#sorry the driver ended up maybe a bit smallish?

[eliasdrid]

2nd AF attack of the year for @ponatofromspace ft. Kamen Rider Nebula!

[wooyounghwa]

eye contact . song mingi

description: you lose your job. it’s pouring rain. mingi makes you feel better <3

warnings: smut, cheating, oral (f+m receiving)

words: 4.1k

note: this is my first smut in a long time so it’s ehh and i didn’t expect to post anything like this on this account!! pls give me ur feedback

-

“so, we have to let you go.”

your lower lip threatened to tremble, so you pressed it against your top one before nodding and looking up at your boss from your seat.

 the company you’d been working for for years was losing money fast, so they had to lay off a lot of workers, but you didn’t think you’d be one of them.

it was obvious your boss was getting a little bit upset too, it most likely wasn’t his decision, but you weren’t gonna let any of these people see you cry.

you nodded a few times to internally reassure yourself while the two of you sat in silence, picking yourself up out of the chair across from his desk and exiting out of his office, making a point to not make eye contact with him… and that was it.

 after you’d cleared out your locker and grabbed your purse, you were standing out at the front area of your job, staring into the pouring rain with tears starting to well in your eyes.

of course it was raining.

with a sigh you pulled your phone out of your pocket and tapped the screen until you got to your boyfriend’s contact, putting it up to your ear and listening to it ring.

the two of you had been dating for about as long as you’d had this job, and usually you’d take a cab home or just walk if you felt like it, but you didn’t feel like waiting in the rain, and your shared apartment was only a few blocks away so it wouldn’t take long for him to come get you.

but when it went to voicemail, you sighed, pulling your purse to the front of your body to check how much cash you had- you’d left your wallet with your card in it at home.

 before you could see what was clearly nothing in your purse and sniff away what had been the rest of your tears- a voice broke through the pattering of the rain on the small roof above you, and you flinched, twisting around to see your coworker, or, ex-coworker now, song mingi, looking at you and waiting for a response.

 “sorry?” you said quietly.

 he gave you a nervous smile, speaking again to repeat what you hadn’t heard before. ”ah- i was wondering if you needed a ride.”

 your brows lifted slightly, scanning his face for a moment before zipping your purse closed and turning fully toward him after a second. ”if you wouldn’t mind.. that’d be great actually. mine and my boyfriend’s apartment is right down the street.” you gestured to the left of your old job.

 it wasn’t like mingi was a complete stranger, you saw him occasionally in the office and sometimes he’d email you about issues hr had asked about, but that was it. you’d given his friend, san, a ride home before, and been to a few after work parties, so maybe this was him trying to make up for his friend.

 “yeah- i don’t mind.”

he smiled at you, his eyes disappearing into an eye smile.

cute..

you blinked away the thought and nodded, giving a similar smile before he slipped off his jacket and handed it to you.

“what’s this?” your voice was soft but he heard it,

“so you don’t get wet, i’m gonna go get my car and pull it to the curb right there.”

before you could say anything he went back inside, to go to the car garage through the inside you assumed, so you slowly closed your mouth that had parted open when he started talking.

 a few minutes and a smallish black car pulled to the sidewalk, facing the way toward your house on the road and a relief flushed over you. you didn’t know why you weren’t sure if mingi would actually do this or not, he did leave you his jacket after all.

pulling the jacket above your head, you jogged toward the car and heard the raindrops hit the material, feeling the slickness of the pavement against your feet.

you barely heard the door unlock and you pulled the handle before falling into the seat, laughing a bit, even after what just happened.

you slammed the door shut and the silence compared to the rain outside was nice.

mingi started driving in the direction of your apartment, glancing at you.

 “if you wanna keep the jacket until another time you can, so you don’t get wet. i’ll just come get it another day.”

 you bit your lip looking down at it, shaking your head slightly.

