the road where she was staying since she'd not eaten yet, but Ina shook her head. "Can't. Not there anyway."

"Why not? It looked the least shady of the two."

"Bingo."

The Breton arched an accusatory brow. "What did you do?" Feric couldn't help but chuckle, if silently, at the strange mix of guileless innocence and unrepentant pride that came across Ina's face.

"Nothing."

Every eye remained on her. "Nothing...that they didn't completely deserve...." she eyed them back defiantly...then wilted. "I don't want to talk about it. Besides, the company is better at Dervera's. She's from Morrowind." 

That seemed to settle it for everyone and after a casual shrug or two, they found themselves making their way to an unassuming looking building with a painted sign which announced from a distance that they were approaching "Newlands Lodge." 

Ina was chatting away in Dunmeri with her cousin, and the other two were doing much the same, leaving Feric room to fall back a little. His sense of unease grew as they neared the lodge, and as he saw a drunken looking Dunmer propped out in front of the building. Then it multiplied itself tenfold as a group of Orc came out from around the other side of the Inn and entered...but not before giving them and everyone else in the vicinity a very unwelcoming glare. 

His gut was sending him messages again, but this time his senses were in full agreement. Hell.

They were filing through the door and Feric was too caught up in preparing himself for the worst to notice that Ina had dropped back and was waiting to stop him at the door. Her restraining hand on his arm made him start slightly.

She was frowning. "You ok, Serjo?" She whispered. He was about to wave her off with a 'fine', but changed his mind when he caught the concerned glint in her eye.

"A little thrown. That's all. It's...been a lot to take in." Her expression shifted, softened.

"Yeah...sorry about that. I get all worked up sometimes, get enthusiastic. If I get to be too much, just whack me upside the head." She grinned. "No more new stuff, or people...I promise...that I can help...obviously." Her hand slid down over his, running her thumb over the back of it before pulling away.

He grinned crookedly back at her. "I'll believe it when I see it. By the way...who are they?" They had entered the Inn proper and he nodded toward a group of Orcs who had taken up most of the space around the bar, looking quite comfortable with themselves. The remaining people in the room were situated around the edges, hunched over the tables and keeping to themselves. They were mostly Dunmer and one or two who were neither Orc nor Dunmer and who were subsequently keeping their heads down and their eyes on their drinks. 

"Orum gang. Bad eggs those." She whispered back. "Try not to piss them off if you can help it." He watched the Orcs carefully out of the corner of his eye as they found a table against the wall. He immediately pulled out the chair nearest the wall and offered it to Ina, then took the one next to her, placing himself between her and the room. Of course he hadn't realized what he was doing until she cast a questioning look in his direction. 

Screw it, he wasn't going to feel bad about it. Instead he went back to subtly scrutinizing the group as a handsome Dunmer woman came to take their order. It was instantly apparent to him who the leader of the group was. Firmly the leader, from the looks of it. He was also scanning the room, and exuded an aura of comfortable authority. The others around him were joking and jostling one another, but every now and then they'd flick their eyes to the one in burgundy. They probably had no idea they were doing it. 

"Who's the one in the burgundy doublet?" He asked, whispering to Ina when the other three seemed suddenly occupied with arriving drinks. 

She didn't miss a beat. "Magub gro-Orum. He's one of the brothers who run the gang. People are more afraid of his younger brother...but they shouldn't be. This one actually has some fair skill with magic. I heard he trained to be a warlock or shaman in the old country. Not the kind of guy you want to piss off...but he's also more reasonable than his brother, smarter. But that isn't saying much." 

"Alright," Desdemona interrupted, leaning over him slightly and brushing his arm with hers as she reached out to tap on the back of Ina's hand. "Let's have it." She leaned back, brushing against him even more firmly. He didn't think much of it, seeing as how she was clearly just as much the consummate flirt Inanna was, if not more...but he Was interested in the way Ina's eyes had narrowed. 

His lip twitched, but he somehow managed to keep his grin in check. Payback. He'd like to say he wasn't a jealous man...but that would be a lie. And misery loved company. 

He gave Desdemona a warm smile, which she returned, before looking mildly back at Ina. Ina didn't look pleased, but the expression was gone in a flash, and was replaced by her usual playfully twisted grin. 

"Have what, dear?"

"The details, the story. What's our narrative?" 

"Our narrative?" She cocked her brow.

"You heard me. A girl likes to know her lines before she walks on the stage dear. And it appears I've already missed the curtain call...so catch me up, would you?"

Ina stared at her a moment, shrugged and cleared her throat. "Well, Once upon a time, in a land far far away..."

Desdemona cut her off with a derisive sound. "Please, you can do better than—"

"Woman, shut it, or you're not getting anything." 

Desdemona's lip curled slightly. She turned back to Feric with a toothy smile, her fingers brushing along his upper arm. "Did you know that when the Bards of the Northmen begin one of their epics of the old tongue they always start with—"

Everyone jumped in their seats when Inanna leapt to her feet and slammed her fist down on the table, cutting Des off and making the sparse collection of mugs and glasses tremble. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, and she returned the look with a hard one of her own, before filling the unexpected silence.

"Hwaet!" she shouted, "In gear-dagum, tha aethlingas....and that's as much as I remember." There was another, slightly longer silence. Someone across the room burst out laughing. 

Desdemona gestured to the still standing Ina. "Like that. A much better opening." 

Inanna crashed back into the chair and slumped.

"Ok, the plot is thus:" she held her hands out, palm up, as if displaying something for their inspection, "A foreign people are chased into Cyrodil by a group of mercenaries bent on hunting them down. Their motives, those of the mercenaries that is, are unknown but they are persistent...the motives of those hunted is clear and simple, survive, and when able, destroy the force which threatens them."

"Who's our protagonist?"

She gestured to Feric, "Our dashing hero, and leader of his small but stalwart band. Who, while battling the enemy met an equally dashing Dunmer, moi" she spread her arms to indicate herself, "who in turn has decided to help in her usual fashion." 

"Which is what, specifically?"

"You know...the usual. Figure out who the villain is, where they're hanging out, and hold them down while the hero gets their licks in. Oh, and thrashing everyone in need of it along the way, of course."

"Of course. And then, enter not quite as dashing but far more charming bard with the high class connections?"

"Absolument, ma belle."

"Knowledge IS power after all...and I have more than enough to go around. So, do we know who the villain is yet?"

"No. That's problem number one."

"Then this is our first project. A good plot needs a good villain. I wonder if it'll be an interesting twist, or some hackneyed stereotype. Stereotypes are easier...more obvious and there are no pesky moral dilemmas...but twists are more interesting." 

"I really don't care, I just want to make them dead. No dilemma there."

"Oh that's right...you don't do the whole moral ambiguity thing do you. You just pick a side and go."

"This is hardly the time for That conversation, Des."

"Mm, Is it ever the time?"

"Des..."

"Right. Back to the matter at hand." She leaned back in her chair and fingered an errant curl of hair thoughtfully. "How long has this been going on then?" 

"Decades." Feric answered.

"So they, or he, or she has access to a good deal of money. Any leads?"

"Feric and I found one initial: D. I'm waiting for word from the guild which might give us more information. Should be any minute now." 

"I'm going to bet whoever it is will have at least a contact in the Imperial city, if not a base. It's a centralized position with access to all the resources a growing plot needs. I'll go there first. Do you have anything set up at your own base of operations?"

"What sort of things?"

"I don't know: wards, traps, teleports, communication orbs..."

"Ah, we're sort of low tech...wait, teleports?"

"They're the newest fad back on the Azure Coast, a little tricky to set up, but the convenience! You know, you never did know how to take advantage of that sort of thing. You always just strong arm your way through a caper. Well, it doesn't matter, we can fix all that. I've picked up more than a few helpful tricks over the last few years." She turned and smiled at Feric, "With your permission of course Sera." Before he could answer she turned to the Khajiit next to her, "What do you think?"

"I think, Muthsera, that it might be helpful for me to precede you as your servant and set up a household fit for a Retainer of House Telvanni. Of course there will be some talk..."

"Hmm, yes, but when they do talk, make it Oathman rather than Retainer...I think I've earned the promotion, don't you?" She winked and the Khajiit chuckled and bowed his head obligingly. 

"As my lady wishes. I shall leave tomorrow morning. This will give me ample time to make arrangements as you prepare yourself here." He paused then stroked his furry cheek with the back of one hand. "In fact, if you don't mind, I think I shall pay the outfitters a visit right now, before they close for the night." He stood and bowed to the table as he left. 

"So, does the Imperial city sound like a plan to you Ina?"

"I had been thinking it would be a good place for you to start."

Feric cleared his throat and flicked his eyes toward the Orcs, two of which were sauntering over. The boss was still leaning casually at the bar, but Feric could see he was watching closely out of the corner of his eye: watching and waiting. He could feel the small hairs on his neck raise in response, and the beginnings of a rumbling growl vibrating silently in his chest. He knew from their swagger that this wasn't going to end well if he didn't establish the ranking system, and quickly. But there were too many of them, and though he knew Ina was good for a fight, he doubted the bard would be...and he couldn't tell with the other Dunmer. That left him with very few options. 

Besides, that wasn't what needed to happen. He could tell without even looking that they were eying him, not the others. He was the outsider and the new threat, and this was a size up. But he wasn't about to let flunkies do the sizing, that would be mistake number one. He would just have to get rid of them in order to get to their leader....but how? He felt them looming before they spoke, but said and did nothing, even as all eyes were darting toward the newcomers.

"How's our favorite little dark elf tonight?" The one who hadn't spoken chuckled. It was a dry raspy sound, like he'd been punched one too many times in the throat. 

His voice increased that impression when he did speak. "Yeah, sugar. Why don't you bring your pretty Breton friend over to the bar for a few drinks?" Feric noticed the Dunmer sitting across from him raised a brow, but for the most part looked neutral and unconcerned, even smiling faintly.

"Gentlemen." Ina's cousin smoothed dryly, his voice also gravelly though more in the way that Ina's was, like rasping quicksand. "While I commend your taste," he continued, "it's very unkind of you to deprive us of our company. Perhaps you would be so kind as to join us instead?" 

"I don't think so. Come on girl, maybe you can give us a little dance or two." 

Ina smirked and was about to tell them 'some other time' when she noticed Feric's hand had formed a fist, and that he was slowly rising from his chair to turn and face them. His expression was stony, and she was filled her with uncharacteristic apprehension. Uncharacteristic for her, that is.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



She watched as he eyed both of the taller males. He maintained eye contact with the larger of the two, the one who'd last spoken, but tipped his head toward her. "Ladies, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some air." 

The two Orcs laughed as he left, and she watched his back with a confused frown. None of this seemed like him. First of all, he usually let this kind of stuff roll off his back...but then, he had been sizing them up since the moment he walked in. The Orcs clearly thought he'd backed down and tucked tail. That was 'what the hell' number two. She'd never seen him tuck tail, and frankly, wasn't even sure he was any more capable of it than she was. So what was he up to?

"Looks like the pretty-boy knows a real man when he sees one. Cowardly son of a bitch." 

Ina bit the inside of her cheek and wondered where the softest spot of the Orc's skull was, and how well her fist would fit there. Des turned in her chair and propped her elbow up on the back of it. "Do you have something against pretty people?" She smiled winsomely up at them. 

"Not if they're you, sugar."

"How charming. I suppose now you're going to tell us what a real man like Yourself can do for a pretty lady like Myself?"

"How 'bout I do you one better, take you upstairs, and show you."

"Well, as tempting an offer as that is, I'm afraid my party is presently engaged in the revivifying of those indissoluble yet still fragile bonds of friendship, which tested by time and distance have suffered through misuse and now must needs have the gentle salve of quite and intimacy."

They stared.

"Bard." Ina offered with the same dry tone she'd used with Feric. Their expression cleared somewhat. "She means to say, we're old war buddies and need a little while to catch up before we let down our hair. Maybe in a bit, eh?"

They grunted, somewhat satisfied with the explanation, and she knew with the fact that they'd scared off the biggest male. They returned to their fold with little more than a repetition of the invite and a suggestive leer or two. 

"I wish you wouldn't do that." Ina muttered once they were out of ear-shot.

"I just like hearing you intone the title of my profession as if it were some incurable disease."

"Isn't it?"

"I would have thought after all these years the two of you would have stopped bickering like an old married couple." Her cousin offered with a faint smirk as he brought his cup to his lips. They both glared. Then Des smiled, her expression changing so suddenly that it bordered on unnerving.

"I do wonder how we'll get on now that we don't have to rein it in for the sake of the children."

Inanna had to chuckle at that. "Yes, well, Feric's got enough little kids around to take care of that."

"A single father? How adorable."

Ina winced, glad Feric had left. "Eh...I don't think that's the word for it. But, yes and no. The group he's trying to protect is his family— his sister has two little ones, and there's a few more they've picked up along the way. His own daughter is pretty much grown."

"I take it he lost his wife to these hunters?"

"Yes, they've all lost most, if not all, of their family to them."

"How sad." Murmured Hassour.

"Indeed." Des agreed. "How did you come to get tangled up in it?"

"Randomly. I was out ruin-raiding for a client and he happened to be fighting with the hunters in the surface area of the ruins. I gave them the tip of my bow, but one of them got antsy and fired at me anyway. So I fired back and in a matter of seconds I was suddenly on a side. Not that I'm unhappy with the side I ended up on. Given the choice I would have picked it anyway...definitely the more interesting of the two." 

Feric returned a moment later with the same flinty expression as before, except Ina could help but notice the added glint in his eye as well. Des had started in with the Telvanni gossip, which Hassour seemed to find fascinating, but Inanna was too distracted by whatever was going on with Feric to pay her any attention.

It was as if he were...waiting for something.

And then it happened. The drunk, who'd been propped up outside, burst in through the door, shouting 'fire'. And not just any fire...the Orum gang's house. Ina's eyes shot to Feric. There was that glint again. 

"Door." He growled under his breath. It was all he said before he was on his feet and moving in the opposite direction of the Orcs, who were all vacating into the street. All but one that is...the one Feric was now standing in front of in order to physically block his escape. 

Door! She jumped to her feet and got the bar up in record time. It was heavy...but that was good. Orcs were strong, and she could hear their angry voices on the other side of the thick wood slats. His back was to her, so she couldn't see if he was saying anything, and the Orc's face gave nothing away, though she thought she saw his hand twitch...which was a very very bad thing, considering his rumored skills with magic.

Unfortunately she was right about the 'badness,' and the hand twitched again. She gasped and only got half a warning out before both men were both suddenly moving. Feric lashed out, almost too fast to see, grabbing and twisting the larger Orc, and propelling them both down to the ground, hard. The people still inside the bar all froze where they were, watching in fascinated horror as the two went down. 

The warlock twisted his hands with another spell. 

It must have been weak. Feric only grunted as he absorbed it, whatever it was, and responded with a quick fist to the temple as he got on top of the Orc. She could see Des concentrating hard in their direction, her lips still moving as if in silent prayer. 'Silent' was a good word for it since whatever she was incanting was probably helping to stifle the Warlock's abilities. 

It could also be that Feric, or his people, were somewhat resistant to magica. The strong willed often were. Breton's were notorious for it. She'd like to claim it was the Merish blood lingering in their veins, but you didn't need to be a bard to see the flaw in that logic. Altmer were notoriously vulnerable to magic, so while they were great sorcerers, they made for really shitty battlemages....but that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. Right now it was Feric, not some boney Altmer, that she was watching with fearful apprehension as she listened to the angry voices grow louder outside. They were a good deal angrier now that they'd realized all was not as it seemed and that they could no longer get to their leader. 

She was torn between her desire to help, to keep Feric safe, and the knowledge that this was not her game. She'd done this enough to know that unless one knew the whole score, one was to keep their interfering hands to themselves. After all, he'd done the same for her. It was only fair that she played her part and let him do his thing, trusting that he did in fact know what he was doing, even if she hadn't the foggiest. 

Still...it was a little unnerving...but maybe that was only fair as well. Maybe it was a taste of her own medicine. But she was a big girl, she could take it.

Feric had managed to pin the Orc, but his hold wasn't at firm as he'd have liked. He wasn't a small man— he was often taken for a Nord because of his size, even by actual Nords— but no one had the sheer bulk and natural muscle of an Orc. And this one was snarling mad. Understandably so. Feric had informed him, in so many words, that if he was going to size him up, he better do it himself, then he'd proceeded to take the initiative by roughly body slamming him into the well used floorboards.

The Orc growled out a few curses, but finally stilled, his voice a hot snarl, "You're a fucking dead man, you know that?" 

"So you say." he growled back.

"Either way, this comes out badly for you. My brother will be right outside with a welcoming committee. If you get off me now, we'll make it quick...but if you don't I guarantee you'll be begging like the little twat you are for your mama to come make it fucking stop. You understand me?"

"Only if they catch me and I don't get them first. And believe me, I'm a quick bastard when I want to be." He shoved his knee a little harder against his neck, making the Orc grunt from the increased pressure. 

"Now here are your options," he continued, "I ease up, let you throw me off, as rough as you like, and then we go outside like gentlemen, trade black eyes and split lips, and decide to shake on it, being the good sports we are and walk away all the friendlier for it— mutual respect and all that bullshit...or you tell me right now to go straight to fucking Meruhns, and I gut you right here on the floor. 

"Now" He continued, in a slightly lighter tone, "...I like the look of that willowy dark-elf behind that bar, and I think we'd both have a better shot at her if we don't piss her off by making a mess, so I'm personally inclined towards the first option. I'm of a mind that a nice enough piece of tail is worth the occasional," he paused and smirked, "aching jaw...wouldn't you agree?" 

"Who the Fuck do you think you are?" The Orc husked in a murderous whisper. A whisper because his throat was still affected by the knee pressing into it.

Feric darkened his tone again considerably and growled. "Not at all what I appear." Feric concentrated and tried to bring up the shift without actually making the full change, letting the energy of it wash to the surface and surround him like a cloud. 

Ina had said the Orc was a warlock, so Feric figured that he might feel some of what Ina had claimed she did with them when they shifted or brought their will to the surface. Perhaps if he gave him a taste, it might be bluff enough, and they could save the gutting for a less inopportune time. 

"What the fu—what in Oblivion is that supposed to be?" the Orc was gruff, but there was a new edge to his voice. Feric rolled with it.

"You really don't want to find out, friend." 

Inanna squinted at Feric's back, trying and failing to hear what was being said until her attention was pulled away by a familiar Dunmer coming down the stairs, one she recognized as a drug runner who worked for the Orum's. 

He started at the scene, but gathered himself quickly enough, and took the remaining steps three at a time. "Son of a..." 

Near the bottom of the stairs Desdemona appeared, serpentine, and slid herself between the thug and the scene playing itself out on the floor. She smiled that wicked smile of hers and slid her fingers around the low collar of the Mer's jerkin, halting him mid curse. He paused, though probably more from shock that anyone would stop him than anything else.

"Don't worry about them friend, that's just his way of being neighborly. It's a Nord thing...it's how they say hi." Her smile turned a little naughty. "Why don't I show you how we Breton's like to get to know people?" He glared at her, though his expression had soften slightly with his confusion, and Ina watched his face for the tell tale glint of uncertainty she knew would be there soon. Dunmer, like Bretons, were tough to mess with in that way, but Des was a professional, and if this s'wit was just a runner thug, he might not be the sharpest dart in the game. Course, if one wanted to go overboard with their metaphors they might suggest that one couldn't read how a dart would stick until the damn thing was thrown. 

As if complicit with these thoughts, the glazed look Ina was waiting for didn't appear, and instead the fetcher raised a hand to push the 'interfering bitch' out of his way. His own words, of course. Ina would have found it funny if she weren't already so concerned about Feric.

Des didn't let it bother her, and only smiled wider, laying her palm flat on his chest. Ina felt a familiar tingle, and something oily and slippery wriggling around her spine, making her hairs stand on end. In the corner of her eye she caught a few of the men in the room twitch, no doubt since they felt it to. The Mer finally got that look, like a lost puppy, and it was plain to anyone who was looking that he was right fucked up in the head at the moment. He looked down at the smiling woman, with that lost look and blinked, suddenly 'coming to his senses' about just what he was looking at. The wet, red, parted lips, and smoky, lust filled eyes gazing back up at him changed his tune quick enough. It was, after all, the universal signal for 'take me now big daddy,' and the way Des applied it, there was surely a few darker promises held in those emerald greens of hers.

Inanna flicked her tongue against the back of her teeth in response to the taste that was now lingering in her mouth. Something floral...and far too sweet. She hated it when Des had to lay it on thick like that. It was so obvious...and it left an odd taste in her mouth...literally. She let her eyes dart around the room and noticed the overall vibe has eased as a number of patrons mistook the slithering around their spine and the honeysuckle smell for warm fuzzy feelings in their 'nethers.' The other half were also shifting, but more in curious discomfort as they were distracted from the men on the floor and looked about, consciously or not, for the source of that discomfort. 

"Let my buy you a drink." Des murmured with a voice that matched the smoke in her eyes, pressing herself a little closer, "What's your poison, Sera?"

Ina didn't pay enough attention to hear his response. Feric had quit whispering whatever he was going to whisper and his body shifted oddly, making her frown deepen. He'd just opened himself up, and Magub took the opening and fairly tossed the man across the room. Everyone's attention snapped back to the fight. Even the Dunmer thug was brought out of his daze, though he made no move to get out from under Des's soothing touch, which had slid up to the back of his neck as they both turned to watch. 

Feric got up...slowly, as if the trip had rung his bell some. Inanna's frown deepened. Not because she was worried...but because it was a show. It was a pretty good show...but her gut told her it was just that. The problem was she wasn't certain what it was for. He'd played it tough to start...now this...was this to lure him in? If it wasn't, then it was a reeeeally bad idea to play it weak in front of these guys. They respected guts and steel, and that was it. Most Orc's did, and those that made a living the way these fellows did, were going to be that much more in love with it. 

She licked her lips and called the fire to her finger tips...just in case, keeping one eye on Des, who was getting odd looks from a couple of savy and unimpressed Dunmer in the corner, and the other on Feric. He was now boldly swaggering to his feet, grinning. His tongue darted to the corner of his mouth, as if licking at invisible blood. He was looking oddly triumphant for some one who just pretended to get their ass handed to them. His eyes positively glowed, shining down on his challenger like a watchman's lantern.

"So," he growled through his grin, "are we going to take this outside and spare the..." he paused to cast those brilliant eyes on Dervera who was still behind the bar, her visible hand still wrapped around the bottle she'd been pouring from when the fire call went up, and graced her with that Des-rivaling smile of his before continuing, "...charming proprietress having to spend the better part of the evening scrubbing our blood out of the floor boards?"

Magub had also gotten to his feet and gave Feric a dark smile. "Fuck that."

A shift came over Feric. His eyes hardened, and his body relaxed. Last time she'd seen that look in his eyes, he still had blood dripping from his fangs. 'Damn it all to oblivion,' she thought, already calculating how long it would take before the rest of the gang broke down the door, and whether or not she'd first be able to get across the room and kill the thug, and possibly two other shifty, opportunistic fetchers eying the situation from the corner with anxious, and sharp looks. Illusion spells were fine and dandy, but they were delicate as hell. A loud enough noise'll wake almost anyone up, and Feric ripping his buddy in half would no doubt make a pretty hefty-fetching mental din, loud enough to break even a solid spell.

The Orc laughed and dusted his coat off. "This god-damned jacket is brand-fucking new. I'm not about to wreck it rolling around in the piss and mud. Not like that drunk-ass fetcher whose head I'm going to rip off if that house isn't burnt to the god-damned ground."

"If you want to rip off heads, mine's the one you want...he called out on my dollar." Every face turned to look at Feric. He smiled mildly and shrugged...though his eyes still held, hard and steady. "You know what they say about dividing and conquering...thought it was worth a go." 

"Clever mother-fucker, aren't you."

"I aim to please." He drawled back.

The Orc laughed again. "What's your line?"

Feric straightened at the same moment Ina slowed the fire coursing through her limbs, shaking out her numbing fingers. In the corner of her eye she saw the still busy Des cock a brow at her. 

Ina had worked with Des long enough that she could feel her magic, and knew it for what it was...and even recognized when the influence of certain Daedra was flavoring it. But that table turned both ways, and the knowing look Desdemona was shooting her was hard to ignore. 

Feric held out a hand to the gangster, "My line? Perpendicular to yours at the moment, but you never know when a man will hit upon a new angle." Gro-Orum took the offered hand in his fat green mitt. 

They released from the shake and the Orc turned up his lip in a sneer. "You ain't with the god-damned legion are you?"

"No."

"Good. Then buy me a fucking drink to make up for the damned crick you put in my neck," he turned to the bar and ordered two drinks with a wave of his hand, indicating that they were on Feric's tab, "but don't be mistaken about what just happened here." Gro-Orum cast a dark, sideways look back in Feric's direction. He only nodded, then turned and winked at the Dervera, causing the Dunmer woman to turn a fraction of a shade darker. 

Inanna pursed her lips at the back of his head and he threw her a barely there nod over his shoulder. She sighed and sidestepped slowly to the right, throwing off the bar holding the door closed. It went down easier than it went up.

She leaned, leg up, against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. Des wisely took her hand from the entranced Mer as the remainder of the gang came barreling in, only to find their boss and the 'pretty sonofabitch' standing at the bar together. There was a moment of confusion as their anger wavered, directionless. Orum raised a hand to pause them, adding to their confusion when he spoke. "I know there was no fire. It was this one who called it...so leave the drunk to piss hi'self in the street as he's wont to do."

Desdemona insinuated herself into the group of confused Orcs. "There appears to have been reconciliation." She smiled and shrugged, then raised her voice. "And as I am so very fond of diplomacy, I'd like to celebrate the lack of blood and property damage by calling for the next round... on me...." She swayed to the bar and put herself between Feric and the Orc boss and gave the room THE naughty smile. The killer smile to end all killer smiles. "Not literally of course, unless you're very good boys." she added. 

The room relaxed and those with glasses chuckled and lifted them towards Des. Both men grinned down at her, and she graced one with a wink and the other with a bit of barely concealed smolder. 

The air turned sickly sweet again, heavy with some indeterminate floral scent, and Inanna decided it was her turn to need air. As she moved to go she realized that Hassour hadn't budged from his seat, and was leaned back in his chair in the same relaxed manner he always had. Unlike the rest of the room, his eyes were on her. His stoic expression told her nothing about what was rolling around in that slippery head of his. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



It was a look she should know...but she hadn't seen it in a long damned while. In that moment it was never so apparent to her how long she'd been away from Vardenfell. Was she getting soft out here? Prick. She stuck her tongue out at him, and the corners of his lips curved slightly upward, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking even if she couldn't reciprocate. That just pissed her off more. 

The door was weighted, and drifted slowly behind her as she left, denying her the satisfaction of a nice loud bang. 

There was a familiar Orc standing in the mud out front with a terrified Dunmer caught by the scruff in one of his meaty paws. He eyed her suspiciously but nodded in recognition. She nodded back.

"You can let the song bird go, Bazur. They came to terms inside and there's a round being poured out that you might want to get in on." He didn't move. "I'm not messing with you. Your boss said he could go." She smirked. "Besides, that poor bastard will be around if you change your mind in five." He paused another moment, then shrugged and released the drunk to his own legs...which faltered immediately. Inanna grabbed his arm and pulled him over to be propped against the wall beside her. When the door had shut completely behind the Orc, she roughly patted the Mer's face. "Hey, come on..." He looked at her dazedly and she held up two fingers and pointed them at herself, indicating that he look her in the eye. He did, but with some difficulty. She opened his palm a slapped a couple of coins in his hand and closed his fist around them. He frowned at her.

"I ai..ain't...I'm not a beggar...you know. I don't want your--"

"Shut up, babe." She interrupted gently. "You take that to your friend...Llevara...or whatever her name is."

"Llevana?"

"Yeah, her. I owe her. Tell her I told her I sent you to pay for it for me. Got it?" He looked down at his hand and nodded. "She'll wanna do what's right by a messenger, you hear? Like we do back home. You're not going to be rude and deny her what's proper are you? Don't want her insulting me by not taking care of my messenger." The poor fetcher's story was a sad one...one of those fellows who go and lose someone close and just can't take it for some reason. They start drinking, hard drinking, and that's the beginning of the end of the story. It's a common story in the empire...less so at home. But, as the impersonal and centralized imperial mindset expands to the outer reaches of the empire...it spreads other problems as well.

"C-course not."

"Course not." She slapped his shoulder. "Go on with you." He turned and she called out after him. "I hope those s'wit let up on you sera. Keep off the street and don't give the fetcher's the excuse." He paused at that last remark and turned to look at her from the middle of the street. His shoulders tightened.

"Which fetchers do you mean?" He looked suddenly clear headed...and there was a dark look in his eyes. 

"All of them."

"Muthsera." He graveled with a nod, and turned back into the cool of the evening. Inside the Inn the clear, staccato notes of a Vardenfell lute rang out. The Inn keeper kept one handy behind the bar, as any Dunmer tavern owner must. That, at least, was right and proper. Inanna leaned back against the plaster wall of the Inn and smiled as she watched a troupe of noisy gallants exit the high class joint across the way. One of the youngsters paused long enough to give her a passing, disdainful glance, but for the most part they took their way without noticing anything but their own magnificent persons. She leered back at the one who'd sneered in her direction and winked at the youth. He looked quickly away, tugging and straightening one of his silky looking sleeves.

The door opened beside her and she declined to look, opting to watch the play knights as they strode off toward conquest and glory...or more booze money from daddy. You could never tell with those boys. 

"Who are they then?" A soft, voice graveled from her left. 

"The Count's son and his entourage. Flowers of knighthood all." She added dryly. 

"Hm." 

She blinked and there was suddenly a Hack-lo leaf cigar before her face, held aloft by long, dark fingers. She did smile at that and turned her head towards Hassour. "You're a sweet fellow, you know that."

"I brought them for you."

"You remembered."

"Of course. I was going to save them until you invited me to your house...but it sounds like you'll be busy for the next few days...and you looked like you could use one now." She plucked it out of his hand and ran her fingers along the length.

"Nice. Whose are they?"

"Ahemmussa tribe."

She shrugged. "Well at least they do something right."

He chuckled. "Be kind. They're good for my business." He pulled out another cigar and bit the tip off, turning away to spit out the end.

"I bet. The sell outs."

"You should talk." He lit the end with one of his fingers, making her chuckle. He pointed it in her direction with a wink. "May I?" 

She slid the cigar under the edge of her leather cuirass and shook her head. "No offense meant, I'm thrilled you brought these, but I don't think I've the stomach for them. Something's off with me, and I find the thought of smoking this right now makes me feel a bit queer."

He raised an angular brow at her, causing the lines of his tattoos to shift in interesting ways. "Would you like me to put mine out?"

"Oh no...I love the smell, makes me nostalgic. I seem to have lost my taste for a number of things lately. But I'm sure it'll pass. No doubt it's the hormones playing havoc with my inside bits. They've been doing a real number on me."

He grunted. "Nirai makes me cook trama root in bittergreens. Says she craves it. It's worse when she's pregnant...she starts mixing scrib jelly with it...raw."

"Ew."

"It's repulsive. But when a waste witch tells you to jump..."

She chuckled and took his arm. "Come my well whipped friend, let us take a constitutional, and you may smoke and tell me of your Ashland love." He smirked but obligingly folded her arm over his.

"I'd be delighted, Muthsera."

"Let's make our way castle-ward tonight." she pointed her free arm towards the high arch of the castle courtyard, its towers only partially and intermittently visible in the growing mist. Dusk and dawn alike saw a good deal of fog in this city, and as the air became suddenly cooler with the setting of sun, so the air would stir and thicken. 

"Rain stirred mud, is rain stirred mud, my dear, the direction it lay in makes no difference to me."

"Ah, but this is most certainly a better quality of mud, it's courtly mud, you see." At that moment an attractive Dunmer woman in fine green velvet crossed the way ahead of them, keeping to the grassier areas and thus out of said mud. 

"So you say." He murmured, his eyes briefly darting after the light-footed figure.

"Court mage. Highest paid official in the city after the count...at least on the books. Recently admitted to me a longing for the alchemy of the ancestral lands...and the rare ingredients which might be imported from thereabouts." she offered, causing his fleeting glance to turn more fully on the retreating figure. For the briefest of moments she caught a flashing glimpse of the turning wheels behind his eyes.

"Hm." He replied indifferently and turned a bored gaze on a flower covered gazebo to their right. "That's a handsome little alcove."

She sighed happily and leaned on her cousin's arm. "It is indeed, Muthsera. It is indeed." Morrowind: sometimes she still got a pang or two.

**

Feric noticed Inanna leave, and would have preferred to be out in the quite of twilight with her, but he was still trying to finesse the situation with the Orc, and Desdemona wasn't making it any easier. She kept them in conversation much longer than he would have liked. By the time he was able to extricate himself, the other Dunmer, Hassour, had returned, and Inanna was no longer with him. 

When Feric gave him a quizzical look, he shook his head and automatically answered his unspoken question, "We walked for a while, but she said that she needed to clear her head, and went for a run." 

They both returned to the table, but neither spoke. Hassour didn't seem to feel the need and Feric couldn't think of anything to say. He was too busy contemplating whether he should go after her, or simply let her blow off steam her own way. 

"Play another one!" someone called out, and there was light feminine laughter somewhere behind him. 

"I need a moment. Hassour, why don't you regale us with some of your Ashland poetry?"

"I'm sure it wouldn't be to most people's taste."

"Nonsense. Come let's hear something new." 

He looked at her a minute, then raised his hand, gesturing that she give him the instrument she held in her hands.

"Fine, I'll play one new of mine, and one somewhat new, from another." He took the instrument and though the Orcs were still loud in their corner and oblivious, everyone else turned to watch, including Feric.

Desdemona settled next to him. "You can't claim the name of Ashlander if you aren't a poet at heart. They have a surprising flair for the dramatic when they want to."

As if in reply to her words the Dunmer ran his fingers up along the unusually long instrument, and pulled a sound from it which was very much like a cry of anguish. The room suddenly became quite, and Desdemona looked supremely pleased, and not a little smug, as if she'd been expecting the response and was happy to be proved right. 

The next note warbled from a whine to a groan and back again. It wasn't anything he'd heard before, and it wasn't 'pretty' as one expected music to be...but it was arresting. The continued silence proved as much. 

When he added words, Dunmeri words, Feric couldn't help but be reminded of Inanna. There was that rolling, undulating gravel which echoed in her quicksand voice, and her smooth rolling undertones. That language, punctuated as it was by the sometimes soft, sometimes sharp twang and groan of the strings shuddered down his spine. His mind conjured red eyes flashing at the other end of a drawn arrow, how they had burnt with the fury of the fight, and a split second later, flashed with recognition and curiosity. He recognized her in the music, and wondered if it wasn't something that all Ashlanders shared: that quick movement from body to mind, from ferocity to playfulness...and back again.

The words died off, only to pick up again, this time in Imperial.

"There are voices here in the storm:

faces here in the shifting black sands. 

Some say they are the lost souls:

the demon ghosts of the lost people.

But I can only hear your voice.

I can only see your smile.

And I wish I were these baked sands

polished hard and smooth

to be your mirror so that you 

would always gaze upon me.

I wish I were the red wind

to wrap myself around you

or the rain that washes your body

to trace the cutting line of your cheek.

I wish I were the gray ash

that I could kiss your feet

and feel your full weight upon me."

A murmur and light applause rose up. Even the Orcs seemed respectful enough. Though, one muttered something about "Girl stuff," and loudly enough for it to reach the table.

That brought a slight twitch to the Mer's lips and a glint of humor to his eye. "Well, I can't argue with that," he murmured with a chuckle. He glanced at Feric, "Would you like to hear one of Inanna's? She's given me license to play them." He added quickly as if someone might object.

"I...yes." He would, actually, but it surprised him. "Hers...as in, she made it?"

"Yes. We both share a passion for Ashland poetry...I suppose it is something that keeps us Velothi tied to our roots."

"Velothi?"

"The homeless, house-less Dunmer. There are more of us than one would suppose." He didn't add to that, but returned to the instrument, this time somewhat less dramatically. It still had that heart tugging moan to it, but there seemed to be more melody this time, and the words seemed more like an unending and rolling wave, so that it became unclear where one statement began and another ended. This time, however, he did not repeat it in common. When he finished, he turned back to Feric with that same small smile he had before. 

"Aren't you going to translate for the plebs, darling?" Des asked with a smile.

"I would if I could Muthsera, but the words belong to another." He paused and turned to the room at large, "So you will have to make Inanna sing if for you again if you want to know what it means." He chuckled and handed the instrument back to Des.

"Did you like it?" Feric asked her conversationally.

"Certainly, though it's a bit melodramatic for my tastes...but that's Inanna for you. Has she given you any of her Daedric speeches yet?"

"Daedric speeches?"

"Yes. I've heard at least half a dozen, though my personal favorite is the one about Boethia—"

"Oh yes," Hassour interrupted with a chuckle, "the one about the joys of hand to hand combat? I'm partial to the one which posits our race as the mortal acolytes of Azura myself. The bit about the winged twilight only really applies to women, but the notion is amusing."

"I think I may have heard that one..." Feric muttered with a frown, remembering the night she'd chewed him out before they'd reached the hunter's base at Wariel. "Those are 'staged' then?"

"Well not in so many words." Des tapped her chin, "They're rather 'performative,' and are similar in the retelling—"

"—But she means every word." Hassour finished. "I've noticed that they usually come out when she's worked up about something..."

"Her way of explaining the world to herself again, focusing on what makes sense, in order to tune out the shifting, mutable din that is existence. Or at least that's the answer I came up for the phenomena."

"She has a very good one on Hircine, the hunter." Hassour added.

"Oh? I haven't heard that one...She usually gives me the Sanguine lecture." She made a sour face at that.

"Isn't he the Daedra associated with lechery?" Feric asked, with a half smile.

"No, well yes, but not only...and just because something is sensual or sexual doesn't make it lecherous thank you very much."

The Dunmer chuckled. "Do I detect a defensive note, Muthsera?"

"Hush. Both of you. Where is our 'dark lady' anyway?"

"Out running apparently." Feric answered. "I think I might just go see if I can't find her." He stood and held out a hand to Hassour who accepted it, then to Desdemona, bowing slightly. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you. Till next time."

"A clear evening to you, Feric. If I don't see you before I leave, then it was good to meet you as well. "

"Sweet dreams, darling. Ta."

"Goodnight to you both."

**

The air was unseasonably cool, outside the walls of the city as well as within. More so without as there was no added warmth provided by the clusters of buildings, each adding their own fractional share of heat. Inside or out, the same shifting mist flowed over the low, damp earth, obscuring the path even as the growing moonlight attempted to illuminate it. It was a valiant effort...but ultimately unnecessary, at least for him.

Even in this form Feric had heightened senses and could have tracked her easily, but that wasn't necessary either. He had caught her scent and noticed the Inanna sized footprints in the soft moss as she broke off of the road and headed north, but that little tugging at the back of his brain already had him moving toward her, and these signs were only the physical confirmation of what he already knew. 

Not far from the city, a little way beyond the ruins of another ancient fort which looked down on the city from a small hill, he found and followed the undulating spine of another, higher ridge. The trees were fewer here, and those that remained were the gnarled and brave sort who made an art of clinging to the rocky side of cliffs and mountains. The mists were gone as well, unable to make the climb as the twisted fir and pine had...and the occasional, especially daring, cedar. 

He couldn't help but notice, as he followed the scant path, that one such cedar was a favorite with the local wild life and bore the scars to prove it. The top half had a few telling bald patches, likely from black bears. The lower half had been made a claw sharpener for the small cats in the area, who weren't usually much bigger than a large wolf. These northern wild cats, unlike their southern cousins, were solitary creatures. The fact that there were multiple scents on the tree meant that this was a boarder region between territories. Neutral ground.

Not far from the communal tree, he spotted her.

She was sitting a ways along the ridge, overlooking a narrow valley, at the bottom of which lay a winding network of small lakes and pools. Below, the mists continued to rise off the surface of the waters and here and there the eerie glitter of flitting willow wisps flickered blue and white through the swirling grey. 

He caught her in profile, sitting much as she had been that night by the waterfall, after she'd pulled herself naked from the water. 

Her arms were wrapped around her long legs, and her body leaned forward against her thighs, only this time she was dressed. Though, to be honest, her slim legs where more than appealing, regardless of whether they were naked or wrapped in studded leather. She'd shucked her usual leather up top and was wearing instead a light sleeveless thing...no doubt the silk she wore under her armor. Apparently it was a common trick in Morrowind to wear silk beneath leather, though not for the luxury of the thing...it just made pulling arrow and spear heads out of your body that much easier.

Her hair was pulled up as well, into a messy knot at the back of her head, leaving a few strands to trail down as they list. He knew that too was pragmatic, no doubt to keep her hair off her neck as she ran, but the image it created was no less appealing for it. Just as the way the silk folded around her, and the way the worn leather shaped itself to her curves. It brought a purr to his throat every time he let himself pay attention to it.

He didn't feel completely free to enjoy the view, however. Something about her seemed off. Her head was bent forward, and her forehead was resting on her knees. He could see her eyes were open, and staring sightlessly. There was something forlorn and sad about the posture and it concerned him to see her like that. 

He needn't have worried. When her head rose, the eyes that met his were calm. She smiled softly and held out a hand in welcome, indicating with a wave that he join her.

He smiled back and made his way toward the tree she was leaning against.

"What brings you out here, handsome?"

"Just looking for you."

"Anything wrong?"

"Nothing new."

"Hm." She patted the ground next to her and stretched out her legs. It gave him an idea.

He sat, but turned and leaned back with his hands behind his head until it was resting in her lap. She blinked at him, then laughed lightly. He grinned, satisfied that he'd gotten the reaction he wanted, and refolded his hands over his stomach, allowing his head to rest fully in her lap. She grinned sideways at him a while, but made no attempt to shove him off.

"Aren't we suddenly comfortable?" She chuckled.

"Very."

"Feeling like the big dog, and now you want to mark your territory?"

"Excuse me? Dog?"

She laughed again. "Alright bad analogy, but you know what I mean."

He grunted and closed his eyes as her stomach trembled with silent laughter. "I've marked you plenty. And it's gotten me in enough trouble." He grumbled under his breath. Fingers brushed against his temple, and slid lightly into his hair. "That feels good." He opened his eyes to find shining rubies looking back into his. "You have beautiful eyes." She was still smiling that small, soft smile.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



"They're red...it's not usually the preferred color for eyes."

"I like red." Her smile widened

"And I like green."

He slid his hand up to wrap back around her waist and hips. "Thanks, Red."

"You're welcome, Green." 

He pressed the small of her back with his hand and she accepted the invitation and leaned forward to brush her lips against his, but left it at that and pulled away to lean back against the tree with a chuckle of her own.

"Hassour sang one of your songs, er, poems, for us after you left."

"Oh yes? Which one?"

"I don't know. He didn't translate it for us so I couldn't understand it."

"Well that was pointless of him."

"No....not pointless. I like the way it sounded...I just didn't know what it meant."

"Sounded?"

"You know, the...rhythm, or beat, or meter or whatever you call it....I don't know anything about poems or music."

"You seem to know plenty. All you really need to know is what you like. What did you like?"

"Well that's the thing, I don't know enough to know the word for it. The...pulse of it. I guess." He smiled helplessly.

"The pulse of it. I think that's lovely. 'This is the pulse of my song...' May I steal it?"

He laughed. "I don't know what you're stealing, but it's yours." He sobered again. "It sounded like waves...it just sort of...rolled on." He tried to hum a few lines, but it didn't sound right without the words. She closed her eyes and sighed. And then the words..the ones he could hear in his mind but couldn't speak, came rolling off her tongue. It sounded so, so, so much better in her voice. 

She paused after only a handful of words and opened her eyes down into his. "Yes," he murmured, "that one."

"Who are you?" she began again after another brief pause, but this time spoke more slowly, almost haltingly, "Dark Queen, subtle prince.... eyes like nightshade— no earthly petal so rich in color, so bright with dew... glittering in the broken starlight. Flesh, not flesh, that shines like the glistening pearl, waiting deep beneath the rocking seas for daring mortal fingers, wanting to touch, but...fearful of the dangers which lurk in the darkness." she paused, her brow crinkling, "The cloth of your robe shifts, as mist over the distant sky, revealing and obscuring. A fabric woven by your own knowing fingers, a fabric which...makes and unmakes its own meaning, a new...sign for every eye. Like silk when you grasp it in your hands and twist it beneath the moon."

There was a moment of silence where he stared up at her, hardly daring to breath, and where she sat staring out into the night, her fingers unmoving, but still threaded through his hair. Her eyes turned back to his, and her parted red lips parted wider into a toothy grin. "I can't tell if I like how it sounds in common...I've never tried to translate it...I don't think it was very good." Her fingers began to move again, her nails dragging lightly against his scalp in a way that both relaxed and excited him. 

"Half the point was the...pulse, as you put it. The way the words move together. The whole effect is lost when you translate it, and not all the words carry over in the same way."

"Is it about you?"

She started at that, looking genuinely surprised. "Me?" she laughed, "No, not at all. It's a rather common place sort of poem, one dedicated to the mysteries of Azura. They're a septim a dozen in the Ashlands. We all have one or two on hand." She leaned back and that soft smile returned and her eyes closed with a contented sigh. "She's a Daedra of secrets and mysteries, of twilight: painfully beautiful, always so close and yet unattainable. You think you have it all figured out, and then bam, she turns it all back on its head. It is one of the lessons we learn as children. That she is in her own way the very definition of understanding, of meaning. After all, how can we hope to fully understand anything, how can we hope to know what anything means, when everything comes to us in fragments, hints, and half-truths...and yet we never stop searching, hoping that one day all will suddenly be revealed."

