Private Evermore [Darth Malipant]

[Srina Talon]

S H I R A Y A - E X P A N S E
| A C E R B I T A S |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

Srina left him just outside the frosted glass.

For all of their closeness, her heritage, she had an innate sense of pedantic morality that lingered without thought. It was evident in how she held her head high despite the fact that she'd quite literally taken a beating. The victory was bland. The fight had been ineloquent in her mind—a lengthy series of brutal clashes of fists and flesh that left both sides crippled. Srina preferred to be the most skilled. To win in the absolute of which there was no denying that she was the strongest on the battlefield. The strongest Echani, on the battlefield.

"Have you never, ever, considered it before?"

She was mindful of the waterproof wrapping and Neuskin that had been precariously placed over her injuries. The quiet chat was not one that they had truly entertained in the past. She felt inexplicably drawn toward him. She knew affection, that deep, blinding state of being that caused her to revolve around him as if he held her center of gravity in his pocket. So effortlessly. Part of her still resisted. The last time such passion had bitten her so thoroughly she'd found little more than a cruel abyss. It was something to crave, in the quiet, when she could secretly allow the luxury.

Something she feared would slip through her fingers like wisps of smoke.

Would he do the same one day? ​

That was what drew her caution. Not a lack of dedication, nor, devotion. Merely the remembrance of loss.

Of feeling everything.

Then nothing at all. ​

The small endearment caused a demure smile to linger at the kiss on her mouth. Star of my sky. "Moon of my night."

A high compliment from an Echani.

Srina wrapped herself in a thick clean robe and began to towel down her hair. It was even longer than he might have remembered it being. At least, it wasn't an off-putting shade of pink anymore. "I am afraid that I am too blunt to hide."

"It will never be one-sided."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant watched her towel and robe, noting the subtle changes in her appearance and the newly minted scars in her flesh. The life of warlords, warriors, and Sith often involved such things - but given the context of their conversation he saw it in an almost different light. The idea of a family - that they would inevitably learn the traits of their parents. Of war, of death, of conquest.

For a second he doubted if that was the life he would want for them - but a second later he realized the pride he would have in the Conquest of a daughter, the Empire of a Son. A smile ticked at his lips -

"I've considered it, my love.", he said, tilting his head towards her.

"I've considered how beautiful you are - and what a beautiful family we would have."

He stood, walking towards her, wrapped his hands around her waist and looked into the mirror with her. Staring at their own reflection.

"Let's get married. Give me a name I can be proud of."

Srina Talon

 

[Srina Talon]

S H I R A Y A - E X P A N S E
| A C E R B I T A S |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

"And by consider…Do you mean just now—While your eyes linger?"

Her tone was neutral and flat but he would know her well enough to realize that she was attempting some form of humor. There had always been some level of disconnect between the decorated Echani and more socially expected ways of thinking. She missed certain queues and instead, often, fell on the logical response. No matter how cruel, or binding.

That being said, she knew, when he watched her. Even passively.

The seemingly young woman opened a sterile pack and retrieved some toiletries that had been left out by the medical staff. Much of it suited a lady, a female, of noble bearing. Their Master's companion, his mistress, whom he so casually contemplated marrying. The scandal, he would likely endure. "Your ambition is showing."

Perhaps not for himself, but, for their hypothetical offspring?

Most certainly.

She put a sweet-scented oil between her palms and warmed it before applying it to milk-pale skin that wasn't hidden in bandages. Silvery eyes took in a collection of vials, perfumes, but she left them alone. Srina wouldn't have known what to choose. Instead, she picked up a hairbrush to begin the arduous task of sorting through feet of white-gold locks—But her movements paused when familiar hands found her. Anyone else would have, at the very least, suffered a broken arm.

Maliphant?

Srina found herself setting the brush back down so that she could lean back against him. Her hands found his and carefully drew his arms fully around her. It was comfortable. Oddly, she felt just as content at the feeling of his armor as she would have with skin. She let him admire their reflection, momentarily, letting her mind wander with possibility. A hint of curiosity, though, there was no small amount of fear. "…Do you mean that?"

