The Space In Between (Kesare)

[Sage Bane]

​

Location: Kkowir Forest, Kashyyyk​

Theme: The Space In Between​

​

Malignant black mud squishing underneath his feet, Sage Bane raced miserably through the forest, dodging tangled Wroshyr tree branches and hurtling over the melon-sized insects that skittered underfoot. Running was a sport he detested. Not only did it aggravate his lame ankle and his death stick-ravaged lungs, but it made him feel more like prey when he’d much rather be taking the role of predator. Unfortunately, in this dangerous game he was playing, he was both, and speed was a necessary strategy. Sage needed to gain ground over forest, as his opponent was out there somewhere at the other end. The sooner he found her, the sooner he could leave this infernal place without starving, being attacked by a webweaver or falling into a muddy hole and being left for dead.

As part of his training with the One Sith and at the behest of his Master, [member="Matsu Xiangu"], Sage and his unknown opponent had both been thrust into a treacherous game. Perhaps in the past, Matsu herself had played this game or one like it, Sage wasn’t exactly sure. The parameters were simple: two Sith acolytes were plunked down on opposing ends of the vast Kashyyyk forest called Kkowir, home of the Dead Forest, the Myyydril Caverns, and mysterious Sayormi cultists. The players were allowed weapons of their choice, but were encouraged to use their dark-sided Force powers as much as possible. Once dirtside, the opponents were given the task of hunting the other down and subduing their adversary until one declared the other the victor. Killing was restricted, of course, although, understandably, it was known to happen among some of the more zealous acolytes.

Sage had eschewed his Sith robes for light, armored clothing and leather boots, all in a grey-green color to camouflage himself against the dead trees. A lightsaber adorned one hip and an electro-whip, the other. He was also toting a pack with food and water rations, a stun net, and a Nightbrother fighting knife, and assumed that his opponent had similar accouterments. Surviving the forest itself was as much a part of the game as the great hunt, and since the opponents were not allowed to leave the forest until they had found one another, it was possible to die from exposure or thirst if players weren't cautious.

Winded from his sprint, Sage chose to stop for a while. Sitting on a large Wroshyr stump, he took a swig from his canteen. Conserving energy was important, but he would have to pick up the pace soon enough as a moving target was much harder to ambush than a stationary one. As he quenched his thirst, Sage reached out with his Force senses, to see if he could locate a very specific energy signature. One that resonated with a predatory aura. There was no use in hiding his own thoughts from her, as the ultimate goal was to make contact with the prey, so he sent out his own emotional smoke signal.

I’m coming for you, darling.

You may be stronger or faster, but I am scrappier. I will hide in the shadows and emerge seconds sooner than you expect, and when I strike it will be brutal.

I will be like the mongoose who clamps down on your lithe serpentine neck and sinks his fangs into your meat.

It's inevitable isn't it? Let's make it easy for both of us. Why don't you save us both some time and come to me?

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=12pt]Light on her feet and quick as a wolf she was in her element here amidst the trees, mud caked onto every inch of exposed flesh with her heart beating violently against her chest and a rush of adrenaline releasing, curling and expanding through her veins.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]She had lost all track of time since being released into the wild, wading through a thick patch of mud that slow her progress and allows her to take the time to curse her mentor [/SIZE][member="Matsu Xiangu"][SIZE=12pt] for choosing this sodden, overgrown forest as their destination to achieve their objective. She could however forgive her best friends decision with the knowledge of there being live prey somewhere out here lurking, waiting for her to take care of it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And she would take care of it (she knew that she couldn't take its life, but the promise of violence makes her ravenous with an insatiable craving that she can't ignore) she wants to feel power rage beneath flesh and bone with the promise to destroy as she feeds off of the fear and anger of the weak.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Kesare was no fool however and she certainly wasn't naive enough to believe that Matsu would take it easy on her, if anything she guessed that the Atrisian woman had paired her up with someone who was on a similar playing field that would give her a run for her money and offer her the type violence she so desperately craved (let me rip you apart, I just want a taste) She made sure to pack for the occasion with her twin sabers and a shock whip hanging from her hip, inside the pack held her precious Mandalorian knife, stun cuffs, food, water and a couple other items for good measure.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The sky was growing darker by the second, the threat of a storm hanging in the air. She was thankful to be wearing a lightweight black, body suit that allowed her to cover ground quickly. Dodging and ducking through the forest she tugged her hood up, shrouding her sharp features in shadows that gave her a sinister, feral appearance. She had recently paused the hunt to refresh her senses but there was no time to waste and she wanted to find better coverage before the sky cracked open and all hell broke loose.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I'm coming for you, darling...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Her lips curve, not missing a beat as she sprints through an underbrush and narrowly avoids falling into a webweaver's trap that had been lurking, waiting to catch itself dinner. With a burst of the Force she slides onto the ground, rolling out of the way of its spindly legs and reaches for her light saber. With a hiss and a stroke the arachnid is cleaved into two meaty halves, not bothering to stop and catch her breath she is on her feet and running again in seconds.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]One, two I'm coming for you,
three, four you'd better shut the door,
five, six you'd better get your crucifix,
seven, eight don't stay up late.

