Counting Stars

[Anara Valnor]

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive​

​

Just another world on her endless trip around the known universe, just another pit stop to sate her curiosity. Not every planet she happened upon was worth actually walking upon and some weren't even capable to be walked upon, but this planet had proved to be a true gem in a long string of disappointing adventures.

Dressed in a simple blue dress Anara wandered down the beach, the light from the worlds moons and stars making the water and sand glimmer beneath her feet. All around her were various parties taking place around massive bon fires. Occasionally she stopped to interact with the intoxicated locals, joining in on their games and partaking of whatever spirits they offered. However, she didn't linger to long as she felt the crash of the ocean always tugging her away from the roaring flames.

Humming softly to herself she danced in the surf, kicking up water and sand every so often as she moved slowly down the beach.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

On down the beach a few miles away from the bon fires a man was sitting alone, staring out across the ocean, the shimmering blanket of diamonds above the pitch black dark waters had caught his attention a long time ago, and it was currently captivating him then. The life of a 23 years young Casino owning entrepreneur was demanding, and the attention that had been demanded of him as he saw to the raising of a brand new Casino only a few miles into the city from where he'd taken refuge on the beach had taken it's toll.

There wasn't man places on that planet, especially in the capital itself, that one could go for a little peace and quiet, but that was one of those planets. That was one of those places that he could escape, and Christian needed to escape, at least for a while. Just a few hours alone, his feet digging into the sand as his arms were draped over his knees and those amber eyes watched the crashing waves, that was all he needed. That was all he wanted.

A little ways down the beach, however, his golden eyes beheld a beautiful young woman, but at first glance he hadn't noticed who it was.

When he saw her he immediately looked away, those amber eyes of his being cast back out across the ocean again, not knowing whether she would stop and speak to him or continue trotting on by.

[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

Her trek took her away from the roaring fires, but echoes of the parties still reached her ears even as the ocean fought to drown out all other sounds. There was a song on her lips as she continued to play in the surf, getting the hem of her dress wet. The water still held a bit of the days warmth, but not nearly enough to warrant any further playing. Wringing the hem of her dress out as best she could, Anara backed out of the water and turned to walk back up the beach.

When she turned she spotted a man seated alone, his attention focused upon the ocean. It was clear that he didn't wish to be disturbed and so Anara moved on, or at least she meant to. The clouds above slid across the sky and moons light from above fell across his face causing her stomach to drop. Suddenly she was rooted to the spot, amber orbs staring at eyes that mirrored her own. She didn't know him, not consciously, but her body certainly did. Heart racing she simply stood there, mere feet from the man, staring in wonder.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian didn't look back at the woman again as she stopped there, frozen in her tracks and staring at him like some love struck little girl. Instead he sat there, moving his hands up and pressing them against one another as he planted his elbows against the tops of his knees. He then leaned in and set his chin against his thumbs, his lips against his index fingers as he said, "I see that you remember me."

His presence wasn't a friendly one, nor was it angry or resentful. It was just cold, like the night air around them. He knew exactly who she was, and he'd known for a long time, before even his eyes could adjust on what kind of figure was moving down the beach in his direction.

[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

Head tilted to the side she eyed the man, brow furrowed in thought. After several minutes of silence between the two she shook her head, taking a seat in the sand with her back to the waves.

"No."

Anara watched him for several more minutes, not a word passing between them. Finally she relaxed a bit and reclined a little in the sand, her toes wriggling in the sand absently.

"I had a physical reaction when I saw you, but I don't remember you at all..."

She shrugged as if that was all the answer he needed. "Who are you?" It was possible that his answer would bring demons to the surface she didn't wish to recall, but that was a risk she was willing to take. No matter his answer she wouldn't allow him to affect her new found freedom.

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian didn't look at the girl for a time as she watched him, claiming not to remember him at all and that she had simply been stunned by his presence or his looks or something else that she wasn't revealing to him. Either way, he didn't have any reason to suspect that she was lying or not to believe her. It had been a long time since they'd known one another, and that time they shared was fleeting.

"I am the man who pushed you down a darker path.", he finally said after many minutes of long, stale silence.
[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

"Hmmm..." was her only response as she shifted upon the sand, turning to look over her shoulder at the dark waves. With her memories gone she couldn't recall what had brought her to the Darkness, but some nagging sensation told her that he was not the sole cause. There was more to that tale than perhaps even he knew. After a time she turned her amber eyes back to his visage, a contemplative look upon her face.

"How?"

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian finally looked back at the girl again, those golden eyes almost glaring through the woman as he looked her up and down making sure that it was her. With a slight nod of his head he was sure that she was the one. "I bested you one night at a nightclub.", he explained, looking away from the girl and casting those brilliant eyes back across the ocean.

"I took you like you were some soft of prize or trophy that night.", he said, continuing to explain as he reached down and found a glass of whiskey stuck into the beach in order to hold it as if it were a cup holder. He raised that glass up from the sand and took a long, satisfying sip before he finished by saying. "I took you back to my home after biting you and soiling your connection to the light side of the force. That mark also ran you mad with lust for the owner of the mark and for the rest of the night I couldn't keep you off of me. It was almost as if I raped you, but you were so willing...", he whispered.

