FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

S4: Greater Yearning

Katia Managan belongs to Kazerad

Everything else belongs to Bethesda

Brilliant sunshine spread across an open field, shadows failing to find a place to pool, with the sun directly overhead. Like many of its ilk so far from civilisation, though largely untouched by people, occasionally it was place of nourishment for creatures of a nearby wood in the distance, as it had been for hundreds of years, if not thousands. The only standout break of the plant life one could see from afar was the presence of bleached white stone, broken by lightning strike, worn by rain, eroded by the wind and on this particular day, scraped by Khajiiti hands.

A low, rhythmic humming accentuated the squealing, rasping and scraping; to many the sound would have caused one to grit their teeth and wince. A tan furred upper hand with white fingertips and palm, complete with pink pads, held a once fine elven dagger. The blade was chipped and scratched, the once razor edge now unlikely to be fit to spread butter. The Khajiit eventually stopped after a few more passes, studying the edge with an angry, pointy toothed grin.

"Oh yes, Ulivil, keep putting paint on Ra'adiir's tail while he sleeps. This one finds it HILARIOUS! Of course, replace the water in Ra'adiir's flask with lamp oil! Shove and trip him onto the used chamberpot!!" His bitter smile flicked to a scowl and gave one last heavy handed strike of knife on stone. A few fragments of both articles fell off and disappeared into the grass below.

Ra'adiir admired his work and sheathed the single edged blade back into its proper place, the still fine leather and fine yellow metallic trimmed object, then stowed it inside his leather armour. His white muzzle and tan 'masked' face adopted a calm expression once more, tail slowly sashaying about proudly.

Through with his machinations, the Khajiit resumed his watch, climbing up on and sitting on the ten foot high section of ruins he had been using to damage his concealed knife, sighing contentedly. He settled in, leaning against a half-broken wall and closing his eyes. Nobody came here, some old dead elves and their old dead temple or underground castle or whatever. Ra'adiir cared not, he was earning his coin just like all the others. All except Ulivil, who he considered to be an overachiever, always showing off and trying to earn more than her agreed share.

Unsure if he had drifted off, or if he had completed his self-appointed task just in time, a sluggish, weary female voice called out and brought him to attention.

"Ra'adiir? C'mon, my turn to cover topside" A Dunmer woman, shaggy dark brown hair all over the place from recently waking, turned the nearest corner, spotted her Khajiit companion dropping down onto the grass from the stone staircase that didn't go anywhere of import except a raised platform that had somewhat become the 'watchtower'. She smirked slightly at him, amused memories dancing in her psyche, while the Khajiit smiled broadly, emphatically, perhaps just a tad mockingly in response to hers as well.

"Ah, excellent. Ra'adiir was just beginning to grow tired. Enjoy the fine day, Ulivil" He tweaked his whiskers as one would a moustache and began to head around the corner to the solitary entrance to the ruins. He suddenly felt a hand grip his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Ulivil cleared her throat.

"Before you go, though; have you seen my knife?" She studied his face as he turned towards her. He pouted slightly; she wasn't sure if that was the typical Khajiiti expression for being in thought or something else, a cat with a mouse in its mouth sprung to mind to Ulivil.

"Knife? Um....hm? Oh, that elven thing? Curved like a waning moon?" He shrugged. "Afraid this one knows not"

"You sure? Nobody else has seen it, and it was a gift from my late brother...." She stepped closer, her lighter suit of leather tight armour and exposed dark grey arms rippling with dense muscle. A steel sword at her hip was clenched, toyed with, fingers twitching; a snake ready to strike.

"I mean, I'll make do with my main blade, but just so as we're clear, friend, it's quite irreplaceable" She leaned up close, intimately so.

"I'm sure it'll turn up on my bedroll by the time I finish my watch, hm?" Her red eyes burned into his. If he could sweat there, his brow would be soaked.

"Friend Ulivil, Khajiit is sure it was simply misplaced. Ra'adiir will even go looking before turning in to sleep!" He smiled, slightly yellow teeth in a broad smile.

"That's extremely thoughtful, friend. I do hope you find it" She stayed in place for a moment longer, before moving on to patrol the Ayleid site. Ra'adiir sighed and briefly entered the dark corridor down into the ruins proper, the smell of light smoke and cooking food was a comfort that attempted to draw him deeper, but he instead hesitated for a while, passing time, before returning to the surface, plucking the concealed knife into hand. He quickly relocated the Dunmer woman, and with yet one more smile, he handed it over.

"Very neighbourly of you, my Khajiiti friend" She quickly unbuckled a bandoleer around her chest, and slid the hook on the sheath onto it, the knife settling above her steel sword, its usual placement.

"We're a regular band of brothers and sisters, Ra'adiir would do anything for his best frie-" He wheezed violently as a knee found his nethers, and he fell to the ground in a low moaning heap.

"Very much so, my fuzzy friend. You go and get some sleep; I dare say you look rather peaky! At least I think you do, rather hard to tell through all that fur" She snickered to herself and resumed her patrol, Ra'adiir lay crumpled, face down, on his knees, hands nursing his 'coinpurse'. Armoured or no, he'd be walking funny for a while. He wished he had studied harder back home to become a merchant, but no, Ra'adiir wanted to see the world, then discovered everyone and everything was horrible. He couldn't pay his way home, so now here he was, victim to a scary dark elf bully. Some things never change, he tried to distract himself remembering the animosity the Dunmer and 'beast' races had in years past.