"Fascinating. You're sure it's not about you?" He grinned up at her when she poked him hard in the shoulder.

"It is fascinating, isn't it? I find the Daedra endlessly interesting...at least in theory."

He smiled at that, thinking back to what Des and Hassour had said about her lectures on the subject. But he hadn't been referring to the Daedra.

Her expression shifted and her lips curved into a playful smile as she cracked an eye at him, "Why? What was your interpretation?"

He smiled back. "Clearly it reminded me of you." He shrugged, "I told you, I don't know anything about poems and the like."

"Should I take it as a compliment?"

"If you like."

She chuckled at that, closing her eyes, her face serene. He followed suit, letting the calm of the evening seep into him, letting the caressing fingers sooth him...he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so peaceful, so...happy. 

His eyes snapped open and he frowned.

Inanna must have felt him tense and knew something was wrong before she opened her eyes and saw his frown. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and sat up with his back to her, running a hand brusquely through his hair. 

"Feric, what's wrong?" She repeated softly.

"Nothing. I...I don't know."

"Well what thought arrested you and made you sit up?"

"Thinking about my family."

"Ah."

"That I'm sitting here, feeling...happy, while they suffer."

"And you're not allowed to feel that way." She asserted for him. It wasn't a question or accusation. Just a statement of fact.

"Something like that." He felt her shift behind him, and tensed as her slender arms slid around his chest, and as her warm body pressed against his back. He waited for the inevitable lecture on why it was foolish to feel that way, but it never came. 

Slowly he relaxed into the embrace...not completely, but enough for her to nuzzle the back of his neck. He could feel her there...not just her body...but her... the red essence of her. It felt slower...calmer. It was hard to describe that essence, but he knew it when he felt it. It was dark, and hot, and alive...but it didn't have its usual intensity. Usually it felt like blood pounding through your veins, in the heat of a battle, or in that charged moment just before one made that final leap toward their prey. Now, instead, it was a slow, hypnotic rhythm...the beating of a sleeping heart.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked softly, her voice low and slow.

"Hmm."

"How did you meet Pern?" 

It was not a question he had been expecting. He was so surprised by it that he answered almost without hesitation. "We pretty much grew up together. She was from another pride, but one close to my own, so we'd known each other for a long time. Since we were very young."

She nuzzled him again, her hand slipping into the folds of his robe to caress the skin beneath. The sensation confused him. But he didn't pull away. "When did you know?"

"Know?"

"That she was the one. Or when did you decide you wanted to be her mate?"

"Ah...well, I'm not sure. I always admired her. I can't think of one moment which stood out...there were so many...she was so..." He trailed off as the tight familiar knot grew heavy in his stomach.

"What? What was she?"

A million images flooded his mind, images he'd been pushing away, hiding, holding back for fear he'd drown in them: a bright, gleaming smile, blue-grey eyes, so dark when she was angry, like storm clouds announcing the coming tempest. Laughing and fearless, taunting and sardonic, kind and sincere...she was so many things...she was gone. He rubbed his hand across his eyes as if to erase the images, but they remained etched onto the backs of his eyelids, each one a reopened wound.

He sighed deeply and clenched his jaw. "Incredible." He swallowed hard, but for some reason pushed on. "Powerful...beautiful..." he smiled sadly, "a smart ass...like Mirisa, but more lighthearted, happier....but then Mirisa was happier then too." He stopped there. That was as much as he could say before the sick feeling became too much to bear.

"Tell me about when Aina was born." He was glad for the shift in topic, so he did. And he kept talking, and she kept asking questions, and slowly...slowly...the words came out a little faster, a little easier...just as painful, but still they came. He had no idea how long they'd sat there like that, with him talking, and her arms wrapped around him, and her body pressed against his back, but when he began to run out of words, both of the moons were well into sky.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, "Uncomfortable?"

"God, yes."

He chuckled and turned, wincing as his body protested. He extricated himself and pulled them both to their feet. He was a lot more tired than the hour, however late, warranted, so he made no protest or comment when she led them back to the city and then to her house. He was awake enough to note the layout of her house, and the few things that stuck out to him as interesting: An unusual shield hung over the fireplace, a low table and pillows in front of it, the large ornate desk in the corner by the stairs, the pantry...book shelves...bed. 

They both stripped and he watched, still silent, as she crawled under the thick quilt and shuffled over, lifting it to indicate he follow. He did, and she wasted no time in tucking herself against his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. 

It was easy to forget how small she was sometimes. Fragile or delicate weren't words one used to describe her when seeing her in action, but, looking down at her delicate jaw framed with red curling tendrils of hair that fell to brush her slim neck and shoulders, and feeling her small frame in his arms, he felt like he could break her in half. 

"G'nite." She mumbled with a soft sigh.

He smiled and curled around her, tightening his grip. "You're not going to try and seduce me?"

"T'red...'n can't anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Din't kill anyone..."

He chuckled. "Fair enough. Though I'm not sure that's a habit we should be encouraging." He let out his own sigh against the top of her head and closed his eyes. He was still troubled, troubled by his memories, about the future of his people, about the woman who lay breathing so slowly and evenly in his arms...and when sleep came his dreams were no less troubled. 

But, for the briefest moment between reality and dreams, in that nowhere place you can never remember, everything suddenly made sense. 

And then it was gone.

**

Heaven. Wherever those silly humans thought they were going when they died...this must be what it feels like...only heaven is real, heaven is now, and it could be found in moments just...like...this. 

Inanna 'mmm'd happily and wriggled closer, sliding her leg higher up the thick, muscular thigh, and absently running her nails over the slowly rising and falling chest. Heaven was a warm body in an oversized bed. 

No, scratch that. 

Let's be more specific, shall we? Heaven was a large, and incredibly sexy body which smelled like lovely fresh, green things and was exuding a delicious aura of a hot afternoon sun...in an oversized bed. She reached out toward the warm sunshine sensation unconsciously, breathing in deeply as her mind was flooded with its heat...and then with a barrage of unlooked for images. 

It was unexpected and she came to her senses with a soft gasp, her eyes flying open. The last image, beautiful, and innocuous enough, lingered in her vision, like a semi-opaque overlay of reality. Somewhere high, somewhere in the mountains...a meadow....so green and so bright...flowers everywhere...laughter...light and high and...dangerous..."Kynareth" she whispered breathlessly before inhaling deeply and closing her eyes to squeeze the images from them. 

Now that she was fully awake she was able to place that laughter. It sounded like Sprigans. She hated Sprigans, they were to be avoided at all cost...unless you felt like dodging spells and various wild animals as you run your sorry ass back to civilization. They were the servants of Kynareth, the imperial goddess who represented the natural world. So it made a kind of sense that something in Feric might evoke their image. She'd heard Feric mention Kyn once or twice, after all, so there was clearly a connection. They were likely her followers....but maybe it was a deeper connection than she had initially thought. 

She must have been touching his will with her own without realizing it. That thought was the part that didn't make sense and which had her on edge. Normally she'd have to consciously channel it, at least a little, even when the other person was an active and willing participant. And with an unwilling person, it took a good deal of focused concentration. This was almost natural...instinctive. Like a muscle response. She'd been drawn to it, just like she'd been drawn to the other side of the bed...to get closer to the warm body occupying it. 

Weird. 

She drew away and sat up, running a hand through her tangles of hair, and feeling around the sheets for the thin strip of leather she'd used to tie it with. 

She had just climbed over the foot of the bed and was tying her hair back when an odd sound caught her attention and made her freeze, then made her slip to the nearest dresser and feel around in the darkness for something sharp or pointy. Another slight creak...the third stair, it always creaked. She'd been waiting for that sound. She knew it so well because she'd tested every floorboard in the place the day she moved in. Better safe then dead in your sleep. Words to live by if ever there were any. 

"Ina?" 

She stifled a gasp at the sound of her name whispered so close to her ear, and turned her cheek toward the sound.

"How many?" she whispered back, her voice barely louder than a soft breath. A hand came up next to her shoulder with one finger held up. She nodded and held her own hand up, signaling that he stay back. It was only one, but it might be better to have hidden back up if it became necessary...element of surprise and all that. She palmed a dagger and moved silently to the already cracked bedroom door. Feric slipped past her, to the other side, where he would be better hidden in the darkness.

A pale hand appeared in the gap to push it open and Ina snapped out to grab it and wrenched the intruder forward. They let out a startled cry and stumbled forward, only to find themselves wrenched back into a less than gentle choke-hold. It was a man...but smallish. Taller than her, but not much stronger, and he stilled pretty quickly when he felt the knife at his throat.

"Can I help you?" She whispered darkly in his ear.

"I..In...Inanna?"

"Present." She growled.

"I...ah...um...I'm...Armand sent me..." The knife point left his throat, but the forearm remained. The man relaxed and allowed himself to cough before continuing.

"He...he had me tracking the messenger from Wariel." The arm released him then as well and he turned to face her. He was about to continue when he realized what he was looking at. She ignored his open mouthed gape and turned to where she knew Feric was hiding. The room was windowless, and the only light came from what little was filtering in from the hall windows. 

The poor stunned man literally jumped when Feric melted silently out of the shadows and sauntered in all his naked glory past the significantly smaller man in order to fish his robes out from under the bed. 

"So?"

His eyes, which had been nervously following the big naked Nord looking fellow, snapped back to her...though they started straying right off the bat. She sighed and snapped her fingers in front of her breasts. 

"Eyes to the front soldier." He looked up, but only gave her a wonky grin and a shrug. Fine yes, can't blame you, you're only a man, etc. Moving on. "What news?" She prompted, her tone a little sharp since even though he had information she wanted...she didn't like having strange men sneaking into her bedroom at ungodly hours of the morning. Especially after the last one...creepy fetcher.

His eyes darted briefly to Feric. He shrugged again, wisely deciding that if talking in the present company was going to be a problem she never would have suggested it. That's why she liked 'the guild'...they could usually figure these things out on their own without much hand holding, you know, one plus one, and such. Fighters? Eh, not so much. 

Feric cleared his throat and tossed something at her. She realized it was one of her long sleeping shirts as she caught it and grinned at him before pulling it over her head, much to the thief's obvious disappointment. It still didn't leave much to the imagination, but her more interesting bits were covered.

"Well, it didn't take long. A group came back once you were done with them...by the way, that was impressive work. You must be a pretty powerful illusionist to be able to control an animal of that size..."

"Caught the show did you?" She interrupted dryly.

He smirked "Just snippets, but what I saw was pretty entertaining." She only grunted impatiently. "Anyway whatever they found inside had them pretty stirred up and they sent a messenger to the capital almost immediately. Once there I followed him to a jewelers in the market district."

"Red Diamond?"

"Just the one."

"And?"

"Well, whoever picked up the message was real subtle about it. I can give you a description of everyone who entered the place through the front door, but no one jumped out as interesting. I had a friend watch the sewers since the cloak and dagger types—"

" — your type—"

"—tend to prefer coming and going by way of the cellar door. I thought it was Our type."

"I suppose that's accurate on occasion."

"Well, my partner did spot two cloaked figures in the vicinity of the Red Diamond down in the under works. One was wearing red robes, which looked sort of ceremonial...at least that's what she thought, but she lost them pretty quick, and she didn't see them actually go into red diamond itself. She did see another person, your more standard 'don't look at me I'm just a guy in a nondescript cloak' type, who she said actually did come out of the shop, then left the under works in the Elven garden district."

"Hm...pretty easy to get lost there."

"Sadly, yes. Which means that is as much as we can offer at the present. Do you want me to send back any messages to the capitol?"

She frowned, glancing at Feric. "Do we?"

He took a deep breath and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I can't think of anything more to add at this point. Has there been any word circulating about someone hiring freelance fighters or trackers? As hunters perhaps?"

"Freelancers, always...hunters? Not that I know of, but we'll keep an ear open. My partner, Dar'jirra...you know her? She's staying with a friend in the same district and will keep an eye out there, so maybe she'll over hear something in one of the Inns"

Feric frowned. "Dar'jirra? That's...Khajiit, right?"

"Yeah."

Ina watched fascinated as half a dozen different expressions fitted over his features in a little over a second. But he only nodded, and let his features settle into something ambiguously undetermined. The thief hadn't seemed to notice any of this and continued on.

"She'll make for a decent contact there if you need a solid thief." He grinned mawkishly, "Don't worry, she a lot sneakier than I am. Was it the stair, by the way?"

"No, something earlier than that...the stair was confirmation."

He shook his head. "Dammit. Can't sneak a sneak I guess. I'll get out of your hair then. Sorry if I, ah...interrupted...I was told you live alone."

"Normally. Why, hoping for a peek?"

"I got one didn't I? Course I almost lost a few pint of blood for the honor...so it's not something I'm going to try again...I assure you. Pebble at your window next time, my lady?" he grinned with a wink.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



"No, but once your in you can just clear your throat and wait down stairs like a gentleman."

He smirked and saluted. "Aye, aye. See you 'round."

Ina waited until she heard the sound of the door being softly closed then turned to Feric. "Well...that was mildly annoying...but it's a new lead. At least I have something more than D to give Des. Hey, D for Des, hehe, think she did it?" Feric's expression remained neutral. "That was a joke." Still neutral. "Do we need to talk about this?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Well...we're up, and dawn will be along shortly...let's go downstairs and talk."

A few minutes later he had the fire going and she had come back downstairs with a large bowl of random food items. He cocked a brow at her from the fireplace and she just shrugged back. "I suck at cooking." She really did. Balanced on top of the pile of bread and fruit was another bowl, one full of a wet flour paste. There was one thing she could usually make without ruining. She joined him at the fire and shuffled closer with the smaller bowl, pulling out an almost round and very thin stone plate attached to a bone handle. He picked out an apple from the bowl and reclined next to her to watch her work.

"Why do you bother putting it over the fire? Couldn't you just use your own?" He noted as she slid the heated stone back out from under the coals where it had been sitting as they silently watched it. 

"The fire gives it the right flavor. My fire doesn't taste like anything."

"Cinnamon."

"What?" She blinked at him, not sure if he'd just said what she thought he said. He swallowed another bite of apple before answering.

"Cinnamon. It tastes like cinnamon."

She stared. "Cinnamon." He nodded. "My...are you saying my fire is cinnamon flavored?"

He shrugged. "You are...I think part of that is the fire."

She gave him a lopsided gin, the stone momentarily forgotten. "You think I taste like cinnamon."

"You do."

She laughed. "Ok...I have never meant anything more than I mean this: you say the absolutely best things. Ever." She turned away, shaking her head and chuckling over the pan as she poured out a portion of the thin batter working it over the hot stone with the tips of her fingers. "Cinnamon."

"I'm serious." he muttered through another bite of apple. 

"I know. That's what makes it so great. No one has ever told me I had a flavor before though, so it might be in your head."

"No. Definitely cinnamon. I have a better sense of smell than most, clearly." She looked up and grinned at him again before tossing a floppy disk of cooked batter onto his lap. He lifted it and looked at it skeptically.

"Just eat a bit, pretend you like it, and chuck the rest when I'm not looking." He smirked and tore off a piece and chewed it thoughtfully.

"Is it supposed to be this chewy?"

She reached over and tore her own piece off to try. "No, it should be chewier...but I don't have the right ingredients, so I'm improvising. It's close enough though." He shrugged and continued to eat it without comment as she made another.

"So, Desdemona?" He asked after they were both settled on the pillows by the fire, her sitting cross-legged and he still reclining nearby.

Ina shrugged. "She is every bit as shifty as your gut is telling you, she is one of the best liars I have ever met, and I'm ninety percent sure it's because at some point she sold her soul to someone for a hot meal and nice dress," She grinned, and chuckled, "but she's My soulless hustler, and she is most definitely on our side. Or, at least, whatever side I'm on. And it goes both ways. Honestly...we don't always agree on how to handle something, and we can get...well I guess catty is word," she paused to wink, "no offense. We rarely see eye to eye on anything of a moral or philosophical nature...but we have a history that goes so far beyond that...so in the end it doesn't matter. 

"It's like this, sometimes when you go to war with someone, and you've fought together, side by side, for long enough, and when you've had to trust your lives to them over and over...well, there's very little that can break a bond and a trust like that."

"You fought in a war with her?" Feric was surprised by that. Not that he doubted Ina, but he didn't see Desdemona as a soldier...of any kind. Ina would certainly make an excellent scout, at the very least.

"Pretty much. And it was more or less Us versus Everyone." He watched her face darken slightly as she paused. "I never really mentioned it...but I was involved with some pretty heavy stuff back home. Morrowind is a rough place...but over the years it had gotten worse...there was a poison at the heart of it....literally at the heart of it. But there was also a prophesy that a hero, one belonging to Azura, would remove it. That Neverar did come, shockingly, and she was successful...also shockingly. I...well, Des and I helped. The Neverar was Des's actual sister, you see. They shared a mother...though they were so different from one another, personality wise." She smiled weakly at him, "Emily was so shy, sweet, and desperate to help people, and completely afraid of everything." 

She chuckled and looked back into the fire. "Even the bloody scrib made her nervous. She thought they were 'creepy.' One moment she was squealing because she woke up with an undersize kwama on her leg, and then she'd waltzed into a demon god's house, with a smile and a wave, as if it weren't any more arduous then popping out to chat with a neighbor. She told me after that she had tried to talk him, the insane Demon-God that is, out of world domination...can you imagine? Anyway...that's all beside the point. The point is Des is ok. Your instincts are right, and I can guess what they are...but in this case, I'd hand my own child over to her for safe keeping. Truly. Believe me when I say I would never put you or the others into hands I wouldn't trust like that."

He sighed and nodded. He did believe her, naturally. Her instincts were good too...but he couldn't help but worry. "I'm still going to be wary. I trust you, but I can't help that."

"Sure, that's what instincts are for. Can't hurt, and I won't take it personally."

He nodded again, though with more satisfaction. That was what he was hoping to hear from her. He expected it...but it was still good to hear it confirmed.

"I don't suppose we can catch that khajiit friend of hers before he leaves today, do you?"

"Dar'basha?"

"Yes, something that thief said gave me an idea." It had reminded him of his discomfort with the khajiit and made him realize why. There was always at least on khajiit on each hunt, no matter how small the group...and often times more than that. He narrowed his eyes at the fire as he continued to sift through the various opportunities this information could provide...and if they had a khajiit working to help them...

She chuckled, pulling him from his thoughts, and gave him a sideways grin. "I thought I saw the wheels turning earlier. You know, it's so sexy when you plot." She rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled towards him. Her eyes darkened as she drew close enough to run her lips lightly over his jaw line. "I don't suppose holding a man at knife point counts toward our usual sex to violence ratio...you know, on top of your little bar room scuffle?"

He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer until her body was leaning against him. He loved the way she fit into him like that. He inhaled her scent, held it for one long, happy moment, then sighed heavily. "I really would like to find him before he leaves." She had been kissing her way down his neck, and bit him on the collar when he spoke, making him wince and chuckle at the same time.

She made an unhappy sound and dropped her head to his shoulder with a rough bump. 

"I thought you were supposed to be the chew toy in this arrangement?" He offered, smiling into her hair.

His grin widened as he felt her begin to shudder with silent laughter. 

"Sorry stud, but I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?" she murmured against his shoulder.

"I Will get even." He whispered against her ear, his voice thick with the promise. He felt her let out a shudder of another kind.

"Me-ow."

**

They'd caught up with Des's Khajiit and Feric was able to discuss with him the possibility of his 'looking for work' with a group of hunters, or at least sounding out the Khajiit community in the area, where he would have better luck than most outsiders, even if he wasn't local. He agreed it was a sound plan, as did Des when they met up with her and...eventually, left the city with her.

Inanna had been surprised. Desdemona had some ideas about setting up the ruins, self defense and what not, and after a brief conversation Feric had offered for her to accompany them back so that she could help Inanna put her ideas to work. 

She wasn't worried, mind, she did trust her...it was just surprising after he'd expressed his concern. She thought that had meant, 'I'll let her help, but we're keeping her at arms length.' Instead here they were in one of the great halls setting up a summoning spell in the middle of the great hall, with his kid, among others, watching curiously. 

She glanced over at Des who was examining her inscriptions for accuracy, pausing to lick her thumb and clean a smudge off the edge of the chalk figure in front of her. Des felt eyes on her and glanced back. "So, do you think they'll go for it?" She asked with a curious head tilt.

Inanna shrugged. "Knowing them, probably not, but it's worth a try." They were planning on summoning the whole cavalcade of ancestral guardians linked to Inanna, some of which were quite powerful, in the hopes that they might, perhaps, consider playing guard dogs in the ruin for a spell. It was unlikely. There were one or two she could imagine being hesitant but possibly willing, but for the most part it was just going to be her getting her ear chewed off for even asking such a thing.

They'd done it before...but that was back in Morrowind, and for the sake of the tribe and for their family. That was the key for Inanna. She had a plan she hoped would make them see past the obvious wrongness of the request. Family...that was the key. Ashlanders were generally suckers for it. Of course her plan might just make it worse...but a girl had to do what a girl had to do, and she was just going to have to take that chance.

"What is it you're doing again exactly?" Ambrose asked squatting nearby and watching fascinated as Inanna carefully finished drawing out the last Daedric symbol around the outside of the massive circle. 

"We're creating a summoning circle." Des answered from inside the circle where she was doing similar work. "When you create one of these, you have to be careful to create two separate circles, one, the inside circle is the actual summoning spell, the second, the one Inanna is creating, is the far more important one, the spell of binding. You would not believe how many idiot apprentices get themselves killed summoning creatures just because they failed to create a solid binding. Safety first children." She looked up and grinned at Ambrose and Aina who were both watching with interest. Inanna noted that Lucas and Mori were hovering farther away. 

"Shadow, can you grab me those tallow candles I left with my bag...actually would you just get the whole bag for me?" He quirked a brow at her, but did it anyway without complaint, leaving Mori alone. "Hey, Ginger...yes you, come here." Mori looked unimpressed.

"Ginger?"

"I'm sorry, is you hair not a frizzy orange horror?"

"No. It's cute."

Inanna smirked. "I stand corrected. Now really, come here, I want to show you something." Ina looked over her shoulder at the other two. "Des, why don't you show these two what you're doing. Explain how the summoning works. I'm not as good at exposition." 

Mori joined her and Ina waited until everyone else was out of ear shot before she began speaking. "You heard what we're doing?"

"Yeah."

"You know why we asked those two to come help and watch?"

"'Cause they're suck ups?"

Ina's lip twitched, but she managed to still it quickly enough to hide the smile. "Because they have very strong magica. They have deep wells...deeper than mine or anyone else's in this room. That's the direction their potential lay in, one of their greatest assets and strengths...besides general personality and what not. If we're talking numbers...they should bet on magic. Give me your hand."

Mori didn't like being bossed around, which was part of why Ina did it so often with her now, but her curiosity was clearly piqued and she willingly gave her hand over for inspection. "Relax, open up your mind a little...I'm going to read you."

"Like you did with them?"

"Just so."

She shrugged and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, closing her eyes. Ina was surprised at how easily she did it. She was capable of a great deal of control it seemed, over herself and her emotions. Especially for one so young.

Ina opened her mind and will to the girl, letting it drift toward her, feeling out the shape of her essence, her will. She was a little bit surprised by the darkness she saw there. Not shocked, as she had certainly expected some, but there was more than she'd counted on. 

The images were fleeting and indistinct, which meant her fate was vague, but either way there would be death and destruction...there had been in her past, and it was reflected in her future. She would die, or she would become death. Inanna pulled herself back a little and realized Mori was staring intently back at her. She wondered if the girl was sensing these things as well. Inanna smiled faintly. "You were born under the sign of the lover."

The girl's lip twisted up in disgust, which caused Inanna to chuckle. She didn't grow completely serious, but she lowered her voice even more. "You have what we call, a 'killer instinct', not surprising for a lioness, but it is much stronger and deeper in you. You aren't a fighter...necessarily, not a warrior, though you can fight when you need to. You share your people's abilities, and with practice and care could learn to use magic as a useful aid and tool...but what you really have...is the darkness."

Mori frowned slightly, but more in thought than confusion or anger. "I...I have it...or it has me?" She asked softly. Inanna felt her gut twist. How could one so young...

"It could go either way." she finally whispered.

Mori seemed to read the thought in her eyes and smirked. "I know all about darkness. I don't suppose I need to remind you of what happened to my entire family...to my pride? I..." her smirk fell, "I have nightmares..." 

The darkness receded and Ina was suddenly holding the hand of a very young, very frightened girl. "No, you don't need to remind me. What you do need to do is decide which way it's going to go."

"That's it? I can't get away from it? I thought...maybe..."

"Doesn't look that way. But is that really what you want?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

She released her hand and straightened. "Well, there's still time to figure it out. Until then we'll just have to work on keeping that energy focused. It's better to learn to use it instead of letting it control you."

Her smirk returned. "That what you do?"

"Of course." She said with absolute seriousness. "That's the only thing to do. Or it will consume you."

A flash of anger flickered across Mori's face and she crossed her arms and jutted out her chin, becoming the stubborn, not quite adolescent girl she'd been before the conversation had happened. Ina grinned and pulled out her knife. She pointed it to the ruin she'd drawn.

"Check this out. This is My darkness." She cut her finger, deeply, and held the tip just over one of the chalk lines, held her breath, and focused hard, pulling her will into that first drop as it pulled from her skin and fell to the floor. She could almost feel the impact the drop made, and she definitely felt the surge of raw energy as her blood did its thing. She opened her eyes and murmured a few Daedric words. Mori gasped as the ruin lit up, a bright, burning red. It pulsed with a life of its own. Inanna snapped her hand out and caught Mori's by the wrist to keep her from touching it. "You don't want to do that, it could smudge and break the binding.

"What is it?" Ambrose asked, his attention pulled away from his lesson by the glowing ruin.

"Blood magic." Des offered softly. "Still got it, I see."

"Unfortunately it's not something one can get rid of."

"Damn handy though. You have to admit."

She only nodded and continued to do the same which each symbol until the entire thing was illuminated. She approached the others finally and turned to stand with them, looking at it. "I wouldn't normally use that sort of magic, but I'm not much of a summoner and the beings I plan on summoning would respond better if they recognize me right away. This would be too difficult a thing without it."

"There's nothing wrong with it, Ina. You don't need to justify it." Des defended. "I'd be using it all the time if I had the ability."

"Yeah, well, that's you sugar. Alright kiddies, let's take five, I have to get my mojo going before we start this thing. Oh, there you are shadow...can you set those up, one at each directional point? Yeah, perfect."

Mori sidled up to her and nodded to the circle. "What's so dark about blood magic?"

Ina glanced down at her out of the corner of her eye. "It's Daedric. Only those with the blood of a Daedra can do it. Aedra too I've heard, but it's not something the Aedra commonly practice."

"What are Aedra? 

"The Nine, the gods the imperial follow."

"They aren't just imperial. We follow Kynareth and she is one of The Nine."

"I stand corrected once more."

Mori smirked and Ina smirked back. "I get what you mean though. So, does that mean we can do it too? Is that why you showed us?"

"Just because you worship a Deadra or Aedra doesn't mean their blood is in you."

"But it is." 

Ina's breathing stopped short, "How do you mean?"

"We are of the blood of Kynareth. My parents always told me that. Hey, Guys, did your parents tell you we're of the blood of Kyn?"

Three voices responded with an unhesitating "Yes."

"We're the children of Kynareth, that's what we've always called ourselves to my knowledge." Aina offered. Ambrose nodded. 

"The legend, which is probably metaphorical, is that Kynareth fell in love with a lion and our people were the result...but there are such stories all over Tamriel. I think the true history is probably much more complicated and that we were created with a specific thought or purpose in mind...but the one thing everyone seems sure of is that our blood is infused with that of our Lady's, and that this is what gives us our ability to heal and to transform." 

Inanna looked up to see Des giving her a look that said, yes indeedy, I am thinking exactly what you're thinking.

"Damn." She shook her head in amazement.

"I know." Des agreed.

"What? What is it?" Lucas asked, looking somewhat alarmed.

"Relax luv...it's nothing imminent...but...I think—"

"—we just figured out the 'why'."

Inanna cast a dark look in Des's direction. "I had that one, thanks." Des only gave her a cheeky grin.

"And what is this why exactly?" Aina pressed.

Both Ina and Des opened their mouths to speak, but it wasn't their voice that answered. "The why is our blood. We're being hunted for our blood. If it's like Inanna's then it can be used for powerful magic."

Mori didn't really look up at her for approval, but Ina did catch her eyes flickering to hers in a lighting fast, almost reflexive, movement, and Inanna didn't quite beam proudly back at her, but she did return the flicker and straighten her back with a serene air.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 06



"Oh dear."

They all looked to Desdemona who was frowning and tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"What is it Desi?"

"Well you're not going to like it."

"I already don't like it, how can it get any worse?"

Des winced at that and Ina couldn't help but wince as well. Great, just great...'how can it get any worse' is the ultimate set up to 'here's how'...

Des sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I just jinxed myself...spill."

"There are three types of people who use blood magic. There are witches: waste witches and weald witches are essentially the same once you cut away all the cultural issues, identifiers, and taboos. Then there are the 'special' Daerdra worshipers...one might throw you in with that lot perhaps. And then there are the third kind." They both knew what the third kind was. Inanna winced even harder as they both intoned the word together: "Necromancers."

"Well hey, on the bright side, this is another lead, right?" They both turned to Lucas who shrugged and gave them a rare lopsided grin. Inanna narrowed her eyes at him.

"Lucas, why do I get the impression that your rare shows of pleasure are intrinsically linked to my immediate discomfort?"

His face deadpanned and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't." she glanced over at Aina who was suddenly very interested in the ceiling. Oi. 

She looked back at Lucas and grinned evilly. "Keep smiling chuckles," she turned and made her way to the sleeping quarters where she planned to rest up before the 'big todo', "'cause I'm the one who had to hold down daddy dearest when he caught 'someone' getting frisky in the basement." She heard Aina gasp softly but ignored them both. 

Lucas, however, only scoffed. "You should talk."

"Lucas!" Aina breathed in surprise.

Ina only turned with a grin. "Oh I should...because unlike you, I'm in my early 80's and more importantly; My daddy is two mountain ranges and one very wide sea away. I'll talk all I want, thank you kindly" 

She did give poor Aina a sympathetic wince. "We should probably talk about that at some point. Sorry." Aina merely nodded, looking flustered and bemused.

Well...aren't we all, she thought as she made her way down the hall. Aren't we all.



Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



In the high recesses of the vaulted room, the air hung heavy with waxy sediment and a silent, suspended cloud of ancient, flickering dusk. The late morning sunlight illuminated them as it streamed in through the high, leaded glass windows. 

There was a thin, tepid quality to the light. Indeed, it seemed too weak to crawl anymore than halfway down the ash gray walls, leaving the well worn floor shrouded in milky darkness. It always seemed that way here, in this place, no matter how bright and robust the sun outside. 

On the walls, ensconced candles made up for the lack of light from above, casting unnatural shadows and making even the cheapest bits of glass and metal shimmer like rare Altmeri treasure. Dark velvet hangings complemented the unsettling aura, adding an element of the prurient to the mise-en-scene. 

There were three figures standing in the sickly spot light. Three figures, and their audience—a black and silver cat who watched intently through heavy-lidded eyes. Brilliant slits of emerald peering out from the darkness. One of the figures turned his own eyes away and tried to find something else to focus on.

The figure, Arthur Delatour frowned at the glass case in front of him and valiantly resisted the desire to open his mouth, to denounce this abomination, and rail against all that was ugly in the world. It was a truly powerful urge. Every ounce of his being was dying to cry out, to snatch up the monstrosity from the woman's hands and hurl it to the ground, thus saving her from what was surely an unspeakable fate. But to do so would upset his business, bring unwanted attention to his presence, and no doubt delay him further. It was simply best not to get involved.

Instead, he feigned immense interest in an unusual pendant which for all intents and purposes appeared to be a large ruby set in an ebony square, surrounded by some sort of veined green stone...jade perhaps. On closer inspection, the ruby appeared to be one of those nasty, laboratory grown fakes mages liked to produce when they're down on their luck. He sniffed.

It was fascinatingly garish...but it wasn't any worse than the nightmare the woman beside him was cooing over. 

To his dismay her hand, the nails of which he noticed were unfashionably long, suddenly appeared under his nose and the horror stared back at him: three minuscule little stones exploding out of a decidedly thick ring on overly long prongs. Pink. Pale Blue. Yellow. In descending order. He glanced up at her. 

"They're my birth stone, and those of my children....be honest, what do you think?"

"You've payed for it already?" He asked mildly, giving in as he was no longer able to hold himself away from the conversation, yet still determined not to make a scene.

"I had it made especially. I designed it myself!" She beamed.

He smiled charmingly. "I think it's quite lovely. And such a nice family keepsake."

"That's what I thought!" She smiled down at her ring with renewed pleasure. "They can pass it on to their own children one day. Maybe even add a stone or two."

Those poor children, he thought with an internal head shake. Delatour glanced up at the Nord behind the counter with a desperate expression. The Nord caught it and cleared his throat. "Would you excuse me 'mam, I just have to fetch something for this gentleman."

She waved him off. A brief moment later he returned and Delatour bowed gratefully. 

"See how it fits...if there are any problems...just drop by anytime." The man said, nodding to the envelope.

Delatour waited until he was well away from the shop, and sure he wasn't being followed before he opened the package and withdrew the letter. A new report from Cheydinhal. He smiled darkly. With very good news it appeared. 

He made a bee-line for the elven gardens and veered into a narrow alley off of the main thoroughfare. 

He knocked, almost giddily, and waited with his hands pressed behind his back, still gripping the letter. 

The man opened the door a crack, and seeing who it was, stepped back letting the door follow.

Delatour took it as an invitation, stepped crisply into the dimly lit room, and held the letter out to the man without preamble. The roughian took it, and scratched at the shadow of a beard covering his chin, his sharp blue eyes coldly razing over the letter. Delatour couldn't help but smirk as he looked up from the paper with a raised brow. 

"This lead any good?"

"Oh yes." Delatour drawled, his smirk turning into a proper grin of delight. "My friend, we are, as they say, in business."

Delatour caught the repressed curl of a sneer and decided to tone down his enthusiasm a touch and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, you'll have to forgive my excitement. If you were the one who had to explain to our collective employer why we've had so little success as of late, and why we've lost so many people, then you would be chipper too."

He grunted and turned away, gesturing to a nearby table. "Want a drink?" Delatour glanced around the place and winced. It was dank and dusty and had that mildewy atmosphere of...il ne su quoi. But generally, in his experience, such an atmosphere connoted the lack of a woman's presence...or money...in that order. Even the meanest shack or hovel could be made livable when a little delicacy is shown. 

As a bachelor it often amazed him to see the level of barbarity some men let themselves descend into, even at the heart of the empire, in its capital city no less. Then again, Imperials as a rule weren't generally inclined towards delicacy...too much of the rough and ready in their nature to be truly refined. 

He adjusted his sleeves and cleared his throat. "Thank you no, I have much to see to, and to arrange. This was my first stop, but once our business is concluded I must make myself available to our gracious lord."

The hard blue eyes shot back to his. "You came here directly?" There was a sharpness in his tone which well matched his eyes. "What if you were followed?"

He, however, was not one to be chided by the likes of this cave dweller, no matter how effective an operative he was. "I was not." He bit out shortly. "And quite frankly enough time and resources have been wasted already. I heartily suggest you spend what little time we do have pursuing this lead and less fretting about someone finding you asleep in your bed, all unprepared. 

"Frankly I expect you won't be here come sundown anyway." He straightened, tugging his jacket. "His lordship has requested that should the information we received prove reliable, we will act immediately with the plans he himself has drawn out."

The man scoffed. "What does he know of it? Some prissy high-born fool who d—"

"Might I remind you," he interrupted coolly, "that the prissy fool is the one footing the bills and paying your wage...and what's more, he has no reason to believe any plan of yours will be any more successful than one of his. It's not as if you've had a very good track record so far. Between the debacle with the guard and the attack on Wariel..."

"Fine. Yes. Very well." He waved him off and dropped into a chair, resting his elbows on the table. "As long as it's known I don't favor the plan. 

"I've been talking around," he continued, "listening to the chatter, and I think this new player is more dangerous than your master realizes. I've seen her work, seen the results of that work. He hasn't. She wasn't alone at Wariel you know, there were claw marks on at least half the bodies...claw marks, and arrows, and burns that'd make your stomach turn. By Talos, Delatour, she was fucking the creature while it was pretending to be a man, when she must know what it is. What kind of person would do that?"

Delatour shrugged. The man's obvious distress was a little unnerving, but he maintained his airy calm. "Well, she is a dark elf. Vicious, treacherous creatures those." He chuckled to himself. "Like Altmer really, just more upfront about it."

The man shook his head, rubbing his mouth in obvious frustration. He continued as if Delatour had never spoken. "If this fails like I think it will...it's just going to make her more aggressive. It'll bring her out...force her into an offensive position. And the rest along with her. It's already begun."

The Breton only smiled in response, his eyes darting to the door, as if seeing through it and into the distance. "Yes. That, I believe, is the point." 

**

She didn't hear him moving toward her, but she felt it. There really weren't words to describe the sensation. Or how she knew who it was slipping soundlessly into the room for that matter, but she knew it when she felt it. 

The hair on her neck rose and her flesh prickled. 

It was just like it had been the first time, in those ruins. Only this time it was stronger, and more familiar, and this time she didn't need to turn around. 

Instead she simply kept breathing, slowly pulling the air in and out of her lungs. Eventually he came close enough that she could hear his breathing as well. Slow and steady. For a moment, she mistook it for her own. 

He was in front of her, she guessed, and watching her. She could feel those eyes on her. She still didn't open her eyes to confirm it, but she allowed a small smile to turn the corners of her mouth before she resumed her meditation.

She focused inward again, feeling the pulse of her magica as it flowed through her like blood, in some ways very literally like blood-- in her blood for that matter. It filled her until her skin fairly pulsed with it. 

She'd been telling the truth when she admitted to being no good with summoning spells. What little she knew came from her stint as an acolyte of Boethia, and even that required she use her natural abilities with blood magic. Without it she'd be even worse at summoning than she was at healing. A half decent summoner would never need something like that. Some didn't even need a circle...but what are you going to do? Not a whole hell of a lot.

She flinched slightly as she realized she was drifting and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and refocusing on the pulsing in her veins. She was almost back into it when she felt something else. A niggling sensation at the back of her brain. 

A stray thought, not fully formed, which really shouldn't have been there.

She reached for it and was a little shocked to realize it wasn't hers. It was too...green. 

Her lip twitched. He must be projecting. It felt just like it had when she'd accidentally slipped into his head the other night. She wondered if he knew he was doing it. Was he trying to get into her head?

Instead of pushing it out or ignoring it, she gave up on her focusing exercise and turned her attention to the intruding thoughts.

Or perhaps 'thoughts' was too strong a word. They were more impressions...feelings. The most prominent one was concern. There were different shades of it. There was a general sense of fear and foreboding, lingering and undefined, but she could feel a sort of watchful caution, one which flirted with...curiosity. This felt more immediate, more directed. After a moment she realized it was directed at her. 

Ever so slowly she opened her eyes. 

He was right in front of her, a few feet away, resting on his haunches with his paws extended before him like one of those guardian statues you see outside of a khajiit temple. He was staring back at her as she knew he would be. 

The sensation at the back of her mind shifted slightly in response, but it wasn't anything she could put her finger on. 

She smiled slowly. It was a naughty smile. "Hello handsome. See anything you like?"

The sensations shifted again, only this time warming in a funny way—and not haha funny. It seemed to grow until her insides started to respond and heat in turn. It didn't take her long to add those numbers together. 

He hadn't so much as blinked, let alone moved or given any indication of hearing her, but it was so obvious he did. That is, if the vibes he was giving off were to be trusted. She chuckled.

"Did you know you're projecting?"

He did blink then, and tilted his head slightly. She felt a vague sense of confusion from him, but the more distracted she became the fainter it was. 

"You must be more of a natural with the mystical crap than I thought. I seem to be picking up the vibes you're sending out." She grinned. "Hey, I have an idea. Lets play a game." She wanted to test out how accurate this vague sensation was. She took a deep settling breath and closed her eyes, trying to refocus herself. 

"Ok. Think...sexy thoughts." Nothing. She frowned and opened her eyes. Even though he was still a lion, the look he was giving her was unmistakable. "Oh come on! Don't be such a spoil sport!"

After a brief stare down he snorted. 

"Good." She inhaled again and closed her eyes. "Lay it on me." 

Did he ever. She was expecting another one of those warm tingling sensations, but instead she got blasted with an incendiary spell...only in the good way. Like...really good. And then it just got out of hand.

It was as if her body was a raging, fiery ball of hot and red and want, and just as quickly as it hit her, her mind slammed down on it to block it out, shocked by its suddenness.

It had lasted all of a few seconds, but she was breathing hard and her hands were shaking. Her eyes fluttered open to see him staring hard at her. She knew that look all too well. In fact she was probably returning it ten fold.

He rose to his feet and closed the gap between them until they were less then a hand's span apart. She raised her hand and ran it up his neck, closing it tightly in his fur. He didn't move, and she wondered if he was aware of the tremors shivering in her belly or the wetness growing between her legs. 

She knelt there, trying to think of something to say...but she was getting nothing. 

"Inanna!" A voice called from down the hall...Desdemona's voice. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful or annoyed. Either way the interruption saved her from having to come up with something halfway intelligent to say.

"There you a....oh, ah, sorry." Inanna's hand dropped into her lap as they both turned to face Des. "I...didn't mean to interrupt, but your figures..."

Inanna licked her lips and took a deep breath, trying to settle herself and refocus. "What about them?"

"They're looking a little weak, and starting to flicker and fade in a way that doesn't look too healthy. I thought they'd last longer than that."

She nodded. "They should. That was my fault. I was distracted and lost my focus."

"Yeah." Inanna noticed the wary glance she cast in Feric's direction. 

"No worries. I'm about as ready as I'll ever be anyway. Might as well get started." She looked back at Feric. "You and everyone else are welcome to watch the fireworks. It's perfectly safe. I'm not summoning anything hostile...well...Aunty Beobani was always known to be a little jumpy...but that's what the defensive circle is for." She grinned and got to her feet, using his shoulder to steady herself as the blood began flowing properly, making her legs ache something fierce. 

There was something about the action which threw her mind back to the night at the lake...or maybe it was just the lingering red haze still drifting at the corners of her vision and the warmth between her legs. 

"Inanna?"

She shook herself back into reality and grinned toothily at Des. "Let's get this over with shall we?"

The room was all set and ready to go with the summoning circle writ large at the center of the long hall. The cubs were being corralled, as usual, by the team efforts of Aina and Lucas who were keeping little hands and feet off of the markings. Everyone else was there as well, though most were keeping a polite distance and all except Feric were human and dressed. They had been since they'd arrived with Des. Des who was still casting side long glances at Feric as they entered the room. 

Ah, yes, that. For some reason it hadn't occurred to her that their lion forms would make Desdemona uncomfortable. 

It seemed to have occurred to everyone else. Everyone but Feric apparently. Then again, maybe it had occurred to him. Maybe he was perfectly aware of the effect it could have on her. Naughty boy. She winked at him when Des wasn't looking...he probably didn't understand why...but that was fine, let him think she wasn't on to him.

Inanna surveyed the circle with a quick walk around, double checking that all was as it should be. The red glow of the runes looked a little odd, clashing as it did with the perpetual bluish glow of the ruins, and looked rather sinister. Red, glowing Daedric script usually did look sinister though, regardless of the location. Still, the contrast was an off putting reminder of where her own natural skill originated, along with a good chunk of her family tree. On Muthsera-mama's side at least.

She put it out of her mind. It was what it was, and it worked. That's what really mattered. And it wasn't about the nature of the thing but the application....right? After all a sword in the hands of some one like her Max was not doing quite the same job as the sword in the hands of the Dark Brotherhood. 

Then again, a sword is made for one thing and one thing only: to kill. There was no getting around that cheery little fact.

They were fine in terms of usefulness, the runes that is, except for the fade Des had mentioned. Nothing that would cause any problems, but a sure sign she'd lost her focus some. What could she do? Get rid of the distraction? Hardly.

"Alright." She waved her hands in an unnecessary shooing gesture. Unnecessary since Des was the only one close enough to the circle to cause any problems. "I'm not doing anything too dangerous but it's best if everyone keeps their distance. Okey dokey....here goes nothing."

She didn't dick around, and simply unsheathed the knife she'd brought and ran the blade lightly over the top of her arm. She knelt and pointed her arm downward and waited for the welling blood to flow in the right direction. Her pointed index finger hovered over the the outer ridge of the circle which had been, through clever device, connected to the inner circle as well...one of Desi's tricks, a mystical two for one. And so long as the line held, so would the spell.

As the first drop left her finger she began her incantation. This particular spell was rusty from infrequent use, but she'd make it work. It was really all about will and focus anyway.

On the last word, the red glowing runes shifted into a purple and then lightened to blue, matching the blue glow of the surrounding walls. Inside the central ring a half dozen spots of concentrated blue appeared, swirling like mist around a glowing core, each one growing stronger, larger, and more distinct as the spell came to fruition. There were six of them...six.

She dropped her arm and frowned. Finally each glowing mass resolved itself into a fully...or at least mostly, articulated figure of one of her ancestors. All of them were looking at her...a few of them looked rather smug...which was never a good sign. She watched them back. They declined to comment.

