Return to the Stars

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Caid glanced sideways at Athena, smirking slightly. He was not surprised at her response in the slightest. Further more, he would expect nothing less from Athena. The Sith Lord's attractive mechanism was a very simple design to crack. He was intrigued by strength, individuals that exerted an undeniable amount of control over everything that happened around them. This manifested in different ways with different people, mind you. Whether it was the ability to slake through a battlefield without a care in the world, allowing the screams and sounds of crushing bones to fuel their actions or an ability to liberate powerful resources from an equally powerful foe with barely a scratch.

Athena was different from all of those, no doubt the most intriguing to him. It certainly had a great deal to do with their shared history, the intimacy that was shared outside of simple lust and pleasure. A part of him longed for Athena even when she wasn't around, but that was perhaps a strength of emotion he wasn't quite ready to fully express.

As they arrived in the training room, the Sith Lord turned to regard his lover fully, silver-green eyes sliding over her form. "No. I grew up with my mother in the wilds of Dathomir." Caid paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. "My grandmother was the Clan Mother, but that had rather little effect on my upbringing. The entire basis of my education and training was almost completely centered around becoming a warrior - a leader among the warriors of Clan Morte, even. I'm pretty sure I've never told you this, but my past irritations with Cameron extended from more than just his lack of presence in my life or the casual with which he discarded family members."

The Sith exhaled softly. It wasn't a difficult subject. He'd long since abandoned the thought that something was wrong with him because of Cameron's lack of presence in his youngest son's life. "My aunt, my mother's eldest sister, bore a child by Cameron. This was...literally centuries ago, in another life. However, Gemma lives. Cameron was always a very prominent figure in her life as a child. By all accounts, he was a great father and they enjoyed a close relationship for the first several decades of her life. It created a pretty profound sense of...well...worthlessness when I was growing up. Couple that with ultimately being a second-class citizen on Dathomir simply because I was a male. Well...hopefully you can truly understand my hatred of the man, forgotten or not."

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

"I can understand hatred," she spoke quietly but her eyes were bright, clear, and focused on Caid's as if she could see into something more intimate than beyond his layer of clothing. His very soul. His mind. While his hatred was directed at his father, hers of course, was directed at the slaver men who'd slaughtered her family, most likely her brother, and clipped her wings. She'd grown up hating human men, which was ironic, considering how much the man she was beginning to give more and more of her heart to resembled. And growing up as a second-class citizen because of his gender, it was surprising that Caid was able to care for any woman beyond satisfying something physical.

Wings relaxed behind her form and slowly folded up, beginning to draw back toward her body.

She plucked a training staff from the wall, blue-fingers curling around the polished metal. "Cameron certainly got around," she clucked her tongue. Of course, she hadn't known that man during her short time under his tutelage. He'd been very faithful to his wife, though a HUGE and shameless flirt. "Were you jealous of the relationship Gemma shared with Cameron even though that relationship happened long before you were born?" And just as quickly, she realized she never would've met Caid if it hadn't been for Cameron.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Caid's attentions shifted only long enough to watch Athena pluck a training staff from the wall of the makeshift training area. For the moment, his hands remained casually at his side. In silence, the Sith Lord watched the Omwati hybrid for several moments. As Athena began to speak again, Caid forced himself out of his moderate trance. "Yes. He did." Caid's respnse about his father was academic at best. His response to her next question was, well...complicated.

"Gemma was one of the rather few people that treated me like more than a tool for them to use. I wouldn't say I was jealous of the relationship she had once enjoyed with my father. As my Aunt Lauda and Gemma explained, Cameron was...very different in his youth. I did resent him for having the capability to be different, better, and simply choosing not to. I suppose I was jealous of the faith he obviously placed in my older sister."

Waving a dismissive hand, Caid managed a thin smile. "It doesn't matter. That's all in the past now." A training staff abruptly flew to Caid's right hand as he stepped forward. His smile broadened ever so slightly as he rubbed the training weapon slowly along the one in Athena's hand. "My present is much more interesting."

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

For once, she was thankful of her family's uncomplicated past, though deceased they may be. Lips curled upwards as he approached with the staff. Her fingers tightened slightly on her own in anticipation. Athena had certain physical desires to be met that weren't necessarily included within their normal...activities.

