Private Between Two Worlds

[Mia Monroe]

Buir? Are you listening? ​

I'm listening, Cory

You're over the edge.​

I know.

You need to come back.​

You're familiar with the term fighting fire with fire?

Don't be an a dikut, come back, Buir, before its too late.​

I'm having a conversation with my dead daughter, its already to late.

Is it? Or are you just afraid of letting go of the power?

​

Wayii, Cory, you are definitely my daughter.

I was but I'm dead remember. And thats on you.​

Zanbar had a number of derelict death watch outposts. She'd contemplated going further afield, to somewhere outside of mandalorian space, but the skirmish had left her unsettled and it was hard to get out of Ijaat's sight now. He was worried, as he should be. She'd delved too deep in her fight.

This outpost was larger than the last, the duracrete still relatively intact with enough space on a landing pad for two ships. Most of the buildings were useless but there was one circular with a fire pit in the middle Mia had taken the time to patch. The fire popped snapping her out of her own mind as the hum of a ship engines drew her slowly to her feet. Her armour was resting in a pile on a bed roll, she bore no weapons. She had no intention of fighting Malum today. Though she'd no intention of fighting him the first time they met, either.

Moving to the huts entrance she leant on the door frame watching him approach. At her back, she felt Cory fade away. She wasn't sure anymore whether it was really Cory, or if she had truly lost her mind. She was, at least, an improvement on Ra's visits.

"You're late. You were supposed to be here yesterday."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Surprisingly even the Lord of Lies and Deception has to give some reasoning for where he is going, and why the answer to that question is the other side of the galaxy," Malum deadpanned, wiping away the last of the blood that trailed his nose, shaking off the last of the delirium and dizziness that was the consequence of warping from Alvaria to Zanbar, such a thing, took a toll on one's body that never got easier, especially when the distance was so great.

Yet no matter the pain, no matter the discomfort, there was nothing faster that he had found in bringing himself to the location of his desire.

Even if he could feel the raucous feeling within his body, within his soul, the speed could not be denied, but such were the advantages and disadvantages of using the Force to bend time and space around your body.

One's form was never meant to experience such a sensation, and it responded as best as it could.

His hand around his amulet aided him more than he could think, the dull ease was far more preferable than feeling on fire.

Of course, he also held the amulet for another reason, feeling the dull ache in his mind, as soon as he had sighted her, Malum knew it was still not in a forgiving mood for what happened the last time they had met on Zanbar.

Thankfully they both knew something that was at least for now, appeasing them both, Malum dramatically pointed to his head, "You know, for one so concerned with the voice I have in my head, it is rather hypocritical for you to have one in yours, no?" He smirked, a smirk filled with grim satisfaction, he would need to give Lily Rhodes the most expensive gift he could manage to give him an insight into the mind that he had not found elsewhere.

Yet, for now, he stilled instead, Cory was the name he heard, and already he knew what he said was crass, after all, what else he heard informed her of her present state.

Dead.

So they were both haunted then.

Just perfect.

At least it might distract her from... other matters, Moridinae, the orbit of Moridinae, Naboo, and Garos IV.

He did not hold his breath.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia's expression darkened, she closed the gap between them in a blink, fingers digging into the cloth of his robes as she seized him, and turned to slam him against the outer wall of the hut with enough force that a hairline crack ran up its length. Was it possible for them to go five minutes without wanting to kill each other?

Unlikely.

She leaned in close, her brown eyes already replaced with the a deep orange glow. "My list of reasons to kill you is growing as it is. Your failure to remove your agents from mandalorian space, your failure to forewarn me of him being there personally to defend Garos. Your relationship with Elise. Do not add another one to the list. Stay the feth out of my head, or so help me I will introduce you to a world of pain that even the shabuir in your head won't be able save you from."

Buir you need him.​

There will always be another.

She tightened her grip, just in case he tried something stupid, pressing him harder into the wall. "Do I make myself clear, Malum?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

If there could be one thing said about Malum, was that he was intensely curious, obsessively so perhaps, dangerously so definitely.