I AM COMING.[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=12pt]Reaching out to his mind was easy, a mere party trick from the constant ebb and flow of hers and Matsu's friendship (always together even when they were apart their minds connected in a way that most couldn't even fathom) she could sense that she was heading in the right direction of where the man was currently holed up. With a little bit of digging and rifling around she found what she'd been looking for, delighted laughter bubbling past her lips.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]You play too much with your food, I prefer to eat mine.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]And you would taste so. very. good.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Slowing to a standstill she sets down her back and rifles through the contents and procures a man trap. Setting off again she continues to let the Force guide her direction, this time however she takes her time prowling the woods as she began to piece together a plan in hopes of luring him into her den before sinking her fangs in and watching the writhing mass of his twitching body beneath her claws.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]What kind of fun would it be to hunt down a wounded animal?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]You'd better get moving - don't waste my time, [/SIZE][member="Sage Bane"][SIZE=12pt].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Masking her signature so that he can't locate her directly and spy on what she was about to do she came to a standstill and sets to the task of setting up the man trap. When she is done she stands just behind it, making sure to cloak its presence from him. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Calling out softly to him, a whisper in his head urging him to play along.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Let the real game begin.[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]Marco...[/SIZE]

 

[Sage Bane]

Polo…

With the faint smell of the earth lingering in the air, thunder rattled the sky as it opened up and dumped a torrent of rain on the forest. Sage took cover underneath a huge Wroshyr tree with branches expansive enough to keep the ground as dry as a bone. His head ticked to the side as he heard a woman’s sinuous whisper. Between angry claps of thunder and the frightened lowing of a herd of Uller, a female voice weaved its way into his mind, exchanging taunts with him. The velvety softness of her lilt gave him a hitch in his breath. He recalled his last duel in the Tournament of the Acolytes. Sage had been paired with a woman who was mute and she denied him not only the verbal back and forth he craved while sparring, but also the mental barbs. This one, however, would play with him. He liked her already.

Guilty as charged, darling. I play with my food because it tastes better when its in pain. To kill it quickly would be too merciful, don’t you think?

Sage let out a laugh that was so sharp, a nearby family of forest rodents panicked and shot out of the underbrush. He rose to his feet and began to move at a slower pace towards the female’s voice. The rain soaked through his clothing, but he paid it no mind. It felt almost cleansing, as if it were washing away any apprehension or nagging self-doubts about how his skill compared to his adversary. Caressing the activation switch on his lightsaber, he released a few more whispers into the howling wind.

Your voice is exquisite. Like the beautiful Mysess blossom that grows in these forests. I can’t wait to crush your windpipe like its stem and rip apart your petals. I’m coming for you alright.

A shallow stream lay ahead and going around it would waste too much time, so Sage waded in. The water was cold, murky and leech-ridden. One of the foul creatures had slipped up between his boot and pantleg and latched onto his shin with its tiny round mouth. Henaa kark! He peeled it off and flung it sideways. He continued through the stream, a drowned feeling in his lungs from the rain.