"Six? Seriously?" She asked in Dunmeri, looking at each of them in turn. Uncle Assurban smiled slightly, but that was the only reaction she got from any of them.

Finally one spoke, Her great-grandmother, and former wise-woman. "Have you forgotten so quickly? You ask too much of us, and most who headed your call did so begrudgingly."

Her jaw literally dropped. "Again...seriously? Are you people nuts?"

Her grand mother sighed and rolled her eyes. "Inanna..."

"It was for the bloody Nevarine! Dagoth Ur was trying to fetching kill us! "

"Language!"

"Language my black a—"

"Inanna..." Assurban interrupted gently, "you must have expected something of this nature. It's not as if you've been in perfect standing with the family recently."




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



"Or ever, for that matter." Offered another snidely.

"Like mother like daughter...In more ways than one..." Inanna caught the sneering glance in Feric's direction and resisted the urge to flambe the bitch...not that it would have done an good.

"At least her mother remains to do her duty to her people..." Her great-grand father chimed in, not wishing to be left out apparently.

The nattering continued until her Great-grandmother raised her hand causing them to fall silent.

Inanna huffed, crossed her arms across her chest, and glared back at them. "Just because it's expected doesn't make it right."

Another huffed back...her Great-great-great-Aunt Orvona from the looks of her. "And what, young lady, is right? We helped your N'wah, and we broke many ancient laws doing so. But you cannot expect such favors more than once. And for the love of all that is sacred, you used blood magic to summon us...does that not strike you as inappropriate?"

"Oh please, I use what I have because I have to...and what did it hurt? Nothing. Tradition does not knit the fabric of the universe people...these aren't the laws of magica we're talking about here."

"Careful child..." her grandmother again, "we are not unaware of the laws you yourself have broken...some very recently."

She bristled and sighed, bowing her head and placing her hands on her hips. For a long moment she paused and thought over what she wanted to say. With a final swallow she got to her hands and knees and leaned forward, touching her forehead to the cool stone. 

"Blessed ancestors," she began, "I understand your hesitation in heading my call, and the absence of so many of my line. I come to you in humility and with shame in my heart for the ancient laws I have broken and with a desire to do penance to cleanse my spirit and to regain your most high favor."

"Somehow I doubt that." She heard one of them mutter. Inanna ignored it, prayed, hard, for patience, and kept going. This was going to take a while.

##

Feric watched, fascinated as the strange inscriptions began to glow more brightly until they changed color, filling the space above and around them with a bright light. The air in the room seemed to crackle with energy and it made his fur stand on end. So to did the figures in the center of the ring, though in the less literal sense. 

Six figures, spirits, began to articulate in the light and haze. They were clearly Dunmer, two males and four females, their features eerily distinct while at the same time being almost transparent. He felt his hackles raise and could see the others shifting uncomfortably at the sight. It was rare that one encountered a such a spirit who was not intent on your immediate destruction.

Once they'd materialized, they simply hovered there. He glanced at Ina and mimicked the frown he saw on her face.

Finally she spoke, shaking her head and sounding irritated. Her words were in Dunmeri, so he couldn't follow what she said, nor the heated response she received. There was some sort of argument which ended with Inanna resting her hands on her hips and sighing in what looked like defeat. She completed the impression by getting down on her hands and knees and apparently grovelling before them. 

She continued speaking, this time in a much softer tone...and did so for a long time. She stopped finally and there was a pause. What seemed to be the leader of the spirits, a woman, responded. He could feel the wave of frustration and anger which came off of Ina, but she didn't do anything more than pull her hand into a fist for a moment before spreading it palm down on the floor as it was before. She spoke again, her voice tight, but calm. He glanced at Desdemona who was watching with passive interest. He was tempted to ask her what they were saying, but that would mean shifting, and he didn't want to interrupt the proceedings.

Inanna said something else, which seemed to really get them going, a few making obvious gestures of frustration and anger themselves. But Inanna was insistent. 

And then she said something which made all of them fall silent, and even caused Desdemona to start and let out a subdued 'oh my' from behind her hand. 

The spirits were all but shouting now, and Inanna had risen to her knees and was arguing right back. He looked to Desdemona, hoping she could interpret his need to know what the hell was going on. She happened to glance over to him, then sidestepped until they were close enough for her to murmur to him. 

"She's claimed you...all of you. Naturally they're pissed."

What did that mean? 

He looked up and noticed that one of the spirits, a male seemed to be chuckling, though he was pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking head. Another spirit made some comment to him, and they all turned to look at him. Whatever he said made Desdemona chuckle as well. 

He looked at her again, and she leaned in whispering, "they chided him for laughing, and he told them it makes no difference what they say or how they react, this is Inanna they're talking about, and she needs no encouragement. They were telling him not to encourage her...obviously."

There was another round of back and forth. "Now they're just being petty." Des whispered after a minute. "Oh...there we go." All but two of the spirits vanished, leaving the leader, and the male who had chuckled. Inanna looked frustrated and shook her head. Her voice was calmer though. 

She reached out and smudged the circle. The woman drifted toward her, speaking, her voice stern, but the conversation seemed to have turned civil once more. She hovered before Ina, who crossed her hand over her heart and bowed her head as the spirit touched her fingers to the top of Ina's head. The words she spoke seemed to interest Desdemona more than Inanna though. 

And then she vanished as well, leaving only the last spirit. Inanna got to her feet and gestured to him, smirking and saying something obviously sarcastic.

The spirit only smiled and shook his head, then turned and looked toward where he was standing. "Desdemona," he called in common. "So nice to see you're still about and causing mischief."

She held up her hands. "Don't look at me honored uncle, I'm just following your niece as always."

He looked back at Inanna then flitted over to her, touching her forehead as the other had and said a few words in Dunmeri.

"A fat lot of good that will do me." She muttered in common.

"You'd be surprised. Don't take it personally...you know how they are."

"They're the ones taking it personally."

"Yes...but we're old, and set in our ways. We have no patience for the frivolities of youth."

"There is nothing frivolous about this...I'm deadly serious. You know that."

"Yes, I do know. But I know you better than they do. They will come to understand eventually."

"Eventually isn't good enough."

"It will have to be. It's all you have I'm afraid."

He glanced once more in their direction, nodded politely, then vanished as well.

"I hate my life." Inanna said aloud to no one in particular. Then turned to look over her soldier to see everyone looking at her curiously. "What a waste of time."

"Not a total waste perhaps...I heard something about a prophesy? That sounds interesting." Desdemona piped from behind her.

"It's not....trust me." After their little group circle jerk where they all decided to get uppity and righteous on her ass, her great grandmother had at least paused to give her some 'advice'. It was pretty useless really, just gestures toward actual help...which they flat out denied. Except uncle Assurban of course. But he'd always been the exception.

"There are many powerful creatures in the web, she says. Consider your prophesy, she says. Look both ways before crossing the thoroughfare. Don't run with a knife in your hands. Don't swim after you eat...gee, thanks grandma." She looked around. "Dead end. Sorry folks. No ancestral guardians for us." She called out to those who were still watching. 

"I suspected they wouldn't go for it twice." Des murmured, walking nearer and crouching down next to her.

"Had to try."

"So what is your prophesy?"

"Long story."

"Make it short."

"Ok, boring story."

"Make it interesting."

"I hate you."

"Fill in the gaps: Inanna is destined to..."

"It's not that big a deal. We all get one when we're born. After the smack on the ass and just before they rub the ash all over you."

"Ash?"

"Yeah. How do you think we get so dark?"

She made a disgusted sound. "Be serious."

"Alright, I'll tell you but it isn't useful. It's just a bunch of common places and keywords strung together to sound interesting. Like those lunar astrological things. 'You may or may not recognize someone you met years ago, today is a bad day to travel, you lucky number is one, three, four, eight, or ten.'"

"tell me already."

She sighed and cleared her throat. "One of many roots of a great tree, your fortunes will grow and multiply like its leaves, and its trunk will remain strong against wind and axe. Greater yet will it become, fed and watered with the blessings of the hunter and kin." She arched a brow at Des. "See. Useless. It could mean anything or nothing. That old bat lives for that crap. Fetching mystics. You know I bet they've never given a bad one. No one ever says, 'you're life will be boring and you'll do nothing useful or interesting,' or, 'you will be betrayed by everyone you care about and will die sad and alone.'"

"I'm sure everyone has something positive to offer." Another voice commented from behind her. She turned and raised a brow as Feric who was now hovering over her right shoulder. "Or at the very least can play a part in something greater than themselves...even if they are unaware of it."

"You are too cute for words. Did you pick that up from a priest of Akatosh or something? Maybe read it in a psalm book?" 

He gave her wry look, but declined to answer.

"Ah...you are aware that you're not wearing anything..." Desdemona was eying the naked man standing next to her with an amusing mixture of discomfort and appreciation. He only smirked and crossed his arms over his broad chest. 

The flush that infused the Breton's face made Inanna grin maniacally. She'd gotten so used to the casual nudity round here that she forgot the effect her sexy cat could have on the uninitiated. 

"Yes, well." She cleared her throat and pretended not to look at him. "He's not all wrong, dear. Even if it does sound a little 'Sundas morning special'." 

"Not you too?"

"Think about it. We've encountered our share of sorry souls who have in their own way played an integral part in much larger tales."

"Fine. That still doesn't make my tree analogy any more useful."

"True enough."

"Maybe it's not completely an analogy?" Feric offered. 

"How do you mean?"

"Well it mentions kin, right?"

"Yes..."

"Maybe it's talking about a family tree. Meaning your family will grow."

"Not a bad thought actually." Des agreed nodding. "That does fit in well with the Ashlanders' fixations on ancestry and kinship."

Inanna had to admit it was probably true. "It still isn't helpful. I mean it probably has nothing to do with what I'm doing right now...it could just be a general thing. Like you are destined to pop out a ton of babies. Plus if 'kin' is supposed to be helpful...well, not so much...obviously."

They all looked contemplatively at the wasted summoning circle. 

"What if it was Kyn...as in Kynareth?" 

She blinked and looked back up at him.

"Or the hunter," offered Des, "could mean Hircine the hunter...he is known to be associated with were-creatures."

"You're both serious aren't you?" they looked serious. Hell...who knows. It could be worth a shot. "I don't know." She hedged. "It seems like a long shot. Also, Hircine and his kin? I don't think I like his kin. But I guess I could go bother him...though I hate to think what he'll want in exchange for help."

"Still it could be worth looking into." Des countered. "Do you know where the shrines are?"

"I've a good idea. I guess once everything is set up here I could see what's what. They're near enough to the city that I could check in with you in a couple of days once you've settled in and go from there."

"Also, have you considered using your other talents more extensively? They could be most useful here."

She made a face. "Ugh, don't wanna. When there's no other way, I'll use it, but I don't like the resemblance to necromancy. Especially suspecting what we do about our villain. Plus I don't see how. The spells I know aren't immediately useful as far as I'm concerned." 

"Oh don't be such a prude. The waste witches use it." 

"And you know how I feel about those nutty broads." 

"Speaking of which...I do know of a weald witch or two who you might be able to get more applicable spells from."

"Oh hell no."

"Inanna..." she warned.

"Desdemona," Feric interrupted, making them both start as his silent presence had been momentarily forgotten, "she's doing more than enough already, and more than can or should be asked of her." 

Ina tilted her head at him, and he looked down to meet her eye. "Don't do anything you're not comfortable with. You've already risked yourself enough for our sakes." She quirked a smile at him and sighed, turning back to Des.

"Well I guess I have to at least check it out now."

He scoffed behind her. "Impossible woman...just because I said you shouldn't?"

She smiled sincerely at him. "No, because you just had to go and be so sweet about it. I'd feel like a heel if I didn't."

He shook his head. "I mean it Inanna. Don't take risks you don't have to."

She grinned. "Whatever you say boss man."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

Des chuckled. "Because you're smarter than you look."

"Hey! Take that back, he looks plenty smart."

"Alright, because you're smarter than she looks."

"Have I told you I hate you yet today?"

"Four and counting."

"I hate you."

"Five."

**

"She likes you."

Feric glanced at the Breton woman next to him. He had joined her under the auspices of company, but he was in truth keeping an eye on her. Having let her come here at all meant it was too late to do anything about it if she betrayed their trust...but he still felt better keeping an eye on her...and he knew it made Mirisa less edgy to know she didn't have free reign. 

Of course this time he was in human form...and dressed. He smirked to himself.

Mirisa had more or less accepted Inanna's presence, or at least had stopped complaining about it. They both seemed to have come to some sort of accord after the hunt. Which made his life significantly easier. But that didn't mean she liked this new development any better. In fact, he'd already had an earful from her.

She didn't mind Inanna's presence, but she certainly didn't trust her like he did. He doubted any of them did. Which was fair enough. They trusted him, however, and he was determined to be worthy of that trust. Hence babysitting the Breton. 

Desdemona had been doing something to the wall with a piece of chalk but whatever she had drawn was suddenly gone.

"Where did it go?" He asked nodding to the wall, deciding to continue ignoring her previous comment.

She cocked a brow at him. "It's still there. I used an illusion spell to hide it. Not much of a trap if they can see it coming. It's good enough that only a decent mystic will be able to see it. One of Inanna's caliber could do it."

"You keep mentioning that. Mysticism...and what was it called, blood magic? I really don't think she's interested."

"She should be."

"Is she really so unusual in that, and is that why it bothers her?"

She shrugged and crossed the catwalk to peer down over the side to the hall and gate below. "Yes and no. The mysticism is pretty common for Ashlanders. Even those who aren't naturally talented are at least intimate with it on a theoretical level. Is that gate connected to this push block?"

"Yes."

She nodded and walked over the block, examining it closely. "They're actually well known for it in Morrowind, among the Ashlanders." she continued, "Especially the wise women...and Ina has several in her lineage, on both sides. So it makes sense that she should come by it naturally. Of course it's probably part of the reason she's so pig headed about using those particular skills. She respects her ancestors, but she's never gotten along with them.

"The blood magic she avoids because it's something the waste witches use, so there's a bit of a taboo against its use. Plus there's the Daedric thing. It indicates that the one using it has Daedra tainted blood. Many Dumner would be fine with that, but Ashlanders are especially mistrustful of the Daedra...even the ones they hold in high regard."

"Is it true?"

"What?"

"That she has Daedric blood?"

"As far as I know, yes. Ina seems to think so as well. But there's never been a proper study done on it that I know of. But then my knowledge is limited to what is publicly released by the guild and what I can squeeze out of my own contacts. So it's partial at best."

She crossed her arms and smiled mildly at him. "Are you pretending you didn't hear me earlier?"

"Yes."

"Well?" She prompted, her smile widening slightly. There was something predatory about it that he wasn't sure he was comfortable with.

"I know." he finally answered, facing her down and mentally challenging her in an attempt to get her to leave it alone. It didn't work.

"Do you? How's that then?"

"She told me."

"And you believed her?"

"She gave me no reason not to." He turned away slightly, giving her his shoulder, once again attempting to end the conversation.

She only smiled knowingly, which he caught out of the corner of his eye. Oddly enough it didn't bother him anymore. He knew the truth about Ina...he'd always known...since that moment their eyes first locked, and he'd seen her fearless gaze turn to wondering shock...and heard her arrow pass harmlessly through the air. She'd lowered her weapon, and he knew everything he'd ever need to know to trust her. Everything that came after was just the visible proof. So he no longer cared what other people knew, or thought they knew.

"Do you love her?"

"What?" he turned to look at her, surprised, and certainly not expecting that question...or to be asked so bluntly at least.

"Love...do you love her?"

"No offense, but I hardly know you to be asking questions like that."

"True. But I know her."

"So you say."

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I didn't say that."

"You implied it."

"That's your interpretation."

"My, my, you are the equivocator aren't you? Are you sure you're not an Imperial?"

He chose not to respond to that.

"You don't like me very much do you?"

"I don't know you well enough to like or dislike you."

"What are you a bloody law clerk? Fine. You don't trust me."

"No, I don't."

"Ina does."

"And that's the only reason you're here. I trust her. Implicitly." He looked at her again...hard, "And she is my friend and I have a great deal of affection for her. So if someone were to betray her trust...I would be quite upset."

"Is that a threat?"

"Only if it needs to be."

She laughed. "Well you may not like me...but I think I like you Feric. Why don't you trust me if I might ask?"

"You aren't what you seem."

"Come again?"

He turned to look at her full on. "I look at you, and I see one thing, but every instinct in me tells me you're something else."

"Physically you mean?"

"That's part of it, I'm sure."

"Well, it's true...so I can't fault you there. I am not anything in particular...and therein lay the problem. I tend to be whatever I need to be. It's part of my profession, you see. Bard's are master illusionists...or at least the good ones are. Often actors as well. Of course you're probably sensing the magic around me..." She waved a hand about her as if gesturing to some unseen force hovering around her head. "I have a number of enchanted toys, and a few permanent enchantments which allow me to make myself appear a particular way." 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



Her hair suddenly turned dark red...the same color as Ina's. He gaped. "See? Tell me, are you a mystic?"

"N-no, not really." Her hair turned back and she looked thoughtful.

"Hm. Inanna is, as I've said. In her case I suspect she could potentially be a very powerful one, but she rejects that aspect of herself. No, reject is too strong a word...neglects perhaps. My point is, she can see that about me as well. It irritates her. She finds me difficult to be around sometimes, for that and other reasons...but to be honest she pisses me off half the time as well. I love her to death, don't get me wrong, but we clash on some very fundamental points...we see the world in two very different ways."

"Then why are you so close?"

"At some point in your life, if you haven't already, you will look death in the eye, and feel its inevitability revealing itself to you, crushing you. And if, at that moment there are arms that hold you, and a voice that brings you some small comfort, that tells you that you will not have to face it alone...well those arms and that voice will forever be dear to you. We've been this to each other...more than once. I've held that woman's hand as we walked into hell, expecting not to come out. So as much as we fight, and lord do we ever, it does not change the fundamental reality of our deep and unassailable affection for one another."

"That I can understand. Ina said something similar."

"And you must understand as well..Dunmer are odd when it comes to showing their affection. Real affection I mean. They will never and I mean never, throw around the word 'love.' Unless they're young and barely more than children, or just screwing with you...or talking about things they do in the sack. There isn't technically a word for it that matches it in their language. Well there is one word that is often translated into common imperial as love, but it's actually a courtier's term for 'want to make my companion', a gender free term for 'mistress'. But outside the courts you either like someone, sincerely, or you don't. You can lust after people to, but the word for that does not necessarily denote any lasting affection."

This he was curious about. "How do they express their affection then?"

"This is my favorite part of their culture," she smiled, "the subtly of it. They don't. They don't have to. People assume they're cold or aloof, simply because they're perfectly reasonable. At least in my opinion. The fact of the matter is, if you're close enough to the person for them to truly care for you, then you'll know them, and you'll know what their actions signify. 

"For example. I have many 'friends'," she made a quoting gesture with her fingers to emphasized the sarcasm that was clear in her voice, "many associates, supporters, companions, lovers, what have you, among those of the house Telvanni, to which I am allied, albeit as an outsider and junior member. Among those there are a very, very small minority to whom I would ascribe the term equivalent to 'like.' To the Dunmer it means to truly 'honor' and 'respect', and to take pleasure in their company. Of those, there is only one with whom I have sex for my own enjoyment, and for no other purpose than he amuses me. I know his returned desire for me is sincere since he gains nothing from our dalliance but similar entertainment and pleasure, and I know he enjoys my company because although he complains that I distract him, he has never once failed to invite me to join him as he works and when I leave, it is always of my own volition. Because I know him, and I know that he's a power-hungry shut-in whose home is riddled with traps and whose dining ware is enchanted with poison-detecting spells, and who would rather spend any given evening tinkering with ancient artifacts than going to a party or, god forbid, talk to people... because I know all this and much more, I know what a remarkable compliment it is that he offers to let me stay with him whenever I like, for however long I like. 

"The first time he stopped me when I left his bed to go to my own room, and then actually fell asleep next to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world...well that was more significant to me than any actual declaration of love I've ever heard. You see where I'm going with this?"

"I think I understand you, yes."

"Well like I told you...I know Ina, and she likes you. I'm willing to bet she trusts you as well, as you've said you trust her. My point is, that this is no small thing, and so I very rudely asked you if you loved her because I was curious to know if you returned her feelings."

"So you're essentially saying you think she loves me."

She shrugged. "Basically, yes. So what is it? And don't worry I won't say anything. I mean if she knew we were having this conversation she'd probably introduce her fist to my mouth, repeatedly. Perhaps I should say reintroduce...since her fist and myself are already acquainted."

He chuckled dryly.

"Don't laugh, it's true." She muttered though pursed lips.

"I believe you...that's why it's funny." he grinned. "You know I almost jumped on her when you two got into it in the street. I thought I'd have get between you because of the things that were coming out of her mouth, I was ninety percent sure she was going to set you on fire in about two more seconds. I mean, she's got a mouth, but generally she's perfectly in control of it and just likes to come off as being a little rough around the edges...but the things you two were saying were just plain cruel."

She laughed as well. "Seems like maybe you have gotten to know her pretty well yourself. But you still haven't answered my question."

"Well, I've already told you that I trust her. I like her. And it's been suggested to me by my brother that a person would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to notice that I want her. And I have to believe him because my sister and second had already weighed in on the subject long before he had. So, that's that then, isn't it? Your trinity? What more is there to say?"

She grinned. "Equivocator."

"If you say so." He relented enough to smile back.

Owyn suddenly appeared in the doorway, in a state of extreme agitation. Feric could feel his own metaphorical hackles rise at the waves of anxiety coming off the young lion. A brief moment of intense staring later he let out a gasp and his jaw twitched to work, but he found he couldn't quite force the words out. 

"Challenged?" Feric managed after a shocked moment.

He received an affirmative. And a moment after that he was racing toward the entrance, taking the stairs three at a time and skidding to a halt as he beheld his most recent nightmare. 

To the right of the broken, winged statue, was Mirisa, her fangs bared and hackles raised. In the air was the faintest scent of blood...Ina's blood. A low growl filled his throat when he caught then scent. He caught sight of her a second later, circling the statue, staring Mirisa down. Her face was twisted with anger and frustration, and there was a rather daunting looking ball of flame readied in the palm of her hand. 

"What's going on?" The question was redundant, since it was obvious...but he'd be damned if he knew what else to say.

"You'll have to ask her." Inanna snarled, her eyes never leaving Mirisa's. "She jumped me out of no where. Now she's messing with me like I'm some kind of over-grown mouse."

Mirisa snarled and circled to the other side of the statue as Ina tried to put it between them.

"Damn it Mirirsa, stop it!" She shouted, "What are you playing at? I swear if you get any closer I'll light you up like a torch." 

Mirisa continued to circle, but wisely kept her distance.

"Mirisa stop this." Feric commanded, though it was more a plea since he knew there was little he could do at this point. He also knew this wasn't a death match...but Inanna didn't...and that meant it could get very ugly, very fast.

Mirisa only snarled again, effectively telling him to mind his own business, as expected, and continued to circle. Inanna let out a frustrated near growl of her own. "You of all people know exactly what I'm capable of...don't do this...I'm begging you. Don't make me hurt you."

Her voice sounded desperate, but it wasn't an empty boast. Yet they continued to circle, both watching the other cautiously. Mirisa, it seemed, also knew the truth of Inanna's words because she was looking a lot more unsure of herself than she normally did, and was clearly growing more concerned as the seconds dragged on. Perhaps she'd come to realize that Inanna really didn't have any idea of what was going on. 

In truth, that fact was probably apparent to all watching by now. He noticed that there was an audience gathered. Cyrus, Lucas, and the cubs were still inside. Of those present only Aina looked surprised. 

He cursed under his breath. If she had to know, then this wasn't the way he'd wanted her to find out. Then he wondered how the others had managed to figure it out on their own. After all, there was really only one reason for Mirisa to go at Inanna like that without provocation, and that was in order to honorably resign her position. And there was only one reason she should be inclined to do so. 

In any pride he'd known of...it was generally tradition that the Head's mate would take a position either as second or co-leader, depending on ability or personal preference, the rare exception being when they were essentially incapable of it due to some great weakness or disability which made them a less than pragmatic choice. 

In this case, Inanna had already proven herself a capable fighter, and useful to the group in numerous ways. The only problem was that she wasn't aware that she'd been made a member...had been for some time now. He had thought no one knew but him. It appeared he had been sorely mistaken.

And now...now he was going to have to do something before this all when even farther south than it had already.

"Inanna...don't. She's just testing you." He called, somewhat uncertain himself about what to say or do. He wasn't supposed to get involved...but then this was an extenuating circumstance if ever there was one, wasn't it?

"Test like hell, the bitch drew blood."

"Mother Mara!" A voice breathed next to his shoulder. He flicked his eyes toward it and saw Desdemona gaping at the sight. He sighed.

"It's...she's not going to hurt you...I mean, she doesn't want to kill you." He replied, trying to sound as sure as he could.

"Gee, that's comforting."

Mirisa took her moment of distraction to make a lunge. Feric was grateful to see that instead of blasting her, Inanna merely dodged again. "Fetching hell Mirisa! Are we just going to dance around all day or are you going to back the fuck off and tell me what the hell is going on?" 

Mirisa did stop, and shifted. She looked from Feric to Inanna. "You honestly don't know?"

"No!"

"We're fighting over the position of second." Mirisa tilted her head warily, waiting for a response.

"Okay that's clear as mud." 

Mirisa frowned. "You didn't tell her to expect that?" She turned to look at Feric, who found very little to say in response. There must have been a good deal written on his face however, because hers suddenly dropped and she turned back to Inanna, her voice unusually tentative. "When an alpha takes a new mate, it's usually tradition to scrap a little over the position of second, it's mostly for show. He should have warned you."

"Whoa...back that horse up." Inanna held up a hand. "What the hell do you mean 'takes a mate'? I think there may have been a miss communication somewhere along the line here." Feric caught the glance she threw in Aina's direction. "I mean sure we've...spent some time together...but it's a little early to be jumping to those conclusions, don't you think?"

"So you know nothing of this?" Mirisa asked her, disbelieving. Feric starting silently counting down the second he had left alive. Even he was no match for three pissed lionesses...even if one of those was technically an elf. A dangerous elf....

"I think I'd have noticed thanks."

Mirisa then looked to Bella, as did Feric. Bella frowned and nodded, and Mirisa's eyes went square. "You didn't tell her?" She asked turning her glare on Feric. 

Bella's own eyes went wide. "What?! Are you kidding? Feric, are you insane?!" eight...seven...six...

"People! Will some one please tell me what in the sixteen hells is going on here!?" Inanna looked around the clearing at the various expressions of shock, confusion, and anger. The expression that got her attention the fastest was the one of pure, stricken pain and guilt written all over Feric's face. Her stomach dropped into her boots so fast it made her head spin.

"What didn't you tell me?" He had that same look on his face he had the night before they'd hit Wariel. "Nu-uh...none of that nonsense. You're going to spill this time or so help me I will shred you within an inch of your life. What did you do?"

Everyone else suddenly piped up and there was a chorus of voices all calling loudly at once and not one was making a lick of sense. She winced but didn't break her glare at Feric.

His jaw squared in response. She too was about to start piping like a stuck cliff racer when he held up his hand to stop the noise. "Enough." He growled.

It was weird. He spoke lowly, roughly...almost quietly...but just like that everyone fell silent. Even she suddenly lost the urge to say anything. He straightened and squared his shoulders, took one long look around, catching each eye, and finally landing on hers. Those eyes pinned her to the spot like a pair of green glass stakes. 

She watched warily as he approached her. She was ninety percent sure it was just her imagination...but he suddenly looked bigger than normal...and it gave her strange flash backs. Not the fun sexy kind neither. More like, 'big lion, sharp claws and naked little Dunmer' flashbacks. She found herself suddenly wondering if she would be able to take him is she had to...could she even bring herself to do it?

He stopped about a foot in front of her and she turned her eyes up from the mass of chest to the hard jaw, and then to the intense green eyes. Maybe she was only sixty percent sure it was her imagination....

"We need to talk." He swallowed, and suddenly he seemed a tiny bit less huge, "Obviously." His lip twitched, and the hardness in his eyes faltered just enough for her to see the sadness there. 

There was a long moment of silence and the 'I'm fetching bigger than you' vibe notched back up again. He cast a glare over his shoulder at the now rapt audience. They stared back. Mirisa with an especially dark expression on her face.

"Alone!" He bellowed. There was a brief hesitation, but eventually everyone scattered, leaving just the two of them in the clearing. 

She crossed her arms over her chest and set her mouth, refusing to be cowed by whatever trick he thought he was going to pull with this 'big bad alpha' thing he had going on. "Well?" 

He met her eye and deflated almost instantly. "Come on." He grabbed her arm and pulled her after him, toward the woods.

"Hey!"

"I'd rather this not be overheard."

She yanked her arm out of his hand. "Ok, fine, but there's no need to get grabby."

"Sorry." He muttered. 

She sighed and gestured for him to lead the way. She followed, watching his back as they moved through the brush going...wherever it was they were going. When they reached what he apparently thought was a sufficient distance, he stopped and faced her. He didn't speak right away, but put his hands on his hips and looked at the ground for a bit. 

She resumed her 'impatiently waiting for answers' pose.

"Alright..." he started, sighing deeply, "I need you not to say anything for a few minutes." He glanced up into her face and she cocked a brow at him. He foolishly seemed to take that for agreement, and continued. "I'm just going to lay it all out for you...from the beginning...so please wait until I'm done before you attempt to set myself or anything else on fire." 

The brow inched a little higher but otherwise she kept her piece.

"That night in the clearing...by the pool with the waterfall...that first night, I bit you while we were..."

"Fucking?" She offered when he trailed off.

"Yes. Well, when my kind mate, when we bond with another, the male has to mount the female in the form of a lion, he then draws blood by biting the shoulder or neck..." he trailed off again, clearly uncomfortable. Her cheek twitched despite her best efforts to restrain her growing amusement with his painfully obvious awkwardness. 

When he didn't continue right away, she sighed. "Feric, this sounds way too much like the 'talk' you probably gave Aina. You screwed me as a lion. We had sex. You bit me. So what? I'm assuming you aren't trying to give me a lesson in anatomy. In which case I wonder what you are trying to explain. What is your point?" 

He glowered. "My point is that biting you like that bonded you to me. I mated you. Period."

"Feric," she huffed with a frustrated sigh, "I get that part...but what does it mean? What, are we like the were-lion version of married? And what does that entail exactly? And I'm not one of you...so..." she spread her arms and gave him an expectant look. 

"It means that to me, and my pride, that you're my mate...and what that means in your case is....unclear. As you say, you're not one of us so I can't know how it will physically affect you. For myself, I'm pretty clearly bonded to you. I know when you're close...I instinctively know where you are and how to get to you...and I don't want anyone but you. The others, in part thanks to Mirisa, will consider you to be not only officially part of the group, but one of the heads."

"Why would she do that?" She interrupted, frowning. That didn't make much sense to her. Unless she was mistaken, Mirisa still didn't much like her. "I mean...it's not like I would ever challenge her position in the group...I'm an outsider, what the hell kind of right would I have?"

"That's just it. You aren't. Not anymore. And if I know her, she just wants to make sure there aren't any divisions in the group...not when things are so harried already."

"But she doesn't even like me?"

"She likes you fine."

Inanna snorted. "Got me fooled." She intoned dryly.

"She does." He was giving her his, sincere and earnest 'would I lie to you?' look. She was more than dubious. "Besides, even if she didn't, she's more concerned with keeping the group united and functional than being vindictive or petty."

"All the more reason why she should keep her position. She clearly deserves it." 

He grunted, nodding in agreement. "Hell...I should give her mine."

She cocked a brow at him. "Why's that?"

"I'm the one that caused the problem to begin with." He shook his head wearily. "Inanna...I'm sorry. I never intended for this to happen...I certainly wasn't planning...well, anything. I barely know how it happened. You were...the way you looked, the way you smelled...I was just suddenly there and every instinct in me was screaming at me to do it." His eyes turned beseeching. "Please, I'm not making an excuse, but believe me when I say I would never have done something like this consciously, not without your permission. I have no idea what got into me."

She stared at him a bit, not completely sure about what she had to say to that. She didn't know what she thought about the situation, if she were to be honest. It did give new context to her own odd behavior over the month or so. What that signified remained to be seen however. "Ok." she said, after letting her head spin unproductively for a while.

"Ok?"

"I don't know what else to say. No...wait...I do have one question. Why?" 

He frowned. "Why?"




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



"Yeah."

He shrugged uncomfortably, "As I said, it was just...instinctive. I can't give you a why, other than to say that I must have, on some unconscious level, wanted you badly enough to claim you."

She rolled her eyes. "No, you moron. Who gives a shit about that? So you bit me? You got excited, got carried away and bit me. Instinct, heat of the moment...shit happens. It's not like you severed a fetching artery." 

He was frowning again now too. "But I bonded with you...without your permission. The effects...we don't even know what those could be..."

"You seriously think that's what I'm more likely to be pissed about?" She get her jaw and glared, hoping the light would go on in that thick head of his. Nothing. "Why, Feric? Why didn't you fetching tell me!" Her voice raised naturally, and something small startled in the brush near them at the sound. She ignored it in favor of continuing to glare him down. "Did it not occur to you that this would be information I might need? That you should probably let me know that you may have altered my life in an incredibly vital way. If I'm your mate...shouldn't I know that?!"

Feric gaped. It wasn't quite the reaction he'd expected. Anger, certainly...but over the bit about mating with her without her knowledge or permission...which didn't seem to upset her all that much.

"So..." he began hesitantly, "you're not upset that I claimed you?" She rolled her eyes, and he felt his brow arch in disbelief. 

"That's the one part of this I get...that I'm sympathetic with. For Azura's sake, you clod...think about it! I'm a lot of things, and I'm sure as hell not perfect, but I'm not a hypocrite. I'm not going to tell you to trust your instincts all the bloody time then get pissed at you for it when you do. Granted it's messed up...and frankly...I don't really know how I feel about it yet...but tell me if I'm wrong. Is it wrong to be upset that you kept this from me? We've been working together...we've been partners on all this and you fetching kept this from me!?" She threw her hands up in frustration and started pacing back and forth. "I mean, gods! Is there anything else you'd like to let me in on? Dammit, I need to be able to trust you...I did trust you...I'm of a mind to deck you....seriously." 

Her expression was a turmoil of confusion and frustration, and her eyes burned with emotion. Behind the anger there was a sincerity and vulnerability which left him a little speechless.

For some reason, it also left him feeling strangely calm. And then something shifted and clicked into place. She wasn't angry about what he'd done, just that he'd kept if from her. He might have smiled if she wasn't still glaring a hole through his head.

He stepped forward and grasped her by the shoulders. "It was never my intention to deceive you. I didn't tell you at first because I wasn't sure it even affected you...and I wanted to either find some way to undo the binding or fix it before you had to deal with it at all. I didn't want to trouble you with it if it was unnecessary. Hell, I half expected never to see you again. But then I did, and eventually it became apparent to me that you might be affected after all." He dropped his hands from her shoulders and squared them.

"And?"

"And when it did, I started to rethink it all. I made up my mind to fulfill the claim. I had hoped to convince you to stay with me of your own accord. But the fact is I've claimed you...and that's all there is to it. It should never have happened the way it did, and I handled it poorly, and for that I apologize and hope to eventually earn your forgiveness." He braced himself. "Honestly...I am sorry for not telling you, it was cowardly of me, but I can't say I regret having done the deed to begin with. Now that it's done, I can't bring myself to be sorry."

He waited for a response and she just stared. After a while his courage left him and he felt himself deflate again. "Inanna?"

She seemed to shrink as well, suddenly looking very tired. She brought her hands to her face and rubbed with a frustrated sigh. She straightened, and he watched cautiously as she gnawed on her bottom lip and glanced upward as if looking for divine inspiration. Without warning she turned and began to walk away.

"Inanna?" He called again. She didn't answer, but waved him off. His stomach lurched and he started after her.

She did turn then. "No..." she called over her shoulder, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You stay there."

"We should talk about this..."

"Oh, you think so? Now you do. How convenient."

He bristled. "It's not like that Ina..."

She huffed out a great breath and turned back to face him. "I know that, Feric. I know it isn't. But I'm... pissed off. I don't want to talk about it right now." Her hands fisted and she turned away, muttering from over her shoulder again. "Because..." her voice hitched slightly, and she straightened, turning her face to glare once more. " 'Cause...I just might break your face...and as it happens I like it the way it is...so back off."

She didn't wait for a response but turned on her heel and marched off into the trees. He watched her go and didn't follow. After a long moment of staring into the trees, he sighed.

"That went a bit better than expected." He whispered softly.

**

"Go away." Inanna groused from behind her hands.

"Don't worry dear, I'm not going to make you talk about your 'feelings'. I just want to know if we're still on. Shall I make my way to the capital tonight as planned?"

She removed her hands and let her arms flop to her sides. She turned to look at Desdemona who loomed over her. "Yes, please, go away."

"Well, that's not very nice. Don't be petulant Ina...it'll give you wrinkles."

She huffed and sat up, resting her arms on her bent knees. "It's nothing to do with my 'feelings'. The faster you get there and work your mojo, the faster we can be done with this."

Des dropped elegantly to her knees beside her and folded her hands in her knees. "Don't let your impatience get the better of you. Sometimes patience is the tool which best serves us."

Inanna glared. Des smirked. "Yes, well. Don't make me cite past examples."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"talk about what dear?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Really, Ina..."

"I don't want—"

"Oh, come on! What's going on, what did he say?"

"I don't want to talk—"

"Stop it you cur, just give me a little something to tide me over...it doesn't have to be much...just a tiny taste..."

She sighed. There was no point in fighting her. She was relentless. "Apparently he bonded with me and inadvertently married me. Or something." She admitted grudgingly.

There was a long pause which made Inanna glance up to see her friend's expression. It was unnervingly stoney.

"Inadvertently?"

"Don't be that way Des. It's...complicated. He said it was an accident...sort of...and I believe him." She sighed. "We'll figure it out...I just want to get this crap with the hunters dealt with first."

"Tell me, how does one 'accidentally' marry someone?"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it. And stop looking at me like that. I know damn well what you're thinking and you're wrong. Des..." She warned. She could see the thoughts spinning in her head, and knew exactly where they were going. It all sounded a little too familiar to her own ears as well. "It isn't like that...not anywhere near. It's not the same, he's not the same...and I'm not Emily."

"You're the one who said it first. Interesting that you should bring up that particular comparison."

"Fuck you Des." She said the words, but there wasn't that much feeling behind them. In a way she was right...but this was different...completely different. "He's...he's just not like that. You can see it can't you? And you know I'm not like her. I'm not that naive."

Des sighed and shifted so that she was sitting beside her. "No...but he's very handsome, and very charming...and you do still have a heart..."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not saying you're sentimental...far from it. That's what worries me in fact. It's all fun and games until it's not...right?"

"Des...seriously..."

"Yes, I know. You don't want to talk about it. We're years older...but no wiser it seems." She smirked when Ina glared again. "Fear not, I include myself in that. Well," she clapped her hands together and rose to her feet, "I guess I'll just pack up my toys and see myself out then. I showed Aina everything, as you requested— sweet girl that one—and have set everything else up as I said I would. It isn't optimal, but we're short of time and this place isn't terribly convenient in terms of defensibility."

"That's fine. I figure we're looking for a way to buy time so we can get out if need be."

"Hopefully it won't be necessary." 

"Cheers to that."

"So shall I expect a visit in the near future?"

"Yeah, who should I look for?"

"I'll be an out of town Telvanni, but I'm not sure where I'll be staying. It's very likely that I'll be under the name Elaine De Beaumont."

"I remember that name. An oldy but a goody."

"Indeed. It's been a while since I last used it, but it was, as you recall while dealing with the Telvanni, so it should provide adequate cover if anyone starts asking difficult questions. My friends and associates will recognize the nature of the cover and will respond appropriately I'm sure. 'oh yes, Muthsera De Beaumont, I met her once at a party. Charming, but not worth the effort of looking into. Was in Vivec last I heard...or was it Balmora?'" She paused and looked at her nails. Inanna eyed her warily.

"Drop it Des."

Des sighed and let her hand fall into her lap. "I'm sorry, I can't. Granted he seems nice enough, and I admit I don't know him as well as you...but doesn't this seem a little odd? A little convenient?"

"Ok, what? What the hell is convenient about it?"

"Well, all of a sudden he's got you running around hell's half acre on a search and destroy mission looking for his enemies. And now you're bound to help them whether you like it or not. I mean what does this 'bonded' even mean? Could he have control over you?"

"Oh my god Des, really? Think about it. This hasn't changed my mind at all. And I'm not in his pocket. I'm helping because I want to. And how the hell is this convenient for him? You saw the look on Mirisa's face. I bet even as we speak she's tearing him a new one. Not that he doesn't deserve it, the fetcher."

"So what is it? Are you going to defend him? Or is he a fetcher?"

She made a face at her. "Both. Leave me alone."

"As always you are the living contradiction."

"I'm complicated."

"What you are is inconsistent and you take unnecessary risks."

"Shut it mom."

"Fine. I'll go. But do talk to me when you figure it out."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Oh, by the way, you want me to bring anything when I drop into the city?"

"No, I should be set up. Though, if you're in Skingrad for some reason and you come across those little chocolates they make with the wine in them..."

"I'll see what I can do. Watch your ass in the city."

"Toujours. Salut ma belle."

%%%

Feric was torn. He knew what he was doing was cowardly...and that it was that same cowardice that had kept him from telling her in the first place. It was the very reason Inanna wasn't speaking to him, but here he was anyway. Running...hiding...a coward.

Moving though the brush he tipped his head and scented the air. He was too far from Cyrus to make contact but close enough to know where he was. It had been his idea to go on a tracking mission with Cyrus...the one person he knew was unlikely to spend the trip chewing his ear off . 

Lucky for him Cyrus was also their best tracker, so it wasn't even suspicious. Of course that didn't stop Mirisa and Bella from giving all kinds of knowing and accusatory glares. Though, he'd rather have that then what Ina was giving him: nothing. She was glacial. Not that he blamed her, but every time he entered a room and she blithely went on doing what ever she was doing like he was perfectly invisible was another knife in his gut. So he left. He had to. One more day of that and he wasn't sure what he'd do. 

The only person who wasn't punishing him was Aina...much to his surprise. He'd gone to her almost immediately after Inanna had left him standing with his foot in his mouth and his stomach in his proverbial boots. He'd explained as much as he could to her, and as honestly as he could, though it was a rather awkward subject to broach with his own daughter...all things considered. She'd been quiet, then asked how Inanna had taken it. Then she'd looked him in the eye and asked if he loved her. Just like Desdemona had.

What could he say? He wasn't going to 'equivocate' with his own daughter like he had with Desdemona, so he answered honestly. She just nodded then patted his knee consolingly and told him not to worry, that it would be ok.

He huffed and glared into the trees ahead of him. When did that happen? Wasn't he supposed to be the one telling her that? As much as he hated to admit it...Inanna might have been right about her. 

He lifted his head, hoping to catch something interesting which might help distract him. Nothing....but Cyrus was closer....and closing in. He frowned. It wasn't long before their paths converged.

He'd found a number of scents which seemed like good leads...and they were heading in the direction of one of the abandoned forts which lay hidden in the foot hills. They pursued it and after a few hours surveillance tested the theory by setting a trap. If they were hunters rather than just bandits, then they'd recognize the trail they'd left them for what it was.

Unfortunately the few who stumbled upon the hint seemed not to pick up on it. Feric was about to call it a bust when two new figures emerged from the fort. He recognized one of them immediately. It was the mercenary who'd argued with Inanna and had been arrested by Max while they escaped the waterfront district. 

Satisfied, he and Cyrus turned back, though they were careful to obscure their true path as they went. They'd found them, yes, but the last thing they needed was to inadvertently lead them back to the den.

They were a little under a day's travel away. It was uncomfortably close in his opinion. However, if they took this group out, that might buy them a few weeks reprise, a few weeks which Ina and her associates could use to track down the heart of the enterprise...and hopefully put an arrow through it. He had to admit, he'd like to have the opportunity to tear out their throats himself, but in the end he just wanted to see it over. Ultimately it didn't matter to him how that was accomplished.

**

Inanna didn't leave until Feric did, and until she was satisfied that she'd tortured him past endurance. He'd actually lasted a good deal longer than she'd thought he would. Which put her a day or so behind schedule. That just meant she'd have to make up the time some other way...sadly that seemed to mean a horse.

She winced and adjusted for the umpteenth time. The first couple hours hadn't been so bad...but by the time the city bridge was finally coming into view she was beyond ready to turn this damn thing in. It didn't help that it tried to bolt every time it thought it saw something it didn't like. Siltstriders, now there's an elegant way to travel. Safe, comfortable, and fast. No jittery rental horses, or saddle sores. If only.

She gladly left the horse at the stables and set out for the rest of the journey on foot. She wanted to hit the shrines before she dropped in on Des.

She didn't expect much help...no more than the platitude laden advice she got from her own ancestors that is. With that in mind, she decided to head to Kyn first, thinking that, despite her own tendencies to favor Daedra, she might be inclined to help considering one of her peoples...or animals...were on the line. It took most of the day to get there, so she ended up heading to Skingrad and spending the night first...though not before tracking down those chocolates Des wanted. They were actually pretty damn good.

The next morning, through a combination of bad directions from the local priests and aimless wandering, she managed to find it...though it was rather late in the morning...actually it was pretty much noon, when she did finally spot it.