A lesser thing that could be said about Malum was that for all the knowledge he accumulated, all the times he had fulfilled his curiosity, and the wiser he likely was becoming over the years.

He was still very much an idiot.

He let out a gasp, as the speeding woman slammed him against the wall, feeling his robes billowing in the wake of the strike, feeling his already sore let out a bloody scream as more pressure was put on it without time to recover. His skull struck with such power that all the dizziness and delirium were back in full force. His arms settled down by his side, limp and stiff simultaneously as he willed everything inside him to not groan, to not make any sound at this attack.

He could tell himself it was all those conditions that had not let him see the strike, that the battle continuing in his mind had distracted him.

But the fact was, he had underestimated the former Mand'alor, the one who had moved with such speed during their battle once, moved much faster than he thought possible.

Indeed, she perhaps rivalled his mistress in agility and speed.

"Do you believe yourself able to control a Sith Lord, do you believe me your vassal, your slave?" Malum hissed out, his voice shifting as it always did when forced into the disadvantageous position, "Do you believe hoodwinking Kaine to be an easy and simple matter, do you believe it such an easy goal that you could do it without me?" The hiss transformed into something animalistic, alien to him, yet his voice remained permeated throughout, as another voice ranked through him, as red eyes that had reached their boiling point began turning too, "Elise... is no replaceme- my relationship with Elise is none of your concern, and so help you if you dare try to keep her from me," It was done, the transformation near completion, as red eyes that were blazing turned the very same orange that stared back at them, flames burning through his eyes, as the other took over.

For Mia Monroe had done the impossible.

Not only united Malum and the fragment.

But had united Malum, the fragment and the amulet.

The amulet, for its entire existence, had only served a singular purpose, to protect its heir. A remnant, a ghost of one who had passed long ago, remained still, and it now saw a threat outside the one within Malum's skull.

It saw the threat standing before him.

The figure that was Malum could only give a maddened smirk.

As all chaos broke loose. An explosion tore through the clearing, an explosion of such grand magnitude one would think the turbolasers were firing down upon them again, an explosion of such size that dust and all else was flung towards the air, its sight visible from miles, aiming to fling them both as far away from each other as physically possible. It was a self-sacrificial attempt, the amulet expending all its energy, growing silent and cold for the day, as the figure that was once Malum was flung through the hut they were pressed against.

Its body was in bad shape, yet it landed, skidding before stopping.

Still standing, and grinning madly at the aftermath of what it had caused.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Of course, he couldn't just say yes, of course he couldn't possible concede for the sake of saving face and understanding he had over stepped a boundary. Mia had a moments warning, a moment was enough for tutaminis to save her from the worst of the blast, as she was catapulted backwards, slamming into the duracrete, she rolled backwards on herself coming to a stop on one knee.

Her ears were ringing, she brought her hand up to wipe blood from her nose. The hut, that she had spent time repairing was in ruins again, a fresh crater made, another scar on Zanbars surface for the sake of a child that could not control his temper.

"DAMMIT, MALUM!"

She punched the ground in frustration, before pushing herself to her feet. "This cannot work, if you keep trying to kill me!" she threw her hands up in dismay, walking towards him. "You don't have the strength, look at you" she gestured to the state he was in "and even if you did I will come back. As many times as it takes, to kill Carnifex, with or without your help."

As she drew closer and saw his eyes, dots began to connect in Mia's mind and she stopped a few feet from him.

"But you are not Malum, are you?"

A deep sigh and Mia bowed her head. It was going to be a long night.

"Ophidia," she said looking back up "Let him go."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The figure stood back up straight, its scrapes and injuries seemingly not affecting it as blazing orange orbs looked ahead towards the recovering Moridinazid, the figure's eyes glanced towards its form, quick considerations and thoughts seemingly running through its mind.

"Do you think we did not want this?" A voice answered, smirking, mocking, a voice that was an alien meld of two voices one entirely familiar, the other only in the darkest of days, "We are still your ally, Mand'alor the Liberator... though we suppose you do not go by that title anymore..."

