Things In The Night

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He chuckled, peering through the small gap of the blinds before turning back towards her.

Vrak took a few steps until he ended up behind her chair. For a second he loomed over her, and then slowly he bent down. "Why?"

He whispered to her, a small smile on his face.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" He mused beside her ear, a fingertip gently petting one of her lekku, tracing down it's length. "Who knows, maybe if I knew you better, I could help you just as much as your invisible friends."

A small smile touched his lips.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The very instant his finger dragged along the length of her lek Sera's neck muscles stiffened, shoulder blades pushed outwards as her back straightened near perfectly in her seat. The woman's feet fell to the floor, head quickly turning to the side while her lekku shifted and wrapped around her neck. While the touch by no means hurt her, as it would take a considerable act of force, not just a touch to actually cause her pain, It was plain to see that she did not find the contact particularly welcoming.

"For me, yes." She answered, her eyes now fully focused on Vrak and his hands as they shifted about.

"Don't play the concerned friend. You don't even know my name. Knowing me better would only serve you with more ways to take advantage of me."

She had given him something he wanted, and in exchange she was getting something she wanted. It was a loosely secured arrangement.

"You know enough. And we're not friends. Not unless you're going to remove that little device from my back right now."

Which she knew was as unlikely as the man suddenly professing his love to her.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He gave her an amused smile. The reaction had been exactly what he'd expected.

The light petting had really been more of a test than anything else, and the way that she had responded to him was more than enough answer. He slowly pulled up and away from the chair, half walking around so that she would have to turn to follow him with her gaze. He slowly stepped in front of the chair, once again looming over her as she caught him with a disdainful gaze.

She was more than correct of course, they weren't friends, partners, or lovers. They shared a loose connection in that they both wanted to find the end of this, but that hardly mattered to Vrak. "I don't need to know your name to see that you're useful."

Vrak pointed out.

"Though you shouldn't underestimate what I can offer you." He made a tsk noise. "You're more powerful than me in the force, I won't deny this."

That would be stupid. "But there are things I know, things long lost to others"

He reached out and gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, something else that would likely earn more than a little ire.

"You would be a fool not to consider it." He gave her the same smile as before.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Her hand snapped up, grabbing Vrak by the wrist rather tightly, the repeated contact having crossed some line in her eyes. And though she did not move, or try to otherwise hurt him, she did hold it awfully tight, fingers pressing into his crimson skin. Her eyes followed his, a low growl between tightly pressed lips. What he was doing was testing her patience, or perhaps testing her ability to restrain herself.

Vrak was making it difficult with the constant caressing.

"I would find it easier to consider, if you removed that kill switch from my body."

Her smile was more sarcastic, clearly faked, in return. "I'd really appreciate that."

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

"I will." Vrak told her simply. "When we're done."

He wasn't a fool.

"Perhaps paranoia is getting the better of me, but there's still a chance that the moment that device is removed all wisps of your 'friends' disappear." He doubted that it was so, she had given him the information about her employers before the device had been implanted, but it was still a possibility. There was also the chance that if he removed it she would turn on him. Sera could easily kill him, or easily enough anyway, and Vrak wasn't willing to take that chance.

"It will not mean much." He began. "But I promise you when I have what I want the device will be removed."

He could stick to his word on that at the very least.

Though Vrak had thought about killing her for the longest time, he now saw the folly in that. Sera could be useful, whats more he thought she could be useful to his plans. He doubted very much she'd do anything for him willingly...but there was always a way.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek snarled, shoving his hand away from her indignantly.

Suddenly she no longer found the chair comfortable. Standing up to face Vrak she stared into his eyes for a long, tense moment, the only sounds being their breathing. Her left hand was placed on his chest, slowly dragging down from his clavicle to his stomach where she balled her fist and pressed it firmly against his midsection, imitating a weapon of some kind being pierced through him.

As she did, Sera leaned forward towards his ear, whispering. "Don't make me wait."

