Private The Depths Below

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "It's yours to keep," he chuckled but seemed to need a moment to think when she brought up the underwater ruins again. Last time, they nearly became mermaid snacks, so what could go wrong if they went back? <T> "I wouldn't mind going back as long as we're better prepared.... meaning we bring more weapons."

Sometimes firepower really was just the solution to a problem.

With the Mindharp in her hands, he waited for her to finish up breakfast before she began to play. It was a strange instrument in that it was almost impossible to play for some people, while others could make interesting melodies without having ever touched it before. Knowing how strong she was with the Force and its mental aspects, he already knew she'd be amazing.

<T> "I'm glad you enjoy it," he chuckled after he had listened to her play, <T> "I have another, so if you want one, feel free to take this one." A gift to her, after everything she had already done for him.

<T> "Now, do you feel like some sparring..." he trailed off, a grin on his face, <T> "Or more exploration first?"

 

[Miri Nimdok]

“Underwater weapons,” she added. “I could fix your lightsaber so that it can operate underwater. It’s actually pretty simple—you don’t need extra parts to do it, just a certain arrangement.”

Kyell offered the Mindharp to her as a gift. Turning to him, she touched his cheek. The Mindharp launched into that same symphony again, the music swelling as she leaned in for a kiss.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Beloved.”

Four days now, she reminded herself even as the word left her lips. A flash of guilt or embarrassment made the Mindharp squeak nervously. Was it too early for terms of endearment, especially one so similar to saying I love you?

It was kind of corny, too, wasn’t it? Beloved. But as long as he didn’t mind…

She cut the connection to the Mindharp, its servos winding silent. <Sparring first,> she said, standing up. <We could both use the practice before we do any more adventuring.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "That'd be great." For some reason, he had the feeling he was going to need his weapon underwater a lot more now that he had met her and been on a few adventures. So it certainly wouldn't hurt to get the upgrade.

Then she leaned in to thank him for the gift, and when they kissed, he could hear some new melodies form. It sounded like a whole symphony had come alive, and while it was her mind that had connected with the instrument, it felt as if his own emotions and feelings for her were being used to produce the music.

Beloved?

That snapped him out of his trance with a noticeable blush on his cheeks. So much so that he didn't even pick up on the nervous squeak from the Harp. <T> "You're welcome, I hope you'll have fun with it," he said. A part of him wanted to call her something cute and sweet as well, but what? This was not something he was good at. At least he showed that he didn't mind being called beloved.

<T> "Alright, let's spar." That was a good little distraction, for now, so he got up and brought her outside in the open air where they would have the room to move around. He picked a small grass field, took the lightsaber from his belt, and made sure it was on its low power setting. After igniting it, he assumed a two-handed stance with the weapon in a guard in front of him.

<T> "Ladies first," he joked, but he did allow her to make the first move.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

With no offense taken, Miri relaxed. Beloved it was.

<Hand it over. It won’t take long at all.>

Provided Kyell gave her his lightsaber, she dismantled it by hand, adjusted the internal parts, and then reassembled it. The whole process took less than half an hour.

<There you are. We won’t know for sure if it works until you turn it on underwater.>

Following him out to the open field (making a pit stop at her ship to grab some proper clothes first—though she kept his shirt on, at least), Miri seemed a bit nervous. <All right,> she said, holding her lightsaber up.

Whatever her opening attack was supposed to be (maybe a swipe at his shoulder?), it was sloppy and unrefined. Initially it seemed like she was holding back too much, but upon further study, it became apparent that wasn't the case. She knew the basics of swordfighting, enough to fool the ignorant, but something was off about her every move. If Kyell had expected to get his ass kicked by her, perhaps he’d be surprised to find that Miri Nimdok was actually pretty bad at lightsaber combat.

In fact, she was downright awful. No wonder why she preferred guns.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

After she had made the modification to his lightsaber and they stepped outside, he got ready and waited for her to make the first move once she was settled into some new clothes and readied her lightsaber. Her still choosing to wear his big shirt got him to smile but he quickly focused and expected her to come at him in ways he could not easily defend himself against.

But quite the opposite happened - a fairly sloppy strike was aimed at his shoulder, and he deflected it with a proper parry. Is this why she always brings guns along? He shouldn't be happy that he was able to keep up or potentially even beat her in something for once, but this was going to be a lot more amusing than getting his ass handed to him while he was twice her size.

