The Trickster [Anaya]

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Anaya Fen"]

Zonama Sekot. This planet had become Qae's home and, now that all things were said and done, it was a part of the dominion of the Lords of the Fringe. When word reached his ears that Apoleia was part of the Fringe, too, he knew exactly who that was - it didn't take him being a genius to add two and two. Anaya Fen disappears off the Galactic radar, Apoleia and Apoleia Inc appear... well, Qae knew what that meant, considering that they were now business partners. All things being said and done, Qae liked spending time with Anaya. Obvious reasoning aside, they had a quirky little dynamic going for them. They'd run into each other more than once, and every visit was more than memorable. Sometimes it took just doing things and going out there to keep life interesting.

He'd sent her a message and told her to meet him on Zonama Sekot. She was one of the few people in the Galaxy who'd know how to get there, being one of the more powerful Fringers; beyond the Fringe (and perhaps even in it) there were few who'd know how to reach Sekot, much less land there and be accepted. He was going not only because of the fact that he wanted to see Anaya some, but also because he had something to pick up: a final gift, from Sekot, something that he'd invested a ship and some resources in. Needless to say, Qae was going to be very pleased by the end of this day if everything went the way he expected it to.

The Aether Dreamer materialised over the planet, and Qae on the surface minutes later, where he'd wait for her. She'd find him, of course. She was a professional at hunting people. A lot of him wondered how much the Unknown Regions had changed her, just as it had changed him. Hell, would she recognise the new Qae? His face might have been the same but the similarities stopped there. Well, he'd fine out soon enough. Nervously, the Nautolan tapped his foot against the soft grasses of the wondrous planet's earth, wondering when she'd show up. Hyper-travel was a little like that.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Zonama Sekot.

Anaya smiled as the ship began its descent into the planets atmosphere. This was one of the few places she could add on her favourites list. It was a short list really, consisted of Zeltros and...well...Sekot. Everywhere else was either a dump, or too hot or too cold or full of idiots. That said, one could say such a thing about Zeltros but she spent ninety per cent of her time high on Zeltros. Did that mean the planet no longer counted as a favourite place? She shrugged, pushing her spiralling train of though back on the right track.

Qae.

The stranger who made her think twice. The one who drew on sentiment she didn't know she had and asked for a favour. A favour that got her exiled.

Yet here she was again, responding to the call of the favour. One would have thought that, by now, she would have learnt that good things don't come from sentimental gestures. All that comes from sentiment is heartache and ruin of ones credibility, but apparently this was a lesson Anaya was ignoring. There was something about the blue skinned nautolan that Anaya had difficulty resisting.

"Would you like me to land?"

Anaya opened her eyes and looked at the viewport. "No thank you. Just drop me off. I will find my way back easily enough."

The small shuttle moved over Qae's location hovering a few feet from the ground, allowing Anaya to drop from the open boarding ramp before it rose once more and disappeared beyond the line of trees. She approached Qae with confidence, thumbs hooking through belt loops to prevent his escape from her invasion of personal space as she pressed close to him, cheek to cheek.

"Hello again, Qae." she purred, her tongue flicking briefly up one of his head tentacles.

 

[Qae Shena]

It all happened so fast that Qae couldn't do much about it, but there she was - Anaya, the red-skinned Twi'lek beauty who had, thus far, sated quite a wide variety of his needs. In fact, she'd sated quite a few needs that he wasn't even sure he had, which was an interesting turn of events. She'd already caught him in her web, her gait speaking of the woman who oozed presence and charisma. She was, truly, a people person, with only the goal of sitting atop all those people in some display of personal power. Sith, to the core, but that would never change. The best bit was that she knew how to play games. Political, personal, it didn't matter - every single game Anaya wanted to learn, not only did she master it, she tended to rewrite the rules to her whims.

So, when her tongue snaked its way up the delicate skin of one of his head-tresses, he moaned. Enough to send a shiver down his spine and arch his head back ever so slightly. She knew that spot. Of course she did; Anaya knew every weak spot on his body and some she'd put there herself, after their... exploration. The ones he didn't know he had before, well, Qae knew them now. So did she.

"Damnit, Anaya," he murmured, fist clenching for a moment, then uncurling, deep black eyes searching for hers. It was pretty normal, for her - she'd greet him by making a mockery of his personal space bubble and keeping things interesting enough that she'd make him melt, somehow, just to feth with his head. The shame of it all was that it worked, every time. The way they were now, he couldn't escape her, pressed close together and in her grasp. Not that he necessarily wanted to go anywhere.