Green eyes pulled back, staring into ambers, before she moved to step beside him towards the window for a look.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He waited for a moment, smiling slightly. Perhaps she believed it, though whether or not she did Vrak didn't really care. He had no intention of killing her now, not if she behaved as she had promised. She was to be another one of his pawns.

Another trinket in the collection.

"They cleared the apartment if that was what you were wondering." While he and Sera had been wrapped up in their embrace, his servants had done as he had ordered. Slowly the Pureblood moved behind Sera, his arm reaching around her as though she hadn't just threatened his life. His hand moved to push back the blinds ever so slightly, his finger pressing against the window to point out a specific room on the opposite floor.

"Eighth floor from the top. Three to the left." If she had good eyes she would see it. "That was where they were."

Sera would be able to spot it by the cracked glass that now sat on the outer tower.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

She followed his guidance and looked for the battered glass. Sure enough where he had directed her is where she found it. Judging by the state of the glass she assumed what he meant by where they were was that they were all now among the dead. That was a fairly direct approach. They certainly wouldn't be watching anymore if that were the case, though when they were due to check in it might raise some questions.

Turning her head to the side, back just far enough to see him she asked, "Who were they? And what were they watching for?"

Understanding what they were looking for by spying on Vrak might help to give insight into whether or not they were simply interested in his affairs, if they were assigned by the Muun, or if they were part of some bigger role. Anything she could learn would be beneficial. Judging by his words it didn't sound as though they left anyone alive to answer questions.

She was cautiously aware in that moment not to display the hint of trepidation with him that close behind her, nor allowed her lekku to shift. He would be watching for that now.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

For a second he didn't say anything, as if he were just thinking.

"They were part of Muunilist's security forces." Vrak finally said after a minute had passed. "Bribed by the Banker to assess my wealth and assets. Presumably he wanted to make sure that I was who I was, and that this wasn't some sort of plot by one of his competitors."

As he has suspected the obvious answer had been the correct one, though that didn't mean he wouldn't heed Sera's warning in the future.

"I do not think he knows I'm connected to you." The surveillance team hadn't seen Sera walk into the apartment, nor had they spied their...activities. His own servants had managed to seize the men and thoroughly interrogate them, of course coming up with the fact that none of them knew anything at all.

It showed that either Sera's employers were impossibly good, or things were going as Vrak had expected.

The Pureblood banked on the latter.

He said nothing more, though his hand slowly fell away from the blinds, letting them fall shut to leave only a small sliver for her to look through.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

She sighed, muttering something under her breath while she watched the blinds somewhat sway before coming to idle. Turning to face him She rested her hands on the pane of the window, gauging his smug look of being seemingly correct with his observation. "I see." She said simply, before pushing herself back up straight. She wouldn't outwardly admit his was correct, but simply acknowledge his answer on the matter.

"Then for now all that we need to worry about is that."

Her finger pointed towards the building as it were displayed on the small device they were observing earlier while making their plan of entry and escape. Of course there was only so much planning that could be done before it had to be left to acting according to the circumstances. Plenty of things could change, or go wrong between then and the meeting that settling on a single course of action would be unwise.

"When is the meeting tomorrow?" She asked, sitting back down.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He lingered by the window for a moment more, catching one last glimpse of the sun before he finally turned away. "Noon, local planetary time."

Vrak expected that ordinarily the Muun would offer lunch during the meeting, but they wouldn't be getting to that. The Pureblood intended for the meeting to be a rather short one. All he wanted was what the man had stuck in his head, the knowledge of who Sera's employers were, what they were doing, and where they were.

Simple really.

"I am given to understand the office will be mostly empty then." That had been a specific request of his. His finances held enough sway that he could ask such things. Ostensibly it was so that no one saw him go into the bank, thus no one could tell his current bank, but that was a lie of course.

Slowly Vrak wandered back over towards her, though this time he didn't approach Sera or try to touch her.

Instead he simply glanced towards the holo-display.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Very well."

The woman spent the next few minutes in total silence, shifting and zooming in and out, reviewing the blueprints and locking in each and every access tunnel, shaft, and route in and out of the building that was available to them. She did it quite rapidly, fast enough that Vrak might wonder what it was she was looking for, as it didn't exactly look like she was memorizing the entire 50 story complex over the course of a few minutes.