“i don’t know if my boyfriend will like that, he would freak out if he even knew you were driving me home, even though it’s like a 5 minute drive.” you stopped yourself and pointed toward a corner. “turn right here and keep going straight.”

 he did as you said and you noted to yourself he was a good driver, even though he was young. you kept that to yourself though as he spoke,

“he’s your boyfriend, not your dad.”

 it came out jokingly, but you could hear the seriousness behind it.

in truth, he was right. you knew you shouldn’t let him tell you what and who you could and couldn’t do, wear, talk about, talk to.. but you’d been with him for so long it just seemed normal now.

 you shrugged and snuck another glance at mingi’s side profile, staring a bit too long, because he peered over at you before looking back at the road.

“are we close?”

 you snapped back into real life, the rumble of the car beneath you, seeing the rain drops hit the windshield before being wiped away a moment later.

 “yeah, almost there.” your response was a breathy chuckle, almost. maybe you were kidding yourself.

 a minute passed and you pointed to the left, toward your apartment.

“right there. it’s the one with the yellow roof.”

 he pulled onto the opposite side of the road, letting the car that was behind his pass.

“do you need anything else? like money, l-”

 you cut him off and shook your head, reaching for the door handle. ”no, i’m okay. thanks though, mingi.” you glanced back at him for what you thought would be the last time that night. ”goodnight.”

 you stepped out of the car and let the jacket he’d lent you fall into the passenger seat, closing the door before the inside of his car could get too wet.

 as you crossed the street and started noticing your surroundings, your heart started racing faster.

there was another car outside of your apartment? a few months ago you would have thought nothing of it, but you’d gotten into a small accident and your car was towed and the towing company wouldn’t let you have it back until you could pay for it.

 you felt bad making your boyfriend drive you to work and pick you up, but it was the least he could do, you bought the groceries and paid for everything utility-wise.

 this car didn’t look like yours, you’d never seen it before.

you heard the sound of mingi’s car backing up, the water that was starting to build up on the street sloshing under his tires, your street was a dead end so had to back up and turn around to head to where he lived, you knew that from the time you’d gone to his house- but that was an after work party and you’d only known san back then.

 you stuck your key in the lock and it turned smoothly, meaning it had been unlocked before you stuck it in, and your heart sunk to your stomach.

 walking in, you immediately heard wails coming from the back of your apartment, and you felt your face heat up- with anger, embarrassment, sadness, a mix of everything.

 seriously. seriously?

 your feet felt like bricks as you quickly walked to the bedroom you’d been sharing with seonghwa for 2 years now, and you didn’t even have to open the door to see them, as you could see through the crack from down the hallway.

 lots of ways to handle the situation ran through your head, and your hand lingered above the doorknob, closing your eyes so you didn’t have to look for longer than you wanted.

 and then you decided. you pulled your hand away from the door and turned right around, walking down the hallway and out the front door, making sure to grab your wallet with your card in it, leaving everything exactly how it was before.

 you walked down the stairs, seeing mingi’s car now facing in the right direction but still stopped. he was looking down at his phone, his face being lit up brightly by the screen. a lot of courage was gathered before stepping to his car in the middle of the street and knocking on the window; the sudden sound made the tall boy jump.

 mingi leaned forward to look up through the window, widening his eyes when he realized it was you standing in the rain, and unlocked the door.

 he twisted to put his phone in his opposite pants’ pocket while you got in, but when he turned to face you after you closed the car door, you grabbed his face in your hands and smashed your lips against his, the kiss being rough, teeth clashing together.

he didn’t move for a few seconds while you kissed him, but he slowly pushed you away by your shoulder softly with 2 of his fingers.

“w-”

 “don’t say anything. it’s over between me and him. and i want you right now.”

 mingi blinked, looking over your features, his gaze lingering on your lips, and leaned in again, this time much softer than your forceful kiss just seconds earlier, and he moved the hand he’d pushed you away with up to slink around your neck to your nape, pulling your face closer.

 after swiping your tongue across his lower lip, he pulled away and licked his lips while putting his car into drive.

