Starships

[Cedric Grayson]

It was the usual flight from Endor to the core worlds. A few shuttle jumps and three transit stations marked the path to Coruscant. Though the One Sith had control of the galactic capital, they could not hope to keep a handle on things by restricting traffic from worlds out of their influence. Thus, Darius made the monthly flight to the galactic capital for general goods: food, water, clothing, all the things the trading posts on Endor charged far too much for.

This shuttle was particularly empty. Coruscant was not the nicest place to be these days; the Galactic Alliance's assault on the Sith capital had seen to that. People were scared to make the journey. They were afraid they might get caught up in another raid. Thus, flights from Endor to the galactic center were sparsely populated. All the better for Darius; the trip costed bout half as much as it used to.

He was clad in the usual commoner's clothes. A simple hooded jacket, pants, combat boots, and a sawed-off scattergun for protection. Easy pickings for anyone with a bit of skill. Of course, Darius had absolutely no intention of getting into a situation that required him to actually use the scattergun. Dying did not seem like a good way to spend the weekend.

Of all the people on the shuttle, his eyes were locked on [member="Kinsey Starchaser"]. Why? Well, Darius was a nineteen year old male who scarcely ever saw human females, especially young ones, on the planet that he'd been forced to make his home. There was also the fact that he could sense the force around her. Nothing particularly tangible -- alignments, thoughts, those were blocked to him. He could, however, pick up a faint presence, as well as emotions.

What really mattered though was that he was staring. Staring. Staring. Staring. Staring.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

Crunch-crunch-crunch-a-munch. Kins swallowed the last of the peanuts from the complimentary pack on the shuttle and crinkled the wrapper into the seat pocket in front of her. Sage Bane was probably off sleeping with some twi'lek twins or something which gave his apprentice a perfect opportunity to explore away from the prying eyes of her master and his men - a.k.a. her 'babysitters.'

Besides, Sage should know by now he couldn't keep a Starchaser grounded, no matter how many trips among Zoosha fabric sheets were involved.

It was a mostly empty plane, force abilities aside, it didn't take her long to feel the attentions from someone else. Twisting in her seat, too-blue eyes scanned the empty seats and locked onto the dark gaze of Darius. A rather intense gaze. Sexy. The teen flashed a smile his way - that same brilliant smile that was known to sway both males and females of any race.

A moment later the transport shook and the fasten-safety belt sign flashed on.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Oh gods..

Darius was not the most aware Padawan on the speeder bus. Sometimes when the force called to him, he couldn't help but look. Occasionally it called a bit stronger than usual, and then he was gazing at some strange woman for the better part of a minute. Then she was smiling, and his stomach was doing back flips. His face flushed a deep shade of red. What did the old code say? There is no emotion, there is peace, right? Unfortunately there was no peace within Darius at the moment, and a whole lot of emotion.

He met her bright smile with a shaky grin of his own. Self-confidence issues? By the dozen. His lips parted to speak, but then the reality of where he was hit him -- she was on the other side of the transport. Well, that wasn't going to work out. Instead, he tried to reach out through the ethereal realm of the force. His master was never particularly talented in the art, but Darius had a powerful connection to the mystical plane. It came across as a simple nudge, and then it was gone.

He sunk back into his seat; his mind going to a thousand places at once. He almost did not notice the warning light. Almost. The shaking of the shuttle served to further his anxiety. It wasn't like they were going to crash. He'd made this trip a dozen times, but the thought was still there.

The closest world was Khomm. A One Sith world, and one he knew next to nothing about. Even a landing for maintenance was a terrible scenario. The Sith could find him, and then they would do their...things!

"I have no idea what they would do," he mumbled aloud to himself. He buckled himself in, and sat up straighter, giving the woman a short wave; it was the best he could manage.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

Was he shy? Was he crazy? Maybe a little of both. Before he muttered to himself she definitely felt...something. Something through the force? He was obvs cute. Of course, the wild-child-teen thought most guys were hot. It's how she ended up being whisked away at the Dave Benefit concert by Sage (although most of it, unknown to Kinsey, wasn't just his looks or the drinks, it was because he had mind-frakked her. The hot karker.)

