0 comments/ 6498 views/ 18 favorites An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 01 By: TaLtos6 *********** This is the first part of a three-part thing. I was looking through some of the left-over things that I'd written for laughs and had one of those "oh yeah" moments. This should really go into the Celebrities category, but it will be blended with something I wrote a long time ago which has nothing to do with the setting in this one, so overall, I decided to put it here. This is set in Skyrim, from the Elder Scrolls series of games. Most of the characters and places are out of that game and so those things are the property of Bethesda Game Studios. The main character is Dhaerys Mishaxi, an Akaviri soldier, one of a small band sent from a distant land to deal with a dragon threat before it worsens. Her kind are believed to be gone from the place that she ends up. Khali is a Khajiit girl. The Khajiit are a race of mostly bipedal feline folk who are often shunned and viewed with mistrust here. Most of those ones are of specific type and Khali is of another one, but the humans here are very quick to look down on her kind. If you're a Skyrim purist, maybe read something else. If you don't know the game, it might be better that way, I dunno. Hope you like it. 0_o *********** As Dhaerys Mishaxi slowly dragged her way to full wakefulness, she thought at first that she was back on the ship. That long and storm-tossed journey which had brought them all here to this cursed place. But ... But as had happened all throughout history it seemed, whenever any of their kind had attempted to journey to Tamriel, more often than not, many had not survived storms of the trip. There had been times long ago when her people had invaded, it was true, but invasion in and of itself had not been the thrust of the effort even then. They'd come chasing the dragons which had managed to escape the continent of Akavir. And though her people had arrived in enough numbers perhaps to make it seem like an invasion to the inhabitants at the time, what was never spoken of openly to them even much later was that those who had come were only a fraction of the force which had left to journey here. The rest had never survived to set foot dry land. She and nineteen others had been given passage on a small, but fast and fully-crewed ship to come. They'd been sent by the Tsaesci king himself, for there was word out of this absurdly cold land that the dragons were back, and this time, there was an actual purpose behind their reprise - one which threatened everyone in this world. The first one of the dragons mentioned in the reports was the World Eater himself, gone from all knowledge for many centuries but returned now somehow. News traveled instantly between properly trained mages stationed an ocean apart in the service of the king. That was how it had been pieced together and the threat known long before the Imperials and the Nords in Skyrim had been bothered to notice the beasts. This journey was no invasion, either. It was nothing more than a little prudent planning on the part of the king. It seemed that he had little faith in the abilities of the Imperials of Cyrodiil and even less in those of the Nords to the north of them to wake up and deal with something which could destroy the world. Dhaerys and the others had been briefed regarding what was expected of them as well as the lay of the land as much as was possible. To no one's surprise, they learned that what few of their kind had remained from the original group on Tamriel, they'd been assimilated into the Imperial culture of Cyrodiil and were long gone over the course of the centuries from then until now. The original invaders had successfully surrendered to the one who would become the first of the Cyrodiilian emperors and managed to give themselves jobs as his protectors and bodyguards when they weren't busy touting his "divine" right to rule. And another but ... According to the very few Akaviri agents still operating in Tamriel, Dhaerys and her companions were not supposed to exist. The lore told that the Tsaesci - who were said to be vampiric - had killed and eaten all of the Akaviri people. Well that was simplistic allegory for a forced alliance at best and a poor joke at worst. From what she'd managed to gather for herself after landing on the rocky, boulder-strewn coast a month ago, the people here loved to tell and hear tales, and it didn't seem to particularly matter if they were fanciful or even partly true. Any gaps in the factual telling were filled in with cattle shit by someone eventually and sooner or later the garbage would be accepted and rarely questioned by anyone. Sadly, that seemed to include what passed for scholars here. Dhaerys was an Akaviri of exceptionally pure lineage - as were they all to have been selected for this. She and her companions had been hand-picked and the purity of their bloodlines had come in for a great deal of scrutiny. Some of the others had made much of it during the trip across, but Dhaerys never had. To her, it was more a matter of accident that her bloodline was known to someone who had insisted that it could be traced back to the ones who had been so effective in the slaughter of the dragons of Akavir - back when there had been any. Dhaerys stemmed from one of the most famed families of dragonslayers there had ever been back home. More than that, her family had long been one of the very few such who were renowned as stealthy and relentless fighters afterward. They had to be. There hadn't been any dragons on the continent of her birth for many centuries and everyone has to make a living, don't they? She'd never made much of her heritage to the rest. There'd been no point anyway. Many of the others had won their selections because of the subtleties of knowing someone who knew someone and so on. Dhaerys had never had either the time or the patience for it. With no dragons to hunt, her father's family had turned their abilities to what there was for them. They were soldiers - and famed ones in a long line. Dhaerys was a soldier. She might have magical ability in spades and the reflexes and speed of a ripsaw with a blade in her hand. But first, last, and everything else, she'd been a part of the King's Akaviri elite since she was seventeen. She'd seen a lot in those eight years, enough to know that few like her live long lives. That's why she was here. That's why she'd jumped to agree to go in the group, to be a part of this covert quest. The general state of fitness - or lack of it - had dismayed their instructors, and so they'd imposed requirements for them all to be gotten into shape. Dhaerys hadn't said a thing, making no comment either way. She'd left them all in the dust. Her previous militaristic lifestyle along with some good genetics had given her a level of fitness which most of the rest couldn't hope to begin to match. They groused about it and some went out of their way to trip her up as often as they could. She'd said nothing and just kept herself in shape. The one time that an instructor had asked why she'd taken the abuse so stoically, Dhaerys had laughed quietly and shrugged. She'd replied that for all of the garbage, there was no one here actively trying to kill her. That was what she was used to during the campaigns that she'd fought. Matched against that, this was a joy, she'd said. With a little luck, they could kill all of the dragons before the reasons for their rise could come to pass. With a little insane luck, she might make a new life for herself out of the service of a king who was not of her own people. Of course, those were her privately - held views before it all fell apart. To be born into the Mishaxi family, one of the first sights which met your newborn eyes was the traditional tiny, curved wooden sword that your mother had pressed into your little hand, curling your tiny fingers around the haft during the ceremony where you were given your name just as soon as it was noted that your dark little eyes were open and actually seeing things around them. Unlike most other humanoids on this world, for her kind, it typically happened within the first few minutes of one's life, not long before the instinct to hide that gaze took over and your irises became defined in whatever color you unwittingly chose as the rest of the eyeballs turned white. For her particular part of the family, tradition held that the sword went into your right hand. What was pressed into the left was a small piece of a fallen star. It was only ceremonial in most cases, a bit of a traditional hope that you would have some magical ability. In almost all cases, that was as close to the truth as it came - a faint and vain hope. In Dhaerys' case however, it seemed that whatever ability had eluded her forebears had all been saved up for her somehow and no one had an answer for it, other than to maybe explain some of her family's insane luck in battle. Dhaerys however; she was capable of things far beyond whatever the traditional faint hope might encompass. And there wasn't anything vain about it. In Dhaerys, all of it came to her. The rest of her company were of most classes, each one with some mix of talents and all of them exceptional bladesmen or women. There were even three of what some might know as mages besides her, and though she made no effort at the sort of displays that the others did, she knew that of the twenty, she was the one with one foot in both worlds on either side of the arcane line and she excelled at them both quite naturally. Like all of her kind, Dhaerys' eyes seldom revealed the darkness within. It took moments of extreme emotion to bring out the dark, featureless blackness. There was nothing sinister about the trait; it was just a vestige from a long ago past which had been used to help see in dim surroundings. What was different was that, beneath the disguise, Akaviris could see in a wider arc. The hiding of it was a protective instinct among most true Akaviris and might never be seen by others of a different racial background. Indeed it was assumed, probably correctly, that as the Akaviri blood of the ones here so long before had been thinned by interbreeding with the locals, that this latent characteristic had been lost. It was probably just as well to Dhaerys' mind. With all of the dragons dead as far as anyone knew and with only mostly humans and the other creatures of Tamriel to fight, no one really needed the wide viewpoint that the feature provided. Besides, in her admittedly limited experience on this continent, it tended to scare the shit out of anyone who saw you like that. So it stayed hidden most times. She remembered a little more of her arrival after that. She recalled that she and four others had climbed over the side of the ship for the swim to shore at night. That had been the plan; to insert four teams in different places along the coast. Two of those teams had already gone ashore in other places. The teams were to act independently. Their mission was to find and destroy any living dragons found without any support from anyone outside of their little teams. Dhaerys didn't know what had happened to the others. She only knew that by the time that she was ashore, scratched and deeply scraped from being tossed about among the rocks near the shore by the waves, the other four had already been killed by the same mechanism of wilds waves and sharp stones. As she dragged herself up onto the strand and watched, the ship moved on and she was on her own. Before she did anything else, Dhaerys searched for the bodies of the others again before the waves took them out of her reach for good. Like her, each one had a cord around one ankle which was used to drag their buoyed bag of gear behind until they were out of the wild surf. There was little else that she could do but look through that was there to add to her own gear. They'd swum in nude and that was the way that she left them for whatever animals might have an interest. She took what she could and threw the rest into the sea. This wasn't an invasion. But they were told to remain hidden if at all possible. Everyone knew that it wouldn't be possible forever and that as the teams worked their way inland, they'd need to be able to interact with the locals somehow in order to make their way and glean news of the dragons. That was the reason for the long, seemingly endless language and culture lessons that they'd all had to get through. It wasn't until two days after she'd come ashore alone that she'd seen the wreck of the ship on a shoal farther south down the coast. There were enough bodies visible at a quick glance to account for both the crew and the remaining two teams. That was the point at which she realized just how alone she was. If the first two teams had made it to shore with no losses, then there were now eleven of them here; two teams of five and herself. But each team was to act independently of the others. She didn't know where they might be - somewhere up the coast to the north. She only knew that she had no team. She opened her eyes and knew she was in Gerdur's home, taking refuge there after blundering into an ambush and being clubbed over the head. She recalled that it had nearly led to her execution for nothing until the proceedings were disrupted by the timely arrival of a dragon who'd come for his own reasons and laid the whole place to ruin. She'd just escaped in the confusion with Ralof, Gerdur's brother who'd led her here. Yesterday had been a hell of a long day, and even after coming here, it hadn't ended. She'd been incredibly lucky get her armor and gear back, along with her enchanted bow. But the gold that she'd been given before she and her team had slipped over the side had been taken from her while she was unconscious and she'd found herself penniless. She'd made up for it in a really small way by scooping weapons and whatever she could get her hands on quickly while escaping with Ralof. With his directions, she'd gone to the only store in the little place where she was now and while selling it off, she'd heard of the trader's troubles and gone to hunt for this gold claw that he seemed to need to have and she'd retrieved it after a long crawl through a crypt-ful of undead in a barrow. Dusty, filthy and well and truly tired then, she'd washed herself at Gerdur's and fallen asleep in no time. The morning sun found Dhaerys walking toward Whiterun after leaving Ralof and his family with their best wishes. She was still smiling over Gerdur's slightly awkward yet heartfelt send-off. "May you die with a sword in your hand" was an odd way to wish someone well, Dhaerys thought, but she knew where it came from. You had to like these Nords, she thought. At least most of the ones that she'd gotten to know a little thus far. They were honest, hard-working types and they didn't like to complicate things. She was eating an apple as she walked in the sunshine, liking the scenery and the crisp morning air a great deal. With a start, she realized that she was beginning to like it here and she wondered about it and herself for a little while. The road was well laid out and other than one wolf, she saw no one on her way. When she got to a spot where she could see the plain where Whiterun sat, she stopped and stared a little. It was a bit of a majestic sight even though she did see that it was smaller than she'd thought at first. The city sat atop a low mountain and was smaller than it appeared at first. Her first impression was that the whole thing was the city and that wasn't the case. She strolled on looking around at everything. She met a town guard and stopped to ask the way to the gates and she found him curious about her in the way that he looked at her, but he said nothing of it and answered her politely all the same. As she walked up the road from the stables toward the gate a while later, she saw what she thought was a Khajiit and walked over out of curiosity. He was a Khajiit as it turned out and more than that, he was from a caravan of traders camped at what looked to be a good distance from the city gates. "Khajiit are not welcome in the towns so we must make our camps outside their walls," he said. He directed her to the master trader and introduced her. "This one's secret is ... safe with Ri'Saad," the trader said quietly in her language, "Still, it makes me wonder what an Akaviri soldier is doing here of all places - no matter how she chooses to dress." "I seek to make a new life for myself," she replied, smiling shyly, "and I thank you for your promise of silence. The people here seem to believe that I am an Imperial with strange face paint and an odd accent." "We are all here to make a new life, I think," Ri'Saad replied with a half-purring chuckle. He leaned a little closer and whispered so that his people couldn't overhear as he pointed to his own face, "I know what it is - and why it is there. I have seen Akaviri soldiers before. They saved me and my family when I was still only a young kitten. I grew up in the homeland of my people, but I was born in Akavir. Please, if you wish to trade, accept what discount that I can offer you. If you have something to sell I will give you the best that I can. You are young though what is on your face tells that you have tasted battle. Perhaps the ones who saved my family were your uncles? It was long ago and far away, but I would not be here today if they had not helped us." Dhaerys bowed a little, "You do me honor where it is not needed, Ri'Saad. I was a soldier there - once. Those times are behind me now. All that remains is what I carry on my face of those days - and a few scars. Some of it is as you say. The rest is what my family puts on their child warriors from birth. You are the first one that I have met who even knows what I am. The Akaviri are forgotten in Skyrim, it seems. I do not mind if it is so." "Take it as small good fortune that they are forgetful," the cat smiled, "If they knew, they would regard you with more distrust than they show to us. Now, how may Ri'Saad assist this one?" A few minutes of cheerful bartering later, Dhaerys pulled out her gems and Ri'saad's eyes widened in surprise. "Come inside my little tent," he hissed a little urgently, "I do not keep enough gold on my person to trade for things like these. Come, come. Let Ri'Saad see what he can do for you, my friend." With a word, one of the females took his place at the front of the tent and the other two - who were in his employ as guards - took up positions from which they could easily defend their master and Dhaerys if there were a sudden need. "One can never be too careful on the road," Ri'Saad said. "Now, you offer me all of these? I can give you good prices. Let Ri'Saad see ... Here - a flawless garnet and here - two lovely amethysts, all of them perfect and three diamonds?" He held one of them up in a guarded manner as he appraised it's clarity and size. "And emeralds this one offers me, not merely the malachites that so many bring to me in these lands. Oh, and here - a ruby! Yes, ... " he smiled, "yes ... as lovely as you are. And look here at this last one. A sapphire as blue as the seas near my homeland where one never needs to give a thought to ever having cold toes for the sand is always warm there." He was silent for a moment as he regarded her offerings. I can offer you ... seven." Dhaerys was careful and asked, "Seven hundred?" The trader chuckled, "Truly, this one is fortunate to have found Ri'Saad this day. No, my friend. I offer seven thousand gold here and now. It is enough?" Dhaerys' face almost ached as she fought back the urge to grin and laugh a little in delight. She nodded instead, "It is enough, kind Ri'Saad. This one knows her good fortune to have met you this day." An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 01 He smiled and for once, Dhaerys truly believed in the smile of a Khajiit trader - and not because she wanted to necessarily. She knew that he could sell those stones for a good bit more where he was from. But they weren't there. They were here and from what she'd seen so far, she was prepared to trust this trader more than she was prepared to trust the traders here. She dared not think of what Lucan might have offered for these. They were much too dull to cut butter. "If you find some of what I see in the armor that you wear under the fur, I can give you good prices for that as well. If it ever happens, please think of old Ri'Saad." "This one has heard things," Dhaerys began in a half-whispered tone, "things concerning dragons. Have you heard anything like that in your travels?" He scowled a little for a moment, "I have not seen one yet, but it is almost all that the people here speak of, often enough. They worry more than we Khajiit need to, I think. We do not have homes as they do. All that we have can be moved in moments if one of the beasts appears." He stood looking at her for a moment after the transaction was done, "Of course your plans are your own, my friend. But will you be staying nearby for a time?" Dhaerys shrugged, "I truly cannot stay, but as I walked here, I was thinking that Whiterun must lie at or near the center of the whole province. It might be a good place to live for a time, I cannot say yet." "I have a thing which needs doing and I am prepared to pay not far off another thousand if you think that you would like to attempt it." She chuckled, "Who must I kill, Ri'Saad?" "It is not that sort of thing," the trader said with a nodding grin, "Come, sit with me and I will share some of our soup and bread while I tell you." The male guard stood not far off, looking outward, but listening a little. He motioned to his partner and she placed herself in a position to cover his absence while he walked around the doorway and up to a smallish-looking female. "Did you finish cutting the wood?" he asked and she nodded, pointing at the large stack of firewood a little distance off. "Good," he nodded, "Get your gear. I think the master will be calling you soon. I cannot say why." She nodded and wanted the ask about it, but she knew both the guard and the master well enough and so she grabbed her pack - which was always ready - and walked to the back of Ri'Saad's tent. She heard the quiet voices and began to listen. Finding that they were being too quiet for her to hear much, she lifted the rear of the tent slowly and crept inside. There were always goods piled or stacked not far inside of the back wall and she was confident that they wouldn't notice her entry. "Will you do it?" Ri'Saad asked and after a moment, Dhaerys nodded, "I'll need some of the bonus to keep us fed in the beginning, I think." He nodded, turning his head to the side a little for a moment, "Then perhaps I can add a little more. See how it goes for a day or so and come to tell me of your decision. I will be here then for about a day. Come back again in two weeks for I will be here once again by that time. Tell me then how you have made up your mind." Dhaerys nodded and said that she would. With that, Ri'Saad stepped toward the back of the tent and with one motion, he lifted a small tarpaulin just enough to reach quickly and take hold of something. There was an undignified squawk and he hauled the smaller one out almost pulling her to her feet. As such, she stood not far above five feet. "This is Khali," he said, "my nosy sister-daughter. I love her but she is more trouble than her worth to me most often. I give her tasks to keep her busy and she cries to me that I am being cruel. Yet if I say nothing and she thinks that I do not look, she finishes her tasks faster than anyone else and is gone into the night. Always she returns early in the morning and thinks that I do not know." Dhaerys looked, trying not to laugh. "She looks to be Dagi - but a little large." He nodded, "Larger than she appears, since now she is trying to play the poor, young mistreated niece for the visitor. She is large for her kind. In truth, she is a Dagi-raht and large for them as well." Khajiit come in different types, ranging in size between quadrupeds not much larger than common cats to monsters which could be ridden into battle. Most of the types were born and stayed in their homeland of Elseweyr, never leaving it. Only the bipedal Cathays went abroad to join or run the trading caravans - if they weren't just out on their own as sellswords, assassin, or thieves. Those were the ones that everyone knew and mistrusted, just assuming that they were all thieving cutthroats. In many cases, the assumption was not far off the truth. Still, the rest