His wheezing was so loud, that he barely heard the hiss from below. A venomous shadevale was an inch from his boot and ready to strike. Sage grasped his lightsaber and activated it with a snap-hiss. With a swipe of his blade, he severed the serpentine creature in half. In a few moments he vaulted to the shore. He was getting closer, or so he thought.

Be careful what you wish for, my beautiful one.

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=11.5pt]She can practically taste the confidence dripping from the words he strings together and weaves inside her head - a taunt meant to crawl under her skin and worm its way into her subconscious in a vain attempt of provoking her. (Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to poke a wasps nest?)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Instead the only thing he achieves is getting a good laugh out of her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]He is something of a cheeky bastard and she wonders briefly how many times someone has made the mistake of underestimating him. While she could admit that he put on a good show and imagined that there were others foolish enough to play his hand and fall into his trap, she knew better than to take the bait. If there had been one thing that she had kept with her from her life as a slave it was how to survive, and one of her first cardinal rules was to never disregard your opponent as anything other than a threat that required eliminating.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]And she was more than happy to oblige him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Today is your lucky day pet, because my voice is going to be the last thing you hear when I sink my blade into your soft underbelly to slit you open and peel back your flesh before I rip your still beating heart out of your chest.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]His signature was steadily growing stronger as he pressed forward, sensing that her prey took the bait that she had dangled above his head as he began to close in on her just as like she’d intended. There was nothing quite like rush of satisfaction that she felt when orchestrating a series of events and watching them start to unfold always made her feel a great deal of pride in her ability to manipulate others into doing what she wanted, and this had been no exception.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]The footing had become slick from the rain, the mud making wet sucking noises with every step that she takes towards a Wroshyr tree that looms in direct eyesight of her man trap. With practiced ease she vaults herself up onto one of its lowest branches and positions herself into a crouch that would allow her the element of surprise should her first plan fail and he detected the trap. Taking a moment to scan her surroundings from this new angle, she begins taking mental notes of anything that might give her the upper hand.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Feeling satisfied with her odds she closes her eyes and focuses her mind before reaching out to him once again with the Force. This time instead of words swimming in his head she projects a series of images to flash one right after the other (a steep cliff that drops off abruptly where hundreds of feet below sit jagged, pointed rocks waiting for anyone senseless enough to walk too close to the ledge, a massive moss stained swamp shrouded in almost complete darkness due to the ring of Wroshyr trees surrounding it, a murky stream with water too dark to catch a glimpse of the bottom and just beyond is a gathering of more Wroshyr trees)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]And here we have door number one, two and three - which begs the question: can make the correct choice and earn your prize?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]Her concentration breaks off with a high pitched, incessant chattering next to her ear and a hot burst of pain that shoots down her right arm resulting from talons digging into her shoulder. "Feth." Cursing angrily she wraps a hand around the asyyyriak's thick, feathery neck she rips the animal from her shoulder, its talons pulling at the fabric of her bodysuit and creating a significant sized tear. Immediately it begins to thrash in her hand, its talons making contact again and again with its heightened cries muffled slightly by the rustling of leaves and spatter of rain. Balancing precariously on the branch she reaches up with her other hand and snaps the animals neck, breathing a sigh of relief when the howls immediately cease, watching in perverted fascination as its head swings at an awkward angle from its body before tossing the lifeless body down onto the ground below her.[/SIZE]

[member="Sage Bane"]​

 

[Sage Bane]

Rewarded with another sweet murmur from his opponent, Sage let his eyelids close, and simply listened. Her throaty growl whispered of ripping out his still-beating heart. Too late, sweetheart, I think you already did. The young man reached out with the Force again, searching through the air for the owner of the sultry voice. Instead of pulling back her location, a panorama of images flooded his head.

A steep cliff that drops off abruptly where hundreds of feet below sit jagged, pointed rocks waiting for anyone senseless enough to walk too close to the ledge, a massive moss stained swamp shrouded in almost complete darkness due to the ring of Wroshyr trees surrounding it, a murky stream with water too dark to catch a glimpse of the bottom and just beyond is a gathering of more Wroshyr trees.