It wasn't really what she expected. Normally the nine had proper churches and cathedrals in which the shrine was kept...this was actually more like a Daedric shrine, just sitting out in the open under a canopy of trees. Nature goddess...made sense if you thought about it. 

There was an older woman kneeling in the small clearing in front of the statue, her head bowed in prayer. She was wearing what looked like some kind of rough, scratchy robe, like a penitential pilgrim's. Inanna looked around for someone more priest like, but it looked like it was just them chickens. 

She shrugged, dropped her pack, arrows, and bow in a pile, and went over to kneel beside the woman, taking up the same position. The woman wasn't speaking, so it might be that these imperial gods didn't use words in the traditional sense. 

She wasn't sure how long she knelt there waiting...but it felt like an eternity. When her knees started to ache and complain she leaned over slightly toward the woman...who still hadn't acknowledged her.

"Sorry to interrupt...but you wouldn't happen to know how one summons the attention of this god, would you?"

Slowly the woman turn to regard her. Her face looked like it should be friendly...old, soft, big brown eyes...and yet it so wasn't. Inanna raised a brow.

"This is not a Daedric shrine Dunmer, you do not summon Kynareth. If she want's you, she will summon you."

Inanna grinned. "That's what they all say, but get them a big enough sacrifice and they're all ears."

The woman's eyes darkened. "Again, this is not a—"

Inanna waved dismissively, cutting her off. "I know, I know. I just need her help and I've never dealt with one of the Nine. I was just teasing, I don't mean to be offensive."

The woman still looked sour. "If you wish to pray for guidance, then pray."

"I would...but like I said I don't really know anything about the nine so I don't know how to go about praying. You wouldn't happen to have crib notes or anything? Is there an incantation? Ruins or something?"

She turned away and bowed her head again. "Just say what's in your heart."

Inanna cocked a brow at her. "What does that even mean?"

"If you don't know, then I don't know how better to explain it."

"Ok...I am really sorry for disturbing you, but isn't there supposed to be some kind of priest or something? You know, those righteous fetchers with the shiny robes. The Chapels are crawling with them..."

"I am the priest." She grumbled, still bowing her head toward the statue.

Super. Inanna sighed, cast a sidelong look at the priestess and then bowed her head and closed her eyes, hoping that mimicking the woman would help.

She sighed deeply, shrugged, and started talking.

"Umm, dear Kynareth." It wasn't a great start, but what the hell. "I don't know if you're aware but there's sort of a genocide on right now that you might be interested in. I'm here as, um, a representative, I guess, of a people who call themselves your children. Were-lions? Ring any bells? If so I'd like awfully if you'd give me a hand finding the people responsible for their on-going massacre so I can stop them in as unambiguous a method as possible."

"Now, I don't know you and you don't know me, but these people call themselves the children of Kyn, so you must have some kind of investment in them, even if only as your followers. Or the fact that they're, you know, part time lions. I hear you're into the whole wild animal nature thing."




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



"So, with that in mind I've coming here to beg assistance. More is better, but at this point I'll take what I can get: information, blessings, spiffy weaponry...whatever. Or, I don't know, send guardians to help protect them. Anything. Though frankly the warm fuzzies you particular gods seem to trade in, while swell, aren't going to be that useful. Think practicality."

She frowned to herself and considered what else she had or wanted to say. There was something, in her heart, as it were, but she hesitated to say it, all things considered. Well fuck it, the broad told her to. She should know, she was the priestess right? 

"Ok, since I'm here and I'm apparently supposed to be saying what I think, or feel, or what ever the hell 'in your heart means', I have to say that you are kind of disappointing as a mother. I thought you Aedra were supposed to be all cuddly and sympathetic. I get the tough love thing, I really do. Letting your kids duke it out, live or die by their wits, being stronger for it...but come on, this is just unfair. Even my own mother, who was the queen-imperial of tough love, would have at least offered some advice by now. Seriously. They're getting hunted down to extinction. As far as we know there's one pride left, and that one has been on the run for decades. Decades! Did you seriously not notice that? If these were my kids I'd be on their ass like white on rice."

"I know you god types reeeeally don't like us lowly mortal scum getting too big for our britches, but sometimes these things just need to be said...you know? Plus don't you people have all kinds of deus ex machina hoodoo all set up and waiting in the wings? Maybe some implausible hero who can ride in and save the day? 'Cause I could totally use one of those right now...it would really cut down on my work load. If this is the case, and we just haven't gotten to that part yet, could you, I don't know, give me a sign or something? So I know to just go about my business and stop worrying about it?"

She cracked an eye and peered up an the statue. It peered solemnly off into the distance. She did notice that the priest was staring at her like she'd just grown a new head. "What?" she asked. "Did I do it wrong?"

The woman's look of...what ever it was, got stronger and she tipped her head as if trying to figure out what she was looking at. She was about to reiterate her question when a lion appeared in the corner of her eye. "Huh, would you look at that." the lion was smaller, too small to be one of hers she decided, since it wasn't Mori or Ambrose...and it didn't 'feel' like one of hers either. Just your standard run of the mill mountain lion. She didn't like how close it was to her bag though.

"You think that's my sign or did it just smell food in my bag? Hey! Lion! Eat those chocolates and I'll stuff and mount you." And not in the fun way, she added silently with a mental chuckle. It looked toward her and cocked it's head, surprisingly calm, all things considered. "That's right pussy cat, I'm talking to you." she dusted off her legs and stood, deciding for the moment to ignore whatever look the woman was giving her and focused on the cat. "So...great timing and appropriately cat like. Are you my sign? If so, what do you mean?" She tried sending out magica feelers, but she got nothing...it was just, apparently, a cat. It looked at her for a bit, then moved on. Her bag remained untouched. 

She decided if anything she'd take it as a good open. The cat didn't look angry like they normally do around people, and it didn't steal her stuff. By her measure that was a good thing.

"It's a blessing." The woman had stood up beside her and was now watching the forest where the cat had disappeared to.

"Oh yeah? What kind? Do I get magical cat powers or something?"

The woman frowned again. "Are you always so crass?"

Ianna grinned. "Yes."

The woman sighed and shook her head. "I won't pretend to understand what you just spoke of...but I have heard of the legends of the children of Kyn...but those are ancient and lost to us in these days. It is clear that she supports your efforts and this has been a sign of that."

"Alright. So this is going to be one of those" she gestured ambiguously to the air around her head, "...fare thee well stalwart soldier deals then? She wishes me luck and generally hopes I make it out alive, but that's more or less it?"

The woman looked up to the statue and then back to where the lion had stood. "I cannot say. Sometimes the gods work in mysterious ways."

Inanna scoffed. "Yeah...and sometimes they're just waiting and seeing, and hedging their bets like the rest of us. But" she countered, and turned to the statue. "I'm glad to know you're interested at least and thank you for humoring me. I just mean to be helpful to them...but I'm sure you know that, what with your being a god and all." she bowed low at the waist. "Hopefully if I'm ever back in these woods, I'll have better news for your divine ears." 

Not knowing what else to do or say she simply turned and fetched her things. The priest was still watching her. "Do I pay you or anything? Like, donations?" She asked while shouldering her pack.

The woman did smile at that. She opened her arms and tipped her head back. "What need have we for money who have for our walls the mighty cedar and the sky as our celestial ceiling?"

"Food?" Inanna hazarded, regretting it the moment she did. It was never good to give a priest an opening to sermonize. 

She turned her gaze back to her. "What is needed, Kyn provides." She said simply, and turned back to the statue. 

Well, that wasn't so bad. The priests of the tribune just went on and on and on if you let them. She could get used to this. Though she wasn't totally comfortable with the distant, ephemeral nature of the Aedra. A Daedra isn't too good to at least tell you to kindly fuck off if you're bothering it. Aedra seem kind of...uppity.

Luckily the trip to Hircine's shrine was a quick one. She'd come across it before in her travels so it didn't take too much wandering around in the woods to find it. And as an added bonus she recognized one of the legionaries headed down the road. So she was able to buy a ride for the low, low price of a thigh grope and a smack on the ass. Cal always was the handsy sort...but harmless enough. 

Once there, a much more familiar sight greeted her. A preacher was standing on a stone near the statue, and a number of followers were sitting on benches in front of the sermonizing Dunmer. Behind him rose the weather worn statue of a man with a stag's head, flanked with hounds, and a number of sacrifices piled before the alter.

She sat on the nearest empty bench and waited politely for the sermon to finish. She'd missed most of it...but it sounded like he was explaining how whatever she had missed was an allegory for the hunt...or maybe that was the other way around...regardless, it was pretty trite and obvious from what she could tell. Though, when he began reciting the four steps of the kill, she found herself listening more intently.

"...Stage One -- The Drag, in which the Lesser Dogs drag the ground to flush out the Hare. Stage Two -- The Chase, in which the Greater Hounds drive the Hare before them. Stage Three -- The Call, in which the Greater Hounds trap the Hare and summon the Huntsmen for the kill. Stage Four -- The View, in which the Huntsman makes the kill..." 

That was something to ponder. She gnawed her bottom lip thoughtfully. In her head she began her own allegorical comparison. The drag...were their hunts...and now the attacks on the forts which flushed them out and put them on the run. The Chase, was catching wind, or sight of the prey...what they were doing now with Des and the thieves. The call would be next. For some reason the word 'trap' was strong in her mind.

Hircine liked his hunt to be a two way affair...where the hunter could become the hunted at a moments notice. So what was true in one direction was true in another. Her stomach shifted in a way she didn't like. It was more than possible that while they were on step two, the enemy might already be working its way to three...or worse...the thought caused a deep frown to cut furrows in her brow. With a dangerous and clever prey, it was best to assume that you were already a step behind. The thought didn't sit well with her.

"Praise be to Hircine," she muttered when he finally finished. She waited an appropriate period of time before making her way up to the statue and the acolyte guarding it.

"What is it you desire friend?" He asked as she approached.

She gave a half-bow. "To give petition to intrepid Hircine." She hoped she'd said it right. She'd only dealt with Morrowind temples and they tended to be run a little differently. He arched a brow.

"You must first make an offering."

She cast an eye to the foot of the statue and could guess what that offering typically was. "I don't suppose he'd be interested in trying something new?" the previous offerings were the skins of bears and wolves...some how she didn't think Kynareth would be too thrilled by that. 

"Petition demands an offering." He reiterated staunchly.

Well ok then. She really didn't have time to go running around on a hunting trip if she didn't have too...never mind Kynareth...so, what to do? What to do?

When in doubt, bluff. She put her hands on her hips and sauntered boldly up to the statue, looking up into its strange deer eyes. "Serjo Hircine." No reason not to be polite, after all. "I am on a hunt for a mysterious and formidable prey...time is of the essence. So, if you want a hide, of wolf or bear, send me one of your great hounds to gut, or better yet, appear before me in one of your aspects and I'll skin you were you stand." 

Now there was really only three possible reactions to this. The first and most likely was that the Daedra would ignore you. The second was that they'd take up your challenge and kill you but good. The third was that they'd think you were awfully cute and funny, and decide to humor the amusing little mortal. She was aiming for the third.

To her surprise a strange and hollow voice filled her head. "Mortal we know of your quest. Why do you importune us without a proper offering?"

"I'm trying not to piss off Kynareth." she responded aloud. "If there's something you'd like me to hunt for your sake which doesn't involve her furry little woodland creatures, I'd be honored to do it." 

"You will give gold then...but only this once. I approve of your hunt, and have an interest in your success, and so I will allow you this courtesy so that you will not lose your trail. Do not test my patience again." Interest? That could be very good or very bad.

"You're very gracious my lord. May I ask what interest it is you have in my lowly mortal affairs."

"I have watched this particular hunt for many years, and you have made it more interesting by far. Fresh hunters and fresh prey. The end of the hunt is near and wagers as to your success have been placed. Your master and I are in accord on your success." Well it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either.

"My master?"

"Lord Boethia, of course. She feels that you will triumph. I am not as certain, but you have proven yourself most entertaining thus far. I have not been disappointed."

"Ah, of course. Give my Lord my best when you see him...er, her. I'm terribly flattered and gratified by your confidence, but it is unfortunate. I'd hoped to ask for assistance, but if there are already wagers involved then you are no doubt obliged to remain neutral." 

"True, but you are also a supplicant at my shrine who has come of their own freewill. I can not assist you directly, but my acolyte will." Inanna looked toward the acolyte and noticed the Dunmer stiffen and get a far away look in his eyes. "Give your offering of gold, and receive your blessing. I will tell you only this, that you hunt a beast with many, colored arms, but only one, golden head."

Golden head? What had a...Altmer! A fetching Altmer, and probably a necromancer...figured. Fetching S'wit! She could think of no one more deserving of an arrow through the cranium. She heard a low chuckle in her head and guessed that the Daedra had been party to her thoughts. 

"Good luck hunter."

And then he was gone. Her head felt oddly empty and silent...which was a disconcerting feeling. She shook it off and cleared her throat. "So, your boss says we're good to go..." She pulled open a pouch she had hanging off her belt and took out several gold septimi. 

The acolyte accepted them, seeming to have shaken off his own momentary daze, and motioned for her to kneel before him. She did and closed her eyes as he placed his hand on top of her head and began muttering a prayer...or perhaps it was a spell...it was difficult to tell. She felt something strange shoot through her, tingling like inner fire and filling her. It felt like it was in her blood, her veins, her skin. The tingle withdrew inside of her until it seemed to condense itself, concentrating in a few choice places...her head especially seemed to buzz with it. 

Eventually it dissipated until there was just a residual echo.

"Go supplicant, with the Hunter's blessing. Be swift of foot, strong of arm, and sharp of mind." The Dunmer removed his hand and leaned in, speaking in a voice only they could hear. "And if it's Altmer you're hunting, get some good reflective spells." She looked up, surprised, wondering if Hircine had told him or if he'd somehow been party to the conversation. He smirked, in friendly enough way, and stepped back so she could rise.

She did, looking around. Some people were watching curiously, but most were occupied in prayer. Supplicants to Daedric shrines weren't totally uncommon...nor was their receiving a response...though it wasn't always a positive one. She was happy to take what they would give her...but something more concrete would have been nice. Then again, Altmer was a start. Not an X marks the spot...but surprisingly helpful coming from Hircine. After all, it was the hunt he enjoyed...not necessarily the kill. 

She thanked the Acolyte and collected her things. It was already close to sundown. It would be dark when she reached the city, not a good time to be wandering the woods. Then again, she'd rather wander them then sleep alone in them. 

The walk back to the city was surprisingly uneventful. The woods were quiet, and all she encountered on her way were a handful of startled deer who took off, leaping over a creek bed and off into the trees. 

She came into the waterfront district from the wrong side, which was probably why they didn't see her. Two men were loitering suspiciously near her shack, keeping a watchful eye, it appeared, on both entrances. She winced and melted back into the shadow of the trade houses. 

"Fancy meeting you here." A voice whispered in her right ear, making her swallow her tongue. 

She twisted her head sharply at the sound and was relived by the brilliant white smile which greeted her. "A," she breathed, "you gotta stop doing that." His smile seemed to leap from his dark skin and the shadows around him into which he so easily blended, it almost seemed disembodied. Redguard were dark like Dunmer, only their skin leaned to shades of red tinged brown where Dunmer tended to be more blue or grey. Though she'd met one Redguard so black she thought he looked near blue in the sun...though in that case she almost suspected him of having Dunmer blood in there somewhere.

Armand, or A as he was called, was a Doyen for the thieves guild, and a damned good one. "Come." He pulled her deeper into the shadows. She knew better than to argue. He slipped them into a hidden door behind his house which lead them beneath the shipping buildings of the harbor. The staircase was cool and empty...silent. He pulled them through a few corridors until they came to an unassuming door. Inside it was bright and warm, and a good number of people were about, filling the air with a pleasant hum of chatter. A few people looked up and nodded or waved a greeting, but most were deeply involved in their conversations, or in their dinners. 

"You eaten?"

"No, not yet. Just got into the city."

He nodded sagely. "As you can see, it's not a great place for you to be right now. Words out apparently, and it seems they know who you are...I dare say they know about your other home as well, or will soon." She nodded. It wasn't surprising...unfortunate, but not unexpected. It meant she couldn't linger. She'd have to check with Des, and then get her ass back to Cheydinhal asap. Even if it meant a horse again. 

He sat her down and went to get them something to eat. She took a moment to look around. She'd been here before, it was sort of like a 'guild hall' for those in the loop. It was a lot less formal though, so it looked more like the common room of an inn and had more of a communal feel than most guilds. Here business was conducted in dim corners over drinks, not over a desk with formal writs and orders...and bonus, no paper work. After all, you didn't want anything to be tracable.

He came back with stew and bread and they got down to the business at hand. He apparently already knew all about Des, which was both disconcerting and convenient, and had arranged for an operative to sneak her over once they were done. Dar'jirra, her name was, the same one the last thief had mentioned. 

While they waited for her to arrive he filled her in on what little they had. They had a list of names of regulars who were seen at the Red Diamond jewelers for her to pass on to Des, and an identification on the merc who'd pissed her off last she was in the city: an Imperial who lived in the city and currently went by Fenius, though they were ninety percent sure that was just one of many names. Disconcertingly, he'd been recently seen leaving the city, but the tail lost him north of the Yellow Road fork. She really didn't like how much closer that was to Cheydinhal. 

Thankfully Dar'jirra was prompt and didn't make them wait too long. She thanked A for the intel and the food, and was off without ado. Another great thing with this group, they all understood that if you rush off it isn't personal, and that time is of the essence when there's business to be done.

Dar'jirra was every bit the sneaky thief she'd been led to believe she was, and led them with startling speed and competency through the under works, avoiding the usual pitfalls one finds in ancient sewers with aplomb. Sneaking was generally done silently, so there wasn't much talking. Inanna did take the time to check out what she could, though with the leathers and hood there wasn't much to see. She was the typical slim, gracile khajiit one usual associates with the prefix 'Dar'. She was even a bit shorter than Inanna, though not by much, and fine featured from what she could see. Her muzzle and the tip of her tail was a dark brown, and the rest of her visible fur the color of caramel. When she smiled at Inanna and paused at a trap door, her teeth were little pointed daggers, bright against her dark muzzle. She pointed up toward the door. 

Inanna bowed her thanks, and the female bowed back and slipped off into the dark tunnels. The door was unlocked. She opened it cautiously and peeked into the room. It was a cellar, and not an interesting one. There was a lamp lit in one wall sconce which was enough to let her know that the coast was clear.

She carefully made her way up the stairs, pausing to listen at the door...which didn't do much good since it was pretty thick. It was also locked. Damned inconvenient. She cast a life detection spell and noted there were two warm bodies on the first floor...still not that helpful actually. She had two options. She could pick it, or she could just knock. In the interest of time, she knocked...hoping she was actually in the right place.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



Dar' Basha appeared in the doorway before her, another lamp in hand, looking more than a little surprised to find a Dunmer in his basement. She grinned. "Good evening sir, could I interest you in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Imperial? For just a few, low, monthly installments, you too can have all the learning and knowledge of the Empire at your finger tips."

"Darling is that you? What on earth are you doing in the basement?"

Des came up behind Dar'basha and peeked over his shoulder. "She appears to be selling encyclopedias" He replied dryly. "Do you think you'd be interested my lady?"

She clicked her tongue. "Come on out of there."

Dar'Basha wrinkled his nose as she brushed past him with a wink. "You've been crawling around in the sewers." he noted with more than a little distaste.

She shrugged. "Nothing for it I'm afraid. There are people everywhere with an eye out for me so I had to come via the not so scenic route."

"Did you want to freshen up?" Des offered.

She sighed. "I really wish I could...and sleep for that matter, but I just came from the guild and they have some news which is going to put me back on the road as soon as I'm done here.

"Ah. I'm sorry to here that. Let's get to it then. Basha love, would you be a dear and fetch Ina something to drink, tea? Tea, and perhaps some lemon water as well. Oh, and bring yourself a cup as well darling, you should really join us." 

"Nice place." She noted, looking around. "Very posh." It was. Everything looked silky and polished. She felt bad sitting on the seats in her well used leather. Des was draped in some sort of silk robe, something reminiscent of the robes one often saw in Morrowind, yet with a more modern twist. The bottom of the robe had skirt like volume and the top opened at the shoulders to expose an expanse of creamy white skin at her collar. It worked for her. Exotic while still being chic. At least by Imperial standards. Back in Morrowind it was simply a 'nice dress.'

"Well I am performing a part, one needs the right staging. This is a little bland for a Telvanni, but I am a Breton so I persevere. There are some who would find these apartments intolerably plebeian."

"As I'm sure you've told everyone who'll listen."

"Too right." She grinned. "Now, what news? How have you fared with the Gods...or have you been to the shrines yet?"

"I have and it went much as expected. Kynareth was silent, though possibly supportive...who can say with Aedra."

"They work in mysterious ways."

"So I've heard."

"Hircine's Acolyte gave me a blessing, but that was about it."

"What was the blessing."

"Hell if I know."

"For Mara's sake Ina, didn't you at least think to ask."

She shrugged. "Probably to increase my speed, strength, and 'sharpness of mind'. At least that's what he said at the end. But that just sounded like something he says to all the girls."

She rolled her eyes. "Not sharp enough apparently. It would be nice to know specifically what advantage you may have been given."

Inanna cringed inwardly. She wasn't wrong, and it made Ina wonder what was wrong with her. Outwardly she grinned and shrugged. "It was extra tingly in my head so I'm going to say my senses may have been improved. Usually I know instantly if I've been given some special ability...like remember that time we were supposed to take out that cave of sleepers for the Temple and the Priest there blessed us? I knew right off what he'd done. I can even tell with others sometimes as well. This time, it wasn't so specific. It was more one of those general improvement things I think. Which works for me."

"Yes well, next time think to ask. At any rate," She adjusted herself on the couch, pulling up her legs and accepting a cup of tea from the khajiit who had just joined them, "I have some news for you."

"Oh?"

"I've complied a list of strong possibilities but it's going to need more time before I can figure out where they will lead. One or two of them look like they're going to be hard nuts to crack so it might even take more time than I have, unless you have new news yourself. More positively I've figured out where Melisande has hidden herself these days. Apparently she's been living in Drakelowe, a little farm house south of your new home town and situated along where the Corbolo becomes the Reed river."

Inanna looked at her skeptically. "And who exactly is this Melisande?"

Desdemona arched a brow and set her cup down. Not a good sign. "Now, hear me out before you get into a snit," also not a good sign, "but I think you should give it some serious thought before you dismiss it."

"Des..."

"Melisande is a weald witch...better than that she is one of the few remaining witches of Glenmoril—"

"Oh hell no. Those chicks are into some crazy shit Des."

"Calm down...as you know the Glemoril are connected to Hircine—"

"I know no such thing."

"Stop interrupting. They are connected to Hircine. I did some further research at the mages guild here in the city and confirmed it. This probably means it's his blood in their veins, diluted as it is, which means they will probably have something useful to you...something a hunter could use. Don't you think?"

She really wanted to say no. "I don't know. Maybe....but..."

"Fine, just consider it. Frankly I think you need to get over yourself. Who cares what blood you do or don't have?"

"Should I make you a list?"

"Ok, let me re-phrase that. Who cares whose opinions you actually give a damn about."

She rolled her eyes and set down her own tea. "Well there's my father for one."

"He was just worried you would end up in the wastes fricasseeing merchants. He doesn't have anything against it personally."

"What do you know about it?"

"Ok, look at it this way: you've thumbed your nose at countless rules and traditions and pissed off pretty much everyone in your acquaintance at some point or another in your life...what makes this any different?"

"I've decided to be unreasonable about this one. A person can only be so reasonable for so long...one must draw the line somewhere." 

Desdemona laughed at that. "At least you're honest." She picked up her cup again. "I'll take that as concession for now."

"In other news..." Inanna pulled the list she'd been given out of her curiass and passed it to Des who primly unfolded it. "That's the list tha—"

"Delatour. That's the one we want." She gave a small smile and folded the list, handing it back.

Inanna tilted her head curiously. "You're sure? You haven't been in town that long."

"Almost. Off that list anyhow."

"I...there was a suggestion that an Altmer might be behind it..."

"Oh! In that case I'm positive." She grinned. "I managed to pull in a few big fish for a party just last night, and Delatour was one of them. Of course he's a shrewd fellow and played fisherman most of the night himself. So I didn't get much out of him...but I did get something out of a few others. Apparently there is a mysterious Altmer keeping house in the capital. A rather unsociable fellow, but that is common enough with their race. Delatour, it is said, visits often, but is closed lipped about it." She nodded to herself.

"Now that I've introduced myself formally to him, I'll have him in for a social call. I'll work as quickly as I can, but these things are delicate. Certain niceties must be seen to."

Inanna nodded as well. "Thanks. See what you can dig up about the Altmer. I have a feeling about this."

"Just a feeling?"

"Yeah."

She chuckled. "Good or bad?"

"Both."

"Ah. Well. I shall get to it then. Are you sure I can't keep you here the night?"

"No...I... don't like being away. And I have a definite bad feeling about what's going on with this merc who the guild's been watching for me."

"That's unfortunate. There's a perfect little soiree I'm attending tonight which may prove to be useful. It would be lovely to have a second there for additional recon."

Inanna shook her head. "Damn woman, you've been here a few days and you've been to two parties?"

"And a dinner, two luncheons, a wine tasting, and tea. It was easy. I had a friend invite me to lunch and to go along with my pseudonym. I spent the evening being eccentric, worldly and charming. The next day my dance card was filled. Normally I'd be more aloof, but time is of the essence. The only consolation is that this is the empire, so the society here isn't all that complicated. Remember what torture it was to even get my big toe in the door with the Telvanni? This was child's play."

Well, as much as I'd love to see you in action again, I really do have to start back. Even with a horse it'll take the better part of a day."

Des grinned. "Well if that's the case, you can stay after all."

"How do you suppose that?" she asked sceptically. 

"Well, I didn't mention it since I only managed to get it set up for one way travel, but I placed a teleport spell in the ruins...in the 'basement' as they call it there. That way if you or another needed to sneak back in, then they could. It takes a very long time to set up though, even in one direction. So I figured one way is better than nothing."

"This way you can come with me and leave directly afterward. You'll still be home faster my way than if you rode."

"Or I could just leave right now."

"Or you could do that."

Inanna considered it. It would be nice not to smell like sewer, and she was interested in watching Des work... "Alright, but we can't stay too late."

"Oh there's no worries there. I never stay too long at any one party. Women like me always have something more interesting to do, you know." She winked. "Come lets get you set up."

"Ah, there's one problem." Desdemona paused in the middle of rising from her couch.

"What's that?"

"I can't be recognized, remember?"

She laughed. "Oh darling there is no worry there either. I'll just change your hair color."

"I'm not sure that will be good enough." 

"Oh believe me dear it will, you Dunmer all look alike to them."

"Well that's kind of racist."

"Yes it is...they do tend to be that. But be honest, the Dunmer say the same about humans."

"I don't."

"No love, and I don't say it about Dunmer...but we're exceptions aren't we. Now come along. We have to get you presentable and we don't have much time."

%%

An hour and a half later Inanna was scrubbed, perfumed, and wrapped in something silky and staring into a mirror. Two faces looked back at her. A grinning Desdemona, and a perplexed looking Dunmer girl who only looked vaguely familiar. She tilted her head to the side to examine the way her now blue-black hair was twisted up at the back the pinned in place with two long slender pins which in her mind resembled paintbrush handles, or knitting needles. They were clearly decorative though, since the tips sported something shiny and green at the end. She squinted at it. "What is that, green glass?"

"Yes."

The matched the little beads which dangled from a chain Des had attached at the top of her ear, and the dash of color across her eyelids. "Nice." She turned her head to the other side where the hair was allowed to fall in an unusually straight sheet, partially obscuring the delicate white lines and spots over her right eye. She ran her finger over one of the pale lines of her illusory tattoo. "These are pretty, but don't you think it's a little...ethnic, for their tastes?"

"That's the point. You're an ex-Ashlander House slut. Deliciously exotic. And there's enough truth in there that you can sell it. You are Ashlander after all. And a slut." She laughed lightly and slapped her shoulder playfully.

"Wait, I'm what? A House slut?"

"That's what we call the n'wah and velothi who fuck their way into House society."

"So, you?"

"Not at all dear. I'm no one trick pony."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I make sure it's very clear that I have a great deal more to offer before I start in with the sexual favors. Besides it's a good way to get yourself killed. All you have to do is sleep with the wrong person's mate, lover, or child, and that's that."

"So I get to be one of these geniuses?"

"It's perfect cover. That way if you say anything gouache, no one will be surprised."

"Then why would a classy girl like you be bringing me?"

Des chuckled and swayed around her, draping an arm over her shoulder and sliding a finger down one of her ears, causing her to shudder involuntarily. "Why is anyone interested in pretty little house sluts?" She murmured thickly, giving her reflection a wicked smile.

Ina smirked. "It's like that is it."

Des withdrew with a wink. "Mm. Either way, it'll be fun for them to try and figure it out, won't it? Are they? Aren't they? All those rich, bored, and curious little girls will that much more curious...and who knows what they'll let slip in their eager curiosity."

Inanna rose and eyed the dress she was wearing. It was one of Des' which her talented Khajiit slave had altered while Ina had been bathing. "Isn't this a little covered up for a 'house slut' then?" It was more traditional than what Des was wearing. That is to say, less skin, and where Desdemona's dress was a subtle arrangement of black, blue, and purple layers with silver detailing, her own robes were an intense green and gold pattern, and were more closely fitted around the hips with a broad, flat belt cinching in her waist. When she moved she reminded herself of the sea snakes one saw twisting in the waters from a night ship out of Khuul. 

It was kind of hard to move in...restrictive. And it was rubbing her upper thigh in a weird way...

"You're a Telvanni darling, not some cheap Dres courtier."

"Ah. I stand corrected. Well then my gracious lady, shall we?"

Normally Inanna wasn't down for this sort of thing, and in general she tried to keep her mouth shut, hoping it would come off as aloof and mysterious rather than nervous and uncomfortable. Des made it easy. As exotic as a Dunmer lady in traditional clothing was to these, it had nothing on Des who was simply magnetic. They showed up veiled, which seemed to start them off on the right foot.

They were announced and Des was magnanimous as she removed her veil, smiling brilliantly for the watching crowd. Yet, still regal, imperial even. She stepped into the small ballroom and seemed to draw all eyes. It was hard to put her finger on how she was doing it as Ina couldn't taste any sickly sweet spells in the air. Something in her gestures or movements perhaps. But then the gestures themselves seemed familiar.

Desdemona introduces her affectionately as "little Llathyanea." Inanna cursed her for it each time she was forced to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the way their tongues kept tripping over the breathy syllables. 'You may call me Latha,' became her mantra for the first hour of the evening. But she supposed it did lend a certain authenticity to the illusion. 

She eventually found herself nodding and smiling, and saying vague things to a group of young, fashionable ladies who were intensely curious about court life in Morrowind. She wasn't having too much luck with fishing for info in this crowd...she hadn't the foggiest idea how to handle them. Threats, boasts, and crude jokes worked for her usual 'types' but she was in way over her head here. She felt like she was on the defensive and was just trying not to screw up. Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea after all.

In the corner of her eye she noticed Desdemona with two gentlemen and it finally hit her. Azura. Desdemona was channeling Azura, the epitome of the gracious queen-bitch if ever there was one. She'd appeared to them as an apparition once or twice...or rather she'd appeared to Emily, but they'd been there to witness the miracle. Damn...she was good. She must have really been paying attention. She watched fascinated as she gestured to the group of musicians playing in the far corner: the fingers, the twist in her wrist...it was perfect, almost ethereal. The men were enthralled. Hell, she was enthralled.

"Latha?"

"Hm?"

"I...ah I was just wondering how long you were going to be in the city." Ina met the young lady's eye and was inspired. She couldn't do Azura and play elegant queen...but there was one or two Daedra she was intimately familiar with, and who were far more her speed. 

When in doubt ask, 'what would Boethia do?' He'd eat these little girls for dinner and use their bones for darts, that's what. Boethia's code went something like this, "Can I kill it? If not can I screw it? If not, how do I manipulate it into a false sense of security until I can do either?" It wasn't a deep philosophy, but it had its moments.

She let a slow smile spread across her lips and shrugged negligently. Her eyes held the girls, just like a snake's would, and she let them narrow suggestively. The girl blushed and Ina gave her a hint of tooth. "Just for tonight, my sweet." She spotted a couch nearby in the corner of her eye decided to head for it. She settled comfortably into it with one arm draped over the back.

The group of girls were eying her uncertainly. She allowed her smile to become a tiny bit more predatory as she eyed them back in turn, one at a time. That was how Feric had done his 'I'm alpha here' routine, wasn't it? If it worked for him, why not for her? She decided the little pointy nosed blonde looked like she knew more than she should about the way the world worked, she let her eyes linger there and patted the seat next to her. To her amazement it actually worked. She looked positively delighted and more than a little smug as she cast a parting glance to the group. They shifted closer as well. Not letting the preferential treatment stop them.

As with any battle she let the opponent make the first move, at least now that she'd issued the challenge. Inanna stared her down with her little smile until the girl caved and shifted awkwardly. "Are you enjoying the party?"

Poor thing, what a terrible opening volley. "Not really." She answered honestly. "Are you?"

"Ah...I've been to better." She straightened and looked knowingly at Ina who smiled knowingly back. Despite the fact that what they knew wasn't immediately apparent.

"Even in this town?" 

She seemed to find that slightly offensive. "This is the heart of the empire, everyone who's everyone comes through here at some point...though some are more interesting than others."

"Why don't you tell me about some of the interesting ones? Maybe it'll inspire us to find a way to liven this" she waved to the room, "up." An obvious move: the trap disguised as an easy out. But this was easy prey, and once the chosen girl seemed to lag, the others were quick to pick up her slack. Easy wasn't even the word for it. All she had to do was lounge there looking like a hungry, and somewhat bored, serpent while the group of them vied to tell her their most interesting stories. 

She let them go on for a bit before leading them to more recent news with an "ah, but that was so long ago..." And off they went again. It still wasn't revealing anything useful. It was like setting a web to catch a dragon fly and having the whole thing cluttered up with gnats.

But, then, she was Telvanni, well, she was pretending to be Telvanni. So she also found it boring...because it was boring. Sometimes honesty is the best policy. 

"You know," She interrupted, looking as bored as she felt, "At home affairs, backhanded business dealing, and assassination attempts are so common that they're hardly worth the air needed to mention them. You might as well be talking about the weather...which is also, by the way, more interesting than yours." She turned a feral grin on them. She then sighed and cast her gaze over the room. "I mean really, our idea of a parlor chat is taking guesses at which of his cloned daughters Divayth Fyr is fucking these days. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 07



"Elaine has money on Uupse, but I keep telling her, just because she's the favorite doesn't mean she's the bed warmer. Plus she's too busy with the corprusarium, looking after all those poor creatures, and probably getting what she needs from that Argonian of hers to boot. I've heard they can do unspeakable things with those forked tongues of theirs." She smirked. "My money is on Alfe. Very sweet and has a rather submissive air about her."

They looked appropriately shocked and horrified...and fascinated.

"Clones? What are clones?"

"His own daughters!?"

"What on earth is a corprusarium? It sounds dreadful!" 

"The product of some very strange experiments. Yes. And a dungeon chock full of corpus monsters, and, I've heard, a Dwemer...but that seems very unlikely to me. Seeing as how the last must have died well more than a thousand years ago." She answered blithely.

"It's not shocking to you that he's openly sleeping with his daughters? How does he get away with something like that." Another asked still aghast. She just laughed. A perfectly honest reaction. And gave a perfectly honest answer.

"Divayth is quite possibly the most powerful mortal alive, I don't think he could even begin to care what anyone else thinks. If you told him, he'd either laugh or ignore you...if you're very lucky. Besides, he's actually rather personable, and has a lovely sense of humor." She didn't actually know if there was anything doing with his daughters, nor did she care, but that last part was a fact. She'd gotten a right kick out of the old goat when she'd met him. He was pretty funny. Scary as hell, but funny.

"I don't suppose you have anything amusing like that here? No rogue sorcerers with strange experiments in their basements? A coven of Argonian vampires in the Temple District? Some sanguinite Altmer necromancer whose been stealing virgins off the streets to do ghastly things with them...and then do even ghastlier things after that...you know, fun." She smiled benignly, waiting for the seeds to sprout.

There was a pause, then one girl licked her lips and made an offering. "Well, I did hear about one mysterious Altmer who's taken up my cousins house in just the district you speak of, actually."

"Oh, him." another interrupted. "Not much to say about him. He never leaves from what I've heard. Just stays locked up inside all day and night. Never goes to any parties."

"He must go out some time." Ina interjected.

"No. I live directly across from him, and I've seen him once. That's it."

"Well did he at least look interesting."

She shrugged. "Yes and no. He was terribly handsome, but not very stylish. He had rather long hair, far more than is fashionable, and he had those flouncy robes you sometimes see the really old Mer wearing." she glanced at Ina. "Not you of course. I think your robes are simply lovely."

Inanna merely smile thinly at her.

"I heard he was here on trade business." Offered another.

"No, he's here visiting the mages guild. My brother said he saw him there. My brother is studying enchantments right now. His instructor says he's the best in his cohort."

The other girls rolled their eyes, but Inanna obliged her. "How nice for your family. Was it in this enchantments course that your brother encountered our mysterious Altmer? Perhaps he is only a visiting mage then, just here for dull research."

"Oh no. He said he was speaking to Caranya. And that when my brother came closer they both stopped talking and glared him nearly to death. He thought his heart was going to stop. He said the Altmer was even more terrifying than Caranya." she offered gleefully.

"No!" cried another in politely feigned disbelief.

"Yes!"

Inanna simply cocked a brow. "Caranya is a master-wizard on the council of mages," the blonde explained, "but she refused to renounce her ties to necromancy when Traven placed a ban on it. She's one of the few in the mages guild powerful enough to get away with such an open challenge to his authority."

"Perhaps our Altmer is a necromancer after all." Ina mused aloud.

"They are both Altmer nobles though, it could just be one of 'those' things. You know how they get when they're together." Commented another.

Everyone including Inanna nodded sagely. Fetching Altmer.

They continued to chat, but she got little more out of them that could be considered useful. She rewarded them with a few scandalous Telvanni tales, some of which were actually true, and then extricated herself as gracefully as she could.

Desdemona had a new group around her, and she was headed to join her when she was waylaid halfway across the room. A Breton looking man with grey eyes and light brown hair, of middling age and middling looks, but his impeccable manners and dress were apparent even to the likes of her. 

She tried to hide her surprise as he took her hand and bowed over it. "Mademoiselle, this is an unforgivable presumption, but your rare beauty has compelled me to speak to you." Definitely a Breton. "Please, show mercy to this poor palmer and accept an offer to dance, and I will swear to importune you no longer, if that is your wish."

What could she say to that. Not much. Frankly with an opening like that, anything she said would probably sound lame or coarse, so she hedged her bets and nodded as gracefully as she could. Of course she remembered that she couldn't actually dance when they were half way to the floor.

She panicked. "Ah, sir, perhaps this is not such a good idea." She'd taken the arm he'd offered her and was now gripping it to slow their forward motion. 

He looked curiously at her and she willed the blush out of her cheeks. "I accepted your offer forgetting that I am not at all familiar with the dances of this country. Please..."

He got a strange glint in his eye but smiled. "I am most disappointed." 

"Perhaps we might watch the other dancers together instead?" Was that something these people did? Or did that just sound weird. His smile did seem to soften and the glint dimmed, so that was a good thing, right?

"I'd be delighted." 

Thank god. She tried to keep the relief out of her own smile. "Latha, by the way."

"Just Latha?"

"Llathyanea, actually, but I find most hu—"

"Llathyanea. What a lovely name." 

He pronounced it perfectly. She found herself inexplicably pleased by that, though for the life of her she couldn't imagine why. It's not like it was even her name. "Thank you. And what might I call you, sir?"

"Arthur."

"Just Arthur?" she teased. He chuckled. 

She noticed he was still holding her hand between his...his thumb was caressing the back of her hand...and for some reason she was grinning at him like an idiot...

That slick son of a bitch. 

She pulled up her own spell, absorbing his charm until it was little more than a tickle at the back of her mind, and with a much milder smile extracted her hand from his. He was watching her carefully and the glint came back. She knew what it was now: 'thwarted!' Damn right buddy, she groused mentally while keeping her smile polite. "I'm relatively new to society," she explained, deciding to keep on the topic of dancing, "so I have yet to learn all the social niceties which accompany it."

"You seem to handle the ladies with aplomb...and they are the most dangerous aspect of society, by far." He murmured while pretending to examine a nearby group of dancers.

She bit back her smirk. "Do you think so?" She cast a sidelong glance at him. "I can imagine something more dangerous than them." He returned his glance and the glint in his eye changed.

"I overheard you speaking of a mysterious Altmer earlier...your friend also seems interested in this Altmer..." Apparently they were just getting straight to the meat of the matter then. Good.

"Does she?" Inanna did smirk then. "That must mean there's actually something to be interested in. Good to know. I'll have to exchange notes with her later in the evening." She arched a brow. "Did you have something to add to the gossip pool? Perhaps your looking for something in exchange?" His own lip twitched into an almost smirk of its own.

"There isn't much to say about the gentleman...merely a visiting practitioner visiting the university. They're a common thing here."

"Hm, If you overheard us, then you'd know I knew as much already. It doesn't seem like something to interest Muthsera Elaine. So there must be something neither of us know."

"That's what I was wondering. Perhaps you might find out for both of us?"

Inanna chuckled. "So that's what you're up to. I'll save you the trouble. If she's interested it's because he's either obscenely rich, or obscenely powerful. She has a thing for power-crazy Mer with more money than they know what to do with."

"Ah. She's a gold digger?"

Inanna laughed at that. "I call her that with affection...but that's far too common a term for her. She is far more than that. It's an honest preference from what I've seen...as much as you can call it that. If she's a whore, than she's a whore who enjoys her work far too much. 

"Personally I don't know how she does it sometimes, or what she finds so appealing. I find them exhausting much of time. Their arrogance, presumption, and casual cruelty is sometimes more than I can bear...but we all do what we must to protect what's ours. Even when it becomes a test of the will." she cast another glance at him, remembering herself. Honesty was fine, it made for the best lies...but there's a limit. 

The glint vanished entirely and his shoulders seemed to relax slightly. He was nodding. "We do indeed." He agreed. Also with perfect honesty. It seemed to strike a cord. A servant appeared before them with glasses of wine and broke the moment of cordiality. Arthur took the glasses and handed one to her, clinking them together lightly. 

"Here's to the triumph of the will over presumptive arrogance and casual cruelty."

"And to protecting what's ours." 

"Salut."

Over top of her glass she spotted Desdemona giving her the strangest look. She didn't know what to do with it, so she ignored it. "So," she continued, picking up the conversation. "Do you have a type?"

"Power-crazed Mer with more money than they know what to do with." He muttered dryly. She laughed at that. 

"Is that so? Trying to weed out the competition then? I suppose the real determining factor is which way his pendulum swings. That will determine the winner right off. Unless he swings both ways of course."

He smirked. "Only in a sense. I make my living liaising for the rich and eccentric, not bedding them. It's profitable work...but difficult at times. Some times more than others."

"I can imagine. I doubt you'll find any competition in that regard. I wouldn't try any funny stuff with her though, she'll catch on much faster than I did...and wouldn't be so forgiving." She cast a sideways look in his direction.

"I apologize for that."

She chuckled. "Only because I caught you."

He chuckled as well. "That I can't deny my lady."

"You know, I think you'd do well in Morrowind. Bretons, it seems to me, have better aptitude for the courts there than most. You should consider it if you're looking for something new, and if I may say, better. If you like I can mention it to my friend, she's been very helpful in getting my foot in that particular door. She could do wonders for a man of your considerable charm and breeding."

He seemed to like that. A lot. Well who didn't like a little recognition and ego soothing. 

"That's very kind my dear." Was his noncommittal response, but she decided to interpret it as the polite social form for 'hell yes, woman!' They sipped at their wine and watched the dancers, and made idle conversation about trade tariffs and the truly horrifying shade of pink half the ladies in the room had smeared their cheeks with. Maybe this high-class thing isn't so hard after all, she considered. 

Eventually she got tired of the weird looks Des kept shooting in her direction and decided to investigate. She thanked Arthur, reiterated her intention to mention his interests to "Elaine", and made her way over.

Desdemona introduced her to whoever was around, then decided she needed some air and dragged Inanna out to a nearby balcony. "Well, what did he say?"

Inanna blinked at the intensity of the question."Who?"

"Delatour?"

"Again, who?"

"Delatour, the one from the list, the one working with the mysterious Altmer..." she was looking at her like she was addled.

"How should I know what he says?"

"You were just gassing it up with him over a glass of rather mediocre Vernage, you dolt." 

Inanna felt herself go pale. 

"You seriously didn't know?"

"How the hell was I supposed to know? He said his name was Arthur."

"Yes, Arthur Delatour."

Actually...it was kind of obvious now that she thought about it. Shit. Seriously, what was wrong with her head? Shit. If this was because of that mating thing she was so going to thrash Feric within an inch of his life. 

"Ah...he...he was curious about your interest in his boss, then, I guess. I thought he thought you were competition."

"What did you tell him?"

