A Guy Like You

[Scherezade deWinter]

She didn't reply to the message he'd sent her. She wanted to, almost desperately, but she feared that starting a conversation now would simply distract him. She eyed the ring, walking back and forth on the side of it that she was on, occasionally eyeing the droid, wondering what it would take to make sure it was hers by the end of the fight.

When Gerwald slew the first butthat and looked at her, she returned a warm smile. It was odd though, that only one had gone up against him. She had imagined that they would all come at once, though frankly she had no reason to suspect one form of doing it or another.

Stay alive, she sent back to him, they won't all be that bad at not dying.

A simple message, but an effective one.

As preparations were made for round two, Scherezade finally just walked to the droid.

"Who owns you?" she asked.

"I am owned by ______" the droid answered, giving a bunch of ticking sound. Force, she hated Trandoshan names.

"Is ticky ticky chuk chuk gonna be fighting in the ring today?"

"Oh yes."

"And if he dies, who'll own you?"

"Access denied," the droid replied.

Scherezade nodded. It was too much to expect a straight answer anway. Yet when the bell rang for round two, she was smiling again. "When my partner kills him, you're coming home with me." Had she actually said that? Referred to Gerwald as my partner? Schereade put it out of her mind by brute force. It was a term that had many different meanings. Obviously, she had been referring to the one that claimed they were fighting together. Nothing else.

To Gerwald, she simply sent I'd like to have you back in one piece when this is over. It was... Concern. Concern that she was not used to voicing. And for a moment, she wondered if it had even come out that way.

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Scherezade was right, the others would not be as easy to kill. He had sensed her surprise when they came one at a time. That’s what a gauntlet was, but after three had fallen, they came at him in pairs.

Pairs were harder because they had to be lined up. Gerwald could hear the voice of his training officer yelling “line’em up Ger,” as they came at him. It was easier said than done. If he could line them up one kill would move into the next. Of course, when the instructor yelled, his sparring buddies would make it near impossible. These aliens didn’t know what he was doing though. He would only catch them off guard once, so he had to make it count.

The first moved for Gerwald’s head... why did that always go for the kill shot. A simple back step, maybe two, let him dodge. One step to the right and a half pivot had the two lined up. Another swing. This time Gerwald ducked and cut the attackers knee. He stepped through the attack and with the second weapon swing upward and stabbed the second alien in the throat. Spinning, Gerwald slashed the back of the first attacker leaving the two to bleed out.

That made 5.

The remaining seven were mad and rushed him.

”Scherezade.... now!”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade sighed. They had known this moment would come sooner or later. She didn't know if Trandoshians were stupid by nature, but this merry group of useless creatures certainly was. Gerwald had started off strong and continued on stronger, and that had pissed them off enough to cheat. Or maybe they had thought to cheat in advance, who knew. She certainly wasn't going to start.

When Gerwald called her, the young Sithling jumped from her place and landed right next to the Lupine with an elegant flip into the ring. Her training never paused, and she knew now things that she had not even been able to show him when they met the week prior. Her hands moved fast as the knives came pouring from beneath her clothes, but between her hands began to grow an orb that omitted light as green as her eyes.

The Sutta Chwituskak she knew how to conjure weren't the biggest things ever. But she could call on them with ease, and one after the other forms in her hands and glew at the big uglies while her knives danced in the air, looking for and finding their targets. She was not holding back - hearts, eyes, skulls, groins, knee caps. Every so often she would stop creating her orbs only to control her knives with more finesse.

It was a dance. And she was becoming better at it. But whereas she was used to dancing solo, there was another partner on the dance floor with her, and the only place where the Sith held back was where she stopped herself from stealing his lightning. He had been the one who had volunteered to do this, he had been the one who wanted to fight them in her stead.

She was here to be the very deadly wallflower, and she smiled widely as she performed her task with glee.


