Private Of Ravens and Fool's Gold

[Kaila Irons]

The face in the mirror looked catatonic today as it stared back. Anathemous hardly registered it as her own anymore. Where was the golden fire in her eyes that had since faded into sickly yellow? Where was that look of pride The Empress had instilled within her, where was the empire's youngest Darth?

In truth, this was the closest thing she'd been to honest with herself, with anyone, since arriving from Kainite space.

This was not Darth Anathemous. Brave and unbreakable Anathemous who declared her name for all the Jedi to hear and loathe upon the besieged battlefield of Echnos City, Courageous Anathemous to whom The Empress had been drawn to even over the chaos of war, Mysterious Anathemous who bound souls and knew of ancient sith arts once thought lost to time, nor was she even Master of Tamsin Graves , crusader against a stolen destiny.

It was the face of Kaila, that sad, pathetic little girl laid at the feet of Darth Carnifex .

She knew that face well, no matter how much she hated seeing it. Kaine had beaten it out of her, stoked the fires of hatred that should have burnt this face away so very long ago. But like a sad excuse for a hydra, it always came back when nobody was looking. No matter how many names she took, no matter how many masks she wore, it always came back eventually. And she hated looking at it every time. She hated being reminded that beneath all the lies and eerily calm bravado, this was still her face. Her true self.
Yet she could not afford to be herself.


The sound of clattering dishes brought her out of trance, and she set aside the hand mirror as serving droids laid out food and drink across the dining table. Darth Malum of House Marr would be here soon, brought to Echnos by her invitation to dine this evening and to discuss trade between his worlds and Echnos. She was almost surprised the Dark Councilor had accepted, considering she was almost certain he despised her after their meeting upon Exocron. But she knew better than to make enemies with the man who now owned the loyalty of both the Tsis'kar and Inquisition.

He was just another noble she had to suck up and bow to, she supposed.

She had given up trying to do anything better, trying to be more than she was. She was exhausted, she was utterly alone without Saryn Zambrano and so far from any Kainites. Not that it didn't suit her being away from the mindless zealots who shared her rank but not while surrounded by the enemy. It had... done things, to her. Xyrah was right, and yet she'd stubbornly asked to stay behind just awhile longer, insisted she had a duty to uphold here.

Now she'd given up. Fate, The Force, whatever people were calling it, decreed that she would forever serve and forever suffer for resisting and it had won. Kaila just hoped, cautiously so, that she could do right by this city one last time before leaving.

The Manor was, in part, still in ruins. The dining room being one of a few parts untouched by the war not long ago, although she suspected the nobleman would complain still. She had her reasons for leaving the place in such disrepair of course, but she doubted anyone would care except maybe a few citizens. They lived in shiny new houses while- no, because- she lived in a ruin. All her funding was going into repairing and bettering this city while she tried not to tear her hair out meeting the imperial quota without sacrificing the improved conditions she'd strived to provide her people. But then they weren't really her people, she supposed. Between her use of droids, which Echnosians seemed to hate, and the knowledge that they might turn on her if they ever learned she was a Cyborg, well she belonged here no more than among Kainites.

Yet here she was. Stubbornly sacrificing herself piece by piece to protect them.



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

As the young Sith knight was lost to her thoughts, so was the mind of the young Sith Lord, his black boots echoing all the walls as every step was akin to the epicentre of coming quakes. He had come here in a daze, as had been much of life these last few days, much had happened, too much. Yet, the galaxy waited for no man, and even the time off he had taken to recover, far too many of his interests had begun falling behind.

The Inquisition had already needed reminding that he was their Lord, it had been a messy enough affair cleaning up their suicidal little insurrections, to then needing to affirm their loyalty, at the end of his Sith Sword. Both Alvaria and Eliad had required his governing, the former ever still reconstructing, the latter with yet another major dispute between the nobility. It was the Tsis'Kaar only, that ever remained his firm basis of lacking headaches, even as renegade warbands from the days of the Ouroboros Crisis persisted, still, those lack of headaches might have only been due to Kara taking them for him.

