Fancy seeing you here[Complete]

[Allyson Locke]

Nar Shadaa

A cloud of smoke hung in the middle of the Cantina and in the middle of the cloud was a rather lost and confused Jedi Padawan. Of course no one knew the girl was a Jedi, she looked like everyone else. Her blonde hair twisted up and out of her face in a cute French up do, her face had a hint of make-up nothing too much. A thin black tank top hung from her shoulders while her slender legs wore a form fitting pair of black pants. Not being able to stray too far from her roots, a pair of black knee high boots finished off the look.

It was easy getting into the Cantina, ever since meeting Ashin she had learned to master some of the similar mind skills of the force. She made the bouncer believe she was old enough and he let her right in. A few men in the bar even bought her a drink, of course sensing their lustful emotions she would giggle and then ‘forget’ the drink on the bar top. She moved through the crowd till she got to a place where she could easily been seen by the person she was meeting. She wanted to keep an eye out, but the cantina started to play one of her favorite songs, so instead she stood there on the dance floor and dance happily swaying her hips to the beat enjoying her first time in a Cantina.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The dingy, smokey cantina throbbed with the kind of music that Ashin had always considered below her. In some ways, middle-class scion though she was, she knew herself to be something of a snob. She wove her way through the crowd, her long, thin braids rustling around her shoulders like snakes. It was probably time for a haircut -- but she should have thought of that before the last time her hair was braided.

She spied an unmistakable blonde, dressed nothing at all like either Jedi or Sith. For her part, Ashin wore something lower-key, just a sleeveless tank and black slacks. Spencer looked...well, Spencer looked ready to live a little.

The people dancing around Spencer had a new arrival. Ashin was, to her mind, a rather poor dancer, and what she did was understated, simple. Something about being a Sith Lord, having responsibilities, made it...rather difficult to dance well or energetically. She caught Spencer's gaze, then flicked her eyes toward a side booth.

 

[Allyson Locke]

It didn’t take long for Spencer to notice Ashin; the girl could sense the woman a mile away. There was something about Ashin that Spencer memorized from their time together. She looked over her shoulder and caught Ashin’s gaze, she knew that gaze well and knew exactly where to go with her next step. Pulling away from a young man, Spencer batted away his hands as he tried to grab onto her to keep her close to him. Using the force a little, she blocked him from reaching out for her again and took her leave to where Ashin had directed her.

Taking a seat in the small booth she smiled happily. She was always happy to see Ashin, she really didn’t know why but she was. Despite the fact that Ashin was now the all-powerful Sith Lord, Spencer really didn’t care about titles or who was her enemy. In the end, Ashin had taught her a lot and from time to time gave her a reason to do what she was doing.

Patting the seat next to her, Spencer scooted to give the woman enough room.

“Hey! I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to see you. I’ve missed you.”

 

[Ashin Varanin]

A smile stole over Ashin's face. The comfortable part of the shadowed booth was just big enough for the both of them, and Spencer was...well, affectionate, in pleasant ways. Away from the contrived physicality of Sirella, touch had other nuances of meaning. Her leg against Spencer's was a comfortable thing. She looped her arm over the Padawan's shoulders and slouched down against the shapeless padding of the seat back. "You too," she said with a wry grin. "I brought you a couple of presents. Hope you like'em."

She fished a slim box out of the pocket of her slacks.

"Pure glitterstim. It gives normal people a taste of your gift -- empathy -- but not so much that it's overwhelming. I'm very, very curious to see how much you like being able to see farther, feel more. I'm also a little curious to try it myself."

With her free hand, she cracked the box and pulled out strands of flexible crystalline spice. Blue sparks danced on the fibres. "Light activates it, so use it quick. Should melt right on the tongue." She slipped half of it into her own mouth, then handed Spencer the rest.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer felt her body grow hot as she realized Ashin’s leg against her own, the touch was so casual and easy that she did her best to stop her body from reacting to it. It didn’t take long for her to forget it especially when Ashin revealed the gift she had brought. The glitterstims were very pretty; Spencer had seen them before when she had done some research on her empathy back at the temples. In her opinion why would anyone want to have a taste of her gift – though one always wondered about things they didn’t have.

She smiled and watched as Ashin broke the first one. The color was beautiful and Spencer wanted to try it. She wondered what the effects were even though she was already an Empath, a rather strong one at that with no control. Grasping the glitterstim, she brushed her fingers softly against the back of Ashin’s hand which caused her to quickly ingest the glitterstim. Her face red and her tongue focusing on the taste of the drug she looked towards Ashin. Nothing seemed too different, but then she was quickly bombarded with a storm of emotions from everyone. People wanted sex, high off their socks on drugs, loneliness, and excitement. It was an overload, but what was interesting – she could feel her own emotions.

