Private One Step Further | Xobos Yakieer

[Saraya Arenais]

P R O G R E S S​

T A G | Xobos Yakieer
L O C A T I O N | Garde Noir, Phare de Château
W E A R I N G | {x}

This was the second time that Saraya found herself sitting on a shuttle speeding toward Phare de Château. The morning light was still attempting to bathe the peaks of the mountains in its soft orange glow, but the sun had not yet risen high enough. Saraya stifled a yawn and nestled herself back into the plush leather seats. This trip was the culmination of a few days of sneaking about the palace and whispering plans to unassuming servants.

Saraya had tried to be as quiet as she could about it. She had pleaded with anyone she had required help from to keep her secret from Adron. It was wishful thinking to assume that he would not find out eventually. He knew everything, but she could at least attempt to accomplish something before that happened. She wanted to elicit the same surprise in him that he regularly elicited in her, and she could think of only one way to do that.

Not two days before, they had spent a dark night crafting Saraya her first lightsaber. It had been a powerful moment for her. A truly defining point in her journey through shadow. The only problem was… she had no idea how to use it. Adron had promised to teach her, but his busy schedule left him little time for in-depth lessons. Saraya was far from greedy in the traditional sense, but her craving for any knowledge surrounding the dark force her fiancée dominated was entirely unmatched.

“We’ve arrived, my Lady.” The pilot’s soft tone filled the cabin as the shuttle came to a steady stop. Saraya stood from her seat, wrapping the sleek hilt in a swathe of black velvet as she did. Having only met the new Magnate once at a celebration she threw for her promotion, Saraya knew very little about her. Save for one defining thing that made her extremely useful.

Adron had said she was the best at lightsaber combat, and Saraya needed the best.

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Garde Noire, Illyira
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: | Saraya Arenais |

It had been a couple of weeks since her little family of Aymeric Rouche , Leven Jeyd , and Cali Ziiva had completely come together, finally, and her foundation of Garde secured. It felt…good to have that sort of backing, and there was a right feeling about taking up the master’s role to both of the younger force users under her mentorship. Cali didn’t need that sort of handholding, and with the pink one spending at least a few days a week in the capital working on some sort of massive new project she had neglected to tell Xobos about, saying, ‘it’s gunna be a great surprise Xo Xo! Don’t worry that much,’ she had been able to focus on the young man and changeling. It honed her skills as a master.

She had expected this day to be little more than a down day. Aym and Leven were running around the manor somewhere, happy to have the day off, and Xobos planned on spending it meditating or attending to matters in the town before meeting Cali for dinner at the tavern. Not that she minded the morning’s message that filtered into her inbox. The queen was coming, or at least, the queen to be, and she wanted to take some lessons on dueling. Xobos’ hadn’t been able to contain the slight smile on her face at the idea of her being the one to teach the queen…and how that spoke to the skills she had honed.

This would be a much better day than what had originally been thought of.

So Xobos had the training room cleared for a couple of hours during the midday, reserved for both of just her and the queen to be. Perhaps toward the end some of the guards would be allowed in to spar with Saraya, but in the beginning, Xobos wanted to be the one that tested and worked with the queen. She doubted that Adron would’ve let her remain…terrible, but if she wasn’t completely up to bar, then at least only Xobos would be the one to see the growth pains.

As she awaited Saraya’s arrival, pacing back in forth on the manor’s landing pad, she wondered just how trained the woman was. She knew little of the training that had gone on between her and the King, but from what she knew of her own training with Adron Malvern …the smallest amount of time beside the man’s side could lead to leaps of growth in one’s skillset. If one was able to survive the trials he threw forth, that was.

The shuttle arrived soon after she had started pacing, and as the first glemses of the queen to be came into view, the knight bowed her head in greeting, rising forth with a smile that ever so slightly raised the edges of her lips. “Welcome to Garde Noire. I’m very happy to have you here. If you’ll follow me, we can move to the training room to get started. And if you feel so inclined by the end of our session to join myself and my partner at the tavern in town, we’d be happy to have you enjoy some of my town’s…traditional delicacies.” The smile widened just a slight bit more, motioning for Saraya to follow the Magnate deeper into the manor. Before they could partake, there was work to be done.

 

[Saraya Arenais]

P R O G R E S S​

T A G | Xobos Yakieer

For the most part, the grand castle was just as Saraya had remembered it. There was a distinct lack of décor this time. The atmosphere lacked the tension that came hand in hand with a night of celebration and joy, but it was still Garde Noire.

As she stepped out from the shuttle, Saraya smiled, but she was greeted with the top of Xobos’ head.

People bowing and curtsying as she walked by or in greeting was all still rather new. Not so long ago, she had been the one doing the curtsying. Following the motion Xobos made to lead her inside, Saraya began to talk.

“Thank you, for the welcome and for agreeing to help me.” Of course, she would jump at the opportunity to dine with them afterwards. Adron would have encouraged it, and even beyond that. Saraya had rather a fond spot for the exotic couple. “I’d love to join you both afterwards, but I think while it’s just the two of us we can do away with all the courtly manner?”