His eyes shot open in a moment of panic and disorientation. She had to be a former student of his lovely puppet master’s. The mindforms she pushed into his brain were incredibly vivid, and obviously created with the same amount of hyperrealism that bore the Matsu Xiangu mark. He could almost feel the breeze on his face as he balanced on the edge of the cliff and looked down upon the jetty of rocks, and almost smell the swamp’s pungent algae. Impressive. The power she wielded heightened his intrigue twofold.

Her next phrase made Sage laugh despite himself. She seemed like a kindred spirit. Fiesty, cunning and unapologetically sadistic. Best of all, she wanted to be found. He wiped his rain-soaked hair out of his eyes and continued through the downpour, pondering her three doors. He thought about asking for a clue, but she would likely take it as a weakness, so he decided to puzzle out her riddle on his own.

The jagged cliff suggested standing at the precipice of something, or making a life-altering decision. Perhaps the fear that accompanied a great leap. Fear was not an emotion that he nor his opponent wasted energy on, so he ruled out the cliff. Next up was the swamp. The swamp could signify being mired in one’s own thoughts or being bogged down by one’s own mind. Emotional damage or drainage. Being pulled under by madness. Now you're getting warmer. The last illusion, was the dark stream, too dark to see the bottom. Dark water spoke of endlessness. But endlessness of what? Of suffering and pain? Of a life that becomes unbearable? How sweet it would be to slip into the darkness and end the pain of existence. To finally forget the memories that couldn't be buried once and for all. The dark water beckoned to him in his very own dreams. With that last thought, he sealed his fate. He would seek out the bottomless dark stream near a gathering of Wroshyr trees.

And a few paces later, there it was in front of him.

Is it still a trap if you let yourself be caught?

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=12.5pt]He was smart [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]–[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt] perceptive of his surroundings, taking his the time to examine the clues she'd mapped out for him, pieces to an elaborate puzzle waiting to be solved. She could feel the inner workings of his mind searching [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]– [/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt]digging to decipher the hints that she'd concealed in the visions, painting them to blend and fuse, forcing him to sink his teeth in and really [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]think[/SIZE].

[SIZE=12.5pt]She was not left feeling disappointed [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]–[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt]he was evidently a quick study, assuming her position correctly she drew on his signature and continued to seek him out, luring him out into the open. Taking the bait she waits with practiced patience, studying him from below before she made her next move.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]Her opponent at first glance didn't appear like much of a threat, (but looks were always deceiving, she knew better than to dismiss him as anything but) drenched and covered in mud, he didn't look to be much bigger or older than her [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]– [/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt]something that could play in her favor or could bring her to ruin if she didn't proceed with caution. She knew from past experiences as a slave that the smaller the opponent was the dirtier they fought, making up for their size with ingenuity. She'd fought others half her size who proved to be a far more dangerous adversary than someone twice her size, ([/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]lumbering and bulky, slow on their feet, she was too quick for them to play catch up[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt]) she would not make the mistake of giving him her back.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]Warmer...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]A gentle caress, planting the seed in his head (enticing him, luring him closer...closer [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]– [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]CLOSER into her trap, she wanted to devour him, slit him belly up and pick apart the choice bits [/SIZE]–[SIZE=12.5pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]savor every inch of him. she imagined he tasted delicious as his head slowly inflates the longer she concentrates, slowly his skin stretches until his features are no longer discernible, the sound of skin tearing apart in one sudden explosion as chunks of brain matter and bone painting the walls of the forest in a burst of crimson[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt])[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]Prove to me I'm not wasting my time with you.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]Light on her feet she moves down the tree's branch, rushing and jumping from one branch to the next, circling her prey from above she made sure to disguise her signature from being located. Reaching, digging deep the screams start as a whisper, growing louder until they surround him, bouncing off one tree to the next in a random pattern that made it impossible for him to distinguish where she was hiding as an attempt to disorient him and entice him to come closer to the man trap that she'd laid out just for him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12.5pt]When he was close enough she dropped from the tree branch above, her legs wrapping around his neck and dragging them both to the ground where she made a swipe at him with the dagger, rolling away from him she followed the move with a solid shove of the Force to push him in the direction of where her unsuspecting trap waited for its spoils [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]–[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt] a savage smirk curling onto her sharp, wolf–[/SIZE][SIZE=12.5pt]like features.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12.5pt]"It would appear you have finally found me [/SIZE][member="Sage Bane"][SIZE=12.5pt], and now the time has come for me to collect my prize."[/SIZE]

 

[Sage Bane]

Warmer…

The silky allure of his rival’s voice dripped through his head again, igniting a slow burn that even the raindrops could not cool. Her voice momentarily made him forget just who was the prey and who was the predator.

