Housebreaking Tuk'ata: easy as it sounds?

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=9pt] “Magnificent, aren’t they?” she asked, not looking over her shoulder to Kail though she knew he was there. (He didn’t have to speak, she could hear him if he thought in her direction, a concept that had been strange at first but now flowed like water.) She was getting more and more used to his presence, a constant that seemed to bring her a sense of being more grounded. If he were not there she knew she’d feel it. The ability to sense him (it’s your head, I can hear the low hum of your thoughts) was useful just then since she couldn’t chance a glance at him as the Tuk’ata in their cages snarled and shot their paws out between rungs to rend her in half. Though older, they were still puppies and therefore manageable to train – any larger and they would be impossibly wild and dangerous, sith-spawn to their roots. As it was their heads came to Matsu’s, mouths wide with lethally sharp teeth begging to taste her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Taming them seemed as good a first lesson as any for Kesare.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Their snarling grew unbearable and Matsu curled her lip at them. (Enough…enough.) Her gaze, unwavering and direct, seemed to cow them momentarily and she took a breath, letting the amber swirl out of her irises before turning to Kail.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] It had been a few weeks since collecting the Ravager and Kail’s sacrifice, and in them she’d watched him become something she wondered if he ever thought possible. (It would be easy to slip inside his head and read him like a book, but she refused to breach his privacy. His mind was his own and she did not touch unless it was invited or the images she was planting were of a nature she thought he might enjoy.) The Fringe surgeons had said six weeks for the jaw to heal and then they could see about taking the brace off. They had offered to construct something to hold it in place themselves while Kail lay unconscious, the cage still wrapped around his face in the doctor’s hesitancy to remove it and further damage the area, but Matsu had refused. She pulled together a backing for the cage on her own and fit it to the back of his head when he’d come to, metal and vicious to match its front.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] And he truly did not look monstrous – as dangerous as the Tuk’ata behind her in human form. (There’s nothing wrong – embrace who you are. Important. Deadly. A man with purpose.) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She snaked towards him across the massive room, the only place in the Pit within Annaj that it was somewhat intelligent to release two massive hell-hounds bent on destroying everything. Matsu had fought and won against things four times their size and far angrier, but two lives besides her own were on the line – lives she cared about. So she supposed some prudence was called for. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Now all they needed was Kesare. It would be her best friend’s first time meeting Kail. If she knew her apprentice – and she did – the opportunity would not just be in meeting the man that Matsu mentioned so often, but in sizing him up. And if he did not pass muster, then there would be more than hell to pay. A strange dynamic to say the least, where Matsu should strike down the one who should certainly not be speaking against her…but it was Kesare. And what would a normal dynamic be there?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Kail Ragnar"] | [member="Kesare Salazar"][/SIZE]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

Still breathing, still standing and still with Matsu Xiangu, Sith Knight, Kail Ragnar felt more alive than ever, standing tall in the place known as ‘The Pit’ on the Outer Rim world of Annaj. The barbaric metal brace was tight on his head, and in his vision he could see the pointed edge, a vicious dagger, resting above his nose where the brace ended. It was heavy, but now it had been nearly a month since Matsu had pulled it from the Sith statue that attacked them and used it to near enough save his life.

Stumbling in and out of consciousness for the first few days, he remembered little but had been told everything since about the events in the tomb and what followed with Matsu’s colleagues – servants – in her secret order. The Fringe.

It hurt like hell to speak, but it was the only way he was going to heal and maintain his sanity with words rather than let the wounds cripple him for good. A small hallow was visible where broken bone and pulped muscle had been removed in his jaw, a dark skin-graft and extensive scarring running from the base of his mouth up the left side of his head, curving just under his cheek where they had peeled him open, fixed what they could, and zipped him back up like a doll.

Six broken teeth and a split gum.
Difficulty eating and talking.
Living off food capsules, liquids and daily injections of strong nutrients and proteins.
Two infections.
Erratic bleeding from distressed nerves and bone irritation.
Numbness down the left side of his face.
Dead muscle and stiches inside his mouth.
Internal metal plate to support the bone.
Constant aches and pains, and lack of control of some salivary glands.

Apart from the checklist of injury and complication that had taken away everything he valued as a respectable man with everything to give, he was now a broken man who was bitter, angry and ravaged with discomfort and pain. Matsu had done all she could, and for that he was grateful, but sleepless nights due to discomfort and nightmarish visions only gave him one recurring question:

Why didn’t she just leave me there to die? I'm not living. Just existing.

One day he needed the answer, but right now he was embracing the fact he was still standing and able to function normally – well, as good as one could be after nearly losing half your face.

Watching her before the horrific, snarling hounds that were dangerously close to her in the cage, Kail still had the urge to step forward and move her away, but she had proven time and time again she could take care of herself, and besides, this was HER territory and he was the one out of his depth by being here surrounded by an air of evil, corruption and power. It felt good.

”Mhm.” Not exactly his usual reply, but it was enough for her to know he agreed and it didn’t hurt as much when making sounds rather than words.

The beasts continued to wail and rattle the cage as Matsu came to him. As she did, Kail held himself firm and confident, able to hold the weight of the brace and using the discomfort and imposing frame of it to fuel his anger with his own failure to try and stand strong before her, watching her all the time and absorbing everything about her.

Kail wasn’t in a position to lead, but now to heal and follow, and he would follow Matsu as far as he could manage to go. With the arrival of the one known as Kesare anytime soon, he was more than eager to meet one who she held in such high esteem and for what she would bring.

He eyed Matsu as he crossed his arms over his sandy-brown tee-shirt, the armoured vest and sandy shirt discarded for now as they were around allies, and thankfully a new pair of Fringe provided black combat trousers and boots to wear. Kail was getting there, slowly.


[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

Today was the day she would be tested (can I do this? what if I fail you?) No. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t. Failure was not something that she was willing to settle for and she would make sure to see that it was not offered in the stack of cards dealt to her. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins and bringing her back to life, she would be prepared for whatever challenge Matsu threw at her (and she knew that it wouldn’t be easy when her friend could see all of the potential she held in the palm of her hand) Natural talent, you have no idea what you are capable of my little she-wolf. Take my hand and let me show you a new world. It was a strange, fascinating world to behold where promise and opportunity hid behind corners and small spaces, she never knew such wonder before and it felt like breath of fresh air.

Although she doesn’t know what today’s lesson would be, she had a hunch that whatever Matsu had up her sleeve it would not only be mentally taxing but also stretch her limits physically as she slid into her boots, lacing them tightly and holstering her saber to her hip. She twisted her hair back into a severe bun, her features all sharp angles that stared back at her in the mirror (who are you anymore?) She frowns, missing something until the realization settles against her shoulders and completes the appearance by shading her lips a deep burgundy. Glancing at the time she knows if she doesn’t leave now then she will be late and if there is anyone who she doesn’t wish to keep waiting its Matsu. Setting down the steps two at a time she keeps a quick pace down the hallway, weaving around corners of the estate until she nearly collides with security and is ushered off to the private bay attached to Matsu’s estate.

It is a foreign concept, having someone else do anything for her although it wasn’t as if she didn’t take some pleasure in being looked after for a change as she feels the ship breathe to life, rumbling beneath them as she watched the man key in their location and felt the shudder of the ship as it lurched away from the ground and into the air. Looking down she watches quietly, forever in awe of how vast the galaxy was and all the wonders it contained when she knew so little (one day I will see it all, you control your destiny now) The ride is quiet and quick, no pleasantries are exchanged between them (just the way she likes it) as the vast expanse of what she assumes is the training building comes into view and she wonders where Matsu is down there with Kail, because finally after so much time she would be able to put a face to the man whose name had been more and more frequently whispered past her best friends lips. With a nod of gratitude to the man she slips out of the ship and into the building where she is met with a long corridor and several doors that lead into rooms with who knows what behind each of them open one up, maybe you’ll be in for a treat. Loud echoes of snarls and wails carry through the otherwise quiet facility and lure her closer towards the end of the hallway where she finds Matsu, Kail, and two large snarling beasts that she can only assume is today’s lesson.