He slowly felt the vast ache withdraw a fraction. He stood, coughing slightly, and mustered the effort to hop in place, hoping everything would tumble back where it should rest. Ra'adiir stumbled back towards the stairs down, only to stop when he heard a solid thump nearby, as if someone had dropped a brick on the grass.

He looked around, ears twitching about, before carrying on. Another thump sounded, nearer.

"Nnngh....who or what's there? Just fucking kill Ra'adiir and be done with it, he doesn't care" He mumbled, only to feel a massive physical presence grab his head, fully encircled, mouth held fast. He grunted and tried to give at least a muffled shout as with a brief flash of magicka everything went dark. Far from being knocked out, though, he just suddenly couldn't see, despite the same sensation around his head, dragging him around as the entity shifted its grip, light flooded his vision.

As did an enormous Khajiiti woman, bright yellow fur, unadorned as many do with any braids or bunching on her head. Huge eyes stared at him with a firm focus, while her other hand extended an index finger vertical to her mouth. She then spoke, a low whisper with weight; a depth despite the female tone.

"Shh; keep quiet and stay still and I promise I won't hurt you...." Ra'adiir looked at his captor. She was down on one knee, yet was still taller than him by a fair margin. Thin arms, longer than he was tall, but ones with a hint of toning through the fur were exposed except for elbow pads, reinforced with metal rods. Her torso was covered in a meshing of chain and plate parts, though the front was covered by a dark green cloth, the curving lines of Cheydinhal's banner.

Considering they were a fair ways north of Skingrad, this confused Ra'adiir, as he swore blind his group wasn't that well known to force someone from Cheydinhal to seek them out.

"This where....tsk, what was the name again?" She plucked a poster scroll from her belt and let it slip open, reading the paper.

"Herskjar the Unkind? Dumb nickname....anyway, this where he is?" she looked at the tiny man in her clutches, before rolling her eyes at his currently pinned jaw and giving him some slack to move his head with. He nodded rapidly in return. The giantess smirked and, wrapping her hand around his waist for support, stood up. A glint caught Ra'adiir's eye as she did; a comically small pearl amulet, set in silver and strung up by a length of standard rope, was visible around her neck.

Where he was kept at arms reach, his feet didn't quite reach her hips and his head wasn't quite up to her neck; she really was vast. He could also look down enough to see she was wearing a pair of belted and pocketed leather leggings with chainmail wrapped around most of their length, plated somewhat haphazardly on the thighs and knees, and a pair of rather ugly mid-shin boots, a split metal kite shield used as shinguards, and slightly flattened half helmets as toe protection on feet that were most likely half his height long. A broad wooden pole poked from a square cloth and leather panel, some kind of sheathe, at her belt, as big as a bedroll.

"Now we just need to find that Dunmer" She breathed to herself as she looked about, then assuming she had time to do so, crouched back down and placed Ra'adiir on the floor, taking a rope from one of her pouches, and started trussing him up like a bird to be cooked. The situation, already deeply confusing to him, left him afraid to call out on all levels; in case the giant woman snapped him in two, in case summoning Ulivil and having him die and then getting snapped in two, or summoning Ulivil who succeeds and finds a bound and tied Ra'adiir as her plaything.

Maybe it was racial solidarity, or the fact that despite her enormity, she was surprisingly cute on top of intimidating him less than his supposed companion Ulivil, but Ra'adiir decided to let the Khajiit woman have her way uninterrupted. He went slack as she tied knots around him, leaving his arms strapped to his body and another bundling down and around his knees. It wasn't an especially good knot, Ra'adiir noted.

The giantess stood up, lifting him effortlessly, and placed him on the 'watchtower' segment of the Ayleid ruin, easier to spot from afar and the subtle risk of a bad fall if attempting to worm his way down the stairs or edges; Ra'adiir wouldn't be deterred if he tried to get away, as he could likely shake loose of the rope with its poor knot, and be gone before she could notice while searching. Once again, he chose to remain and observe, hedging his bets for a while.

The overgrown Khajiit wandered aimlessly around the ruin, looking over and around the rocks. Ra'adiir saw the Dunmer stalk up the stairs like a predatory animal, slowly and deliberately sliding her steel sword and damaged dagger free of their scabbards, not looking at them as she did. She flipped her grip on the knife and for the second time today, index finger crossed lips as Ra'adiir was gestured to shut up. She gingerly balanced her sword on her thigh, reaching into a solid leather case at her side and producing a small bottle. With a flick of her thumb, it opened, and she poured a thick, cloudy liquid onto the dagger, then retook her sword.

"Hmph, where are you?" the female Khajiit grumbled and toe-flicked a section of wall that was leaning against a pillar, sending a couple of hundred of pounds of stone flipping in the air, and sighed, shrugging as she gave up.

A murderous gleam in the Dunmer's red eyes caught Ra'adiir's attention; she dipped behind one of the remnant white walls just as the giant turned and looked back at him, then approached.

"Maybe she went to take care of 'business'? Sounded like she just woke up" She again kept her voice down, and looked to the distance a bit more.

Ra'adiir looked over at where Ulivil was, pinned directly against the wall just shy of the giants vision, and she brought her sword into a ready position, a drop of poison dribbled off her knife poised behind her. His hackles rose as he realised things were about to turn sour, he grimaced and sucked in a breath.

"Look out!" he shouted. The giantess snapped her eyes back to him, then further down as the elusive Dunmer rammed her sword into the Khajiit's side, just above the hip, parting the crude armour and eliciting a screech as it embedded a good foot and a half of flesh. Pressing the advantage, Ulivil hopped onto a broken section of wall, and leapt up while the upward momentum was still strong, swinging the knife towards the giants neck.

