Private Crashlanded

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Usually, his privateering ventures went extremely well. Alliance fleets and defences had been moved generally to the galactic east and south to counter the rising threats of Imperials, Mandolarians, and Sith alike, the galactic north and west had been left relatively bare ever since the fall of the Brotherhood of the Maw. That was not to say that there was no threat from the Alliance out here, leaving any part of their space unpatrolled merely left them open to rather undignified, and more problematic, illegal actions from... unsavoury peoples, pirates and smugglers mostly, but there was a countless list of crimes which those looking for a profit could attempt while Alliance eyes had turned away from them.

But the problem was while Alliance patrols could rather easily deal with rogue traders and pirates, dealing with a Sith squadron that appeared where no Sith should have possibly been, was another beast entirely. He had made a blazing path throughout the northern Alliance, he had caught convoys, transports, and patrol cruisers near Ornfra, Cormit, Celwis, Crustai, Illum, and as deep as Roxuli. It was a pity that he had only the Alvaria and the Ragathor to engage in his privateering with, for with only a cruiser and corvette, far too many had been escaping his net. Still, it had been a very successful venture, all in all, an impromptu expedition into Alliance space after he had the metaphorical spring in his step after meeting Adeline on Rapture, had only improved his mood even more, as he scored a series of victories that weakened his foe, and provided him experience with ship to ship combat, which he very much was still a novice too. Now he could continue simply continue his journey past Kril'Dor, using the Hydian Way to make himself along to the Mara Corridor and reach home, generally very happy with himself.

Of course, nothing could be that easy.

It seemed his ventures had not gone beyond the notice of the Alliance, and though their frontline forces had been deployed elsewhere, their defensive squadrons deeper into their core and combined with local forces was more, more than enough to handle two Sith cruisers and corvettes. Such as it was at Kril'Dor, so close out of Alliance space, he was intercepted.

It was a losing battle from the very beginning, anyone could have seen that. A cruiser and a corvette against a system fleet, even a small one? It was a lost cause. Yet Malum was not one to submit so easily, even going against a Defender-class Star Destroyer, leaving his position as Admiral, he would personally lead the starfighter counterattack on his Lochris. Yet Malum though prideful, arrogant, a fool, had no delusion of victory here.

And those who followed him knew that all too well.

Yet they followed him willingly still.

As the Alvaria and Ragathor warped into hyperspace, their hulls burning and heavily damaged by laser fire, it would be the starfighters left alone to die.

Yet loyal members of the Guard would have had it no other way, after all, had it not been their very duty to die in service of victory? However, there was a very key fact, that their charge would not die with them.

Thus all Malum could do was scream and bang against the glass inside his cockpit as more and more starfighters of the Guard fell, refusing his orders to retreat, all until...

All until... he retreated.

He watched too many fall, heard too many of them screech their last over the comms, and more of them stayed silent to the end, as they refused his orders to retreat.

He had led them into hell, he should have been the last to leave.

It had been cowardice, but it had also been all too necessary.

He could save them by retreating, and so his engines began their acceleration, and as last he saw, the last few of his squadron making their jumps, he was long gone.

Still, the irony, that for all the Guard's sacrifice, it seemed that it would be nought. An alert beeped at his head-up display, the Lochris had sustained heavy damage. Its warp drive the system that had taken the worst of it.

He groaned as the ship began to shake, there was little he could do, Sibby his astromech could only navigate so well with his systems in such a compromised state. The hyperspace outside of his window began shaking as well, guilt and anger at all that had happened could come later, survival instincts, so delayed when he had been willing to annihilate himself, mere seconds ago, finally came back alive.

What became evident was rendezvousing with the fleet and survivors at Ankus would not be possible. If he kept this up, by all likelihood the Lochris would be cut apart and destroyed by the forces acting upon it. An emergency drop then, landing at a planet to make repairs he could before returning to the Guard, he could only hope they would not raise holy chaos in trying to find him.

He smirked at the thought, more a ghost of a smile, as he disengaged the hyperdrive. The exhaustion of the battle was beginning to claim him, he was drenched in sweat, a migraine was pressing at his head, and he needed a bath and sleep most of all.

That would be for later though, when he survived this.

He hissed out as the engines were brought to an ugly stop as he snapped out of hyperspace. It was the first time he was able to properly examine the damage that the starfighter had taken, its wings had been mauled certainly, chunks cut out of it almost as if it was glass, and the engines were spluttering, swapping involuntarily between off and on, while his sensors were entirely shot.

To summarise, he seemed stranded.

"Sibby run diagnostic," He sighed, just perfect, being stranded in space could very well be a death sentence if the power cut out, the warmth he currently enjoyed, the heater and oxygen thank Bogan, being some of the systems that had not cut out, he could either freeze or asphyxiate, neither fate particularly suited him.

"Beep-bee-bee-boop-bee-doo-weep" Sibby responded, from outside the starfighter, through the Lochris' speakers, quickly a report was compiled and displayed on his HUD, however, by now his crimson eye was noticing something perhaps not as important, but certainly more curious, it was a planet, mostly yellow, but flavoured with green, with spots of blue.

He did not know every planet, or even most planets by purely description, but he did know some, and he had specifically researched the planets in this sector before he had begun his campaign.

And it was that made the smirk turn into a genuine smile because it meant he was within the sector after all. This was Archais, an Alliance world, but not far from Ankus, and more importantly, mostly barren apart from very certain cities, which he could avoid.

Essentially, the perfect planet to hide out until he could repair the Lochris, stay undetected, and be on his way.

Removing the report from his HUD, the spluttering engine was placed at full speed, as the orbit of the world approached. Being caught in its gravitational field, he pushed further in, unfortunately, that was where reading the report would have been useful.

As the engine cut off entirely.

Severely damaged, it had been on its last legs, the fact that it had been able to make it to Archais at all, was a small miracle.

The smile of hope that had just emerged on Malum's face was also cut off, first into confusion, then anger, then... fear.

The Lochris began its descent down from orbit, yet not a controlled descent that the engines would have allowed for, but one entirely at the whim of gravity. He felt the heatshields deploy, he felt Sibby begin to wabble about in its socket. Oh, this was going to hurt.

It did a lot more than hurt, as the Lochris fell, it looked like a comet trailing the sky. All the beauty of the sight quickly giving way to the view of a burning hulk rapidly beginning to disintegrate as forces acted on the ship, and it broke out into a flaming inferno.

The fact it did not burn up in orbit, as the heatshields failed, was entirely the effort of Malum.

Cryokinesis flowed through every part of his body, rapidly attempting to cool the fiery inferno that was the ship. The fact that he was within the centre of the scorching embrace of the durasteel box, the veritable hot seat, as the Force flowed freely through him, attempting to shield both himself and Sibby from the danger, trying to keep the structure of the ship together, for if that was lost, so would he.

All he needed to do was survive the landing.

He would not find out if he would.

The Lochris caught a tree, and rapidly momentum shifted, as Malum banged his head against the glass, burns covering him, was joined by a bad cut, as he drifted in and out of consciousness, missing as the Lochris, still somehow intact, if entirely roasted beyond compression, finally bad landfall, knocking him forward, as a great tear was made in the earth, as it drifted across the ground.

Sibby was badly damaged, but its continued beeps signalled its survival.

Good.

Thoughts were difficult, it was getting difficult to keep his eyes open, he couldn't quite think right.

He needed to... close his eyes...

...Yet just as he was about to drift into unconsciousness... he felt the arrival of a foreign presence.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

The towering trees loomed over the savannah plains. A small camp was set up, with the traditional, tribal aesthetic of the Novanians on full display. A tent embroidered with the knittings of the Ancient Ones' masks was set up under the tree, and the unlit campfire in the center of the camp was just about ready to be lit. Evening was rapidly ascending upon the outback, and with nightfall came a rapid drop in temperature. Wearing some light, Novanian garbs, Elise Vizsla was picking up firewood to toss into the growing pile, when...

The heavy screeching of a ship boomed from the sky. The Shaman looked up, eyes widening as she witnessed a small ship falling the the surface like a comet. It was close too, falling just within the forest a mile or so away. The ship's crashing could be heard from here. Elise dropped the firewood, without hesitation. She hopped onto her speeder and immediately started towards the location of the crash. With the speeder, it took nothing for the Ajayid to find the smoldering crash. It was practically embedded into a group of trees, horribly mangled. The ship strangely seemed a lot cooler than it should have been, but Elise was no mechanic to figure that out. Instead, her focus fell on the astromech wildly whistling from its perch

"Oh, hey, little guy!" Elise jumped off her speeder. Barefoot in the dry ground, she approached the wreck with a kind smile on her face. "I sense another lifeform. Let me on, sweetie, I can help."

Elise knew how ferociously protective of their masters astromechs could be. Her mother's aged astromech had been quite the babysitter for her and her sister growing up. Elise pulled out some alchemical gloves and slid them over her hands. She was not in the mood for her psychometry to trigger by merely touching the guy. Her feet slapped against the hull of the ship as Elise climbed up to the cockpit. Inside, she saw a dark haired man, burnt and wounded, in his seat. The unconscious soul was unreadable to Elise, but it mattered not. He was a wounded man in need of aid. Hey shamanic teachings served her well, as she started healing the worst of his wounds on the spot. Gazing outwards to keep watch for wildlife, Elise noticed that even the aggressive predators were keeping their distance today. Perhaps, this crash spooked them a bit too much?

In reality, it was a glaring red flag she should have noticed...

But when she felt that she healed him enough to move him, Elise gently pulled him from the cockpit and slung him over her shoulder. Her Mythosaur necklace briefly glinted in the ebbing sunset.

"Alright, buddy. I'll put him on the speeder then get you out too."

And soon enough, she did. She set her patient on her speeder, then freed the astromech. And before the little droid knew it, Elise had them both at her campsite.

The young man was placed in her tent, on a cot. The Dreamseer did her best to heal him, using both shamanic methods and traditional Force Healing. It was... bizarre... trying to read him. She never had sensed a Force Signature quite like his. It was cold, but warm at the same time. But as intrigued as she was, Elise was not going to pry. Keeping her gloves on, she continued to heal him. When he was covered in bandages soaked in traditional herbs, Elise stood up and pulled her gloves off. She washed her hands in a wash bin outside, then to work on tonight's dinner. The girl's metabolism was screaming at her once more. A heavily meaty and vegetabley soup was being stirred in a pot as Elise tried to make small talk with the droid. The aroma of the soup pot wafted through the campsite as the stars started to glisten in the sky.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He awoke to the smell of mouthwatering meat and well-spiced vegetables, all submerged under a broth that swirled in all those flavours and even more. His eyes were hard to open, but he thought he saw above him, a canvas roof, and following that, logically that he was in a tent. Using his elbows to drag the upper half of him up, he groaned at the feeling of dizziness erupting in his brain, and the sharp stabbing pain that cut through his torso.