"Of course it is," she cooed and with no warning, the top of her staff shoved off his, the darkside curling around her limbs for strength and speed. She'd need it. Dark-orbs flecked with golds and oranges. Bottom of her staff lashed out and in for a sweeping blow toward the side of his left kneecap. If he wasn't fast enough, well, things would get interesting.

"You have me in it."

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

The Sith's danger senses flared a fraction of a second before Athena initiated her opening strike. In that instant, time slowed down and he saw the Omwati hybrid making her strike and quickly identified the potential damage it would cause. This particular level of awareness and rapid-deconstruction of an impending event was part genetic...but mostly a trained ability. In that regard, he should have thanked both his mother and father for the years of an existence as solely a warrior, a weapon.

Still, Athena was well-trained. The pair shared more than sins of the flesh in that regard. On instinct and with a speed almost too quick to truly be seen, the Sith Lord rotated his own staff around to protect his 'weak-side'. Simultaneously, Caid adjusted his grip as he stepped forward to close the distance between them, placing him well inside of the effective point of Athena's reach, and spun his body in towards the attack. The motion was one fluid action, accompanied by the raising of his left elbow and flexing of his back and chest muscles to send it driving towards Athena's head. The momentum of his movement would aid with the follow-through.

Like his father, Caid didn't pull punches.

Unlike his father, Caid knew Athena was more than capable of blocking the strike. Otherwise he wouldn't even be wasting his time.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

A heady excitement coursed through her heated veins. The darkside swirled within her lithe body like a euphoric cloud. Eyes watched his muscles bulge beneath that shirt of his and the shift in his movement along with the spiking warning through the force. Body jerked to the side, the top-end of her staff coming, closer to her body as his elbow sailed to cuff across the tip of her nose and catch slightly along dark-feathered strands of hair as her head whipped out of reach.

The top end of her staff exploded outwards and upwards as she went for a jab toward his exposed armpit from the arm that had just been lifted for an elbow strike to her head. If it connected or not, she'd follow-up by bringing to bottom of her staff up for a bat-like swing into his side. A shallow-sheen of sweat was already forming beneath the low-backed halter top of hers.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Fortunately, Caid's intended elbow strike was two-fold. For one, the elbow was the harshest part of his arm, causing the most damage if a blow was landed. As a secondary an almost defensive measure, however, having his arm bent at the elbow still gave him an element of protection to his exposed side during the move. The movement of Athena's staff against his own was the first indication of the shift in her aggressive position. The rapid movement of the same weapon behind his back and to the other side of his body was easy enough to track in the Force simply because it was the greatest source of present movement in the room.

Reacting instinctively, Caid propelled his left hand down to grasp at the weapon, but if she sensed the movement, he was happy to simply use it in a blocking motion as he spun his body swiftly towards his right - expecting a certain amount of pain in either event. As he did so, Caid would raise his now unopposed staff to strike out at Athena's side with crushing strength aided by momentum and her dodge to the rear from his earlier strike, placing her back in optimum engagement range with the polearm weapon.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

The half-omwatti was well-attuned to her lover's movements even without the force. And she imagined he would have the same advantage on her. She knew his body intimately and he knew...well, he knew her grace. She felt the echo of his strike as she adjusted her hit slightly but before she could pull it away from his arm or even his grasp, danger reared its ugly head within the force.

Her wings extended suddenly, catching the staff attack and pushing outwards with velocity and with potential to push against Caid himself. Grimacing, her wings crunched under the strike and several grey feathers exploded outwards, fluttering in the air. Just as quickly, she'd pull her wings inwards and spin to face the most attractive man on the ship again.

A sharp pain shot toward her shoulder blade and she grimaced, red beginning to overtake her pools of flecked yellow as anger and the darkside sizzled through her form. Lunging forward, it would look as if she was going high with her staff, in an attempt to jab him in his chest. It was an illusion woven with the darkside. In reality, she went to step to Caid's side, going for a jab toward his ribs.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

The force created by Athena's large wings was indeed enough to force Caid somewhat off-balance. It was only the saving grace of quick reflexes that kept him standing upright as he shuffled his feet to account for the sudden change in stability.

He did the subtle movements of Athena's body, but that did not change the fact that even his greater experience in combat could always make up for her naturally swift movements. The Omwati hybrid seemed to sail through the air as she pressed forward her next attack. Instinctively, the Sith Lord moved to block the strike...only to notice something was wrong halfway through the movement.

