Private The Hourglass and the Landslide

[Ishani Dinn]

The movement of her fingers stilled, and she gave him a look that was half coy, half bashful. It occurred to her that they might not, erm, be on the same wavelength here. “Well, that depends,” she said, deciding to just be blunt and honest about it. “I know you said you had the gutbeast under control. But are you still killing people to satisfy your hunger, or did you find an alternative food source?”

The damned gutbeast was one of the main reasons why he had turned her down, after all. “It’s a curse for a reason. There is no fixing it,” he had said to her aboard the Vixen. Since then she had become something of a predator herself, and she thought… maybe that at least would give them some mutual understanding. That it might give her some mastery over the thing which had once forced them apart.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

The bluntness while refreshing did leave him partially caught off guard. "Oh..." He could see what she was getting at now, and the tips of his ears burned red in mild embarrassment. Of course that was what she'd meant. "Well, see, I discovered a secret" he said, lowering the volume of his voice and inching his lips closer to her ears as though entrusting her with something sacred. "It doesn't have to be people..."​

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He smirked then, and kissed a small trail across her cheek, down from her ear.​

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"Is that something you want?" he asked, curiously, flicking his gaze up to meet hers. His lips lingered just millimeters from her skin. "To satiate the beast with me?" Arcturus found unexpected titillation at the mere thought of it, cheeks flushing in response. It was such a taboo subject, something so often hushed and looked down upon, yet here she was speaking life into it. No judgement, no disgust...​

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Arcturus drew her closer, and gently lifted her chin with a thumb set upon her jaw. "It does not bother you... The thought of seeing the monster within?"​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

So he had found a way to satiate it without murdering sentients. Of course he had, he was Arcturus. Nothing ever kept him down for long.

“Yes, I—” A ragged gasp escaped her as he peppered her jaw with kisses, her nails digging lightly into his skin. “I take it… you like the idea, then?”

He seemed surprised that she showed any interest. After all, he considered himself a monster, or at least, he had a monster inside him. “It doesn’t bother me at all,” she answered. “Why would it? You’re not hurting anyone.

“But Arc… I ‘eat’ people. I drain them of life to maintain my own. I prefer to kill criminals and other scum, but I don’t always discriminate. Sometimes I can't afford to.” She looked at him seriously, her eyes searching his. “Perhaps we could help each other to keep it under control.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Liked the idea?​

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Arcturus shifted so that he was leaning over her, breath warm as he let his kisses find their mark. The nails which dug left him breathing sharply through his nose, and that spark ignited within his eyes once more. He didn't answer right away, instead he listened to what she had to say. Her great confession...​

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"What a pair we make" he said, as he brought his lips back to her ear and bit ever so gently down on the lobe. There was no actual pressure accompanying the act. "One who drains their life... And one who craves that which is left behind..." Help to keep it under control? Arcturus' eyes twinkled with amusement. That was one way to look at it, wasn't it?​

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"Or..." He shifted his head so that these words were uttered into her other ear, as though he was playing the part of a devil upon her shoulder, "We could simply cut our hunts in half... Feed together..." She sought their vitae, their life force, he their physical forms. In a way he supposed that was keeping it somewhat under control, half the bodies was a significant difference to the Galaxy after all.​

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More and more the idea of dining at some fancy restaurant was seeming less appealing. Though the notion of a date... That still held firm. She deserved a nice evening, dressed up and the center of attention.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"What a pair we make."

No pressure or not, Rhi writhed beneath him at the feel of his teeth. “There's a reason we keep getting drawn back to each other, you know,” she muttered, taking advantage of a break in his kisses to nibble as the tender flesh where his neck met his shoulder. She almost couldn’t focus on what he was saying.

“Feeding together?” She hummed in approval. “That certainly sounds better than what I’ve been doing. Taking advantage of a primitive species who thinks I’m a goddess just because I’ve got the Force, and getting them to offer me sacrifices…” It had been sort of neat at first, but she eventually discovered that being a deity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“But you still haven’t said what you’ve been eating instead of people. What is it? Some type of animal?” Terentateks specifically went after creatures with a higher sensitivity to the Force. Where was he getting a steady supply of such beings?