Arms drooped to clutch at the wound, slightly bent over, the attack was precisely aimed and perfect poised to gash across her jugular. Ulivil's swing would paralyse the giant, toppling her, then she would retrieve her sword, finish gouging out her neck, break Ra'adiir's ribs and legs, blame the giant bitch, and receive an improved fearsome reputation with her fellows earning her a greater cut, and then get the crew to skin the traitorous Khajiit. Opportunism at its finest.

Blade met yellow fur, and a peculiar thing happened; a few errant strands of hair were snagged, binding into narrow chips in her knife that weren't supposed to be there. It merged with the cloggy substance it was coated in, but no crimson. Ulivil fell to the ground, absorbing the fall as she had planned and went to dash away, kicking up dust as she did, only to feel a large object shove into her back, the vast booted foot of her pursuer, tumbling her head over heels.

She spun along the ground, and came to a stop some fifteen feet away, and wasted no time getting into a scampering, four limbed scurry, whereupon a massive foot stamped onto her right leg. Cracks, snaps and a disgusting noise of pulverised flesh only slightly audible over the thump and imprinting of giant booted foot on soft grass and soil.

Ulivil screamed as fragmented bone and muscle mingled into the now useless limb, a paste-filled sack of dark grey skin as the leather armour seeped its contents.

"Fucking shit, that hurt!" A booming female voice called over Ulivil, who was currently too shocked from pain to respond, only registering further pain as her flattened leg was freed, the giant Khajiit leg lifting up, back and into a full power punt. Organs bound together in ways they really shouldn't interact and crippled limbs flung wildly about. Ulivil knew on many avenues that she was dead, and before any final thoughts presented themselves, her back severed as she almost wrapped around a stone pillar.

Ra'adiir winced as he watched his hated companion fall slack, open eyed and blood flowing from her mouth, before his ears twitched; his other companions were coming, and having already betrayed them once, he saw fit to indulge in the gamblers fallacy, but did so with some caution, being the lone Khajiit of his group. He kicked in his Ta'agra.

"Jaga trevan! Khi ahziss ali!" He hissed as loud as he dared.

Plucking the knife sized sword from her side, and plodding over, the giant cast a healing spell on herself as she did. The wound closed, fur regrowing in the small opening of her armour. Looking less flustered, she then finally seemed to acknowledge the other Khajiit's words

"Wait, Jaga....oh, oh, Ta'agra, wait" She seemed confused for a moment.

"<Yes being large I am a big friend.> Wait, wait....sorry, was that right? I wasn't expecting to have to-"

"Whatever, big lady, my bandit friends are approaching! The entrance is under that section there"

He pointed his legs over another section of the ruins. The female gazed back and forth from him to his gesturing target, she suddenly drew forth an orb of green smoke, and a second later, she vanished from view, the sound of heavy footsteps moving away.

Covered in dense steel plate though shy a helmet, gleaming greataxe in hand; a large, barrel chested Nord man with a blade-cleft lip, slightly covered with a bristling blond beard and moustache, turned the corner. He was closely followed by three other fellows; two orc twin brothers, one wielding a great hammer, the other an axe and shield, and a Bosmer, cloaked, hooded and wielding a bow. They all stepped out in a loose formation, and spying nothing but Ra'adiir, they approached him.

"What in the Gods' names happened to you, Ra'adiir? Who did this? And where is....Ulivil..." he slowed his words as he spotted the subject of them in the distance, red smeared pillar and pooling bloodstained grass. He slung his axe onto his back so as to not accidentally drop it.

"Talos' breath" He dropped from the raised platform while the orc brothers undid Ra'adiir's ropes, lifting him up roughly.

"Ra'adiir. Explain" One of the Orsimer brothers said, or rather demanded. Herskjar had reached the body of Ulivil and he looked genuinely shocked, and understandably so. He was an experienced warrior, he had seen wounds and injuries inflicted by beast and man alike, he'd rarely seen anything like this, barring one place. All the same, he waited for Ra'adiir to collect himself.

"Khajiit was heading down to the camp when I thought to go and have a talk with Ulivil. Then, she attacked Ra'adiir! He knows not why, and she tied him up. So then, this bear-" A day of repeated actions, Ra'adiir slumped as he received a fist to the guts. It was a mercy compared to the lower blow earlier, but again, air escaped him and he collapsed.

"Sorry boss, but this shit-licking rug is lying. That ain't no bear attack and neither Ulivil or this fucker had rope with'em." He slung an iron booted foot into Ra'adiir's ribs, who coughed in a harsh, wheezed expulsion of vital air.

"That may be, Gurbash, but he didn't do this. Only time I've seen this sort of damage is from a Giant back in Skyrim. You either get pulped or flung around like a ragdoll" He shook his head and returned up to where the group was clustered around the battered catfolk.

"I'm going to give you one chance to come clean, cat. You tell me EXACTLY what you saw, or I WILL peel you, tan you and wear you as a scarf" He grabbed Ra'adiir by the collar and hauled him to his feet. He took to standing shakily, fairly certain he'd cracked a rib from the kick. He took a moment to catch his breath; short, pained panting, before he coughed into his hand, wincing at the blood flecks present on his white furred palm.

"So....unlikely as it seems, Khajiit was set upon by a really big female Khajiit" his words were gasped and ragged.

"Bigger'n me?" Gurbash sneered.