For a brief moment, she pressed her lips together, unsure of whether she should say what she had to say next. Seeing as it was just the two of them, Saraya said it anyway. “I know how fond Adron is of you, and how proud he is. Granted, he has rather a funny way of showing it to you, but you’re one of his closest advisors and a dear friend. He talks about you so often that the minute we constructed the Queensaber, I knew who I wanted to help me…”

Saraya turned her emerald gaze onto the Miraluka, to flash her a radiant smile. “I’m not here in a royal capacity today, and I hope that eventually, we’ll grow close enough to move beyond that altogether. We can start with you calling me Saraya. If I can call you Xobos?”

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Garde Noire, Illyira
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: | Saraya Arenais |

Ah, so this was the new queen, and how she wanted to act around Xobos. This was..refreshing, and there was no much that could be done to stop Xobos from taking a step back from the formalities the life of Magnate had impressed upon her. “If it will be less…courtly between us, I encourage that we go ahead and add my partner to that list once we head to dinner. I’m not sure how many Zeltron’s you’ve met, but they can be quite…excitable. Including mine, and I have no real wish to hold her back from it.” She had learned to not only live with Cali’s excitement, but love it as well. It brought a brightness to her life unmatched by practically anything, and if the night’s dinner could be full of Cali’s merriment, then xobos had a good idea that everyone would walk away with a happy heart.

What came next was…wholly unexpected.

And honestly, Xobos was unsure if she believed it to the full extent that Saraya spoke.

Adron had always looked upon Xobos as if she was a tool to be used for an end. She understood this, grew from this role, and had become something a bit more trusted. But to have become one of his most trusted advisors and friends? That was almost too..personal to be believed. It would be a good idea and story, and maybe one day he would express that idea to her himself, but until then, the apprentice would make sure there was still a healthy distance between herself and the King. That was the sith way, was it not?

Before Xobos had the chance to be able to be able to respond to that, Saraya’s emerald gaze caught her own and prompted Xobos to move her own toward the woman with a smile. A soft nod was in part her response to the query, as was her words that flowed soon after. “Saraya it is. However, in the presence of the King, you are my Queen still, and you will be addressed as such. I cannot be moved from that ideal..yet when it is just us, formalities may be dropped to a point.” Her smile increased slightly, and as the final words fell from her lips, the pair finally made their way into the training room of the castle, an addition that Xobos had made sure to have included during the renovations.

The room was quite large, and had been actually two single rooms before the wall was knocked down before the rooms went through a renovation. This was the room that not only did Xobos and her pair of apprentices used, but the entirety of the Garde castle guards used as well. Right in the center was a medium sized dueling circle, perfect for both individual and class training. Stored on the side were a number of crates of weapons and armors, as well as stacked pieces of furniture and equipment that could be placed into the circle as extra pieces during training to use. In the other corner, a hot bath bubbled to life, perfect for relaxing ones body of it’s bruises and aches by the end of a training session. For now the room was lit by one wall having been covered by a majority of windows, allowing the bright daylight sun to illuminate every nook and cranny.

Xobos stood slightly off to the side of the room, allowing Saraya to take the time to work her way around the room and see if it was up to her level. They’d begin soon enough, but making sure the queen was comfortable before they began was important to the knight.

Because she certainly wasn’t going to be comfortable once they began.

 

[Saraya Arenais]

T O U R​

T A G | Xobos Yakieer

“Of course, I had considered her presence a given.” Saraya was the last person to want to tear apart a couple, and Xobos and Cali made rather a sweet one. “I must admit my experience with Zeltrons is exceedingly limited, but I look forward to learning all about them from the best source.” She followed up with a smile.

When Xobos mentioned sticking to courtly manner around Adron, Saraya shot her a knowing look. It went without saying. “I wholeheartedly agree, and I would expect nothing less. We all have an image to uphold, after all.” The conversation died after that, to which Saraya was not entirely opposed. As much as she was interested in the Magnate beyond discussing the boundaries of their relationship, there would be more time for discussion later over dinner. They had work to do first.

Having seen only one training room thus far, Saraya was more than impressed at what lay waiting for them beyond the doors. It was small enough to see everything it had to offer from first glance, but Saraya took the time to walk around it slowly. Using the edge of the training circle as a guide she paced past the weapons crates and stacks of furniture. As she rounded toward the next corner, a grin crept up onto the corners of her lips. “The bathtub is a particularly interesting addition.” She mused aloud as her feet carried on.

It was fit for purpose, that much was clear. Saraya had expected it to be nothing less.

Turning to Xobos on the ball of her heel, she rose a chocolate brown brow toward her masked features. “I have to admit, up until a few weeks ago all of this…” One of her hands waved a little, to draw a circle in the air. It was meant to encompass the entirety of the room, and a little bit more. The force, lightsabers, combat in general. Everything. “…was something I was blissfully ignorant too. Or at least, I had only read about it all. I’m afraid you may find my current talents lacking somewhat, but this is why I have come to you. I am eager to try my best.” At this point, she gave Xobos a pointed look. “I wished for us to abandon a courtly manner for more than just our benefit, and now ask that you not train me any differently to the way you train your apprentices.”