resented being thought of in that way. It was most definitely out of the ordinary to see a Dagi-raht here in Skyrim. "But ... "Dhaerys said, "she stands on two legs. I have never seen a Dagi who can." He nodded, "Khali is the youngest of my sister's children and is the only Dagi-raht in the family . She is the result of an ... indiscretion. You know of our kind. You know that the size and strength of our people comes from not only the parents, but most often the phases of the moons at the moment of birth. If a pair is thinking of having little ones, it is not so hard to plan a little. One cannot predict the exact moment of birth, but a little counting on one's fingers can point to whether it would be wise to mate for the purpose of having children at certain times of the year depending on your wishes. So it was that a Dagi-raht was born to a pair of Cathays who were not married. It caused my brother to leave Elseweyr over it. This one is grown now and I take her with me so that she might learn a little of the world. Her body is such as it is, but her mind is most often pure Cathay. That means that she causes much of her own misfortune with her mischief." He smiled, "She has learned from the first to walk on two legs and not four, though she can if it suits her - such as when she wishes to slip into my tent, thinking that I cannot feel the new air as it comes in where there is no door." Khali, who was listening nodded, a little proud of the ability. "She does not like to get her front paws dirty with work. Dirt from merely walking is out of the question to her most times," Ri'Saad smiled again. He turned to his niece, "Get your belongings packed. We are leaving." "Already done, Uncle, "Khali nodded crisply, "Where do we go?" Ri'Saad chuckled, "WE are going to the coast. I am low on supplies and have valuable goods to trade there. We will buy more supplies and wares and then journey back here first. YOU are staying here." "Here?" Khali asked, plainly astounded, "What am I to do here?" "I give you into the service of this one," her uncle smiled a little wickedly, as though he was pleased that he was to be rid of her soon just for a change of pace. "I have shown you all that there is to be learned as a lazy caravan follower. You can trade well, but you do not have the desire to. You can sneak and fight, but you need to learn when to be still and only watch. This one is our new friend and she is of high worth to me. Try to learn from her how to live here. Assist her as you can and do what you need to protect her from bad merchants who would cheat her for she is new to this land. If you leave her when she needs you most, then I will know it when I see you again and Khali, if it happens, then you have no kind uncle any longer." He pointed as politely as possible, "The white markings on her lovely face above and around her eyes were given because they were earned. She is a warrior and her people do not give any honors lightly. She comes from a land far from here and her reasons for coming here are her own, so keep your tongue still about her if others ask. Most of all, Khali ... do nothing to shame your family. If you try to steal from her, she has my permission to kill you, for she is not one of the ones around here. I value her only for being here. Remember this." As the rest of the Khajiit set about packing to be on their way, Khali said goodbye a little sadly, shouldered her pack and looked up at her new mistress sullenly, "This one has a name?" "I am Dhaerys," the other one smiled, "I do not think that I needed to hear the description of you - as much as I was told. I am sorry if you were embarrassed by it." Khali's eyes softened and her ears relaxed. Dhaerys was quite taken with how - different - Khali was to look at, and very lovely too in her way. She had an odd combination of expressions to her. She could look disinterested, and yet also ready to act instantly at the same time. She looked to be a little nervous at being taken out of what she considered to be her element - and yet in the same moment, she had something of a rather excited air about her. Dhaerys was stunned over the vaguely sultry look that she saw in her new companion and was trying to guess what it was about. There were what looked like slightly humanish features in that face, though it was clear that they stemmed from a feline source. What she could see of her skin was that at minimum, there was light fur over her cheeks and her nose was darker, along with her brows. Khali's hair was long and dark and hard to determine in terms of it's exact color. All that could be said was that it hung far down her back in a long ponytail. The eyes were most definitely catlike, though they had an intriguing look to them somehow. The rest of her - what could be seen, anyway - was pure feline overlaid again - onto some humanish features. Her fur was dark grayish-brown (or was it brownish-gray?). Her overall build was lithe and very catlike - and yet as she bent to cinch one boot a little tighter, Dhaerys saw the swell of her hips, even clothed as she was and that tail as it twitched just a little while it meandered to and fro. Dhaerys smiled to herself. She could see how someone like this could drive the average male to madness with desire, if he wasn't too stuck up that they weren't the same kind. Dhaerys could have sat down on a boulder next to the road and listened to her all day, if she could have figured out a way to get her to speak more, since so far, she'd been largely silent. "We need to hurry a little now, Khali," she said, "I am to see someone to give him a message." With that, Dhaerys began to trot up the road toward the gates. She couldn't see them, but she understood how buildings which were designed to be defended were constructed. Without seeing it all, she was already confident that the road would lead up to the gates, passing enclosed galleries where archers could be placed to shoot down intruders. As it happened, she was correct. "There will be trouble," Khali said as she trotted along, "The guards will not let me into the city." Dhaerys looked over, "Why? Are you known to them?" Khali shrugged, looking ahead, "A little perhaps. It depends on which ones have duty at the gates today. But I am Khajiit. They will not let any Khajiit into the city." "Then we tell them that you are my servant and we will see how far that tale takes us," Dhaerys smiled. "Why not?" Khali nodded, "It is the truth." Dhaerys shook her head, "No it is not. If you do not wish to come with me Khali, then go back. Run to catch up with your uncle and tell him that I will give back his bonus as soon as I see him again. He knows that I will keep my word." Khali looked confused, "Then what am I - if not a servant to you?" The woman shrugged with a little smile, "Perhaps you should think of yourself as my learner instead." With that, Dhaerys almost laughed to see the way that the tips of Khali's ears rose up. Cathay, which are the predominantly - even almost exclusively seen type of Khajiit in Skyrim, tend to have a tendency toward having little pointed tufts of fur at the ends of their ears. Dagi tend not to have this feature, having 'regular' cat's ears most often. Dhaerys didn't know if the small but visible tufts on Khali's ears pointed to a familial trait or indicated that there was Cathay in her - even though she was not one - as Ri'Saad seemed to indicate. But the admittance of a Khajiit was of little consequence that day it seemed when a guard stepped forward even before they were very near the gates. "Halt!" He said forcefully, "City's closed with the dragons about." His look became a little dismissive, "Official business only." "I am here to see the Jarl," Dhaerys stated, "It is official." "Sure it is," the guard smirked. Dhaerys looked him right in the eyes, "I'm here to see the Jarl! I've run all the way from Riverwood to give him a message. Do you know Gerdur there? The woman who runs the sawmill? She sent me." The man looked even less concerned, "You'll need to do better than - " Dhaerys screamed right into his face, "RIVERWOOD CALLS for AID, you FOOL! Now LET me IN! If the dragon tears that place a new asshole it will be your head for keeping me out! I NEED TO SEE THE JARL!" "Don't be such an ass, Heimrick," the other guard said. Turning to Dhaerys, he said, "That's different. Go on in. Jarl Balgruuf is in the keep at the top of the hill, Dragonsreach. Just mind yourself. We'll be watching you." "And this one stays out here," Heimrick said with a little grin, "The city's off-limits to cats. You don't need that one to say what you need to." Khali began to back away, but Dhaerys put her hand onto her shoulder and pulled her along as she hissed quietly in the Khajiit tongue, "Don't back down, Khali. Pretend that you don't understand!" To the pair of guards, she said, "This is my servant. You don't know much at all about the cat people, do you? There are different kinds. She is not the kind that you can't trust. I trust her with my life. More importantly, she doesn't understand the common tongue, not a word. She is lost without me. If the Jarl doesn't want her here, let him tell me himself. Once he hears what I have to say, I doubt that he'll care much. And anyway, I'd imagine that he had a little learning as a boy and can tell one kind of Khajiit from another." "She does look different," the other man said to Heimrick, "Can't say as I've seen one like that before." "You're wasting time," Dhaerys said, "Keep us out if you wish. I'll hire a courier to deliver the message that I can't get past a couple of guards with news of a dragon attack." "Has a dragon attacked Riverwood?" the dumber one asked and Dhaerys shook her head. "No, but one attacked Helgen and Gerdur is nervous since Riverwood is not far away to a flying dragon. And before you ask, if the news hasn't gotten here already, there WAS a dragon at Helgen - back when there WAS a place called Helgen. It's a smoking ruin now, with bodies lying everywhere while the crows feed. I know that because I was there. Do you want to see everyone here like that, as food for the crows? Do you wish to see this beautiful city in flames? It is an ugly sight, trust me. Now in the name of the Nine, let us in!" "How did you manage to get away?" Heimrick asked suspiciously. "I'm not the type to run around screaming my head off," Dhaerys snarled, "I used my wits and crept away. It wasn't hard; there were lots and lots of big strong men screaming like girls and it kept the irritated beast busy just killing them to shut them up." She pointed toward the gates, "Now ..." They were trotting up the long hill toward the marketplace and Khali was smiling, "You are very persuasive, honored one. I almost believe you myself. But you said that you trust me with your life." Dhaerys looked over, "In Khajiit only, Khali. And do not assume that I am the only one here who understands. It is unlikely that there is anyone else, but it is possible. Your learning begins now. You can gain all sorts of things by standing around looking bored because it is clear that you do not understand. And I do trust you with my life - as you must trust me with your own. If we hold that in our hearts, we can do anything - even if we run away from a fight. Like anything else, there is a moment when that is best done. Whether we run away or advance, we do it together and we will live longer." She slowed to ask a fruit seller how to get to the keep. Khali told her that she knew the way and armed with that information, they trotted on up the many steps, changing direction several times and running up more stairs. "How is it that you know the way through these streets, exactly?" Dhaerys asked with a little smile. "I have been inside the walls before," Khali said as though it was nothing. "Guards cannot see in the dark as I can. They cannot climb as I can. And they never, ever look up." "So, you were just exploring forbidden territory?" The Akaviri woman asked in a light tone. "Yes," Khali replied, "All forbidden. The town, the people ... " She sighed heavily, more to herself, by the sound of it, "The men. I like to look and I like to take what I see back to my bed. It helps me to sleep ... after. I - I never do anything, Dhaerys. I only ... I only wish that I could. But my uncle would have any man who wanted me that way killed very quietly. It is our way. I only seek a little fun." As she finished her remark, she looked aside to Dhaerys to see how it might be received. Dhaerys laughed a little. "Good girl," she smiled. Then she laughed again to see Khali's jaw almost fall open. Dhaerys shrugged, "I like men too. Forgive me, it can be difficult for one who is not Khajiit to determine the age of another. You are of age, yes?" Khali nodded, "That is why it is already good to be away with you from Uncle's caravan. He loves me and carries sadness in his heart that I have never known the love of a father, so he has tried to take that place for me as he could, whenever he could until I was old enough to travel with him. But Uncle thinks that I am still just out of my kittenhood - as I always will be to his eyes. I am in my twenty-second year." "I am not much older at twenty-five, just turned," Dhaerys smiled, "So my Khali should get to thinking that she is grown and gone. My travels will take us from one end of this province to the other, probably several times before we are done - if we live. I am certain that there will be time for ... well, you know what I mean, I am sure." "Oh yes," the Khajiit grinned, "I am glad to hear that, Dhaerys!" Finally, they reached the great wooden doors and walked in, headed toward where the Jarl had to be. "Did we really need to run up all of those stairs?" Khali asked. "We are out of breath now, aren't we?" Dhaerys replied in Khajiiti, "That is not because we ran up the stairs. It is obviously because we ran all the way from Riverwood to anyone who gives our reason to be here any thought." Khali nodded, "But what if they - " "It makes no difference," Dhaerys said, "The attack happened yesterday and the dragon did not go to Riverwood by the time that I left early this morning. I don't know why not. I don't know what he was doing at Helgen. I only know that if he had NOT come when he did, I would be dead now. Dragons are not stupid beasts. They have their own reasons for the things that they do and when they do them." She looked over, "And you do not understand what these people are saying, do you?" Khali nodded, getting the reminder just as a female elf in armor walked up to them and drew her sword, wanting to know who they were and why there were there. Dhaerys only needed to mention the dragon attack at Helgen and she was instantly granted her audience with the Jarl. Whenever anyone looked at Khali while Dhaerys was explaining, they saw only someone who looked a little different as she stood and looked around, clearly ignorant of what was being said. She began with her name, only the given one. An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 01 "So, you were at Helgen? Did you see the dragon there?" he asked. "Yes, my lord. I had a fine view of things as the Imperials there were about to cut off my head," Dhaerys said, "His arrival put an end to their foolishness and the dragon tore through that place like a hot wind." "Well," the jarl smiled in surprise, "You're not shy to discuss your criminal past, are you? It doesn't matter to me. So long as you do not break any laws here, there will be no trouble." Khali thought that Dhaerys made a fine performance of straining to keep her indignation from getting the better of her. It was well-played to her mind. "I did nothing wrong, my lord," Dhaerys seethed quietly, "I walked into the middle of a battle between their army and the Stormcloak one, that is all. I did not take part on either side, not knowing what it was about. The record keeper didn't know what to do with me when we got to Helgen as I was not even on his list of prisoners, but an Imperial bitch captain wanted to show how little she cared about anything but impressing the general there. It was her alone who sent me to the block. She wasn't at the battle. She knew nothing of it. She just wanted another person to kill with the rebels in order to look good. It didn't matter that I am an Imperial myself. If I committed any crime, then it happened afterward - after I'd gotten away in the confusion." "And what was that, then?" The jarl asked, looking thoroughly entertained for the moment, thinking that this female was obviously a warrior as well as being rather easy to look at and admire. "That same captain proved her quality to me by running away into the keep, just as I'd done. The difference was that I had no sworn oath to uphold as she did. Forgive the error in my judgement if you can my lord, but at that moment, there was no order there, only an opportunity for me to deal with another Imperial who should have been outside doing her sworn duty as an officer to defend the people and fight the dragon. There were still plenty of troops alive outside for her to be commanding in Helgen's defense by the sounds from outside. I was there by bad luck and condemned by her for no reason and there she was running! She was leaving her troops leaderless when there were innocent people to defend." "What did you do?" the armored elf asked, "In the circumstances that you describe, I'd have cut her down, if I could." Dhaerys looked over and nodded, "I thought the same way. Considering my earlier plight - and at times I ran within a few feet of the beast - I thought that she should have been outside leading, not running." "What did you do then?" the jarl asked. Dhaerys didn't shy away from the issue, but neither did she put her foot in anything. "The gate downward was locked and I couldn't get any further. She had the key with which to do so. You might say that we settled things between us there, woman to woman. I showed her some of my quality." She wasn't looking for it, but Dhaerys saw the elf's unconscious nod peripherally and knew that she'd scored some points with her just on principle. "So you killed her?" the jarl asked. "What I did there in that place with a dragon tearing the world apart just outside, is something which remains there in that ruined place," Dhaerys said in a quiet but deadly tone, "My head was bleeding," she said as she lifted her hair at the back of her head, "over nothing that I did. I did not even know who or what these rebels were about before all of it. Yet she condemned me to die. What would the Jarl of Whiterun have done in such a circumstance, once you were free with your own sword in your hand? Kneel down to allow her to finish it?" She glared at the jarl and those around her, "I was still dizzy and I made my way outside, running along the road to Riverwood. There, I received aid as is only proper among civilized people. No matter that I am an Imperial and they were Nords. The people there are decent folk and did not look to see what color my flag was, so to speak. I came stumbling up the road and they offered me aid and their care. You have fine people in your hold, my lord. From there, I ran here with their request for aid - straight here to you so that something might be done to save those people if the dragon goes there. I owe them that much." "Now," she said in a low voice, "Tell me ... Have I done wrong by your lights? Should I have just walked on, tossing their plight to the wind and continued on my way? I would hear your judgement, lord. Perhaps I have made another mistake - to trust in your name." He looked angry for a moment but the storm there on his brow passed in an instant, "No, you acted rightly, better than that captain. You mentioned something about her quality in what you said. It sounds to me like you have some experience at such things." He shifted in his seat there on the throne, "No matter. You came to me to tell me of the plight over in Riverwood and it reminds me that I've wanted to place troops there for a while. Now, tell me, if you would - exactly what happened to you there with regard to this dragon?" The Jarl was pleased to hear a firsthand account of what had happened and he issued instructions that troops be sent to Riverwood at once. He thanked Dhaerys and rewarded her with some light armor before mentioning that there was maybe something else that she might be able to help with. He motioned them to walk with him and he asked about Khali, who didn't look over. "We met at Helgen in the confusion," Dhaerys said, "The soldier who was with the craven captain was just as much the coward that she was. He was dragging Khali along by force. I do not know what his intent was, but I have my suspicions. I didn't think much of it, but I saved her life. For that, she has declared that she will serve me." She lowered her voice a little as she went on, "I really think that she said that not only because of what I did there for her. I've learned that she doesn't know the common tongue, having gotten separated from the one that she'd been given to for marriage a few days earlier. I happen to know her language because I studied under a language scholar in Cyrodiil. She's not one of the Cathay." "I see that," The Jarl said as they walked, "I think that you are a good person to take her on until she learns. Ah! Here is Fahrengar, my court wizard." The man looked up and began to explain that he needed someone to go to Bleak Falls Barrow to seek out something for him. When she inquired as to the nature of what was wanted, he spoke of something that he called a "Dragonstone". It was a map of the ancient dragon burial mounds and where they were situated within Skyrim. The Jarl took his leave and went back to the business of running a city from his throne room. Dhaerys set her pack down and opened the flap. "Is this something like what you wanted?" The wizard's jaw fell open as he took the stone tablet. He only needed one look to tell that it was the thing he wanted. "How did you come by this?" he asked. Dhaerys shrugged, "I sometimes like to collect ... antiquities. I traded for that with a roadside merchant outside of Darkwater Crossing last week. So what now? I'd like to be paid a little so that I'm not out of pocket for helping you." "Oh," Fahrengar said, "Speak to the Jarl's steward, Avenicci." Just then, the elf was back, calling Fahrengar to tell him that a dragon had been sighted near the western watchtower. As Fahrengar chattered excitedly over the opportunity to see a live dragon, the elf - who was called Irileth - looked at Dhaerys and said "You should come too." As she led them all up some steps toward where the Jarl stood waiting for them, Dhaerys reminded Khali about not understanding. "Remember not to open your eyes wide, no matter what is said." "I cannot help it," Khali whispered, "I try, but you lie even better than a Khajiit who craves Moon Sugar!" Dhaerys didn't look over, she only walked and said in Khajiiti, "I spoke only a very few lies, Khali. Other than the part to explain how we came to be together, it was the truth, everything." Khali almost landed on her nose, though she kept her wits and managed to follow with her mouth open in surprise. The Jarl stood listening to a guard as he told of the dragon and after dismissing him he turned and told Irileth to gather some troops and head to the tower. Turning to Dhaerys, he asked her to go as well. "You survived Helgen," he said, "so you know better than anyone here how to deal with it. I hate to ask it, but I need your help once again. Please, show me your quality now and help my people if you truly can." But then he displayed a little noblesse oblige as he told her that he'd been pleased to learn that she had the very thing that his wizard had wanted and as a result, he'd instructed his steward that she was allowed to buy property in the city henceforth. Dhaerys smiled and said her thanks though inside, she didn't think it was that large a gift - if she didn't survive whatever happened now. Well, she told herself, she'd been sent to kill dragons. And here was a chance to kill her first one. Maybe. While Irileth listened to the Jarl's instructions and his barring Fahrengar from going along, Dhaerys took her leave, telling Khali to come with her as she ran down the stairs and along the long expanse of gleaming wood flooring back the way that they'd come. Outside, she led the way down the many steps and through the streets to the gate. "Which way to the watchtower?" Dhaerys asked. "From the bottom of this road, it is to the right. You'll see it even before you