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

A smile crossed Gerwalds face when [member="Scherezade deWinter"] landed next to him. Her power was raw, developed further than the time previous, and she let it out on full display. This was a dance that would be different than the others they had shared. Rather than sparring with each other, or making a mess of the sheets, or whatever room they occupied, Gerwald and Scherezade would move about each other slashing and killing until all those who would want them dead had fallen by their blades.

With a pile of bodies around them Gerwald looked to the sithling. His hand grabbed the collar of her shirt as he pulled to him for a hungry kiss. The wolf had killed its prey, and with each kill Gerwald gave into it more and more. He was the wolf. His instincts were becoming sharper. It only confirmed he had to seek out Katrine to help him understand what was happening.

When the kiss broke, Gerwald caught his breath and looked around. He looked at the stands and saw the droid trying to leave.

”We can’t let that droid leave,” he said as he ran and leaped to cut it off.

He howled as best a human could as he leaped through the air. Gerwald loved this ability the best he thought. Yes, he’d had his fun hang the force to undress Scherezade, but this was pure fun. The adrenaline and endorphins that rushed though his system was addicting. He loved the feeling of the air across his face.

It was always over too soon.

”Where are you going? I believe the sithling wanted to keep you...”

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Her body sang and danced as they worked together, their sync as perfect as one could hope for. They had not fought before together, and ideas popped into the Sithling's head, ideas regarding future maneuvers they could work on, since she had every intention of killing more by his side.

When the last Trandoshian fell she gasped hard and looked at Gerwald. Once again, the two were completely covered in blood. It was quickly turning into a usual thing for them and she smiled with savage joy just before he pulled her into that kiss. Her body felt as though he had set her on fire and she almost forgot to suggest to end their little day trip.

She was still in a daze of heat when Gerwald said something about the droid and both her body and mind snapped to attention. She put to chase, running after him, needing to get that droid in time. Thank the Force Gerwald reached him first, thereby removing any need of her to destroy this toy that she wanted to dearly.

"I must return to my master," the droid said, trying to wheel again.

Scherezade grinned and said "I'm your Master now," and the droid made some sounds that she thought meant disagreement.

With one hand, she reached into his outer shell, opened it, and twisted her hand, causing the droid to shut down.

"I just disconnected his command center," she explained as she looked up at Gerwald, "I have a aunt that lives here and she knows how to handle them. I can ask her to slice him and make him mine."

Was she going to offer him a meeting with her Aunt Asteria? Scherezade blinked. No. No chance. Aunt Asteria was at the Red Lady and she was not going to drag Gerwald into a brothel, high class as it may be. And besides, she wasn't ready to introduce him to the family.

Standing up again, she wrapped her arms around Gerwald, inhaling his scent. It was all still there, the forests and the must and the freedom, and now with an extra layer of death and destruction. She could get drunk on his smell.

"We take the droid to the ship, shower and change cloth, and finally go sight seeing," she said, resting her chin against the top of his chest, "I didn't bring you here so I could drool as I watch you kill butthats."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

They were bloody, always bloody. Gerwald smirked, and let [member="Scherezade deWinter"] deal with the droid. They needed to shower, change, see the sights. That was what they were there to do. However, he knew once they returned to the ship, sightseeing could possibly go out the window.

”If we head back to the ship it’s going to cut into the time we have. There has to be something close where we can deal with... this place has locker rooms doesn’t it?”

Ger was eager to see the planet. Scherezade had a plan for the day and this hadn’t been part of it. He looked at the droid.

”Except that... I suppose the ship it is. Then your taking me to find some food. All that killing has made me hungry.”

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade hit the ground with her foot. He was right. Any notion of going back to the ship meant plans could be kissed goodbye and more than just kissed goodbye. "I actually don't know if there are lockers here. I didn't even check for a bathroom last time I was here," she admitted, looking around. She should've asked the droid before she'd shut him down. Damnit. She was really going to have to learn how to think before she acted.

"There's another option," her mouth said before she could stop it. The young Sithling shut her eyes and cursed, "I sort of have a house here."

