Private Of Demons & Angels

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:
//: Malachor V //:

Life suddenly began to surge on Malachor V. Transmissions began to communicate with other worlds, summoning them and drawing attention. A young woman stood on one of the ridges on the outskirts of the nearby living establishments. Strangers came and went, figures she didn't recognize. They seemed to be establishing something, creating a base for darkness.

Burnt eyes narrowed into thin slits. How dare they stain another world?

Kito wondered if they would slaughter the people of this world like they had slaughtered her people. She could still hear the screams of her siblings, her parents—everyone she had ever cared about.

The Sith had ravaged her people, enslaving them to fight in their pathetic wars.

She was a shaper, someone who breathed the Force through the elements. Her family had been a prestigious pyromancy family — born with a deep connection to the element. Their connection was almost divine, but no more. None were left, except her, who had been a foolish child chasing a lost pet.

Kito exhaled, flames licking the air she breathed. Her anger was rising, her distaste for the creatures of the night fueling the righteous fury.

It didn't take long; it seemed one had gone on patrol. She had seen the girl with raven hair and pale skin. Even under Malachor's dim light, the raven-haired girl's forbidden beauty seemed carved by the Force itself.

Fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade, feeling the imbued crystal thirst for the blood of the dark creature.

Unfortunately for her blade, Kito had an odd fascination for the girl. She wanted questions answered, and she seemed to be more open to talk than the six-eyed devil she had seen at the girl's side.

A hand reached for the aurodium Oni mask, finding comfort in what was left of her Father's war armor. He was rumored to fight with the ferocity of Agui, the mythical protector of her clan.

She didn't wear it, leaving it attached to her forehead. She wanted the girl to see who her executioner would be. With a leap, Kito began the hunt—each step branding Malachor's surface in crimson fire.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

Malachor V... What a boring and dull planet Valaine had thought. She'd seen a few now since leaving Jutrand, but this one was the worst. Terrible weather, terrible landscape, and the locals weren't that friendly either.

The young Sangnir trudged along an aimless path, lightly kicking errant stones out of her way as she did. She was meant to be patrolling, meant to be keeping her eyes out for trouble; she was doing anything but. The black robes she wore billowed in the wild and errant breeze of Malachor, always seeming to change the direction it blew in as it did the same to her hair. Now and then the winds would blow her dark hair into her face and she'd take a frustrated moment to brush it aside once more as she staggered back in annoyance.

She was entirely oblivious to Kito's watching gaze as she paused before a pretty nicely shaped stone on the floor and took the moment to try and do a little practicing at least. Her tired gaze sharpened as a hand reached forward towards the stone as she willed the Force to lift it from the rocky floor. The stone was about the size of a palm as it slowly raised off the ground. The pale girl was getting better at it certainly, but her ability with the Force was still far from where an Acolyte's capabilities should be.

It was only when her focus was shaken that the stone abruptly fell back to the ground with a clatter as she tilted her head curiously. She thought that she had sensed something, which was quite unlike her as typically she couldn't sense anything in the Force without trying very hard, but something seemed to ping her attention this time as she lifted her head and turned around to look.

She at first completely had her back to where Kito was coming from however, but soon she'd turn to face her direction if she didn't get to her first...

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

It was almost a mercy to be putting the girl down. Kito stalked through the Force toward the apprentice, raising a brow as the girl fumbled with her power.

Kito stopped mid-stride, keeping some distance as the girl struggled. How could this be a Sith? Weren't they all-powerful beings of darkness and evil? Kito tilted her head in deep confusion.

Maybe she was led out here by her master, disappointed in the girl's progress.

How sad.

Kito waited as the girl seemed alerted by something. She at least had some sense about her. That excited Kito; perhaps the girl just wasn't skilled in certain aspects of the Force. She took another step, and suddenly the Force cracked around her. Like a bolt of lightning, the shaper shot forward at nearly blinding speed.

She spared the girl's exposed back — a mercy no other hunter would have granted. The kill would have been easy, the lightsaber cutting through the girl's slender pale neck, her head rolling into one of the cracks of Malachor's surface.