…Or was it just the shock of seeing her appear covered in blood?

"You do not need to say such things for my benefit. I do not require that you change unless you wish it to be so. It must be…Something you truly desire. Above all other things."

Because she would not enter such a union lightly. Srina knew the price of blindly following her heart. Another thought began to percolate in the back of her mind. He wanted children. After the damage to her form on Kuat, she was uncertain if she could still conceive. Even if she managed it—Would she be able to carry a child to term? "…My body was damaged, with my daughter."

"I do not know, entirely, to what extent. I was warned that...I may not be capable…"

Of giving him the one thing he had ever asked of her.

That made her frown.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"I say little for your benefit, Srina.", Maliphant chided - though with a small smile hidden between pale lips.​

​

"Have you ever known me to hold back against anyone? To placate them with adorations and half truths? I am truth, I am nothing but truth - it's what makes me so hard to deal with."​

​

He tucked his chin a bit tighter into her shoulder - as though to smother himself with her skin. He breathed in the oils she applied, mixed with her natural smell - something familiar and comforting to a Sith that found pleasure in the bloody setting of war. It was a different comfort to enjoy her softness, than to feel the hard lines of a saber duel - but when his mind wandered the lines became a bit harder to define. What he knew was what his heart knew - that he enjoyed being so close to her.​

​

"You're worried I would not desire you above a want for a child?", he said with a passing question - moving on before she could answer,, as though to answer a concern himself.​

​

"There will be nothing I desire more than you - nothing I would put above you. Life, liberty, happiness - were you my only choice, I would be happy with it. Were you to ask, I'd dawn my chains and go renounce my Darth..."​

​

"Though I wouldn't be happy about it.", he said with a slight laugh - to help explain that it was a joke. Mostly.​

​

"Even if you were barren - I would die tired in my pursuit to help you seek happiness. Whatever it may be, my love."​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

S H I R A Y A - E X P A N S E
| A C E R B I T A S |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

His tone spoke little volumes, little whispers, that she had long since learned to accept. Silvery orbs followed the line of his smile in their shared reflection and she found quiet relief in perfect awareness of it. While some would rebuke being chided—She understood, moreover, knew he was correct. "Never…But there are things that we do for each other than we would do for no one else…"

Srina frowned a little at the notion that he was "hard" to deal with. Who decided that to be the case? The quiet Echani found him engaging and easy to understand. His propensity to tell the truth made it so that her lack of social graces was less glaring. He didn't get begrudge her for small ignorances and misunderstandings. That wasn't to say that he couldn't dance around the truth if he wanted. He simply didn't. At least, not with her. "…You are not difficult.", she responded, firmly, while nestling her form closer against his.

There was strange safety in an embrace that teetered on the edge of inherent weakness.

Because she valued him. She cared for him. More than she cared for or held value in herself. It was a disconcerting notion to accept. To realize that her sense of self had spread like an all-encompassing wave to include him. "The wishes of men can be complicated. You would not be the first to find a woman lacking, less than, for an inability to carry on their line."

There had been wars fought over such a thing. Especially, on her homeworld. Having a large family was expected. A failure to do so? Even in the face of the trials of the galaxy…It was a particular shame. Her lips parted to expand further, but he beat her to it. The easy way he delivered such straightforward vows was foreign to her. She leaned back and tilted her head so that she could brush petal-soft lips against his cheek. "I would never ask that of you."

She wouldn't. Not for any reason. Though, there was one thing, he cherished more.

Srina drew a hand up and let her palm find his cheek. Such expressions of body language were where he would find her gentle, hidden, truths. "I wouldn't be happy if you died. Not even, for my benefit."

In this regard—She was explaining her situation to him so that he would have realistic expectations for the future. They had few secrets, but there were some parts of her past that she kept to herself. Not because she didn't trust him. The events were still just too painful. Even now, years after the fact.