Unbuckling her safety-belt, she popped up front to swipe a few mini-wryen's whiskey bottles. The steward was in the back of the plane still trying to help a wookie with fastening her safety-belt that was too small. And even if the steward saw Kinsey, a quick smile would easily take him down. That and some nudges of persuasion via the force.

Walking back to Darius, clearly unconcerned with the turbulence, she slid into an aisle seat next to him and offered him one of the swiped drinks. "You look like you could use one of these. I'm Kinsey." Flashing another brilliant smile, she offered him a warm hand to shake. And the turbulence? Meh. She was a Starchaser. She grew up on a ship. She knew BAD turbulence from BAAAAD turbulence and right now, it was only in the BAD category. Safety-belt remained off as she leaned across the aisle to Darius.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Now the lady was coming toward him. He wasn't sure whether to be pleased or terrified at that, though the smile did set him at ease. Just enough to make sure he didn't turn into a nervous wreck anyway. The main issue was that, despite all the signs stating otherwise; the luck, the weird story, the daddy issues, Darius was not a Starchaser. He was a -...what was he? He had no surname. Background character, yes, that was it.

What was that she was offering? Whiskey?

"I only have slightly crippling anxiety," his calloused hand reached to shake her own, "Nothing too serious -- I'm Darius." That was a start. It would be impolite to refuse the drink; even if he was a little averse to alcohol. He took it with a smile of his own, albeit without the charisma Kinsey seemed to enjoy regularly.

"Not my first flight through her, but eh, the turbulence isn't exactly regular." Again he probed out with the force. Not the gross kind. Just a subtle nudge, a 'I know you're special too' sort of thing. Then it was gone, and he was popping the top off the whiskey. The girl was pretty, and he was sure that it wasn't the lack of human contact that made him think such, though it might have helped a little.

"You heading to the galactic center too?"

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

"I'm sure they have a pill for that. The anxiety, I mean." She winked and found that her hand lingered within his rough grip probably a little too long. Ah well. The teen-flirt was a teen-flirt.

There it was. That same nudge in the force. Per usual for Starchasers, she wasn't exactly an ace with the force herself. Much to Sage's constant dismay. However, once she got something, she could do it well. Plus there was that whole Starchaser special trump-card thing. And one day she would find out what the trump card was.

All that said, she could still pick up on his use of the force but she didn't have a clue whether he was a sith or something else. She assumed sith but she didn't care either way. The too-blue eyed girl wasn't a recruiter yet. She was just a rebellious teen.

"Yeah the center and just to explore. I don't have any plans. Just wanted to get out. Explore. I miss that. It feels like I'm ALWAYS training." Blue-eyes rolled. "And the turbulence, nah," A hand waved through the air, "we'll be fine. I've felt my share....wait." Dark-brows shot up. Hands tightened on the arm-wrests as her swiped bottle of Wryen's dropped to the floor and rolled away just as the transport dropped like a stone.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Whoa.

Darius was in that sort of hyper-sensitive state that plagued young individuals when the opposite sex got particularly close. His eyes dropped down to the handshake, and then they didn't. He made a conscious effort to seem calm. He was a playboy. Women? Psh, he'd had plenty. A pretty face wasn't going to get him all frazzled.

Except that was all a lie, and Darius was very much aware of the young lady's presence next to him.

He went to take an uneasy drink of the whiskey when she brought up her training. As he'd guessed, she was a part of some force using group. Given his current place in the galaxy, Darius had a bit of a guess as to what that group was. He shifted his gaze toward the floor momentarily and drew back a long swig of the alcohol.

"That's what they like, the training I mean. The masters have a fetish for pushing us a little too much," the drink was set in a cup holder, "...along with a number of less than favorable ones to go with."

He flashed Kinsey a grin. He wasn't the most charming chap in the galaxy, but he could try. His lips parted to speak a butchered flirtation when the ship lurched. Then it bumped. Then it was going down-down-down...

The whiskey crashed to the floor. Darius pressed himself back into his chair and settled a hand on Kinsey's arm. He hoped it looked like he was being a gentleman. In reality, Darius was very, very scared. It wasn't the crash that frightened him; it was where they would be landing if the ship did not right itself. Below was Khomm, a One Sith stronghold, and he was not sure he could get off the planet without a problem like Coruscant.