One less Sith. One less problem.

Kito stopped moving, and with her last step, a ring of flames scorched the space around them. She wanted to trap the sithling, force them to face their sins.

Standing straight, Kito kept her mask off, eyes burning into the pale flesh of the monstrosity before her. Tilting her head, she saw the flames' light flicker against Valaine's pale skin. A sight she had never seen before, but she only needed to see it once. Kito reminded herself that this was a Sith and to not be tempted.

"Does the Dark Side teach you to fear death?" She asked, her voice even as she took a step forward. Two blades ignited a brilliant orange, their tips dragged against the planet's surface as she began to walk closer. Flames sparked in her tongue as her lips curled into an impish grin.

"Beg if you want. It won't work."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

Kito would've seen Valaine turn just in time to see her after she gave pause, and the first thing she'd notice is that tired and vacant look on the Sangnir's face; like she hadn't expected anything to happen and was just bored on her patrol. Her grey eyes started to widen at the steady realization just before the ring of flame ignited around them.

The fires seemed to spark some sort of primal fear in the pale girl as her pupils constricted and her body shook suddenly. She instinctively tried to shield herself from the presence of the flames with her arm as she gave a shriek of surprise, and for a moment it appeared as if she was going to rush to the only person in front of her for safety, Kito, at least until her lightsabers ignited which again forced a sudden response from Valaine as she backed away from her in fear.

To say that she was cowed by the flames was an understatement, this wasn't just fear, it was deeper than that, it was trauma and phobia and it showed plainly on the wild look now upon her face.

In desperation she scrambled for the training saber tucked inside her robes, pulling it out with shaken hands as she ignited the relatively weak blade that suddenly speared towards the ground. In her panic the acolyte had ignited her training saber upside down, which only seemed to alarm her more as she swiftly turned it around and then pointed it towards her assailtant.

The tip of the training saber was unsteady, rattled by the hands that held it as her wide tired eyes focused for a moment on Kito, just enough to get a shuddering few words out, "Wh- What are you doing...!?" she asked. Not who she was, not why she was here, simply... Why was she doing this? Such an innocent question given by someone who frankly didn't know any better. She after all had never encountered another force user that wanted her dead, this was her first.

As she awaited a response her gaze kept glancing to the fires around them, flinching at the mere flicker of flame as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of her pale face.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:
//: Attire //:

This was a first for the Shaper.

Usually, when the flames burn, the target either grows angry or begins to beg for their life. This one, she seemed afraid of the fire itself, not the fact that Kito was here to kill her. The ferocity of the dark side didn't bleed from the girl, and Kito wondered if she had made a mistake.

Just as quickly as the flames burned, they soon dissipated, and Kito stood there watching the girl with her fumbled lightsaber. It hummed, but was unlike her own.

Everything that unfolded from the fear of fire to the training saber being lit upside down… none of it was the horrors of the Sith. Kito continued to doubt her target and the information she had gathered on the girl and her companions. Another tilt of her head, still weighing the question that the girl managed to say despite the fear that threatened to consume her.

Kito didn't answer; she walked forward, the flames sparking and fading as she stepped. The kill would be too easy, and the thrill of the hunt would be to enact the revenge she desperately needed to complete. This creature wouldn't appease anything. Realizing this, Kito's brow furrowed as she stood directly in front of the shuddering creature.

With a swift strike to the blade in her hand, Kito aimed to knock it free from her grasp without harming her.

"What am I doing?" Kito repeated, trying to still understand what was even happening.

"I'm here to kill you, to redeem you… but…" Kito stared, confusion etched deep in her features.

"Why are you scared? Are you not a Sith?"

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

When the ring of flame dissipated it had a noticeable effect on the young Sangnir immediately. For a few seconds she glanced at her surroundings as if expecting more, but when it didn't appear her tired eyes turned back to regard Kito. When she advanced, Valaine took a step back, and then with a single swipe her training saber was promptly knocked out of her grasp.