"Warnings aside…It does not mean that I am unwilling to try. I do not know how to be a wife. Or a mother...But for you - I would try."

Both things. Marriage and child—If he so wished it. It would feel strange to bequeath her family name to someone else, but, part of her took pride in that. It endeared him to her even further that he wanted it of his own free will. That she hadn't needed to bring it up, nor, force it upon him.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"I was born a slave with no name, taught nothing but how cruel the galaxy and its people could be.", he offered back to her.​

​

"Were there any less capable man to be a husband or father - it would be me, but I'd love to try."​

​

He wrapped her a bit tighter, held her a bit longer. A quiet passion passing between them in the slight twitch of the hands - the tension in the muscles that were so subtle perhaps only an echani could read them. Yet it was a language Maliphant was well versed in - after years of being with Srina, learning how to speak to her as others might not, how others could not.​

​

"I don't think I'm capable of seeing you as lacking, Srina. I can only hope you don't see me lacking either."​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

The urge to flinch at hearing the word "slave" from his lips was surprisingly strong. It was a fact. Nothing more—But it infuriated her. They could not change their history, nor, did she want to. If things had not transpired as they had then it was highly possible they would have always been two ships passing in the night. They would have never found one another. He would not be who he was. She would not be, who she was. That didn't mean she didn't wish to undo the hurt that it had caused.

"If I could undo those memories…", she uttered softly, brow furrowing for a moment. Her from pressed back into the safety of his embrace and the Echani felt for the first time in months that she could breathe freely. She bristled a little at his self-deprecation. "You take care of me well enough. I imagine that most of what being a husband, or father entails, isn't much different."

"Perhaps you will need to…Make me breakfast, more frequently."

His arms tightened around her and she squirmed just enough to turn around in them. She wasn't trying to get away. Srina just wanted to see him. Really, see him. Not through the mists of their metaphysical bindings nor through reflective glass. Careful fingers danced up the front of his armor to run the length of his jaw before a delicate palm pressed against his skin. So soft, barely a whisper, with affection sewn into every gesture. "Melmenya…", the simple Echani phrase was one he had heard, a dozen, a thousand times before. Ever since she had promised to stop running from him.

"You will never be lacking, to me."

It was an incomprehensible statement. It did not compute. Maliphant as he was—was enough. Pure and simple. She would not be with him were that the case. She respected him and herself far too much to lead that sort of hollow life. The diminutive woman leaned up on her tip toes to press a kiss to his chin. It was barely there, but, followed a deliberate path that led to what she really wanted.

How long had it been since he had been able to hold her this close?

To hear her with his own ears?

To breathe her air?

Too long.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"If the price is breakfast...", he said with a smile.​

​

"Then I suppose I will have to oblige."​

​

He tightened his grip around her - pulled her close to his heart so that she might feel his pulse even through the armor. Tender and loving, the only person to feel such a sensation from Maliphant in so many years. Burying his face in her hair, he took in her scent - the soft breath of perfume oils and shampoo; to take it in, hold it forever.​

​

"Whatever name you choose, pick a good one my moon and stars."​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

"You suppose? And what if I am hungry now?"

The question was asked with an almost teasing lilt, though, few but Maliphant would know the wintry woman was capable of such a thing. Her attempts at expressing humor were still a work in progress. A soft sigh escaped her at being held so close. So effortlessly. Even though he wore armor he was careful to keep her as near as he could without aggravating her injuries. A pale smile slid across her features when he buried his face in her hair. "I'm here, melmenya."

As if he could have somehow forgotten.

Her hand moved and curled in his hair to return the embrace, holding him closer, to the point in which it was almost hard for her to be seen. She could feel his heartbeat. The young woman was almost overwhelmed by a perfect sense of belonging. She wasn't used to this. Being held, carefully, as if she were the most precious thing in the galaxy. Srina couldn't remember the last time someone had physically laid a hand to her without it being some sort of strike or blow.

It was a little frightening to feel so much from so little. To feel safe on a massive ship full of people simply because one man treasured her above all else. It was befuddling, humbling.

