Add a cherry on top

[Cynthia Solus]

[media]https://youtu.be/nLYELS5LSMM[/media] Location: Mandalor - Inside Cynthia's ship
[member="Ginnie Verd"] - [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]

The woman pressed the keypad to the door that swooshed then hissed as it opened up to the landing pad. A breeze of air rushed through as she moved on forward along the platform. The sun felt warm as the shade soon behind her towards her ship. It had set out a beautiful orange glow to the sky as it got lower. Yet she took no notice to the beauty around her as she stormed her way towards the ship and up its ramp.

Cynthia was fired up and probably not in the best of ways. She lost someone who had been helping her and was a sincere honest person, as well as a friend. Ginnie's helmet was tight under the woman's arm. It was hard getting used to a large ship but it acted as a home more than a way to get around. It took her awhile to get to the room with her private terminal in. Everything was on there, everything that happened that day. Cynthia was ready to find out, she was ready to avenge the death of a friend, a person she actually liked that didn't disgust her or would use her.

The woman skipped to the last moments of the recording. Ginnie was looking at someone clearly been held before her helmet was removed and rolled away. It was kicked around for a moment till it finally stopped. Cynthia could see both Ginnie and the person making their way to the ship before someone walked in view of the recording. She couldn't see a face, just the persons back. Then everything began to fill with fire, the recording started to warp with static but an explosion was easily seen. It was that moment it stopped. There was no sound and the killers face was not shown. Most of the recording was corrupted probably due to the damage the helmet had suffered.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

Finding a shop that sold three piece suits on Mandalore was a near impossibility. Yet with perseverance he found a small tailor that had a reasonable selection of suits that fit his needs. He allowed a slight chuckle to escape his chest as he looked at his Gin'ika. She was determined to make him armor fitting a warrior. He didn't have it in him to deny her. Plus it had been decades since he had actually worn armor, and with the future looming ahead the prudent choice would be to prepare. So he had accepted his cyar'ika's adament offer.

Moving down the street, his cane lightly tapping alongside, the man walked next to [member="Ginnie Dib"]. Despite the tumultuous recent events his mission had remained unchanged. To keep his oath to Isley and destroy the incarnation of Metus. His goal was the same, but the specifics had wildly been altered. And as he gazed upon his woman, eyes hidden by the crimson lenses of his shades, he knew he would not change how things had played out.

So the two followed the beacon that was pinging the comlink they carried as the transponder activated and sent out a signal for the buy'ce to be found. The footage and audio would serve the mission well. Yet concern did color his gaze, hidden behind the shades. Reliving her death would most likely be traumatic for her, it most likely would be for himself in hindsight. Losing something treasured freshly found would potentially shatter the newly gleaned peace he had found in his cyar'ika. It was a thought he didn't wish to dwell upon.

The raised eyebrows at the couple who journeyed through the city caused a certain bit of mirth within the man. They did not know this daughter of Manda'yaim. Not yet. But they would soon. As for him, he was an aberration of a man. An outsider. A tourist. He did not look like a vod. He cared little for their opinions for he never based his self worth upon the musings of others.

Pausing at the gate of the spaceport, Rhaegar checked the coordinates of where the ping was originating from before visually matching the location with his own eyes. A lone ship rested on this section of the landing pads, the obvious resting place of the helmet. Leaning forward somewhat upon the cane he glanced at his woman with a hint of a smile flickering at the corners of his lips.

"Shall we?"

[member="Cynthia Raxis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

[member="Cynthia Raxis"] had her buy’ce. This fact had yet to be discovered by Rhaegar’s young paramour, yet it would eventually be welcome.

Who had her back, if not her friend and vod-sister Cynthia? Walking through the streets of Mandalore was a lesson in reconnecting with her vode. The vast selections of Armor around her gave her analytical mind plenty to inspect, when she had to forge armour now for two.

Darth Metus would kill without quarter and Gin was dissatisfied with @Rhaegard Nemesis Dib’s current level of protective dress. While it might keep his skin from the elements; the suit was frippery.

But oh, did he look fantastic as he limped toward the signal of her buy’ce. The fact she found the suit attractive was indicative enough of the changes between them.

A short corporeal courtship surrounded by an eternal binding of souls in the Manda. Timeless and eternal, Ginnie’s soul mingled in the collective consciousness of Manda. Rhaegar nestled with her, a collective of two in the constant throng of the paradisiacal Mandalorian afterlife.