Not good.

"I take it this isn't the usual?!" He shouted over the whine of the failing engines as the shuttle made its way into the planet's atmosphere.

Really not good.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

"Nope. What gave it away? The sudden plummet to our deaths?!" Was she scared? Feth yeah. Did she like the feeling of his hand on her arm? Feth yeah. Was she enjoying herself even though there was a likely chance they were all about to die? Feth yeah. She was an adrenaline junky - perhaps her fatal character flaw.

Screams echoed in the cabin from the few passengers on board.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Please remain.....calm. We are making an emergency landing on Khomm."

Wide-blue eyes that swirled with part fear and part thrill turned to Darius. "We're not gonna be landing unless we can stabilize the shuttle, get out of this," teeth gritted against the feeling of being sucked with gravity, "downdraft." She couldn't get her safety belt on and if she tried what she was about to do, there was a good chance she'd fly out of her seat.

Oh welsies.

"You train too? Might be a good time to put that to use. Can you connect with me? Feel what I'm doing? Add your own strength?" Wide-blue eyes still tuned into Darius began to cloud with flecks of glowing yellow. She pulled for the fear, like Sage taught her and tried to measure it with control as she pushed the force outward along the shuttle, feeling the winds outside. The goal was to lurch the shuttle forward, just out of the downdraft they were caught it.

She probably wouldn't be strong enough alone, though. Maybe.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Khomm? Oh no.

Unlike Kinsey, Darius was not too thrilled. Yes, there was the adrenaline, and it was true he was starting to warm up to what he assumed was a Sith acolyte, but then there was also the impending doom. Something had happened to upset the shuttle to the point that it was not too keen on flying anymore. Darius might have been able to do something to slow its fall on his own, maybe. Fortunately, Kinsey was here, and the faint flecks of yellow in her eyes only confirmed his assumptions.

There was a fear in the back of his mind that he could not dispel. Kinsey was, without a doubt, a Sith. If he helped her, would that be wrong? Furthermore, what if some form of bond was established through the brief cooperation -- something he'd seen take place in the past between two individuals. Could he even begin to deal with that?

All matter of choice became an afterthought when the ship lurched.

"Sure, just don't steal my soul, yeah?" His lips pressed into a thin line. The jerking of the ship was going to make this difficult. Together they might be able to right it, maybe...

His grip on her arm tightened as he closed his eyes. He tried to find some form of serenity; the easiest one to find being their physical contact. He focused on that, doing his best to ignore the screaming of the passengers. This was not about him or his concerns, this was about them. Drawing in a deep breath, the less-experienced of the two reached outward. He poured what strength he could manage into Kinsey -- a talent he had some prowess in.

"If you can maybe keep us from becoming a red spot on the ground below, I would greatly appreciate it."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

Soul stealing?

A puzzled look briefly passed across her youthful features. Darius was scared. Or hesitant. Cautious? It was clear something made him uncomfortable beyond the crashing shuttle they were in. Sure she had tried the sith punch. It was something she remembered having to do like a game. For her own life. But she couldn't remember why.

She just remembered the deeper Sage drew her in the deeper she had to follow. She had to play the game of a predator to go up against the predator because....she couldn't remember why. Things were fuzzy around Sage.

But that was neither here nor there.

Because the strength was suddenly there. It was cooling and reassuring. It jarred her. And it was nothing like she felt with training with her Sith Lord. And there was something else. She was connected with Darius now. She wasn't sure how these things worked or if he felt it too.

It scared her.

But not enough to make them crash.

"Yeah, working on that," she muttered. Pouring out her own strength tied to Darius' fuel she wove a mixture of the darkside...and light into the winds and the shuttle itself. There was a sudden lurch and lift. At some point her fingers found his callous palm again. Her smaller digits curled tightly around his own.

And like that, the free fall stopped and they leveled out. There were a mixture of cheers and whimpers in the cabin. The golden flecks receded from her eyes. Clear blue pools looked to Darius, fatigue swirling in their depths. "We did it."

Hand still gripped his firmly but she didn't notice it.

"And no soul stealing, right?"