Instead, he planted a far more chaste kiss upon her cheek and offered her a warm smile. It certainly wasn't much consolation, but it was something. "Hey. Welcome to Sekot. How've you been?" An interesting question that he didn't know that he didn't want to hear the answer to, but still. He had to ask, right?

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"Hmmm." Anaya began, face crinkling into an expression of mocking thought "How have I been...?" she repeated the question, deliberately slow, grip tightening on his belt loops as she alternated between soft kisses and sharp nips along his neck. "Well, after my last meeting with you," she said lifting her head, red eyes met obsidian "I was exiled, seems that the Emperor caught wind of our little deal and didn't take kindly to it."

Eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, an unspoken warning that simply said 'make this worth my while'. "Lucky for me I land on my feet, found a...fascinating Admiral to play soldier under until I get bored. Though between her and my apprentice I've had my hands a little full." She shrugged, hands rising from his belt loops to slide around his neck, slender red fingers toying with his sensitive head tentacles, eyes glittering with each shuddering response she drew from him. She pressed her forehead against his.

"What about you, hmmm? You seem...changed." she brushed her lips past his, teasing him.

 

[Qae Shena]

Every burning touch upon his flushed skin was like a small piece of heaven with every drag of her lips, teeth pricking his skin and drawing a low, guttural groan from his lips. As if on cue, his head tilted for her, to give her full access, eyes fluttering shut as if her touch was the only command they obeyed.

Two hands slowly trailed from her ribs to her hips, slowly, taking in the voluptuous curves of the woman who held him in her embrace. It was not a sexual touch, so much as sensual - with a touch of the apologetic. "I'm sorry, Anaya, I didn't mean for that to happen... but at least Apoleia lands on her feet every time," he added, a playful hint slipped quietly in there to reference his knowledge of her predicament. His lips followed the curve of her neck as gentle as the caress of raindrops, while his body surrendered to hers, letting her have her usual free rein of everything that he was. Her fingers in his tresses brought eclipsing waves of pleasure, back arching his body in towards hers enough that they pressed together, chest to chest, not an inch of gap between them. Air came in gasps. His mind went a little fuzzy. He didn't want to think any more, only to give in the the vivacious, voluptuous vixen that was Anaya Fen.

But she asked a question, an inevitable one, that brought him a moment's pause. "Changed is putting it politely," Qae admitted quietly as their foreheads pressed together, casting his gaze to the floor. She'd see his arms, the long, drawn-out scars upon them as if blades had sliced his arms open, the skin not having knitted back together properly on top of it. He wore those scars proudly. There were yet more, should her hands continue their slow travails of his chest - his chest had become a warzone, scratched and broken and not once dipped in a bacta tank while they healed arduously. Certainly Qae had seen better days since his time on Zonama Sekot.

She'd feel the slight change in his mindset after the last words died on the winds. Certainly, he bore his scars proudly - but there was a touch of regret, too, once the reprecussions crossed his mind. Once, he had near-flawless, pristine skin, unsullied by war, her hands able to glide seamlessly over his body to touch and explore. Would she like this Qae, rough-hewn, scarred from fights, changed? Rough and tumble and broken, carrying mental and emotional scarring?

Would she accept him as he was - just like her?

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

So that was how he had found her. She pursed her lips in annoyance, hopeful the rest of the galaxy was either uninterested in Anaya Fen's whereabouts or they were not as sharp as Qae and incapable of putting two and two together. She liked to think that the mjority fit into the last categoy.

She moved her hands away fro his tresses, giving him some time to think straight while her hands moved slowly over his chest, taking in every new dent and line on his once smooth chest. There was something invigorating in the drastic changes on his body but she kept it all from her face, a small frown forming as she lifted her gaze to meet his, reaching out with the force gently pushing, investigating, tryi g to determine what was wrong.

"Someone broke you." She stated, keeping close to him, a subtle signal that she felt no different about him. "Who?" The question reverberated with a dangerous tone.

 

[Qae Shena]

The warm feel of her hands upon his body was enough to keep him pressed to her with his back arched slightly, enjoying the fact that despite what he'd said, she still embraced him the way she had before. Now Anaya explored her lover to find the depths of his twisted corruption, to see what had made him the man that stood before her. He gave her a moment to explore his mind, and what she would find in his lowered defences was the fact that Qae was different. He didn't think the same, he didn't feel the same. On one hand, it was rough - certainly more powerful in the Force than their last encounter - but there was a strange feeling of... serenity. Calm. Content with self.