Srina was still hesitant, however, at the notion of choosing a name for him. She had known him beneath varying titles and monikers. She could recall her incredulousness when he introduced himself to her for the very first time as "The Slave" of all things. She hadn't realized it had been a literal representation. Many people had chosen a name for him in the past. People, who had abandoned him. Hurt him.

"Are you sure you want that? For me to choose?", her soft voice queried, though, she didn't pull away. Maliphant knew just how to soften her up. Referring to her in such a way, his moon and stars, never failed to have some sort of effect. The moon was sacred, to her. To be the moon in the life of anyone held more meaning than words could convey. Perhaps, more than he intended. "You are your own. Would you not rather choose your own name?"

She was his lover; Not his owner.

The last thing Srina wanted was to be responsible for taking his freedoms. They were equal in all ways. Not greater than, less than.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"For a long time, I didn't feel I deserved a name. The life of a slave had broken me - convinced me that I was undeserving. Maliphant became a moniker to represent my strength when the Sith brainwashed me - but a name you give me will respresent my love."​

​

He twisted a finger in her hair - curled it and then let it go once more, drawing it out before doing it again in a different spot. Every few times of him messing up the sanctity of it - he'd brush it back down then start again.​

​

"If I were to name myself, it wouldn't mean anything. When a mother names their child, its from love - but if I had a name from my mother, it has long been lost. So now I request that love from you; to give me a place in this cruel world, so that with it's mention I might always remember what it means."​

​

"It will mean more to me than anything."​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

The silvery woman listened quietly while her lover explained why he wasn't keen on choosing his own designation. Srina was slow to learn; but she did, learn. From an outside perspective it wouldn't make sense why her hand in his naming would be so important, nor necessary, but as the words fell so did a careful dawning. They'd been raised so differently. Her name had one meaning: Supreme.

She had known it all her life.

Her parents, for better or worse, never let her forget it. Her elder sibling had always been in line to lead the family when her mother stepped down, but Valina had been sickly. Frail. By the time the Mandalorian Empire occupation finally ended she was long gone. When the first capital ship fell from the sky the dust, debris, and smoke in the air made it impossible for her sister to breathe. The mirror image of herself died; alone, buried under rubble.

Now—Srina was the only suitable candidate left. Her mother hated her. Referred to her as an "Avatar of Death" no matter how her father tried to intervene. Every time one of her siblings crossed the verse to be with her, they wound up dead. Or, when she crossed the verse to be with them. Someone died. For better or worse Clan Talon would inevitably belong to her. Whether she was present, or not.

Which also meant that if Maliphant became her husband it would also belong to him.

"When you say it like that…How can I refuse?"

There was a slight edge of fondness in her tone, though, her expression remained wintry. Maliphant would know how she felt. If only, because he knew how to read the things she didn't say. The way she nestled closer and closer.

Her hair was still a tangled damp mess from the shower so she didn't much mind the way he played with it. To be fair—She never minded. When he wound a bit around his finger it almost seemed like it wanted to keep the curl but eventually, it fell away. "It must be a name that you can live with."

Srina didn't intend on releasing him. She couldn't see a world in which he wasn't her other half…Which meant, unlike before, he would be trapped. Stuck with a name he might potentially loathe.

The young woman tucked her head against him and let her hand fall from his hair to land on his shoulder. Idly, she drew a small pattern on his armor. This wasn't the first time he had asked her to give him a name. She had danced around it before, uncertain, of their permanence. She was certain, now. "Rhys…Rhysiôn…", she murmured, faintly, though a small flush of red touched the tops of her cheeks. She was afraid he wouldn't like it. "It's Eshan inspired…"

As if she really had to explain that.

"Roughly, it translates to the highest light of my life. Fire, ardent passion, a warrior…"

It was the male representation of the moon hanging overhead. The highest light. Ironic, considering they were both Sith. She was still debating on a middle name but one borrowed after a rumored shipbuilder felt more than apt. No one made more unique flying machines than Maliphant. "Rhysiôn Cirdan... Rhys Talon."