But that was exactly what she was doing.

When she finished she leaned back, closing and rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands, a slight pain in the back of her head emerging from the intensive work it had just done. A common enough occurrence when undertaking something as strenuous as that.

She drew in a deep breath before opening her eyes again, falling from the projector to Vrak.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He watched her in silence, studying her, though more specifically her Lekku. They twitched and curled slightly, moving as she concentrated. Sera probably didn't even realize that it was happening, more of an involuntary motion than anything else. He smiled slightly when she finished with...whatever she was doing, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. Vrak let his gaze drift away from her to the projection for a moment, moving back just in time to meet her eyes.

"You should rest." He told her.

Sleep was essential, and it was getting late anyway. Tomorrow would be a big day for the both of them, but while she needed sleep he did not. The Darkside would sustain him for another few days at the least, though when he made his eventual return to Athiss he would have to enjoy the comfort of his bed.

"The bedroom is yours." The Alternative was the servants quarters, which he doubted she would use. "A token of my...appreciation."

He said the word without irony.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Seraphina closed her eyes once more, feeling a slight burning sensation as she realized she was in fact a bit tired. Standing up slowly she used her left hand to lazily hold herself up by the back of the chair. Turning her head towards the bedroom, the same one she had used earlier with the connected bathroom and gave a small nod. The bed looked comfortable, possibly more so now, having studied the building and exhausted her mind.

"Thanks."

Without another word she padded off towards the room, feet lightly pressing against the plush floor of the apartment as she walked. Before even reaching the archway that separated the two rooms she had already removed her shirt, tossing it gently onto the floor inside the bedroom. Once she had finally passed through herself she hooked her leg around the back of the door and pushed it closed with her foot.

The soft click of the button from her bottoms were released and tugged free of her form before she drew back the sheets and slipped herself beneath them.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Vrak said nothing in answer to her. Instead he simply turned away from her and dropped down into a cross legged position. While she slept he would do exactly as she would expect; meditate.

He had done exactly what he had set out to accomplish that day. The line that had been drawn in the sand on previous days had been pushed back, Vrak had regained a small bit of control, and he'd learned more than one interesting fact about her. Things were progressing well, and this entire...sideshow that he had been going through lately was quickly returning to where he wanted it to go. The Senators death was unfortunate, but he was slowly beginning to think that something good would come of it.

The next morning would come swiftly, Vrak spending the night entranced within the darkside of the force. As soon as the sun began to rise his servants shuffled about the apartments. They cleaned, cooked, and prepared everything for the day, though notably they did not yet disturb Sera. Vrak too let her be, if only because it would still take several hours for the meeting time to arrive.

Instead The Pureblood simply stayed in the center of the living room, waiting, building power.

Briefly he thought of what was happening back on Athiss. Originally he was supposed to have returned yesterday with the Senator's list, the information on it being enough to grant him favor with Lord Sirev on the Council, but now that plans had changed...well he would be displeased. Vrak had never intended to turn over the list in the first place, but this would complicate things. He frowned for a moment and shook his head.

It would be addressed later

Along with everything else.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Much to her surprise she awoke without the sound of knocking, banging, a crimson face standing over her, a voice in her ear, nothing.

Sera awoke on her own, eyes determining that it was in fact time to stir. Her body felt a bit more rejuvenated than it had the day prior, and the chrono on the wall gave the impression that there was still time enough for her to bathe and get ready before the meeting with the Muun. The hustle and bustle of the servants within the other rooms could be heard, meaning Vrak was likely awake, not that he had slept, but, perhaps out of a meditative state.

Still, she decided to take the opportunity to bathe before anything else. Vrak might have heard the water as the knob was turned and the water began to rush. A minute or so later and it would be filled as it had been the previous day. Without a care in the galaxy the woman slid herself into the water and submerged her head, allowing her muscles to relax even more than the rest overnight had afforded.