"Huge! She picked up Ra'adiir like a kitten!" He had another repeated experience, as Herskjar lifted Ra'adiir off his feet, though this ended with him being slammed him into a wall.

"Ridiculous! What kind of horseshit are you spouting you-" A loud gasp sounded behind the Nord, followed by a panicked roar from the Orcs, and the sound of shattering stone. Herskjar spun about, dropping the Khajiit, only to see his crew dispatched; The Orcs were dead, one decapitated, the second bifurcated mid-chest, and the stone wall beside them had a huge, banner dimensioned cleaver embedded into it. The Bosmer was being held aloft by his ankles, dangling upside-down mid-air with a panicked expression.

"Boss, help me!" He whimpered as a furry hand appeared in wisp-like green smoke. An invisiblity spell broke from the sudden action, and again, the giantess Khajiit came back into view.

"Let him go, you giant whore!" Herskjar roared and drew his axe once more. It flared brightly, even more so than its well maintained shining dwarven metal lustre as magic shone along its edge. A nervous glance came over the giantess despite the size difference, having already been bitten once today, but put on a brave face, puffed out her chest and narrowed her glare. It was time for the line!

"Katia Managan, Agent of the Empire! Herskjar the Unkind, you've violated the law; throw down your weapon and come quietly!" She briefly looked at her cleaver, contemplating if she could get it unstuck before she was set upon, but reconsidered.

Instead she focused inward for a moment; her magicka reserves were low, probably a couple of fire blasts at most. It was still a tremendous thing, generating her own magicka, but it really didn't help her in an active fight as going from depleted to full took an hour. She then pondered her pendant; same problem, an hour to recover her magicka reserves not withstanding, she could just get huge and start stomping, except for the whole eight minutes to double her height thing, and she swore, hand on heart to several of her superiors to not ruin her clothes; it was hardly time to get naked.

Katia weighed her options, and despite the obvious advantages, the self doubt was being a bitch.

"Why hesitate, you overgrown bitch? You've killed my other people as I'd expect you so called 'lawbringers' to, either make a move or drop 'em" He clenched his axe tighter.

"Well, he's not the one I'm after, and...I mean, killing the other guys was kinda incidental. Whatever, just- hey, where're you going!?" Herskjar broke the stalemate in the way least expected; He bolted, down the stairs and made a bee-line to the ruin entrance. Katia dropped the Bosmer and began to chase, and made great distance after the Nord. He spun the corner and got inside just as Katia performed an agile slide into place and jammed her arm into the entrance. A few moments of grabbing about, and a searing pain shot through her arm, causing her to yell and pull away. Her fur on her wrist was singed and bloody from an axe wound.

"Tell me Imperial Agent Katia Managan; Fairly sure you can't fit down here, and thanks to you killing three of my people, I now have food and water for probably a solid month. How long can you wait, alone, unprovisioned? I doubt that big ol' body of yours sustains itself on morning dew" He called from the dark within. Katia blinked a few moments, letting the realisation set in.

"FUCK!" She snarled and clawed at the stone entrance. Fairly certain the axe wielding man was deeper within, she attempted to start breaking away the stone tunnels walls. It was hard going, but small pieces were snapping off. After thirty seconds of slight progress, having chipped away some foot or so of stone, she suddenly felt a pin-prick on her belly. Looking down, an arrow had lodged itself just barely passing through the armour. Then another arrow.

"Keep it up, pussycat. Got a good stock of arrows and several bows. Doubt it's doing much to you, but still, I can use the practice!" Herskjar chuckled, the sound of a bowstring following the echo of his voice. A third arrow punched into her and she got the message, rolling to the side and coming to a stand.

She'd fucked up.

An astounding revelation, she inwardly spat bitterly.

She double face-palmed, dragged her hands down off her muzzle, leaving a frustrated pout and kicked the stone entrance in a petty manner. She didn't really have the heart to go full force so all it did was earn an odd thump that echoed down the Ayleid corridor. She stormed back to where she left the Bosmer and her cleaver, and only found the latter, as well as a forgotten entity; the other Khajiit, Ra'adiir, who stood by Katia's weapon, hands up in surrender.

"Okay, so now Khajiit is well aware that there's a good chance I die to you or die out there to bears and bullmen" He pointed to the open fields "Ra'adiir is completely certain that Herskjar will torture this one until he wishes for death, so once again, Khajiit surrenders! Maybe we could flee?" He clasped his hands and tried to look as unthreatening as possible.

Katia scowled, not necessarily at him, but in general, and sighed heavily.

"Fine, but you shut up and get moving....where'd the Bosmer go?"

"Oh, way way over there as soon as he hit the floor, friend" he pointed to the tree line.

"Yep, we're done here" Katia's voice rife with indignation. She grabbed the cleaver and pulled it free, breaking its stone wall prison. She looked over the vast slab of iron, her ears flattened. Another night spent resharpening it, and a reprimanding from her handler.

"I said start walking" She grumbled and pointed southwest. Her prisoner ahead of her, she settled into a very slow, ponderous walk, giving herself time to reflect on how things sometimes stay the same no matter what changes.

The journey was silent, and the sun was chasing ahead of them, drawing shadows longer and longer behind the pair as they walked the Skingrad-Kvatch road. By the time Ra'adiir's shadow had met Katia's feet, a familiar person appeared on the horizon. As bad as Katia's mood had been, it dropped a grade lower as a blue robed Argonian approached.