Now, her face was positively hidden. It was a wonder he could hear her from the muffled space of his armor.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant smiled in his bright, accepting way. It was the only time he seemed human - without a shred of smug mockery, bold ego, or the tainting of a Sith. It was wholesome and genuine - a beautiful name from a beautiful woman, the love of his life.

He gently kissed atop her head and repeated it to himself as he wrapped arms around her;

"Rhys Talon.", he said, as though to feel the words with his tongue. To taste them, see how they felt when he spoke it.

"Then I am Rhys Talon. The only true name I shall ever have.", he declared, gently into her ear.

"Srina and Rhys, such music to my ears."

Srina Talon

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

If anyone else saw Maliphant smiling like that, sweetly, openly, they might have thought him possessed. Srina, perhaps, took it for granted. His affections toward her had always been free-flowing even when she had been too blind to see it. The Sith that the galaxy saw as a whole was not the man who held her so carefully, tenderly, while she was sopping wet in a bathrobe. She was the perfect picture of pathetic with her hair a tangled silver ball of yarn and numerous bandages covering varying appendages. Her skin was mottled from the recent battle, unsightly, but he never breathed a complaint.

Still, somehow, he thought her beautiful.

Still—He chose her to give him a name. It was overwhelming, sometimes, to accept the depth of his devotion to her. She did not understand it. Yet, it existed nonetheless. "Rhysiôn…", the pale woman breathed with a distinctly Echani inflection. There was a different feel to it when she spoke her native tongue versus basic. It was almost reverent, a song, when it left her tongue.

The repetition was almost confirmation. It would take many reminders for her to switch from Darth Maliphant or "Mal" as she impishly chose, but she was willing. The name she had chosen was made with every once of respect and fondness she had for him. Which, was considerable, to say the least. The fact that he didn't oppose it caused her to relax in his arms again.

A ghostly smile flickered across pale primrose lips.

Rhys claimed that their names were music, though, he would likely never realize how often she thought the same thing about him. The way he murmured in her ear, even a declaration, held all the expressive might of a full orchestra. It was a curious, fascination.

"…I have missed you."

The soft words were barely there, nearly, as silent as her breathing. It wasn't something she often spoke aloud because it seemed to be an expression of weakness. An admission of needing someone, something, other than herself. Srina fully realized the customs of Eshan that she held onto with both hands held no bearing here, but they were deeply ingrained. Belief in herself was required. A belief that all she could ever require could be found within—All the strength, hope, and fearlessness.

It just wasn't true. It hadn't been for a long time.

The slender woman softly unentwined herself from his grasp and picked up the brush from the counter. A slightly sly edge to emotionless silver orbs made itself visible when she passed it to him—Knowing, he would always take it. There was a quiet solace it feeling his hands in her hair.

Knowing, he wove it expertly.

It reminded her of home.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant kissed her softly, and took the brush. He brought it through her hair carefully - from tip to root, again and again to clear out whatever tangles remained. Dirt, rocks, whatever was left was cleaned from her mess of ivory strands as he spoke to her;​

​

"Missed me.", he repeated with a smile.​

​

"Surely the great Dread Queen can't miss anyone?"​

​

He set the brush down as he took her hair into eight strands. Each seperated by an extremely deft set of fingers - he began to work out a complex braid he had learned from old Echani books on the matter; tying them in an elaborate display that was not only pleasing to look upon, but meant something. Of a mother, of a wife, of the security of home - it was a braid for a child's birthday, a wedding, or the arrival of a new child to the home.​

​

Yet in the briefest moment she would look into the mirror - she would see something scarring. Like a flash she'd see his skin grey and muddied, cracking like a corpse as his hair ran red with his own blood. A hand turned to smoke, a heart with nothing left - the righteous strength of a God and the fleeting spirit of Maliphant.​

​

And with a blink, it was gone - and the face of her love remained. His smile delicate, his expression caring, his fingers tirelessly working into her braid.​

​

"Srina, are you alright?", he said after a moment of her silence.​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

He didn't even blink.