When she awoke from the grave, Rhae was the anchor. The fixed point. Unexpected and thrilling.

“That... that’s Cynthia’s ship.” Ginnie stopped for a moment, feet leaden and clumsy. It felt right that Cynthia would have the helm. It felt right that her friend and vod would attempt to decipher Ginnie’s death. To avenge her and grieve.

A flash of flame crossed her mind’s eye. The cold brutality of the Wraith descending not as an avenging angel, but a demon of acceptable losses. Her breath stuttered from a shaking rib cage.

He’d held her in the end. Set her down at the last moment to whisper over her body.

The sound of a jet pack firing off brought Ginnie back to Rhae and the search for her helmet.

“Yes! Yes. Let’s.” Her throat dried, lips felt thin as paper. Ginnie put one foot in front of the other, striking ahead to Cynthia’s ship and her discoveries. The gangplank resounded under her boots, the noise glorious and jarring.

Distracting.

 

[Cynthia Solus]

[member="Ginnie Dib"][member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]

Cynthia's face drew pale akin to the same shade of the whitest of ash that was consumed by the hottest of flames. She didn't know what to feel, Anger, sadness, it was a mix of everything that left a hole in her heart. It was if all emotion was there and yet it was absent from her own soul. She sat there for a moment as her mind went into a daze processing everything. Who was the man carrying her, who was the man at the end that killed them. Who's head will it be that will feel her wrath of vengeance. It all bundled up as she became like a glass over filling and poring down its sides.

A had reached up slowly to her eyes wiping away the tears till finally she stood up making the seat fly back from under her. "AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed out in pent up anger as her fist drove its way into the desk with a hard hitting thud. The pain throbbed and she focused on that. Something etched on the edge of her mind like an instinct like no other. Of course she ignored the unnatural feeling as she spun, kicking the chair from out the way of the door. Everywhere she went through the ship was a trail of mess she made in frustration till finally she collapsed to her knees, sobbing at the loss of a friend, someone she trusted and the only one she did trust right now.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

He felt the torment that had shattered his woman's fortitude, but for a moment. But even as she lead the way up the ramp he knew that all was not well. The psychological wounds of being murdered by her own brother would take time to heal, if they ever did. It was an act of betrayal that was nigh impossible to move on from. He would know. Yet Gin'ika was made of stern beskar, of this he was certain. She would rise like the mythical Phoenix from the ashes of despair. He was certain.

Even so, as they made their way into the bowels of the ship his leather boots took a somewhat longer stride placing him in the lead. Not that he wasn't completely aware that [member="Ginnie Dib"] could handle herself as a self made warrior, but that even the most minute distraction could be all that was needed for a lapse in judgement. And he did not wish to lose what he had found because of an error in thinking or a miniscule delay in reaction time.

Crossing into the ship, the tap of his cane in conjunction with his limp, he was aware that breaching into someone else's sanctuary, even in the most opportune of times, carried danger. He had narrowly evaded the young woman on Maramere, his presence left with a scant evidence of footsteps as he had revisited the scene. And then he had witnessed her grief at the funeral for a friend from afar. This would be difficult for the young vod.

A brow arched at the mando'a word that flickered in his thoughts. Another confirmation that even now, the couple were bonded closer then what he could ever have anticipated. Yet he was perfectly content with the connection he had with his woman.

Following the sounds of dismay, rage, and grief he moved deeper into the ship. The urge to grip the force and wield it was great, but his desire to keep the law of the land was greater. Not for himself but for his cyare and the curious Mand'alor he had met for scant minutes. It was about respect. Even so, the man moved lithly across the flooring, his body not a mere conduit of the force but a trained and conditioned weapon that he had carefully crafted over the years.

As the two entered the part of the ship [member="Cynthia Raxis"] was currently in, he slowed and paused. Grief could quickly turn like a double edged blade. The woman could attack in her rage or pause long enough for answers. He wished no ill will for the woman, so he gave no indication that he was her enemy, despite having just entered her home without welcome. The scene to play out would be interesting, as both women wrestled with darkness that was afflicting their minds and hearts.

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Ginnie heard Cynthia’s scream. It was the first cream Ginnie’d heard since the day she lost her ears.

Anguish, panic, anger… Ginnie paused in the corridor, [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"] launching forward to take the lead. Her eyelids grew hot, burning with a layer of moisture which would never fall. Had she failed him?