A house that had belonged (and according to the paperwork, still belonged) to her grandmother, who was inhabited by her roommate and her cousin, Celestine deWinter, and another very special guest, Verberri of Endelaan.

"It's not a really good option," she admitted, "Verberri is there. But... Her being there means there we won't get distracted from what we wanna do here."

[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

”We need the other option,” Gerwald said with a small smile.

She had a house, she had family? This wasn’t exactly how he imagined meeting family. His hand flicked and the droid was lifted. He had been practicing and could show off even more. That’s why he did. Something inside him had to impress her.

”So why is it not ideal?”

He didn’t want things to be awkward if that would cause things to end up that way. And then they would not be distracted, why not? Gerwald got the feeling he would be unwelcome at the house.

”I wouldn’t be welcome would I?”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

At the mention of him not being welcomed, Scherezade's face shot up in pure shock. "What?!" her voice betrayed her exact thoughts - the mere option of such a thing happening had never even occurred to her, "no- NO!"

She gasped, taking a step back out of his embrace. How was she going to explain this? Remember how I told you about my life and conveniently didn't mention I'm a princess of some backwater planet and my mother's personal body guard suddenly showed up the doorstep of the house I took from my grandmother, the same grandmother that we're both intent on killing didn't really sound like an explanation that could work.

"Verberri is very..." she tried to find words, "strict. Tough. She arrived a few weeks ago and I still don't know what to make of it. So I've been housing her in the Penthouse. And the Penthouse is also one that I share with my cousin Celestine and she would probably try to lure you into bed if she had even the smallest glimpse of you."

That could... That could work, right? None of that had been a lie. It just hadn't been the complete truth.

"I'm kinda scared at you meeting Verberri," she finally admitted. Not an entire truth either, but definitely what the full truth boiled down to.



[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Gerwald sighed. This was complicated.

”She’s going to get a glimpse of me if we go...”

He didn’t know what to think about this strict and conservative woman. She sounded like his mother, which of that were the case, he knew how to handle her. If she was worse, then Gerwald didn’t know what to do. This conversation was making things seem... serious, the kind of seriois that was going to require a conversation, and before thing got complicated.

It sounded like they already were, just by being together. Were they together? That was going to be the thing which complicated everything. Gerwald didn’t know it, but her world and his, they were not made to mix. The fact he was a Lupine had to factor into everything as well. The more things progressed the more complicated things were going to be. He didn’t like how she she said he was scared.

”We need to go. If this meeting is inevitable we must do this now. We are here. Let’s meet her.”

He didn’t know what this meant, but why not face it head first. Let people think what they wanted to think, but Gerwald had found a companion, someone that allowed him, encouraged him, to be free. There was little he wouldn’t do to keep that. As long as he always had a choice. He valued his freedom from much.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade nodded. There was no point in delaying it. They were going to go the Penthouse and Gerwald was going to meet Verberri. She chewed on her lower lip and nodded again before giving him a quick hug. She wasn't sure why she'd done it, but somehow it felt like it was needed. If not for him, then for herself. The good side of this little plan though, was that they'd be somewhere with a bathtub that was both huge enough for them both, and that the water pressure there was something out of dreams. Spaceship water pressure couldn't hold a candle to that.

Maybe, just maybe, if they were lucky, Celestine wouldn't be at home, and Verberri would be nappy. The woman never left the Penthouse so that would be the optimal outcome.

This time, Scherezade and Gerwald did draw attention as they walked through the streets, at least in terms of open stares. It was one thing to be shift into a wolf in public, it was quite another to walk around covered in blood, carrying a gray and pink droid. Still, she ignored it, and somehow managed to hail a cab. There would be no point in going around in public transportation. Not now, anyway.

Scherezade realized she had no idea about how life on Stewjon was. Castes were not enough to indicate technology levels. Did they have high buildings and vehicles that drove high above the ground? She wasn't sure, and she kept an eye on Gerwald as the taxi kept taking lanes that would take them higher and higher, her hand ready to hold his if he needed or wanted to. For a moment she thought about telling him about the stuff they passed through, but eventually she decided against it, opting to give him a proper tour when things were more fun.