The figure drew into Malum's robes, unveiling a lightsabre, before dropping it in front of them, "You wish to kill Kaine, we wish to kill Kaine, there need not be a conflict between us," It took a step forward, eyes gazing towards the ruins of the hut that it smashed through, the area cleared and made mess by the dull, still, and cold amulet by its neck.

Its eyes glimmered in knowing, in threat and design, "Yet you should know, there is nothing more we hate, than those that come back when they should be dead, those that bring no worth, those that stagnate, those that refuse to evolve. After all... Ophidia returned once... and we killed her." A chuckle broke through the clearing, one filled with both merry and dread.

One eye turned back to its red hue, yet it still was enflamed, "Tell us, are you one of them? Those that return long after they are no longer needed?"

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Memory flickered, she was drenched in blood, surrounded by foes and fighting for her soul, carving through demons of her own making, and long dead mando'ade come to claim their piece of her. Ijaat Mereel 's voice echoed across the Blood Wastes and pulled at her. Mia closed her eyes, fighting the wave of emotion it brought.

"The fact that Ophidia resides in you makes you a hypocrite. Be allowing her to take control like this you are giving her immortality. You, are stagnating, Malum."

She stepped closer. "If you want to talk about immortality, life death and rebirth we will. But not while she is out of her cage. Get a grip of her. Now. Or I will."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The laugh that erupted out of its lungs was something primaeval, something dark, something mirthful, "You still do not understand do you?" The orange embers removed themselves from the remaining eyes, leaving only red that was quite mad staring back, flames dancing on a field of white, "Darth Ophidia, my mistress is dead, we killed her, and from her death, we grew more powerful, we came closer... to breaking our chains."

As she stepped closer.

It smirked.

Within less than a second Malum was gone, hidden from eyes naked and unnaked.

A second later, he was right in front of Mia Monroe , a hand extended forth, agonisingly close to her neck.

"Do you really wish to fight me?" He blinked rapidly, apparently the very thought filling him with confusion, "After all, there are certainly more productive things to discuss after all..." He trailed off, his voice fully returned to normal, as he seemed to be staring past her, "Like how exactly you know Elise Ahana-Gwyneira ." The smirk was gone, there was only a thin straight line now.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia watched the embers fade from his eyes, her own returning to their light blue. She didn't flinch as he teleported, he was posturing and she was tired of it. She was tired of fighting with him. slowly she reach up, finger closing about his wrist and she gently pushed it down. "Enough, Malum. I've no interest in fighting you, I never have had an interest in fighting you and quite frankly, I'm bored of the temper tantrums."

She stepped round and past him moving toward the ruins so she could uncover her things, a wave of her hand and the ruined walls and ceiling lifted away, another flick of her wrist and they shifted and dropped behind it, uncovering the buildings foundations, her things and the fire pit, whose embers were still glowing. Mia flopped at the firepits edge, another flick of energy and the flames roared briefly back into life before settling down to the steady crack and pop they had been before Malum's little explosion.

"I recruited Elise Ahana-Gwyneira into the Protectors. I am her al'verde, her mentor." She paused. Her heart heavy, and gestured for him to sit. "Its bad enough that I love the girl as if she was my own, a fact that is not known to anyone except now you. Because for that relationship to be known, places her in the direct line of fire. But you, you fething dikut, were openly dancing and making eyes at her on Naboo! In a room full of our enemies!"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It did not resist, he did not flinch as its hand was taken and pushed down, taking it as his victory, as it took a step back, pulling on the force and having his lightsabre return to its grasp, and back into its robes without fuss or threat, "If you care to remember, I am not the one that had a so-called 'temper tantrum', and if you wish to my justified action last time we met... that, then I think I certainly have an interest in fighting you... but I will put that aside for now."

He stood still, turning on his heel as she walked past him toward the ruins of the hut he had destroyed, it watched silently as she moved past through the wreckage, looking for her belongings. He had not even realised she had stored her possessions there, another minor victory, as it watched still, he took the invitation of the lit fire pit as it was, cautiously approaching, taking a seat when offered, as she spoke.

