"ohhey ," NekSed perked up , "i asked Mama what "nepotism" meant ."

"Oh yeah?" , NekDih amused her . "What's it mean ?" .

"xe said nepotism is when you put your family above everyone else ."

"Hnh . Neat ."

"So i asked xer , hey Mama? . and xe's like yeah? . and i'm like , does that make us nepotists ? ."

"Oh yeah? What'd xe say ?"

"yeah . that it does ."

"That's hilarious ."

They sat on the porch of some government building . Sizing people up . Johns . Chumps . It was the middle of the day . A better time to go to sleep , to wake up when the sun began going down , when there was enough room to exist .

"oh and i asked xer what "despotism" meant too ."

"Are we despots too ? ."

"na , na . Mama said despots are people who accumulate power without other people and just build up power for themselves at everyone else's expense ."

"So we are nepots but not despots ."

"yeah , yeah ."

Time passed , and silence passed . The sky was open and blue and dotted with fluffy, perfect clouds .

"oh yeah and yu know how Mama has that cybernetic eye that gives xer all the readouts and hit boxes and stuff ? i asked xer how xe lost xer eye in the first place ."

"Oh ? . How's that ? ."

"xe said xe blew it out skullfucking yer dad ."

NekDih almost laughed . "Actually ? ."

NekSed grinned thru sharp teeth . "yeah . said that xe was giving him a wetter one day and he thrusted and blew it out ."

"That's hilarious ."

"Hey NekSed ?" .

"Yeah NekDih ?" .

"You're pretty okay . For a sister , i mean ."

NekSed smiled . "I love you too , brother ."

-+-+-+-+-

"Hey . Evilscale . Wake up ."

"Hnnnh?" NekSed groaned . The sun was just starting to go down . "it isn't even starlight yet ." Pulling her travel cloak over her body . "wake me when it's time to work ." .

"No , Batshit . There's music playing at the park ."

She peeked thru her hood . "what kinna music ?" .

"I dunno . Jazz and stuff . Good stuff . Get up ."

He was about to start kicking her . It meant that he wasn't willing to abandon her .

She glared once more for good measure . NekDih had good taste in music . If he said it was worth waking up for , it probably was .

Picking herself up , "yeah , okay . where ?" .

"Park ." He said shortly , getting antsy , leg twitching from standing in one place for too long .

She didn't waste time . Wrapped her cloak around her , picked up her bags , all linked together like Mama taught her , unlinked them , and slung them over her shoulders . It was a short walk from the financial district to the local market , brimming with life piled upon life until it was overflowing the boundaries of the streets with buildings and signs in every colour .

The sound of guitar could be heard from around the corners , a clarion call beckoning the two(2)deux of them forward . The lutist sang of righteousness and the love of God , flanked by a djembe drummer on one side and a tambourinist on the other . NekDih began dancing like a crystal vibrates when exposed to electricity , automatically , his black cherry coin sash jingling and sparkling along with the tambourine . A couple men cheered . Another whistled . Brother NekDih looked like a girl , a fact which never seemed to bother him . Even NekSed was jumping around a little bit .

"God's hand..." , she followed , "reckon is coming... lead me thru the fall...! NekDih! psst! hey!" .

NekDih didn't need to stop dancing in order to talk . "Whaaat , whaddya want ?" .

"this is from Gospel Of The Saint !" .

"Great , sounds fantastic ." He admitted freely as he kick-stepped around the percussion's bassy drumming . Step, hop, kick . Step, hop, kick , shimmy shimmer . Dancing wasn't something that NekDih did , it was something that happened in the presence of music .

"and true believers..." she muttered , following along , "shall meet new challenges naked !" . To NekDih , it was damn good music . To NekSed , a miracle . Another miracle , that happened to her on a weekly , sometimes daily , basis , when she actively followed the path of God . NekSed had inherited her mother's magical codexes , knew the interactions between metal and lightning , spirit and aether . And yet , some things just could not be handwaved away , no matter how many kinds of physics she piled on . "tch! AyaShLi should be here ! . this is totally er kind of music to dance to ." .

"E is ," NekDih pointed out . A few paces away , a living deity in ash-white robes danced cutely , hopping tiny steps and swaying er hips with er elbows locked , hands vertical and bunched into little balls . E swayed easily , freely , a blissful smile on er face .

"God and Lord and Saint above!" , NekSed invoked . Miracles , fukkin miracles ! . "hey , AyaSh--" .

NekDih clamped a hand over her mouth . "Fuck's sake , sis , let er finish ." .

