Private The Auction

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Rayia Si

Gatz felt Rayia shift—not so much physically, but through the Force. Her presence was like a fire threatening to break containment, always on the brink of spreading. It wasn't the tempered flame of Valery Noble or the austere beam of sunlight that was Corazona von Ascania but then, who was he to judge how another felt in the Force? He was like a kettle that had steamed for too long, threatening to blow its own lid off.

He frightened himself, sometimes. His strength in the Force was growing rapidly, and he still had so little control over it. Gatz wondered when that would bite him in the ass. He hoped it wasn't today.

"We should get moving soon," there was serenity to Gatz's voice that couldn't have been natural for him, "the whole camp is about to crowd into the auction."

He opened his eyes with a sigh. Gatz was surprised he'd actually found peace in meditating here of all places, when the ability to do so was so often out of his reach, even in tranquil settings like the temple on Coruscant. And now he was leaving its warmth and its protection, forced to return to the rugged world of slaves and their masters.

So be it.

Gatz turned to Rayia, and immediately spotted the chafing around her neck.

"Come over here for a second though," he offered, "I'm not much of a Force Healer, but even I can do something about that rash around your neck."

 

[Rayia Si]

Gatz Derrevar

---

Rayia’s eyebrow arched as she felt Gatz stir. She was fairly confident she hadn’t done anything to disturb him. She had been… well, quiet as a cat. Nevertheless, as Gatz’s soothing voice seeped into the space between them, Rayia found herself agreeing with him. ‘The quicker we’re done, the better,’ Rayia thought to herself and pushed herself to her hands and knees.

“Mmm, they’ll probably be expecting us there,” Rayia commented, as she felt her spine pop satisfactorily. Elongating through the motion, Rayia arched her back up as a cat might when waking from a nap. Reluctantly, she pushed herself to her feet as the last dregs of peace that she had found in sleep faded away. The space of the tent was quickly starting to feel stifling and Rayia itched to get out there. Literally.

“Hmm?” Rayia said as the clawed fingers of one hand trailed over her neck, leaving slight, red streaks behind. “Oh? Fine, but warm your hands first… They’re cold.” She remarked, as one ear twitched downwards. Rayia remained stiff during Gatz’s inspection. Letting Gatz touch or even inspect her neck was clearly something that went against instinct for Rayia. Perhaps a bestial instinct ingrained deep within that warned against exposing one’s neck to another.

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Rayia Si

Warm his... hands? It was an unexpected request, and Gatz blinked at it, but he'd asked far more of her today than she was of him right now. So, with a shrug, he rubbed his hands together until the friction of his skin had produced enough heat for them to be considered warm. Gently, slowly, Gatz pressed a hand to the back of Rayia's neck. She seemed tense and a little uncomfortable about the motion, but he could hardly blame her for that.

He had, after all, saddled her with a slave collar. Even if only so that they could infiltrate this place.

Gatz closed his eyes and focused. Force Healing had never come easy to him—in fact, it was the area he struggled the most in—but he was making small steps in the right direction. It took a moment, and an effort of will, but Rayia's chafed neck slowly began to restore itself. Swelling reduced, and irritated red skin return itself to its natural hue.

Like that, in an instant, it was like she'd never worn the collar. Gatz let out a heavy breath, but felt satisfied. Healing was a tiring thing, but it was the one time that he actually felt as though he was using the Force the way he was meant to.

"Feel better?" Gatz asked, "I suppose we could always find you some ice somewhere, if not."