Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Unlike Kira he didn't take time to marvel at the sights, he had seen them all before. Instead he took the time to wash himself, quickly using the shower and scrubbing after having exerted himself quite a bit in the chase that Kira had put on, the one that had ended so badly.

It took him only two dozen minutes or so, after which he quite quickly dried himself off with one of the many towels in the bathroom.

By the time he entered the area of his bedroom with his bed, he found new clothes waiting for him, including an exact copy of the cloak that he had left at the base of the stairs last night. He frowned slightly, realizing that he had not heard the doors open and close.

The creatures were getting better.

 

[Kira Talith]

Curiosity would wane as the need for a sonic shower would come back to her. Up and at them, she'd muse, the whisper of fabric sliding up and off her moments later. She'd lay them on the counter, fully intending to search for the sonic shower. At least, until she caught her reflection on the full length gilded mirror she'd missed earlier.

Her hand froze, hovering over where she'd deposited her sleeping shirt and pants earlier. The sight that beheld her certainly stung. It wasn't over feminine pride, but at the realization at the extensive network of scars and damage her body had sustained in the wake of Nememe's scalpel. A knot would rise in her throat, as she couldn't look away. Instead, she slowly took a couple of steps closer, until she was but half a meter away.

Her skin, that which that had seen countless of hours of sunlight would be noticeably darker, tanned. Her face, her arms. The rest of her, however, was a pale golden beige. Pretty normal. At least from the waist up. Everywhere else though... Her hand would rise, lightly shaking fingers reaching down her abdomen, until a finger pad would touch the darker lines of scars that ran across her lower belly.

She couldn't help but give a subtle flinch.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael dressed himself quite quickly, despite this being his room it wasn't really heated all that well, mostly because he quite liked the cold as of late.

Perhaps Aerin had rubbed off on him.

That thought made him smile slightly, and as he slipped on the last of his vestments he thought back to his Apprentice. He had no idea where she was now, and in fact had not heard from her in quite some time. Soliael knew that she was safe, if something happened to her he would be able to feel it. They shared no unique force bond, but stay with someone close for so long and they made a certain impression upon you, with the force, that was also true.

The smile slowly slipped from his face as he finished dressing himself, running a hand over the stubble on his scalp with a complete lack of expression, then doing the same to his face and chin. He decided not to shave, and instead turned to leave his room.

Perhaps she was awake now.

 

[Kira Talith]

It was odd, a bit surreal really. As if she wasn't looking at her reflection but of another. It wasn't like there was an abundance of mirrors since her rescue for her to stand in front of in her birthday suit and really see the end results of it.

Some of the scars were pale pink, perfectly executed cuts with surgeon like precision. Those were the ones that would trace the curve of her belly, where Nememe had --- her lips would draw into a thin line and she'd swallow hard. Her eyes would fall lower. There were parts of her thigh and leg where Oliver had not been as skilled, where he'd sliced into her flesh to take out small bits of flesh. Those would looks far more gruesome, a testament of a child left to use her as his own personal ball of clay to carve.

Lower still would see the straight slashes by her ankles, where her Achilles tendons had been cut. Then sans the toe. That she already had to adjust to just in regards to balance -- she wasn't as quiet anymore like she used to be.

Likely why he'd been able to find me...

She'd lift her hands, bringing them palm up, her blue eyes skimming over the mars of her wrists where she'd strained and tugged against for hours -- days. Time meant nothing. All she could remember was just the pain.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Boots echoed in the empty halls.

Reverberation that seemed like thunder to anyone who had kept their ears open. To Soliael they seemed to echo over and over again within his ears, sound that could very well break the floors. Idly he wondered if this place would ever bustle with activity, if the halls of his fortress would be filled with thousands, if not tens of thousands of people.

There was certainly room enough, though should it ever come to that it would mean that the Moross Crusade was in dire straights indeed. This place was not meant as a home, but as a fallback, a place that the Crusade could hide and shelter themselves to weather the storm, whatever it may be.

He frowned.

It was odd to him about how much he cared about the survival of his people. It seemed strange to him that he had wanted to create this fortress not just for himself, but as a Bastion of hope for Moross. The same could be said for Exocron. He had originally embarked on the changing of the world in order to test his own abilities, but as the weather improved and the forests grew, Soliael had found himself doing it not for himself, but for his people.

In order to create a utopia.

Slowly, lost in thought Soliael approached Kira's room, boots still echoing.

 

[Kira Talith]

A distant echo would draw her from her thoughts. Blinking, she lifted her head, taking one last look at the woman in front of her, Bright blue eyes against a pale face that was framed in a fringe of blonde hair.

