Private The Fool

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai waited around a corner, out of sight and earshot, until Iris appeared. Then he grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss.

It might've looked romantic to an outsider passing by, but he only did it to keep her quiet while he tried to force his way into her mind.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

It probably could've worked. If Iris even let him kiss her. The moment he leaned in, and the colors around him, Iris narrowed her eyes and reached up to push him back. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but don't you dare, Kai. Stop trying to kiss me. Especially if it's not even because you want to."

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

She shoved him away before their lips could lock. Her words stung more than he thought they would, and he felt bitterness blooming like a poisonous flower in him.

Oh well. He didn't need to kiss her to do what needed to be done.

<Forget,> he commanded, reaching into her memory. <Forget that you ever saw them. Forget their names. Forget everything that happened here…>

It had worked once before, after Tython. He had scrambled years of her memories by accident then. Now, all he wanted was to take one memory, lasting just a few minutes...

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Her eyes narrowed. The colors around them. She didn't like them. He was trying something. On her mind? She could already feel something trying to affect her. So she lashed out. Iris raised her fist before swinging it. Hard, fast. With a trained precision right for his throat. Something was in her mind. Kai wasn't there. No, something else was toying at her mind, right? Was this another of the dreams?

Full on panic took over, only amplified by the darkness of the Sithspawn child not even a dozen feet away. "Get out!"

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Concentrated as he was on getting in her head, Kai failed to see the fist flying toward him. He gasped for air, breaking away from her and clutching his throat.

Still, he kept trying.

<I can't let you tell anybody, Iris. Not even Master Noble. If you can't accept that, then you don't get the privilege of knowing.>

He drove harder into her mind, battering her mental barriers.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"GET OUT!"

She screamed. Loud, angry. Something was in her head. Something was trying to mess with her thoughts. Someone was trying to get in her head. Desperation, anger. Iris lashed out with both. Swinging her fists frantically for Kai. To make him stop.

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Of course, she only fought harder. Kai was forced to rear back, retreating from her mind just as her fist connected with his cheek, knocking him off balance.

For a few moments, he saw stars—and he knew he had made a terrible mistake. This was Iris he was dealing with. His best friend. You don’t just steal your best friend’s memories.

He wished he had done things differently. Wished current him was in past him’s body, pulling the strings, controlling his actions. Maybe then they wouldn’t have wound up here, in this moment, with her punching him…

... but wishing would do him no good.

His cheek throbbed. She was still swinging at him. This time she hit him lower, her knuckles pummeling his ribs. The pain was exquisite, exploding in his nerves, outward through his abdomen.

But she had to be slowing down now that he was out of her head. Had to be realizing that things had spiraled out of control. She better turn back now, lest she go too far.

Lest they both go too far.

<Iris, I…> he began. Yet even as he spoke, he felt something inside him harden.

<I deserve it. Go ahead and hit me again.>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris didn't stop. She was frantic, panic fully gripping her heart. Another punch, another frantic attempt to get him away, get him out of her mind. Not again. Never again. No one could mess with her mind again, no one could hurt her again. The colors were a haze around her, feeling more and more into that panic and fear. At least until his voice echoed in her heard. That, like it always did, cut through them.

Then she ran. She didn't look at him, couldn't look at him, and just ran.

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Iris stopped… then turned and ran from him. Punch drunk and staggering, Kai nonetheless chased after her, calling upon the Force to augment his strength and speed.

<Iris! Stop!>

He drew near enough to reach out and grab her arm, trying to slow her down.

<I made a mistake—Iris, please—>

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

She felt the hand on her arm and just spun on a heel. No hesitation, just a heel for the side of Kai's head. She was done with this, with him, with people getting in her head.

"Leave me alone!"

Kai Bamarri

 

[Kai Bamarri]

She was fighting back even against his telepathy. But Kai didn’t stop, and he didn’t leave her alone. He used her arm and the pause she took to hit him in the head as an opportunity to pull her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

The heel of her palm against his face drove him to his knees, but still he clung to her, begging.

“I can’t lose you again,” he gasped, blood in his mouth. “Please. Not again…”

But deep down, he knew this was irreversible. Iris would not forgive him. Even if by some miracle she was willing to let it go, he would keep making mistakes. He would go on hurting her. She was better off without him.

Slowly, he lost his grip, collapsing in a battered, bloody heap.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Let. Me. Go!"

This was all just too much. Her head was full of panic, fear. Anger, hurt, betrayal. She pushed him off and just ran, as far as she could go.