Private A Sanguine Thirst

[Kito]

//: Ayra Lowe //: Valaine Valentine //:

Kito looked over the tablet in front of her. She was working on a rescue mission that involved a Jedi. Vessel crash. It was something that she didn't know what to expect, but that had been most of her days recently.
Kito was the type to stay busy, and with her Shadow training, rescue and recovery missions had been where the Order had placed her.

Yawning, she looked at who was involved, and a sigh escaped her throat. Of course, it would be the annoying Echani. The girl seemed to enjoy getting herself into situations that required Kito to come get her. Looking over her shoulder, some of the troops and other Jedi called her over for a quick briefing.

It was a standard rescue, and from what they stated, Ayra was potentially alive. That was a change from the last time Kito rescued her. At least she was expected to be alive.

The shuttle landed, and the flames were still burning around them. Frowning, her eyes moved, trying to see any other survivors beyond the cowardly Jedi. It seemed like a tragedy, and Kito did her best not to think too much about it. The others would handle recovery there. Kito's mission was to find the white haired chicken.

Moving through the debris, she moved towards the forest. If there were any survivors, the forest would provide shelter from anything that would come across the crash. Her eyes focused, narrowing as she peered through the darkness. She looked for anything that resembled the girl.

Thankfully, her white hair stood out, and Kito made her way over to her. Kneeling down, she shone a light down on her — she seemed to be breathing, but something else caught Kito's attention. Reaching down, she pulled back the fabric of her top and saw the bite mark.

Kito knew where it came from and, absentmindedly, reached for the necklace. Her thumb moved over the tip of the fang, feeling the pressure; she had developed a habit of using the small prick of pain to ground herself. Tucking the light away, Kito knelt down and grabbed Ayra, slinging her over her shoulder.

"You idiot…" Kito grumbled at the Echani as she paused. Her eyes looked deeper into the forest, trying to find the person she now wanted to see.

"Padawan Kito!" a voice called out to her. It was one of the Masters. Kito moved to him and handed him Ayra. She was a limp noodle, which meant she wasn't dead.

"She has a wound on her neck; she'll need a blood transfusion." The Master nodded and then waited for Kito to follow him.

"I'm…" she paused, trying to think of a way to explain herself. "I'm going to look for other survivors." The Master nodded and took Ayra back to the shuttle to be taken care of, leaving Kito to search.

Turning, she moved through the Force quickly, her eyes darting from side to side, searching. The bite wasn't like the ones Kito had been used to; something had happened — it was too focused, which meant Valaine could be hurt.

When she was far enough from the others, she stopped in the small clearing.

"Valaine?" Kito called out — not loud enough to draw attention, but enough for the Sangnir to hear if she was near. "Valaine, I'm here. Where are you?"

Her voice carried a hint of worry as she moved carefully through the clearing, scanning every shadow and line of the trees. The thought that Valaine might be hurt made her chest tighten, she needed to find her sooner than later.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Ayra Lowe Kito

Valaine had made a short amount of distance to hide from the reinforcements and she could distantly hear their voices with her sharpened senses. Her clarity of self hadn't fully returned as she stood in an opening, moonlight shining down on her bloodied form as she breathed a staggered breath as her body tensed. Coming down from the feral state she had been in was always rather taxing and disorientating for her.

But even in this state her pointed ears picked up a cadence of tone that shined above all others for her; Kito's voice. If she didn't hear her she would have picked up on her scent instead, so familiar was she with the Shaper at this point that she could easily identify her by such methods. At first she felt a sense of relief that here of all places at one of her lowest lows Kito had found her, but that relief was shared with the concern of being seen in such a condition. No doubt the Shaper already seen the state the young Sangnir had left Ayra in, what would she think of that? Would she reprimand her actions? Curse her name as nothing but a monster of the night? The doubts clouded her thoughts as her body shuddered in guilt and pain.

She heard Kito call her name and her eyes opened as she remained still. Though Kito had entered the clearing Valaine would have been difficult to see even with her enhanced sight, for she stood so imperceptibly still that she might've been a statue in the dark. "Here, Kito..." came her response as she kept her gaze to the open sky above the clearing.