Prove to me I'm not wasting my time with you.

Sage had a weakness for difficult women and this one was hot-blooded alright. Foolishly he closed his eyes so that he could block out everything else, but her voice in his head. He quieted his thoughts until there was nothing but emptiness and silence.

He heard a howling in his head right before she attacked.

Suddenly, Sage found himself plummeting to the ground with long, muscular limbs wrapped around his neck and a sharp dagger thrusting towards him. His opponent, the owner of that sultry voice, rolled away from him, releasing him from her scissor hold. Then came a burst of the Force, a telekinetic pulse that Sage he had not yet learned to deflect or thwart at this level in his training. Matsu had performed something similar the day they met on Coruscant when it was necessary for her to fling him off her as his hands crushed her windpipe. Sage flew backwards, rolling through the muddy earth, and was suddenly immobile, almost as if the atmosphere itself had hardened around him. Whatever strange vortex he was contained within allowed him to breathe, but his limbs felt like they were moving against thick sap.

His eyes followed every inch of her, from her long dark hair to cupid bow of her lips to the curve of her muscular thighs that had held him in her grip just moments before. She was a stunning creature. A stunning creature who had trapped him! Sage, you idiot. How could you be so careless?

Pain twitched in his midsection, making him wince. Sage he lifted his muddy shirt to find a gash where her blade had cut him. The rain, which now had subsided to a drizzle, gently washed crimson stains down his pale stomach.

“Your prize?” Sage said with a sharp laugh, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of wet hair plastered to his dirt-caked face. Then he gave her a smile that was generally infectious to most women and even some men, his charming grin that he ratcheted up a few notches when he wanted to appeal to someone's more prurient interests. If he was afraid, he damn well wasn't going to let it show.

“And what are you going to do with your prize, beautiful one?”

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=12pt]It had almost been too easy trapping him –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]she stalked the ground, prowling his cell in slow circles, pulling her hood back she studied her captured prey as if he were on display in a gallery. Examining him this close she could make out the thinly veiled pain in his sharp features, the wound she'd landed was mostly minor [/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]–[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]to her it would barely have passed as a scratch (a mere thick red streak that sliced through muscle, deep crimson soaking through his shirts light material) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The heavy scent of blood filling the air intoxicated her, a craving for the flavor of warm metal to fill her mouth made her ravenous and perpetuated her appetite for violence. His skin was an exquisite shade of ivory that beckoned for her, (she always took something from her victims – because she had been given the instructions not to kill him she was forced to leave his heart still beating inside his chest[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]) longing to carve her blade beneath supple flesh and shave off a thick slab to savor between her teeth.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"Oh yes, my prize."[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]A hiss, a stretch of the 's' as her eyes roil serpentine and amber, her features hollowing into something sharp and predatory as she steps back once, twice[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]–a third time. [/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]"My delicious prize,"[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] Her hunger was distinct, mouth watering –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]a wolf lurking beneath a suit of flesh.[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]"that I'm going to string you up like the meat sack you are, my pet."[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]A purr of words, soft as a lovers caress hinting the horrors she had in store for him (just because she couldn't kill him didn't mean she couldn't play with her food before releasing him back into the wild)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The daggers she held were like an extension to her arm, each one thrown with perfect accuracy and hovering in front of her target, prepared to slice through flesh once she shut down the man trap. Her first blade sank into his left thigh, the second into his right –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]a third dagger buried itself deep into his right bicep followed by a forth dagger into his left and a final dagger that was purposely thrown to graze past his ear before sinking into the trunk of the tree behind him with a solid 'thwunk'. Using the distraction to her advantage she thrust out her foot, her boot making solid contact against the wound she'd carved into his midsection and shoving him into the tree before stalking towards him, her tongue tracing slowly over her lips. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"My, my –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]don't you smell good enough to eat."[/SIZE]

[member="Sage Bane"]​

 

[Sage Bane]

"That I'm going to string you up like the meat sack, my pet."