He almost made it to verticality.

Before he let out a gasp and felt himself fall back down, thankfully a pillow caught his already long-suffering skull.

He sighed, realising in his state, getting up was beyond him, both his body had betrayed him, he was essentially blind apart from the barest flicker of light that made it through his irises, and his brain finally realising that it no longer needed to be on survival mode, had decided to unleash a rager of a migraine as it finally let out the stress of the last few... hours? Days?

He did not know how long he had been out.

Chaos, he did not even know where he was.

Memories were not coming back easily to him, it was as if there was a cloud in the middle of his thoughts, a mist in the maze where he struck his head each time he tried to take a path.

He could feel the bandages wrapped around him, could feel the stickiness of whatever paste or such they had used to keep the infection and swelling down, but how he got those injuries... he was not sure.

Who even... was he?

That was where the panic began, where he could not push himself up, and his limbs began to chaotically brace against the cot where he was placed. Breaths grew heavy and quicker, as gripped down, pressed about, and simply tried to gain some semblance of control, ratcheting out feeling as if he was trapped, needing to break free.

Who was he? Why was he here? What had happened to him? Where was he?

The questions fired, no answer came forth.

That was when he felt a warmth begin flowing through him, beginning from his chest and spreading out. The weight on the chest, unbeknownst to him the amulet, filled with the ashes of his most famous ancestor, where pain and misery and panic held dominion, now there was a serenity, a calm, healing, as the amulet's energies flowed through him, serving its purpose every time he had come to danger.

And now, providing him the only answer he wanted.

Malum

He breathed out a breath full of relief and joy, "Malum... my name is Malum..." He whispered at the ceiling, to the wind, to the ghosts, any who heard the whisper, but for Malum, it only mattered that he could hear it.

His memories began to return to him, slowly, almost like drops from the barren rainfall of a desert, but providing him with the sustenance he needed the most.

He remembered the red planet, Rapture, he remembered falling from the Alvaria (the Alvaria... wasn't that a planet?), bracing for impact, and having the Force flow through with him to make his descent.

He remembered... fulfilling a bounty.

He remembered the most shining of red eyes, the flowing golden locks, beauty made manifest.

Crimson eyes opened a fraction, he saw the flames near, and he saw her standing by it.

"Adeline..." He whimpered, no... no... on Rapture he had finally confessed himself to her, made his heart known, all those feelings that had developed for nearly half a decade made felt... and she... she had welcomed them, accepted them, in her own way, the potential for the future he saw laid open.

He could not let her see him like this.

He attempted again to raise himself from the cot, the amulet having long since grown cold, having spent itself restoring Malum as best as it could.

But no amount of magic or medicine could simply completely restore one to their fit performance.

Such was Malum's realisation, as he felt himself topple over onto the grassy base at which the tent stood.

Groaning, as pain overtook him once again.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

"Malum... my name is Malum."

Elise blinked, looking over to see the man she rescued standing up. She tapped the soup ladle against the pot before setting it down. She found herself scrambling for her gloves. As she pulled them out of a crate, she heard the delirious man whimper some random person's name. A loved one? The poor soul sounded quite out of it.

"Hey there-" Elise walked towards the tent, only for him to fall off his cot. Elise gasped, darting over with concern and bending down to him.

"Hey, relax, friend. You're safe. Let me help you back up."

Even with her gloves, out of habit she hesitated before gently taking his shoulders and leaning him against her. She tried her best to treat him with care. As she leaned him against the cot again, she removed one glove and used that hand to apply further Force Healing. Her hand hovered just over him, careful not to make physical contact.

Elise could tell that the soup would need stirred again. And she was surprised that no animals had attempted to break into camp yet. But that was a secondary concern next to her patient. She laid him on the cot, speaking softly.

"You got pretty beat up in that crash. You're really lucky you survived. I don't know where you're from, but I can at least help you get back on your feet again."

She chuckled, "You're lucky I found you too. Who knows if any of the megafauna predators would have wanted an easy meal!"

Still healing him, the Ajayid made an "eep!" noise as she remembered, "Oh! My name is Elise."


Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Delirium had taken hold, the mix of the trauma of the crash, whatever herbs were used to heal him, along with a more magically induced attempt at healing were making for a crackpot that the human body nor the mind was entirely sure on how to react to. It thus had chosen the rather novel idea of entirely numbing the body, all the while pumping the brain with as many chemicals as it biologically could to keep the man still, and unfeeling, as nature took its course and healed itself as best as it could.

This left Malum himself in either the most enviable or unenviable position considering the circumstances. On one hand, he was drifting in and out between consciousness, utterly unable to defend himself, barely able to function. On the other hand, he was on the greatest high imaginable, and to make it even better, it was not every day one was cradled by a beautiful Mandalorian.

Malum, of course, was not privy to any of these considerations, only the fact that every moment, he felt closer, and closer to losing himself. As he desperately attempted to hang onto his consciousness, both body and mind had long since decided to betray him. It was only the slight vision granted him by his barely opened eyes, hearing granted by ears that echoed every sound that entered, and a feeling of closeness that he desperately hoped beyond hope would not betray him too.

He hated that Adeline saw him so, hated that she saw such weakness, hated how she so gently cradled him back onto the cot.

Maybe... maybe... he didn't hate that last part.

Those all-so-familiar red eyes, glimmering like the finest rubies, stared down at him, with platinum white hair, that seemed in the light almost spun in gold, framing a pale face that...

That was smiling at him.

It was something genuine, friendly, caring.

He had never seen Adeline look at him so.

It had been the smugness, the smirk that exuded confidence, the ghost of a smile as if she was sharing a private joke with herself, with eyes that seemed to have fire dance across them, that had made him fall for the Sangnir.

But it was how her eyes looked at him with such concern, such compassion.

It was how he wanted Adeline to look at him.

Was this a dream? Was he dying?

He could not quite say... and for once... he could not quite care either.

Her lips murmured words he could not quite make out, but he desperately wanted to, if she looked at him like this, smiled at him like this, in his pathetic stage... what was she saying?

It was the final word, that made his blood freeze.

"...Elise"

Who was Elise? And before he quite realised himself, the question had flowed out of his lips.

"Who was Elise?"

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Upon hearing Malum's delirious questioning of Elise's name, Elise paused for a long moment.

"... Oh. You're high. I forgot Archais herbs are more potent to off worlders."

Elise continued to heal him. Even if he was wasted, she still talked. It was just how she worked at times. "Which you'd think I wouldn't forget, considering that I myself am technically an outworlder. Oh well. You'll feel better in no time. Nap it out, then we can talk about getting you on your feet."

When she felt like Malum was mended enough, she stopped healing him and returned to the soup pot. Of course, she rambled once again when telling him that she was up to. The night continued to roll by, undisturbed. Elise ate in peace, checked up on her guest routinely, and reviewed some old Archais texts she brought along.

Eventually, the fire Elise eventually looked over to the astromech and spoke, "I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me up in an hour, or beforehand if Malum needs it. He's stable, healing well. He just needs to sleep off his high, and he's in no condition to walk yet. But yeah, I'd say I did a pretty good job! You know, I was top of my shaman class for healing. Did you know that my grandfather was a medic too? He taught me some nifty stuff too. There was this one time when-"

She continued to chatter as she laid out a blanket, next to the dying fire. Despite her previous rambling, it took no effort or time at all for her to fall asleep. Immediately going from being a chatterbox to asleep must have come as a shock to the droid.

But then... the nightmares began.

The lightning bolts raced through the cloudy sky, in multitude and with ferocity. As thunder pounded against her eardrums, Elise could see the red most of war surrounding her. She saw bodies. Mandalorians. On the floor, dead, beskar'gams laid defiled and mangled. Elise looked down at her own hands, and choked when she saw them overflowing with blood.

"You don't deserve your armour!"

She swirled around tears flooding her eyes. A little girl, looking skinny and timid, pointed at her with disgust in her eyes. The chiss screamed, "Traitor!"

Elise staggered backwards, "No... I just..."

She tripped over a corpse. Landing, she realized that she was in a pool of blood. Lwekk's very landscape morphed and distorted around her, as she heard another familiar voice.

"How could you, Elise? Haven't I suffered enough loss through the years? How ungrateful you are, for everything I've sacrificed for you!"

Elise was unable to look at where she knew she was standing. "Mom..."

"I lost both my homes! Mandalore, Csilla! And now I could lose Kestri as well, to my own daughter?!"

Elise gasped, looking up and seeing a snow white beskar'gam in the distance, next to the corpses of a chiss man and an elderi woman. "Dad! No, you don't understand-"

"We understand enough, kiddo. We understand the failure you are. I didn't have a choice when the Maw corrupted me, made me betray the Enclave. But you? You karking traitor, you knew exactly what you were doing!"

"Auntie!"

"You disappoint me, Elise. Didn't I teach you that there's sacrifices in war?"

"Ba'buir!"

Elise's heart beat so hard, so fast. Panic made her vision granulated as she lifted her blood soaked hands. She grabbed her hair, sitting in the pool of blood. "I couldn't let you go through with this! All the civilians caught in between! All the cruelty and-"

"-You think the aruetiise deserve our mercy?"

"But you're no better than them."

"Because we know-"

"-What you are."

All their voices melded into one, terrible chant.

"Dar'manda."

Elise looked up, trying to find her little sister in law mist. But instead, she saw the towering, golden beskar'gam that scared Chiss girl grew into. Her beskar'gam too was coated in blood, and she scoffed. "You're so concerned with aruetiise weaklings. But look, look what your betrayal made me."

Elise winced her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. But she could feel the blood pool rising. Through teary eyes she witnessed the fallen vod being swallowed up by crimson tides. The heavy scent of iron made her gag, and she was unable to pull herself up from where she sat. The blood rose to her upper waistline, ever rising.

"This is a nightmare! Arr'Huwal! Help me!"

The blood rose to her shoulders.

"Arr'Huwal! Where are you!?!"

She saw the claustrophobic pointing hands of her family, all surrounding and in her face. They still changed, "Dar'manda!"

"Arr'Huwal! Why-"

The blood seeped into her mouth, making her gurgle as she began to suffocate. She looked up, through the pointing hands, to the sky in hopes of seeing Arr'Huwal's mask through the clouds. But it seemed that a bitter cold fog blocked it out completely. Dreadfully cold...

