Title: Kinship

Author: Kariki Neroli

Rating: Hard R

Pairing: Rimmer Dall/Pe Ell

Warning: Not Beta Read and Short (882 words)

Rimmer Dall liked their kinship – his and Pe Ell's that is. And the… entertaining games that came with it. Games that involved trying to prove their strength and dominance over the other - Games that usually resulted in one of their lives being threatened. It was how their kinship had begun after all and it would not surprise either if that was how it ended.

It probably started as they first stared each other down, the ruin of a human body between them. They didn't know how long they stood there, gazing in each other's eyes, searching for the other's identity and secrets. When they finally spoke, it was Dall, remarking that the assassin had gotten blood splattered on his cheek. It was with this morbid politeness that their kinship was ensured, though that kinship was far from promising protection from the other.

Together, they left the victim, already cold in his bed, and stepped out into the wind that always seemed to blow through the streets of this southern city. They spared no words to each other; there was no need for them. Both knew what they wanted and both knew they could get it from the other. No one bothered them, these two people of the night. Their attention found more important things than these two young men, barely twenty years of age.

They entered the inn, a small wooden building, filled with smoke from the cooking fires of the kitchen and the smoke from the pipes of its patrons. No one gave them a second glance as they ordered their room and silently went up the stairwell.

Once they entered, they again stared at one another in the shadows of another bedchamber. Both silent, studying the other, once again searching for weakness they could exploit.

It was Dall who made the first move, closing the distance between them and pulling the man, only slightly younger than his host body, into a heated kiss. The shadowen felt the cold blade of the assassin's knife pressed to his throat in seconds. The transition from a weaponless Pe Ell to a dangerous one had been as smooth as silk. Dall smirked, seeing the flicker in the other's hazel eyes, a flicker of bloodlust and sadistic need.

Dall took hold of Pe Ell's wrist and gently pushed the blade away, letting the human think the move had been voluntary. They shinning blade vanished as fast as it had appeared.

The red haired man led Pe Ell to the bed, both knowing, though one would never admit, who had won this night. They undressed themselves, neither fully trusting the other and both knowing this encounter was not that intimate. Each eyed their companion's naked form; both had kept one thing on their bodies. For Pe Ell, it was his blade, strapped to his thigh, for Dall, it was his elbow length glove.

They climbed onto the bed at the same time, attention fully focused on the other's movement. They studying one another again, both determined to find the other's secrets and to learn more of the strange, enigmatic person they were about to bed. Pe Ell finally relented his place, laying down on his back for the other. Dall smiled and straddled the lean man, hands resting on narrow shoulders as he mentally traced the old and long faded scars that adorned Pe Ell's chest.

Their eyes once gain locked as they positioned themselves, Dall between Pe Ell's thighs and Pe Ell's legs around Dall's waist. Their copulation was quick and harsh, making the mortal wince in pain though it was nothing he hadn't endured before from his first victim. They rocked their bodies together, a rhythm slowly emerging; Pe Ell would rock downward as Dall rocked up, forcing their bodies to merge deeper. Their bonding was soon ended with a few more brutal thrusts and rough, soft moans and grunts. Both fell asleep afterwards, Dall not bothering to leave the other's body.

Dall woke early, finding that his host body had an adequate amount of rest. Under him, Pe Ell still slept soundly, the narrow chest rising and falling with the deep, calm breaths. Dall pulled out of the other, whose only reaction was a slight twitch of muscle in his cheek. The red haired shadowen's focus traveled down the other's body and stopped at the knife strapped to his thigh. The blade radiated a power and magic that intrigued him.

Dall glanced up once to make sure the other still slept and reached for the blade. Instantly, he was flipped over onto his back, Pe Ell, wide away, on top of him, pinning him down, and the black pressed to Dall's throat. Dall quickly came out of his shock-induced haze and watched the other's face.

The bloodlust and sadistic glint still glittered in the man's eyes but a new element had joined them. Dall has seen that light in the others before. Seen it in the eyes of school children as their teacher spoke of the time before the Great Wars, seen it in the eyes of adventurers when they found the reason for their journeys, seen it in the eyes of scholars as they read from old, dusty volumes that had laid, long forgotten, in their libraries. It was a thirst for knowledge.

Dall smiled even as the other threatened his life.

This kinship would be very interesting indeed.

End

I know it's short and bad but after searching for days and not finding any Shannara slash (Except the two on I got desperate. sweatdrop