Embrace

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer finally found the strength to sit up, her hands folded into her lap as she blushed softly. She picked up on the concern in his voice and she didn’t understand where it was coming from. Another thing that caught her attention was that he wasn’t wearing what she last remembered him wearing. She liked the sound of his voice, especially now that there was emotion lingering in it. Her hands nervously found stray strands of hair to brush back behind her ear.

Like before, Spencer found her heart racing. She had a sudden urge to return to the place in his arms to feel him hold her. Her chest rose with a few quick deep breaths. She didn’t understand what she as feeling or why he would do this to her. The thin shirt crinkled in her grasp as she pulled it away from her warm flesh. Her body started to react in weird ways, it worried her and she wondered if she was falling ill from feeding him.

Finally after a few moments, she looked at him in the eye. Blinking quickly, she blushed and shrugged slightly. She was feeling a lot of things, but she didn’t truly understand why she wanted him to hold her.

“I’m feeling okay, I missed you though. I was scared I was going to wake up and you weren’t going to be here…”

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich looked up at her, seeming as how she was situation on the bed and he on the floor. He did so by tilting his head backwards and looking her in the eyes. He looked at her with a strange look of confusion. Missed him? He had been by her bed for the entire time she was asleep, he hadn't moved or even so much as blinked while she had been sleeping. This Jedi certainly was a strange little creature, he would have to dig deeper into her, find out what really made her tick.

“Where would I go? Into the forest to starve?” It was a rather serious statement, but in his tone of voice it sounded far more teasing than anything else. Erich had no intent on leaving Spencer behind. It was true that he was selfish beyond all belief, but in his own selfish way he believed that Spencer was far more advantageous alive than dead to him.

No, they would both be leaving this god forsaken world alive. To make sure she knew this Erich decided to reassure her, not in a placating manner, but entirely serious. With viper like swift movements Erich reached up and grabbed her head. Then softly he guided her face so the two of them looked directly into each other's eyes. Most would perceive this as a romantic gesture, in fact Spencer probably would. To Erich however it was just a way to get a point across, not that he would ever say that.

With his piercing red and blue eyes staring directly at her Erich spoke “I did not come here just to leave you behind. You and I both will be making it out of this forest alive. I swear that on the blood of my family.”

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer blinked from his blunt statement; she was just expressing how she felt towards him. Before she could say anything about where he would go, Spencer felt her face touched gently. Ever since that day at the prison his motions towards her were gentle as if she was a frail doe. It was a funny relationship they shared if one would call it that. He was a monster that ravaged and devoured his kills and here he was protecting something he should prey upon. The thoughts crossed her mind, but she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. Her eyes blinked again as the same urges she felt when he was close before start to rise to the surface again.

Family? It was something she didn’t know. In her mind he was like her, he didn’t have a family or didn’t know one. Their short time together he never mentioned a family before. She fluttered her eyes again as she felt tears welling up slightly in them. It always made her sad, she didn’t know her family, and she didn’t know where she came from. All she knew was that she was to become a Jedi from the time she was born.

Those memories faded quickly as her attention was drawn once more to the Garhoon. There was just something about him that called to her. This time, she took the intuitive and leaned forward. Her lips pressed against his, for the first time she didn’t taste blood upon them. She wouldn’t be stained with her blood or someone else’s, her hand rested against his chest and her finger tips grazed softly as her hand made a half fist. Slowly she pulled away and stuttered quickly.

“I-I-I-didn’t m—mean too. I’m sorry”

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich's lips parted in a slight smile as she kissed him. That smiled turned into a grin, perhaps he understood her more than he had originally thought, he had been over thinking things, making it more complex than it really had to be. The entire situation was rather simple, Spencer was truly infatuated with him, and for some strange reason he with her. This thought ran through his mind, it was so entirely obvious to him now. He grinned, more to himself than to Spencer.

He had no idea what the implications of this were. It certainly wasn't love, at least not in his part. On an emotional level the Garhoon was incapable of love, his parents had thoroughly assured that with his child hood. Erich simply didn't have the mental faculties for such things, but apparently utter infatuation was just as good as love.

Knowing this, and being the confident smart mouthed cocky bastard that he was Erich didn't let Spencer finished her sentence. Instead he reached up, and grabbed her again, gently forcing their lips to meet again.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Like Erich, Spencer didn’t understand love either. She was taught to pick up and identify certain emotions that were tied with the dark side. The girl had been ripped from her family before she could be nurtured and taught how to love. She functioned now with Erich on animalistic emotions she didn’t understand, but her body seemed to know what to do. Spencer gave into the slight aggression with the kiss. There was nothing more she wanted to do more than let him kiss her. She knew he was going to do what he wanted anyways.

