Private Returning the Favor

[Darth Anathemous]

Location: Red Ronin Club, Canto Bight
Wearing: Dress
Tag: Darth Virelia

The Red Ronin Club sat high upon the cliffs above Canto Bight.

From here one could see the oceans of Cantonica for miles around, reflecting the blue haze of sunset after a storm, and the warm lights of that bustling sea port below. Real sailing ships returned with fish caught fresh that evening, while others prepared to disembark on sunset cruises filled with wealthy party goers and tourists.

Kaila watched it all from the viewport of a private airspeeder, with none other than Darth Virelia in tow.

The fantastic thing about Cantonica was that it was situated too far from everything to be dragged into war but too close to something not to attract attention. The trip from Malachor to here was quick, from Korriban? even quicker.

So she dragged Virelia here after the party, among those who cared less if she were an exile.

She'd even handed her a brochure for her own resort. The club advertisements described heated pools both natural and artificial, grand dining halls serving fresh sea food and imported goods alike, massage parlors, they even had a soundproofed club with aggressive music and live entertainment for the wilder sorts. And of course, the meanest private security any wealthy woman could want protecting their valuables.

It failed to mention they were Kaila's assassins.

But there would be no violence today. She'd seen how hard Virelia was working, knew it must have put strain on those silk-clad shoulders, even if she didn't show it. Because she and Kaila were more similar than either of them cared to admit.

"So~?" she hummed, turning away from the viewport.

"What do you want to do first?"

​

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rest and Revile."

Tags - Darth Anathemous

She let silence breathe between them, filling the air with the hum of the speeder's repulsors and the faint salt-washed perfume of the sea drifting in through the ventilation. Her violet eyes tracked the coastline below, but her presence—her gravity—never left Kaila.

She shifted, a languid movement more suited to a throne than a passenger seat, one leg crossing over the other, cloak sliding like poured ink across the seat. Her lips curved, not into warmth, but into something more dangerous—a smile sharpened into a hook.

"First?" she echoed softly, voice low and velvet-edged. "That presumes I came here to consume like a tourist. To drink the wine, to press my hands upon whatever novelties you offer." Her gaze cut to Kaila at last, unblinking, deliberate. "But you didn't bring me to the cliffs of Canto Bight for seafood and massage tables, Kaila."

Her gloved fingers traced the seam of her seat, slow and deliberate, as though sketching the shape of something invisible. "You brought me here because you wanted me close. Because somewhere between exile and empire, you remembered how it feels to share the view with someone who does not flinch from what you are."

Virelia leaned forward then, the soft flicker of the city lights gilding her features in molten gold and deep shadow. Close enough that her breath could be felt, though her tone remained measured, conversational—like a knife wrapped in silk.

"So what do I want to do first?" She let the question linger, as if tasting it. "I want to see what you want to show me. What you built in your image, beyond the shadows and the perfume of wealth. The parts you think only I would understand."

Her smile widened, softer now, though no less predatory. A pause, pregnant with weight, with suggestion, with promise.

Her hand lifted, brushing lightly at the fold of Kaila's collar, as if straightening it—a gesture both intimate and commanding.

"Take me where you wish to begin. And I will tell you whether it is indulgence… or revelation."

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Darth Virelia

"You brought me here because you wanted me close."

"Hmh." her lips cracked into an undeniable smile.

"Yes." she swallowed.

Kaila shivered when Virelia came close, their proximity having taken on new meaning since that day on Rakata.

"I know I don't always express my thoughts clearly, but... Well, I've come to care for you, Serina."

"And you've been working so hard." she glanced away.

Virelia said many things, as she always had, but the words 'flinch from what you are' remained at the forefront of her mind. She pinched her chin in thought, the golden gaze reflected in the viewport contemplative, distant. Very distant.

Share the view with someone who does flinch from me...

"Well, if it's a view we're sharing..." she said, quietly, as the rooftop landing came into view.

"There's a patio outside my personal quarters. We can see the stars and sea both, from the cliff."

The young Darth glanced back while Virelia finished adjusting her collar, and despite the pain in her eyes, the woman brought that faint smile back.

It grew mischievous for but a moment, as she leaned in to whisper;

"It even has a pool."