No. Rhaegar took lead when Ginnie could not. He worked in a synthesis to protect and console her without coddling or an acknowledgement of the sensations rolling across Ginnie’s spine. She reached for her ears, feeling along the new flesh.

Manda’yaim allowed her life. The Great Mother returned her whole and unblemished. The Ginnie who placed her hand on the cool metal of Cynthia’s ship corridor, was an idealized beauty built from her experience in Manda. Lithe, whole, with ears and without the scar tissue which turned all potential lovers away.

[member="Cynthia Raxis"] was over the next hatch. What could Ginnie hope to say? What could ease the terrible drift of Cynthia’s emotions? Ginnie’s lips were dry. She hadn’t thought to take balm from the Mantis House, when she and Rhaegar left it.

Her boots sounded like hammer strikes as Ginnie walked into the room, saw Cynthia on her knees, and moved to crouch beside her.

“Manda… the Manda let Rhae bring me back… I was dead.” A hesitant hand moved to press on Cynthia’s back, the other on Cynthia’s shoulder. “Thank Manda you found my buy’ce.”

 

[Cynthia Solus]

There was not a sound heard as both [member="Ginnie Dib"] and [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"] made their way aboard even the boots that clashed against the metal floor was deafened to her for the most part. Their presence unnoticed until the door whooshed open and Ginnie was right besides her. Cynthia couldn't bare to see who it was looming next to her, not until that voice, So familiar and calming. There was a split second she felt as if she was losing it, like finally the girl had just broken and lost her mind. That was not the case as the soft hand of Ginnie's touched Cynthia's skin. Her head picked up away from her hands as she looked back. "Gi..." She said trying to speak the woman's name before her voice cut from crying. In a swift movement Cynthia spun around embracing the woman into her arms as they wrapped around firmly. every fibre body shook intensely like her body was an earthquake that would have been worse if her face wasn't nestled into the top of the woman's chest taking in Ginnie's warmth, touch and sent.

"I... I watched you die." She spoke with a voice so shaky like her body while the girl tried to speak clearly.

"I thought you was dead Ginnie. You died and I watched it." Cynthia's grip became tighter around the woman's waist as she cried confused of what to think. "Please tell me this is real, that you are here... that... I'm not going crazy." It was so confusing to her as the girl did not know what to believe anymore.

After a long moment her head moved to the side still against the woman till she slacked her arms and letting Ginnie free from her grasp even though she didn't want to. It was only then that Cynthia took notice that the woman had no scar's on the side of her face and she had her ears back. "You heard all that didn't you." The girl said forcing a small chuckle as her hand reached up to inspect it for a second. "I'm glad you are back. I really am."

Pushing past the fact the room felt as if it was spinning, Cynthia got onto her feet moving her hand from the side of Ginnie's face to hold out and help the woman back up as Cynthia now looked to the other welcomed intruder acknowledging his presence finally. "You have some things to explain to me. First I think I need to sit down I'll get your buy'ce in a bit." The girl began to lead them through the ship. "So who's this?" she asked sheepishly as the walked into the part of the ship that looked like a living room.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

As Gin'ika held her friend, [member="Cynthia Raxis"], in her arms he kept his distance as the grief and rage was quite palpable even without his use of the force. He could sympathize with what she was going through, though he had never experienced such loss and could not empathize. That was an emotion he felt he would not enjoy.

Slowly the tears truurned to wonderment as Cynthia realized [member="Ginnie Verd"] was not dead, but living and whole. Still keeping a respectful distance he did nothing to draw attention to himself, allowing the women to have their moment of reunion. Finally the ladies stood and Cynthia began to lead them through the ship to return the buy'ce of Ginnie's back to the owner. The recently distraught woman acknowledge him not questioning his presence, but his identity.

Clearing his throat slightly as he followed, hands gripping the cane as his limp grew slightly more pronounced he arched an eyebrow before allowing a twitch at the corner of his lips.

"I am Rhaegar Nemonus, a ... friend of Gin'ika's."

As Ginnie had already mentioned his name, Rhae, he answered with an acceptable amalgamation of his identities. His answering title was neither a lie, nor the truth. It merely was an appropriate response. Eyes hidden behind crimson shades flickered to his Gin'ika, unseen, as he left the bond between the two open for her to disclose if she so chose.

 

[Ginnie Dib]

“Yes, I heard that.” Ginnie soothed Cynthia’s brow, one hand playing at one of her ears.

