Private Cat Got Your Tongue

[Miri Nimdok]

Kyell managed to kill the second rat, though not without suffering some nasty-looking scratches from the creature’s claws.

<I hope it isn’t poisonous or anything,> she remarked, remembering to use telepathy this time. <And yeah, make sure to clean it as soon as we get out of this mess.>

There were more of the rats skittering and rustling in the halls of the Sanctum, triggering traps and snarling.

<Should we leave, or keep going?> Miri asked. She was down to blast her way through the Sanctum, but she wasn’t about to force Kyell to do the same if he wasn’t up to it.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<I hope it isn't poisonous or anything,>

He stopped moving, slowly looked down at the claw mark over his chest and he grew noticeably paler. The beast's claws being poisonous hadn't even been an idea on his mind, but now all sorts of doomsday scenarios were going through his head. What if it could somehow turn him into a gigantic dark-side-controlled rat as well?

Kyell gulped and looked back up at her. Unlike him, she seemed ready to kick rat-ass and finish the job she started, so there was no way he could just turn around to leave now. <T> "Let's keep going," he said and he already began to take a few steps forward. But one question did still linger.

<T> "You uh, do have enough ammo for those things, right?" he grinned a bit sheepishly and looked down at her belt, which had a lightsaber as well. If she was as good with that as she was with her guns, this was going to be easy. <T> "Maybe we can use the traps to our advantage as well... if we can find them without me stumbling into them."

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Uh oh. Had she freaked him out? <Do you want some bacta spray? It’s a quick fix, but if it makes you feel better…>

Regardless of whether he took her offer or not, he agreed to keep going. While they walked, he asked her about her ammo.

<I dunno, these things seem to eat bolts for breakfast. But it’s not like I don’t have any other weapons on me if I do run out.> He might’ve thought she was referring to her lightsaber. She was actually talking about her slugthrower.

Kyell expressed concern about running into any more traps. <The trick is to be aware of your surroundings. Watch where you step. The Force can help you detect things, but… well, for me it tends to be a bit fickle, so I had to learn the visual cues and how to avoid them.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "Some bacta spray would be great," he admitted a little nervously before he accepted the spray from her. After slowly lifting his shirt so as to not agitate the injury too much, he clenched his jaw and sprayed the liquid over the claw mark, which caused such a sudden rush of pain that he almost dropped the bottle. <T> "Kaar-" he stopped himself and took a few deep breaths before looking at Miri again, calmed down but with his chest still pounding.

<T> "Thanks, that's much better."

The two then continued forward, and while she explained just how armed to the teeth she was, it was especially her comment about the Force being a bit fickle that caught his attention, <T> "I know that feeling... of it being weak and unreliable," he said, and unlike her, he wasn't too good at picking up on the visual cues either. <T> "I guess I'll need you to be my eyes and ears here and I'll do what I can to keep those things off of us."

He was very serious about that part — he wanted to contribute somehow.

<T> "I think I see some light up ahead. Maybe one of the artifact chambers?" He asked after a moment, and while there was indeed some light in a room not far away, there was also the sound of murder rodents in the same area.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri looked away as Kyell bared his chest in order to tend to his wounds. Not because she was squeamish, but because she valued modesty and tended to assume others did as well.

She did smirk faintly as she heard the beginnings of a curse projected into her head. <Language, Kyell.>

They wound up wandering into a discussion of the Force and its unreliability. Miri raised an eyebrow at Kyell. <Or I could teach you to use your eyes and ears. Here—notice anything?>

She gestured down the hall.

<T> "I think I see some light up ahead. Maybe one of the artifact chambers?"

<Right. But look more closely. Is there anything else we might need to worry about? Besides the mischief of rats scampering about, I mean.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<Language, Kyell.>

He blinked, turned to her after taking care of his injury, and realized that he had still been projecting his voice into her mind when he was about to swear. It was fairly rare for him to use such language, so he actually felt a red tint of embarrassment hitting his cheeks before he flashed an apologetic smile.

Idiot, he thought to himself this time.