Her smirk and attention remained Virelia's awhile longer, even as finely dressed servants opened the airspeeder doors for the pair. Kaila allowed them to take her ever-gloved hand as she slid out of the vehicle, waving off armed security, including some of her Commando Droids, who they'd no longer need for the evening.

"Move all organic personnel out of the top floor, we are not to be disturbed."

Then, with the hired help leaving, Kaila turned to offer the Tyrant Queen her hand.

"Shall we?"

​

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rest and Revile."

Tags - Darth Anathemous

Virelia did not take her hand at once. She let it hang in the air, an invitation trembling between them, a pause sharpened into something like cruelty. Her eyes slid from Kaila's outstretched fingers to the curve of her smile, the pain behind it, the hunger laced through it. Then—deliberately, intimately—she accepted, her gloved fingers closing over Kaila's hand like a silken vice.

"You say you care for me," Virelia murmured, stepping close enough that her words brushed Kaila's ear, "and yet you look away, as though your own care frightens you." Her tone was velvet, but heavy with implication. "You do not flinch from my darkness, Kaila. You flinch from your own."

Her grip tightened—not painfully, but with the promise of possession. She moved with her, guiding rather than following, every step a reminder of who truly held gravity here. When the servants and guards receded, Virelia's smile sharpened, private and predatory.

"A patio with stars, a pool, the sea below us," she continued, voice low and almost reverent, though it was not the place she revered but the woman beside her. "How many have you led there? How many have you bared yourself to?" Her free hand rose, fingers grazing along Kaila's jawline, dragging lightly beneath her chin until her head tilted up. "None who matter. None who would know how to use what you've built to unmake you… or remake you."

Her lips brushed close, but did not close the distance. A torment, a promise withheld. "You offer me the stars and the sea," she whispered, "but you are the greater indulgence, Kaila. That is why you tremble when I touch your collar, why your smile wavers between ache and desire. You want me to take what you have made sacred and profane it, until it belongs to me… and so do you."

Virelia finally drew back, only a fraction, enough to let the cool air rush back in where her heat had lingered. Her thumb traced once more over Kaila's lower lip, slow, suggestive, corrupting.

"Show me this view, then. And understand—when I stand beside you on that cliff, it will not be two women gazing at the sea. It will be Mistress and beloved, predator and willing prey, queen and her chosen."

Her eyes burned violet as she drew Kaila's hand toward her lips, brushing the back with a kiss that was not gentle, but claiming.

"Shall we?" she echoed, voice dark silk.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Darth Virelia

Her brows knit at first, then her gaze dropped to the floor.

It was true. It had been true for some time, that Kaila wrestled with what she was becoming.

And what she could've been. Caring for another was a luxury she couldn't always afford, but caring for Serina?

"How many have you led there? How many have you bared yourself to?"

"There? specifically?" she smirked.

Her expression remained unchanged all the while, as Serina drew close, draw a thumb over her lip, said all the right things. Until she didn't. Her features pulled into a frown at the word "Mistress", eyes narrowing, searching for a reaction among the departing staff who seemed fortunately ignorant.

"...you know how I feel about that word..." she sighed.

But her lips pursed at the soft warmth against her slender hand. It was perhaps the most "ladylike" anyone had treated the warrior, something she needed more of, if her experience with Jael Amnen was anything to go by.

Breath passed through her lips—one she didn't realize she was holding—and swallowed.

And so she led Serina deeper. The inside of the Red Ronin Club was spotless, a stark contrast to the rugged persona of it's owner. Cream colored marble walls, dark flooring and trim, broken up by alcoves where plants from far away worlds were potted. The windows here were tall and wide, leaving entire corridors see through, but also thick, blaster-proof, among other things.

Finally they arrived outdoors again, to a patio and fenced in section of the cliffside.

Natural hotsprings from up the mountain had been redirected here, warm water bubbling into a pool lit by soft blue lights beneath, and a stars above. There was also seating, a table for two and rarely more, upon which sat a bowl of ice so fresh that mist rose against the tropical heat. Within lay a bottle labeled "Fiora Crystaal".

"So?" she hummed, putting her arm around Serina.

"What first, pool or champaign?"

​

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rest and Revile."