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The sudden euphoria that overtook Darius was overwhelming. He was alive, and more importantly so was everyone else on this shuttle. That had been brought about by a Sith -- Kinsey. His chest rose and fell violently as he fought for breath. The task was far more taxing for Darius than his companion; she was far more trained in the arts than he was. It was all he could do not to pass out due to the strain.

"Yes, we did," he sighed as he leaned back into his chair, allowing himself to enjoy the momentary peace.

And the small hand held tight in his own. He let that linger for a moment, it upon his own exasperation rather than any desire for more, though such was most certainly there. He felt the connection too. It was a fragile thing; something forged of their momentary cooperation. Such bridges were relatively common when two force users combined their strengths to accomplish impossible feats. When they were born, they were easily broken. Darius knew how to, but he did not do so, choosing to blame it on the effort it would require.

He certainly felt Kinsey's presence in the force now.

"No soul stealing," he flashed her an exasperated smile. His lips parted to speak, but the sudden crackle of the ship's intercom silence him.

"Things are settled now folks. We're approaching Khomm now. Fasten your seat belts."

Darius felt his stomach roll, and Kinsey could pick that sudden anxiety up with ease. Gone was the momentary joy. Khomm was a hostile world, and one Darius did not know well. He could find his way around Coruscant, but this was foreign, dangerous.

His hand slipped from Kinsey's.

"I've never been to Khomm. Guess we'll be stopped for awhile." She said she was just traveling. "Have you been here?"

The shuttle whirred as it began its landing sequence.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

There it was. That same flicker of fear. And just like that, the warmth of his hand left hers. Flirty lips did something they didn't usually do; they frowned. It wasn't long before they felt the wheels of the shuttle land and the doors opened with a whoosh. Sobbing passengers managed to stand as they stumbled their way to the exit.

Probably wouldn't be flying anytime soon.

"Nope. Never. I'm sure it'll just be long enough until we get assigned a new shuttle or they make repairs." Shrugging, she stood and leaned in close to Darius - for his ears only. "I know you're not a sith. I don't know what you are. But don't worry. Stick with me and you'll most likely be okay. Probably."

Most sith masters didn't give a Gundark's behind what others were doing. They were too wrapped up in themselves. The only way they'd get in trouble would be if Sage found them. But those chances were slim. She could feel Darius from their bond...whatever just happened. She just hoped other sith couldn't. Maybe her presence around him would be enough to cancel it out?

 

[Cedric Grayson]

People were starting to file out of the ship. Darius needed to try and give Master Sedaire a call while they were planet side. He might not have answered any of his prior messages, but then Darius had never sent anything from the core worlds. Perhaps here they would get through and -

Kinsey was very close.

The padawan's thoughts stopped short as she leaned in. For a moment, he'd allowed himself to be distracted from what had just happened; to be disconnected from what had been erected between them. The bond was there, and it was nothing temporary. It was not as visceral as Darius had been led to believe - he could sense faint feelings, the concepts of thoughts, Kinsey simply being there in his mind. She was both next to him, and a part of him; an almost complete stranger at that.

That filled him with anxiety, and at the same time offered some form of comfort. He chose to cling to the latter.

When she spoke - by the gods was she close - he knew her sincerity. He doubted she would be able to lie to him if she wanted to no. He turned to look at her, lips pursed as he tried to find his words. It took him a moment to find them.

"No, I'm not a Sith,' he confirmed, "I'm...well, I'm me." He did not dare bring up the bond. Not yet. There was a possibility it was a one way street, or so he thought anyway. In truth such was impossible unless he were some kind of expert mentalist, which Darius certainly was not.

"We can pretend you're sicking with me. Then I can be the chivalrous one, like in all the cheesy holofilms." Good-natured sarcasm laced his words. Darius had no desire to build any tension between them. Not now. "Tell you what, you lead, and I'll pay for everything. Nice trade right?"

He cracked a smile. Nothing so stunning as his companion's, no, it was simply happiness. The beginnings of infatuation. He would need to be mindful of that.

Still, he very much wanted to hold her hand again.

"Shall we?" He pushed up to his feet and offered a hand. The shuttle was emptying, and the terminal beyond was quickly entering a similar state. People didn't really stop at Khomm, and the next flight off this world would have to wait until the following evening. Such was the power, or lack thereof, of the general flights department!

