Private Lambs To The Slaughter.

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

The shuttle whispered through the upper atmosphere, a shadow on the pale clouds. Chandrila stretched beneath them in fields of emerald and gold, a tapestry of rivers and quiet towns, crowned by the gleam of its noble estates. Beyond the viewport, the planet's soft beauty looked almost fragile, as though it might crumble to ash if Virelia willed it so.

She stood at the window, tall and still, the faint pulse of the crystalline node at her chest catching the reflection of the stars beyond. The violet glow of her eyes—sixfold through the mask—bathed the glass with an unholy shimmer, as though the shuttle carried its own twilight. One hand rested upon the sill of the viewport, fingers curled with the casual poise of a queen who had never needed to clutch or strain for anything.

The silence between them was deliberate. Heavy. Intimate.

Behind her, Valaine sat within the passenger's berth, pale and tired, but still restless. The shuttle hummed low, a steady vibration that threaded through the soles of her boots. Every breath still tasted faintly of iron—hunger gnawing at her ribs, reminding her of what waited below. The nobles of Chandrila. The promise of prey untainted by filth.

Virelia did not turn yet. She let her apprentice sit in the quiet, let the weight of her own presence and the looming sight of the world beneath them stir and unsettle. When at last she spoke, her voice was low, smooth, rich—like wine poured slow into a waiting glass.

"Tell me, Valaine," she said, each word drawn with the precision of a blade sliding between ribs. "When you look down on a world like this—soft, green, unscarred—what do you see?"

The question hung there. Not a riddle, not a lecture. A trap made of silk.

Her fingers tapped once against the viewport, as though to emphasize the lands sprawled below. "Do you see a place to hide? A feast? A lie? Or do you see something else—something to conquer, to burn, to take until it is nothing but yours?"

She finally turned, the motion slow, deliberate. Her cloak whispered against the metal floor, her mask catching the faint light until it seemed she wore a crown of violet fire. Those six eyes locked on the Sangnir, pinning her where she sat.

"You spoke of survival, before. That all you wanted was to endure." She took a single step closer, then another, until her shadow fell over the girl where she sat. "But survival is not enough here. Not on Chandrila. Not in the Sith. Not with me."

Her head tilted, the gesture at once predatory and almost affectionate. "So I ask again, my little ember. When you look upon this world, trembling in the void, what do you see?"

The shuttle's engines thrummed on, carrying them closer to their descent. But the chamber seemed suspended in its own gravity—just the two of them, the glow of violet eyes, and the verdant planet waiting below like a carcass waiting to be carved.

Virelia did not move further, nor raise her hand to force the answer from her throat. She simply waited, a mask of patience, but her presence pressed against the girl like fire against skin. The question was not just a question. It was a demand. A command.

And the wrong answer, Valaine already knew, could prove far more dangerous than the flames she had faced before.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Valaine watched as the planet of Chandrila had come into view, green and verdant, it promised serenity and peace, but the pale Sangnir understood neither.

She watched as her Mistress approached her while she remained seated, turning her tired grey eyes up to greet her silently. She still felt that hunger deep within her and it had worsened, bringing forth pain within her that she could not alleviate. It put the young girl on edge and made her irritable, but she was a lot calmer than when she was in the courtyard with the braziers.

"When you look down on a world like this—soft, green, unscarred—what do you see?"

Valaine turned her gaze from Virelia to gaze up the Chandrila and she spoke her mind. "... It looks... Barren and exposed?" she answered, giving an answer that was perhaps expected considering she grew up on Jutrand. "This kind of place... The fact it doesn't look like it's been touched by war, it can't possibly make people of any note or worth. How could they be if they've only known peace?" she asked as she turned back to her Mistress. "... But that makes me want to ask; why hasn't this place been torn apart? Its people must be weak, right?"

She had no idea that Virelia herself had come from Chandrila as she regarded her with a sense of ignorance. "You say survival isn't enough down there but... What do you mean by that? It doesn't look like a dangerous place at all." she answered once more.

The Sangnir remained seated as she leaned forward, her elbows resting upon her knees as she sighed impatiently. "It'd probably be really easy for just about any kind of army to come over here and just take it over..." she mused idly. "They probably wouldn't even put up a fight..."

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

Virelia let a low hum slip past her lips, the sound curling like smoke in the chamber as she drew closer, slow, deliberate, until the glow of her eyes painted the Sangnir's pale face violet. She did not sit—she loomed, every line of her frame perfectly composed, a predator savoring the moment before the strike.