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Oh, he did know. The stranded webs of fate wove inexplicably between them, and no matter how far one ran from the other they would be returned as though they'd run the circumference of a globe. Her nibbling was definitely distracting, the hummed words which were uttered into his shoulder doubly so. ​

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"The Goddess Rhiannon..." He looked upon her with awe and wonder, "What a busy little thing you've been..."​

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Still incessant on an answer he'd quite honestly forgotten to give, Rhi pried further and he could only shake his head in good humour. "There are countless creatures out there for whom the Force flows through naturally as a boon," he explained, "Jakobeasts, Tuk'ata, Vornskr..." None of these were easy quarry of course, but they were all large enough that he could dine on them for quite some time. "I preserve what I don't eat right away... Encapsulate the parts which the gutbeast longs for..."​

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That would certainly explain how he lasted so long on such great beasts.​

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But a change had overcome his expression, and he cocked his head to one side and regarded her solemnly for a moment. "Criminals, and other such scum, hm?" Was their Sentience a necessary factor for her? Most likely... "It is tiring to have to work so hard for my supper each time I'm out..."​

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People? Even Force Sensitive people..?​

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They were easy game compared to the resistant hides of Akk-Dogs and the like.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The Goddess Rhiannon. Rhi went a bit red in the face and shrugged modestly. “You make it sound so enticing,” she said, then grew wistful. “On their planet, there’s an ancient underground forge. The natives have turned it into a shrine to the god of the underworld. I used to dream about bringing you there, watching you start up the old machinery, hearing them declare you their god… But it’s a silly fantasy, isn’t it? You don’t want to be worshiped.” At least, he hadn’t before. Maybe things had changed.

Quite a few things seemed different now.

He explained his process. It was Force Sensitive animals, as she suspected, and he had his preservation methods. “Lucky you, you can feed off the same creature for a while,” she muttered, perhaps a little jealous.

Something in him shifted. She watched the change in his expression, then realized what it meant. “I can tell my followers what sort of sacrifices I want,” she said. “But when I’m roaming around the galaxy, I try to go for the nasty types. Petty criminals and the bigwigs. They’re often more easily drawn in, too. The promise of money, drugs, sex, other vices… I use those as lures, and spring my trap…” Wrapping her arms and legs around Arc as if she were holding him in a vice, she brushed her lips against his in a light, teasing kiss. “And then, I suck them dry.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Isn't it? You'll be immortalized in their customs..." She spoke of a forge hidden underground, and intrigue played across his expression. He didn't rightly care about the God part, about being worshiped, but some ancient smithy..? He glanced around the attic they were currently housed within, pondering the floor below. It was enough for him in many ways, he enjoyed the simplicity and intimacy of it. But picturing what vast creations could be made elsewhere was almost intoxicating...​

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"Is it silly?"​

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He found himself wholly incapable of being pragmatic about it. Usually he sought to be fairly measured and rational, but there was something about envisioning Rhiannon as a Goddess before uncivilized beings that held a certain allure. "I should like to see it, if nothing else..." The Forge, her majesty and apotheosis. ​

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Her jealousy was not unnoticed, and he found himself smirking slightly in light of it. It was not often someone found his life envy-inducing...​

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"I can" he confirmed, before a huskier tone entered his voice, "But nothing's better than fresh..."​

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She wrapped herself around him like a constrictor and further explained her method for enticing those she sought to sup' upon. Lips brushed delicately against his, and her final statement simply had him chuckling. "So fearsome, my mighty Divine..." He leaned down further, pressing his lips against hers more needily. "What a storied life you lead..."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The forge undoubtedly sounded intriguing to him. She caressed his cheek. “I’ll take you there, then. Just say the word whenever you’re ready.” Probably after all his mysterious business he had was said and done.

Her amusing little display had its intended effect on him, as he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. “It’s all nothing without you,” she breathed, a ferocity in her tone that seemed almost alien to such a soft-spoken voice. Then, as if she had just admitted some shameful secret, she buried her face in his neck and simply held him tight, like she was afraid he’d vanish if she let go.