get to the road," the smarter of the two said, "But you don't want to go that way now. We heard from another guard when he ran back that a dragon has been seen there." "That's where we are going!" Dhaerys said, "Open the gates please." The guards stared at her and then at each other, but they opened the gates and the two ran out and down the road together. "Wi-will we always need ... need to run everywhere?" Khali asked from just behind Dhaerys. "Not everywhere," the woman replied, "just most places. I need to toughen you up a little bit, my friend. Think that doing a little more running than you are used to will make you faster if you need to run away." Khali didn't sound very convinced, "But we are running TOWARD the dragon now, not away. How do you kill one, anyway? Where is the best place to attack from?" Dhaerys' small laugh did nothing to allay Khali's fears. "From the front, he can tear you with his teeth and his breath can burn you to death in a second - if he has fire. If he has frost, he will freeze you solid and eat you then. From the rear, his tail will always be moving for he needs it for balance. They get excited in a fight and their tails never stop then, so it is no good trying to shove your sword up his asshole. The best place is to stay at his side, a little close in. He will be looking there for you less, but you have to watch that he does not step on you or crush you between his leg or wing and his side. Don't give in and attack if you see him raise up in the front. He will be showing you his weakest points but they do that most often as they prepare to shoot their breath." They ran past the place where the Khali's uncle had been earlier and took a shortcut across country rather than use the road. Dhaerys was making for a low rise of rock. They stopped behind it and saw nothing but some smoking fires which the dragon had quite obviously ignited with it's breath. Other than that, they saw nothing. "What are we going to do here?" Khali asked. "You are going to watch the road behind us," Dhaerys said, "Tell me as soon as you see anyone coming this way." She began to look around and settled on a spot near a small recess in the rock. Khali watched her for a moment, "What are you going to do?" Dhaerys rolled her eyes, "I'm going to have a piss, if you really need to know." Khali nodded, "Ah." They took turns watching for each other and as Khali stood up, she found that she was looking at a different Dhaerys somehow. The furs which Dhaerys had worn were gone, lying over her pack and Khali stared at some odd-looking armor. And as she watched, Dhaerys pulled on a helmet made of the same strange material. Dhaerys looked over and tossed Khali the light armor that the Jarl had given her. "Put on the cuirass at least. I can adjust it to fit you and it's better than what you've got on. We don't have time for anything else. If this goes well, there will come a time when I move in. Do NOT come with me. Try to get to his side then when he is not looking for you and attack there. If I am right, he will see only me. That will be your chance. Watch out for his feet as I told you." "Don't you want me with you?" Khali asked, "Two swords are better than one. And what is the cuirass?" Dhaerys shook her head. "If he is paying attention and really takes a look at me, he might get mad then. This armor is made out of dragonscales. And the cuirass is the top part. Here, I'll help." It wasn't something that Dhaerys had planned, but as Khali took off her leather armor to put on the armor from the Jarl, she had a few moments where she was looking at the Khajiit wearing nothing but her ... well her underwear. She took it as Khali needing better protection and they were hurrying, but it also gave her a little time to admire Khali in an offhand way and she did enjoy it and the way that Khali trusted her. The Dagi-raht was rising in her estimation as she remembered what had been said of her sneaking around Whiterun at night. "What if it doesn't go well?" the Khajiit asked as she saw the soldiers and Irileth come running up. Dhaerys chuckled once as she tugged the stays on Khali's armor tighter, "It won't matter then. We'll be dead." She looked over, "Don't give in to worry. That leads to fear. Fear keeps you from moving well unless you are running for your life. If you get in from the side, try to think of a small lizard. Think of where the heart would be if you tried to kill it from the side." "But it's not a small lizard," Khali pointed out. "No," Dhaerys agreed, "But ... big lizard, big heart. Harder to miss and even if you do at first, you've probably hit his lungs, so you really can't go wrong from there. Just ... Please please Khali - don't go in too soon and watch his feet and that you don't get crushed." Irileth looked the scene over and decided that they had to get closer. "I don't know here he is now, so stay alert, all of you. Draw your swords and let's move in." Dhaerys said nothing, but to her mind, the time for swords - if there was one - was most definitely not at the outset. She looked up and saw a guard standing on the top of the tower. She nudged Irileth and pointed, "Tell that one that if the dragon comes, not to wait until he hovers before going down the steps. Tell him just to get below." She pointed to the doorway lower in the old tower, "And that one should be ready to run up the stairs if he sees the dragon near the doorway. Ducking inside won't save him." As Irileth barked out her commands, one of the guards who'd been there from the first warned them not to come too close. "He came from nowhere and took Rocky and Tor. He might still be here, though I don't know how he did that." The guard on the tower roof called out that the dragon was coming back. Dhaerys looked in the direction that he was pointing in and she saw him come. "Try to find some cover!" Irileth yelled. "Whatever you do," Dhaerys told the elf, "Don't be anywhere near me. If I can, I'll turn his attention away from your men. If he's got eyes and a brain, he'll want me first." "Why?" Irileth asked, thinking that what she'd heard sounded ridiculous. Dhaerys looked at her, "My armour is made of his relatives, Irileth." Khali was beside Dhaerys, "Where should I be?" "With me at first," Dhaerys said, "and behind something thick if you can be. You can't do much until he commits and comes down to attack something. See the men with the bows? They're shooting and he hasn't landed yet. They're missing their shots for nothing. There is a way to do that and they don't know it." As though on command, one of the running archers ran right into a broken stone abutment from not looking where he as going. The dragon was working over the top of the tower. Dhaerys hoped that the one up there had listened, but since the dragons kept at it, she had her doubts. Unslinging her bow, she nocked an arrow and drew back all the way until her lips were kissing the bowstring. She settled on the side of the chest, timing the dragon's bobbing up and down from his wingbeats and then she let it go. To her amazement, he hadn't moved much while the arrow was in flight and she felt it as it hit him and went deep as the dragon flinched when the shock went through him. The flames weren't of any consequence at all to a fire drake. All the same, the dragon keened out in pain and turned to look in her direction. "NOT with me now!" she told Khali in her language, "Get behind that rock and keep your eyes open. Be ready to run around it if he comes in from behind you." Dhaerys slung her bow onto her back and began to taunt the dragon as she walked toward it evenly. The beast now pulled up, flapping it's wings and turning toward her. She raised her fists from a crouched position as the dragon flared in front of her just off the ground not fifteen feet away. She was thinking of something, now that she knew that this beast could breathe fire. She was thinking as she clenched her fists so tightly that they hurt, thinking of something long and frozen hard. There was the noise of the dragon's wings and his breathing as he began to draw in the air that he'd use to light her up into ash. But underneath it all, Dhaerys heard only the sounds of frost squeaking quietly against ice as she held her fists tightly clenched. The great head came up and Dhaerys saw what she wanted for a target. Flinging her fingers out, she released the magic that she'd been holding back so much. There was a bright flare from each of her hands as two spears of solid ice shot from her palms and pierced the dragonscales on that great, scaly chest, going in deep, almost all the way in, to her surprise. The dragon dropped the last few feet to the ground and recoiled from the pain. "Now Khali!" she screamed out in Khajiiti as she ran straight in, drawing her long and slightly curved blade. She sidestepped the head on that long neck as it began to turn toward her and she ran inside of it's reach as the jaws snapped shut on nothing and ... Her blade sank deep into that chest in just the right place - she guessed. But she didn't twist it. Not ever with a blade like hers in the chest of a dragon. The old wisdom that she'd been taught told her that it was a sure way to snap the blade. Akaviri swords were made to pierce dragons and slash men, so she pulled back and gave the side of the neck the hardest overhead swing that she could summon up. What came to her ears in the confusion and the shouts of the men was the shrieking anger of a Dagi-raht Khajiit girl who had suddenly found her courage in the faltering rage of a dying dragon. "Rah!" she cried out with effort as she swung her sword. "Rah! ... RRrrrrAAAH!" were the sounds from the side of the beast as Khali went at it again and again with her blade. Suddenly, the dragon shuddered and the head came up again in what Dhaerys recognized from her lessons - taught by others who'd never seen a dragon in their lives as well, but who had passed on what had been learned long before. The beast was almost done. This was it's final agony. An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 01 Dhaerys drew her blade back once more as she looked into those dying eyes and taking one spiked horn on that head in her hand, she swung herself up and knelt, half-straddling the thick neck. She didn't know where in her it came from, but she leaned back and howled at the sky as she plunged her long blade straight down, piercing the single thin spot in the skull's natural armor. The sword was out and she was on her feet next to the dragon before the head fell for the last time. Khali came running from the side somewhere and stood hugging Dhaerys for all that she was worth. "Remember," the Akaviri said in a half-whisper, "You don't speak the common tongue. Smile and nod no matter what they say to you now." There was a strange hissing sound and the carcass began to glow subtly. As she looked, the glow grew until it appeared that the dragon was disintegrating by being consumed in a cold fire from within. The hiss grew louder until it was all that there was to hear and Dhaerys stood in a flowing wreath of eerie glowing cold fire. As the flames passed her by - some of them going clear through her - she heard that word again, the one from the crypt. Looking at the bony thing before her which grew less dragonlike and more bony with each moment, Dhaerys gave in to what she felt and bellowed the word. The body of the dragon moved, as though by the force of her shout. Before she could do anything else, she repeated it twice more - just because it felt good to do it. She looked at Khali and chuckled at the wide eyes there regarding her and she raised a finger, "You do not speak anything but Khajiiti to me. Remember." Khali began to chatter - all of it in Khajiiti and Dhaerys laughed and nodded, hugging Khali herself just out of joy that she hadn't been harmed. She leaned down and fought off the urge to kiss the furry head, since it wouldn't have been correct to do. There were ways among the Khajiit to better express the way that she felt without the risk of offending - and that was as one of them, done between equals. "You know," she smiled as she rubbed her cheek against Khali's head a few times in happiness, "I have never heard of a Khajiit Dragonslayer. I can say that it is an honor to know one." "But it was you who killed it," Khali said as she rubbed back in delight that Dhaerys would know this, "I only helped." Dhaerys shrugged, "If that was helping - what you did, my friend, then please help me always. You told me that two swords are better than one. You were right, but not next to each other. I think it worked well that the swords were working in two different places. And think of it this way, Khali. To these men here, it only matters that there were two crazed fighters working together. No one saw the whole scene; not you and not me. But we have killed a dragon together and none can say otherwise, for that is what we did. I think that the one called Irileth is known as a fierce fighter around these parts. I did not see her when we went in, did you?" Khali shook her head, now that she recalled it. "See? She did not do what you did. You mastered your fear. Now you need to learn that this crazy bravery has it's limits and to go beyond them is to die for nothing." "Weren't you afraid?" Khali asked and Dhaerys nodded, "Of course I was, but not enough to root my feet to the ground. And after it is begun, who has the time to be afraid? You were not afraid in the middle of it, were you?" Khali stopped to think about it and she looked up with a grin, "No. I was busy." "Just so," Dhaerys beamed, "there was no time for it." She stepped forward and began to break a few of the bones and scales free. "What are you doing?" Khali asked in her language, "Should I help?" "Only a few are the best ones, "Dhaerys said. "This dragon, I will do. I will tell you more later and show you what to look for. Your uncle would give much for these, the very best. The rest ... they are not worth harvesting. Here, put these ones in my pack - or yours if you wish. We killed the thing together. I think that we should share what gold we can get from it." At the sound of that word - even in Khajiiti - Khali helped and packed away the goods with enthusiasm. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Irileth said quietly in awe as she walked up, "I'd have never believed it." Some of the guards made a great deal out of the way that Dhaerys had shouted. To them, it said that Dhaerys was 'Dragonborn"- one who could take the soul of a defeated dragon. It seemed to be a cultural thing to them. Irilieth herself was more prosaic when they asked her about it, "Here is a dead dragon. And that is something that I definitely understand. Now we know that they can be killed." She looked to Dhaerys and said, "You should get back to the keep. The Jarl will want to know what happened here. I need to look for any who were not killed, but might be lying wounded somewhere." Dhaerys nodded and turned to walk away. There was a young guard there who smiled and said, "We taught that dragon not to mess with Whiterun, didn't we? Not quite as easy as it was at Helgen." Dhaerys nodded and smiled, though when she turned away she looked a little troubled as she began to walk back toward the city. "What is it?" Khali asked quietly in her tongue. "Something I just thought of," Dhaerys said, "And I need to think on it a little more. Do not mind me." "What happened at this Helgen place you spoke of?" the Khajiit asked, "If this one is allowed to ask such things?" Dhaerys looked over and pointed, "This one is allowed to ask anything at almost any time." She gave Khali a quick sketch of her time at the doomed village, leaving nothing out this time. "That was the first dragon that I ever saw alive." Her companion was confused, "But ... how did you know HOW to kill it if you had never fought one before?" Dhaerys shrugged, "My people ... where I come from. They were dragonkillers long ago. The way is still passed down among us. I was taught as were all of my relations before me, even though it has been ages since there were any dragons there. We think that the smarter ones among them all came here long ago. That was what was told to us all before we came." She looked at Khali, who asked, "We?" Dhaerys nodded, "There were twenty of us sent here. I do not know what might have happened to ten of us, since they swam ashore in other places before I was to go with my five. I am the only one who lives out of my group and I am almost sure that none of the others live. I saw the wreck of the ship which brought us a few days later. Maybe I am all that is left, I do not know. You are now the only one who knows even that much about me. We were told not to announce ourselves here. We were sent for a single purpose and after it was done we were not ever expected to return." "Can this one ask what was this purpose?" Khali asked, "I would not tell anyone. I am also alone here, no?" Dhaerys shrugged, "To find and kill any dragons that we could until none are left. That is all that I can tell you for now." She looked over and Khali's eyes seemed to be getting larger, "To kill dragons? That is why you are here? That is what we will do, you and this one?" Dhaerys nodded somewhat hesitantly, "Khali, you are not bound to this purpose. You did not swear any oaths as I and the others did. In a few days your uncle will return before he leaves for the eastern coast. I will not hold you to anything since I really cannot. If you wish, then go back to him and I will vouch for you that you did not fail me. When I needed you, you were there. It is more than I could have gotten from that elf back there, isn't it? I am sorry," she sighed, "I should not have agreed to take you with me. Your uncle knows nothing of my intent - or he would not have permitted it. I only ..." She looked down and sighed, "All of my life I have known war. From when I was seventeen, I was in the army. One cannot have many friends there, for life can be short. All that you can have are comrades, fellow fighters. It is not the same thing. You can laugh together and drink together. But you cannot talk much of other things, since there is nothing between you but the fighting. When I was a girl, I had friends; real friends and I miss that so. I now find that I like having you along and even teaching you as I can makes me happy. I had a hope which I now see was foolish, and that was that I might have a friend just once more. Any of my party is gone, either far from me or dead. I am alone." Khali nodded, "I am the same. Mother did not approve of my friends and neither did Uncle. That is really why he took me along with him on his travels - to teach me, surely - but also to break my friendships." She looked up, "I now see that their concern for me was not wrong. But it is a lonely life for a Khajiit girl who does not fit in with her family." She stepped nearer as they walked and put her arm around Dhaerys' waist, looking up. "I will not go back, Dhaerys. Khali has decided this for herself. She wants also to have a friend. A lonely dragonkiller might make a good one, she thinks. I care nothing for the ones whom you are sworn to for this purpose. Teach me the oaths so that I understand and I will swear them to you, only to you, and I will be sworn to you. I also have this want for a friend." Dhaerys looked over in a little surprise and then she put her arm around Khali's shoulder. "Then we are not alone if we are together." "You should not tell Uncle that I should go back," the cat said quietly. "Khali would not like that. She wishes to stay with her friend." They walked on in the deepening gloom and once more, Dhaerys thought that something had gone wrong with her her internal clock. It now seemed like a week since she'd left Riverwood, not only a single day which was not over yet. As they reached the turnoff and the path which led up to the city gates, there was a sound, far off and yet near at once. It was a sound like distant thunder and after that, she thought that she could make out a word in it, one which she did not recognize. "What was that?" Khali asked as she looked around. "I don't know," Dhaerys answered, "But it doesn't seem to have come from any dragon, so that means that we are not needed anymore this night, if I can hope for it. I am tired now and want only to sleep." "But," Khali wondered, "Where are we to do that? Oh! I know of two places where we might rent beds in the city. We should go to tell the king fellow what happened and then we can get some sleep." "He is not a king," Dhaerys said, "He is only the Jarl who runs the hold of Whiterun. That means that he is like a little king, but that is all. I like him, so far. He would let me buy property here. Do you think that you'd like to live here for a time? I think that Whiterun is in a good place to search out dragons in every direction. If I have enough, we would not have to pay to rent beds if we were close enough to return home. What do you think?" "I do not know," Khali said, thinking aloud, "I have never had what is a home - not like I think that I see the people here living in. Does living like that keep Khali dry if it begins to rain as she sleeps? Can she be warm when the little white flakes fall from the sky?" Dhaerys laughed, knowing enough about the natural homeland of the Khajiit since she'd been there before, "When the wind blows cold, moaning in the night and the little white flakes feel like hard rain against your pretty fur, then if we can buy a place for our home here, I promise that Khali can be almost as warm as she was when she was a kitten playing on the hot sands of Elseweyr - but without the sands and the sunshine, of course." Khali let out a wistful sigh and leaned against her friend, "Ohh, you make it sound so good, Dhaerys. Khali would give much for a place like that. How is it done?" "It is not the same, but it is as close as one can come here," the woman smiled, "Imagine a great fire to be warmed by. Think of that first." "That is what Khali always wants, but no matter how much wood that she chops, Uncle never lets her have the fire big enough." The little whining moan that Khali allowed to escape her throat caused Dhaerys to grin. Though they might be covered in fur, coming from the hot climate of their homeland left them ill-equipped to really deal with the Skyrim winter. "You would not need it to be so big," Dhaerys smiled, "for it would burn our house down like that. The secret is in having the fire inside the house and tending it carefully. New wood is added to the firepit in the center and when it is turned to coals, you rake them out to the sides and add more to the middle, only a few pieces at a time so it doesn't get big. You don't need it big, and it warms you even like that. After a time, you have a large bed of coals and the heat pours out. The walls around keep out the wind and the night air. After a time, the heat from the fire gets all over the house. I will show you how to keep the fire just right. Did you see the large firepit in the keep? We need one like that, only smaller, since we would not have a big keep to warm." "I want it already," Khali smiled, "It is long since this one has been able to sit and eat and feel good with no clothes on. Can she do that?" Dhaerys nodded, "I have been to Elseweyr, Khali. I have run on the warm sand and played in the ocean with no clothes. I remember it still. I would want that too." Khali laughed freely and it sounded so different to Dhaerys somehow. Still, she liked to hear it. "I am already learning much!" the cat exclaimed, "I would not have said it as we began, but to me, it sounds as though we are not really very far apart. I think now that we are the same kind of girl, or almost. How do we start this house business?" "We may have to rent our beds in an inn for tonight," Dhaerys said, "but tomorrow, I will see how much something like that costs. I do not think that we need a large place. I only hope that what I have is enough." "Khali is smaller than her friend," the Khajiit said, thinking out loud once more, "We should try to save whatever we have together as much as we can. If it happens, then we will rent only one bed. Khali wants to learn to sleep in a bed some night and she hopes it is not hard to do and not fall out. If she has to, she will sleep on the floor. She has slept on the ground all of her life so far. Another night, she can do." She looked across again, "Can ... would Dhaerys teach Khali how? Sometime? Sometime, could Khali learn this? She thinks that it cannot be too hard. She