Her hand lifted, fingers trailing lazily through the air before coming to rest at the girl's jaw, tilting her face up once more. Not rough—never rough—but insistent, inevitable.

"Peace, my ember…" she whispered, her tone velvet laced with steel. "Peace breeds weakness in the flesh, yes. But never underestimate the strength it can weave in the mind."

Her thumb brushed against the corner of Valaine's lip, hovering over her fang for a lingering second before drawing away, denying the instinct she knew it provoked.

"Chandrila does not endure because it is defended by soldiers or walls. It endures because it corrupts. Slowly. Sweetly. Its beauty dulls the instincts of conquerors. Its wealth buys their silence. Its ideals infect the young until they cannot imagine a galaxy without it."

She straightened, circling her apprentice, her voice carrying low and dark through the shuttle's hum.

"War breaks bones, but corruption rewrites the marrow. It is subtler than the saber, sharper than flame. It slips inside a man without him noticing—and by the time he does, it is already his desire."

Her steps halted behind the Sangnir, and her breath teased the girl's ear as she leaned close once more.

"That is why no army has burned these fields, Valaine. Because armies march on passion, but corruption whispers to their generals. It seduces them. And in the end, even conquerors kneel—gratefully."

Her hand slid from the girl's jaw to her shoulder, fingers curling possessively for a heartbeat before she released her again, a deliberate gift of space that felt like a leash lengthened, not broken.

"Survival is simple. Anyone can scavenge, claw, bite rats in the dark. But corruption—" she tilted her helm toward the world beyond the glass, six eyes gleaming, "—corruption is survival exalted. Survival made into power. That is what Chandrila teaches, even when it does not mean to."

And then, soft as silk but cutting as glass:

"You understand now, don't you, my ember? Why survival is never enough."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Valaine tilted her head to look up at Virelia who came to loom over her as she sat, and she waited for that hand to reach down to her jaw, not shying away or refusing it as she was made to look up at her. As the thumb brushed against her lips she thought on Virelia's words. She could understand it, how peace might be intoxicatingly alluring to the point that people could lay down their arms at the promise of it. Who didn't want peace, after all? An end to all strife and pain, an existence that served you rather than one you clawed for.

"Chandrila does not endure because it is defended by soldiers or walls. It endures because it corrupts. Slowly. Sweetly. Its beauty dulls the instincts of conquerors. Its wealth buys their silence. Its ideals infect the young until they cannot imagine a galaxy without it."

"Must be nice growing up there... Being born into a life like that." commented Valaine lightly as Virelia circled around to behind her. She turned her gaze back towards the planet as she felt the hot breath against her pointed ear, lightly causing the Sangnir to shudder. Those ears were pretty sensitive after all!

She gulped lightly as she felt that hand trailing from her jaw, to her neck, and then her shoulder once more. There was some level of comfort in the touch, it didn't feel as controlling or harsh as it typically did, but something softer, and it seemed to relax the pale girl. "This planet... It seems like the sort I could see you thrive in. You never struck me as a warlord or a conqueror... Would you prefer every planet to be like this one? Sounds... idyllic." she commented as her head tilted up so that her tired eyes could glance up towards her Mistress who stood just behind her.

"I... Still can't make out what you mean with corruption and survival though... But maybe that's why I'm here."

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

For a long moment, Virelia said nothing.

She lingered behind the Sangnir's chair, a shadow draped in violet glow, the hum of the shuttle filling the silence like a dirge. Her hand did not leave Valaine's shoulder; instead it tightened, not with cruelty, but with weight, as if anchoring her in place while something older and heavier rippled through the masked woman.

Her six eyes stared past the girl, past the transparisteel, down onto Chandrila's glittering forests and rivers. It was a sight that might have seemed serene, but in the angles of her helm it looked less like serenity and more like accusation.

Her touch drifted upward, fingers trailing slowly along the Sangnir's collarbone, up the curve of her neck, back to her jaw once more—holding, tilting, but not quite forcing. This time there was no teasing thumb against the lips, no licentious game in the gesture. It was steady, deliberate, quiet.

When she spoke, her voice was low. Not sharp, not taunting, not even indulgent. It was weighted, hushed with something uncharacteristically solemn.

"I didn't get the chance."

Her words slipped into the silence like a knife, too thin to resist, too clean to ignore.

