You Owe Me

[Zahra Arcturus]

Geonosis - Knight's Obsidian HQ | [member=Hashim]​

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A pale moon hung against a backdrop of midnight blue, its soft white glow fading behind jet black clouds as the breeze carried them across the sky. One would expect it to be silent, but despite the late hour flickers of life still remained in the city of Geonosis. Apparent in the scattered squares of fluorescent light pouring from windows, and the gentle hum of those seeking solace at the bottom of a glass instead of sleeping the night away peacefully. To the slender woman perched on the edges of the roof, pale feet dangling over the deathly drop below, it mattered not. Her playground lay beyond the steady beat of hearts, beyond what the mortal mind could comprehend, beyond any silence that the night could create.

The Mother of Nightmares plunged her vision into darkness. There were many souls to chose from, many dreams that called out to her from the tear between worlds, but common was boring. The dreams that shouted loudest were ones with threads so familiar she could weave them from memory. Easy prey, but no. Not tonight. Tonight would be different. With the hours of time lying ahead why not spend some of it hunting something a little more juicy to sink her teeth into? Oh, they had to be powerful, yes, and but turmoil was her favourite treat. She needed someone who was buried in the shadow of doubt, someone with the great weight on their shoulders, someone with a secret.

Cast in shadows that danced and waned with the moonlight, the Mother searched. Through light and dark, through the rip in realms, she hunted for the perfect prey. As if browsing shelves for her next purchase, Zahra took her time. She stopped to feel the fabric of each dream, to smell the imagination at work, to see the weird and wonderful scenes flash by in a blurred haze. Surprisingly, the track she found was not one of the dream world, but one of reality. A powerful shudder in the force sent ripples through her mind, and that was all she needed. Not exactly a soul in turmoil, but that could be fixed. Though she could not yet see their dream realm, the Mother of Nightmares knew they would be exquisite. In a blur of midnight smoke she chased the scent, ignoring the thousands of rips that would satisfy her itch just as easily, but when she arrived...

Empty.

Nothing.

Her shadow stirred, a cloud of ethereal smoke twisting and writhing, looking for a shred of a dream in corners that did not exist.

Nothing?!

A hiss of distaste was the only trace she left behind in his realm of deep slumber. Sharply pulling herself back to her awaiting body, Zahra found the hiss continued. A man who does not dream? Anger was her first emotion, rage that she had wasted precious energy searching for the perfect prey, only to have it snatched from her. Never before had she been denied the right to practice her calling, who was this man so powerful as to-... She stilled. Was it power? Or was it a curse? Curiosity quickly doused the flame of anger. All that remained was an empty and unsatisfied hunger. Zahra sat in silence, not even a whisper of a word in her mind as the breeze rolled strands of raven hair across her face.

After a few moments of pensive quiet, her mind had been made up. The answers to the questions she asked could be easily found.

As though confirming to herself, she stood. Using the ripple of force she had tracked in the dream realm, her footsteps carried her across the rooftops. Just as she reached a corner, where one would expect her to turn and carry on, Zahra stepped from the edge. Her free fall down the side of the building lasted only moments before a gush of force brought her to a slow stop in front of a garishly framed window. The Mother of Nightmares flicked her wrist, satisfied with the sound of the lock as it clicked out of place to allow the window to swing free on its hinges. Inside her milk white eyes could just make out the blurred edges of the man who had unknowingly denied her. Were it not for her desire to find answers, she would have enjoyed staining his perfect satin sheets a shade of crimson, but as it was...

Zahra entered, tracing snake like patterns through the shadows that clung to the edges of the room.

'Never before have I sat down to dine and found the plate empty. What could cause such a thing? Why would you tease me so?' She mused aloud, her eerie voice barely a whisper against the deep breaths the object of her curiosity took in slumber. 'What maladies plague you?' Talon fingers sunk into the carved wooden bed frame as the Mother of Nightmares pulled herself over the edge. Her lips sank behind her teeth to hum a haunting melody that drifted on the cool breeze and echoed off the walls. With movements so light they barely made dents in the plush mattress beneath, she crept along his body.

Settling herself astride his chest, the Mother of Nightmares loomed over her prey. An figure who's darkness swallowed the pale moonlight as it desperately attempted to illuminate her. Sharp nails traced a gentle pattern over his chiselled jaw, the curious expression on her face only growing as she explored the aura he projected. Her fingers came to rest on his chin, one either side in a gentle grip a mother would use to hold the attention of her child. Torso bending in the middle, Zahra lent forward till the tip of her nose grazed against his. A waterfall of ebony hair cascaded down to cast their faces in darkness as Zahra spoke.