...And of Kara...

A ghost of a smile fluttered across his lips behind the replica of the ancient mask. There had been little reason to smile as of late, Revna was still beyond his reach, even as whispers arrived to him that she was on Korriban of all places, as willing as he was to tear up all which Caedes had built, that corpse was not yet a foe.

Nor would making him one actually bring him closer to freeing his cousin. All the while another family member lay decrepit in a tomb of his own design. Suffice it to say he had little reason to smile as of late.

...All apart from for two reasons.

Two precious reasons.

He plastered a thin line upon his features, even masked as he was he would take no chances, for now, in an Order of his enemies, in a galaxy of enemies, they were safest if none knew exactly where they were, if none knew they existed, for knowledge that the Lord of the Tsis'Kaar, the Lord Inquisitor, a Dark Councillor held such a vulnerability?

Well, one of the Council already knew the consequences of others knowing of her blood. And already he had lost one of his blood to these power games.

Never. Never, would they come to harm while he still lived.

Which was certainly the goal for quite some many. Malum paused by the door, he had not truly cared to notice, but as lazy red eyes gazed about, as a cold draft pressed against the metal and leather of recently repaired armour, it was the first time he had bothered to truly see his environs... to call it disrepair, might have implied works to repair it were being undertaken. It reminded him of his Palace, a blend between ancient history and modern architecture, with half of it withered away, the sun blaring down where there should have been ceiling, the wind blowing from where there should have been walls.

An interesting choice, from amongst the newest of their Governors.

Which, he supposed was why he was here, he had met the young woman, though, in saying that much she was not too much younger than he was, he would daresay they were rather similar, but yes, he had met the woman on Echnos, and then had quite the proper introduction upon Exocron, while she had come to watch in awe at Jutrand.

They had interacted, certainly, but for first impressions, hardly the greatest of them. He supposed that was why he was here, in an Order of enemies, when invited by a potential one, one said yes to attempt to sway them against such foolishness... and considering what Kara had provided him, he felt that was a lot more likely than not.

The ghost of the smile was back, as the great doors beckoned open.

Slipping through the gates, a tall figure cloaked in darkness, his boots clinking against the floor, as he emerged out into the dining hall. As red eyes tracked towards his host.

She was a pretty little thing.

Kaila Irons
Mentioned: Ansisa

 

[Kaila Irons]

She was already standing when Lord Malum entered the room, informed by one of her personal Commando Droids who could be seen leaving along with the various servants. Normally she dismissed them simply because they were for show, because she didn't need them. But now it was because there was no point in even having bodyguards around the dark councilor, not after what she'd seen him do at the Kaggath.

And now she was all alone with him, with nothing but the force to defend herself with, not even armor over her dress of black lace and gold trim.

"Darth Malum," she performed a curtsy whilst wearing that same neutral, yet subtly broken expression.

That was the extent of her greetings. She didn't ask about his trip, didn't inquire as to what made him accept her invitation despite having every right to decline in her opinion, didn't even thank him for coming, nothing.

She just acknowledged his presence, and sat.

Though she would pour them both tea, even taking a small sip of the steaming liquid in a subtle show that it was not poisoned. She was however watching him with those dead eyes all the while, wondering if he'd dare take the mask off and drink or leave her with nothing but body language to assess him by. It would be a frustratingly wise decision if that were so, considering this was essentially enemy territory despite their shared hate for her master.

"...so what happens now?"

Kaila finally asked, speaking of the aftermath of her encounter with Ansisa of course. It was the true reason for her invitation, to determine her future. She knew the Tsis'kaar would tell him, or he'd find out some other way that she was hiding something, or so she suspected. That is what sith lords did, wasn't it? spy on their apprentices? or perhaps interrogate them in other ways, she wasn't exactly sure how the Tsis'kaar treated their people.