She moved closer to him the best she could. Her lips parted for him allowing their kiss to become more passionate. Spencer felt her face hotter than before and that same heat circulated through her entire body. Her hands resting on his and on his chest as she felt along his body. Her mind forgetting her teachings and she gave into the emotions that circulated around her. Spencer pulled away slightly to get a quick breath of air and then she continued to kiss him. She enjoyed kissing him, she felt safe with him despite the fact that he probably wanted to devour her where she sat.

Her body shifted under the blankets as she leaned back slightly. Everything she did was on auto drive, her body reacted and did what it wanted despite the confusion in her mind. She wanted the Garhoon to continue to kiss her and to hold her. Pulling away again from the kiss, the young Jedi made eye contact with him while she bit on her lower lip. Hands once more running down her neck she pulled at her tight undershirt.


"You've saved my life so many times Erich, now that we have a peaceful moment and I've gathered my strength is there anything I can give you to repay your for everything you've done?"

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich smile widened into an even larger grin. Truthfully it resembled his face when he was about to feed. The rush of emotion, of hormones, of endorphins it was all their. Sex and the things along with it were great no matter what species you were. When a species reproduced sexually it was almost always pleasurable, especially if that species was sentient, with Garhoons it was no different.

The mercenary stood up in one fluid swift moment and hung himself above Spencer. He pressed his face against hers again, this time more roughly but obviously not harming her. He cut her off mid-sentence, in his ego addled head he already knew exactly what she was going to say. The Garhoon backed off for a second, then grinned. He placed the edge of his claw like finger in the beginnings of her cleavage. The sharp part of his nail dug into her shirt and with a powerful pull Erich sliced the garment in half, then he kissed her neck.