She settled quietly before him with the phantom sensation of being softly kissed lingering. Feathery lashes dusted over the tops of pale cheeks while her eyes closed for a moment. There was something soothing about being able to turn off the warrior, even, for a few moments. To lower her guard with another person in the room and know that it was safe to do so. Part of her was half-tempted to get back in the shower when she realized Rhys was still finding junk that shouldn't be there.

Even little stones.

When they plinked to the floor there was a moment when she would see a black stone castle wall flying toward her face. The moment when she twisted, turned, and pushed off the wall just in time to avoid getting pummeled back into it by a telekinetic wave. It destroyed the wall instead leaving her with these small pieces of shrapnel memorabilia. Srina snapped back when the sound of his voice touched her again and it felt like she was coming up from deep beneath a drowning pool.

Finally, finding air.

Replaying his words in her mind she let her eyes open so she could look at him in the mirror again. The response was delayed, as if, she couldn't quite decide whether or not his jest was actually true. It held more weight than she wanted it to. "I should not…", the admittance was soft. Were it anyone else she might have put them on their ass for mocking her. "The Dread Queen should not."

"…But we do."

Deeply.

"Do you not feel it?"

The glaring sense of loss when they were separated by great distances? Did he never find himself reaching for her when she wasn't there? Srina had caught herself on more than one occasion with phantom images of him clouding her judgment. It was…troublesome, but she couldn't bear to push him out of her mind. Out of her heart. He belonged there as easily as air belonged in her lungs.

She watched in their reflection, once more, while he began to weave white-gold hair into a complex pattern that would have pleased even her Clan Elders. Picky, as they were. The plaits were smooth and precise without a single hair out of place. He did not pull no matter how tangled it became. Srina was slow to realize the style he had chosen, but, when she did…She felt something immeasurable. It was without name, warm, and lovely as the dawn.

The arrival of a new child.

Srina had taken him at his word before. That—He wished for children. That he wished to combine their lives in the final and most meaningful way. But those were merely words. This was different. The elegant braid Maliphant wove was a promise of whispered things that only he could give. Her expression softened while she watched him in the mirror, only, to find herself looking at something she didn't recognize. Something that filled her with an ironically unfamiliar emotion. Dread.

Crimson, blood red. Shadow.

Srina backed up into him as if she'd been struck.

It was only a moment. A mirage, at best. Her mind was still trapped on the battlefield obviously but she couldn't help it when her hand reached up and found his without looking. She found it solid, fingers entwining. Not shadow. His hair was as white as snow, as her own, not red. Her jaw set tight. She knew the difference between a lingering trauma and a force-vision. What the—

"Srina, are you alright?"​

She did not respond if only because she wished not to lie. The warmth she had felt, something so close to happiness that it hurt, was now tainted by whatever it was that the Force wanted her to see. No matter how far away they were she had always been able to feel him. Strong, even, in captivity. For a moment she'd only known what felt like a whisp. A ghost. She breathed carefully. In—Out.

Was she all right? The truth?

"I…Do not know. Perhaps I am merely…Hungry. Tired."

She sounded uncertain, confused.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant clenched his jaw in concern for the briefest second, then relaxed as her hand fell away from his. He kissed her gently on her neck and moved to finish the braid - his hands suddenly working much faster, intwining themselves with the Force as he brought all the delicate strength he had trained to do something as simple as finish her hair.​

​

"Then we shall feed you, Ensure you can sleep.", he said with a frown.​

​

In a matter of seconds he had completed the braid, with such curious accuracy he seemed to shake some slight exhaustion from his fingers, as though to cool them off. He smiled, sprayed her hair with a spritz of water to keep it well formed while it dried, and dabbed a touch of lavender oil behind her ears. He motioned for her to follow as he walked from the bathroom back into his room.​