<Right. But look more closely. Is there anything else we might need to worry about? Besides the mischief of rats scampering about, I mean.>

<T> "Look more closely..." he echoed her words and stared at the room ahead. The rats inside were distracting but after a moment of scanning the room from top to bottom, he blinked and pointed at the floor, <T> "The tile there, it's slanted and loose. Another pressure plate?"

He stepped forward to test his theory and suddenly clapped his hands together, which alerted the rats in the room. Either this was going to work out, or he was really going to make a fool out of himself. The three rats came sprinting down the hall, until the first stepped on the loose tile, causing a mechanical click that resulted in a set of large spears shooting up from the ground. They impaled two rates before they slowly shifted back into the ground, but the third was still coming for them.

<T> "One incoming!"

Kyell figured she could easily blast it and give them access to the next room... if his little stunt hadn't alerted more beasts.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Nice,> Miri said as two of the rats were impaled. The third was swiftly dispatched by a few well-aimed blaster shots.

And then more arrived, drawn by all the noise. There were too many, and they were swarming all at once. Miri holstered her pistols and pulled out her lightsaber to fend them off, activating the violet blade.

The rats didn’t seem to be sentient, and so it was easy to outsmart them. If they had been people with weapons and training in how to use them, she would’ve been in serious trouble. Even so, Miri’s lack of skill with a lightsaber was on full display as she struggled to cut them down, frequently missing her mark. It didn’t help that the rats would flee from the blade, apparently repulsed by the light.

Their claws scratched her midriff and their teeth bit her arms, tearing holes in her leather jacket. One managed to leap on top of her back, knocking her to the floor, while two more tried to dogpile her. In a moment of desperation, she called out to the Force—and for once, it answered.

The rats were pushed off of her by a telekinetic blast of energy. She staggered to her feet, wincing, and resumed the battle.

<Let’s get inside that room. I don’t think these things like light.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

There was a somewhat confident grin on his face when the two beasts were impaled, and the third was shot down by Miri. They had gotten through an obstacle without getting clawed open or worse, so he was starting to feel better about himself. However, the feeling didn't last very long — a horde of these corrupted rats appeared, forcing both Miri and himself to draw their lightsabers in defense.

Much like her, his skill with the weapon wasn't anything special, so he too struggled to defend himself. But for some reason, the rats seemed more focused on bringing Miri down. Maybe even their simplistic little brains understood that she was the bigger thread of the two Jedi.

Regardless, her midriff was clawed open, and when another jumped on her back, she was thrown against the ground, <T> "Miri!" he called out as he dashed in her direction, thereby ignoring the one he was fighting, which resulted in a claw tearing open the back of his right shoulder. But Kyell didn't care — he needed to help her, and pushed forward. With a telekinetic blast, the rats were thrown off of her moments later, which he capitalized on by decapitating the one that had been on her back.

Miri meanwhile managed to climb back up to her feet, hurt, but still proposed a plan, <T> "Move ahead, I'll cover," he said, not quite sure what the extent of her injury was, but he felt a need to step up for her now. So with his cover, they moved for the room while a few more rats were in pursuit. <T> "You okay?" he asked with clear worry in his telepathic voice, right as he slashed at one rat to force it to keep its distance. The fact he was bleeding himself no longer phased him and luckily, they were getting close to the room with light.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Kyell showed his agreement with her proposal by covering her as she made her way into the chamber.

The rats didn’t dare venture over the well-lit threshold. Miri staggered inside, having cut through her fair share of the creatures just to reach that point.

Inside there were various objects covered in dust and cobwebs. Most of it looked like junk, its value and use lost to the ravages of time. The source of the brightness was a skylight, the natural sunlight reflecting off of metal surfaces making it seem even brighter.

Deactivating her blade, Miri assessed her injuries. The slashes along her midriff looked particularly nasty, although the bites on her arms and shoulder were probably more dangerous overall due to the risk of infection. With nowhere to hide behind as she stripped off her shirt and jacket in order to treat the wounds, she turned away from Kyell and tried to do it as quickly as possible.