She shrugged. "Just that if you were interested it was, well, because you're a gold digging whore." She grinned at the very unimpressed look which crossed Des's face. "Not in those words...exactly...well sort of those words. I also told him you're good for hook ups with the Morrowind high rollers, and offered to mention him to you. I, ah, don't think he likes his job much actually, or the guy he's working for." She bit her lip and considered that. "Shit...that's sort of awkward....the guy's snaky, but he was kind of growing on me. Sort of reminded me of you actually."

Des surprised her by grinning maliciously. "Ha! See, it's not always black and white is it? Moral ambiguity bitch, deal with it." She shook her finger at her triumphantly. Inanna sneered back.

"Don't start with me woman."

Des sobered slightly and leaned back to glance into the room full of high-end carousers, looking thoughtful. "I do see potential in this though...do you think we could swing him? If I could offer him more money...more power..."

"Less dickishness, actually."

"What?"

"I think his problem, after the money/power thing, is the fact that he can't stand what arrogant s'wit the crazy, rich Mer of the world tend to be. If you can sell him on that, it might help."

"I'd have to lie."

She grinned and shrugged. "And that's a problem why? If you can swing him, or at least neutralize him, then I don't care. Besides, anyone who chooses to associate with rich Mer are just asking for trouble. This way he gets all the sugar daddies he can take, you get a new pawn to play with in that cluster-fuck you call 'society,' and I have one less person to kill. Everybody wins, huzzah."

"You're a vicious little thing aren't you?"

"Nobody's perfect. Now lets get the hell out of here, this dress is starting to chafe in places I didn't know I had."

%%

Her timing was perfect, or heinous...depending on your perspective. 

After ditching the party and changing back into her clothes Inanna had Des teleport her back to the ruins. She found herself in the little room just off of the hidden exit, the one that last zombie had been hiding in. The thought gave her a momentary shudder. 

Des, she knew would be headed straight to bed since teleporting another can be pretty taxing. She was also headed straight for bed, when the front door opened beneath her and Cyrus appeared in the opening. He went directly inside, an anxious expression on his face. And who but Feric should appear behind him. He paused and closed the door but shifted into lion form before continuing. And then he didn't continue. Instead he tilted his head, and looked up....way up, and stared. She looked down. Deja vu.

"Hey green." She whispered, forgetting for the moment that she wasn't talking to him any more. She dropped down into a crouch next to him, though he didn't jump back this time, and she had nothing smarmy to say. "I have some news from the city. That Merc, the only who led the attack by the city, he was spotted not too far south of here." He nodded. "You spotted him too?" He nodded again. "Shit." 

He didn't need to nod for her to sense his affirmation of that last thought. However, he did let out a suitably pissed snarl for good measure.

She touched two fingers to her forehead in benediction. "Verily." She murmured with mock reverence.

There was a rather long pause before he turned to her, his muzzle pausing inches away from her shoulder, his eyes watchful. 

She remained where she was, watching back to see what he would do. 

Ever so slowly he inched towards her, dipping his head until his cheek brushed her arm. She gave in with a sigh and lightly scratched the fur beneath his ear. "I'm still mad at you." she whispered. He looked up and tilted his head at her, nuzzling her hair. 

She chuckled. "Are you deaf, I just said I'm still mad." He pulled away and tipped his head again, and she realized he was asking a question and not just getting fresh. "Oh, this? Yeah, I was in disguise in the city. Apparently there are people looking for me, so Des did her thing. It'll fade in a few hours. Course that means my house is probably compromised too." 

She stood and took a deep breath. "Well, we should probably catch everyone up. After you Serjo."

His head twitched, and his eyes took on a familiar glow. "Ah-ah, no, I don't think so. Don't look at me like that. I'm still mad at you, and don't you dare forget it." She held up a warning finger...but it didn't seem to help. Fetcher.

He turned. She followed. What else could she do after all? 

...Fetcher.

%%% 

After much argument and deliberation it was decided that a group would go south to take out the fort before the hunters could get much closer. Of course in order to ensure it worked and that they didn't take the chance of losing anyone, a fairly good portion of them would have to go. Especially after the close call she and Feric had the last time. That wasn't a risk they could afford to take again, and certainly not one either of them were prepared to let the others take.

Naturally Inanna wanted to go, but, when all the cards were on the table, she was the obvious choice to stay. On the off chance something did go down while they were away, or that this latest maneuver was a trap (something she refused to discount), then she was the one best suited to manage the wards and traps they'd laid for just such an occasion and get the little ones to a secure location.

Bella immediately volunteered to stay to protect the cubs as well. Owyn offered...but three didn't seem like quite enough to go on the hunt, and Inanna figured she and Bella could manage since they also had Lucas and Aina, not to mention home turf advantage.

Frankly she didn't think the competition had the resources for a proper two front war at this point. Even if it was a trap, they'd have to expend some warm bodies down south to give them the time to make a real go of it.

At least she hoped so. 

Either way it was a bit of a nail biter...and here she was, cold and alone in some lonely corner of the ruin with no warm body of her own to take it out on. In any sense of the phrase.

Well maybe not. She opened her eyes as just such a warm body magically appeared behind her on the sleeping roll. A thick, bare arm slid around and over hers, pulling her in and closer to said warm body. She clenched her jaw and stared hard at the gray of the wall across from her. 

She could feel it. The pull...the need...the overwhelming urge to turn around and bury her fingers in his hair and devour him completely. She frowned at the wall. Was that her...or was that this mating thing? The bond, or whatever they call it. How was she supposed to even tell the difference? What if Des was right and everything since that first night was just...a compulsion...a byproduct.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



Dear readers,

Or those of you who yet remain, however few of you there are. I apologize for the dreadful wait, but here, finally, is the next installment of our story. It's been a rough year, so opportunities for indulging my authorial habit have been few and far between. 

However, I have already begun to continue, and intend to eventually finish the story, I just can't promise how long it will take. I'm sorry for that, but there's really nothing for it. 

That said, if you're still around and enjoying the story, then I'm more pleased than you can know to have given you some moment of pleasure, however brief.

Yours,

Enithermon.

@@@

Normally, she would never complain. 

Normally, she would preen and crow— gleefully skipping off to find someone's face to rub it in. 

But sometimes not. Sometimes it just sucked to be right. Sometimes it sucked hard.

She said they should expect an attack. She said there was a good chance that they were going to triangulate in on their location. That it was going to be sooner rather than later. And voila! That's what they got.

Once Feric had taken Mirisa, Owyn, and Cyrus to check out the new headquarters for the hunters it hadn't taken the bastards long to make their move. N'chow s'wit fetchers!

Lucas had spotted movement, then come in to warn Bella. Moments later they were officially under siege. 

Now they had to find some way to be 'not' under siege. Unfortunately it didn't look like simply pummeling them into submission was going to be one of those ways today. The halls were narrow and there was a chance one or two of the little fuzzballs might get underfoot in the process. Ambrose was the only one with enough good sense to run for it. 

Too much was at risk.

Inanna growled as she shoved what she could in her pack and slung it across her shoulder, letting it bump lightly against her hip. Thank Azura for feathering spells. She also found the sword she'd stolen for Feric and tucked it awkwardly behind her quiver as well. She wasn't about to lose it to the likes of them.

She heard a distant shout echo in the halls and knew the place had been breached. Well, the seal she'd activated on the front door could only last so long...of course it didn't last long at all...which meant they had a magic user with them. She cursed as she skidded into the hall. Aina was already standing with the cubs at the far end, one of the fair haired twins in her arms, the other twin in Ambrose's. Mori and Talon were already in cat form and lurking behind the others.

"Good. Go!" She hissed, pointing to the hall behind them, and in the direction of the gate to the lower levels. Aina only nodded and the others followed her without looking back.

Where the hell were Lucas and Bella? A snarl coming from another hall answered that question for her. She headed toward it, trusting that Aina was doing the smart thing and leading the little ones in the opposite direction.

She pulled an arrow and readied it, nocking and releasing it as she rounded the corner. It slammed into a hunter's shoulder. Lucas used his opponent's moment of pain and distraction to go for his legs. The man was wearing leather, so the cracking sound which filed the hall was probably the man's shin splintering into itty bitty pieces.

Of course it was hard to hear over the screaming. Lucas twisted his head, still holding what was left of the leg and threw the slim man against the wall, knocking him out. Or killing him. She couldn't tell.

"Effective. But a little...ew." She muttered as she stepped over the crumpled figure. She slipped another arrow into her bow and aimed it down the hall. There was a flicker of movement, but whoever was down there was lingering around the next bend. She eyed the wall and tipped her head at Lucas. "Get going. Protect Aina. She's got her hands full and needs her back covered."

He hesitated, no doubt torn between the urge to fight—and more likely to resist any command Inanna gave— and the powerful urge to actually go and look after his girl. There was a reason she'd worded it like that instead of 'quick, run away!'

She was many things. But stupid? Not on your sweet life.

She shot him a quick look, "If you don't protect what's yours who will, Shadow?" 

That seemed to be all the push he needed, and after what she imagined was a final twinge of resistance, he was off.

She turned her attention back toward whoever was lurking down the hall, grinding her teeth in annoyance. In the narrow and winding halls of the ruin it was impossible to tell how many there were. And since she didn't know where Bellane was, she couldn't exactly let loose with the crazy just yet. She crept slowly forward and cast a life-detecting spell and narrowed her eyes as two glowing spots appeared ahead and to the right.

There was a trap in the hall that Des had set up...a sort of shielding spell which could block physical matter as well as magica and keep them trapped where they were. But once again, she didn't know where Bellane was. 

Or did she? She saw another light appear ahead, from farther away. A startled shout confirmed it for her, and she ran ahead, no longer bothering with caution. Well, not too much caution at least. 

She still led with the point of her arrow as she rounded the corner, her back pressed against the wall. 

The two hunters really weren't paying her much mind, however, as there was a good sized lion skillfully holding their attention. The hunter closest to Bella was swinging a sword at the lioness to keep her at bay, while the second was drawing an arrow and taking aim. She didn't wait any longer than it took to register who was who and doing what. Her long-readied arrow nested itself deeply in the archer's back. Their own shot went off wildly down the hall as they dropped to their knees with a feminine cry of surprise and pain. A second shot finished the job.

The other hunter was better armored, and their back gave an archer little to work with. Thankfully, the fighter was still preoccupied with the lion and had barely flinched when their partner went down. Inanna docked her bow quickly and drew a dagger as she sidled carefully toward the man-shaped tin can. 

Her caution paid off and she wasn't caught completely off guard when the hunter wheeled on her as well, cutting through the air between them. Unfortunately he had a height advantage, and was lanky enough to make getting in close with a knife almost impossible, especially with the long blade he was wielding. What's more the confines of these halls meant she wasn't going to be able to use her speed to much advantage either. Where was she to go after all?

The one advantage they did have was numbers. He was obliged to keep two of them at bay...but this was an advantage which wouldn't last long if another hunter showed up. She cursed and pulled up her fire, wishing, and not for the first time, that she was better at distance magic. She worked up as much as she thought she could control, and hurled it toward him. 

It hit weakly and did little damage. However, he stumbled, and the arch of his sword went wide, allowing Bellane to lunge. He recovered and swung again...but between the stumble and the second swing Ina had bridged the distance, and while the cat dodged the heavy blade, a much smaller blade managed to wedge its tip into the gap between his helm and cuirass. 

A well placed kick sent him to his knees allowing Bellane to join her on the safer side of the hall. And not a moment too soon. The life detection had worn off, but she didn't need it to hear they had more company closing in. 

They retreated, though pausing to activate the shielding spell. It was then that Ina noticed the blood on her fellow's flank. "Bella, can you heal that?"

Bellane shifted and clutched her bloodied side, using the wall to hold herself up. "It might take too long."

"Nah...this will hold. And I can supplement it while we're here. Go for it." She placed her hand over the inscription and focused her energy, letting it spill over and into the enchantment. She felt the surge of energy in the shield and it made her skin prickle as her magica fused with Des's. It wasn't a totally unfamiliar sensation.

She sighed. Mysticism did have its upsides occasionally. Messing with other people's spells and energy wasn't easy. For many it wasn't even possible. 

Inanna watched the hall and focused on pouring more juice into the enchantment. She could hear them approaching and smirked when two more hunters came around the corner. The lanky hunter they'd escaped wasn't with them and she wondered just how much damage she'd done.

They shouted out to the others that they'd "found them," and Inanna flinched as a spell crashed against the barrier between them. 

"You sure it's going to hold?" Bellane asked anxiously from behind her right shoulder.

"No worries Bella. I've got it." Well, there was some worry since they had a magic user with them, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. "As soon as you're good, go after the others. I've got something going, but I don't want you to accidentally get caught in it." She was about to elaborate, but there was now a small group of hunters drawing slowly nearer and she didn't want to ruin the surprise. 

The magic user, a Breton male from the looks of him was giving her dark look as he sent another spell hurtling toward her. She didn't like the feel of it. It felt like a dispel, and a decently strong one at that. If there weren't already two spells at play, it might have done a number on it. 

A moment later Ina sensed a familiar tingle of magica and knew that Bella had shifted. The expressions on the faces she could see confirmed it for her. Another moment later and she knew she was alone in the hall with the hunters. 

She grinned maliciously at the Breton who was still pounding away with his spells, alternating between destruction and dispel magic. She grinned because she knew something he didn't. Unless he was a very subtle and clever practitioner, he was probably thinking that she was using some sort of alteration magic and was simply renewing the same spell over and over....creating new shields to replace the ones he was battering. Of course the fact that he was just 'throwing' spells at her, as if trying to break a window with a rock, indicated that he wasn't all that subtle. If he stopped to figure it out he might see what was going on, but from that distance how could he? How could he know that she was actually absorbing his own spells and using them to recharge the shield he was trying to destroy. Again, she wasn't about to start lauding mysticism, but she could admit it did have its rare moments...when one knew how to use it.

Of course she couldn't keep it up forever. Channeling the offensive spells into the shield was still using up her own resources, even if it took longer. When she was confident Bella was well out of range she released her contact with the spell and slouched...just a little, and pulled out an arrow while backing away slowly. 

The Breton took heart and began a fresh attack. The barrier came down three spells later.

Inanna loosed her arrow toward him and he parried it easily with a shielding spell of his own. The others began to close in as she drew another arrow. The second was blocked with a shield from one of the more combat ready hunters who closed in while the mage fell back in order to protect his delicate, unarmored hide. 

It was a good thing he did. If he hadn't he might have noticed the way her lips were moving and might have been able to throw up a shield to protect his comrades as they closed in for the kill. One Redguard woman did get a flash of something like awareness in her eyes, but never had the chance to call out. Or at least, Ina hadn't heard her if she did. The roaring in her ears might have blotted it out.

Inanna shuddered as the growing ball of searing heat in her core grew to almost unbearable heights, condensing and tightening for a tense moment before exploding outward. It licked across her skin, along her limbs, and finally out and away, turning the space around her into a roaring inferno. 

She fought to control the blinding flames this time, not wanting to empty herself completely since there was still an escape to make...but she was no proper mage, and it was a difficult spell to get a handle on once released. There was a reason its inventor had named it Wild Fire. 

Finally she managed to get some kind of control over it...pulling it back inside of her a little at a time. She tried to blink the dry heat from her eyes and stumbled back against the wall, forcing her senses back to work. She could see the writhing bodies on the ground...heard them groaning...one was still up— the mage. She tensed and reached for an arrow, but realized a moment later that he was shaken and cringing...still hiding behind a protective spell with his arms thrust over his head in an instinctive protective gesture. 

Good enough, she decided, and took off as fast as her rubbery legs would carry her. She felt drained, and her body ached from the abuse, but at least it wasn't desperate like the last time she'd used the spell. As such it was uncomfortable, and she was slower than normal, but it wasn't hard to get herself down the hall. 

She veered left down a side hall and up a set of stairs, dodging a trap on her way, one which sensed motion at shoulder height, or head height on her—something easily avoided by cats and those who knew where to duck. She cursed, however, as new noises indicated hunters on the move behind her.

She was able to get to the push block to open the gate, but dropping to the ground below was a challenge...what with an archer trying to aerate her on the way down. She dropped into a crouch and dive-rolled into the hall. The timed gate didn't come down as quick as she'd have liked so she decided not to wait for one of the morons trailing her to set off the traps on their own. 

She only hopped that a well placed arrow would create the movement necessary to set off the trap. 

Turns out it wasn't. She swore again as a hunter caught up to her just as the gate was coming down. He was a sturdy fellow and alarmed her to no end by grabbing the bottom of the gate.

She felt her eyes go wide. His face broke into a fearsome grin as he stilled the gate and began lifting it. 

Screw that noise. She curled her lip into a sneer as her hand curled into a ball and lashed out through the bars of the gate—bars set wide enough apart to accommodate her small, but very fast and very accurate fist.

There's nothing like a broken nose to shatter someones concentration. The gate came down with a crash and she took off down the hall...though not so carelessly as to set off the older Ayleid traps Des had reset for them. Of course they probably weren't going to be necessary anyway, she mused, as a telling rumble and vibration in the floor and walls let her know that the trap she had failed to set off was finally seeing action. 

She wasn't in perfect shape by the time she caught up with everyone else, but she was certainly functional and bore nothing more than a few scuffs and bruises for her efforts. 

Once they were together, she and Lucas led the way through the ruin, scouting ahead to make sure the route hadn't been breached. It hadn't.

There was one hunter guarding the inside of the door but he went down quickly underneath a well placed kick from above. A quick check showed a clear coast...clear enough to slip out and into the woods at least. Bella led them off, letting Inanna take the rear with her bow.

Bella shifted once they were hidden and it was safe to pause for breath. She cast a furtive glance around them and ran an anxious hand through her light brown hair. "You were right."

Inanna snorted. "Don't remind me. Now what?"

It was a good question. They were on their own, with their biggest and strongest too far to be reached.

The Imperials had a saying: Divide and conquer. Divide your enemy in order to weaken them and wipe them out. Well, they were divided. But like hell they were getting conquered. Not if she had anything to do with it. Besides, there was another method of dividing and conquering. It's called flanking. 

They could hide the cubs and split up...come at them from the sides...Lucas could help...and Aina for that matter. Maybe they could lead them to that clearing where she and Lucas practiced archery so often and take pot shots at them for a while...

"Take them, and go."

Inanna blinked at the woman. "Wait...what?!"

"We might not get away with so many cubs. We should split up. I can lead them away and buy you time."

"Ok....sure, but shouldn't it be the other way around? I can lead them off..."

"No. Go! You have to protect them."

"I-ah, Bella, aren't you better equipped to look after them? I'm not really the mommy type, and" she dropped her voice, "if something were to happen to you...it's just better if I go. They need you, they can't lose you."

"No."

"No?"

Bella reached out and gripped her shoulder hard. "Where would I take them, Inanna? I know no one, I don't know where it's safe."

Inanna opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came out. She had a point. Dammit...this was too much...too much, too fast. Bullshit from her ancestors...this crap about mating...ambush...and now Bella. What if she...no, she wasn't going to go there. Survive first, then freak out. That's how this shit worked, right?

"Ok," she conceded with a sigh, "meet us at the house...but approach with extreme caution. If it looks like it might have been compromised, even just a bad feeling, head to Chorrol instead. Go to the fighters guild. Tell the guild head, Modryn, that you're a friend of mine and Feric's. He'll understand." She took a deep settling breath. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes. Just..." she didn't finish, but her thoughts were writ large in her expression.

"Don't worry, I will. Like they're my own."

"Thank you...now go...we won't have long."

Inanna turned and looked over the several sets of wide shining eyes that looked back up at her. She was filled with a rare dread and uncertainty, and it made her broad grin feel oddly tight. "Ok kiddies, adventure time!"

**

If the hunters had indeed followed them, then Inanna and the cubs led them on a merry chase. She sent both Aina and Lucas off, fanning out as they moved. If they were being approached from either direction they would be able to guard their flanks. 

It seemed to be unnecessary, however, and after taking the scenic route they finally found themselves crouching along the North side of the city walls. The sun had been down for some time, and the moonless night gave them wonderful cover. Inanna slung off her pack and gestured for the others to come in close. 

Like all the houses she lived in, the city itself had a secret back door. Most people, even those who live there didn't know about it. She didn't know why it was there or who put it there...but it was well shielded. It was the shielding spell she'd felt which had tipped her off when she was out running in the woods one night. She'd caught a tingle from the spell and had returned to investigate. Of course the shield kept the entrance, a small hole in the wall invisible, but it also kept physical matter from passing through.

She pushed the additional brush out of the way to expose the gap...barely large enough for most to crawl through, but Lucas was the biggest of them and he was slim enough in build to get through...if tightly. She knelt next to it, holding her hands out in front of the invisible gap, just inches away, until she felt the buzz of energy against the palms of her hands.

"I'm going to open it...be quick...I don't know how long I can hold it. Stay where you are once you're through. If I don't make it, I'll come get you."




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



She focused her mind as best she could and forced the spell back. It was too strong a spell to negate completely, but she was able to create a well of dispelling energy at the center of the gap, spreading it until it was large enough for the young lions to fit through.

They all managed to get through, even Inanna...though she felt the effects of over-extension once she released the spell. She was able to hide the effects of the back lash...for the most part. Lucas was eying her pretty good though as they made their way through the shadows. He must have seen her flinch or noticed something off. He was a clever boy that one. That and he made a habit of assuming people were up to something or hiding things. It was enough to make a Dunmer proud.

By the time she'd shepherded them in the back of the house and sent them upstairs to eat what they could find and sleep, she was too exhausted to do much more than crash into a chair with her feet on her desk and her aching eyes on the front door. 

She didn't know how much time had passed before Aina and Lucas appeared in front of her. She glanced up at them. They looked apprehensive. Which meant Aina looked tentative, hesitant...and Lucas had narrowed his eyes suspiciously. She smirked at them. It was a tired smirk though, and they could see it.

"You're exhausted. Go to sleep."

She arched a brow at Lucas. "Awfully bossy aren't we, Shadow?" He scowled. She was really going to have to teach him some new facial expressions. Just because you're suspicious of everyone doesn't mean you have to look it. In fact, it's better if they don't know and think they're getting away with something. Made it all the sweeter when you corrected their ignorance.

"Ina..." Aina began gently. "It...you had to hold them off at the ruin. Lucas said it was difficult for you to open that passage through the wall as well. We've both slept a little today already..."

Inanna smiled a little more gently. They meant well after all. "It's fine. I've had worse." And she had. Much.

"I'm...I'm sure you have," she continued, a little bolder, though she still looked cautious, "but don't you think it might be better, more prudent..."

Inanna sighed when she trailed off. "Aina, what are you afraid I'm going to say?"

She looked confused. "I—afraid?"

"Yeah, you look like I'm going to bite your head off or something. Do I strike you as unreasonable?"

Aina paused, then let out a chuckling sigh as her shoulders relaxed. "I don't know, "she shrugged, "I guess...I mean it sounds petulant to say out loud...but no one listens to me." She gave her a helpless smile. It faded when Inanna didn't smile back.

Instead she pulled her heels off the desk and leaned forward with her hands on her knees. She pointed up stairs to where the little ones were probably piled up in her bed. "They do." She pointed to the lean, dark, young man standing at her shoulder, "He does. Talk to us like you do to them. I've heard you talk Mori and Talon out of any number of stupid ideas."

"They're children...it's different."

"It might be if you sucked at it. But they respect you." She sighed, suddenly feeling way too tired....not herself. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and leaned back in her chair. "Look..." She began again, "Pretend I'm...say, Ambrose, and that you're explaining to me why practicing with exploding mage lights in the same room where Mirisa is trying to get some sleep, is a bad, and possibly life threatening idea." She paused as Aina chuckled, remembering the exact incident she spoke of. "Reason with me."

Aina smirked and shook her head, bemused. "Ok...ah...all right." she straightened and put on her game face. "Inanna. Do you really think it's wise to take first watch when you're clearly exhausted and at risk of overextending yourself, especially when there are two willing, comparatively well rested, and competent individuals who are offering to do it? What's more, if your abilities become compromised, how do you propose to keep track of five cubs and the two of us?" 

"Of course I don't think it's wise. I already knew it wasn't."

Aina blinked. "So...why are you?" Her game face slid off and she frowned. "If you knew that why didn't you ask?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Like I said, I've had worse. It's my job to look after you all and make sure you're safe. I'm not just going to fob that off on someone else."

"You had us flank you on the way here." She pointed out.

"Necessity. But this isn't me questioning your competence. It's not that I think you can't do it...I just perceive it as my responsibility, especially since you're under my roof... so it might not occur to me to ask. If you were Bella or Mirisa, I'd probably have done the same thing."

"So...you're being unreasonable then?" She looked confused. Inanna smiled tiredly and stood. "No," she stretched her arms over her head and yawned, "unreasonable would be if I didn't take you up on your perfectly reasonable offer. I was just being...mortal."

They both looked at her askew. Man was she tired. "Ok, I'm going to go join the pile." She was half way up the stairs and called down to them, "But if I get murdered in my sleep because you two were busy necking, I will haunt you both for eternity."

"Kynareth forbid." Lucas muttered. Aina giggled softly. Ina smirked and made her way to the bedroom. 

Big, soft bed, how I missed thee. 

***

Cold...the air was so cold...ah hell...sonofabitch.

Inanna opened her eyes, and not happily. She felt like she'd just gotten to sleep, and now this crap...

Blearily she looked up at the dark figure hovering in the shadows near the foot of her bed, illuminated only faintly by the light filtering in from the hall.

His voice was barely a whisper. "How sweet. I didn't picture you as the maternal type...but I suppose first impressions can be deceiving." He smirked, then raised a brow. "Though I'm a little unnerved by your choice in pets." As if in response a large, tan head rose up off the covers and turned to stare at the intruder, blinking grey, almond shaped eyes. 

Inanna glared, then very carefully disentangled her arm from Sonja who murmured a protest from beneath a mass of blond curls, but otherwise seemed to be sleeping soundly. 

"It's ok, luv, I've got this." She murmured to the young lioness who was now making a low growling sound.

Mori cocked her head curiously and watched as Ina shuffled out of the bed, still glaring a hole through the cloaked figure. Ina let out a low growl of her own to complement her glare. The figure eyed her carefully but didn't make any move.

"I can't begin to tell you how not happy I am right now." Inanna whispered.

"I can imagine." He returned dryly.

"Hall."

He nodded and she followed him out, closing the door carefully behind her. Her eyes darted toward the stairs as he turned to look at her. 

"They're awake...I came in through the pantry window." She nodded.

"Alright., Either I'm on your hit list or you have a response for me about the guild."

His smile was polite, but no less cold than it usually was.

"Response. For now."

"You know," she whispered harshly, "I'm having a very bad day, so please don't start with me."

His icy smile remained perfectly even, as if she'd never spoken. He slid his hand beneath his black robes and retrieved a black envelope. She took it, feeling the leather and marveling at how soft it was. "Please deliver this post haste, and be warned that it has been enchanted to incinerate itself within a quarter of an hour after it has been opened."

"Paranoid much?"

"We wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands, would we?"

"I hate to tell you this darlin', but we are the wrong hands."

He chuckled...and the sincere amusement she heard surprised her. "Yes, I suppose that's true enough." 

He glanced toward the window he'd supposedly come in through. "I should also warn you that there are at least two other contingents who had the same intentions as I this evening."

"Come again?"

"There is a skittish looking gentleman who has been watching the house for the last hour, no doubt waiting for the young persons down stairs to go to sleep. Just as he arrived, I saw another slip off and leave the city. From what little I saw it seemed your home was being watched with interest. If it had been one of my operatives I would say they were going to inform their superior that something of great interest had occurred. Of course that's only supposition on my part."

"Bloody Murder." She whispered, shaking her head. She glanced up at him. "It never rains but it pours, doesn't it?" She huffed out a breath. "Thanks for the heads up. You'll be happy to know I'm leaving now, and taking the letter with me." She glanced up into the darkness of his hood. "You didn't happen to get a look at the twitchy guy, did you?"

"Medium height, slight build, no cloak, short brown hair, imperial by the looks of it, with a slightly pointed looking face and eyes that are just a touch too close together. His posture gave him the air of a thief. The first operative was cloaked, and frankly, better at his job...meaning he left little in the way of a description. He had a heavier and broader frame than the first. But he was both stealthy, and probably a passable fighter based on his build and ease of movement."

She nodded. "That's what I figured. It's that first one which worries me...not that you care." She smirked dryly at him. "Well, your job is done. Consider your message delivered...unless I die, in which case I'll make my apologies directly to your boss."

He chuckled again at that. "I should be sorry to miss hearing that conversation."

"Yes, well I'd rather it not happen at all, thank you kindly."

"Indeed. So you'll be leaving now then?"

"That's the plan, as soon as I rouse the rug-rats."

"And you'll be able to escape undetected with so many children?"

"You'd be surprised."

"What of the thief?"

"I'll have to deal with it I suppose."

"Would...you like a hand with that?"

She paused and eyed him carefully. He just stared back at her with those black, cold eyes. She shrugged. "Sure. I don't trust him, so I'd rather he not have a chance to see what I'm up to. And I doubt he could tell me anything I don't already know at this point." She cocked a brow at him. "I'd rather we don't have any unexplained deaths in the morning though. Or any deaths for that matter. Plus if he's guild then finding one of their operatives with a brotherhood blade in his back wouldn't be a good start to a budding professional relationship."

He made a sour face. "I really hope you don't think we'd leave evidence. We are professionals after all."

She conceded the point with a nod. "Yeah, fine. That's your rep. I still don't want him dead. Just...scare him off. I imagine that wouldn't be much of a challenge for you.

She could see the faint smirk hovering at the corner of her mouth. "And you trust me?" He drawled.

"I trust that you're motivated by two things: getting the job done and where ever possible giving people the willies in the process. I also trust that you're professional enough to prioritize those two things in a respectable manner."

He nodded. "This is business after all....and I am very good at my business." He smoothed.

She rolled her eyes. "See there you go, professional...and then creepy." He really was. "I hate to admit it...but you're obviously good at what you do, on both accounts. Lucky for me that actually comes in handy in this instance."

"I'm flattered." He bowed slightly, half mockingly.

"Sure you are. Ok...give us... 10 turns? We'll slip out the back."

"The back?"

"Yeah, hidden doorway...I won't live anywhere without one."

"Prudent. Though I'm surprised I hadn't found it." 

"It worked then, didn't it?"

"Ina?" A soft voice whispered from behind her. Lachance tipped his head as his eyes slipped back over her shoulder to peer impassively down at the girl. Inanna turned back to look as well. She was standing, naked as an imp, in the door way. Her hands were on her non existent hips and her frizzy orange hair framing her frowning face. "Are we leaving?" She cast a pointed glare at the new comer. Ina smirked mentally....he was the bearer of bad news after all.

"We are. Go back inside while I finish up."

She ignored the command and squinted up at the hooded man. "Who're you?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. And doing a pretty good impression of an irritated Mirisa. The tough girl routine was cute, but it really wasn't the time for it. Before she could say so, Lachance stepped forward and stunned her into silence by pulling back his hood and bending down on one knee to bring himself to the girl's eye level. 

"I am Lachance, speaker and assassin for the Dark Brotherhood." He held out a hand. She eyed it warily then shook it.

"Mori. What's an assassin?" The movement shook Ina out of her shock and she stepped forward instinctively to put herself between them. Her alarm wasn't unwarranted...even if he wasn't a professional killer, there is something implicitly unnerving about the sight of a strange, armed, cloaked man and a 10 year old girl. All that vulnerability should never be so close to all that pure menace.

"Hey," she hissed, "get away fro--"

"It's ok." Mori looked up at her. "He won't hurt me right now." She looked him in the eye as if daring him to prove her wrong.

Inanna frowned. "Mori, an assassin is a murderer. His job is to hunt down and kill people." She explained and held out her hand to the girl, encouraging her to come over and take it.

Mori frowned and Ina felt sure she understood. She shook her hand at her. Mori ignored it. "Isn't that what you do?" Or maybe not. Inanna sighed.

"He's a hired killer. It's different. He does it for money."

The killer in question chuckled and rose to his feet. "She may have a point, Madam. As you said, we are both of us the 'wrong hands,' are we not? We serve the void in our own ways."

She wasn't sure what button he pushed, but she knew it when she felt it and hardened her eyes. "I don't care what you think you know about me. You know nothing about who or what I do or don't serve. Don't forget that. Also, shut up, no one asked you."

"Wait, people pay you? Why?"

He raised a brow at Mori, then made a show of musing over the question. "Why? Why does anyone want to end the life of another? Money, power," he smirked, but his eyes turned icy, "the pleasure of exercising your complete and unequivocal control over the life of another..."

Ina rolled her eyes. Mori made an irritated noise, as if to say the stupid assassin just wasn't getting it. The sound inexplicably comforted her. "No, no. Why don't they just do it themselves...why would they let someone else do it? Are they like...big babies or something?"

Inanna had to chuckled at that. She knew she should be pissed at Lachance for talking to the little girl like that, and that she should be getting said girl as far from the creepy murder as fast as possible...but it was kind of funny. Big babies indeed. She flashed back to the disgruntled look on Mori's face when she had been kept from finishing off that minotaur. That's my Mori for you, she thought with another chuckle.

The assassin chuckled as well. "And I suppose you do your own killing then?" 

Mori pouted slightly. "They won't let me. They say I'm too young." Then she brightened for a moment. "I killed a hunter once ..."she frowned once more, "he was kinda small though, might have been a wood elf actually...so does that count?" She looked up at them, her face bright and hopeful.

Ina caught the smile on the assassins face and decided it was the kind of smile she wouldn't mind punching off. It looked a little too pleased...a little too knowing. She knew what he was probably picking up on, and didn't want to go there...not yet. She knew the girl was probably going to walk down a dark path...but there was no reason she couldn't enjoy a few last rays of sunlight...even if they were fleeting.

She answered 'no', and he answered 'of course,' simultaneously. They exchanged acrid looks. "I know a Bosmer or two who might take umbrage with that," He murmured. She just kept glaring.

"Go back to the room, Mori." She repeated dully without breaking eye contact with the assassin. Enough was enough. 

Mori must have sensed the shift in mood and this time she obeyed.

"'Did you notice she said I wouldn't hurt her 'right now'? Clever girl. And so precocious." He commented once the door had closed.

She glared. "You even think of touching her and I'll cut that pervy dick of yo--"

He sneered and held up a hand to stop her. "Please, that's not the sort of preciosity I speak of." There was distaste all over his face. "I have no such base inclinations." 

"Yeah, well, consider yourself warned. And don't fetching try to recruit her either."

He shrugged. "She's too young yet anyway. I make it a rule not to recruit anyone under 16."

"Oh, joy." There was something to look forward to. It's not like 16 year old girls weren't already enough trouble to keep tabs on. She could picture it now...an exasperated Max dragging home a bony, teenage Mori, and she looking between the two of them asking "tell me it's just petty theft...or pregnancy! Please Azura let her be pregnant!" And then her having to hunt Lachance down and repeatedly introduce his face to a special made pair of steel boots. For that she'd bend her rules and wear heavy armor. Totally worth it. She could feel the dark, satisfied smirk creeping across her features.

"Why Madam, are you having homicidal thoughts about me?" His voice was suddenly velvety...darkly seductive, as if he'd just caught her thinking about fucking him instead of grinding his face beneath an Orcish boot. Ugh. Gross. Only he would turn death threats into a come on.

"Sorry, nothing kinkier than aggravated assault." She returned blithely.

An ambiguous, "Hm." Was his only response. Fetcher. There was a pause and he tilted his head toward the door. "What are they, exactly?"

She eyed him for a moment. "They're special." She finally answered.

"I take it all these shadowy figures aren't lurking here for your benefit then?"

"Only you, handsome."

His lip twitched slightly at that. 

He nodded then, and slipped back into the shadows of the hall. She in turn ducked back into the room and hissed at the sleeping figures. "Rise and Shine kitty cats, we've gotta get a move on." She saw two sets of gleaming eyes watching her in the darkness. "Ambrose, Mori, get them up, we have to get out of here, it's compromised...and let them know it has to be quiet. Lions only...we're playing a very important game of hide and seek."

A moment later they were all downstairs, waiting for her. All but Mori who watched at she dressed and fished out as many useful potions and trinkets as she could find in her cupboards and drawers. There weren't as many a she'd liked, but they were good for emergency use. Mostly to do with healing. She wasn't worried about taking much food...they could hunt just fine if it came to that. She was worried about the safety of the cubs though. Lucas, and Aina could take care of themselves, but it was quite a burden to ask them to watch their own backs and those of the little ones. She glanced at Mori who was still laying on the bed watching her, hers eyes shining in the darkness.

Mori could fight as well, if it came to it. But she was still so young, and so inexperienced...even natural ability would not be enough. If she were Dunmer she'd have other abilities to call on...but she wasn't.

Ina licked her lips and glanced again at the cat. But she could be. Now there was a thought. If anything happened to her, it would certainly give them an added advantage.

"Mori, would you change for a minute." She sat up. In the darkness the shift seemed even eerier. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it...it was as though their very reality seemed to blur and fuzz, as if you were looking at them through water, and then the blurred lines shifted and rearranged themselves only to solidify as something totally different. "Does that hurt at all?" She asked curiously.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



"No. Why would it?" She asked softly, turning to sit cross legged on the bed, pushing her orange-red hair back behind her ears.

"Just curious." She knelt before her and pulled a knife from her belt. "Here, give me your hand."

She did it, but she was looking warily at the knife. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to cut both of our hands and press them together, then say a few words."

"Why?"

"It's how we adopt people. I'm going to make you an Ashlander."

She smirked. "Just by saying a few words? Is it a blood magic thing?"

"No, it's an Ashlander thing. It would take a long time to explain, and I don't have a lot of time to explain right now, but I will."

"Like how Desdemona is your sister?"

"Just so."

"Ok...but why me?"

She smiled at that. "I've technically already claimed all of you to my ancestors. And where I'm from, there are no such thing as orphans in a clan. You always have parents. When you lose the originals, someone else will step forward and claim you. No one's claimed you yet, so I'm going to do it."

She narrowed her eyes. "What about Ambrose? Or Lucas? You could pick him instead."

She smiled even wider. "Two reasons...well one reason which doubles as two. You're a fighter, a special kind of fighter...my children inherit my ancestral guardians and if anything happens to me before I can get you to a safe place, then they can help you protect the others and watch your back. It also means that there's more I can teach you. I like Ambrose...but I wouldn't be much use to him. And while I try to help Lucas where I can, he's all grown up. And we both know he has Aina. Do you understand?"

She looked hard at her for a moment, then thrust her palm out. Inanna took her hand in hers and brought the blade to her palm. She paused there and looked up into the girls eyes. "You're sure?"

There was a little fear around the eyes, but her jaw was set. She nodded. Inanna nodded back and winked. "That's my girl."

Mori giggled nervously, then let out a little squeak of pain as the tip bit into the skin. Inanna cut her own hand and took her hand in hers again, this time palm to palm and closed her eyes. She held her other hand over the two and murmured a few words in Dunmeri. She released her hand and smiled.

"Welcome to the family Mori"

"That was it?" She looked curiously at her bloodied hand.

"Yep."

"Is it ok to heal it?"

"Sure. Now change back...we have to get a move on."

**

Feric growled as the muscles of his neck and back twitched and tightened in response to the sight before him. They had traveled all day, slept fitfully, then attacked before first light expecting the hunters to be groggy and unprepared. They had been. All five of them. All five who now lay dead in the halls behind them leaving the main hall of the fortress standing empty. He shifted and turned to the lioness who'd entered the room from the one of the side doors. "Anything?"

She shifted as well. Her expression as dark and threatening as the vibrations she was giving off. "No. Nothing. Though there should be many more if the barracks were any indication. A lot more."

"Then where the hell are the rest?" He snapped. 

She gazed back at him silently. 

They should have turned back. When they felt it, they should have turned back. He could have ordered it...but he didn't. He knew his brother had felt something as well...he'd seen it in his eyes. Something was wrong...now they knew what. One hundred septims said those bastards were at the lair. 

"We're leaving."

"I don't think so."

He turned at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and saw a somewhat familiar face. It was the mercenary, the one from the night Inanna had tried to hide him in her place by the Imperial city. There was something about those eyes that was hard to forget. They were like stone.

Mirisa shifted instantly into her lion form and snarled. He held out a stalling hand to keep her from leaping. Something wasn't right. He couldn't smell anything...but then he hadn't sensed the man approach either. Without taking his eyes off the man in the doorway he leaned down to retrieve the fallen sword of one of the dead hunters.

"He's not alone." He warned her. She was watching the mercenary, so he let his eyes scan the walls around the doorway. He almost missed it, but something fluctuated near him, as if the air itself had taken shape...a human shape. He dodged and raised the sword almost instinctively. The jar of blade against blade could be felt all the way to his teeth. "Chameleon! They're blocking their scent and using chameleon."

She snarled again and he felt rather than heard her response. Apparently she was already well aware of the fact. He didn't have much time to think about it as a second figure came into his field of vision. It was easier to spot them now that he knew what to look for, thankfully chameleon wasn't true invisibility...but then unlike invisibility it didn't falter when they attacked either so it wasn't exactly something to celebrate. He managed to dodge the newcomer as well and got enough of a hit in on both to determine one hunter was wearing light mail and the other plate. He darted away, throwing the sword toward them and shifting as he moved. 

He roared out a retreat and made for the door. Mirisa was close on his heels when another hunter came between them, slicing the air with a blade. Thankfully it hit stone and not flesh as Mirisa danced back. 

He twisted himself, lunging at what he thought was a leg. It was, and though the chain mail jarred his teeth and made his jaw ache, it wasn't enough to keep the bone and muscle beneath from being crushed. He used his grip to toss the now screaming hunter towards a mass of shifting air trying to close the gap between them and the exit. They pushed them back enough for Mirisa to slip through. 

A yowl of pain let him know they'd nicked her as they closed in again. 

He saw at least two follow her as several more closed back in on him, forcing him to back away lest he too be caught by an unseen blade. There was another door at the far end of the hall...it looked like he might have to take it.

He darted away, moving too fast for them to keep up, and shifted at the last second. He slammed into the door as a man and winced as his shoulder met one of the iron rivets. Luckily it creaked open at the force and he tumbled through inelegantly only to shift once more in the murky darkness. 

He sheathed his claws so that they made no sound as he bound down the damp stairwell, and his eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. The air was stale and smelled of dust and old death. Very old. This place was not often disturbed...and there were things still here, wandering the crumbling corridors. None of them living.

He could hear a clamor at the top of the stairs and slowed, slipping through the shadows so as to not alert whatever was haunting this place. With any luck, the hunters would do that for him. 

Luck was with him, apparently, and he spotted several broad stone overhangs from which long empty censors still hung. It didn't take much to climb up with all the pitted walls and rubble laying about. Once he was high enough that even the light of a lamp would be hard pressed to reach him, he settled in, examining the dark corridors and crumbling architecture with a hopeful eye and strategic interest.

He didn't have to wait long for the main event to arrive, though it worried him that there were far fewer than he had anticipated. 

He considered that it might be enough to simply wait them out. He was no expert on the subject, but he'd been around long enough to know that the level of spell they were using was only something only a master illusionist could use. He doubted very much that all of his opponents were capable of such high level spells. Which meant they were using some sort of enchanted item, which again was more likely but that many powerfully enchanted items seemed rather unlikely. If it were a potion or a spell scroll, then it would run out eventually. 

Then again he had no idea just how badly Mirisa was injured or what had become of the other two. Biding his time wasn't necessarily an option if one of them were seriously injured.

His tail twitched in restless anticipation as he watched the fleeting shadow forms moving beneath him.

He thought he counted four, but it was difficult to tell. All four disappeared, moving down the corridor and deeper into the catacombs. 

Still he waited, trying to ignore the sound of his heart pounding in his chest as his ears and eyes strained for any sign of a hidden body.

He had just about given up when a figure flickered into reality in a far corner, then vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. His muscles jumped beneath his skin at the start, but he was able to restrain himself from making a sudden move or sound.

All he'd seen was a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. Enough to know the hunter was crouched and not overly large. He also thought he had seen a blade in its hand, which meant it probably wouldn't be using arrows. He licked his lips and leapt silently to the ground, watching in the opposite direction of the figure, as if looking for the figures who had vanished down the hall. However, his senses were trained in the direction of the hunter as he waited for it to approach. 

He was rewarded with the faint sound of a leather sole on rough stone....five feet to the right he gauged. He slowly hunkered into a crouch—slowly so as to not startle the creeping figure drawing ever closer. 

The blur...blurred, for lack of a better term, as the figure lunged in toward him, hoping, Feric guessed, to put a blade between his shoulders. Or perhaps between his ribs, he reconsidered as the blur tipped downward.

Feric twisted at the last second and lashed out, catching leather and flesh with his claws, and even more with his teeth. The crack of bone blended with the scream as the figure, a slender human male, became suddenly visible. There was a moment of confusion as the man stumbled back, releasing his knife and clutching for the arm no longer there.

Feric locked his jaw back around his shoulder and neck as he fell, and twisted his head sharply, sending the man flying into a nearby wall, silencing him. 

Shouts rose up in the darkness around him. He glanced toward the exit and hesitated. It was too far...and now it was too late, he added mentally, cursing himself for the moment of doubt. There was no time for that.

He turned toward the darkness and was suddenly afraid. How would he fight what he couldn't see? How long would luck carry him through?

And then hope. A glint of gold on a bloodied hand. This time he didn't hesitate.

It was an easy thing to snap off the man's finger, not as easy to hold it in his jaws as he climbed back into his hiding place. 

He shifted and made a silent prayer to Kynareth as he slipped the ring onto his smallest finger. It was tight, but it went on...and nothing happened. 

