Twin Khajiit

Shivani is a trader in the caravans. Meela is a thief. Twins working in tandem to achieve quite different goals. Skyrim OC blog, Mod is 18+, may be NSFW

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

Useful, huh? He raised a brow. The nerve on that cat. He didn’t owe her or her people a godsdamn thing.

“If there is anything I learned from the time I spent teaching, it’s that it would be easier to hunt down every last one of you than to drill sense into every half-baked mage in your organization who conjures up candlelight and thinks themselves Vanus fucking Galerion.”

He inclined his chin, narrowed his eyes. “I would teach you, and you alone. You think you have the leverage to arrange all you’ve proposed on just that?”

Meela was sure she did not have that leverage, but she’d figure it out. “Yes.” She’d do a hundred favors for Crow if she had to, because that proposal of hers had likely just caused a ‘no’ to mean an ungodly amount of pain. “Yes, I can do it if it’s just for me.”

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

Well, now, that sounded like a proposal in the making, didn’t it? With great care bordering on the obsessive, he wrapped a crystal in a piece of cloth and placed it in its designated spot in the wooden case. He gazed at it a moment, before he turned around and looked the thief in the eyes.

“Tell me why you think I would do that.”

Meela shifted her weight subtly, preparing to flee if he was upset enough about the offer lash out. His blind eyes were unnerving, but she was getting to used to their endless stare.

“You want us not to steal from you, fine. But if you’re useful, if you have something to give in exchange...you can be protected, too. Not just leave you alone, but--” She vaguely gestured at the pouch he’d handed her. “We’d let you know who was targeting you at all, before these kinds of things happen. We’d help.”

A quick, nervous lick of her lips. “And, this one--I’d pay you. For lessons.”

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

“No.”

He turned back to his instruments on the table. She had merely to deliver the gem, as promised. For all intents and purposes, they had never spoken, and this gem was the original as far as anyone needed to know. She would have fulfilled her contract. The guild’s ‘good’ name remained intact. Not the middle man’s fault, if the client was an uninformed, incompetent dolt who dabbled in magic that was beyond them.

“Although…” He opened a wooden case. It had hollowed-out spaces, lined with velvet, for the frame and each individual crystal. He began the setup’s disassembly. “Should you feel the need to inform your superiors of what transpired here, tell them this is the second time they thought to make a target out of me, and that I will not be so forgiving a third time.”

Meela heard the warning and took it to heart. They’d write him off, or they’d use him to weed out some foolish idiot, but normal heists on this mer weren’t going to happen. Not for a long time, at least.

Never, if maybe he’d accept a deal.

“Do you teach?” Meela asked, after a quiet moment to steel her nerves. “Where you can see without seeing. Do you teach that?”

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

His outstretched hand lowered just a tad, and he pressed his lips together. What? Had she never seen an enchanted item before?

“Don’t trigger the enchantment.”

That went without saying, surely. What more did she need?

“A minute jolt of magicka delivered through direct touch, is what activates it,” he further clarified, and offered her the pouch again. “Keep it in here. If they make you get it out, fold the cloth away, but don’t touch the stone itself. You won’t die if you set it off, but your life will be over nonetheless, and the one it is meant for will get away unpunished. Neither of us wants that.”

She didn’t want him to get punished, either--it was bad for business. But she very much wanted to live as she had been and not in whatever manner this mer had devised for the client. Always take the best end of the bargain available.

Her hand closed over the pouch and she tensed, waiting. Nothing happened.

Ears still flat but otherwise reassured, she looked up into his blank eyes. “Anything else?”

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

If she hadn’t known any better by now, she’d be forgiven to think he hadn’t noticed her. Back turned and already engrossed in his work, her presence went unacknowledged. He’d made his preparations prior to meeting her, and it was the work of a moment to make the final tweaks to the delicate setup of crystals that were to imbue the diamond with its intended enchantment. He dragged his own gem down several papers with formulae for a last look at his calculations. Everything should be in order.

Upon an off-hand gesture of his, the window shutters closed themselves. Another wave, and every light in the room died, but for the one on the table; a lantern with a bull’s eye reflector, emitting a candle’s light in one focused beam. He closed his eyes, and when they opened again, they glowed, like the crystals of his setup. One hand channelled his magic, while the other tweaked the orientation of the crystals bit by bit.