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

Dark-brows lofted at his jest. Blue-eyes twinkled with amusement. Benefits of being Sage Bane's apprentice was never a lack of credits. However they were supervised credits. It would be better to let Darius play the gentleman. For practical purposes, of course. At least, that's what she told herself even as his palm curled around her own causing a jump in her heart-rate.

Or maybe it was just the lingering adrenaline. Right?

The unlikely duo exited the transport. She saw the delay in flight. "Well, chit. Hope you packed a nightbag." She winked at Darius. There were a few patrols on the street. "Maybe we should practice the you buying thing and get something to eat. Get out of the open."

Really it was to get Darius out of the open.

Tugging on his hand, she lead them at a confident clip, toward a Jo Jo's Nerf Burger Shack. One of the men in a squad-patrol passed them on the right. She offered him one of her brilliant Kinsey smiles. He promptly tripped in formation and got yelled at by his superior.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

To say that Darius was anxious would be an understatement. Khomm was once a world of conformity; the native Khommites had reproduced via cloning and felt they had reached the peak of their society. Eventually things were shaken up, and then the Sith came along and enforced their own special form of 'conformity.' The patrols that walked the streets regularly set the padawan on edge. He didn't want to get into a fight here. He wouldn't survive it, and he would be dragging Kinsey down with him.

Yet, she managed to bring him some sense of calm once again. A simple smile was all it took to get the guard looking the other way.

Wish I could do that.

"Figure the wait can't be too terrible," he mused as they walked into the burger shack. Core world people seemed to have a thing for weird names.

"Where are you from anyway?" A hand squeezed hers. To the passer by, they looked like any young couple out on the town. It would keep other Sith off of Darius, and so he could justify it. No one needed to know he craved the physical contact. A few moments later and they had a table at the edge of the restaurant overlooking the runways.

Maybe Khomm wasn't going to be so bad.

"I've spent most of my time on Endor," he volunteered, "My master went off to fight a war on the edge of the galaxy-" a half-truth, '-...and left me there when I was sixteen. I've waited three years for him to come back. It's kind of hard to buy groceries on Endor, so I come to the core worlds for all the things I need."

There were other questions he wanted to ask. Ones that would have to wait. Kinsey was Sith, and she had a master. Darius could only assume he was awaiting her on Coruscant - would she try to deliver him to her lord? He'd have to be wary, and yet he wasn't. The padawan was entirely too at ease in her presence, and the warnings were playing in the back of his head again.

This was how you got yourself captured. This was how you ended up becoming some Sith Lord's thrall.

And yet he stayed.

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

She could sense his worry again, his fear as they sat. The clarity of it surprised her. She was never an empath. Hand hastily withdrew from his as she picked up a menu-screen. Even though the physical touch wasn't there, she still felt Darius very much on the edge of her conscious.

Did he feel her as well?

Blue-eyes finally lifted from their pretend study of the menu as she let those thoughts quiet. "Endor?" She grinned. "And no, I don't imagine they have too many burger shacks either. I'm not really from, anywhere. Or maybe you could say I'm from everywhere. Born and raised on the Dawn Treader, a converted Star Destroyer. We spent most of our time around Laekia. I guess you could blame that and getting more of my Uncle's genes for not being able to stay in one place too long."

Thoughts drifted for a little too long on [member="Coren Starchaser"].

"So...you went to Coruscant for groceries?" That same playful smirk was back on her full-lips. It wasn't long before a server droid came by and took their orders.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Do you know how expensive imported milk is? We don't have anything but Gorax and predators trying to kill each other back home. No one has the time to milk a Nerf." His smile was ever-present. Getting anything onto Endor was difficult these days. The One Sith kept their grip tight over most of the core systems, and that happened to be where a majority of the things people took for granted came from. Technology was a rarity one the forest world, and finding anything that wasn't going to cost you your firstborn child was difficult. It was easier to travel to the source for most folks, Darius included.

Then he stopped to listen.

Star Destroyer, Dawn Treader? He'd heard of that one before, but where?

The answer was lost to him as their orders were taken. For a moment, Kinsey had managed to get his mind off his current predicament. He'd have to thank her for that later, but -

"I might have heard of the ship, but I'm not really well traveled. I'm one of the boring colony kids. Nothing special to tell. Your uncle?" The smile faded a bit. He was struggling to remember again; to recall what his childhood was like. The doctors had said it was normal to block things out due to psychological trauma. That didn't mean Darius had no desire to know - far from it in fact.

