Conflict Within

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

Aryn Teth's Apartment, 500 Republica, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

Dreams both pleasant and ill came often enough to the Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance, but this... This was no dream.

When it began, Aryn stood alone, surrounded by darkness. He did not know where he was, standing atop a symbol of the Alliance, he could see nothing but a pitch black surrounding him, clouded by a thick smoke which billowed into the room from an unseen flame. When he tried to speak, he could find no words, no sound escaped his lips as he stared out into the darkness. From below, a dim light began to glow, a deep red which began to spread from the symbol beneath him.

Aryn's gaze turned downward, and he found himself reflected in the background of the symbol. Over his face, he could see he wore the mask he had taken to in his reflection, though he could not feel it upon his own skin, and reaching up he could not feel it either, neither could he see the reflection move in tandem. Instead, he saw the red light grow behind his reflection, saw the dark smoke billowing around his form as his reflection raised its arm, lightsaber-in-hand. When the blade activated, the red light only grew brighter. Taking a half-step back, Aryn reacted in pure instinct as he saw his reflection begin to slash downwards.

The blade cut clean through the symbol of the Alliance, splitting the starbird in two as the platform beneath Aryn began to crumble away, the Supreme Commander staggering back and into the darkness as he began to fall.

As he fell, the darkness surrounded him again, he felt a presence, then another, all those who he had met, who he had connected himself with, he heard their voices echo in his mind, but none of them spoke words that he had yet heard. "What has happened to you?" He heard the voice of [member='Coren Starchaser'] first, the Jedi who had fought alongside him so many times, the man who had become a close ally, even a friend of the Supreme Commander. He saw Coren before him then, but his friend was not an ally then, he watched as Starchaser grew closer, as the man's saber swung for Aryn's form before the image disappeared.

"I won't let you destroy what we've done here." The Grand Marshal [member='Taeli Raaf'] appeared next, she sat in the temple along with the Jedi Council, and Aryn could see as he stood before them, before the vision faded, all he saw was the lightsaber activating in his hand as he closed on the woman's form to attack.

He saw Alliance starships burning, bodies lining the walkways of Coruscant, and he saw the blood on his hands, the guilt in his heart. He felt the anger, the rage, the hate. Then suddenly he felt pain, his fall ended as he fell in a heap, rolling down a grassy hill under a night sky. He groaned in pain as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, sitting back, he turned his gaze up and he saw it, he stars in the night sky, the rolling hills, and before him, the Carrion Spike, home.

"Come back to me." As the voice of [member="Srina Talon"] echoed in his mind, he awoke.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [Aryn Teth's Apartment] - 500 Republica, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

Emotions that were not her own roused her from a dead sleep. She found herself breathlessly staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, in an unfamiliar bed, wearing unfamiliar clothing. Light passed through the balcony from the ever-active skylanes. It took her a moment to realize where she was. Coruscant. It was the jewel of the galaxy and the newly made capital of the Galactic Alliance. It was a place that she had been chased through, tormented in, and nearly killed. It was the place that she had first met her Master.

It was also the home of [member="Aryn Teth"].

The slender woman closed her eyes, struggling to breathe over the turmoil that burned darkly beneath her breastbone, but found no peace. She could see something. It was the shape of a man through shadow and flame. She knew him, and yet, she could not see his actions. She could not feel his wants, his thoughts, or his deeds. She could only feel a thick primordial blackness that hung over the lavish apartment like a death shroud. Eventually, she sat up and slid out from beneath the silken coverlet.

‘Aryn?’, she mentally whispered the name of the Jedi who had been kind enough to let her stay the night, versus sleeping aboard the Ferocity, while repairs were made. Often she accompanied the Supreme Commander on missions to different locations. Her ship, gifted by Darth Metus, had not escaped the mayhem entirely unscathed. Rather than admit to her Master that she’d allowed the ship to come to harm while assisting the Alliance she’d opted to have it repaired before returning to Ryloth. `Aryn…What’s wrong?'

Her friend had suggested that she bring the massive assault frigate to Coruscant. He felt responsible for the damages since he’d been the one to ask for her help, despite the fact, that it hadn’t been his fault in the slightest. It wasn’t the first time she’d visited his little sanctum of all things Teth, however, it would be one of her longest sabbaticals. Srina was still hesitant. The last thing either party needed was one of the gossiping Alliance tabloids to get ahold of her whereabouts.

Leritor had made front pages, not to mention, her recent visit to Alderaan.

Srina had some clothing stashed away in the bottom drawers of the guest room. That combined with what she had from the Ferocity had been enough to get by for a few days, however, she had borrowed an oversized tunic from the Jedi to sleep in while her effects were laundered overnight. If she stayed much longer she would need to go shopping, but that was honestly the last thing she wanted to do on Coruscant, save for perhaps visiting the Crimson Corridor. The old steel floor was tinged a rustic brownish-red for a reason.

Blood. So much blood had spilled that it had caused the color to change. Some of it belonged to her.

To that end, she rolled up the overly long sleeves and made sure it was buttoned properly before making her way out of the hotel-esque bedroom. It ran long on her slender form, the material thick, and easily more modest than what she had been forced into on Secundus Ando. If she tied it in the middle it could have passed easily for a modern shift-like dress.

Bare feet took her mindlessly through the apartment at 500 Republica, the chilly floor sending a shiver down her spine as she skittered through, easily a silent ghost. For a long moment, she found herself staring at the door that led to the sleeping Supreme Commander, caught between concern, and an urge to maintain propriety. She was his guest. Taking advantage of his hospitality was the very last thing she wanted to do. It was evidenced in everything she did, especially, with the way she took care to leave the smallest footprint possible. His fears, his horror, anger, and guilt rolled through her anew and her hand swept over the entry-pad before she could stop herself.

It felt like Sullust all over again. Darth Metus had endured similar night terrors during their diplomatic ventures. It was a wonder that every guard in the consulate hadn’t fallen on their heads when the room began to feel as if it would shake apart.

Srina had only made it halfway to the bed when the man awoke with a start. She could feel it. The change in his breathing, the grogginess, and the lingering anxiety. The small warrior did not know what he had seen. Not exactly. Yet, what she felt, even if it was only a fraction of his uncertainties, was more than enough. She sat down beside him, her meager weight barely causing anything to shift, before she reached for his face. Her fingertips held the back of his jaw while her thumb caressed his cheek.

“I’m here Aryn…It was just a dream.”, she murmured delicately, her honeyed tones, still marred and a little dense from sleep broke the silence like a glass hitting the wall. It almost made her flinch. Even whispering, almost, she felt as if her own voice was too harsh. Too loud. Words alone did not soothe an Echani. Just as he would have discovered on Kubindi, she responded to trauma physically, and this was no different. The pale apprentice did not know any other way. “…Do you want to talk about it?”

Snow-kissed hair spilled over her shoulder as she leaned, careful only to touch his face, and nothing else. Already she may have been breaching his personal space. Especially, after such a horrible nightmare. Srina didn’t want to make things worse.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

Aryn Teth's Apartment, 500 Republica, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

As he sat up in his bed, Aryn felt the beads of sweat running down his forehead, the heat swelling in his body, and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He felt the soft sheets of his bed, the cool breeze flowing in from his open window. He saw the dark room around him, saw [member="Srina Talon"] as she entered the room, as she drew closer and settled herself down upon the bed. He heard the hum of the skylanes outside, and the soft whisper of Srina's voice as it echoed throughout the room. These things all surrounded him, but he did not truly feel any of them.