“I died. My brother Isley killed me to... get to someone else. Threw my life away like scratch paper.” The more Ginnie voiced her death’s circumstance, the more she shivered through her rib cage. Ginnie held [member="Cynthia Raxis"] as long as she was able, smoothing her pink hair and finding a modicum of mutual grief in the act.

“We were on Maramere. I was part of the vanguard, we were taking the fortress for Isley’s Confederacy. The ... nobody knew why the enemy was causing such chaos. We all blindly followed Isley’s orders.” Ginnie’s eyes followed [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]’s as he limped behind her. Comfort reigned, when he had her back.

And front. Side was good... real good too. Both of them, really.

The closer Ginnie got to her buy’ce, the hotter her cheeks surged. Her fingers slammed shut into fists. “If you have my buy’ce, you’ve seen...”

Choking the words out, Ginnie’s tongue grew thick and stupid in her mouth. Cynthia watched the footage. Cynthia’s hand tugged at smooth flesh, barely touched or felt or experienced.

She followed numbly, stumbling over a hatch lip as Rhaegar came behind her.

The stumble. Her bane.

Sure footing marred by his golem plying the earth itself to fight her. The second the golem hit, Ginnie’s SOS signalled for aide. Isley, Anastasia, Ahani, Muad...

Isley answered.

Ginnie’s new heart fluttered in her nubile chest. She let Rhae pass her, collecting what remained of her nerve.

Battling Nemesis was an angry and powerful thrill. It was an act of war. A glorious fight. That fight ended not when Metus’ Wraith cessated her life, but when Nemesis stayed his blade, picked her up and saved her.

How did Ginnie tell Cynthia he split his own soul at the minute of expiration to bring her back? How? How did she explain death to the young woman she met in mid suicide, and saved by cauterizing her wrists? How could Ginnie talk about the Manda and the paradisiacal hymn she discovered there, in her short eternity combined with Rhaegar’s sliver of soul?

He’d sung to her from his own past as he carried her soul away from the collective. Protected and hemmed her in. The act was not without cost.

Ginnie’s fists shook. She was not the woman Cynthia knew. What personality changes we’re yet to be seen, beyond a vicious edge to her eyes. A calculation of degrees.

Rhaegar resided firmly in her spine.

“He is my riduur, Cynthia. I’d say I owe him my life, but that was an unexpectedly free gift.” Gin’ika smiled sordidly at Rhae, before putting her back to the wall and sliding down it. Both knees up and arms between them, Ginnie focussed on the act of breathing. Death. It hung off her mind like a necklace.

 

[Cynthia Solus]

[member="Ginnie Dib"] X [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]

"He sacrificed you to try kill Rhaegar..." She said turning to face the woman just before reaching the couch. "I saw that much, but I didn't expect Isley to be so callous to vod." The sadness still carried in her tone, but she had to remember that Ginnie was alive again. A second chance like the one she gave her. "And yes I do have your buy'ce, It is tradition after all but I also wanted answers. You didn't respond to my messages so I went to search for you... I didn't expect to see what I saw." The sight was burned into her retina, not something shed forget anytime soon. Cynthia couldn't begin to imagine what it is like to become with Manda. Would it be cold and unforgiving or warm and tranquil.

Finally She'd sit down just as Ginnie said who that man was to her. Cynthia couldn't deny her heart didn't sink at what the woman called Rhae but she was happy for them finding solace in each other. Something Cynthia felt like she'd never find in this life time or the next. Eternally alone, without someone to call her own and that person calling Cynthia theirs. She was sick of the heartache and the feelings she suffered from it, yet she could not let go of the idea of finding that person who could be out there. A part of her wished that she had more time with Ginnie because she did like the woman and maybe they would have made that connection if things was different, but the woman was happy, that was enough for Cynthia for now and had no intentions getting in the middle of something special.

