Take Off The Mask

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric watched her with warm blue eyes.

There wasn't much light within the cave, in fact there wasn't any at all. He could barely see the back of her, the motions of her hands and the slight peeling of the fruit. There was still joy running through him, but she, she was the opposite.

He could see the tension in her.

Her back was still stiff and straight, her muscles were taught, her entire body seemed to be shifted away.

Was it him that was making her so uncomfortable? That seemed likely. The way that he had acted towards her before and the way that he was acting towards her now were startlingly different, though she likely knew that he was grateful. A slight frown appeared on his lips and his hands curled into fists, drawing back on his legs.

Alric waited a few seconds, then reached out and touched Dangers back. He touched her with one hand at first, placing his hand on the very center of her spine, a place that Alric could no longer feel.

She immediately stiffened at the feel of his palm, every muscle in her body tightening. He half expected her to jump up and run away from him, though Alric didn't quite know what the issue was given that she herself had cuddled up to him just hours before.

He frowned, and then pressed his thumb into her skin, gently rotating it a way that would feel oddly familiar to her.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

He startled her so much she almost dropped the fruit. Thankfully, she still held the sticky flesh within her fingers. Only now the sweet ripe fruit's juices would start to trickle down her hands, falling into the floor.

"Blast!" she'd curse out. The sound of slight shuffling would be heard next; she moved just out of reach of him anew. "Almost made me drop this." she'd mutter out, welcoming the slight hitch of frustration that edged her husky voice.

Her right hand drew away, flicking as much of the liquid off one hand onto the floor. She would repeat the step with the other. So maybe she wasn't too accepting of that backrub; at least to him that would appear to be the case. Internally, her mind was already racing with memories. Flashbacks she was pushing to the rear of her mind.

Were he to try anew, she'd wave him off saying, "I'm fine." shaking her head.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He looked at her, eyes focusing in the dark, straining to actually see her.

A frown formed on his face as he withdrew his hand. It closed into a fist, and thoughts began to draw in his mind...then he finally realized something. The huskyness of her breath, the drawled out tone, the stiffness, the jumping and shuffling away from him.

The shivers.

A slight smirk drew on his lips as he realized what was going on, though most would have argued that he was an idiot for seeing it before. He couldn't help but feel slightly smug as he came to his realization, smiling slightly, though keeping the tone of success from his voice. “Are you?”

He didn't reach out to touch her, but he shifted forward slightly, moving away from the wall and towards her.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Never been better."

Her brows practically shot up to her hairline in sarcasm. Had there been any light he'd be able to see the expression of gibe mockery bathing her grimy features.

There came a roll of her eyes, shaking her head as she went back to work to peeling the thick skin off the fruit. It was much like a grape, only larger. Well like a mix between a fig and a grape. The flesh, had there been any light to see, was translucent, with a firm texture that if sliced would reveal a more pithy center. It had tiny black seeds, but they were edible.

One had to peel the skin because as a method to retain water, its outer layer was a thick waxy skin. Normally if one could get a good grip, they could peel it all in one go. Normally. Doing this in the dark required a bit more skill than that.

By now, her fingers were sticky with juice, and the sweet scent reminiscent of ripe pears would waft over from her direction.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

For a few moments he simply stayed silent, knowing that she wasn't exactly telling the truth.

He could still here the huskyness to her voice, that slight hint of breathyness. He remembered it now, he remembered it being whispered to him, screamed to him, he remembered it very well now. He had not thought of it earlier, he had not thought he would hear it here, he had not thought he would hear it again at all.

Alric shifted, his leg tapping against her for a second.

“We could just have sex, you know.” The words came spilling out of his mouth with no smugness or air of superiority about them at all, he was simply stating a fact.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

That prompted a heavy snort. Ahh rejection.

But that question also brought crashing down the dam that had held her thoughts at bay since she first heard his karking ass had set foot on her world.