“well if you want me now, it’s not gonna happen in my car in the middle of the road. give me 5 minutes.”

 you couldn’t help but to snort at his face and lust-deepened voice- now raspy and filled with need. he drove slightly faster than he did on the way here, and you understood the motivation, smiling to yourself, slightly glad you didn’t have to look away from him now like you did before.

 mingi was focused on getting to his house as fast as possible, but you had other plans. your hand snuck to his thigh, squeezing the muscle of it, making him tense against your hand. he said nothing, so you moved to the center of his jeans, palming his now half-hard member.

“i haven’t even done anything, mingi.” your voice was playful, you saw his jaw tense. ”it’s hard for me to not be hard when someone like you kisses me out of nowhere and basically tells me she wants to fuck me where i stand.”

you laughed softly, letting your finger trace over the head of his member through his pants, liking the way he slowly churned in his seat.

 after a few more moments of painful wanting and a few more turns down streets, he pulled to the side of the road, parking his car and turning to look at you, legs still spread against the seat and your hand still on his crotch.

all this staring was making you impatient. you reached with your other hand, undoing his belt.

”woah, what-”

mingi started, but was cut off when the softness of your hand slid down, grazing the soft hairs and wrapped around his bare length, he gasped, that being the only sound in the silence of his car.

he let you stroke him a few times before pulling your hand away, opening the door of his car and zipping his pants, practically running to your side after shutting his door.

 you laughed at his giddy-ness, feeling the rush you hadn’t felt in a long, long time as you watched him circle the car.

he opened your door and leaned down, one hand on the doorframe and another ghosting on your knee, looking like he was glad he could touch you for the first time.

“coming?” his voice was as deep as before, and you felt a chill run down your body, letting your hand snake around his wrist.

“yep.”

he pulled you up and closed the door, his hand immediately running over your side, face starting to lean down to yours and you pushed him back jokingly,

“can’t wait until we’re inside?”

he smiled with his eyes for the 2nd time that night and your heart fluttered with no restriction.

 mingi led you up the steps and into the apartment, but before he turned the lights on to the living room you were pushed back against the door, feeling soft lips sucking on the skin of your neck.

your hands went to his dyed red hair and you sighed into his ear, letting his hands run up and down your body, squeezing the soft parts and pulling you against his hard on.

“mingi..” the name was a breath into his ear.

 he kissed up your jawline in response, leaving sloppy kisses across your cheek before getting to your lips and pulling your bottom one between his teeth, sucking it into his mouth.

you kissed him back with fever, tongue swirling around his and pulling his hair between your fingers.

mingi moaned and pulled you away from the door, turning and making your behind hit what you assumed was his couch.

his hands lifted you up slightly to sit on the arm of it, his hand sliding around from your ass to go into the front of your pants. you gasped at the sudden contact of his finger with your clothed slit, the tip of his finger pooling into the wetness through your panties. ”so wet for me.”

his voice was growled into your ear and you nodded, lashes fluttering at the feelings.

“just for you baby.”

he ground himself against you after moving his hand to your breast, squeezing it roughly, and you moaned softly into his shirt, hands wrapped around his shoulders. mingi lifted your head to look up at him and kissed you again, a bit softer this time.

 he reached under you and cupped his hands beneath your ass, lifting you against him this time and you wrapped your legs around his hips almost automatically- as if the two of you had been doing this for forever.

he carried you to where you assumed his room was, and leaned you back slowly against the bed, leaving kisses against your collarbone and neck.

a second passed and mingi had pulled his shirt above his head, looking down at you with a lust clouded gaze, lips parted and wet. he moved back down to your torso, lifting the bottom of it and pressing sloppy kisses against your hips and stomach.

you tangled your fingers through his hair and watched him with a moan, the knot in your stomach beginning to get tighter and tighter the lower he got.

 mingi looked up at you from under hooded eyes, silently asking for your head nod, before he wrapped his index fingers around the loops in your work pants and pulled down, the fabric moving down your legs along with his kisses.

once he pulled them past your feet and slung them a random direction, he got to work and moved between your legs, lifting your thighs and pulling you down to the end of the bed. you squeaked and laughed when he did, but you were suddenly silenced when his lips met your clit through your panties.

he kissed you through the fabric for a few seconds, before pulling them to the side and sliding a long finger into you, tongue sliding up and down your soaked entrance before swirling around your clit.