It was clear this girl quite literally didn't have any experience in a real fight as her eyes widened in response to the words spoken to her. "Wh- Kill me? I- I'm just an acolyte...!" she answered in response. But hearing the reason why Kito would seek to kill led her to a singular conclusion, "Does this mean you're... Jedi?" she asked cautiously. The fear had faded away and now her tired eyes seemed more suspicious than anything. She didn't mention the fact she was afraid was because of the flames but it would've been an easy conclusion for Kito to make.

Taking another cautious step back Valaine's stance widened slightly into a more balanced one as she reached behind herself for a moment with her left hand; grasping the hilt of a second hidden weapon, a much more potent weapon... Slowly she pulled out the Ashblade, an ancient looking thing with a dark presence in the force far more noticeable than Valaine herself. The weapon seemed to constantly be trailing black smoke from its emitter but it didn't ignite, it served more as a warning. The weapon itself was rather alien, nothing like a traditional lightsaber at all, it was hard to tell how it'd even function.

"If you came here to hunt Sith... You could probably do a lot better than me..." she spoke. It was clear the girl was still concerned about the foe in front of her and she displayed a lack of confidence and experience. She seemed ready to at least try to defend herself if needed however, even if she absolutely hated igniting the Ashblade...

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:
//: Attire //:

The shift was easy to see, as the moment the flames disappeared, the porcelain doll seemed to change. She stopped cowering, but the fear still dripped from the edge of her presence. Kito watched as her smoldering ochre gaze never left Valaine. She needed proof that the being before her was Sith — or something else. Whichever the case was, only one would feel the heat of her blade.

With each step Valaine took, Kito stepped forward. Her prey wouldn't escape until she knew if this was to be a kill or just a mistake. In the recesses of her mind — where her humanity resided locked away — Kito did hope it was a misunderstanding. She had found herself almost hypnotized by the way the light of her fire flickered against the girl's ivory complexion.

"I'm not a Jedi." Her voice was even; it had been some time since she had been called that. A lifetime ago, before her own resentment settled in.

"While I still believe in Ashla and I hope its blessing shines upon me, I have no right to call myself a Jedi." Kito felt her features soften, remembering the exile she had received the moment she had ruthlessly killed her first Sith. Her Master had abandoned her, demanding she seek atonement.

Her gaze snapped to the dark blade — no training saber, but a weapon steeped in the dark side. Kito raised a brow, keeping her molten gaze locked on it. The blade bled the dark side; it was far stronger than her sabers, and while Kito should have seen it as a threat, in Valaine's hands, she doubted its lethality.

Another step forward, her stare now back on Valaine. "So you are Sith. You carry a weapon of the dark." Another tilt of her head as a smile stretched across her face. It was almost a child-like delight seeing the dark weapon in the hands of the acolyte.

Her fascination continued, as she chuckled softly, "I don't care about the others."

The toothy grin remained as her eyes seemed to ignite with excitement. "What do they call you?"

She paused.

"I'm Kito."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

If she wasn't a Jedi, then what was she? These thoughts went through Valaine's head, her concept of the Galaxy being rather black and white where only Sith or Jedi could exist, a product of her isolated and uneducated youth. A flash of confusion passed over the Sangnir as she continued to regard Kito with suspicion. She had taken another step back, only to find her would-be foe taking one forward.

She watched as those ochre eyes turned to the Ashblade in her hand and she pondered if she understood what it was. Valaine herself largely lacked in being able to sense through the Force, and while she understood the weapon in her hand was a device drenched in darkness she didn't understand just how much. Didn't understand what kind of awful thing her Mistress had placed into her care...

"So you are Sith. You carry a weapon of the dark."

A light pout appeared upon Valaine's soft delicate lips, "I think you'd make my Mistress laugh, calling me Sith..." she answered. With the absence of the fear of flame her more arrogant side was starting to break through. Though Kito's smile at the fact of the weapon the pale girl held seemed to unnerve her somewhat. Why would that make her smile...?

