Private Another Flame

[Irina Jesart]

Aerik Lechner Varin Mortifer​

Irina’s irritation rose, her mouth thinning into a line as she bit back a retort. This did not remotely resemble the situation on Kaas. Firstly, it had been in his personal quarters. Secondly, Skadi had been wearing his clothes. This was a training room, open to other members of the second legion. Bare chested men were not exactly an uncommon thing in close quarters combat training.

She opened her mouth, argument forming on her lip when his gaze dropped to her exposed shoulder.

Rin’s stomach bottomed out, anger melting away.

Feth.

She didn’t answer him even as he drew close to see the scar she’d been careful to keep hidden from him. Her mask held, but the tension in her shifted from anger to anticipation as if bracing for something.

“New enough.” she said with a finality that said it was not up for discussion. Turning away from the both she moved to the benches that lined the wall, grabbing the jacket she’d discarded at the start of the spar, slipping it on and concealing it once more from view before turning her attention to the two of them.

“Varin, this is Aerik Lechner, apprentice to Lord Prazutis. Aerik, this is Varin Mortifer, apprentice to Revna Marr. He is also a pyromancer.”

Anything, to avoid talking about the scar her had given her.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin’s head tilted a bit.

A similar situation?

Varin pulled the shirt over his body, the cloth hanging loosely over his form. The maroon shirt looked as if it had been worn down from time and simple wearing with small holes that resembled burn marks on the shoulders and a few on the back. Another kind of training shirt he used to practice suppressing the heat that rolled off his body during meditations or training.

His eye then tracked over to the duo as Aerik pointed out the bite mark she had tried to keep hidden until now. Varin stayed where he was, a couples squabble was not his responsibility.

When Irina stated that Aerik was Lord Prazutis’ apprentice his brow arched.

“A Kainate? This meeting may be a bit more awkward than we initially thought.”

His voice was low, holding back a tense tone. He was technically part of the Wonosans, and though he never met Lord Prazutis, his Grand Master’s opinions of the man were very evident. But they were not Varin’s opinions. To Varin, Lord Prazutis was but an unknown variable, just as so many other faces.

But he was no fool. He knew the man had power. Some even revered him as a higher being, but once again, Varin had only seen lack of evidence to that saying.

But he was also ignorant of what the man had done to his master, Lady Revna.

The only real thing he knew of this Dark Lord was the sense of familiarity he had from him when he visited Dromund Kas some time ago.

Varin put a few more of his training supplies into his bag before he turned to regard Irina and Aerik.

“Though, I do not see any Wonosans here.”

He leaned his shoulder onto the wall, crossing his arms as he watched them both.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Irina Jesart | Varin Mortifer​

"New enough."

Aerik could not think of anything other than the recent battle on Brosi which would have been the cause for a scar like what he had seen. His glimpse had been brief, but it did not look clean. Irina had covered it with the jacket the first chance she could, and the pup received the message loud and clear. Rin did not want to talk about it.

She shifted the conversation to introductions.

Varin Mortifer, the apprentice to Revna Marr. Aerik did not know who Varin was, but he did know the name Revna. She had been through similar torture as his father had suffered by the hands of the pup’s master. Aerik could hear the disdain when Irina’s training partner called him a Kanite.

Aerik bit back quickly.

“I am a Lechner first.”

Anyone who knew Gerwald or Naedira understood what that meant. His eyes looked over to where Irina was standing for the moment. He was not sure what she knew after the years spent with his father, but he could only assume she was aware of enough of the story to know his choice to follow Prazutis was both interesting and ironic. It made little sense from a certain point of view, and yet it seemed perfect to another.

Everything around the Sith Order seemed to devolve into factions once more. It had never truly ended. Aerik wanted it to be different, but as long as there was a throne to occupy, the power hungry would gravitate to it. If there was no throne, they who craved it would make one. The pup had observed enough in his young life to know it would always be that way.Even the Sith more prone to chaos eventually created a hierarchy.

“What does any of that matter,” he questioned as he moved to sit next to where Irina had settled. “It did not matter on Brosi, and didn’t matter when the Jedi invaded our systems.”

Aerik stood back up and took his shirt off. With a tug of the force, the pup called a staff to his hands.

“If you’re here, you have been around my father. Show me what he has taught you.”

 

[Irina Jesart]

Aerik Lechner Varin Mortifer​

Irina wasn’t sure whose anger she felt first at Varin’s insult, her own or Aerik’s. Both were sharp, she answered with a glare shot Varin’s way as Aerik snapped back. She felt pride fill her chest, meeting his gaze as it drifted towards her. She knew the history, Gerwald had embedded it in her mind when she’d pushed him for answers, for a heartbeat, she was there again trapped in an endless loop of pain.