"This planet-- Sekot itself. And the Yuuzhan Vong that live here did this. Anaya, I'm-- I'm practically one of them, now."

As if on cue, he turned around and lifted his sleeveless shirt, to show her the the tattoo that had been marked across his shoulder blades. The tattoo itself was a long, black thing, like a winged beast that was hunting its prey - the mark of Domain Bal, the Vong clan that had taken him in. That, however, was not what she'd notice. The scars, as she could see now, were impossibly horrific. Where his skin was a light blue, these scars were dark blue. Almost black. Like corrupted blood, like something gone horrifically wrong. The skin had knitted badly, almost knotting up in some small places, leaving his torso completely and utterly disfigured. For all the knowledge and strength he had gained, he had become a monster. Like a Vong. They didn't have bacta tanks, they let things heal - and venomous wounds inflicted with weapons like amphistaffs had a way of healing badly.

"They trained me to fight, to show and feel no fear as the Yuuzhan Vong do. To accept all wounds and ask for more. Feth, Anaya, they strapped me down to a torture device called the Embrace of Pain and implanted power glands into my arms," he told her, not sure if he was bitter or pleased with the prospect. His voice certainly betrayed a note of bitterness. "They did a lot of things to me here. They Shaped me, as they call it. Like a plaything, a puppet, to be remade in their own image."

He shrugged. "It worked."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya's fingers traced across the tattoo on his back, before soft hands ran over the harsh scars that the Yuuzhan Vong had left upon his body. She found herself upset, not because Qae's once smooth body was disfigured, but because someone had hurt him. The feeling caught her off guard and she drew her hands back with a sharp intake of breath and took half a step back, eyes downcast as she tried to understand where it had come from. She met his black eyes once more, and took the step forward again, hands gently pulling his top back down. She kissed him, not with the lust and ferocity that normally came from Anaya but with a tenderness, that spoke for her when she could not.

Passion and lust always won in the end, simply because they were better known and understood by Anaya. Fingers found their way into his head tresses again, briefly flicking through them, before she drew back, settling her hands on his shoulder and smirking at him. "I'm sorry you suffered, Qae." The condolence was genuine, even if the words to follow were a little harsh. "One cannot find greatness without suffering."

She tilted her head to one side. "Why did you call me here?"

 

[Qae Shena]

Qae knew one truth about the Galaxy: Anaya Fen did not kiss tenderly. No, that never happened. To the point that it caught him off-guard as her own emotions did, that the Nautolan couldn't quite tell where it had come from. When her lips pressed to his, he could've sworn his heart skipped a beat and his body froze. Not out of dislike, but of shock, becuase he felt that. Passion and lust were Anaya's weapons, but when she changed it up and changed it up honestly... how was he meant to respond? With the fact that, for just that brief moment in time, it had excited him to feel her emotions for the first time? Be still, my heart, and speak not the murmurs fluttering within.

Her eyes met his for a moment, features softening as he looked into her eyes, momentarily refusing to use all that nutrual empathy to ask her soul himself why. The moment couldn't last, though, as they both reverted back to their normal selves.

Anaya drew a sharp hiss of breath from him, as usual, while her hands roamed his tresses momentarily. Her smirk was returned with a playful smile, one she'd know all too well. For all the physical changes he'd gone through, some things never did change. His somewhat capricious nature was one of those things. "Let's take that as a you think I'm great and we'll go with the compliment," Qae responded, truly glad for her sentiment.

"I'm here to pick up a gift from Sekot, actually, and I thought I'd share it with you. How much do you know about yaret-kor - the Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper?"

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Grateful that Qae did not pursue whatever passed between them, the two of them slipped back to what was understood by both. Business, mixed with pleasure, no emotion just a simple exchange. Anaya could not, however, deny that Qae had made an impact on her from day one. Anyone that could get Anaya to question herself was worth her time and energy. The few people that she had come across to make her do such a thing she could count on one hand, for they were few and far between.

"The living ships." she smiled in response to his question "Grown not made, controlled by a cognition hood. I know a little, Vong technology has always fascinated me. Though I've never seen one up close." Her lekku quivered with excitement and she tilted her head, giving Qae a questioning look. What exactly was he going to share with her, and more importantly what did he want in return?

 

[Qae Shena]

"Well, you're about to," Qae said with a nod. The moment had passed, unfortunately. That moment had been gloriously electric, while it lasted. But this was Anaya Fen and Qae Shena; there was no amount of tenderness that could undo what they had wrought, together. After all... if Qae had not been thinking about her, this entire moment would not have happened. Their link was fueled by blind passion and deep amounts of lust, which worked for them. It wasn't that Qae couldn't express otherwise, it was just that the fire they shared and built together only had one way to burn.