And her words made his eyes soften, gazing away towards the distance, "She is not your own, she has a mother," One he had never met, one he likely would never meet, but one she clearly still loved dearly, he let the insult pass him without measure or voice, he had known Naboo was a risk.

But it was a risk he would take again if he could go back.

A risk he would take again if presented to him now.

A risk he would take again and again in the future, no doubt.

His eyes returned to Mia, glimmering with an emotion unknown, "I can protect her from the Sith, I can protect her from the Moridinazid, I will protect her from the entire galaxy if need be, she is not yours to control, she is not yours to decide who she can love or not," He ground his teeth as he spoke, emotions whirling in his mind that he did his utmost to keep the lid on, as they simmered below the surface, "You on the other hand, one who died once... you are an active threat to her..." Malum felt the darkness in Elise, despite all the good she had done, all the good she was, there was a darkness deep within her, one that he doubted Mia Monroe would tolerate.

He needed them seperated before it came to a head.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Buir...​

Mia closed her eyes, wrestling with her own emotion. "I am aware." she opened her eyes staring into the flames. Elise had a mother who was alive and well. She had a daughter who was dead and gone. But it didn't change how Mia felt, she knew well enough Elise wasn't Cory, this wasn't about replacement, Mia would never try that.

"Please stop using that word for us." she said looking up "Its a name Kaine gave in a twisted joke, because Moridin was the name of the Sith Emperor who first brought war to my doorstep when I was Mand'alor. Its an insult and we have traded enough of them." she was skirting round the topic of Elise's protection, carefully choosing her words.

"I've died twice." she corrected him. "Once at the hands the One Sith. I was pulled back when the gates to the Netherworld appeared across the galaxy. The second time..." she trailed off drawing in a deep breath and forcing the lump down in her throat. "I do not seek life, I keep getting pulled back to it. Call it fate if you want, the will of the force, whatever, it doesn't matter. The fact remains that I am alive, again, after forty years."

Emotion glittered in her eyes. "Elise is in no danger from me. Whatever path she takes, she will have my protection and my love. I don't seek to control her, but I will kill you if you hurt her or place her in harms way because you are too arrogant to see the dangers. You are not strong enough to protect her from what we are facing, if you were, we would not have this partnership. You would not need it."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

This was the most... vulnerable, he had ever seen Mia Monroe , even after he had ordered turbolasers fire on her position, she had not looked this vulnerable. The woman who was usually the very picture of power and fortitude, laying herself out to him regretful and raw.

It was certainly a side of her he had never seen.

A side of her he was not certain how to take.

"You are aware," Malum bristled, a mocking twinge letting out his lips, as a frown formulated itself on his face.

A frown that did not make it to his eyes, still too confused, still too deep in thought, still considering all that was playing out before him and turning out blanks, as nothing made sense.

At her words, his eyes softened, gazing away from her toward some tree or whatnot in the distance, not wishing to look into her eyes, while she looked like... that, "It is the only name I know..." Oh, certainly he knew the name Mandalore, the name Mandalorians, but so did he know the name Pesegam, so did he know Moraband, yet that was all they were to him, names, names of places and people of the past, that did not align with the names of the present, Moridinae, Korriban, "...I do not mean it as an insult... though I suppose that is a lie, I enjoyed how it annoyed you..." This was unfamiliar territory, being so honest with her, yet in this specific circumstance there was little he gave way by speaking the truth, "But, it is also the truth for me, Mandalore is Moridinae, the Mandalorians are the Moridinizid, I know the history of the name, I know what cruel joke was playing in his act... but such was the name I was educated since my childhood to know it as you can imagine what else Kaine's curriculum's taught," That the Moridinazid were animals, literal animals, wild beasts to be put down.

He knew at an educated level that was false.

Yet unconscious biases had run rampant through those early meetings with Elise... his first meeting with Mia, the battles of the Kathol Outback, he had moved with an unconscious belief that the enemy he faced, were animals.

And they deserved to be put down like animals.