The blood completely covered her eyes.

"-Arr'Huwal!!!"

Elise screamed, throwing the blanket off of her as she stood up, trying to reach the surface. But she realized suddenly that she was standing under a golden sun. Only fresh, free air filled her nostrils as she breathed healthy oxygen. She panted, sweating head to toe. She looked around, suddenly realizing that she was at her campsite on Archais. The morning songs of savannah birds cascaded, and the insects were all chirping under the tall grasses beyond the clearing. Elise panted, her dream becoming blurred and faded. It was odd, as the Dreamseer always remembered her dreams. But the feelings of despair, panic, and helplessness were all garbled into a singular sadness. She had no idea why, but she at the very least recalled the cold silence when she called Arr'Huwal's name.

Was she losing favor with the Ancient Ones?

The disturbing conclusion would have made Elise scream in anguish, if not for another realization coming to her. She gasped, looking over to the astromech. The morning sun was a traitor, and Elise felt anger flooding her being.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP!?! AT ALL!?!?! I NEEDED TO CHECK ON MY PATIENT!! DON'T YOU CARE FOR HIM?!?!?!"

She ran, discombobulated and unbalanced, towards the tent Malum was resting at.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The question went unanswered, yet soon enough, with a head-spinning from dizziness, Malum forgot he had asked a question at all. Simply content, to rest against Adeline, still somewhat in disbelief that this was happening at all, after all, though he could not doubt what his eyes showed him, he could doubt what his brain was informing him.

Yet, pure hope and desperation cut down on those doubts, what if it was all ephemeral? What if he was simply hallucinating in the last moments of his life? What if he was slowly slipping off into death?

He was happy.

He was happy with her.

Thus with her presence so close to him, his gaze unable to leave her, his ears picking up her soft murmurings which he was unable to truly understand.

He drifted off into unconsciousness, for once in his life...

...Content.

---

Si-BB-Y 86-series Astromech, nicknamed "Sibby" was in an unveniable position.

It had been a small miracle that the droid had survived at all, being technically outside of the Lochris as it had engaged with an Alliance fleet, as its heatshields had collapsed, and they then crashlanded upon this world. It had only survived due to the machinations of its master, who after having the droid for nearly half a decade had grown so affectionate towards it, that he had used his powers, when already focusing on keeping the ship together, and himself, too made every effort to make sure that Sibby too had survived.

And as it had span around in its astromech socket, heavily damaged, yet still alive.

It seemed his master had been successful.

It was little wonder then that the little round astromech was all too loyal to its master, even more than mere programming would allow, after all its master had never performed a memory wipe on Sibby either, and thus Sibby had a long near half-decade to learn, to know, and understand exactly what its master wanted.

It was little wonder then, as it did its best to repair itself in the aftermath of the crash, to then after tend towards its grievously injured master, when that Mandalorian arrived, it did all it could to maximise its master's survival. Both lightsabres, the ring, and the band, were stored within its storage units, the only thing it had been unable to take was the amulet, which had resisted its every attempt to remove it, it was the best it could do, as it turned to face the incoming threat. Doing far more than Motus could have, that absolute coward.

Only to be pleasantly surprised that the Mandalorian had not struck, it would have been an easy thing, there was not much an astromech could do to defend itself or others, and its master was certainly down for the count. Instead, the Mandalorian, revealing herself to be a woman, had done her best to repair it, and far more importantly, healed its master, far better than Sibby could have.

Of course, it came with its downsides, having to entertain the Mandalorian woman as she seemed to speak constantly, about everything and anything. Something Motus could have certainly done better with, both of them seemed to love to yammer about nothing.

Still, if it kept its master alive, and safe, it was a worthy sacrifice.

Maybe.

She did talk a lot.

There had been some close calls when its master had finally awoken, before being suddenly hit with all the waves of agony that had been struck against him, and collapsing in on himself, falling over, and needing to be tended to by the Mandalorian even further. Still, for the most part, it seemed they would survive this yet, its master would recover, repair Sibby to full capability, and they would then... repair the Lochris, if that was still possible, or else simply escape this world some other way and link up with the squadron.

So it was that Sibby had waved towards the Mandalorian woman as she finally went to sleep, feigning to accept her instructions, as Sibby rolled over towards the bed which its master lay, and it stood vigil over the bed, as the distant moon circled overhead.

It watched as its master silently slept, calm, mumbling some name that sounded suspiciously like 'Adeline', some things never changed then.

What was far more interesting and entertaining was watching as the Mandalorian woman seemed to be seizing on the bed, her face screaming that she was troubled, her breath growing heavy, her heartbeat was growing swifter, and her brain activity was spiking. Some nightmare then, though... as Sibby turned its head towards its master, he had a slight suspicion it was no normal nightmare.

As hours passed, as the nightmare continued and it left its non-master's instructions by the wayside, it idly considered if it should simply kill the Mandalorian. She was to be its master's foe, she was a threat to its master while master was in this state, and Sibby did have the lightsabres in its storage... to kill her while she slept would be so easy.

And as her face twisted further due to whatever she was seeing in her subconscious, some might say it would be a mercy to put her out of her misery. The one that had dared touch its master.

Sibby thought better of it by the end, as the sun arose across the horizon, for now, she had a purpose and would protect them both until the time that its master could eliminate her.

What Sibby had not expected, however, was the raging woman that erupted as she awoke, it cared little for her tantrum, though, the accusation made it feel something within the confines of its processors.

How dare she.

Instantly the electric zapper was deployed, a warning, as it shook about violently, "BEEP-BOOP-BEE-DOO-WEEP!!!"

Oh it sorely regretted not killing her now.

---

In the commotion, red eyes opened once again, Malum awoke to quite the sight.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

The electrical charge was dodged by Elise, who let out an alarmed "Eep!" as the electricity crackled. The droid, annoyed and insulted, shouted in binary at her. Elise clenched her fists shouting right back, "What is wrong with you!?! Are you trying to get your master ki-..."

She paused, still panting, as her better clarity decided to poke at her, making her feel remorse. She realized that she hardly ever shouted, and that how she was doing it now was... unjustified.

She sighed, slumped, and turned to learn against one of her Archais totem poles. She frowned, her voice far calmer and... sadder.

"I'm sorry. I usually don't shout like that. I shouldn't have shouted like that. I just..."

She lifted a hand and pushed her messy, tangled hair behind her face. Her Eldorai pointed ears burned red as Elise spoke, her voice cracking in exhaustion. "I've been stressed a lot, okay?"

Her loose hair already fell over her face again as she looked back to the astromech, "But it was wrong for me to take it out on you."

With a heavy sigh, she pushed herself off the totem and walked towards the tent. She noticed, the moment she walked in, that he was awake. Elise realized, looking at him, that Malum had red eyes. With the insane amount of species and hybrids out there, Elise didn't even think anything about it. She herself had red eyes, passed down from her half-Chiss father. Entering the tent, the Ajayid spoke. She sounded strained and exhausted, despite the attempt to keep up her usual energy. Whatever she had dreamed about last night, it still chilled her to the bone.

"Morning, sleepy head. Sorry I didn't check on you last night, I must have been sleeping hard."

Elise wasn't going to blame the astromech again.

"But how are you feeling? You shouldn't walk right now, even my herbs can't heal your leg completely. But can you sit up?"

Compared to her warmth yesterday, Elise sounded tired and worn. Her eyes were a bit duller, the color was gone from her skin, and there were circles under her eyes. Unaware of how much the Dark Side was doing this to her, and unaware that the Dark Side was responsible, she struggled to even smile. However, there was the same compassion and gentleness about her. She was still the same bubbly healer Darth Malum of House Marr didn't realize he met last night.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The astromech continued to splutter and shake with rage, shouting obscenities which Malum was barely able to understand, what had she done to get Sibby's wires so twisted? Of course that thought brought him back to the she in question, he was able to fully open his eyes now, delirium had given way to simple dizziness, and the numbness of his body given away to faint stings, as the healing took its course.

Of course, what he first disappointedly noticed was, the woman was not in fact Adeline.

But gazing at her features, it was no wonder that his addled state had thought she was, and the disappointment began to melt away. She had the same red eyes that seemed as precious as rubies, so like his own, she had golden locks that seemed spun in gold that framed those eyes, cascading down her face, and in the right light, might be construed into being considered platinum. Still, there were differences; where Adeline had been a Sangnir, having the still paleness that marked her with nobility, the figure before him at a warmth to her cheeks, a colour that spoke of her being... alive, in the normal sense. She was shorter too, though the Sangnir had been shorter than Malum, this figure seemed shorter still, Malum even sitting atop the cot, needing to tilt his head slightly downwards.

None of the differences took away from her beauty.

She was as breathtaking as he had seen in the haze of his gaze.

"You're beautiful." Crimson eyes widened, as a hand quickly launched itself at his mouth, sealing it shut, as pink dusted his cheeks. How out of it was he to be saying such things to an absolute stranger? Whether she reminded him of Adeline or not, such was sorely inappropriate. It was a betrayal too, Adeline and he may not have yet been together... but it was three dates that she had offered, none had even been undertaken, and he was going about calling other women beautiful?

Still, as red eyes met red, he felt the vaguest flutter in his stomach, the very same feeling that he had when he thought of the Sangnir these past four years.

What was going on with him?

Aftershocks and trauma from his injuries he decided, it was the only rational explanation after all.

He broke eye contact, looking away abashedly, as his hand let go of his lips, "My... apologies for that, it was grossly inappropriate," He looked everywhere but her, gazing around the tent which he had seemingly been taken to, "Where... am I?" The last thing he remembered was the crash, it seemed that he and Sibby had survived at least, good good... though in the same breath, it seemed they had only done so due to the kindness of the stranger before him.

Which in all likelihood meant she did not know of his nature.

Still, a kindness would be paid back in full as best as he could.

A side glance down his robes gave him the barest moment of panic, continuing as he realised both his band and ring were no longer on his person. His breath grew heavier, were they back at the Lochris, had they been taken? Destroyed? No, no... he could not lose everything like this.

It was only the calming influence, and the very fact that his amulet was still around his neck, that allowed the panic to subside, the amulet was the true prize, and if it had survived the crash, along with Malum and Sibby, the rest must have too.

Speaking of Sibby, it took that moment to roll into the tent, giving the woman a wide berth, before reaching his legs, Malum could not help but offer a true smile, at the sight of his astromech, "Beep--bee-boop-bee-doo" Malum's hand went out to pet Sibby's metallic head, though the droid was much more intelligent than a simple pet, chaos, more intelligent than most droids, such had always been their relationship. Still as was the way of the Sith, there was much concealed in their public displays, Malum noted the astromech's avoidance of the woman before him, something made Sibby distrust her, and then of course the reveal of true importance, communicated across in binary, apparently woman did not know the language, and yet still Sibby transmitted in code, "The cargo survived the crash." Relief flooded him, good Bogan.

