Private Ice and Fire

[Skadi Lightbane]

Irina Jesart ​

It was night on Dromund Kaas; outside, the city drifted through its rhythm, and the skies above raged with the ever present storm. Inside Skadi’s apartment however, it was relatively quiet and calm.

Music played from somewhere as background noise, tribalistic instruments and the low bass of a chanting male’s voice - the music of her people, of what one might hear around the crackling hearth in her Father’s Hall. It helped her to focus, and right now she needed all the focus she could muster. She was learning how to read and write Sith runes and sigils - and for someone who had barely grasped the language of the galaxy (Basic), learning a ritual and complex language like this was difficult for the Valkyri.

She’d been at it for some time now; this was her “homework” in a way. Not directly given to her, but hinted that these were things she would need to know in order to progress forward in areas of her Sith training. It was on her to take the initiative and supplement her training with knowledge she sought for herself.

Her Master was not going to teach her everything, after all.

Skadi was so focused on the mentally taxing task at hand, that she did not pick up on a growingly familiar presence approaching her apartment door. It wasn’t until there was a request for entry, that she realized she had a visitor.

Sighing in frustration, she almost told whoever it was to come back another time - but then she felt the distinctive presence of Irina on the other side. Skadi’s eyes narrowed, not in anger or calculation, but more in suspicious surprise.

Why was Irina at her door?

She supposed there was only one way to find out. She waved a hand and telekinetically approved the request, and the door slid open with a soft hiss, allowing Aerik’s other female friend to enter when she was ready.

She would be greeted by a space that was unlike most of the modern apartments one might see; Skadi had done her best to replicate her homeworld here, or rather the familiarity of her family’s longhouse. The air was cooler than normal, and more natural in its aesthetic. Banners with a Valkryi styled wolf’s head adorned one wall - the symbol of her House. And the scent of pine, smoke, and something akin to roasting or smoking meat could be sensed - though not overwhelmingly so.

Skadi glanced up from her place before a wooden table and towards the door, her golden eyes almost glowing in the somewhat dim, warm light of her chambers.

“Irina…I will not lie, I am surprised to see you here.” Skadi said, her voice carrying the accent of her native tongue. It was improving, softening, but it was still very much present.

“...To what do I owe this visit?” ​

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina stared at the door for a long minute before she knocked, not because she was nervous, but because she knew once she stepped over this threshold and began this conversation she was not only fully accepting that Aerik would be shared, but she was embracing it. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. The door slid open a moment later, the cooler air sending a shiver through her as she stepped over the threshold, the door closing behind her.

She let her eyes wander around the room, lingering on the wolf head banners before settling on the Valkryi seated at a wooden table, books and datapad before her. Rin had interrupted her studying something. Slowly, she made her way over, glancing over the work recognising the Sith runes, not quite meeting Skadi's gaze.

Now she was here, the nerves settled and easy as it would be to fold behind her mask and let her anger speak for her, she didn't believe that would help her here. "You're studying sith. Ancient or modern?" She was delaying, working her way towards saying what she needed to say. "I'm fluent in both, if you need a tutor. Languages are a passion of mine."

She stopped, finally meeting Sakdi's quiet gaze, her shoulders sinking slightly in defeat. "We never finished our conversation about Aerik."

Skadi Lightbane

 

[Skadi Lightbane]

Irina Jesart ​

Irina’s entry into her personal quarters was done quietly; Skadi was acutely aware of the other young woman’s presence, though Irina did not acknowledge her comments immediately. Instead, she walked across the room to the table, and the studies that occupied Skadi’s attention - her tensions seeming to ease now that she was within the Valkyri’s domicile.

“You're studying sith. Ancient or modern?" Irina asked when she realized what Skadi had been doing when she had arrived. Skadi pursed her lips, and Irina added more to her question - an attempt, perhaps, to bridge the gap that was between them.

"I'm fluent in both, if you need a tutor. Languages are a passion of mine."