The pink haired woman let out a small sigh as her skin began to feel cold. "I still owe you my life Ginnie. So tell me what I can do to help bring this dar'manda down, I want to see him pay for killing someone I care about and trust me, I'll not stop till that soulless man is nothing but a corpse. Even if I have to sacrifice my life to do so." Just as she said it she realised it was a wrong choice of words even if she had meant them. "Although I'm not quite planning my death anymore." She said with a small chuckle to pull it back a little. Her eyes fell upon Rhae with a serious expression that could slice beskar in half. "That goes to you too though. You hurt her, I'll track you down and drag you to Manda myself. Otherwise If Ginnie trusts you then so do I. You both can use my ship as your home if you choose to. After all, I look after my runi vod." she said with a smile.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

Life and death. An eternal cycle. One that few had ever broken. Yet he had, for someone other then himself. For a woman he did not know, yet a stirring in his spirit decried that as a lie. As [member="Ginnie Dib"] stated, he had torn his soul in moments, placing part of himself with the gravely wounded warrior. A rash act devoid of the cold calculation he was known for. A spur of the moment decision that had altered his fate, his very destiny. It had ripped the mask he had worn away to reveal that beneath the monster was still a man. A man that was very much alive. Something he had failed to realize for many years.

Watching the women comfort one another with proximity and words he leaned against the wall, not wishing to intrude. Theirs was a bond forged through friendship and strengthened by genuine affection of vode. A slight pang deep within him spoke of an emptiness he had. Yet it didn't weaken him, he never allowed it. But seeing the friends, no, the vode, solidified the truth. He had separated himself from any such connection in his long life. And now that he was awakened he saw that he had, indeed, lessened himself through his solitary administrations. That wasn't any clearer then when his Gin'ika breached his veneer. His woman. His riduur.

A genuine smile creased his face at the title his woman bestowed upon him. A declaration that wouldn't be shaken nor hidden. He was never one to bow to the whims of cultrures, but she and him, together, it felt right. It felt like home. She completed him in a way that left him confused at how he never noticed there was something missing.

He caught the expression on her face and he felt the collar around his neck flush with warmth, a physical reaction he had no compulsion over. She affected him in a way he had no ability to control. Yet the desolate ache that permeated her soul afflicted him with a deep sense of melancholy. Closing his eyes for a moment he looked within seeking the shard of his riduur within, the exchange that they had shared. Finding her there, seemingly deep within he wrapped his own tattered essence around her in a protective and loving gesture she would no doubt feel.

His eyes flickered open and focused upon [member="Cynthia Raxis"] as she spoke to him. The smile turned from genuinely warm to a cold expression. He was not one see a threat against him as a mere happenstance of conversation. He would take the challenge and observe his enemy. Find her strengths and weaknesses. Utilize her strength against her as he undermined her weakness. What she saw as power, is almost always a greater weakness. Morality, family, armor, ability ... They always came with a weight that could be used to crush one if you had the patience and the wisdom to find it.

But even as old habits rolled through his mind he vaguely understood the reason for her threat. It was because of love, for her friend and his woman. He could forgive the words she spoke. As the glacier expression upon his face thawed into a more amicable one he nodded to her in thanks.

"As you have placed your trust in me because of Ginnie, and offered your hospitality, let me return the favor. She holds you in great esteem and considers you family. If you ever have need of me, call, and I shall answer the summons."

 

[Ginnie Dib]

“I’d asked Isley for help… I thought he’d come to save me.” Ginnie whispered, daring her eyes to search for the buy’ce among Cynthia’s belongings. Damaged, pink paint… was it still there?

A thin tinnitis like sharp sound played in Ginnie’s ears as [member="Cynthia Raxis"] and [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"] talked. Rhaegar was smiling, a feeling of doting warmth upon her neck.

The sinking habit of threats, the quality of Cynthia and Rhaegar’s affections, it rested upon Ginnie’s shoulders. Her shoulders raised, face contorting.

Isley’d come to save her…. no. Isley was dead. May the reign of Darth Metus be short and far from sweet. The more Cynthia talked of killing Darth Metus, the more Ginnie curled into a ball, sliding down to the floor to hold her arms over her head. Hands delved in smooth, raven hair.

Another change. Her hair used to be naturally curled. Unmanageable. Ginnie tried to keep her breathing steady, to lift herself off the floor, to get on with it. After all, death was the beginning.

The space around her felt cold, oh so much colder than her skin. Rhaegar’s comforts bathed around her inner skin, giving where no other could. Ginnie shut her eyes and tried to erase the picture of her buy’ce from it. The feeling of Maramere’s tortured atmosphere brushing across her face at the ragged end.

Trying to breathe fire on Nemesis’ face as he readied his cane, then dropped it. How the temperature changed so when he picked her broken body up, stopped the gurgling death rattles in her broken ribs. His energy rushed round her, soothing the pain. Her battle was nearly over, then. But for Ginnie trying to stab out, to end him.