Her lips thinned in consideration at the request for her name and after being given one she felt it only right to return the gesture. "... Valentine." she answered; using her surname with people she was uncertain about had become something of a common practice for her.

It was then that Valaine started to move in a different manner. Rather than backing away from Kito she took a step to the side, and another, as she cautiously began the motion of circling her with light uncertain steps. Her dark hair swayed in the errant breeze of Malachor V as she brushed a hand through dark locks, pushing them behind one of her pointed ears. "Kito's a cute name. Where are you from...?" she asked. She was either stalling or trying to avoid a direct confrontation with conversation.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Kito raised an eyebrow at the mention of the mistress. Was that another way of calling one's master? Unknowingly, the Shaper's features softened at the sound of the pale girl's name.

Mentally, Kito repeated the name over and over — trying to place it somewhere in the galaxy. It was something she had never heard before, yet it mirrored the beauty of the acolyte.

The back-and-forth dance they had with their steps ended the moment Valentine decided to change. Kito frowned slightly. She had enjoyed the rhythm. Now, there was no way for the Shaper to follow. She could only watch, observe, and wait for a chance to fall back in step.

"Valentine," she finally repeated. Her lips curled and flattened with each consonant and vowel. The name felt foreign on her tongue, but there was enjoyment in saying it.

"Valentine…" she repeated, her eyes burning into the girl's alabaster flesh.

It was then that a small crack in the Shaper's facade appeared.

Cute. It was a word Kito knew the meaning of. She understood its usage, but it was not a word ever used to describe Kito. A faint blush burned on the girl's cheeks before she could hide it.

"Cute?" she echoed, uncertain.

Kito shook her head, disregarding the compliment, if it had meant to be that. The leather of her gloves stretched with the tension of her grip, the metal of her sabers pressing into her palms — grounding her.

She didn't understand these words and why the girl was saying them. But…

"Kro Var, though — I haven't been home in a long time." Eyes again meeting Valentine's.

Pointed ears, Kito made a mental note and admired them for a split second… cute.

"If you're not a Sith — what are you?" the Shaper's voice steadied again. Business was the only way Kito knew how to function.

"Why would you wield a weapon like you have in your hands — if you aren't one?"

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

Valaine's lips pursed for a moment while Kito spoke her name twice. "Valentine." she repeated in response as if to confirm the other woman's pronunciation while she continued to circle her. She almost felt like she had somewhat turned the tables on the stranger, she who was backing the young Sangnir into a theoretical corner was now the one being circled like prey. Not that Valaine was a hunter in this particular scenario...

She caught the sight of the brief blush on her potential assailant as she couldn't help but lift the corner of her mouth into a smirk in response. Suddenly Kito didn't seem so scary to her, at least probably until the flames returned anyway.

Kro Var... It was a planet she hadn't heard of before, but then being so new to the wider open Galaxy there were many she hadn't heard of. She paused in her circling to glance up towards the cloudy dim sky of Malachor V. "Kro Var...? Mmm... That one's new to me. I'm from Jutrand." she answered in kind as she looked back at Kito through the corner of her eye.

"But I'm what I said I was. An acolyte." she began as she resumed her careful circling. "I made some mistakes back home, but apparently I had 'potential', a weak connection to the Force, so instead of executing me they dropped me in the academy on Korriban. It was learn or die." she let out a gentle huff of amusement. Her posture had taken on a more relaxed one now, her steps more careless as she amused herself with the situation she found herself in. "I couldn't even recite the Sith code if you asked me to. Couldn't care about it either. Do you think all of that makes me Sith?" she asked as she again came to a halt and turned to face Kito fully.

She looked to the hilt of the Ashblade in her hand, still smoking like it always was, then back to the other woman. "This old thing? My Mistress gave it to me. I don't much like using it, so I'd rather I didn't have to. Makes me feel... Awful." came her answer before she gestured a slender finger towards the two sabers her foe held, "Can you like... turn those off...? They're making me nervous." she requested.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Kito listened; there wasn't much else she could do. The girl grew more confident once the flames vanished, her circling halting Kito's advance. She was such a fascinating creature. Kito's killer's gaze softened as Valentine finally faced her fully. There was a point at which the acolyte could have struck her in the back — but she refused to.