"Right. I'll get right on that." she shot back with a healthy dose of sarcasm. "Let me go rinse off three days worth of Tatooine's grime, blood, and rancid nasty right off so we can get to just having sex."

She furiously kept peeling her fruit, flicking bits of waxy peel off to the floor.

"That's just what I need, knocking boots in the middle of a blasted sandstorm with some know it all greenhorn who somehow got a hair up his ass to decide to trek No Man's land dressed in Coruscanti's finest!"

She didn't mince words. Anger was her nectar and frustration her ambrosia and she was supping well this morn.

"Let's not forget that your still hung up on Aspa that a bruise would be enough to drag you to your knees in bloody pain. Or mention that we are stuck in the middle of the blasted Wound when I could very well be back at home, drinking my blasted whiskey, not having to worry about where in tarnation we are going to get the transportation to make it across the waste to some godforsaken outpost before the heat, dehydration, the bloody fething Krayts, or the karking Tuskens try to sacrifice us to their gods."

Her hands were furiously getting that last bit of the peel off, juice dripping down her hands.

"So no Kuhn, I ain't got no bloody karking desire to have sex with you."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He let her yell and blow off steam, his eyes closed for a few seconds as she spoke about them getting lost in the desert or about his own foolishness and berating him for some time. Alric simply sat there waiting for her to be done.

Of course, she had a point.

But she also didn't

Danger was more than partly at fault for his presence here, the HRD she had sent had invoked anger and wrath that had seen him coming to this world. She should have known that, she should have known after the way they left things off that something so impersonal, something so detached would sit wrong with him. Danger was intelligent enough to know that.

Just like she was intelligent enough to know her feelings for him. Or rather, her confusion towards him.

He shifted within the sands as she came to a close on her rant. Alric simply moved his legs closer to him, shifting towards her and moving her upper body towards her so that he was directly in her face. Danger would be able to see the icy cold blue of his eyes.

“First. I'm well aware of my mistakes. I'm aware that I fucked up, I'm aware that you saved my ass, and I'm more than aware that without you I would be dead twice over.” His voice was stern, strong, almost commanding. “I'm also aware that you're not entirely blameless in why I'm here, and why I'm not in my office sitting comfortably playing my game of Dejarik that I still owe a move to.”

"And i'm going to remind you. You didn't have to save me. It was your choice." There was a bite to those words

“So maybe, just maybe, you should get off your high horse and accept the situation were in.” He ended his words with a thick kiss on her lips, even though it would probably get him slapped, but he figured he needed something out of this. After all Danger would likely kill him now.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Every word would prompt a flare of her anger, and like her namesake would quickly sink Alric Kuhn into dangerous territory. Nostrils would flare, and she could practically feel her blood rush to her face in her increasing ire.

All the more so when he salted the wound that pointed out she didn't have to be here.

"And i'm going to remind you. You didn't have to save me. It was your choice." he told her, his deep voice like rough velvet. His damnably handsome face hovered inches above hers.

Why that no good sniveling bastard!

Provoked, adrenaline zinging, Danger had every intention of giving him a piece of her mind. Those slanted eyes of her narrowed and her peppery mood came bubbling to the surface. Then he lowered his head a fraction and his mouth caught hers.

Anger and frustration mixed with her unwilling sexual excitement. It made for a powerful cocktail. It also made for a very predictable response. The press of his kiss drew her back a bit, and she had to drop one hand onto the floor to keep her balance. Indignant rage bubbled and her other hand, still holding the fruit, went to strike in the dark. Every intention was to smash it against his cheek, to push him back. She'd surge up against him in rebellion. Had that fruit been a shiv, he would have felt the bite of her blade.

This was no Trade Queen here to beguile with coy murmurs and ply with drink.

This was Danger, ready to give as much as she got. Be it cursing, fighting, and spitting out like a hellfury from the Void itself.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The fruit slapped him across the face and seemingly exploded. Pushing him back to nearly fall onto his ass, though he narrowly managed to steady himself.