Still he lingered on what he had seen before he awoke, visions had not come to Aryn often before, but those he had once had all had come to fruition, there had been no escaping the realities of the force, not yet, but never had he seen a reality so dark, so horrifying to behold. Fear lurked at the very center of Aryn's being, within his heart of hearts he could feel nothing but the twisting agony of his terror. Yet, Aryn took solace that the future was fluid, ever-moving, and uncertain. For so long as he had, there was time enough to ensure that his vision did not come to fruition, Aryn would only need to ensure he was strong enough.

"No." The answer to Srina's question came far too quickly, quickly enough that he did not even bother to follow it up with an explanation for why he kept it to himself. There was a faint confusion in Aryn's mind, over the fact that Srina had not seemed to have seen the vision as he had, yet he could not tell her of the truth of it. That too, he feared.

In almost any other situation, Aryn would not have moved for an inch away from the soft touch of Srina, from the warmth of her presence, she had always been there to calm him, and there had never been an instance where her very presence had not been able to still his raging mind and bring peace to him, yet now, he could feel no such peace. Shifting over to the side of the bed away from Srina, Aryn pushed himself to his feet and stepped over to the open window.

The pregnant pause which had held since his reply remained as he stared out into the early morning of the Coruscant sky, as a thousand thoughts echoed through his mind, as a chorus of a hundred voices spoke in the recesses of his soul. He heard what he had in his vision, he heard the concern of Srina's words echoing in his mind. He heard the thousands of friends and allies he had met, every encounter which had brought him here, every focal point in his life, it was a sensory overload.

Srina had said that it was only a dream, he could feel the concern flowing from her, but he knew that she believed it to be little more than night terrors. He knew that was not the case, he knew what, without action, he would become.

"I need to go to Eriadu. Tonight." For once, there was no request in his voice, no urging that she come with him, the idea of Srina joining him on his journey was not even a consideration in Aryn's mind at that moment. Moving to the wardrobe in his room, it was only a few moments before he was dressed properly, his hands moving down to the datapad on his bedside table as he keyed the spaceport, ordering for his starship to be prepped.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [Aryn Teth's Apartment] - 500 Republica, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

“No.”

For the first time that she could remember Aryn Teth pulled away from her. He moved immediately. As if he somehow found her repugnant or distasteful. As if her very presence burned him, through and through, like a hapless wildfire with no end. It had been a long time since someone had managed to make her feel less than what she was with a singular word. The small Echani found herself staring blankly down at sweat-soaked sheets, trying to swallow a lump of something she couldn't fathom, while silver eyes glazed over. It would take time for the reality of the situation to dawn on her. The emotional armor that she wore only ever came down for a few select people, and up until now, the Supreme Commander had been one of them. She trusted him, had placed her faith in him, and prided herself on knowing him better than most.

Srina did not understand. Not at first. It was a subtle ache in her chest told her the truth. His rebuff hurt.

Her hand, realizing that it was still hanging in the air, fell limply into her lap. Never before had she felt so foolish, or so cast aside, simply from being unwanted. Why should it matter? She could feel only his fear. It overwhelmed everything else, echoing so strongly, that as he stood near the open window she barely recognized him.

The soft breeze through the open balcony tousled white-gold hair freely. She barely paid it any mind. Frankly, she barely even felt it at all. Everything in her being was centered on what had changed the Jedi that she knew into some unfeeling autocrat who blew her off without hesitation. His thoughts were everywhere, jumping from one thing to another, in such a rapid fashion that she wondered if someone had drugged his dinner. Part of her wanted to get up and walk out. There was either something wrong, or clearly, she’d somehow overstayed her welcome.

Perhaps…Perhaps she simply thought they were on better terms than they actually were. Perhaps the Viceroyalty was correct in that she was merely tolerated by the Alliance because she was means to an end. A tool. Nothing more. Srina withdrew. The sincere, compassionate, woman that he had come to know removed herself from the scenario entirely and all gentleness disappeared into a place where he would have a hard time finding it.

He didn’t even bother to ask her to leave the room when he started pulling out clothes to get dressed. Her eyes averted, though she had already begun to shut down, becoming the cold Dread Queen that was whispered about within the confines of the Confederacy. This woman did not blush, or stammer, at the sight of a partially dressed man. She didn’t notice at all. It was only flesh.

The small woman stood up and left.

She picked up her weapons from the guest room and made a few arrangements while he made his. The pale warrior pulled the name of the starship he’d set up shamelessly from his mind, as well as the location, and had personal items sent there by an urgent courier. It would be deeply expensive this late in the evening but there wasn’t much of a choice. By the time Aryn made it to the door, Srina was already there, however, he would find her wearing the Scarlet Vow.

Armor so ferocious, colored in shades of onyx and crimson, did not belong on the streets of Coruscant. It did not belong beside the Supreme Commander. Yet, when considering all of her clothing had been sent out the night before for cleaning, this would need to do until she could change. White-gold hair had been brushed and rebraided tightly. Severely. As if she were preparing to grimly go to war versus visit the place of his birth. Perhaps she was. There was something going on, she wasn’t so thick, or so blinded not to see it…

She just did not understand. Srina had not seen the entirety of a vision and had no reason to suspect the true atrocities he had been privy to. She had simply seen darkness, shadows, twined with guilt and shame.

It would also become apparent that in her silence, whether or not she spoke, that she intended on accompanying him. They left 500 Republica with a car waiting and the young Echani slipped by him before they entered the ship. His people were quite used to them traveling together and didn’t bother to stop her. “You know where to find me, Commander.”

Until then, she would the entirety of the long, long journey locked in a crew quarter. She needed to meditate before her emotional state swung just as out of control as his. It was her mistake, in the first place, for letting herself feel. It was never safe and only ever, ever ended in betrayal, and disappointment.

She would see this through...But she would not repeat that mistake.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

The strength his words and attitude had held over Srina was entirely lost upon Aryn as he continued to prepare himself. When he made his way to the door and saw her waiting he did not question it, though the Jedi had not requested her company or made any move to indicate she would be welcome, he would not prevent her from joining him. The turbolift ride, and the drive to the spaceport, were both deathly silent. Aryn could not have noticed the silence if he wished to however, still his mind darted every which way, through a thousand thoughts and memories as he tried to make sense of things.

​Still the repercussions of his words, the sadness and the hurt he had inflicted upon Srina was lost to him, he did not understand, and indeed in that moment he could not understand what he had done. It was only when she brushed past him and spoke, that things came crashing down onto his head.

"Commander."

Since the earliest stages of their relationship, before the two would even have considered themselves friends, Srina had never referred to Aryn by his rank. He had not been the Supreme Commander, nor a General, his rank and his position had never mattered. Since he and Srina had become friends, he had always been her Jedi, it was not only jarring to hear her refer to him as anything else, it was a knife in his gut, twisting in the same way that his own words had.

His thoughts came crashing down around him, where before Aryn had heard a million voices, a chorus of echoes and whispers hounding him and piercing the deep recesses of his mind, now he heard nothing, he felt nothing. A silence unlike anything that Aryn had ever felt, had ever experienced filled the man, and fear with it came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. It was a fear far greater than the one he had felt before, it was a fear that had nothing to do with Aryn himself, or with his dream, it was far, far more horrible than that. It was a fear of a world in which he did not have Srina Talon at his side.