She shook the memory away, hand drifting to Aerik’s shoulder when he sat. None of it mattered, all that mattered was the Order. Although if it came down to it, if she had to choose, she would go wherever Aerik was and damn the consequences. When she opened her mouth to express some of her thoughts on the matter, Aerik was on his feet, pulling the shirt from his back and all thoughts and words died on her tongue.

Her eyes drifted over him, drinking in the detail of the muscles of his torso and abdomen before she cleared her throat and looked away hiding a smile. Composing herself, she sat down on the bench.

“Don’t break him, Aerik, I need him for pyromancy training.”

 

[Varin Mortifer]

His gaze sharpened as he spat back, he could sense the rage that roiled beneath the both of them. He could taste it like blood in the ocean of shark infested waters coming to feast. The last name though, Lechner, one that Irina stated so nonchalantly, but when Aerik spat it out it had caught his attention.

His glare sharpened further when Aerik summoned a staff to his side. Varin glanced to the weapon rack near him and slowly walked up to it as Irina told Aerik not to break him.

He said nothing as he studied the practice blades.

His hand found one that felt familiar. A broad sword of sorts with a hooked tip. Similar to his normal weapon, beside it was a small shield that he strapped to his wrist.

Aerik would have somewhat of a reach advantage with the staff, Varin would have the defense that he would have to try and work around, but it was a signature style of his Father’s loyal warriors.

“A Lechner.”

He spoke quietly as he stanced himself before him, tapping the blade to his shield in a salute.

“I know of taking pride in your blood and names, Aerik. But there is a difference between pride of just words, and pride of action.”

He brought his shield up, laying the flat of the blade over the top, pointed forward.

“Show me the honor you bring to your blood.”

His brown eye began to bleed a faint molten orange and red, as the runes on his body pulsed.

“Perhaps I will hold your name higher over who you pledged yourself to.”

His grip tightened over the hilt.

“On your mark.”

His facial expression deadened to that of sharpened battle focus, ready for his strikes, for his offenses. Silently, he hoped and he prayed that he would truly bring glory and honor to his parent’s name. To warriors like Varin and Aerik, from what he could tell, pride in your bloodline and name was very important.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Irina Jesart | Varin Mortifer​

Varin knew the name. That was good. If the young man across from him knew anything of his father’s reputation, and that of the man he called master, he would try his best. Aerik would destroy him if he did not.

Rin’s hand rested on his shoulder. It calmed the rage enough to ensure it was nothing more than an edge in the spar ahead of them. The pup chuckled slightly at the suggestion not to break him. Irina needed him to practice her pyromancy? So fire revealed the brands. Aerik put that bit of knowledge away for the moment. His mind was focused on the task at hand.

“My lineage and blood is a lot more than what you could ever know.”

It was not an arrogant statement. Aerik had found his stoicism once more. Quinn Varanin would not have been pleased with how easy the comment had gotten under his skin. No, this time when he spoke, Aerik was calm and matter of fact. Varin could not possibly know about the Nocna Mora which flowed through his veins. What that made him capable of fully remained untested.

It was why Prazutis was the only one who could train the pup, save one other.

“Whether I break him or not, that’s up to him.”

Aerik turned back to see the weapon which had been selected. That was an interesting choice considering. He did not know his opponent that well, so Aerik simply assumed he chose the blade he was most familiar with.

He nodded at the question.

The pup extended his hand and motioned for Varin to attack.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

“Words are but words, Aerik.”

Varin’s stance widened as the blade slowly scraped along the edge of his shield. The molten eye observed the force signature of Aerik, taking in the very energy that flowed within him.

He watched Aerik's stance for a moment, studying how he held and carried himself. Composed, calm even.

Varin half stepped a half circle looking into the angles he could go for, the muscles in his body were not tense, but they were ready.

He quickly stepped forward towards his opponent shoving the flat of the shield forward with his arm, driving his shoulder forward to keep a strong stance, to limit his motion with the staff, at the same time he extended the hook of his blade to grip the staff to pull it aside for an opening.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Varin Mortifer | Irina Jesart​

Varin moved the way a trained fighter should, measured and observant while searching for the seam rather than attempting to force one open. The molten eye looked as though it was tracking him carefully as he widened his stance and traced that subtle half circle.

The shield angled.