He offered her his hand, to lead her through the forest; the path could be dangerous for those who did not know it well. Having lived here for nigh on a month, he knew at least how to get back to La'okio or the meditation spring. The seed-pods for the ships were not so distant from the springs, at the core of the world. Their feet crunched over sticks and leaves alike, trekking through the trees.

"Not everything about living here is terrible, I suppose. I have here a ship equipped with technology, a perfect blend of organic and technological. Cloaking, missiles, shielding, and all the normal bits and pieces of the yaret-kor - this planet can do wonderful things for the right person, and I have this world's trust. Not something I intend to abuse, but still."

Qae grinned. "Besides, she's red. You'll like her."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Bare feet moved lightly across the blanketed forest floor, red fingers interlocked with blue as Qae led her along. She ducked to avoid low swinging branches moving with all the grace of the dancer that she was at heart, excitement making her heart race, eagerness glowing in her eyes. She nodded in agreement about the planet, Anaya adored her, but her own schemes and business prevented her from spending more time than she wanted to on Sekot.

Anaya closed her eyes for a moment as they walked, months of being blind allowing her to still move with the same sense of awareness. She drew in a deep breath, inhaling the smell of damp woodland and took a moment to simply listen to the soft whispers of the trees, the gentle crunch of twigs beneath their feet and the distant calls of a bird. Eyes snapped open in time to catch the grin on Qae's face and her heart skipped.

She stopped in her tracks, a look of confusion briefly passing over her face. "Red, huh?" she repeated before walking again "you know, my favourite colour is actually purple." she said offering him a sly smile, hoping that he had not caught the confusion on her face.

 

[Qae Shena]

The way she moved hadn't changed, that was for sure; Anaya Fen's catlike grace and poise was evident in every step of her gait. Then again, so was his, being so similar in backgrounds - though Qae dared assume that she had not danced the way he did. However, they knew each other. She'd probably be able to deduce the fact that he'd danced, even by the way he moved on his feet and the way his body was built. Ballet was a harsh mistress that did certain things to your feet, pointing them in so you could stand properly en pointe - if she knew even slightly about that, she'd see his toes then for what they were as they walked.

"Purple, huh?" Qae said - and yes, he had missed the look on her face - before he walked forward in front of her, folding his hands behind his back as he considered what to say. "Red and blue together. Are you trying to tell me something, Anaya?" Qae asked with a barely-concealed grin. Oh, he couldn't help it lately. It was how they were, wasn't it? This was their game, their fun, their one common ground that they always shared.

That, and a quiet openness to each other's vulnerabilities that they would never, ever speak of. They both knew the rules of that game rather well.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya gave him a look of disgust. The idea of having children not only repulsed her, but was ultimately terrifying. The dysfunctional attributes that any of her children would have with her alone was unsettling, let alone combined with Qae's. She snorted derisively "Can you imagine..." she began with a chuckle "Purple children running riot, mentally deranged because their parents are simply incapable." She shook her head.

"No Qae, as much as I love watching the galaxy plummeting into chaos having children is not on my agenda. Besides which," she said skirting in front of him stopping their hike and seizing his hands, guiding them slowly over her slender form. "Can you imagine what that would do to my figure?" Eyes flashed with lust and she kissed him fiercely, hands sliding up his chest, and across his shoulders. Finger found his head tresses once more as she bit his lower lip lightly before drawing away.

"You better show me this ship before I distract you entirely."

 

[Qae Shena]

Now that brought a laugh from his lips, an actual, honest one. "We would be the worst parents in the Galaxy. A drifting warrior-monk without a cause and a Sith Lady Inquisitor turned businesswoman with commitment issues? I think our children would eat themselves before we could do anything wrong."

Then, as usual, there she was, teasing and toying with him in that ever-familiar way. There was absolutely nothing Qae could do about it, too, because she had this... mystical way of acting and knowing just how to toy with him. It was something that she did instinctively, really, that required no mind-reading. Just the experience of each others' touch and some keen insight as to the way a man's mind worked. She had one purpose, one mind, one way of making the Nautolan react. He loved the thrills, the way she could just... draw the worst out of him. Or best, depending on your mentality. His body arched in towards hers instinctively, lips dancing furiously upon each other as she gave him that ever-familiar smouldering gaze.

He was like putty in her hands. So much mouldable putty - and he not-so-secretly loved it.