With her head held high and just so she moves across the floor like a serpent ready for battle, catching the gaze of her Master and best friend she nods slightly, silent, before her gaze sifts to the hulking beast of a man standing before her. Kail was a monster of a man and it automatically left her feeling unsure, mostly because in contrast to his hulking frame she saw something behind his gaze that held …affection? (yes, it was real – it would be impossible to fake such a look) She considers him and thinks she might just like this man. MIGHT. Because with her it was never that easy, it could never just be simple. I know too much, I’ve seen too much to know what others are capable of.

But the look he wore was once she was deeply familiar with; a slip of her features would mirror his expression anytime she looked towards her best friend and if he could mirror similar affections towards the woman she held in the highest regard then she had to believe there was good hidden somewhere beneath the flesh and bone of this man. (we both love her, you might not know it yet but I can see it. I know) She would bring out his strengths and allow him to flourish just as she would teach her how to grasp her rage and wield it because she was her counterbalance – I push, she pulls and together we will one day rule the galaxy. But if you hurt her I will make you wish you’d never been born, boy. I will make you bleed. She would willingly take the blade for Matsu and she would gladly kill anyone who chose to betray her best friend.

Still, there was the issue of needing to establish order, a rank of dominance that she still was learning to let go of (survival of the fittest in a pack of wolves) Her gaze locks onto Kail’s and narrows ever so slightly and looks at him as she were reading his every thought buzzing around in that head of his (don’t worry you’re safe from me, for now) “Am I interrupting something?” She notes the closeness of the two of them, the way they stand so they are faintly positioned towards one another despite the cross of his thick arms across his chest (and the mask isn’t lost her but she chooses not to make mention of it - your business not mine) “I see you have a fun filled day for us Mat, you shouldn’t have.” Motioning towards the hell beasts that rattled in their cage, ready to come tear each of them apart. Her tone hints a playful note as she offers a small nod towards Kail, finally really acknowledging his presence. “And you must be Kail.” Looking back at Matsu, their eyes locking.

I like him.​

​

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] || [member="Kail Ragnar"]​

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=9pt] It was hard to miss something you hadn’t really gotten used to. But regardless, Matsu missed the way he had always seemed to have something snappy and approaching rude to reply to her with, unrestricted by the confines of thick metal around the greatest weapon he had against her. It was the fire in the face of something that could break him as easily as a twig that attracted her like a moth to the flame, a brazen mouth in a handsome face. She had been so tired of others bending to her will simply because she’d said so, simply because she’d looked at them and they’d bent over backwards. He had come along and essentially acted as if she were unreasonable (she was) and perhaps a little off her rocker (she was) and she’d liked it. In some ways she was human.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She had just been about to speak (you’ll be fine, you’ll come back and tell me off again, tell me I need a slap or a kiss or both and then maybe I’ll get one) when she felt the bloom of Kesare’s wolf-queen presence in the Pit. She didn’t disappoint, on time and looking ready to kill as always. There was a slink to the way she moved that matched Matsu’s serpent-slide of a body, two predators who’d grown up together and knew each other with the intimacy of time synchronized to sink their fangs in at once. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Matsu could see her sizing up Kail as she expected and she waited patiently. (Patience…since when has that been a quality you possess? Who are you now? Death. Beautiful and timeless.) The narrowed eyes, the half-turned posture – it was all wolf, wolf, WOLF and she thought ‘how ruthless, that promise there, of a quick and efficient death if something undesirable was found in the lines of the face behind the mask’. Matsu rarely, if ever read the things going on inside of Kail’s mind. It was an invasion of privacy she respected him enough to refrain from breaching despite the ease with which she could enter – but she knew Kesare had no such qualms. The she-wolf was hunting, sniffing out the blood in an otherwise pristine evergreen forest.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] (Where is your fault? I will find the thing the hidden thing, the sick thing, the thing that makes you unworthy and I will tear it down.)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She merely offered a small smile when Kesare asked if she’d entered at an inopportune moment considering it was almost Jedi levels of tame compared to the things Kesare knew Matsu to be capable of, turning her head to look at the Tuk’ata eyeing the newcomer in the room with an intelligence that the Knight was pleased to see. “What, you don’t like your pet?” she asked quietly, her fangs peeking out when she grinned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She remained quiet when her best friend turned her attention to Kail, watching the two almost as attentively as Kesare watched for a crack in Kail’s foundation. She left her mind open, trawling for thoughts in case Kail wanted to say something to Kesare he didn’t feel capable of expressing from behind the brace – Matsu played translator on several occasions for him to surgeons and specialists that reconstructed him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] But her eyes locked on Kesare’s after the question and her smile softened, a communication private and all their own, the kind of silence that made it obvious they were speaking to each other where no one else could hear. The irony of Kesare's statement wasn't lost on her (didn't I say something similar to you not that long ago?) but she chose to gloss over that for the moment, instead answering with an honesty and simplicity that surprised her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]Good. I like him too.[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=9pt][member="Kesare Salazar"] | [member="Kail Ragnar"][/SIZE]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

Sometimes, Kail wished the floor would open up and simply swallow him. He wasn’t the man he used to be, or near enough the mercenary. The pain flared up daily in his jaw, throbbing in his head and feeling like it was swelling; about to burst, about to plaster the room with flesh, blood and torn muscle.

He didn’t show it, he didn’t need to, but he knew it was evident to those with the Force power that Matsu had and the mysterious Kesare. If the floor would open and drag him into Hell, he would be free of the daily grind of aching to remove the brace and feel his face with his own hands – and for Matsu to stroke it with her soft hand – but no; he snapped himself out of the wallowing, moody state he found himself in to focus and be grateful he was alive.

Alive. This wasn’t living. This was existing.

Matsu gave him a purpose to be around and she involved him with many of her activities in and around her residence. Not all, he wasn’t that privileged, but quite a few. The looks he received now was nothing new. He was a nightmarish vision of a tall human muzzled with a prehistoric iron brace that created monstrous look to him. The muscle he had gained in exercising and working over his broken body was gradual, slightly more than he used to have, and he was eager to keep the blood pumping and the muscles working. Lifting, stretching, running, climbing; anything that pushed him that little bit further to build himself up stronger. That way, insanity wouldn’t latch onto him so easily as if he just gave up.

As he watched the two savages locked in their cage, his eyes slowly moved up to see another enter the room. He could have sworn it was the vision of Matsu from Korriban – her tightly arranged hair, pretty, yet piercing, facial features and a serpentine walk across the floor before them both. However, he knew it was Kesare and was finally able to put a face to the name Matsu often dropped into many conversations and anecdotes.

Another one. Stand tall. Don’t bend. You don’t owe anyone anything anymore.

Kail was relaxed and content with the situation, looking her over as she came before them and simply standing there, waiting – watching. When his time came, he lowered his head slightly in acknowledgement to the girl who obviously knew him just as well as he did her, and he had no doubt the picture Matsu had painted was nothing other than…complicated.

He suddenly felt…protective. Not over both women, he couldn’t care less about Kesare right now, but Matsu. She was in no danger, she wasn’t facing a threat or under pressure. This was her territory and she was the leader of the blood-thirsty wolves prowling the floor, but again, he didn’t care for anything else. He just wanted to make sure Matsu was safe and in charge and that people gave her the respect she deserved.

As Kesare met his gaze, he didn’t look away. His face was cool and composed behind the brace, and he let it radiate his menace for the first time to the outsider.

You won’t find anything in here that’s worth your time sweetheart. I’m already broken.