Her fingers would dance upon the air, unconscious signing of words to relay her troubled thoughts. Glancing away from the mirror, she'd turn on the pad of her foot. Shower time.

Well, large as this place was, one couldn't miss the tub rather lasciviously placed in front of the would be wall of glasteel. Not what she was aiming for. A few minutes of searching would bring up a rather confused expression on her face.

There was no sonic shower.

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant and on Ossus had your basic refresher, compact and easy to slide in and out with a sonic refresher overhead that would save space and do what it does in short order, get one clean. This particular room, while certainly cream of the crop in luxury, apparently didn't hold sonic showers to the same affection as she did.

Another few seconds of investigation would find an overhead flat disk with tiny little holes upon it. It was encased in this large stone lined corner of the room that would overlook the tub in it of itself. Needless to say, with the high vaulted ceilings, she couldn't quite reach to check if that had a sonic switch.

At least, until she began to test and twist the knobs she found against the wall. The sudden burst of cold water spraying over her head made her yelp in surprise.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael heard the cry, with the emptiness of the bathroom and the halls outside Kira could be heard quite a ways away. In an instant he bolted forward, a smart man would say that he could have just appeared inside Kira's room with the same trick he had used yesterday, but that wasn't as dramatic as a six foot four man dressed in heavy tribal cloak crashing through the heavy double doors at blurred speed.

The False God rushed into the room with his eyes already searching, the bed was empty, the ante-chamber doors were closed, the bathroom was open. Never did the thought occur to him that Kira had simply turned on water and been frightened, never did the thought occur to her that she had never before seen a shower that ran on water instead of sonics.

That was simply logic to him.

Who hadn't used a shower before?

Seriously.

Soliael rushed into the bathroom, spinning his head in all direction until his eyes landed on Kira standing behind a wall of cold glasteel with pouring, obviously cold, running over her naked and somewhat pink body.

 

[Kira Talith]

Call her what you will, but there are plenty of people in the galaxy who do not have the resources or the money to be able to shower with REAL water. That is why sonic showers were common. They saved space, precious water, and you could get clean in a less than ten seconds. Even if you stood under a sonic shower with your clothing on, it would clean it too!

So, maybe she was a back water girl. Maybe she was a space monk who didn't get to waste water to take a shower. Either way, as startled as she was at the sudden spray of cold water, nothing could compare to the stunned surprise of a six foot four barbarian -- the fur coat gave that vibe off - bursting into the room as if ready for battle.

Clearly, the Fates had it in for her today, for in a series of unfortunate events, Kira would come face to face with the old Corellian saying of Murphy's law; anything that can go wrong, would go wrong. And it did.

Noticeably cold and having jumped in startled shock at both the water and Sol's sudden entrance, nine toes, plus the slippery floor in the way she backed up would all combine to the sudden loss of her balance. Arms would start to wave rather comically, trying to find purchase around her only to find none.

One slip of her foot was all it took, and down she went.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Eyes bulged, for more reasons than one. Her nudity caught him off guard, the scars crisscrossing her body shocked him, and her sudden fall made him cringe. Within the nano-second of her fall Soliael contemplated the life choices that had so far led him to this moment.

He had grown up isolated from his father, had joined the Sith Empire in order to learn more about him, had supported their efforts to take Metalorn, met Kira there, then left the Empire to found his own religion. Subsequently he had grown the religion to massive proportions, begun to get bored with his role of God, found interest in the young Jedi girl he remembered being quite curious, had contemplated finding her a few times, then taken a trip with his best friend to do some off kilter smuggling only to be shot down on a world where coincidentally he found the very same Jedi Girl.

Yeah.

Yeah that was about it.

Before Kira could fall all the way onto the ground and smash her head on the back of the hard marble floors Soliael moved again. This time he didn't dash forward, even he wasn't fast enough for that. Instead he blinked out of existence, appearing directly behind and underneath Kira in order to catch her. Then a heartbeat later they both appeared within the center of the bathroom, he clutching her naked in his arms, him dripping went from the crashing tidal wave of water coming from the shower head.

What a picture.

 

[Kira Talith]

All she did was blink. That's it. Blink.

Then one second he was at the door, the next she was crashing and stumbling against him at her back. Whaa.. What is this?! She gave another yelp in surprise. Arms and legs half tangled, and consequences would ensue to ensure that both would go sliding down until they hit the ground with a thud. She'd bounce against him, wet, pink, and freezing cold as the water kept spraying over them.

There was no time to consider how in the heck he'd done what he'd done. There was an altogether far more pressing issue at hand.