<T> "You look cute fighting in that shirt," he commented as their blades hissed against each other. Definitely an attempt to get her out of her focus.

After his block, Kyell then decided to go for a bit more trickery and made a subtle wrapping motion with his fingers in an attempt to pull on her leg with the Force. Likely not enough to make her fall, but hopefully it would off-balance her just a little bit. Stepping forward again, he followed up with a more precise stab aimed at her stomach.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Kyell’s compliment only earned a sly look from Miri. <If you want to distract me, you’re going to have to do much better than that—>

Miri’s leg suddenly moved on its own, allowing Kyell’s blade to jab her in the stomach. It didn’t hurt much, but she flinched. Her lightsaber had mysteriously switched off roughly a split second before his stab hit her, so she wound up looking like she had tried to surrender as soon as she felt it.

<Okay, you got me that time,> she conceded. <You did something to my leg, didn’t you?>

She hadn’t felt a thing. No prescient warning, no sense of the cosmic web bending to his will. Only the movement, as though an invisible hand had grabbed her ankle and pulled.

This was normal for her. Her connection to the Force came and went like the wind.

Miri did have a few tricks up her sleeves when it came to the lightsaber, the most interesting of which was Trakata. It was a simple technique. Wait until the right moment, then turn your lightsaber off and on again.

The next time Kyell came at her in a downward slash, she pretended she was going to parry it, only to turn off her blade and dodge the blow. She re-activated her lightsaber poised to cut his throat… well, on low intensity the most it would do is sting him a little.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "I may or may not have tugged on it a little," he admitted with a smug grin. But he had always felt that she was a rather feisty type when she wanted or needed to be, so he knew he had to be careful and stay focused. Her blade ignited again, Kyell readied himself and decided to play it more offensive.

After a few strikes that were parried, he raised his weapon and moved to aim a strike down on the top of her shoulder. But seconds before it could connect, her lightsaber suddenly vanished, and he found himself off-balanced by his blade sweeping through the air. He tried to react quickly and turn back around, but her weapon ignited again and he felt the sting against his throat.

<T> "Going for the head, huh?" he stepped back and rubbed the spot she had struck. She seemed to have some tricks up her sleeve as well. <T> "Alright, it's on, then."

This time, he didn't make use of any strange tricks — he just put a little more of his strengths into his attacks to play into Djem So's philosophy to overpower opponents. It was a bit sloppy, but he wanted to push her a little and see if she could hold her own against it.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri was unprepared for the storm of Djem So that followed. Scratch that—she probably didn’t even remember what the lightsaber form he was using was called. She would later redub it Kyell’s Fiery Death Dance.

In less than a minute, he had completely overpowered her. Miri was barely able to keep up, her blade narrowly catching his. Each strike was like a hammer blow, and he was pounding her into submission.

<If this were a real fight, I’d have already surrendered,> she confessed, reduced to just making sure he didn’t accidentally singe her hair. The rest of her was pretty well stung by glancing blows of his lightsaber.

The trouble with tricks is, they only work once, maybe twice. Trakata had been her best bet, and while it had worked, the spar continued afterwards, and she couldn’t use it again.

Fed up, she resorted to dirty tactics. Dodging one of his jabs, she lunged forward, trying to tackle him.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

His tactics were working.

He just had to make sure not to push it too far because he didn't want to hurt her. Even on a lower power setting, the sheer force of a swing could still cause injuries. So after landing a few grazing blows, he stepped back and smirked at her, <T> "Surrendered? Nah, you would have pulled out your guns and blown a few holes in me," he teased.

Then it seemed she was up for another round.

As she came charging at him, he readied himself and directed a stab to meet her, but she expertly dodged it and went for a tackle. In a real fight, he could have maybe tried to slam her into the ground, but he obviously couldn't do that. In fact, there was nothing he could do, and he just braced himself as she tackled him to the ground.

His lightsaber hit the grass and disengaged, and he wrapped his arms around her while he chuckled, <T> "Alright... you got me." He looked down at her and smiled.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<T> "Surrendered? Nah, you would have pulled out your guns and blown a few holes in me,"

<You're not wrong.>

Her tackle worked, though she suspected he had let her do it to avoid causing actual bodily harm. This was only a mockup of a duel, after all.