<It looks like there’s another door on the other side of the room,> she said, grimacing as she applied the same stinging bacta spray she had given to Kyell earlier. Keeping her mind focused on reaching their goals helped her forget the pain. <I think we must be close. That feeling of the Dark Side is getting stronger…>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Having heard no response to his question, Kyell decided it was a great idea to look over his shoulder so he could check on her... only to see her exposed back and shirt and jacket moved aside. It mattered nothing how many killer rats were nearby, his face turned redder than an Alderaanian tomato, and quickly turned back around to glance at the incoming rats instead. He really hoped she hadn't noticed, especially because it wasn't intentional.

Either way, he raised his lightsaber and stepped into one of the rats that jumped at him. This time, his timing was a lot better, and he cut it down right after the reflected light briefly blinded the creature. The two other rats picked up on the new threat and stopped their assault completely. They rushed off in another direction, likely to return later.

<T> They're gone... for now." He was breathing heavily, and still kept his back turned to her to be completely safe. But when he picked up his jacket still on the floor, he walked over and grabbed it. <T> "Here, take my jacket, yours looks a bit too torn up," he said before he finally did turn around and offered his jacket.

<T> "It's a little bit big, but you need the protection with all those cuts." His was made of thick leather, so it protected a little bit. Definitely better than nothing. Finally, he looked at the other door she mentioned, and sighed, <T> "Let's take a closer look." With that, he moved to take lead this time, not wanting her to get hurt even more.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Hey now, at least she was wearing a bra.

Oblivious to his embarrassment, Miri had put her torn shirt back on and had buttoned it up about halfway by the time he turned around to offer her his jacket. Shaking her head, she picked up her purple jacket and put it on. <It’s not as bad as it looks. Besides, you need protection too—and you definitely can’t fit into mine.>

She sent a rather comical mental image his way of what that might look like.

It was sweet of him to make the offer, though.

<All right, but if there are more rats in there, they’re mauling you first, since you’re the one with the nicer jacket.>

She followed close behind him as they headed into the next chamber—one that was much larger than the previous room, and filled with far more items. The Dark Side was so prevalent here, she could practically taste it. But where exactly it was coming from was less apparent…

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

With his cheeks still red, he kept his eyes focused purely on her own so it wouldn't get worse, <T> "Fair enough and yeah... yours does look a bit too small," he smirked a little, but when she projected an actual image of that into his mind, he blinked and laughed for a good few seconds. Of course, without making any actual sound.

It was also a fascinating skill to him, so maybe he could ask her to help him with some telepathic tricks after all of this was over... assuming they'd both get out of this place alive.

<T> "Deal, I'll tank the hits this time," he smiled and seemed to actually be quite serious about it. The idea of her having been ganked by those rats still bothered him, even though she was perfectly capable of defending herself, and he knew that. He just wanted to help carry the hardships of their mission.

The two then stepped into the larger room, and after some quick looking around, he knew for a fact they were in one of the artifact storage rooms. Many were still trapped within resin, but some of the chunks on the ground suggested that their assumptions earlier were true — some artifacts were out. <T> "This place, it feels so..." he stopped and raised a hand up to his face to pinch his temples between his fingers. <T> "So wrong."

His jaws clenched and a brief but intense jolt of pain rushed through his mind, which got him to bring both his hands up to his head. Whatever was out here, it was targeting their minds but he was much weaker mentally and struggled to resist this invasive darkness. Kyell then started thrashing around his head, and abruptly broke the mental bridge to Miri, afraid that it could allow the artifact to affect her somehow as well.

He was in pain and probably needed help, but to make matters worse, a pair of corrupted rats could be heard entering the room from a hallway at the other end of the room.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

This chamber was a treasure trove of artifacts. She saw the telltale gleam of nullification resin encasing several of the items, along with broken bits where it had been chipped away. <If we can get back to my ship, I should be able to re-coat these…>

The link between their minds began to fill with static, then suddenly went silent. Miri’s gaze darted toward Kyell with concern, then to the sound of skittering rat paws against the floor.

It was coming from the other end of the room. Miri’s eyes wandered around, looking for something she could use to block the door—and landed on a large heavy-looking shelf nearby. It was filled with priceless relics. If Miri had been better at telekinesis, she might’ve been able to move the shelf without damaging anything… but alas, she was not that skilled.