He’d laid her down when the Wraith was all but finished its’ purpose. He’d soothed her, broken himself to salvage, to give… the Wraith.

The hideous Wraith!

Ginnie’s lungs shook as she tried to steady herself, to avoid the panic which caused her to spark tufts of flames from her fingers. They were talking of killing Isley, of her death and resurrection. She was stronger than this, Ginnie thought.

Ginnie was always stronger than panic.

Her eyes opened only once to see her buy’ce on Cynthia’s table. She grunted and gnashed her teeth. Fire… don’t light the room on fire.

 

[Cynthia Solus]

[member="Ginnie Dib"] X [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]

Cynthia appreciated the gesture that Rhea returned. It didn't alter the fact that something about the man made her skin crawl a little. Something around the man just felt dark, menacing, corrupt. Still Cynthia trusted Ginnie's choices even if she herself didn't like them. Looking at Ginnie, Cynthia could see her body language was one of discomfit. The only thing she could think of was that talking about the dar'manda was making the woman feel uneasy. "You okay?" She said with worry in her tone of voice and expression. Standing up the woman reached for the buy'ce and walked over to Ginnie. A hand reached out down passing the helmet to her. "I have a forge on the ship... if you wish to fix it, You can reforge my spare if you'd like too. Although it should fit you since most of it just straps on. 'N' before you refuse, I'm not taking no as an answer." Cynthia's eyes flicked between the both of them wondering.

What was the plan? Was there even a plan yet? or was this going to be one of those make it up as we go along type deals. It didn't matter anyway, she will be there to protect her runi vod this time around. A quick sigh escaped her lips trying to think of the same rotating thoughts that ran around in her head. "Either of you two hungry or thirsty? I can go get something from the kitchen or the gal is behind the mini bar." She asked as her way to give the two of them a moment. It also gave her an opportunity to get covers ready for them both if they chose to stay and she hoped they did. "I don't mind so be as fussy as you want." A small forced smile reached her lips. It was hard to smile when someone she believed dead this morning was alive, a someone she was getting closer too but now had to stand back at the same time to stop heartbreak or those kinds of feelings sinking in to far.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

His eyes watched [member="Cynthia Garon"] somewhat warily. He knew she didn't trust him and could not refute the instinct. He wore darkness like a cloak, basked in it as it enveloped him. He was an evil man with no redemption. Anger and hate were strength, love and affection a weakness. He was the unseen flame that threatened to burn and consume both the unwary and the assumedly prepared. Everyone and everything could be broken and destroyed, and he was the Dragon of Dorin for a reason.

As his riduur began to feel the effects of the past and Cynthia spoke to her, he acknowledged that what he had previously thought was untrue. He had two redeeming qualities. The cin vhetin. And the woman, [member="Ginnie Dib"]. He felt the hollowness that axhed within her chest, the sharing of souls a constant reminder that he was no longer the Darkness that swept across the land. Because of her.

Cynthia made the offer of hospitality once more and he nodded slightly in acceptance. Moving to the side as the woman made her way by he spoke.

"Thank you. Water for myself. And perhaps something for your soul friend?"

Gratitude rolled from him momentarily before he turned to his woman. Moving across the room, his feigned limp gone once more, he knelt before her feeling her attempt to not lash out in rage, despair, confusion. Lightly he gripped her hands and lent her his strength. His soul called to her with the song he had shared once before. She was awash in emotions and he let her try to shift through them, for it was the only way to move forward. Yet he remained, and anchor for her to hold to, a strength in the storm that threatened to destroy her.

"Ner cyar'ika ...."

He leaned in and softly kissed her lips, a light kiss that turned strong. She was his, and he hers. Her pain was taken on by a partner who would never judge. His strength and resolve he offered in turn for when she wished for it. He was here, in the moment on the ship. And he was with her in memory, his own soul howling in agony as the flame consumed Ginnie, the shard of his soul experiencing the death of the moment as well. But where she found blissful release in the manda, he burned continually in Eternal fire until he found Gin'ika in the Nether.

 

[Ginnie Dib]

The buy’ce hit the floor with a clang. Ginnie jolted and cried out, fully incapable of communicating with her friend [member="Cynthia Garon"] at all. There was nothing. Not the ship, not the buy’ce. Not Cynthia or her offer of food.

Nothing but the flames of the Wraith, the pain of her passing.

Then, hands that clawed at her own scalp were lifted off, gripped by her demonic, and heavenly saviour.