Tap.

There she was again, on the edge of her mind. An ever-present consciousness intermingling with his own. It wasn't something he could avoid anymore.

"I can feel you. Not-...not physically, I mean I can, but-" focus, "- in my head. Emotions, sensations, base things. I thought it was a rudimentary connection after we saved the shuttle, but this is different." He furrowed his brow. "Some kind of bond. I've heard of them coming about between people in the past, but..." A shrug. "Do you have it too?"


It was about that time that the waitress sat a tray of fried crisps down between the two of them, completely cutting off whatever Darius had been working up to saying.


[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

"My Uncle is Coren Starchaser." She frowned. "Haven't seen him in awhile." She forced another smile but it didn't reach her eyes. "You heard of him?"

His bumbling about with words made her smile genuine. But her fingers were already dipping into the crisps. Girl was hungry after all that wind manipulation with the force. Duh.

"I can feel it," she waggled her eyebrows and laughed before her face grew somber. "I was wondering....I can pick up on your emotions sometimes. And it feels like I know you, at least, a lot more than just the past few hours. It's kinda weird. I've never experienced anything like this and I'm guessing you haven't either?"

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Coren Starchaser.

Darius had heard the name, but he'd never met the man. He was one of the folks leading the fledgling Galactic Alliance, something Master Sedaire had spoken of briefly before leaving to fight in the war. Yet, Kinsey was a Sith, or so she said. Wouldn't that make them enemies?

He pondered the question until she spoke of the bond. It seemed Kinsey was in a similar state, and they shared the same empathy toward one another. The possibilities such a connection presented were...interesting, to say the least. Part of him wanted to ask if there was a way to break it, but did he want to? He'd been quite alone on Endor for a very long time. Kinsey didn't feel like such a stranger anymore - he liked that.

In hindsight, this might have proven to be a bad move. Darius made it either way.

"Honestly? I struggle to move even the smallest things without touching them. I've never delved into this kind of thing before." He cracked a grin, "My guess is that it came about when we, eh, linked on the ship." There was really no better way to word that. "It's odd. Not bad odd - you're not bad. I mean you're good. Great." Idiot. "And I've heard of your uncle in passing. He's important in the Southern Systems."

He half-closed his eyes and reached out to her via the bond. It was a simple test; a nudge really. Something a number of Jedi substituted for a simple hello.

Meanwhile, something darker was coming. The sudden use of the force in guiding the ship had not gone unnoticed. Kinsey may have been a Sith, but she'd coupled with a Jedi to prevent the crash. That was not something you usually saw, or in a more literal sense, felt on Khomm.

The Sith Knight had made his way to the shuttle port and followed the trail from there. There was a Jedi in his city; something that could not be allowed. Lightsaber staff in hand, the massive Houk continued on his hunt toward the burger shop, his reptilian lips pulled back in a disgusted sneer.

"I smell you traitor..."

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Darius"]

Her smile widened and her hand naturally found its way to rest on top of his. "It's okay. I know what you mean. You always this good with words?" She winked but her smile faltered again at the mention of her uncle. "He certainly makes a name for himself. We've been really out of touch." She frowned, a hand coming up to her head as if warding off a potential headache.

She didn't know why they were out of touch and it bothered her. Made her uncomfortable and homesick at the same time. Hand still lingered on top of Darius' own as she was lost in her own troubling thoughts.

She didn't have this many troubling thoughts around Sage Bane. When she was around her sith lord, she barely thought of home at all. Coren was almost all but forgotten. And so was her family. She pushed the crisps closer to Darius, suddenly losing her appetite. She wondered if Darius could feel her confusion and remorse.

That was terrifying.

Blue-eyes snapped away from Darius' face and to the door as a sneering Houk entered, it's gaze quickly fixated on their booth. "Ah, feth," the bubbling-teen stood and took a step toward the sith, eyeing his saber staff. Always one to take a step toward danger...toward an adrenaline boost and not one to back away. She eased herself in front of Darius, her back to her new-found bond-mate. "You got a problem with something?"