And then there was nothing more. No explanation. No story. Just the hand that remained at the Sangnir's jaw, thumb brushing once against her pale skin—not flirtatious, but grounding, a reminder that the darkness holding her together was not born from nothing.

The silence stretched after, thicker than any lecture, heavier than any riddle. The neon glow of her eyes cast its soft shimmer across Valaine's cheek, an intimacy not of lust but of truth withheld, grief caged, power born of something broken.

Her grip softened, withdrawing slowly until her fingers trailed down once again across the girl's throat, then back to her shoulder. Possession, yes. Claim, yes. But also the faintest semblance of trust—showing her something that had not been shaped into weaponry yet, leaving it in the air like smoke between them.

And with nothing else said, Virelia simply filled the air with one more heartfelt musing.

"I hope I have been good to you."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

While Virelia gazed out over the planet Valaine kept her head tilted back to look up at her. The silence was drawn and deafening and she wondered if she had said something she disagreed with. Though the hold on her shoulder told her that she hadn't. The hand of her Mistress stroked up her neck and to her jaw once more as she kept her tired eyes fixated upon her, and again she had that sense that this touch was different. As seemingly gentle as it always was but without the barbs of commanded obedience.

"I didn't get the chance."

It was then that Valaine knew she had perhaps unintentionally offended her Mistress, but those words spoken so softly and so casually, it was in such a fashion that she had never heard her speak in before. Like for just a moment she had taken off the mask, metaphorically this time, to speak to her fumbling apprentice.

"Ah-... I'm... Sorry, Mistress, I didn't know..." apologized the Sangnir. To know where Virelia came from helped humanize her further, like the time she actually revealed her face to her. It was a part of their dynamic that Valaine struggled most with, seeing her Mistress as anything but a six-eyed alien and manipulative tyrant.

The thumb brushed against her soft skin and for a moment she viewed their relationship in a different light, less so the Mistress and her pet on a leash, but rather a teacher and a student. A genuine relationship not built on the dynamic of power between them, but one of shared knowledge and experience.

"I hope I have been good to you."

The young Sangnir appeared stunned by such a phrase given to her by her Mistress. "Uh-...?" she stammered, uncertain how to respond. A light pout appeared on her lips as she considered her response. "... Given what I'm like, and I know I'm not... Easy to deal with... I'd say you've been better than most..." she answered honestly. Even though Virelia had twice tormented her with flame up to this point, she knew she was getting off easy. Any other Master would've killed her for her disobedience, her defiance. When all was accounted for; Virelia had been better than Valaine honestly deserved.

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

Virelia's hand lingered at Valaine's jaw as she absorbed the words—simple, begrudging, honest. The compliment was no small thing from lips that so often armored themselves with venom and defiance. She let the silence stretch a moment longer, her breath steady behind the mask, before she exhaled softly and drew her hand back.

The crystalline glow of Chandrila's surface reflected faintly in the violet panes of her helm. It made her look almost unreal, some phantom conjured of glass and light. And then, with the faintest motion of her fingers, the seals of her mask broke with a hiss. She lifted it free, slow and deliberate, blonde hair spilling loose beneath, a fall of gold catching the shuttle's sterile light.

For the second time, Valaine saw her face—too young, almost fragile in its beauty, but sharpened by eyes that burned with a neon depth no human gaze should hold. No concealment now, no alien visor. Just her. Serina Calis.

Her lips curved, not in smugness, not in command, but in something quieter, rarer.

"Thank you."

The words were soft, honest, lacking the calculated inflection she so often used like a blade. Her eyes held Valaine's with unrelenting intensity, but without mockery. A look that acknowledged her in return.

Her fingers came up, brushing once more across the Sangnir's cheek—bare skin now, no gauntlet, no metal. Warmth and contact, simple and direct. The intimacy was unmistakable, but the dominance was tempered with a gravity that made the gesture heavier than her usual teasing.

"I do not often hear such things."

Her voice wavered with a note that could almost have been sorrow. She let her thumb stroke over the girl's cheekbone, down to the corner of her mouth. The closeness pressed like a weight, but it carried no fire, no threat—only an unyielding claim.

The silence returned again, charged and personal, as her hand slipped down from Valaine's cheek to rest lightly against her throat. This time, the grip was not tight, not demanding. Just there. A reminder of connection, not of chains.

"I am glad it was from you."