Ginnie’s anguished wail punctuated the air, as the memory of flames and the pain of undoing flooded her. Her teeth clanked together, lungs stuttering choked breaths. The song of the Manda radiated through her mind, echoing from the shard [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"] and she shared.

The song flooded her, putting out the flames of her passing to tether Ginnie to the man before her, and the clarity which came from introspection.

Isley was in the void. His soul remained in the Netherworld, guarding a child’s fragmented soul.

[member="Yasha Mantis"]’ soul.

He wanted to be avenged. For the monster, which was Metus to disappear from the mortal coil. Metus understood that the death of one person was worth the destruction of the man she now shared.

Fear. The fear of pain, rejection and death hung off her with abundance, and in that, something deeper.

Darker.

Once upon a time, little Ginnie Ordo’s father Jasper was possessed by the Dark Lord of the Sith. He killed the Mand’alor, lashed out in wicked hate. To save him, little Ginnie dipped into her brother Isley’s Alchemical constants. Metus saved her once from the dangers of alchemical pursuits and the marks they laid upon one’s soul. Now, although the burns of the alchemical forge were missing, Ginnie whimpered and buried herself inside Rhaegar’s kiss. He wouldn’t let her fade to dark powers.

No more dark.

No more fear of death.

Rhaegar shared her pain, his spine as solid as beskar, where hers had wobbled and broke, shattered under the pain of her brother’s final betrayal.

A brother no longer. And so Ginnie grieved. She grieved for Isley, and for Rhaegar. She grieved for her soul and the connection with her riduur’s, the horrors which would come when Metus’ lust for their deaths become insatiable. The death throes morphed to the peace of Rhaegar and the hymn of the Manda.

She pulled Rhaegar with her, back into the hymn they now could share eternal. And that indeed was what brought Ginnie through her terrors, and the shocking traumatic pain of death.

No matter their end, Ginnie and Rhaegar were bonded eternal. Her paradise was his gain. Her light was his. Her pain was shared, inspected and passed through. Ginnie hiccupped and shook, pulling into his embrace, forehead on his shoulder.

Together they died and together now they would live, guarded and protected by the safety Cynthia provided to her soul sister, her best friend. Finally able to open her eyes, Gin’ika Dib kicked her buy’ce across the room and scrambled into Rhaegar’s arms. Her elbows collided with his shoulders as she swung her arms around his neck, pulling into him.

There was nothing to say to him, her Rhaegar. He saw and felt it all. He maintained her through the crucible as she would maintain him through his.

The oath hung across her forehead like a scar. Yet, with Cynthia’s help, they were not alone to face the burden of Isley’s murderous Wraith. Kissed and kissing again, Gin’ika settled with her face buried between Rhaegar’s chin and shoulder.

A corporeal hunger emptied her stomach, a desperate edge for a good meal.

“Let’s never die again, c’yare. Never…” Sniffling deeply, Ginnie clung. “Is it weakness if I don’t want to touch my helmet? I know we need the recording, but…”

Tongue thick in her mouth, Ginnie cuddled deeply into her man, and rubbed her face on his crisp shirt. “Cynthia? Cynthia, I’m not okay. Death was… draining and terrifying and wrong. I know everytime I see my helmet I’ll relive it. The only thing which makes it easier is Rhaegar. He was there with me. I wasn’t alone… I’m sorry I couldn’t be strong, but I will be now. The plan? The plan is to end Darth Metus, while leaving as many innocents unharmed as possible. We’ll need help. Family, I hope will help us. And… we’ll need each other.”

Brushing her fingers across Rhaegar’s cheek, Ginnie gave her lover a sordid smile. “We need to live now, all of us. It’s how we win. We win by living abundantly.”

 

[Cynthia Solus]

[member="Ginnie Dib"] X [member="Rhaegar Nemesis Dib"]

Cynthia nodded passing though the door. It would close behind her and she fell back against its cold metal surface. Her head even made a small tiny thud against the white metal. Her legs felt week as she slid down. Each and every breath felt more shallow than the last. She did not understand what it could be like to die let alone be brought back, it was not something to ask either. She forced a deep breath back as her body shook and stood up. "Be strong, I need to be strong for us both." Cynthia whispered. She walked down the hall and towards the kitchen. Her hand flicked the tap on beginning a rush of cold water then reached for a couple of glasses and a jug. after it had been filled she set it down on the side and made her way through to the master guest bedroom that was just around the corner.

