A/N: Hi! Long time no see, huh? Welp, I decided I would write a little blurb about Kismet since it's been such a long time. No use explaining when you can just read it, eh?

…

Alix is the first person Aryvis sees when he drops down into the Sanctuary.

Or, rather, she's the first to see him.

Which he doesn't notice until she shoves him over into a dark alcove, almost bending him over backwards atop a barrel. "What are you doing back here?!" she hisses, green eyes alight under the shadow of her hood.

"I'm here to work," he says flatly, and tries to yank his arm free, but she's holding him tight.

"Stay still. You can't be seen here, you shouldn't be here…" she looks up and down the hall, making sure no one's near, "The Wrath is coming for you, Aryvis, you have to be ready—"

Aryvis' eyes narrow almost on their own, the memory of waking up to the wraith flashing in his mind. "It's come already. I've beaten it, and now I'm back."

"Why would you do that?" he can't tell if she's just curious or infuriated—her tone falls somewhere in between the two—but before he can answer there are footsteps and Fadril's shrouded form appears down the hall. The elder Dunmer stops in his tracks, red gaze going from Alix to Aryvis and back again, before he ushers the both of them down to his quarters.

"I thought Aerius had killed you," Fadril sighs it as he wraps Aryvis in a tight embrace, like he can't believe that the younger mer had survived. He probably can't.

"He left me barely enough breath to get me home," Aryvis murmurs into the elder's shoulder, gripping harder than he'd expected he would. Saying it aloud forces him to face how close he'd come to losing his life these past weeks. "And the Wrath did little to help."

"But you bested it—that's amazing! Suleri would be so proud," Fadril holds Aryvis at arm's length, looking him in the eye as he mentions the late mage. There's a small smile on his lips, but it soon fades, "And what of your lover? Is he alright?"

"He's fine." the former Arch-Mage's face falls flat at the mention of Raminus; he's not quite ready to talk about that part of the situation yet.

Of course, ever-observant Alix notices this, and grabs hold of his shoulder to make him face her. "He left you, didn't he? Is that why you left the University?"

Aryvis' jaw clenches and he looks away, trying in vain to force the memory from his mind. "The Wrath came, and I fought it alone, but Raminus had questions, and he wasn't satisfied with the answers."

"I'm sorry it came to that," the blonde sighs, "But why would you come back?"

"I'm no longer the Arch-Mage, there's nothing for me to do. I don't want to go back to the College, for a very long time; this is something I'm good at, and now I can do it anytime."

"Is that really what you want?" Fadril doesn't sound convinced.

But Aryvis is adamant; nothing is going to change his mind now. "It's all I have left. I don't care where you send me, as long as it isn't the Imperial City."

…

Raminus has never been more dissatisfied.

Even now, his skin coated with a fine sheet of sweat, breath coming in rapid pants, hands still gripping a pair of soft ass cheeks because he's just emptied himself into Boderi Farano for the third time in as many days, he's spent and loose and all warm down in the pit of his stomach but it isn't nearly as good as it used to be.

Her skin isn't dark enough, there's too much of a greenish tint to the pigment, and her body's too different, soft curves and smooth skin where hard muscles and callouses should be. She isn't as tight as he's used to, even if it is a different situation entirely, and he misses those gruff Daedric curses as opposed to her breathless moaning. All in all it just feels wrong, and he suddenly feels dirty.

"Boderi," he says after clearing his throat, and he feels so awkward saying this when she's sitting on top of him, when he's still buried deep inside her. "Boderi, I think you should go now."

"What?" she looks and sounds so insulted he barely stifles his wince. "Excuse me, Arch-Mage, but that might be a little difficult with you holding me to you and all."

His hands fly off her hips, back up close to his body, and he chooses to ignore the comment on his position. "You're right, I'm sorry."

She dismounts him with great dignity, leaving him none as his half-hard member flops wetly onto his stomach. As she turns and bends over to gather her clothing he spies a thick drop of whitish fluid beginning to trail down her inner thigh, but it doesn't worry him in the least; the protection spells they'd both cast on her are reliably capable of avoiding pregnancies. "My, my. You've turned into quite the whore, haven't you, Raminus?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean with the way you suddenly decided to start bedding me out of the blue," she just shrugs, pulling on her undergarments, "And I definitely saw Julienne walking back to her quarters early in the morning a few days ago, no doubt from your bed."

It's his turn to be insulted, even if what she says is true. "Two women? That's hardly whorish behavior, Boderi."

"For any other man, no. But you, dear, are painfully monogamous. You aren't really known to sow your oats so freely," she turns back to him after pulling on her dress, smoothing it down in various places. "This is about Aryvis, isn't it?"

At the mention of the former Arch-Mage he clenches his jaw, but it's more because his heart twists painfully than because of any kind of anger. "He has nothing to do with this."

"Right." Boderi nods, because he's really a terrible liar. "Well, I'll be taking my leave, then. And if you feel the need to use me for your catharsis again, you know where I'll be."

She gives him a little wave before moving to the portal out of his quarters, leaving him alone, and uncomfortable as the various bodily fluids finally dry on his skin. He ignores the ache behind his ribs once the memories begin to flit through his mind, trying in vain to force them away before giving up and going to bathe.

He only lasts three days before Boderi's back in his bed.