“Ashin, this I’ve never felt things so clearly before”

Laughing excitedly she placed her hand on the Sith Lord’s leg. Once Spencer realized where her hand was she looked down and turned a bright red – it was at this time she completely forgot Ashin could feel anything that she was feeling.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The touch was not entirely unexpected. More than once, Ashin had noticed a flush, a glance -- and a decided willingness to create space between Spencer and males in general. A true Sith, as some people reckoned such things, would have used this moment to create a stronger bond.

Then again, so would anyone. Friendship was like that, and if Spencer wanted something more...

Well, it was unconscionable. Ashin was ten years her senior, for one thing. But Spencer had proven her worth in the parliament chambers of Gand. She was an adult, too, as most worlds reckoned it.

Which left only the question of whether Ashin might reciprocate. It had been a long time since Tamzar Ranox, and in that time Ashin had found herself caught up with decidedly interesting women. Linna Beorht, for example, or Kayla Masi. Her prolonged flirtation with the latter had never taken root, so to speak.

And, in the end, she was lonely.. So when Spencer rested her hand on Ashin's thigh, Ashin sighed and pulled her closer, side against side. "I can feel what it's like to be you," she said. Her voice sounded far away, to her ears. "You really can feel everything, can't you. I said I had two presents for you," she added after a moment, as a song grew loud and she leaned in close to speak in Spencer's ear. "The second one's a mark, sort of. So I can find you anywhere."

She bit her own lip and leaned around, just so, to kiss Spencer lightly. A drop of Ashin's blood burned the Padawan's lower lip, and a subtle echo of that pain carried through the glitterstim empathy to Ashin.

The Dark Lord drew back a little, searching Spencer's eyes. "The sting will fade in a second. It'll leave a little mark."

 

[Allyson Locke]

What happened next caught Spencer by surprise, she was pulled closer and she listened to Ashin understand what it was like to be her on a daily basis the Padawan nodded. Everything around her was felt any emotion that someone conveyed strong enough, Spencer felt it. It had always been that way, the older she got the easier it was to pinpoint where it was coming from. Either way, the glitterstim enhanced her empathy; she felt the sudden surge of loneliness from Ashin. It was something she never picked up from the woman, maybe it was she was good at hiding it or maybe she didn’t’ realize the feeling until now. The emotion made Spencer move closer, she wanted to comfort the Sith Lord knowing all too well that feeling.

Her next gift, the first one almost made her forget that Ashin had said she had two for her. For one of the first times in Spencer’s life she actually leaned in and accepted openly a kiss from someone. Though unlike the others this one stung a little and after a moment, Spencer pulled back and lightly touched her lip with her free hand. So now Ashin could find where ever she was. Part of her found this to be quite touching and it made her feel important, but the other half of her wondered the purpose of this. Either way, her mind focused on the enjoyment of the kiss.

“I—I don’t know what to say…but I learned something that I wanted to show you…”

With the same hand that was touching her lip moved forward hesitantly, the tips of her fingers glowed a soft dim light which radiated warmth. The light caressed along Ashin’s face showing the warmth, as she passed down the woman’s jaw she allowed the warm fingertips to brush against the woman’s skin. Touch was something Spencer wasn’t used too, especially her touching someone else. She wanted another kiss; she wanted to feel that touch once again. Though she hesitated wondering if the only reason why the touch happened was because of Ashin’s desire to mark her. Spencer remained close as she leaned forward and brushed her lips softly against the same cheek she had touched earlier. Her innocence was apparent with her shy movements, but her hand never left Ashin’s leg in fact it moved a little higher up along the woman’s thigh.

“As you can feel everything I feel…you can feel how much I’ve missed you…”

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The words themselves might have made Ashin pull away, indecisive for once, but Spencer was right -- the drug did ensure that Ashin knew exactly how Spencer felt. And Spencer would be feeling what Ashin felt in return. Their emotions formed a reciprocating pattern that amplified itself. A very, very slippery slope. Ashin took an unexpectedly shaky breath, and made a decision. The cantina booth was cozy, and cozy was good. She wanted to pull the girl closer -- but any closer might actually be painful. And right now, nerves and heat aside, their guiding star was comfort.

"Spencer," she said, "that was...a really, really useful thing you just did. That'll keep you alive. But it's warm in here already. What you need is something like this."

