Private Lupus Rex || Finnea

[Yeshua]

"Such is the way of a good mentor."

As the Engineer painted a brief picture of her lessons in the Force, the Vampyre was reminded of his own learning. It was a lifetime ago when he sat within the frigid cell, staring across at a Jedi who had more patience than he knew what to do with. From those years, Yeshua's budding understanding of the Force grew into mastery. But, along the way, there was plenty he agreed with - and plenty more he did not - that was espoused by his mentor. It was good to disagree with one's methods. To be able to disagree meant the student had room to grow and explore on their own.

Yeshua was about to quip back about someday. Perhaps a witty retort or wager, he hadn't yet decided. But, the Engineer's touch found the Vampyre's cheek - shattering his train of thought for but a moment. His hand raised and settled upon her own as she spoke, and a content sigh fell from his lips. "The future is a bastard like that, I'm afraid." he began, shaking his head slightly. "We never know what it brings. And beyond that, duty demands we stay."

"But."

"I haven't had proper shore leave in...well, years. And if I was to go somewhere, I certainly would need my second-in-command with me to make sure there's no trouble..." The Vampyre offered a wink as he spoke. "Do you accept this mission?"

Finnea Virlee​

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Duty demands we stay.

Duty.

Of course. It was comfort in routines, comfort in knowing her place and what was expected of her. On the other side, right now, for the first time since the sabotage she felt like duty was a trigger word for her hidden need to break out of line. Previously, she had only herself to think about and honestly, she didn't care much about herself as she was brought up with the idea implanted in her that she was only small piece of a big machinery. But small pieces mattered, this she had learned as an engineer. It was always the tiniest pieces creating the biggest trouble.

Having opened up her heart to let him in, she felt fragile and worried.
What if anything happened?

She would shatter in a million pieces and never be able to build herself back up. In a way, she kind of hated that she had let herself fall for anyone. The worry was already eating away at her sanity.

Her ears perked up as he started talking of shore leave and how he would need his second-in-command to come along, making sure there was no trouble. She gave him a careful smile and a nod. "A proper shore leave, huh?" Finnea started and slowly inhaled like she had to really think it through first."Yes, somebody has to make sure you don't go a-wall o nus once you taste what freedom feels like again, sir." She sighed, teasing him.

Yeshua

 

[Yeshua]

The Engineer was thoughtful.

Her sighs made it seem as though the decision was a hard one - but they both knew this was the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, since the Day of Landing, Finnea seemed more willing to explore beyond the confines of their Star Destroyer than ever before. This was a welcome change as far as Yeshua was concerned - as he fully believed she deserved to enjoy life. Yes, they had their duties and responsibilities. But there was time outside of them to enjoy each moment. To savor what they had.

And as of very recently, that included each other.

"I can't imagine that I'd go AWOL or lose my marbles, but..." he began, chuckling lightly. "It would be very difficult for me to leave a nice beach. Especially if the beverages are just right ah."

His mind painted a mental picture of watching the sunset over an ocean, reclining on a chair. A cool breeze on his skin. A drink in hand. "Ironically enough, I've never actually been to a beach. How about you? Anywhere on your short list to visit?"

Finnea Virlee​

 

[Finnea Virlee]

"Never thought of you as a beach goer. I wouldn't believe my own eyes even if i was there myself." Finnea chuckled lightly at the idea of the man she had seen bark commands from the bridge for so many years kick back and lay under a parasol sipping away at tropical beverages. She honestly thought he was incapable of it until recently...

"I might have spent nearly all my life onboard ships, but there is no need to assume my list is short." She tilted her head playfully with a little smile. Of course it was short, it wasn't like she had been sitting around daydreaming on her free-time. "Mmm, a huge scrapyard perhaps, might find a treasure or two." The engineer was always ready to build and improve ongoing projects, but the amusement in her eyes revealed her little joke . "Or perhaps visit an icy world where natural hot springs occur. Perhaps even Arkania has one."

Finnea leaned against the sofa for a moment, blushing at the way his eyes followed her and just enjoyed this rare moment when they could talk freely and daydream together. "You're right, my list is short. I'm not much of a daydreamer. Or, i should say that i wasn't much of a daydreamer. I didnt dare to, it wasn't like i had a life." Finnea admitted in a silent tone, still watching him with from her seat below him

 

[Yeshua]

"Now, personally, I can't stand the cold."

The Vampyre's reply was amidst a hearty chuckle. The idea of wading into a hot spring whilst winter raged around him was laughable - because not enough a pile of credits would convince him to do it. "But, if it was with you, maybe - just maybe - I could be convinced."

What Yeshua did notice about the woman's dream locales was that they were a reflection of who she was. She thought of a scrapyard, and her tinkering came to mind. Or an icy spring, which reminded him of her wintery hair. But outside of these, she made no mention of wanting to bounce from mall to mall, browsing as he had heard on the holo-vids. Finnea was unique in that regard.

"Fortunately," he said, as she spoke about why her list was short, "you have the rest of your life to daydream. I-"

He was cut off by the chime of his datapad across the room. Odd. He had it set to silent, where only high priority missives could get through. Which meant...a sigh fell from his lips. His dominant hand raised and the device hovered into his grasp. "Pardon me.." he said, before reading the notification.

And as his eyes skimmed, his fingers tensed. His brow furrowed.

"I...can't believe this..."

A nightmare from centuries ago...lived.

Finnea Virlee​

 

[Finnea Virlee]

It was something in the way he phrased it that caught her ever active mind to halt for a moment. She had the rest of her life to daydream. Not that she would dare to bring up the elephant in the room right now but at some point they would need to address it. He was an eternal being, she was not. But even before she could sink deeper into that thought his datapad chimed and interrupted their conversation. It was almost a relief when it did, to be honest. Finnea smiled in his direction and gave a little nod to assure him she wasn't the slightest offended that he needed to check into that message. After all, he was the commander onboard and he was an very important man!

But it didn't take a genius to see that there was something bothering him as right away his features drastically changed. It was easy to tell that whatever it was that was on the bright screen in front of the vampyre was far from good news. Finnea shifted in her seat for a moment and couldn't help her curiosity, especially because it seemed the color in his face drained. "Si...Yeshua?" she questioned silently and felt a sting to her chest. Her odd colored eyes kept reading his face but he didn't reveal anything but shock and disbelief. Finnea threw a quick glance outside the large windows like she expected to see an otherworldly beast about to swallow their ship but there was nothing there.

She dared inch a little closer to him and clearly there was worry written all over her feminine features. "What is going on? Are we under some sort of attack? You worry me." She carefully expressed in a soft tone which was only for his ears. "Please, tell me?"