“Hang on, Kyell,” she said, stretching out her hand toward the shelf. It began to rattle, then slammed over the doorway, several of the items it contained falling to the floor and breaking. Miri’s father would’ve cringed at the sight.

At the most, she figured the makeshift barricade would buy them a few minutes. Miri wasted no time. She approached the thrashing Kyell cautiously, clasping his head between her hands as she focused on his mind, reaching in.

<Come on, Kyell. I’m right here. Tell me what’s wrong.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

"Hang on, Kyell,"

The words barely registered as he thrashed around his head. His breathing was erratic and made it clear he was panicking from whatever invaded his mind. It hurt enough to force his eyes to widen and tear up, but he kept fighting and resisting it. Miri meanwhile managed to barricade the door, but by the time she reached him, nothing remained of the calm young man she met not that long ago.

It was only when her hands settled against the sides of his head to help her reconnect to his mind that he very suddenly froze and stared straight into her eyes, his own fear visible.

<T> "I can't..." he clenched his jaw again and forced his eyes shut for a brief moment, <T> "I can't... stop it... it hurts," he continued, his telepathic voice strained from how intense the assault was. <T> "You need to... leave."

Very suddenly and without warning, his hand shifted up and reached to grip around her throat with the intent to choke or even crush her windpipe. As weak as he was with the Force, Kyell was still a Jedi and in good shape, so there was a lot of strength in his grip if it were to connect. But something else augmented it, something unnatural.

A wave of unseen anger flashed in his eyes, showing no desire to stop or let go.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

The reconnection brought with it a wave of secondhand pain. Whatever had Kyell in its clutches, it was tormenting him as a means of seizing control.

Miri felt his hands wrap around her throat. It would’ve taken a great deal of resolve and willpower not to recoil at that moment—and Miri, while strong mentally, was still relatively inexperienced when it came to situations such as this. The mental connection between them broke as her hands went instinctively to her neck, trying to pry away his grip with her fingers. But it was no use. Whatever had possessed him had made him much stronger than her.

Her vision was filling up with black spots by the time she remembered her training. Calm. Panicking would do her no favors.

But what could she do?

Strong emotional reactions, like surprise or fear, could be very effective at jolting someone out of a trancelike state. Fear was of the Dark Side, so that wouldn’t do him any good, but… oh, no. Not that.

The black spots were growing more numerous. Well, did she have much of a choice? She couldn’t think of any other options at the moment…

Counting on him to not expect a kiss from her (especially at a time like this), she suddenly lunged forward, clasping her fingers behind his neck for leverage and pressing her lips to his.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

While he possessed a lot of strength in his grip, there wasn't much going on inside his mind at the moment. His focus was entirely on choking the life out of Miri, but she wasn't going down that easily. Her options to get out of this were limited, however — drawing a weapon to shoot or stab him at this range would likely kill him or cause severe injuries the rats could later exploit, and she likely wanted to get him out of this situation somewhat intact.

So the plan she settled on was simple in idea, but probably not the easiest to go through with.

Her hands wrapped around his neck and with a little effort, she pulled herself close enough to press her lips against his. Almost instantly, the pressure on her throat faded, and the darkness that had been clouding his mind disappeared. His own identity pushed through and shielded him against it, but he was definitely left a little stunned. His cheeks blushed into a deep red, his eyes widened and for a second or so, he wasn't quite sure what to say or do.

<T> "Miri, I... uh...I..." he muttered awkwardly while his hands shifted away from her neck, and down to the sides of her shoulders to offer support in case she had trouble standing on her own feet after all that. His eyes were filled with worry, and he could feel his heart pounding hard within his chest.

This wasn't exactly how he had expected his first kiss to go.

<T> "I'm so, so sorry," he said with genuine regret in his tone and eyes, as he noticed the red marks from his grip around her neck and throat. <T> "Are you alright? We need to get out of here," he finally broke eye contact and looked over at the barricaded door. The rats were still pounding against it, and it wasn't going to take long before they'd break through. But now, he wasn't going to allow anything to hurt her again — she had gone through enough suffering because of him.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Going from having someone’s hands around your throat to immediately having your mouth covered by someone else’s wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience. As Kyell came back to his senses, Miri was tempted to beg him for air and turn the kiss into the galaxy’s weirdest CPR session.