Her hand on Spencer's far shoulder slipped up against the strap of the tank top, and a breath of cold -- not shocking, but refreshing -- touched Spencer from neck to hip.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer held her breath, it was the only thing that felt like a logical response to Ashin's hand and battle worn fingers against her tender unscathed skin. The coolness was refreshing especially now that her entire body was on fire. Looking towards Ashin she felt the indecision of the powerful Sith.

"That felt nice...I really liked it..."

Words of course utterly failed her. She didnt know what to say. She was full of emotions and they made her heart race faster. Deciding the only way to fully express her feelings she focused on them. She wanted Ashin to feel everything.

Spencer focused on how she felt at this moment and how happy she was to be around Ashin...how safe and sure she was about the Empress. Building some courage up she leaned forward and nuzzled softly against Ashin's neck. The girl stopped to check her reaction still coy about the entire situation. She didnt need alcohol, the drug and the swirl enhancement of the empathy she already possessed was enough to make her act on her emotions

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The Dark Lord of the Sith took the emotional wave with a wide-eyed blink, nestling in as Spencer moved in on her neck. She worked for words, and found herself just slightly at a loss.

"I, ah...feth, are you ever adapting to glitterstim fast." She laughed as Spencer's nose tickled the side of her neck, a gentle chuckle. "I'd say we should do this more often, but bit glit too often and you end up...pretty fried. But I needed to know what it would be like to do this to you. With you. For you, really. You've got so much potential. It kills me to see Sirella treating you like a toy. I rule a quarter of the galaxy, but sometimes, in my heart of hearts, when I'm with you I just feel like a moth looking at a fire."

Right beneath her heart, there was a sense of heaviness, heat, excitement, standing on the edge of a cliff.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer leaned back into Ashin as she felt that her actions were accepted. A part of her was scared that the woman would think twice and move away despite the emotions.Spencer was on cloud nine, she was able to focus on Ashin and herself. It was an amazing feeling.

Spencer moved her free hand and placed it in the middle of Ashin's chest. She was curious to feel and see if her heart was racing as fast. The blush on her face deepened though more than likely went unnoticed. Holding her breathe for a moment she focused on her gift and the rare communication they were sharing.

Finally the padawan spoke.

"Is that why you try not to leave me alone with her?"

Her voice lowered as she spoke as if what she was about to say was a secret.

"You wish to keep me...to yourself?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Spencer was rapidly running out of hands, and it was abundantly clear to the Dark Lord of the Sith that she had the entirety of the girl's attention. She rather wished she had more glitterstim. It would simplify certain things.

But then again, those certain things were becoming extremely simple.

“Yes,” she said truthfully. “Not always...that kind of jealousy, of course. Jealousy is a complicated thing. You're a prodigy – she and I both see how useful you could be. But people are more than their abilities. More than how much they can amuse or entertain. You're not a toy and you're not a tool, Spencer. I want you to myself because you're a person. An adult. Someone I like, quite a lot.”

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer's hazel eyes fluttered, no one had ever talked to her like this. Even when she knew the other person had something for her they would never tell her. Spencer was used to being treated like a child, she always was looked after.

She swelled with happiness as she stared straight into the woman's unnaturally pale blue eyes. They were unique and she knew she could never forget them, the way they look at her.

"No one has told me that, its why I stay with you. You make me feel so many things and I feel important. I like you a lot too Ashin I want to see you all the time. ..kt makes me happy"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Honey, there'll always be people who want you to feel important."

The pet name slipped off her tongue unintentionally, as if her subconscious was trying to seduce Spencer. Then again, certain things. Simplicity.

"That's why I'm so happy that you like me for me, not because I could push your buttons if I wanted to. But by now, with the glit in our systems, sharing emotion and sensation like this, I think you could push my buttons too. That's not the sort of vulnerability I'm supposed to have in my job. Then again, you're a part of my life that's really nobody's business." She brushed Spencer's hair back from her temple and leaned in to rest against the girl, forehead to forehead, nose to nose. Her long, thin, dark braids rustled around their faces like a curtain.

"Do you want-"

She bit her tongue.

 

[Allyson Locke]

A wide smile plastered onto Spencer's face, a pet name from someone who wasn't looking after her. Her heart fluttered and she wondered if that's what people would call your heart skipping a beat. The Jedi nodded in agreement it didn't matter who Ashin was and it didn't matter that she was in essence a being meant to be a mortal enemy. Spencer saw her as another being to build a bond with.