When he stepped in, Varin appeared to be committing. The shield drove forward with the shoulder set firmly behind it. At the same time the hooked blade extended, seeking to claim the staff and drag it aside to open a lane.

Aerik did not brace against it.

As the shield surged into his space, the pup shifted laterally to the shield side, a controlled step that removed his center from the line of force without retreating. His hands adjusted just enough to allow the hook to catch along the shaft and rather than resisting the pull he turned with it. The captured end became a pivot point within his grip as his hips rotated through the motion.

The rear of the staff snapped low in a tight and deliberate arc toward the leg that carried Varin’s forward weight. The movement was seamless with the step that had already taken Aerik outside the angle.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Aerik had patience, very reminiscent of his father. He did not seem to rush his steps, but to use momentum against his opponent, forcing them to usually fight themselves and him at the same time. It was enough to fluster the mind of most fighters.

The staff felt as if it had struck solid stone when it impacted Varin’s leg, the passive training he had been doing to enhance his body has been a constant endeavor, occasionally his body acted on the technique on impulse. Not as perfected as Mercy’s version but a long road to reach that efficiency and possibly further.

He knew he could not always wear armor, so he would simply become the armor.

As Aerik stepped out of angle, Varin moved forward, a wall to back him into a corner as his blade flourished in his hand to reverse grip the the handle. As he drove forward the shield angled horizontally as he shoved it forward towards Aerik's chest, simultaneously he crossed the blade under the shield to impact his leg with the blunt side, pulling it back towards him attempting to hook his leg.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Varin Mortifer | Irina Jesart​

Varin committed to the advance. The shield drove toward Aerik's chest while the blade crossed low beneath it, the Force reinforcing muscle and momentum as he sought to collapse space and break balance in the same motion.

Aerik did not give ground.

As the distance closed, the Force drew tight around him. It did not flare or surge. It settled, condensed close to his frame with deliberate control. Varin's forward pressure met that density and slowed, structure pressing into something that refused to yield.

Aerik allowed it for only a moment.

The barrier fell away as cleanly as it had formed. In the same breath he stepped inside the outer rim of the shield, closing the distance before Varin could fully reclaim his line. His posture remained upright, balanced, composed.

He drove forward from that position, forehead snapping toward Varin's face in a compact motion meant not to display strength but to correct it.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

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

Varin felt the shift as he tested the water, like the air had thickened around Aerik as he had opted to move with and around the blow rather than against it, stepping in past the shield. It was a sensible option, but an option the Varin had seen him take. He was studying him at the moment, his commitments were commitments, but a commitment of study and analysis.

When Aerik’s head drove into Varin’s his head recoiled back, lip split. But as his head recoiled, Aerik and Irina would notice a smirk on Varin’s bloodied face. When Aerik stepped into Varin at close range, Varin’s leg stepped further inward as his head slowly nodded back into position. His Revers grip settled into his palm as he drove the pommel strait for his sternum, in one fluid motion the shield rose into a horizontal line as the momentum of the pommel shot forth, the shield punched forth as well towards Aerik’s chest.

A sense of clarity seemed to wash over Varin at the impact, his gaze sharpening as he tracked Aerik’s movement. Varin shifted so his back was toward Aerik’s chest driving the elbow towards the socket of his shoulder.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Varin Mortifer | Irina Jesart​

Varin did not slow. The pommel drove toward Aerik's sternum as the shield punched forward in the same motion. He turned his back to generate the elbow, shoulder rolling as he aimed to drive it into the joint.

Aerik shifted slightly off the line as the pommel came in, letting it pass beside him rather than taking it square. The shield followed, but he stepped into the space instead of retreating, closing the distance before the rotation could fully develop.

When Varin's back turned toward him, Aerik was already tight behind him.

His hand came up to the shoulder to keep him from completing the elbow. At the same time his leg slid behind Varin's planted leg, heel catching at the back of the knee as he attempted to sweep it out from under him. His weight dropped through his hips as he pulled at the shoulder and drove forward with his chest, trying to take Varin's base and put him on the ground.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

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

Aerik was proving himself to be rather good at avoidance and momentum redirection, a thought that Varin locked into his head for safe keeping. Side stepping Varin’s initial dual strike.

Aerik moved behind him and Varin’s smile widened as his eye flared just slightly.

Varin felt the weight shift behind him. He planted his feet, and widened his stance, strengthening his foundation as Aerik’s heel met his knee. Like a wall of steel and stone the give was minimal, Varin was never one to kneel or give a knee. Not in social gatherings, not in combat.