sees some very stupid Nords and THEY can sleep in beds. Or do they fall out onto the floor often and tell no one of it? That is what Khali would do." Dhaerys rolled her eyes and laughed, "This one thinks that Khali thinks too much about it. Khali, you are a lovely Dagi-raht who tries to live as a Cathay. But somewhere inside, there must be enough Dagi to be able to sleep in a tree. Have you ever slept in a tree before? Khali nodded, "Oh yes. It is easy. You climb up and you get as settled as you can, then your claws must come out and be on the wood. That way, if you begin to fall, you wake and your claws go deep in to hold you still." She nodded, "Very easy, yes." As strange as it sounded, Dhaerys knew that it was a real concern - like sleeping in a tree would be to a human. "So you can sleep in a bed and look, I have no claws. If I can do it, you can too. You will not fall out." "But -" Khali began, her eyes a little wide, "If I move while I sleep ... a bed is flat. I will not feel it as I begin to fall." Dhaerys sighed, "I will teach you." It seemed strange to her, this near-phobia that a Khajiit could have over such a thing. But when she looked, Khali was walking, looking straight ahead. Dhaerys heard her soft sigh and to her, it seemed that whatever she'd said seemed to have been a comfort to Khali somehow. "Then Khajiit will learn this and not be afraid to fall. This one has helped to kill a dragon. What is there to be afraid of - when you have done that?" She was silent for a few moments, but it didn't last long. "This one knows why she sleeps on the ground. She knows why she sleeps in a tree. Trees are for sleeping in if there is something which can harm Khajiit on the ground in the night." She looked over, "What is there that can harm you on the ground that makes you sleep only this high? Something small that cannot jump much? Why did it start, this bed-sleeping?" "Sleeping on the ground can be done," Dhaerys said, "Often, I have had to do it. But a bed is better. You sleep better, and the cold dampness in the ground cannot make your bones ache if you sleep in a bed." "I know of it," Khali said, "Uncle cannot move right away most mornings. Is that what it is?" Dhaerys nodded, "So you see, there is something which cannot jump much." "Then I want to sleep in a bed," the cat said. "Then you can," the woman smiled, slightly amused at how Khajiit can have such circular thoughts. The evening sky darkened as the clouds joined up in obscuring the stars. The wind picked up as well and Khali remarked on it. "It looks to this Khajiit like a night comes which will make her ache for the dry warmth of a fire and a warm bed." It was a whole different story when the pair walked up the path toward the gates this time. When they came up the last incline, the guards came forward to meet them. "By Ysmir," Heimrick exclaimed to Dhaerys, "You actually did it! You killed a dragon!" Dhaerys nodded a little wearily and smiled, "Yes, we did. How is it that you know of it since you are stationed here at the gates?" "We can see the watchtower from here," the other one said, "We took turns running up to the ramparts to see better. From there, I could see that it was you who faced the beast down alone." Dhaerys shook her head, "Not alone. My friend here attacked from the side, close in. I still do not know how he did not step on her. But she is a quick one and is fast with a blade." "No doubt," the guard said, looking at Khali, "Better get up to the keep and tell the Jarl. Thank you for what you did. I am sure that I stand before the two bravest ladies that I have ever seen. I doubt that even Fahrengar would have worked magick that strongly. From where I stood, it looked to me as though you skewered him with something bright white through the chest and then ... and then you - " Dhaerys nodded, "But I did the last to finish it, my friend. In truth, he was so far gone already from what we had already done, I'm sure that he would have died then even if I'd done nothing at that point." The guard smiled and gestured toward the doors, but before anyone could take a step, Heimrick growled, "City's still off-limits to Khajiits. That one stays here this time." "Don't mind him," the kind guard grinned, "He's just trying to make up for his lousy luck. He can't get a woman in here to even look at him for anything. I keep telling him that he should stop trying to look like a prick. Don't listen to him. I outrank him anyway. Stand down Heimrick, or I'll make sure that you're not a guard in Whiterun by the end of the watch." Dhaerys put her arm around Khali's shoulder and shot Heimrick a nasty look. "Have you ever heard of a Khajiit dragonkiller, Heimrick? Well you're looking at one right now. If another dragon comes, I'll be sure to ask for you to come and assist us when we go to kill him. We'll see then how you fare. I'll be sure to mention you to the Jarl in a few minutes. He's already met her and he had no issue with her at all. Stop trying to see the worst in others. It doesn't suit you or anyone else." They felt the first of the raindrops as they neared the almost deserted marketplace. When they'd reached the next level and entered the roundabout where four paths met around a large and very old tree, a young girl looked up from where she was sitting alone on a bench. She looked to be about ten years of age with a slightly dirty face bearing a hopeful expression. An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 01 "My Lady," she began humbly, "Could you spare me a coin? I'm so hungry." "The girl is an orphan," Khali whispered in Khajiit, "I saw her here the last time that I came in over the wall. She has no one, though she does try to keep a smile on her face for everyone. I do not know how she lives - or where." Dhaerys stepped forward and the girl's face revealed her shock at the armor that the woman wore. "Here, have this coin. Will it get you a meal tonight?" The girl's eyes widened further to see the gold coin in Dhaerys' hand. "Oh yes! I can have a meal at the Bannered Mare just down the hill. Holda sometimes lets me have the scraps from the kitchen. Oh, I can have a real meal for once! Thank you. Divines, bless your kind heart!" Her hand came out a little warily and it caused Dhaerys to wonder why an urchin like this had needed to learn to be careful. She had no time to think on it however, as it looked to be getting ready to pour any moment. "Here little friend, here are ten more. I want you to take this also and then run to this place that you mentioned and use it to rent yourself a bed for tonight. I do not know where you sleep most nights, but this doesn't look like a good night not to have a warm, dry place." The child's eyes looked ready to leave her head and she had to hold out both of her hands to take the coins. Dhaerys took off the fur armor that she'd pulled loosely over her dragonscale armor and put it around the girl's shoulders, "It's not the best thing, but I want you to stay warm tonight too. Hurry along now," Dhaerys smiled, "I want you out of the rain this night." They ran along up the many steps to the level of the keep itself and along the wooden walkway to the great doors. Once inside, Dhaerys walked a little more slowly and Khali fell into step with her. "Should we not walk a little faster now?" "Why?" the woman asked with a little smile, "It isn't going to rain in here. And anyway, we have just killed a dragon, haven't we? I think that we are to be allowed to walk a little wearily this last part. And if not, then we ought to be allowed it." The Steward came walking toward them, "There you are. The Jarl is waiting to speak with you." He guided them to the throne where Balgruuf sat waiting and watching them. "So? Tell me what happened at the tower. Is the dragon defeated?" he asked. Dhaerys nodded, "He is dead, my lord." The jarl relaxed visibly back onto the throne, "I KNEW I could count on Irileth! But there must be more to it than that." Irileth began to speak, shocking Khali and Dhaerys with her sudden appearance. "Before I could even think of a way to begin to attack the beast properly and not just by shooting arrows at it blindly like the rest of the troops, it was over, my Jarl. This one actually scored a telling hit on the beast with one of her arrows. I could see how it was surprised and pained by it. But that drew the dragon's wrath and he turned then - away from all of us - to spend his rage on her instead." She pointed at Dhaerys, who was surprised at how quickly Irileth had appeared and run to speak to her lord. "Were it not for her actions, we would have lost more men to that ... thing. She faced the dragon, killing it with magic after that while her friend here waded in close to it's side and went at it with a blade like a devil. But when the dragon finally died from Dhaerys's sword thrust through his brains, something happened. I - I don't know what, but something passed from the body of the dragon to her. After that, she shouted out something louder than I have ever heard anyone shout and it - it MOVED the dead dragon's body back from the force of it! The rest of the men have begun to say that she is something called a Dragonborn. I wouldn't know anything about it, being what I am," Irileth said, "I just told the fools to trust more in their sword arms than anything else. To be honest, I've never seen or heard anything like that before." "That sounds like a thu'um," the jarl said, "That might explain what we heard sometime afterward. The Greybeards have called her, I would guess." He snorted softly, "I didn't know that there were any of them left up there in their monastery. We never hear of anything going on up there in High Hrothgar." He looked at Dhaerys for a moment, "It doesn't matter much, I guess. The Greybeards have summoned you to High Hrothgar. You'd better get up there. It is said that they can teach the way of the voice." "Greybeards?" Dhaerys asked, "Who are they - and how do I get to this place?" "They are an ancient order of Nord monks," the steward said, "I can't say what they'd want with you, but you'd better get up there to find out what it's about." The jarl's brother Hrongar stepped forward to speak then, "It's one of our ancient traditions going back forever. The Greybeards taught Tiber Septim himself when he was still Talos of Atmora before he became Emperor. It's a long climb to get up there." "I went there once," the Jarl said, "I went on the pilgrimage and climbed the 7,000 steps. High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place." "What did they teach you, Jarl Balgruuf?" Dhaerys asked. He chuckled, "They didn't teach me anything. They don't speak to anyone, only to each other and any Dragonborn who might show up. The doors were barred when I went up there. One way or the other, you should make the journey and learn what they can teach you about using this gift of yours, if they're so convinced that they'd call for you. But you've done a great service to me and my city. I name you both Thanes of Whiterun. It's the highest honor that's within my power to grant. I give you this axe, so that all will know who you are as well as this sword from my personal armory to your honored Khajiit companion. What is her name so that I might know her and inform the proper people?" Dhaerys looked at Khali, who stood listening politely as was proper, even while maintaining her charade. "She is called Khali, my lord." "Very well then. Please tell her what this honor means. I know that many people do not care to trust people like her, but she has proven herself to me this day, so I choose to honor her as well. Tell her also that she has the run of the city. As long as she carries my sword so that the guards can know her, she is welcome here. Oh! And tell her that she doesn't need to climb in over my walls at night anymore." He grinned a little, "I always try to talk with my guards whenever I have the chance. That's how I know of her. She should use the gates now, like everyone else. Now if you don't mind, Dhaerys, I have a city to keep, now that you've killed the dragon that wrecked Helgen." "It was not the same dragon," Dhaerys said quietly as she beckoned Irileth closer so that what was said would not reach the guard's ears, "Tell me if I am wrong, Irileth, but the one out there was grey - almost a blue color." The elf nodded, "What are you saying?" "The one at Helgen was larger and black - pure, coal black. It was not the one that we faced back there." "Are you sure?" the jarl asked and Dhaerys nodded, "By pure luck, I was standing on the steps inside the tower at Helgen. The dragon there smashed a hole in the wall and shoved his head inside to roast everyone that he could. He didn't see me. I was standing right next to the hole in the tower wall and right next to him. I was this close," she said, holding up her hands, "but I was groggy from being hit over the head earlier. I had nothing; no weapons and not enough wits together yet to use any magic. Khali and I will stay close to Whiterun for a few days at least to defend against any dragons which might show up. After that, I'll go to see these monks. But I intend to keep returning here because I like this place, so we'll help defend it as we can." The jarl thanked them and said that it felt a little better to have them nearby. "You don't know what it's like. At times such as this, I feel the weight on me to protect my people. I thank you for whatever help you can give." Dhaerys bowed, and Khali followed suit, still looking oblivious to what had been said of her. As she straightened up, Dhaerys stepped up to the Steward, Avenicci and asked for a moment of his time if he was available then. He led her to a quiet alcove and looked at her questioningly. "I was told by the jarl earlier that I would be able to purchase property in Whiterun. From the little that I've seen of it, I like it already and I can say that I am very interested in living here, if I could. How do I make my purchase? I think that you would be in charge of such matters, no?" "You are exactly correct," the man said as he swelled a little in importance. "As it happens, there is a house available for sale right now. It is called Breezehome and you must have passed it on your way here. You'll find it in the Plains district, the second house on the right as you come from the gates. It is clean, but I haven't had time to have some of the old furnishings cleared out, what with all the dragon excitement going on lately. There is a feature inside that I'm sure you'll want removed. The previous owner liked to produce his own wine, so there is a vat inside. It's clean, don't worry about that. It's just something that's made the place a little hard to sell. It would normally go for about five thousand gold empty and I would charge extra depending on the buyer's wishes. What's there beside the vat is the main bedroom upstairs if I remember, along with the livingroom and kitchen. The loft decorations were all removed and the downstairs room has been cleared out as well. I can let you have it as it is for ... four thousand, five hundred and if you don't want to make wine," he smiled, "then removing the vat is your problem in exchange to the cheap price. Does that sound fair?" "It IS clean inside?" Dhaerys asked, "I don't want to find that I've bought a shed full of winemaking garbage and dried bundles of vines lying around." Avenicci stressed that the inside was fairly spotless. "Only the vat needs to be removed, if you don't want to make use of it for say, washing clothes." Dhaerys held up her hand and explained it to Khali in Khajiit. She knew that Khali had understood it all anyway, but it gave her a few moments to consider, since it represented the majority of the gold that she had. Khali asked a few questions of her and mentioned in Khajiiti that she had five hundred gold in large coins from her uncle and wanted to contribute. "I would give four hundred out of what I have if it will buy me a warm place to sleep - in a bed, if I can learn how." Dhaerys turned to Avenicci and nodded, "We'll take it, master Steward. Let's go over to that table there so that I can count it out for you." As they walked out through the doors and into the Whiterun night, they noticed that not only was it raining, but the wind was along to push it around. "We will be soaked through by the time that we get there," Khali grumbled. "When one has no home or much to shelter in, one does not feel the want so badly since there is nothing that one can do about it." She chuckled to herself, "But to have a home and not be able to be there when it is like this outside ..." Dhaerys looked over for a moment, "Where is the sword that he gave you, Khali? You should wear it so that it can be seen as the Jarl said. I hate to say it, but you need to be seen wearing it so that the guards know not to trouble you. As much as I find myself liking them, Nords seem to be suspicious of people who are different. I have seen the looks myself and they think that I am an Imperial. Here is the chance for a Khajiit to make a difference for others. Let them see that they are wrong." "It is alright, the sword," Khali said, "but it is nothing special more than a sword. I would keep the sword that I know - the one that I used today where I can reach it easily." They stopped under a stone archway and Dhaerys rearranged things for Khali. "There," she smiled, "You keep your trusted blade over this shoulder. Wear the one that marks you as a thane on your other hip." Khali nodded and as Dhaerys cinched a few of the straps more securely, she looked around the roundabout they had just walked through for a moment. A guard walked up to them and said that the guards had all heard of what had happened at the watchtower. "We are all grateful," he said, "to you both. I see that you wear weapons from the Jarl. Does this mean that he - " Dhaerys shrugged, "He said we are Thanes here now." The guard bowed his head, "That is good then, I will tell any others of us that I meet that you are here and thanes as well." "Where is the Bannered Mare?" Dhaerys asked, "We've bought a house, but we want to get something to eat at least, maybe a bottle of mead to wash it down as well." He smiled, "The food at the Bannered Mare is good and the portions are beyond fair for the gold, I'd say." He pointed, "You're not far. It's right there, Thane. I wish that I could go with you. With this cold rain, I'd be a lot happier and warmer with a bellyful of mead. A good night to you both." They walked down the steps and stopped, hearing a small voice crying. They looked around the marketplace and found the girl that they'd met earlier, hidden under the vegetable seller's stall. "What has happened?" Dhaerys asked, and they learned that after buying her meal and sitting at a table to eat it "like anyone else can", the bard had come and asked to see what she was using to pay for everything. "He said that he knew that I was alone and he said that I must have stolen the money." The girl sobbed bitterly for a moment, "And here I am again, wet and cold when I was going to have a good night for once - for the first time since ... mother ... I wanted to have a good night and maybe dream about when she was alive!" She buried her face against her forearms which were crossed, holding her knees. "Please," Dhaerys said softly, "Come with me. I'll set this straight soon enough. Can you do that? Can you come with me? I'll take you back to the inn and fix everything. I promise." As the girl nodded and tried to regain some of her composure, Dhaerys stood up and saw the guard who'd been speaking to them a minute earlier. She whistled and he came running. After telling the man what had happened, and with the girl's tearful nods when he asked her if it was so, Dhaerys told him that she was going inside to deal with it. "I seek your advice," she said, "I do not want to break any laws in the city, but if I hear the wrong words from the bard ... Do I need you there with me or should I call you in after?" He laughed a little before he shook his head at the child's situation, "You are a Thane here. It means that you are considered to have honor. Your word means more to any guard here than that of a fool bard. I'll go in with you since I could do with a few minutes out of this downpour, but I'll hang back to see how it goes. Just don't kill him in there, that's all that I'll say." He looked at the girl for a moment, "She's had a bad time since her mother died. I knew them before when they lived on a farmhold outside the walls. I know what it's like, since I was an orphan myself. By rights, she ought to go to the Honorhall orphanage in Riften, but it's not a good place for children these days, from what I hear. I was there myself years ago, and I hated it there. If it's gotten worse, then I wouldn't want to see her there. She'd be better off here on the streets than in that place. Here, all of the guards know her and look out for her. People here know her too, so it's not as bad as it was at first. The best would be if someone adopted her and took her in. I would myself, but I am only a single man and it is hard to get by on a guard's pay as it is." Dhearys walked in with the girl, whose name was Lucia, clinging to her side in a bit of fear. Khali walked on her other side and smiled when she saw Lucia looking up at her. "Don't be afraid, Lucia," Dhaerys said, "Nobody's going to hurt you." She walked up to the bar and asked the woman to fetch the proprietor. The woman said that she owned the place and asked what the matter was. "Do you know this girl?" Dhaerys asked. Holda nodded with a sympathetic nod, "I know her. She has no one. When she comes in here, I try to give her something to eat at least. Not the best maybe, but I try. She came in tonight looking happy for the first time since her mother passed on a few months ago. She said that she had enough money for a real meal and a bed. I was happy to hear it, I can tell you and I gave her the meal and more for only half a gold. But she didn't come to tell me that she was ready to go to bed," the woman said, "When I looked around, she was gone." "Where is your bard?" Dhaerys asked, "I wish to speak to him." Holda looked puzzled, "That layabout? Why do you want to talk to him? He spends all of his time chasing women, trying to get up their dresses. I've spoken to him over it before." She pointed, "There he is, trying to charm Ysolde - though I know that it won't work on her. She's far too smart." "I want a word with him," Dhaerys said, "Please watch his face." She walked over just as a young woman sitting at a table was telling a man to go soak his head. "Pardon me," Dhaerys began, "Are you the bard who works here?" "That I am," the singer smiled, not really believing his newfound luck, "Farren's my name. Perhaps you've heard of me?" Dhaerys smiled, "That I have. Could you sing me a song?" The man smiled, "Certainly! What would you like to hear?" Dhaerys grinned, "Come and sing me a song about how you forced an orphan girl to hand over all the gold that she had, accusing her of stealing it." "That lying little guttersnipe stole that gold," he said evenly, "she had no right to it. I was going to throw her out but she admitted her guilt by running out." "Then perhaps you'd like to accuse her again, this time in front of me," Dharys said, "But before you do, you should know that I gave her that gold in the first place. She stole nothing. She ran because you threatened her. That's the song that I want to hear. I want to hear you threaten her again in front of me, but I can already see that you don't have the stones for it. Please tell me that I'm wrong, you big, strong man." "Who in oblivion are you?" Farren snarled, "Some lying bitch who's wandered in off the road?" The guard stepped forward and drew his blade, "You're coming with me. This is a Thane of Whiterun." Farren turned to run out the back, but Khali was there as he turned around and she shoved him backwards so that he was reeling toward Dhaerys again. Dhaerys smiled as she took him by the hair and slammed his face against the dragon scales which armoured her shoulder. Before he could get up, she had his purse cut off his belt. "My my," she said, pouring some of the contents into her palm, "I'd no idea that there was such money to be made as a bard. Even taking away what he got from my little friend here, there has to be over a hundred gold left! Tips were good tonight?" Holda interjected then, "Tips? No one has given him anything all night. Who wants to hear him sing the only TWO songs that he knows all