"Just what in the great wide plane of Aetherius were you doing, Katia!?" The harsh tone stopped Katia in her tracks. She looked even more crestfallen, eyes moistening.

"Capturing a criminal...or...trying to, I guess. I know, Tar-Meena, I should have told you but-"

"I would have said no! Exactly! We don't have time for you to go charging about chasing criminals that may not have even still been there. We are not on patrol! We have a schedule! You've just wasted a rest day getting into trouble....at least this is the criminal, I assume?" Tar-Meena approached, hands crackling with power after noticing the Khajiit man before her wasn't bound in any way, who to his credit put his hands up in surrender.

"Easy, Marsh-swimmer! This one has surrendered! This one had surrendered from the start! Ra'adiir just wants to be put in jail to serve his term! Tell her, big friend" He turned, seeing the wet eyed and cheeked giantess behind him, who sniffled in an adorably pathetic way. Tar-Meena almost dared not ask.

"This isn't the actual ringleader, is it? Now that I think about it, you were chasing that bounty put up when we reached the city. A Nord. So this man is useless" The Argonian was getting depressed just thinking about the mounting catalog of journal notes she'd have to write. She pinched her snout, dark orange scales peppered with green with a dark, off-black hand and shook her head in disbelief.

"Whatever, I'm sure the Kvatch city guard would appreciate questioning this man concerning the Nord. It's getting late; Pick him up and let's get back" She turned and cast a spell on herself. Ra'adiir felt two hands wrap around him and carry him underarm as the giantess and Argonian sprinted down the road. The Argonians legs moved with unnatural quickness, whereas the Khajiit took heavy, long strides.

An hour of supernatural and giant legged jogging, with short intermittent breaks saw them back to Kvatch in time for sundown. The city's walls were wrapped in wooden scaffolding, the Daedric invasion that occurred during the Three Giants Debacle still present a month later, several buildings within in a similar state. There was much talk about the presence of the new Emperor who had been either in hiding on purpose in Kvatch's Chapel of Akatosh, or some other scheme. Either way, their losses and familiarity with the new ruler had lead to a substantial reinforcement and funding for repairs.

Between the manpower and funding, Katia was thankful to not have to deliver trees here as well as Anvil. She arrived at her tent outside the city walls, similar to the one she and Quill-Weave had used back in the Imperial City. She inspected her belongings left here to distract her from her misadventure. Her giants cloak, a vast rope thatched thing made from the heaviest grade materials they could muster, and delivery was present and untouched; to be fair, as important and technically expensive as the delivery was, most thieves would balk at the idea of pilfering 5,000 tons of wood and stone, all expertly strapped together.

Tar-Meena had entered the city after the guards arrested Ra'adiir on charges of banditry. At Katia's request, though, he was likely to spend a few weeks in prison and put to work on the rebuilding efforts as penance. Katia's Argonian handler then returned to her, grumbling about how all cities seemed to anger her, preferring her job of travelling with one person instead of many. Tar-Meena had made a semi-permanent residence out of a wooden hut someone had made before the gates had been fixed from the Daedric siege, which was a stones-throw from

Having stopped crying on the trip home, and fed and drank her evening fill, Katia sat still and closed her eyes, reaching around her for practice and solice; mostly just to try and put the days failings behind her. She reached into the magic realm beyond, not to actually do anything, but it was good practice. Tar-Meena had told her to look for any abnormal strands whenever possible, hoping for some ability to learn more of Katia's condition.

Nothing had presented itself though, not once in the past month. This night though seemed different.

Katia snapped to, aware the dimming light had given way to full darkness outside. She briefly re-entered her trance and came to again.

"Tar-Meena!" Katia scrambled from her tent, and watched the hut door open, the Argonian in a state of semi-undress, rubbing her eyes.

"What is it, Katia; it's late and we have an early start tomorrow"

"I found a thread! I mean, a magic mind thread" Katia's tail whipped against the grassy ground in excitement.

"Hm? Oh, well. I think you should carefully pull yourself along it, see where it goes, but don't go too deep. As soon as anything stands out, 'paint' it and come back. We can study it properly when we come back here from Anvil" She yawned and headed back inside the hut.

Katia nodded to herself and re-entered her tent as well. She lay back on her bedding, and closed her eyes. Again, the circles, lines and patterns flooded her mind, and after a bit of searching, she located the new strand. It was strange, familiar somehow, it reminded her of Anvil first, then like a path hiding in the grass to an old childhood hiding place.

She stopped going deeper, instead, as she had before, she manipulated the strands, imposing her will on it. Colour flooded the area, a vague blob of obtuse energy standing out from the subtle tones and sticking several magic strands together. Tar-Meena had helped her learn to routinely not only enter the framework of magicka but she learned to paint it, essentially leaving bookmarks and pins in an everchanging map both. Every time she entered, something would be different, or move, although largely it remained unchanged so long as not too much time had passed AND she hadn't moved too far. Space and time was a troubled concept she was still learning to work with, but it was definitely interesting.

Curiosity ever the dangerous trapping for her kin, or so the stereotype went, she carried along the winding path, far from where she was at present, or so she assumed, confusing as the sensation was. All the same, the aspects that made Katia physical were far from where she was now, something awkward was pulling her to and fro, as though she was in two places at once. It felt like it might have been painful, or certainly uncomfortable; it was a difficult paradoxical thing.

Then, all of a sudden, she spotted a single point, a node; a pinprick in the aether. This was something she had found before, how she had contacted the beyond, another plane and conjure assistance. She pulled herself into it. For a moment, all ability to be and act were gone to her.