Eventually, they reached the 500 Republica building. The last floors all belonged to her grandmother, and the place had been termed the deWinter Penthouse.

When Scherezade found it, it had been completely empty, with the walls and the floors and even the ceilings all decked in shiny black marble. She'd let Celestine redo most of the interior, since that woman had more experience and a better eye for such stuff. If it had been left to the Sithling, the place would've been turned into a sweaty cave. At the moment, cream and soft colors reigned supreme, with every luxury possible afforded, from couches to expensive paintings on the walls, to droids that were scrubbed until they were shiny clean.

Scherezade and Gerwald entered through the balcony, which was how most people got in and out. The elevators always took too damn long.

"This is it," she said with a nervous smile, feeling forward with the Force. No Celestine. Only Verberri, who was very much awake, and very much standing on the landing platform, her staff in hand.

"Scherezade deWinter!" the woman almost yelled when the girl's foot touched the too clean floor.

"Hey Verberri!" the girl greeted her, now holding Gerwald by the hand. Very hard. And for a moment she wondered if she should've warned him about Verberri's entire no eyes but holes in the head situation. "Verberri, this is Gerwald Lechner. Ger, this is Verberri, who is going to be very nice today and not try to verbally decapitate anyone."

She yanked his arm ready to run inside when Verberri stopped her with the staff.

"You have never brought anyone here before," she said, "and I can see death on both of you."

"Yes," Scherezade answered, "and we need to wash it off because it's starting to really reek. Also, I'm carrying a droid that needs to be sent to Auntie Asteria so she can fix it for me. It knows how to translate!"

Verberri sighed. The expression was similar to that of a parent deciding to go with what the kids wanted even though they knew much better.

With a grin, Scherezade pulled Gerwald inside, skipping all over the niceties until they reached her room.

Whereas the rest of the house was lavishly expensive (and if you asked Scherezade, also stupidly so), her own room was near Spartan - a bed to sleep in, a closet to put clothes in, and... Well, that was more or less it, despite the fact that it was bigger than most apartments. But it had a door, and that door led to the most luxurious bathroom ever! She pulled him to it, and to the centerpiece - a huge bathtub that doubled as a Jacuzzi in times of need and also had a rain-like way of pouring water on you. But with high pressure. Her clothes were off in an instant and she motioned for Gerwald to join her.

Unlike on her ship, there were manly scents available for him too. Only one of them had to absolutely smell like vanilla and pechulli today.



[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

The penthouse was beyond the largest thing Gerwald had ever seen. He didn’t know what to do with it, or what to even think. He was... dumbfounded by the enormity of the living space. Who needed anything so large except maybe... royalty. Ger had done fine with the ride to the balcony. Fortunately heights didn’t bother him, unlike many he knew of Stewjon. The jerking of the taxi driver was more a cause for concern than the height itself, still the ride was already gone. The Penthouse had his full attention.

Verberri was there to greet them. [member="Scherezade deWinter"] had left out the part of her missing eyes. Gerwald swallowed a lump in his throat quietly. She had sensed the death on them both. Her mannerisms reminded him of a witch. The Mandragora has simikiar ways of speaking at times. Though she was... intimidating.

Her tone seemed almost... accusatory about Gerwald’s presence, and it did not go unnoticed that she addressed only the sithling. Gerwald had been taught to keep his mouth shut in situations like this. His caste did not speak unless spoken to, and he suddenly felt like the insignificant warrior he would have been on Stewjon. He was glad when Scherezade drug him away toward her room.

The shower was unlike anything he’d seen. In fact her fresher was larger than his home. Once again the opulence had him speechless, though the water pressure made him sigh out of relief, especially as he made the water a little hotter.

**************************

Gerwald was on his back, in Scherezade’s bed. He was staring at the ceiling. His mind was still playing the cold reception they’d gotten from the blind woman. It was almost as if... they were not supposed to be there, or he wasn’t.