evening? More likely they paid him to shut up instead, but a hundred ..." The guard had Farren firmly by that time. Dhaerys was still counting, "More than that. I'm well over two hundred and sixty." "Saadia!" Holda called out, "Go and check the strongbox! Tell me what's there." A minute later, the serving girl came back looking distraught, "The box is empty, Holda!" "Were you going to blame that theft on a little orphan girl too to cover your tracks?" Dhaerys hissed angrily. An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 02 *************** I think I'm going to have to make this a tad longer than the 3 chapters that I'd envisioned. Same as the previous chapter, some names and places are property of Bethesda Game Studios, since this tale is set in Skyrim. So if you're read that one, the previous chapter, I mean, I won't need to explain what Khajiit are. Redguard are humans coming from a place known as Hammerfell. They're perhaps the most naturally talented warriors anywhere. They tend to have darker skin than the others and it has a bit of a reddish tone to it. Their name in general stemmed from a mispronunciation "Ra Gada" is a term out of their ancient tongue which means 'warrior wave'. In this, a Redguard woman is getting well and truly tired of doing something that she'd never sworn to do. The person that she does it for is a character in the game. Some name stuff: Ysolde = Isold = eesold Do'Tanaht = dough-tan-ought Do'Mu-Jinn = dough-moo-gin Those ones are spoken quickly. This one piece will pick up in the start of the next one. Which will be ... uh, busy. Group um, sex busy. Whoa. 0_o ************ She stopped at the edge of the forest, pausing to catch her breath and to look ahead. She saw little, other than the meandering old road as it wound its way across open and slightly rolling plain land. There were mountains in the distance and off to her left, she saw the city of Whiterun. That was where she was headed – if she could manage it. She looked back, able to see through the trees back to the last large bend in the roadway. She would have groaned quietly at what she saw there only a year ago, or even two. It had been more than three years and so she had no groans left anymore. This had to end sometime. Why not here? Why not today? They were coming. She looked ahead again and ran on, dashing from one bit of cover to the next, never going near the road, since in most places, one could see ahead a good way from it. She was so tired of having to do this. She just wanted to walk the road like any normal person had a right to. Crouching behind some stones, she looked at her quiver, wishing there were more arrows than she knew that she'd see in it. Seven arrows, that was all. After that, she'd be down to using her blades against Alik'r warriors armed with scimitars. There were five of them back there. She sighed. This time. It had gone on long enough. She wasn't bound to this task and it wasn't her duty and never had been. She'd only agreed to try and anyway, there was nothing left. She'd been doing that for all of this time. She saw a place where a stream ran near the road, and from the nearest point all the way to that place, there were tall reeds and long grasses. She hoped that would let her get close enough while remaining undetected. Seven arrows to kill five men and she knew that only the first would fall dead for certain. After that, they'd all be in motion and the chances of attaining one-off killing shots dropped to almost nothing. Not the odds that she would have preferred. ––––––––––––––––––––––– He stood in the water washing himself. It took him a while, since it always did, being the way that he was. He didn't know what it was like to be someone like the others that he saw around here, the Nords and the Imperials and like that. He only knew that it probably took them a lot less time standing in cold mountain stream water to get clean. He was alone here. Well, that wasn't true; it only felt that way a lot of the time. He was here to help guard the caravan like the others and to do whatever work the master needed done. He was being given a chance and he was determined not to fail. But that didn't make it any easier. He was a Khajiit, the same as the rest – but he wasn't the right kind, strictly speaking. The master had let the young niece that he'd been taking along on his journeys go a while back and so he'd needed someone to take up that slack. He was that someone. The Khajiit who traveled the known world were almost exclusively Cathays. He'd learned that most of the people who ever saw the Khajiit thought that there was only one kind, which was incorrect. It was just that the other types tended to remain in Elsweyr, where they'd been born. He wasn't one of those, not all the way, anyway. When he'd been born, his mother had trouble passing him and the labor had gone long. Long enough to have taken more than two days and in that time, the phase of the moons which favored the chances of the kitten being born a Cathay was passing. So he'd been born not quite a Cathay. He was a Cathay-raht, alike to the Cathays in many ways, but a little different. Different enough to be thought of by many of them as slow, for he tended to be quiet and when he spoke, it was with care. Different enough to ... Well, he'd been a large kitten anyway. He was larger and heavier than any Cathay alive. He only thanked the gods that he'd been given a good form to live in and not just a large, soft one. Three hundred pounds. He looked down as he scooped up a little more water. He saw his arm, quite usual to him. But the muscle there on that arm was wider than the waists of most pure Cathay females. He sighed. All of his life, he'd had to live in a place where there were only Cathays. All of his life, he'd been the butt of jokes and laughter. The one time that it had gotten to him and exceeded his store of stoicism, there had been blood. One fatality, two maimings and one completely crippled fool who now had to beg at the side of the road for the rest of his life. He'd been cast out over it and for someone as large and easily identified as he was; the life of a thief wasn't a promising one. It had been the master who had taken him and given him work before things had gotten any worse. But there was a downside and that was the sheer amount of food which was required to fuel his body. The others, pure Cathay all of them, just didn't see that it held any worth to them. The only one who cared at all about him was his cousin Dyla. His train of thought came to an end when he noticed the ripples. Looking over, he saw that there was something or someone in the reeds not far off. His ruminations had kept him still for a few minutes and he guessed that whatever or whoever this was, he'd escaped their notice. He almost smiled at the thought. That didn't happen every day. –––––––––––––––- She waded slowly, feeling her way with her toes along the muddy bottom, up to her knees. She could just hear the men approaching, laughing and joking as they came, dumb and happy, none of them knowing that at least two were going to die in the next little while and that was only if it all turned to shit. Which she knew was the most likely outcome here. She knew she could absolutely count on shooting one fatally and killing one with her blades. Everything else was a wild chance, and people like her – they never like wild chances. It was a little bitter to her to have to think of. All of this time, spent mostly running her ass off to head these mercenaries off one group at a time, as soon as she'd become aware that they were out there searching. And just on the day when she'd decided that it was as far as she'd go, she was looking at the fair to just about certain probability that she'd die here. For what? Someone who didn't really care, never had cared, and as long as she did her informal job, that someone never would give a thought over her. She listened to them come for a moment longer, understanding their banter, since it was spoken in her mother tongue. Mercenaries. How many times? How many groups had she killed off single-handedly? She almost snorted. Clowns might be a better term. The money offered must surely be good, since they kept on coming. The wall of reeds before her parted and she tensed, wishing that she'd had her head in her game more than this. She saw someone and looked up. And did nothing as her mouth began to drift open all by itself. ––––––––––––––- A female, he thought. The kind called Redguard by the look of her. He stared a little because he had to. She was in the water and since she'd been quiet about it, he guessed that there must be some reason. He saw that she had some light armour on under a dark and open cloak and he saw the bow on her back. Was she hunting? Not actively, or the bow would be in her hand, likewise the swords on her back there, the hafts sticking up. He'd seen the odd Redguard here, but not one like this. She ... He'd never even thought of the females here that he saw now and then, the ones who came out of the gates of the towns that they camped near to look at the goods and maybe buy something. Most of them just looked at him like he was an unspoken threat and kept their distance. He knew when that happened and he made sure to make himself a little scarce at those times, not wanting to hurt the master's chances of making a sale. He could hear the master's voice in his head even now. "Come come, see the wares that I offer. Do not mind the large one. He is only here to protect you as you look. Nothing will happen to you while he is near, Ri'Saad gives you his word. Come and look." She was ... Not what he'd have ever thought of as someone who could ever appeal to him – and yet she did. Her hair was dark, also her skin, just as his hair and fur was. Her eyes, so foreign to him and yet he was fascinated. He saw markings on her face, white ones which looked faded and he liked them for the way that they added to her beauty. He thought of that suddenly. She was beautiful to him. How could that be? She didn't even have any fur. Not that he could see, anyway, besides her very long hair. –––––––––––- He was ... She looked again and blinked a little in the sunshine. Beautiful. She saw broad shoulders and Gods – heavy, serious muscle. The bright golden eyes which regarded her were most definitely feline, the vertical irises drawn down to thin lines as they regarded her in the bright light of the day – but she didn't see any malice or anything other than ... She began to smile – and he did too! Her eyes drifted lower, taking in the fur-covered, stone-hard ridges over his middle and his fairly narrow waist. Her gaze drifted back up a bit to take in the sight of ... He was holding the reeds away and under his massive arm, she saw the checkerboard of the muscles there in that fur over his ribs. He looked so ... powerful to her, like he ruled his world; he just wasn't ever pointed about it. She liked his ears sticking out of his long, dark hair and she looked down a little lower ... a little lower and – She looked elsewhere on him then, not wanting to appear rude by grinning. She liked that part of him too. She saw his ears flick back for a moment and then his expression changed and he looked concerned. "Those ones there," he began in a careful, low whisper which sent a thrill over her whole body just to hear it, "they are hunting this one?" She nodded, but held up her hand, "Not me. They hunt for another. I protect her by hunting them." She sighed, "But I will fail this day, I think. They are five and I am alone. I have only seven arrows and I cannot – " "That one," he said, "Why is she hunted? Does she know that they come for her?" She shook her head, "No. She lives in that city. I have never been there. They have been searching for her for three years and I cannot go on protecting her alone anymore. I wanted to go to her and say that I am done, but I found yet more hunters – and I do not think that I can win this time." He nodded, "Khajiit works for someone, so he knows what duty is. You think to die for this?" She shrugged ... and then she looked down and nodded, "I would have no trouble at night. Once they found where my arrows came from, most would be dead. Here in daytime, on the open road – one against five ... not good." He leaned down a bit, wanting to keep his voice down. When he spoke again, she saw a little of his teeth and suddenly ached a tiny bit just to kiss him once to know what that felt like. It had been so long since ... She pushed the thought away. A long-gone time. A long-gone Khajiit. "If they were gone, then you would be free of your burden, once that one knows?" He asked her. She nodded again, "Yes. I have given a long time of my life for this and it was not really ever something that I was sworn to. Her house is gone into nothing. Mine too. But while they lasted, my house served hers. That is gone and now I want to be free of this. It was never my own debt." He regarded her for a short time and then he spoke again. "This one has a name?" She looked up, happy to look at his face again, "I am Basmah Khajh. In my language, basmah means kitten." He smiled softly and then he nodded as he picked up his swords, "Then Khajiit will help this sweet kitten to live longer." Basmah stared, but he was gone. She saw only the reeds and grasses again but she heard things as she ran after him, wanting to call to him to wait for her and that she'd help him and knowing that she couldn't get there in time. He was so fast. There was the rushing sound of water exploding upward and then she heard shouts and cries from the men. Basmah ran on, worried now over what she'd unwittingly caused him to do. When she reached the bank, she slipped and slid and almost crawled to get up and as she eased through the last of the heavy vegetation, she unslung her bow and nocked an arrow. Almost directly across the road from her stood one of the men drawing back a bow and aiming it at the Khajiit, who stood looking down. Basmah tore her eyes away from the cat and quickly drew back until the bowstring hit her lips and it was done then. The man let out a small and short cry of surprise as her arrow slid in under his bow arm. He stood for a moment, his arrow climbing skyward and the bow slipping from his fingers as his knees buckled so that he sank down. When she got to him, she saw that it was one of the very best shots that she'd ever made, the arrow going in through one lung, the heart and deep into the other lung. She looked up and over, staring as she stood up. He stood alone in the middle of four bodies which had been living and drawing breath only seconds before. From what she could tell, one of them had been cloven right in two and her mouth drifted open again. The strength that it would have taken to do that in one swing. He turned to her and began to walk. It was a sight that Basmah was certain that she'd never forget. He didn't act the part – at least he hadn't shown it so far ... But she was looking at a proud, tall, incredibly powerful male – an absolutely naked one – walking toward her with a little smile, completely without shame. "Ah," he smiled, "the fifth one." Basmah laughed. She couldn't help it. They dragged the bodies off the road as quickly as they could and taking the hood from one of them, he filled it with water and ran back a few times to try to at least dilute the stains on the road. Deep in the reeds again, they worked together to strip the bodies and with a few stones that the cat brought quickly from somewhere as they were needed, the bodies were weighted down at least a little. While they bundled up the swords and other effects in the clothing, she looked over. "Please, mighty friend, please give me a name to know you by. What you have done for me is something that I will never think lightly of." He shrugged as he squatted to wash off his hands and blades, "I am Khajiit. We have long names sometimes." She stepped over and from somewhere, she found the courage to put her arm over his shoulders, though it looked so small there. She leaned down, "You are the most mighty, fearsome ... handsome thing that I have ever seen in one body. I do not care if it takes me the rest of the afternoon to learn it. I ache now to know your fine name." He chuckled, "The worth of this one's name seems to have gained a little, he thinks. This one is Do'Tanaht Sharrine, the most important names for me, anyway." Basmah worked at the first name for a moment and he laughed a little, "The first part – 'Do' – it means warrior. It was earned. Almost the only work that I found was in the army. I left when I found that the Aldmeri Dominion controls it tightly." Basmah knew about the naming prefixes used by the Khajiit, but she said nothing of it. He looked surprised as he stood up and found her almost hanging from his neck, looking into his face – where she left a quick and soft little kiss. "Then the kitten knows this one – the warrior - and she is grateful." He looked surprised and happy, "But ... why?" "I still draw breath, Do'Tanaht," she laughed, "I have met someone to know and like." She sighed, her smile never leaving her face or even lessening, "And you called me sweet kitten. I have not heard this since I was a girl. My father would say it to me, when he lived." He was standing now and so was Basmah. Her arms were still around his thick neck and she stood against him, not quite on her toes. She kissed him again and after a moment, he returned it and they both sighed. It was a first for him and so it lasted for a time. Basmah was trim from what she was and what she'd done, but she wasn't a thin birch sapling. She was about normal for a healthy, strong and fit Redguard woman. But next to Do'Tanaht – against him, she was almost draped over his front and she looked small. She sighed again and one of her feet lifted up behind her and she noticed it afterward, wanting to laugh. Well it was that kind of kiss. –––––––––––––––––– "But I have seen Khajiit people before," Basmah said as they walked across the rolling land toward the Khajiit camp, "I have never seen one like you, Do'Tanaht. Not as big as you, and certainly not as good to look at." He shrugged, "The wise ones in my village said that it was the moment of my birth and I understand it – as all Khajiit do. The moment of birth against the way the moons shine in the sky sets your life in many ways. The time for a Cathay birth was passing because my mother had trouble. The next way of the moons to that gives Cathay-raht. Larger than Cathays and stronger." He shook his head, "I was the only one like me in the village. But I saw others in the army, and Basmah, I was larger still. My parents are Cathays, like the ones that I travel with. My cousin is here also and her blood comes from the same people – the same family – and she is as the rest. Only I am this way." He smiled a little, remembering what Basmah had said, "As for how this one looks to you, he has nothing to explain it. Most of my kind think me dull and slow." Basmah shook her head, "Then they are wrong. I do not find you to be either. Only, I think that sometimes I must try to pull your thoughts from you a little to get you started. What I hear then is fine. There are far too many people in the world who talk and really have nothing to say. You are not like that, Do'Tanaht." He chuckled, "Thank you, then." She nodded, "I like it – since it leaves me plenty of room for my words." It hung there a moment and then he laughed. Basmah walked beside him and put her arm around his waist, thoroughly pleased at how the day had improved. "Are you ... she began a little clumsily, "Does this one have anyone? I mean ... is there someone ... " He smiled and shook his head, trying to speak more like the rest of the people here and less like a Khajiit, "I have my cousin Dyla, but it is only when there is ... I wish to say great need in us. We care about each other since we were kittens, but it is not what this one thinks that you mean. Is this trouble for you, Basmah?" An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 02 She shook her head, understanding it, "No. I don't mind. I know what it is to share something like that." –––––––––––––––- Ri'Saad gave Basmah good coin for the clothing and the weapons and she asked out of curiosity. He shrugged, "Such things have limited worth here in this cold land – but the value rises when they are offered for sale to ones who must live in the place where they are made to be. But this one will not be the one who sells it to them. Another of my clan will do that." He looked at the two of them for a moment, "Khajiit sees something here, he thinks. What it is, he is not sure, only that it is there." They talked a while and Basmah mentioned the reason why she'd come and the old trader knew a little of it and the history – which he told to Do'Tanaht. Basmah was offered a cup of hot broth and she gladly accepted as she sat near the ever-present fire in the Khajiit camp. Then she noticed that the one who'd given it to her was still there, squatting low across from her. It was a lovely grey female in light armour who looked at her inquisitively until she began to speak in a lilting tone, "Do'Tanaht is happy this day. This one has not seen him like this in a long time and she knows him well. He tells this one that he has made a friend. If it is so, then this one is pleased, very pleased, because she thinks that he needs ones like this." She smiled then, holding out her arm, "I am Dyla, and Do'Tanaht is my cousin." The Redguard seized the Khajiit's arm happily, "Basmah is my name Dyla, and I am happy also. I think that he would never say it, but to me, he saved my life this day in a way." She related the tale and Dyla nodded, smiling at the end, "Then he liked you from the first, Basmah. This one sees that you like him and she is a female – so she knows what lies at the bottom of it. She is happy for this also." After a moment, Dyla tilted her head, "This one may have a way to help Basmah, if it is desired. She has mated with Do'Tanaht when it was needed very much, so ..." Dyla's smile became a little coy and it caused Basmah to become at least a little in intrigued, "she can say what he likes if Basmah wishes to know of it." Basmah nodded a little eagerly. She found Dyla next to her almost instantly and their whispering talk together began. Do'Tanaht passed them a little later carrying some wood from a tree that he'd found blown over at the edge of the forest. He knew that at some point it would be wanted and the tree hadn't been lying on the ground long enough to begin to rot, so he was setting it aside for the next time that they came. As he walked by, he saw them together by the fire, squatting so close together that their legs touched. They had their arms around each other and they spoke quietly together with soft laughter escaping once or twice. That ended when they noticed him and they only watched him pass with the enigmatic smiles of girls who were sharing something which males wouldn't ever understand. He laughed and continued on. Looking back after a moment, he saw that their heads were together again and whatever it was about, they were back at it, whispering to each other with wide smiles. After a time, they stood up and Dyla looked a little sad, "Khajiit is a little saddened, for she would – " She laid her hand over her breast, "very much like to see it, maybe help if it was needed, but she hopes that it is not. This one is so happy herself for you." She hugged Basmah against her and Basmah returned the gesture – especially the rubbing of their cheeks together as Dyla whispered with her eyes closed, "We are cousins, Basmah. But this one has always cared for Do'Tanaht and his large heart. Some others might say too much, but they have not seen his troubles when they happened, so they do not know. This one cares for Basmah now also and wishes for it to be everything that is wanted by two that she likes so much. It is not this one's place to judge or say what is and what should not be. Only please, if it happens, care for him and be careful. Please never hurt him." They drew back a little so that they could look into each other's eyes and after a long moment, Dyla kissed Basmah softly. They stayed like that and after several seconds, Basmah drew back and nodded. "If it happens, Dyla, I swear that I will." Basmah found herself wondering over it long after she was alone again. After a while, Basmah said that she wanted to get her business in the city finished and she promised Do'Tanaht that she'd return right afterward. He