Before she could respond to Ashin's comment, the woman's warmth closed in. Instead of skipping a beat Spencer could have sworn her hear stopped all together. Unlike before where she was just staring at Ashin she was now feeling the warmth of her breath as she started her question.

She stopped. Spencer blinked a few times, she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. Her mind was clouded but the exchange of emotions and the sudden obsession to taste her lips once more.

"I-"

Spencer started, but couldn't finish talking. She leaned forward a hand resting on the scared face of the other woman and she pressed her lips ever so softly sharing coy and innocent kiss.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The glitterstim mindlink carried Ashin's response as clearly as if she had spoken it.

Yes.

She returned the kiss simply enough. The best kisses were always simple, to her mind. Simple and firm, no random, flailing experimentation masked as creativity. She pulled Spencer closer -- Force, I've got ten years on the kid -- and decided, once and for all, to give in.

The kiss tasted like glitterstim.

She came up for air eventually. "I have a room," she said evenly, deliberately. The kiss had let her get her thoughts in order. "Just down the street. Do you want to come up?" Spencer was straightforward; Ashin could be so, too.

 

[Allyson Locke]

This time around there wasnt a trickle of pain. Her curiosity went with the lack of pain. Spencer experianced her first long sensual kiss, nothing anyone had ever done to this point lived up to it. Ashin broke the kiss and Spencer attempted to reclaim the older woman's lips. Spencer stopped when Ashin spoke.

"A room? Okay I want to be with just you now."

The cantina had lost its magic which could have been said when Ashin had entered the scene. It took every ounce of Spencer's will to get up from the booth.

"Lead the way"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

They had held hands before, once, when Ashin led Spencer towards or away from some kind of danger -- either in the jungles of that island on Mon Cal, or in the jungles of Sirella's herd ship. The Dark Lord couldn't recall, but she was happy to overwrite the memory, leading Spencer through the cantina and out the door. A cool breeze plastered her sleeveless shirt to her belly, and she sighed in relief. "Too warm in there," she said. "I'd rather have a little jolt, a little cold to make me feel alive."

With Spencer's small hand in hers, smooth against scarred, Darth Desmius walked down the street. Here on Nar Shaddaa that meant an outcropping over a long and grungy fall. But the apartment complex at the end of the street was in good repair and well secured. "I bought a room here when I realized how much business I would be doing here. To be honest, I hoped you would pick that cantina when we talked about where to meet. We might have been on the same wavelength even before the glitterstim."

She said it casually enough, and the clean, proper door guard had no visible reaction. This sort of place came equipped with privacy.

The turbolift opened into a cozy rooftop suite, nothing ostentatious. Ashin clenched her fist, and wood ignited in the actual fireplace. A huge soft chair, suitable for two, sat before the fire.

"I'd break out more glitterstim, but I'd rather be...all here. Totally aware, totally deliberate."

She pulled Spencer down onto the chair.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer admired everything that was apart of the living quarters. She had never seen anything as intimate as this about Ashin. Spencer was constantly being surprised by everything. Of course she had grown up in the temple so the beauty of the room surpassed anything she had ever seen in her life.

She looked around and her attention was grabbed by the fire. It was warm and set an ambiance to the room. Slowly being led, like she always had been with Ashin. The woman pulled her to the couch and she instead decided to straddle the Empress' lap.

Her arms draped over Ashin's shoulders as she pondered what was said. The Ashin she knew was all business so it made sense that she would have a business reason to be here. A soft giggle escaped her lips, she enjoyed the closeness.

"Even though I enjoy connecting to you like we have been I want the same. My favorite moment with you besides tonight was Gand. When I felt what it was like to have your force energy inside of mine."

Reaching over she ran her finger tips first along Ashin's thin braids then against her scars. It was as if they told the young empath a story, she smiled and gave the Sith a tender kiss on the cheek.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Spencer's choice of...posture...was a warm and welcome surprise, and Ashin looped her arms around the small of Spencer's back companionably. The fire's radiance was warming the girl's skin between belt and shirt, and she settled her hands there, hooking the belt with her thumbs.

"That was...a fascinating feeling," she agreed. "I'm not sure if I could come up with a task quite that powerful for us, and it wouldn't have quite the same quality without a task, if we did it again. It wouldn't feel like...good exercise, say. Pushing ourselves to our limits. Then again, there's no harm in trying. I think it's about to rain, come to think of it."

She gestured, and huge windows opened all around the rooftop suite, exposing a nighttime city overcast by thick low clouds. Far away, lightning crackled.

"Stay right here, with me...and let's control the storm."