FSE

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She awoke alone. Sarosh had left a note nearby. She didn't have anything to burn it with, so she made do with an alternate disposal method. It didn't taste very good. Then she pulled on the shorts he had left her. They were much too big of course, and didn't have a tail hole, but with a little work from her claws, she had that problem taken care of, and she cinched the belt tighter. She still wore his shirt and it smelled of him. She smiled at that.

She left the little hotel and found a taxi. Fortunately Sarosh had left some coins in the pockets and she got back to the Pendant without incident. Her door had been opened, but the maid service would have done that. Inside all was as she'd left it, and the device was still locked inside the briefcase in her closet.

She took yet another long bath. She was just about ready to get out when she heard a key in the door and the Inspector barged into the suite.

"Ra'Jirra?" he called harshly.

"I'm in the bath, Inspector."

The man entered the bathroom without so much as a knock at the door.

"Washing the blood out?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I am. No thanks to you."

His face began to redden. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't arrest you right now, cat!"

"Self defense. Is that reason enough? You'll have to trust me on this, but I've got a hell of a bump on my cheek, probably a fractured thighbone, and if my friend hadn't shot your thug, I'd be dead in an alley, with my skin likely adorning his living room as a damn rug!

"Oh hell. I can see the bump, and your eye doesn't look good. But he's not my thug anymore. I fired him this morning."

"Like I didn't know that. I think he was more pissed at that than his partner - and he was going to take it out on me."

"We need to bring your friend in for questioning, Ra'Jirra," the Inspector said, calming down when he saw the other side of her face.

"Not going to happen, Inspector. He's left the city. And damned if I didn't advise him to."

"We can find him. Can't have gotten too far yet."

"Please don't, Inspector. It was... necessary."

"I believe you, Ra'Jirra. I do, though damned if I know why. But things are getting out of hand. This can't go on. The two weren't exactly chums with a lot of the other officers, but losing two back-to-back - and in the same place yet. I've got pressure from below, asking questions. I'm keeping a lid on it, or it might spark an outright declaration of war with Elsweyr."

"Sucks to be you," Ra'Jirra said, standing up. "Inspector, can you hand me that towel?"

The Inspector couldn't help but stifle a laugh when he saw her in soaked fur. She was somewhat less beautiful when wet.

"Yeah, I bet you look like a hero of myth and legend in your bath," she growled, snatching the towel from him. She made a point of drying her ass in his face.

"Okay Ra'Jirra. I get it. Don't take this wrong, but..."

Rajirra turned around at the pause, drying her hair. "Yeah?"

"Get the hell out of my city. I don't want to see you here next week."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you. I'll be gone."

"See that you are. And if there's one more dead cop by your damn PUSS, you're going to jail, international incident or not."

"I read you loud and clear Inspector. But one thing. We just call it a 'gun'."

He nodded. "That is better," he agreed. She saw him to the door and let him out.

She finished dressing, donning her most expensive outfit and spent some quality time on herself. This was probably going to be her last night at the hotel and she felt like going out in style. She certainly wouldn't have a chance to dress like this in the caravan. While the new dress was, in actuality, less revealing than the black number she'd worn the other day, with all the openings in it, it didn't look so. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her body looked delicious. Her face, not so much.

She rummaged through her bag and found a pair of oversize sunglasses. Though it might be a bit of a fashion faux pas to wear them indoors, they did cover her eyes and her cheek was barely noticeable. As a culmination, she spritzed on her best perfume that hinted slightly of citrus and left the room, restoring a new scrap of paper to the door jam.

Sam smiled when he saw her enter the casino. She sat at the bar and smiled back.

"Welcome back, Ra'Jirra. I hope you're with us longer tonight!"

"I expect I will be. Any change in the tables?"

"Nope. About the same. Speaking of which, another of my special concoctions?"

"Yes, please - but not exactly the same. I like to mix it up."

He turned back and started mixing a drink. "So what's with the glasses?"

"I had a bit of a tussle this morning honestly. Got quite a shiner."

"Oh? Can you even see those on a khajiit?"

She pulled her glasses off. "What do you think?"

"Oh! Ra'Jirra. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You should see the other guy!"

Sam laughed and brought her the drink. It was clear with specks of green. She took a sip. It was delicious, though not as fruity as the other had been.

"Very good. No need for that water, Sam. You mix a good drink."