Stepping onto the ship, Aryn allowed his astromech to begin the process of bringing the ship up into the atmosphere, instead shifting his focus to the woman who was within the crew quarters. He reached the door, and when he went to open it he found it to be locked. It was unsurprising considering the pain he could feel flowing through her still, she was trying more to block him out, but he still felt what he could. Reaching to the console again, he keyed the buzzer on the inside of the room, allowing his voice to echo through their bond.

"Srina."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [Aryn Teth's Apartment] - 500 Republica, Coruscant, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

The pale-haired apprentice stalked up the ramp to the junkship flightworthy vehicle that Aryn had summoned with a level of confidence that did not befit her current mood. Perhaps it was the tightness of her braided hair or the cold expression on her face, but none stopped her as she followed the astromech, without so much as waiting for the concierge controller to check his datapad. Not for the first time, she was curious as to why Teth chose this scrap heap, when he had all of the Alliance at his back…But she’d not question it.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she would much rather be in the comfort and security of the Ferocity. It had everything. From stealth, to long range and short range weaponry, as well as a fully stocked galley—it was preferred.

However…Since the Commander had not even seen fit to speak to her on the drive to the spaceport, or formally invite her, she didn’t think he would be open to waiting until the repairs on her beloved assault frigate were finished. Jaw set tight, eyes the color of polished steel, she followed the faded lines on the floor that pointed her in the right direction. The small selection of clothing that she had been able to scrounge up on such short notice was placed on one of the shoddy bunks in the makeshift crew quarters. At the very least, she could place the Scarlet Vow back where it belonged.

Srina locked the door behind her, despite the fact that the only other occupants were Aryn Teth and his astromech, and set about to changing. She couldn’t very well walk around Eriadu in nothing but one of the dark-haired man’s tunics, or, blood red armor that frequently terrified the locals. Darth Metus had claimed that the color had been an accidental side effect from being worked at the Forge…But Srina wasn’t so certain. More and more he encouraged her to accept her passions. To accept the dark. The particular shade of red she had wound up with was more than just a little symbolic.

Sometime after takeoff, she found herself mostly presentable. She’d washed her face in the small, desolate sink, but for the most part didn’t seem to have a hair out place. Part of her training on Eshan had involved paying close attention to the smallest of details. Her appearance, and the way she always seemed the epitome of perfection was a learned habit. To that end, she sighed at what was apparently the height of day wear for the general Coruscanti female. It was a soft array of shimmersilk, but extraordinarily pink, and rather cheerful.

Unfortunately, it was either this, a few other interesting numbers…Or oversized tunics. Her eyes closed tightly for a moment, trying not to feel her irritation rise, and she swallowed it quickly. A little frill never hurt anyone.

Just as she finished tying on a pair of soft flat boots she heard a sound outside the door. She could feel Aryn there, waiting, and not a second after the privacy buzzer went off. The silver eyed woman found herself staring blankly at the portal… What did he want? His fear still rolled through him, blinding her, to everything else.

She could hear his voice in her mind, speaking only her name, and for part of a second…She forgot. She forgot his callousness, she forgot his coldness and the abrupt way he had dismissed her. With his presence came warmth and security. Fondness. Care. Srina bit down hard on her lower lip. Hard enough to drown out her memories, replacing it with sobering pain, before she waved her hand to allow the door to unlock. The white-haired woman would not look at him. Instead, she continued to adjust her boots, making sure that they were laced properly.

“Do you need something?”

Words. Cold, and piercing. They were perfectly polite…But there was something wrong. Her eyes flickered as she stood up, placing a few items back into their packages, before resealing them. Srina didn’t know what she had done to the Jedi whom had gone so far to earn her trust…But it was not something she could dwell on. Emotions clouded her judgment. She didn’t need it.

What she needed was chilling clarity.

“I'm finished with the room, Commander. If you'll excuse me I'll stay out of your way.”

​

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

When the door opened, Aryn's gaze shifted downward to the form of Srina that was focused upon lacing her boots, his eyes focusing upon her as he heard the chill and plain politeness of her tone when she spoke. Though it was perfectly appropriate, it was not remotely how she usually spoke to him, there was no hint of the usual banter the two shared or any hint of the connection they had formed over so long a time in each others company. It hurt for the briefest moment, but Aryn understood just how well he deserved the treatment for how he had shrugged off her concern before.

His actions had not been remotely thought through, had his mind been his own, he would never have acted in such a manner, but what he would have done did not matter in the face of what he had done. He pushed the lingering guilt from his mind, his gaze focused intently upon the woman before him. Srina was blocking herself off from him, he could feel it not only in the way she carried herself but through her bond, it was harder to navigate the halls of her mind as he once had, to see things as she did, feel them as she did. And yet, she had still come to be at his side without question, without hesitation. That fact in and of itself had been enough to drag the man back to reality, even for a brief moment.

He did not answer her with words, Aryn knew they did not mean as much to the Echani before him as did actions. Instead, he took a step towards her, not pushing her back, or past her, instead closing the distance between them. There was a brief instinct which urged him against his action, citing that she might take offence, or that it could make things worse, but the greater part of his mind did not care. Slowly, Aryn reached out, wrapping his arms around the body of the pale woman and pulling her close, into a tight hug.

He held her for only a few seconds before he spoke, the hushed tone of his voice echoing out into her ear as they stood near the doorway. "Thank you. Thank you for coming, for knowing that I needed you to." He knew that she could feel his apology, his sorrow surging through their bond to remind her of the guilt he felt at his actions, he did not feel the need to remind her of that as he held her until she would free herself from his grip or say something in return.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

Srina stepped back, though, the young woman made no attempts to evade him. Her eyes remained fixated on his feet. She did her best to ensure that he would not see the emotion that rolled through her even if he felt it through their bond. She was not currently equipped to handle the hailstorm of sentiments and fears that poured through his veins unbidden, let alone her own pain, and anxieties. Echani were a near-human race that felt things on a grand scale, amplified, and mind-numbing. It was the reason that she had trained in Larinkáoi to forget. To learn to think, versus feeling anything, save for the passion that combat stirred.

Long strides allowed Aryn Teth to cross the small space between them, and aside from her initial response, she refused to give him any ground. His emotions were chaotic, and if she looked deep enough, perhaps, touched with a little guilt. The white-haired apprentice was uncertain which version of the Commander would greet her at this point... As such, when he reached for her, she initially flinched—as if preparing for some sort of onslaught.

She held her breath when he pulled her close, her slender form stiff as a board, as if unable to accept that he meant her no harm. His arms, which typically made a perfect, safe circle, held the same properties of a gilded cage. Striking, but still a prison. His hold on her form tightened and slowly, ever so slowly, some of the ice that she had wrapped her being in chipped. She stubbornly held on but his presence washed over her like the inevitability of a soft jasmine rainfall. The Echani could not completely disregard the apology as his melancholy burrowed into her being. It was the only reason her elbow hadn’t found the bridge of his nose. Her voice was quiet when it escaped her. “It wouldn’t be prudent if I let an ally die on my watch.”

The Echani did not want this distance. It bothered her more than she was willing to admit. Despite her dispassionate words her arms slowly came up to wrap around his midsection, hands resting along his back, while her cheek turned toward him. As always, her actions would speak louder than anything else.