”She doesn’t like me... does she like anyone... AND what is up with this huge place. Your bathroom is bigger than my home on Stewjon. I thought you were poor?”

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Her entire body felt refreshed. There were things that shower could do that even rivaled a good night's sleep with Gerwald by her side. And on top of that, the towels here were much softer and fluffier than the hard grain ones on her ship. It was like wearing clouds.

Back in her room, Gerwald lay on her bed and she lay by him, their legs entwined. She loved how even soap couldn't hide his basic smell, and how she could smell it alongside the clean scents. It was the very smell that made her feel protected, made her feel like she wasn't completely alone in this vast galaxy. It was a shame there was no way to bottle it for the times they had to be apart on missions.

And then Gerwald spoke. Scherezade shuffled on the bed, rising her head to kiss his cheek.

"She told me that the only person she had shown gentleness to was my mother," she replied regarding Verberri, "even my father wasn't exactly protected from her, and once they almost killed each other and the main thing that kept them from it was that my mother would've died without their help."

It was a memory that her grandmother did not have. By the time it happened, her mother and grandmother were estranged, a crack opening between them that even centuries apart had not fixed. But that was another story for another time.

"How can anyone not like you?" she murmured, her kisses trailing down to his neck and then shoulder.

There was also the part about the house and her being poor. Scherezade let herself taste his skin for a few moments longer before she finally got to that.

"This house was my grandmother's," she said, "the same one we're gonna kill." She knew how badly it sounded. "When I discovered that my aunt Asteria was alive, I had nothing. Even the clothes I wore belonged to Katrine. And she's about a million sizes smaller than me, and rarely goes for what I prefer to wear. I was wearing a pink fluffy dress that first night I got out of the pebble and needed something."

That was five months ago. It suddenly seemed like a lifetime.

"Asteria mentioned that this house was empty. It has a lot of history behind it, but it was left alone for a few centuries after my grandmother burned it down and then rebuilt it all in black marble. It's owned so I don't need to pay rent, and the shower head alone makes it worth it to come here from time to time. There's also a small training section in the living room that Celestine lets me keep. Celestine is Asteria's daughter, and she was properly raised. She redecorated the place and knows how being all lady like and stuff is supposed to work. She got to grow up normally, with her parents."

The bitterness in the last sentence was hard for Scherezade to mask. She loved her current life, but she'd forever resent that the chance to grow up normally with her parents had been denied from her so harshly. Other girls grew up with dresses and toys and parents that read them to sleep every night or kissed their booboos. All she'd had was eternal Darkness.

"So I thought living together would be nice, you know? Do the roommate thing? But it turned out neither of us are here all that much for that to grow into an actual relationship, family or just friendly. And I'm not much in touch with my Aunt either."

Then there was that whole poor thing.

"I'm both poor and not, I guess," Scherezade said at last, "I make very little of my own money, and most of that goes on bacta right now. And anyway, Confedercy papers are starting to take care o themselves so I'll have an actual salary soon since I'm always around for missions and help military stuff and pretty much everything that's tossed at me. Anyway, I mostly live on my ship, the same ship that I took from another aunt, and I rather kill my food than buy it. I can turn to my aunt or to my cousin if I'm in a dire pickle, my Aunt had even suggested that the fact I don't is worrying, but I don't really feel comfortable about doing that. Especially since she worships my grandmother and is completely blind to all her flaws. She tried telling me once that my grandmother did what she did to protect me." Her last sentence had come out as a mockery.

And that was more or less the gist of it. Or least on that part.

"There are places I could go to and live as a Queen," she suggested, careful not to mention that she meant that quite literally, "but I kinda feel like I'd be murdering my own soul if I went for something like that."

Now that she was done speaking, at least for the moment, she snuggled closer into Gerwald again.

"And don't worry about Verberri," she added, "if she gets yucky with you, I'll take care of her, even if she's my mother's friend."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

There was a lot of explaining that happened in that moment. Gerwald was beginning to put some of the puzzle together. [member="Scherezade deWinter"] was royalty of some kind. He wasn’t going to admit that he had been able to read between the lines. She was living her own life and trying to decide what her own path was. That was why they got along. Both of them craved freedoms they would have otherwise. Now that he knew, it was going to be easier.