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, actually. Can you get me some chicken? Any way you like."

"Will do. And the room in the back is always available to you."

"Thanks. I'll be over at the roulette wheel I think. If I don't lose all my money before the food is ready."

She sat at the table, nursing her drink and traded some gold coins for the little color coded chips they used as counters. A pale khajiit sat at the end seat, quite a beauty she had to admit. The bright blue eyes accented her nearly white fur, and she was bit curvier than Ra'Jirra, though her dress was much more conservative. Ra'Jirra felt a twinge of jealousy. Beside her sat a middle aged Bosmer, two Redguards that apparently were on honeymoon considering their closeness, Ra'Jirra herself, and right by the wheel sat a youngish argonian. The ball was spinning so she waited for it to fall.

33 Black. She saw the dealer - no, correction, the croupier put a glass indicator over the chips on that number. All three were black. He swept the other chips into a hole beside him, then counted the winning black chips out and slid them across the table to the other khajiit. Then he removed the glass indicator and everyone started placing their bets across the table again.

"Nice hit," she said to the other khajiit. The other cat looked at her as if just noticing her for the first time.

"Nice glasses," she replied, then went back to betting with the others.

Ra'Jirra took five chips and placed them on red. She won, but a bet on a single color only yields double and nothing if the ball stopped on 0 or 00. The actual number was 16, and the newlyweds, as she dubbed them, squealed as the glass indicator landed on one of their chips. Underneath their pink chips was another black one. The croupier payed off the couple and the other khajiit too.

"Damn," said the gravelly voice of the argonian beside her. "I was going to play that."

Ra'Jirra took her extra five chips and scattered them around the inner table at random, leaving the original 5 on red. The ball spun and landed on 0 - a losing number for everyone at the table. The croupier took all her chips as well as all the others.

A tap came at her shoulder. It was Sam. Her chicken was ready. She asked the croupier if he could save her place, and he moved her remaining chips to the side. She rose and went back behind the bar where Sam had left her chicken.

"Say, Sam. Who's that pale cat at the table by me?"

"Oh her? Calls herself La'Dasha. She just arrived yesterday. Never seen her before that. Why, jealous?"

"She's a beautiful khajiit, I have to admit," Ra'Jirra replied.

"Not as pretty as you," he said and Ra'Jirra hit his shoulder.

"Lay off the flattery, bartender," she said. "I'm not blind, you know."

"Well, okay. She's prettier than you. Is that better?"

"No, actually. It's not. Go back to the flattery," she frowned.

"I like your sideboobs!" he offered as consolation.

She hit him again, but snickered at the same time.

"I'll leave you to take out your jealousy on the chicken," Sam said as he closed the door behind her.

**********************

She finished her food quickly and went back to the table. The argonian was gone, replaced with a young local. The honeymooners were still there and the khajiit lady had a large stack of chips in front of her. She'd been winning.

"What's your strategy, La'Dasha?"

The khajiit's eyes shot up, unexpectedly intense. "What do you mean?"

Odd.

"You've obviously been winning since I left. Do you have a strategy?"

The khajiit relaxed. "Oh. No. This one is just lucky today."

"Damn touchy," Ra'Jirra thought, then set her chips out in front of red again. She really wasn't much of a gambler. The ball landed on 00 and again everyone lost. The pale khajiit lady stood, requested her chips be cashed in, and left the table.

"Sorry to be a cooler, guys," Ra'Jirra apologized to the others at the table, but they were genial. She continued playing for some time, then went back to the bar. She saw Sam talking with the pale khajiit at the other side of the bar. Obviously there was no love lost between the two khajiits.

Sam came over to her.

"Can I get another?" she asked, rattling her glass.

"Sure Ra'Jirra. How are you doing?"

"Eh. Down a little. I guess tonight's not my lucky night."

"Sorry to hear that, but the table is legit."

"So how are you doing with your new kitty friend?"

He smiled back at her but didn't reply.

"Well, at least one of us will get lucky tonight. Say, Sam... I may be leaving tomorrow. If I don't see you again, thanks anyway. Here's a little something for your trouble," and she put 5 gold coins on bar.

"It's no trouble, Ra'Jirra. And good travels if so. If not, I'm here every night till midnight."

"Got it," Ra'Jirra said and returned to the table, but something had soured her on the gaming so she cashed in her chips and returned to her room.