If Matsu wanted him gone, he would go. He wasn’t about to let anyone’s presence dictate what he should do around her, regardless of how much Force they controlled or power they had. He owed Matsu for saving his life; twice. And since he couldn’t snap people in two with a delicate flick of the wrist, all he could do was offer his body, twisted and scarred, as a reminder to others that if you underestimated Matsu’s power and drive for greatness, you wouldn’t be as lucky to be breathing as he was.

“Pleasure, Kesare.”

He blinked a second longer than he wanted, and both would pick up from that moment the pain he felt even from such a short sentence.

BAM! The disappointment hit him again, embarrassed at his visible and emotional handicap in front of not just the woman he craved and adored, but her closest friend and most powerful ally who was judging him second by second. Kail looked over to Matsu.

I’m sorry.

WEAK! You’re WEAK! Embrace this, or you’ll be tossed to those hounds for her entertainment!



[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

It is like a dance between the two of them, where neither of them stepped on each other’s toes but both of them are cautious as they attempt to feel one another out. (I haven’t found anything…YET, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped looking) because if there is one person in the entire galaxy that she cared about more than herself it was Matsu. Kesare would gladly give her life up for her counterpart, and if this brute of a man had something up his sleeve she would be the very first to sniff him out.

(I will pin you to the ground and will I rip out your throat as I watch the life flicker from your gaze until there is nothing left of you)​

​

It was impossible for her to just scrub away the protective feelings that she had when it came to her Master. It was like a reflex for her to constantly worry about her best friend even when though she knew that Matsu was more than capable of looking after herself. (someone hurt you and I will never let you feel that kind of hurt or betrayal again) Because admittedly even though she believed that she liked Kail, it didn’t mean her guard wasn’t on full alert in case she’d lost her touch of reading others. Tilting her head slightly to look up at him she does not waiver from beneath his gaze despite his intentions of appearing threatening and as her lips curl into a twisted grin.

One, two, coming for you…​

​

Unable to resist the opportunity she reached out with her mind and could faintly touch the very edges of his emotions (anything more would leave her with an unfair advantage, play fair) His pain was striking and she couldn’t begin to imagine the extent of the misery he must be enduring while looming there like some giant beast. Disconnecting herself she looks at him with an odd mixture of emotions (what are these feelings I’m experiencing?) she is not accustom to feeling sympathy for anyone except Matsu, so when she feels the unfamiliar emotion claw at her it takes her a moment to identify it (I see something of myself in you, I know what it’s like to feel broken and let the pain consume you)

Still, this isn’t a time for a pity party and she didn’t come here to hold anyone’s hand. If he wanted to choose to be passive and weak willed instead of embracing the anger and pain that would make him a force to be reckoned with then so be it (his choice not yours) He would garner no more sympathy from her, not when the world was practically in the palm of his hand and the opportunities were vast and endless. “Yes, I’m sure we’ll see what a pleasure it will be, won’t we?” Her tone is almost cruel, mocking as her gaze lingers on the brace and she sneers slightly. If YOU want to choose to BE weak then you’re with the wrong woman, she’ll eat you for breakfast. Make yourself useful, BE WORTHY.

The sneer twists into a smirk as her gaze mirrors her best friends, their eyes locking as silent words are shared between the two. “That depends, what kind of tricks can they do?” Her walls have slipped away and she is open and candid as she teases her friend. It was easy when she was with Matsu – nothing ever felt forced and she felt more alive than she had in years as the slip of happiness blankets her. (don’t get too comfortable, that would make you a fool) Slinking closer to where the hell beasts were being kept she watches them with great delight all teeth, claws and snarls that only embolden her as she looks back over her shoulder at her Master. “Don’t tell me, I get to keep one when we’re done.” Her teeth flash and she is grinning from ear to ear now. “And will it be as a pet or a new throw rug? Now that’s the ten million credit question.” Her lips twist back into something of a snarl, snapping her teeth in their direction as a challenge. I will get you my pretties.

“What are your instructions, Master?” ​

I’m ready, unleash the beasts​

​

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] || [member="Kail Ragnar"]​

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=9pt] Matsu would admit to being mercurial when it came to her personal life. In battle, in strategy, in interrogation she was ice. (Like drowning really, like silence – pure silence, like spending the last thirty seconds of your life with fire in your lungs and nothing but regrets while she smiled and watched.) But when it came to things that directly affected her she was liable to react with a violence barbed and venomous. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She did miss the Kail who’d drawn her in with a mouth that knew no fear, and even worse – she despised the man who’d taken his place.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] It was a weakness, dragging him like dead weight behind her as he wallowed in the self-pity that came with his injury. (Do you think anyone gives more than one fething thought to that brace on your face? If they do, they don’t matter. The only one that matters is you, and you’re all quaking knees and weak spine. I don’t recognize you. I see what’s inside you – we see what’s inside you, and if you would embrace it you could be more than you ever imagined. You could be whole in a way you hadn’t thought possible. But if you keep crying in to your pillow it’ll pass you right by. Choose. Soon.)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She watched Kail and Kesare interact and felt her face move from interested and cautious curiosity for their behavior towards each other to something freezing…something dead and cold and removed as her eyes shifted exclusively to Kail. It was not the flash of pain in his face when he spoke – she knew that well, the constant reminder that you had something to get used to, that your body had changed without your consent and now you had to get live with it. That he was in pain and he needed to show it sometimes did not bother her. He was human. It was the fact that right after the flash of pain she saw sorrow…she saw weakness in his eyes. His thoughts were clear in her mind – she could read more than emotions in just about anyone, her skill in telepathy to the point that entire strings of thought were available to her but it was even easier with him – and she felt disgust. (Not living, just existing…I’m broken…I’m sorry...weak!)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Pathetic.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She gives him nothing, nothing at all but a hollow expression and a blink before turning to Kesare and letting the animation return to her face.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Turning, she looked at the snarling prizes in their cages. She’d kept them separate for this session as she would allow Kesare to tame hers first – she wanted to see her Apprentice use the Force on instinct, unclouded by watching Matsu use it first. Kesare knew of the Force of course, but little outside its practical applications as she’d been…occupied for so much of her life. It was time to see where her natural instincts lay, at least in the realm of defense and control. They already knew she had an affinity for telepathy.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Clasping her hands behind her back she followed Kesare to the cages, returning her smirk. “I’d imagine they could do just about anything you teach them. They’re Sithspawn, created to guard the tombs of ancient Sith Lords. Win their loyalty and you’ve earned yourself a prize beyond measure. And yes…one will be all yours,” she said, pointing to the one closer to Kesare. Matsu had chosen that one for the woman as it reminded her somewhat of a snake, yellows and greens shining subtly in its otherwise dark fur. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] A laugh then, soft and seemingly uncharacteristic though the sound came easy around Kesare. “If you want to kill it and make yourself a fur coat that’s entirely up to you Ke.” (Would be rather fashionable…)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Master sounded a strange thing coming from Kesare’s mouth, a girl who’d always been right beside her for the kill, the chase, the success. But she would excel – as always. “Instructions? Do what comes to mind,” she said simply, lifting one hand and raising the door on the first Tuk’ata’s enclosure. It was slow at first, sniffing the air with a rolling menace in each thick muscle…but it didn’t stay that way for long, bursting from its prison to attack anything in its path.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Matsu stood to the side, arms crossed over her chest and mind open to the thoughts pushing around the room, insight to her Apprentices’ methods and the thoughts of the man behind her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Kesare Salazar"] | [member="Kail Ragnar"][/SIZE]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

Kail found it hard to stomach the look of disgust he had from Matsu. He had never had that look before. Even Kesare was judging him, he felt her slippery Force tentacles wrapping around his mind and probing him, like a window to the soul visible to everyone.

All he could muster was a feeble nod of the head as Kesare, pretty obviously, mocked him with such a stinging response.