He melted with her kisses. It was so damn unfair she knew how to keep him going.

”Don’t kill the woman. You don’t have to kill everyone that doesn’t like me you know? I’m flattered you would, but seriously... that would at least half of my village on Stewjon. I still can’t get over the fact your bathroom is as big as my house.”

Gerwald’s life had been as poor as this place was opulent. He’d had all his needs met, the military was provided for, but they were not wealthy. The noble born officers were, but the ones who understood battle, the killers, they were just brutes. Like a beast fed to keep it loyal, that’s all Ger had known. At least the Knights Obsidian gave him freedom and Scherezade had taught him to enjoy it. Life was meant for the living. Gerwald learning that.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

It seemed like she didn't need much to feel happy when he was around, and she purred with joy as he covered her with kisses. "You're saying that like it's a bad thing," she half purred as he mentioned murdering half of his village. She hadn't gone on a massacre spree yet, but she was sure it was just a matter of time. The future seemed really bright right now and she didn't want to let go.

Instead she shifted around, bringing a leg around him and then hoisting herself up so that she now sat atop of him, all relevant towels safely in place. Her hands rang along invisible patterns across his chest and abdomen and she wasn't sure which of the two would be enjoying that more.

"There's more," she said at last with a sigh, her hands stopping abruptly, "I have a very complicated family history, and I've told you a little about it. But I didn't tell you everything. It'll probably take a whole night or two to tell everything and I'd really rather not right now. but a few small points..." But there were things that had to be said. "Verberri isn't just my mother's friend," Scherezade made the attempt, "Verberri was one of the Queen's Ravens on Endelaan. The Ravens were a group of women that protected the Queen and did various things, sort of like an entourage of women you didn't really wanna cross because each of them was a well versed Sith Sorceress with little remorse to life."

Scherezade scratched her head. The hard part was still coming. It would make Gerwald the third person to know that part, though if she was honest, there wasn't anyone who actually knew what the entire puzzle looked like, not even her aunts.

"The Queen was the deadliest of them all though," her voice was barely above a whisper, "she was well versed in various different aspect, including Witchcraft, Seeing, Necromancy, Beastmastery, Sorcery... She had spent her entire life training and she never stopped." She took a final sigh. It was going to have to come out somehow. "And the Queen was... is... my mother."

And her mother was only half of Endelaan. Her father, the Warrior King, was the other half. But they'd get to that. Maybe tonight, maybe another night. But she wanted to tell Gerwald everything. Show him everything. And when he had her so completely, seen and understood and comprehended her entire strata...

Scherezade sat completely still, almost scared of what a reaction to all of that could be. She didn't know you weren't supposed to put all your eggs in the basket, as the saying went. And she was no Seer, and had no clue what the future would hold.


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

"I mean it might not be, but the night terrors did enough damage. We would not have lived through it without the Confederacy."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"] had not been on Stewjon for the celebration, and even if she had been, Katrine was the one who had stolen his attention. It was the first time in his life that he saw another path other than life on Stewjon, and knew of the existence of other Lupines in the galaxy. His life wasn't in crisis because of it, but it had changed everything he thought he knew. Now he was trying to balance two very unique and distinct relationships, both of which he had had not idea where they were going. Scherezade was... well... they were connected by something neither of them had ever expected that night when they met at the bonfire, and with Katrine it was much simpler. She was the only one who could tell him about what the other Lupines were like. They were the same species, and that had to count for something.

Right now, Scherezade was much closer to him than anyone had ever been. He had killed for her, and would have died for her if that would have settled the blood debt. It was stupid to just jump into it like he had, but Gerwald was not going to let anything happen to her, not if it was in his power to prevent it. Besides, now she had gotten to see him fight, really fight. Hopefully she knew he could take care of himself.

