Private A Spark in The Dark

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber

He crouched down and dipped his hand into the water. Warm to the touch.

“Well, I think we should probably test it out. May help relax the muscle aches I still have.”

A small smile appeared on his lips as he slowly stood back up. Slowly he removed his boots and set them to the side and rolled up his pants legs, sitting on the edge of the pool he rested his legs into the water, his eyes closing as he breathed slowly.

“Thankfully it isn't cold.”

A small laugh left him.

“That would be quite uncomfortable.”

He looked over at her.

“Care to join me? My Lady.”

A small playful look in his eye could easily be seen as he waited on her, not moving any further into the pool quite yet. From the looks of it the water at its deepest was possibly waist deep for him. Deep enough to soak and relax.

"I would have to agree with you. Drowning is certainly not going to help recovery."

A small huff left him as his gaze shifted back to the water beneath him.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

A smile tugged gently at Seren's lips as she watched him settle onto the edge of the spring. There was something reassuring about seeing him relaxed enough to joke, to sit still without feeling compelled to accomplish something every waking moment. A week ago she doubted he would have allowed himself this luxury. Now he was beginning to understand that recovery was not idleness. It was simply another kind of work.

"I believe that is the first sensible thing you've suggested all morning, My Lord," she replied, amusement warming her voice. She slipped off her boots beside his before taking the light shirt she had worn for the walk through the caverns. With no one else to witness the moment beyond the two of them, there was an easy comfort in the quiet privacy of the hidden spring. She folded each layer neatly onto a nearby stone until she stood in her skin, the dark shadow-flame tattoo stretching gracefully across her bare back from one shoulder blade to the other. In the filtered sunlight, it seemed almost alive, the black lines shifting subtly beneath the reflections dancing across her skin.

She lowered herself carefully beside him, the warm water immediately wrapping around her calves before she eased farther in until it rested comfortably around her waist. A quiet sigh escaped her as the heat worked its way into tired muscles she had not realized were still carrying the strain of the past week. The gentle ripples spread outward across the crystal-clear pool, reflecting fractured beams of sunlight across the cavern ceiling.

"You were right," she admitted after a moment, leaning back on her hands as she let the warmth soak into her. "This may have been exactly what we both needed." Her amber eyes found his, bright with quiet contentment. "No battles. No responsibilities. No one asking anything of us."

She looked around the hidden chamber once more, taking in the waterfall, the moss-covered stone, and the shafts of sunlight spilling through the openings high above before returning her gaze to him with a fond smile.

"Just warm water..." she said softly, letting one hand drift lazily through the spring beside them. "...and good company."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber​

He was still not used to being called Lord, especially in her voice. It always had a way of catching him off guard in ways he could not hide as well as other moments of surprise. A small laugh left him as he watched the water drift in its own currents around him.

When she turned around his eyes widened only for a moment as he looked at the design on her back. The flame like symbol. The way the lines seemed to move as she did in fluid nonhurried motions. He was not going to let her be the only one that was comfortable in her own skin. Removing each piece of clothing and setting it aside before he was also down to her level.

The runes pulsing over his body in faint orange glows, what was once a furnace of emotion etched into his flesh now sat like a calm flame. Not threatening to unleash something, nor trying to intimidate. Try as he would, the runes were always telling signs of what he was feeling at that moment.

And right now, it was only calm gentle pulses, slowly fading in and out.

He simply watched her for a moment before he stepped in. Taking slow steps as he approached her.

“Tomorrow will always have more responsibilities.”

He spoke quietly as he drew closer, his hands finding hers.

“I think I can certainly enjoy this company that we have, and just shut the world out for now.”

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers, holding her hands in security yet gentleness.

“I have been thinking.”

His voice was still low as he got closer to her, gently wrapping his arm around her waist.

“When I take my home back…”

A breath was taken then relieved before he continued, as if he were anxious to talk about his home, or perhaps…something else.

“I will be living there, no longer wandering about and staying on different planets. A home….A real home.”

His gaze found hers before he continued.

“I would very much love that you joined me there.”

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

The warmth of the spring seemed to disappear.

Not because the water had cooled, but because every bit of Seren's attention had gathered around the words he had just spoken. She stood perfectly still within the crystal-clear pool, her hands resting safely within his as though they were the only solid thing left in the world. The gentle sound of the waterfall faded into the distance. Even the sunlight dancing across the water seemed somehow quieter.

When I take my home back...

She had expected him to speak about Carcosa. She knew what reclaiming it meant to him. She knew every sacrifice he had already made, and every one he was still willing to make, for the people who waited there. She had imagined herself standing beside him through that journey.

She had not expected what came next.

A slow breath caught in her chest.