 you began to see stars when he pumped his finger in and out of you, lips closing around your sensitive bud, tongue pushing against it to make you feel good. you lifted your hips when he hit a certain spot on your clit, but he used his free hand to hold you down, pumping faster with his long finger, curling it and sucking the slick from your heat, tongue then flicking across your clit.

you jerked up your hips with the flicking, letting your first orgasm take over your body, your legs shaking slightly as you watched him pull away and pull down your panties completely.

 mingi pulled your shirt above your head in return, and threw it in the same general direction that your pants went, his hands fluttering over your breasts before leaving butterfly kisses on each of them.

you smiled up at him, and a hint of a smile played on his features before he unzipped his pants as they’d been before in the car.

he stood in front of you as you sat on the end of the bed, and you pulled his pants and boxers down for him, his fully hard length slapping against his stomach. he let a sigh out and his head fell backwards as you licked his precum off the angry tip, letting you do your work of running a thumb up the vein running along the side of his cock and putting his length into your warm, wet mouth that seemed to be just for him- he fit perfectly.

 you swirled your tongue around the tip and he moaned, fingers slipping into your hair, before pulling your head back, a string of spit and precum between your mouth and his cock.

“okay, okay, actually.. i wanna fuck you before i cum, baby.”

 you smiled and pulled away, licking your lips and scooting yourself back by your elbows, up to where his pillows were. he crawled up toward you and smiled, the contrast between that and his large member and toned body was insane. he turned to his end table next to his bed before he got to you, hand on the handle to open the drawer, but you stopped him.

 “you don’t have to use protection. i��m on the pill.. been on it for two years.” your chest stung, but it only lasted a moment until you made eye contact with mingi, he nodded and his eyes sparkled when they looked at you.

you held your arms out for him to fit between and he did, sliding perfectly between your legs, pressing his face into the crook of your neck and breathing you in.

 “you smell so good, baby. i’m gonna make you feel so good.”

the words sent a chill through you and you nodded eagerly, tensing slightly as you felt the bare tip of his length against your wet folds.

“just relax.” he pressed a kiss against your jaw and you tried to listen, but you’d never taken anyone who was quite his size. you wrapped your legs around his hips as he pressed his tip into you, moving himself into your heat slowly, you felt yourself stretch around him and moaned into his ear softly, biting the lobe and making him grunt in response, his biceps tensing on either side of your head.

 the sound of you taking him was wet as he started pumping slowly into you, your body adjusted to his length each time he pushed back in.

“oh fuck, you’re so tight. he wasn’t fucking you like this, was he, baby?” mingi breathed out the words into your hair as his hips snapped against yours. the quickness of his thrusts made you lose your breath and your vision go white. ”was he?” he voice got impossibly more deep.

 “n-no he wasn’t-” a particularly aggressive thrust made you gasp loudly, you brought your hand down mingi’s back, your nails leaving red marks.

 “fuck, you take me so well.. ever since san’s party i wanted to fuck you like this-” he hissed as you clenched around him, but kept whispering the words into the shell of your ear. “you wore that tight little skirt, i walked in the kitchen and saw you reaching for something and it was riding up your ass- that tight little ass,” he seemed to realize something and pulled out, making you whine in response, his words and energy leaving you breathless.

mingi flipped you over by your hips, pulling your legs toward him to press your ass against his solid length. he ran a hand up your back, chills following his warm touch until he got to your hair, pulling your head back to look at him as he slipped himself back into you.

his length went in much easier this time, but you still felt the stretch as his tip reached further inside of your heat.

“i loved seeing this ass at work, whatever you were wearing- always looked so good,” mingi grunted as he snapped his hips into yours from behind.

 “you can fuck me as much as you want now.” at your words mingi’s hips stuttered a bit and he fell forward, catching himself with an arm beside your body. he slipped his hand between your legs and used his middle finger to rub at your clit, making your thighs shake while he continued to ram into you.