The moment lingered—warm, unmasked, unbearably human—before Serina let it slip away like a silk ribbon drawn from trembling fingers. The softness in her eyes cooled, her hand trailing down Valaine's throat just long enough to feel the quick pulse there. A faint, knowing smile touched her lips as she leaned close, her breath brushing against the Sangnir's ear.

"Don't mistake kindness for freedom," she murmured, velvet-dark, the weight of command curling beneath every word. "What I show you is mine to give… and mine to take away."

Then, with practiced grace, the mask slid back into place. The seals locked with a hiss, the six violet eyes flickering alive once more, swallowing the young woman in their predatory glow. The softness of her face vanished as if it had never existed, replaced by Darth Virelia in full—dominion incarnate, licentious and terrifying in her inevitability.

She straightened, cloak settling like shadow about her shoulders, and turned her gaze back to the green sprawl of Chandrila below as the shuttle began its final descent.

"Now…" her voice purred, resonant once more through the helm's modulator, "let us see how well you wear hunger when given proper prey."

The landing struts touched down with a final, echoing thrum.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

With the mask removed Valaine once more was witness to Serina herself, rather than the Mistress she knew. She always seemed taken off-guard by her evident beauty as she blushed lightly in response. So easy was it to forget that behind that mask was a very human woman, one that gazed back down at her with intent. The bare hand against the young Sangnir's cheek caused her to shiver lightly in response at first, and when she heard Serina's genuine words of thanks, or perhaps even vulnerability, she couldn't help but ponder who she used to be, and whether they could have perhaps been friends under different circumstances.

A light frown appeared on Valaine's lips as she stared back up at Serina. "... Kind of bothers me that someone feels like they need to hide such a pretty face all the time..." she spoke in response to her as she felt the woman's hand move down to her throat, a much gentler touch than usual. Serina in this moment was so different that she pondered briefly if she had some sort of split personality disorder...

When Serina leaned down towards her she, for a moment, thought she was going to kiss her again. But those lips moved to her pointed ear instead, and the whisper was very much Virelia, not Serina. There was a cadence to the words, a weight behind them that easily seemed to separate the two.

As the mask slid back onto the face of her Mistress she knew that Serina had once more departed, and that Virelia had returned, and so Valaine adjusted herself accordingly. Now more subservient, more respectful in her words again, more professional. Finally the Sangnir lowered her head to look back upon Chandrila as she listened to Virelia.

"Mistress... I do want to make you uh, aware of just one thing..." voiced Valaine as the shuttle touched the ground. "... I won't kill. Killing when feeding is what ruined my life, I won't do it again..."

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

The violet eyes of Virelia's mask locked on the Sangnir, and though the helm hid her expression, the weight of her intent pressed down all the same. Her gloved fingers drifted once more to the girl's cheek, tracing lightly as though savoring the memory of her earlier blush.

"You think my face pretty…" she purred, voice low, sultry even through the modulator. "You don't know what that does to me, little fang." The leather of her glove creaked softly as she gripped the Sangnir's jaw a little firmer, just enough to make her feel the claim. "Praise from your lips is rarer than any jewel on this world. Dangerous, addictive… and I will have more of it."

Her hand slid lower, to her throat—always the throat—pressing just enough for Valaine to feel her pulse thrumming against the gauntlet's palm. The intensity was licentious, possessive, and the tilt of her helm suggested she was drinking in the sight of the girl's fluster as much as the feel of her skin.

"You will not kill," she said at last, voice silk dragged over steel. "Good. I do not want them dead. Nobles taste sweeter when they fear they might live. Their blood runs richer when the heart still beats. You will drink, you will leave them trembling, and they will remember that you touched them."

Her thumb stroked once along the Sangnir's lips, parting them slightly, exposing those short fangs again. The gesture was shameless, deliberate, designed to fluster and to tempt. "You'll learn to savor the terror of your prey without wasting it. Hunger, restrained, becomes ecstasy. And I…" the mask inclined closer, "…I will teach you restraint. I will teach you indulgence."

The shuttle doors hissed as they unlocked, light from Chandrila's green plains spilling into the cabin. Virelia released her apprentice's throat only to rest her hand possessively at her shoulder, steering her toward the exit.

"Come. Let us go and find you a noble's pulse to drink. Let them live in awe and in fear of what touched them tonight."

The way she said what, not who, carried all the weight of domination—Valaine would be made into something more. Something monstrous, beautiful, and utterly hers.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Valaine offered a light pout of coyness at Virelia's words.

"Praise from your lips is rarer than any jewel on this world. Dangerous, addictive… and I will have more of it."