He smiled when she climbed on top of him. Was it bad that he liked this part of their relationship the best? They were so physical, but they were also both warriors so it made sense to him. Gerwald listened as she began to explain some things about what was going on. That was when the truth of the matter came out. Scherezade was the princess. His blue eyes just looked up at her. He fought every urge to protests and lecture her on how what they had been doing was wrong. His mind was still trained to see things in the light of the caste system he was raised in. Had he been caught sexing one of the noble's daughters on Stewjon he would not have been allowed to live.

Scherezade might have caught some of the panic that washed over him before he could suppress it. It was a natural reaction. He knew he had to say something.

"Well that definitely explains this house!"

Wait that was the wrong thing to say.

Gerwald held her waist and rolled Scherezade onto her back.

"Princess or not... this isn't Stewjon. I'm just going to have to remind myself of that from time to time. The caste system... this wouldn't be allowed, and I have a feeling it is going to be a challenge as it is. Pretty sure your system has rules and stuff. I just want to enjoy you before anyone has a chance to make it complicated..."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

His momentary panic was met with a panic of her own. She hadn't told him that to scare him or make him run away. She was trying to feed herself to him in small bites, and it seemed like this specific one was too big. She was ready to roll of his waste and tell him he could still have the tour and the ride back to Ryloth when he made a comment and suddenly he was on top of her again. Scherezade luxuriated in the feeling. His weight on her was another one of the many things Gerwald simply was that made her feel safer and happy.

She listened carefully as he explained that this would not be allowed on Stewjon, and she had to resist the need to roll her eyes. She knew next to nothing about that planet, but at least in terms of their caste system. Still, it didn't keep her from wanting to go visit it, and see it, to want to know where this place that he came from was, to eat her own bits and pieces of him as she let him from hers.

"You silly beast," she purred into his ear, her legs wrapping around his body. He was his teacher as much as she was his; through him she learned how to communicate, how to use words, and how nonverbal communication worked too. She always wanted him as close as possible. It was going to be a real fight to leave again once their little vacation was over, "I want to enjoy you and for you to enjoy me before, during, and even after random butthats make it complicated. Not to mention that we could always kill said random butthats."

She gave him a cheeky grin and licked the tip of his nose, her arms now coming up to play with the ends of his hair.

"You would be a Warrior if you'd come from Endelaan," Scherezade said, her eyes focused on is, "Warriors and Sorceresses are the top caste. Those who can't use the Force are slaves or servants, peasants. Only two can trump the Force Users, and those are the Queen and King. The Princes and Princesses of Endelaan are ranked the same with the rest of the Force Users, and they have their own inner system, though the lowest of them is still heaps above those who cannot use the Force. On Endelaan, you and I would be equal."

She raised her head, planting a kiss on his lips, almost drowning in the warmth of his body.

"And none of this explains the house," she added, letting her head drop back to the pillow, "this house is my grandmother's. She murdered her parents when she was four, and was taken in by a Sith Master who enjoyed her blood lust. He was murdered when she was fourteen, and she fled to Coruscant. She became a whore in order to survive, and by sixteen was the leading Courtesan of the planet. Shortly after that she was taken in by the Sith again, and while carving her path up the power ladder, opened a brothel franchise that spanned over most of the habited planets in the galaxy. That is where this house is from. But she was never a Queen of Endelaan, and my mother grew up on Spira before she learned about the existance of the ancestral home."


[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Silly Beast. There was that name again, but this time it was Scherezade using it. Silly wasn't part of the name, and Katerine was the one who called him beast. She didn't know, and it wasn't like she was trying to use a name that Katrine had been using from the day they had met. It was just one of those moments of sudden realization. Relationships in general were new to him, like this anyway. He smiled at what came after though. Gerwald was quickly learning how easy going things could be.