He shook those thoughts from his head, as she continued, "You have certainly lived in interesting times, I... would like to hear of them, at some point, if you do not mind," It had been something he had wanted to ask at the back of his mind ever since their first meeting, but between the rage and anger, and wilful and great desire to kill her... strangely the question had never come up, "Still, it does not change the fact I distrust the Force and its will, the fact you have returned not once... but twice, by its will," His red eyes finally returned to lay her blue, "It concerns me greatly, and... as crass as it is to say, if life so difficult, there is solutions to that," He almost cringed as he said it, yet he felt it needed to be said regardless, "To have a... champion of the Force's will so near... Elise will be in more danger than by my side."

And thus, it was brought back to the major conundrum, the figure that united both of them in feelings of warmth and angst, his eyes began to glimmer, fire glowing through ruby orbs, "I am not powerful enough to fight Kaine alone, certainly, I battled him before as an apprentice, with a knight beside me, and we lost, but I will not be fighting Kaine, I will be protecting Elise, and though I might not be able to fight, I am unparalleled in one area, I can disappear without a trace, and I can take Elise with him, she will be the safest if no one knows where she is," He growled out, something animalistic and wrothful, all the stresses and questions of their relationship flowing out of him in waves, palpable and felt in the Force, "You do not get to threaten me, or accuse me of hurting her, I lov- I cherish her, for all she is, for all she will become, she is... amazing, brilliant, and beautiful, and I know for a fact I do not deserve her, yet I cannot deny how I feel, and I will never let anyone harm her, including you." He was hissing by the end, grinding his teeth, as it almost was as if he was standing from his seat.

Yet that would only happen by the end, "You say she will have your protection and your love, whatever path she takes, but what happens when that path is of darkness?"

It was as if a pin had dropped over the proceedings.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia let out a bark of laughter at being called a Champion of the Force's will. It wasn't mocking, she'd just never thought of herself as such. "I wasn't brought back by the force's will, Malum, I was brought back by a person. Someone completed a ritual and yanked me out of the Blood Wastes, something that I am certain they will live to regret, despite their denial that they never will."

Mia glared at him over the fire as he shifted again, so quickly into an aggressive defence. "Malum..." she began, her tone a soft warning. She wasn't looking for a fight or an argument, nor was she accusing him of anything save being an idiot on Naboo. She was making him a simple promise, if he hurt her, or put her in harms way she would kill him. The reaction, came from a place of love. She knew that before he even stumbled over the word, a sad smile shifting over her features.

His question hung in the air between them, closing a hand about her chest.

"What path do you think I walk, hmm?" she lifted her blue eyes to meet his red ones. For the briefest of moments the shifted to an orange hue and then back again. "My promise still stands. Whatever path she chooses to take, she will have my love and protection. From everyone who would seek to harm her. Including mando'ade. As for you, and your will to whisk her away and hide her, do you think for one second she would allow that to happen? Regardless of whether she walks in the light, the dark or trudges the grey line in between, she will never hide. She will fight you every step of the way to be at the forefront of the fight she believes in. I'm not asking you to walk away, I'm not asking you to deny that you love her. I'm telling you, to be smarter. You cannot be seen in public like that." She dropped her gaze back to the fire.

"Sit down you overgrown toddler and stop reacting like everything I say to you is an attack."



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"I can certainly see that you have the motherly instinct," Malum scoffed, a scoff with no feeling as he took a seat back on the makeshift seat.

Her words whether he liked it or not were true, he knew Elise would never consent to disappear into the shadows, she was right, Elise had prominent, strong, and powerful beliefs that she would never let relent, never allow to pass her by the wayside, if she could aid someone in need she would.

Even if it hurt her.

Why had he fallen for such a silly woman?

"Your darkness is not hers... you still try to fight what you are, I will not claim that you have no reason to despise the Sith, but the darkness you have is far more than what my Order is," He ground his teeth, both of his hands meeting and pressing down on each other in frustration, "Her darkness is deep within her, her guilt, her sorrow, her rage, if she fights what she is, she will annihilate herself, I will not let that happen," His eyes took on a glimmer, fire burning up through his reticles, "Will you still love her when I convince her of the truth of my Order? The truth of what the Sith are? That we are more than the cruelty of Kaine, that we are the only solution to the Galaxy's ills?" His voice was growing darker, and louder, passion breaking over his folds, as the simmering emotions finally began to bubble over the surface.