"Come on now, it's hardly like I'm the only person that's called you pretty... I bet a bunch have." she answered with a lowered tone, the pale Sangnir was still lightly flustered. As always her neck was fully exposed for the hand that grasped it so often as her tired eyes watched Virelia intently.

She appeared thankful that her request to not kill any of her victims was accepted, she had her doubts that it would be but it appeared that the two were on a similar page when it came to the senseless killing of others. She felt the thumb pass over her soft gentle lips as her short fangs were exposed briefly once more, the urge to bite down was always there, but she had mastered that instinct when it came to her Mistress.

When the doors of the shuttle hissed it drew the young Sangnir's attention as her eyes shifted down to the opening that lit up the interior of the ship, and with the firm and reminding hand upon her shoulder Valaine finally stood up and started to make her way onto the planet of Chandrila itself.

The first thing to hit her was the air, so clear and clean, like she hadn't taken a full breath of air until that very moment as she felt it fill her lungs. A soft drawn exhale followed as her tired eyes glanced around. "... Are you sure I won't stick out...?" she asked her Mistress. Valaine hadn't brought her dark robes that she typically wore, but rather some of her more casual attire which included a light grey jacket cuffed with synthetic furs at the sleeves and collar, her dark long hair left to fall down her back and sway with the breeze. It was an outfit more suited to the urban sprawls of Jutrand than the vast openness of Chandrila however.

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

The helm tilted down toward her apprentice, violet lenses burning with that hungry, almost feverish intent. Virelia's gauntlet shifted from the Sangnir's shoulder to her jaw again, thumb brushing along her lips as if she were already addicted to the motion.

"You pout as if you don't know what you've just given me," she said softly, leaning closer until her modulated voice was little more than a whisper in Valaine's ear. "And yes, others have called me beautiful. But none of them made my pulse quicken the way you do when you resist saying it… and then slip. That rarity makes it worth a hundred empty compliments."

Her fingers pressed just a little firmer along the girl's throat, savoring the pulse that jumped there. "It makes me want to devour you whole. And it makes me want to reward you, too." A husky pause, then the helm inclined back, finally releasing her.

Virelia let her hand trail down Valaine's arm as she moved to lead her forward, out into Chandrila's air. The scent of green fields, flowering gardens, and clean wind filled the shuttle ramp. For a brief moment, Virelia seemed still—her masked head turning toward the horizon like she was drinking in her birthworld again after a long exile.

Then she turned back to Valaine, voice smooth as velvet dragged over steel. "You will not stick out. Not with me beside you. You will not be the monster they fear in shadows tonight—you will be the jewel at my side, the curiosity that none dare question." Her hand swept in a languid gesture to the land below. "And this world will be your table."

They moved along a stone path leading away from the landing field, Virelia's cloak trailing across the grass as she guided Valaine with a steadying hand at her back. The road soon gave way to walls of white stone and gilded gates—House Calis's Chandrilan estate. Great spires rose beyond, lights glittering against the dusk. The sound of laughter, stringed instruments, and the murmur of nobles at revelry drifted on the air.

"Here," Virelia murmured, her voice both fond and scathing. "The House I was born into. My brother—Dominic Calis—holds it now. He believes himself lordly, the perfect heir. In truth, he is merely a caretaker of my legacy. His wealth, his guests, even his life… they endure only because I allow it."

The gates parted at their approach without question, guards bowing as the six-eyed helm turned their way. Virelia guided Valaine through, their steps echoing into the grand courtyard where carriages and speeders were arriving. Chandrilan nobles dressed in silks of emerald and ivory swept across the marble, laughter sweet as honeyed wine. The scent of perfumes and rose oils thickened the air.

Virelia leaned in, lowering her masked face just above her apprentice's shoulder. Her hand squeezed her hip, fingers shameless even in the open air. "Do you feel it, my little fang? They are soft. Exposed. Too full of their own pleasure to guard against you. You need only choose."

She guided her up the stair, into the golden light of the hall. Chandrilan marble stretched beneath their feet, and chandeliers glittered overhead. Nobles turned their heads, whispering at the sight of the masked woman and her pale, raven-haired companion.

"They will all want to know who you are," Virelia purred, her voice for Valaine alone as she drew her close against her side. "Let them guess. Let them ache to be chosen. Tonight you will feed, not in shadows, not in filth—but in silk and in luxury. This is the reward for obedience. This is what it means to be mine."