(HEY EVERYONE, COME READ THIS IMPLIED SEX)
~~~~~

The Garhoon was the first to awake several hours later. From the slight cracks within the walls and ceilings he could tell that it was now entirely night time, with the sun being fully set and the moons and stars out. Erich looked at the cracks with a frown, this had taken longer than he had expected. The sleeping part not the sex part. He had apparently been far more tuckered out than he had originally thought.

Erich snapped that thought in half then looked down at Spencer, without even thinking he had begun to stroke her hair softly as she lay on his chest. He smiled at her, but then quickly turned his thoughts away from romanticism and back to survival. When she awoke she would likely want to rest a bit more, and eat. After that and a few more hours rest they would have to leave this place. He was sure that one of the buildings had a map, they would have to take it.

The Garhoon sighed quite audibly and let out a deep breath. If this were only a luxury world, and not blighted Kashyyyk.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer laid there for some time, she felt him wake up and move slightly under her. She found herself deep in thought. What had happened the night before was something she hadn’t expected. It was the last thing she had thought about with the man she was with, but she regretted nothing. He took care of her and she felt things she had never felt before. Still, despite everything her feelings towards the Garhoon didn’t’ change. She found him attractive, but that was the extent of their companionship. Although there was nothing more than attraction, Spencer played with the idea of trying this again.

Her eyes moved towards the cracks, it was evening and things would probably get rougher now. They were still stuck on Kashyyyk and that meant that they were still in danger. Spencer didn’t know why he chose this time and place to do what they did, but the danger of it all was quite exhilarating. Spencer ran a single finger down the man’s stomach; it was odd to touch another person like this – so intimately. Everything that included this intimacy was lost upon the Jedi. After a moment or two, Spencer leaned up and covered herself with the dusty blanket.

“Thank you, but Erich…we really need to get out of here…I don’t feel safe something is out there – its hungry.”

The young empath held her breath as she looked around. She could feel something that was different than Erich. It wanted to eat and it could smell her supple flesh, looking worried she looked back at Erich with a pleading look.

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich lay there for a few moments, she was right when she said something was out there. Well of course she was right she probably had better senses than he did at this moment, the force was apparently like something of a six sense. The Garhoon actually had no idea about it, almost none at all in fact. He had killed Jedi and Sith before, and they were just like regular people...although a bit more adept at surviving. He shrugged in his head, he would have to question her about the force later perhaps learn a little more about it.

“Can you run? Walk? Even stand?” Erich's voice wasn't mocking, threatening, or anything of the sort. It was pure curiosity and worry. If they went out now when she was weak there was no way that either of them would survive. Erich would get out about a day into the forest, and then he would die of starvation. She would probably get herself killed one way or another, the thought that she could make it out on her own didn't even occur within his head his ego getting in the way again.

Erich lightly pushed her off of his chest raising himself from the bed and sitting up. His tattoo's were shown in the bare minimum light within the barracks. They were intricately carved into his flesh telling the story of his entire life, Spencer was perhaps the only person who had ever seen all of them. The Garhoon sat on the side of the bed, and then reached for a pack filled with things he had gathered earlier when she had been sleeping. “Whatever is out there will likely be hunting us, you need to be at your best.”

What he failed to mention is that if whatever was out there caught up to them, he doubted that he could actually kill it. He was hungry, his weapons were almost out of charge, and he only had a few knives within his flak jacket. Erich knew all of this, and thats why it was important for both of them to be able to run. From the pack that he had dragged across the floor the Garhoon pulled out a small pack. It was a type of energy bar, one that lasted an eternity. Soldiers were issued them during war, they tasted awful but provided necessary nutrients.

Erich handed Spencer the packaged food and then waited for her answer regarding her strength.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer chewed on the ration that he had given her. She could feel her body start to lighten up and she didn’t feel so weak. Looking at it, she figured it had some sort of energy supply. The energy she was gaining was going to be quite valuable since she was going to be running mostly from whatever was trying to eat them. Her eyes looked over at the Garhoon; his body was the first she had seen. She wondered if all Garhoon were like him or if he was someone special. Spencer shifted and placed her feet on the ground. It was an awkward feeling. She wondered if she could remember how to even take a first step from crawling out of a bed.

“I can take care of myself, I should be good. Either way, I can’t hold you back, when whatever is out there shows up we need to get out of here.”

Slowly, Spencer stood up and wobbled a bit. Smiling she regained her composure and shook her legs out a bit. She knew what it was like to be inches from death, the Garhoon had drained her, but her body was recovering. It helped she was connected to the force. She was able to call upon it to heal her from the strain and heal faster. Spencer stretched and once again shook out her limbs and legs. Nodding quickly, she gathered her weapons and moved towards him.

“Erich, whatever it is out there…its hungry…and pretty pissed off”

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich watched Spencer as she stood and walked about the room towards him. He sighed slightly, if he was going to leave her behind then he wouldn't have come here in the first place. For a few seconds he closed his eyes and collected himself. The Garhoon couldn't sense what was out there of course, he didn't have the force and his own senses were rather eclipsed by his own hunger. He tried to focus himself, and then opened his eyes.

“I know.” He simply said as he opened his eyes. More of the red lines had spread, the blue maze within and around his pupils were quickly disappearing. Finally he looked up at her, then at his gauntlet and blaster. If she thought she could make it, who was he to deny her. “We'll need to get into one of those other buildings, find a map.”

That was the most important thing, they needed to find the map within those buildings and then they had their way out. If they could find a Wookiee Village they could get out of here. The furry walking carpets weren't known to turn away lost wanderer's in fact more often than not they helped those who needed it. Erich knew this because...well he had spent some time on Kashyyyk, although his stay had hardly been pleasant for the locals.