With him lying on the ground beneath her, she braced herself against the grass. <You’re a bit of a terror with that thing,> she said, nodding toward his lightsaber hilt. <We might as well cover all our bases together. You with your lightsaber, me with my guns…>

Trailing off, she pretended to look at an imaginary chrono. <Oh, would you look at the time. It’s been over an hour since I last kissed you.>

And kiss him she did. There was no one else around to see them making out... until an Ithorian wielding a gardening hose arrived on the scene to water some plants. Upon spotting the couple, he sighed out of both his mouths, muttered something about humans and their disgusting mating habits, then raised the nozzle and sprayed them.

Miri sat up at once, blinking and dripping. The Ithorian said something to her in his language about public displays of affection, then sauntered off.

Getting a sense of deja vu, Miri turned to Kyell. <Either the universe really hates lovers, or that's our cue to go for another swim.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "I'm getting better at it, and with you covering me with those guns of yours..." he trailed off and smirked excitedly but blinked when she pretended to be looking at a Chrono. The reason became clear rather quickly, however, and he'd close his eyes and lean into the kiss she was trying to steal.

It was still strange to him that he felt so comfortable making out with a girl, but that was what made Miri so special. He could actually be himself and enjoy-

Cold water splashed against him, forcing his eyes open while Miri sat up with equal surprise, <T>"Hey, you're dripping all over me," he teased, having used her as a shield against the water while she was on top of him.

<T> "But you're right." He stood up and slowly peeled off his shirt, totally not to mess with her, before he kicked off his shoes and attached the lightsaber back to his belt. With a finger wave he tried to get her to follow, and he'd move back towards the beach for another swim.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

She wrung out the water from her hair on him in retaliation for using her as a human shield.

The deliberately slow removal of his wet shirt made her cheeks flame, though it was unclear whether she was aroused or perturbed with him. Either way, a dunk in the ocean was necessary to cool her temperament.

She didn’t need to be asked twice to follow him to the beach. Off went Kyell’s borrowed t-shirt. Underneath it, she was wearing a close approximation of a wetsuit. It was far less revealing than the bikini had been, though the material seemed to mold itself to her body. It kept changing color for a few moments before eventually settling on—you guessed it—purple.

<Clothes that you can control with your mind,> she explained. <It’ll work as light armor, too. And as much as I like seeing more of you, I do have another suit if you want it.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "New swimwear?" he asked after they made it to the beach and she took off his shirt. It wasn't as revealing as her previous look, but he still caught himself admiring her a little too obviously, a little too long. He quickly searched for eye contact with a sheepish smile and some surprise, as the color of her outfit changed.

Of course, it was purple.

<T> "That's so cool, and you have another set?" He considered it for a moment, but when a memory of the mermaids flashed into his mind again, he quickly nodded. <T> "And as much as I like showing off for you, I think some armor wouldn't hurt," he nodded and turned his eyes in the direction of her ship.

<T> "I'll go get changed then." If she were to bring him back and show him the outfit, he'd spend a little time worming his way into the tight clothing, before he eventually stepped out with the whole suit looking black. A grin formed on his face, and he shifted it to bright pink, then the ugliest green he could think of, before going to a dark purple.

<T> "This is too much fun." He shifted his hips around a little, <T> "Definitely a, uh, a bit tight though."

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri brought Kyell back to her ship and into the armory. Like the rest of the Conestoga, it was filled with items of interest—suits of armor, weapons, and other gear, some of it quite exotic. A few appeared to be ancient artifacts.

<This stuff is called polyweave,> she said, retrieving another suit. Calling it a “suit” was a bit of a misnomer. In storage, it looked like a small square of nondescript synthetic cloth. She slapped it against Kyell’s chest, where it began to spread across his body until it covered most of him similarly to how Miri was dressed.

She watched him play around with the colors, smiling. <It only feels tight because that’s how you think it should feel,> she said. <It takes longer than just changing the colors, but you can reshape it into almost anything. That includes making size adjustments.>

Holding her braid up, she concentrated. The polyweave slowly began to shift, becoming a dress, before she switched it back to the diving suit. <I just don’t recommend you try to change it during combat. Oh, and avoid disruptors.> Not that they would be encountering any of those under the sea.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

The more she explained about the way the poly weave worked, the more amazed he was. The color shifts alone were so much fun to play around with, but he could just change it into a different-looking outfit as well? Watching her, he seemed to approve of the dress she chose to use as an example.

