Within The Dark

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He didn’t particularly care if she could do it on her own or not, it wasn’t about her.

”I don’t need to be subtle.” Val said plainly. In truth she didn’t really have much of a choice at this point. Val had made up his mind and he would be going, or he would be destroying the gauntlet. Of course, saying that would likely only entrench her more into her current position.

Val knew that, he had been married.

”They will come after the gauntlet.” He restated. ’The man who hired you probably knew that and didn’t tell you for that specific reason.”

It was logical. Someone was less likely to take a job if they knew they would end up being chased by a crazy cult because of it. It was a risk and reward type thing, and generally a crazy cult that worshipped some sort of ancient object was enough risk to throw most people completely off. ”You can handle yourself I’m sure, but it will be much easier if I’m there. Plus, I still don’t want any money I just want to make sure that thing isnt the reason for more innocent people dying.”

He really didn’t care about money

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Her snort told that she was wary and suspicious enough to think otherwise. Ryssa's arms once again went wrapping around her torso under the fullness of her breasts.

Don't need to be subtle? Yeah, got that loud and clear bud, Ryssa mused to herself, annoyance crossing her face.

Did she have to bring him along? Nope. In fact, she could just make a run for it and he wouldn't be able to catch up to her. Not with her using the speeder and him out here by the mines with his back still healing. She could go to her rented room, grab the rest of her things and take her trusty ship off world in less than a half an hour flat.

The more she thought about it, the more that sounded better to her.

The last thing she needed was this big guy following her around. Even if he did have a great ass.

"Fine, humor me. If you do come along, will you listen and do all that I say?" time to test. This was her job, not his.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”Probably not.” Val said with a shrug. ”If it makes sense, I’ll do it, but I won’t go running headlong into a wall over and over again just because you told me to.”


His latter example was of course a bit silly, but it was given to illustrate a point.


Val had a mind of his own, even the woman he loved, the one that he had considered his soulmate, hadn’t been able to make him do something that he deemed stupid. It was the way he was, stubborn and beyond difficult to work with unless you explained the details of why you wanted him to do something.


It could be frustrating, but that was simple who he was.


Val didn’t like going into things blindly, he liked knowing what and where he was going, what was going to happen when he got there, and why certain things were the way that they were. It was one of the reasons he watched so many holo-documentaries. ”Other than that, sure.”

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Another snort.

"I'm not the one who was spouting earlier about going on a crusade against the Cult of the Ominous Fist." point two for Ryssa! In her mind, he was already trying to do moronic things.

Yellow eyes bore right at the dripping wet male. They appraised him, mulling over decisions and what to do. Should she do it? And if so, what assurances did she have that he wouldn't turn around and try something?

So she made a point to ask just that.

"And what assurances do I have that you won't be trying anything funny in this little gig?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”What funny thing would I try?” Val asked plainly. It wasn’t like he wanted the gauntlet for himself, as far as he was concerned the thing was evil. All he wanted was to destroy it or make sure it ended up in the right hands. She was the one that was ‘trying’ things, not him. The farmer scowled for a moment then continued.


”I just want the thing gone.” A logical decision too. ”Since you won’t let me do that, I’ll listen to what this archaeologist has to say.”


Perhaps he would know how to destroy it.


Val still thought that the lava pit was probably the best idea, but he wasn’t sure if he could actually find one of those, and traveling to Mustafar seemed like a hassle. In the end, Val had already made his intentions regarding the Gauntlet perfectly clear. He wanted it gone, either destroyed or in the hands of someone who would keep it safe and hidden.


Perhaps the Jedi, though he didn’t mention them.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

Ryssa scowled right back. She survived this long by being realistic; the chances of any sapient wanting to simply do good just for good was low. In fact, some might even deem it rather laughable. Maybe she was a bit of a cynic there, but she'd been witness to a plethora of the worst in sapitants and what they could do.

Not to mention all the grabby times he'd been trying to pull.

"Oh, like that time you pinned me against the wall?" Aaaaaaand another point for Ryssa. The look she flashed him said she knew she got him there too.

"Not to mention, you already were trying to use your size against me."

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

You were refusing to answer a simple question about your homeworld.”[/color] He shrugged. ”At the time I thought you might have been a part of the cult and simply attempting to fool me.”


The way he stated it made it sound completely logical, and in a way it was. Of course, now that she had actively saved his life he felt differently about it all, but at the time it had seemed at least somewhat reasonable to do what he had done. ”Besides. In the heat of the moment I don’t think you minded all that much.”


Her own reactions were a rather good point in that.


