Expeditionary Episodes of the Mercicle and the Cactus Queen

[Quietus]

Expression cool and utterly void of shame, Quietus rose both brows and promptly popped a sliver of meat into her mouth.

It's not cannibalism if I'm not human. It's predation.

The smile returned, wry and lacking teeth. A casual sweep of her gaze followed the other woman's movements as she made herself comfortable, flickering at the curious accent. Her lips stretched into a crooked grin as she tore off another small bite of meat from her plate, That's got to be the worst Coruscanti accent I've ever heard and I lived there long enough to know.

 

[Aver Brand]

Aver opened her mouth. Thought about predation, war crimes, and joking about it.

Aver closed her mouth, and opted to elbow the blonde instead.

“You lived there before the plague, Des. Accents change in a couple hundred years, y’know?”

 

[Quietus]

Maybe, Quietus licked at her grin and took another bite, but not that much.

Snack finished she pushed her plate to the side and laid back on the pelt, hands crossed under her head and eyes closed to the warmth of the fire and the sated feeling of a full stomach. These were the moments of her life that she savored - the quiet places where she felt comfortable and content. The times when all the pieces seemed to fit together and nothing was left wanting. They were rare - almost as rare as a real Aver smile - and she dare not let them pass her by without recognizing them.

The mute brushed a wisp of presence over Aver's mind like one might stroke a hand through a lover's hair.

So Selvaris, yea?

What should I call the creatures?

 

[Aver Brand]

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, gorgeous,” Aver shot back before smacking the last of the grease off her hand. With a pleased sigh, she flopped back on the bedroll.

Blue eyes drifted closed then, and red lips quirked into a smile. The Mercicle and the Cactus queen seemed nowhere to be found.

“Mm. Shorten it to Sel, I guess. Or Varis.” She chuckled. “Selvie.”

“Dragons, obviously.”

 

[Quietus]

Sziva and Selvie. What an odd pair.

An audible snort sounded at the answer.

You truly are a fount of originality. Mine as well call them Bastards.

 

[Aver Brand]

“My talents lie elsewhere,” came the pointed reply, “as you well know,” punctuated by a finger poking at her ribs, this time.

“Sounds about right though. You have a word for that in Onderonese?”

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Difficult to give a proper poke through armor, even the lighter stuff. Still, Qui felt it and slivered an eye open to look at the woman. It was a quick glance, a stab of questionable accusation. Rude…?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Yes, ..sort of. It’s San-lok. Literally translates to sand-locked, from the River clans. Since rivers are quintessential to their way of life, being sand-locked is when they run dry, effectively shutting down their means of prosperity. It’s somewhat convoluted in origins but that’s the closest I can figure.[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]Aver worried her bottom lip with the point of a sharp tooth, tracing aimless patterns across the wooden floor.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“No word for ‘fatherless fuck’, eh? Your people ain’t half bad,” [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]she clicked her tongue, [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“sounds weird though. How ‘bout nikohdan?”[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Bastard is not a common concept in the tribes[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], wasn’t something Quietus had ever paid much mind to before but now that Aver brought it up it did strike her as … unique. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]People are judged on their merit, honor, and actions - not their lineage. The line of ascension for Beaston isn’t even by blood. It’s by right of might.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Nikohdan? That Vong for something?[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]“...bastard. Obviously.”[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Grin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Qui pulled a hand from beneath her head and reached over to stroke her fingers through Aver’s hair, kneading at her scalp.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Perfect. Nikohdan it is.[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]Blue eyes cracked open, and the merc curled closer to the fire – and the touch. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“How many beasts have you found around here? Or seen, I guess.”[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Seen? Hundreds. Studied … close to forty or so. I’ve not spent much time beyond the jungles yet. There’s still the mountains and the ocean and the plains to explore...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Rolling to her side and shifting closer to Aver, Qui leaned to nuzzle in against her head, fingers still combing through short red hair. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]...and a cavern system that spans a great deal farther than I’ve cared to venture. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The scent of Aver was certainly a welcome one and she took her time reacquainting herself with it.[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]A soft sigh of content escaped the woman as she closed her eyes again. Funny, how she’d learned to listen.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Aver retrieved her hand from the rough wooden planks and reached up to weave her fingers into the wild mane. As she pressed into that [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]spot[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] at the back of Qui’s neck, her smile blossomed into a full-blown grin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You know where [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]I’d[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] care to venture right now?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Voice like smoked whiskey, with the timbre of a ralltiir tiger waiting in the high grass.[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Mmmm…[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] the mental purr reverberated along the Force between their minds, beget by the twinge of pleasure that spot brought about. Quietus coiled at the shoulders and neck of her mate, lips pressing into the soft flesh of her nape, teeth firmly claiming flesh. The same hand that had massaged across the woman’s scalp now smoothed down along the side of her face and neck, across the bare skin of her shoulder and clavicle to trace the lines of the bloodtrail.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Where is your ring, Ygdris?[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]Her toothy grin froze in place – icy eyes narrowed at the blonde above her. With her free hand she reached up and caught the fingers traipsing along the bloodtrail. Aver blinked, gnawing her lip as she tried to gauge the darkening greens of the Beastia.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Why?[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Fingers stilled in Aver’s grasp, resting over the bloodtrail marks as she pulled back to look down at her. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Why not?[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] A simple enough reply, Quietus bobbed her brows at the Merc. Gaze studied the woman patiently, if not without a hint of their usual mischief, [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]aren’t you curious?[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]Aver gnawed her lip more.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Yes. But—[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] her brow furrowed, and she pulled herself up into a seating position.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She glanced out at the star-studded sky, then back at the blonde. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Des, I’ve never— … not like that[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt].[/SIZE]

 

[Quietus]

[SIZE=11pt]Green eyes matched the color of a cool jungle night, still despite the life within. Calm despite the wild. She left her hand to glide freely over Aver’s shoulder as she sat up, letting it return to a pose of relaxation. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]I’m not asking you to make strange, romantic love to me,[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] communicated with mild humor. Qui knew that wasn’t their thing and likely never would be and that was perfectly fine by her. An easy smile persisted in an attempt to reassure Aver that there were no expectations.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Just to ...keep an open mind. But it’s your ring, you wear it only when you want to.[/SIZE]

 

[Aver Brand]

[SIZE=11pt]That earned Qui a hearty snort. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“Yeah, that’s not happening.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Aver puffed out a long breath, picked herself up, and, shortly after, the blonde as well. Not quite grossly possessive as hoisting a woman over your shoulder – [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]cough [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]–[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]yet just enough of a jab at the romantic remark to paint a smirk on her face.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Balance restored.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Still grinning down at the woman she now called [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]mate[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], Aver hissed a soft command at her armor. Crab legs clicked across the wood and helpfully delivered the damned band of silver. A quick exercise in the Force saw it slide home on her right hand, and the merc readjusted her hold on Qui with a wink.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Alright, open mind. Where to?”[/SIZE]