“…What happened…?”, she breathed quietly, almost indifferent, but her physical actions would tell the truth of her inquisitiveness. Srina was equally hurt and disturbed. She supposed it was because there were very, very few people that she let inside. Her Master, Aryn, were exceptions to almost every rule she had about remaining autonomous and independent. She brought them within everything she was. She trusted them to see her, to know her, and not to break her from within. The rebuttal from the Jedi…It more than stung. She did not reach for just anyone and she did not wake from a dead sleep to comfort a stranger in the night. “At least, tell me what I need to know for Eriadu. I can’t help effectively if you keep me in the dark.”

She could not let go of his reaction. What he had dreamt must have been soul-shattering. There had never been a time, not since they’d first sparred on Sullust, that he had ever pulled away from her. She could see herself in him. Likely, it went both ways, and he could see his own reflection in her. To see one another, to understand each other, was to understand themselves.

Srina found herself besot with a familiar concern. Perhaps, her affinity for the dark escaping her iron-clad grip. There was a chance that her presence was tainting him. Bringing him down, stealing his light.

“If our connection is causing you difficulty my Master will break it.”

Darth Metus would be entirely overjoyed if she asked. He already complained after she made her overtures with the Alliance that she reeked of Jedi. Mostly, she knew, he just hated sharing her with the Commander. Srina had also not forgotten when she’d tried to end their bond on her own.

Still. It was an option, if Aryn wished it.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

As the initial words left her lips, Aryn felt the piercing stab of disappointment run through him, but he kept his focus deeper on her, on the echoes running through her mind and the truth of her feelings. Yet soon enough came her softer tone, the curiosity and the desire to help that before he had shunned it. He thought things through, thought how best to explain it all to her, and he knew that he still couldn't. Aryn's dream had been far greater than a nightmare, it was as if he had seen into the very future itself, though it was one of darkness, of horror the likes of which Aryn had not expected, nor ever wished. Still, Srina was right, Aryn had to tell her something.

As he thought, the lurching movement of the ship as it entered hyperspace carried with it a rumbling that was almost ominous along with the offer that Srina made. "No." The answer came quick, far too quick for it to have been calm or considered. Aryn fought to keep the fear from rising up within him, the fear of losing Srina in the first place was almost forced back to the forefront of his mind as she spoke. He sighed as he realized how quickly he had spoken, not bothering to linger on the thoughts or even to try and correct himself as he kept his arms around her form, holding her close.

"I had a dream, a vision... In it, I saw my home, I haven't been there since before the Empire attacked it, but I know I need to go there." He sighed softly, shaking his head as he pulled away only slightly, keeping his grip on her as he watched the woman in his arms. "I know it's not the explanation you want, I just, don't know how better to put it all..." He sighed, shaking his head as he watched her, eyes locked on the woman before him. He had no idea what they would find on Eriadu, at his home, or indeed whatever would lay at the end of this path he had started on.

All he did know, was that he was fairly sure he would never like it.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

His disappointment was palpable. Yet, as he looked deeper, and reached through the Force Bond he had created he would find the truth. Her arms wrapping around him in kind would tell the story of her hesitance. Of the very fragile, very careful trust that she had placed within him, and how she feared every day that the naysayers were correct. The Confederacy was the means to an end for the Alliance. They were despised. At best—tolerated. ‘One day’, the voice of her Master lingered in her ears, ‘One day, he will betray you. It is only a matter of time.’

The closeness they had formed felt like more than simple diplomatic courtesy. Was she wrong to assume such a thing? Did Aryn view her efforts as distantly as the rest of his triumvirate? Was he capable of hiding such blackness from her? She did not know. He had managed to hide the ravenous hole in the center of his being all this time…Perhaps, that wasn’t all. When she offered him a way out of their connection, it was tentative, soft. It was a compassionate effort that few would think the Echani capable of.

His denial resonated in her ears. A firm, polished, nearly desperate negative. No. He did not wish her gone. If not, then why turn her away when he needed help the most? Never had she seen him spring out of bed to fly off to whereabouts unknown while seeming as if he could no longer see her. Feel her. Srina was confused. Emotions were messy, contradictory, and overly complicated. She did not understand the deluge of what poured out of [member="Aryn Teth"]. It was beyond her. If she could have looked into his heart to try and figure out what it was that he did not say—she would have. But it felt like an invasion.

She would not want to be robbed of her privacy any more than he would. It was already limited, by having not one, but two Force Users using it as a frequent way to communicate with her.

The junk ship lurched and she remained wrapped around him. Srina did not know what else to do. It hurt, too much, to think that he was only trying to placate her now by giving her the one thing she could understand. Physical contact was simple, soothing, and didn’t require explanation to an Echani. For some reason, his actions, their impromptu trip definitely did. He began to speak and she remained silent. Her snow-white head continued rest against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, searching for truth. Honesty.

“That’s not enough.”, she responded softly, allowing silver eyes to raise, meeting tumultuous blue. “It’s not enough by far. I felt your fear. Your guilt. It is the kind of guilt that eats one alive and leaves nothing behind. It was more.”

More than she saw. More than he could say. Their eyes clashed in the relative quiet of the cabin and she released her hold around his waist so that her hands could move. Up his torso, and finally, with warm palms resting on either side of his face. Her mercurial gaze flickered as her head tilted, trying to see, what it was that he would not say. His fear blinded her. “Do you not know?”

“I may be the apprentice of a Sith...But you can trust me. I swear it.”

Her hands slid back down as she released him. She would have thought it obvious, by this point, but for the first time, she held doubts. The slender Echani let her form fall softly against his once more, closing the distance as if it would answer all of their problems. These were the arms that protected her, fought with her, and carried her home after Tatooine. If her faith was not safe here, in this small empty cabin, where would it be? How could she prove herself to be loyal enough to trust that would not jeopardize the bond she held with her Master? The Confederacy, as it always had, would come first.

Yet, Srina would not abandon that which she cared for. This uneasy alliance was maintained by the relationship they had developed. Neither Darth Metus nor Aryn Teth held any lost love for one another. Neither seemed to know how much she favored them both—but they both held the same quality of being entirely too stubborn. Both hid their pain, hid their fear, and despite the fact that she could feel it tearing them apart. Would they ever learn?

Doubtful.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

As he looked deeper, Aryn felt the lingering hesitation, much like the black void within him, it hid far from sight, deep within the periphery of her mind and her heart, he felt how unsure she was, how hesitant she was. He felt and he heard even the faint echoes of nay-sayers that she knew, even the echoes of them compounded his fear, it drew him further away from the dream, and yet, at the same time it drew him further within it. One did not simply fall, there was always a catalyst, a reason. Certainly his anger, his hatred for the Mandalorians in particular had pulled at the darkness within him, but they were not enough to drive him to the edge, no, there was something far, far more that threatened to do that.

It was a feeling, something that had lingered at the back of all his actions, all his doings in the countless battles and undertakings he had gone through in the company of Srina Talon. It was why he had reacted with such malice picking up her body on Tatooine, to the one he had believed responsible for her injuries. It was why when she was hurt he always rushed to her, no matter how inconsequential or indeed insignificant her injuries actually could be. He understood better than a thousand other beings across the galaxy of the capabilities of the Echani before him, and yet he had unknowingly, unwittingly kept her at the forefront of his mind, and put such dedication into her protection, that it was becoming a danger. It was something he knew had felled hundreds of thousands of Jedi across history, it had caused cracks in their codes, in their very beings, providing in equal parts both joy, and sorrow.

Love.