“Would you rather our dinner date be a hunt, then?” she asked, changing the subject. The restaurant seemed less appealing to her now too. They could still dress nicely for the hunt, could still enjoy each other’s company. Could still eat.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Okay" he said.​

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She was going to take him there. To the world where she was revered... Intrigued didn't even begin to cover the range of emotions he was feeling in the wake of such. Forge be damned, he just wanted to see her in all her glory.​

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He shifted so that he was beside her again, then wrapped her up in his arms as she tried to hide herself from view. Facilitating it, but also making it a much more pleasant experience for the both of them. "I'm here now, Rhi" he whispered tenderly, settling his lips into her soft curls. "I got you..."​

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When she loosened up some and changed the subject he tipped up her chin and peered down at her in amusement. "I'd love nothing more" he stated, drawing his fingers up along her jaw, then through her hair, "But I don't hunt in the Nether..." Well, certainly not Masque. Arcturus had too much respect for Kal to tarnish the gift he'd given him, to put the Shade's reputation on the line. Maybe in the outer reaches, where pure chaos and ever changing landscapes roamed, but then... They weren't the most delicious prizes.​

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Arcturus would know, he'd lived in those wilds before.​

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He kissed the tip of her nose. "Restaurant this time... Then a hunt once we're on Naboo..?" Mm, the sweet taste of nobility.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Okay,” she echoed him, a bit amused by the shortness of his response. Not that she’d have any idea what else to say, were she in his shoes.

Her little outburst and subsequent embarrassment regretfully spoiled the mood. But she couldn’t contain it anymore. The intensity she felt at finally having him back had reached a breaking point, and something had to give. At least she wasn’t crying the way she would in her youth. Her eyes were dry, her lashes tickling the skin of his neck.

Opening her eyes, she stared at his chest, tracing the lines of new muscle over his arms around her with her fingertips. They were stronger now, weren’t they? Yet she still felt this aching need to have him by her side. Was that a sign of weakness, or was it just how love was?

She didn’t want to think about it, so she shoved those thoughts away, closing her eyes as he caressed her hair. Arc didn’t hunt in the Nether, but suggested a hunting trip on Naboo after their date. “A double-date?” she said, then furrowed her brow. “Wait no… that’s not what that is...” After a few more seconds of confusion, he interrupted her train of thought by kissing her on the nose. “I’ll take any opportunity to have more time with you, Arc.” Just the way she said his name made it plain that she adored him.

“But if we’re ever going to get to that restaurant, we should probably stop fooling around and get dressed.” She bit her lip as she looked at him, but forced herself to get up.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

A..double..date...​

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Arcturus laughed aloud at that, any worries he might have had about embarrassing her fully cast aside by the sheer hilarity of the statement. She caught herself fast of course, realized her mistake, but now all he could do was envision it.​

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"I mean, hey... I'm sure there's some way to meet nice couples on Naboo to double-date with..." His laughter died down to just a bright grin, and he looked at her adoringly. "We could wine'em, and dine'em..." Stuff'em full of alcohol and then feast on them.​

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Actually, that wasn't a terrible idea...​

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She was right of course, time was ticking and the longer they put it off the more likely they were to just call the whole thing off. Order takeout. Shadow Takeout... Seemed risky.​

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"Alright, my love, let's go." He got himself to his feet first, after detangling from her, then reached a hand down to help her stand. Reaching out for his things, he picked up the pouch of pebbles and slipped one of them into his hand after feeling their various surfaces for the right one. Soon he was dressed in a sharp suit, complete with pressed shirt, a black jacket which matched his trousers, and polished shoes. No tie, of course, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. ​

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He had to loosen it up some how.​

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While Rhiannon dressed he gathered up his usual accoutrements, knife and pouches and the like, and set them into place on his person.​

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What a mess they'd made of his poor loft.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

His laughter, while technically at her expense, cheered her up. It was so good to see him laughing. “Sometimes my flubs lead to good ideas,” she said with a nod of her head.

Taking his hand, she hurriedly got dressed. The silvery blue gown survived their loft romp unscathed, as did the shoes and jewelry. She flexed her wings to make sure the dress wouldn’t tear at the slightest movement, then turned to Arc. Then did a double-take, her eyes scanning him up and down. If she’d ever seen him in formal wear prior to this, he certainly hadn’t worn it as well as he did now.

“You look very handsome,” she said. Her eyes drifted to the two undone buttons of his shirt, her face reddening slightly. Despite having seen him naked, the sight of him just a little bit mussed or partially unclothed still had an effect on her. She forced her eyes back up to his face. “Right, let’s get out of here…”

Arcturus Dinn​