When she lifted her head from beneath the water she pressed her pink feet against the opposite wall of the bathe and bent her knees slightly, leaning her head back as her lekku draped around the front of her shoulders and over her chest. Several deep breaths and a closing of her eyes allowed her to meditate some on her own, allowing the darkside to surround herself. Perhaps Vrak would pick up on that, given that she had only done so prior in moments where she was about to do something incredibly terrible to him.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Vrak wandered through the door of the bathroom just a few moments after Sera had begun her meditation. There was a look of annoyance on his face, his eyes set hard in front of him as he stepped into the warm restroom. His gaze immediately fell to her in the tub, sliding over her form for just a second before he spoke. "We have a problem."

His tone was split between anger and disappointment.

"The Banker has been arrested." That wasn't all that uncommon here on Muunilist. Every once in a while the authorities liked to make a show against corruption. The practice was absolutely ludicrous of course, everyone on Muunilist was corrupt. Everyone took bribes, everyone took favors, everyone did everything to get as rich as possible. This was well known among anyone who worked with the banks of Muunilist, especially to Vrak.

He had paid more than a few bribes.

This rampant corruption however was seen as unfavorable by the rest of the galaxy, and thus the government of Muunilist had to make a show now and again. Of course, by doing so they had gotten in Vrak's way, and as he stepped closer towards the bath tub Sera would be able to feel the prickling anger surrounding him.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek heard the creak of a door in her subconscious, the tapping of feet along the floor, the sway of a body beside her as the air gently glided past, having been pushed aside by the Sith now standing in front of her. His words rang out in her mind, though she remained quiet at first, probably to his displeasure. Though finally a deep breath pulled into her lungs, held for several seconds, and then was released.

Green eyes opened and glanced up towards Vrak.

She could taste the anger in the air, could sense it around him. It made her halfway smile, not because of what had happened, but because she enjoyed seeing his metaphorical feathers ruffled whenever possible. It was however, unfortunate that this would now take longer than originally planned.

"I see." She said, sitting up in the water, knees bending slightly. "That is disappointing."

It was interesting to see him angry at someone other than her for once.

A drenched wet hand extended outwards, finger pointing towards the towel hanging just a ways away. "Please." She asked as she stood up, allowing the water to roll over and down her form, waiting for the towel to dry herself.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He ignored her, though not because he wanted to see her naked, in fact it appeared that he hardly even paid any attention to her at all. He was too caught up in his rage, his anger. Their plan had been a good one, one that would have worked, and now...now these creatures had stepped on him.

His fists curled into tight balls. "I'll kill them."

His voice was a rasp. It was clear that Vrak didn't like having his plans thwarted, even more clear that it was distasteful to him that it was the Muun's that had done it. He twisted, rounding on Sera and pointing a finger at her. His lips turned to a snarl.

"All of them." His gaze fell to her for a split second, as if confused as to why she was naked. "I will walk to that prison, murder every man and woman I see until I find where they have placed him."

That plan was a bit far fetched. "I don't mind butchering this species if it means I get what I want."

They were only Muun's after all.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Her eyes partway bulged, listening to him talk about essentially killing dozens of people in order to get to a single Muun that he most likely was going to harm himself. It was an unnecessary over reaction. One that she needed to relay to him before he went overboard. Of course he wouldn't likely want to hear what she was about to say, and it would very likely spark the fumes and sent him into a tizzy, but it needed saying. He needed to think whatever was going on through more carefully than to blitz the whole prison.

She was a bit annoyed that he hadn't at the very least handed her the towel she asked for. The air was a bit cold where she stood. Instead she simply stepped out of the bath and onto the mat for now. He needed to hear and listen to her, even if that meant she had to berate him while being completely naked.

"Calm down." That was always the best way to start these types of discussions. "You can't just kill everyone. Not to mention we'll never make it off world even if you do. Just sit down and let's figure out a way to get to him. It's not like they are going to just simply kill him for corruption." She could feel the anger surrounding him, but continued all the same. "Don't be an idiot. Getting into places I'm not supposed to be in, is what I do."

She turned for half a second for the towel.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]