"Do you go to Carnifex and let him dispose of me, removing one more troublesome Kainite without getting your hands dirty? Or perhaps you were planning on a more subtle approach, as your blue shadow might call it. Blackmailing me into becoming a slave of two masters?"

"Or were you planning to make that decision later? wait until I've finally built myself into something more, then take it all out from under me once I become a problem."

She took another sip, lips twisting bitterly at the taste of her own words rather than the sweet Tarine.

"You're lucky, you know..." she sighed painfully, finally averting her gaze.

"...If I had just said yes to them, I could have been married and whisked far away from this land of assassins and kaggaths. You'd have missed the opportunity."



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"Darth Anathemous." The masked Sith Lord answered, a tilt of his head the only offer of respect or notice given towards the young Darth and governess of this world, as he took further steps into the dining hall. Noting the privacy freely offered by the leave of the droids at her command, leaving him to drink in the sight of her.

And what a sight it was, the dress covered more than most of the dresses worn by Sith ladies in his time, but even so, it left little to the imagination, patterned and ordained in gold, long flowing and freeing, it hugged her quite snugly, still, for all the noble grace that she wore the apparel, for she acted it, her eyes.

Her eyes betrayed much.

Masked eyes watched as she took her seat, pouring herself and him some tea, taking a sip to prove its safety. It seemed she was growing experienced enough in the game. He was as still as a statue as she spoke, the words reaching him as the waves struck the sandbank, yet, unlike the sand, he stood resolute. What thoughts might have existed beneath the covers was all unknown, if he was thinking at all a mystery.

It was as she continued speaking, taking his silence as permission or otherwise simply needing to speak her mind of all assumptions, dread, and anxieties that he had seemingly brought out of her, that he began to walk forward, measured, deliberate, each step seeming to echo along the walls. Either his presence had so spooked her, or the truth as revealed on Praesitlyn had, he would wager that the answer lay somewhere in between.

Going to her master.

Blackmailing her.

Robbing her of all.

They were all certainly options, no doubt he was capable of all of them, and no doubt he had done versions of all of them to others in the past for all that had been necessary. But now? Well, something else entirely was necessary. It was by the time her lips twisted, and her words finished, that he was at her side, having crossed the hall, crossed the table, to stand towering over her, the sun glancing behind him, fraying a halo behind his form, the darkness of his robes juxtaposing against the light.

"...And what a missed opportunity it would have been." A familiar voice spoke, yet stating words that she would have never heard from them, one hand gently moved towards her, signalling no ill intention, as fingers gently rested upon her chin, and drifting golden orbs to gaze into the depths of the mask, as the other hand drifted up to his face, a short hiss sounding, the mask unclapping from a face, as he leaned down, faces inches away from each other.

It might have been a familiar face, but not one seen in person apart from the distance of the Kaggath's arena. A noble face, framed by long raven locks, thin lips with a ghost of a smile led up to a strong aquiline nose, while red eyes, akin to rubies shimmered with the light of mirth... and curiosity.

"For you are so beautiful." He whispered, his breath fluttering across her face.

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

She did not turn to look at him, nor did she make a move, not even as he approached. She wasn't frozen in fear of her fate, whatever it may be, so much as... acceptance.

He could have beaten her for speaking out, not like she hadn't grown used to that by now, not when Carnifex had loomed over her for so long. He could have killed her then and there, instantly, if he wished, or made it slow, painful. It didn't really matter anymore, she was tired of running from this day anyway. Whether it was his hand, Carnifex or the Jedi, the force had decreed a long time ago that she and everything she knew would come to a violent end sooner or later.

Yet as he took her by the chin with a doubtlessly feigned gentleness, the eyes which turned towards him burned with a violent desire to fight to the bitter end, such that they were aglow as they met his. Old habits died hard, after all.

The mask lowered and his eyes were... not what she expected would greet her own.