Conventional sensations began to return to her, as though awake once more, though very different, artificial. Katia felt motion, air, albeit thin and hard to breathe, and a slow, drawn out sound, like wind rushing from a cave. It was literally tens of seconds of one tone, then another. Katia came to acknowledge the phenomena; breathing.

Vision begun to flow through her newly birthed eyes, aware she was in a large platform, creases and cracks in rivers, patterns and flows around her. Beyond this platform, blue skies, clouds seeming so near. Katia wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but she attempted to look down at herself; only to find scaled hands, an impressive cleavage stuffed in a dress. Emotions rocked her as they became another tangible aspect; unfathomable sadness, more than a burning anger, and deep regrets. Katia pushed away these these alien thoughts, dispersing the haze they formed and a tickle ran through her body.

The scales of her arms flaked away, giving passage to yellow fur. Her clothes melted away as the fur sprouted across her whole form, and she was a little disappointed that her chest deflated slightly as the impressive busom turned to a more familiar, pert shape. She looked behind her, a tingle on her spine as the thick, muscular Argonian tail thinned at the base, becoming her long, lithe appendage.

A vast, skeleton rattling sound, akin to patterned thunder, rolled through. Katia placed her hands over her ears in reaction, barely able to keep her footing. She staggered back, towards the edge of the vast, moving platform, looking at snowy mountains in the distance, way down below, a tiny settlement just visible through the frosty mist pouring down the slopes. She became aware of three sides being mostly empty of anything but the world beyond, but one side had five enormous curved pillars of rust coloured, leathery material; just like her platform.

"Fuck...what WAS that!?" She gasped, gauging if she'd gone deaf, but then remembered that this wasn't a natural place, and standard rules didn't apply. That didn't stop her from panicking when she saw the pillars begin to slowly curl around, attempting to flatten her. She squealed, hopping in place in a flurry of motion, before she sucked in a deep breath, and felt herself grow in a single huge spurt, tens of feet in moments. She raised her hands, still on the edge nearest the left-most pillar, and caught the falling limb.

Despite her worst fears of lacking the strength, or maybe surprised by the resistance, the appendage stopped. The booming sound came again, though seemingly lowered in strength. Katia could make out the sounds, give them form.

"DDDAAAARRRR-MMMAAA??" It said, quizzically. The platform slightly ramped back, and Katia became aware of the gargantuan face of her dear friend. Joy flooded inside her and the pillars, fingers as long as she now was tall, retracted.

"Hey, Quilly! How've you been?" Katia sighed with relief and sat on the huge palm of her friend. The giant lizard blinked, eyes audible closing together with a heavy thud, and again. Deep confusion riddled the Argonian's face. Katia looked around, becoming aware of a peculiar tapestry flowing from the colossus; thoughts, emotions and even descriptions of Quill-Weave's senses ran out of her, and into Katia. A journal of acts, musings and more smacked into Katia's own, and those of the being she had used as an entry point. She became aware of Dar-Ma as a person. She became aware of Dar-Ma as Quill-Weave's lover.

"I've been in a deeply confused fog of my own horrible choices. You?" Quill-Weave's voice boomed, Katia getting used to feeling the words as she heard them.

"Oh, you know; delivering rocks and trees for buildings here, blowing stuff up there, healing good guys and stepping on the occasional bad one" Katia relaxed, having a friend to banter with again after spending so long being eye-brow, or she guessed eye-ridge beaten by Tar-Meena. Katia deeply respected and liked Tar-Meena, make no mistake, but she wasn't exactly friend material.

The relaxed sensation sent another tingle through her, and just as aspects of Quill-Weave's mind had entered Katia's own, the dream form of the Argonian also reciprocated since Dar-Ma was Quill's own focus here. The feeling made Katia giggle as she couldn't hold back another growth spurt, doubling her size.

"I thought I was making progress, dealing with all this nonsense since YOU made me this way, but...I dunno, again, I can't blame you for doing what you're passionate about and the mistakes. You didn't know what you were getting into....but I can't help but feel mad anyway" Quill breathed out heavily, Katia's fur rippling like a field of wheat in a stiff breeze. The 'ground' shook as the despondant Argonian adjusted her position, burying her head into her knees and wrapping her unused arm around them.

"We all make mistakes, sure. I make more than my share" Katia tried to hide the inherent sorrow of her most recent screw up; it made her sound disinterested, especially as a sigh escaped her. "The important thing I always learned was never giving up" Thank you, Aggy. Katia briefly reminisced about the Dunmer spirit.

"Sure, I've read that in like, a thousand fucking books, Katia. It doesn't matter any more. If this is a dream, then I'll just wake up and carry on; good old stoic Quill-Weave, too self absorbed to give enough of a shit about a really great girl in her life to pick up her awful sticks and move somewhere else!" Katia felt a shudder as Quill described Dar-Ma. The lingering memories of Dar-Ma's feelings, created by Quill-Weave but genuine nonetheless, prodded into Katia's mind. It was beginning to become hard to ignore, but she quelled it all the same; she had to focus.

Back in the now once more, Katia felt more than a little hurt, but she'd been scorned by worse before. She let her mind wonder and piece together what Quill had just experienced. She was determined to perk her friend up. Being inside Quill-Weave; her hopes, dreams and regrets were well hidden behind her own self professed stoicism. Still, Katia had a litany within the temple of the Argonian's mind, so she worked with it

"See, that's why we work I think. You had made something of yourself, you stuck with it, but when the opportunity came to chase something else, you couldn't" Okay, Katia, you've spent your fuck up earlier today, keep up the pace of successful, wise-ish theorising "I tried to make something of myself, and I've sought every opportunity to make it work, even if I caused this whole mess" Nailed it? She thought it made sense. She smiled at Quill-Weave.

