No! Don't leave me!
Elise was shocked by her own thoughts, as Malum stated that he would be on his way. She didn't want him flying away again, into the darkness of Sith territory, leaving her again. It had been
her who drove him off from Archais, but she had not wanted to. For the betrayal of finding out his nature as a Sith, and for her ordering he leave her homeworld, she had never stopped... caring... about him.
That much was obvious, when his well being tormented her so when he infiltrated the old Destroyer above this planet.
She winced her expression away as she tended to him, tears flooding her eyes. She was so confused! Her feelings concerning Malum were unlike anything she felt for anyone else ever. How could she possibly admit it though, when they were supposed to be enemies?
Supposed...
Perhaps, Elise was not so confused. Perhaps, she knew
exactly how things were between them. Perhaps, she was simply in denial, for reality broke her heart.
When Malum moved to force himself away from her, Elise looked up in shock. Her concern for his wounds, combined with her desire for him, made her jump in front of him. She extended her hands to grab his shoulders, to stop him, when his own legs buckled from the wounds. And in an instant, Elise's back thudded against the ground.
"Umph!"
She realized instantly what was happening, and her face turned deep red. This was not the first time Malum accidentally found himself on top of Elise, and it earned the same reaction. Elise's embarrassment over the predicament, combined with her body and heart begging for his increased closeness. Her legs were on each side of Malum's body, as Malum struggled against her chestplate. Her hands held his arms still. Unlike her, he wore no armor. Only his soft, thin clothes. Her gauntlet covered hands felt his muscular, shaking arms the best they could. Her beskar'gam kept her from anything else. But, as Elise looked down at his long, black hair, she could not help the amused expression on her face. With a mixture of sorrow and snarkiness, she spoke.
"You can't keep away from me, can't you?"
She frowned, realizing that the movements likely increased his blood loss. She lifted a hand from his arm, touching his head.
"Sorry, Malum, you're not going to make it back like this. You're coming with me."
Was she doing this because she truly thought it was the only option for his survival? Or was she doing this because...
She sighed, pushing herself to her feet as she crouched. She swept the flustered Malum in her arms, holding him like a bride, as she rose to a standing position. Despite her thin and small appearance, she was a fully trained Mandalorian warrior. She was surprisingly strong for her size, allowing her to hold Malum in her arms. Elise herself was quite flustered by this, but she had to focus on getting him to her dorm safely. As she blushed wildly, looking anywhere but his face, she announced her plan.
"I'm cloaking us. Try not to move too much, if you break physical contact it'll ruin my transfer."
She closed her eyes, using a combination of Force Cloak and Force Stealth on the both of them combined. As they faded into the shadows, Elise started to walk him towards her dormitory.
Elise checked to make sure that they had not been followed one more time. She glanced outside the door, cloaking devices and powers still up, before closing and locking it behind her a final time. She uncloaked, letting herself become visible to the sole person in her dorm once more. She checked the lock out of paranoia before turning around, facing the young Sith sitting on her cot. Elise's dorm was in terrible shape. It was a small, plain room with metal grey walls and a metal floor. Numerous boxes and crates were laid across the room, holding possessions and equipment that were either yet to be unpacked or used for sloppy storage. In one corner of the room, gardening gloves and an apron stunk from outdoor work, yet to be washed. Elise blushed in embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled nervously.
"Sorry it's such a mess! I haven't had time to organize things."
Or rather, she did not
take the time to organize things. She was too busy obsessing over her work.
She pulled her crushgaunts off, her bare hands visibly blistered from her life of hard labor. She tossed the gauntlets onto the nearest crate and walked towards a seemingly random crate. As she did so, she reached behind her and loosened her breastplate. She pulled the beskar plate off, laying it against the wall, as she finally breathed more easily. As she heaved in air, however, she was forgetting how tight her armorweave was on her. She pulled oppe the crate, pulling out her medical kit. She walked towards Malum, opening the large case. She set it on the cot next to Malum, pulling his cloak off him and adjusting his clothes to properly work with his wounds. She knelt at the side of the cot, pulling medical gloves on her hands. She pulled a tray out and placed it on the cot, also taking some tweezers out and leaning in, applying razor sharp focus on the task ahead of her.
"This'll hurt at times. Please don't move, it'll potentially make your injuries worse."
She reached with the tweezers, into his wounds. The red, irritated flesh was visibly disturbed by the dirt and sand of Mandalore's climate. But even worse were the shining metallic pieces in the wounds. With the precision of a medical droid, she gently gripped the first slug round and pulled gracefully. The tweezers emerged from the wound, and she lowered it to the tray. Tap! The round plopped into the tin as Elise already started on the second one.
Only after she started on it did it actually hit her, the more or less intimate position they were in. Her cheeks flushed red once more, as she fought the temptation to sneak peaks at his exposure. But her care for his well being overrode the attraction, and she never once broke focus as she delicately pulled shrapnels from his open wounds. Tap! Tap! Tap! The slug rounds plopped into the tray. As she focused on the task at hand, she remained deathly silent. She was so engrossed in her operation, she was unable to even distract him with conversation, for it would distract herself. The pink had left her face, as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. She continued on, plopping more rounds into the bin. She tried to make it as painless as she could, but safety came first and foremost. It was the best she could do, for the man who had stolen her heart...
Darth Malum of House Marr