"Sibby, I hope you have been a good little guest for our host here?" Malum offered, his smile becoming rather more fixed, before softening, as his gaze returned to the blonde-haired woman, "I am sorry for any trouble my droid caused," His voice took on the quality of a whisper, "They are a bit of a brat," Not quiet enough apparently, as Malum gave out a yelp, as Sibby whacked his leg, before transmitting more binary in outrage and in quick order leaving the tent, leaving the two humanoids alone.

His smile did not leave his features, "Please do not apologise for sleeping in, it certainly seems the day for it, and you have certainly already done much for me," He heard the last of her words, and offered a smirk, making to stand, though the herbs could not heal his legs properly, the amulet around his neck could work wonders in combination, standing up, even with his knees wavering, the dizziness grew momentarily worse, but for the most part, stability was achieved, "Whatever can I do to make it up for you?" He flashed his eyebrows at her, his eyes becoming noticeably softer, hopefully, either she could be an aid in getting off this planet, or otherwise would be on her way, allowing Malum to figure out how to repair the Lochris and be on his way.

Even if there was some part of him, tugging at his heart, desiring her to stay.

"And apologies, how rude of me, I am Malum," She seemed thus far not concerned with his eyes, though to a degree if she had not seen his lightsabres that made sense, after all, she too had red eyes, but he could not use his cover identity with the Marrtaniels without his blue contacts, would raise too many questions if somehow this woman was able to get the news out.

And he sorely did not wish to eliminate her.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

The droid didn't take Elise's apology. He just kept ramming into her legs. She stumbled a bit, her balance weakening by the second. She turned to the droid, ready to shout at him to back off, when-

"You're beautiful."

"Eh!?"

Red color came to Elise's cheeks as she whipped around and faced the young man once more. She just gaped, looking at him. She was a bit weirded out, obviously, but a part of her was also... flattered... Of course, it did not help that in his own awkwardness, he continued to look into her eyes.

Wham!

The astromech once again crashed against her legs, causing her to stumble a couple feet forward. Stupid droid! Could it not see how uncoordinated Elise was today! But as the young man bumbled an apology, Elise decided to chalk it up to him being high. And maybe her choice of clothes...

But when he asked where he was, Elise swiftly moved past the awkwardness and towards the information. She spread her arms out, grinning as she proclaimed, "Welcome to Archais! You're specifically on the continent of Perlemia, on the border of the regions of Nordland and Sudland."

The apology for "Sibby's" behavior made Elise chuckle. She was quite willingly forgetting their awkward moment. "Oh! It's quite alright! Your Sibby is almost as grumpy as my mom's astromech, Mini."

Huh. Maybe that was why she was defaulting to shouting at the poor droid.

He smirked, before doing something that made Elise nervous all over again. He stood up. He karking stood up, offering to "make up all the trouble he put her through."

The stressed Ajayid immediately started to walk towards him, compassion driven, nervously shouting, "For starters, sit back down! You're not nearly healed up yet, and-"

Wham!

Sibby did not like that Elise had started shouting at his master, so he pushed her once again. Unfortunately, Elise's wobbly legs finally gave out. She was thrown forward, and everything was a blur before she recognized the feeling of body heat. She realized, eyes widening in terror, that she had fallen right on top of her guest.

She nearly screamed, scrambling to push herself up from where her face landed against his shoulder. Embarrassed and shocked, Elise shoved herself off the bed and clumsily leaned against a tent beam. Panting, face beet red, she squeaked

"I-I am so sorry! I lost balance! I didn't sleep well last night and the droid rammed me and I'm just super grateful that my Psychometry didn't kick in but I'm so sorry and I'm goingtogotrainnowbye!"

Just like that, the girl fled the scene.

She grabbed her bow and bailed for another part of the clearing, away from the camp. Heart pounding, she pushed her little incident aside as felt panic setting in. She skidded to a halt before the archery targets she set up when she first came here. Relentless in her flurry of arrows, she let off steam as she worked off the tension inside.

As embarrassed as she was, however, even more was worrying her. Her dream. She could not remember it. And Arr'Huwal. She was sure that she remembered calling for him... with no reply. To make matters worse, her family weighed heavy on her mind today. Hot tears flooded her eyes as she lowered her bow.

"Haar'chak!"

She tossed the bow aside, clenching her fists as she approached the nearest tree and started kicking it. The more her emotions swelled within her, the more energy she had to practice her swing.

She had left Malum at the camp... and he would be alone for several hours.

If Malum had refused her advice and decided to walk - or if Sibby was nosy enough to bring the stuff to him, the young man would have gotten a good look at the entire campsite, and gotten an idea of who his airheaded rescuer was.

The camp consisted of a single tent, the one he rested in. While the site had some modern tech, such as the speeder parked at the edge of the site, it was very "tribal." Sticks, logs, and stones were heavily utilized in this camp, and there were various Novanian totems and etchings dotting the area. The camp was surrounded by multiple storage chests, filled with trinkets and possessions which were mostly combat designed. Her beskar'gam was stored in its own crate entirely, alongside Elise's red hooded kama. Another crate had a smaller box containing her Novanian Dreamseer Medallion Chains. And yet another little box with Novanian Ceremonial War Paint. But another crate had a buffet of weapons. Her beskar knives, her various pistols, a rifle... Even more crates simply served for storage and packing for her camping equipment. Various survival tools, a soldier's entrenching shovel, a fishing pole, woven blankets...

But if he saw her stuff, he would be able to swiftly decipher her identity.

In the center of the camp, a large campfire was made with primitive stones and logs. Above it, an equally "primitive" rack and pot hung over it. In a smaller crate, an ice crate, the leftover soup from yesterday was being kept.

It was approximately noon when she finally returned to the campsite. She was sweaty, her hands and feet were cut and bruised, but she was a lot calmer now. She tossed her bow atop a crate and trudged over to a crate and pulled out her medical pack and shamanic herbs. As she started applying a salve to her hands, she looked over to the tent where Malus was.

"Err, how are you feeling, Malum? Need more herbs? You hungry? I've got more soup. Did you have more questions about Archais?"

She was clearly just ignoring the event that lead to her leaving.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Unfortunately, it seemed his accidental if truthful statement had affected the woman just as much if not more than him. As blood poured into her cheeks, his body could not help but replicate, his ears turning bright red as he looked anywhere but directly at her. Bogan, whether the woman was a threat or not, she had saved him, and now he had embarrassed her because his lips had moved faster than his brain, what kind of repayment was that? He resolved to do his best then, revamping his efforts to make sure this woman would be repaid in full for the kindness she had offered to him, a stranger.

And something so dangerous which she would no doubt fear if she knew the truth.

That was a sombering thought, to think, he, part of the Sith Order, with enemies on all sides, could only rely on his fellow members of the Sith Order, and even then, not at all.

He was truly alone.

He banished the thoughts, whatever sadness might accompany this path, it was the path that he had chosen, it was all he had known, and the more he learned had only convinced him it was necessary.

When your quest was to kill God or its closest approximation, his hand could not be stayed by whatever personal sacrifice it took. Still, on that long road, would be the political struggles within the Sith Order, and with what they were calling the Ouroboros Crisis still spreading out across the Sith Core, he needed to return quickly.

Still thinking of that, brought a coldness to his heart, a stillness at what he had committed himself to. A betrayal so... unfaithful it made him question everything. Between an Emperor he had not desired, and the Mistress who had taught him everything he knew, who had protected, and nurtured him in the cold ways which were her way.

The one to whom he had sworn his loyalty.

Could he truly betray her for the corpse that ruled the empire?

This rebellion had been ill-fated, it had failed to destroy the leadership of the Eternalists or Kainites alike, and now the Tsis'Kaar would be hunted down and destroyed. It would not simply be a matter of his survival... but for the Tsis'Kaar at large, if Darth Ophidia was allowed to live. Such were the considerations that had gone across his mind, again and again, as he had left Rapture, undergone a privateering campaign for whatever reasons he lied to himself about it.

Was it not so obvious what the true reason had been?

To avoid for as long as possible, the sin that he would never recover.

When compared to that, the woman before him was a much easier... much more calming prospect.

Thus he offered a fixed smile, with hints of amusement dancing between his crimson orbs, as she spoke. She talked a lot, it was endearing in a way, surrounded in his youth by nobility who spoke in tense, measured tones, always careful to not make a mistake, lest lose an advantage, and then by Sith later in his life, a mix of the latter, with a penchant for insanity, intimidation, or disdain. Someone who spoke so freely, carelessly... it was new, it was different...

It was enough to draw a real smile out of his lips, as he considered her words. Archais, he idly remembered that it had been the planet he had decided to rest and repair after the battle further to the galactic west, of course before all had gone wrong, and he had instead crashlanded upon the world. Still, considering the one who saved him... all was not lost.

He looked away for a second, pink again flaking his cheeks, why was he thinking these thoughts?

Unfortunately, such thoughts would only increase in frequency as the next few seconds' events played out. She was thankfully receptive to his apologies regarding Sibby, while Malum found the cantankerousness of his astromech rather charming, such feeling was not nearly as ubiquitous as he would have preferred. After all, he had also been rather... confused, at the personality of Sibby when it came into his service, at the time, he had thought it some joke by his Mistress.

Even now, he was not entirely sure if that was false.

Still, as he stood up from the bed, he had not expected the loudness of her voice when his feet found the floor, stepping back, he had to admit that she might have been right, so surprised, his wavering knees could barely support himself.

Much less the new weight that he found pressing against him.

His breathing hitched, as he almost felt that steam was escaping his ears, looking down at his shoulder, there was the woman, her golden locks springing free, as her face began to warp into the same red that his had long since gone. He could not help his instincts, as he took a bated breath, his nostrils filled with the smell of her, nature made manifest, she seemed to almost embody the colour green, if it were not for his eyes, he might have thought he had been transported to the savannah, to the forest, to the jungle.

He found himself enjoying the smell as if somehow his blush could grow more red.

Such it was, that he found himself doing nothing, as that warmth he had begun to cherish left his side, revealing a woman entirely frazzled. Her words escaped her lips before he was able to process them. Before he was able to reach out and apologise, tell her she had done no wrong, she had disappeared, running out of the camp, the last of her words, barely understood, to train.

Bogan, he was failing at this whole repaying thing.

Another thing to add to his debts then.