It was the only way he could protect her, the only way she could protect herself, if she would embrace the power of the dark side, then she would have a fighting chance.

Because otherwise, the only way left was to flee.

And she would only flee if he joined her.

If they threw this all aside if they returned to simply being Malum and Elise like they were on Archais.

Where the galaxy at large would not matter when the nearest concern was simply what they would have for dinner, as they built a life for themselves outside of the conflicts of Sith and Jedi.

Where they could build a family, safe from all those troubles.

He threw away that dream, that musing, those imaginations that had been striking his brain, and more often recently.

He had a responsibility, not only to himself, not only to his family, his friends, and his people, but to the galaxy.

To Elise.

To free them from their chains.

He could not deviate from that goal, he would not.

He did not answer the accusation of how he would convince her, only that he knew, even if she hated him for it if she shouted and screamed at him, he would whisk her away to hiding, if any looked to harm her, and he could not simply annihilate them.

Elise would be safest if no one knew where exactly she was.

But that was a topic for another time, a topic that would hopefully never have to be discussed.

"Do you believe your Rekindler is free from the will of the Force?" Malum asked, assuming he was the one who had brought her back, "Do you believe both of your crimes against nature and life will go unpaid? We are all puppets to its will, me, Kaine, you, him, all dancing as it bids, all playing as it instructs," He hissed out, anger permeating through him, of all that he hated in this physical realm, it was the Force which he hated the most, the one that sat safe out in its metaphysical realm, "You were brought back for a reason, you were allowed to return for a reason, and I do not trust that reason."

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Oh, look at that, even he can see how much of a terrible mother you are...​

Shut up, Cory, I need to focus

Case and point.​

Mia closed her eyes and bowed her head letting out a sigh. "I'm not fighting anything. I stopped fighting what I am a long time ago. I just conceal it from those it would harm. You are not equipped to understand Elise's guilt and her sorrow, nor her absorbed memories. I am because I was where she is...a long time ago." She looked up, memories flickering behind her eyes.

"She won't make the same mistakes I did. And if, by some miracle, you are able to convince her that the sith path....that your path, is the right one..." she shrugged "Then so be it. My statement still stands."

You never loved me so unconditionally.​

"Gev!" Mia's response was outward, and with it a ripple of energy rolled from her that made the ground beneath them tremble, the image of Cory vanished with a soft sigh from her peripherals. Mia looked down at her hands realising they were trembling. "That wasn't for you Malum. I'm sorry." she blinked away the mist in her eyes. "You are not wrong, about me being a crime against nature. I should not be here, yet I am. But you are wrong that my crimes go unpaid. I pay them every day. Every fight that sucks me deeper into the darkness comes with a new punishment. My failures follow me everywhere I go."

She balled her hands into fists and took a long deep breath, looking back up at him. "The fight at Garos has opened cracks in my mind, I will fix them but it takes time. You should have warned me he was going to be there."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

She was communicating with something... someone, he could not see. He saw the telltale signs, the ragged breaths, the long pauses, the mental calculus, yet he had learned enough from previous minutes to keep out of her mind, allowing her to... fight or talk with whatever ghost or spectre which she had in her mind.

The fact it was her daughter though as best he could tell.

He could not help the pity, the sympathy, the empathy, that was drawn out of him.

After all despite the voices in it- in his head, he could not claim any of them were as close, as intimate, as the bond between mother and daughter.

If he had a child.

How could he survive if they not only died before their time?

But stayed to haunt him too?