 “i’m gonna fuck you so good for as long as you let me, princess.” he bit your shoulder as his hips started to stutter more, you felt his shaky breath on the back of your neck.

 as his movements sped up for his last thrusts, your legs began to shake more, the pressure of his finger against you and his tip hitting the right spot over and over sending you over the edge.

you gasped and let out a moan, putting your face into his soft pillow.

mingi groaned and pushed into you one, two more times before stopping while pressed into you. he let out a pained moan, his breath hitching as his thighs jerked, you felt his cum paint your insides, filling you up deliciously.

“fuck, fuck-” he gasped out, putting his now sweaty forehead against your shoulder, riding out his orgasm while he was inside of you.

 after a few moments mingi pulled out of you, looking at you from behind, feeling kinda proud of himself at the way you were still laying on your stomach now, his seed spilling out of you.

 he left the bed for a few seconds, coming back to wipe your entrance with one warm, wet towel, and helping you flip back over before handing you a shirt.

you noted it wasn’t the shirt you entered the apartment with, you smiled warmly to yourself before slipping it on and falling back, mingi coming down beside you seconds later, making the bed shake with his large frame.

you both sat in silence for a little while, you were sure he was thinking just as much as you were about what would happen between the two of you.

glancing in his direction, you decided to break the silence.

 “so.. can i keep your jacket?”

[bdfanfic]

From Elsweyr With Love #9

Ra’Jirra awoke at dawn. Her head felt a little odd, but she chalked it up to the lack of sleep and turned to the jet black form of Ko’Manir. What had she been thinking? She knew nothing about this woman. It wasn’t her first time with a woman, true. She was beautiful and wild last night and Ra’Jirra obviously had wanted her too. But she was normally in better control over herself than that. Maybe she’d drank more than she’d thought.

And she wondered how much of Ko’Manir’s story was true.

She stroked the khajiit’s arm gently. “Ko, we’d better get moving. We’ve a better chance of not being seen if we leave early.”

Her lover turned over and smiled at her. It was nice to see her face in the light.

“Ra’Jirra. It wasn’t a dream.”

“If that was a dream, you’ve got some damn kinky dreams, kid.”

“Kid! I’m 23 years old. I’ve read your bio. You’re five years older than me. I’m hardly a kid!”

“No, sorry. You’re right. What did you bring with you?”

“Nothing. A little money, a notebook, and some travelling clothes.”

“Feel like a bath?”

“With you? Sure!”

“Okay, but only a quick one.”

An hour later was longer than she’d have liked, but it had been worth it. Well, she figured, after last night what could a little more hurt? She gathered up her own belongings after sending Ko’Manir out ahead of her.

The taxi ride out of town had been circuitous, but she wanted to be absolutely sure she wasn’t being tailed. At last she was satisfied and directed the driver to a spot near her true destination. Once there, she caught another taxi to deliver her to where the caravan waited. In fact, technically it had already started. She was one of a few stragglers, but there were still some camels for hire by the local khajiit merchants and she had her luggage stowed with one of them, and hired a horse for herself to ride. It was a smallish horse, and not terribly well trained, but she weighed little and it ran like the devil when she let loose of it’s reigns.

She kept the briefcase with her, but once she saw the camel and its rider were under way, she let the horse go to catch up with the main body of the caravan. The day was again blessedly overcast and hadn’t gotten too hot yet, but the feel of the wind through her hair had her laughing with joy.

“I think I’ll call you Arrow, my little friend!” she called to it in Ta’agra. It didn’t seem to mind, but it seemed to be having as much fun running at full speed as she was having. All too soon the she reached the caravan proper and slowed her ride. She looked back as she continued up the caravan and saw the city fading away behind her.

“Good riddance, Rihad, and I hope never to cross your border again!” she yelled at the stinking city and made an obscene gesture towards it. As soon as she did so, she regretted it. She’d probably sealed her fate that she would return.

She turned back to the caravan and squinted. A black horse rode beside a brown. Surely not…

But then she confirmed it. Who else would be riding a black horse, after all? It was Ko’Manir, and beside her rode Sarosh. She caught up with them quickly, then let Arrow cool down with a slow walk that still managed to move faster than the glacial pace of the pack camels.