nodded then and she left, walking quickly up the road toward the gates of the city. She didn't know it, but Ri'Saad was about to change everything for her without her knowledge for reasons of his own. He liked her and that was all well and good, but he was many miles from his supply point on the coast and he hadn't given Do'Tanaht a job only to see him wander away when he was needed. It might be love, but he was here for business. ––––––––––––––– The guards at the gate gave Basnah no trouble and she followed their directions to where they believed that a woman fitting the description that she gave might be found. "You're not the first one to ask after that woman," one of the guards said, "She looks as you do – a Redguard, but there have been men asking about her and wanting to come into the city. We tell them nothing and keep those ones out. We don't trust them and the way that they ask feels like a drink of water out of a jug which held fish oil in it before, if you take my meaning." Basmah was a little alarmed, though she didn't show it, "Then I think that you did rightly. No matter that they were Redguard also. It often pays to follow what one feels rather than sees. Are there no other Redguard people in the city?" The man shrugged, "A bare handful. One family with children and a married couple. We only let the couple stay because the woman is a skilled healer. Her husband is a useless fop who makes out like he's a wealthy landowner. That's all they've got but he makes out like the Jarl himself relies on his advice." ––––––––––––––––––––––––- Janus waited until the wagon stopped. "Here you be," the driver said, "The fine and beautiful city of Whiterun. Need any help getting your things down, lad?" Janus shook his head with a smile, "No, thank you, Gunnar. I've only got the two bags. I'll manage." He jumped down, glad for the chance to stretch his legs a little after the long ride. Walking to the rear of the empty wagon, he climbed up and removed his luggage. The driver had told him at the start that he had to sit in the back, but it took only a little talk about being eighteen, young and shy and on his own for the first time and feeling uncertain and ... And all of the other cowshit that he'd told the driver while he'd made doe eyes at the man to get a seat on the bench next to him. After that, it only took two times leaning down to suck the man's prick to keep his seat up there. Well, that and a quick fuck leaning over one of the front wheels by the side of the road. The one night in the bed at the inn in Rifton had just been for fun, since by then; Janus had grown to like the man a fair bit. He set his bags down near the rear of the wagon on the driver's side and he walked to look up. "Would you know the way to Arcadia's Cauldron? That's where I've got to go." The driver looked over, "Son, I'm just the driver. I go to almost all of the settlements, but I don't have the time to wander around inside every one. Maybe try the guards at the main gates. I'd bet they'd know." Janus thanked the man and picking up his bags, he began to walk up the low slope following the path. Gunnar watched him go for a few seconds before he turned and thought about getting a meal. He looked back once more and sighed. That boy had been better in a bed than almost any of the women that he'd ever had – and that was going some, too. If he'd known that boys like that even existed back in his day, he'd probably never have gotten married at all, not even once. He'd never known anyone who liked a good fucking as much as that one. Looking a little ahead, Janus saw several Khajiit walking down toward him roughly in single file. He knew enough about them to know that they had to stay outside the city walls, which is what they did, the mercantile ones anyway. They set their camps up outside the cities and traded their wares near to the gates. An important-looking one passed him by without a word, followed by some others. He looked along the line of them and he saw a shorter female at the end who was struggling a little under the load that she was carrying as she adjusted her armour at the same time. Janus was just eighteen by a week and this was his very first real journey anywhere on his own. He knew about the cat-folk, but he'd never seen one up close before. The girl before him came on, looking at her feet more than anything and muttering to herself quietly. She suddenly noticed that there was someone there and looked up at Janus. He tried not to stare, but to him, she looked lovely, with little tufts of fur at the tips of her upright ears – which were now sagging a little as she stared at him, little golden hoop earrings and all. She smiled and came closer. "Khajiit was not looking forward to traveling again in this cold land," she said softly with a pleasant purring tone, "But now she sees this one and hopes that he will stay in Whiterun for a time – at least until she comes back. She cannot wait to know him better." "I've just come today," he said, not believing that he was standing near someone this beautiful who seemed to like him, "I'll be living here for at least a while, I think. I'll be helping my aunt at her store, Arcadia's Cauldron. Do you know it?" "Khajiit are not allowed inside," she said, but then her smile changed, "But this one has been over the wall a few times at night. She thinks that she knows where it is." She was as tall as he was – which wasn't all that tall, and she looked to be a little heavier than him as well, though it was hard to tell with the armour that she wore. "My name is Janus," he smiled, "When will you be back?" Her furred hands reached for him and she pulled herself close enough to purr under his jaw while rubbing her face against his throat, "This one is called Dyla, Janus. And she is happy to think of when she comes back for she wants to make a friend now so much. It will be a fortnight for certain, maybe a day or two longer." His sudden erection was straining the front of his trousers. Dyla knew it was there. She reached to caress it once very slowly as she kissed him softly for a moment. The trader called her and she groaned, "Khajiit must go, Janus. Please, please be here when she returns?" He nodded with a smile and said that he would look for her every day. She nodded, saying that she would hurry if she could. Then she handed him back his purse of gold coins. "A lesson for you, Janus. Dyla meant her words and she wants to know you, but think of this and please be more careful." He stared at her and her smile widened as she blew him a quick kiss before turning to run to the others, who waited with annoyed expressions. She stopped then, thinking about her cousin and the sudden way that she felt. She decided that maybe it was just that kind of day or something so she ran back quickly to hug Janus for a moment and kiss him for nothing other than her want to. "Wait for Dyla and she will return to you, Janus. Yes?" He nodded, "I will wait, Dyla. I have to wait now! Please be careful on the road." She kissed him again, her fingers deep into his hair so that they groaned. Then she was gone, running to catch up. He watched her go, looking at her hips and her tail as she ran, seeing her hair and the trinkets there in it as it flowed behind her. When she joined the others, he could see that the important one had some hard words for her. She stood before him, patiently waiting to the lecture to end and when the trader turned to move on, Janus watched as Dyla looked back and waved with a grin. He became aware that he was grinning back like an idiot, but he didn't mind. He picked up his bags and walked on, fading erection and all, until he came to the guards at the gates. They let him pass after taking his name and he asked for directions. "Hard to miss Boy," the larger of the two said, "You just go straight up the road until you get to the marketplace. It's laid out as a circle. When you get to it, look right. You'll see two shops. Arcadia's Cauldron is the one to the left." ––––––––––––––––––– She made her way up the road to the Bannered Mare and stepped inside after pulling her hood up, taking a seat at a vacant table not far from the door to the place. Saadia was both busy and yet not so at the same time. It was one of those days for her it seemed. She didn't mind it since it made the day pass quicker. She liked working here for Holda – who always moaned to anyone who would listen that she was thinking of retiring and selling out to a woman named Ysolde. Nobody ever believed a word of it – especially not Ysolde. But Basmah knew none of that. She only sat and watched. It had been a while ... three years. Saadia noticed the hooded figure there near the door and made her way over when she could manage a second. She hadn't been born to this sort of thing and it was a huge change to her when she'd started here, but Holda had given her a chance back then and she was thankful, fitting into the roles of cook and serving girl completely now. "What can I get you?" she asked the person at the table, "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Both?" "An ale would go down well now," the figure said in a quiet tone, "Something tall and cold and ... have you got anything from Hammerfell?" At the name, Saadia looked over and tried to see into the hood, "Who are you?" "A friend, Iman," the voice said softly, "An old friend." Saadia's eyes grew wide, "Basmah? What are you doing here? And forget that name. No one here knows it." Basmah shook her head, "There are a few who do besides me, Iman. Is there someplace that we can talk? I have things for you to know – a few of them important to you, I'd guess." "Follow me," Saadia half-whispered, "and don't be obvious about it." Basmah nodded, "Alright, and do try to sound a little less like a bitch to me, Iman. I'm one of the very few reasons that you're still drawing breath girl, maybe the only one. I'd hate to think that after all of this time, you're not at least a little grateful." Saadia led her to the kitchen and from there, she pointed up the narrow stairs, "My room is through those doors. "I'll be up to see you in a little while. I have to tell Holda that I need a little time off my feet." Basmah nodded and walked up the steps. She sat on the bed and waited. In a few minutes, she heard footsteps and Iman walked in, handing her a mug of ale. "Now what's this about, Basmah? I really haven't got any money to pay you." "I can understand about not having gold and I'm not here for that anyway, Iman," Basmah said, "but for all of that, I'd appreciate a little nicer tone in the way that you speak to me." She leaned forward a little, "Because if you can't at least remember your manners pretty quickly, I won't tell you what you need to know, alright? I'll just make you temporarily happy by walking out of YOUR life for once and it will be forever." Iman inhaled and let it out wearily, "I'm sorry, Basmah. I've been on edge lately, that's all." Basmah nodded, "On edge. I've slept in ditches and fought to keep you safe, but you're on edge. Fine Iman, whatever you want. Now, I've got a few things to tell you. First, it's been more than three years since you came running up to me, too scared to even blink without being told to. You told me to help and I agreed. But if there even still is a House Suda at all anymore, I sure don't know where it is now. As far as I know, it's gone, Iman, all gone. My family was gone even back then. The last that I heard, the city of Teneth is still a ruin and nobody lives there. But my people always served yours and I figured it was the last time, you know? So I agreed to help cover you as you ran. A hundred and six, Iman. That's how many I've had to kill to keep the ones looking for you off your pretty neck. One hundred and six men, most of them Alik'r. I didn't do that all at once, just here and there in small groups at most. I've been all over this land doing that for you and I've lost three years of my life doing it. Our houses are gone, Iman. Our families too – at least mine for sure. I'm the only one left. If there still are any left of yours, they're probably among those who want to see you torn apart publicly in the square. When I agreed, I never said that I'd do it forever and today is the last day. I'll be on my way now." Iman nodded cautiously, "Alright. I guess that I can't ask you for more than that." Basmah shook her head, "You still don't get it, do you? You really couldn't ask me for what I did in the first place. I only did it out of ... I dunno, tradition and because we used to be friends once. Listen, did it ever pass though that space behind your eyes that I don't owe you anything? My house served yours, but that was over a long time ago before we were even born. I never served you. I wasn't born to it and I never swore the oath to you or anyone, so in case you never bothered to think it through, you never had the right to ask it of me in the first place. And you didn't ask. You ordered me to do it – like you owned me or something. You're still the same stuck-up thing you were back home. You never even asked yourself why, right? I don't know if all of the ones who want you skinned alive and pissed on have a legitimate reason. I've heard your story and after so long, I've got to tell you that I've got my doubts. But I don't care anymore. Through me, my family served yours one last time and now I'm tired." She sipped her ale and looked over, "And you've never bothered to even thank me. It wasn't us serving you anymore even then. We were kids together, friends. And I'll probably go to my grave without hearing anything like 'thank you' out of you." She set her mug down, "Fine, so be it. Listen carefully because this is all that I'll tell you. There were five Alik'r on the road today, headed this way and not four leagues from the gates. They're dead now. The city guards have been turning away Alik'r who've been snooping around, looking for word of a Redguard woman living in Whiterun under a false name. So they're already here and they're gathering. If I have to spell it out for you, Kemaatu is still out there and looking. That's what it means." She looked at Iman and gave her a very hard look for a moment. "I came to say goodbye, Iman. I came here to give you a last warning that they just might finally be getting a little close and I'm not going to be watching your back anymore." Basmah got off the bed and was almost out the door when Iman reached her, pulling at her arm, "WAIT! Basmah PLEASE!" Basmah looked back, "Wait for what? You bossed me around when we were children like you were some princess. You seduced me and made me love you – and then you only tossed me scraps after that. I've had nothing from you, not even your thanks over all these years. I'd have done anything for you – well, I have, haven't I? And what was in it for me, Iman? This is the first time that I've seen you in three years. I doubt that you've have ever looked to find out if I was even still alive. Three year's worth of muttering to myself while hiding in ambush in far worse places than you'd ever go for me." An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 02 She laughed bitterly, "Come to think of it, you probably wouldn't have walked across the road for me if I'd sent a courier here today." "Wait," Iman said, "I'm really sorry Basmah. I – I know I don't have any right to ask you for this, but I knew they were here very recently. The guards arrested one for sneaking in over the wall. They have him in the keep's cells. You could find out from him where Kemaatu is hiding." "I don't care where Kemaatu is hiding," Basmah said, "Weren't you listening? I only want one thing now – to live my own life without you in it." While Iman sat trying to process it, feeling the cold hand of fear on her heart, Basmah was down the stairs and gone. Iman took a deep breath after a few minutes and went downstairs as well, back to being Saadia the barmaid again. Basmah made her way back out into the street and smiled to herself. This just might work if she was careful. She asked for directions and walked. The only thing was that she knew that she had to deal with Kemaatu soon anyway. For sure, if they got to Iman, the first thing that she'd try to buy her way out with would be to offer up the name of the one who'd been killing them off for so long. Basmah knew Iman. She knew her well. She also knew that selling her former protector out wouldn't buy Iman a thing. –––––––––––––- When he walked in, his aunt was looking down, reading a recipe. She didn't miss a beat though, telling him to look around to his heart's content, sure that she had something for everyone. "It's me, Aunt Arcadia," he smiled, "Janus." She looked up and flew around the counter to hug him, "Janus!" She stood hugging him tightly for a moment and then she drew back to look at him, "Look at you, a fine grown man at last! We'll have to fight the women of this town off with sticks at least!" She hugged him again, "Ohhh, you feel so good to hold. I was worried while I waited for you." He smiled, "Mother sent the letter only a week before I left." "I know," Arcadia said, her words muffled from her face being pressed against his neck, "but I worried anyway. Have you eaten anything today? I can whip something together in a minute." He wondered when she was going to let go, and she wasn't showing any signs of it happening any time soon – since one of her hands had already made the trip down to caress his ass lightly. He sighed. So all of the family was this way. "No, but I'm fine for now. You don't need to make anything for me." It wasn't really what he'd have ever wanted, but he'd had to leave and his aunt had agreed to take him for a time so she could teach him her craft, so that he could run the shop in her absence. He was getting a little alarmed at the way that is aunt was working her hips, thrusting against him slowly. It was almost as though she wanted to start something. "Mother said that it was best for me to come," he said, "She told me that you were wanting to visit back home in Cyrodil for a while." She nodded, kissing his throat now, "It's been twenty years, Janus. I've got a good living here, but though I'm sure that I've fucked with every single guard and half the men in town, no one seems to want to keep me in their beds on a permanent basis and I'm running out of time to make a little one of my own." She sighed, "So it's going to have to be Father." Janus groaned, "Aunt Arcadia, are you sure that's what you really want?" She drew back and looked into his eyes, "No, but it's about all that's left for me. I've even gone out of my way to get nailed on nights when I knew that I was fertile, but so far, nothing. Why?" He looked uncomfortable. "There is a limit," he said, "You run the risk of making an idiot." Arcadia nodded, "It is possible, but look around. Half the men here are idiots." "There's more to it," he said, "Hasn't it ever occurred to you that there's something wrong with Grandfather? Look, he's your father and mine too – and my grandfather. You don't see anything wrong with that?" She smiled, "In some ways, yes. But it also gets me going a little to think that I've got such a gorgeous little brother as you." She was back to holding him tightly and pushing with her hips again. "Did Mother ever tell you the reason why I'm here – besides to learn how to man your store while you're making a kid with your own father? He was trying his best to get me to hold still for him!" "Well that's just wrong," Arcadia said as she took his hand to lead him back behind the counter, "though there's nothing wrong with a little family love, now and then. That's what our family has always done. All us girls know that it's best for our males to keep them flowing." Janus didn't reply. He hadn't minded helping his mother out now and then, but it had gotten pretty deep into stupid to his mind. He wondered who she was fucking now. Probably her dog, he thought with a smirk to himself. Or maybe the coat rack. "We can get started teaching you later today," Arcadia smiled as she reached into his trousers. "In the meantime, you've had nothing since you left home. I'm your aunt –" "And my half-sister," he sighed, wanting to remind her, but doubting that it would do any good, "Besides, It's only been a week and a day or so." "Never mind," Arcadia smiled up as she got to her knees, "I've been waiting for this, now that you're of age and everything." She leaned in to kiss his hardening prick; cooing a little over what she said was his 'good size'. Janus sighed, looking down as she began to suckle him really well. This was why he'd had reservations about coming here. It had been talked of all of his life as far back as he could remember. Once he'd understood it, he'd hoped that his aunt – who really was lovely – could and would find a man here. To hear his mother speak of it to him in her bed most nights, Arcadia's failure was due to the men in Whiterun being dull Nords for the most part and that was it. Personally, he wondered if the way that his mother and his aunt were so pushy didn't have a thing or seven to do with it. He ran his fingers into his aunt's hair and she moaned to feel it. She was lovely, he thought. But she was related to him in probably more ways than he even knew about, so this wasn't helping much. He just wanted to get this over with. As much as he liked getting sucked, it would be by someone else if he had a say in it. His thoughts drifted a little and he remembered the Khajiit girl. He really hoped that it all hadn't just been to set the stage for his eventual robbery. He hoped that he wasn't being just a young fool, but he did like her and he wanted to know her and her ways. His aunt began to make appreciative noises and Janus realized that his thoughts had driven ... He groaned loudly as he came into his aunt's mouth. She sucked and swallowed as fast as she could and in a little while, she licked every drop that had gotten away from her, eventually standing up to hug and kiss him. "I've waited eighteen years for that, Janus," she smiled, "You're a fine and virile man in our family. Thank you, I really needed that." "I know, Aunt Arcadia," he said softly, "I needed it too." He was lying and he didn't like it, but he didn't see any other way here. "I told you us girls in the family know what to do for our men," she smiled. He nodded, wishing with all of his heart that he could see the cat-girl again. Or maybe one of the males. ––––––––––––– Looking at Irileth the Jarl's housecarl in the main hall of the keep, Basmah said, "I've come to see the Jarl. I have information about the Alik'r warriors who keep coming around." Irileth shook her head, "I don't know what you're t-" Basmah said, "Yes you do – unless you're a really lousy housecarl. There's one in your cells downstairs right now. He's just the only one that you've caught. They come in groups, Irileth. The Alik'r are famed as scouts and sneaks – and they never, ever come alone. If your men caught one, then at least one other one got in and out again." That bought her an audience. It wasn't all that difficult convincing the Jarl that the Alik'r were a formidable force and even in pairs, he'd be losing guards over little other than trying to arrest them. It would be the next part of her plan that could very likely be tough. "There were five of them out on the road here today," she said, "You might need something a little more ... along the lines of what they are themselves in order to deal with them effectively." "And I suppose that you know someone like this?" He asked. "I've killed over a hundred of them by myself over the last while," she said with a small smile. "You can call it a personal thing if you want. My family's house was wiped right out of existence by them in the war, men, women, grandmothers and children," she lied, "They only missed one, but I've made that mistake hurt them, believe me." "What do you want out of this?" Irileth asked before the Jarl did. "Little from you here," Basmah said, "My companions and I would like to live here for a time at least. I've learned that the most powerful leader of the Alik'r is hiding near here somewhere. I just don't know where yet. I can probably get that out of the one in your cells, but he'll never talk unless I offer to give him something. From you, I need only two things. Let me give him his freedom. He'll run and never come back and –" "We're supposed to believe that he won't run straight to them?" The Jarl asked skeptically, "Is that your great plan? To follow him?" Basmah shook her head, "See, that's