Again, a fascinating creature.

The urge to kill slowly faded, and Kito found herself more interested in learning about what Valentine was. She wasn't a Sith, but had history with them. Jutrand, Korriban — both Sith worlds, yet she claimed nothing of the Sith Doctrine. Kito frowned. She had wasted her time following this acolyte only to find out she was not a Sith.

The penance remains unpaid.

Kito parted her lips, flames flickering on her breath, but before she spoke, her eyes trailed down to look at her sabers. She turned the sabers in her hands, their hum deepening.

"What do you mean?" Kito looked back at the girl, confusion etched on her sharp features. Still, the Shaper flicked the switches on the hilts, and the orange blades disappeared. The soft sound of a clip chimed between them as the sabers found their place on her belt.

"Put yours away." Kito nodded her head, gesturing towards the 'old' blade Valentine wielded.

Tilting her head, the Shaper stepped forward again. A hand reaching to place on the spine of the blade gently — an effort to not draw her own blood by accident.

"If you're not a Sith, I have no reason to kill you…" Kito's voice softened as she pushed Valentine's blade aside, giving her space to step closer. "You won't have to use your cursed blade." The words were an assumption, shaped by how Valentine had spoken of the weapon — and how its presence felt to her.

"But, I'm curious. Why should I believe that you're not a Sith — when everything besides your words bleeds the dark side?" Kito's stare was calm, careful — as if she feared frightening Valentine again.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

Valaine wasn't actually expecting Kito to turn off and sheath her sabers, in fact it seemed to catch her off guard. This woman had come here with the intent to kill Sith, and she had not only diffused the situation, but gotten her to put her weapons away? Virelia would be proud.

She blinked and glanced down to her own weapon, still inert and useless in its current state. In truth Valaine couldn't turn it on even if she wanted to right now, it needed both anger and blood to fuel its dreadful power and she had given it neither; but Kito didn't understand that. As the other woman approached into her space to push the weapon aside Valaine lowered her head slightly and obliged, sheathing the weapon once again and leaving her hands empty of threat.

Her tired eyes looked to Kito searchingly, she had no idea where this encounter would lead from here.

"But, I'm curious. Why should I believe that you're not a Sith — when everything besides your words bleeds the dark side?"

"I mean... I'm just a victim of circumstance I guess. It's not like I chose this path..." she spoke softly in response, and feeling the closeness of their distance was perhaps still a little too dangerous the young Sangnir cautiously took another step back, and she pondered briefly if Kito was going to resume her little chase of her. If there was another sign of inexperience though, it was in Valaine's lack of awareness for her surroundings.

Her foot placed upon a loose rock that rolled between her step and the ground, and suddenly with a look of surprise all confidence of arrogance was lost as Valaine found herself falling backwards as she quite literally tripped up on a stone. There was the briefest yelp of startled realization before she promptly fell back onto the ground with a thud.

This was assuredly a very dangerous and powerful Sith.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

A victim of circumstance — the phrase stung. By chance, she survived, and she was forced down this path. It was easier to blame fate than admit her life had been nothing more than cruel chance. Valentine accepted her fate; Kito could not.

A slight inkling of jealousy burned in Kito's heart.

Suddenly, Valentine stepped back and lost her footing. Without thinking, Kito's hand shot out, fingers locking around Valentine's forearm. She pulled the girl upright, steadying her with a firm hand at the small of her back.

Kito didn't realize how close she had pulled Valentine in. It was too close, much closer than they had been before.

Touch. Kito almost forgot what it was like to feel another person. Her calloused fingertips pressed into the girl's ivory skin. Her warmth reminded the Shaper of her fire's light flickering against flesh. Kito swallowed hard, the lump in her throat.

Another crack in the hunter's mask as her eyes widened, seeing what she had just done. "Are you okay?" Kito exhaled.