And yet it seemed lost upon her, as lost as it had been upon him until that very moment. Now, however, it shone with such burning clarity in his mind's eye as though a beacon had been lit, as if a star had gone supernova, he felt the hesitation within her, the uncertainty, and the newfound clarity within his own mind drowned it out, burying it deep within the darkness at his core. In an instant, it was as if he had been cured of a kind of blindness, a haze lifted which had masked the lost road beneath his very feet.

But she did not know, she had not understood, she still felt as though there was some need to prove, to assure that he could trust her, that she were not just a sith in his mind, the apprentice of a man who by all rights should have been his enemy, that she was not just an ally of convenience. As he felt her press herself back against him, his hand shifted upwards from her back with the tenderness of a feather, the tips of his fingers brushing along the side of her face as he brushed a strand of white hair from her silver eyes. Slowly his fingers trailed down, resting under the hook of her chin as gently, with the delicacy one would handle a fragile pot, he lifted her gaze up towards his.

He could not find words to speak, but he knew they were not necessary, he had learned much of the Echani since knowing Srina, he knew how her people understood things, how best to convey anything. Slowly, once he was certain her head would not shy away, his fingers brushed back over her cheek before his palm rested there, then, slowly, his own head began to dip. It was almost painfully slow, measured carefully, and with all the possible openings for one to halt it.

When he felt the soft touch of his lips against her own, time itself seemed to stop. For the first time in as long as he could remember, the void within his own being seemed to wither and fade from existence, it was not there, no matter how far he dug, how deeply he searched, it had vanished, for just a fleeting second he felt himself, past the eldritch horror of his own making, cured of the malignant disease which lay, festering at his core. He held the moment, dragging it out for as long as he possibly could before slowly he allowed it to pass, and he felt the darkness slowly return as his blue eyes met her own.

"I know, and that's what scares me."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

“Aryn.”

Her voice was barely there, barely a whisper, when she spoke his name. It was a question and an answer all at the same time. She wasn’t even certain he would hear her. Something within him had abruptly changed. What had once been a calamity of fear, confusion, and guilt coalesced into something new. There was clarity where there had once been indecision. Lucidity, instead of confusion, and anxiety. Srina tried to follow the path of the change but found herself lost in the blinding purity of some unknown revelation. It was warm.

Her head tilted back up and she once again searched his face. Every line, even his scar, she wrapped her gaze around before finding his eyes. They could be so very, very blue when she was so close. “…What are you thinking?”

His expression was filled with something that felt entirely foreign to her. Whatever it was, it seemed to lessen the shadows around him, and almost, brought him a sense of peace. Even his touch felt transformed. Suddenly, it felt like he held her as if she were made of glass, and might break with the smallest movement. Such tenderness and care left her entirely jumbled. He didn’t speak. He didn’t answer her question. Her eyes closed for a moment when he brushed a tendril of her hair away.

Such a strange sensation. Vaguely, she was aware of her pulse moving faster but paid it little mind. She was much too focused on trying to figure out what was going on with her Jedi. He was acting so oddly, so out of character, that she wasn’t sure how to process it. First, he seemed to want to be anywhere, but near her, and then it felt like he never wanted to let go. A small thread of apprehension began to wind itself about her spine. It wasn’t fear, nothing so specific, but Srina was at a complete loss.

Control was everything. She always held it. Both in herself and in her surroundings. Nothing could move her, nothing could fluster her, nothing could break her—yet he did. The flaxen-haired woman felt his gentle touch to her cheek and her eyes grew unfocused as his face neared. Everything sensible that she had ever been taught told her to pull away. He would feel her hand on his chest, but, that slight resistance would fade the moment his lips touched her own.

The small woman froze.

She did not grow cold. She merely fell still. She breathed his air, she felt his heart beating, and for a brief moment everything else disappeared. The terrible, awful ship he had taken for transport, the way he had treated her on Coruscant. All of it just went away. Every concern she had fled like a feather in the wind and the Echani born warrior felt lighter than air. His lips tasted vaguely of caf and something sweeter that she couldn’t name. It lasted for what felt like an eternity…

Until it was gone.

He would see the effect of his actions, both in her eyes and with the pink blush that ran across the tops of her cheeks. She breathed. It was not the same. Not anymore. It hitched against her will and it was only then that she realized she felt unstable. Light-headed. At first, his words didn’t register, and she closed her eyes to try and make sense of it.

His eyes were too blue. She couldn’t keep looking at them and try to understand what he was saying. It was trick of the light, surely, but it was all she could do to try and compensate. Though the Supreme Commander had pulled back he still hadn’t let her go. It was probably for the best.

“Why—Why does that scare you?”

Her tone was endlessly soft. Breathy. There was a velvet undertone that surprised her. Was that even her voice? Nevertheless, she tried to focus on what she felt, versus what she heard. Moments ago he had no fear. At least, no fear that she could feel through the glowing, all-consuming warmth. Ever so slowly it seemed to be returning, even by his own admission, the fact that he could trust her, did not seem to be a good thing. Srina was not well-versed in the Jedi Code.

It wasn’t until right then, combined with his previous worry, that she acknowledged it.

“I am an attachment?”

Did not attachment lead to the Darkside? Srina’s eyes widened as some, fragment, of understanding fell on her, and she stepped back, out of his arms. Her stomach twisted. Or, perhaps, it was her heart falling that left her feeling entirely nauseated. All this time she had been trying to protect him from the shadows that always seemed to call his name. She had reached through their bond, more than once, to pull his darkness into herself.

It was with the notion that she would suffer it so he wouldn’t have to. She was trained for it. He was not. Now… Now, he would feel her fear. Her guilt.

His slow descent from grace was her fault. “I…”, she paused, but found herself unable to finish the statement. Uncharacteristically, her voice cracked. The hard shell of her exterior shattered as it never did and silver eyes filled with tears as she became overwhelmed by a flood of emotion she could not contain. No amount of training could prepare her for this. None. She tried to blink them back, but, it only seemed to make them fall. “I…”

Srina wanted to think that she was assuming too much…But was she? She could feel it in him now. The darkness was returning. And she, their connection, was the poison dragging him down.

“Forgive me.”

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

Aryn's gaze didn't leave Srina's form for a moment as the words left his lips, as he waited for her reaction, taking in every subtle movement, every twitch of her face or slight shift in her form. There were things he noticed about her in that moment that he had never seen before, certainly her blush, Srina Talon was not a woman that Aryn had ever known or even expected to blush under even the most compromising of circumstances. Yet, there were things he saw now that had always been there, things he had never noticed not just in her appearance but within, things he had always missed, been blind to. A curtain had been lifted, like a cloud fading into clear sky, he understood.

As her words came, he could feel the instinct in them, they had hardly even been considered as she spoke, forced out of the tempest which was currently her mind, so clouded with emotions in a way that Aryn had never before seen. Yet through that roiling storm he could sense the understanding as it formed, he could see it in her minds eye before she even spoke, it was a realization that was, in Aryn's own mind abundantly clear, and yet when she spoke, it carried a sense of dread.

He watched as she stepped out of his arms, not offering any resistance as she left his grasp, his eyes still never turning away, hardly even blinking as he watched her with the caution of one trying to help a wounded animal, with that lingering, barely-noticeable fear of scaring it away. That fear faded way into concern quickly though, the second as he saw her eyes begin to fill with tears, it was another sight he had never seen, these tears were not from pain, they were ones of sorrow, miserable and wounding.