“Ahoy!” she called and the two turned around and rode back to meet her.

“Ra’Jirra!” called Ko’Manir, smiling broadly.

“Nice of you to join us!” Sarosh said. “Romanov wanted to wait for you, but I told her you’d catch up soon enough.”

“Please, please Sarosh,” Ko’Manir said with a sour look on her face. “’Ko’Manir’ please? If I never hear that silly name again, it will be too soon.”

“Sorry… Ko’Manir,” he apologized. “So, any problems? You weren’t followed?”

“No. I took a hell of a route to make sure, but I’m sure I wasn’t,” Ra’Jirra answered. “But Ko… really? A black horse?”

She shrugged as they turned back to follow the caravan. “Don’t you think it suits me?”

“All too well. You know, black absorbs heat.”

“Ah, I thought about that. Can you believe it, one of the khajiit men gave me his headwear!”

“Better check for lice,” Ra’Jirra laughed,

“Well, besides that, it’s not too hot out with the clouds,” Sarosh noted.

“So how long do you think we’ll be on this slow train?”

“We should cross into Cyrodiil by nightfall. We camp overnight before heading on to Kvatch.the next day. I have a contact there where we can drop off the device. Then it’s on to Skingrad. I’ll be staying there where my family awaits. That’s the end of the line for the caravan, it circles back at that point. You and Ko’Manir will travel south from there to Elsweyr.”

Ra’Jirra looked at Ko’Manir who was smiling at her. She cringed a little. What was she thinking last night? She sincerely hoped the cryptologist wasn’t too infatuated with her. As much as Ra’Jirra did enjoy the previous night, it was a mistake. But what a mistake!

The landscape changed slowly but perceptibly as they continued eastward towards the Cyrodiil border. They’d been travelling north to skirt the wide Brena river. When finally the trail turned back eastward, the hard ground had turned into low grass and the river allowed them to ford it easily, still wide but shallow.

The caravan stopped on the far side of the river, and Ra’Jirra breathed a sigh of relief. Finally they were on friendly turf. They continued on some few miles before stopping as night came on. Her belongings were brought to her and she elected to purchase a tent for her, Ko’Manir and Sarosh which the khajiits erected for them - for a fee of course.

They sat outside the tent around a fire and spoke in low tones, what with other travelers and their tents pitched nearby. Sarosh was relaxed, knowing he would be reunited with his family soon, but Ko’Manir seemed tense.

Ra’Jirra spoke up, “So, Sarosh, what will you do now that you can’t go back?”

Sarosh shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll retire. I’ve saved quite a bit, actually. I could probably buy a small shop and go into business for real.”

“Well, if you do, let me know. Metalwork?”

“Jewelry specifically. I think I’d enjoy that. What about you, Ko’Manir?”

The dark head looked up from the fire, as if lost in her own thoughts. “Me? Oh, I haven’t thought ahead that far. I suppose I’ll have to work with the HMSS for a while. At least till they wring everything out of me they think might be worthwhile.”

“You don’t think that,” Ra’Jirra started, indicating the briefcase she kept always in sight, “that will be enough?”

The orange eyes turned on her. “Even now they will be notifying every agent they can to stop using it. At best it will be worthless within a few months. Messages already sent will decrypted, but that will only help for so long. The HMSS will want me to do more, but Hammerfell will make sure that the work I was doing is purged.”

“You sound like you regret your decision already,” Sarosh observed.

“No. I don’t regret it. But I can’t help having second thoughts. Espionage is such a fleeting business. Today’s enemies are tomorrow’s friends and vice versa. A few months ago Ra’Jirra was my sworn enemy, even though I still admired her. Now…”

“Now we’re friends,” Ra’Jirra said, taking her hand.

“Friends,” Ko’Manir repeated, and lay back on the short grass. “Are we?” she said to the stars.

“After last night, I certainly hope so!”

Sarosh looked at her, then back to Ra’Jirra, an eyebrow raised.

“Stow it, soldier,” she said with a smile, repeating his words.

“Yes SIR!” he said with alacrity.

