Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He had to contemplate that for a few moments. Did he want to learn? He had never even really considered it before she asked the question. He hadn't been hinting at it or even considered it an option. He was now without Sith Magic, but Soliael was still more than capable of fighting. He could use more of the force than the next ten Sith Lords combined, even if he couldn't dump that into Sith Magic, it was still a very powerful asset.

That was not to mention his already naturally enhanced speed and strength. The Garhoon traits that still stuck with him were powerful, and more enhanced by the force.

Yet, without Sith Magic there was a strategic hole left within his repertoire, one that would likely be a detriment in any fight that he came through. For a moment more he considered. A lightsaber? Yes. Perhaps with the realizations that she had brought on it would be time for such things. Quietus would certainly be entertained, his mother being somewhat of a blademaster herself.

His lips broke into a smile. “Sure.”

With a deep incline of his neck Soliael kissed Kira, pushing his lips against her own in a passionate embrace.

 

[Kira Talith]

Soliael would feel the joyful smile broaden over her lips as he'd kiss her. As he deepened the kiss, Kira for once would simply calmly enjoy the taste of him. For once, although there was a subtle quickening of her heart, peace would still linger over her. Contentment. It was a very curious sensation as she still held the crystal in one hand.

There was no fear. No sense of embarrassment. No worry. Just the press of his lips, the sinuous stroke of his tongue, and his earthly taste. Her hand would slide to curl along the nape of his neck and tippy toes would lift her up to ease the burden of height differences. The more he did this, the more she was becoming used to his presence. His touch. The growing affection she'd feel in every shift of his body, every subtle nuance that told a curious tale of the regard he held her in.

He was simply intoxicating.

Finally she'd draw back, lids still close and a rather becoming expression of content pleasure upon her face. One small playful nudge of her nose against his came next as she said with low wry humor, "That won't gain you any leeway with my lessons."

Her voice would whisper a tease, eyes fluttering open as she'd stare up at his face. She was the picture of content calm within his arms.

"But I'm open to bribery with food."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael pulled back slightly.

“Are you sure?” His voice was half conjecture half wondering. “I think I'm going to have to try my method more. Just to make sure.”

He didn't move to kiss her again, but instead took on that wide endearing grin, a little boy who was trying to get away with some sort of mischief. That was what he was to her in part, the counter play to the inner child that still lurked within Kira. They bounced off one another so well because of that, their mischievous side.

Unconsciously Soliael thanked his mother.

It was she that had instilled that in him, the pranks and the mischief. Quietus had always been a serious person, but one with a fun side. A streak of shenanigans and pranks a mile long. He knew because that had been his childhood. Tricks and the like played on him and others.

Nostalgia made him smile.

The look on Kira's face made him grin.

“I suppose we shouldn't start in the library.” He said looking around them.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira would shoot him a knowing grin. "No.. definitely not in the library." she'd say in emphasis, pulling back from his embrace to take a few steps back.

In her hand she would shake the purple pink crystal." But in order to start there, Lord Keeper," yes she did that deliberately the little blonde minx. "We need sabers. I doubt you have any simply laying around, so that will require us to build them training capable."

Two dark blond browns would arch in question, her head canting to the right. "For that we'll need a few things." she began to tick off with her fingers. "Lightsaber hilts, focusing lenses, diatium power cells, power insulators, emitter matrix..." she gave a half spin on the pad of her boot, turning towards him.

"You wouldn't happen to have that here would you?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Doubtful.” Soliael said truthfully.

The fortress had a massive degree of supplies, weapons, armor, food, everything one could really need. Yet he could almost guarantee that it did not have the pieces needed for a lightsaber. Though that didn't mean that the Crusade didn't have them. High ranking members of the Moross Crusade, Force users of course, were often given lightsabers as an extra tool. The weapons were too useful to overlook, and thus their construction was deemed necessary even for Moross.

He tried to think for a moment where he could find the parts.

Exocra was most likely, but Kira was in no condition to visit the city quite yet.

Soliael took one of Kira's hands, then a small ink pen from one of the tables in the library. He smiled at her and told her to hold still, using the ink pen to gently trace directions onto her hand. It was a small map of this level of the fortress, simple enough to follow. “I'll be back in twenty minutes. Follow this map to the hall, and I’ll be back with everything we need.”

He smiled at her.

It would go faster if he went to collect all the parts they needed on his own. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead, brushing her hair slightly, and then a second later disappearing into thing air.

 

[Kira Talith]

“How does he do that?!” came Kira’s rather comical exclamation to thin air. A puff of hot air would blow her bangs away from her face in a blonde fringe.

I’m gonna pin him down and make him tell me! came her decision with a notable clench of her fist and applicable fist shaking to the spot Soliael had stood mere seconds ago.