"In the interest of not ruining your perfect body, let me show you. It's just up ahead," he said, taking those hands in his tresses and spinning her around to march her onwards towards the cave.

Right there, in fact, around the next bend, where a cave opened, and a glorious red ship - no more than five metres long, tiny - and it looked... smooth, sleek, deadly, crimson, like a red dagger in the night. Like her, if anything. But it was not named for her, no. It was named

"Meet the most advanced starfighter ever developed, Anaya Fen. Meet the deliverance of a world hidden away from the Galaxy. The power of the most brutal, warmongering species ever to ravage the known worlds of this little spiral of star systems we call home. Meet a starfighter that fools its enemies, who conquers battlefields by deception and not by raw strength. Meet Yun-Harla."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"I don't have commitment 'issues'. That implies that I don't know what I want. I know full well what I want. Good sex, money and chaos. I'm committed to that." she retorted as he disentangled himself from her and steered her towards the ship, his agreement with her personal analysis of her body bringing a wide smile to her lips. A smile that was replaced with a look of awe as the ship came into view.

Small red and deadly, beautifully curved. She moved towards it, fingers trailing across its surface as she circled it, the yorik coral seeming to hum beneath her fingertips. "Oh Qae..." she breathed as she finished her circuit. "She's beautiful." They were similar in many ways, conquering through deception, brutal and of course red and beautiful. Yet the name...the name brought Spencer Jacobs to mind, though she was rapidly pushed the woman aside. "Have you flown her yet?"

 

[Qae Shena]

"I have two of those three handled," was Qae's quip in response. "Not so good on the chaos part, though." Truth. he was too inherently balanced, too inherently good, to act on her brand of violent chaos. Yes, he fought, but he fought with good in his heart. He wasn't the kind to be a champion of Galactic justice. No, she'd know that of him. He wasn't quite everything he wanted. Two out of three was still good, though.

Her reaction to Yun-Harla was amazing, which brought a smile to his lips. She was probably as happy with it as he was. "Honestly? This is my first time seeing her," he admitted, marvelling just as much as Anaya was, but with much more reserve. She was beautiful. The crimson dagger that would slice through the aether itself, one of the fastest ships in existence, with the armaments to destroy anything that stood in its way. It was wonderful. Delightful. Qae was very pleased with this particular turn of events.

"So, no, I have yet to fly her. See that little coral-like protrusion, on the seat?" Qae said, stepping forward and pointing to the device. "That's a cognition hood. It links with my mind. This ship is built for me, Anaya - not another soul can pilot her. And I daresay it'll be cramped in there."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya smirked. To say it would be cramped was setting a challenge for her. "Rather that daring to say, how about we see just how cramped it is." she purred moving close to him again hands sliding about his waist as she ran kisses across his shoulder, nipping him once she reached his neck. "Its not like we've never been up close and personal before Qae."

She drew her head back and tilted it slightly "Besides which, you didn't drag me out here just to show her to me on the ground. I want to see her fly."

They were going up in that ship, whether he wanted to take her or not.

 

[Qae Shena]

As her lips reached his neck again, as they were so often wont to do, Qae's hands went instinctively to her lekku, reaching between them and teasing one with little more than the tips of his fingers. Who needed silk clothes when you touch was that soft, trailing and ever so gently grazing across warm, flushed skin with the tips of one's nails? it was enough to make anybody shudder with utter delight, as she often did - punctuated with his own little groan of pleasure as she bit down on him once again. Gods did he want her when she did that.

In fact, jus tto add to her little stunt after she told him she wanted to fly, he wrapped one of his arms around her waist and tilted her back, lowering her ever so slightly so that she was parallel to the ground, safely in his arms where he could bend over and follow her, taking in her intoxicating scent with little more than a roguish grin on his lips, one she'd know.

"If that's what you want... A ride for a ride then, Anaya?" he asked upon a growl, grinning, lips so dangerously close to hers that they brushed together with every tantalizing word.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

A soft moan escaped her as he played her at her own game, toying with her lekku, nails raking against her skin. She trembled beneath his touch, a soft gasp escaped her as he tilted her back, each word he spoke sent fresh shivers of desire through her, rational thought vacated her mind for a moment as lust raged within her. Gods that roguish grin drove her mad. "Ride...." she managed "...yes."

Eyes fluttered closed as she kissed him, gone was any softness any hint of teasing that was there before. It was demanding just as she was. A hand flashed towards his legs, a force push intending to topple him, the precarious angle he was holding her at only serve to help her bring him to the floor with her, Yun Harla forgotten her mind focused on only one thing.