“I think last night may have been a mistake,” Ko’Manir said, still not looking at Ra’Jirra.

Ra’Jirra turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It may have been, but what’s done is done. I don’t regret it.”

“Not yet,” she said in almost a whisper.

“Enough of this,” Sarosh declared and stood up. “I’m off to take a piss. Who’s with me?”

“Well aren’t you suddenly a free spirit?!” Ra’Jirra laughed. “No, you go on. I don’t think I want to see that.”

Sarosh looked back to Ko’Manir who was looking at the stars and not paying attention, then back to Ra’Jirra. “No, I guess you probably don’t.”

“Hey!” Ra’Jirra said, throwing some grass in his general direction.

“Be right back.”

The two khajiits stayed quiet for a whilie. Ko’Manir broke the silence. “Do you know, the stars look exactly the same in Cyrodiil as in Hammerfell.”

“They do. I suppose from their perspective, there are no borders.”

“Do you think that could ever happen? No borders I mean?”

“Not in our lifetimes, no.”

“But someday maybe. Someday.”

“Perhaps,” Ra’Jirra said and moved next to Ko’Manir and put her arm around  her. She didn’t think Ko’Manir’s wish would ever come true really, but she appreciated the desire anyway.

Suddenly the sound of a thunderclap rolled over the flat plain and someone screamed.  Ra’Jirra leaped to her feet but put a hand to Ko’Manir’s chest when she stood up too.

“No. You stay here. Get in the tent.”

The dark khajiit didn’t protest. Ra’Jirra drew the gun from her pocket and ran in the direction of the scream. She found Sarosh a few yards away with a couple of the caravan khajiits, looking down at a dead man.

“What the hell?”

“He’s from Rihad. Secret police. He had me on the ground. Said he was administering justice. I think your Dominion friend…”

Then a second thunderclap was heard and Sarosh dropped to the ground.

“SAROSH!!!!” Ra’Jirra cried. She looked around desperately. The other khajiits had dropped to all fours, looking for the source of the sound. Yet even with the vaunted khajiit Night Eye, there was nothing to be seen. The plain was too flat and the sound had given only a vague clue as to its direction.

But Ra’Jirra wasn’t paying attention to any of that. She was holding her friend’s head in her lap, the red blooming from his side.

“Ra’Jirra… My family…”

“Sarosh,” she cried. “No. You can’t…”

“Tell them… I tried. And I love...”

“Oh Sarosh! No!”

And then he was gone. Ra’Jirra ripped open his shirt and saw the gaping wound. It was no longer flowing blood. The heart had stopped. The chest she had so recently felt so safe resting her head on no longer rose and fell. Sarosh was dead.

She cried then. She wailed the song of the khajiit into the sky. She kissed the face she had grown to love, as a friend. In other circumstances, surely as more. But he did not kiss her back.

“What was it?” she heard a khajiit voice whisper in her ear. She turned to see one of the caravan drivers squatting next to her, knives in both hands. “Are we under attack?”

She raised her head and looked out at the dark grassland in front of her.

“No. I don’t think so. Set a watch, but stay low. If anyone comes into camp, be wary of them. They have a weapon that can reach far - like an arrow, but even faster.”

“Do you know who caused this?” the khajiit asked, but he put a blanket over Sarosh’s body and she looked at him, tears still flowing but her face hardening.

“My ‘friend’,” she spat. She stood up then, daring the unseen assassin to take one more shot. She pulled out her gun and began walking towards the darkness. She walked in circles, trying to find the person who had killed Sarosh, but she found nothing and the thunder did not come again.

Finally she returned to her tent. The bodies had been taken away. Within, Ko’Manir was in one corner, a knife at the ready, but she set it down when she recognized Ra’JIrra.

“What happened? Where’s Sarosh?”

“Dead. A Hammerfell agent came for him and nearly killed him, but then a shot came out of the dark. Killed the agent. Then it came again, and killed Sarosh.”

“A shot?”

Ra’Jirra realized she wasn’t making sense to the frightened woman. She looked at the gun in her hand, and explained everything.