Her hand trailed down Valaine's back, pressing her toward the throng of glittering prey. "Now show me what catches your eye."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

"And yes, others have called me beautiful. But none of them made my pulse quicken the way you do when you resist saying it… and then slip. That rarity makes it worth a hundred empty compliments."

Valaine glanced sidelong at her Mistress with a soft hum of thought. "... I'm sure you're just saying that." she muttered gently, convinced that Virelia was just trying to dig her claws further into her than she already had. But the way Valaine said it lacked a mocking or defiant tone, it was a genuine response of doubt and suspicion.

As they made their way onto the planet proper and walked along its stone paths the young Sangnir's tired eyes seemed to take in all around her. Her pupils even constricted into slits so that she could observe the heat of the surrounding area too. She saw mostly dark hues of blue, but many dots of brighter heat like stars in a dark sea, it was somewhat an overwhelmingly and complex view and so her sight returned to normal.

Her heightened senses however did quickly catch the scent of perfume on the air, an almost overpowering and cloying amount of it as she scrunched her face in response for just a moment. The sounds too, she heard them distantly but clearly as they continued up the stairs. "Ugh-... Yeah, I feel it... Everyone's wearing so many different brands that I can't separate them..." she muttered once more.

When they entered the hall the Sangnir squinted against the light for a moment before she was able to focus on those present. Her eyes darted between the highborn of Chandrila with a searching gaze. She could feed off any she wanted...? She was truly being spoilt by her Mistress.

"I-... You know I'm not really... The social sort of feeder, I've never like... Convinced someone to do it, I sort of just..." she gave a light shrug, she was an ambush hunter mostly, and so she lacked confidence in her ability to be something of a more suave and social one in order to get her meal.

With the gentle push to her back however the decision to hunt in such a manner was made for her, and so steadily did Valaine start making her way into the crowds...

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

Virelia let the Sangnir drift forward into the golden light of the hall, her pale frame stiff in its uncertainty. But she did not leave her apprentice adrift for long. A hand found Valaine's hip, fingers curving with deliberate intimacy, and she guided her toward the side of the chamber. The mask turned, the six violet eyes catching chandeliers in glints of amethyst fire as the nobles parted around them like a tide.

"You are not here to stumble in front of jackals," her voice purred, velvet against steel. "Not yet. You are here to taste. To be rewarded. To indulge."

A door opened for them before they even reached it, two servants bowing their heads so low their hair brushed the polished marble. Virelia did not need to speak; her presence alone commanded compliance. She led Valaine through into a smaller salon beyond the main hall—a chamber veiled with silks of violet and pale gold, perfumed air thick with rosewater and spice. Low couches were arranged around a marble table, upon which goblets of crystalline wine already glistened.

Three women lounged upon the couches, decadent creatures draped in silks that revealed as much as they concealed. Jewels clung to their throats and wrists like drops of starlight. They rose as one at Virelia's approach, their eyes wide, their smiles pliant. There was no hesitation in them, no fear. They were enthralled, caught long before tonight. Their beauty was ripe, their bodies soft, and each carried the air of wealth and indulgence only Chandrilan nobility could wear without shame.

Virelia's hand pressed more firmly into Valaine's back, steering her toward the sight. "You see? I do not cast you into shadow and command you to scavenge. I place jewels at your feet and say: choose."

She stepped closer to her apprentice, breath brushing against her ear through the modulation of her helm. "They are here for you. They will not scream. They will not resist. They will not remember, save that it was pleasure."

One of the women—tall, flame-haired, draped in emerald silk—sank to her knees before Virelia, head bowed like a priestess at worship. The Sith's gauntleted hand cupped her chin, tilting it up so her lips parted in silent offering. The other two mirrored her, turning toward Valaine with wide eyes that shone with docility and need.

Virelia did not release the redhead immediately. Instead, she leaned down, her masked visage hovering just above the noblewoman's lips. Then she turned her helm toward Valaine, voice low, rich, commanding.

"Look at them, my little fang. Look at how eager they are to be consumed. This is what your hunger deserves. Not rats. Not refuse. Silk and wine, perfumed skin and trembling submission."

She pushed the kneeling woman gently aside, her hand gliding from her throat down over her chest with an unhurried possessiveness. "Take them. Feed. Do not fear breaking them—my bindings hold them. They exist for this moment, for you."

The helm tilted, six violet eyes fixing on the Sangnir with suffocating intimacy. "Do not think of survival. Think of indulgence. Think of claiming what is yours by my hand."