The flaring of his warning senses occurred to late as his lover's staff crashed into the side of his body. There had been only enough time for Caid to attempt to dodge back from the attack. Instead of having his ribs outright crushed, the Omwati's staff struck hard enough to easily bruise the muscle fibers and rake across the front of his chest on account of his dodge. A thin line of skin ripped off his body as pain shot through the Sith's upper torso.

As blood began slowly cascading down his abdomen beneath the fabric of his shirt, the Sith Lord reacted violently. The carnal nature of his upbringing on Dathomir slowly took hold as he attempted to use Athena's weapon to pull her body close to him with a single tug of strength. His free hand stood poised to rain down a fury of rapid blows to her exposed side.

Even in that moment, Caid was in control, but his brain was starting to make the shift out of training mode.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

While Caid was in control, so was Athena. She'd never do permanent harm to her lover. But in being a sith, her passion extended to fighting as well as those other activities. Illusion dropped completely as Caid's fingers successfully wrapped around her staff and suddenly, she found her body flush against his. A gasping, "Ommph," left her lips and for a breath of a moment, her hot, sweaty skin touched against his own.

Wings shifted to curl around her sides, sensing the incoming blow(s).

There was a loud crack and the sensation of bones breaking along her wings as her blue fingers released her staff and instead, would attempt to reach up and wrap around his neck, squeezing his windpipe with the strength not only in her slender, nailed digits, but also through the force. A partial force bubble of protection wove its way along her side before he had time to pummel her ribs into her lungs. If he kept punching, it might hurt his fist a bit more than her feathers, skin, and bone had.

Eyes turned to a magma color as she used her own pain to fuel her actions. Though she was serious about sparring, she couldn't completely erase the thoughts of ripping Caid's clothes off in the back of her mind.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

If Caid registered any damage he was causing to his lover's wings, he did not show it. There was always a place for passion even lust. A time for each and every emotion that an individual experienced at any given time. However, in that precise moment, Caid was hyper-focused on victory, success. In they regard he knew Athena to be capable of dealing with whatever he might throw at her. After all, they'd had shared at least one combat instructor, and Caid knew his father never pulled his punches regardless of whom his opponent was. It was a creed that had been adopted by Caid.

When Athena dropped her staff, he'd been forced to redirect his now free hand to a new purpose. Before he could set that plan in motion, however, he felt the crushing force against his windpipe. Survival momentarily took over from victory as he placed his free hand against Athena's abdomen. Nearly the same instant his free hand made contact with her body, he allowed a crushing, repulsive wave of Force energy to erupt from his hand.

Dropping both his hands to his side, Caid's bright gaze stared at Athena intensely. It was the first moment his mind had been provided the opportunity to resist and revaluate without the threat of impending attack. It was a process he followed routinely in combat to keep himself from being sucked into any one specific portion of an engagement.

In that moment, Athena's own underlying thoughts brushed against his conscious mind. The speed with which he rushed to her location was just slow enough to be physically seen, the rapid shedding of clothing evident of the Sith's renewed...interest.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

Body was propelled backward as that invisible force slammed into her torso. Head jerked back and coal-strands of hair flew wildly across her face. The darkside flowed through her, keeping her body from slamming against the opposite hangar wall. Barely. Back and broken wing hit lightly against the slick, cold surface and then she slid down.

And that quickly, the tide of their practice changed. The moment her magma-orbs locked onto Caid's vibrant green ones. Instantly, she felt the natural color return to her own eyes as she sunk to her feet. Naturally, she was a competitive soul and a true scholar of battle strategy. She'd wanted victory as much as, if not more so, than Caid. But more than victory in a silly practice, she wanted him.

One wing hung limply by her side. With a grimace as her shoulder shifted, she stripped off her own shirt and the rest of her clothes until she was nude. She didn't want that man ruing anymore of her clothes by ripping them off. She pulled him in as quickly as he came, arms wrapping around his in something significantly less violent. Lips hungrily sought his own.

 

[Caid Centurion]

The dark-skinned Sith's chest had only just stopped heaving from his body's natural inclination to slow his heart-rate and replenish the oxygen in his body's cells. Athena's small frame was nestled against his own, the pair having relocated to the spare cabin on the lower level of the Nightstalker. Silver-green eyes shifted to regard her soft, blue skin. A thin smile slowly pulled at the corners of Caid's lips. "We need to get that wrapped up so it can at least begin to heal properly."

Whatever hints of a smile had appeared on Caid's face disappeared at the sight of the wing. "You won't really need it for the next few days anyways."