-+-+-+-+-

No one had ever written their stories correctly before .
They had been crying and shouting and calling out for Mother .
Everywhere they looked , traces of xer ,
phantoms , memories , the bones and the remnants ,
the olde guards of the houses
still clinging to their bardiches ,
the cackling wheelers ,
but where is xe ,
WHERE
IS MOTHER ?! .

NekDih awoke from a dream with a start , wrenching himself into a sitting position . Looked for the windows , the candles , the golden Abbey stone . Not here . Seeing the ribbed glass and the wooden shutters , expecting rain and thunder , no , no , that's just the tavern downstairs . NekSed sleeping in bed next to him , xer thinly-scaled skin shimmering gossamer in the Gaslamp light from outside .

Picking up the antique rifle his mother had given him , he carted it all the way to the other side of the room in order to set it next to the hotel desk he used as a chair . The floor was still wet , the towels all soaked , from NekSed taking multiple showers and a bath . NekDih cared less if he was still covered in last night's cum .

The dream haunted him , felt real , even tho he couldn't place it in his memories . Mother had always been there for them , had guided them all growing up , and even after xe moved to the Convent in the next village over , the gifts xe had given them were constant reminders of xer presence , xer protection .

He picked and picked and picked at the dream , tried to remember the faces , the words they said , the setting in which they occurred , and getting only fading ghosts and fractional memories . It felt so real . Like something he had already been thru , even tho it hadn't happened yet .

The night felt like a thunderstorm , even tho the clouds were sparse and clear . Something about xer being around something , inside some place people don't go . Asking person after person , colourful dwarves singing , clockwork machinists with over-twisted moustaches , they knew . Some of them knew , knew where Mother was , what had happened to xer , where xe had gone . Sometimes he was violent . They knew , and they wouldn't tell him .

He picked at the dream like a scab . They knew , somehow they knew , and they wouldn't tell him .

The Itch started to pry at him . Looked at his sister , sleeping , thought about waking her up with his fingers . Going downstairs to the bar and finding a john . Idly , he began masturbating his macroclitoris as he thought . Sex was the only thing that calmed him down , especially when he was stressed about something .

The dream had seemed so real . It stressed him .

He stroked his macroclitoris vertically . Pleasure took the edge off . Still . He picked at it . Distracted himself . Vexed over flickers . Focused on the pleasure . When was the last time they went to visit xer ? . Reaching new heights of pleasure , edging himself cool . Who were those people , why did they all act like they knew something ? . It felt so real . Uhn...! .

Haaah . NekDih panted , his breath getting heavier and hoarser , Haaah , feeling like a shaken bottle of ale , Haaah . The pleasure balled within him and grew and radiated . Haaah .

It came on like a foot in a door , he knew he was going to cum . Consistently , with two(2)deux fingers , up and down , up and down . Haaah . Gonna cum . Just . Almost . There .

He shuddered , convulsed once , grunted , his leg kicked . His hips went taut and his pelvis thrusted , eyes winced shut , aaah...! .

"Hm?" , from the bed .

"Oh , shi ," he swore , remembering the rest of the room he was in .

"NekDih ?" , NekSed called out into the empty night .

"Uh , yeah . Hey ." Blushing .

"You okay ?" , she asked , caring .

"Uh , yeah . I'm fine ." Oh my god , what a dork . Blushing like a fiend . "Yeah , i was just thinking aloud ." .

NekSed looked up , eyes adjusting to the dim gaslight . Saw her brother on the desk , legs spread , took a second , clued in . "Thiiinking , huuuh? ." .

NekDih smiled a bashful smile that looked so beautiful . "Heh . Yeah . Thinking ."

Amourously , NekSed sat up in bed , began crawling over . Slipped from beneath the sheets and on her feet , gossamer scales shimmering otherworldly in the light . NekDih and NekSed linked minds , smiled at the same time .

NekSed slinked to the other side of the small room , knelt down in front of her brother , and took him in her mouth .

"Sed , you don't gotta--"

"Shh ," she shushed him . "Let me ."

He blushed , and smiled , and let her .

With practiced care and muscles that were long-used to the topology of her brother's unusual anatomy , NekSed took her brother in her mouth like she would any other guy . Her lips locked around the base , with a gentle vacuum started coaxing , up and down , just like he did it .

"Aaah , easy , easy ," he winced , still sensitive .

NekSed smiled with her eyes and opened wider , massaging the erectile tissue around his base with her mouth and warming his macroclitoris with her breath , opened her throat like she would if he'd had a phallus . NekDih started to relax , the tension cooling rapidly , and then the stress evaporating off his shoulders , slowly , easily .

"Sis , you gotta mouth like a , a--" . He tried to think of a comparison , but nothing came to mind . "Haaah . Like nothin fuckin else ." .

NekSed smiled , he could feel her smile around his sex organs , and continued her ministrations , gently , patiently , and steadily .