At this, the raven haired Valkyri lifted her gaze to finally look at Irina in the face, her golden eyes bright in the somewhat low lit atmosphere of her chambers. “It is modern sith. I decided it would be wise of me to at least understand that, before I moved to the ancient tongue. I have barely grasped Basic - but my Master expects me to learn and know these things.”

Skadi glanced back down at the spread out of parchments and holodata and glyphs. “Any help would be much appreciated. Perhaps…in return, I can teach you my mother tongue. Valkyri.” A half smile tugged at one corner of her lips as she returned her attention to Irina. “It would be good to converse with another in my own language once again…”

For a moment, the two women were silent. Irina looked as if she was teetering on the edge of something, and Skadi waited for her to open up. She knew that Irina had come for another reason, and it was not to discuss obscure languages.

“But you did not come here to discuss languages. Speak your mind, Irina.” Skadi urged, her statement blunt.

Irina’s shoulders dropped in defeat as she met Skadi’s gaze. "We never finished our conversation about Aerik."

At this, the Valkyri inhaled a deep breath and stood up straight, squaring her shoulders. “No, we did not.” She stated simply, for it was a fact. “And we must. We can no longer go on pretending or ignoring that which is unspoken.”

Skadi gestured to a wooden chair nearby, “Take a seat, if you wish.” She said, before she began to clean up the table, moving her work aside for the time being. After a moment, she glanced back at the other young woman, her expression as calm and placid as a frozen lake.

“Would you like something to drink? I have tea brewed.” ​

 

[Irina Jesart]

The prospect of learning another language was enough to distract her from the knot in her stomach, it presented another opportunity with it, a chance to get to know Skadi better, to understand where she had come from as well as who she was now.

"I'd like that." she agreed softly, her hands coming to rest on the back of the chair as Skadi rose, the tension that had slid away at discussing something simple returning as the reason she had come here settled between them, Irina took a steadying breath and nodded, settling into the chair and bringing her arms to rest against the table top, though her back remained stiff.

"Tea would be fine, thank you."

Her dark eyes watched Skadi move away, before trailing once more around the room taking in the detail, lingering on the wolf heads banners. she recalled Aerik mentioning that Skadi's family worshipped the wolf. She wondered how that had affected her now she had seen what he could shift into.

When Skadi returned with tea, irina accept a mug, fingers wrapping around it slowly.

"Before we begin...I think it would be prudent if we agree to speak plainly and honestly. It would save any embarrassment that might be had if thing are interpreted incorrectly." She paused, looking down at the steaming liquid for a moment. "I will also do my best to control my temper."

Skadi Lightbane

 

[Skadi Lightbane]

Irina Jesart ​

Skadi was pleased to hear that Irina was interested in learning her language, and she made a mental note to perhaps find time with the other young woman in which to do so. But for now, they had other matters to attend to, and the Valkyri could sense Irina’s tension as she walked across her chamber to where the kettle sat. There were easier ways of brewing drink and making food, but Skadi preferred more traditional methods. It was how she had been raised and while advanced society had its advantages, she found that she held a certain distaste for it.

She poured the tea first for Irina, being that she was the guest, before she poured her own mug and returned to the table with both in hand. She handed Irina her mug, then took a seat across from the other girl. As soon as she had done so, Irina spoke up, indicating how she wished for the conversation to proceed.

"Before we begin...I think it would be prudent if we agree to speak plainly and honestly. It would save any embarrassment that might be had if things are interpreted incorrectly." Irina’s eyes dropped to the steaming mug in her hands, before saying that she would do her best to control her temper.

“I agree, Irina. I was taught to speak plainly and honestly. It has…stirred more trouble for me since leaving home than I would like to admit but…” Skadi trailed off and after a moment, shrugged. “I would ask that if I say something that you do not understand, that you seek clarification before deciding to get angry.” she paused briefly, keeping her voice low and purposefully soft - the way her Mother had taught her in order to keep tempers cool between warring men.