Her words traced intricate patterns up and down his spine, and smiling like a satisfied cat, Sage slipped a retort into her head.

I bet you say that to all the boys.

With reptilian slits in her pupils, his rival circled Sage in a pattern that seemed very familiar to him, and he suddenly realized why. He gazed upon his victims with the very same look, and paced around them in exactly the same manner. It was a shame that she was his opponent because he could picture the two of them as allies, hunting prey together. In fact, there were lots of other things, Sage could picture them doing together. As his thoughts meandered down a lascivious path, his focus slipped like the black mud that was dripping down his pristine white chest.

The game, Sage. Don’t forget about the game. Do you want to hand her a victory on a silver platter?

His focus snapped back a second too late. One dagger, two, then three, then four whipped through the air, piercing his pale flesh. Two in his legs, and one in his arm, and the last thunking into the tree behind him. Sage grunted and let out a string of Huttese curses. Then, before he had a chance to counter, his opponent kicked him backwards. Silver linings, at least he could move again.

He called the Force into his body, letting it swell up like an overflowing dam, and used the dark energy to push all three daggers out of his damaged limbs. They clattered to the jungle floor, where they were hastily kicked away.

“You’re a mean little veatiuena aren’t you?” he hissed, panting breathlessly from the pain. She prowled towards him, licking her exquisite lips, a sight that struck him right below the belt. Despite her distracting sensuality, he continued to draw the Force into himself only to send it bursting out of his chest, a violent pulse of pure energy that would hit like a hurricane. If his rival did not deflect or dodge, his power would send her flying backwards into the mossy sludge of the jungle floor.

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=12pt]Men were a predictable species, (lust. anger. greed. envy –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]all unnecessary distractions) feeling the slip of his thoughts channeling to a deeper, increasingly carnal place that felt like home to her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]This would be [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]fun.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]A slip of her body as she moves towards him, studying the way he watches her – [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]undressing her with his eyes, (another piece of her puzzle falling into place) pausing when she felt the disturbance in the air as it grew heavy around them, a soupy thickness pulling inwards before releasing an impressive blast of power that would have virtually knocked anyone else off of their feet. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]But she was prepared, absorbing most of the explosion with a concentrated effort of creating a telekinetic shield, though the blast had been strong enough to push her back several feet before she caught her bearings and sent a shove of her own back in his direction. Not seeking to land a hit, but distract, she took the brief window of time she had to flip her body gracefully, fingers curling and digging around the rough edges of the branches bark, muscles straining as she slipped back into the thick foliage where she masked her signature and scent from him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]It wasn't often that she had the pleasure of savoring her kills, watching him from below she circled her wounded prey with a feral twist to her lips, (a leopard commanding her kingdom high above the treetops, she could pick out the smell of fresh copper mixing with wet earth that lingered in the air – the scent mouth watering, guaranteed to taste exquisite if she chose to carve his flesh off the bone and cook him into a meal instead of granting him life) it was almost painful not to jump down and strike now, wrap her jaws around his neck and savor the savory taste of metal pooling inside her mouth. Resisting the temptation she scaled the branches with practiced, inhuman ease. [/SIZE]The wounded were often the easiest targets to extinguish, she took her time probing around before she found the opening she'd been searching for and slipped inside, planting the seed for him.