For several long moments she simply looked into his eyes, searching them, not because she doubted him, but because she needed to convince herself she had heard him correctly. The surprise was so complete that words refused to come. Her lips parted slightly, yet nothing emerged. Instead, her eyes shimmered as emotion welled unexpectedly, blurring the edges of the gentle amber gaze that had always met his so steadily.

He wasn't asking her to visit. He wasn't asking her to help rebuild. He was asking her to come home with him.

A single tear escaped before she could stop it, tracing quietly down her cheek. She made no effort to hide it. There was no embarrassment in the emotion she felt, only overwhelming gratitude. Of all the futures she had allowed herself to imagine, this was one she had never been brave enough to hope for. She had prepared herself to stand beside him wherever duty carried him, even if that meant watching him leave while she remained behind.

Instead...He was asking her to stay.

Her fingers tightened gently around his, not from fear, but because she suddenly needed to know he was truly there.

A smile slowly found its way onto her face, soft and radiant through the tears.

"Yes," she whispered.

The single word carried more certainty than any speech she could have offered.

She stepped the remaining distance between them until there was almost no space left, one hand lifting to rest gently against his cheek.

"I would gladly join you there, Varin Mortifer."

Not Lord. Not King. Simply the man she loved.

Her thumb brushed lightly across his hand as she held his gaze, her voice trembling only because of how deeply she meant every word.

"Wherever you build your home..." A quiet laugh escaped through the tears gathering in her eyes. "...that is where I want to build mine."

Varin Mortifer

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber​

Weight had fallen off his shoulders and breath came easily to him after she had given her answer. Though his hands still shook slightly, he held her hands within his. A way to keep him grounded in the moment with her.

His chest beating in a quicker rhythm that did not mimic anxiety or battle lust, but mere excitement. Excitement for the future and what it holds. The future never really scared him, it was just something he always took in strides as it came and went.

But with her, the future and all of its complications always came a bit easier.

His eyes slowly closed as he leaned his forehead to hers, a deep breath taken in and then released in a shaky exhale.

“That doesn’t mean we are abandoning this place though. I promise you that.”

A small smile came to his lips as he looked at her. His voice low and nearly like a whisper.

“And my home would never be complete without you in it.”

He looked her in the eyes again, the smile growing a bit more as his fingers gently held her chin.

Seren Gwyn​

 

[Seren Gwyn]

A quiet laugh escaped Seren, warm and almost disbelieving, as her forehead remained resting gently against his. The tears had not completely faded, but they no longer came from surprise. They came from relief. From the simple realization that, after everything the galaxy had thrown at them, they were still here...still choosing one another.

"I never thought you were," she whispered, her hand slipping over his where it rested against her face. "This place has become as much a part of us as anywhere else. We tended the garden together. We learned how to simply...exist here together." Her eyes drifted briefly around the hidden spring before returning to him. "No matter where life takes us, I don't think either of us could ever truly leave that behind."

His final words settled deep within her heart. My home would never be complete without you in it.

Seren closed her eyes for just a moment, allowing herself to simply feel them rather than search for a clever response. There wasn't one. Some things deserved honesty more than eloquence.

"Then we'll make it a home together," she answered softly. "We'll carry this place with us, plant another garden, argue over which flowers belong where, and somehow you'll still find yourself helping me pull weeds even though you'll insist you have far more important things to do."

The image brought another quiet smile to her lips.

"Wherever we are...I don't think it will ever really be the buildings that make it home." Her thumb brushed lightly against his hand. "It will be the life we build inside them."

For a long while neither of them felt any need to speak again.

The spring wrapped them in its gentle warmth while the waterfall continued its endless song, uncaring of kingdoms, wars, or destiny. They remained there together until the shafts of sunlight gradually shifted across the cavern ceiling, talking only when conversation came naturally and falling into comfortable silence whenever it did not. There was no urgency to the afternoon, no obligation beyond simply enjoying one another's company.

When at last they returned to the main cavern, life resumed with an ease that neither tried to hurry. The following days settled into a peaceful rhythm. Varin continued to recover his strength, though Seren still caught him attempting more than his body was ready for from time to time. She would inevitably steer him back toward rest with a patient smile that had become remarkably effective. Together they tended the garden, watched the Floralite continue to flourish, explored more forgotten corners of the cave system, shared quiet evenings with holodramas beside the fire, and discovered that happiness rarely announced itself with grand moments. More often, it lived in simple routines shared with someone you loved.

Weeks passed almost without notice.

By the time the last lingering stiffness had left his movements and the weariness no longer shadowed his eyes, Seren could see the difference as plainly as she had seen his exhaustion when he first arrived. His strength had returned. His balance was steady. Even the calm pulse of the runes beneath his skin seemed more settled now. The man standing beside her was no longer merely healing.

He was ready, ready to return to Korriban, ready to continue reclaiming the future that awaited him, and this time, he would not face it alone.

Varin Mortifer