“Now - where would you like to start? Ask your questions; I will do my best to answer them.” she finished saying, taking a sip of her tea as she waited for the ice to break and for the heart of the matter to be brought to the surface. She hoped that, by the end of this meeting and conversation, she and Irina might be able to consider one another allies, and if Skadi was lucky...perhaps something that might resemble the beginnings of a kinship. ​

 

[Irina Jesart]

Irina's jaw tightened at her request regarding her anger, eyes flashing. It was a perfectly reasonable request and one she would do her best to adhere to but she did not like being called out on it. there were two people in the galaxy she could accept calling her out on her temper, and both of them were Lechner's. She exhaled a huff of a breath from her nose. "Very well."

For a moment she didn't speak, her jaw working as she tried to find the right place to start. What was it that she needed to know, to understand? All of it, truthfully, but perhaps it would be better to start with an explanation.

"Where I grew up, wives and daughters are mostly seen as property. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are few and far between. There is only ever one wife. If a man takes a mistresses, it is accepted but it is a slight against his wife, a sign to the whole court that she has failed to meet his needs..." She trailed off, her gaze dropping to the mug in her hands that she fiddled with without drinking.

"This...is not that. But I have no experience or understanding of what this is supposed to be. What you expect...what Aerik expects."

Skadi Lightbane

 

[Skadi Lightbane]

Irina Jesart ​

Skadi noticed the temper flash behind Irina’s eyes, and the muscles working at her jaw. It seemed her words about Irina checking her anger did not settle well with the other girl. But, to her credit, Irina kept her temper under control, and agreed to Skadi’s request with a sharp huff of breath.

For the next little bit, there was silence as Irina seemed to try to find her words, or at least word her thoughts in a manner that could start their conversation. Eventually, however, she began to speak, sharing a bit of background information for Skadi to absorb.

Almost immediately, she recognized similarities between them, and their upbringings. Women and daughters were a form of property, and a glint of solemn understanding flickered in Skadi’s eyes. She stayed quiet to let the other girl say what she needed to say, and she began to realize just why Irina struggled with the idea that Aerik had another woman in his life, and not just her.

Irina trailed off, her hands wrapping around the warm mug of tea before her. She didn’t drink, likely too deep in thought to sip on it.

"This...is not that. But I have no experience or understanding of what this is supposed to be. What you expect...what Aerik expects." Irina confessed after a moment of silence, and Skadi remained quiet for several moments longer, gathering her own thoughts before responding.

“It was the same for me, growing up. Women, daughters, are tools for alliances between clans and houses. That is what I was raised and prepared for my entire life, until I fled…” Skadi paused for a moment and looked into her cup of tea as well, before taking a sip. “In our world, though, it is not uncommon for a man to have more than one woman as his partner. It is an accepted, normal part of our culture, our way of life.” she said after a few moments of silence, before looking up from her mug and back at Irina. “It is why I am so…at ease with the knowledge that Aerik and you are together. It is normal for me. But…I understand that it is not something normal for you.”

She paused for a moment once more, turning her thoughts to what Irina had said earlier - about expectations, from her and from Aerik. That she had no experience with something like this. It was new, the path forward - murky.

"I have no expectations of you, Irina. To place such things on you would be...too much. I cannot speak for Aerik and what he expects, and I will not. That is on him, to tell us - when the time comes. I will tell you what I want, and perhaps we can find some common ground between us from that. I want for you to be who you are with Aerik, even with knowing that I am there. I want for you and I to...be more than what we are, right now. I know that it will take time, but since we are speaking honestly between each other, what I want is another woman in my life that I can connect with. I left my siblings behind, my mother behind, all the women I have ever known - and there is a hole in my heart. I just want another girl I can gossip with, I can spend time with - a...a friend. But I will not push nor force that upon you."

Skadi was vulnerable for a moment, the confession slipping free to be laid bare between the two of them. She had said much, perhaps more than she should have. But it was something she seemed to always do. "What do you expect from me in this, Irina? What do you want to see from this?" ​