He resisted the urge to hurl, as he did his utmost to simply focus on the woman before him, "I am more equipped to understand it than anyone else," Apart from Mia herself, admittedly, "I have the memories of someone who is dead, memories that do not belong to me, memories that horrify me," Words spilt out of his mouth, where his brain was still, the mask in place as he spoke, "You may not be battling yourself, but you still battle what you are, you are still scared of what you are, but not for your own sake... but for the sake of others," A weak smile graced his lips, "You fear they will reject you for what you truly are," His gaze broke, despondently looking past her to the hill nearby, "Now you know how I feel then, now you know how more Sith than you would know, feel."

When the entire galaxy had declared an eternal crusade against their existence, it was easier to put up the mask of cruelty, to return every blow taken, than simply sit, and take the punishment.

It was the end of her words, which caught him off-guard, that she would accept Elise, even as a Sith.

It bothered him so.

Why could Elise's turn to darkness be accepted, why then was his darkness, that presence innate in his being such a sin?

He ground his teeth, hands gripping down into fists.

Emotions whirling about him, saved him from the surprise of Mia's sudden shout, as the earth shook for a moment, and a shockwave of energy was sent out from her as the epicentre. His teeth stilled, his hands opened, eyes returning with a raised eyebrow at the sudden action. They narrowed, as they saw the trembling hands, they widened as they saw the teary eyes.

His lips twisted into a straight line, a hand entering his robes, pulling out a handkerchief, and tossing it over to the former Mand'alor, "No apology is required, wipe your eyes, I cannot pretend to understand your position, I cannot pretend to know how it is to return from death," For he did not need to pretend, he knew exactly how it was, "Whatever the circumstances, whatever the motives of the one who brought you back," He had an inkling it might have been a certain Rekindler, "Whatever the motives of the Force itself..." He stilled, uncertain of how to say words that might have been misconstrued to be... caring, "If you will defend Elise with your life if you will aid me in killing Kaine, then I... have little reason to complain." He had a sour look on his face as if it had taken torture to get such an admission out of him.

"I doubt you wish to make this a regular occurrence, but I would be remiss to not offer it regardless, if you fear the reaction of your loved ones, then... I offer myself as an ear to your troubles, we are allies after all, and... I would not wish to see you destroy yourself before your purpose is done," He gazed away from her again, not entirely certain why he was offering this, but knowing the two parts of him saw some advantage, "As for Garos..." He paused, the path to go on unclear, yet knowing he would have to say something, "I did not know Kaine would be there," It was a weak excuse, but it was the truth, "It was meant to have been a minor enough battle, likely why I was deployed, Kaine's appearance was something of his own will, a decision made quickly that few knew beforehand... let alone him, if I can speculate."

They faced an enemy that had been Emperor not once, but twice.

What was proper order and procedure for such a man?

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia's inability to let those close to her know was not centred on her fear of rejection. She'd been rejected by family and loved ones before, it was not a new sensation nor one she feared. What she feared, was the lengths they might go to to bring her back, or the steps they might take to stand in the way of her plans. She'd caused enough pain, she did not want to cause anymore. Save to Kaine.

The gesture surprised Mia, she did not for one second expect Malum to show her any kindness, quite the contrary. She expected him to latch onto the vulnerability she was involuntarily showing and use it against her. Though, there was still time for that. The thought was enough to stay the tears, iron gates shutting behind her eyes and sealing her emotions back behind the portcullis as best she could. Regardless of the offer, it was not a safe space, everything she did and said could be used against her.

He did not have her whole trust yet.

Maybe, if they were able to meet without starting their conversations with violence they could start to build that trust.

"Careful Malum, it almost sounds like you care." she said softly. Just like that the trembling hands and the tears were gone, Mia regained her control for the moment. "We will have to assume the Carnifex will be there at every opportunity. He wants nothing more to eradicate me and mine and now he knows we're rebuilding, that Ijaat and I are back and leading this, I don't doubt he will start to try and come at us sideways."

The thought filled her with dread. He was unpredictable, ruthless and had far more resources to hand than she or the Mandalorians had. And he knew it, he knew if he came for them now he would be able to wipe them out again with ease. Mia had a sneaking suspicion that this was a game, that he would wait until their strength was worth of his conquest.