[SIZE=12pt]Pain and Pleasure. Pleasure and pain. It has a beautiful ring to it, does it not?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Her words were like lovers caress, wrapping around him and suggesting she would rather be anywhere else but here before the image unfurls, catered to his liking – [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]sitting astride him, fingers knotting in his hair and doing something entirely different [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]from hunting him like the dog that she considered him to be. Blood coats him, coats her as they met in the middle each time, a tangle of limbs as she moved her hips on top of him until he was so close that he made it almost too easy[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]He is trapped beneath her, forced to watch as her body starts to contort, bones shifting impatiently beneath flesh, her waist snapping into an upright position – arms contorting into varying degrees of odd angles behind her and the distinct sound of bones snapping when she peeled away flesh to release the beast that was scratching just beneath the surface. A deep, guttural noise echoes in the eerily quiet, cavernous room, walls bleeding black and dead skin shedding away to unveil the monster that she'd concealed beneath [/SIZE]– [SIZE=12pt]her features no longer appear human, frightening and deadly, her eyes burning a vibrant shade of molten gold as maggots festered and spewed from her mouth into a squirming mass on top of his bare, crimson painted chest. Thick corded serpents grew from her scalp, shrouding her bony, reptilian body in a black cloak of angry, hissing Cobra's.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The Gorgon[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=12pt]They attacked before he ever stood the chance to retaliate, hinged jaws snapping open and sinking their fangs into any piece of flesh that they could find and release the poison to burn into his blood, a stream of toxic waste that begins to burn him from the inside, out (agonizingly slow, she relished the sound of his pain as a curl of pleasure ran down her spine when he screams in anguish, agony laced in every note [/SIZE]– [SIZE=12pt]let it end, the pain is too much, too much, TOO MUCH [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]–[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]end it now,[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] KILL. ME.) [/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]a gag follows, his mouth stretching into an 'O' when one of the snakes forced its way past his lips and slid down the narrow tunnel of his throat. She watched in naked fascination as his fingers clawed at his neck in quick, desperate swipes until his vision starts to swim, black dancing behind his eyesight before his body goes still beneath her and his eyelids droop so that they are halfway open, giving him the eerie appearance of being awake even in death.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"Careful who you wish to play with when you don't have a clue about who you are dealing with, meat bag."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]A hiss of a promise was expressed through a clenched jaw just as she ripped the vision away [/SIZE]–[SIZE=12pt] a promise for death when the life was about to be extinguished out of him permanently, (he should learn not to keep his mind so open, it was the first thing she had asked Matsu to teach her when she become free –[/SIZE] [SIZE=12pt]her mind was a prison, locked tightly away from any unwanted intruders) reaching for the shock whip hanging on her hip, she used his distraction from the images that she'd shaped inside of his head as she flicked her wrist outwards in an effort to wrap the coil around him and subdue him, all while taking her final knife in between her fingers and sending it hurtling straight towards the center of his back.[/SIZE]

[member="Sage Bane"]​

 

[Sage Bane]

With the grace of a jungle animal, Sage’s opponent sailed a few feet backwards, and used the velocity of his telekinetic push to flip herself cagily into the underbrush, disappearing from view. Sithspit, she was fast! The leaves rustled as she moved like through the foliage like a breeze. His head turned as he followed the sound of snapping branches as she scuttled across the clearing. Then he lost her. Careful not to tumble into her energy trap, he took a few backwards steps in the mud, and with a flick of his hand, his lightsaber flew into his grip. Sage activated the red blade and swept his dominant foot back, putting his blade in a parry position, indicative of the Jedi Ready stance he had learned on Ession. The Dead Forest was a silent as the eye of a storm. Then, that purr of a voice invaded his consciousness unbidden.

She crawled into his mind, winding herself through the maze of his brain. Sage’s mind was filled with visions that would make any red-blooded man come undone. A jagged cut and paste of images and senses overtook his head. The turn of her muscles as she straddled him, her lithe body painted with red. Blood washing over them both. The feel of her thighs gripping him as both of them gave their most carnal wishes. It was the sweetest sensory overload. Sage felt an involuntary sigh escape his lips as his eyes fluttered closed, leaving him defenseless. He dropped his lightsaber in the mud, the red blade fading and dissipating. Sage was coming unraveled.

The sweetness turned sickly. The visions turned sublime. In his mind’s eyes, the woman on top of him metamorphosed. Snakes sprouted from her scalp, replacing her gorgeous ebony locks. Maggots tumbled out of a mouth open much too wide. Bones moved, making convex shapes in her flesh, poking out in places where there should only be muscle. Sage wanted to scream, but his lips were was frozen shut. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a trick, but all of his senses were ebbing and flowing to such different extremes, reality seemed like a joke.

Pain and pleasure, pleasure and pain.