​

It was large with all the space fairing luxury one would expect of someone like Maliphant. Obsidian tiling, gold grout lines, a library that would make a coruscanti scholar blush - and a bed carefully maintained. He unclipped his armor's straps, letting them fall free only to grasp them with the Force and put them on a nearby display case. It sealed when the last section of the plate was free, and then he changed into something far more comfortable.​

​

A simple ship, loose pants similar to training garb, all black as he tended to wear.​

​

"Food should be ready in the next room, Srina.", he said, offering her a reassuring smile as he rested a hand on her shoulder.​

​

"How long can you stay this time?"​

​

Srina Talon​

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| INFIRMARY |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

The feeling of fingers moving through her hair was a familiar comfort. It reminded her of kneeling at the feet of her elders, bonding, as a youngling with her brothers and sisters. The first time she'd come of age and officially entered a combat ring had been predicated on a moment just like this. Even, the scent of some sweet snow flower. On Eshan—it was a mix of azure rose and moonflower. Here?

Lavender.

Silvery orbs fluttered open when she felt the air shift, only to close them quickly, while he sprayed something on her hair. She didn't really know what it was but she'd been caught in the eyes before by an overzealous droid with a can of aquanet. The light mist was a refreshing surprise. The young woman obeyed the barely there gesture for her to follow without thought. As if guided by a string attached to her waist. Her bare footsteps were soundless, graceful, and just barely kissed the tile.

Her expression was blank—but that wasn't entirely out of the ordinary.

It was her distraction.

Srina Talon was one of the most singularly focused individuals in the galaxy. When tasked with a mission she would complete it no matter the cost, personal, or otherwise. To realize that her mind was moving through light-speed about a vision that lasted only part of a second would be disconcerting. She couldn't forget the sight of him. Unfinished, hollowed. With a shock of crimson hair that could only be likened to blood. She'd never seen or felt him that way.

Prayed, she never would.

She had grown accustomed to his tastes, mostly, through exposure. Srina was a being of simplistic functionality and often missed the finer points of fashion and aesthetics. That didn't stop her from moving slowly, curiously, taking in his private quarters. She was particularly curious about the veritable library he had on hand and found herself wandering toward the stacks while he changed into something less formal. "Have you read them all?", the question was soft, inquisitive, and barely there.

Her mind was still elsewhere.

A light touch to her shoulder pulled her back to the present and her hands fell to tighten the robe about her form. Searching for some sense of security. While battle-worn nerves had been tested, truly, she had only just begun to settle in his presence. To become Srina Talon. Not, the Dread Queen. That had been upended. She moved toward the direction Maliphant directed and let her nose pull her the rest of the way. Had he anticipated that she'd be hungry? Surely, he didn't have these things just waiting at the ready.

At the question of how long she could stay, she paused.

"It depends.", she returned softly, before the Echani fell into motion once more. Things were tumultuous. They always were. It didn't matter whether her people were a towering nation that spanned hundreds of systems or a simple group in a small pocket of the expanse. It never changed. War, death, mayhem, never left. Never stopped.

She could never lay down her sword.

"If the followers of the Unmaker disbanded after the loss of their general my presence will not be immediately required. I may remain. Until…", she trailed off, staunching certain words.

…Until her Master called her home.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Most of them, wrote a few myself.", he said with a smile.

When they sat down to eat at a small but immaculately set table, Maliphant waited for Srina to begin eating before he tried his own. The meal was an exotic wellington, paired with a naboo noodle dish in a thin white sauce. A garnish of thyme, and a smell that could make a chef faint from pleasure. This wasn't Maliphants cooking, but it was close - if not slightly better.

"Until then.", Maliphant said as he cut her off. He could sense her dread at the idea, cut her off before she could finish the thought.

"Let us live in the moment, enjoy what is here and now. We can look forward to our future - of marriage, of children, of a family we deserve."

He lifted a bottle of wine with the Force and poured it for them both - a sweet red with a slight swirl in its makeup. One shade darker, one lighter - each a tantalizing compliment to the other half.