The response was not unexpected, in fact Alric had wholly expected to be hit. Yet the force of the blow was substantial, more so than he had expected. He let out a cry of frustration, anger, Danger wasn't the only one that was upset by the current situation. From his point of view she was just as much as fault as he was. Though she had saved his life and brought him back from near death, it was still her fault that he had come to this blasted dust ball of a planet.

He spit out a little of the fruit that had gotten into his mouth, then, he jumped on Danger.

There wasn't really any other way to describe it, from his position on his knees Alric jumped at her.

There was nothing subtle or particularly liquid about it, but he wasn't about to strike her in the face, so this was his only solution. He jumped at her, grasping at her with big arms, tackling her onto the ground and then pinning her in place with large muscular hands.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

A guttural cry of anger went ripping from her mouth as he came pouncing at her from the darkness. With only one hand to keep her balance, she went down on her back as he tackled her to the ground.

Winded, she'd lash out like a wildcat. The lack of light was a fickle creature, and in her rage and fury, despite her struggles Alric managed to pin her arms at her sides. She fought him with every last reserve of her strength, wiggling as his heavy weight was half on her. But he restrained her with humiliating ease.

"You vaping son-of-a-mynock!!" she curse out, panting. Had there been any light he'd be able to see the fire in her green eyes. The flush of color in her cheeks. The rebellion of her hair as it would splay upon the sand, dusting them both with a light cloud roused up by their struggles.

Her heart thundered. The combined stimuli of desire and fury made her light-headed. But, it wouldn’t stop her from fighting. Her blood would rush, pumping hot, anger rolling in almost palatable waves from the woman underneath him.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Every bone in his body told him to headbutt her.

It was a natural instinct for him, a fight or flight response that always leaned more towards the fight. He had been in so many back alley brawls and bar room fights that it came naturally to him, but the conscious part of his mind knew that he didn't want to harm her, not really.

Just the opposite.

Her desire now mimicked his own.

Though the line of rage boiled through him, he could feel the wanton desire that came from seeing her this way. Or perhaps more accurately, feeling her this way. Real, unabashed, unashamed Dangerouse Arceneau, the woman that had driven him to feral instinct, the woman that had driven to unreached heights of passion. “You thick headed Schutta!”

Alric yelled back in her face just as she bucked her hips up and against him, throwing him slightly and loosening his grip on her. Danger shifted, rolling and pushing Alric onto his back. Pain surged through his side, and Alric found himself with their positions reversed.

She reached up within the darkness, looking as though she was about to hit him again. Yet before Danger could do anything else, his hand snapped to her throat.

He pulled her down to him, his own mired emotions running away from him as his lips locked on her own once again.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

His hand gripped her firmly, tugging her down as he roughly would kiss her, holding her in place. There was no intent to harm in his hold. No his anger would match hers but it would not hold the bite of a true desire to harm.

He'd feel her exhale, her warm breath at his cheeks, sticky sweet with the juice of the fruit, grimy with sand as they would roll like the very thunder within the sandstorm outside.

By the stars, did she want to beat him until he was blue! He was frustrating to her no end, a war of emotions that only would enhance others. Another small cloud of dust rose around them, soft crushed against hard, half of their bodies covered in another layer of sand.

A pant of air. Another muttered curse only to be cut off anew. Lust surged stronger than ever, anger licking the flames of arousal as Danger would squirm above him. Her hands came up, curling round the fabric of the rags of Tusken robes. Was she pushing back or was she clinging to? Who knew.

But it was getting hard to determine if she was trying to stop him from kissing her or moving against him as she cursed him black and blue.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

It confounded logic.

They were both intelligent, they were both smart and logical, they were both known for plotting and planning. That was who they were, they were the Dejarik Masters, the ones who pulled the strings on the puppets. They didn't act brazenly or brashly, they didn't let emotion overcome them. It was wrong, but yet, it felt right.

Alrics hand tightened, his grip on her throat pressing just a little more.