As quickly as she had caught Valentine, she released the girl and stepped back. It was as if Kito remembered that this girl was her prey only moments prior.

"You're not a Sith." Kito cleared her throat and averted her gaze to the distance around them. "You should watch where you step…"

The blush returned to the face of the warrior. She didn't know how to fight it off, nor did she understand its purpose. What was this girl doing? Was this part of her plan to escape?

The warmth lingered even after she let go, and Kito hated how her cheeks betrayed her with color. She forced herself back a step, mind racing. This had to be a trick — a ploy to make her drop her guard long enough for Valentine to strike.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

The last thing Valaine expected was to be caught by the woman that had come to kill her, finding herself pulled back up and towards her as she practically stumbled against Kito, feeling her hand supporting against her back as her own sort of braced against the woman's shoulders. Though this time it wasn't just the would-be assassin that was blushing as a light tint of pink appeared on the Sangnir's face too.

Her lips were slightly parted in surprise, and then Kito would be able to see them, two short pointed fangs in her mouth, just barely visible to her gaze. Though perhaps additionally as curious about the pale girl was the scent of coffee now easily noticeable.

As the Sangnir felt Kito's fingers squeeze into her thin arm she suddenly gained something of a realization; was she being deceived? The hand at the small of her back; it was behind her that she often kept the Ashblade concealed and hidden, was she looking for it?

Before these thoughts could lead to anything that'd make her react she was released from the hold upon her.

"Are you okay?"

"Uhm-... Yeah... Thanks..." was all Valaine could respond with, seemingly as confused as Kito was now. A sense of relief did wash over her when she was released of the accusation of being Sith, and that second blush from the other woman set her mind further at ease for it was humanizing. The Sangnir tried to calm her own suspicions as she breathed in a light shuddering sigh...

Oh, were it so simple.

The incorrect reflex, the momentary tensing of muscle in her arm, caused her newest addition to appear unbidden. Suddenly the Sangnir's right hand erupted into metallic claws from the fingers (that almost stabbed into her own thigh) as she let out another yelp of surprise and held her hand away from herself. It wasn't the first time these claws came out seemingly of their own volition; she had yet to learn how to precisely operate them. But Valaine knew instantly how this would look...

She moved her right hand behind herself as she took a step back (The claws were very much still visible despite her attempt). "Ah-, w- wait it's not like that, th-they're new...!" she excused as she waved her left hand in a calming gesture towards Kito.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Seeing the reaction and how it mirrored her own, Kito was starting to calm her suspicions. A gleam of metal caught her eye — claws erupting from the pale girl's fingertips forced Kito to step back. She watched as the creature began to try to explain herself.

It was pointless.

Kito had made up her mind; everything that had led up to this moment was a plan, a facade to have her let her guard down. In the end, Valentine was only buying herself time to find an opening. Kito had foolishly been caught in the woman's web. It was only because of Kito's quick thinking at the end that she was saved from Valentine's claws sinking into her neck.

"New? And you planned on testing them on me…" Her voice shuddered for just a moment. Kito exhaled deeply, and the sparks born of the heat of her breath burned with the fury in her gut.

She had almost believed that maybe there was someone who could have been her friend. Someone who broke through the depths of the loneliness she wore like a cloak. No, Valentine was like the rest of them; even if she didn't claim to be a Sith, she would find redemption at the end of Kito's blade.

Stepping forward, Kito let the Force surge through her, jolting her forward with unnatural speed. Her shoulder slammed into Valentine, knocking her back. With one hand, her wakizashi-style short saber ignited a burnt amber glow, while the other reached for Valentine's throat.

Her fingers brushed the Sangnir's jaw before clamping around her neck. Pushing her knee between Valentine's legs, she forced her down, pinning her hips as she leaned over her. The short blade hissed into the dirt beside Valentine's head. Kito's grip tightened, fury burning in her chest.

The hunter hovered over her prey as she fought the urge to end this as quickly as she should. Flames crawling up the back of her throat, she swallowed hard, looking down at the girl under her.

"Why did you lie?"