They did not hold love for her but neither were they the cruel eyes of a sith lord, no matter their bloody crimson hue. And as she studied their character more closely —very closely, it seemed, her baleful scowl softened and they met her with... curiosity, the kind with which his apprentice had met her not so very long ago, and the kind she had met many curious individuals with before.

"For you are so beautiful." He whispered, his breath fluttering across her face.

She blinked in confusion, the heat rising in her face no longer of fiery violence but something else entirely.

"I..."

What the hell is happening, she thought.

"I was under the impression you despised me...?"

She took the noble's hand in her own, much larger yet equally soft as her own. And as her eyes flicked back upwards at his, it occurred to her, perhaps for the first time consciously, that he was... pretty, in a way.

Her breath hitched as she continued to stare up at him a moment longer, only to close her eyes and look away, releasing his hand. And yet their faces were mere inches away still.

"Oh... I see what this is now... If you mean to buy my loyalty with your lips, my lord, know that I do not come cheap."



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

There was the fire in those golden eyes that was all the confirmation he needed that she was exactly who he was looking for, and gazing into that beautiful face, that was studying him just as earnestly, he realised there was a flicker of a flame in his chest, no greater than a burning candlewick, that desired this moment, for far more than just political advantage.

As the red flooded her cheeks, it was impossible for the smirk to not overtake his face, a smirk that seemed to suit the face unlike much else, eyes mirthful and curious alight now with only the former, yet with additives from all directions, victory, the greatest of them all, as her struggling words were music to the ears of one who craved the reactions that only he could draw out.

"And how could I despise one such as you?~" He purred, knowing exactly what she referenced, knowing exactly which might still be true depending on what would occur this night, "Was it what happened upon Exocron, Darth Anathemous?~" He blew soft breath across her face, the barest whisper tingling along her spine, as the hand which had hidden his mask, dropped down to rest upon her knee, only a short distance from all which awaited.

His sight flicked to her hand, as her petite hand took his in hers, releasing the gentle grip on her chin, as she gazed up at him independently with full faculty intact, gazing up at him, as silent realisation struck behind her eyes. His smirk widened as her breath hitched, forced to gaze away as the blood still filled her cheeks.

He raised himself a bare inch, their presences still ever so close, as his lower hand slowly ran up her leg, feeling muscle and skin in equal measure, as he adjusted himself, finding his nose nestling itself against hers, breathing in a scent that was uniquely hers, as her eyes, as her beautiful eyes hid themselves away from him.

"Do you truly think me such a rake, my lady?" Malum whispered, a grin overtaking his features, as the hand rested itself easily upon her shapely thigh, as his lips were so close to hers, he could feel his heart beating ever rapidly in his chest, "Yet... as I asked upon Exocron," He leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own, red eyes closing themselves off from the world, as he gently, softly, pressed himself against her, "...Is your loyalty truly for sale?"

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila's legs tensed beneath her dress, deceptively strong muscles tightening in his grip for but a moment. Laminanium coated bones had forced her body to adapt just as rigorous training had forced their implantation, and if that weren't enough, her dangerous lifestyle further shaped this body into a weapon until it too had adapted to the times, a fleshy manifestation of the ever adapting darth herself.

The body he pressed into was not of the delicate sorceress she carried herself as, but of a duelist, a swordswoman dragged into this empire from the dusty streets of the outer rim with dirt on her boots and blood about her face.

Yet neither was she a brute, evidenced by the plush softness which came about her as she eased her cautious instincts.

"Do you truly think me such a rake, my lady?"

"Hmh." she managed the barest of chuckles.

"Of course I do... You're a man, and a noble. I've been playing games for men like you since I came of age."

Yet as they neared even closer, as his breath became ever warmer against her face, such that she could feel the rhythm of his breathing as much as hear it, her own pace quickened, each hot and heavy against his skin as her gaze slowly turned toward him.

"Yet... as I asked upon Exocron,"

She closed her eyes, knowing the next move of the game before it happened, and knowing the question before it was asked.