[member="Athena Heron"]

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

Head lifted from its position against the slowing rhythm of his chest. The silk sheets were tangled somewhere down at their feet. They mostly just got in the way, anyway. Coal-feathered strands of hair cascaded down her back and shoulders as she gently propped herself up on her elbows on the Sith lord's chest. Mindful of the own damage she'd inflicted across his body.

"Of course I'd never forgive you if I ended up with a crooked wing forever," a wicked teasing smile briefly flashed across her lips. It wasn't Caid's fault. She'd known full well what would happen during a spare. If anything, she'd blame herself. She'd been too slow. Granted he had a bit more...experience.

"And right," face darkened. "Ship travel." Still not her favorite activity. Fingers of one hand drummed lightly across his side. Gaze flickered down to where her staff had marked his own flesh.

"You might need a bacta patch on that. Do you have a medical droid programmed in half-avian biology?" Fingers still drummed across his skin thoughtfully, the warmth of her body pressed against his own enough to keep the chill from the ship away for the moment.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

A smirk slipped across Caid's features at Athena's retort. "Yeah well. The cost of doing business, I'm afraid." The woman's reference to his own wound at her hand elicited little more than a gentle shrug of his shoulders. "That would probably be the best course of action." With the arm that he had draped lazily around Athena's body, Caid allowed a single finger to trace the curves of her form. "A little pain never hurt anyone, not really." In fact pain was never what one had to worry about. It was the absence of pain when severely injured that usually spelled very certain doom.

"Also, you know full well I don't have any medical droid onboard this ship. Two of the crew are very well trained in medical treatment, however. Short of brain surgery, we're pretty well covered."

Caid paused in thought for only a moment. "I'm hungry." He didn't even ask if Athena was hungry because that would have been the dumbest question of the year.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

Eyes rolled. "Yes but no one cares if a medical droid is destroyed by the patient when working on said patient." Lips offered a quick, short smirk. Great. She'd have to extend her trust to his crew actively. She trusted Caid but it was hard for her to jump into trusting others so quickly. Especially with something so coveted as her wings. Lips pursed into a thin line, a spark of mischief working its way into her eyes.

"Well, I'm famished." Leaning forward, pink-lips pressed against Caid's for a quick ravaging kiss. Smirking, she pulled away and sat-up, bare-back facing him as she sat against his hip. Fingers wound through her long strands of hair, cutting through the knots. "Does your crew happen to do room service? Or shall we go out?" Glancing over her shoulder, she shot the sith lord a sly look, taking in his full form. Stars knew where her clothes were. Probably still in a pile in the training room - just outside their temporary room. If not? Well then. She'd just have to waltz around the ship naked.

 

[Caid Centurion]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Caid rolled his eyes lightly though a smile did linger on his lips. "Well, maybe you should just exercise some restraint, love." Naturally, Caid knew that wasn't actually going to happen. Athena was nothing if not a creature of passion, and he respected her refusal to mute her emotional response for the benefit of another. Well...unless it suited her purposes.

The Sith Lord returned the quick kiss, eyes lingering over her form as she sat up. Caid did not offer the woman a verbal response to her inquiries. Instead, he retracted one of his legs such that he could place it to the opposite side of her body. Sitting up, Caid snaked his arms against her waist and pulled her back against his chest. Soft nips to her skin were only interrupted by a brief response as his hands roamed her nude form. "They will do whatever is asked of them."

It was true. Obviously Caid refused to operate with people that were not largely self-sufficient. Medical skills were just as important as culinary ones in that regard. The typical diets of Endelaan would agree with what Athena normally ate anyways.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Caid Centurion"]

"But where would the fun be in that?" She retorted to his lovely restraint comment. "Hmm," broken wing stretched to drape over his encircling arms so the bones wouldn't get further crunched. Fingers continued to try to smooth out her hair during his distractions, as her back pressed against his chest. Blue-skin responding with little goosebumps to wherever his dark-fingers roamed.

Slender neck turned and her lips went to nibble against his ear, moving to find precise points along his jawline.

"You are making it very difficult to have a conversation," she chided against him in an accusing tone. "Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to relax and stay in tonight." Of course, tonight was a loose term. Time of day was always difficult to determine within the darkness of space. "You are a powerful sith Caid but I'm uncertain of your ability to give up snuggling long enough for food."

She smirked, a wicked spark in her dark orbs.