A sigh came, that sense of peace and tranquility still pulsing in soft waves around her. Her eyes would drop to the crystal, eyes narrowing upon it. Then, with a growing impish grin, the petite Jedi Master tossed the crystal in the air only to catch it in her hand a second later.

“Alright!” she spun on her heels, her hair fanning round her shoulders. A pat to the stone gremlin came next. The holograms disappeared with a poof -- just like its master. Figures. “Thanks, Nemo.”

Yup. She named it.

With a small flounce, the Lorrdian would gather her small pouch, dropping the crystal into its depths. Shaking the bag in one hand, she began to study the map Sol had traced over her palm. It had tickled when he did it, and staying still took quite a bit of effort.

Her smile softened at the thought of him.

Darting her attention forward, she began to follow the map. Right, so here is the exit -- then take a left. A right.

Then another left…

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

His journey didn't take him long. He first appeared in Exocra, within the forge halls of Kalee. There he found the pieces of lightsabers that he needed. The lenses, the power cells, everything. They were there in abundance, no doubt constructed due to the constant state of war that the Crusade had been in with the Horde.

Not knowing that kind of lightsaber Kira desired he had simply decided to take too much of everything.

Several powercells, lenses, and focusing shards later Soliael had a backpack teeming with supplies, a small metal case fitted for his hand, and everything else he needed. Then a thought occurred to him. One that was rather sly and clever. He grinned slightly, thanking the forge master for her time and then disappearing once again into thin air.

It was odd how people were used to that now. Certain few individuals within Moross had seen Soliaels true face. They still believed him a God of course, just one that inhabited a Mortal man as his vessel. They assumed that whatever he needed was part of some plan. Never would they have guessed that this was all some sort of game with a tiny Jedi Master that Soliael was in love with.

Before heading back to Kira, the False God made a pit stop in the icy caves below.

There he searched. For five, then ten, then fifteen minutes. Taking more time to find what he was looking for then the gathering of the actual parts. When he found it he grinned, though with a slight hint of disgust.

Then seconds later, the air shimmered once again, and Soliael appeared in the training room.

 

[Kira Talith]

... and he would find a Kira sitting crossed legged on the floor, surrounded by two bottles of water and what appeared to be some kind of sugar biscuits.

She clearly raided the small kitchen prior to coming here.

Her expression would be slightly startled at his sudden appearance, giving a small jerk. A narrowing of her pale blue eyes would follow, and she'd say, "One of these days I'ma get how you do that out of you!"

She'd toss her half eaten biscuit at him but she wasn't about to conduct cookie abuse. Popping the confectionery into her mouth, she rose to her knees, holding her hands out expectantly. "Whdayafind?" she said in a half muffled voice, cookie perched between her lips.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I just use the force.” Soliael said with a shrug, smiling as he walked over to her.

That little trick was of course far less of a trick, and more of a bending of reality. It was something that the Aing-Tii were capable of doing, something that they themselves had taught him. The Aing-Tii believed that the gods of Moross were 'Those Who Dwelled Beyond the Veil', and thus all their secrets had become open to them. It was a simple thing really, once one learned the basics of it all.

Soliael had been surprised at how easy it was.

With a cheeky grin he practically bounced to her side, gently dropping the bag of lightsaber parts onto the floor in front of her.

Then from the small of his back he pulled something. It was tinted a deep red, flecks of white sticking out from under the crust of maroon. One end was incredibly sharp, and the other ended in a stark juttering, as if it had been broken off by a forceful snap. Kira would recognize it as the end of one of the monsters Tails, the one that had impaled Soliael cleanly through the thigh.

The one that Kira had saved him from.

“I thought perhaps you would like it.” Soliael said. “As a remembrance of when you saved me.”

He didn't mention the meld for fear of conjuring images.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira was about to call him a smart arse, and that he knew very well what she meant when he presented her Big Red's tail. Her eyes grew wide. A pregnant pause would fill the air. One that brought a somber expression to her face.

Gingerly, her hands would reach out to take it from him. As her fingers would curl, she would immediately noticed how light it felt. She sank to sit on her upturned legs and feet, still kneeling but now focused on the object in her hand. Ever so carefully, her fingers would start to sweep over it. There were tiny noddles to it, a bit ribbed, much like a mix of coral and the exoskeleton of a crab. It was a deep carmine hue, speckled with white.

A closer inspection would reveal that that wasn't the only thing it was speckled with. Darker maroon spots would stain the sharp point and up its length, and a soft rub of her thumb would bring away the dry flakes of blood with it.

Her lids would drop, and she would continue to inspect it. it fit snugly in her hand actually. Good balance. An idea came to her, one that would suit the matter perfectly. A wobbly smile came to her mouth, and she would lift her face up to meet his.