The reptilian creature she had become drew an inhuman scream from his lips, and with his mouth opened and exposed, she slipped her serpentine appendages inside. The leathery black creatures plunged down deep inside of his throat, their muscular bodies, thickening, tongues flickering against the sides of his esophagus, cutting off his air. He tried to bite down, to cut off whatever nub it called a head, but his jaw was frozen open, still screaming. Inexplicably, dark pleasures still coursed through him. He heard a plopping sound and glanced down to see maggots slipping around in the blood, trying to wriggle right into his pallid flesh. He had begun to suspect that she had killed him, and he had fallen into another plane of existence, some oily netherworld where he was doomed to be eternally subdued by creatures such as this.

He heard a faraway voice calling to him. An echo from the depths of hell.

"Careful who you wish to play with when you don't have a clue about who you are dealing with, meat bag."

His vision became flooded with the sights of trees, and an inky-black starry sky. He was back in the Dead Forest. He found himself lying on the muddy earth without any memory of how he got there. Move Sage now! His reflexes kicked in, along with his training in Force speed. Using the power to speed up his own molecules, and therefore slowing down all other actions around him. He performed a kip-up just as her whip snapped out, and sprang to his feet. It whizzed past his ankle, missing him by a mere centimeter. He saw her arm strike out in an arc, meeting with air instead of flesh. She had been going for the spot right between his shoulder blades. How fitting. The words flew from his mouth before he was even aware that he had spoken them.

“Darling, I love to play rough.”

As she followed through with her strike, Sage used the moment to pounce on her. First, he struck out with his own forehead, attempting to hit her square in the face with a powerful headbutt. He hoped it would concuss her enough to break her concentration and so that he could pin her underneath him. Then he could take control.

[member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

[SIZE=12pt]He was a worthy opponent, she could see it in his form and sense it in the brutality of his attacks that he had taken well to Matsu's trainings (a wolf circling her prey with teeth bared, nostrils flaring as she caught the distinct stench of blood combined with iron and wet earth, and arouses her in a way that was considered to be wholly unnatural)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Cunning and quick as a fox, she only anticipated the blow because of the all the intensive training Lucas had shared with her about reading body language (the assassin helped to aid her in recognizing the Force as a crutch that she couldn't always depend on because reliance lead to weakness, and inevitably contributed the fall of many great Sith Masters because they were too vain to see themselves as mortals) His style was something similar to hers, he was quick on his feet, [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]his [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]height and size to his advantage[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] that gave his opponents only a brief window of opportunity to defend themselves from his furious and violent attacks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Unfortunately for him, she wants him to land the blow.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The sliver of time that she'd been given had been more than enough for her to evade the blow. Instead she felt a singular burst of pain before it starts to radiate outwards from her temple and spreads like wildfire down to her cheek and towards her tightly clenched jaw. The muscle he put into the impact did not go unnoticed as her vision starts to swim swam and her teeth begin grinding back and forth, back and forth incessantly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"That wasn't very nice."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Hissing the words with a twisted, delirious smile curling at the very corners of her lips she felt a familiar warm, thick liquid dripping into her already distorted vision. For a moment it was as if the world was frozen in place as the Force rushed through her body and gave her an otherworldly awareness of her surroundings with the scene burned into her brain in exquisite detail.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The frozen tableau lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was all that she needed to regain the upper hand, just as she had intended. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Everything became a blur of motion again as she unsheathed one of the many knives she learned long ago to keep hidden on her at all times, (learning long ago that the world was far darker than she could have ever imagined, she made sure to take any additional measures that would land her one step ahead of her opponent) reaching out to grab him before he could put distance between them and wraps her fingers tight around the back of his neck as she thrust the blade into his side, feeling the resistance beneath her hand before the 'pop' came as it slid through his flesh like butter and fits perfectly between his fourth and fifth rib.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Twisting her wrist violently, she forces the blade to follow as it ripped through muscle and tendon. Quickly she releases her hold on his neck and dislodges the knife before sending him back flying with a vicious shove of the Force that she felt brewing before imagining electricity (a loud crack and sizzle that follows with a bright flash of light) just as she released the lightning from her fingertips and sends sparks shooting out towards his discarded body on the ground.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Show me how you like to play.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]SHOW ME.[/SIZE]​

[member="Sage Bane"]​