So Bored

[Isar Kislo]

KDY

Cadeyrn laid casually on forward nose section of a matte black E-Wing. The spacecraft contained no markings to include any official registration numbering. The design hadn't been modified much - little need. Cadeyrn wasn't one for a great deal of the new-fangled technology seen in most top-of-the-line fighters. His needs were simpler, more modest.

The young Centurion was supposed to be shadowing some Sith military officer or another that supervised One Sith interests at KDY in the absence of his father. However, Cadeyrn had quickly tired of that exercise. Thanks to his genetics, he had an aptitude for it and aviation. In fact, he even enjoyed aviation a great deal. However, he had extremely little interest in the applications of complex naval tactics at anything over the single-vessel engagement.

One might think that being on Kuat was lovely for the young pseudo-Prince, but they would be wrong. For the most part, [member="Lorelei Darke"] left him to his own devices. Of all of his relatives, she commanded the greatest amount of his respect. Sure, he held emotions for both of his parents, but he couldn't agree with his mother's ever-benevolent inclinations or his father's complete exasperation with every aspect of the galaxy. Lorelei was like that too, but she mostly kept it under wraps, hiding the truth of who she was from the vast majority of the galaxy.

That was kind of boring. The slight clenching and unclenching of his insides indicated that his body needed something. The ever-heightened scent of warm blood wafting through the air courtesy of mechanics and engineers no doubt several rooms away meant that he'd allowed his need for blood to go unchecked for...too long.

Also. He much preferred real blood to the concoction that his mother and grandmother normally chose to drink. He'd kept the effects of his penchant completely under wraps. Thank goodness for inheriting his ancestors' propensity for attention to detail.

[member="Athena Heron"]

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

She took her tutelage from her lord very seriously, especially after he plucked her from the bowels of that Sith Academy with those insufferable and narrow-minded professors. So, when he suggested she go to Kuat for flight and combat training, she went without an open word of protest. She could keep her grumblings about not being around his chiseled presence to herself.

The presence of his statue, of course.

"Nice curves," she murmured softly, just beneath the young man perched above. Pale, blue-fingertips lightly traced the craft's nose. Her footsteps were usually near silent with her avian bone-structure.

Charcoal-ellipses flickered up to meet the stranger's eyes as she continued blandly. "The ship. She has nice lines. She yours?"

 

[Isar Kislo]

The sound of heartbeats thumping in his ears continued to rise steadily like a percussion ensemble in the midst of a crescendo. However, when [member="Athena Heron"]'s voice shattered the rhythmic beauty, Cadeyrn sat up slowly. Stretching his arms out behind him and leaning back, he allowed his silver-blue gaze to meet hers. Almost involuntarily, the young Centurion's tongue traced a brief line across his lips. "Yes."

Sliding off the edge, Cadeyrn landed on the durasteel below without any sound. Standing, he allowed his eyes a brief once over of Athena's form, fighting the steadily-increasing desire to empty her blood for multiple reasons. Her life-force smelled...different...almost intoxicatingly exotic. He wanted to savor it for a moment, so he stepped in closer. "What are you?" Had he sensed an Omwati before...he'd already know.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]
"Tsk. Tsk," tongue clucked against the roof of her mouth. "Someone didn't pass their species 101 class at the academy," as he stepped in closer, so did she. Amusement flecked within the depths of her eyes but also something else. There was something that seemed familiar about him.

She watched him like a wary-hawk as she began to circle him. "Why don't we start with names?" Feathered-lashes fluttered in mock-innocence, "then we can move into the rest."

As much as she wanted to dive into the mind underneath that mop of his dark hair, she held herself back.

Fingertips brushed across the smooth skin of her collarbone. "Athena Heron. You?"

 

[Isar Kislo]

Cadeyrn's silver-blue eyes registered near-immediate recognition when [member="Athena Heron"] made mention of 'the academy'. Within this system, he rarely encountered any other than well-known merchants contracted by the One Sith, Kuatis, or, naturally, Sith. Plus, there was an air to the woman that was...familiar to him, something he could recognize. "I never wasted my time at your academy." No smile adorned his features - like his father such gestures displayed themselves...rarely.

As the woman began to circle him, Cadeyrn closed his eyes and allowed his senses to take over. The beat of her heart still insisted on growing louder in his ear. He could practically feel the coursing of blood through her body, and he could smell every lingering scent contained in her pores. The sensations had always been intense but ever since he began feeding on living victims of various races, they seemed to heighten almost exponentially. There was a familiarity there...a scent that she'd spent a great deal of time around and recently.