From an onlooker’s perspective, nothing else happened for perhaps another quarter of an hour, until he pushed the lid over the bull’s eye lantern, and walked to the window to throw the shutters open and allow daylight back into the room. He picked the newly imbued gem out of the setup with a bit of cloth and put it away within the pouch that had held the original. He handed it over.

“It’s done.”

Meela watched him with practiced patience and supreme unease, her own eyes shining with reflected light. She knew enough about magic to know he was enchanting, and enough about this mer to know he wouldn’t look kindly on any interruption for clarification. She could only wait.

She winced and muttered a curse at the sudden re-introduction of daylight. Just because he didn’t have sight left to lose didn’t warrant him robbing her of it. She was still rubbing the spots away when he turned on her with the pouch, offering it to her. She didn’t accept.

“Instructions, first.” That was all she said, looking up at the very tall altmer who had put her in this shitty situation.

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

That was more like it.

The way to his lodgings was a short walk away; less than a quarter of an hour along the various winding, narrow branches of the canal. He slowed his pace at every corner and every rickety, little footbridge, giving her time to catch up, adjust and keep him in sight. So too when he reached the dilapidated, wooden structure that called itself an inn. A weathered sign on rusted chains swayed precariously overhead. He fiddled with his sleeves, stalling, until he was certain she’d seen him, and he entered.

A short while later, a window opened. He leaned out of it on his elbows, and if these dank and cramped alleyways were in any way pleasant, he might just seem to be taking the air. As soon as he spotted her, he retreated inside and got to work.

By the time they made it, Meela’s head had started throbbing. Magic was the worst and she hated it, which made it all the more idiotic in her own mind that she was not only doing this fucked-up mage’s bidding, but that she had a plan to ask him to teach her more magic. Brilliant.

Entering the window was easy enough, and as soon as her profile had dropped beneath the sill she let her invisibility go with a wince. She said nothing to him. He had to know she was there.

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

He’d already started on the way, expecting her to follow. He stopped, turned back and fixed her with a look. “No.” His eyes narrowed briefly, then his brows rose and he affected a jocular manner. “I have something white. I could make it red for you, but then we’d have a body to hide and some explaining to do with the laundry lady, so–…”

His tone changed, like a triggered bear trap. His features became a scowl. “How about I just open the fucking window and stick my head out? Would that be clear enough for you, or should I paint myself purple while I’m at it?”

Meela was caught between very conflicting feelings, which manifested in something like a snort of surprised amusement coupled with flattened ears and a step back away from the testy mage. Purple. Purple would be an improvement. And she still didn’t know if he could see color or was just being a total ass.

Without a further word, she moved to scale the side of a building. She’d have to follow him from the rooftops, using her magicka to camouflage herself. A complete pain, but safer than bumping into people or losing sight of him.

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

He closed the last bit of distance, and while his gaze flicked from the gem in her hand to her eyes, he took it from her hand. He turned it around between his fingers, and held it up as if to catch the light, though there was none of that in this alley.

“This will do fine.”

Greedy fuck wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Impressive, really, for her to have acquired one alike enough in such little time, but he wasn’t in a complimentary mood. He pocketed the stone.

“Now. If you have nowhere else to be, I suggest you come with me. I imagine your client’s getting tired of waiting. I’ll enchant it. Won’t take long. I’m staying at a canal-side inn. The room has a window that opens into an alley. Someone of your talents shouldn’t find it difficult to get in unseen.”

He could see her, then. It had to be some sort of magic, and she wanted to know what it was. As reluctant as Meela was to go along with this mage, one who had inflicted such intense pain on her that she’d never experienced before, it was the only way. He was in control, anyway.

“Mark the window with something.” She said finally. Another test, then. “Have anything red?” Could he see color?

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

He’d set out to surpass himself, and he had. The final design he’d settled for was elegant, if he did say so himself. Once imbued, its weave should barely be distinguishable from the original, yet its effect would be devastating.

Nothing quite so inspiring as good, honest rage.