Her fingers once more brushed along Valaine's jaw, then to her lips, pressing lightly until her fangs were revealed in the glimmer of silken lamplight.

"Go on," she whispered, voice thick with hunger and promise. "Taste what it means to be mine."

The noblewomen stirred, shifting closer, silks rustling, the scent of rosewater and perfume filling the air. Their throats bared, soft and waiting. And all the while, Virelia's hand remained on her apprentice's shoulder—both a weight and a comfort, a chain and a caress—reminding Valaine she was watched, guided, and that this feast was no accident, but a gift.

"You will not go hungry again."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Valaine felt herself caught by the clawed hand of her Mistress once more, just before she was about to stammer through social encounters... There was something of a sigh of relief that came over her when she was instead led away to somewhere quieter, somewhere more private. Valaine was never a social butterfly and that her Mistress had picked up on so many of her quirks and habits at this point was certainly showing, and appreciated.

Being led into the salon she witnessed the three nobles before her and the reverence in which they offered to Virelia. She pondered briefly just how far her shadows crept to have such a grasp over so many. The Sangnir's eyes settled on each of the three woman before her as she observed them in silence for a moment. Clean skin, highborn, perfumed and pretty, they were certainly the type of prey she typically hunted, the type of blood she most enjoyed.

There was the rare occasion that someone was willing to let the Sangnir feed on them but they were few and far between, so to have such an offer made to her of three delectable vessels of blood? She could already feel her pale face tinting a light pink at the thought of the feast she would indulge herself in.

Her gaze pulled away from them and returned to Virelia as that claw came to her jaw, brushing her skin and revealing fangs once more as her Mistress so often seemed to enjoy doing, almost like she was consistently exposing Valaine for what she was to her, that there was no secret she could keep that she wouldn't reveal.

"Go on," she whispered, voice thick with hunger and promise. "Taste what it means to be mine."

At those words Valaine turned back to the three women before her and after the brief hesitance that came from having an audience... She finally took a step forward towards the redheaded one. The Sangnir's hand reached forward to brush through her hair, a gentle grip as she pulled her head to one side and revealed her neck. The way Valaine fed in this moment almost seemed sensual as she pressed her form upon that of her prey's firmly, an arm wrapping around the noble girl and then finally lips to her neck before the plunge of her fangs sank into perfect skin.

There was pain. Always pain. Those short fangs guaranteed that her victims would feel the sting and pressure of all her teeth against their throats as she bit down firmly. As Valaine drank there was the quietest of moans of pleasure from her mouth muffled against the neck of the woman, and then just as quickly as she had bitten down she pulled her lips, dripping with blood, away. It was only a brief respite however as she turned to the other side of her neck and bit down again.

The Sangnir kept both her arms wrapped tightly around her prey as she fed now, her body gently pushing and rubbing against theirs, and it was clear that Virelia was about to bear witness to quite the feeding frenzy that'd display just how indulgent the little Sangnir could be...

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rewards for good behaviour."

Tags - Valaine Valentine

And then Virelia moved.

Slow, deliberate. She prowled around the pair of them, cloak trailing, the sharp lines of her armor catching the firelight of perfumed lamps. Her voice slid into the chamber like smoke.

"Good…" The word was low, indulgent, thick with approval. "Don't sip. Don't ration. Take what you are owed."

The clawed fingers of her gauntlet brushed through Valaine's dark hair, gripping it at the base of her skull and tilting her prey's head back further, baring more throat, more vulnerable skin. "Do you feel her trembling? That is not fear, my little fang. That is surrender. You are giving her what she never knew she craved."

Virelia leaned closer, her mask nearly grazing Valaine's temple. Her whisper was velvet and venom both. "Make her yours. Leave her shaking. Feed until she dreams only of your teeth in her flesh."

The noblewoman moaned faintly under the Sangnir's bite, silks clinging as her body softened into the predatory embrace. Virelia's claws left her throat and traced down Valaine's back, dragging slow lines across her jacket. She let her fingers linger, pressing firmly between her shoulders. A reminder that the chain was there, a weight both intimate and controlling.

The other two nobles had not moved. They stood transfixed, their breathing shallow, their eyes wide and glazed with the spell Virelia's presence always wove. She turned her helm toward them briefly, and they both sank to their knees without a word, offering themselves forward.