Wow. Nice work Kail. She may as well spit on you and toss you to the hounds. Pathetic.

Chewing on the only cheek muscle he had in his mouth, Kail felt the inflicted pain that he bore on himself. The grind of his teeth against the soft flesh kept him from making more of a fool before the two women. Matsu didn’t even respond, she just scorned him with a look that made his stomach turn – and not in a good way like he felt on Korriban.

No, this was a feeling where he knew he had messed up. He had shown more weakness to one who despised it. He was a lumbering, tiresome broken man who stood in the shadow and gave her nothing. Kesare was young, fit and eager to become something great. She was effectively one step away from helping Matsu forget any need she had for the mercenary.

Arms still crossed, he watched as he was forgotten in a heartbeat and they both turned in conversation to tempt, tease and tantalise the other in a strange play of words that dripped with power and domination over not just the snarling caged hounds, but the girls themselves.

A hollow, black void started to blossom inside Kail’s soul at that very moment. From being side by side with Matsu, he was now relegated to the back without so much as a beckoning to join them. And it was all his own doing. He was doomed to wither away. If the statue had pummelled Matsu in the tomb, she would be dead and he too wouldn’t have survived. But fate made him take her place, and because of that he was half the man he had been, and Matsu didn’t even care.

You should just die. You’re no good to her anymore. You’re a broken man with nothing to give. Hell, your mother would be disgusted in what you’ve become.

Kail started to rub his fingers together harshly under his folded arms, skin warming from the force he applied. His legs started to become agitated and restless, his heart beginning to thump. He could feel an overwhelming surge of anger and adrenaline course through his veins. It was hot and distressing to him, and he blinked a few times to shake the feeling that he was going to literally scream in frustration at what he was doing.

His chest rose and fell with hard breaths, silent and erratic as the two Sith talked before him, unaware of him – they didn’t care. Looking out to the dark sky from the large window beside him, the purple and orange sky reflected his mood. It was tranquil, but coloured with a hint of passion.

Quickly and quietly, he lowered his head, eyes darting across the floor, excusing himself like a court slave from the floor of a royal chamber, backing away to the archway leading out to the corridors of Matsu’s residence. It never felt welcoming to him on arrival, and he never embraced it as a possible new home. It was a prison – a cage. Kail Ragnar wasn’t a beast…he was a man.

She hates you. She doesn’t WANT you.

Who was this VOICE inside his head? Turning to walk away now from the chamber where he could her muted conversation, he limbered his back muscles, hearing the crack of bone, and leant his forehead against the stone wall, rubbing his hands over the brace. He fingered his scarred cheek and jaw through the iron and embraced the wounds that painted a new picture of the man he was. A cold sweat started to form on his brow, his brown hair itching as if it was starting to smoulder

Go on. Release it. Don’t hide it. Convince me you’re not as pathetic as she thinks. And she’d be right to assume you are. Kesare is going to show how weak you are, to be honest.

Footsteps. Coming close. His eyes darted right, seeing an approaching pair of boots.

”Mister Kail, let me help you.” A softly spoken female voice said.

The delirious frustration clouded his mind hearing the patronizing offer of help.

”I don’t WANT HELP!!” Kail roared, ignoring the pain.

He turned and shot his hand out to wrap around the girls’ thin throat. He only saw red mist; he didn’t take note of the scared expression on her face, or the short red hair or perfectly ordered uniform signifying she was a guard of the grounds Matsu owned.

She didn’t have chance to scream as he threw her back against the stone wall he was resting on, and held her head with his other hand, violently smack her head repeatedly on the stone. Kail snarled and let out the anger he felt at being pandered to, her body going limp and her head lolling in his tight hands. The sound of sickening flesh and broken bone splattered on the wall, decorating it with her blood, body convulsing in reflex motion as her brain was effectively battered inside her skull.

Seething with the overwhelming heat that burned inside him, Kail dropped her body and stalked forward to where she had appeared from. Just another winding corridor that looked as bleak as the rest. Making his way back, itching for a release to the self-destructive pain and hatred he felt for himself – and Matsu and Kesare – he came face to face with another guard, calling into his wrist mounted com-link for medical aid.

As both men stopped in their tracks, hesitation wasn’t noble, and Kail acted with the training he had been raised on. He lunged at the man’s shoulders with his bloodied hands, and in a swift move thrust his head forward with the brace, knocking the guard’s head back with brute force. His face slit open down the side Kail had hit, and he let a barrage of stomach and rib punches with his fists as he pinned him back against the opposite wall to the bloodied décor. A whimper and groan escaped the guard as he slid down, beaten to a delirious state as Kail hulked over him.

THIS is who you are and it feels GOOD to be in control!

Kail tried to control his erratic breathing, relishing in the sudden burst of violence proving he wasn’t a disappointment or a failure. He tensed his jaw, feeling the shooting pain again that drove him to remember what he was, and he stalked backed to the chamber where the two Sith were.

”MATSU! YOU WANT THIS?! COME ON!”

It was if a switch had been flipped, and Kail suddenly didn’t care who or what stood before him or what they thought about him. Not with the brace; it made him a monster.

It made him invincible, stronger and deadly.


[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

It was just as well that Kail chose to leave just as Matsu waved the door open to the Tuk’ata’s enclosure, his emotions were becoming erratic and all over the place, something disturbing and ugly that would only distract her from the hunt. Out of the corner of her eye she watched him slink away like a boy chastised and sent to his room (except nobody sent him there but himself) it was a truly a pitiful and unfortunate sight to have to witness. With a final deep breath she felt her mind settle and her muscles relax, anything that had just transpired moments before was tucked away as she became sharp and focused on her task and nothing more. She could feel the Force singing beneath flesh and bone, waiting for her to make a move as she kept a sharp eye on the Hell beast, waiting patiently for its first move.

The beast was fast but Kesare had anticipated that from the beginning and she was quick on her feet as she dodged the angry mutt just as she heard its teeth snap at the empty air where she'd stood seconds before. Her lip curled in a snarl and eyes narrowed in a challenge as she pulled the lightsaber from her hip and watched the red blade flare to life. Her instinct was quick to kick in as she dodged another swipe of the beasts’ claws as she reached into her mind, pushing her hand out to thrust the animal across the room. With an angry roar she watched something shift in the animals red eyes as it watched her, lurking, waiting for its chance to strike.

Thinking. Thinking. Thinking – what’s going on in that head of yours?​

​

It didn’t give her much time to guess as she watched the muscles coil beneath its dark coat, the green and yellow dapples shining beneath the light as it lunged for her with mouth wide open, looking to sink its teeth into her throat for the kill (I don’t think so, little one) her hand shot out as quick as a viper, shattering the mirror that ran along the wall and sent several large shards flying into the beasts flank. Deeper and deeper she forced the glass past flesh and muscle while making sure nothing went deep enough to kill or seriously injure as she watched it’s coat become oily with blood. The sound the animal made was agonizing, a deep bellow of a wail as she once more gathered the strength to send the animal back across the room.

She had a split second for her gaze to trail around the area as the beast and the hunter did a dance, as if waiting to see who would strike first. Here kitty, kitty, come out and play with me! Her lips were twisted into a wild grin as she crouched down low, as if enticing it to come and make her into a pretty meal. It needed no further provoking as another massive roar bellowed from the belly of the beast and it charged for her, all hot breath and snapping fangs. She studied its movements carefully, when the beast was almost on top of her she watched as it swung its tail around to strike her down with its stinger. Although it was a move she hadn’t initially anticipated she also wasn’t surprised as she took a hold of its tail with a grip so focused and tight that it began to thrash its tail around angrily to get her to drop the hold she had on it.