Stepping towards her, he felt each passing emotion as it flowed through her, through their bond. Within seconds he had closed the distance between them again, slowly and gently lifting his hand to her cheek with all the delicate care with which one would handle a feather. He rested it upon her pale cheek, brushing away tears with his thumb as he turned her gaze gently upward again to meet his own. "I should be thanking you, not forgiving..."

He had known that attachment led to the dark side, the Jedi Code warned against love, it made it clear to all those who followed it that leaning into love would inevitably tear you down, drag you towards the dark side, make you pursue selfish goals. But, it was wrong, anyone who was even partially alive could know that was not true. Love did not lead to the dark side, it couldn't, certainly, passion could cause rage and fear, but passion and love were not the same thing. He knew that passion needed to be controlled, that he could not let himself run wild when it came to the feelings that roiled within him, but he knew that not only now, but time and time again in the past, his love for Srina Talon had not drowned Aryn Teth in darkness, it had saved him from it.

"You are the only thing that keeps me in the light."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

Even with her eyes closed, she could feel him. He seemed to see her, all of her, with or without her permission. Part of her wanted to tell him to stop. The Commander was looking too deeply into the places of her soul that she did her best to hide. His gaze moved, sweeping over her form, over her face, in a delicate caress that seemed to make the touch of rouge to her cheeks deepen. “You can’t look at me like that…”, she breathed, trying to find her footing, and finding it difficult. “You just…You can’t.”

Srina did not know how to describe it. The ice that had begun to thread through her veins was chilling enough. Colder still, because his warmth was gone, and she felt almost bereft. As if somehow, she was not the same, not Srina Talon, while they remained in these small quarters. Tears fell from her eyes unbidden. Most people, in her experience, did not look their best when they wept. Between a combination of strange facial contortions, a red, swollen nose, and puffy eyes…

It was less than pleasing. The Echani warrior did not know what she like when she wept. She avoided it at all costs, and never, ever let someone else see her weakness. Her hand fell to her stomach as her head bent just a little bit to look at the tops of his boots. Tears, crystalline and perfect, fell from fluttering pale-gold eyelashes. Mirrored eyes seemed more like reflective, glassy lakes, as her shoulders stiffened to fully avoid what felt like a heaving sob. She would not make a sound. Could not.

Even as he crossed the room she remained stiff as a board. The typically distant woman was surprised by how much she wanted to lean into his touch. He was warm. Always. She didn’t want to feel like this. She didn’t want this hole that felt like it was eating her stomach lining. She didn’t want to know, for a fact, that she was poison to him. “Aryn…”

His name was all she could say. It was strangled. There was too much emotion crushed into a being that wasn’t used to any of it. She felt overwhelmed by herself, and by him, and everything that had transpired in the past few moments. He brushed her tears away with his thumb. So gentle. It was hard to believe that this was the same man that had ordered the Incandescent Truth to run headlong into an Empire vessel. “You should not thank me for pulling you apart. You should not thank me. I do not know all of the lore, but I know the result of attachment, and I can’t…I can’t watch that happen to you.”

‘Not you’, she repeated softly in her head, willing him to understand, to know that she would not allow their connection to break him. He claimed that she kept him in the light. The poignant statement reverberated through her and she released a dry, sarcastic laugh that was marred in softness, by her tear-filled voice. “I don’t think it is the light.”

She reached out, nearly on instinct, to place her hand to his chest. He felt solid and real. She was uncertain, for a moment, when this lucid dream would end. Was it a vision? Was she sleeping? Srina did not want him to change. The Darkside would change him, just as it had changed Darth Metus, and she didn’t want to see it happen again. This kind, authentic, impulsive man was the Aryn that had become dear to her. “I don’t want you to disappear. It may feel like light…But are you so sure? The Darkside lies. It whispers. It tells you everything you want to hear. It promises you the world.”

“The galaxy. What will you do when it promises you something you cannot refuse?”

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

In most cases, Aryn felt as though he was a mirror, his bond reflecting the emotions that flowed through Srina almost perfectly. He was calm when she was, he was angry when she was, for a long time he had been caught in a struggle between the inherent darkness of the void which lay within him, and the clarity that her presence brought. Now, he hardly reflected anything of either end of that spectrum. While her pain and concern roiled in her like a storm, and the void within him pushed him further towards the darkness that she was warning him again, Aryn felt neither of those extremes flow through him, he felt different.

For perhaps the first time since Aryn had taken up the mantle of the force, he truly felt at peace.

There was an immeasurable degree of clarity that came with Aryn's new understanding, he wasn't clinging to the belief of someone else, what was best for the Alliance, for the galaxy, for the Jedi. Aryn felt as though he was himself, he knew his place in the galaxy, he felt right. He was in love with Srina, and he knew the darkness that threatened him because of that, he knew the dangers and misery that love may eventually lead to, but he knew that love such as this meant fighting, and he felt finally, for the first time, that he could truly, really fight it.

He didn't know if it was the light, as she said, perhaps Aryn would never truly walk the light again, he would certainly no longer have called himself a Jedi, certainly not a real one. But Aryn Teth was still a far cry from a Sith, from the dark side. He did what he thought, what he knew was right and best in the galaxy. He would always be as he was, Aryn was certain of it, as much as Srina seemed to doubt it in this moment, he was certain. Hand still resting upon her cheek, he leaned forward, gently resting his forehead against her own. "The universe couldn't offer me a damn thing, I already have everything I could ever want..."

"...I already have you."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

She couldn’t breathe when he was this close. It had never been a problem before. So often they had been in close quarters, fighting side by side, or even when they had been trapped in the earthen tunnels on Kubindi. She remembered being near. Face to face, cheek to cheek, breathing his air, running her fingers through short locks to calm the wells of darkness that quaked through his core. In those moments, despite the vulnerability of the situation, she had always been the one in control.

This was not the same. She was floundering, confused, and drowning in a sea of sentimentality that kept pulling her under. Silver eyes were tinged with guilt and fear. She should have pulled away immediately. She should have turned to ice in his arms. Never, should she have let him see how his kiss affected her, either physically, or emotionally. It was against everything she had ever learned.

Srina was Echani. He knew that. They thought, in her military unit, they did not feel. Every emotion that ran through her, that was expressed in the cascade of glistening tears that rolled down her cheeks, was absolute heresy. She felt like she was breaking. Like everything that made her strong and indomitable was under pressure, and eventually, she would shatter. The slender woman breathed thinly, trying to understand, to feel her way through the endless sense of tenderness that emanated from the man before her.

His hand to her cheek, eventually, she gave in to the desire to lean into it. What harm could it do? Aryn had always protected her, even in his less than virtuoso moments, his intentions had generally seemed plain. She had always felt safe with him. At least, until this morning, when he dismissed her as if she were little more than a fly about his head. Her heart was beating so loudly. She feared he could hear it, like wings of a bird, trapped in a cage.

She let his forehead rest against her own and her voice died in her throat. Her eyes closed, reflexively, and his words rang in her ears with clarity. “I can’t be everything you want.”

It startled her to hear someone say something like that. She could feel the truth of his words, burning through his heart like a branding iron, and yet, it did not compute. Not fully. In the grand scheme of things, she was nothing and no one. Merely a lost little force-sensitive that had wandered into the life of a Vicelord that took her in. Cared for her. Taught her and gave her a home. A place at his side, and a purpose, when she’d been lost.