Panic gripped him as the sound of steel and leather against the stone floor began to sound out beneath him. His mind flashed back, looking for something to help him. He'd never used an enchanted item like this before...never used magic...no! Ina! He'd healed Ina!

His tongue darted out to lick dry lips. Focus...she'd said focus...turn it outward...

He thought of healing, of shifting, how it felt...how it moved in his veins and muscles...and turned it outward...toward the ring.

His eyes had been closed. They were still closed as he listened to the voices beneath him turn from surprise, to anger, to frustration. They were going...fanning out, and heading toward the exit.

He looked down at his hand and found he couldn't quite see it. It was eerie. He moved it slightly and watched as the air seemed to ripple and shift. It wasn't perfect, but if he held still it would be enough.

He moved after them once he was sure they were out of eyesight. He wasn't worried about them hearing him, very few ever could....even in this form. It was that thought that gave him pause however. He was feeling somewhat exposed, naked and unarmed as he was...but if he shifted he would no longer be hidden from sight. He suppressed a growl of frustration and pressed on before he could change his mind. 

He still didn't know where his people were or what they were facing, and until he did there would be no time to sit and worry. 

**

The sun was already past its zenith when she finally decided it was time for a prolonged rest. There had been a pause or two to let the little ones sit. More than a few times the twins just had to be carried, but Talon and Mori and Ambrose didn't have that luxury. In their defense they'd all been troopers about it, and even the itty bitty ones were somber and quite, and always careful not to give themselves away. Perhaps they understood the danger, or perhaps they were just frightened...either way, they'd earned a break ten times over.

It didn't seem like they'd been followed. Every now and again she hid them with Aina and she and Lucas doubled back. Aina seemed to understand her reasoning for leaving her with the cubs, or was at least being a good sport about it. They never caught anything more troublesome than an actual mountain lion who had caught their scent and was following both out of curiosity and very likely territorial interests. It didn't take much for Lucas to discourage that curiosity. Even though he was young he was still full grown and easily outclassed the unwitting creature.

She'd also gotten jumped by a rouge troll while she was on one of her doubling back missions...but that had been almost fun...a little well earned stress release. Nothing like a little Troll flambe, extra-crispy.

She found a small clearing backed on one side by a few high rocks and on another by a convenient drop off. If anything showed up, they'd only have two directions to come at them by. Thankfully it had been a relatively uneventful trip thus far...but that could only last so long. 

Once she'd cast detect life a few times and was sure all was well, and the smaller cubs were settled near enough that she could keep an eye on them, Inanna set herself down for a moment of much needed rest. The lack of sleep was starting to make her a less than perfect guardian. She sighed. They'd need to find a place to hole up soon enough or she was going to slip. As much as she wanted to keep pushing on, it just wasn't going to happen. 

Plus this whole cheery, everything is going to be ok act was getting a lot harder to keep up. 

'Cause it really wasn't. All it would take was a pack trolls, or a couple of rowdy ogres, and they were done for. It wasn't a happy thought....nor were the thoughts she was trying not to have about Bella. All she could do there was pray. Which wouldn't do her much good in this case since her ancestors were being jackasses.

Mori had separated herself from the group of cubs and trotted toward her, shifting as she came, and squatting in front of her. "Are we sleeping here?"

"No, too open...I just thought we could use a rest."

She nodded. "I'm getting tired."

"Me too. Hey," she nodded to her, thinking of something which might distract the girl from her tired body and the potential crankiness it could cause, "sit down here, there's something I want to show you." She picked up a stick and leaned over a patch of bare earth, scratching four characters into the dirt.

"What's that?"

"That's your name. Phonetically at least. That's Meht, Oht, Roht, and Iya. I think most of the languages are spun off another more ancient language, so they have a good deal in common. At least the human and elven languages seem to have come from something which is somewhat related to Daedric languages so the alphabets match up...with half a dozen minor exceptions. In my home lands the alphabet at least is still essentially Daedric in origins. 

"Here, you try. Spell your name." She picked up another stick and handed it to her.

"Why?"

"I'm teaching you."

"Why?"

"That's what I do, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Why would you want to? What good is it?"

"What good is anything? You never know when something is going to come in handy? And I'm your mother now. It's my job to make sure you know how to survive. So I teach to you everything that I know. Isn't that how this works?"

She just looked at her. Inanna sat and waited for a response. 

"You were really serious about that?" 

"Yes." Inanna held her breath...half expecting her to get upset or give her an 'I don't have to listen to you,' 'who do you think you are' rant. It's probably what she'd have done...in fact she did it a lot as a kid. And got her ass whupped for it too. She learned pretty quick to keep that crap to herself.

But she didn't. She just shrugged.

"I guess so."

Small mercies. "Good. Now try your name."

She took the stick and drew. "How's that?" It wasn't bad.

"The top line on the last letter is too long. And the down stroke is too curvy. It looks like a Geth." She drew the two letters side by side. "See what I mean?" She nodded for her to try it again. Mori looked at her askance, but went ahead and did it. They both looked at the characters for a couple minutes, Inanna idly doodling words in the earth before her. Mori watched her out of the corner of her eye.

"So this alphabet is used by Dunmer?"

"Yep."

"But the language is different...so even if I could spell the word...I wouldn't understand it."

"Not till you learn it." She drew another word in the dirt. Just three characters, then wrote BAL beneath it. "This word is the same in pretty much all elven and Daedric languages...there are a good number of words which are. At some point I'll teach them to you."

"Bal? Like the Daedra Molag Bal?"

"Precisely."

"What does it mean?"

"Stone." She wrote Molag in Daedric but didn't translate it. Mori looked at it, then at the other two words...Bal and her own name, then wrote the imperial characters beneath it. 

She grinned at it, then at her. "That worked out pretty good, didn't it?" 

Inanna grinned back. "Very clever."

"So...what does Molag mean?"

"Fire."

"Ah...that kind of makes sense. He's one of the Bad Daedra...isn't he?"

"Depends on your perspective...but generally speaking, yes, he is ranked in the top four of Daedra you do not want to be intimately involved with."

"So do you know some Daedra language then? Since you've got that blood thing?"

"The two things aren't necessarily linked...but yes, I do know a little bit about one or two Daedric languages. It's important to remember that not all Daedra share languages...you can get yourself into trouble with that...especially if you're messing around with magic."

"What do you use it for?"

"Sometimes spells...sometimes reading things I shouldn't be reading..." she smirked. "But mostly it comes in handy when you're off adventuring and get yourself into a bind. Once in a blue moon you might get lucky and see inscriptions that read 'in case of emergency, push stone.'"

Mori laughed. 

"I kid you not." 

Mori snorted disbelievingly.

"Ok...not those words exactly...but this one time I was trapped in this tomb, completely out of regular arrows, and there was this wonky sorcerer who had decided to camp out in the sacred chapel. I'd made quick work of the skeletal guardians, but the s.o.b. had gone and summoned a storm atronach..." the girl's eyes widened, "you ever seen one of those?"

"No."

"Huge...and weird. Like a pile of floating rocks, but vaguely man shaped. And they don't respond well to magic...well not if you're the one using it... they just reflect it back you see...and all I have on me is a handful of magic infused arrows, an enchanted blade, and my own magic. I'd been saving the arrows, but at that point they were less useful than your standard hunk of pointy metal. There's a valuable lesson somewhere in there about spreading out rather than hording your advantages...but that isn't my point here.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



"Anyway, you see my dilemma? I would have made for the front door, but the atronach is so big it blocked the passage. I managed to hide behind an altar...because these things are dangerous but not terribly smart or observant, and on the altar is an inscription written in some kind of Daedric. I recognized enough to know it was talking about blessings and doorways and protection...and underneath the inscription was a round suspicious looking stone. So I pressed it, and voila! A Dunmer size escape hatch for one. The creature heard it, but too late, and it was way too big to get through after me."

Of course getting out of the sub-catacombs was another adventure and a half, but-"

"Ina!" A shrill voice cut her off, and they both jumped to their feet, Mori shifting as she moved, almost instinctively, and they scrambled toward the sound. Her heart was in her throat as she came around the corner and found the cubs gathered around a panicked Lucas and an unconscious Aina. 

"What the hell happened?"

"I-I don't know...I was taking a look around...I didn't smell anything...nothing at all. Then I heard a sound like someone was surprised ...and she was like this." He looked up at her, his dark eyes wild and beseeching. She dropped to her knees and felt the girl's neck, casting life detect at the same time. Her pulse was weak...but her life force looked just fine. 

"I thought I saw something...a glowy thing." Little Sonja offered meekly. Her brother nodded from behind her shoulder.

"Crap. Ok, everyone shift, now!"

She looked up to see Ambrose beginning to nod his agreement, then freezing with a shocked look. 

"Oh!" was all he got out before something nasty and fizzling and just plain awful hit Inanna between the shoulder blades.

"Get...down!" she managed hoarsely as her knees buckled. She cursed silently as she tried to pull up her fire. It came slow...sludge like. 

Goddamn, fetching fay s'wit! 

She stumbled to her feet, her vision a blur and launched her body at the twinkly 'glowy' thing now hovering directly ahead of her. She felt another nasty fizzle...but also heard an unearthly screech as her hand made contact and the heat flowed into her attacker. 

"Stay down," she croaked again, her voice dry and throat worn. She pulled an arrow, feeling around for something enchanted and hoping to Azura above that she grabbed something useful. She twisted around just in time to see something blindingly white hit the tree next to her, and to see the willow-wisp vanish once more. 

She narrowed her eyes and searched the clearing. Luckily all the cubs were playing nice and keeping their heads below her sight line...but so was the squidgy bit of fay dust she was trying to hit. 

There it was! Her fingers released the moment her senses had picked it up, and the thing was down before she had a chance to inhale. Just a shivering pile of eerily green gloop splattered in the dust. Well...that was ok then. 

Blearily...still feeling the drain from the attack, she hobbled over to the others. "Izs ok," she muttered, "She's just drained." She blinked to keep her own eyes open and fought the enervation spell. She faltered and knelt carefully down next to Aina, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes and felt out the spell twisting away under her skin, draining her. Powerful little critters those wisps were...for insubstantial non-entities anyway. She winced and forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand, using her will to push at the foreign energy, subduing it, compressing it...until it popped like an overripe berry. She started at the sensation and blinked her eyes open. It hadn't undone the damage...but at least the spell wasn't still chipping away at her. 

Now to Aina...

The girl was still unconscious, and Inanna could feel she was suffering from the same enervation spell. It was harder to dispel another person...but she would. Of course at that point she was in no condition to anything more than sleep. Neither of them were. "Ambrose, give me your hand, I need to borrow some mojo."

"Pardon?"

She closed her eyes and shook her hand impatiently at him. He gave in and placed it in her. "It'll feel strange, but it won't hurt. Try to keep yourself open, like when I was reading you guys. I'm going to pull power from you. Mages call it chaining." She reached out with what she had left and hooked into his magica. Once she hooked it, she pulled it into herself. He gasped softly but didn't resist. Or even falter really. Kid had some potential. He was gonna be right scary one day. She'd see to it herself. 

She placed a hand on Aina's shoulder and repeated the process she'd performed on herself. It was harder with some one else, but she had Ambrose singing back up.

She looked up at Lucas who had been kneeling nearby and watching Aina carefully, his hand cradling the back of her head. He met Ina's glance. "She'll recover in a bit, but she's going to have to sleep it off, and so am I. We need to find shelter and a good place to hide out for a few hours. Neither of us will be any use for a fair while." He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok...do you think it's safe if you stay here and I go look for a place?"

She was about to answer when a light tinkling sound...like a high pitch laugh sounded out to their right, and they both turned to look. The right side of this particular clearing was spotted with a few large rocks...common in this rugged terrain...and inconvenient in that they hid all sorts of nasty annoying things apparently. In this case it was hiding one of her worst case scenarios. 

A bloody Spriggan. Why...why me? Seriously...why? If this was Kynareth's idea of being helpful she could take her help and shove it way the fuck up her uppity Aedric ass.

Lucas looked suitably horrified. She could tell right away that it was more from his not having spotted the danger than from any actual fear of it. 

"It's ok Shadow...they don't smell, right?" He nodded dumbly. "You couldn't have known. I didn't spot her either...so she might have been out of range before."

"I...I've never seen one before." He whispered.

She got slowly to her feet and reached for her arrows, choosing more carefully this time. It felt like a silence enchantment as her fingers brushed the smooth shaft of the arrow...but she was still fuzzy around the edges so it was an educated guess at best. "Alright bitch...I've got a silenced arrow and a fire ball with your name on it. So I suggest you just turn around and walk away."

She didn't expect that to work, and wasn't surprised when the creature made some ungodly and wholly discouraging sound at her, it's arms rearing back and raising into the air in an all too familiar way. But then she froze...which made Inanna freeze. Why were they freezing? The spriggan hissed and jumped forward and Inanna was about to reply with an arrow to the face when a soft voice pipped up behind her.

"Wait..." Ina flicked her eyes over her shoulder and caught a movement in the grass as Aina struggled to her knees, then became a flash of gold in the corner of her eye. The spriggan hopped again, and seemed confused and distraught...but wasn't doing its usual 'kill the mortal!' thing. In fact it was letting out strange squealing meeps and holding its arms like it didn't know what to do with them. She could almost imagine it saying something like, 'well, this is awkward...'

Inanna allowed herself to glance around and noticed the cubs had all changed and were watching Aina as she made her way toward Inanna. She paused near her and swerved, rubbing her head and shoulder against her hip and side. Ina lowered her bow and dropped her hand to brush Aina's back as she passed by her, purring.

She kept going, still purring, and Ina watched with fascinated trepidation as she approached the twitchy little wood nymph. Aina let out a plaintive yowl and stopped a couple of feet in front of the Spriggan. The creature glanced between the lioness and the armed Dunmer and stepped forward with obvious hesitance. Ina's whole body went wire taunt as the Spriggan reached out toward Aina...but Lucas, now a lion, bumped her as well, glancing up at her as he passed. Warning her? 

Aina made a sound like a soft roar, and the smaller cubs started forward. The Spriggan didn't seemed bothered by the roar and in fact seemed to become less twitchy and ran a hand over the lion's head, with a tinkling laugh. At that the smallest of the cubs bounded forward, suddenly gleeful, and the nymph thing seemed keen to respond in kind until they were literally romping around in the long grass like long lost litter-mates.

Anyone want to let me in on what's happening here? She thought wryly, then shrugged to herself. If it worked it worked. The gesture must have caught the Spriggan's eye and her head shot up. She was close enough that Ina could see her eyes narrow. Screw it, if twiggy wasn't going to hurt the cubs...then what did she care, she'd take her chances with her own life. She was too damn tired to do anything about it anyway. She stalked over the nearest tree, dropped her bow indecorously then sat down where she was and took up a meditative posture. Defeated but still watchful.

On the other side of the clearing the spriggan had turned her attention back to the cubs and was making delighted sounds once more, only casting occasional glances toward Inanna, who for her part was watching through slitted eyes, and doing her damnedest to take this apparent lull in 'the crap life throws at you' to recharge before the weird creature changed its mind. 

But really it seemed happy enough with the cats and unlikely to do anything rash. Made sense in a way, all things considered. If these really were the children of Kyn, and the spriggan was the servant of Kyn, then they should by all rights be best-est buddies. And if fortune had decided to stop screwing with her for five fetching seconds, so much the better.

It was interesting to look at though. She'd never had the chance to watch one...usually there was a lot of fighting for ones life and running like hell when one had a spriggan encounter. 

They actually looked harmless enough at first glance...like a half-septim stripper covered in some kind of may-queen get up...all leaves and flowers and whatnot. Only their skin was obviously green and sort of shiny...as if it too were made of leaves...or vines...and large patches were covered in something which definitely looked like bark. And they didn't have feet so much as they had strange root like...things. As she watched they actually seemed to dig into the dirt where they landed, as if she were rooting and uprooting herself with every step. Weird.

They were damned tough though...Ina had the scars to prove it...and Talon was illustrating the fact by clawing and gnawing at her ankle playfully and getting nothing but creepy giggles in response. She swatted him away, and then seemed game to let him do it all over again. Plus they could regenerate...a lot. You couldn't kill the damn things...nothing short of a full out forest fire worth of incendiary spells could knock one of those suckers out.

She paused to consider that. The healing thing...it must be part of belonging to Kynareth. Everyone knew the Spriggans belonged to Kyn...and clearly there was some bond between them and the cats, so they must recognize that they're on the same team. Though that was in no small part due to Aina. She had no idea what the girl had said, if she'd said anything at all, but it had worked. 

She thought of what she'd said to Lachance before they'd left. "They're special." They were...and not just because of the lion thing. She suddenly felt more than a little blessed to have landed so squarely in the middle of their lives. It was a little humbling to her that in less than a century she should already have been witness to as much as she had...to know the remarkable people she'd had the luck and pleasure to know. It was kinda crazy really.

Ina and the nymph continued to watch each other out of the corner of their eyes until Aina left the little ones frolicking under the watchful eyes Lucas. "Hey." Ina murmured as the lioness approached her. 

"That was pretty impressive luv. Did you know what she'd do or were you just taking a shot in the dark?" Aina didn't bother shifting to reply but cast a look at her that Inanna decided to interpret as 'shot in the dark.' She smiled and sighed as the young lion stretched out next to her, resting her head on her paws and watching the cubs with heavy eyes. 

Inanna felt the urge to pat the nearby shoulder but hesitated. She wasn't as comfortable with Aina as she was with the cubs...perhaps because she wasn't a child...or perhaps because of her own relationship with girl's father...whatever the hell that was. Gods, but there was still that to deal with wasn't there. Bloody murder. Maybe she wasn't so blessed after all, seeing as how the epically amazing seemed to bring with it the completely awful as well. Must be one of those glass half full/empty things.

She let out an even heavier sigh and then an unlady like "ack" as a large, warm body rolled over next to her, nearly knocking her over. She righted herself then looked down at the prostrate lion, who yowled softly and then flopped her head into her lap.

She chuckled and gave in, having been given a sort of permission, reaching out and scratching her up beneath her chin. Aina let out throaty growl and closed her eyes. Inanna gave her shoulder a rough pat and looked up to find the Spriggan only two feet away and watching her intently. 

Crap. She'd let her guard down and now that twiggy bitch was going to have her eaten by black bears...or worse turn her own lions on her...could they do that?

But twiggy just stared. Inanna stared back. Aina appeared to be comfortably dozing, her head pinning one of Ina's legs rather inconveniently. 

Inanna couldn't think of anything to do in this situation, so she smiled, and waved. "Hi....So...how about those oak trees? Nice big branches...great for a climb." 

Still more staring. 

"If you're going to kill me, would you kindly get it over with, the wait is driving me nuts." 

Little Serus shifted back to his human form and trotted over, only to throw his bare-assed self into her lap, knocking the air out of her with a well placed knee. He seemed to think this was intensely amusing. He grinned and patted her cheek in a way which would have been condescending had it come from anything other than a plump little imp-child. 

"She's not going to kill us silly. She likes us."

Inanna smiled tolerantly and shifted the child so that his heel wasn't digging into her thigh quite so painfully, and gave Aina a doleful look. The lioness in question just kept right on sleeping...or at least feigning sleep...shocked she would not be if that were the case.

"That's you sweet heart." Inanna corrected. "She likes you folk since you're her people...me, not so much."

"But you're ours too now aren't you? "

Inanna sighed. "Yes, guess I am, and you're mine. I claimed you too...but just because I claimed you doesn't mean all my people will be quick to accept that fact...same goes for your people. Spriggans protect the creatures of the wild...and that seems to include you—and thank Kyn for that— but that doesn't mean she's going to accept me as well."

The creature made some sort of sound which might have been speech, but was all incomprehensible tittering as far as she was concerned. 

"She says you're tired and should go to sleep."

"You can understand her?"

He shrugged and yawned. "Yeah... like how we tell each other stuff when we're lions. You know?" He shifted, right there in her lap to demonstrate. It was an odd experience as his skin literally shifted beneath her hands into fur. Plus he didn't get any lighter as a cat, far from it.

"I guess so." She grunted, once again shifting him so that his joints weren't—once again—trying to put a hole through her leg.

Lucas walked up. "It's ok. I'll keep an eye out...and she'll keep anything I can't handle at bay." He stood beside the creature as casual as you please.

"You're sure?"

"Definitely. She says they know about us, and had been watching for us. She thought you might be a hunter at first and was confused."

"Told you all that, huh?" He nodded. Well, maybe Kynareth wasn't such an uppity bitch after all.

"I thought you said you'd never seen one before? You seem awfully comfortable with it now."

He looked at her and smiled. "I hadn't. They're really beautiful aren't they?" the Spriggan seemed to understand him and made a cooing sound, patting his shoulder with her twig like fingers. It wasn't the word she'd use, more like 'freaky looking' but she wasn't about to insult the dangerous woodland creature by saying so.

"There's certainly nothing like them." She agreed. "But don't forget how powerful and dangerous they are. They aren't to be trifled with, so don't get too comfortable...and watch your back."

Lucas blinked then looked down at her in shock. "Seriously? This coming from you?"

"What? I'm very serious." Lucas scoffed and rolled his eyes before turning away and shifting, stalking off to his post once more. "What?" she asked the retreating cat again. Nothing. She looked at the Spriggan who tilted her head at her curiously. "What?" She asked it...it tweeted at her, then turned and trotted away after Lucas. 

The cub sprawled in her lap adjusted itself and looked up at her with a huge, toothy yawn, stretching his forelegs so that his sharp little claws spread and retracted against her thigh. "Well you look comfortable." She muttered. She cast a sidelong look at the much larger cat spread out next to her. "So do you." 

Neither deigned to respond. On the plus side they were toasty warm, and there was a definite chill in air. It was tolerable, but Dunmer don't do cold very well. And it was clear the extended summer they'd enjoyed was at an end. Even the leaves had been changing on her. Funny the things that slip your notice when you're preoccupied. And preoccupied she was.

Screw it, this day wasn't going to get any less weird any time soon. She did the only thing she could do. She took off her arrows and leaned back again the tree behind her and closed her eyes. If she had to sleep though it to make this day end...then so be it.

**

Inanna awoke to a nudging against her arm. She grumbled and ignored it, imagining it was probably a cub trying to get comfortable. She tried to focus back on the lovely Feric shaped dream she'd managed to slip into...or rather, had managed to slip into her, she considered dreamily. Besides, no one was screaming in terror so it couldn't be that important. 

There was a pat against her cheek and she begrudgingly opened her eyes as the dream had already faded and eluded the grasp of her mind.

It didn't take long to shake herself free of her sleepiness when she saw the face hovering over hers.

"Bella!" She scrambled to her knees and threw her arms around the woman's neck, nearly knocking her over. Bella chuckled and hugged her back, but began shushing her at the same time. "Thank Azura," she rasped out in a harsh voice. "I was so worried you'd go to the house. It's been compromised"

"I did."

"And?"

"There were city guard everywhere, so I went else where. I was worried at first that something had happened...but I caught your scent moving away from town and followed. I would have caught up sooner, but I had to double back a few times to be sure I'd lost the last of them."

Inanna nodded knowingly, recalling her own attempts at the same. Bella nodded over to a nearby tree where twiggy was sitting cross-legged tittering happily at them. "That's unexpected."

"Tell me about it. She seems taken with the ankle-biters though, so I'm not going to make a fuss if she wants to baby-sit. Better her ankle then mine." Inanna looked around. It seemed like she was the only one not awake. In her defense she had gotten blasted by the wisp, and that was while still recovering from earlier adventures. Going by the sun it didn't look like she'd been asleep all that long though. Maybe two hours. She was still pretty tired, but seeing Bella alive and well was probably enough to keep her going until they could find a proper place to rest. 




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



She looked around the clearing again. "I just stopped here for a short rest. I was hoping to make a little more headway then find somewhere a little safer to get some real sleep. I don't suppose you could ask her if she knows of a place."

Bella turned and looked at the spriggan, as though she were staring her down. The spriggan just kept tittering.

"Sounds like there's a cave nearby with nothing but a few others like herself...and bears apparently."

"Yeah, I've noticed they have a thing for bears."

"She says they won't harm us."

"Us-us or you-us."

"How do you mean?"

"Well you're all lions, and followers of Kynareth...I'm Mer...a Mer with a bow."

Bella smiled gently. "She seems to get that you're with us...and seems to know that she's not to attack you as well. I sense her confusion about it, but she accepts it. Which is enough. Come on."

They both got to their feet and Bella shifted, leaving just Ina and twiggy on two legs. Bella growled softly and the young-ones fell in line and as one they followed the spriggan to her cave.

It was farther than expected, but it was, thankfully, headed in approximately the right direction. True to form, the caves were fetching weird. She'd seen caves like this before, but usually when she did, she'd turn tail and would go find herself something easier to kill. 

Now, this might sound odd to the inexperienced adventurer, but contrary to popular belief, vampires and necromancers weren't all that difficult to kill, not if you played it smart and sneaky. You couldn't be sneaky with spriggans, because guaranteed that first hit is not going to kill them...or the second. What skull or artery is there to pierce or sever? And how does one burn that which renews itself instantly? And that's before the bears. Always with the damn bears. 

Zombies may be creepy, but bears were still...fetching bears! One does not take a thousand pounds of muscle and claw lightly if one wants to live long enough to reproduce.

Therefore one did not take them or their controllers on unless they had serious fire power, and some heavy back up. Now here she was trotting into a nest of the things. It was freaking her out a little.

They were taken into a little side cavern and left there to make themselves at home she supposed. There wasn't much there except damp rocks and more damp rocks. Ah well...at least it was secure. There was no way in Mundus those half-assed hunters were going to get in here. She couldn't have. 

She dropped her pack and, using it as a pillow, curled up on a relatively dry looking patch of cave floor. The others followed quickly enough. She was beyond grateful that they decided to make it a group effort and clumped together for mutual warmth so that by the time everyone was settled they were essentially a pile of lion with a random dark elf tossed in to the mix. It was actually a warm enough arrangement that she was able to ignore the chill of the caves, and fall almost comfortably back to sleep. 

**

Sundown in the Imperial city was always a prized moment of the day for its citizens. Especially on such a crisp, clear day as this. For this is when the magnificent spire at the heart of the city, the White Gold Tower, caught the last rays of light, and reflected them in a brilliant array of dazzling silver, gold and red. 

It was in these few moments the city paused: merchants closed shop for supper or a walk, clerks left off their scribbling for a moment of fresh air at the window, gazing out over the green way or the courtyard of the Imperial University, and beauty lovers of all kinds took a few minutes to stroll the arboretums and garden walks. It was as if the city breathed as one, slowly and deeply, before returning to its fretful pace.

The temple district was no exception, and the priests guarding the temple of Talos stepped out to stretch their legs and admire the way the pristine white dome of the Temple caught the last light and reflected it back into the world. Some might have read a metaphor or two into it, others simply took pleasure in its unadulterated beauty.

Across the flagstone street the same warm light filtered in through the fine curtains drawn over the windows of the elegant sitting room, casting strange shafts of color into the cool darkness. 

At the center of the room, quite out of place with the stately and conservative elegance of the decor, was a dark cushion placed carefully in the center of a circle of tallow candles, between which were figures drawn on the hard wood floors in what one hoped was colored chalk or red paint.

In the center of this circle, as still as a statue, knelt a handsome Altmer. He wore loose pants, but his chest was bare, and his pale silvery-golden skin glinted strangely in the flicker of candle light, and was tinted to a red-gold by the shafts of filtered light from the fading sun.

He bore the features of a full blooded Altmer. His long, lean frame had the gracile delicacy that his people were so well known for. His face too was long, and thin, with angular features. Though not in that sharp cutting way one sees in Dunmer, and which speaks to the cunning and violence they claim as part of their nature, but rather in a softer, elegant way, which only bespoke grace and nobility. Or that, at least was how he might have seen it.

His loose hair hung in long white strands over his bare shoulders, almost hiding the only flaw on his narrow chest—an uneven, cross-shaped scar raised over his heart.

His long fingered hands rested lightly on the silky material of his pants. His eyes were closed...though they saw. They saw far and long in all directions. Sometimes they saw the past, sometimes the myriad future, but now they saw into a candle lit room two districts over, one not unlike the one in which he presetly rested.

He saw a warm fire, and the ornate mantle over it. He saw the silk chaise, the side table holding the near empty bottle of wine. He saw a half filled glass rise to unseen lips— raised by the nude male, human body which stretched before him in a steaming bath. Across the bath, her legs entwined with the man's, reclined an attractive Breton woman. Her own glass of wine was resting on the floor next to the bath and her arms hung loosely over the edges. 

She smiled. It was an expression of concentrated lust and knowing guile. She had a mouth that looked like it might devour you whole, and brilliant green eyes made to bore into ones mind and pulled away all rational thought.

She slid lower into the bath, her only half covered breasts dipping lower into the steaming water as her foot press slowly along the man's upper thigh, stomach, and chest.

Sarandus, the Altmer, smirked. He couldn't feel the movement, but his unwitting 'eyes' had looked down and followed its progress with interest. A hand came up and lightly caressed the finely turned ankle and calf.

The Altmer's brow furrowed. Delatour was too good at what he did to give himself away, or reveal his thoughts to Sarandus, or anyone else for that matter, and if Sarandus hadn't already been using him as his literal as well as figurative eyes, he would never have known about this particular creature.

He wasn't absolutely sure what she was or what she signified, but even through borrowed senses, he could see she was likely to be trouble. He had thought so before, and she'd done or said nothing to dissuade him from the notion.

Of course Delatour had no idea he'd been enchanted in this way, they never did. But it was common practice for Sarandus when dealing with those who managed his affairs. After all, one never knew when the knife in the back was coming. And it was always coming. 

This was simply a form of insurance for the inevitable. 

Normally he wouldn't take much interest in the assignations of his employees, but he had seen enough to know this woman called herself Telvanni, and had shown some interest in Sarandus specifically. She'd been asking questions.

Granted she possessed Delatour's subtlety and much of their conversations were more like skilled games and dances and contained little in the way of useful revelation...but it was enough to cause him concern. Normally he would have Delatour look into this, but it was possible he was already compromised. Or not...but he couldn't be sure.

"So...Messieur," She grinned and her eyes glowed, "have you given any more thought to a trip to the eastern courts."

Sarandus perked slightly, focusing on the woman once more.

"I have." There was a long pause and the woman's smile grew until she chuckled, drawing a curl of dark hair around a finger. 

"I see."

The man maintained eye contact with her as her grin turned impish and as she slipped lower into the tub.

"You know, I've been...musing. And it occurs to me, that we're very much the same, you and I. It doesn't matter what out reasons. Nor our histories...though I'm sure you might disagree on that account." Her lip twitched.

"Oh? Dare I take that bait?"

"Does it tempt?"

"It wouldn't be polite of me to say it didn't." He smoothed back, his eyes and hand casting for the wine glass on the table. Sarandus could imagine the expression of polite indifference. The woman laughed lightly.

"It would be cruel of you to leave it off. But you must ask. I would seem to forward to offer up such intimate detail." 

He cleared his throat theatrically, "What, pray-tell, to you mean by that, my lady? Are our histories so different."

"Indeed they are, sir. In the realm of lineage, I dare say." She smirked but said no more.

"You are cruel with your coyness, Madam."

"Well, I'm sure you already know too much. A lady must keep some of her secrets."

"What? That your name is invented?"

She chuckled. "And what else?"

"That you were not born Telvanni."

She said nothing, but smiled wickedly.

Delatour scoffed. "Crueler still. You mock me." Though there was a note of amusement in his voice.

"And what else should I do? Did you hope I would gasp and wonder at how you knew it? That I would be overcome by such skillful maneuvers?" She teased, her suddenly sultry expression belying her words.

"Then what, lady, do we have in common, if you will not enlighten me on the nature of our difference?"

She turned somewhat more somber. "I suspect you know that too. We want the same thing, you and I, and we'll do just about anything for it." She smiled and brightened, shifting slightly in the tub, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Do you know what the key to success is, Delatour?" suddenly shifting modes. "Diversification. Spread your investments around...always keep more than one iron in the fire. One plot or another is bound to trip up at some point. Some golden goose dies, a ship sinks, some busy body catches you doing something polite people don't talk about....diversify. That is my advice to you, my fellow traveler." She shifted again as she spoke, her leg appearing and disappearing beneath the line of his sight.

"I hope that isn't your sales pitch." He quipped after a moment.

She giggled, but gave no sign of stopping whatever it was she was doing.

"Est-ce que c'est?"

"Je n'oserais pas savoir."

"Alors, qu'est-ce que vous osez?"

"Rien."

"I don't believe you."

This time it was Delatour who chuckled and the woman's eyes fluttered closed as she moaned in pleasure. 

The Altmer made a sound of disgust and his eyes flicked open, cutting short the scene and replacing it with the sight of the dimly lit room. He didn't time to waste sifting through whatever subtext might be hidden under their courtly nothings...if there was even something to find. 

There were more direct methods which might be employed. He would have to think on it. Meanwhile, he had other matters to attend to. He rose, snuffing the candles with the wave of his hand, and waving a pale blue mage light into existence a second later. The little light hovered sedately behind him as he slipped back into his robes, and followed him a few paces back as he left the room and turned down the hall, away from the main stairs, taking instead a set of servants stairs down into the basement.

One half of the stonework room was storage, but behind this was a small door, and behind this was a store room of a different sort.

He passed a hand over the lock, willing the tumblers into place and the door to swing open.

The woman laying on the table moaned and shifted, twisting her head limply. Sarandus glanced at her as he passed, noting her still unconscious state. 

He paused before his primary work bench, passing a critical eye over one of the alembic stills before passing on to the condenser, nodding with satisfaction and snuffing out the flame under flask with the tips of his fingers before running them up the length of the cool condenser with an affectionate pat, careful not to jostle the delicate layers of glass piping. 

The woman groaned again and he sighed. He would deal with that first. He wouldn't be able to focus with her squirming around behind him.

He tugged up his loose sleeves as he turned, shrugging them into place. The female was a dark elf, some tidied up species of gutter rat that had come into Delatour's recent employ. He seemed to think her rather knowledgeable about the comings and goings of the local underworld. Sarandus wasn't fully convinced, but Delatour had made a good case. 

The new female who had inexplicably made herself his enemy was said to reside in the waterfront, and casual inquiry seems to have illuminated the fact that the creature had ties with less than wholesome individuals.

And of course they were both Dunmer. He wasn't sure how useful that was as he had never known Dunmer to be any less suspicious of their own people than they were of everyone else. Their aggressive paranoia was practically legendary. But, it probably wouldn't hurt. 

He had yet to get a look at the woman himself, through any of his borrowed eyes. A case of poor luck or poor timing. It was unfortunate one couldn't just pluck thoughts from the mind at will...dead or alive. The eye witness reports were hardly helpful. Red-haired Dunmer woman wasn't all that useful. Not when hair color could be so easily changed. The name was the only thing useful at this point.

Perhaps this female could be of use. Perhaps not.

But the more the merrier, they say.

He passed a hand over her forehead and she calmed, settling with a sigh. 

She had no idea where she was or who he was. He made sure of it. She wouldn't remember a thing.

He stood next to her and slid his hands gently up the sides of her face, letting the pads of his thumbs fall and rest in the sockets of her eyes. He could feel them twitching beneath the thin delicate skin of her eyelids and smiled. He always marveled at the delicacy of the flesh. It's vulnerability. So little between the tender, sensitive working of her eyes and the rest of the world...or in this case the gentle pressure of his own fingers.

He pushed the stray thought away and focused on his hands, focusing his will into them, into the pads of his thumbs, feeling it roil and churn there, building and contorting to shape itself to the spells he whispered in a low, insistent voice. 

It came to fruition all at once, pinpointing itself and aiming like an arrow toward the woman's mind. A metaphysical push and it was in.

Sarandus kept his hands over the woman's face, though cautiously as she bucked and writhed beneath him, her mouth an O of silent pain and terror. It wouldn't' do to put out her eye accidentally. He still had use for them. 

He pulled away and let watched her a moment as she panted on the table. A few moments and he would check his work then have his man see to her removal. He considered sending her to Cheydinhal, but decided against it. They'd fled, that much was obvious, and he doubted they'd be returning any time soon. Besides, she was a resident of Chorrol, and it wouldn't do to be inconsistent. And if they fled to a city, Bruma or Chorrol were two of the closer options, not including the Imperial city of course.

He nodded satisfied. Besides, if Delatour's mercenary had managed not to botch the trap Sarandus had arranged, then it would be all the easier to flush out the remainder once the more powerful creatures had been secured. And who knows, they might not even be necessary.

And children did provide a very shabby quantity of blood. And died so easily. 

He rang the bell by the door and returned to his work. Waving in the direction of the unconscious mer when his man finally arrived. 

"Return her where I acquired her, sir?"

He made a distracted sound of affirmation and carefully drew his knife across the lotus, scraping the black seeds into a mortar. "And be sure the letter of instruction is somewhere she won't miss it."

"Very good, sir. Shall I send for Delatour, sir?"

"Not necessary. I suspect he's rather...preoccupied at the moment."

"Very good, sir."

Sarandus straightened and tipped his head toward the sound of the closing door. 

"We shall see how good it is." He murmured.

**

It took Feric more time than he liked to slip by the guards and find his family. 

In part because he knew some of them could be using enchantments as well, and he half expected to run into someone as he crept through the maze like halls of the ancient fortress. The air was cool on his bare skin, and despite being essentially invisible, he felt incredibly exposed. 

But find them he did. However, he didn't much like what he saw. Somehow Mirisa and Owyn had gotten themselves trapped in a great hall, the gates around them closed tight. One of them looked like a it had dropped from above. A trap. 

He was above them, looking down from one of the high walkways that crossed over head, too high for them to reach in any form as the walls were smooth and offered no hand holds. Not that it would have helped...he wasn't alone on the walk ways. There were hunters waiting there, though for what he could only guess. Some were training arrows on his people below. It was no easy thing to contain the snarl of rage that threatened to rip from his throat at the sight.

He looked around the room and saw what he thought...hoped, was the mechanism which controlled the gates shutting them in at the end of a different walk way. He took a deep breath. 

He might be able to make the jump to the lower walkway as a human...but IF he did, it would hurt, and they'd probably see the movement, and definitely hear him. He knew he could definitely make it as a lion...but then they would see him...though, would they see him quickly enough? 

There were three hunters on the walkway, one right in front of the gear and chain. He could take out one with his first jump, but one of the others would definitely be able to get a hit in. He sighed deeply. It was a risk he'd have to take. 

He pulled the ring from his finger, slipping the ring under his tongue, hoping to hell he didn't accidentally swallow it as he shifted. He leapt, hearing a cry of surprise mid leap, but felt the hunter, a human of some kind, go down beneath him, screaming as claws shredded into leather armor. He bound toward the man who guarded the gears, dodging the arrow he fired toward him. The narrowness of the walk only let him dodge so far, and the metal barb nicked his shoulder, tearing the flesh, but not catching fully. He snarled in pain, and roared. 

The sound served to startle the woman he now bore down on, and also to warn his people— an order to retreat. He heard their snarling replies...they would obey, if grudgingly. Another pain shot up his spine, coming from one of his hind legs, and another, though he couldn't discern where...hot...so hot...

The woman vanished and he threw his body into the space she had been standing, and felt it connect with hers. He knew she had a knife when he felt it slice into his already injured shoulder.




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



A crack and another gurgled scream later, and she was still beneath him. He whirled, barely missing another arrow which cut the air next to him. The other hunter was firing at him....he heard the snarls from the makeshift pit beneath them...he didn't have time.

With another snarl of anger and frustration he shifted, crying out involuntarily from his human throat as the pain shot through him in a whole new way, making his weaker, human body tremble in shock and exhaustion.

He grit his teeth and pushed off the wall he'd half collapsed against, lurching forward to grab the chain of the gear, wrapping it around his wrist and hauling with all his might. Metal screeched, and someone...Mirisa he thought, roared, and something hot ran through him, burning. Making him gasp as a scream of pain lodged in his raw throat. 

He released the chain and spit the ring from his mouth with a cough, sliding it onto his finger, and stumbling away into the darkness of the hall. He hoped they were far enough away as he twisted down a narrow, side corridor, collapsing onto the floor, focusing on the ring, trying to will the fool thing to work.

It came a little easier this time...a little...though it took too much from him, nearly drained him, as weak as he was.

He turned his head to see two hunters run down the corridor he had left, only pausing to glance toward him, and not seeing him. They didn't know he had the ring. Small mercies, he thought bitterly.

Somewhere far away the cries and screams of men melded with the snarling roars of lions...the sounds were getting farther away. 

Good, he thought. They were escaping. They would know where to go. And he was sure Cyrus had escaped and would lead them to safety. 

He grimaced in pain, and tried to pull himself together, to heal himself. He felt a faint tingling in his limbs, but it wasn't enough. There was something else...something he couldn't heal...something in his blood. Poison? He swallowed a groan. He had to get out of here. If he passed out,where he was they'd find him for sure. 

His legs trembled beneath him as he fought his way to his feet, hoping the enchantment on the ring would last long enough to get him outside. 

The journey was long and torturous...though it seemed the hunters had left to follow the others. He was glad to not have to contend with them, but not a little fearful that if he was poisoned, he would be left to find help on his own. If he was near Chorral he might have gone to the fighter's guild...or to Ina's friend, the innkeeper in Cheydinhal, but he was more than a day's travel away from anything. 

He smiled bitterly as he dragged himself along the wall, hoping to hell he was moving in the right direction, following the scents of the hunters which he hoped would lead him out of the maze of halls. He understood now why she'd dragged him around to meet so many people...even that Altmer, Honditar, would be a more than welcome sight right about now. Fat lot of good it was doing him though.

He was panting by the time he finally reached the entrance, unsure of how much time had passed. He had to pause often...each step was like having a knife plunged into his leg, and the longer he went the heavier his body felt until it was as if he was dragging a minotaur behind him. 

The scent of the clean, cool air as he stumbled through the heavy doors was enough to propel him forward, half stumbling, half crawling into the woods. He tried to catch the scent of his pride, but he was too exhausted, dizzy and disoriented...so he focused on aiming his body away from the old ruined fort, and toward the alluring smell of fresh water and clean air.

At some point, he knew not when, his legs finally gave out, unable to support his weight and he felt himself collapse with a shudder. There was grass beneath him, broken light above, and the scent of lavender...there were worse places to die, he thought absently as he closed his eyes and slipped into darkness.

**

The weird didn't end when Inanna awoke. Twiggy had taken them on, it seemed, and chaperoned them all the way to Chorrol. Once there it was easy enough to shepherd them all to the fighters guild, once it was dark of course. It was all a bit weird, yes, but all's well that ends well. However, the growing sense of foreboding she'd managed to ignore had managed to make itself irrefutably known now that the sense of imminent danger was no longer providing distraction. 

There was something worming around in the back of her head whispering something was wrong. Too bad it wasn't also giving details...just murmuring loud enough to piss her off something fierce.

Back on the upside of things, Modryn didn't give her much trouble when they arrived in Chorrol, and gave her none at all in front of Bellane and the kiddies. He set them up in the underground store rooms since that was the safest place until they knew what was what. One entrance in and one out, and only the local fighter's guild members knew about it: A trap door hidden behind the sword racks, through which she happened to be passing at just that moment. 

The hour was late and the place dimly lit, so she wasn't worried about anyone seeing her slip out of the cellar or out of the hall. Plus whoever was passed out and snoring on the table would give her cover. As she neared she caught a glimpse of tusk-like fang jutting up from a heavy bottom jaw and figured she could guess who it was. She shook her head. He'd never learn.

"Where are you off to?" A deep voice rumbled from the dark. She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder at the big, scowling Dunmer. What was it that thief had said to her? 'Can't sneak a sneak'? Hell, leave it to a fellow Dunmer to get the drop on her. Again.

"I have a quick errand to run while I'm in the city. I won't be long."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Sorry, hush-hush-cloak-and-dagger type stuff. You know how it is. One day I'll tell you all about it."

He grunted, which she took as permission to go on her way. "What about them?"

"What about them?"

"You gonna fill me in on that too?"

She shrugged. "They're well behaved enough, and the little ones will obey Bella and the older kids. And she won't be any trouble. She's good people, you'd like her...don't get any ideas though." She grinned. He snorted. She turned to leave, but then paused with her hand on the door. Her expression turned serious. "The red head, Mori, she's mine. I claimed her the other night." He raised a brow but said nothing. "If anyone causes any real trouble it'll be her...you're kin now...so...you know the drill." He looked at her, his expression unreadable, then nodded and turned away.

"Well hurry the hell up, I'm not a fetching wet-nurse" she heard him grumble as he clomped up the stairs to his office and as the door swung slowly closed behind her. She smiled fondly to herself and with a shake of her head slipped off into the chill, silent evening.

**

The drop went off uneventfully and she was on her way after a few brief moments of friendly chit-chat. He seemed distracted, like something was doing with the guild and he was anxious to get back to it. Which was fine, since she was too distracted by that still present, yet vague, sense of foreboding rolling around in her gut. It didn't leave her in the socializing mood.

She was passing the chapel, cutting around back through the cemetery, when something caught her eye. She veered, and made for the chapel wall, turning around the side of it, and hiding herself behind one of the buttresses. It wasn't hard considering the atmospheric fog rising from the earth was giving her plenty of cover. A moment later she had her knife against a slender blue-black throat and was looking up into red, glowing eyes.

"What the hell?" She snarled.

Glistel regarded her evenly, "Oops," she drawled, "looks like you caught me."

"And if I hadn't caught you?"

She smirked and shrugged.

"Bitch."

She chuckled. "Maybe. But you 'caught' me fair and square."