Tags - Darth Anathemous

Virelia let the touch linger, Kaila's arm around her like a claim and a question both. She did not move to shrug it off—she allowed it, savored it, as if testing how long Kaila could keep her composure pressed so close. The sea crashed far below, a hush of foam and distance, while the pool steamed gently with its mineral breath. The whole cliffside seemed staged for temptation.

Her violet eyes roved over the table, the bottle misting in the tropical heat, the rising shimmer of bubbles. The smallest smile curved her lips, but it wasn't directed at the view, nor the drink. It was for Kaila, who had arranged this like a gift and a trap in the same gesture.

And Virelia always plays for keeps.

Her hand slid, unhurried, to Kaila's hip, thumb brushing a slow arc just beneath the fold of her belt. It wasn't forceful—no domination, not yet—but precise, as though Virelia were reminding Kaila where the center of gravity had shifted. Her other hand traced the length of Kaila's wrist, the same one hooked around her, until her fingers folded over it with a gentleness that almost contradicted the heat behind her gaze.

She leaned in then, lips close enough to graze the shell of Kaila's ear when she finally spoke:

"Why choose?"

The words came like a caress, but the weight behind them pressed deeper, pushing past Kaila's carefully layered restraint. Virelia's breath was warm at her ear—an offer disguised as surrender, yet one that made surrender impossible.

She drew Kaila with her toward the table, gloved fingers uncorking the Fiora Crystaal with a muted pop. She poured, slow and deliberate, as if filling the glasses were part of a ritual. One was offered, though Virelia did not yet drink from her own. Her eyes lingered instead on Kaila's mouth, on the tremor of her lips, on the rise of her throat when she swallowed.

Then, without warning, Virelia turned her toward the pool. The surface reflected starlight, shimmering blue around their bodies. She did not pull Kaila in—no, she only set the suggestion in her blood, one hand firm at her back, one glass pressed lightly into her palm.

Then, soft as the water's whisper, cruel and kind at once:

"Tell me, who are you?"

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Tag: Darth Virelia

She breathed deeply of her perfume.

"Hmh. I should have guessed." said with a cheeky, albeit faint smile.

"Thankfully my pools are not deep enough to drown in. You'll have to tell me that story sometime."

Kaila moved with her leisurely pace, watching their glasses slowly fill with satisfied anticipation. Between war and Malachor, she and her Dark Lady had put themselves through so much. It felt good, seeing Serina take her time, prepared to relax. She gingerly took her glass, gloved fingers brushing over Serina's.

"Thank you." she said softly, taking a slow, indulgent sip.

Then, before she knew it, they made for the pool.

They stopped before the water, and Kaila pinched a glove between her teeth, carefully pulling at it until Serina asked a question that froze the young Lord in her tracks.

"Tell me, who are you?"

"whuh...?" her voice was muffled by the leather between her teeth.

A beat passed before she let it go, long glove hanging loose from her fingertips, while glowing eyes searched Serina's.

"I..."

A glance at the water.

"I am Anathemous, Lord of Blades."

"And I don't understand your question..." she sighed "You know who I am."

"Besides I've... I've been a lot of things..."

Kaila knocked back a drink this time.

​

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rest and Revile."

Tags - Darth Anathemous

Virelia's eyes stayed fixed on her as Kaila drank, as if she could follow the path of the Crystaal down her throat and feel its warmth herself. She did not move at first, only let the silence thicken again, letting Kaila's words echo in her own ears until they became as brittle as the glass in her hand.

Then she stepped forward, closing the distance with the slow inevitability of a tide. One hand slipped around Kaila's wrist, guiding the glass down with careful precision until it hovered just above the pool's steaming surface. Her other hand lifted, brushing aside a stray lock that had fallen near Kaila's eye. A small, almost tender gesture—one that contradicted the hunger coiled in every line of her body.

Her lips hovered close, her breath threading into Kaila's. She did not rush, did not seize, did not name herself Mistress this time. Instead, she whispered like a secret unraveling:

"You are many things. But you do not know which of them are truly yours… and which are armor."

Her hand on Kaila's cheek slid lower, down the column of her throat, pausing at the quickened pulse there. Not gripping—feeling. Savoring. She leaned in, kissing not her lips but her throat, slow, deliberate, claiming in its softness.