"I know what I need to do, what I need to stand against him in a fight, but I am going to need everything you can give me. If he so much as sneezes in the wrong direction, Malum, I need to know."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Of course I care," He stilled, his lips parsing still into a straight line, emotionless apart from the confusion of it all, "You are of little use as an ally if you break before you even wound Kaine," A weak smile graced his lips, as strong as he could manage in these present conditions, using an excuse to mask the reality that for some reason, part of him, a small part, a minor irrelevant part, had found itself caring.

No.

It was only because she would guard and protect Elise.

It was only because she was useful.

It was only because she had revealed tragedy on his part, and Malum was a bleeding heart moralist.

That was it.

"I will assume such then, but... even knowing your history, do you not believe you are overstating the point? Kaine does far more than care for the plight of the Moridi- Mandalorians," He ground his teeth, why was he submitting to her requests? For diplomacy, yes... that made sense, for diplomacy's sake, "I will... increase my efforts to keep watch upon him, yet you must know, to do that, I will need to grow close to him. Perhaps even infiltrate his inner circle. Would you trust me, if I reached that point, Mia?"

It was the first time he used her name.

Something within him was pushing to cross boundaries.

Yet he did not know why, even if he acquiesced to such thoughts.

Mia Monroe

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia couldn't understand for a second how Elise had fallen for such a man, for although she herself had seen something in him, something inherently good, in was buried deep beneath the anger. Until now. He was listening, he altered habits, and while it may be for the sake of diplomacy, the fact that he used her name instead fo her title said otherwise.

The hard angry edges were softening. She glanced back to the small box among her things, full of tsis'kaar medallions. She'd intended to give it to him, but in this moment, when for once they were having a conversation without snarling, she felt it a message better left unsaid.

"I'm not overstating anything. He wants to exterminate all of us. But, he's epicanthix, he lives for the battle, and if the battle is too easy it wont be worth his time. So I'm hoping he will wait and if not, I'm hoping I can keep him occupied away from home, but just in case." She paused "I trust your hatred of him and your dedication to your own agenda. I also trust that your love for Elise will keep you on the right path. So yes, in this instance I trust you."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He narrowed his eyes as she gazed back towards her belongings, looking for something he could not see. He tensed, had he miscalculated, had he offended her, was this going to lead somewhere he desperately did not want it to lead? Yet as moments passed, precious seconds to allow for whatever to go wrong, to do so, nothing occurred.

A silent breath released, his other half soothed his mind, whispers of ease and calm, there was no ambush, no attack, he was safe, they were safe.

"If we are complaining of public displays of anything, let me say that having those like Valery Noble at your home would not exactly be how I would stay out of Kaine's radar," He snarked, without any emotion, without any mocking, simply noting, readdressing their argument of prior days, stilling himself as he heard her reasons for trusting him.

Well, not trusting him, not any real sense, but at least believing he was slave enough to his own motivations to keep their mutually beneficial agreement ongoing.

Believing himself a slave to his feelings for another.

He might have complained if he did not know it was the truth.

"I... I..." He looked away from her, as pink flecked his cheeks, "I do not love her... not yet..." He did not even know if that was entirely true, he knew he was unable to say it, he knew every time he said it to him the guilt whirled within him at his inability to say it. Yet, he had realised long ago, that he knew little of what love really was, it was something he felt at the very core of his chest, yet something he could never fully put into words, no matter what flowery poetic language he could use.

He loved his family.

That was... the only thing he was certain of when it came to that word.

He was raised to love his family, raised to love his house.

All others outside of that, all of those outside the splendour of the great Darth Marr, how could he love them?

How could he love Elise... despite wanting to so much... when he knew, if he did.

He would never recover if she was taken away from him.

He swallowed the bitterness down his throat, as he gazed back resolutely towards Mia, "But yes, you can trust that I would destroy entire worlds for her if she asked me to, you can trust that there are few other men out there that w- I despise more than Kaine, and you can trust that I will follow my own objectives into completion," His eyes had dulled, in few minutes he had experienced such whiplash of emotions.

He was glad he was sitting down.

Mia Monroe