Though of course, there was one other thing that entirely stopped him in his tracks, had his blood freeze, as he processed the word.

"...Psychometry..."

He had not thought to check, so enraptured by her, so delirious and dizzy from his wounds and exhaustion.

But she was a force-sensitive.

And worst of all, a force sensitive that held the ability to know exactly who he was. He had only known one other person in his life with the skill, his cousin, Trayze Tesar , it had come incredibly useful for him, allowing him to know things beyond what could be known. Yet he knew for a fact she was no Sith, even if the eyes made him doubt.

His breath hitched, so she was a Jedi, that was what Sibby's warning was about. Yet, that did not entirely seem to fit, where had been her lighsabre? Why had she been unable to sense his presence? Why had she been so unwilling to use her psychometry... really the odder question was how had she tended to him, without touching him?

The questions did not result in answers, but the last did result in a rather... questionable image, which he suppressed as soon as it came. What was he, some teenager, he was better than this, falling for whatever woman fluttered her eyelashes at him. Yet, as he stood up still, long after she had fled, using Sibby for support, he could not help but think about her still.

He thought about going after her, yet with his legs still in this state, such would likely not be an easy experience. That was if he even knew where she went, and as it stood, he had no idea.

He glared down at Sibby, "It is unbecoming of you to push around our host and saviour like that." Malum stated, just after he apologised for their conduct too, he went and did something like that.

The fact he was secretly thankful that Sibby had, was something he refused to consider at that moment.

"boop-bee-doo-weep," Sibby responded, using its computer arms and pincers to seemingly shrug up at him, "We cannot work on getting out of here, with her hovering over, I was able to make her leave, you should be thanking me."

Bratty droid indeed.

"Even so, we owe her our lives, whether she is a... Jedi, or not, we will not be rude to her, as long as she does not know who we are, we can be cordial." Malum responded, not fully able to keep the smile off his face at the astromech's antics.

"Beep-bee-bee-boop," Sibby reacted, rushing off, forcing him to follow or otherwise fall over without its assistance, taking him outside to a crate, "She's no Jedi, she's a Mandalorian." And the proof of the claim was right before him, gazing down on the crate, a beskar'gam, the traditional armour of the Mandalorian peoples, his blood chilled again.

He had only fought the Mandalorians once, during the campaign to clear the Kathol Outback, but they had been ferocious, unrelenting, and most of all, dangerous.

If she was one of them...

He needed to be more careful than ever, even if his heart bled at that very idea.

Still, while his mind was still in control, he considered fleeing, unfortunately, his legs were far from perfect shape, he had already wasted hours of daylight, and he had no idea where he would even go. To make it back to the Lochris would do him little good in whatever shape it was, while he knew so little of the planet he had no idea where civilisation was.

Whether he liked it or not... and some idiotic part of him liked it much more than it should. He was stuck in the care of the Mandalorian.

Yet with the Mandalorian somewhere else, seemingly far away, he had little he could do. Thus, he, in the end, decided to begin his recompense, marching about the camp, leaning on a rather confused Sibby, he used the Force as best as he could to clean the camp. He had noted the rather rustic design of the camp itself and thus was extra careful to not sweep away what might be part of the design. Yet, sweeping away dust, and the stray twigs and rocks that seemed to litter the ground with little rhyme nor reason, he could look at the grounds with some pride, that it was clean at least. All the while attempting to resist and then giving into the temptation to snoop through the rest of the items in the crates surrounding the camp, much of it he had little idea what it was, chains and paint for a purpose he was not sure of. Then the weapons, beskar knives, pistols, even a rifle, certainly a Mandalorian then. There was also the standard survivalist equipment, though, he did note she seemed rather more prepared than most, various survival tools, a soldier's entrenching shovel, a fishing pole, and woven blankets.

Of course that only resulted in more guilt, breaking the trust of his host, so he had wandered further afield. It had been a slow process, not aided by the fact that he neither knew how to hunt nor was fully capable of standing for himself but catching a rogue deer-like creature, he had used the Force to pull it towards him, before putting it out of its misery.

He had done similar for a pair of birds that had flown overhead.

He had after all in the snooping, noticed the various empty crates, that seemed to have been used for food storage. Resolving then that he would refill them, and even better, cook for his host. He had, after all, no idea where the Mandalorian had gone, only some vague statement about training, and considering she had left in such a hurry, he doubted she had taken any provisions with her.

No doubt she would be hungry.

Finding a knife among the various weapons, staying clear to keep from the beskar knives, he began his work.

Now, he was no hunter, and he was no cook. But he was academically interested in both... that had to count for something, right? He too had a childish infatuation with cooking, that he had long ago forgotten of... perhaps that might help?

Really what it led to was that in the carving and cleaning process of the animals, there was a lot of blood and a lot of waste.

Still, by the end, he had two... "cleaned" animals, one bird he had done such a bad job of that, he had binned it. Storing the other in a separate ice crate, he hoped she would be able to use it for some meal in the future. For the deer, having drained the blood, he threw out what unedible parts, and carved out two sizeable steaks. The rest was resting upon a makeshift rack, baking from the warm sun above.

Such would be the sight that the Mandalorian returned to, Malum limping about tending to newly made fire (pyrokinesis had come in handy there), with two deer steaks roasting away, as he rested after a long hot day under the Archais sun, at the tent.

He perked up at the sight of her, a shy smile accompanying his features, she somehow... looked more beautiful, there was something about an active woman, absolutely drenched in her own efforts, that he had just found out appealed to him immensely, "I am feeling grand, thank you, only due to your efforts," the bandages likely needed to be changed, they had been applied the night before after all, unfortunately, he neither knew where the medicine was to do that nor was about to ask her to tend to him any further, he already owed her too much, "As for hunger, I could ask you the same question," His eyes flashed knowingly, "I um... well, I am no cook, but, I hope these might suffice?" He gestured to the messy steaks cooking away at the rotating spit, they were not bad by any means... but they could neither be called good either, "As for Archais... yes indeed, I know little of the world," The entire time he looked rather abashed, no more than now though, "Might we have dinner, and discuss its history? Perhaps where its settlements are?" It was selfish, he loved history, and he desperately needed to know where the settlements were.

He had already spent a day on this world, maybe more depending on how long he was out for.

He had no idea what the Guard would do.

Yet, he was so utterly loath to leave he-... "And, I must apologise, you seem to have caught me at a disadvantage, you never did give me your name." Malum, after all, had been far too delirious to hear it, and far too befuddled to ask when she had run off.

Right now, all he wished for, was to put a name to the woman that had mesmerised him so.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

"I'm doing fine, thanks. Due to your efforts."

"Ah, good to hear." Elise smiled as she continued to clean her bruised limbs, "Your bandages are overdue a change. Let me settle a bit then-wait, how did you do all this!?"

She only registered the smells of both the cooking food and the messy carcasses remaining from Malum's hunt. Just just stood there, shocked, before turning to Darth Malum of House Marr , "You're supposed to be resting! You'll be stuck here even longer if you accidentally reopen your wounds!"

She was, of course, speaking on the assumption that he wanted to leave.

And yet, as she looked at the amateur steaks, she felt appreciation. She hardly ever asked for anything in return for her efforts to help people, but she secretly desired... better treatment... than most gave her. The Galactic Alliance treated Elise as an outsider, perhaps rightfully so. And she was a traitor to her people at Kestri, despite only trying to do the right thing. And yet, this random shipwrecker, despite his injuries, went out of his way for her. As guilty as she felt, she also felt a great deal of appreciation.

She smiled, despite her initial frustration. She gave the young man a genuine smile, nearly tearing up. "Thank you."

She lifted a hand and wiped the growing tears away. She washed the remaining blood from her knuckles and rummaged through her bandage kit.

"Sir down by the fire. I'll handle everything from here. While the steaks finish I'll replace your bandages, then I can take care of the carcases and we can talk."

Whatever nervousness Malum would have developed from the idea of physical contact and psychometry, his questions would be quenched. Elise pulled on a glove, noticably made of the skin of an infamous Force Dead lizard, and walked over to him. With her ungloved hand, she would use Force Healing and use as her off hand for anything needed. She managed to avoid physical contact entirely, applying the bandages with care. It was obvious that she was fully aware of her powers... and working to avoid.

Elise moved on from one task to another. She washed her hands, pulled the steaks off their perch and slid them onto wooden plates. She took care of the animal corpses quickly, then walked over to join Malum by the fire.

The steaks could have used some seasoning, and they were a bit rubbery. But Elise refused to offend her chief, so she ate it as it was. Ravenous, she didn't even care as she dug into the steak and chewed it remarkably fast for its thick tenderness. She was nearly finished with her steak in minutes, before heading to the ice crate and dishing up extra soup. She did not care that it was cold, she just needed more. She did, however, offer Malum some and offered to put it over the fire if he wanted.

By the time she was finally seated, she was on her third bowl of soup. Her metabolism was high maintenance. When she ate, she ate like a starved Moon Child of the Maw.

Eventually, she finally decided to look up from her feast. Looking to Malum, she wiped her mouth with her arm and asked, "So, Archais. Where do you want to start? And oh! Sorry, just remembered. My name is Elise."

When she wasn't absorbing food into the black hole that was her stomach, she talked endlessly. At the corner of the camp, poor Sibby was not ready for that yet.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"I- um..." He was a Sith Knight, and here he looked as abashed as a schoolboy, looking anywhere but at her, with one hand resting at the back of his head, have some pride! What was he doing? This could be a potential foe!

Even if, he desperately did not want her to be.

Admittedly, there might have been part of him that had altogether undecided emotions regarding the idea that he might have to strip down to reveal the bandages underneath his cloak. That it had survived the crash at all, was a small miracle. Still, it would be rather... embarrassing to reveal himself to this... beautiful woman.

As he imagined that scene, as he realised she must have seen him in some state of undress before, putting the bandages on at all, he found pink plastering his cheeks.

"I am perfectly fine, I promise, Sibby was here to help me, and make sure nothing went wrong," Malum gestured to the astromech resting under the shade of the tent, who hearing its name spoke, shook on its axis, chirping what suspiciously sounded like insults calling him stupid, ignoring that, he took a step closer, as if trying to prove that he was fine, it was a failed attempt, with the limp still clearly visible, and without Sibby next to him, balance was much harder to achieve, as his knees wavered.

But, he stood still.

Which to him, was all that mattered.

"As for all this... I could not let your kindness go unanswered, please, this is only a fraction of what I owe you, and as I said earlier today," He handily sidestepped the specifics of that morning, "Whatever can I do to make it up to you?" His eyes were genial and soft, no matter what she was, as long as she did not know what he was, they could be kind to one another.