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

While Kito was going through her thoughts Valaine was busy trying to retract the claws back into her hand. When it seemed like Kito was distracted she shook her hand, flexed it, tried to will the claws back inside, and then they finally did as suddenly the claws of her right hand shot out instead, forcing the rapidly panicking Sangnir to start trying to retract those ones too.

And she was able to! Just in time for an unexpected shoulder bash that took her completely off-balance. Before she knew it she was on her back and Kito was atop her, pinning her down as that hand came upon her throat and the hum of the short saber was right besides her head, a burning and lethal threat. She winced at the tightness of the grip on her neck as she squirmed beneath her. She didn't doubt she had the strength to just throw the woman off, but the last thing she wanted to do was antagonize her further right now.

"Why did you lie?"

"I- I didn't lie...! These are new, I haven't gotten used to controlling them yet...!" she answered swiftly. Her arms were still free and she supposed if she really wanted to it wouldn't be too difficult to aim her fingers towards Kito's face and just let the claws do their work... But would that be swift enough to avoid the saber next to her head from simple slicing into her...?

Slowly Valaine tried to move her arms, to try and aim at least one hand towards the saber. With any luck she'd be able to position the claws to catch it in its path if Kito aimed to kill her, the claws could withstand sabers after all. But that movement of her arms alone might've been enough to give Kito concern that she was trying something...

"J- Just calm down would you...? I totally could have stabbed you if I wanted, but I didn't...!" she continued to try to reason with the woman as she looked up at her with tired eyes full of concern.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

For someone in her position, Valentine liked to talk.

Kito narrowed her eyes as she watched the careful movements of her arms. She nudged her knee in, leaning into it with added pressure, trying to make her stop. Kito didn't have enough hands to pin the girl's arms down, along with keeping her where she was.

Valentine continued to talk, and Kito just needed a moment to let her mind catch up. This encounter was not going as she had planned. It was supposed to be a quick kill and a warning to the others inside the growing base. Instead, she had let herself nearly empathize with the acolyte.

Kito rotated her hand slightly, her grip staying tight around the other girl's neck, but a single finger moved and pressed against her lips. "Be quiet." Kito sharply whispered as she tried to figure out what to do with the girl's hands. The last thing she wanted was Valentine getting brave enough to use the claws on her.

Remembering the comment about the lightsaber, Kito turned off the blade again, letting the hilt fall from her hand and roll where it was dropped. She ignored it now and focused her now free hand to grab one of Valentine's wandering arms. Kito pinned the arm near the woman's head while the hand that had been around her throat now grabbed the other hand and kept them both pinned.

She adjusted herself, her weight leaning into the knee as her hips shifted to let her lean forward. If she couldn't bring herself to kill Valentine, she could at least get information on what was happening. It was part of the plan anyway.

Kito leaned down, fully hovering over Valentine as she searched the girl's features, remembering the fangs she had caught sight of earlier.

At this distance, Valentine could catch the gentle scent of worn leathers and wood belonging specifically to the Shaper.

With the Sangnir hopefully entirely subdued, Kito exhaled softly and began the interrogation.

"I am calm," Kito started, "I could have stabbed you. I chose not to…" Her lips pressed together as her tongue pushed into the back of her teeth. Why didn't she kill her? It would have been easy…

She needed answers… yes, that's it.

"Who's here with you? Why Malachor V?" Kito tried to focus on the questions as she tried to ignore the pounding sound in her ears, and kept herself close while trying to keep Valentine from escaping.

Yet the delicate scent of coffee pulled at her, tempting in ways she didn't know how to admit.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

Valaine was hushed by the finger against her lips as she stared back up towards Kito, doing as she was asked as she kept her silence. She was quick to note the lightsaber being turned off and placed aside, this was good, it meant Valaine had more room to act as it were. Speaking of room to act... She soon found her wrists being pinned down as the woman atop her pressed upon her more firmly. The pale Sangnir squirmed beneath her in discomfort for a moment as Kito moved closer.