With that being said, Saraya was ready for whatever Xobos had to throw at her.

 

[Xobos Yakieer]

Location: Garde Noire, Illyira
Equipment: Illyria Knight Armor, Knight Saberstaff, Miralukan Eye Mask
Time of day: Midday
Tags: | Saraya Arenais |

A soft smile began to play upon Xobos’ lips as she watched Saraya make her way around the room, taking it all in. “The hot tub was Cali Ziiva ‘s idea, of course. Something about a good way to relax the muscles and body after a long training session. It seems to work, most of the time.” That smile only served to grow upon hearing of the queen’s journey so far. She had come a long, long way, and there was a hope growing within her that the training that they started today could serve her much farther into that journey. “Your eagerness is appreciated, and something I take a note of. I promise it is not something that take for granted.” A nod, then the Miraluka began to proceed over to the side of the large dueling ring, starting to discard her armor as she did so. The last few words from the queen had brought the smile on her face down a few notches, giving the knight reason more to nod lightly in thought.

“You will receive my best. That I can assure you. However, Saraya..” There was a moments pause from Xobos. It gave her time to remove the chestplate of her armor, as well as to muse to words that she spoke next carefully. Rolling them over in her mind, she decided upon how which to phrase the point she was about to try and get across. “I will not train you how I train Leven, and I will not train you how I train Aymeric. For there are reasons why I train them both differently. They receive the same lessons at times, but the cores of their training are different, as yours should be as well. Because you are not a..changeling like Leven, and you are not an experienced hunter like Aymeric. I do not say this to bring your spirits down, rather to help you focus on the strengths you do possess.”

The last of her armor came off now, discarded to the side. She began to pace in front of Saraya, her saber held tightly between her hands as they rested in the small of her back. “I obviously cannot tell you at this moment what they all are. What I do know about you is that you are cunning, like Leven. You have a drive to better yourself, like Aymeric.” Xobos paused, smiling to herself for a moment. “Though, albeit, for much different reasons.”

Eventually she came to a stop, standing in front of the queen, the smile that previously dotted the edges of her lips starting to return. “We shall find what your strengths are, then we shall hone them into deadly weapons that keep yourself and others safe. We will find your weaknesses, sharpen them, make them into something that no enemy can exploit. And you will be able to mould your abilities to turn yourself into exactly what you imagine your greatest dreams to be.” The hands holding her saber declasped, the gold indents on the hilt glistening in the soft light of the room as it was brought around to face the soon to be queen of the world.

“To start, why don’t you show me what you know, Saraya. Attack, use the walls, use the force. Don’t hold back.” A smile appeared, just before the orange blades of Xobos’ saber appeared on either side the hilt. “Let us see the canvas on which your masterpiece will be created.”

 

[Saraya Arenais]

A T T E M P T​

T A G | Xobos Yakieer

Saraya returned the smile Xobos offered, with a rather knowing one of her own. The hot tub being Cali’s idea made the most sense in Saraya’s head. She seemed to be the eccentric type. One of the many things that gave her intrigue.

At the mention of weaknesses, Saraya could not help but smirk somewhat. It was meant to be private, kept only to herself, but she displayed it openly on her painted lips. As far as she was aware, the only weakness she currently possessed was Adron. She could have lied and added her family to that list, but that would have been a fallacy. An attempt to cling to the woman she used to be. With that knowledge, the task of sharpening it and honing it into something that could not be exploited already seemed like a simple task. Adron could hardly be counted as a weakness at all considering he was exceedingly powerful in his own right.

Of course, she understood that her training would not exactly mirror that of Xobos’ other apprentices. As long as she understood that what Saraya was asking for was indifference in regard to her title, she was fine. As the room was doused in an orange glow, Saraya found familiar sensations creeping up into her stomach. Nervousness. Excitement. Fear. Determination. She knew what to expect. Or at least, she somewhat did. Adron had trained her how to hold a blade, and how to use it to defend herself, but not attack. Not yet. This would be a test. To see if she really was as cunning and driven like Xobos had suggested.

Saraya peeled away the velvet ebony wrappings from the Queensaber and let it flutter to the floor.

For a few moments, she stood silently, looking at Xobos. Saraya had not had the opportunity to watch her fight before. There was no way to know her weaknesses or her strengths. All she had to go off was Adron’s word that she was quite formidable with a blade. While she trusted that word implicitly, it wasn’t enough to give her a solid idea of how best to fight Xobos, but the longer she lingered the more she lost an intrinsic element.

Surprise.

She took two delicate steps toward Xobos before she wrapped the force around her body. On the third step, she leapt. As her slender fingers curling properly around the hilt of her saber the ignition clicked at the peak of her jump. The aggressive purple blade cut down diagonally toward Xobos’ shoulder.