Cynthia's thoughts was flooded making her still feel confused. She was happy, sad, angry everything all at once and that all together left her feeling empty inside. One emotion that did stick out was jealousy. she was jealous of what Rhea and Ginnie shared. Love, something that was just outside her grasp and even if she touched it, it would escape from her. It was like every time she became close it moved further and further away. She knew that she couldn't let herself cling from someone else's love again like last time. The feelings that she was left after Gray was ones that consumed her. Cynthia shook her head trying to focus in what was important. 'I'm alive, I'm moving forward. That's what Ginnie told me to do, and that's what I will do.' She said the herself in her head this time.

The room did not smell stale from its neglect of use but it did not stop her spraying freshener inside. The sent was somewhat like a caramel caf, it was her favourite had had a box full of the aerosols. her feet carried her further inside setting out bedding onto the mattress, It had a silky feel and was red with a black floral pattern with pillowcases to match. She had the same for her own bed. Cynthia held the ideal of never letting a guest sleep on something she wouldn't and thus they'd receive the same as she got. It was her way to show good hospitality. As she made her way back, the mandalorian woman made sure to collect the jug and glasses of water.

The door whooshed open as she walked in on the two having a moment. Although she felt compelled to answer the words spoken by Ginnie's soft voice that held so much weight to each one. "It is a reminder of what happened. It causes you pain and it is instinct to run from that pain. To say it is weakness is to say surviving is a weakness. Anyway there is nothing left on the buy'ce. I wiped it all... but I have a copy of everything on my terminal. I'll copy the file and send it to you. Don't worry, I did not go through anything that would have been private. I watched over the day that I was stupid, when we was at the forge and what happened when you know. Although the video is mostly corrupted. I saw..." She paused as she winced not wanting to remember. "I saw you die." Her teeth clenched tight as the sick feeling sat in her stomach. It was not even an hour ago she had watched it and it was so fresh in her mind.

She began to drift for a moment before Ginnie snapped her back. "I couldn't imagine what it was like. I don't, but do wish I knew what it felt like so I could understand and be strong for you..." Cynthia set the jug and stacked glasses down on the table in the centre of the room and turned to face Ginnie again. "Ginnie even when me or Rhea may not be around, just remember that a part of us will always reside in you, as you with us. We share memories of precious time, both bad and good, and that sounds like a good plan. Metus days are numbered."

Cynthia's eyes averted from the two trying to avoid seeing the affection she longed for. "Ginnie, I promise I wont let you die at the hands of anyone else again and i wont hesitate to do what is necessary." She said laying down the hint that if would come to it she would sacrifice herself if it mean't Ginnie could live. "But yes let's try to make sure we all live. The only direction we can move now is forward." Her voice came out soft at the end as she turned to look at them both.

 

[Rhaegar Nemesis Dib]

He turned as [member="Cynthia Solus"] entered once more. Though she kept himself reined in through the force he felt the pain echoing from her presence. Along with jealously. Rhaegar chose not to delve deeper, choosing to respect his woman's friend and the law upon Mandalore. He didn't need to know his riduur's past, because he knew her soul and her present. And together they would forge their future as one. Just as Gin'ika didn't need to know every aspect of his own past.

His arm encirled [member="Ginnie Dib"] and pulled her into an embrace, leaning down and kissing her hard, eyes glittering with the multi hued iridescent of crimson and blue. It was a symbolic gesture to Gin that she had his strength, and one to Cynthia that she was his. Petty perhaps, but he preferred to look at it as marking his territory. Gin was his woman.

Breaking the kiss he turned to Cynthia and nodded in agreement to her words. The past was filled with pain and heartache. Shaking his head slowly he spoke.

"The past is gone. It is the building blocks of who we are, but it does not define what we do know. Free will gives us the opportunity to move forward and build our future free of the past. Let us live in the moment and plan for the future."

Looking between the women he nodded slightly.

"Ner cyar'ika would accept your hospitality of food. Whether she admits it or not, she hungers. Thank you for the friendship you hold for Ginnie. I should check my comlink and leave you to speak unfettered by one of the opposite sex. Excuse me."

A slight tightening around Ginnie's waist, he moved from the room and headed off the ship for some fresh air. The tap of his cane kept pace with his limp as he reached the duracrete pad outside. Pulling the communicator from his suit pocket he checked the messages that had beeped from his pocket.