“I’m not what you think. I’m not important. Not high born, hardly connected, and I am everything you should hate. I am Sith, Aryn. There is more blood on my hands than I can ever wash clean.”

Srina had long ago decided to stop splitting hairs. She was the Apprentice of a Sith Lord, strictly used the Darkside, and had no qualms with tearing down anything that stood in her way. She didn’t advocate for genocide, or for enforcing the ways of the Sith on others, but she did find it the superior form. It was tool that she controlled. Yet she could no longer afford to deny or forget what she was. The rest of the galaxy would certainly not allow it.

Her hand slid up his chest, the soft pads of her fingertips touching his neck, before following his beard covered jawline. With her eyes closed it let her picture him. So warm. Her head tilted, just slightly, enough that her lips teased his without touching at all. Her heart ached. It felt so heavy, bound by duty, and the notion of something she could not have. She was a warrior first. She could not be her sister, who chose a wife, and child over the sanctity of obligation. Nysana had chosen her heart. Srina didn't have one. The breath she drew halted, stopped by the intensity of his silent admission, and she had to remind herself to continue on, to breathe anew, or she was likely to faint.

“We need to stop.”, she murmured, though she made no move to pull away, distracted by how he felt beneath her hand. Truly, distracted by everything. She could have spent all day running through his feelings, trying to pull them apart, so she could see them for what they were—but it was dangerous. They were teetering on the brink of something. It was important. Srina just didn’t know what. The small woman moved again, once more, just barely keeping her lips from crossing the dizzying line of not-touching.

“...You have to go. Make sure we’re on course. Check... the systems.”

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

The silence in Aryn's world was palpable. He had grown so used over the years to the storm of darkness that raged within his being, the twisting nether that swirled and called to him, that poisoned his very being like a malignant disease. To feel that it had been silenced, calmed from its eternal rage and put to a slumber, even if it would possibly only last for a brief period of time, it was almost incomprehensible. For years, since the wound had first festered beneath his skin, Aryn had searched, longed for a way to put it to rest, to silence the aching misery it enacted upon his person, upon the force as it flowed through him, and he had found nothing to avail him of its darkness.

And now, in the familiar proximity of Srina, with the warm feeling of her cheek against his palm, her voice in his ears, he had found it. But perhaps it was not so familiar as he believed, no, something had changed drastically about Srina, about himself, in the past few hours. His vision had promised him misery, a destiny that he held no desire to see for himself, but it had also forced him to look inward, to focus on the feelings that flowed and raged through his body. The compassion, the anger, all of it eventually trailed back to the same place, it all trailed back to her. He almost scolded himself, he should have seen these things before, should have noticed them in meditation, but when was the last time that Aryn had really meditated? Another step away from the Jedi code he'd one claimed to follow, he supposed.

He heard her words as she spoke, it was a protest against what he had said, but he could recognize the clarity within her mind. She knew the truth of his words, as clearly as he knew his own feelings, his own mind. There was not a thing in that moment that Srina could have said that would have changed things for Aryn. He felt her hand as it brushed over his beard, traced his jawline, and he saw her lips as they drew nearer, mere inches from his own as he watched her closely, eyes locked upon her own as she spoke again. Yet again, he could feel the reality of her feelings beneath the surface of her words.

He did not bother to answer, to consider stepping away and checking the systems as she had suggested. Reaching up, he settled his second hand upon the back of her neck, closing what little distance existed between them again to press his lips back firmly against her own, closing his eyes as he poured the sudden outburst of emotion out into her. It was deeper, more purposeful than his first kiss, if the first had been a notice of intent, this second kiss was a manifesto. He held her close, reinforcing the emotions he knew that she clearly felt through their bond through his own actions as the seconds ticked by.

Time lost its meaning as he kissed her, when he pulled away he did not know how long it had lasted, only that he was somewhat out of breath, his gaze still focused intently upon her as he spoke, hardly even hearing his words as they left his lips. "I know what you are, Srina, and it doesn't matter to me, all that matters is who you are." He realized he had never said this, felt this about anyone before, it was all new to the man but came with a surprising clarity, as though it was all on instinct. In a manner of speaking, he supposed it all was. "I love you, Srina Talon."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

Didn’t he know that he was still too close? Her thoughts were muddled and hazy as they never were, little fingers exploring the edges of his face, his neck, as if she had never seen him before. He did not heed her warning. It seemed as if he had not heard her verbal protests at all, and more than anything, his affections did not wane. What she felt rolling through the Force, surging through the bond, before it crashed unmercifully into her was breathtaking. Breathtaking, and startling.

Her cold and taciturn heart betrayed her. When his hand fell to the back of her neck the simple touch caused an involuntary shiver to run down her spine. Why? Srina did not understand. She had been near to him on many occasions. On Leritor. On Ojom. Never had she registered this kind of reaction to anyone, least of all, to someone that she trusted to fight beside her. “Aryn.”, she spoke again, her voice a honeyed whisper. Always, she found herself saying his name. As if he could know everything she wanted or feared from one singular thing. It was not Commander, not my Jedi, nor anything else… It was personal. Private, something that she was only just now starting to grasp.

His expression was intense. Compassionate, but filled with a particular sort of focus that was difficult for her to comprehend. He kissed her once more and her resistances seemed to melt and crumble along the way as lavender lids closed over silver eyes. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips fuller than the last time, and the little warrior felt as if she were drowning breathlessly in him. Only, she didn’t mind. She didn’t struggle to come up for air or shove him away like she should have. He drew her nearer and she couldn’t help it when her arms twined around his neck.

Her questions and concerns, though present, faded into the back of her mind. The little Echani, for perhaps the first time, stopped thinking entirely. Her heart was beating so wildly that she could only take halting little sips of air that ended in a quiet murmuring purr. There was still a taste of caf, though behind it, a certain saltiness to his skin that she found herself craving. His emotions rolled through their Force Bond…Over and over. Just when she began to respond in kind Aryn pulled away. She stilled. Almost, as if the sudden separation hurt.

It did.

Srina remained quiet when he spoke, the sound of his voice reaching through her, touching things within her that it shouldn’t. It shattered her very being, broke her, and yet—sought to hold the pieces that he left behind. He claimed to know what she was. To know who she was. His proclamation of love was far less poignant than the sound of his deep tenor when he spoke it. She could feel it, like clothes on her skin, a warm blanket, all-encompassing.

‘One day, he will betray you. It is only a matter of time.’​

Her nerve endings felt overly sensitive. As if they’d been burned, or were somehow left raw, and the only balm seemed to be when he kissed her. It was a foreign feeling. A crippling emotion. Weakness. Her hand slid from around his neck and she touched his face again. So soft. So careful. Every move she made, every time she reached for him, seemed to be with the hesitance of a newborn. Would he reject her as he had that morning? Should she reject him?

Srina did not know. All she knew, for certain, was the endless sense of tenderness in a pair of cerulean blue eyes. Her words, when they came, were uncharacteristically filled with something new. Self-loathing. “You are in love with a weapon. You are in love with death. I will only cause you pain, because, I know nothing else.”

When he betrayed her, and he would, it would be entirely her fault. This dream would end in little more than a nightmare.