"You do not have to call it submission," she breathed against skin, each word a brush of warmth. "It can be something else. A release. A place where you no longer have to wield yourself."

Her mouth lingered, open now, lips grazing, a faint pull of teeth without cruelty. One hand pressed lightly against Kaila's lower back, guiding her nearer to the pool, nearer to the edge, nearer to choice.

Virelia's violet gaze lifted then, locking Kaila in place more thoroughly than any hand could. "Do you feel it? The ache when you resist. The trembling not from weakness, but from the part of you that wants to fall… if only into the right arms."

Her lips hovered a breath from Kaila's, denying her the contact, corrupting her with absence as much as with presence. Her voice came softer still, silken, inescapable:

"Let me be that place."

The glass slipped from Kaila's fingers at last, falling into the pool with a muted splash. Virelia kissed her then—hungry, tender, ruinous—an answer to a question Kaila had never dared to ask aloud.

 

[Darth Anathemous]

Tag: Darth Virelia

She leaned into her touch, a far cry from months ago.

And then her eyes fell to the ground, because Serina was right. Kaila, Anathemous, Solus and Starfall, she could no longer tell what was real and what was manufactured for her own survival.

The realization brought on a pained frown.

Until she kissed her neck. Kaila closed her eyes and tilted her head back, releasing the tension from her shoulders and lungs. Serina said all the right things to lull Anathemous to sleep and allow Kaila to remain in control, just long enough to relinquish it.

"I..." her voice so small, delicate.

A voice heard by no other.

"I think... I would like such a place."

There was such weariness in the way she murmured, but not for lake of sleep. She allowed herself to be led to the pool, and her glass taken. And subsequently dropped into the pool.

"Serina, you've gone and put glass in my pool-"

Her exhausted complaints were silenced by the taste of lipstick.

Kaila grabbed possessive handfuls of her cloak, arms wrapped tight around her, but for her part the kiss lacked her usual passions. Hers was a softer sort of claim, inviting where Virelia's was conquering.

She was beginning to accept her role in this.

When they finally parted it was with a shaky breath that took her a moment to recover. Glowing eyes fell softly upon hers, then to the moon beyond, as a toothy, knowing smirk cracked her features.

"And here I thought that I would attend you this evening." she stifled a chuckle.

"Hmh. I suppose I needed this more than I thought."

​

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Rest and Revile."

Tags - Darth Anathemous

Virelia did not let go when Kaila's laugh slipped through—she only held her closer, cloak gathered in the younger woman's fists like a vow. The faintest smile curved her lips, but it did not soften her eyes. Those remained fixed, violet and inexorable, seeing not only the smirk and jest but the fracture beneath, the place where the blade had dulled from weariness.

Her hand rose to Kaila's jaw, guiding her chin back toward her, denying her the moon. "Attend me?" she echoed, low, velvet, intimate. Her thumb traced the line of Kaila's cheekbone, smudging the air with her perfume. "You already do. Every time you surrender a piece of yourself to my touch… you attend me more faithfully than any servant could."

She leaned in, pressing another kiss to her lips—slower this time, not conquering but insidious, sinking into her like water into stone, patient and inevitable. Her lips lingered, not pulling away too soon, forcing Kaila to feel the tremor in her own breath, the betraying softness in her body that spoke louder than titles.

When she finally parted, her mouth drifted to Kaila's ear. "It is not weakness, Kaila. To want a place to rest your armor. To want someone strong enough to take it from you, so you may breathe again." Her words wrapped her like silk cords, licentious and kind all at once. "The Lord of Blades does not cease to exist when she lays her weapons down. She becomes something sharper… because she chooses when to be a blade, and when to be held."

Her hand slid lower, down the line of Kaila's spine, pausing at the small of her back with an unspoken claim. Virelia did not push her into the water. She only pressed, gently, enough to let the steam rise around them, to blur the line between restraint and invitation.

Her lips brushed the corner of Kaila's mouth once more, a half-kiss denied. "Do you see? You think you attend me… but it is I who see you. All of you. And I will not look away."

She kissed her again, deeper, silencing words and doubts alike, until there was nothing left but the pulse of want and the whisper of surrender hovering just out of reach.