"Thank you." she said quietly, genuinely grateful. It was indeed a very special gift. Most would likely turn their noses up to it in disgust, but not Kira. This was a symbol of demarcation. Before the Ice monster and after.

Her smile would widen, "Looks like you just gave me my new hilt." she'd say, giving the tail end a twirl in her hand. The other would reach up to him, inviting him to sit down in front of her.

"Come on buckaroo, let's get started."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael looked down at her for a few moments, observing silently as she inspected the piece of horn. Of course it had been his intent for her to use it as a hilt, something that she would keep with her always, at all times.

He smiled.

“Okay.” The way he sounded was vulnerable, tentative. “Show me what to do...Master.”

That statement made him grin at her, though there was still slight hesitation in his eyes.

Soliael didn't like admitting that he lacked knowledge in a subject, and while he knew the theory of building a lightsaber, this was something utterly knew to him. He had never had to make one before and he had never wanted to either. It was odd, the effect that Kira had had on him in so many ways. She opened him up, made him more willing.

He would have to watch that.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira would shine Soliael with a smile, a notable mischievousness returning to her blue eyes at that.

“Does that make you my padawan for the day then?” she’d say with warm humor in her voice, setting the horn to the side for the present time. Leaning forward on all fours, she’d reach out for the bag that held the would be goodies. Sitting back on her haunches, the Lorrdian Jedi Master would carefully bring out the various pieces and instruments the would need for the construction of their sabers.

A notable impression would be made as Kira would inspect what Soliael had collected. They were of high quality.

“Where did you get these?” she’d ask curiously, as she would start to set in front of him what he would need in a diagram format. First came the cylinder. Good standard metal hilt housing, nothing fancy. Her cracked smile signaled her approval at that decision. She set down a pommel cap, a diatum powercell, and a series of Pontite focusing lenses.

“Standard sabers are normally twenty to thirty centimeters long.” she began to explain, going over the basics just in case. Not because she didn’t believe him to be knowledgeable in the fact -- as Neth the Keeper there is that assumption that he knew the theory behind the lightsaber -- but because this was dependent on what kind of saber he was looking to get out of it.

“You can go small with that as a shoto saber, think mini lightsaber with that one -- but they are normally used as the secondary weapon for a Force user more apt to dual wielding.” she would frown for a moment before she’d study one of the power insulators available.

“We can go for a single blade now… just for training. But if you ever want expand into a dual-blade or one of the fanicer saber staffs” she shot him a grin, over the power insulator. “You’ll need to get yourself another teacher. I just know the basics with a single saber.”

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael listened to her carefully.

“I think I like my current instructor just fine.” He answer her last with a grin, his hand moving to pick up one of the power cells. It was the same type that he had used in his gauntlets, Diatium. Powerful little things that could pack a punch, they were dangerous when overloaded. Something that was entirely too easy to do. He frowned slightly, then put the thing down, remembering a time in his past when a lightsaber had exploded in his face.

“I think we'll stick with a normal blade now, Kirabug.” He said it with a grin. “Just so you can properly teach me.”

Might as well start at the basics.

He smiled at her, and waited for her to begin the next point of instruction. Again he knew the standard steps, but it helped to watch someone else perform them before he himself did it. It was simpler that way, less of a chance of messing up the whole process up.

With expecting eyes his Soliael watched her.

 

[Kira Talith]

“Careful what you wish for,” Kira would quip back with mild humor, bringing out the rest of the items he would need to build his own, until there were two distinct diagrams.

“I just might be the wicked Master of Ossus Temple.” she’d joke, fiddling with the crystal bag to bring two. She set one in front of him, along the laid out diagram of approximately where each and every part of the lightsaber would be.

“Normally, it can take some time before a padawan can properly craft their lightsaber with the concentration needed.” her hands would slowly wave over the metal and crystal instruments in front of her. While she was no major telekinetic, she could at the most lift up to her own weight. Beyond that, there was trouble. However, to build a simple no frills lightsaber? This would be easy.

“But I think you got a leg up on a padawan on focus,” she’d flash a wink at him. Slowly, telekinetic tendrils of the Force would wrap round, lifting the ensemble into the air until they would float in front of him.

An encouraging smile would flash at his direction. “We’ll take this slow and step by step..."

The more she would explain the process, the more familiar it would seem to him. It probably wouldn’t register to his mind that perhaps what manner of imprint Kira had left him included flashes of familiarity even with the most basic of lightsaber crafting. The transfer had not solely been a one way street.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael nodded along, her words eventually becoming a peaceful buzz in his ears as he began to concentrate on the force. He focused on each part individually, picking it up with either his hand or the force, then inspecting it. Eventually he found himself become more relaxed, becoming a part of the lightsaber pieces themselves.

He supposed that what this was about.

A lightsaber was a piece of yourself.