"What? Are you suggesting you let me catch you."

She shrugged again, carelessly, as if there weren't a knife pointed at her larynx. "I've been able to stay out of jail longer than you have."

Inanna snorted."Only 'cause you actually pay them those ridiculous fees. I'd rather cool my heels for a couple weeks than be party to that blatant extortion." Inanna shook her head and removed the knife. "You never answered my question. What. The. Hell."

"I was paid by a Breton from the Imperial city to watch you. He's got all the cities under watch from what I gather." 

Inanna cursed under her breath. That was the thing about guilds. They provided contracts, but their members were free to do a little freelance in the side so long as they didn't shirk their duties. Conflicts did happen sometimes. Like now.

"Delatour, right?"

"I don't know. It seemed gauche to ask for names, and he wasn't stupid enough to provide it."

"Medium height, sandy brown hair, brown eyes, impeccably dressed, puts on a few more airs than your average Breton...likes charm spells. He thinks he's a slick mother-fucker..." She growled lowly.

She pursed her lips. "That could describe a number of Bretons, but yes, that sounds about right." She grinned sideways. "He tried to use a charm spell on me to bring my price down. He didn't seem all that surprised that it didn't work."

"I bet."

"So, what do I tell them then?"

Inanna sighed. "The truth I suppose. I'm here to meet with my contacts, crashed the night in the fighters guild, and am headed to Kvatch in the morning to dispatch a contract for them."

"That's the truth?"

Inanna smirked. "Sure. It's also convenient cover for my real business in Kvatch...but that's none of your business. Say hi to Armand for me when you're in the capitol." She paused before turning away, and gestured at the Dunmer woman with the tip of her dagger, "Oh, and if I catch you again, I'm not going to be so cool headed about it. Understood?"

Glistel smirked and nodded, and slipped back into the dark of the cemetery. 

Fuck. Those oblivion-damned s'wit son-of-a-bitches. Fuck.

The guild hall was quiet when she arrived, and the sleeping orc somewhere else. She glanced around and headed up stairs to find Modryn sitting at his desk, staring at her as if he'd been waiting there since she left. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had been.

"Well?"

"Glistel followed me to the chapel. Turns out she's working free lance for the people trying to find me. I fed her a cock-and-bull story about you sending me to Kvatch." He watched her a minute then leaned forward to riffle through a pile of folders, pulling out one from the middle and tossing it in front of her as she sat down.

She read it. It was a contract to clear out a group of bandits from one of the mines. Apparently its new owner wanted to put the mine back into production. It was just outside Kvatch. She looked up from it.

"I'll send Gro-ba down when he gets back. He'll meet you down there, help you finish up. She resisted the urge to smile. Gro-ba was good people. He wouldn't say anything. And they all knew Ina or Gro-ba could do this one alone if necessary. They'd done it before. They almost always worked alone, but they had worked together enough that there wouldn't be anything strange about the arrangement. She nodded. "Where are you really headed?"

She sighed. "I'm loathe to admit it, but Des...you remember Des? Well Des wants me to see a witch about a cat, so I'm heading there to see if there isn't anything doing."

"A witch?" His brow shot up, suddenly looking very curious.

"I know. But what are you going to do. Things are getting hairy, and I don't want to risk lives if I can simply solve this by breaking a few eggs."

He chuckled. "They're sacred tenets...only you would compare those to eggs."

She scoffed. "Says the turn-coat out-lander."

He grinned at that. "Pot meet kettle, woman. Pot meet kettle." He leaned back with a sigh. "You watch yourself with them. Waste witches are at least honest about the danger you face when you deal with them, these imperial witches are all sweetness and light on the outside, you never know what you're going to get."

"You've dealt with them before?"

"They give us contracts sometime. Usually hunting for dangerous ingredients. Some of them seem like decent enough folk, and if you stay on their good side and watch yourself, then you should be ok. So watch your lip, hear."

She nodded. "I intended to. I had my share of run-ins with waste witches, so I know better than to take them lightly."

He smirked, but his eyes were hard. Or at least, serious. "How have you been?"

She quirked a brow at him. "How do you mean?"

"You look like hell. So I'm asking how you've been."

She let out a humorless laugh. "Well yeah. That sounds about right. I feel like shit. I'm exhausted. I can barely think straight...and I just feel...weird."

"Weird?" 

"Yeah. I can't think of a better word than that. Sorry."

He shrugged but said nothing.

She mimicked his shrug and slouched deeper into the chair and rubbed her forehead with one hand. "I don't know what it is. I want to say I'm just tired, or I'm just in the middle of some craziness right now...but I've been stretched further than this...dealt with stranger things...this is different. It's me...somehow. Sometimes...it feels like I'm wearing someone else's skin. You know?" She shrugged again. "I'm guessing it's just hormones gone wonky. But whatever it is, it's just...different...and weird." She smirked. "But I'm still young, relatively speaking...there's still plenty of things that'll be new to me I'm sure."

"you're not...sick or anything?"

"Nah. It's little things mostly. I get queezy, nervous, sweaty...giddy...all at unexpected times."

He grunted. "Might be right then. Don't ignore it though. Sometimes lots of little things add up to a big thing."

"Yeah."

He nodded then tipped his head to the left in a very odd way. She frowned, then pursed her lips and cast her senses out around her without turning. She felt a niggling off toward the stairs...she went after it and recognized the feel of it right off. 

"Mori. What are you doing up here?" She did turn and glared at the stairs as the little ginger moppet appeared around the corner. At least she was dressed this time she thought with a mental eye-roll. She held a hand out to the girl, and Mori approached cautiously. Inanna just wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to her side. 

"Mori, this is Modryn, he's the eldest son of my great-great-grand mother's great grand daughter." Mori screwed up her face.

"What the heck does that mean." 

"Second cousin, twice removed." Modryn answered with a smirk. 

"Cousin Modryn, this is my daughter, Mori."

"Welcome to the family, Mori."

"Thanks." She said softly, suddenly and uncommonly shy.

Inanna prayed and a moment later Uncle Assurban peered down at her and Mori. "Honored uncle, I'd like you to meet my new daughter, Mori. Mori this is my Great uncle Assurban, and my spirit guardian." Mori didn't look scared per-say, as she probably remember seeing him before during the summoning, but she was still looking a little timid.

"H-hello uncle Assurban." She offered, wide eyed.

He nodded and smiled gently. "Hello child." He raised a brow at Inanna, and switched to Dunmeri. "You've claimed her as your own then? You understand that it's highly unusual for those who have not yet had children to claim the orphaned."

She glanced at Modryn who watched impassively. "I know. But she needs someone now. And I think of all her family, what few she has, I can be the most help to her. She has something in her I recognize, something I have in myself, and she needs a close and firm hand to learn to control it, as I did. Hell, I had at least three hands, and that was barely enough. And before you make a smart ass remark, yes, I am controlling it. This can't wait until I get lucky and get knocked up. We could be talking at least another century. By then it will be too late." 

He nodded. Then addressed Mori, who was watching with curious apprehension. "Young lady, your mother and I have just been discussing you. I reminded her that it was highly unusual for a person with no children of their own to claim the young of those who have passed. But she assures me that she feels she is best suited to your particular needs. Do you agree?"

Mori looked stunned, and looked around anxiously for the answer from the three dark elves watching her patiently. Finally Modryn took pity on her. "Just say what you think girl, there's no wrong answer...and what's done is done, you're stuck with her either way."

She opened her mouth, then clapped it shut again with a frown. She looked like she was thinking hard about it. Then looked back up at the ghostly figure, her eyes narrowed. "If it doesn't matter then why ask?"

"I'm curious how you see the arrangement."

"I agreed to it."

Inanna could see the tug at the corner of Assurban's mouth. "Yes you did. Was it under duress?"

"Define duress."

Inanna laughed, she couldn't help herself. "Mori, luv, just give the poor man an answer."

She was still eying him with suspicion. "I will when I get a proper question."

He chuckled. "It is my job to protect your mother, not just physically. This will be known by the others of her line, if it isn't already, and they will ask me many questions. I wish to know what to tell them, or what not to tell them. In either case I wish neither of you harm. They will want to know if you understand what your bond to Inanna entails. So I ask now, what do you think it entails? So that I might pass this on, where relevant, to your new kin."

She blinked and looked down at her feet. "Well, um...I guess it's like what she has with Desdemona, like they're family and they're always there for each other, no matter what. Like in the pride. I'm not related by blood to them but they're my pride and they come first. Talon always ticks me off, and I beat him up for it...but if he was in danger, I'd help him." She gnawed her lip and looked up. No one interrupted, so she continued. "And like how Inanna is with us now. Our Alpha claimed her, but she's always acted like one of the pride, and she claimed us too right? So she helps us, and we help her. And her making it so I'm her daughter means that I can call her relatives mine and make them part of my pride too. And so she can watch out for me and teach me stuff the others can't."

"What sort of...stuff?" Assurban pressed when she stopped talking. She looked to Inanna for guidance and she waved the girl on. 

"Well...um, she showed me Daedric writing and talked to me about how to—ah, the best way to kill things that are bigger than me...and that sort of thing." She shot an inscrutable look to Inanna again and looked cautiously up at the spirit. He nodded sagely. 

"And this is pleasing to you?"

"Yes."

"Well if you are content, I am content. May I bless you child?"

"Um...yes. Thank you?"

He gave her a kind smile and touched her forehead the way he'd touched Inanna's after the summoning, and murmurer his blessing in Dunmeri. A moment later a second spirit appeared beside the girl. She looked at Inanna and Inanna looked at her.

"Inanna!" She chided. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Kill me now." Inanna groaned. It was her great-grandmother. Queen of the self-righteous wise-women.

"Child," Assurban, said, gesturing to her grandmother, "this is your spirit guardian."

Inanna groaned and poor Mori looked more uncertain than ever. Her great-grandmother took the girl by the hand, and she saw Mori jolt. It was a weird sensation when they touched you, especially if you weren't used to it. "Don't be afraid child. I won't hurt you. I'm just cross with your foolish mother. You are an innocent in this."




Hunting the Hunter Ch. 08



"Is it bad that she claimed me?" she asked softly, looking between us four. 

"Of course not!" Her grandmother insisted, looking horrified. "You seem like a fine young girl. Your mother just makes rash decisions and insists on breaking the rules and tenets of our culture...AND THEN does something as important and sacred as claiming a daughter without even coming to us for our blessing first! Appalling!"

She glared at Inanna and then at Assurban. "It's a lucky thing she has me now, or the two of you would ruin her."

"What did I do?" Assurban asked, slightly taken aback. 

"You were always too easy on her, Assurban, you know that."

He rolled his eyes. "You try it. Oh wait...you have. It's not that easy with her, you know that . When has she listened to anyone? The only person who ever got through to her was that damned Khajiit, and only because he put in the long hours necessary to beat it into her."

"Hey!" Inanna exclaimed, "still in the room!"

Modryn chuckled. Mori was beginning to grin a little too. "Well," her grandmother amended, patting the the girl on the head, "we'll talk more later. Hopefully we can keep you from going astray like your mother." Mori smiled and nodded.

"Traitor." Inanna growled.

Her Grandmother looked far too pleased with herself. "Good girl."

"Assurban, Modryn, a pleasure...Inanna." She vanished. 

"Well, I think that went well." Assurban looked pleased.

"Indeed." Agreed Modryn.

"Why did it have to be her?" Complained Inanna. 

"What's wrong with her?" Mori asked.

"Nothing." Replied Modryn, "your mother is being petulant." Inanna nodded.

"It's true." She gestured to herself. "This is the face of petulance. You got a good one kid. You should be happy. Grandma was a powerful, able, and widely respected wise-woman. She knows everything there is to know about our people and she has a lot to teach you, so take advantage of it. We don't get on, but that doesn't mean you won't....it's no accident that we get who we do as our guardians. There's a reason she was chosen to guard you, remember that and show her the honor and respect she deserves."

Assurban chuckled. "What?" She asked.

" It amuses me that you save this sort of talk for the moments they're not around. I don't know why you goad them so Inanna."

She grinned cheekily, "I see it as my sacred duty to keep them on their toes...keeps them from going senile. Besides every family needs a black-sheep, other wise who do you gossip about during reunions?"

He smiled benignly. "Well, try to keep it to a minimum until they get over these last few infractions."

"It's going to get worse, I promise...but I also promise to make a pilgrimage to the caves when I'm done." She smiled at Mori. "You can come too, and meet the rest of the ancestors. It'll be a good way to get off on a good foot with them for you."

"I heartily approve of that." Assurban agreed. "But, am I needed any longer, or should I depart?"

She waved him off. "You've done your duty. Thank you Uncle." He nodded and vanished.

"So...are you going away again?" Mori asked immediately, taking back to the discussion before they'd had their little familial moment. 

She smirked. "Yeah, I am. That's why I wanted you to meet Assurban. Now that you've been blessed by the ancestors, you can summon your guardian when you need her. If it's just to chat you can summon her many times a day, but if it's for protection, then only once. They need time to regain their energy, as it takes a lot to keep them in the material world, and more if they are using great quantities of energy. Unless the place they are in provides that energy...but that's a lesson for another time. My point is, if you are in danger, summon her, and if you need her advice or counsel, summon her...but be respectful and only do it if you have need. They help and protect us out of love and in honor of our bonds, but it's a sober and sacred duty, and needs to be respected."

Mori nodded, her little face stern. "I understand. Like I shouldn't do it just to show the others, or for fun. Only when it's serious." 

"Right. But if you're scared or need help, don't hesitate. Especially when I'm not here. And since you are young, they will be much more patient with you. You will learn over time when it is appropriate, and you will get stronger and need them less. Make sense?"

"Yeah. 'Kay." 

"You may come to me as well." Modryn explained. "We're family. There are things about being Dunmer, about being an Ashlander, that you will want to know, I can teach you these things."

"But I'm not a Dunmer."

"You are an Ashlander now, and part of that is understanding Dunmer culture. You just don't know what that means yet. Do you even know the name of your tribe?"

"No."

He gave Inanna the eye.

"We haven't gotten that far yet."

"That sort of thing is what I mean. If I get time I'll come down and talk with you more about it. Speaking of which you shouldn't have come up here without permission. Someone could be hiding in the shadows watching for you."

She smirked. "I didn't smell anyone."

"There are spells that cover scent little girl, many good hunters use it. Did you cast life-detection?"

She shook her head and looked abashed. "No...I don't know it."

"Well, that's the first thing you need to learn. It'll certainly help keep you alive. Now get back down there."

She nodded and turned to obey, but paused at the top, looking at them uncertainly. "The coast is clear." Inanna answered to her silent question, and she slipped silently away with a little grin.

"Well...I guess I'm off too. I don't want to wake the others...would you let them know the details?"

"I will. I'll watch them for you."

She smiled, warmly this time. "Thanks Modryn. It means a lot to me."

"I can see they're important to you...by the way, what did she mean when she said their Alpha claimed you?"

She felt her cheeks go slightly warm. "You caught that eh?" He just watched her expectantly. She sighed. "It's...complicated."

"She's what? Nine? Ten? She gets it. It can't be that complicated."

"It really is. But the quick and dirty version is that, during...let's call it a moment of passion, the leader of her little family and I were engaging in activities which in their culture are the equivalent of...I don't know, marriage I guess."

He cocked a brow at her. "Hell of a thing to be unsure about."

"I know. It's awkward. I didn't know at the time, since it was all pretty...informal, and he was apparently...a little too into what he was doing at the time to step back and reassess, and I guess made me his...mate is the term they use."

"Is there a reason your being so circumspect?"

"It's sort of embarrassing."

"When the hell have you been anything but shameless Inanna?"

She grinned, "Only when it counts Modryn."

"Ah, I see. This is serious. Well, good luck with it, I hope it turns out well for you."

She laughed without humor, "yeah, me too. Unfortunately I'm not sure what 'well' entails just yet."

"Don't be too hasty in your decisions. It's the only advice I can give. Instinct is good, but sometimes it's just fear rearing its ugly head and trying to do your thinking for you." She nodded and they sat in silence for a minute. "Now get the hell out of my office. I have work to do."

She chuckled and stood, saluting him, "Aye, aye, boss man. See ya in the verso pages!"

"Idiot." she heard him grumble as she made her way down stairs. Good ol' Modryn. At least something in her life would always make sense.

She was reaching for the door when it slammed open before her. She lept back from it, falling naturally into a crouch, her hand already pulling a blade from her hip. She heard Modryn leap to his feet above her as well, his heavy boots loud in the silence of the empty guild hall.

The huge figure raised up it's arms. "It's me!" 

She expelled her breath hard. "Son of a bitch, Gro-ba. What the hell were you thinking!"

"S-sorry," the big Orc stuttered, "but he's dead Ina...they're all dead!"

She felt her heart lurch into her throat, and was suddenly light headed. "Dead?" She whispered.

He nodded vigorously. "The Emperor and all his sons...assassinated. The black horse courier just arrived at the inn."

She expelled another breath and clutched at her chest as her heart started beating again. She could have decked him for scaring her...if she wasn't too busy being relieved...then again...holy shit! The emperor murdered? So much for that fancy ass guard off his. What were they? The Swords? The Blades? Something like that. 

"That doesn't bode well at all does it." Growled Modryn.

"So speaketh Captain obvious."

He ignored her. "Do they know who's behind it?"

Gro-ba shook his head. "They didn't say. The details aren't out yet. But people are already talking and all kinds of crap is getting said. Everything from a Dunmer conspiracy to crazy cults."

She shook her head, listening as they conjectured with only half an ear. "And all his sons too? Damn." She whispered. That was...messed up. "Hey...what...what day is it?"

Modryn looked at her like she was addled. "Fredas."

"No...like, the date. It's Frost Fall..already...but what day?"

They both looked at her a moment then both their brows shot up. "Damn." murmured Modryn.

"It's the 29th right? So...tomorrow...or today actually, is Emperor's day. You think they planned that? Creepy."

"I second that damn." Gro-ba agreed. It was even eerier that Both Boethia and Mehrunes Dagon had summoning days approaching. Both were Daedra associated with political overthrow and revolution. One subtly, and one...well, not so much. Take a wild guess which is which. That reminded her, she wasn't going to be able to get to Boethia's shrine in time for the summoning, something she'd taken to doing since moving to Cyradil.

Eh, screw it. If anyone had an excuse it was her.

There was a long silent moment. Who knew what they were thinking, but she couldn't help but think of Emily...the Neverar...where ever she was. Before they'd parted, Inanna and Des had agreed that they were simply glad it was all over...but Emily had got this look in her eye. When they'd pressed her, she shook her head and smiled, and said with her usual enigmatic dourness, "Ends are also beginnings...and no one ever said birth was easy." They'd jokingly told her to lighten up and have another drink...the usual response to half the shit that came out of that girl's mouth, but the rest of the evening had taken on a curiously reflective mood. She was right. Order beget order, but in between there was chaos. Inanna couldn't help but wonder if this was part of the birth she'd been speaking of. Gods and Emperors are dying around them, and what will be born to fill the huge space they've left? 

She cast a glance at Modryn...he was already looking at her. "Be very careful Inanna, who knows what's going on with this. There might be a panic. People do strange things at times like this. Take as long as you need." He gave her a look which she took to mean he'd take care of things here until she returned.

She nodded and took a deep breath. It looks like she really was cursed to live in interesting times. What crap timing she had. She'd been traveling the Empire and had come back for a 'visit' just in time to get caught in all the shit hitting the proverbial fan...and then came back...just in time for round two apparently. 

Faaaantastic.

She'd hope that this was as weird as things were going to get...but she knew in the very depth of her soul that it was just starting. These were just the labor pains.

Yeah, she was going to the witch, and she was going to use blood magic, if that's what it took. She would do what she needed to do. For Feric, for her new daughter...for her family...and she would succeed.

And woe be to any Nchow s'wit Altmer who thought otherwise.

%%%

Warm. It was warm. Almost stifling. And the air was thick with...scents...too many scents...not all of them pleasant. 

Feric groaned and tried not to breath in the heavy air too deeply. There was something strange and herbal about it...it made his nose and throat ache. He blinked his eyes open and found his sight bleary...there was dim light, this place was unfamiliar...flowers? He blinked the stars from his eyes. There were flowers, dead flowers...he realized after a minute that they were hanging above him, and that he was on his back. There was an unfamiliar softness beneath him. The last bed he'd slept in was Ina's...Inanna? Where was she? Where was he?

His vision blurred as a wave of pain washed through his head. It throbbed and he groaned, trying to roll over and sit up. 

Something on his shoulder gave him pause. A hand. Another scent prickled his nose. He didn't like it. It had that bitter scent of herbs, but under it was something else...something old, something...dead?

He pulled away from the hand and was on his feet, swaying, but steady enough. He spun to face what ever it was, relying on instinct since his vision was still weak, and his head still spun.

"Who are you?" He demanded, his voice a hoarse growl. He narrowed his eyes trying to get a clearer look at the person...they were smaller than him...and female? Yes, female.

She made a shushing sound, her voice dry with age, but soft. "Now, now, it's all right. I don't know who poisoned you, but your safe here young man."

He relaxed slightly at the sound, and as his swimming vision slowly began to reconcile itself to the sound of her voice. She was an slightly older looking woman, in her late fifties or early sixties...probably an Imperial...or Breton, it was hard to tell. She was simply dressed, in plain homespun, and looked completely unassuming. As did the small cottage...there were drying flowers and herbs hanging from the naked rafters, filling the air around them. That explained the smell. His nose twitched at the thought.

Still, there was that other scent. He stepped back, eying her warily. A glance to his left showed him a long work bench and another long table covered in what he guessed were alchemical ingredients and the equipment to use them.

"I've given you something to counteract the poison...it was draining you of your health and endurance...it was strong too. Something you might use on an ogre...you're lucky to be alive."

She smiled mildly and gestured to the bed he'd clearly just leapt from. "Have a seat and I'll take a look at you."

He licked his lips, then decided he really did need to sit down. His head still swam, and the sudden rush of adrenaline which had propelled him to his feet was waning fast. So he sat. However, he held up a warding hand when she stepped toward him.

She paused, and he ignored her curious expression. His endurance was still sapped, but he felt the magica flowing beneath his skin unimpeded. He used it, spreading it through him, healing the many minor wounds still marking his body. After a minute he realized that another had already healed the worst of them. He glanced up at her.

"You're a healer?" What healer smelled like that? Still, she didn't look like any necromancer he'd ever seen.

She smiled. "Among other things." I wonder what those things are, he mused.

He looked around. "Where are we?"

"My home. I live here alone, along the river...we're not far from where you collapsed...do you remember what happened to you?" 

He sighed deeply and nodded.

She chuckled. "Well that's a relief. I was worried you might be one of those amnesiac cases. Imagine my surprise when I found you just laying there in the middle of the woods. And not a stitch of clothing on you. It's not everyday you bump into naked Nord men wandering around the wilderness." 

He blinked, then reached for the blanket on the bed covering his lap. In his distraction he'd forgotten he was still naked. She only chuckled, seemingly unfazed by it. "Oh!" She pulled something from her skirt and held it out to him. It was a ring. He took it hesitantly. "That's the one you were wearing. It was drained, so I charged it for you."

He blinked. "Thank you." He looked at her thoughtfully and she seemed content to let him appraise her. Slowly his tired mind began to put things together. "Are...are you a waste witch?" He remembered Inanna's cousin he met in Cheydinhal talking a little bit about his woman who was a waste witch...it would explain the strange, dark scent he kept catching. They practiced blood magic...which Ina had said was somehow related to kinds of necromancy.

Her eyebrows raised a little. "Well we're a little far from Morrowind for waste-witches...but I understand your meaning. I suppose you could say I'm a witch of sorts...but just a simple hedge witch, nothing so dramatic as all that." She seemed at ease with her omission, so he was as well. He would keep an eye on her, but for now, she'd done nothing but help him.

"Thank you for your help. How...how did you get me here if you live alone?"

She smirked. "You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with a well placed spell or two. Now, I told you what I am...what are you?"

He forced his face to remain cool. "What do you mean?"

Her kindly expression took a much shrewder turn. "When you healed yourself, I got a sense of something rather odd, something I've never encountered before...I noticed it when I was healing you but couldn't be sure. You don't feel like a Nord, even though you look like one. You don't feel like a mage...but there is something powerful in you."

He shrugged, clearing his throat. "I'm a follower of Kyn...maybe that's what you're picking up on."

Her shrewd look didn't dissipate, but she nodded. "As you say then. Is it anything I need to worry about? Or should I say, the one who you seem to have escaped...should I be concerned about them?"

He frowned. "I certainly hope not. Though I will go now. I don't want to put you in danger. They may come looking for me...though I doubt they could find me." He sighed deeply. He wondered what had happened with his people. Had they gotten away cleanly? Had they come back to look for him? Would they find his scent if they did? "How long have I been here?"

"Almost two days."

He gaped at her. She chuckled again. "I wasn't joking when I said you were lucky to be alive. That poison should be able to kill a normal man. You are obviously exceptionally strong to have endured it as long as you did. Two days out isn't all that bad...all things considered. I've looked after worse cases."

Two days...damn. That meant they hadn't come back for him right away. He hoped it was because they'd been smart and gone back for the others. He had faith in Mirisa. Even if he hadn't given them an order, she'd do the right thing. He could look after himself. The cubs needed them more than he did, and she knew they were the priority. Besides, he knew his brother would be anxious to get to his mate and babies.

He could only hoped they all made it to them safely and quickly. 

"Speaking of which," she continued pulling him out of his anxious thoughts, "you probably shouldn't be going anywhere. I won't stop you if you insist on going, but you'll be weak for a couple of days at least. And even then I doubt you'd be at full strength. If whoever you faced is indeed looking for you, then you'll be a pretty target wandering around at half strength." She nodded for emphasis. "And if that poison was meant for you and not just accidental luck, then I'd wager they know the measure of you. I can tell you right now I know how these things are made, and a poison of that concentration is difficult to make and expensive to buy."

He nodded his understanding. They'd be ready for him, so he couldn't rely on them underestimating his abilities. He'd need to be fully prepared to face them, especially alone. It rankled him to admit it, but it would be foolish to leave. He told her as much.




Hunting the Hunter: Epilogue



Epilogue

Date: October 22, 2004 - Friday

Time:8:45 pm AST

Location: Stevens International Airport – Anchorage Alaska

Xander Zver arrived on flight 408 from Moscow Russia and walked into the airport through the service tunnel. When he came out of the walkway past the security guard station, he expected to see his parents, or maybe his Aunt Abigail waiting for him, but no one was there. He would have been happy to see his cousin Michael show up, even if it meant having to listen to him talk about some girl that he was trying to mount like a rabid dog. But alas, there was no one there.

It was fine; he had his car parked in long term parking. His dad had thought it a waste of money. You'll be gone at least a year he had said. That's a waste of good money, just keep your car here, it will be just as safe. He had been tempted, but now he was glad that he had gone with his instincts and brought his car to the airport and left it in the long term parking. He headed down the escalators to the baggage claim. He saw his blue and white duffel, picked it up and headed to the exit across from the long term parking area.

Xander was 6'4" and weighed about 220. His hair was light blonde, almost white in color, and spiked on his head. He had what his mom called a runners body. Well defined six pack, toned arm and leg muscles and a friendly smile made it so that Xander was a handsome young man of 18. He had just returned from spending a year in Siberia with his mother's side of the family. They lived on the Ukok Plateau, and at first, he had not wanted to go, but since he had gone through the change at 16, he had no choice. The law of the family stated that all new cubs had to go to their family's homeland for year to understand what they were, and what Xander was a were-tiger, a Khan.

When he arrived he took a moment to remember where he parked, then he remembered the card he had written down the instructions on in his wallet. He took his wallet from his back pocket and looked through one of the pockets, there it was. Xander pulled out a business card for a local video store he had just happened to have in his wallet, on the back was written '3 down 4 from the left'. 

Xander walked three rows up and then went to the fourth car from the left, and there was his green 1998 Pontiac Bonneville. He smiled to see the little bit of dust on it. So someone does come through and clean the outside of the cars that is nice. He fished out his keys from his pocket and opened the car. He put his duffel in the back seat and got in the drivers. He reached behind the passenger seat and pulled his CD collection from the pocket there. He flipped through and decided to play The Matrix Soundtrack. He pulled the CD that was in his deck out and put the new one in. He put the CD in his hand in the case and put it back behind the seat. He started the car, turned the radio down a little and headed to the gate. Inside the booth was an older white woman, probably late 50's, with glasses and white, full hair. When she saw Xander coming up in his car, a little smile came on her face.

"We had a pool on when you would be coming back. My day was yesterday, unfortunately." She said with a smile as she took his card and put it into the computer. The total came up to $4030.00. The woman whistled a little.

"Do you take credit cards?" Xander asked, the woman nodded her head that they do; Xander handed over the credit card that his father had given him before he left for emergencies. She swiped the card and handed it back to him. He waited and she handed him a slip to sign, he signed it, returned it, and got his receipt. He nodded to her as she raised the gate and he headed out.

Xander drove, listening to his music and watching the road. It was not that busy for a Friday evening and he made good time as he drove through town and headed down the highway to his part of town. He looked around as he drove, and from he could tell, not much had changed in the little over a year he had been gone. He was tempted to call his girlfriend and let her know he was back in town, but chances were that she was out with her girlfriends, and would not hear her cell ring. He decided he would call her tomorrow, in the morning, when he knew she would be home.

He pulled off the highway and took the roads to his house. He pulled into his neighborhood and started winding down the streets. He looked around and saw that the McDowell's were already putting up Christmas lights, he laughed softly to himself. He drove a little further and he saw the Keulper's Golden Retriever running around the yard behind their fence. As he rounded the last corner, he was glad that he would be home in less than 30 seconds; he could almost feel his bed calling his name. He rounded the corner, and slammed on the brakes in shock, his house was on fire!

It took a moment for his brain to compensate for what he was seeing, but when he did, he floored the accelerator. He pulled up to his house, and without waiting for the car to stop, he jumped out of the car and headed up the front stairs to the door. As he was running up the stairs he could see his Aunt at the bottom window pounding on it and trying to get out, but the glass would not break. He could hear her screams, and see that her shirt was on fire. He reached the door and went for the handle, but it seared his skin, he jerked his hand back. He stepped back and kicked at the door, it would not budge. He looked down and he saw smoke coming from under the door, and then suck back in and then nothing. He knew that meant something, but the logical part of his mind was shut down, he had to save those people.

He turned back to the door and shifted to Sokto, and then spun and mule kicked the front door. It broke from its frame, but then an explosion sent the door back at Xander and flung him across the street. He landed on the front yard of the James' place and then the door hit him. He had just enough sense to switch back to human before the world went black around him.



Hunting the Hunter



When she got through the gates it was still early, so she took a walk to let her blood cool a little and enjoyed the breeze the little streams created as they wound through the town, and the sight of the mournful willows bending into the waters among the lilies and hyacinth. It was a nasty town as far as the locals went, and as far as the count and his guards were concerned, but it was at least aesthetically charming. Very much a Dunmer town; beautiful and deadly. She ignored a couple of rough looking Orcs who gave her the eye as she crossed a bridge and sat on a little bank of grass and closed her eyes with a sigh, smiling at the warbling sound of some sad drunk, crooning off key songs about cliff racers. Ah, Morrowind, she still wasn't sure she missed it, but once in a blue moon she got a pang or two. 

Soon she'd have enough to get and furnish a place here, where she could get a taste of home without all the miserable blight, ash, and death that went with it. This last run should seal the deal, provided the count could be made amenable. She patted her satchel one more time and lay back into the grass. 

"Fly, cliff racer fly," she sang under her breath along with the distant drunk, and chuckled as she looked up at the bright green and yellow leaves of the willow. Her chuckle faded and she sighed, her smile inverting as she once again considered those bizarre green thoughtful eyes. 

****

The Count was not amenable, or at least not without her having to jump through some pretty irritating hoops first. She had enough money of course, to purchase and furnish the place she had her eye on, but apparently the Count 'wasn't sure' he wanted to sell it just yet, but he might be more likely to if he had a certain rare goblet that was apparently in an abandoned ruin not even a quarter day's trek from the city. Lucky her. Bloody pompous Hlaalu sycophants, she never liked that house... no one liked that house, not even the Imperials who had used them to gain a foot hold in her home land when the fractured houses weakened enough to allow it. At least that's what the ones stationed outside Ald'ruhn always told her. Then again they were in Redoran territory, so it was best not to like the Hlaalu. But as the Temple Ordinators were fond of saying, they were all "scum." Then again they said that to just about anyone really, it was apparently their favourite word. 

She gritted her teeth as she jumped down from her perch in a twisted old tree. She'd been casing the ruin for an hour and had seen nothing yet. There would be something, there always was, and the Ayleid ruins always had the worst kinds of somethings. 

"Please don't be undead." She whispered. She hated the undead. Ancestor ghosts where one thing, even skeletal guardians, she was used to those, but the zombies...and the wraiths...those made her brain crawl. It was all that dark necromancy the imperials were so fond of. At home there were strict taboos on the mistreatment of the dead, and the desecration of the body and the soul. 

Zombies were just...unnatural. The headless ones where just plain unnerving if nothing else. She'd seen an ash zombie once, a servant of the demon Dagoth-Ur, in a cavern she'd hazarded into during a particularly nasty blight storm while hunting in the ashlands. The sight of it, of the empty gaping hole where its eyes and nose should have been, it's skull hollow and black, had sent her back into the storm and had given her nightmares for months. Howling red winds and starving blighted cliff racers were a day in the grazelands compared to that horror. 

"Ah well," she sighed, it was this or she started looking for a house somewhere else. 

"Maybe it will just be rat infested. Or even better, be full of big stupid bandits" She said cheerfully and crept up on the ruins, making her way to the entrance. This one was laid out a little differently. Instead of the multiple tiers and spiraling stair cases it was just a row of broken columns glowing white in the late morning sunlight and leading in a sweeping curve up to a massive winged figure draped in morning glories. Behind it stood the rectangular stone doors, set in a rocky outcropping. She neared the statue from the side, and still could spot nothing, no people, no animals, no...well maybe not. A low growl sounded beside her and she froze. She'd already thought to have her arrow ready, and all it took was a shift to see the lion emerge from behind the statue. 

'Why lions all of a sudden,' she wondered. This one was also bigger than normal, but not as much as the last one she'd seen, but then this one, she noted right away was female anyway. Either way she was pretty formidable. Unlike the last one, this one was snarling, and tensing, and ready to jump. Inanna was about to respond in kind when out of thin air a second appeared between her and the first, so close she could see the speckles on its muzzle, and this one was massive. She hadn't even heard it. Sneaky kitty. She jumped back startled and re-aimed at the new cat, only to find herself trapped in the line of two bright green eyes.

"You!" she croaked, and let the string slacken...though not so much that she couldn't still fire one off if she was wrong. This couldn't be happening. The other cat came charging to his side and Inanna raised her bow again. The big male growled low and menacingly, making both of them freeze. Both her and the smaller cat were looking between each other and the big guy standing between them. Inanna suspected that neither were entirely sure just who he was growling at. Inanna slowly lowered her weapon and the female moved away, but her ears were still flat, and her eyes watchful. She appeared to have the same sort of eerie thoughtful eyes as her friend, though hers were a dark blue, and not particularly happy. Inanna hooked her bow over her arm as a sign of good faith and held up her palms. 

"I, ah, I'm surprised to see you again." She thought his eyes looked much more wary this time than they had before, perhaps he didn't recognize her. Maybe he thought she was hunting him, maybe that's what those other folk had been up to. 

"I'm...I don't know if you can understand me...but, I'm a treasure hunter," she emphasized the word treasure, "I find artefacts for people." She tilted her head to the door way, "That's what I'm doing here...is that ok? Is...um...is this your place? I'll leave..." She felt a little foolish as the beast stared at her, no doubt wondering what all the strange noises she was making were all about. 

The other cat had stopped looking at her like she was dinner, and more like she was an interesting toy, which wasn't much of a consolation. She looked between the two of them, waiting for one to move, either to attack or wander off, or start talking back...whichever. 

Apparently it was none of the above. Instead the green eyed lion moved towards her, passing her with only a hands breadth between them, making her hair stand on end, and walked towards the door and sat next to it. She stared at him and he stared back, then looked at the door and back to her. She took a tentative step forward, then another. No one was growling yet, though the female was giving her what could only be called a dirty look, so she kept going until she was standing next to green eyes with her hand on the door. She gave the cat a questioning look and pushed it open. They stood there a while and finally he entered, pausing at the foot of the stairs until she followed. Blue eyes also followed so that Inanna was sandwiched between them. 

She was stunned at her own calmness. Certainly she was nervous, but normally this should be terrifying. Yet there she was. Perhaps it was merely too unreal to be upsetting just yet. They led her like that through two halls and down into a series of narrow circular corridors. Once or twice she thought she saw something moving in the distance down side corridors. More big cats? Perhaps they were some form of Khajiit after all, some sort of non-verbal kind, a hybrid or something. She huffed out a confused breathe and both of them stopped and looked at her. 

She smiled apologetically. Green eyes searched her face a moment then turned back leading her into a smaller space with a single door. He sat again. She approached but recognized it was a pressure activated gate. She could see nothing on hand, and nothing on the other side of the lattice door. She looked around and arched a brow at a new fourth member of the group, this one minimally larger than Blue, though just barely, and watching from a distance down the hall. She lifted a hand in greeting, assuming it was also one of these obviously sentient cat things, then kept looking around for the trigger mechanism. 

She finally looked up and noticed a narrow walk way over head, part of which was obscured. The walls were pretty rough and cracked, and the walkway wasn't too high above them so she ran her hands over the wall till she found a good grip and started to climb. Someone, she assumed blue eyes, growled, and she looked down. 

"Don't worry, I think I just found the pressure block, I won't leave your sight." She figured even if they couldn't understand the words, the tone of voice would at least count for something. She kept climbing and the growl subsided. "Ah ha!" she crowed softly as she pulled herself up. The block in question was protruding slightly and had a tell tale blue crystal in the middle. She didn't know how these things worked, just that they did. She pushed it and saw the grate slowly rise up. 

It was easy enough just to hang and drop down, and she walked through the gate with haste, not surprised when it slammed shut behind her. She turned and both visible cats were up and alert. Green eyes started pacing. 

"Don't worry, Serjo" she said softly through the gate, not sure what else could hear here in the gloomy corridors that led away from the gate, "some of them are timed...there's usually an exit in a hidden walk way over the entrance." She still wasn't sure they could understand her, but she was saying it as much for herself as for them. She wasn't thrilled about having to find a new way out. It wasn't the first time it had happened, but that didn't make her particularly happy. She grinned at the big cat, hoping to show him she wasn't afraid, though mostly to get him to stop pacing, it was making her anxious. She took a deep breath and shifted her arrows on her shoulder so that the silver ones fell within closest reach. If there were wraiths, she'd need them.

Faric ignored Mirisa's steady questioning glare and watched with interest and apprehension as the slender dark skinned Elven girl merged skilfully into the shadows, the only evidence of her presence the twin red flames of her eyes that flickered towards his as she cast one last look behind her. Then she was gone. 

"Now will you explain what the hell it is you think you're doing letting some stranger flounce around our lair?" She was standing naked, hands on her hips, her blond hair a halo around her face. She did not look happy. 

She was the best warrior among them, second to himself, and their little tribes second in command, she had every right to question him. He just wasn't sure he had a really good answer. Generally he was careful about this sort of thing, never random or unpredictable, always looking out for the interests of the group. Especially now, especially when they were at risk as they were, hunted, and driven from their home-lands into new and unknown territories. 

That's the only reason she had let it get this far. He knew that. He tried to think of something convincing as he shifted. They could communicate in their other form, but it was more senses, shapes, feelings, and concepts. The finer points of dialogue were generally lost, i.e. it was harder to sell someone a line. Their throats just weren't built for speech. He turned looking down at her and ran a hand through his hair. 

"Well, she's not entirely a stranger." He began with a sigh. She cocked a brow at him. "She was the dark elf warrior I told you about from the ruins up north. The one who helped take out that last group of hunters." He'd assumed she must have been a powerful fighter, after he saw the way she drove that sword through the other hunters armour. That wasn't an easy feat, even with leather armour. She was a lot stronger than she looked, and just as fast.

"She doesn't look like much of a warrior to me." She crossed her arms over her breasts and gave him a smarmy look. "what did she call herself...treasure hunter? She's just a sneaky little thief. If anyone questions her about our whereabouts, she'd sell us out for a steak and a pint of ale." He chuckled.

"That sounds more like you Mirisa. I think she'd hold out for cyrodilic brandy...she looks shrewd that way." She smirked back.

"Either way big man, you better make sure she doesn't. Clearly you think you owe her or something, which is why I haven't torn her to itsy bitsy pieces, but if I find out she talked and you did nothing to stop it I'll shred both of you." 

He nodded thoughtfully.

"you'd be well within your rights." He nodded again. She was right, he'd taken a foolish and stupid risk letting her in here, letting her live for that matter. He wasn't a killer though, and he did feel like she was somehow on their side, like he owed her, even if it was just for lowering her weapon, for recognizing what he was and actually giving a damn. She wasn't a killer either. A hunter perhaps, a warrior even, but not a killer. He could have killed her that first time, and she had been smart enough to know that. She didn't have to turn her aim like she did, but that didn't mean she would have hit him if she tried. "I don't think she would though."

"How can you know?"

He shrugged. "I just have a feeling."

"That's comforting."

He mimicked her stance and crossed his arms. "I have good ones sometimes you know." Her smirk widened. 

"I bet."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"It's spring, Mr. Alpha male with no mate and very sensitive nose." 

He did frown at that.

"I've already mated" he growled, "I have a child, I'm not some hormonal boy Mirisa." Indeed, he was turning sixty one in a few months.

She sighed and looked at him seriously. "I'm saying this as a friend, so don't try to rip me open, but just because you lost Pern doesn't mean you lost everything else. I know it's pretty fresh, but it's been a few years now, and quite frankly she oozing pheromones and you're in a good state to pick them up." His frown deepened. He didn't like talking about Pern, but he couldn't be angry with Mirisa, she'd lost a mate as well to the hunters, and at least he still had little Aina to remind him of her. Mirisa never had the opportunity to have children.

"She's not one of us, she doesn't go into hea.." She held up her hand.

"The fact that you're not aware of catching them should be evidence enough that you're not thinking clearly. Believe me, I don't know much about those dark elves, but that girl is practically glowing, maybe they have their own cycles too, we're used to men where we're from, not these southern elves, we can't know for sure. I'm grown up enough to admit that it's part of the reason I want to lay into her so bad." She grinned broadly and with menace. "I've always been the competitive type."

"And what exactly are you competing for?" He asked dryly.

"Have I ever needed a reason?" 

He lightened a little. "No, no you haven't."He gave her a wry smile. "Is she really..."

"Oh yeah. So watch yourself."

He frowned and nodded seriously. "I will. But I still get the feeling she's trustworthy. We'll see. I'll keep an eye on it. If it works out, it might be useful to have a contact for once. We're outsiders here, we know no one, and the hunters don't seem to be letting up." 

He paused thoughtful and looked back into the dark corridor the shadow of a woman had disappeared into and then back at Mirisa who had already shifted back. "Besides if she is just a 'sneaky thief' she might know someone who can help us figure out who's behind the hunters. No matter how many we kill, they seem to keep coming back. They're just mercenaries, someone is hiring them. Someone who knows of our existence." 

She looked at him sceptically, and he smiled back. 

"I know, I know...I'll be careful. You know I'd never do anything I thought for a second might jeopardize our position. Owyn," he called as she turned away, and he watched the young male bound forward, lowering his head deferentially to Mirisa as he passed her even as he eyed her swaying haunches, she growled half heartedly at him and he averted his eyes. Now there was a hormonal boy, barely twenty two, old enough to be interested, not old enough to know better.

"Keep an eye on this gate will you? Let me know if that elf comes back." Owyn huffed and lay down obediently beside the gate as Feric shifted back and trotted off to look for this supposed second exit. If this was going to be their new home for the time being, he wanted to know it like the back of his hand. It would only be a matter of time before someone would track them here, and he needed to be prepared. 

"Disgusting creatures." Inanna covered her mouth to keep from gagging as she pulled her arrows out of the fetid corpse, and watched the flesh disintegrate and ooze at her feet. The only redeeming thing about the undead was that you usually got most of your arrows back. It really helped cut down on expenses. They were also stupid as hell and helped set off traps before she even got there. This one had done most of her work for her by charging at her through a suspicious looking corridor with long slits in the ceiling.

She bit back another gag and pulled a bit of dark clothe out of her bag, wrapping it around her face. It helped a little, enough to get her supplies back without losing her breakfast. The evil looking metal blades were still rising and falling rhythmically around her as she worked, but she'd watched them long enough to side step each of them as she progressed. She wasn't about to complain, but these ruins really were a bit repetitive. Once you've survived enough of them, there are few things that can surprise you. 

Inanna resisted the urge to sigh and continued her torturous creep deeper into the bowls of the ruin, hoping it would end soon. She'd been through two proper doors, and umpteen gates, and still no bloody cup. The corridor turned and she was faced with yet another gate, this one with a floor trigger. She sighed and peeked through the lattice work, trying very hard not to set off the trigger before she was good and ready. She couldn't see anything from where she stood so she opened the gate and snuck in a little further. 

The hall opened up into another great hall dotted with columns and great stone alters. In a far entry way she spotted a warm glow that could only be fire. So there was something living down here after all. That combined with the presence of zombies usually meant one thing. Necromancers. She barred her teeth in a silent snarl and picked the darkest shadow she could find in which to set up shop. 