why you need me. You haven't got a clue about how they think and act. Going back to them would be worth his life and he knows that. He was caught. That means that to them, he's already dead and it's a one-way thing to them. If he runs to them, they'll kill him on principle, and then they'll be tipped off and hide even deeper. All I need from him is where they are. What I need from you is permission to free him in exchange for that – and I'll pay his fine myself because I want them that badly. After it's done, you give me and my companions permission to enter the city and live here quietly, that's all. If any more come, we'll deal with them for you." "And who are these companions?" Jarl Balgruuf asked. Basmah sighed, "That's the thing, my lord. They are two Khajiit if both come, though they're honest ones – very honest. I will certainly want to have one of them with me for this and both if I can manage it – and with your permission. I happen to have heard that you allow one Khajiit to live within the walls now. One of these – if you allow it – would probably be a little more ... visible, you might say, but he will trouble no one. On that, I give my word as an ... " She smiled sadly, "Ex-noble daughter and fighter of the ruined city of Teneth – a city which tore it's own heart out in a civil war because one side was aided by the Thalmor. It didn't buy them anything in the end, but Teneth lies in ruins still." ––––––––––––––- Kneeling in some shrubs which grew next to a few large stones, he shifted slightly, very slowly, trying to ensure that the cramped position which gave him the view that he needed didn't also cut off his circulation. Nothing like waiting and then suddenly needing to jump up and act only to find that your legs and feet have gone to sleep. It can be embarrassing ... if not fatal. In the middle distance, he was looking at rock formations, upon which were built the outer defences of the city of Whiterun. He saw bored-looking guards who looked out in his direction at times – when they weren't yawning or scratching their privates – or getting into conversations with other guards who should really have stayed at the posts which had been assigned to them. He and his companion were alright here, he knew. These dolts wouldn't recognise a threat if it bit off their balls. They didn't represent any potential trouble for the two of them. It was that they'd just gotten here and didn't know the lay of the land. Closer in was the problem – of one of them, potentially. There before him, he was looking at a clearing used by Khajiit traders, now empty save for one small tent, the usual Khajiit campfire, now much smaller than most usually kept it ... And one Khajiit, who sat near it, looking into the flames morosely. She was absolutely lovely, he thought, and it saddened him a little. If he moved much to change position, she'd notice the movement. She was a Khajiit, of course. The guards weren't a problem, but she was. It was only evening and not full dark yet. They could get past most people easily if it was nighttime. Even the excellent low-light vision of the Khajiit wouldn't be a problem in most cases. But they needed to get into the city somehow and if nothing changed very soon, they'd have to kill her. It was something that he would have hated to do, but ... He saw a motion up above along the wall. There was a lookout post up there, totally enclosed, but for some shuttered windows – openings in the masonry, really, and at least one door. There was someone up there, looking out. Without moving, he looked up slowly, his dark mask preventing the usual flash of a face which tended to draw the eye automatically in most people. As he looked, his pulse quickened and he began to stare as he silently counted to five before shifting his gaze slightly – again so as not to be noticed. He looked down slightly after that. It was her. She was looking out and down after a moment as though she was trying to see the Khajiit by the fire. Then she was gone and the window was empty. After a moment, the door opened and she ran along the wall, headed this way. He didn't know what it might have meant to her, but he knew what it meant to them, he and his partner here. Almost a year looking and now they'd found her. ––––––––––––––––- Basmah's talk with the prisoner had gone well, on balance. She was fairly confident that he didn't see anyone other than a female in armour which was unfamiliar to him wearing a cloak overtop with her hood drawn up and she was careful to hide her accent. He'd been reluctant at first, but she pointed out that he still had his fingernails, so if he wanted to be a prick about it, she'd be happy to teach the guards what to do and how. But she offered his freedom instead and gotten what she'd wanted out of him. Basmah had to force herself not to run on her way back to where the Khajiit were camped. She kept it down to a bare trot as she ran up some steps near the gates to the city and then ran along a wall, going higher on, onward until she came to a lookout room, walled on all sides and enclosed to keep the weather out. It was only used in times of war and possibly against a siege, so on one had been there for a long time, but she had the key. The jarl had met her more than halfway, granting access to her and no more than the two Khajiit and even giving them the place so look out from. Really, it was a room with a firepit, now that she looked at it, but it was better than sleeping outside. She ran out the other door and worked her way along the battlements to where the wall overlooked the Khajiit camp and she looked down. It wasn't what she'd have expected to see. They were gone. All of the tents and the Khajiit, even the skinning racks. All that was left was one small tent, the fire, now burned much lower, and one Khajiit. Dyla. She sat alone by the fire in the gathering gloom of the early evening, looking uncertain. She called down to Dyla and promised to be there in a minute. Dyla looked up and nodded and her relieved-looking smile almost gave Basmah's feet wings as she ran the rest of the way to her. ––––––––––––––– So the one they were here for knew the Khajiit out there in front of him. A little interesting, he thought, but another unknown for the moment. But it had been enough to give them the break that he'd been hoping for. The one that they were here for was coming down and the one out there was looking toward the place where she'd emerge. He motioned silently to his companion. They got to their feet and with a quick look at the guards; they sprinted to the rock wall in front of them. As busy as always and forever calculating and evaluating what was presented to them, they were now climbing the rock face, headed up the wall quickly, and ... A little pleased that they now wouldn't have to kill the pretty Khajiit girl for having the poor luck to be in their way. –––––––––––––- They hugged each other tightly, looking more like they'd been apart for a month before Basmah asked what had happened. "Where is Do'Tanaht?" Dyla looked very uncomfortable, "He is gone, Basmah. The master asked him many things about what he wished for and what he wished to do. Do'Tanaht said that he wanted to wait for Basmah, the friend that he'd made and the master said that Basmah would probably not return – because the people here do not trust Khajiit and will often tell them anything. Do'Tanaht said that he would stay if he could, and then the master said that he now had some trouble. There were not enough Khajiit to carry all that needed to be carried, if Do'Tanaht did not go with him. So the master offered Do'Tanaht more pay – much more pay – if he came with the rest. He told Do'Tanaht that he could return with them on the next trip and see Basmah then." Dyla looked down, clearly ashamed, "This one does not know what to say, Basmah. She - she tried to tell Do'Tanaht that you WOULD come back and what would you think to see him not here? That one looked uncertain for a moment and then he told this one that he wanted the extra gold and would come back on the next trip." Basmah's gaze dropped slowly, "I ... understand. But ... what is Dyla doing here?" Dyla looked up, her eyes blazing a little. She was silent for a moment and then she said, "This one must bear the shame of her family. Do'Tanaht is her cousin and he gave his word and now breaks it for gold. Dyla met Basmah this day and she likes her very much. She wants to know her and hopes that what her cousin did does not change things between her and Basmah." She looked down, "This one has left Ri'Saad's service over it. She asked for her pay and turned to come back to wait for you and say as she has told of it." Basmah was very disappointed and a little unhappy, but she was also surprised and pleased over what Dyla had done. She didn't like the fact that Dyla now had no job, but on the other hand ... She smiled, "Basmah found a friend this day, even still. This one if happy for it and ... " She looked at Dyla for a moment, "Dyla, you can fight, yes? You look this way to me. I will need to find someone in a day or maybe two and kill him, one at least, maybe more. Can you help me?" Dyla grinned and nodded, "This one is not as mighty as her cousin, but she can fight. She had her job with the master for longer that her cousin. With blades or a bow, she will stand beside you." Basmah grinned, feeling much better and she hugged Dyla tightly. "Thank you, Dyla. Thank you. This one knows her luck to have such a friend." "This one met a man just as Khajiit were leaving," Dyla said, "The master was angry with this one over it. Maybe this one can find the boy she met and liked. He told her that he would look for her. Dyla thinks that Basmah might like her, but if she can do things well, then two girls might have a male to play with even without Do'Tanaht." Basmah stared for a moment and then threw her head back and laughed, "Oh Dyla," she chuckled, "You must stay with me. You make me feel better more and more." Dyla looked around, "What is to be done here? Do we stay here?" An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 02 Basmah shook her head, "I was about to tell of my trip inside the walls. I made four stops," she said, "but I have been very busy for us, now that you are here and we are together." "Did you find the one that you sought?" Dyla asked, "Do'Tanaht said that you were looking for the one that you protected once. Dyla heard you tell it too. How did that go?" "Well enough," she shrugged, looking up with a smile that seemed to be stuck somehow, "From the guards at the gate, I learned that there have been others like those men here looking for the one that I was seeking out. They want to take her away to be killed. I have always known this. From her, I learned that one had been caught and was in a cell in the keep and that the leader of them is here in Skyrim, probably not that far from here, if he knows that there was a woman like he was looking for here. I went to see the Jarl in the keep and I convinced him that it would be best for everyone that those men be kept out. Then I went to see the prisoner and learned where they are hidden, those men." She tried to look sly – and failed at it completely, giving up at last to settle for laughing a little bit, "But the best thing, Dyla, the best thing is that I have arranged for us to stay here for a time and you are allowed into the city!" Dyla was amazed, but she shook her head, "This is never allowed, other than for Khali, the master's niece. You are sure of this?" Basmah nodded, "You have to be a good and honest one, since it was on my word, but I even have a place for us. It is not the best, no palace or anything, but it is a place out of the wind and rain and it has a small firepit to keep us warm." Dyla laughed and hugged Basmah again. Three minutes later the camp was truly abandoned, the fire smoking it's last under a blanket of sand. The tent was gone and they walked to the gates together. "The city's off-limits to cats,"Heimrick said with a pleased smile. "This cat is allowed, and I am here because I already knew that you' be the problem that you've always been, "the guard commander said as he stepped out of the shadows, "I was here and heard it as it was said to you and since you haven't failed me in being the ever-nasty fool, Heimrick is no longer a guard. I've heard nothing but complaints about you for weeks. The only complaints that I hear these days all seem to concern you – so I'm removing the problem. I'll have your cuirass, sword and helmet now." Heimrick drew his sword, but he found himself on his back in the road after Basmah swept his feet out from under him. She picked up the sword and the helmet, handing them to the commander before she took hold of the cuirass, unfastened the stays, and pulled it off him in one motion. He ran out through the gates in his undergarments, shouting, promising his revenge and that the commander and the Jarl were dead men. Basmah reached back for her bow and looked at the commander. The commander had never seen a bow like it, black ebony and of an interesting and involved shape. He took the threats a little seriously, but what drove him more was the want to see this warrior girl actually use the bow, so he nodded. Heimrick decided against turning right to run down the long slope when he saw Dyla already there, blocking him, her blades out and ready. He bolted straight ahead and was going to vault the low wall ahead of him. Basmah drew back her bow and released. The long and thick arrow caught Heimrick just in the lower back, but since he was bent forward at the time that it reached him, he was skewered from there to where the arrow came out under the chin. He disappeared over the wall and Basmah began to walk toward the wall. "You don't think he'll get far," the commander said more as a statement. Basmah looked at him, "Probably not. I want my arrow back. They cost a bit." She vaulted the wall in the same place and they heard a horrific scream before Basmah climbed back over the wall and walked up to them again. The other guard looked incredulous, "He was still alive after that?" Basmah shrugged, "Then. Not now, and I got my arrow back, which is more important than he was to me." The commander smiled, "I think that maybe we're using the wrong people as outer guards. I need to speak to the Jarl of this." Turning to them, he grinned, "You've given me an idea. Safe travels and welcome to Whiterun." ––––––––––––––– "Where do we go?" Dyla asked as they walked up some stairs. "To our little room," Basmah smiled, "I have the key and we can leave most of our things there. We can get a meal without carrying our packs and your tent." Outside, the evening was coming on and the shadows had lengthened a time ago, so now it was just the deepening gloom. Inside the watchpost where they were to stay, it was already dark with no fire to illuminate things. The key turned in the door and Basmah led the way inside. "Here we are," she said with a smile, "Home for us for the next while. I was in here before for a few moments, only long enough to see the view from the windows there and for a quick look around in here. It's pretty clean, though we'll want to sweep a bit tomorrow, I think – once I find a broom somewhere." "This one thinks that it is nice here," Dyla smiled as she set her things down against a wall, next to Basmah's. Basmah was already taking her armour off, wanting to wear something softer, like the fur armour that she preferred for it's silence – and also because it was warmer and she liked the way that it made her feel. Dyla understood it right away and began to do the same. "And we are where no one can see," she smiled. Basmah nodded as she stepped over and took Dyla into her arms, kissing her softly for a moment, just well enough to cause Dyla to moan softly once. "It is a shame about Do'Tanaht," Dyla said, rubbing her face against Basmah's cheek slowly, "This one wanted to see Basmah learn about playing with a Khajiit boy." Basmah shrugged with a little smile in the darkness, "Basmah knows about playing with Khajiit boys. This night, she hopes to learn about playing with a beautiful Khajiit girl." They pressed up against each other and soon, Basmah had Dyla backed up against the wall, grinding herself against her slowly as their tongues danced together through their lips. "Where did this one learn these lessons?" Dyla sighed, "About playing with a Khajiit boy, she means." Basmah spoke softly in the darkness, "My family was a noble house in the old city of Teneth. Besides being wealthy from their business dealings, they had always been famous in the military there. I don't know what became of him during the fall and ruin of our city and the lands around in the war, but I had a twin brother. From the time that we could pick up and hold wooden practice swords, we trained." She leaned in to kiss Dyla for a moment, "And, "she rolled her eyes, "from not long after that, he and I were doing things that we probably shouldn't have been with each other. One day, I looked out over the large pier that we had near our home and I saw some people – prisoners, I thought then – standing lined up there. It was unusual, so I went to see what it was about. The whole thing was from a business conquest of our parents. Everything of value came to us. The house in question kept slaves, so without an answer to what was to be done about them, they came to us also. My house never did that, so then after hearing of it, I became even more curious and went right down there to look for myself. I was never the kind of girl who stayed inside and had no interest in the world outside. What I learned was that the slaves had been freed by my father and he'd invited others from the larger houses to come and see – and what was happening was that the former slaves were meeting the people from the other houses and they were being offered work – paid work like anyone else as servants and staff, so it worked out well, from what I could see. But there was one which no one was speaking to or about. He was a Khajiit boy about my own age and he looked almost afraid, not knowing anything of what it was about. So I went to him right away. I knew very little of your language and he knew almost none of mine, but Dyla, I swear that I fell in love with him right there." She smiled, "I don't mean like that. I mean that my heart went to him and I wanted to help. I have always been a little headstrong, I guess. So I took his hand and told him a few times not to be afraid or worried and that everything would be alright." She laughed a little, "Dyla, I had no idea if it was so – but I was determined that it would be for that boy. I took him to my father. He smiled at me and I think now that he was setting me a little test. He asked me what I wanted to do for that boy. I had no answer that instant, but I looked at him and I fell even more in love with him then – and this time, I mean in a young girl way for he was beautiful to me. His ears were tall and his fur – all over him from what I could see – was black as the night, shiny gleaming black. It was something that I'd never seen before." Dyla nodded as she held one of Basmah's breasts, taken with the smooth furlessness and beauty, "It is unusual. I have seen the little cats around in this land, black furred ones, far more than ... I have never seen a Khajiit who was like this. Always there is something, some patch or part that is something else – even if it is a soft pattern in the fur. Never all black." "From my lessons," Basmah said, "I learned that Khajiit are excellent sneaks, which is something that my family regarded highly in our soldiers." She beamed, "So I thought of this and said to my father that he ought to be trained just as my brother and I were. You should have seen that boy's eyes when he found out! If a Khajiit can be happy and a little scared at the same moment, that was what he was. His name was Mu-Jinn and that afternoon, I took him to meet my brother and we became fast friends and loyal between us." She shrugged, "So to answer your question ... We took him with us everywhere and we did everything together. He learned very, very fast and my parents never had a reason to doubt that taking him into our family was not the best thing for us all. It caused a bit of a stir, but he was adopted into our family as soon as it could be done, so then I had two brothers." She looked into Dyla's pretty eyes for a moment, "The greatest joy of my whole life was that I knew in my heart that I already had my great loves in those two. We all loved each other very much. We were all the same age and when we were old enough, we played together that way, all three of us. My brother and I were very close – probably too close for some, but in our family it was allowed as long as we were careful not to make babes. My parents caught us at it many times." Dyla stared a little and then she laughed, "So you had two boys? Your brother and ..." Basmah nodded, "And my adopted brother, for that was really what it was, but that is not quite correct, Dyla. Between us three, we were all the same. The boys played with each other too. We were that close and we all loved each other fiercely. There were some there who always tried to make fun of Mu-Jinn. Someone knew enough of Khajiit names to call him Do'Mu-Jinn as a joke." "Oh, that sounds so good!" Dyla smiled, "This one was so lucky. What happened then?" Basmah's eyes dimmed a little and she said, "The war happened. At the end, when I left Teneth to make my way alone, I'd lost them. They sometimes had other duties from me and one day, they were not among the ones who came back. I ran out alone, as stupid as it was to do, but I couldn't help it, Dyla. I searched everywhere and I looked at all of the bodies that I could see and I didn't see them among the dead either." Across the room in the darkness, two pairs of eyes were watching and listening. Basmah's voice became rough, "I lost the most important people to me, all in a week or so. Our house fell and my parents were killed. I went from a noble daughter of Teneth to being a nobody from a shattered and torn city in a week. I was on my way out, trying to claw my way through everything and I was empty inside of me. After a fortnight, I had no more tears left in me to cry. I wasn't able to think clearly anymore, I could only react." She shook her head, "And that is when the one that I have been protecting came to me to ask for my help – well, to order me to help her. She always was a complete shit in that way, always thinking herself to be so high. If I'd been myself at the time, I'd have laughed in her face, but before I knew it, I'd agreed to help her! I've regretted that for years. If my house is gone, who the hell was she to me? Who was she to even think of it?" Basmah groaned, "I just might kill her myself one day." Basmah felt the air in the room shift somehow and she spun around, placing herself in front of Dyla as the pair of them watched two shadows slowly detach themselves from the inky darkness at the other end of the room and begin to approach very slowly and absolutely silently. Basmah dove for her blades, but before she could turn, there were hands holding her wrists fast and a whispered voice said "Hold," in the old Redguard tongue from very close by. Basmah stared up, frozen in place. "An interesting tale," the hissing voice said emotionlessly in the common tongue, "one that few know, much less know well at all." "Who are you?" Dyla asked, reaching for her own weapons. "Do not move, lovely one," a different voice said softly, "This is already sad enough. Your life was spared once this day already. Do not throw it away now." The figures seemed to loom closer to the females and in the darkness; they saw black cloaks and black hoods above them. Where the faces ought to have been, they saw only eyes shining softly. "We were sent," one of them said, "To hunt one who has been killing Alik'r fighters for some time, all alone in lonely and deserted places. You should know that the ones who sent those men to seek for another call for your blood." "In another part of this land," the other one whispered, "A chapter of the Dark Brotherhood was contacted to hunt and kill you. Six members were sent – the whole coven - one at a time to search in different places, looking for a mighty warrior. We were contacted, and we take an even higher fee though it is in gold and it is before we act. We were sent to hunt you also." Dyla had her hands on the hafts of her blades now and she was waiting for the moment when she'd