As Aerik drove forward, Varin whipped his head back to impact the bridge of Aerik’s nose.

An eye for an eye, one would say.

Blood dripped down Varin’s chin as he shifted his stance, his other leg circling wide to catch his momentum and push forward once more with his shoulder.

Aerik was proving to be a difficult target to push, he was acknowledging that. The balance he demonstrated as well as the control of the battlefield did not leave Varin’s mind.

He believed he was done studying his opponent now.

Varin took his stance once again, laying the flat of the blade over the edge of the shield pointing at Aerik.

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Varin Mortifer | Irina Jesart​

Aerik felt the shift in Varin's stance as he attempted the sweep. The heel caught, but the leg did not give the way he intended. Varin widened his base and held.

When the head snapped back, Aerik did not withdraw in time.

Bone met bone.

The bridge of his nose split under the impact and his head rocked slightly with it. Blood ran at once, thick and dark as it spilled over his upper lip. It did not fall cleanly. It clung in heavy strands, a faint glow flickering beneath the surface as though heat moved within it. Where it touched the floor, it hissed before settling.

He did not step back.

As Varin's leg circled wide and his shoulder drove forward again, Aerik adjusted his footing and let the push pass across him rather than meeting it square. He brought the back of his knuckles beneath his nose and wiped the blood away, leaving a dark smear across his skin that shimmered briefly before dulling.

His eyes lifted to Varin.

The blade rested flat along the shield once more, the point angled toward him in renewed challenge.
Aerik shifted his grip on the staff and stepped forward first this time. Before he closed the distance, he gave Varin a small, deliberate nod.

 

[Irina Jesart]

Aerik Lechner Varin Mortifer​

The sound of their spar filled the room with the sharp crack of wood on wood, it was heated in a different way. When she and Varin had been testing fire and finding a rhythm so that they could better one another, he and Aerik were seeking a measure of an entirely different kind, this was a fight to earn respect, to ensure that neither forgot the other.

It took immeasurable control for Irina to keep her face impassive, to not react when Aerik drew first blood splitting Varin’s lip, she stayed where she was, one leg crossed over the other and her hands resting in her lap. Dark eyes watched every move, tracked the foot work and watched the force pull taught around them.

The crack of bone on bone as Varin’s head snapped back made her jaw tighten, knuckles whitening briefly as she fought the instinct to rise, to step in. Irina took a measured breath exhaling slowly as they parted and reset before Aerik stepped in again.

This was going to take a while.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

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

Varin returned the subtle nod back to Aerik before he stepped in to close the distance. As Aerik stepped in Varin braced the shield for what looked like a shield bash, to test Aerik’s reflexes, only for him to push his blade forward towards Aerik, twisting the handle he flipped the blade so the hook was now pointing towards Aerik.

He quickly flicked his wrist pushing the hook towards his neck as he pushed forward with the shield attempting to close the distance further and hook just behind his shoulder to control his momentum.

Aerik Lechner | Irina Jesart​

 

[Aerik Lechner]

Wearing: This | Weapons: Lightsaber | Knife
TAG: Varin Mortifer | Irina Jesart​

Varin returned the nod and stepped forward to meet him.

Aerik watched the shield settle into position as the distance closed. The posture suggested a bash, weight set behind it as though Varin meant to drive straight through him. Instead the blade came forward, the handle twisting in Varin’s grip as the hook turned toward Aerik.

The motion was quick. The hook snapped upward toward his neck while the shield pushed forward to close the space and claim his shoulder.

Aerik did not pull away.

As the hook came toward his neck he stepped inside the line of it rather than giving ground, his staff rising between them. The shaft caught against Varin’s weapon arm to keep the hook from settling behind his shoulder while he continued forward.

His weight followed the step.

Aerik’s shoulder drove toward Varin’s chest as he attempted to jam the shield before it could build momentum, the rear end of the staff coming around in the same motion as he swung it toward the outside of Varin’s lead leg, attempting to take the base out from under him as he pressed the attack for the first time.

 

[Irina Jesart]

Aerik Lechner Varin Mortifer​

Irina decided she had seen enough, as much as she enjoyed watching the ripple of muscles across Aerik's torso as he fought she did not see this spar coming to an end anytime soon. They were focused on the fight, that she was the reason either of them were here seemed to have eluded their testosterone riddled brains.

She rose wordlessly, heading for the door. Aerik would know where to find her as for Varin, she would reach out to him at a later date and offer her assistance in translating those runes as well as see what else she could learn from him.

It was, afterall, useful to find another whose power was so similar to her own.