"See how easy it is?" she purred, returning her focus to Valaine. "You thought yourself a scavenger, snatching scraps. But look." She gestured to the two women kneeling, eager, helpless. "They line up to be drained. That is the power I promised you. That is what it means to be mine."

Her voice dropped lower, intimate, molten. "Do not stop. Not yet. Take more than you think you can. Take until you feel her heart hammer against your tongue. Take until your hunger burns, and then take again. I will not let you break her—she is mine, too. But I want to see you try."

She crouched now, gauntlet curling once more around Valaine's throat—not to pull her back, but to press her forward into her victim's neck, encouraging, commanding, forcing indulgence to eclipse restraint. The pressure of her grip was firm, licentious, undeniably dominant.

"Feed, my little fang," she whispered, the modulation of her helm turning the words into something both sacred and obscene. "Feed until you cannot remember what it felt like to starve."

And as the noblewoman whimpered in helpless ecstasy, as Valaine's lips stained with crimson, Virelia's other hand gestured lazily toward the kneeling pair. "And when you are finished with this one," she murmured, "there are two more waiting. Waiting to learn your bite, waiting to know that you are mine."

Her claws traced lower on the Sangnir's throat, lingering possessively at the rapid beat of her pulse. "I will teach you to make feeding not survival, not shame… but art."

The mask tilted, six eyes glinting violet fire. "Show me, Valaine. Show me how beautifully you can sin."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Valaine felt the clawed talon at the base of her neck as her Mistress tilted the head of the noble woman further back to expose the neck further, seeming to all but push the Sangnir into a deeper bite against her. A brief heated sigh escaped her nose as she kept her mouth firmly on the neck she fed from, her arms still tightly clutching her meal. But again those short fangs pulled back only to bite in a different location, and then again. It was evident that Valaine enjoyed that sensation, the bite upon flesh, the feeling of her fangs breaking skin and sinking deep as crimson flowed over her tongue. She liked the way it caused pain to her victim, liked the way that they shuddered and shook in response to the stabbing incision, their gasps of pain. She was a cruel feeder when she was given the chance to sate herself freely.

Her teeth always left those full marks; now peppering what was once an unblemished canvas of skin. Her thin form shuddered in delight as she continued to feed in such a fashion and at the encouragement and touch of her Mistress. As Virelia gestured to the two that still waited for her bite her tired eyes glanced aside at them while she fed. She was beginning to understand the pleasure she was being rewarded with, the fruits of her efforts given to her by Virelia. She was starting to indulge and accept.

As she pulled her mouth back, lips dripping with blood, she exhaled a hot and unsteady breath as her hands placed upon the shoulders of the redheaded woman while she steadily pushed her down to the ground. The young Sangnir moved atop her and only then did she continue her feast. Her bites now struck a wider canvas, moving from neck and shoulders to the chest, the wrists, the thighs, anywhere she could bite she did so until the noble was covered in dotted crimson marks, but still alive.

When she believed she had drained the girl to her limits she sat up, straddling her waist, and then looked to the other two that still patiently waited for her fangs. Her Mistress had given her so much power in that moment, told her of the command she could wield, of the servitude these nobles would offer her. She gestured for the two to near her as they came to either side of the young Sangnir, and then Virelia witnessed the sheer greed of an unrestrained Valaine.

With an arm for each she brought them closer, fangs bared as they first sank into the throat of the one on her left. After the brief bite and suck of crimson she pulled away and almost immediately turned to deliver a bite to the other girl on her right. She fed from them both in equal measure, frequently switching between them while atop the redhead who was now weak and drained from her loss of blood. Now and then a gentle moan of desire and pleasure escaped the Sangnir's throat, her tired eyes half-lidded in delight as blood dripped down the corners of her mouth and down her neck.

When Virelia moved her talon to grip gently at Valaine's increasingly blood-stained throat she could feel the fluid being drank down in gulps, the life that was steadily being stolen from the women she was feeding on in such a decadent and indulgent manner. But she also might've noticed something new about her little apprentice, something yet unrevealed...

One of Valaine's hands planted firmly against the small of the back of one of the women suddenly started to extend in claws from the tips of her fingers, shining metallic and razor sharp, adorned with runes etched with care. They extended from one hand slowly, grazing painfully across delicate skin and slicing with ease through any silk in their path. It didn't seem that the young Sangnir was even aware that her claws had once again unsheathed without her intent or knowledge, but just as soon as they had appeared they suddenly retracted back into her hand while she continued her feast.