Perhaps it was the only way that a Sith and Mandalorian could be friends.

After all, they had done to each other these last hundred years.

As she suddenly teared up, those idle thoughts were banished, as panic overtook him. Oh no, what had he done now? Was hunting on her grounds some sort of taboo? Did he clean the place too much and obstruct her design? Had his preparation of the carcasses and cooking been that horrid?

Instinct took over, as he limped forward, crying women had always been both his weakness and fear, the kind of fear you confronted directly, otherwise you risked much worse.

"I apologise, I... I am not entirely certain what I did wrong, but I will do my utmost to fix i-"

"Thank you."

The almost whispered words, caught him off-guard, stopping him in tracks, not far from her. His smile somehow grew wider, as he looked even more abashed.

"Please, it is the least I could do." He was sorely tempted to move closer, to part a rogue golden lock from her features, wipe the tears that blemished her features, but the mix of feelings he had felt ever since her return held him back, simply watching without judgement, as she composed herself.

"Sir down by the fire. I'll handle everything from here. While the steaks finish I'll replace your bandages, then I can take care of the carcases and we can talk."

"Ahh..." He blushed further, not finding it within him to resist the order, and insist that he help, as he trudged over to the log which was the closest approximation to a seat, the fears of her psychometry quickly passed as she put on a pair of scaley gloves, if she had not come up with such a solution, he might have needed to insist that he do it himself.

There was still part of him that insisted so, to avoid the embarrassment of having a woman see him in a state of near undress.

Yet, there was also a part of him, even if embarrassed, wished for it still.

Such as it was that part that irrational, emotionless, idiotic part was disappointed as the gloves were put on.

Still, if he was to say nothing, his fate was to be sealed, and such he accepted, still very red in the face, as disrobed, revealing bar, broad shoulders, and a toned torso. Of course, Malum had enough decency, and more likely bashfulness to reveal what was underneath his legs, simply rolling up his pants, to reveal up to his knee... anything else might have been too much for his heart to take.

As his breath hitched, and blood rushed to his cheeks, at every touch of her gloves on his form.

He was not good at this.

Sibby at least had a good time silently laughing at its master's deep discomfort.

Still both disappointedly too soon, and not soon enough, the bandages were off, and fresh ones reapplied, as it was time to eat.

From there, he would be exposed to a very amusing sight, his steak went half-eaten, both as Malum from his injuries did not feel like eating, and well... had to reckon with the fact he simply was not a good cook. But it was quite a sight to watch, as the woman was simply... ravenous, she tore through the tough steak like an animal possessed, and then he watched as she ate an entire serving of her soup... cold.

Then another.

And then another.

It was impressive, to say the least, the training must have been more exhausting than he realised.

He had taken a serving of soup himself, even cold it smelled divine, but he was not courageous enough to have it cold, allowing it warm up by the fire. Perhaps it would soften the steak before him, but first...

"Please, you must be starving, the soup will more than suffice for me, have this," He said, offering her the wooden plate with the half-eaten steak, not entirely realising that sharing food in such a way, might be a far more intimate gesture than it would be for someone who regularly attended feasts with expertly made meals and several courses.

He almost dropped the plate as her name was finally revealed.

Elise.

It was a beautiful name, short, cute, elegant.

And a familiar one, so she had told him before when his mind was too frazzled to tell.

"Greetings Elise, and thank you for all of this... for saving us both," He said, gesturing to both him and Sibby, "As for Archais... I suppose the beginning will be the best, I know little of this world... I originate from the Outer Rim, far to the Galactic south." He kept it vague enough, but it was no lie, he resolved, that he would try his utmost to not lie to her.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Elise herself had the idea of sharing food being a sign of intimacy. She had memories of both her parents dating after all. It was so awkward looking back at those moments. But Elise had been through so many awkward moments with Darth Malum of House Marr , only after knowing him for maybe eighteen hours. At this point, she was growing numb, or bolder, at the weirdly physical moments. Redressing his bandages, for example. She had managed to stay professional, yet still had the hot embarrassment of invading personal space. At least, she hadn't died from blushing.

But the combination of enough shyness being overcome already, and her unquenchable hunger, caused her to practically grab the steak and start devouring that too. Only after she was done eating it, she realized that Malum had inquired on Archais' history.

Archais...

Her eyes sparkled.

She set her dishes aside and sat up straighter. As some wildlife called into the evening sky beyond, Elise remembered her homeworld's history.

"During the Gulag plague, Arkania sent out a fleet to find a new world to live in; to avoid extinction if Arkania itself became unavailable. Arkanians and Arkanian offshots were sent out, and after trouble with internal politics and the plague itself, their ship crashed into the world that would become Archais. The ship was called New Novania, and the colony would become the Republic of Novania."

Elise beamed at the memories of her history lessons. She obviously was quite enamored both in the subject itself and the opportunity to explain it to another person.

"But you know how Arkanians are, all genetic purists and stuff. Disabilities and diseases were cropping up, without Arkanian genetic engineering technology. And obviously, the cross breeding between pure bloods and offshots was blamed. The Purification Wars banned further interbreeding, and held the purpose of returning to old Arkanian ways. And it just kept going until the Galactic Republic rolled in by request to stop the fighting. It was the purists of the Novanian Dominion, and the offshot resistance of Adasca."

She continued to speak, "But it was all one, big joke. Rich ore was discovered on the planet, and the Republic turned to sending troops to pacify the Novanians. It was not exactly a fun ruling, as the Republic dismantled the government system completely at called themselves the Colony of Archais. The resistance wasn't happy with how the Republic favored pure bloods as the majority, but despite all the rot of corruption, Archais thrived."

"Archais entered a golden age, entering trade agreements with Galidraan. To this day, the two worlds are closely allied. The planet's resources were exploited to the fullest extent, and the planet thrived economically. But many Novanians call it the Age Of Chains, because of how many laws were made segregating Novanians and dismantling their cultural identity. The Archais colonists were vastly outnumbering the Novanians, and the Republic obviously favored their colonists. Wouldn't you believe that Novanians were denied the rights to bear arms!? So, economically great. But for the oppressed Novanians, not so great. But then came the final straw."

Elise motioned around the camp, "Governor Powell Cato signed the Peaceful Coexistence Bill. That karking bill with the hypocritical name put the "Revival Process" into action. It forced the mass relocation of Novanians to this very Nordland region. It is known as the Great Exodus."

"The Novanians rose up, forming the Novanian Liberation Army. Without the same resources as the Archais colonists, they resorted the guerilla warfare. And they were karking brilliant at it too! They actually stood a chance! But the Archais Defense Force was better armed, more experienced, and greater in numbers. The Archaisian Civil War began."

"But the Galactic Republic was getting sacked by then, and all of Archais was sick of these games. Archais declared itself an independent planet, and the civil war went into full spring. Eventually the prime minister got what he karking deserved. Then things got bad! As the One Sith was growing mad with power, prime minister Maeve Solomon declared Archais an independent planet and took the One Sith's assistance with the civil war! And task force Axis went on the brutalize Novania up until the end of the One Sith's reign. When Axis was pulled from Archais to aid in preventing One Sith collapse, the tide turned for us Novanians."

"The Seige of Hirkenburg proved to be the end of the war. The Treaty Of Lansbury was signed shortly afterwards."

"Archais entered a new era. The planet was war torn, but still struggling to return to a peaceful era. And things slowly turned in Novanian favor! the Abolishment Act legally ended segregation. Of course, that doesn't mean old wounds heal easily. Novania is doing pretty well now, but we still live mostly separate from the rest of Archais. We're quite proud, after all. After all our hardships, we have survived."

She grinned, proud. She thumped her fist as she finished off, "When Archais came under New Imperial Order rule, it did so well compared to New Republic and One Sith rule. Archais was a frequent supporter of the Pellaeonist party, and Novanian guerilla warfare was perfectly suited for the troops of Galidraan. Erskine Barran made them a unit to be proud of. And yeah, the Empire eventually fell, but Archais has been doing well as an independent world again. The way you find us now, we're probably better off than we ever had been."

She didn't realize how out of breath she was. Elise took a deep gulp of air, panting. Then, the nervous expression as she looked at Malum. Not everyone enjoyed history lectures like she did, "I didn't bore you to sleep, did I?"

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It was rare to find such a kindred soul, one who held the same love of history that he so had. Most considered history a boring topic, for after all what need did they need to know of the past, how would it affect their present? Their future? And after all, apart from certain niche topics, or figures which they related to the most, was not history simply so dull? They were the worst certainly, but even those who enjoyed history could sometimes be so... frustrating. To them, it was a hobby, rather than an academic exercise, for them they simply desired to hear of history, rather than engage with it. They heard of distant stars and wanted to know in an entertaining manner the cliff notes in bite-sized twenty-minute chunks, rather than truly engaging, with the content, delving further, learning the nuance.

The commercialisation of his beloved discipline had opened it to far more with a casual interest, in the field of study, but he could not help but feel that some, it was taking away from the purity, the respect, which people felt for a subject which defined who they were, from where they had come.

At the end of the day, that mattered little in his current circumstance, for he was sitting opposite someone who did seem to have a true passion for the craft. The glimmer in her eyes as she went off speaking about her planet's history was enough to cement that fact. He was enraptured by her words in fact, it was not exactly academic language by any means, and certainly would not be a report which would be accepted by a learned institution.

Yet...

She spoke with such passion in her voice, that he thought it would certainly come close, evident biases aside.

It was hard to not flinch though as she mentioned the intervention of the One Sith upon the world, it certainly seemed like activity befitting their reign over the galaxy, yet likely unbeknownst to her, it was not the mention of the Sith themselves that had garnered such a reaction out of him, but simply the realisation that the Sith fought against the Novanians, and as evident by her presence out in the wilds, she likely counted herself among their creed.

Another reason for her to distrust, even hate Sith like him, if being a Mandalorian was not enough. Simply another reason to keep his true nature secret.

Even if it pained him so.

At some point in her explanation, the words themselves drifted, he took in the words that were spoken certainly, but he began to focus much more on the woman speaking them.

Elise.

She was a threat, an existential one if she found out what he was, then certainly it would bring a conflict that would burn this entire camp to the ground.

Yet, how was he to reconcile that with the fact she had saved him? That he was drawn to her so... that it was the first time in so long that he was simply sitting beside the campfire, eating an intimate if amateur meal, enjoying the stars from above, and simply engaged in good conversation.

Who knew when he would have this opportunity again?

Who knew if he would be alive in the coming days?

If he went back to Sith space, if he confronted his destiny and fate, he would be committing a sin that would never wash off his fingers.