It was supposed to be the thing that defined a Jedi, and even a Sith. The weapon that was pressed upon you to show that you were capable of using the force. It was more than a weapon actually, it was a tool, a tool to be used in the daily life. His eyes closed, and the low thrumming of Kira's voice became naught but background noise, a calming sound, a reflection within a pool of water. Subtle waves that crashed against his psyche.

He reached out with the force.

The pieces began to form together, one by one sliding into small concentric rings, fitting into place perfectly. He focused on the creation of the lightsaber, not as a weapon, not as a tool, but simply as part of himself.

The hilt came together with a loud metallic click.

With a grin Soliael stuck out his hand, and the metal tube fell into his hand with a silent thud, an immediate feeling of peace and calm crashing down on him.

“Like that?” He grinned.

 

[Kira Talith]

Goodness, will I ever get enough of that smile? the thought would race through her mind as his infectious grin would draw her own. The hilt she had assembled would lay floating in a similar metal cylinder in front of her. A single mental florish of the Force, and it too would drop to her left hand, her right waving him off to get on his feet.

“Hmm… perhaps. Let’s see hmm?” Kira would rock to her feet, coming up to twirl the hilt she built in her fingers as she was wont to do with her former. Like a tick, it was a way for her to keep her hands busy. However, there was that washing sense of calm that would quell that desire and bring her to a serene place where extra movement was not required.

Funny, maybe this would be a good thing.

“Do the honors there, kiddo.” she’d encourage him with a nod, indicating for him to activate it. It didn’t need to be said she was fairly curious what color of blade the angraal crystals would emit.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael stood in one smooth liquid motion, his eyes going down to the metal cylinder. Doubt rose within him for a few moments, and he looked to Kira.

There was a bit of trepidation in his eyes.

“Kiss for goodluck?” He said it with a smile.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira didn’t hesitate.

Her feet would cross the distance between them, until she stood right in front of him. Arms would come up and over the nap of his neck as she would stand on tippy toe. Their breaths would mingle for a moment, until her lashes closed and she gave an incline. One short blonde Jedi Master would then press her lips tentatively against Soliael’s own. It was a sweet calming movement of her lips against his, with the lingering sugary taste of cookies, and more confident than before.

Then again, this had been a lesson Sol had so patiently tutored her with.

He’d feel her smile against his lips, just before she’d draw a hairsbreadth away. “Use the Force to control the blade, it isn’t like a metal sword so don’t be shocked by the weightlessness of the plasma or the gyroscopic effect.”

Her hand would go sliding down, sinuously following the path down his shoulder and arm until her small hand would cover his own. Bringing it up to near face level, she’d add with a low murmur, “So don’t forget to keep a firm grip to start.” her fingers went curling over his, calmly showing him the proper hand placement.

“Just like that, kay.” Her soft smile would turn back to him. “Any questions?”

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael smiled against her lips, kissing her was always a fantastic pick me up. The lack of hesitation on her part, the authority she showed, it was new, it was grand. She was learning, becoming more accustomed to him, and she was showing it. He knew that he cared for her in some way, he had known that since yesterday, but he was beginning to feel that she showed the same emotion for him. An awareness bloomed in him, a subtle one, one that he didn't even notice.

“Just one.” Soliael said with a grin.

Her tiny hand had enveloped his rather large one, forcing his grip on the lightsaber to be proper and steady. He cast a glance towards her, kissing her one the lips with a quick peck.

“How did I get so lucky?” He winked at her, then pointed the saber away from them both.

The blade ignited in a bright flash of purple, almost pinkish light. It jumped into life with a sudden, a calm light radiating off of it instantly. Bathing both Kira and Soliael in its bright swaths. Soliael looked at the blade, squinting slightly at the brightness of it. It seemed to give off a waning glow, more powerful than any saber he had ever seen.

 

[Kira Talith]

“Just lucky I guess,” Kira would say, just as the swssh hiss of the lightsaber would burst into life. A violet blade edged with magenta would shower them in a sphere of glowing light, prompting Kira to squint a bit as her eyes would slowly adjust to the glow.

“Fancy,” she’d say, pulling back from Soliael. A second blade would hum into existence, expanding that sphere of purple pink light around them. As well as that swath of calm.

“Certainly brighter than normal,” she’d say, studying the blade. “I wonder if that is the Pontite focusing lenses or the Angraal crystal in it of itself?” A smile would flash over her shoulder at him, blue eyes glowing with an edge of lavender from the saber she held. She’d survey him, watching him study his own blade himself.

“Well.. what do you think?” came her lighthearted question, bringing down her arm to give a few playful swings with it away from him. She was still testing it out, double checking things. She immediately began to adjust the power setting. Better safe than sorry. “An adjustment on the power meter should allow you to bring down the intensity enough for training.” she’d tell him, motioning over to a small knob alongside his hilt.