Thinking of the taste of Wookiee blood and marrow made his stomach clench once again, his eyes were forced shut and the blue lines within his iris were once again constricted. The Garhoon flinched slightly, then opened his eyes again. “Ready when you are.”

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer smiled softly; she could sense his strain and knew their time in the barracks had caused some strain on him. Either way, she knew they needed to get moving. Her especially, she was caught between two monsters, one she just knew more personally. Before she could leave the barracks though, she needed to find something to wear over her undergarments. The Garhoon was quite enthusiastic with their earlier escapade. Spencer looked through the several trunks that were left behind until she found a tight fitting shirt. Brushing her shoulders off, she moved towards the makeshift door she had created when she entered the building. Her hands moved some of the debris with the force and she made her way out of the building. There was no sense in staying inside discussing their plan of action, she needed to move.

Something felt different; she knew it was probably what had happened earlier. Spencer felt her senses open and she was more aware of everything. She wondered if it was the ration bar or the fact that she had been near death, either way she was ready for whatever had followed them to the base. The night was a little cold, something she hadn’t remembered the past couple of nights. The base was something still unfamiliar, but the layout was pretty simple. There were only so many things you could do with a base.

“Did you find anything in the building you had checked out? There’s nothing left in the barracks – you think there are any left-over vehicles or something lying around here?”

Spencer kept looking; she needed to gather as much information with her eyes before she used the force. Her body was still tired from her ordeals and she could feel the strain weakening her mind for the moment. Holding her breath, Spencer closed her eyes and tried to focus on everything around her. She was still a young padawan, but she had been around the force for so long she picked up little tricks from time to time. Nothing, she picked up nothing, but again she was still a padawan.

“I don’t….feel anything around us…but my gut tells me otherwise…Erich do you sense anything?”

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich stepped out into the the pale light shortly after Spencer. His skin seemed to prickle with goosebumps as he did as if something was near. He didn't like that feeling, the last time he had gotten it he had been sent to prison for three years...oh that had been an interesting time for sure, and not really an enjoyable one. The Garhoon looked around, carefully scanning the lines of the Republic compound and searching for anything moving.

He had considerably better night vision than Spencer, and with his current state of hunger that only increased itself. Still he could see nothing, he heard no heart beat or anything of the sort. He relaxed a little, although truthfully he was nervous beyond all belief. Spencer spoke to him and Erich listened...although only barely. He was more focused on the fact that something was still hunting them, one could feel it in the air.

“No, we have to search the other building.” Erich said to her first question. He made a b-line for the structure rushing over to it and making sure to stay low to the ground. As soon as he reached it he ventures inside through a massive slit within the walls. The inside of this particular building had not been touched for some time. A few tables sat around the room with datapads and maps sitting around . The Garhoon walked over to the nearest table and immediately flipped over the heavy piece of flimsy.

Upon it was printed a geographical map, The garhoon looked it over for a few minutes trying to find out where it was. He did this several more times with different maps each time, until finally he found one of their area. He found the base upon the map and immediately figured out their exit point.

Not far from where they were there was a lake, across the lake was a Wookiee Fishing village. Erich guessed...well more hoped that it would still be there after all this time. He swiped up the mapped and tucked it into his flak jacket, not bothering to close the garment. He then stepped outside and walked up behind Spencer. “Alright, I know where were going.”

He was calm, although on the inside he knew this was going to be the hardest part of their journey.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer decided to stay out of the building, knowing how she was moving she knew she would just get in the way and slow him down. Erich moved better on his own and out here she could do her best and sense any danger that would be coming for both of them. Gulping, she figured she was the most in danger out of the two of them. She was still slightly weak from his feeding and their escapade, but at least he was around. Spencer watched him move into the building and she turned her back towards it. Her eyes scanned the area and then she closed them focusing on the flow of the force. She felt it surge through her body as she did her best to spread her connection.

Erich didn’t take as long as she had expected him too. She had picked up his movements and she quickly turned around with her borrowed lightsabre ready to ignite. Once she stopped focusing on the force, she realized it was Erich and not some creature wanting to eat her. Pondering the last thought she realized if Erich wasn’t kind to her she would have been a delicious meal to him. Spencer shuddered at the thought and placed the lightsabre on her belt as she crossed her arms.

“You scared me.”

Her heart continued to race as she grew with excitement. There was a light at the end of this dark tunnel that she had gotten herself into. She wanted to hug him, but she refrained from doing so. The young Jedi saw the color of his eyes and knew a lot of contact would cause him to revert faster. She started too learned about him and she was figuring out some of the triggers that she did. Sighing softly, she nodded and waited to follow him.

“Let’s go before you get hungry again.”

A soft chuckle escaped her as she tried to brush off the mild fear that he would one day snap.

 

[Erich Lor]

Erich nodded to her, she might have been making a joke but it was actually a very serious concern to him. If his hunger took him over one more time he wasn't sure if he would be able to stop himself from...well completely and entirely consuming her. He opened the map that he had for only the briefest second, looking at the general direction they needed to go. He nodded to himself and then grabbed Spencer by the hand.

He led her to the edge of the base where there was no whole in the wall and then picked her up over his shoulder. The Garhoon then jumped onto a set of crates, and then over the wall in very quick succession. They needed to move quickly...very quickly. The lake was several miles away, and once they were there they had to find a way to get across it which wasn't easy since it was about a mile. He sighed slightly in exhaustion as he landed on the other side of the wall and set Spencer down.

“We have to move quickly.” He said all amusement completely drained from his voice. It was time to be serious, and it was time to get out of this fucking jungle.