Laughter bubbled past her lips at the image, her eyes wide and excited. Although her hold lasted no more than a few beats it allowed her the slim opening to escape unscathed as she sprinted across the room knowing that it would soon be hot on her heels. Spinning around at the end of the room she forced herself to stop and focus as she conjured the image of herself in her mind straight down to the painted burgundy lips before projecting the image outward so that it appeared to the Tu’kata that there was two of her in the facility. She could sense the beasts’ confusion as it paused to sniff the air and a low grumble of a growl surged past its sharpened fangs as it uncertainly lurked towards the illusion. That’s right, come a little closer…

BANG.​

​

The illusion shattered around her as everything became disrupted with Kail’s grand re-entrance, her hold slipped away as fast as it came to her and she was left feeling so stunned that it took too long for her to compose herself. (FOCUS, FOCUS, FO- S H I T.) The beast was practically on top of her now, claws armed and ready to cleave her in half, she was quick but not quite quick enough as she felt the claws sink into her arm just as she tried to dance out from beneath it and a scream of anger and frustration erupted from her as she pushed the animal back with a sharp, angry thrust of the Force. She was so angry that her hand shook slightly, not even bothering to look down at the damage as she stalked towards her prey, without realizing she felt the jolt of electricity humming beneath her skin and flicker to her fingertips. It was a move she didn’t know she was capable of as she snapped her teeth and snarled at the beast, lifting her hand she watched the bolts of blue lighting unfurled out from all ten fingertips and into the animals flesh. The animal howled in pain but she didn’t drop her hand away until the beast looked stunned and cowered slightly in fear.

Once she felt satisfied that the animal was no longer looking at her like its next meal she turned to face where the commotion had come from. On the far side of the room she can sense an already heated argument taking place between the two. Her anger was like a fire burning hot as she glared at the man in the mask, her face twisted in rage and disgust as she stalked over to where they stood, waving her bloodied and torn arm in the air for him to get a good whiff. “What the feth is wrong with you?! You could have gotten me killed!” She spits the words at him like venom, seething. “So this is the way you choose to get your point across? By making some theatrical show of having a giant temper tantrum in some desperate attempt of proving yourself to be a big, bad man?” She is ravenous and thirsty for blood, her teeth bared and eyes wild. (Pathetic, you are a coward – I say show us your strength and you put on this sloppy display? Disgusting.) “You have nothing to be proud of here.”

Try me, I DARE you.​

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] || [member="Kail Ragnar"]​

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=9pt] She did not turn her head to watch as Kail left the room, ignoring the flight of a man who’d suddenly become someone she didn’t know. Had he changed so much because of his injuries? Was the man brave enough to talk back to her, to give her his opinion, to scout ahead of her for danger gone? What about the man who’d put an arm around her without thought in the act of protecting her? Who’d shown her affection slowly, pushing even when it seemed it was tempting the bite of a wounded animal until she trusted him enough to let him hold her? (Has this changed you so much? Weak.)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She did not like who he was becoming and so she let him go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Concentrating on her apprentice, she was quickly lost in the dance between the hunter and the hunted. To the Tuk’ata perhaps their positions were debatable but between human and sithspawn there was no contest – her friend stalked the creature just as Matsu knew she would and was clearly confident and in control as their battle of wills began. That great power lay within Kesare was obvious – one would have to be force-dead not to feel her potential dripping off her in waves, the answer of fourteen years of silence bursting to the light at once (hear me, see me, I will be GREAT!). But Matsu, even for all her seemingly preternatural connection with her best friend, could not be sure how such power would manifest. She had debated laying out some of the more common paths, perhaps discussing from there if it caught Kesare’s eye, but that felt so limited and besides, she didn’t believe in such rote methods of teaching. No…she would give Kesare trial by fire and see how the Force poured from her when faced with danger.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] And pour it did – even before she made any move to tap in to the wellspring of rage inside her she seemed the wolf-queen they all styled her after, her eyes clearly noting every twitch of muscle in the beast before her. Her confidence was admirable, made her clear-headed.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Matsu began stalking the edges of the room, her hands clasped behind her, the metal claws of her left hand tapping a pin-prick pattern over the right. (It was then that she felt the ripples from outside the room, a symphony of fear and pain and rage, remorse and animalistic pleasure intertwined – but it could wait for Kesare, it could wait for her to get herself safe in front of her future pet.)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She felt a smile drag on to her face at the laugh that burst from her student as she showed a grip move, Matsu nodding to herself. Telekinesis then maybe – a skill that she could be infinitely helpful with. She was just mulling that when, to her astonishment, she felt the tug in the room as Kesare concentrated and before Matsu’s eyes a clone of her best friend appeared. Her apprentice may not have meant the illusion to affect her Master as well but with their connection and Matsu’s affinity for the mind it was impossible to miss. Impressive, especially as animals were always a tricky proposition. It seemed the sithspawn was falling for it however, warily eying ‘prey’ that had suddenly confused it with something it could not anticipate or understand. Good Kesare, good…right in the palm of your hands, easy now, you’ve go---[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] And she would have, it would have been spectacular save for the re-entrance of one Kail Ragnar. Matsu could smell blood on him and her spine tingled, every sense of danger shooting through her nerve endings as she turned to look at Kesare again, ignoring the blustering fool of a man too wrapped up in his fumblings to give thought to the danger of what she and her apprentice were attempting. Her first priority was to make sure Kesare could adjust though it seemed she needn’t have worried – lightning lit up the room in blue hues, a power that Matsu herself had never manifested, watching a surge of power she wasn’t sure she’d have pegged any Acolyte capable of producing that seemed to set the Tuk’ata to rights, the creature bowing slightly before the woman who’d just frozen its system and done things it couldn’t hope to puzzle out. And with it cowed she watched Kesare turn on her heel and light on fire, her beautiful features curled in rage, disgust – all right.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She checked the Tuk’ata at first, it’s gaze still bright and strong despite giving its will to someone else, before turning to join Kesare and Kail. Her best friend had cut the situation to the bone, flaying back the details to get at the real problem lying before them as only she could. But in the end this was between her and Kail and she took her place.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“MATSU, YOU WANT THIS?! COME ON!”[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt] As she slipped quietly past Kesare her eyes changed, glowing with a rage quiet and perfectly contained, her cheeks hollowing and every feature sharpening as she lifted her hand and closed her fingers in the air, choking Kail and lifting him high off the ground before rifling through his mind. In the span of ten seconds she saw his entire run through the facility, watching as he killed one of the guards she valued most highly (I don’t WANT HELP!, oh you fething child) before moving on to the others, making a mess where he was lucky she even let him tread. She dropped him then, once she’d ripped the entire sordid affair from his mind, and then penetrated his mind once more as he fell to a heap on the floor. She found the right spot in his brain and took all his motor function, paralyzing him until she flipped the switch in his brain to let him go. She moved (the shark in the water, dead-eyed, hungry and you look so good!) to stand at his feet, looking the picture of calm detachment as she clasped her hands behind her back again, the only indication of her anger the amber of her eyes and her nearly inhuman, exaggerated features.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] “Frankly Kail, no, I don’t,” she said quietly, sea-glass smooth as she considered Kesare’s commentary on the lack of anything to feel proud about in his actions. “So do you? Feel proud? Do you feel proud of storming from the room because I find you sad where once you were something special? Do you feel proud of destroying that which belongs to me in some display of power? True strength isn’t your ability to wield it, it’s how you use it. I thought I’d met a man but I’ve found a child, unthinking and crude. Senseless. Petty. Weak.” The last word curled off her tongue as if she’d swallowed acid.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She came around then, still holding him paralyzed as she stood by his shoulder, looking down at him as one might an insect. “Killing requires a sense of economy Kail. It’s unfeeling. A necessity.” She paused, her eyes flickering over his face before she continued, an almost loving tone of a hush in her voice. “You save the passion for when it’s personal.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She gripped on to another part of his mind as she held him paralyzed, building an illusion so strong he would feel every shred of unspeakable pain as she kicked him in the face, his jaw shattering in to dozens of tiny splinters all over again, all the surgeons work gone in a split second, the brace digging in to the flesh of his cheek and lodging there. (Agony, AGONY! Jeopardize Kesare's life and I will maim you and find ways to keep you alive to feel it all. I will make you SUFFER for putting her in harm's way, for being careless, for putting on an unnecessary and unappealing show. Disgusting.)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] And as quickly as it had begun it was over. She released the illusion first and let him dwell in it unmoving and paralyzed, her voice drifting across his mind, this time impossibly soft compared to how she’d just ripped him apart.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]I didn’t want this from you.[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]There is no way to protect me that I can’t do for myself.[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]There is no violence that I can not commit with greater efficiency.[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]But that’s not what I wanted.[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]What I wanted was much simpler.[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=9pt] She squatted down, running two fingers gently along his cheekbone before releasing the paralyzing hold on his mind and standing back up. Turning to Kesare she passed a silent thought – I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. And then they moved towards the tamed Tuk’ata to test how well Kesare had done, leaving Kail to his choice.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Kesare Salazar"] | [member="Kail Ragnar"][/SIZE]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