His free hand shot up, gripping soft supply curves before sliding down her body and finding exposed flesh, Danger's clothes have been shifted slightly while rolling about in the sands. His thumb pressed against her skin, his fingers digging into her hips.

He pulled her against himself, pushing his tongue forward as she came closer.

All thought was abandoned, rage and desire took hold, the whirling sands of the storm were forgotten.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

​

Danger gave a grimace as she squatted down next to the 'gave cactus. It's long spiny wide leaves were scattered with sharp needle like thorns; a deterrent to any wildlife from taking the tiny prickly pear fruits it would grow at its base. Gently as she could, she would push a wide leave to the side, trying her best to avoid the thorns.

Red raw fingers would start to reach down, giving a slight grimace as they would start to slightly wiggle the carved out makeshift lid at the heart of the pine. With a small pop, it would slide out. Small tiny fruit flies would scatter as the scent of sticky sweet sap water would waft over her.

Carefully, she'd take a look inside. What she saw made her give an internal sigh of relief. There, floating in milky clear liquid, was the sweet sap of the cactus that had collected during the six hour storm. The carved out heart would prompt the cactus to weep its sap into the hollowed out core; sap that could very well bleed out twenty liters of sweet water.

It was how they would survive.

Carefully, danger would spent the next fifteen minutes carefully transferring the liquid to the waterskin she had.

They had.

Feth.

She didn't want to think about it. Truth be told not a single word had crossed between them. Not a single one. And she didn't mind it.

Truth be told, she was more than a little bit avoiding him. But there wasn't much one can do out here in the Wastes to avoid when caught between a rock and hard place.

They were stranded. Plain and simple. And while the twin suns were already starting to sink in the early afternoon sky, Danger knew she had very few options.

Unfortunately, as much as she would like to be a cold hearted schutta, she couldn't right leave Kuhn out here by himself. He'd die. He'd have died thrice over if it wasn't for her. And lord have mercy as much as she wanted to leave, that piss poor nagging voice told her that she couldn't.

So, she bite her tongue, told herself that all they had to do was get to an outpost and then he'll be on his merry way.

At least, that's what she told herself. It was easier to think that than to dwell at the image of her turning into a no good blasted fool.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric worked in silence.

He moved with quick, almost fluid motions, as fluid as he could manage. He had not said a word to her, not a gasp of breath nor a wiggle of his tongue had gone her way. Not since...he shook head slightly, his hands tightening on the straps of the small rucksack.

There was light in the cave now, light enough that it allowed Alric to work his way around the pack.

As per curt instruction Alric had packed up their supplied. He had carefully donned the strange bandage like robe, leaving a large empty space in the pack. That had quickly been filled with the things Danger had collected as well as the dried brush. The silver cylinder was placed in an outside pocket and Danger had taken the ancient rusty Blaster for herself. All that was left were the waterskins, which would be tied to to the outside of the pack.

Everything was neatly packed away, and yet Alric kept fiddling with the small bantha leather straps on the outside of the pack, closing them and tightening them around a bundle of dried brush.

Slowly Alric stood up from the squatting position he had been held in, a scowl drawing across his face. He shook his head, and then decided that he would do what he had to do. Slowly Alric made his way to the outside of the cave, squeezing himself through the entrance. He popped out, finding Danger squatting down.

A thought flashed through his head, but he shook his head and quickly whisked it away.

“Ready.” His word was rushed, hastened, not insulting or biting, simply spat out as fast as it possibly could be.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The half tattered cowl of beige muslin would pan over to Alric. There, under the shadow of the scarf, Danger would gaze his blue gaze for a few brief seconds.

She gave a nod.

Dropping her gaze back to the water skin, she would tighten the cap. A quick flick of her wrist would send the lingering sticky juice from the cactus off her fingers. A rub across her thighs took the film away.

She would draw back up, getting to her feet. A gust of wind came sweeping down the Wound, picking up more sand in a sharp blow. Her eyes would close to a squint, free hand rising to wrap the scarf around her nose and mouth tighter.