[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

She simply stared at him, unsure what to say to such an explanation. He was the cause for her fall to the Darkness? Silence hung heavy between them and eventually she looked away, toward the ocean as she wondered about her past. What had caused her to have her memories wiped clean? Was he at the center of it all?

Since waking up in that strange facility she had never wondered about her past, not until now. Without a word she stood and took a seat nearer to him, facing the water. A hand rose to rub along the sides of her neck, absently looking for a non-existent scar. After a moment she laughed softly, a smirk settling upon her features.

"If lust was all you had to deal with from me it sounds like you got off easy..."

She glanced toward him, her smile slowly slipping away. "I would have fallen regardless...perhaps it is better that it was by your hands..."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"Perhaps...", he admitted, glancing sideways towards the woman who looked a little lost and unsure of herself. He could tell that there were things that she didn't remember by the way she had reacted to what he'd said. Things she didn't understand and that she still was trying to piece together, but he didn't have those answers for her.

After their encounter, he had let her go, knowing that eventually she would return to her, curse of not. She was destined to come across him at least once more. Such was the nature of the curse, no matter if it had withered away deep in the skin or been healed over. It would always be there, unless she had the will to break it on her own. If her heart could resist a calling to him, much like a calling to darkness that she'd already fallen prey to.

There wasn't much that she could do about it, he understood, but he was sure that one day she'd grow past it. Everyone could if they wanted it enough, and the effects were fleeting, no matter how slowly they faded.

"...but I certainly didn't have to be the one to force such a thing upon you, and for that I am sorry."

[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

Anara gave a soft snort of laughter, a sad smile upon her lips. For a moment it was like she was her old self, the woman so burdened with the lives she had ruined that she sought to end her own at any cost. The moment passed however and all to soon she was carefree once more, laying back upon the sand to look up at the night sky. Her arms slid beneath her head and the hem of her dress rode up her thighs a bit, but she didn't care. Her history with this man was just that, history. He was attractive, there was no denying that, but it was clear that he wasn't interested in repeating their past and neither was she.

"It's alright...I forgive you."

Again the silence hung heavy between them and then it occurred to her, she didn't know his name. Smiling lightly she turned her head to look at him, "since I don't remember...what's your name?"

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian's golden eyes scanned the ocean laid out before them so calmly that it was almost as if he hadn't heard her tell him it was alright. As if he hadn't been sorry about it at all and in fact didn't care about the woman at all, but no one could ever read that gambler's visage he had practiced to perfection. He wore that stone cold face often and it was partly why so many women were perplexed by the tall dark and handsome man who by the look on his face was lost in heavy thoughts.

"Christian.", he admitted to the woman, his eyes not wandering over to her as he watched the waves rolling up the sand to just lightly lick the tips of his toes.

"Why have you fallen into darkness?", he finally asked curiously.

[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

"Christian..."

She spoke his name softly, testing it out upon her tongue to see if it would trigger anything else. When nothing else happened she shrugged to herself, sitting up to look at him once more. "I don't remember..." She shrugged simply as though that was all the explanation he needed, but she knew that he would want to know more.

Licking her lips she shifted beside him as she pulled her legs beneath her, sitting forward a bit as she began to build a sand castle just out of the waters reach. "The woman you met that night...The one you took? I'm not her, not exactly. I...she...My memory has been wiped." She continued to work upon her sorry looking sand castle, her hands smoothing across the moist sand with slow precision. "I'm Anara Valnor, but I don't recall my past...I think I fell because of it...I have dreams of my past I think..." She paused and glanced over at him, studying his face. "They are vivid and...make little sense..." Turning back to her sand castle she watched the water grow ever closer, "I've seen and done many terrible things...I think..."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian was growing impatient with the woman. She was like a foolish child that didn't know any better because they were too young. He had no reason to be angry with her, but he felt a familiar twinge of anger shoot down his spine as she sat there, completely oblivious as she played in the sand.

Suddenly, Christian lost his temper and in a blur of motion he turned and snatched the woman by the throat, crawling over top and straddling the woman as he force her back into the sand, his eyes widening as he bore his white teeth, clinched as he whispered through them, "You don't remember?!"

"...not even when I pressed my thumbs into your neck and breathed hot breath on your quivering lips."


[member="Anara Valnor"]

 

[Anara Valnor]

Heat rushed to her cheeks and other regions in response to Christian's aggression. One hand wrapped around the wrist hold her throat and her other hand rested against his chest. Her own eyes were wide, mirroring his, and she inhaled sharply, adrenaline flooding her system and causing her heart to thunder in her ears. Her body remembered him, that was clear from her reaction to his dominance, but her mind did not.

"No," she whispered back, her grip upon his wrist tightening as her fingers tightened upon the fabric of his shirt. "I told you my memories have been altered..."

[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian rose up from the woman, his grip on her loosening until he let her free. He then stepped over and circled around her, "Not even the place on your neck where I bit down on your flesh?", he said, his fingers lightly grazing the skin along the nape of her neck as he passed around behind her.

Stopping behind the woman, he glanced out across the sea again, taking in a deep breath and smiling lightly. "I guess that's a good thing, then. You get to start from the beginning again."

[member="Anara Valnor"]