Kail wasn’t angry at Matsu – far from it. He was angry at…himself? His brace? Kesare? She wasn’t helping, her wild Sith display of power flaying around with the wild tuk’ata. She spat harsh words at him, but they fell upon deaf ears. The mercenary faced down monsters before, and he wasn’t going to cover before another who are thick lipstick and bared so much flesh.

Kail stabbed a finger at her. ”Me walking into a room…distracts you, and you say I have…a tantrum? Would you…throw one in the battlefield…when something takes you…by surprise and distracts you there? You’ve nothing to be proud of…either.”

The small gaps in his speech were only there for him to catch his breath. His jaw still throbbed and shot bolts of pain to his head with each word formed and each breath inhaled. But it was something he was going to have to cope with, not let destroy him.

Then, with the dusk light shimmering through into the large chamber, Matsu stepped forward and raised her hand. He wanted to speak out before she did what he knew she would, but it was too late. His throat tightened and he became weightless, rising from the ground in a grip of the Force, another trick fuelled by the dark ways of the Sith that he was more than familiar to.

He gasped and recoiled, but didn’t panic and fight it. It was useless to fight an invisible grip, and he had to stay calm and simply submit. She was angry, but he didn’t care. This was all just tricks he was used to with the old Matsu. Tensing and relaxing his fists to calm him, Kail was suddenly dropped without warning and landed hard, falling backwards. A fall like that shouldn’t have laid him on the floor, should it? He tried to move his arm to push up away from the gawping Sith, but he couldn’t. More trickery, this time rendering him near lifeless.

She won’t kill you. She can’t. Calm down. Ride it out.

He felt the anxiety bubble away and the humiliation of being frozen and exposed, all with the proud eyes of Kesare watching, enjoying his isolation and the daggers from Matsu, all pathetically both hiding behind the Force to contain him. The pain in his jaw was starting to increase, automatically tensing his muscles in frustration which was making him panic.

Kail could only move his eyes upwards to see Matsu above him, her stern face coming in and out of view as she snaked around him, sizing him up and lecturing him. Her words stung, not because they were scornful, but because he would say the same thing to himself if he could.

Without warning, the world around him seemed to fade and her right boot came out of nowhere and slammed into the right side of his head.

Matsu simply stood over him. Kail had his eyes on her, slightly hidden with the angle of his dark iron brace. The eyelids fluttered slightly, a few long blinks. He looked quite peaceful.

It was the iron brace that penetrated the soft, pinky flesh on his jaw and split it open like ripe, juicy fruit. There was nothing to describe the pain Kail felt as the reconstructive surgery imploded under her violent kick. As he screamed and tried to dig out the brace that was embedded in his gum, the pain started to devour his face inch by inch, like a skin eating virus .

His eyes closed for longer and became glazed when he struggled to open them. It was peacefully quiet.

The cool air around him could be sickeningly felt through the open wound in his jaw, flowing through into his mouth. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel everything and wanted to die. Anything was better -

Kail blinked again. There was no boot, and no pain. He couldn’t comfort himself by checking to make sure it wasn’t a horrid vision, but Matsu, once more, had bested him and now squatted on the floor. Her words seeped into his brain slowly and gently, a calming wave over the burning rage and disorientation he felt.

He just stared at her, hidden behind the brace that had stripped every ounce of reckoning from him. Soft fingers drew down his face and feeling the touch from one he admired made him remember WHY he had the brace, and WHY he had sacrificed himself to save her. He was falling in love. Falling in love with a woman as dangerous, cold and volatile as the wildest tuk’ata roaming free, but yet, he had at one point felt like he had tamed her. Now, he was losing her.

As she left him on the floor, his legs moved without thinking, meaning his self-control was back. He took a long breath in and steadily pushed himself up on his elbows, sitting up on the cold, stone floor. Head throbbing, blood pumping, world spinning.

You do not need to be a monster. She doesn’t want a monster, Kail.

Focusing on the intricate small cracks and carvings of the stone before his boots, he was lost in a moment of seeing his old self sat opposite him, studying the brace and the weary expression on his blood stained face. Kail rubbed his hands together, seeing the blood of the innocent. Killing came easy to him, but he did not kill without reason

Saving her life on Skye was something she will always remember you for.

He had become someone he detested. Even his mother, who raised him with strict honour and code, would be disgusted and ashamed.

She doesn’t need another slave who can crush skulls. She needs the man who saved her because he felt she was worthy of a second chance.

Reaching up slowly behind his head, Kail blindly started to fumble across the straps that held the brace around his head.

Be more than just a man behind a brace, Kail. Be the man who saved her life again. Remind her why you did it.

One strap came free, and the pressure he had held for weeks started to ease. Moving one hand to hold the cage-like mouth piece, he pulled the final strap from his head and the brace became free. Exhaling, Kail carefully held the brace in both hands and moved it away from his face. There was a rush of euphoria in the freedom he felt, the fact he had chosen to remove the shackle himself was a relief. Brace or not, he was still Kail Ragnar, and he wouldn’t let anyone forget it. It felt very heavy in his hands, very barbaric and tough. The straps were worn and felt light dangling between his fingers. After all, this was part of some Sith statue from the tombs of Korriban, so by wearing the Sith, was this a way of accepting he was part of such a sect?

No dramatic or violent throwing away of the brace was needed. He set it down beside him and stood up, aching and sore, but calm. Stretching the jaw muscle slowly helped, opening and closing his mouth to remember how to use the broken muscle again. Matsu and Kesare were busying themselves with the tak’uta, but that was their own business. Right now he was back on Utapau, or Korriban, Skye – wherever – but he was with Matsu Xiangu.

He fronted no aggression or bravado as he walked steadily her. Reaching out his arm, his hand clasped around her right wrist and he gently pulled, enough for her to turn without hesitation.

There was no hesitation, granted, but Matsu was steely gazed, and he was moments from a fate even he did not know. He wasted no time in laying out his heart that was underneath his flesh, feeling the want to push him back coming from Kesare – but he didn’t care for her, or anything else.

See. Still not scared of you.

Bringing her hand up to the left side of her face, he held it onto the small hollow where his muscle was and now covered with the soft pink scars and skin grafting. He breathed her scent and relished the cool touch on his warm face once more.

”Wounds and scars may change me on the outside…but inside… I’m still yours. You changed…on Skye. I changed on…Korriban. You survived. So will I.”

He quickly shot a look to Kesare, reading nothing. No fear.

”Thank you. And…you certainly deserve… a good slap after that.”

Bringing her hand across to his cracked lips, he gently kissed the fingers that covered his mouth and looked at her. Still strong, cold and inspiring.