 

[Aryn Teth]

Aryn Teth

---

---

​

---

The Carrion Sunrise, Hyperspace​

Interacting With: [member="Srina Talon"]​

​

The words that came from Srina's lips were ill-suited to her, they dripped with self-loathing, they were entirely foreign when he put them alongside her character. But it was a particular brand of such a thought, there was a degree of truth to the words that poured from her, she was a Sith apprentice, utterly opposed to the philosophy Aryn had chosen to follow when it came to the force. She was a warrior, she killed and fought with no mercy for her enemies, she was in some cases, as she said, a weapon. She was not perfect, she couldn't ever have been perfect, Aryn knew that perfectly well, but he had never searched for perfection.

Srina had flaws, but what did that matter when it came to matters of the heart? He loved what he loved. Reason does not enter into it. Aryn knew that, when considered from a distance, this was an unwise love, but that kind of love, unwise love, is in many ways the truest love. Anyone could have loved Srina Talon because, that was as easy as putting a credit in one's pocket. She was eloquent, beautiful, skilled and intelligent, she had an innate kindness to her being and would cross the galaxy for those she held dear. Aryn was not the only person in the galaxy who felt that sort of love for Srina, to love her because. But, to love despite, to know the flaws and love them too, as he did with her? That was rare, and pure, and perfect.

"You're wrong." The words came from his lips not with any scolding, nor any deliberate attempt to contradict what she had said. "It's not all you know... You know me."

It took a surprising degree of restraint for Aryn to not immediately kiss her again, it had become a habit, there was a wamth, a kindness to her lips. He felt a kind of safety when he held her, when he kissed her, and felt just as strongly the painful separation when they parted. It wasn't something that would go away with ease, and as he thought and considered it, he doubted it would go away this time. He had felt a kind of sorrow when he was distant from Srina, but that was long before he had accepted, even truly considered or understood the feelings he held for her. No, this was a turning point, he understood that there needed to be more this time, it was not something that could be left, could be brushed aside for matters of greater importance.

There was a decision to be made, and regardless of whether the outcome was one that satisfied him, Aryn needed to know it. Gently, his hand rested upon her cheek, as hers did upon his own. His free hand gently slipped up to grip hers in his own, to feel the softness of her hands under the touch of his calloused fingers. His eyes lingered upon her own, for once unable to find himself looking deeper, unable to search her mind so that he might know an answer to his question before he even asked it, for once, their bond offered no comfort when it came to knowledge. "Be with me, Srina."

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: [The Carrion Sunrise] - Coruscant Orbit, Corusca Sector, The Core Worlds
Interacting With: [member="Aryn Teth"]

She could see him turning her words over in his head. Her eyes closed when he claimed her wrong. The pristine alabaster of her face seemed to change, becoming almost human, almost crestfallen. How could he not see? Her eyes fluttered open when he claimed that she knew him and she issued a soft sigh. Yes, she knew him. He was good. Like Cassius Droma or Stephanie Swail. Only, he had a darkness they did not. Srina feared that her presence in his life, as something so dear, would only make it grow. “You are one of the few things I know.”

“I am afraid.”, she admitted quietly, honeyed tones soft, and delicate. It was as if she thought that if she spoke much louder she might break the spell that seemed to have fallen over them. This was not how they had awoken. This tenderness, this affection, had not existed when she’d roused him from a tormenting nightmare. He had shunned her. Refused to tell her why. Now, he held her close, as if she was made of smoke encased in glass. “If you give into your feelings this way, so completely, I fear it will change you.”

‘He will betray you.’​

“I’m afraid that it will take the man I know and—“, she stopped herself abruptly, realizing that her tone had been rising and that she was losing control of her faculties. She bit the inside of her cheek, hard, as her jaw clenched. She didn’t know how to make him see. She didn’t know, not truly, if she wanted him to. When free his hand wrapped around her own a subtle shiver ran through her, almost bending her spine, as she inhaled. Too much. He was too close. And yet, somehow, even face to face…Too far away. He asked her a question. To be with him.

Silver eyes rose to his, questioning the implications, ever haunted by the fears she had mentioned previously. Her thoughts faded. Back to the first time she had seen him, seated far away from her, at a diplomatic meeting between the Confederacy and the Alliance. Sullust. He had been striking then, however, it wasn’t the first time they’d met. The budding Sith Apprentice had first felt him in the chaos of Dagobah. Srina simply hadn’t known his signature then. Could he have imagined that this was where they would be the first time she uttered the words: Supreme Commander?

Was this what he had intended when offering to share the training facilities in the diplomatic consulate?

Were all of these feelings, worries, and doubts even her own? Did they belong to her? Or did they belong to him? Was she only a pawn? Simply a reflection of his needs—was she little more than his gilded mirror?

‘He will betray you.’​

Srina had always thought she was past emotion. That she had buried it. Crushed it, where the weakness of her heart couldn’t tear her down. Frustration, affection, misery, and bliss rolled through her with a ferocity that it turned the shade of her eyes. Silver became gold. Corruption. Fever-bright and hell-bound. She moved without thinking, closing the distance between them as the rapid beating of her heart filled her ears, and liquid fire filled her veins. Her lips crashed against his. There was none of the gentlenesses that he had displayed. None of sweetness. At first, he might think her angry. That opinion would change.

Where an icy, wintry, beauty had existed within the confines of his arms Srina Talon had become flame. For the first time in her life, she seemed to have become unbound in a way she could not control. As if the changes in her life had become too much, as if the sacrifice had finally burned her through, and left her iron will broken. She had always thought herself past emotion. As her arms wrapped around his neck and she leaned up on her tiptoes she realized how very wrong she had been. She was not past it. She was bursting with it, scorching, and the Force itself reacted by pressing him backward.

Her kiss was pure instinct. She had no experience, other than what had happened in this room, but she learned quickly. She felt as if she knew the curve of his mouth and her head tilted to adjust so she could deepen it, demanding more, without saying anything at all. Her slender form, toned, but soft and supple exactly where she needed to be seemed to fit naturally against the hard lines his made. Like puzzle pieces finally turned correctly, lining up, exactly where they belonged.

Just as her lips began to part, inaudibly begging him, for both salvation and torment her senses flooded back. She wrenched herself backward, breathless, and stunned. Her eyes would fall to his. Solid gold. The color of tawny topaz and filled with things she could not explain. Her mind snapped shut to him in an instant as she slowly let him go. Her body ached and her mouth moved, as if to speak, but nothing escaped beautifully bruised lips but ragged breathing.

Passion. Through passion, Sith found strength. Was this it? What killed the Jedi made her strong?

Her right hand rose, fingers landing over her lips, hiding them, while the taste of him lingered in her mouth.

“My heart is on fire.”, she whispered, careful, to keep Aryn at arm’s length. Oh, he needed to stay exactly where he was. All she could think about was feeling his heartbeat and the almost inescapable desire she had to make it match her own. “It makes no sense. What I feel—it has no name. There are no words. It has no fear. Yet—I am afraid.”

“You ask me to be with you. To stay with you—But you have no idea what that means. Is this what you want? Look at my eyes…”, Srina did not have to see them, to feel the power of the dark side, to know that it rolled beneath the surface of her skin. It had always been her tool. Now, it fed from her fear. From her passion. From her love. “You are not the only one who will be changed. You won’t like what I become when there are no rules, and my training fails.”

“I will be everything you fight. Everything you hate. Eventually, this alliance will fail if I do not maintain it, and your people with hunt me down like a rabid beast. You will hunt me.”

She fell silent and her hand fully covered her mouth and she closed her eyes. She could feel it. If she could will it away, she could swallow her darkness, and perhaps, leave this room with the smallest shred of her dignity still intact. It was too late for her heart.

"And I...would let you win."