But he released her a second later, clearly stunned and embarrassed. Miri lowered her head to his chest just in time for a coughing fit. It took her a minute or so to catch her breath, during which time Kyell dutifully held her up by her shoulders, apologizing profusely.

<Are you okay?> she managed to ask. She’d rather not get choked again. <What was that all about?>

But any further discussion of his possession was put on hold while they dealt with the rat infestation. Though her throat was sore and her pride was a little bruised, Miri still pulled out her pistols, loaded them, and pointed the guns at the door. The barricade was finally knocked aside by the giant rodents, and she immediately opened fire on them.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

She needed a little help to stay on her feet, but she seemed to be doing alright and that's all that mattered to him. There wasn't any permanent damage, and after about a minute or so, she was catching her breath again while he still held her close. He eased up on the rather tight grip he had on her shoulders once she seemed to be fine, and gently rubbed the sides of her shoulders instead, a soft smile on his face.

<T> "I'm doing alright now, thanks to you," he said with a more gentle blush, <T> "The artifacts are invasive, and... I couldn't keep them out," he admitted with some shame. But there wasn't much time to think about it, as the rats finally broke through and moved to attack. He reached for his lightsaber again while Miri pulled out her pistols, and something felt different about Kyell.

While she landed several shots to cripple or perhaps even kill them already, he moved in much faster than before and struck with far greater precision to help finish off the two rats without the trouble they had before. He wasn't motivated by his own need for safety, but by his promise to help keep her protected, even though she hardly needed him.

<T> "With how many we cleared of these, maybe we can make it back to your ship. We can't leave these artifacts here like this," he said as he turned around and looked at her again.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

He still held onto her, even though he didn’t need to. And to Miri’s surprise, she didn’t mind his touch.

Invasive artifacts. Lovely. While her father had usually kept such relics away from her, she knew well their dark power. <It looks like my… quick thinking saved the both of us.> She cleared her throat and turned away from him then, her cheeks burning.

While they fought off the rats, Kyell’s demeanor seemed to have changed. He had grown bolder and more focused. Soon the rats were dead, and the young Jedi were back to business.

<I had no intention of leaving priceless artifacts here to rot, anyway,> Miri replied.

She traced the source of the Dark Side to an object sitting on a shelf. It looked to be some type of bowl, cut and polished from a light green stone. She touched it cautiously, afraid it would turn out to be boobytrapped, but nothing happened. It felt extremely heavy, but she managed to pick it up anyway.

<I’ll take this one. Grab anything that looks… interesting, I suppose.> Dad would’ve argued that anything that survived the past could be worth something to someone. But Miri cared more about Kyell’s wellbeing than a bunch of dusty old stuff. If he was having a hard time withstanding the artifacts, she’d drop them before she let him get possessed again. And not just because she liked being able to breathe, either.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<It looks like my… quick thinking saved the both of us.>

Kyell felt his own face burning and looked away for a brief moment but with a smile on his lips. She was right; it had saved both of them, and that wasn't something he'd ever forget. Both because he liked living, and because of how she saved them, <T> "It uh, it sure did. I really owe you one... or two" he said before a soundless chuckle escaped his lips.

The two then fought off the rats together without any real trouble, and after the room was cleared, she moved to grab an artifact that stood out to her. <T> "I think I know which one I have to bring back," he said as his gaze locked onto the source of what he had been feeling ever since he stepped into the room. Slowly, he walked over to one of the corners, crouched down, and picked up an old, black mask with red eyes that were impossible to see through, as well as symbols he didn't understand.

It looked more decorative in nature, but the longer he looked at it, the more it felt as if those red eyes were staring back at him.

<T> "Alright..." he said, clearly a bit creeped out, <T> "I think it's time we get out of here." He stood back up with the mask in his hands and began to smile again when his eyes shifted back to her.

<T> "I think some food would be great too. Maybe we can grab something on the way back if you'd like? It has been a long day." Maybe she had food on her ship too, but he wasn't going to suggest eating her food after everything that happened.