"Do not dread our struggles, Srina. We fought for the chance to do something magnificent, and here we stand as some of the greatest to ever do it. Enjoy that, take pride in it - but never dread it."

Srina Talon

 

[Srina Talon]

| A C E R B I T A S |
| DINNER TABLE |

Tag: Darth Empyrean
_________________________________________________________​

Delicate fingers trailed along the spines of several glue-bound parchment books while she passed. When she found one that interested her, she plucked it from the shelf and tucked it under her arm for the moment. He had so many—She doubted that he would mind her borrowing one for a little while. The diminutive warrior had always been studious. On Eshan, her siblings had often hated her for her. Srina had liked to read about things she had never seen, could never do because her world in that time had been so small. The petty little Clan squabbles felt so far away.

How could that compare to the struggle of an entire galaxy?

There were moments when she missed her youth. When things had seemed so very, very small.

She let him lead her toward a small table, filled with things that smelled so mouth-watering it made her stomach feel all the emptier. The Echani couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten anything other than military rations. The Ascendancy public believed that the Exarch was on sabbatical. Taking time away, for the first time, since she'd set foot in the southern systems. There were jokes and rumors aplenty that she had run off with her lover…But they didn't know.

Her Master had sent her to deal with things that were better left unsaid.

When Maliphant interrupted her words, she had to swallow an unwanted flinch. He hadn't meant it as harshly as it sounded. But, her crippled wings had not yet healed. Certain insecurities would always exist because this was the area of her life in which she failed. The battlefield, she knew. This? Quiet dinners and speaking of the future. To not be worried about what lingered just over the horizon?

How could she not hold caution?

Quietly, she picked up a piece of flatware and began to nibble at the veritable feast he had requested. Srina had eaten dinner with him enough to know when he had and hadn't cooked something. Still, it was good. He was turning her, slowly but surely, into a meat eater. With the book she had stolen tucked away almost kittenishly in her lap, she only looked up to follow the bottle of wine as it hovered. "Until then.", soft, acceptance.

Slowly…She started to settle. It was hard not to do in the warmth of silk nightclothes and an oversized robe. Srina was used to cold nights. Evenings that were so dark, so frigid, that not even tapas could chase off the chill. Where her fingers froze to the bone and her breath was little more than mist while tracking the movements of the servants to the Unmaker. "…I do not dread our struggles, Rhysiôn."

"I look forward to raising a family but…The past haunts. It does not easily let go."

She had already failed her first child. Srina could not stand the thought of moving through such emptiness again. To see the love, for her, and for what they had lost—in Maliphant—as she had seen it in Aryn Teth. "The present is hard enough to discern let alone the future. There is something…"

She paused, silver eyes flickering. Almost looking through him.

"A vision. An omen. I see you there…But…"

A frustrated sigh escaped her and she filled her gob with food instead. She didn't know how to put into words what she had seen. She held pride; In him. In herself. But her pride was linked to her ability to rain terror down on those who stood in her way. To enact vengeance with the precision of a scalpel. She only had one dread, one fear, that rang true. Red. Red hair, metal eyes.

Aching, empty heart.

"I don't want to lose you."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant rose from his seat as she chewed on the food - letting his fingers drag across the table until he met her. His digits trailed up her arm and rested in a light grip on her chin. Moving her head slightly, he rested a small kiss on her cheek.

"Srina, my night sky...", he said in her native echani. It was close to fluent, with the slightest accent of the core.

"The chains of a dozen slave masters could not break me. The Darkstaff could not steal me away - a vision, an omen, will not take me from you."

He lowered himself to beneath her height, holding himself up on his haunches.

"I can not, and will not, leave you. You are not alone in your fear - I worry about what our children will someday experience, but I know deeper that our guidance, our will, can help ensure they are not so easily toppled. They will see pain, they will experience hardship -"

He rested a hand over hers.

"- and they will make us proud, because we will be here. Together. Because there is nothing in this galaxy that could hold me back from you or ours."

Srina Talon