Friendship's Gift
By Kizurial (aka JD) joandoe
Description: Ahnassi wants more than gifts from her special friendship
Content Codes: Angst, Anthro, ChallengeFic, COMPLETE, Exhib, M/F, NoSex, Oneshot
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. This story was written for the prompt 'Gifts'.
The Khajiit thief Ahnassi paced her home in the Fort town of Pelagiad as she awaited the overdue return of her Orc friend. She wore nothing over her feline form but the valuable Flamemirror robe he'd given as his most recent gift. Previously owned by a powerful Mage, he had simply walked into the hostile Dark Elf's lair with his Warhammer and 'aggressively defended' himself until the Mage and his followers were dead. She paused to smell the fragrant flowers of an earlier gift with a wrinkle of her whiskered snout. He had gained them after striding fearlessly through swampland and destroying a swarm of Cliff Racers.
She had given him gifts in return, of items and information, and he gladly brought her all that she asked for, and much else. Whenever he came to Pelagiad he stayed in her house, ate and talked with her, and slept in his bedroll on her floor. It was the last point that was the fly in Ahnassi's otherwise smooth ointment. Her special friendship with the Orc had even begun with a heartfelt compliment she gave him in the tavern. She had flirted many times since, and he clearly admired her agility and other skills of thievery, but he never took any hint to lay with her. She had decided it was time to move beyond hinting.
Physically, Orc and Khajiit could not be more different. He was over a head taller than her and perhaps three times as heavy with his hard battle trained muscles compared to her lithe cat-like... Ahnassi heard the front door open, and the familiar heavy tread of the Orc. Nobody else she knew could make the floor protest so much just by quietly walking across it. Ahnassi purred as she slinked up through her house to greet him. He had already started to change out of his glass armour as she entered, but paused and greeted her with a smile on his dark green lips,
"A glorious day my friend. I have brought you another…" he stopped when he noted her open robe and turned his face away, "your robe seems to have come undone," he managed gruffly.
"Hah, no. Today I show you my natural gifts. This Khajiit can wait no longer for her Orc friend to realise the truth of her love for him."
He sighed, then, and continued slipping off his armour until he wore only the baggy pants beneath
"I do know how you feel about me, cunning Ahnassi. I may solve most of the problems I face with a Warhammer blow to the head, but my intelligence is not Skooma addict low!"
The Orc stood to his full height, and held his arms open for Ahnassi. She ran to him with great joy in her heart, but also trepidation, for there was sadness in the Orc's voice. He wrapped his mighty arms around her, and held her close as she nuzzled his scarred chest,
"It is because I feel the same way about you that I cannot be with you. I… I can break skulls without breaking sweat. I have fought everything from mud crabs to the most senior knight of the Imperial Legion in Morrowind. I broke his skull too, in the Arena. If I was to be with you, to loose my passions upon you, I fear I would break you too. I could not bear that torment."
Ahnassi's joy bled out as if from a mortal wound. Tears formed in the corners of her feline eyes and ran down through her fur. She swallowed a lump in her throat, unsure if it were emotion or hairball. Her frailty had always been an advantage, aiding her in sneaking more silently than most any other. Now it seemed an unarguable reason why her heart's truest love could not be with her - so argue she did,
"I would risk it all, to be with you. You have risked such dangers to bring me fine gifts; this robe is more exquisite than any other in the town. I could be killed tomorrow if I were discovered thieving, and I should hate to die without having known life as your lover."
Her voice was harsher and more beastlike than he'd ever heard it, for it broke with the anguish that wracked her. He replied,
"We are friends; I come here as often as I am able. In my worst moments, I think of our time together and it brings me joy and reason to best my foes quickly, and return. I have seen friends and comrades die, but never by my own hand. We would lose what joy we have together if I were to rut you and split your body from navel to whiskers."
The Orc stepped back and pushed down his pants. He wanted to make a point to the Khajiit and, with his blunt speech and display, he succeeded. Even flaccid his member hung almost to his knee and appeared thicker than her arm – and she'd thought the Orc women were so happy because of all the hard partying and fighting that was so acceptable amongst their race. She doubted she could even clasp her fingers about it, even with claws out. No wonder he used his dagger as often as his Warhammer; he wasn't compensating.
He reached a rough nailed green finger to her face and tenderly smoothed the tears from her fur.
"I know there are other things we could do together as lovers, but when the passion is in me I would not want to be responsible. I cannot take the chance. It is weak of me, I know, weak and terrible, like the scum who say they cannot help themselves with a helpless female."
"Hush my friend, you are nothing like them. Nothing. I accept your words for what they are; a gift of our friendship. Dress yourself and we'll eat and talk, yes?"
Ahnassi smiled as she accepted friendship over lust.
End.