He’d acquired a decent soul, as well. A Companion. As much as their boisterous bragging aggravated him, they were strong and capable. That much he’d admit. Not always clever, though. This one had made no secret of their plans to root around a barrow in the mountains to the south. That’s where they’d be found, should anyone ever look for them, skewered on an ancient Nordic blade. Cracked their skull in their fall, as well. No chance to get up from that. Tragic.

Now, his telekinetic field encroached upon and beyond the mouth of the alley well before he turned the corner. There she was. Good. That saved him a lot of time hunting her down or pressuring her organization to give her up. He approached her position and halted at a respectable distance of a yard or two.

“Do you have it?”

There he was. She waited, quiet and barely breathing, until he spoke. As Meela had suspected, he knew she was there. She didn’t know how, but she was determined to find out. It might throw her in a bit of harm’s way temporarily, considering his mood, but it was better to find the chinks in her own armor now.

“Yes,” her response was quiet, not quite as begrudging as it could have been. She stepped forward without a sound, keeping her invisibility wrapped tight around her. Better to see how well he could see, for a blind mer. She held out the diamond, about the right size. Maybe a hair smaller. Difficult to find one just right, but it was ‘close enough.’

Maybe he could grab it. Could he tell what she was holding? Could he just hear well? It was a test, not just of his ability to see, but of his tolerance for her. Better to brace for impact, anyway.

[twinkhajiit]

Dodgy Diamonds

@astarill

It had taken all of Meela’s resources, and a few favors she hadn’t wanted to spend, to not only find a diamond of the appropriate size, but also retrieve it. That made her sour; she was losing money on this venture instead of gaining it. She had little choice, though. The client was getting impatient and, while she could have handed over the fake readily enough, if the old elf had any enchants on the real one, she would have been found out immediately.

The Khajiit had an ulterior motive, however; there was something to be gained by getting on her former-target’s good side. If she could. He still terrified her, of course, but there was something worth knowing in all of that. How had he found her out, seen her, when she’d been so careful? There was something more to it than what was plainly visible, and she needed to know.

This left her waiting in her alley, cloaked in magic but knowing perfectly well he’d find her. It’d been a week. She’d just have to wait until he came.

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

A week. A reasonable proposition, if a little constrained on her end. For him, it was more time than he needed. He could sit down and strive to outdo himself, and he would. She, on the other hand, had better pray for luck to throw a rock the size and shape of his reading gem in her lap. She couldn’t stall much longer either, unless she fabricated a good excuse to tell her superior why she hadn’t yet delivered on what ought to be a straightforward job.

Not his problem, though.

“All right.” Milk white eyes wandered off down the alley with a turn and a little nod of his head. “Off you go, then.”

He was letting her go. Meela would breathe a sigh of relief if she wasn’t already having trouble with her head. She had to get back underground, into the dark, before she was too nauseous to move. That would be death up here.

There wasn’t a word of farewell spoken; she gathered up what was left of her magic and vanished, headed for the cistern.

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

“Right here, as far as I’m concerned.” Her kind wasn’t allowed within city walls. Public places were out of the question, and wouldn’t do them good either way. They could not be seen conspiring by any of her lot that might know of the job and who was assigned to it.

“I will need at least a day to design the enchantment’s specifics and gather the other components I require. How much time will you need to do your part?”

“I...I have to find a diamond the right size. Then I have to get it.” Meela’s head hurt, a full-blown migraine edging in. She clutched at it, trying to will it away. That never worked, and now thinking was very, very hard.

“Give me...give me a week. I’ll meet you back here and I’ll have it or I’ll, I’ll tell you progress.” Diamonds of that size weren’t easy to come by, and he had to know it. She had to hope he’d accept it and not fry her where she was out of contempt.

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

She didn’t know. Of course she didn’t. He let go of her face, stood up and made distance between them by stepping back.  

“It would be bad for you, would it not? To return empty-handed.” For having asked her a question, he left her very little time to reply. That was to say, none. “Not just for you, but for your organization, whose reputation – admittedly – is laughable as it is. So I have a proposition for you, from which we may both emerge no worse off than we started.”