[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

[SIZE=9pt] Watching him turn on Kesare was the moment in which Matsu knew she had made a mistake.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She could hear the thoughts in his head before she sent him sprawling, the insults he thought without opening his mouth and she felt herself pale…for the first time quailing under the weight of such disappointment. It was her fault. She had allowed herself hope for the future when she should have known better. To imagine a man that would be equal parts cold and warm was asking too much. She had imagined him being kind to Kesare, if only because it mattered to her. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] And it so mattered to her.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt] If there was no Kesare, there was no Matsu.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] As they turned back to the Tuk’ata, Matsu was sure confusion, hurt, and disappointment were written all over her face. Kesare knew her well enough to read her expression even without delving in to the bond between minds they were quickly forming. What has he become? I don’t know him anymore. I thought this would have gone so very differently…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She meant to leave him there, hash things out later perhaps if he had known well enough to keep his mouth shut and leave her to her business. Turning her head to Kesare she moved to speak when she heard the ever-so-soft sound of metal being let down on the floor, felt him coming closer. There was a part of her, she would admit, when she turned her head to look at him – to look at the face she saw but rarely without the mask these days – that she wished desperately that they could start over…that they could erase the mistakes that were made, that she could take back ever asking for his help on Korriban and letting him get hurt. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] He saved my LIFE, he saved my life…if it were not for Kail I wouldn’t have survived to know Kesare was still alive. I wouldn’t be who I am now. I would have died the little girl Krius left behind and because of Kail I am so much more. And I could be even greater.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] Hope seemed less foolish for a second as he lifted her delicate fingers to his face, the low hills of scar tissue dotting his jaw strange to the touch. And for a moment his words seemed right – you changed, I changed. I saved your life, you saved mine. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] It could have been so perfect.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt] But then he looked at Kesare.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] If Matsu were capable of being clinical in that moment she would have said that little flicker of the eyes, that challenging posture, was everything that was wrong in one expression. She saw his conflict with Kesare, saw the way he murdered for no reason, how volatile and so unlike she remembered. Even on Rodia, on guard and wary of her, he hadn’t struck her as this man who would lash out at the slightest provocation. He’d seemed careful and calm and collected, if a little rough around the edges. He'd had a code, a thing she could respect as despite her lack of morals there were still a few things she would not do. He'd even made her laugh.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] He’d seemed so strong. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9pt] She missed him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She would have liked to laugh, but the joke was poorly timed and after the way he’d looked at Kesare she wanted nothing to do with him. (Dark lipstick and skimpy clothes? Is that what you think? I never took you for a pig – and don’t I look the same? What do you think of me then?) She would not force him to like Kesare, but she wouldn’t allow that in her life either. She felt a hint of revulsion when he kissed her fingers, recoiling at how far they’d fallen. She gently took her hand from his grip, letting it fall to her side and looking at him with indifference despite what she might have been feeling inside.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She was ice, and even in this she would not fall apart.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] “Get out,” she said quietly, sea-glass smooth. “Get your things and leave.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] The last thing she would ever say to him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] She was quiet as he left, not looking at him. It was only when he was gone, so far that she could not sense him, that she turned her head to look at Kesare. “I’m sorry,” she said. For what she could not say, but she knew she didn’t have to. “Let’s get your pet back in its cage for now, and then I’ll teach you something I think you’ll enjoy,” she offered, shaking her mind of what had just happened.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt] I do not explode – I freeze.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt][member="Kesare Salazar"] | [member="Kail Ragnar"][/SIZE]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

The second he mumbled his line from Korriban that had once made Matsu prickle with intrigue, he regretted it. Another stumble backwards in trying to convince her – and himself – he was the same man she found on Rodia.

My, how quickly the stars can re-align.

Kail saw the buzz of activity in her dark eyes, but he knew she was not for moving. She lowered her hand far too quickly to offer no hope of resolve, and his world was slowly crumbling around him. He had lost connection with his cell on Tatooine, and he had lost his confidence as a mercenary and a man of flesh and blood. He was nothing anymore, and Matsu had been the only support that was holding him above water. Now, he was on the verge of submitting to nothingness.

There was no emotion from her, and that didn’t surprise him. What he wouldn’t give just to shake her and release that flicker of a woman hidden under the skin of a viper.

She dismissed him, as easily as that. Her breathless words didn’t falter over her red lips. It was over. THEY were over.

Hearing the icy command, his eyes fell to the floor, head turning to the side as he tried to make sense of everything happening. Was there something he could do, or say, anything? No. Not now. Kail refused to look at her, nodding quickly in acceptance of the wedge driven between them. He wrinkled his nose as the emotion started to bubble up; he was, after all, only a man. Turning from both Sith, he noticed two guards standing by the door to the Pit, but prayed they’d have enough tact to leave him alone.

Heading on up the small flight of stairs and shouldering past the guards, the blood stained wall was all that remained of his aggressive blur minutes before. Kail didn’t pay anything or anyone attention as he took a turn right, and then left to his appointed chambers.

He thumbed the keypad and the door opened silently. Stepping into the small room, Kail felt like he was on fire with sadness. His hands were trembling and he was crying, but didn’t even know it. Tears rolled down his cheek, rolling over his stubble on the right of his face; tracing the scar tissue on his left. He was upset, but didn’t FEEL he should mourn something he had killed himself. The only shred of decency he felt was for loving Matsu and letting her care and support him, while he could give her love and protection in her journey to be something great. It was clear Kesare had that role now, and there was no room for a spare, broken cog in a fluid and deadly machine.

With nothing evidently his own here, only his armoured vest and weaponry were laid out on a small stone table by his bed. The bag of crystals acquired by Firebrand on Midvinter was still there. He wouldn’t have any use for them, not now. Slipping on the vest, which now felt heavy and alien to him, he noted his mercenary cell tattoos on his shoulders, a reminder of an upbringing he had failed. He aggressively slid back his SSX blaster and the KX-60 over his back, wincing as he moved his shoulders awkwardly to allow the strap to go over, and his tired neck muscles under his jaw were still tender. He cursed in frustration at the pain that still ravaged him, turning and kicking out at the bed beside him.

In doing this, he turned and reclined on the hard base he slept on, a cold sweat on his brow felt on his hands as he fought to control his emotion, sweeping his fingers through his hair. Kails tears came easier now, now he had stopped to think about losing her. Instead of accepting his fate and go with it, he had battled himself and in turn offended Matsu and Kesare which was something he never intended to do. He wasn’t a monster – he wasn’t even Kail Ragnar anymore.

What was there to live for? He had no-one. He had nothing.

He had to go.

NOW.

He exhaled loudly and shook with anger and sadness that was swirling inside his unstable and broken head. Standing up with a firm look in his red eyes, now dry from rubbing the tears, he left his room and headed to the junction of pathways. Holding the bag of crystals in his hand, he went back to the Pit.

They were still there, backs to the door. It was almost like the months before; Kail in his mercenary attire and yards away from Matsu. What he wouldn’t give to stand by her right now.

You are not worthy. Leave.

He gently stepped down into the room, and didn’t linger. Dropping the bag of crystals beside the discarded brace that was the only reminder of his sacrifice to Matsu, Kail looked up to her. Wanting to speak, his eyes once more began to fill with tears – She was right, I AM weak – and a dry swallow was all he could muster. He wanted to say something…anything…for he would never again have the chance to.

Kail moved quickly, back up the stairs and past the guards. He kept on going towards the hangar where he would demand transport back to Tatooine. Back to the harsh, dry world where he had nothing.

Back to a lonely, broken life where he had no-one.