When she had circled back around to the front of him, Cadeyrn opened his eyes and flashed a thin, predatory smile. "Athena..." For now, however, he would exercise restraint, curious as to the concoction of scents that adorned her. Smells so deep they were quite impossible to completely wash away. "...why bother with names if I have no intention of speaking to you in the morning?" A jest...mostly. Motioning to himself, the young Centurion continued, "Cadeyrn. What brings you to Kuat?"

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

"But that would imply that we would spend all night together," a wicked-glint sparkled in the midnight landscape of her eyes. "Cadeyrn." Visage transitioned from wicked teasing to something a little more pensive. This is what she knew: he was young-seemed close to her age, he was somehow a familiar stranger, and he was holding back. There were a lot of unknowns. With the way sith were, throwing out the specific name of one's master tended to end in rivalry or death.

The young Omwati chose caution.

Curved, blue skinned chin tipped slightly to the E-wing that had been the object of her admiration moments before. "That does. My lord sent me for flight and combat training. You seem familiar with this area. Perhaps you could show me where best to inquire about such training?"

 

[Isar Kislo]

Cadeyrn smiled a little broader this time. "Touche, Athena." Where such seemingly innocuous teasing would have normally encouraged Cadeyrn to go a step further, he simply allowed the woman to push the conversation forward unchallenged. The young Sith was content to hand over victories in furtherance of a...longer end-game.

As the conversation shifted to talk of flight training, Cadeyrn could not help but laugh softly. "Your lord sent you here for flight and combat training?" Kuat was a rather odd place to send someone for flight training, in his open. The space above Kuat was continuously crowded with traffic and the One Sith certainly did not maintain an overly large military presence in the system - seemingly leaving primary defense responsibility to KDY itself. Granted, knowing who the Sith's designated representative to the system was, it made perfect sense.

"Well then. I'm sure we can find someone to provide you some assistance in the matter. Have you ever flown a spacecraft or aircraft before?"

[member="Athena Heron"]

 

[Athena Heron]

"Yes, well, perhaps my lord wants me dead or perhaps he knew I'd find exactly the right person to train with so as not to become a mynock squashed on a viewport." Pink lips offered a wicked grin. "Flown before?" The smile quickly disappeared.

"Not in a starship," shoulder blades with those long scars itched. Shoulders rolled as she reached a hand behind her back before letting it fall back to her side. "But I've done sims. Passed all of them," she left out the part about holo memorization.

That would be braggy, nerdy, and unwise.

She leaned in a bit closer, as if she had known him more than those few moments. There was a nudge of....something about him. "I imagine you're adept at more than just lounging around these girls?" That flicker of amusement was back in her tone.


[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

 

[Isar Kislo]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Cadeyrn offered a nonchalant shrug in response to the woman's speculation as to the purpose for her sojourn to Kuat. It was her next statement that intrigued him...even if only because of the rather obvious implications. While Cadeyrn was certainly well-educated, it would be a fallacy to say that he knew of every single race and creed the galaxy had to offer. He doubted that even his father could boast such knowledge and the man had been around for...a really long time.

Of course, Athena quickly added a follow-up that would have ordinarily erased all elements of curiosity. Cadeyrn, however, had never been so easily swayed. Growing up around the scheme of his father and grandmother...well... Certain things just ran in the family. The young Sith opened his mouth to reply, but he was quickly interrupted by the woman stepping in even closer. If his ability to control his hunger was being tested at the previous distance, it was all he could do not to take the mysterious bird-woman's entire life force in that moment.

Then again...it would have been a shame to destroy such a pretty thing.

Following a deep inhale which...actually helped nothing, Cadeyrn managed a thin smile. "I haven't killed myself yet." Shifting a glance back up to the cockpit, Cadeyrn quickly returned his gaze to Athena with a roguish grin. "I'm sure we can find you something to test your skill in. I doubt the management here at KDY will mind too much - I know the boss pretty well. Follow me." Brushing lightly against Athena's body as he stepped past, Cadeyrn made his way towards that particular hangar's exit to proceed to the one directly next-door. He knew there to be a handful of low-performance shuttles there...a good first step for someone that hadn't actually flown a spacecraft yet.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

Head cocked to the side as he brushed past. Keen, dark-eyes watched him silently. He seemed to be in pain. Struggling with....something. Pink-lips pursed in thought as she followed behind.

"Gladly," she clucked in response to his lead.