This whole mess, she realised, and thinking of it sent another tingle down her spine and along her tail. She shivered and grinned as the pleasing sensation doubled her size again. Running out of room, she noticed the rather perfectly formed groove made by Quill-Weave's lower legs down to her planted feet, tiny trees visible around them like moss. Knowing the fall couldn't kill her even if she messed up, she nonetheless enjoyed a slide down onto the ground, landing on the miniature forest, aware her impact had shaken the ground.

"So, that's it, right? I'm too big for anyone else, trapped in this life, and can only ever be with someone who's bigger than her because of whatever hex is still stuck in my fucked up head?" Be with? Katia's ears flittered about. She thought about Quill-Weave's lover, the feelings inside of her, feeling the adoration the two had for each other.

"Y'know, I had some thoughts about that" The Khajiit was stalling for time as she wandered the floor, trying to make sense of her own feelings and that of her host in Quill's dream.

Katia adored Quill-Weave too; she realised a while ago that, selfishly, this Argonian had given her several chances and hadn't taken advantage or given up on her. When Katia had been under the influence of the spell, those feelings had taken a darker turn; less of an emotional support, and more of a resource. She hated these feelings, they still lingered within her. She wondered if she could get rid of them.

"Oh, this'll be rich" Quill murmered. Katia nodded to herself, her determination to cheer up Quill-Weave growing stronger, bolstered by dream Dar-Ma's own wish to support the mopey lizard.

"I think that, sure, the magic I casted planted a kind of seed" Just like her own, birthing some weird wannabe Empress "But after what happened with Dar-Ma, you secretly wanted to be pulled along by someone else, just as she tried to do with you" Quill-Weave's own personality change had been a dedicated follower, after all.

"Forced to become something you're not; that desire made it grow and flourish, not just me" Tapping into these sensations for so long, she'd lost her concentration, leading to another uncontrolled growth spurt. Aware of the growing sensation Quill-Weave had encountered in her own portion, Katia's own hot white internal pain started forming, but knowing it wasn't real, she smiled calmly and let it do what it willed. She took a deep breath, hoping to hold it for a moment, only to have it pop, and she sprouted taller, the ground being ploughed aside as her feet dug deeper, now half Quill-Weave's size. With no response still, Katia continued, becoming slightly desperate for a proper response. A concern emerged that she was talking to her own reflection of Quill-Weave, but then...where did Dar-Ma come from?

"Make no mistake though, Quilly. I'm not even completely sure that I'm actually here, because I was supposed to be outside Kvatch sleeping. My handler's been trying to teach me about my magicka manipulation thing; y'know, how I learned telekinesis and the skeleton summoning thing?"

Something specific, distracting and not self-absorbed, trying to pull the Argonians attention from her own despondant thoughts. Idle banter instead of mulling over the same thing again.

Quill-Weave did actually look down at her for a moment, seeming unsure, then buried her head again.

"Nah, you can't be here, It's just cruel irony that when I've fucked up this bad, I think of you" Katia wasn't sure if that was ironic or just cruel association, but she doubted Quill-Weave, having grown to titanic size and squashed a whole city under her well toned ass was in her right frame of mind. This big as well, Katia mused, she really did make an impressive figure. Katia snapped herself back to the topic at hand.

"Well, we haven't been in contact for a while, yet I knew Dar-Ma's name, even though you didn't tell me" Katia felt a weakness in her mind as she invoked the name of her host. The prodding of dream Dar-Ma's aspects intensified, the Empress' concepts of usage were being smothered by the warm embrace of Quill-Weave's thicker limbs, the feeling of tongue on tongue. Okay, Katia! Stop! Focus! Quill-Weave needs you now, more than you WANT her. What else was there....friendship!

There were a few new Argonians Quill-Weave had met.

"I'm feeling this sense of happiness in you from meeting those other Argonian's. Heh, I even feel a little bit of grossed-outness from that Otumeel guy's flirting" Katia successfully quelled the roaming thoughts as she giggled "he's named like breakfast" she irreverently added.

Quill-Weave at first looked a bit annoyed at the play on words, and despite carrying that feeling forward, she couldn't help but laugh at the sudden prod at the goofy furniture mover.

"Okay, that's just racist, and anyway, you just know those things because you're a figment of my dream" Stoic? More like stubborn, Katia felt it was time to get rough.

"Oh, yeah? Could a dream figment do...this?" Katia jogged up and push-kicked Quill-Weave in the hip. The scales barely compressed, and Katia stumbled a little. She then saw beneath the tent of the Argonians red legs, and saw something that made the Dar-Ma in her punch Empress Katia in the tits and throw her in a barrel. Saw something intimite. Katia shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Yep, pretty sure it could" Quill grumbled, shoving a gale of air out of her lungs. Katia's mind swam, she could smell it on the bigger woman; Quill-Weave had entered the dream, contact made, embracing, the barely suppressed urge to drink the drink of Dar-Ma. Katia rubbed her hands together, but became aware of a sense of Quill-Weave being pulled. She was getting close to waking up, and Katia wasn't going to let that happen.