He pulled a piece of cloth from a pouch and used it to wipe the muck off the diamond’s surface. “I let you go. You steal another diamond for me, one roughly the same size and shape. You bring it to me. I enchant it, only it won’t do what the client hopes it does – idiot should’ve done his research better. You will have done your job. I will have had satisfaction.”

Meela groaned, wanting in equal parts to crawl away and curl up there. This could hardly have gone worse, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. If she didn’t ask questions, if she just did as he said...

There were so many complications. She could just drop the job. But now, now she wanted to get back at this employer who had nearly gotten her killed by not giving all the information. How did she still hurt so much?

“...Where ‘m I bringing the diamond?”

[twinkhajiit]

adelein-gardinier

 A willowy hand carefully grasped the metallic piece and reveled it to the khajiit. A silver crow with a lofty weight and detail. Adelein held it close, with a wariness to part with it.   “I don’t want to deliver it like this. Perhaps wrapped in a fabric inside of a leather purse?” The ‘L’ word was spoken to her more in the last week then ever before, or perhaps Adelein was just starting to notice it. “I don’t…not it’s not like that–I wouldn’t require anything else. Just that.”

Whether or not she had sparked something by mentioning a ‘lover,’ it wasn’t good for business to needle the customer. But it was obviously important, and taking advantage of that knowledge was very good business.

“What a beautiful item.” Shivani began moving further into the caravan to sort for their raw materials and smaller items, bolts of cloth that could be cut to taste and purpose, or small squares already embroidered. “Something fine but muted, then? We have black silk, silk handkerchiefs, and fine, soft leather pouches...”

[twinkhajiit]

adelein-gardinier

Admittedly curious, Adelein had already scanned over the caravan but her rationality warned her against depleting her traveling gold. There was one question that weighed on her mind like the tiny silver figure in the breton’s pocket.  “Would you offer to wrap something I have to be gifted? You may name whatever price you deem fair.”

Name her price? What a dangerous thing to recommend to a Khajiit. Shivani would be sure to give her what she asked for, to the septim.

“What would you like it wrapped in? How large is it?” Shivani mulled over options. “We have silk, or parchment papers. Dyed papers, as well. Scents could be added, for a lover. We have pouches, leather purses, soft as you like. What would I be wrapping for you, today?”

[twinkhajiit]

adelein-gardinier

   Adelein was not one to haggle, but allowing others to know of her ill-begotten wealth was risky. Gold was a necessary burden to carry for the acquisition of goods but the breton was far to flippant to rid herself of it.   “Fate often seems to work in my favor.” The mage counted the septims in her pocket and presented it to the khajiit without a sign of regret.

She didn’t want to haggle? What a blessing fools and their money were. Shivani accepted the currency without a hint of surprise or hesitation. 

“It is your lucky day.” Shivani assures her. “Perhaps you are looking for other things, and we can keep your luck going together?”

[twinkhajiit]

astarill

So it was a job. It wasn’t she’d seen him use it in public and decided it would fetch a price to see her through winter. Someone hired her to get it. Someone who knew about it, or had been watching him closely. Someone who had thegall to want to take what was his for themselves. It made his blood boil.

“A job.” His voice, a raw whisper. He leaned in close, grip constringing. “For whom? I want to know who thinks to steal from me. I want to make an example out of them and if you don’t to tell me who it is, I’ll just have to make an example out of you. Then more of you will come, each and every one of which I will kill until one of you has the sense to tell me what I want to know.”

He paused, briefly. For breath, or to nurture her apprehension? Perhaps both. In expectation of an answer, he once again eased his grip. “How many of you will have to die?”

Of course that’s what he wanted. She probably wasn’t living through this, anyway. He was a cruel sort, not one satisfied to simply kick the shit out of her in retribution. He wanted more.

Every time his fingers dug in, she wanted to turn her head, to clamp jaws on his wrist. She wanted to light up with electricity, she wanted to slip into a stance and throw him. But her head, her muscles, everything ached or refused to move. Breathing was hard enough.

“It’s not...I don’t get names.” Meela struggles out. “Just some payment. A job. Where to bring the thing. What I get paid for that.” She swallowed. “It was some mage. Imperial. I think.”

She was betraying an employer, but the precautions put in place would keep her from actually being able to divulge anything important. He might get mad and kill her over it, but Meela could offer little else.