Feathered-hair ruffled slightly in anticipation of flight. There was excitement there. Some fear and some very palatable sadness of being reminded about a loss of not-so-long-ago. Curiosity got the best of the Omwatti. Walking next to her intriguing peer, she stretched out some dark tendrils in the force, gently nudging into the edges of his mind to see what she could glean.

 

[Isar Kislo]

[member="Athena Heron"]'s prodding would come almost all too easily. As it stood, most things having to do with manipulating the minds of others were foreign to him. He was aware of the capabilities of course, but his fondness of spice often impeded his progress in such areas. However, guarding his mind had been one of the very first lessons he'd learned from his parents. That being said, he wasn't exactly a master at such a skill. In fact he wasn't even approaching mastery.

At best, he was merely competent enough to provide a great effort of resistance even if it didn't result in incredible strength. Also...he could generally tell when it was happening, dependent upon the practitioner utilizing such an ability against him. In Athena's case, however, Cadeyrn did not appear to notice.

The fringes of the boy's mind were...superficial at best, keeping all serious thoughts as closely guarded as possible. His thirst would be the first thing she was able to perhaps glean. A bit further and she might even realize that it was not water or ale that Cadeyrn sought but the warm blood of the living. Just beyond that, perhaps his attraction to her which would, for the most part, bring about the reality of restraining himself for one true purpose.

The challenge, the opportunity to grow in strength. It was the only thing in life he really desired.

In a matter of minutes, they were entering the adjacent hangar where a number of shuttles sat. Cadeyrn guided Athena towards an older model Nune-class Shuttle. Tracing his hands over the fuselage briefly, he asked a question. "I presume you at least have all of the academic knowledge behind flight? Control surfaces, propulsion, etc?"

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

Coal-eyes widened in surprise and her pace slowed just slightly as she gleaned his struggle to feed. A Garhoon, perhaps? Just as quickly as she dove in, she withdrew from Cadeyrn's mind.

Perhaps it was his attraction to her that caused her to respect his...space.

Pale, blue fingers ran lightly over the area of the ship Cadeyrn just vacated, stopping just short of brushing against his fingertips. She fluidly withdrew to face him. "Yes, of course. I'm surprised there's no 'Caution I'm a New Pilot' plate on the back of this ol' girl, though." Deep down she was grateful for the opportunity to fly. Period. But there was no stopping the wit that left the tip of her tongue.

"But I've found applying theory to real-life practice can be quite different. You won't judge me if I hit anything on the way out, will you?"

Dark-lashes playfully batted at her peer as she leaned against the outer hull of the ship.

 

[Isar Kislo]

[member="Athena Heron"]

Cadeyrn watched Athena in silence as she briefly mirrored his actions. While initially he was unsure about the Omwati, he was rapidly becoming aware that something about her beyond her blood was causing his intrigue to...flourish. Further more, it wasn't her appearance that was the cause. She just...reminded him of a few people he knew. No...she reminded him of stories he'd heard about people he knew when they were in their youth. Naturally that meant he should probably just stay away from her.

At that precise moment, Athena turned to face him. For a few moments, his face was impassive as he gazed at the woman. The low hum of machinery working in the background filled the hangar for several seconds after the Omwati had finished speaking. Slowly, Cadeyrn allowed a thin smile of amusement to touch his lips. Silver-blue eyes remained focused on Athena as he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I mean...I'm definitely going to judge you, but I don't own this vessel or the station."

Stepping from his position, Cadeyrn motioned for Athena to follow as he made his way towards the loading ramp. Pausing at the entrance, he turned his head to face her once more. "That responsibility...falls to my father and grandmother respectively. It's really just them you need be concerned about, I suppose." A quick shrug, and Cadeyrn casually made his way into the spacecraft's interior and toward the cockpit. Settling into one of the seats, Cadeyrn adjusted his restraints and waited for Athena. He'd walk her through the pre-flight procedures if necessary, but he was interested to see if she could manage getting them on their way alone.

 

[Athena Heron]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

Charcoal-brows furrowed in thought as the crash webbing was strapped around her shoulders. Blue fingers that looked deceivingly delicate flew over the controls, running through pre-flight in a textbook perfect manner. Well, datapad perfect manner.

"Your father...," voice trailed off as she double checked to make sure landing gear was unlocked and clearance codes were received. Fingers gripped the controls of the ship. Permission for flight was logged. With a slight thrust in power, she brought them airborn.

Eyes panned away from the viewport. And suddenly, she saw it. That jawline. The thin smile. The connection between who owned this place. Dark-eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait. Lord Cameron Centurion is your father?!"

Warning sounded in the ship as she narrowly missed the exit of the hangar, jerking them sharply starboard.