Trekking over to him, she'd make short time. They had to head due south west, but first they had to make it back up towards the plateaus.

Who knows what kind of land they'll see after that storm.

"Watch your step." That was the only warning she'll give him in regards to their sharp incline climb over boulders to reach to top. Raiders scouts could potentially be anywhere, but they had to get moving.

It was awkward. The tension and high strung atmosphere was as clear as day. Yet no other words would be said. She sure as hell wasn't going to.

Securing the water skin's strap diagonally round her torso, Danger took point.

She highly doubted he knew exactly where to step.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He followed along in silence.

Thats the way it was. After the night they had shared in the cave, or rather the day, things had simply become...awkward. There was no anger or clipped tone for either of them. It was only silence. He was okay with that right now, he was alright with it. His mind was occupied with thoughts of what they had done, of what had happened.

He frowned slightly.

The trek through the Wound wasn't as bad as it could have been, the rocky cliffs and the long standing rocks seemed to have shifted slightly, the sandstorm having pushed everything around. He followed Danger quietly, every once in a while glancing at her shapely form.

There was a few times where he wanted to speak, but instead he was simply silent.

Following without a word.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

TATOOINE
The Wound

They would climb in silence. Every once in a while, Danger would lift her hand up in a silent motion to pause. A wave down to find cover would relay for him to be silent and hide. A Tusken Scout would be spotted, and then a few minutes of tense waiting later would prompt Danger to continue their path.

The Twin Suns were slowly sinking down in the sky, still baking heat onto their bodies despite the upcoming late afternoon. Through out it, Danger didn't say a word. Everything was translated in gestures. Stop. Go. Wait. Ged down and hide. Silence.

Nothing but full, pregnant, silence.

She kept on point.

Her mind would want to wander, but she couldn't allow it. They had to get to where she stashed her supplies. Then after that... figure out transportation. In the back of her mind, her ability to read folk that had helped her with her business acumen would flare in awareness of the man. If there was something she was well used to feeling, it was the weight of a man's eyes on her person. Her momma done told her that once Danger started to bloom out into her abundant figure.

And there was no mistaking the weight of Kuhn's gaze searing at her back.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

The silence became almost painful, the time they had spent together thus far had usually been in angry biting words, or with quick responses of his questions. Yet right now there was nothing but full silence.

It was unsettling after so long.

Only the desert winds gave them any noise, coupled with the shuffling of the sands beneath their feet. It was awkward, and there was no way of getting around it. So many times Alric wanted to ask her something, so many times he wanted to pose her a question or say something to her, but all he could think of was the night before, all he could think of were her fingers pressed against his lips.

I've had more conversation with statues. Alric thought to himself with a frown.

It was right though.

There wasn't anything to be said, at least not now, at least not until they were both ready, which neither of them currently were.

Eventually they crested a rise, pulling over a large dune to a place where bare rock and huge mounds of sand had accumulated. Alric looked at Danger, who had paused. “This the place?”

Short. Clipped.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

TATOOINE
The Wound

She didn't say a word. Only this time, it was different. It wasn't due to awkward tension or strain. No, this was a silence that reeked of growing dawning awareness; of a knowledge that this was going to have drastic consequences to them both.

Before them the landscape of the Waste had drastically changed. The sand storm that had beat across the Wound and Jundland had shifted entire swaths of dune scapes.

While there were some similarities from the prominent mountain ranges, there was no denying that what lay before Danger was a new terrain that would make pinpointing down her hidden supplies all that much more difficult.

Feth!

Slowly she'd glance around, taking in to see if there were any scouts. The realization that this was why there were not that many Tusken Raiders out finally set in. They had their own concerns to look after. A sand storm of this severity would have bound to have sent bantha lost out in the Waste. Something that would be a boon to them if they were to stumble across one.

But for now...

Her lips drew into a straight line.

"No." she finally replied.