He could die.

He had accepted that possibility long ago, knew it would come eventually, and risked it every time that he went out upon the field, for battle, or whatever other risky idea he had at the moment.

Yet it was now, that he considered if all that he had desired that risked death at every turn was truly worth it? After all, when had he ever felt so at ease then in the now?

When he was with his sisters... but other than that, what other times?

He had no real answer.

He banished the thoughts as Elise turned to look at him a face that spilt out nerves, breathing heavy, as she had rarely taken a breath to pause through her explanation.

He could not help the grin that fast took over his face, "No not at all," Soon he found himself laughing, that expression on her face, so nervous, so adorable, so beautiful, contrasted with the dark thoughts just before taking hold, it was too much, "I certainly know far more about Archais than I could have imagined before... and trust no one could fall sleep with you speaking... you are so passionate, so enchanting,"

He froze, before he whipped his eyes away from her, and had the common courtesy to blush, another time her mere presence had made him speak his mind when normally he would have been so cautious, and guarded, around a stranger. What was happening to him?

And why were thoughts of Adeline fading from him by the hour?

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Was... he... flirting with her?

Passionate... Enchanting... Beautiful...

A tinge of color flushed in Elise's cheeks.

The Shaman looked away, smiling a bit, as she reached back and pushed some hair behind her pointed ear. This was quite the confusing feeling. She once again looked back on her parents' memories of courting each other - as awkward as that was for her. She recognized her father's own language towards her mother. What... what was going on?

Elise had never, not once in her life, ever considered the prospect of flirting, or courting, or having any kind of relationship. She had always been so busy, so consumed by her training and studying and striving to somehow create a better galaxy. A romantic partner would slow her down, keep her from her lofty goals. It was a waste of time, and she never saw herself taking part in it.

But this feeling. The unrivaled attention, all the compliments. The way he genuinely was interested in her... she... she liked it.

How karking dare she?

But right now, in the middle of the savannah, there was a strange lack of sense of time. Nothing in the outside galaxy mattered, except for what was happening here. For one time, would she... contemplate, anything involving these sorts of things? But what was she even thinking?! She knew absolutely nothing about this man! How could she possibly consider these foreign feelings with a stranger!

She really... disliked how this thought process was going. So she escaped. She escaped back to the subject at hand, Archais. And she completely ignored his compliments, and the strange emotions they drew out of her.

"Oh, we've only scratched the surface of Archais and Novania! Did you know that long before either the Novanians or colonists came here, back in ancient galactic history, we had another race and civilization here entirely?"

She ecstatically motioned to the totems, "The Ancients. It was a remarkable, advanced civilization with a strong connection to the Force. It's so cool!"

Elise was not exactly privy on exposing the Ancient Ones, or the depths of the shaman order, to this outsider. But she was eager to share face knowledge at the least. It wasn't just the totems that gave away the influence the ancients had on Novanian culture. The nature inspired architecture of the camp's structures, the embroidery on the tent's tarp, even how Elise dressed. It obviously was far, far different from mainstream Arkanian culture. Something here was behind the evolution of Novanian culture. The ancients, it was them.

Absolutely enamored by the prospect of telling these things to someone with similar academic interests to her, Elise eagerly awaited Malum's response to this new information.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

They were both clearly too awkward for any of this, as the silence dragged on, both sets of ruby eyes refusing to consider the other, as pink flooded their cheeks. Yet, it was not an awkward silence either, it was something companionable, as they mutually seemed lost in thought. He had not known why he had said it, did not know what had compelled him to move his lips to say the words he had. Yet, he could not find himself upset that he had.

After all, despite his embarrassment, despite hers, she had not rejected what he had said.

And that filled him with a hope of unknown purpose and desire.

It was that realisation, along with considerations that in all likelihood these would be the last few months that he would still be alive, stay... unchanged, stay innocent as much as someone with as much blood on his hands could be before it would all change.

It filled him with a courage that he had not felt since his confession on Rapture, that energy brimming at his fingertips that felt entirely alien but felt entirely his. What did he have to lose? It would pain his heart, perhaps, yet the fact was, she was a stranger, this was... a ploy for satisfaction, for pleasure.

A single night where he did not need to be Darth Malum, of House Marr, heir to the Snake, the apprentice of Darth Ophidia.

He could simply be... Malum.

Be a man with a crush, hearts in his eyes, heart in hand, offering it to a cute girl he barely knew, simply for comfort, for joy.

And then, he would leave this world, face his destiny, his fate, and never look back.

Even if even in his last moments, he might remember those red eyes and golden locks.

He coughed, breaking the stranglehold that such thoughts had taken in his mind, as she turned back to face him, a twinge of annoyance settling across his mind, as she sidestepped addressing what he had said. A worm of doubt infected him, perhaps he had misjudged, perhaps she was simply too shy to speak clearly a refusal, hoping that her embarrassment would be enough.

Oh gods, had he been blind to her uncomfortability?

Why did that... pain him so?

The internal battle continued as he paid dutiful attention to her words, though he would admit to his dismay, that even the topic of an ancient Force-sensitive precursor race, did not grab his attention as much as he knew it should have. Nor the pure excitability and passion that was rife in how she spoke of them. He was too lost in his thoughts, unsure what to do, desperately wishing to act, yet cautious, fearing, what the results of that act might be.

Instead, he breathed out, he was Malum, not Malum of House Marr here, but simply Malum, and he had never been a coward, despite all the flaws he had. He had been cautious in the past and had been paranoid other times, but he had never turned away from a fight, no matter the odds.

So why did he hesitate?

What did he have to lose?

It was that realisation that finally made him act, oh certainly the fear of rejection might have been far too much for him at any other time, but in this moment, with the twinkle of starlight from above, the face of the moon high above them, the crackling fire near, the knowledge that he should face his fate and destiny without regret.

It was just enough.

The plate of soup was gently moved to the side, as he nervously inched closer, his breath was heavy, as a single hand reached out, and his fingers found the golden locks in front of her eyes, moving them behind her ear, "Sorry... I just wanted to see you better," He breathed out softly, his heart beating a mile a minute, "I am thankful for everything you taught me..." He had been despite his feelings, he had taken it all in, even the words about the Ancients, he was reminded of those days on Qi-Ko, they had a similar precursor, hadn't they? He found himself leaning closer, his breath was dry, " But, I want to learn about you as well, the one who has enraptured me so."

It would be the moment which his fate turned, it was a move he had never thought he would make, never would have even considered, yet despite his knowledge that he might never see Elise again... he could not help but believe, he had to let her know.

Whether she rejected him or not, whether he would find himself limping through the night with Sibby to the wreck of the Lochris or not, this needed to be done.

It was what Malum would do.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

This was... not at all what she expected. Not at all what she was trying to steer towards. Not at all what she was trying to maintain. And yet... she could not say that this wasn't what she wanted.

What the kark was wrong with her?

Shivering, as his hand touched her hair, dangerously close to her skin, she blushed even more. It was visible, and her shy eyes locked with his as she felt his warm breath on her. So many confusing feelings, and sensations. She... she should not - I am Jac'Eli'Serum! Elise Vizsla of Clan Vizsla, Dreamseer of the Novanian Shaman Coven! I'm a protector, saving others while I fight my own family! I'm a traitor! A warrior! A Mandalorian! Fighting on and on to save the galaxy!

But all the words that should have snapped her to reality, only filled her with dread. She felt the same burden, the same weariness, she always had. She never wanted any of this weight on her shoulders. A cursed Force Sensitive, plagued with visions and dreams. So terrible at interpreting said visions and dreams, that she always had to go to a higher Force Entity to help her solve the riddles. She never wanted to be a traitor, fighting her own people and her own family. Because she felt that they were in the wrong. She didn't want the things she clung to. She just wanted... to be carefree. To be happy.

To just be... Elise...

The temptation only grew as he spoke to her, flattered her. Said that he wanted her. She leaned in without realizing, her heart pounding so hard and beating so rapidly. Everything else melted away, as her lips moved so close to his.

Idiot! Stop!

"I..."

Don't! You're in danger!

"... I want to get to know you better too..."

Your psychometry!

That snapped her out of it.

She pulled away, regretfully. Lifting a hand and placing it over her mouth, her eyes flooded with raw fear. A long lived, long overshadowing fear.

"... Sorry... I..."

She was unable to look away, but she spoke, "My Force Sense, I can't exactly control it."

She was still blushing, still close to him, but wary all the same. "My Psychometry comes naturally, but it attacks at random. I'm... terrified, of touch."

An annoyed and angry expression crossed her face as she looked away, "Imagine growing up scared to hug your own mother on her birthday, because you can't bear another memory of the time she got tortured months on end. I must be selfish, but it's all too much to take in, every time I absorb another memory."

Despite all her tortured thoughts about her situation, she looked to Malum with a small smile. Her cheeks were still flushed, and a visible fondness was in her eyes. "But all the same, I'm glad I found you."

She scooted closer to him, without making physical contact. Looking into the campfire, feeling so many strong emotions inside, she chuckled. "I can't remember the last time anyone paid me back for a good deed. It's been so long since I haven't felt regret for doing what I thought was right, because I sacrificed too much."

"I'm not the traitor who fought her own people, or the Dreamseer plagued with visions, or even that child prodigy with so many goal posts to hit. With you, I'm just Elise. I haven't felt this peaceful in ages. So... thank you."

She looked to Malum again, placing her chin in her hands and digging her elbows into her legs. Like a foolish schoolgirl, she looked up to this boy with visible interest. "But seriously, I have no idea who you are. Where are you from? How did you crash here? I really do want to get to know you more."

Perhaps, physical... pleasure... was not on the menu. Not yet. Not until she could curb her own powers. But she had to accept it, that there was an attraction. And for once in her life, she was willing to toss her entire life aside to chase it.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He gulped, the prominence by his neck falling down his throat before returning to its place, time seemed to slow, all the physical elements of his current situation seemed to grow even more pronounced, his mouth was as dry as the sands of Korriban, the sweat trailing his brow seemed to be as voluminous as the waters of Mon Cala, his breath he seemed to lose with a gut punch, his stomach flooding with butterflies, who had his heart aflame.

She shivered at his touch, something that for a moment made him stop, reconsider if this was what she wanted, yet as blood rushed through into her cheeks, as her eyes, so beautiful, so pure, so like his own yet with a purpose so different locked into his own, that doubt was taken away. A thousand thoughts went through her mind, they said the eyes were the window to her soul, and it seemed so evident with every millisecond that passed, that she was going through the same questioning, the same consideration, the same desire, that he had.