"Ohhh my fuckin God , sis , you're so fuckin warm ."

NekSed liked that she was turning him on , liked hearing the strings of expletives that came from his mouth when he got going . Her technique was methodical and simple , massage with her lips , suction with her throat , up and down . No need to rush .

"Fuck me , sis , you're gonna make me fuckin pop like that . Where the hell didja learn that technique ? . Wait wait wait right there , wait , oh fuck , right fuckin there !" .

It was easy to follow the road map NekDih gave her . He told her what felt good and she gave him more of it . She was so warm and so wet , so inviting .

"Yknow how i told you the other day about that awkward cunnilingus i got from that john ? . You are the opposite of that . Oh fuck , me , right , mmm . Right there ." .

NekSed smiled . It was so easy to get him going , and he was so quick to praise .

He put his hands on the top her head , absently , reflexively , then took them off like she were a hot stove . "Ahh , sorry , i shoulda ," .

She took his hand and put it back on top of her head , and then took his other hand and put it back , moaning reassuringly that it was okay . He wasn't sure , didn't want to touch her in any way she didn't want to . Inside , she was cumming , her brother's hands as warm and comforting and reassuring as the hands of the Saint .

He relaxed into the position , allowed himself to believe he was doing the right thing . The johns in the streets , they didn't matter , they were a dollar a dozen . His sister mattered . They fought all the time , but they always came back together , held together by the bond of blood . He cared about her , didn't want to chase her off or upset her . If--

"Aaah , oh , fuck ," he moaned , shyly . NekSed grinned and redoubled her efforts . He was so adorable when he was shy . "Wait , yes , right , oh my God , sis . Fuck , right , uhn...!" .

The cursing and blasphemy were to keep him amused when he was working . He didn't need that here .

Hips bucking , thrusting irregularly , single-syllable grunts and answers all he could get out , and all she needed to guide her way . NekSed took her time , patiently , laving with the broad flat of her long tongue , sucking with her lips , mindful of the angle , like he really were buried in the back of her throat .

"Aaah! Fuck!" , he swore , bucking into her mouth . How did she-- "Oh , my fuckin... MM!" , he panted , desperately , the heat inside him picking up like a fever . When he did it himself he would pick up the pace , getting faster and faster until he came , but NekSed was so , so , careful , so patient , moaning , vibrating from his pubic bone . Her eyes closed , half-clenched in an expression of pleasure . She was enjoying it as much as he was .

The pleasure built and built . It hit differently when someone else was doing it , yet they were close enough that she didn't feel like a stranger , either . Looking down , seeing the most beautiful girl in the world in front of him , and she wanted his cock of all people ? . With his thumbs he petted her head , eliciting moans that came from her deepest core .

"Haaah . Yeah . Right-- fuck-- mmm ," he moaned , barely capable of getting out more than a syllable at a time . A fire started kindling at the base of his body , bucking muscles tensing , slowly at first , and building in pressure . Not like the foot-in-the-door feeling from before , more like a-- "MMM!" .

NekSed got right into it , shoulders held up by swimmer-taut abs , making a ring around his base with one hand and giving it , loving him with her mouth . She was so warm , a warmth that went beyond the temperature of her skin , she was warm to him , to his soul . Somehow , she built in intensity without ever picking up the pace , until every suck felt like a blacksmith's hammer , rising , falling . Rising , falling , curving at the ends , easing up , and pressure , easing down , and pressure .

She deep-throated the ghost of him . The ghost of him was about to bust a nut .

Everything felt calm in that moment , a wave of calm that reached down and touched the energy coiling up his spine .

"Wait-- right-- sis-- fuck!" . His hands clamped around the sides of her head , he calibrated to her pace , her calibrating to his needs .

As one , they came .

If he'd had a normal guy's parts , he would have nutted in her mouth . She took it like communion sacrament , her eyes curved upward the same way they did when she was praying . It didn't matter to either of them that they weren't normal to the rest of the world . They were perfect for each other , and right now , none of the entire world on the other side of the hotel door mattered .

She absorbed the spirit of him , genuinely enjoying him , little notes of contented pleasure emanating from her throat . He stroked her hair like she was perfect , like the most perfect girl in the entire world had landed in his lap of all people . She looked up at him , her big fuckin' fish eyes looking up with innocence and joy , and he loved her , loved her salt-fish breath and the way she talked too much , loved her even tho she drove him crazy . He bent over and kissed the top of her head and she made a little noise that made him want to protect her forever .

Slowly , the sound of the tavern downstairs started to fade back in to their awareness , the gas light from the street , the wet towels , their stuff strewn about wherever they had thrown it . NekDih blushed and smiled bashfully , looked to the side . NekSed closed her eyes with a smug harumph , grinned , rested her cheek on his thigh .