"Ohbeans!Bea-- ow!!" her elbow hit stone, right on her funny bone. That hurt. Commence the squirming, her half sprawled against his chest as her right hand would suddenly smack against his eyes to shield them. Granted she didn't do very well, not with the slippery water making it difficult to keep her placement.

"DON'T LOOK!" she'd sputter, water getting into her eyes and mouth as she would start her comical attempt to reach up and shut off whatever knob started the blasted thing. One knee would sink against his thigh, her bare torso stretching over him in her attempt to shut the water off.

This... wasn't good. In fact this was downright mortifying. Great, now she was cold, wet, and bright red in embarrassment.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael didn't move.

He could have likely picked her up and turned off the water himself, but in the ludicrousness of the situation Soliael completely lost all sense and reason and simply let Kira slide and slip all over him. His cloak became soaking wet, slick to the touch and even more slipper as Kira began to throw more and more water in his face while trying to shield his eyes.

Of course by now he had seen everything there was to see, something that didn't really upset him, far from it. When she reached up to turn off the water, his face became confronted with another pleasant view, and it was at this time that he decided to comply with her demand.

“They're closed.” A little too late, but he was a Sith, they did evil things.

Suddenly he felt a pinch against his thigh, her knee digging into a knot of tendons. Soliael groaned slightly, and out of pure reach jerked upwards...

Into Kira's chest.

 

[Kira Talith]

Maybe somewhere, deep in the recesses of his mind, Sol was probably cursing the day he met one short stack of a blonde imp Jedi with a serious case of the klutzs.

Either way, his sudden jerk and subsequent face plant would only unsteady her balance further. Smack! Gasp! then "Whoaawhoa! Omph!" as she went sliding against him, sol certainly got more than he bargained for with a full on graze against his face with one of the girls. Followed by the sharp knock of her chin at the top of his head when she went slipping right on top of him.

"OW!" pain would lash through her jaw, and she'd fall smack straddling one thigh, one knee impacting the stone floor and bringing another yelp. That hand that had attempted to cover his eyes? Yeah that dropped in a frantic attempt to steady herself, grabbing hold of the thick soaking wet fur of his cloak on his shoulder.

What else could possibly go wrong, now?!

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Something soft brushed his face, and for a moment everything as bliss as squishyness touched him, then seconds later he felt a hard impact against the top of his. He impacted against her, his limp arms coming up to grip his wounded head were immediately greeted by Kira's body.

Soliaels eyes being closed made it rather difficult to see where she actually was, and when he moved to grab his aching skull, he instead grabbed her.

Her slippery wet back proved difficult to latch onto, and a strange sort of momentum from her movement pushed himself and Kira to the side, ending with the Sith Lord half on top of the naked woman, his eyes still closed and his arm wrapped around her body.

 

[Kira Talith]

Question, if a Jedi Master falls on her back and there is no one around, does she still make a sound?

Well, it didn't matter because the next second her world spun and her right shoulder would hit the floor, pain streaking down her back before a heavy weight nearly knocked the wind out of her lungs.

Another yelp came out of her, her head knocking back against the floor hard enough for her to see stars in her eyes. "Gahow!" Her hands would come up to try and cradle her head, only to get caught against the heavy folds of his wet cloak now half on her.

Wiggle, wiggle. Groan in pain. Squirm. Tears would smart her eyes and her face never felt as hot as it did then, the flush sweeping down her neck and over her chest. Good thing he had his eyes closed, otherwise if anyone ever wondered just how far down her blush goes would get the answer.

Youhavegot... tobefreakingkiddingme!

Oh yeah, this was likely about the time that knee that left knee that had been between his legs earlier? The one on the inside when she'd straddled his thigh? Yeah, at the fall, it had no where to go but up until it met impact.

Right at the crux of his thighs.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Pain lanced through him, running through his body as her knee struck him. His eyes popped open in sudden surprise and his body seemed to seize slightly as he couldn't control the natural reaction of his muscles. He began to spasm, shifting and locking himself into place. His arms tightened out of pure reaction, gripping Kira and pulling her body tightly against him.

This of course, made the situation worse, and as he pulled her into him his eyes bulged even further, a loud groan of pain escaping him.

“Stop.”

The words were so strained that they hardly escaped his throat.
“...Moving...”

The last word was choked entirely.

“...Please.”

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira instantly froze, shoulders hunching a bit as his firm grip drew her tighter against him. Delicate areas would protest as he'd curl and stiffen against her, feeling the scratch of the stubble of his jaw and the press of his forehead against her chest. She'd wince, the pain in her head pulsing with a dull ache and his locked position making it harder to breathe, as evident as one hard point by his eyes struggled to rise and fall.