'You owe me a dream.'​

 

[Rience]

[member="Zahra Laurs"]​

Now I lay me down to sleep...

Some would describe Golbah as the city that never slumbers. For, despite how long the Sun had been absent from the heavens, the metropolis yet buzzed with activity. Airspeeders rippled through the skies in neat flows of traffic, whilst music thundered from the lowest levels. T'was within the heart of this insomniac environment that the Lord Commander finally stepped away from his duties. As of now, the sable-skinned man was still finding his footing in this brave, new world. For, prior to recent history, Geonosis had not been his home.

Like any member of the Knighthood, he typically slept in a bunk or aboard a starship. Yet, with the burden of command falling upon his shoulders, a Lord Commander's accommodations had been offered. An actual bed, an actual office, and the trappings of an actual life were laid before the soldier. Yet, despite these comforts, Hashim buried himself deep in his obligations until he felt exhaustion plaguing his vision. When the weight of his eyelids was simply too much to bear, the titan of a man rose from his seat and retired to his chambers.

There, he intended to get at least a few hours of sleep before resuming. Yet she had other plans.

Slumber for Hashim had been an uneventful activity up until this point. For as long as he could remember - which only stretched back to being pulled from underneath rubble years prior - the Lord Commander could never recall his dreams. It was not something that he spent any amount of time ruminating over, for the demands of the waking world were far more urgent. Yet, in light of this, the Mother of Nightmares had found her midnight snack disappointing. From her ethereal perch in the realms between, she would find not even a crumb.

Thus, as she invaded his quarters, the Lord Commander felt cold. As a man hardened by battle after battle, sleeping light was the key to survival. By the time his window was breached by the touch of the Force, his mind was beginning to wrest itself from the embrace of slumber. By the time her hollowed speech graced his ears, awareness had begun to take hold. Instinct, hot and furious, began to flow mightily through his veins. His eyes eased open, yet he made no motion just yet - for his eyes searched her hands for a discernable weapon.

There was none to be found. Not even as she straddled his chest and croned her madness into his ears. Her hands were as cold as ice. Her touch supremely gentle. She was...real and unreal. Human, yet so clearly not. But, just as he did not ruminate over his lack of dreams, he did not focus on the appearance of the woman. Rather, his offhand rose in the blink of an eye, reaching to ensnare her throat in its grasp. His fingers aimed to coil mercilessly and to restrict all hope of breathing. All the while, the Force shrieked within the room, beaconing his closest armament to his grasp.

A combat knife flew to his hand and was immediately seized within his dominant grasp. The blade angled upward as the man seethed through clenched teeth: "Who are you?" Whether or not he attempted to slay his attacker would thus depend on her response.

 

[Zahra Arcturus]

Geonosis - Knight's Obsidian HQ | [member=Hashim]​

The softly spoken words stirred her slumbering prey, just as she had expected. They were meant to be loud enough to float into his ear, to tickle his instincts and alert him to the Mother of Nightmare's danger. Close enough now that she could make out the features of his face, Zahra drank them in. This man of mystery, this man of power, this man who didn't dream. Yet there was more to him than that, but she had little time to contemplate what it was. Before she could blink a tanned hand had encased her throat in an iron grip. A smile stretched across her pale lips, though it quickly dropped as the blade cut through the air to heed its Master's call.

When she spoke again the words were no longer sweet. They had a sharper edge to them, a haunting edge that sounded like nails being dragged down a chalkboard.

'Who am I?' Zahra ran a sharp fingernail across his cheekbone, milk white eyes never leaving the alarmed face in their gaze. 'The shadow on the moon, the fear in darkness, the monster under your bed.' An airy voice let off a harrowing giggle filled with a genuine amusement. The tips of her fingers danced a path from his face to his chest. 'My sweet dreamless one, I judged you as wise. Do you really think you can threaten me with mortal weapons?' As the words were spoken her talons sunk into the satin sheets, into his flesh. Though not hard enough to break skin there was enough weight behind it for him to feel the pressure. The action came with a subtle wave of her strange magik that spread heat through the dagger pressed against her neck.

It was a slow but threatening move. The heat started from the hilt of the blade, a warmth akin to submerging your hand in a bath. As the seconds ticked by it grew, like the witch had slid a furnace directly under the dull silver glinting in the moonlight. After half a minute had passed she could feel the heat where the blade met her neck, but the witch didn't mind pain. She thrived off it. The thin slither of singed skin kept her alert. It kept her focused on the face that had clawed at her curiosity quicker than any other had before.

With eyes sharp and wide, she dared him. She dared him to make another move, to hang on to the blade for as long as he could, to fill her nostrils with the sweet stench of burning flesh.