It was she leant in, that he knew.

"I..."

"... I want to get to know you better too..."

As she whispered the affirmative to the words he so desperately wished to hear.

He could almost cry out in relief, in pure joy, yet this was a happy moment, not to be scuppered in the heat of the emotions he could not fully understand, nor care too, as they were inches apart.

Then she pulled away, and his heart broke.

He blinked, then blinked rapidly, confusion gripped him, as a dull daze settled over him. He withdrew, breathing growing chaotic, he... had been wrong after all. A strange calm settled over him, he was not angered, not upset, still... being.

Yet he would admit to himself feeling the slightest twist in his heart as she claimed her lips with her hand. The same lips that were his to claim, that... should have been. Her eyes were haunting now, yet as ever, he was unable to look away, as the feelings of rejection slowly inked their way along his veins, he knew there had been risk in this, had accepted it, so why was he so affected when he paid the consequences of that risk?

Had he truly been so vain to believe that the risk need not apply to him? That he was some dashing knight that would make the maidens swoon with the barest effort? He had only met the woman hours before, and for most of them they had been away from each other, whatever awkwardness had taken place had been pure happenstance, whatever desires pure one-sided lust, whatever other feelings, greater feelings, imagination and musing of something greater... clearly just the idiocy and naivete of a lovesick fool.

He had grown so numb that he almost turned away from her explanation, almost refused to hear it entirely, not wishing to hear what was no doubt to be pity of how it was not he that was at fault, when he knew it all too well, that it had to have been some fault of his. Yet, curiosity had always been his virtue, ears flicked wishing to hear, even if it would cause him pain.

"... Sorry... I..."

She was unable to look away, but she spoke, "My Force Sense, I can't exactly control it."

She was still blushing, still close to him, but wary all the same. "My Psychometry comes naturally, but it attacks at random. I'm... terrified, of touch."

Yet...

Her explanation caused him little. It only filled him with relief. If she had touched him, she would know... exactly what he was.

Yet the relief was not about that, even if every rational part of him tried to justify it as so.

No, the truth was for him... it was the realisation that she had not rejected him. She did not fear him. She did not hate him.

More concernedly it seemed she felt such things more towards herself than anyone else. It was enough for him to consider giving her a hug, yet... that would not exactly solve her fears.

"You need not apologise... I... had forgotten what you said, please let me offer my apologies for putting you in such a position." There was part of him still that cared little if she found out his true nature, that all he wanted in this world was to feel her lips against his, and if that would lead to her hating him... it would hurt, it would hurt dearly, but he could live with that, live with it up to the moment he died in the next few weeks. He had found peace, and though he would not embrace death with open arms, he could live with death's spectre at the door, opening it to him whenever he wished.

Yet there was another part of him, the part that hoped perhaps, maybe, they were special in this galaxy, that as he too had seen for a fact the Mandalorians were not the wild animals that he had been educated to believe they were, she too could see that the Sith, that he, was not the personification of evil and darkness that the galaxy claimed they were.

"I have a Kiffar cousin, who also knew psychometry, he used it for detective work of all things, maybe he could help," More like maybe he could help, he had not seen Trayze Tesar in quite some time, yet he had taught him all he knew of the ability... perhaps he might be abke to do something.

To help her, not to kiss her... or anything.

Pink dusted his cheeks.

"Imagine growing up scared to hug your own mother on her birthday, because you can't bear another memory of the time she got tortured months on end. I must be selfish, but it's all too much to take in, every time I absorb another memory."

"I... cannot imagine that." It was a horrifying thing to even consider, he did not have the closest relationship with his own mother, after all, noble ladies were taught their entire lives to always be composed, and with his birthright as the heir to Marr, he spent far more time with his father, and with more martial pursuits. Yet, he still loved his mother and knew she loved him in return, her golden boy, that though they kept firm decorum in public, in private he could find familial intimacy if desired, and it was not as if his mother even with her upbringing had not commonly broken decorum if necessary.

He had not written to her in quite some time.

No doubt she had long ago learned about her son's treason.

He was a bad son, wasn't he?

He pressed closer, making certain to not touch any part of her, "You cannot call yourself selfish for not desiring to see what would scar a child for life, Elise, they would have understood the pain you went through, I can already see you loved them dearly." It was an odd sight to have them talk of family so soon, yet... anything and everything likely would have felt right with her.

Despite all her tortured thoughts about her situation, she looked to Malum with a small smile. Her cheeks were still flushed, and a visible fondness was in her eyes. "But all the same, I'm glad I found you."

She scooted closer to him, without making physical contact. Looking into the campfire, feeling so many strong emotions inside, she chuckled. "I can't remember the last time anyone paid me back for a good deed. It's been so long since I haven't felt regret for doing what I thought was right, because I sacrificed too much."

"I'm not the traitor who fought her own people, or the Dreamseer plagued with visions, or even that child prodigy with so many goal posts to hit. With you, I'm just Elise. I haven't felt this peaceful in ages. So... thank you."

It was his turn to blush again now, as she looked at him with such fondness to remove the knife stabbed into his heart, with his stomach aflutter as she inched close to him, no doubt his ears were filled with heat.

"You... cannot say such things," Considering he was about to kiss the woman, he had no right to say as such, but she looked at him so earnestly he could not help it as his gaze turned back to the campfire... trying to calm his beating heart... before inevitably returning to her. She spoke so sombrely about her life he could not help but mourn for her, for all she had lost in what path she had taken to come here, however, he could not help but note down all she said too, a traitor to the Mandalorians, a Dreamseer, it was all... it very much described the complexity of one that would draw his eyes. Yet, his eyes widened as she spoke of her experience these last two days, feeling so similar to him... feeling as if she was simply her.

It was the greatest thing she could have told him.

"With you, I feel as if the world outside does not exist, with you I feel as if the responsibilities pushed atop me no longer matter, with you I feel as if... I could simply be... and try to woo the woman he was attracted to, to see if we could manage it," This was moving fast, too fast, yet his death approached faster, his words were not untrue, his passions felt, but in how quickly he made them known, it was fueled by the stress and aches of his upcoming fate, his near-death experience, the fact if he kept this all within, the words of his heart, he might never be able to tell them to anyone.

They were using each other, so used to being chained, desiring to be free, latching onto the closest comfort they could.

These emotions, these feelings were all too real, but passion died a quick death when the moment passed, he did not want it to die, he did not want this moment to pass.

She looked to Malum again, placing her chin in her hands and digging her elbows into her legs. Like a foolish schoolgirl, she looked up to this boy with visible interest. "But seriously, I have no idea who you are. Where are you from? How did you crash here? I really do want to get to know you more."

He smiled a sheepish smile, "You are adorable," Such was the best he could say and act, as his blood was frozen at the question, who was he?

The truth would have her recoil at the sight of him, a battle started that would end in bloodshed, yet a lie... a lie would be difficult to accomplish, let alone consider, with him like this, a lovesick fool, and more... he did not want to lie to her.

He did not want to lie to her.

His Mistress would be rather disappointed if she heard such thoughts... though... it was not as if she would not have severely more important reasons to be disappointed soon enough.

If the sombreness was visible on his face, it was quickly snatched back as the mask came over place, what to tell her... what to tell her... "I am Malum, of the House of Marrtaniel," Not technically a lie, they were family after all, even if distant, "I originate from Eliad, born of nobility," He gave an exaggerated beam, that no doubt made him look quite the prat, or at least would be funny, either would be better than her knowing the truth, "for why I crashed here..." He needed to come up with an excuse that did not involve informing her that he was in combat with the Galactic Alliance.

Suddenly his features become transformed, defined by mischievousness, "I seem to have said quite a bit already, but is not the old adage, ladies first?" He moved into the same exaggerated position she did, placing his chin in his hands and digging his elbows into his knees, "I for one am far more curious about Elise... last name unknown." That was genuine, he desperately wished to know more, so much that she would never need to know more about him.

He likely would not get that, but it would give him time to think of an excuse.

Elise Ahana-Gwyneira

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Hearing that he was nobility made Elise's eyebrow raise in interest. She had little experience with the high and mighty types, brought in by mere birthright. Growing up in multiple cultures where important positions were bestowed based on skill and value, nobility has always been foreign to her. Lazy, even. But at the same time, she was far from having a bad experience with the noble before her. And being of such high status, she could not help but feel impressed to an extent. But Elise could not help but feel disappointed that he played up the intrigue. It was a secret, how this fine noble crashed here. But these kinds of riddles and puzzles could prove fun to dive into. She smirked, playfully, and responded to his cheekiness.

"Ah, but my fine noble, my curiosity grows with every word you say. Teasing me with your mystery, I'll be dotting after you ever harder. Your plan on wooing me must be working!"

She chuckled, a lighthearted and energetic laugh. Free of sorrow, and burning with warmth and purpose. She had never flirted with a boy before. And yet, this flirtatious banter came... surprisingly easy. She was able to be herself, completely. And that freed her from having to impress him. Rather, she showed her interest from a place of genuine like. A desire for emotional connection, real and sweet. She had a mere crush, but she wanted her time with her crush to be authentic. She looked back to Malum, and she smiled.

"But if you must ask about me..."

She sat up straight, shoulders broad and posture poised with the training of someone with combat experience. "The noble, it seems, has met a knight in shining armor."

She briefly grimaced, for a millisecond. Okay, that one was a bit cheesier. The awkwardness passed, however, as she continued on.

"I am Elise Vizsla, of Clan Vizsla. A Mandalorian, a protector."

Could see call herself a protector? When her own people faced the threat of potential eradication as she fought against them? She had to force herself away from these dark thoughts. Escape. And so, she escaped. She escaped back to Malum.

"I'm a Novanian too. A Dreamseer of the shamanic coven."

She contemplated babbling about the Ancient Ones. She contemplated speaking of her rituals, and Mother's Root, and even more. But she held herself. This was an outsider, and as much as he was... attractive... she could not let him in on those secrets. But thinking of the noble lad's physical appearance, she remembered healing his frame and changing his bandages. Suddenly, those experiences which were reserved and professional, made her feel strangely flustered and weak. What the kark was happening to her?

Her body heat grew as she tried to find more to tell him about herself. She was an extroverted chatterbox, so it came easy. "And, well, I'm a good medic and healer! I was always really good at fighting and healing, and I was top of the class in seminary! I love history, and philosophy, and plants! I love spending time in nature. Well, that much is obvious. I like to cook too! And I, uh, what else?"

Her eyes widened, realizing that she was spilling way too much out to this poor boy. She nervously smiled, hugging herself self consciously, "S-sorry! I talk too much..."

Darth Malum of House Marr