Equals, that was also a good word. Scherezade did a good job of explaining what things would be like in her world versus his. There were similar parts, but because of who Gerwlad was it would make him more than what he could ever be on Stewjon. He liked that idea, very much. It seemed that his new world was one where almost anything was possible. The Confederacy had not made that possible. Gerwald had when he made the decision to leave. Perhaps the choice had always been his, and the Confederacy gave him the courage, or a direction to start. Now? Now Gerwald was very aware it did not have to be his end goal.

Gerwald kissed her. If there was anything certain in his life at the moment, it was how much he enjoyed the taste of Scherezade's lips. They were both young and enjoying as much of each other as they could. There was the nagging bit of the tour in the back of his mind though. They didn't need to come to Coruscant just to spend their days off in bed with each other. The sheets were nice, but it was going to be over soon, and none of the trip had gone according to plan.

"Well, the house has an interesting story. However I am suddenly more interested in how the story of this trip is going to end. Are we going to spend the rest of it hiding from Verberri, or are we going to get that tour you have been wanting to give me. Besides, our clothes should be ready by now, and we don't have time for an extended stay this time."

He hated to bring them back to reality, but they had both made commitments to the Confederacy. Gerwald was not one to go back on a commitment. Besides, Stewjon was only part of who Gerwald was. The Confederacy had answers for him about the rest.

Ger kissed her again.

"We can always take our time getting ready. I mean this is quite the precarious spot we find ourselves in," he commented about how they were currently wrapped up in each other.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

In her daze, Scherezade blinked several times before she realized what Gerwald meant by the story of the trip. She had been engulfed in the sensations and the purring of simply being in bed together, even if they were not actually doing anything, that she had forgotten enirely where they were here in the first place. She nodded, quite clearly unhappy about needing to return back to reality. It was something that no kiss could fix. For half a heart beat, she almost begged for five more minutes, but eventually decided against it. If it was hard to do right now, and it was going to be even harder to do once they were back on Ryloth, there was no reason to make it even worse.

Scherezade nodded and hit a button on the side of her bed, and the door opened, a droid walking in with Gerwald's clothes. For herself, she'd just grab something out of the closet. A glance through the window showed that the sun (or at least, the artificial lights of the planet) was setting, and an idea popped into her mind.

Carefully, she slithered from underneath Gerwald, planting a last kiss on his lips, before half bouncing to the closet. She grabbed a paid of yoga pants and a wide pink crop top, her mid riff now exposed. She didn't know why she'd chosen an outfit that would garner more attention than her usual jeans and t-shirt look.

A few moments later, Scherezade tiptoed through the halls, Gerwald's hand firmly in hers. They were going to avoid Verberri. Verberri was going to ruin everything, because everything was great and there was no need for a lesson on how things work on Endelaan in terms of romantic involvement. She blinked at herself again, surprised that word had even popped into her mind. Romantic. What a weird word.

The two made it to the balcony without bumping into the eyeless woman. Now came the fun part.

"Have I mentioned that I really really like you?" she asked, grinning, and decided not to give Gerwald the chance to answer before she added, "look down," and the next moment, she had jumped off the rail, her body free falling downwards. There were many miles to go, and a lot of speeders to land on before getting too far. This was going to be a fun game!



[member="Gerwald Lechner"]

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

She liked him. Then why was she jumping.

Sithspat... she was JUMPING!!

Gerwald didn’t even stop to think. He jumped after her... crap, why did he jump. There was a small part of him that was questioning his sanity in the moment, but most of his brain was trying to figure out how he was going to survive his free fall. Her tried to line himself up with Scherezade so they would end up together. Then he thought about whether he had the skill to slow himself with the force.

This was the dumbest thing he had done.

The fact he leapt without thinking confused him. He was protective of her. It was a different feeling than just family, and the fact he was just jumping to his death in an attempt to keep her alive was not normal for Gerwald. Sure he was a soldier, but one that followed orders. There were few people he would have done this for without thinking, and all of them were family, or Katrine.

”If you survive this... I’m gonna kill you,” he said with a bit of humor to her mind. He hoped the humor came through.

His eyes stayed focused on her, and the vehicle she was headed toward. They had to land on one of them, but when. Would catch her.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]