"Okay, I can feel you're starting to stir, better make this work"

She opened her mind to Dar-Ma's feelings, and any regard to Katia's own sense of attraction, tweaked as it was to unconditionally love Quill-Weave as a friend and companion. This was overridden as her brain began to shut down. This had the unintentional effect of also letting every other aspect she'd been pulling on into her.

As such, a fire as hot as the hottest summers day standing next to a thousand braziers exploded inside her, and in the blink of an eye, Katia felt her limbs bulge and stretch, torso devouring space around it, she burst skyward, head reaching the clouds. She looked down at the tiny Argonian, now only as tall as most people were to her, knee high. Her eyes drooped, and she let her tongue lick around her lips. Before Quill-Weave had a chance to do anything, Katia pushed her knees down and ran her hands over Quill's, pinning her down. The Argonian looked slightly panicked, but the wide eyes drank in the Khajiit; gaze dancing at the dripping tongue, the sway of her tits, the broadness of her hips in the air and the hungry look in her eyes.

"Could a dream figment do...this?" She rumbled and stroked her barbed tongue over the soft scales of Quill-Weave's chest, the breasts giving and pushing about from the muscular lapping. Quill-Weave tasted of many things, odd as it was being a dream version of herself, but to Katia, she tasted sweet, delectable, nourishing to her very soul. The lazy circles made of her tongue drooped lower, taking in the grooves of Quill's lightly ridged abdominals. The Argonian couldn't hold back the low groan.

Dar-Ma loved them, the curves and divots on the smooth, slightly rounded belly; a strong core that could dominate her, shoving her onto a bed and taking everything of her. Katia's own attractions shattered. Men held no joy for her in this moment, she had received much in her years, and now she would take. She glanced down at the slick, dripping and swollen opening between Quill-Weave's legs.

Katia felt thirstier than she'd ever felt before.

The barbed tongue dipped into the nectar cup, a taste as strong as any liquor Katia had ever tasted, headier, it made her drunker but control was hers to use. Her heart pounded to an unstoppable rhythm.

Quill-Weave gasped and tried to take in air, constantly frustrated and interrupted by another draw of the smooth yet rough dance between her legs, the half breaths starving her mind of air in mere moments, eyes attempting to roll back in her skull. Katia dug deeper still, feeling the muscles inside of her tiny lover clench around it, making it hard to pull out, such was the size of the tongue buried deep. But she had to, for she felt her lip bump against something posed at the top of Quill's womanhood; needing, twitching, yearning.

Quill-Weave screamed as Katia ran the spines backwards, the smoother angle, and felt the ground shake slightly as the Argonian lost control of her body, writhing with every ounce of strength. Then, to finish the job, the Khajiit dragged the spikes so slowly, teasingly back up. Each individual hook bumping, a thousand tiny pointed licks in a single lap.

Suddenly, Katia felt her hands impact the ground, and her small lover had been taken from her, gone, only the vast crater of her impact remaining.

"Ah, no! Not now!" Katia whispered breathlessly. Her own needs obvious, as a river of her fluids joined the Rumare as they poured from her, as her legs surrounded the Imperial City behind her. Frustrations taking over, Katia turned over, her own ass quaking the ground as she pinched at her own button, fingers diving deep while her other hand fondled and squeezed and caressed a perky, mountainous breast.

As release neared, she felt another hot white explosion within, her body bulging and shaking the ground by the matter of growth alone. The Imperial city drew nearer and nearer to the vast cave of Katia's sex and was then overtaken by it. The growth wouldn't end until she brought it to an end, and the country, then countries became buried under thousands, then tens of thousands of feet of writhing Khajiit. With a scream that sent a shockwave flattening mountains, cities and the continent itself cracking under her violent, world ending orgasm; her ejaculate fluids barraged the sea, a far of land on the edge of Katia's own blurring vision would be buried under a tidal-wave of her own making.

Katia fell backwards, knowing the mass of her body landing so heavily would likely shatter whatever was left of Tamriel, but suddenly, a weightlessness yanked her, dragging her all the way back and with a gasp, she awoke. Her hands were slick with her own real world actions immitating her dream, the warmth and tingle ran through her body as she must have brought herself to orgasm several times, judging by the wet patch on the floor.

"Katia, wake up, take your pendant off, and come get your breakfast, double quick! We're leaving before the sun is above the treeline!" Tar-Meena called out, mercifully distant. Katia smiled and did as instructed, feeling a sadly milder shiver run up her spine as her body began to enlarge, almost imperceptible compared to what she had just experienced, but she knew that soon, she would be hundreds of feet tall to deliver her thousands of tons of materials. A single loaf of meat, bread and grains awaited her as a rapidly devoured breakfast, a Count sized bath of water to wash it down, another normal day for her. At least on the outside.

A revelation forced its way into her head; Being smart doesn't hurt. And a little luck now and then is nice. But the key is patience and hard work.

This wasn't the first time she'd had these weird self-reflective realisations; she'd had several in quick succession since her training started as an Imperial Agent. She looked outside the tent, getting some clean air from the scent of her nightly activities.

Daybreak was fast approaching, and along with many other revelations; Katia was now well aware she had brought the artificial aspect of Quill-Weave's own sexual desires with her, the sexual drive Quill knew Dar-Ma had for her. Katia knew she could again find the male form an exciting one, but now, while perhaps not all women held the same sway, just thinking of her fellow giantess sent a tingle through her stronger than any other exciting thought. The unsure attraction was now a distracting, intense, one woman fetish.

Frankly, Katia couldn't be happier with this. The next time they would meet, she would have Quill-Weave, and Quill-Weave would have her.