”I wouldn’t have done it had you simply answered my question.” Val went on to say. ”Secrets breed mistrust.”


He had shared his life after all, at least a part of it. She might have thought him a liar but, he had never once told her something that wasn’t true. He was only here out of curiosity, he really did come from Vilith, and he was a Farmer. Everything he had told her was true, and she had never once asked him for more.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A narrowed scrunch of her eyes and a purse of her lips was her reaction to the first bit. Oh wow, really. So that's why he did that? Well, it only served to show her the REAL reason he had.

Huh, figures.

Assmuption made and her humor quickly leaving her, Ryssa decided that the best course of action was to let him do what he will and then maybe she could get rid of him later. Drop him off at some spaceport or something. He was already becoming a headache she didn't want to have to deal with -- much the less considering how if this lead on to more than just a day's worth of travel she'd be in a predicament with her true form revealing itself.

"Then I guess our first stop is the surgeon's right?"

Or maybe even lose him in the middle of his treatment then.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”No.” Enough time had now passed that his soak in the pool had done a significant amount of healing on his back. The wounds were almost completely closed, just thick scabs now, and he could feel that the muscle which had been ripped and shredded apart had either regrown, or been mended. It was remarkable really, and Val thought they would have to take some of this stuff in a bottle or something.


”We get off world.” A surgeon wasn’t necessary, at least not yet. He could manage a while with the shrapnel lodged in him, however unpleasant it might make things sometimes. Besides, finding someone who was properly trained...well that could take time. While he knew the village had healers, he doubted they had actual trained surgeons. ”Those cultists will still be looking for us, probably in the village.”


Any treatment would take too much time and draw too much attention anyway. ”I can survive.”


Oddly enough he actually felt quite good.


His arms reached up and out of the pool, Val hefting himself out of the water with a low grunt. There was no pain or anything that followed along with it, a good sign considering what he had been like only a short while ago.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Her frustration at him resulted in a thinning of her lips.

"Fine." okay, play Besh; spaceport drop it would be.

"Your skin, not mine." the Clawdite said plainly. She had done enough with trying to save him and help him so far. If he was going to be Gamorrean-headed, well there was nothing she could do about that. He would act mad regardless.

The woman spun on the ball of her heel and began to head for the exit.

"Then you best get your gear together. We are leaving."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Most of his clothing had been shredded during the concussion blast, an unfortunate thing that he hadn’t really noticed until now. On top of that his armor had been left behind in the cavern. He frowned for a moment and shifted, his gaze falling on the woman as he slowly scooped up what was left of his pants and shirt.


Val looked at the rag of a garment for a few moments and frowned, he would have to find something else to wear. For now at least, his pants and shoes remained in a single piece and that would be enough to get around. The cold might bother him a bit once they got to space, but...well that shouldn’t be an issue either.


”Alright.” He said tugging on his boot.


The laces were quickly tied, matching the leather of his shoe quite well. He tied them knots almost reverently, as if the laces themselves had history with him. Once he finished Val stood up, turning away from Ryssa for a moment to check he had everything.


As he turned she would see the scabs that now stretched across his back.


”I’ll need new clothes.” He said it more to himself than to her. ”Alright let’s go.”

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

The Clawdite's eyes had to adjust to the brightness of the morning as she stepped out of the small cave. A hand came up, shielding her eyes as that bright orb rose over the tree line. Blinking rapidly, Ryssa gave a sigh.

Well this was going to be a joyride, she thought to herself ruefully. Shaking her head, she carefully gave a good look around. So far, nothing seemed out of place.

Her speeder was just alongside a nearby cluster of rocks. She figured it would provide a good bit of shelter from the cultists. However, the longer they stayed here the more likely they'd get caught.

"I'm driving." she told him, sauntering down towards where she stashed her speeder.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”That’s fine.” Val couldn’t drive anyway.


He had never really learned how. The Outer Rim wasn’t as backwards as a lot of people thought, many planets had speeders, but Val had never taken the opportunity to learn. Back home he’d always preferred to walk, and on other worlds there were so many other more interesting modes of transportation that had caught his eye far more than any silly speeder.


It wasn’t something he was ashamed of, and in this situation he supposed it actually might help him, given that Ryssa seemed rather aggressive at the moment. Perhaps she would calm down once she realized he wasn’t really a threat, though from the way she sauntered across the field he very much doubted it.


A shrug rolled over his shoulder.