[member="Matsu Xiangu"] [member="Kesare Salazar"]

 

[Kesare]

She can feel the rage burning inside her, the heat licking beneath her skin as she simmers with a look of loathing that settles on her features, her lips twisted into a sneer. She doesn’t need to read his thoughts to have an understanding of what he is thinking, and what he thinks of her is nothing compared to what she thinks of him. (you think you’re strong now Kail Ragnar? one day Matsu won’t be here to stop me from tearing you apart as I skin you alive so that I can consume your flesh and blood) She should have known better than to jump in head first without first testing the water. It had been a mistake she would soon not make again.

Foolish girl, don’t you ever learn?​

​

Angry words are swallowed as she offers him only an icy glare, her body rigid and ready to strike (say it, just say the word and I will tear you apart) She wasn’t stupid and hears the mocking tone that is hinted in his poor excuse of speech. I would like to see you do what I am capable of you pathetic excuse of a man, you can’t even help yourself much less anyone else in this room. Her eyes shift from dark to amber, her pupils becoming slits as she closes in on him (snake in the grass, ready to strike) before the softness of Matsu’s voice breaks her concentration and the amber fades away.

Matsu could command an army without needing to raise her voice, her presence alone commanded power and respect. Witnessing Matsu take control of the situation was captivating, Kesare knew few others who wielded as much power as the woman who stood before her (you can teach me so much) It was like watching a work of art, effortless in her work as she grabs ahold of Kail’s mind and renders him as useless as she believed him to be. Watching with a sick fascination as the illusion was built around them, a twisted smirk settling at the corners of her painted mouth as she relished at the sound of bones popping and blood bursting beneath gnarled metal.

Make him suffer, make him squirm.​

​

She is a force to be reckoned with, untouchable and practiced in her work as the illusion slips away. Her gaze moves away from the pairing just as Matsu crouches down to him, sickened by the display and the worthless man sprawled onto the floor she turns her back to them. She only shakes her head, her lips dipping into a frown. This wasn’t your fault. She cannot let Matsu blame herself for the destruction of something that was never her fault to begin with, this was Kail’s doing and unfortunately Matsu was paying the price for his incompetence – she loathed him (you should be groveling on your knees, boy) she didn’t need to hear a word to witness the pain written behind Matsu’s gaze.

1…2…3…​

​

It took all of her self-control to walk away, her fingers curling and uncurling in a rapid succession as she gives the pair a fleeting moment while she attempts to shake off the edge that she felt. As she snaked across the floor towards her new pet she dreamt up a scenario where Kail Ragnar has his heart ripped out of his chest and his head hangs grotesquely from the stump of his neck - he is dead to her and Matsu is the only thing keeping her from acting out her fantasy (this is for her, otherwise you wouldn’t be breathing) Holding her hand out for the beast to catch her scent she waits patiently until it acknowledges her before she presses her hand to the crest of its neck, stroking the area as she felt the play of muscle beneath her hand.

It could almost be considered a learning exercise were it not for the obvious pain that she felt shared between them, without looking towards her best friend (I know, you don’t need to say it when I can read you like a book) she reaches out her hand and offers her a small, knowing squeeze (everything will be alright) They look at each other then and the unspoken words hang in the air, something not quite right as the mood of the room takes another dramatic turn and Kail who is like a phantom has Matsu by the wrist and she can feel the animosity building as she stares at him with silent contempt.

You should be scared little boy, I’ll chew you up, spit you back out and feed you to the wolves.

Where she was fire, Matsu was ice – and she cannot help but be mesmerized when watching the Ice Queen working at her finest. There is not a single crack that could be found if you ran your hands across the surface, but Kesare wasn’t just anyone and she knows Matsu better than anyone else in the galaxy. Watching Kail leave she says nothing, the internal war she felt coming from her dearest friend was enough to make her ache (I’m sorry, I tried - I wanted this to work, I want you to be happy) Turning her face towards hers she looks at her with a hidden sadness behind her gaze that only Matsu could piece together. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” There is no lie, only truth to her words as she urges the beast to follow her with nothing more than a simple hand gesture. “If there was anything I could have done to prevent this, then I am sorry.”

There is still a fire behind the Tuk’ata’s dark gaze as it loads back into its cage, but also a respect that has replaced the rage as she once more strokes its neck before closing the gate. “We’ll play later, won’t we pet?” She offers whispered words to the hell beast before turning to face her Master. She is surprised to see Kail yet again, all teary eyed and pitiful looking as he drops a small bag beside his discarded brace before disappearing back into the hallway where she hoped this would be the last she had to see of him - though she doubted it. “I wanted to like him; I would have for you, but…” She trailed off as she motions towards the mask and the bag now sitting beside it. “You deserve more. You deserve better.” (I’d have killed him already if it weren’t for you) “He was weak.” She looks at her best friend, her features softening when she sees what is behind her gaze, shaking the subject slightly while it was still so raw. “What was it that you plan on teaching me next? How to not get shredded by a Tuk’ata, perhaps?” She offers her a wry grin, waving her bloodied arm with the joke and shaking her head as she steps away from the cage and further into the room where Matsu stood.

We’ll get through this. Together.​

​

​

[member="Matsu Xiangu"] || [member="Kail Ragnar"]​

 

[Matsu Xiangu]

She felt next to nothing when the mood changed again as Kail returned, almost silent behind them as he dropped a bag of something on the floor behind them. The sadness seemed to dissolve, the regret for something that could have been right breaking down and absorbed to become something else. For now, that part of her was sleeping – quiet, dreaming, waiting for a time someone would wake it up. She heard him say her name and thought this would be the last time he was allowed to speak it in her presence – the last time he would be in her presence at all. Where she expected pain there was nothing. Just…nothing.

Waiting until he left, she turned around to move to the small pouch he’d left next to the brace she’d ripped from a statue with her bare hands to protect his broken jaw. Pulling it open she pulled out the crystals, feeling of a rush of the Force focus and settle in her. Force crystals…where had he gotten these? They weren’t necessarily uncommon, but it’d be easier to get his hands on them if he had a force-user friend. She closed her fingers around the clear diamond-like things in her fist before slipping them back in to the pouch, and then the pouch in to her pocket. They would be useful despite their associations and Matsu wasn’t too principled to throw them out simply because he’d given them to her.

She narrowed her eyes when Kesare said if there was something she could have done she was sorry, the pleasure se got from watching her apprentice’s success with Tuk’ata somewhat muted by the idea that she could ever think this was in some way her fault. “No…this was meant to happen. I know you wanted to like him…and if there was something to like, you would have,” she said, venom in the last few words as she spat on his memory. She didn't subscribe to most of the hokey Force influence that Jedi did, but she believed this was one of those things that had to be left up to fate. Kail was not in her destiny.

There was a part of her that felt utterly foolish. This wasn’t the first time she’d read someone so wrong and all in one moment she felt her faith in herself crumbling – how had she gotten this far if she was constantly fooled?

She swallowed the rage, settling it somewhere to find later and focusing on the question Kesare presented her as distraction. (Thank you, thank you as ever for knowing just what I need.) “Yes, come,” she said, lifting one of the cloth dummies she’d though about using as targets for the tuk’ata and laying it next to them as they stood in the center of the room. Her still untamed tuk’ata was forgotten for the moment – she would get to it.

Matsu was currently expanding her horizons in the use of the Force but besides mentalism, she’d already mastered telekinesis. There was, of course, always room for improvement and expansion but her understanding of physics and application of the Force made her wielding of the power creative, unpredictable. But she’d started her training practicing the basics, and…a few other things to practice more hardy applications. “Lift the dummy with you mind…and then tear it in two,” she said simply, giving her apprentice minimal instructions just as she’d done in the face of the Tuk’ata. That showing had been impressive and she had a feeling the ability to rend someone in half was a more innate talent in Kesare than beast-taming. It was one of the darkest powers known to force-users and it seemed only fitting to bestow on her bets friend.

[member="Kesare Salazar"]​