-+-+-+-+-

se se se lessee whaddwe got here today
nekdih's voice echoing across the cobblestone ki
fistful of ephedrine from ayashli chew chew chew ki
nil , nil , potential mark , nil , john , don't hit the johns nekdih needs those mark , potential mark , nil , john , john ki
mapping exit routes
calculating trajectories
interpreting outfits
that guy's military , that guy's civilian ,
armory district is that way , market is that way ,
we gotta mark talkin out his ass to loko
glance around the corner whoop
don't see me
aaand maybe if i send a stone
plink right on the etet nice
scuse me for a moment
yo who the fuck did that
aiming
trigonometry
ricochet it off the chimney so it looks like it came from the roof
pardon me just one sec he says
rolling up his sleeves all like
pssh whatever tough guy cmon this way

clack clack clack yeah that's right follow the stones aaand
whoop right past me clack clack clack
wallet hangin out his ass
ex-cu-se me sir i'll just help myself to thi--
OH SHIT
uhhh nno sir nuh uh no i wasn't
um if you excuse me here sir i was just enjoying this fine evening
and i do not appreciate your
I SAID EXCUSE ME SIR
i am a perfectly normal citizen enjoying the fine night air--
OH SHIT

he takes a swing at me
all broad-fisted cross in a bean sprout package
shit shit shit i cannot get caught fighting here
uhhh
uhhh
FUCK
BRO WHAT THE FUCK
i bolt

clop clop clop clop clop
makin my footfalls as loud as possible
knock over a cart
wait at the lights catch my breath
pull up my hood
disappea--
HEY
he yells out
STOP THIEF
shit this is an intersection i
turn back inside the market
dum dee dum nice quiet street
HEY HEY YOU
shit shit fuck
nothing but the sound of birdsong
tweeting danger's near
danger's near
i turn down an alley

HEY YOU
he shouts i mean people really can be so rude
doesn't he know people are sleeping this is a residential area honestly
BRO I DIDN'T TAKE YOUR FUCKIN WALLET
i shout back
puff my chest up
pull my hood back
he pulls up panting
H-HEy
hey yOU
gimme my fuckin wallet he says
sir i do not have your wallet
shit did it fall out of his pocket
i actually did not take that wallet
excuse me sir if your wallet is missing that is your own fault for chasing me
SIR I DO NOT HAVE YOUR WALLET
he pushes me
if i were human i'd be sweating
give it back he says
i don't fucking have it
BRO WHAT THE FUCK

he raises his fist at me tells me
he's gonna give me one more chance
i genuinely do not have his wallet shit fuck
fuck it i didn't wanna use this this shit's expensive

i pull a vial from my belt
uncap it with my thumb practiced it a thousand times
bright orange cayenne pepper spray motherfucker
i spray it in his fuckin face

AUGH he screams
big mistake
the mist aerosolizes
he breathes it in
cough hack gag
NOW SIR I TOLD YOU I DO NOT HAVE YOUR--
FUCK
he takes a blind swing at me and fully connects with my jaw
i go down like a sack of bricks and then i'm on my feet
he's swinging coughing sputtering i'm like
do i go for the knife on my belt like fuck
he swings i dodge backstep FUCK

he hits me with the back side of his hand
i crumple like a used sock
scrape my face my shoulder on the fukkin pavement
ow fuck i'm backing up
shit panic almost slip
on my fe-- my-- ON MY FUCKIN FEET GET UP
he's wiping the shit from his eyes when
i catch a flash of red blur
the irascible jingle jangle of a dancer running at top speed
nekdih hits him from the side takes him down
bite bite bite bite bite bite bite
he's fukkin screaming ow fuck my shoulder
i punch him in the fuckin face
I TOLD YOU SIR I DO NOT HAVE YOUR WALLET
cmon lets go

we take off like bats out of hell
get to the residential street
do do doo walkin really fast but yknow generally a
normal pace for two(2)deux people walking quickly in a hurry
we get to the street light neither says a word
there's the guy's fuckin wallet on the fuckin street i
throw it towards the market into the residential area
time for us to vamoose

we go this way and that
up this street down that street
i turn my coat inside out its different colours on both sides
would he have seen nekdih probably not
eyes too closed from the fuckin pepper spray
traaa la laaa up this street down this street
we walk
for like
an hour

you okay ? he asks me
i'm okay yeah
good he tells me
cmon i tell him
let's go patronize another district for awhile

-+-+-+-+-

yu're wounded
i tell him

he tackled a guy
took a hit to the same cheek
the same shoulder

pff obvi

-+-+-+-+-

des