pull them. She thought that it could happen that she'd die here, but she already knew that her life would go nowhere unless she was with Basmah. The hope that she had made the thought at least bearable. She was coming to love Basmah and nothing had even happened between them, but it didn't matter to Dyla. She wanted to know Basmah, really know her and she wasn't about to let a pair of shadows come in the way of that. "They will kill you," she hissed as softly as she could. Basmah turned her head only a little, "I don't think so – or we'd be dead by now. Wait." The second one heard it and nodded, "We do not speak if we bring death. What for? Why make it take longer than needs be?" "If there is an end to this," Basmah said from behind gritted teeth, "then I would hear it now. My friend and I are hungry." "The end," the first one said, "is that one by one, the Dark Brotherhood perished in even lonelier places in this world. You are safe – for at least the moment. How much longer you remain so is the question. We cannot predict the future." Basmah stared, leaning forward after a moment to try to see better, "Who ...?" "Greetings," the first one said very softly, "sister." They sheathed their weapons and released Basmah's hands, stepping back a bit to reach for their hoods. Basmah looked as though she might faint, thinking that she was looking at a pair of ghosts " ... O- Omar?" Across from them, the pair stood with smiles on their faces, the Redguard one nodding, "Here, Basmah." She flew to them with a cry and crashed against them, weeping loudly. Dyla blinked, not understanding any of it. Basmah tried very hard not to cry, but she did anyway, sometimes laughing at the same time. One of the two detached himself from the others and stepped forward slowly. Dyla saw tall ears standing up and as he came nearer, she saw coal-black shining fur and a pair of feline eyes regarding her with hopeful good humor for a moment. "Khajiit wishes to know this one and is sad only that there is no warm sand beneath our feet in this cold land. A pleasant beach and warm blue water, a small fire and some good food would be this one's want to learn of such beauty as this one sees now." A furry male hand came forward, seeming to hang in the air between them for a moment. Dyla reached for it. "This one needs to know much more, sweet-talking one, but she has hopes to learn of it." Dyla grinned at last. "This one is Dyla." "An honor to be sure," the voice purred in a low tone, "This one is called Do'Mu-Jinn." ––––––––––––––- "So at last," Omar said, "after living very poorly and searching for you for over two months and finding nothing, we found a boat and we came to be in the service of the province of Elsweyr for a time, and there, Mu-Jinn earned his name." Basmah looked across and smiled, "Truly Do'Mu-Jinn now. I am so happy to see my brothers again!" "You spoke of hunger," Omar said, "You know this place? Where can we find a good meal?" "Only a little as yet,"Basmah nodded, "Shall we go?" They entered the gates and made their way up the hill and reaching the top at the marketplace, Dyla looked over. "There is the place where the man this one met will be. The lights are on inside." She turned to Basmah, "This one does not know the ways of these people well. It would be a bad thing to see if he is here? Khajiit only wishes to look at him a little and tell him that she is here so he does not have to wait." Basmah nodded, chuckling, "Dyla still makes me laugh. You are here with two fine men and one is even Khajiit, but go on and see what you must. If the door is unlocked, that usually means that the shop – any shop – is open for business." ––––––––––––––- They walked back out three minutes later with wide eyes between them. The door opened after them and Janus stood there, holding up his trousers, "Dyla, wait!" Dyla spun around and she had her hand on his throat, her claws out just enough to make her feelings known, "Khajiit does not want to wait. Khajiit does not want to know this one. Never speak to this one again." She pushed him so that he reeled back inside and she rejoined the others. Behind him, a female voice called, "Janus, come back to the bed. They are only cats. What do you want with them? You have a live and warm Imperial here to love with. Who could want for more?" Janus nodded, closing the door. "I would," he muttered to himself, careful that his aunt didn't hear it. "Not what this one thought that she would see, but she is glad to know it beforehand," Dyla muttered as she took Do'Mu-Jinn's arm again. The others nodded, "He called the woman 'Aunt Arcadia,'" Basmah said in a low voice, "He was fucking with his aunt." "Let him do it then," Dyla smirked, "as much as they want. Khajiit does not care what they do." She looked a little uncertain then, "Where will this one sleep this night? She does not wish to be in the way of things." Basmah grabbed Dyla's hand, "I think that I know just the place! This one," she pointed to herself, "thinks that she knows where Khajiit belongs. If Do'Mu-Jinn and Omar have no trouble with it, Basmah has only one question." An Unlikely Alliance Ch. 02 Do'Mu-Jinn looked a little puzzled, "Khajiit has no trouble. Why would he have trouble?" He looked at Omar, "Do you have trouble, brother?" Omar looked confused, "None at all." Do'Mu-Jinn laughed, "You see? There is no trouble. We are happy to have such a pair with us. If Basmah means after, then this one says the same thing. He would be happy. What is this question?" Basmah chuckled, "It is for Dyla, and not for Do'Mu-Jinn, now that he makes this one smile like a fool once more after so long." She turned to Dyla, "He always made this one do that." Dyla laughed and nodded, "It is one of this one's favorite things about him, she is learning. What must Dyla say to answer Basmah?" Basmah stepped close to them all, knowing that there was a guard stationed right there, not a dozen feet away and her voice dropped to a low whisper, "Does Basmah's friend Dyla wish something with her friend and her friend's brothers?" She looked over into Dylas' eyes, "Does Dyla like this one like that? If it works and it is good and wanted, Basmah would be very happy like that, she thinks." Dyla's mouth fell open smiling and she looked at Do'Mu-Jinn and Omar with a laughing smile, "Basmah, only the master thinks this one is that stupid." She stepped between the males, "Does this one look confused in the least? Basmah, to think and hope of knowing you that way and also with the finest males that this one has ever seen before ..." "Lead this one away," She laughed, " She is already happy." ––––––––––- "Don't feel bad when we walk in," Basmah said quietly as they walked up the road to the inn holding hands between them, "People might stare and one or two might even say something. But you're here and you have a right to eat a meal, since we've the gold for it." Dyla nodded, "This one understands. She will be no trouble." Do'Mu-Jinn nodded, "But will you not feel bad over it? I am used to this, Basmah. " Basmah grinned, "Bad? What for? I've got my friend Dyla and my lost brothers with me. I know who I'll be leaving with. I know where I'll be sleeping this night." She looked up and winked, "And if this wonderful day holds just one more kindness in it for me, I know who I'll be sleeping with, too." –––––––––––––––– Things in the inn got a little quiet as they walked in through the door and took the same table where Basmah had been sitting earlier. Saadia stared and then ignored them. They waited for a time, and then Basmah got up and walked to the bar. She looked at Holda, "We are here to eat and drink a little in peace and then we'll go. We have enough gold to pay like anyone else. Why can't we be served? Jarl Balgruuf gave his permission for us to come inside the city. Is there something wrong?" Holda shook her head, "No friend, nothing is wrong." She looked away across the inn, "SAADIA! There are customers here. Come here and serve them." Basmah looked at Saadia – who was glaring daggers at her - for a moment and then she smiled at Holda. "Just so that you know. I cannot foretell the future at all, but unless I miss my guess, Saadia will tell you – after I am sitting there once more – that I am not to be trusted and that I am a thief, and all manner of things. We come from the same place and knew each other as girls. When she says all of those things, please just nod and tell her to serve us anyway and ..." She reached into her pocket, "please give her this gold piece for me as a tip ahead of time. Tell her that it's more than she ever gave me and to please just calm down." She smiled, "And if she faints, you could just serve us yourself and in that case, please keep the gold piece." She sighed, "We just want a good meal before we go to sleep at the end of a long day." "You don't mean her any harm?" Holda asked, "I like Saadia and she always works hard for me here." "Not at all," Basmah smiled genuinely, "I have no reason to wish her harm. We just didn't part on good terms, her and I, that's all. But I hold it as being in the past and nothing to ever be bothered over. Look, if our being here is such trouble, please tell me where we might find a good meal at this time of the day and we'll leave to spend our coin there instead. I'll just mention to the Jarl that it caused you trouble the next time that I'm speaking to him." She ordered four bottles of ale and paid for them and then she walked back to her table. There was another woman there chattering to Do'Mu-Jinn and Dyla. He looked a little uncomfortable. She looked a little annoyed. Omar sat looking around. Basmah knew that really, he was listening closely. "My name is Ysolde," the woman said, "And your companion said that she knows Ri'Saad the trader! I've been trying to get an in with him for a long time. I'm very sympathetic to the Khajiit and their troubles and – " "And you're sitting in my seat," Basmah said with a little smile. Ysolde apologized and got up but she was back a moment later, carrying the chair that she'd been sitting in before. She set it down next to Do'Mu-Jinn and almost leaned against him, "Anyway – " "Ri'Saad has gone," Basmah said, "I'd guess that he might be back in a fortnight or so. Have you gotten to names yet? This one's name is Omar. This lovely female is Dyla. And here we have Do'Mu-Jinn. Do you understand the 'Do' prefix Ysolde?" She shook her head, "Well I know that 'Ri' means a leader, but – " "'Do' means a warrior," Basmah smiled, "Not a trader, if that's your interest. Dyla was only there to provide muscle in case they were attacked on the road. Do'Mu-Jinn does not know Ri'Saad at all and has never met him." "He's ... large for a Khajiit," Ysolde smiled. Basmah shook her head, "If you want to know the Khajitt, Ysolde, I mean really know of them, then you have to learn that there are many different kinds. Most Nords only ever see one of them, Cathays. Do'Mu-Jinn is a Cathay-raht and they're bigger." She smiled, "And earlier today, I met an even larger one. We're going to be staying here for a time, completely unrelated to Ri'Saad and his caravan, I'm afraid. My boyfriends don't know Ri'Saad. My girlfriend knew him, but no longer works for him. None of us have anything to do with trading in any way. I'm Basmah, by the way. We're here for our evening meal, unless there's something ...?" Ysolde stared, "Your ... boy ... friends and your ...?" She looked at Do'Mu-Jinn and he smiled back at her with a little nod. Omar leaned forward, putting his chin on his raised hand with a small smile, "They keep us busy." Basmah nodded as she took Dyla's furry hand, "We like it when all of us are busy." Ysolde watched as Basmah opened her mouth and began to suck on Dyla's little finger, her eyes never leaving Ysolde's. "Girlfriend, yes," Dyla smiled with a soft sigh as she put her head against Basmah, "Khajiit do not like to be cold at night. You would know it, this one thinks, if you knew them well. Perhaps this lovely Nord girl would like to learn of it? By ... touch?" "Oh," Ysolde said, "I'm sorry to disturb you. It was ... good to meet you. I didn't know that ... Khajiit could ..." "Well they can," Basmah smiled helpfully. "Often," Dyla added, looking Ysolde in the eye evenly, "These ones will probably all sleep in a large ball - after it is finished between us for another night. Does this one wish for a place in the bed with us?" Ysolde leaned back in her chair, looking shocked, "No, I ... that is, I mean to say ..." Basmah chuckled, "Good to meet you too Ysolde, and have a pleasant evening, won't you?" Ysolde nodded as she stood up and backed away a step. She mumbled her farewell and almost ran out of the door. "Thank you, Basmah," Do'Mu-Jinn said with relief as she handed him a bottle, "I have never heard anyone who could speak so fast! She put her hand ..." Basmah smiled, "Really? Did you like it?" He shook his head, his eyes large at the memory. "Yes." The girls laughed and he grinned then. Omar had gotten up and was now coming back with the mug of mead that Ysolde had forgotten. He sat down and looked into the mug as he swirled it around gently, "Mostly full, "he shrugged, "Not a complete waste, anyway. What was that about? Do you know that girl, Sister?" Basmah shook her head, "No, but I saw her in the marketplace today and I heard her tell other people in conversations that she was trying to get into the merchant's trade. I have an idea that might be good for us - and her." "Did this one really want to play with her?" Dyla asked with a slightly hopeful smile, "Dyla liked her in a way, but she is SO tight in her nerves, This one sees it in her shoulders. I saw that you were teasing her, so Dyla played along." "I was teasing to get her to bugger off at first, because I was annoyed at how she just wandered over making eyes at the boys," Basmah nodded, "But then I saw inside of her a little and I remembered her in the markeplace." She looked at Dyla and kissed her quickly with a grin, "Then I saw the, I dunno, sultry look in the way that you were laying out your own tease and ..." She shrugged, "I could see us doing many nice things with each other and Ysolde in the middle. I think she needs a really good fucking. She'd feel a lot better for it. She might come back, who can say?" "Dyla knows that she could need a really good -" She stopped when she felt Do'Mu-Jinn take her hand and squeeze it very softly. She looked across the table and he looked so good to her. The little smile was gone and it was as though the room and it's goings on were forgotten and far away. His eyes locked onto hers. Dyla groaned softly as she watched him nod to her slightly once. "Khajiit will not forget Khajiit, my new sister. This one sees that you trust in Basmah as this one trusts in Omar. It is the same. This one was raised far from Elsweyr, but he has not forgotten what fur against fur means to our kind. He thinks that we go together from here, all four, but Dyla will never want for what she needs." Dyla smiled, her eyes shining as she returned his subtle nod, "Thank you, Brother." The moment passed and Omar sipped Ysolde`s mead as he looked at Basmah, "My sister has always had a way to mix pleasure with business. Usually it ends well and becomes pleasurable business." He looked into the mug for a moment, "With a lot of good fucking, Dyla." Dyla looked at Omar and saw another set of qualities, some far different from those she could see in Do'Mu-Jinn. He was smoother in some ways, very polished and if it was needed, he could manage to exude sophistication. But it wasn't what she saw in his eyes now as he looked over the rim of the mug. His dark eyes spoke volumes to her heart in one instant. She'd never had a human male before, but she knew now that she had one whenever she wanted. And she knew absolutely that she wanted these males. "Then Dyla feels joy to know Omar," she nodded. Dyla looked around for a moment, "Want to sit on Omar`s lap, Do`Mu-Jinn`s too. Too much familyness here. Too much nice. Too much light to see by." "I know" Basmah said with a little grimace, "If you take the good food out of it – which we haven't had any of yet – this place doesn't have enough closeness in it by a wide measure. Not for what I feel in us four, anyway." Dyla nodded, "Yes. Look, all of you, this one is here alone without Basmah. Basmah has been alone for a long time. She has brothers again. so I say she also has Dyla." There was a slight challenge in Dyla's eyes and also something more. Do'Mu-Jinn took her hand in his again and nodded, "So Dyla has brothers too. This one understands what was meant." Dyla took Do'Mu-Jinn's hand in both of hers and kissed it, happy that it had been spelled out and declared. "It doesn`t matter," Basmah said, "she`s gone. She might be back, though. I did see the want in her eyes. She just has to get herself past the `Nice girls don`t DO that` side of her head." Dyla grinned, "Dyla hopes that it happens. She looked like she has a better place to sleep that we do and now Dyla thinks that she would like to see her between our boys." "Our boys?" Basmah smiled. Dyla nodded with certainty, "Yes." She leaned forward, her finger making a wide arc around the table, "Look at us all. I see much. Handsome males who must surely have ... the way to make females groan only to look. Dyla knows that she CANNOT be the only one to feel this." She looked at Basmah, "Smoky eyes to make girls weak, I see in Basmah. Dyla does not have this, but she has eyes to weaken girls too. Khajiit girls learn early to show interest and mystery with their eyes while their hands take gold quietly." "You're forgetting the two girls who can make males almost fall down when they only walk, "Omar smiled softly, "If we are your boys, then ..." Dyla grinned, "You have your girls. What does Basmah say?" Basmah nodded as she sipped her ale, "I say that I've been waiting for you to make it plain like this, Dyla." She groaned quietly, "We're going to need a room soon, I think." "I really liked the sleeping in a ball thing that Dyla said," Omar smiled. Dyla laughed, "Dyla meant a heap, a pile, not a ball. Balls aren't for sleeping." Before all of the responses that her remark had ignited even came out, Saadia came over then, "What do YOU want?" "Four dinners, all hot beef and easy on the poison, please," Basmah smiled pleasantly. "That's not what I meant," Saadia began, "shouldn't you be –" "It's what I meant," Basmah said, a little pointedly, "We're here for a meal, nothing more. I shouldn't be anywhere but where I am, which is here, still waiting for a little service." Saadia shook her head, "What about –" "Our dinners?" Basmah asked, "Yes, as I said before –" "I mean Kemaatu," Saadia hissed. "I mean four meals," Basmah hissed right back, leaning over; "I don't know what you're talking about. I've got money; I can come here and buy what I want – which is a few hot meals, alright? Look, if you're a little slow today, this is the extent of our relationship now. I order what I want and you bring it to me. What's hard about that? Outside, you don't even have to look at me at all if you see me on the street, but in here, you do what I want. That's it, as simple as I can make it for you." "Why are you doing this?" Saadia asked, looking hurt. Basmah sighed, "Oh shut the dam. I know you, remember? We're here because they sell good food here. We're hungry. We have money. What's the problem?" Now, can we get service out of you tonight or not, Princess? Just say the word, and we'll leave – after I complain to your boss." "I won't make you anything," Saadia said, "Get out." Basmah stood up and walked over to the bar. To Holda, she apologized, "I'm sorry, but Saadia has refused to serve us. Sorry for the trouble." "Hold on, dear," Holda said, "How do you know Saadia?" Basmah looked back and still saw the daggers so she said, "It's a long story and it's not my place to tell it. Her name is not Saadia. Ask her about it if you want to hear a good lie. She does that very well and so easily. I have grown tired of protecting her. We wanted four of your best beef dinners – the ones which cost the most. But we are tired and want none of her games anymore. Goodnight to you." They hadn't even reached the door when they heard Holda yell, "SAADIA! I WANT A WORD WITH YOU!" –––––––––––––––– They wandered down the road to the Drunken Huntsman. The evening had come on and it was a little cool and damp. Basmah put up her hood. "I can see that I'm going to be buying all of our food in the market if this nonsense keeps up," Basmah grumbled, "I'm very sorry about all that." "What was it?" Dyla asked, "This one could see that you were getting angry." Basmah sighed, "I liked the way that it smelled in there when I went to see the serving girl earlier. She's the one that I was protecting. That's over now, but even after all of it, I think that I was hoping that just once, I might hear her thank me. But she didn't and that's all." "It's Iman," Omar said gently, "She always was a self-important fool." Do'Mu-Jinn nodded, "Iman would never have served us, sister. You know that. Think that to her, it would never do for a Suda to serve three Khajh such as us." Omar nodded, "None of that is left, but that changes little to Iman. I'm surprised that you didn't tell her that if she didn't serve us, that you would tell the Alik'r yourself. It is what I would have done – unless she wanted to buy me off with a tumble in her bed to buy my silence. I wouldn't do that part of it, but it would be nice to see her agree before I reminded her that she has fallen a long way." Basmah sighed, "I hope that I don't know anyone in this other place and just the name puts me right off, to say the truth of it." They all looked surprised as Ysolde came walking up to them. "Hello again," Basmah smiled pleasantly. "Hello," Ysolde smiled, "I went back to the Bannered Mare to look for you, but you were gone. Holda is screaming at her serving girl now, so I didn't stay. Who wants to listen to that? And anyway, you weren't there. I was thinking about what you said Dyla, and ... I .. I, uh, think that ..." Dyla stepped over to Ysolde, "Shhh pretty one, we stand here in the road at night. Who wishes to bargain at such a time? Has this one had her meal yet?" "No," Ysolde said, "I was a bit shocked at what you said and I left. I think that I was almost home before I realised that I'd completely forgotten to eat!" Dyla nodded and took Ysolde`s hand, bringing it to the middle of her chest, "Speak low and softly to this one. She has the same heart as you – a girl`s heart can hear another`s very easily. Speak to this one and she will listen and know what is wanted. Now say it truly, was it the shock, as this one says – or was it perhaps a pleasant little feeling, a quiet hope – over what she might have?" Dyla purred as she kissed Ysolde once and left a soft lick on her lips. Ysolde wasn't sure how she ought to feel at this. She lost whatever she thought that a respectable Nord woman ought to think as her tongue came out to lick her own lips. She looked around at them. Dyla was smiling. Actually, they all were. Omar was doing the best job at looking mildy interested and Do'Mu-Jinn looked to be very interested indeed. Basmah seemed to be having a little trouble trying hard not to appear delighted. Ysolde just couldn't really tell which ... of them had their hands on her ass out here in the road. She decided not to care, since it felt so good. "That one, "Ysolde hissed, "The second one. The pleasant-feeling one. Can we?" "Not on empty stomachs surely," Basmah smiled, "Lets get a meal first and we can get to know each other better." Ysolde was about to agree when Dyla stepped before her again and leaned in, rubbing her face against Ysolde's neck. "This one likes Ysolde so much, " she purred softly, "She hopes that Ysolde would like to have Dyla's body against her. Khajiit girls know how to fuck with another girl. It is a gift which comes in our nature." Dyla's hand was already on Ysolde's breast and it was working magic for the Nord woman right through her clothing. "With a little care and the right words, such a lovely one could have two Khajiit and two Redguards for her love tonight, and if you know of it, the prick of a Khajiit can bring it's own wonders." Ysolde groaned, "Yes ... I've heard that. ... I've heard that getting some with a Khajiit boy always makes a girl scream every time." She heard Dyla's sweet giggle just as she felt the furry face rub itself higher on her cheek. "It is so. Truly, Ysolde will cry out in her joy when she feels this.