Theirs was not a loving kiss, for in her experienced cynicism she expected none to be borne of this. Rather it was a thing of the very same sithly passions which defined everything she ever was, and everything she had ever built. It was raw, sloppy, unbecoming of one who played with nobles. It was borne of a need, a lonesome void inflicted upon her soul by the Kainate when they abandoned her to manage their barren little world, alone, surrounded by the enemy whilst they hid themselves away in the holy worlds.

Yet unlike her master, she made hate and loss feel so warm, so slow and deceptively sweet on the tip of one's tongue, and so gentle in one's ear with each soft and desperate groan.

"...Is your loyalty truly for sale?"

She took a moment to catch her breath between whispers, each breath a deep and warm sigh against his pale skin. Her grip on his shoulder loosening slightly, having only now realized that she'd balled his cloak in her fist.

"Back to business, hm?"

Kaila knew she would regret this later, as she had many a kiss before. Perhaps more than a kiss, depending on how this night went. Yet there was no point in denying herself when only moments ago she was so sure that death awaited her with open arms, further solidifying the idea that she needed to take what little pleasure she could in this life, as it could drive her mad in this world of misery which could abruptly end at any moment. She might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Even if it would cause her pain in the end.

"I used to pride myself on loyalty, you know..." she averted her gaze for a time.

Yet there was no time for regrets.

"I always wondered why you named those terms, knowing what she was willing to do. What women like us are willing to do."

"Yet mine has but once price..."​

She looked up at him again, eyes filled with many doubts.

What would Revna think if she learned that Kaila had sold her loyalty to her cousin? How would this affect her deal with The Emperor? What would Anguina think if she invited the shadow's master to her bed? Did she even care for Kaila enough to feel that betrayal in the first place...?

No.

No time for regrets.

"My freedom." she whispered against his lips, as if the hiss of a silken-clad serpent, before pulling away just enough to make eye contact.

And those eyes broached no negotiation.

"That has always been the plan. And I will not sell myself for anything less."



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Surprise at what he felt feeling up her legs was not something which he expressed visibly, yet, the surprise was certainly felt, and certainly real. She was of about average height when it came to Sith ladies, at least discounting the outliers that played havoc upon his own personally found data, they were toned as could be considered expected for one who faced combat as much as they did, and who prepared for such combat even more. Yet...

...Such was beyond that strength, not only toned, but muscular, she carried herself the sorceress, the diminutive, perhaps even petite, woman, but such was the reminder that she was the apprentice of Kaine. He had already borne witness to the exact depravities which he undertook with his apprentices. She was to little surprise, far more than what met the eye, even as she relaxed between his fingers, the softness which he had rather more expected revealed itself.

If he was a weaker man, he might have salivated at what all promised underneath her black cloth.

Instead, his lips were against hers, and it was to the barest surprise that which he would find himself carried, where he had intended to be soft, intended to be gentle, to present himself as safety for one who felt so unsafe and alone, so lost, it was her who took the initiative. He moaned into the kiss unconsciously, as he closed his orbs from the world, her kiss was harsh, it was raw, it was full of need, as he felt her claw upon his cloaked shoulder, near pulling him forward, as she poured into the kiss such emotion which was altogether familiar in sensation, yet, alien in topic. He pushed back against the sensation, gripping her thigh tightly, as the air grew scarce, but he poured into the kiss all the comfort which he hoped to provide.

It would be a biological necessity which pulled them apart, a need to whisper and a need for yet another.

He smiled, a cocky smile, even as his heart was hammering in his chest, "Ah, but that is where you are wrong," He whispered against her lips, as his lower fingers travelled up the shapely thigh, a target clear in mind, "There is no noble quite like me," A wide grin made itself prominent upon his face, "And there is no man like me."