It was a long wait, but at least she was right side up this time. Her patience paid off and finally a figure in a dark robe entered the room. She could see instantly it was an Altmer, and she bet her life there was probably a self congratulatory smirk plastered on his pointy arrogant face. Her own people weren't exactly friendly, but as a general rule no one really liked these high elf pricks. 'Good thing his heads so bloated with ego,' she thought darkly,' it'll make a better target'. No sooner had she had the thought than a shining barb hit home and the figure crumpled. She let loose a second for good measure, hitting him as he fell, ensuring his silence.

The next figure came out, this time more quickly, more warily, perhaps sensing something was wrong. The woman called out. 




Hunting the Hunter



"Armion?" and stepped into the light. She saw the body just as the arrow was careening towards her in mid flight and she stepped back gasping. The shot hit, but in the shoulder since she was already pulling away. It drove her back, but she was able to cast something before the next shot came at her. This one hit as well, but she was ready for it, and the damage was minimal. A red-black cloud swirled beneath the mage's feet and a swaying headless monstrosity articulated rapidly before her. Inanna resisted the urge to curse. The thing wasn't running yet, just staggering around providing a body shield, no one had spotted her. 

She shot an arrow off into a side hall, making both the mistress and her meat puppet move in that direction. She sneered. Weren't sorcerers supposed to be intelligent? Who actually fell for that trick anymore. This opened the little witch up for another hit, which thankfully made solid contact. 

The down side was that she was clearly using a protection spell and was still standing, that and the fact that they'd finally figured out where the shots were coming from. 

The headless pile of rot came careening towards her. She fought the rising panic that was clawing up her throat and re-aimed her bow at the sorceress. She'd learned the hard way that without the sorceress the summoned creature would disintegrate; otherwise you could kill zombies all day and not make headway. They just kept summoning more. She struggled to maintain her focus as it neared her with a sickening howl, and tried to ignore the fact that headless things shouldn't be able to howl. 

Her gloved fingers parted and another shot went flying. The second necromancer crumpled, and the zombie vanished in an oily grey smoke. 

Inanna dropped to a crouch and exhaled, letting her suppressed shudder run its course through her. She had to focus, had to keep alert. These creeps always ran in packs. She searched the rooms attached to the hall and found nothing more interesting than a few soul gems and a bit of gold. Still no cup. 

"It had better be here" she griped as she stealthed her way into the last hall. The room was wider and grander than the previous ones and was lit with four great fires in massive oil basins. The floor was streaked with blood, and the walls hung with the black and white arms of their illicit trade. This one clearly had potential. She was blessedly high up in a walkway overlooking the charming scene, which gave her plenty of time for cheap shots before they figured out what was going on. There were two of them again, though their hoods were up so she couldn't determine what they were.

' No matter', she thought cheerily, 'everyone responds the same way to a steel barb through the back of the skull'. 

They were leaning over a fresh looking corpse doing gods only knew what to it and were completely distracted. She aimed at the nearer one whose back was turned to her and caught him in the center of the upper back. She followed, as usual with a second arrow in more or less the same place, though this one caught closer to the neck. Her third shot caught the stunned, still standing, partner in mid cast, halting the spell and sending the necromancer stumbling back, gaping at the arrow sticking out of his chest. He looked like he was about to cast again so she took aim for the head. 

Her mark was moving around too much and the arrow missed entirely. She cursed and crouched back against the wall. It was possible they hadn't seen her yet. She heard a terrible noise as another zombie was summoned. She readied her arrow and swung her bow over the banister, but nothing was there. 

"Where in oblivion..." she turned down the hall and made a gurgling sound of shock at the sight of the putrid thing bearing down on her. With a terrified cry she did the only thing she could think of and grabbed the banister and jumped. She threw herself against the wall, trying to use the friction to slow her momentum as she fell. She tried to roll when she hit bottom, but the floor was moving too fast towards her and she contacted with a terrible sharp pain in her ankle that shot up her leg making her shout. Stupid move...very stupid. But zombies did that to her. Made her panic, without fail...Meridia take them.

"Die!" Screamed a high pitched voice as a diminutive robed figure lunged towards her. She had her bow, but it was too late for that. She dropped it and pulled a knife from her thigh and lunged back using her good foot for propulsion and nailed the figure with her shoulder, twisting to take the knife wound in the arm, and sliding her own knife into the figure's side. It went in like butter with nothing more than robes between her steel and the flesh. She twisted the knife and the figure screamed. 

The zombie over head howled in rage and confusion. She wrested the fine looking glass knife away from her opponent and got on top of what she could only assume was a wood elf, he felt so small, and drove the blade into the hooded cowl. 

A little flame welled up as she sliced into him. There was a fire enchantment on it, but it must be weak, she'd not even felt the heat of it, never mind a burn. Of course, she was Dunmer, and this little Mer was not. The figure twitched and screamed, and finally stilled. She peaked under the cowl. Bosmer...good guess on her part. 

Inanna rolled off, taking the glass blade with her. It was much nicer than her own knives. She got up, testing her ankle gingerly. The pain was incredible, she could only hope it wasn't broken. She'd have to get to a healer as soon as she returned. She'd never been good at healing. It was one of the reasons she wasn't chosen to apprentice with the wise woman. They usually sent most girls with strong wills to her, but Inanna was only ever good at one thing, charring things. 

She'd always joked that it was the blood of the mountain itself that was in her veins, turning her mouth and hair red, and making her set random things on fire. In truth it had always bothered her a little that she could never heal anything, just destroy. At times like this it was a little frustrating as well.

She hobbled over to the other body and pulled him off of the alter. Much to her chagrin she saw a rather elaborate looking chalice next to the body of a naked, still bloody imperial man and saw that it was filled with viscous looking black stuff. She poured the stuff out on the floor, making sure it didn't touch the bodies, or herself for that matter, who knew what this stuff could do. She wrapped it in a bit of cloth from the alter and shoved it in her bag. 

"Am I seriously doing this for a house?" She asked. "Well it's this or move back to the Ashlands for an exciting career chasing kagouti through the wastes." She screwed up her nose at the idea, that wasn't too high on her list, she was still young, there were too many interesting things to see in the world first. 

"Then again, I swear if I never see an Ayleid city again it'll be too soon." She grumbled as she limped out the far door. There were two halls, the right looked like it was to an ante chamber, the left to a metal gate, and for all intents and purposes the exit. 

She didn't even care to check the other room. She could barely walk, the smell of death and rot was in her nose and she was sure it would take weeks to get the image of those zombies out of her head again. To Oblivion with loot, she just wanted out. She limped to the door to find it locked. Well that's what all that lock picking practice was for right? She pulled out a couple picks and started working. 

She broke five before she stopped and took a deep breath. She was being impatient, she had to focus. She pulled another pick out and started from the beginning. She was down to the last tumbler when a rumble behind her made her turn away from her work. 

"kill me now." She groaned and watched a stumbling shadow against the far wall. She turned back, took another deep breath, prayed to the ancestors and turned the pick. It snapped. The rumble got louder and the zombie teetered around the corner. She pulled out her bow and started shooting. 

Five arrows later it was still closing in, and she had nowhere to run. She made a last ditch effort and closed her eyes, praying for real this time. She opened her eyes to find a bluish white figure swaying before her. It screeched once and turned as the zombie took a swing at them. She cringed against the gate and watched as the ghost slowly drove the zombie back. 

She took another breath and went back to the lock. She almost cried with relief when she felt that only the one tumbler had fallen. She tried again, pushing the sounds behind her out of her mind, focusing, gently prodding, waiting for the right click and...it opened. She let out a cry of pleasure, then a scream of terror as a hand closed around her good ankle. 

The ghost had done a respectable job and the zombie was missing a leg and crawling towards her, some of its insides leaking onto the floor. She crawled backwards trying to pull away, trying to pull through the door. If she could just get through the door. 

She couldn't focus to draw up her inner fire, and its grip was too strong to shake off, not with one fractured ankle. She winced and leaned in towards it against every instinct and drove the little glass dagger through its wrist. It loosened its grip reflexively and groaned as a lick of flame crawled up its arm and she yanked away slamming the door shut with her good leg and holding it as the monster banged against the door. She was exhausted and in pain, and it was winning. 

She whimpered in terror as she reached shakily for her bow which she'd managed to drag with her. She aimed through the grating and fired. It was enough to make it stop pushing, so she fired again, and again, and again, and kept firing until the thing on the other side of the gate looked like a gooey pin cushion. 

She thought briefly of retrieving her arrows, and quickly thought better of it. She'd be sick for sure. Her fear and pain were already making her nauseous. Slowly she half crawled, half dragged herself to the end of the passage and let out a laugh of relief to see the big entrance door beneath her. She'd been right after all. Now how was she going to get down? It wasn't much of a drop, but it was more than enough to be excruciating with a mangled ankle. She sighed. 

She hated to do this but there wasn't much choice. She gathered her will, focusing until her head pulsed with concentration and her vision blurred a hazy blue as it always did when she tried to use healing magic, and wrapped her hands around her ankle. Even with all her force behind it, the restorative spell was weak. It would be enough though to get her to a healer though. She considered taking her boot off to check the damage, but then decided against it. She might never get it on again if she took it off, and it might be what was holding the bone together if it was broken.

Feric paced below the hidden catwalk. She'd been right, and it had irked him that they'd not noticed it sooner. They'd only been here a few days, but that was a few days worth of potential ambushes. He growled low in his throat, the fur on his back pricking in irritation.

A soft sound, like a voice, came from up above. He quieted himself and listened. The sound was followed quickly by a low moaning growl, and a minute later by an unearthly screech that made his hackles rise. He stood stiffly, listening as the moans and screeches continued until they were ended, or punctuated by a soft cry, and a sickening scream. 

The scream was almost above him, or near to it, and it was a woman's. Was it her? His claws dug futilely into the stone. There was a terrible racket like someone thrashing against a metal door, and then silence. He listened closely, desperate for some sign, some hint as to what he'd just heard, and he was answered with a soft low laugh. It was directly above him. He stretched up the walls, his head nearly reaching the walkway, and sniffed the air. It smelled like death and putrescence...like fire and blood, but under that it also smelled ever so faintly of her. But then she she'd smelled of fire and blood before. And something else, something earthy and spicy that made his mouth water slightly. Was that what Mirisa was talking about? 

He lowered himself and walked up to the door, trying to see if he could spot her as well. He turned and there she was. Blazing black-red eyes set in a striking angular grey face peered down at him framed with tendrils of dark red hair that had pulled loose from her tight braid. She looked like a disheveled Dremora. She waved weakly and gave him a crooked smile. 

"Looks like you can understand me after all. I told you about the back door, and here you are Green-eyes. Either that or you heard the commotion."

Green-eyes? He would have laughed. It just came out as a snort. 

"Hold on, I'm coming down...you might not want to be under me, I'm not as light as I look."

He chuckled to himself. 'Under her, she looked light enough for that...and what about under him...'he tensed, where had that thought come from. Perhaps Mirisa was right. He shook his head, then jumped with a growl as a body landed in a heap next to him on the stairs.

"I warned you." She pulled herself into a seated position and slouched against the wall. The passage was narrow so he moved lower to give her space. 

She reached down and felt her ankle, wincing. "I landed badly playing tag with a necromancer and a zombie. Don't worry, I made sure the Mancer was 'it' " She explained as he watched her. 

She must have read the shock in his expression because she laughed. "That's right, I bet you didn't know you had those in your cellar did you, Serjo?" She leaned back against the steps with a grimace. "You really can understand me can't you?" 

He tipped his head in confirmation and she shook hers. 

"Incredible." She looked at him a while then shook her head again. "Anyway, I killed everything I found down there, but if you go exploring, you might want to work in pairs...or groups, I don't know how many of you there are, but don't go alone, just in case I missed something. Plus, look out for suspicious long narrow hall ways...most of them have traps."

'You went alone and did alright', he thought as he watched her remove her armored leather shirt and pull the light undershirt over her head. She wore a wrap around her chest, but it still didn't stop him from noticing her smooth flat stomach and gently flared hips as they disappeared into her formfitting leather pants. 

Her movements distracted him from the view and he realized she was tearing up her shirt. Then he realized why. There was a long deep bloody gash across one of her arms, not to mention several large bruises and scratches all over the rest of her. They were hard to notice at first because of the already blue tinged ash color of her skin. They appeared as slight dark spots instead of contrasting obviously as it might on paler skin. The gash was still bleeding, and she was dabbing at it ineffectually, hissing through gritted teeth.

Innana froze in surprise as she felt her hand nudged away from her arm and looked up to find Green-eyes practically standing over her. He lent his head to her arm and to her amazement began licking the wound with his slightly rough tongue. She could only gape and sat perfectly still as she watched him. 

She felt herself shiver as the fur of his body brush against the exposed parts of her skin. He stopped then and his head shot up, looking to her face. She could only stare back, her lips parted slightly in surprise and awe. She thought his own eyes registered a similar surprise and he moved back and turned away, putting a great deal more distance between them and turned his head away even as he turned back to face her.

"Ah...tha-thanks." She offered softly feeling her face heat strangely, and looked down at her freshly cleaned arm. It seemed to have stemmed the blood flow as well. 

She took the still clean bits of her shirt and wrapped them around her arm, tying them in a knot with her teeth. She replaced her leathers and rose, using the wall for support. "Well, ah, thanks again...for letting me, you know, get the, ah, artefact." She paused and looked down. "I'm getting a house with it." She offered, as if that meant something. "I..I just mean I appreciate it." She smirked. "I know Blue wasn't thrilled about it...so thank her for me would you? Anyway...I'd better find a healer for this ankle..." 'just stop talking and go,' she admonished herself. She cleared her throat. 

"Well, good bye." She turned quickly before she could change her mind and left. 

Feric went down stairs and relieved Owyn from his watch. Tomorrow he'd take him and Mirisa down there to see just what had been crawling around in there, and what more needed clearing out. Necromancers, he though with another shake of his head. 

He sighed and thought again about what he'd done on the stairs. He hadn't even thought about it until he felt her shake. What the blazes had gotten into him? It had seemed the most natural thing in the world at the time, as if she was part of his pack. He was thinking of following her like last time, but after what Mirisa had said earlier, and that bizarre display he didn't think it was such a good idea. 

Still he felt guilty for not going. She was wounded, and he could at least help by discouraging any would be attackers. He started back to the door, then stopped. No, he thought, his responsibility was here, she would have to take care of herself. He growled at himself and went back into the maze. He should probably check on the little ones.

****

Inanna trudged miserably up the road casting an irritated glare at the legionnaire swaying by on his bulky looking horse. Where were you ten minutes ago, she groused mentally. He looked back at her and frowned. 

"Is there some trouble citizen?" He asked looking her over. Was it the blood spatter that tipped you off, or the sliced up leather amour, genius? She bit down her post fight bile and smiled tightly. At least they were more polite than Ordinators. 

"Not anymore." She smirked and saluted with one finger to her temple and went back to trudging up the road. All she wanted to do was get a few personal items and take them to her new house without having to kill someone...was that too much to ask? And here she thought Cyrodiil was supposed to be quaint and civilized. 

Bloody bandits. Bloody goblins. Filthy bloody Minotaurs. Honestly. 

"That does it, I'm saving up for a horse." She didn't like the idea or learning to ride those things, she liked having her feet on the ground, but this was getting ridiculous. She felt a tickle on her face and wiped at it with her glove, which returned smeared in blood. She wondered just how much was smeared all over her face. No wonder the imperial had given her such a disgruntled look. A Dunmer smeared in blood could be a pretty chilling sight. She grinned ferociously, no doubt making her even more chilling. Maybe that will keep the fetchers at bay. 

She saw a movement up ahead, and grinned at it. That's right, try me, she thought staring down the figure. Bloody Bandits. 

It was a dark-skinned Redguard man, He was leaning against a rock, and had picked up a mean looking axe, and was started towards her...then stopped. 

She grinned wider when she was close enough to see his eyes, and he hers. He put down his axe and went back to leaning against the rock. 

Hmm, maybe this look was working for her. She should just walk around smeared in blood all the time, maybe then they'd leave her alone.

She cast another look over her shoulder as she passed him, but he was already watching down the road for an easier mark. On second thought the drying blood was making her skin itch, and she smelt like goblin, which was not a pretty smell. It was already getting dark, and she still had a solid hour of walking before she got the Chydinhal. She didn't really want to walk in covered in blood and smelling like roasted goblin, nor did she want to spend the next hour or two enjoying the sensation of gooey gob blood drying all over her face. 




Hunting the Hunter



She turned off the road. There was a decent little lake with a charming waterfall nearby, and it was just far enough from the road to be private, but not far enough to be troll infested. 

Not that she was shy, but she didn't want someone stealing her stuff while she tried to scrub the goblin off her. Or maybe it was bandit...that last one had been a gusher. She shuddered and stripped off her clothes. She'd clean the leather when she got back, right now, she just wanted to clean herself.

Feric grunted as he peeled away from the scene. He'd lost the hunters, literally. They were all dead at the bottom of the hill, under the hooves of a couple of very unhappy minotaurs. He smirked to himself. He was hoping this would happen. He smelled those two from a mile away, and those four idiots were so intent on tracking him they didn't notice where he was leading them. He growled darkly. 

He was sick of spending his time leading these people on wild goose chases all over the countryside, but it was the only way he could think of keeping them away from the new den. The adults could take care of themselves, even if there were only five now, but it was a different story with all the little ones. Three of the cubs were part of his original tribe, but they'd taken on a lot more orphaned cubs from other groups. Now they outnumbered the adults. 

He growled again and broke from the cover of the trees after scenting fresh water. He was tired, angry, and thirsty. One thing at a time. The stream was fresh and quick moving, and the cold water felt good in his throat. A light splash disturbed his little break and he lifted his nose to investigate. The air was clean, but then, the stream disappeared a few feet ahead over a ledge, it could be a high enough cliff that the scent was lost. 

He approached the edge cautiously and peered over the ledge. There was a large pool at the bottom, but a good portion was blocked from sight by an overhang. Just his luck. He still couldn't smell much. With a mental shrug he turned to the side and bounded down the rocky boulders that lined the small waterfall. 

Something caught his eye, a pile of something. He got closer. Leather. It smelled of Blood. Blood and something else...something like...fire. He narrowed his eyes, and inhaled more deeply, looking for another scent, a spicy scent underneath. 

There was a splash, and suddenly he caught it. Spice, and earth. He looked up, his mouth already watering. It couldn't be. It certainly smelled like her.

The Dark elf broke the surface of the water and pushed the red hair out of her eyes. It was darker than usual...but then it was wet. She opened her eyes and gasped in surprise. A flame leapt up in her hand almost instantly as she looked from him to her things and back again. 

The boulder he was on was flat and dry, so he just lay down and watched her, more curious than concerned. He already knew she was fast and dangerous, the necromancer with an arrow through his forehead she left in the ruins would have told him that even if he hadn't seen her fight before, but it was a controlled dangerousness. True to form she paused and tilted her head at him. 

"You're kidding me." She called from the center of the pool. The flame died in her hand and she disappeared under the water, only to surface below him in front of his rock. She pushed the water out of her eyes with her palms and grabbed the edge of the rock and looked up, her face level with his claws. 

She was trusting. He could blind her with a swipe she was so close. Maybe that's why he trusted her, she trusted him first. When he'd pounced on that other dark elf, she knew instantly he wasn't going for her. Most wouldn't have assumed that. Or maybe she's just that good, and she could read it. A good hunter could. She gave him her crooked smile.

"We've got to stop meeting this way. One of these days I'm going to accidentally blast you." She pulled up a little, folding her elbows on the rock and lifting her shoulders into view. Her skin shimmered wet and glowed in the waxing moonlight. 

She was dark and bright at the same time, like obsidian, and the rest of her, her hair and eyes, was as dark and rich a red as arterial blood. He noticed her mouth was almost the same shade as her hair when it was damp. The wet strands clung to her smooth lightly muscled shoulders in curling tendrils of deep burgundy. Mercifully the rest of her was still below the ledge and hidden from his roving eye. 

He snapped his eyes back to her face, once he realized they had been roving. He took another deep breath. She smelled good clean. Less fire and blood, and more spice and earth. Like a desert after a rain. She let out a throaty laugh. 

"Don't let your eyes wander too far there. Your girl might get the wrong idea." Her voice sounded lower, harsh, yet smooth. Like rocks and water...quicksand. He blinked at her and she laughed again. "I tease...I'm sure I'm not even your type. You know...biped and all." 

She grinned and slid down along the rock and, to his surprise, hefted herself gracefully out onto the boulder, settling beside him. He turned away as she sat down, but it was too late. The image was going to be burned into his brain for a good long while. She was long and sleek and glistened like a dark jewel as the water cascaded off her. 

She was one long elegant curve from her delicately pointed ears to her tightly muscled calf. He tried to focus on the water in front of him, but he could see her pull her knees up to her chest and lean forward to wring her hair out over the ledge in the corner of his eye. His eyes darted back to her and slipped almost automatically over her arm and to the curve of her breast as it pressed against her thigh. 

He looked away again and huffed. What the hell was his problem, he was used to nudity, Hell, he spent most of his time like that. It happened when you were constantly shifting forms. You couldn't get dressed and undressed every five minutes. Yet...he huffed again. She really did smell good. Really, really good. He swallowed reflexively.

Inanna shook her head slightly as she wrung out her hair. How odd that she kept running into him. She'd almost have thought maybe he was tailing her. Then again it had been her who went to the ruin, and since she lived in Chydinhal now, and they not far away in the ruins, she assumed at least that they still did, they'd be more likely to run into one another. Besides, it had been more than a couple weeks since that last run in. She crossed her arms over her knees and laid her cheek on them, turning her face so that she could watch him. 

He was staring into the water, making a funny snorting noise. She cocked a brow at him.

"You ok there Green?" He turned his head to look at her and she raised her head. The look was intense. Had she pissed him off some how? She held up a hand. "Hey, sorry, I...is it the name? I don't mean anything by it. It's just...you know...those unbelievable eyes of yours. I'm sure you hear that all the time."She grinned gamily. He tipped his head slightly to the side, his gaze still intense, then turned away, looking back in the direction of the road. 

"Do you hear something?" She frowned and uncurled herself getting up, she hadn't heard anything, maybe he was distracting her again, he was good at that.

The rock was slippery and she put out a hand instinctively against his shoulder to catch her balance. His head whipped around and she snapped her hand back, realizing what she'd done. She took a step away, holding up her hands. 

"Sorry...slipped." She smile feeling a little wrong footed and pointed down to the rock. He was still staring at her...and still with that drilling intensity. She cleared her throat and turned away, picking up her bag and looking for a change of clothes. She really didn't want to put that other smelly stuff back on. She grabbed her things and tossed them onto the grass, then followed it. She didn't need to crack open her head trying to balance on one foot while shuffling into her clothes on a slippery rock. 

She pulled out her glass knife and put it on top of the bag, just in case he really had heard something.

She bent over and shook loose a pair of clean pants. They weren't leather, but then it wasn't much farther to go, and she could probably outrun most things if she got desperate and had to go looking for imperial back up. The hair on her neck stood on end again and she slowly craned her head over her shoulder. What did the Breton's say? Deja-vu.

The lion had joined her on the grass and was making a slow circle around her, though with less of the polite distance of the first time. She frowned. "Everything alright?" She asked, suddenly feeling the reality of her situation. 

Big ol' lion, with big shiny claws and little naked her. Not a lot to put between his claws and her skin. 

She wondered at how that fact had managed to slip her mind at all. That wasn't like her. She glanced nervously at her knife and started calling up the fire in her blood...just in case. He stopped, and his head lifted, as if scenting the air and he tilted his head at her again. His eyes shone, his head lowered. Predator.

Slowly she knelt as he padded deliberately towards her, his shoulder blades rolling as he moved in that special and ominous way only a cat can move. She never took her eyes off him as her fingers found the hilt of the glass dagger and, though his eyes slid to the dagger, he kept coming. 

She was breathing hard by the time he stopped, just out of reach, just barely. His eyes were locked on hers, and she was torn between the fact that he'd never menaced her before, and the dangerous glint in his eye now. He lowered his head just a fraction and took another step his gaze unwavering. Her fingers tensed and her eyes shot to his paws...his claws were still retracted. 

She breathed out a little, but her fingers maintained their grip on the knife. He took another step. She was on her knees, and he really was massive, so they were more or less eye to eye. His nostrils flared. 

Was he...smelling her? Could he smell her fear? Some animals attack because of the scent of fear...but he wasn't really an animal...was he? Then again, some men attacked for the same reason. She furrowed her brow and held her breathe. He moved his head in a little closer. It was as wide as her shoulders. At this range those jaws would take her head right off before she could get a decent hit in. She resisted the urge to whimper, or to strike. Focus, remain calm. 

He breathed out and the warm air brushed over her neck and shoulder. She shivered and closed her eyes. The shiver reminded her of something. It reminded her of the brush of fur on the stairs in the ruin. The gesture he'd made, of helping her, had been almost affectionate, and certainly it had been a kind one. It had made her blush. 

She opened her eyes, a little calmer and half raised her free hand, the fire that had been welling up in her fingers already snuffed out. He turned his eyes to her hand and she paused, then bit her lip and raised it a little further. He hadn't tore her up yet, she reasoned. He surprised her by turning into the raised hand, and her fingers made contact with the thick fur of his neck, just below his ear. He made no move to pull away.

Slowly, experimentally she slid her hand up behind the ear, massaging underneath it. She'd 'known' a couple Khajiit who always liked it when she did that. Apparently it was very relaxing. Green seemed to like it too and his eyes, still holding hers, relaxed in that sleepy way. She sat back on her knees, relaxing herself a little. He let out another heavy breathe which ran down over the night chilled flesh of her collar and breasts. 

Her fingers finally quit their grip on the knife and she brought the other hand up as well, and ran it over his neck. His pelt was smooth and thick, and very warm. He just stood there, still as stone, eyes half closed as she ran her hands over him. She could feel herself tremble just a little, though more from amazement than fear. She felt a smile twitch her cheeks. Would this ever look strange if someone came into the clearing just now. A naked Dunmer practically cradling the head of an over-sized mountain lion, not something you see every day. 

He must have sensed her change in mood as he shifted under her hands, taking another step forward so that one big paw rested next to her knee, and his head pushed forward, nuzzling into her shoulder and hair. She teetered a little and closed a hand into his fur to keep from tumbling back. 

It didn't seem to bother him, he just did it again, his big cheek rubbing up against her. She let out a light, short laugh. Was he marking her? She smiled and breathed tremulously. So that's what he was up to. She tried to contain her blush. In any cat-like species she knew, this was usually a sign of affection, or at least possession, which to some people, like her own, was tantamount to the same thing. She had to admit, she was flattered. She leaned in to his next brush so that her cheek brushed his back. 'If you're going to mark me, let's make it even', she thought with a chuckle and a little involuntary shiver as he brushed against her sensitive ear. She was rewarded, and startled, by a quick lap at her throat with a rough tongue. 

"You shouldn't sneak up on a girl like that," she said thickly against his cheek, "she might think you were up to no good." He pulled his head back and looked at her. His expression hadn't gotten any less intimidating, but now she at least knew it wasn't because she was on the menu. She gave him a shaky smile, still a little unnerved by his behaviour, though no longer terrified. Why was he looking at her like that? 

He lowered his head and nuzzled her again, this time brushing down over her chest and pressing at her so that she fell back a little onto her bottom. She let out a squeak and tried to right herself, but he was still rubbing his cheek and jaw against her.  

The sensation didn't help her collect herself either. The feel of his fur against her breasts was highly distracting and made her gasp as little shivers of heat started running up and down her stomach. She really did blush then, and was about to push him back a little, or at least to a less intimate and stimulating part of the body when she was stopped by the shocking sensation of a long tongue running up the length of her stomach and between her breasts. 

Now it wasn't entirely an unfamiliar sensation, she liked those sly Khajiit males as much as the next wholly shameless girl, but it was utterly unexpected in this particular instance. She could only gasp and gape, eyes going wide as she watched him do it again, this time over her breast, catching an already hard nipple against his slightly sandy tongue. That sensation pulled out a choked groan from her throat, something between pleasure and shock. 

He took another step so that her legs were pinned between his front paws. She shook and gripped his neck, her fist still buried in the fur. His tongue continued to lap at her, roving over her throat and breasts, and finally down over her stomach, his nostrils flaring. She blinked and gasped, trying to regain control of her mind which had so quickly been overcome by the startling electric sensations twisting around her spine and sending her brain reeling into a reddish haze. She'd always been something of a sensualist, and she found it hard not to respond instantly and completely to pleasant sensations. One took what one could get when one was raised in a volcanic desert of ash.

She managed a mild curse and pulled herself up onto her elbows, shaking the cobwebs out of her head and tried to suppress the delicious shivers his tongue was causing. This was not right she admonished herself...think girl, snap out of it. It was...well...weird. She blinked and looked up at him. His head was low again as he looked back at her. His eyes were glowing even more intensely than before. Another shiver ran up her spine, making it arch a little. Damn it, stop that. 

She knew exactly what that look was now. He wasn't serious...was he? Well that would be a new one...even for a Dunmer. It might even be worthy of one of those crazy Telvanni wizards...wait what she thinking!

"Y-you're not...are you?" she breathed, her voice rasping with...what? With desire? She shivered again, then went wide eyed as he grinned at her. Actually grinned, with lots of teeth. A Khajiit type grin. A very, very, wicked Khajiit type grin. 

She twisted back away a little when he gave her that look, then realized with a gasp what she'd just done. Her next gasp was more like a breathy cry as his tongue swathed up the inside of her thigh and down over the center of her heat.' Oh my gods that feels amazing', her brain screamed in delight before she could find the will to disapprove. She almost did, but then another long wet rasping lap sent her into a series of back arching shudders. It was just like a Khajiit she thought dimly through the haze, only...bigger. She shuddered and fell back, no longer willing to make the effort to do anything else. She just sort of...fell open, and ran a hand over his cheek absently as she twisted in gasp inducing pleasure beneath his tongue.

She was flushed and panting when he finally pulled away and nudged her hip with a low growling sound. She propped herself back up on her elbows and looked up at him. He rolled his shoulders and growled again, staring her down. What was he trying to...oh. She looked straight between her legs and his chest and saw his problem. The red cloud in her mind cleared a little, though just a little, and she swallowed. She looked back up at him, and those green eyes bore down on her.' Well, Oblivion take me', she swore silently,' I'm here aren't I?' 

It didn't look like it would kill her...though it might do something damn near to it. She glanced down again and gnawed her lip hesitantly. It would be...interesting, at the very least. She flushed even darker, if that were possible, and licked her lips.

Feric was practically shaking as he looked down at her, every muscle tensed, his chest vibrating with a low growl of want. His mind was a dark fog and the only thing he could see clearly was the sleak, silvery, erotic female splayed beneath him. Her scent filled his head and her heady taste coated his tongue. 

He purred in rapture as her small dark pink tongue ran over her swollen lips and she slowly twisted her body beneath him, her eyes never breaking from his. She pulled herself up onto her hands and knees and he growled with pleasure at the sight of her swaying hips in front of him. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted something this badly. Hell he could barely remember his name just at that moment. He tore his eyes from her wriggling backside and caught her looking back at him past her shoulder. Her eyes smouldered like burning embers, sending an inexplicable sensation along the length of his spine.

He practically pounced on her, and she let out a little whimpering squeal as his belly slid over the length of her back. He closed his eyes, delighting in the heat that radiated off he, and the writhing movement of her slim body as he pinned her to the ground. She fell forward on her elbows, her hips jutting up. He nuzzled against her hair, devouring the scent of her. He couldn't get enough of that scent. 

He paused, the fog in his mind lifting slightly. There was something about that scent...something he knew he should know about it. He growled to himself in frustration, what was it? No sooner than he'd growled however, the little female underneath him squirmed with a groan and he felt himself pressed hard and hot against her soft, slick, warm center. 

Every rational thought fled before it had the chance to form, and he was lost in the breathtaking feel of her tight body stretching around him as she pressed herself back against him. He growled and she growled back. The sound might have surprised him if he hadn't been so distracted by the feel of her wrapping around him. 




Hunting the Hunter



She was incredibly tight and incredibly hot, practically searing. He shook, and she grunted softly and pressed back harder. Her soft sound of effort broke him of his stillness and he extended his claws, pressing them into the ground, digging in as he leveraged himself against her hips, meeting her slow press with a hard thrust of his own. She cried out and jerked forward with the pressure of the thrust, held in place only by the weight of his body pressing down on her, still pinning her. 

She shoved back, trying still to pull more of him inside her. 'Eager little sylph,' he growled to himself and met her movements roughly and enthusiastically with his own until he could feel himself wedged as far and as tightly as he would go. 

They stayed that way, frozen, both shaking faintly as she gasped gently, her forehead bent down resting in the cool grass and her fingers wrapped tightly around his lowered forelegs. Slowly he pulled out, his eyes rolling a little at the way her body clung to his. He pulled almost all the way, then dug in his claws and slammed hard into her, spreading her, claiming her. She gasped almost silently and her fingers bit into his fur. He thrust again, then again, pulling all manner of arousing sounds from her lovely throat. 

He continued to caress her shoulders and neck with his cheek, enjoying her scent, and the taking pleasure in in his own scent as it clung to her hair and skin. His scent. 'Mine' he thought through his haze, and shuddered again with satisfaction as he continued to thrust down into her. His eyes turned to her long slender neck, exposed as her hair fell forward, spilling like a waterfall of blood red wine into the grass. Her perfect, smooth, unmarked skin shone like dark silver. 

He moved naturally, instinctively, letting her build, feeling her tighten around him, feeling himself swell to the point of bursting. He rose up without thinking, his lips curling back over his teeth and felt her skin break between his jaws, and her hot blood seep like liquid fire against his tongue.

Inanna screamed, but her chest was already so tight, so breathless, it came out as a rasping cry instead. The sudden sharp pain, and the vibrating pulses of something completely indescribably, as his teeth came down around the nape of her neck, holding her as he fucked her, made her body jerk and twitch against the heavy mass above her. She convulsed and shook, her senses torn between the delicious silk of his stomach sliding against her body, the blissfully electric, half-painful pulsing of her clenching sex around the thick cock inside her, and the red pain of his sharp teeth at her throat. 

She whimpered helplessly in his grip as she felt him release inside of her in undulating waves of heat. Her own body responded instantly, pulsing and sending currents of electric pleasure shooting through her veins. She felt him release her, and after a moment felt the warmth of his tongue against her back and neck, cleaning the blood away, and soothing the ache of the wound. 

Her body clung to his as he pulled out of her and she collapsed with an inaudible grunt into the cool of the grass, her only thoughts muddled exclamations of wonder and disbelief. 

Nothing actually hurt just yet, just throbbed wonderfully, though she was certain it would start aching eventually. But now she just felt...exhausted, empty and full at the same time. She was lying on her side, staring off at nothing in particular, and felt a heavy warm bulk press up against her back. She turned her head weakly and saw him next to her, on his stomach, leaning to one side, scanning the line of trees and the path out towards the road. 'Well', she mused pulling a coherent thought together, 'at least one of us is paying attention.' After which she promptly passed out.

***

Inanna grumbled and turned onto her back, this spot was warmer she noted...then frowned. Had she heard something? Why was it so cold? And damp? She blinked open her eyes and stared with confusion at the starlight sky over head. She shifted, realizing instantly that she was laying naked in the grass, and that she hurt all over. Not real bad mind you, just a mild dull ache. It was especially bad in her neck and for some reason in her...oh...yeah. She blinked. Azura have mercy on her. Did she just do what she thought she did?

"I guess that wasn't an especially twisted dream after all, " she murmured, "and I thought the one about Dagoth-Ur was bad." She grimaced and sat up, ignoring the slight twinge of a cramp in her side. She ran a hand through her still damp hair and brought several tangles and bits of grass out with it. She propped an arm on her bent knee and looked around. Had he left already? That wouldn't have been very gentlemanly, what with her naked and unconscious in the middle of a bandit infested wood. Not gentlemanly by half. 

She spotted her pants in a heap by her bag and grabbed them, yanking them on and stumbling to her feet at the same time. 

From the direction of the road she heard a shout. That's what must of woke her up. She grabbed her shirt and dagger, and pulled it, the shirt that is, over her head as she broke into a light jog. Light because she was still waking up, and still ached all over. She came up over a little rise, between the brush that bordered the road and the edge of the little lake, and stopped short. It was the Redguard bandit with the big axe and a mean looking lion, only the bandit was in a heap and the lion was prowling toward her. She balled her fists on her hips.

"You know, I scared him so bad he didn't even want to fight me." She smirked at him as he passed her, and he gave her what she could only describe as a wry look. Could lions look wry? 

This one did. What on earth was he? "What are you anyway?" she asked, tailing after him, knowing full well he couldn't answer. 

"Let's play twenty questions then." She chirped. She thought his shoulders slumped a little. This was good, talking is good, it would keep her mind off...other things. "Are you a Khajiit of some kind?" He shook his head once. She sighed. She grabbed her things and he waited for her, it being assumed, apparently, that he was accompanying her the rest of the way. Well, that is gentlemanly then. Better than she usually got. They kept near enough to the road to keep an eye on it, but out sight of any passersby. "Are you just an unusually...."she smirked, "friendly, lion who thinks he's people?" He snorted. 'Guess not then'. 

"Am I crazy?" 

He gave her a side long glance. 

"Well I guess we're not ruling that one out just yet. Hmmm, well, what else," she tapped her lip with mock pensiveness, "what could you be? Are you a sorcerer?" No. Oh, brilliant! "Did you go to Leyawin and get bopped with Wabajak?" He gave her a very confused look. "You know...Sheogorath's staff? The one that turns things into...well, things? I saw a guy in the fighters guild turn someone's horse into a little white rabbit. No really, I swear on my ancestors, "she said crossing her heart, "it was the funniest damn thing I ever saw. I literally cried I laughed so hard. Apparently he'd only done it to amuse his little sister. That's brotherly love for you." She frowned. "I guess that means you're not Sheogorath either. He would have known what I was talking about." So that ruled out the mad-god then.

She appraised him and he ignored her, his eyes were busy scanning the dark. It was sort of nice travelling with someone who was as paranoid as she was, it meant less work on her end. She watched the road and kept thinking out loud. 

"Well, you don't smell deadric...so you're not from the Oblivion planes..." she winced, "oh god you're not undead or anything are you?" 

He gave her another sidelong look that said rather clearly, 'I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer.' 

"Are you mortal?" Nod. Well that didn't help much. "How mortal? I mean, like Men or like Mer?" He cocked his head at her. Maybe he didn't know the difference. "I'm Mer," she gestured to her ears, "Dunmer specifically, pointy ears, dark skin, red eyes. Altmer are the tall slightly golden obnoxious ones, and Bosmer are the short pale obnoxious ones. Dunmer are somewhere in between. And obviously perfect." She purred. 

He snorted. "Don't pretend you don't think so." She murmured mischievously. She quieted and gestured to the road. Two sketchy looking fellows in dark cloaks were chatting behind a rock. That's not suspicious, not at all. They took the long way around to avoid them.

"Anyway, we live longer. Take me for instance...I'm pretty young, I'm only Eighty six. Of course if I were of the race of men, that would be pretty old, seeing as how they have the life span of a fruit fly. So are you also long lived?" He glanced at her again and made an affirmative gesture. "Well, that's interesting then, perhaps you are Mer...of a sort." She scrunched her nose, "Orcs are so I don't see why you couldn't be. Now I wonder how long you do live. My people can stretch their lives up to and over a thousand years, but those are usually the exceptional cases, often involving magica of some kind, like house Telvanni for instance, that is if they can keep friends and loved ones from stabbing them in the back first." She looked back at him from the road, he was looking a little bit incredulously at her. "Not familiar with the Dunmer people I take it?" 

He shook his head, and she chuckled. 

"Well generally we don't often live too much past five or six hundred, depending on one's lifestyle of course. The life span for my people is decidedly shorter on average. Ashlanders that is," she explained, "we live in the grazelands and the ash wastes on the north steppes of Red Mountain, not exactly the easiest life. I was a clan hunter. It's a big volcano, by the way...Red Mountain. " She grinned. "Explains a lot doesn't it." 

He made an emphatic nod which made her chuckle darkly again. 

"We all have the eyes and the skin, but it varies. I'm a paler shade of grey than most, and my hair, though not unusual, is less standard than shades of black." She still grinned at him and held up a hand, wiggling her fingers and making them glow with subdued fire. "I've got the volcano in my veins." 

She dropped her hand and turned her attention back to the road, her smile fading quickly. They were almost there, she could see the walls peaking through the brush. He must have seen it too and stopped. She sighed and turned back. 

"Well I guess this is where I get off the ship. Shall we part here?" He bowed his head. She gave him a small, but very sincere smile. Happy to be safely inside city walls, but not quite ready to leave her strange friend, she lingered, looking at the ground in a not quite comfortable silence. 

He didn't go bounding off, and she didn't want to be the first one to go. Ah well, thus is life. You meet a nice lion and then you're forced to go your separate ways. She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation and met his steady gaze. 

"Well, goodnight then Muthsera," she whispered softly, " thank you for seeing me home." She smile one last time and turned towards the big grey stone walls, slipping past the stable and nodding politely to the two on-duty guards. They nodded back sullenly and continued to ignore her. 

She stretched and yawned as she picked her way towards her house, stepping around an unconscious Dunmer snoring in the mud. Classy. Then again hadn't she woken up with grass in her hair an hour ago? She snorted. I'm sure his excuse is less interesting than mine, she thought with a smirk. 

She still could quite believe...if she didn't ache like she did...Bloody hell! What's gotten into her? She still felt a little flushed, and her palms were damp. How strange. Very strange.

Feric watched as she walked away, and wondered what exactly' Muthsera' meant. Whatever it was, the way she'd said it made it feel like a caress. He sighed and felt free to watch the sway of her hips as she moved. No harm now. It was too late for that, the damage had been done. And what damage it was. 

He let out the low dangerous growl that he'd been suppressing until she left and stalked off back towards the deeper woods, just in case anyone had spotted him. He doubted it, but she was distracting him by talking the whole time. It had helped. He didn't have to think too much, but now here he was, alone with his thoughts, and the one particular nasty thought about the incredible, insane mistake he had just made. 

Dammit! Fool! Why in blazes would he ever...like that? In this form...and he bit her! Marked her, and bit her! No thought, no reason, just waltzed right over and claimed her on the spot. Fuck, he bit her! He growled again. If he'd wanted her so badly he could have just shifted, explained himself, and propositioned her the normal way, the way any idiot with half a brain would. But no. He did it the old fashioned way. The way one does it when they claim their mate...because that just makes so much more sense...damn it all to the sixteen hells! 

And she let him! Now that was hard to get one's head around. She seemed completely un-phased. Damn but those dark elves...what had she said, Dunmer? Remarkable creatures. He shook his head.

He would just have to forget it happened. No one need suffer the consequences but him. He did it, it was his problem. She wasn't one of them, it shouldn't affect her, and if no one else knew, then it was just his burden, his torture. And if Mirisa finds out...

Fuck.

He was now mated to a practical stranger, not even a race he knew anything about, and he couldn't do a damned thing about it. What's worse...she was beautiful, stunningly even, she was strong, and a hunter like his people, which was so very appealing, and the very worst of it...she just smelled so damn good. He was going to have to stay away from her, far away. He could already feel the pull in his mind telling him to turn around and go back to her. This was going to be incredibly painful. Fuck.

When he neared the new den Mirisa was waiting for him. She padded up and brushed against him in greeting. He could feel relief, confusion, sarcasm and irritation roil from her body, and more or less in that order. She shifted and walked over to the door pulling a robe from behind one of the blocks and pulled it on, then tossed one at his feet. He grudgingly shifted as well. At least in the other form they didn't have to talk about it. 

"Told you so you ass." 

He grunted. Again, only she could get away with that.

"You reek of her."

"What's your point Mirisa."

She glared. "I'm concerned you let her in just so you cou..." The look he gave her made her stop.

"That, is out of line." She pursed her lips.

"Yeah sorry. I know, you can do what you want, you're not a kid...but you're sure? You know me better than to think I'm just saying this to be difficult." He sighed and nodded.

"I know, you were right. I did lose my head a little, but not about the tribe or their safety. I still trust her. I wasn't even planning anything, I just sort of...ran into her." He sighed again, this time a little more plaintively. She broke her frown and chuckled. 

'Yeah, well ,you must have ran into her pretty hard. I guess you've earned a romp though. God knows months of playing hide and seek with these sons of scamps is making me edgy. And I have to say, she is quite the looker. Just...try not to go mixing business with pleasure" 

He gave her a sardonic look and turned to go inside. Well at least Mirisa couldn't know the rest of the details. If she only knew just how much control he lost she might think he was slipping. Hell he thought he was slipping. He didn't want her challenging him for leadership, this was no time for that, and she was responsible enough to do it if she thought it was best for the group. 

"So," she asked conversationally, "Owyn wants to play bait, are we game?" He nodded.

"I think he's capable."

"Me too." He smirked at her.

""Really?"

"Shut up Feric...he's a kid."

"A kid with good taste."

"Well we can't hold that against him can we." She smiled at nothing in particular. Well, he thought, maybe this won't be so bad after all. He felt alright. Mirisa seemed ok, and there were no obvious side effects, aside from the faint pull at the back of his mind...then again, he'd never had to avoid a mate before, he wasn't completely sure what it would do. He'd heard things...and none of them were pretty. but, she was a race he knew so little about, who knew what might happen.

Dammit to hell.