The closeness couldn't be ignored however, and Valaine tried to distract herself by turning her head from left and then to right with a soft tint upon her cheeks. The pressure from the knee pushed against her caused her to wince slightly as she let out a soft shuddering gasp. Finally her tired grey eyes settled upon the ochre pair staring back at her once more.

"Who's here with you? Why Malachor V?"

What a broad question she thought... Valaine blinked up at Kito as she feigned another light struggle beneath her with a soft grunt. "Nn-... Well... My Mistress is here, and like..." she pauses to count in her head. "... Like... Five other apprentices...? There's... A guy and... Someone in a helmet..." she began, though she did leave one person's vague description out of the list.

With another light squirm beneath Kito the young Sangnir believed she had some measure of her strength, and with that lightsaber turned off... Maybe it was time to try and turn the tables on her. Those hands pinning her wrists down, she had a feeling it was nowhere near enough pressure to hold them in place, Kito would need a lot more than that to pin them firmly but it certainly wasn't impossible for her.

After a brief pause of silence Valaine's eyes stared up at Kito and then she started... Her assailant would feel the tensing of the Sangnir's arms first before they'd slowly, but surely, start to lift against their restraint as she displayed a strength she frankly shouldn't have, steadily lifting her arms off the ground. If Kito didn't do anything then it was inevitable what would happen; the Sangnir would aim to pin those arms behind her and restrain her herself.

 

[Kito]

//: Valaine Valentine //:

Her focus faltered as Valentine shifted her head side to side. Kito pulled back slightly, warmth rising in her face at the sounds their closeness drew from the girl. She forced herself to concentrate when Valentine began to speak.

Kito made a mental note of everyone that Valentine was listing off. She didn't say names minus 'mistress', which the girl had already mentioned beforehand. She tightened her grip on her wrists as she continued to think. There were more acolytes, and beyond that, there were others who seemed to have power within the small enclave.

"I ne—" Kito paused as she felt the shift in strength. Unexpected — the frail girl had shown no sign of such strength. The shock that Kito felt remained hidden behind her mask as she drew upon the Force and fueled strength into her own limbs and forced the girl back down.

"No." The word escaped sharper than she intended. With the Force fueling her strength now, Kito moved, realizing she needed to add more weight behind her hold. The knee that was between the girl's legs moved as she scooted herself forward, and using her knees to pin the arms proved to be more of a problem than they originally were.

Kito adjusted herself till her shins pressed on Valentine's shoulders, locking her arms down. She knelt, weight focused on her legs — not her hips — careful not to suffocate the girl before getting answers.

Looking down, Kito's fingers threaded through the girl's hair with an unknown tenderness. Silken strands slid through her hand before she tightened her hold, tilting Valentine's head so their eyes met. The grip was firm, not cruel — enough to keep her compliant.

"Tell me their names, if you cooperate — I'll let you go."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Kito

For a moment it seemed like Valaine was making some progress, and then...

"No."

The sudden surge of strength had her arms suddenly pinned back down. When Valaine learned how to use that ability, people would be in trouble... She struggled for a moment beneath Kito, her chance to turn the tables being rapidly stolen from her as suddenly her foe started to climb further up her form. "Ah- H- Hey wait-...!" she stammered as Kito's shins pinned her shoulders down and put her into something of a very compromising position.

The Sangnir stared up at her with a deeper blush of embarrassment as that hand stroked through her dark soft hair before gripping firmly. She winced lightly as she looked up at the woman atop her as she bit her lip in defiance when she asked for names. Valaine tried to give a light shake of her head in response, nuh uh.

"If-... If I give you names, they'll kill me, you know?" she pleaded. At this point she really was helpless and at Kito's mercy. "You don't want that, right...?" she asked as she tried to appeal to her sensibilities, and her apparent soft spot for the pale girl. Though she remained heavily flustered as her legs lightly shifted against the ground. She could potentially try to knee Kito in the back but... That'd possibly put her into an even stranger position. Maybe should could try to hook her legs under her arms and pull her off that way...? She wasn't sure she had the flexibility to pull that off.