There would be some misplays yet, what he had thought conveyed teasing, instead to her, looked every bit the transcationalisation which he had sought to make this far from. Her gaze left his, the more she spoke, enough to wipe grin, smirk, and smile from his features, as he found himself considering, "Nothing so deprave, I assure you, only politics," He countered, eyes narrowing at her implied accusation.

Only to raise an eyebrow, as the true answer came, her whisper against his lips enough to send a shiver down his spine, as her gaze withdrawing was as much filled with doubt, as it was with firmness. Had he misjudged her? Perhaps, but it was not truly so... not, yet.

He found himself withdrawing, lowering himself until he was on her level, one hand still braying at the border of her core, the other gripping upon the armrest of her seat. Where once he towered over her, now, they were equals, "I do not seek to buy you, Darth Anathemous," He spoke, whisper long having given away to the need of distance, as he approached her again, cautious, slow, nestling his nose in the crook of her neck, laying gentle kisses up the skin, "I have a vision for the Sith, a vision beyond the failings of this Empire, beyond the failings of the worst Sith, I see you in that vision, Darth Anathemous," He muttered against her skin, as he trailed ever further upwards until he was nipping at her ear, "...So will you not join me..." He breathed a hot husky breath into the depths of her drums.

"...To break our chains?"

Kaila Irons
Mentioned: Darth Carnifex

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Sith politics are oft deprave, my lord. It is our nature, to corrupt all we touch."

She was a Kainite, in service to the "Sith'ari" himself. All she knew was depravity.

And so it seemed strange to see himself lowered to her level, to not tower over her as her master had always done. As everyone had done, physically or otherwise. Though it requested much of her, his was not a commanding presence, not anymore.

Yet his ever encroaching touch was difficult to turn away, causing the young darth's chin to tilt upward, her eyes to close gently.

"I do not seek to buy you, Darth Anathemous,"

"Is that so —Mmnh."

His lips against her neck were almost as gentle as that fair skin which they caressed was soft. Yet the veins beneath were hard at work pumping blood from her quickening heart as she gently leaned into it, her slender hand creeping up the back of his neck and through his long hair. Whatever she was feeling now it was... confusing, conflicted, brought on by a distrusting nature inflicted upon her by years spent in a culture of ruthlessness and depravity, now faced with it's opposition.

There were few things Anathemous trusted, and the heart of Kaila Solus was not one of them.

And yet the Master of Marr had spoke to something in each of these conflicted persons. A vision of their grand empire, which included her. For so many years she had been a side note, no matter her accomplishments, no matter her sacrifices, it was never enough. It was is often said that one fights for what they lack most. She had more honor than than most sith combined, enough credits to live comfortably if only her duties would allow. The young darth was even powerful in her own right, whether she could see it or not.

But to be a part of something? To have a place among the ranks, To be seen...?

"...So will you not join me..." He breathed a hot husky breath into the depths of her drums.

"...To break our chains?"

Hot breaths carried whispers of this new ambition into her ear, making her own quiver.

"...I will do more than join you, Malum." she whispered.

"If you can truly protect me from Him."

"...but." Though she did not turn to face him, her eyes opened into expectant sidelong stare, and the soft grip on the back of his scalp suddenly tightened, just enough to make a point.

"If you screw me over after I give myself to you... Know that vengeance is my sustenance. And I am ready to commit more than one lifetime to feed that hunger."



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He hummed against her skin, seemingly at ease, seemingly content, in much the way that a Sith Lord could never be, that Malum could never be. There were perhaps fewer situations more dangerous than this, positioned in such closeness to a Sith Knight, yet, here he was. If she held a dagger in her dress, it would not take much effort to bring to an end the tale of Darth Malum, Scion of House Marr, King of Alvaria and Eliad, Lord of the Tsis'Kaar, Lord Inquisitor, and Dark Councillor of the Sith Empire. Yet, perhaps it was duly to the providence of such lofty titles that explained his comfortability, his hand breaking from the armrest as they drifted towards her dress, fingers taking tiny steps along their surface, musing as he continued to lay tiny kisses upon her skin, as he still threatened with his fingers far more prominent action.