Valaine's form was bloodied, her sleeves had been torn off and her robes were practically in shreds. Her arms all the way up to her elbows were covered in dried blood and much of her face, mouth, chin and neck were the same. Her injuries had mended themselves but she looked awful like this, even her normally straight dark hair had tangles of dried blood in it.

"Stay back... I'm..." she paused for a moment as she breathed in a deep breath of restraint, "I'm not fully in control yet..." she admitted. Though she had sated herself on Ayra's blood her body needed time to process it. The agony of her hunger still burnt in her chest as it ebbed away, but the beast she had become was still very much present and wrestling for control of her senses. It wanted to attack Kito already, it wanted to feed on her and Valaine could feel its pull. It was why she kept her tired grey eyes to the sky; to not tempt the creature within any further than it already was. "Just... Just give me a minute, please... I don't want to hurt you..." she spoke with a tinge of guilt easy for the Shaper to recognize.

She knew what she'd done to the Padawan and frankly she didn't know if she'd survive her attack or not. It pulled her thoughts back to Jutrand, the people she killed just to keep herself alive in her days as a freshly created Sangnir. She remembered every attack as her body was pulled on strings by the instincts within, every brutal murder she committed.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Kito's attention turned quickly towards the sound of Valaine's voice. Even if she didn't speak or Kito didn't hear — she'd always know when she was close. There was no mistaking the ebb and flow of her presence, even if it was weaker than most. Kito knew she had grown used to it and could always find her.

Her gaze took in the sight of the Sangnir; she had never seen her like this, and Kito figured Valaine had never wanted to be seen like this. Despite it, nothing changed in the Shaper. Her footsteps were slow and steady as she moved closer, her hand already untying the belt at her waist. She dropped her blades and her belt and slowly removed the tunic from her shoulders. Kito held it tightly as she continued to move — only stopping when Valaine spoke again.

Kito held her breath and her words as she listened. Her movements stopped, and she stood a short distance away. Her initial assessment of Ayra had been correct. This wasn't Valaine having fun, indulging in a little hunt — this was hunger and survival. What would have happened if there had been no source for Valaine…? Would she have… died?

"Valaine… Let me help you." Kito moved again, another footstep in the direction of the Sangnir. Maybe it was the Ronin's hubris, but she fully believed that if Valaine did attack, she would be able to fend her off. But even then — if she needed more, Kito would give everything.

If her heart could break even further, it did. Shattering into pieces for the woman who stood back. She had done something to survive, but her guilt bled into her voice.

Kito no longer cared about the danger or the warnings. She continued to move, clearing the rest of the distance between them. Looking down, she searched for her ashen eyes, but they were focused on the sky above them. Was she trying to stop herself?

"I'll be fine," Kito whispered between them as she offered her clothing to the Sangnir. "The girl," the Shaper started, knowing that was the source of her guilt.

"She's going to be okay, I found her, and they're taking her back to the temple." Another final step, as Kito watched, she wanted to pull Valaine into a hug, hold and comfort her through this. She wanted to tell her the words that she knew she shouldn't say.

"I…" she hesitated, standing in front of her. Not out of fear, or disgust — just concern.

"I stayed behind because I wanted to find you…"

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

The Sangnir's form tensed as Kito neared, her hands poised like grasping claws as they flexed. Still she kept her tired grey eyes skyward through the clearing as she felt the gentle cool breeze against her crimson-stained porcelain skin. The creature within could sense Kito drawing closer, unheeding of the warning given. Valaine steeled herself as a result, eyes closing to push down the urge to turn and attack the approaching Shaper.

A shuddering sigh escaped her lips. The blood she had consumed had sated her, the hunger for violence fading, the agony ebbing away. She still felt tense, raw even, the adrenaline that had pumped through her veins keeping her restless and distressed. But she had a hold on the instinct, a leash on it, she would not attack Kito.

Stormy greys opened to the sky once more and steadily she started to lower them to meet Kito's ember gaze with ash as she was offered her tunic. The Sangnir appeared to calm as she silently allowed the Shaper nearer, to drape the tunic over her shoulders if she wished. "That's... That's good..." she nodded gently at the mention of Ayra being in good hands.

Valaine held Kito's gaze in silence for a brief moment before she turned them away, "I must look like such a mess..." she spoke gently, not aware of her own condition save for that she was never particularly in good shape after a bout of hunger like this. A weak smile was offered, "... A nice surprise though, seeing you here..."