Ohgawd.

Completely and utterly mortified beyond belief, Kira would knock her head back, closing her eyes tightly as if wishing herself away would make her disappear in a blink of an eye just like he had before.

Stars what she'd give to be able to do that right now.

If there was any way for her to turn a brighter red, she did. And it showed.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

For a moment he held against her, even after she stopped squirming. Not because he was seeking comfort or anything of the sort, but simply because the pain emanating from between his legs had absolutely locked his body into place against her. His face was pressed into her chest, and as the pain slowly left him and entered into a dull aching throb he let out single hot breath before forcing his muscles to relax.

Soliael tumbled away from Kira, the heavy cloak slapping against the puddle that had formed in the shower bottom. He relaxed slightly, or tried to. There was still a great amount of hurt flowing through him.

His head turned over to look at her, not so much muscle movement, but the natural act of gravity pulling at him. The Orange hint of his eyes told of a hurt, both emotional and physical.

With freezing cold water pouring over him, Soliael reached up and turned the knob to the right, ceasing the flow of water.

 

[Kira Talith]

Drip, drip, and then the water would stop.

The next few minutes would be the ones to make or break whatever it was for the start of the day. If anything Kira was in a daze, parts of her heavily protesting the rough and tumble she managed to klutz her way into, reminding her that she'll be paying for it in a constellation of bruises soon enough.

As soon as he'd slid away from her, she'd draw herself up into a sitting position and scamper back until her back met the cold stone of the refresher wall. Knees drew up tight against her chest, mortified and attempting to bring a measure of modesty back. Force knows that her pride certainly took a heck of a beating, and her cheeks were twin spots of red under the plastered blonde hair stuck on her cheeks, neck, and shoulders.

Her face fell against her hands, groaning in her embarrassment, as if the sheer act alone might make her disappear. Oh she didn't need her Lorrdian skills to know she whooped him good, right on the nads too.

"I'msorryareyouokay?" her blue eyes would peek through the cracks of her fingers, wincing as she got a good look at his expression.

Yeaaaah....maybe not the best question to ask.

So there they were, one in her birthday suit and the other soaking wet in full clothes -- cloak and all. Cold, sitting in a pool of water that was draining away. The absurdity of the situation finally dawning on her. Her lower lip began to tremble. Stars, don't do it Kira. Don't do it.

Then her shoulders began to shake.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael lay on the floor for a moment, his arm dropping back into the puddle of water.

The drain had been stuffed up by hair from the cloak, and perhaps by Soliael himself. Pain slowly radiated through him, the dull ache going through him again and again slowly began to go away. He heard Kira speak, but exactly what she said didn't register with him in the slightest. His eyes were still stairing at her, and he observed her curling up into place.

For a moment he simply let his eyes focus on her, then he realized what exactly he was seeing and slowly he turned his head away, forcing the muscles in his neck to work. His eyes shifted to look up at the ceiling, and another involuntary groan escaped his lips as he reached up and unclasped his cloak. The wet cloth splotched down onto the shower floor, and slowly the Sith Lord managed to push himself up.

His head never turned to Kira, instead he simply stood up and walked out of the shower like a zombie with a limp. Squishy boot noises rang out for a moment.

A minute later he returned, clothing still soaked carrying a very large towel. A river of water ran behind him, boots having squirted excess water, clothes having dripped, and Soliael himself having simply trailed whatever water had been left on him. Leaning down, water droplets falling from his face, Soliael placed the towel over Kira's shoulders.

“Are you okay?” He said in an odd voice.

 

[Kira Talith]

Her shoulders would shake a bit harder, and there would be muffled sounds coming from her as she felt him place the towel over her. Stars this was just so -- ridiculous.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Apparently, her body did however, as her hands would slip from her face to press against her mouth. Well she wasn't crying.

Instead she was trying hard to stop the growing fit of laughter threatening to spill out.

"I'm sorry," she'd burst out, half muffled, shaking her head, "I just... " one hand waved to emphasize the situation, eyes bright in the competing contrast of mirth and embarrassment.

"Water and then... You just... " the whole series of events would be pantomimed in a confusing mix of kinetic communication and whatever basic she managed to utter. "And then... we... and the water just kept... I didn't mean to..." All which ended with a sudden groan of frustration at herself as her face would fall to her knees.

"Sorry."

First she blasted him on a planet. Then she electrocuted him. Now she made an utter fool of herself and struck a low blow.

Mand down! Maaaaan down.

At this rate, she was liable to be the death of him.