"Perhaps to you, Darth Anathemous," He countered, bringing his lips to her earlobe as he breathed, "Yet, where you see corruption, I see enlightenment." Sometimes the very Sith wishing to bring about the end of the current order, were all too willing to play into the hands of the enemy, corruption, fall, why not enlightenment, why not ascension?

Her chin facing to the ceiling's height, her golden orbs closing themselves off from the world was all the invitation that he required, he dived down to her exposed neck, lips laying sweet soft kisses leading back down, juxtaposed to the border of his fangs, teasing against soft, yet still hard skin, offering with one hand, and then offering with the other something quite else.

He could feel her heart beating, quakes that lay in her covered, yet still, ample chest, but in his mind they echoed along the room, threatening to tear it all down.

His ministrations only increased in intensity, as her voice quivered, as her fingers travelled behind his neck, to find her fingers coiled around his long raven locks. Her words... he raised his head up, trailing up her chin, she provided him exactly what he wished to hear.

Only for eyes to widen the barest inch, as he felt the grip tighten on his locks, as he found his rubies staring sidelong into gold.

As he found himself smirking.

"...Give yourself to me... entirely and totally, and Kaila," Her name was foreign on his tongue, yet, still felt fully right, "You will bear witness, as I tear him down, and..." He brought both of his hands up, cupping her cheeks, adjusting themselves until they were facing each other, gold and red, a matching pair, "Know, you will have my loyalty as well."

They had all failed to remember, that loyalty went both ways.

Kaila Irons
Mentioned: Darth Carnifex

 

[Kaila Irons]

Her chest rose and fell under his attention in slow but deep breaths, beginning to pick up a subtle pace with each as he smiled. She should have hated it, that smug look about a noble's face. She'd seen a thousand variations of that look, often standing over her, and yet... His eyes... Those she had never seen before. A deep natural red, nothing like the burning eclipse that were her masters.

She found herself not forced to look into them, but rather encouraged by his hand, yet she found it difficult to look away. Whether it was by choice that she analyzed them in such detail as she was now, or they simply drew her in, she could not say, but she found within them more than exotic colors with little value beyond artistic display.

"Know, you will have my loyalty as well."

Kaila blinked, lips pursed in thought. He would find that to touch her reddened skin was almost as if to be inflicted with convection as she stared, eyes darting from his to other features and back in a desperate search for a lie that the young darth had once been so certain of. Yet if this were a lie, then it was one few sith lords had ever lowered themselves to even suggest from their elevated thrones over her. Had he known? How could he possibly have predicted the very words she would say, knowing that no lord would ever acquiesce?

Loyalty goes both ways.

Had he been spying on her perhaps? Far from the borders of this empire, knowing to make such an offer because she had made the very same to her own apprentice?

But in his eyes she found no such answer. Either she was losing her investigative touch, or the Master of Marr was a statistical anomaly among the sith. Had she misjudged him from the start? Her narrowed eyes softened at the realization, and her grip upon his hair suddenly relinquished, as did her held breath.

Her hand circled around to his face, tracing in sync with her gaze his features with a newfound curiosity, taking her time as she familiarized herself with his angular jawline, his high cheekbones and his... lips.

And in a wordless confirmation, pressed herself into him, and her lips to his. Her movements were slow now, gentler than before, yet no less demanding of the territory which she invaded. A hand traveled down, unclasping his cloak, and moving on to other things as the black fabric cascaded down from his shoulders.



Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He had her. He could not have imagined, he could not have known from the beginning, that it would be that set of words that would win her so wholly to his side, but as soon as the words left his lips, as her capacious chest visibly heaved in drawn breaths, as her golden gaze settled in pure marvel and wonder upon his rubies, her skin burned in the heat of the pink dusting her features, her eyes, her so beautiful eyes, softening at the finding of what she sought upon his face.