In the end he was confident that he would get what he wanted, either the destruction of the gauntlet or it landing in the hands of someone who wouldn’t abuse it...forever whatever Moridin had intended it to do. He frowned slightly as they reached the speeder, pondering exactly what the Sith Lord had created the gauntlet for.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]


Hopping into the speeder, Ryssa thought to herself 'Well that's a surprise.' Here she was already expecting him to argue with her again. Small miracles.

A glance shot over to him from the corner of her eyes caught sight of his state of affairs. Ripped and ragged remains for clothing. No armor. Really, he had ... nothing. A small pang of guilt rang in the Clawdite. She tried to push past that nagging voice to at least do something about it.

"Buckle up. We don't know how many of those Cultists are still out there." she warned him, revving up the speeder as she turned it on.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He snapped the buckle into place.

If he minded sitting in the speeder without any clothes, or much of any, Val didn't show it. Instead he leaned back in the seat slightly, adjusted it to be more comfortable, and then let out a sigh. The warrior wiggled his butt, and then shifted to look at Ryssa. "Off we go."

They rocketed off without much hesitation.

The wind immediately pressed against his chest, the cold air causing goosebumps to raise all over his skin. He let out a shiver, but tried not to let the cold bother him too much. Instead he closed his eyes, relaxing for a few moments and simply taking in deep breaths of fresh air. The cavern had been safe, but it had an odd smell to it that had come from the many pools that dotted its ground.

And aside from that, Val had always loved the fresh air.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

@Valkyrien Aurelios

The trip to the village was a short one, but one met with a heavy dose of caution. Ryssa didn't know just whom would have eyes in the village from the Cult, much the less if anywhere around to try and stop them.

Val thankfully didn't say much more or argue beyond the 'off we go'. Still, have to figure out a way to lose him once we were gone, she mused. It wasn't that she was a bad person as much as having him along would be by far one of the worst ideas ever. Not to mention his constant barreling through with his own ideas on how things should be done.

Trust, well, wasn't the strongest point of the pair was it?

Every now and then she shot him a glance off of her perifphery. It would do him well to see someone about all that shrapnel. Figures that the man would be all the more stubborn for it.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val remained calm within the passenger seat. The cold air was starting to get to him in truth, but a steady inflow of fresh air and a calm...almost meditative state allowed it to wash over him, at least a little bit. He smiled slightly as they pulled into the tiny village, daylight casting it in a far more pleasant way than the night had before. His eyes immediately began to wander to the buildings around them, searching structures and streets for any sign of cultists.

It was silly of course, none of the cultists would likely throw themselves out in the crowd, instead they would report back and then strike later.

"Careful." He said quietly. "Let's just head to the spaceport and leave."

There was no point in trying to take in the sight, not when they knew the Cultists were watching. It was best just to head off-world as soon as they possibly could. Though, there was one piece of this that he hadn't really thought of...did she have a ship?

He certainly didn't.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Not so easy." Ryssa replied, thoughts elsewhere. Of course he'd want to go straight to the spaceport. Thankfully she still had to go back to the room she rented and pick up the rest of her gear.

"I've a stop to go first." she said plainly, engine humming as the Clawdite gave a right turn towards one of the streets near the edge of the village. The local cantina would be nearby, the very same one he'd caught her along the alley poking the miner for information.

"What, you've no other gear to pick up?" She shot him a surprised arch of her brow, a wry twist in her lips considering his current state of affairs with clothing.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"No." He answered honestly.

Val had never really 'owned' a lot of things. He had the house back home on Vilith, but even that was mostly filled with Aerith's possessions. He went back a few times a year to make sure that everything was still standing, dig away the snow, check on the roof, but...well most of the things weren't his. An outsider might have seen it as strange, and in truth it probably was, but their home...it was a source of memories, almost like a shrine for him.

"I'm a Farmer, remember?" He told me. "We don't have a lot of things."

Generally he had always tended to just...go with what he could. His clothes were washed daily, his travel and meals were funded by working for innkeepers and starship Captains, and aside from that...well he had never really needed anything else.

That might have seemed odd to someone like Ryssa, but for Val it had been a way of life for the better part of a century now.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Right...a farmer." the half murmur would be lost in the sound of the wind. He kept on with that story, but why would a farmer be out here in the middle of some back water planet when he had one of his own? Certainly served some consideration.

"With no land to farm of his own?" she added, shooting him another probing look with those almond shaped eyes. Her visor kept the bulk of that dark cobalt hair away from her face, but a few tendrils whipped back and forth to kiss her cheeks.

"Certainly not here I'm sure." or more aptly, why wasn't he back at home then? Doing farming... things.