<Cute dress> He smiled and because his focus was a little too much on what she was wearing, he suddenly found his own clothing shifting into a similar dress. His face turned bright red from embarrassment, and as quickly as he could, he turned it back into a black wetsuit. <Wow, that's uh, very cool...> he flashed a dumb grin and looked at the water.

<Let's go for that swim!> He said, wanting to escape any jokes if he could. So he just rushed off towards the water and went under as quickly as possible, hoping she'd follow and join him for another dive to the ruins below. This time, he really hoped to avoid another trip to the hospital, but he felt ready to handle more killer mermaids if they decided to show themselves.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri blinked, her eyes widening, before she burst into a fit of giggles. It was the hardest she’d laughed in a long time. She was still trying to contain it when he took off running toward the water, forcing her to run to keep up.

Recovering enough to sustain Breath Control was another pain, but she managed it so long as she didn’t think about the sight of Kyell… in a purple dress…

<You still have that cylinder key thingmajig, right?>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Oh yeah, she was laughing alright.

He couldn't just hear her giggles, he could feel them, so he ran off as quickly as he could, and forced her to move after him. Even though it was totally his own fault, he swore that revenge would be his right there and then.

The moment he went under, he turned around and made sure that she was right behind him before he'd begin a dive deeper into the ocean. Only her question got him to look back again, <T> "Thingamajig? Oh. Yeah, I pulled it out on the way back," he said before he dug it out of a pocked he had manifested in his suit.

<T> "Think it'll work on other doors as well?"

He really hoped they wouldn't have any dangers behind them.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<I hope so!>

They headed back to the ruins, finding them largely unchanged. Well, aside from the dead bodies they had left behind.

Turning on a waterproof flashlight, Miri shone the beam into the darkness, using it to light her way as she swam forward. The abyss eventually gave way to another doorway with a similar keyhole at the center.

As Kyell drew near in order to unlock the door, she watched his face. <If your theory about this place being built to contain something is correct, I suspect whatever is beyond this will be worse than what we’ve already faced.>

She remembered the rumbling they had felt deeper within, and she sorely doubted the mermaids were the cause of it.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Jerrilek
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<If your theory about this place being built to contain something is correct, I suspect whatever is beyond this will be worse than what we've already faced.>

He blinked and looked over his shoulder as the doors opened again, <I uh... a part of me had hoped these mermaids were the only thing waiting beyond these doors> Judging by the more dumb look in his eyes, it was probably easy enough to tell that he hadn't really considered something else being further ahead.

The rumbling could have been caused by shifting doors, right?

<I suppose we'll find out soon enough.> He added but just to be safe, he already took the hilt of his lightsaber into his hand. If anything jumped them, he'd cut it down before it had a chance to do anything. This time, he wasn't going to let her get hurt.

Then there was the rumbling again, and he began to really doubt his own theory even more — something else was out there. Something alive and probably dangerous. <Look at those doors, they're even more massive but... I don't see a keyhole. Do you think they sealed this place? But why the guarding mermaids then?> He seemed confused and looked at her for answers.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Well, you know what they say: ‘To die would be an awfully big adventure.’> Her delivery was deadpan, but she wasn’t taking the danger lightly.

As they passed into the next chamber, finding a set of massive doors with no keyhole to unlock them with, Miri frowned. <The mermaids might not be guards. They could’ve been prisoners themselves. Or they were just using this place as a hideout…>

The fact that it was built with levels, one chamber leading into the next, reminded her of the layout of a royal tomb. They would set traps in each room to deter graverobbers. Perhaps each chamber held some type of monstrous prisoner…

Hearing a high-pitched shriek coming from the darkness off to the side, Miri whirled around, shining her flashlight in the direction the sound had come from.

A beluga-esque creature that looked like it was made from marshmallows was swimming toward them, its tail bobbing up and down. It made another excited screeching sound as it drew nearer.

<Oh great,> Miri muttered. <It’s cute, but it probably eats people.>

Kyell Laysel​