Enraptured in their gazes, the grand dining hall faded away, the domed city faded away, the planet, Echnos, faded away. In this moment, as breaths meshed together as one, in the same foundations for which he built to reach her, they were the only living beings in the whole galaxy that mattered.

And they felt a need that only the other could meet.

His vision flickered, a moan that could easily be mistaken for disappointment unconsciously falling from his lips as her fingers left his long raven locks, only for his smile to widen, the confidence oozing away for something far more... warm, as shivers drew up from every pore, travelling down his spine, as his heart hammered in his chest, her coarse fingers, gently tracing his features, her eyes tracking like a predator every movement, as an explorer, taking in new land.

Ripe for conquest.

The fire crackled in his mind, as her lips crashed against his, as he felt her entire form collide against him, fitting together like a puzzle that he had not known was unsolved, he moaned into the kiss, feeling her softness, as his tongue pressed, demanding entry, feeling his cloak cascade down into a heap off his shoulders onto the ground, as her fingers traced along armoured muscles and pecs, as Malum's hand broke from her cheeks, trailing down her form, one finding itself to the back of her head, gently gripping down on golden locks as their kiss deepened, as the other trailed along the dress, a thin dress that offered so little protection from all he wished to do.

A form that he was as much eager to conquer.

The overeagerness proved their great folly, pressed against her, the excitement veritably popping and cracking in the air, as the sweat drew itself upon his forehead, he felt the impediment of gravity, far before logic or rationality had, a yelp escaping him, as the chair seemed to lunge forward, instinctively his eyes closing, missing the warmth by his lips as she followed suit.

Opening them again.

Only to find her atop him.

"...Are you one to do this on the floor, table, wall, or bed?" He smirked up to her, even as in this position, his heart was beating a klick a second.

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Kaila winced at the pair's fall, throwing her hands out to support herself without crushing her newfound ally. Her palms fell against the metallic floor on either side of the man's head, yet such was the unnatural weight hidden beneath her soft skin and lithe frame that the durasteel shook subtly and audibly beneath her, just enough to draw attention to the vibration.

For just a moment her eyes were as if, the sudden motion having brought memory to the young sith's body of harder times, regardless of the current safety which her mind logically understood.

Yet this too softened in time.

"...Are you one to do this on the floor, table, wall, or bed?"

His little smirk caused those molten eyes to roll, losing some of their violent glow.

"Are you sure this is not too indignant for you, my lord?"

She smiled down at him in kind, a thin yet mischievous thing, upon lips which slowly descended towards his own. All while her weight, though gentle and controlled this time, was carefully pressed against him. For a time she'd paused there, intimately close to another kiss, and a hand trailing down his armored chest, and elsewhere eventually as she bit her lip softly.

Even if she didn't fully trust him yet, this was too much fun, and exactly what she needed right now.

Or at least it would have been, if not for the interruption of a door hissing open nearby, heralding the arrival of an SB-H assassin droid. One of Saryn's gifts no less.

"Lady Anathemous," it spoke in a deep, mechanical voice.

"We have detected possible use of force via audio-receptors. Do you require assistance?"

Kaila's eyes were wide as the dinner plates nearby, thinking a mile a minute about how she would explain why she was on top of Lord Marr, a rival lord no less.

Finally she sighed deeply, jaw clenching in thinly veiled frustration.

"We are... quite fine, SB-13." she said, seemingly recognizing the individual droid.

"Get out. please. And report to maintenance for a memory wipe, revert to half an hour ago."

"Yes ma'am." the droid saluted as if nothing had ever happened, spinning on it's heel to march out the door whilst Kaila pulled herself off of Malum in the background.

"Forgive him," she sighed, straightening her dress as she stood to her full height.

"My captain of the guard. I posted him on the floor below but I suppose my fall was louder than I thought."

"Perhaps we are... progressing, a little too quickly." she concluded, swallowing her frustration.



Darth Malum of House Marr