Junction Sun & Starlight [ME][TSO][THR][TSC] | [Empty Hex][Dahrtag][Iphigin][Phu]

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun

She saw the look in Arris’ eyes and once again wasn't sure how to feel about it. People ought to worship her, yes, that was proper and how the world should work.

But it hasn't been her aim here.

For a woman who obsessed over control while pretending not to care, it was disturbing to see that she could accomplish things she didn't set out to do without even realizing it.

Mercy nodded there and leaned back into the chair.

“I guess we are back. Though I suspect few people will line up to thank us for it.” Mercy sighed and took another hard swig from the bottle before passing it back to Arris.

“For now, we are getting absolutely plastered. Then… back home. And we will start figuring out what all of this means in practice.”

They had started as equals on the field of battle. Then Arris began to work for Mercy. Then they had started this Covenant business and found themselves equal as Triumvirs.

Now Arris was calling her boss again.

Her eyes grew thoughtful as they watched the horizon.

She had been running away from people trying to claim her as their leader for so long.

Maybe it was time to stop running.

Maybe that would make all of this less miserable for herself.

 

[Aselia Verd]

Wearing: [X]

Aselia's attention shifted fully back to Adelle at that. There had been something easy about the afternoon from the moment they'd settled onto the beach, but the offer caught her differently. A few hours stolen between everything else was one thing. A few days, somewhere quiet enough that Adelle apparently didn't offer it up to just anyone, was another.

"You're asking the wrong person if you expect me to be responsible here."

She shifted onto her side to mirror Adelle, one arm folded beneath her as the lounger creaked softly with the movement. The ocean stretched out in front of them, sunlight catching across the surface in broken flashes, but Aselia's attention had stopped wandering toward it. "And no," she added, answering the question Adelle had asked several minutes ago as though she'd only just gotten around to considering it. "I'm not complaining in the slightest."

Her hand moved across the small distance between their loungers, fingers finding Adelle's almost absently before settling around them. It had become easier lately, these little touches. She no longer found herself thinking about whether she should reach for Adelle before she did it. She gave Adelle's hand a gentle squeeze.

"Tell it to kriff off." There wasn't much hesitation behind the answer. There probably should have been. Aselia could already think of half a dozen things waiting for her when they returned, and she doubted Adelle's schedule was any kinder. There would always be another meeting, another problem that suddenly required their attention, another person convinced whatever they wanted couldn't possibly wait until tomorrow.

"A few days somewhere nobody knows to come looking for us sounds pretty good." Her gaze dipped briefly toward their joined hands before returning to Adelle, amusement creeping back into her expression. "Although I'm starting to question whether you're actually trying to spoil me, or if this has been some elaborate plan to make sure I never want to go back to work. Either way, it's working."

Aselia settled a little closer to the edge of her lounger rather than releasing Adelle's hand, the movement bringing them within easier reach of one another. The breeze pushed another strand of red hair across her cheek, but this time she ignored it.

"I vote as soon as we leave here, we go."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Taiia Locke //:

Her words broke Allyson's heart. To know that life was going to be difficult, hard, and potentially deadly and still accept it? Allyson didn't understand it; none of it made sense in her eyes. Why would anyone choose a life like this? What made her so special?

Allyson often tried to stop understanding the reasons behind Taiia falling for her. Quite often, the Corellian equated it to the fact that Taiia herself hadn't given others a chance. But it still begged the question of why Allyson? In reality, she had lost the bet, yet Taiia still agreed to go out with her.

Her mind unraveled, trying to understand and comb through each event carefully. Taiia's choices didn't make sense; they went against the intelligence she knew the women to have. How many people would want this? How many people would have allowed Allyson to leave only to try and come back…?

And at the end of it, accept her return even after all of it.

To walk a difficult road with her, then to have an easy path without her…

It didn't make sense.

Allyson thankfully remained grounded, with Taiia so close she was able to settle into the familiar. A scary thought to have for a woman like Allyson. To be able to have something to return to, a home, an anchor… all of it. She wasn't supposed to have this, none of it.

Yet here she was, holding something more valuable than life. She stood with Taiia, holding her, accepting the love that was offered. Despite not feeling as if she deserved it, she didn't voice her thoughts. The moment was there, and she had taken too many of these moments away from Taiia, without her choice.

"I love you." Allyson's voice was quiet as she didn't want to disturb anything.

It was dangerous to hold her so close. Enemies were everywhere, even hidden within the Force. But for once it was nice to feel free, allowed to love the woman who had carried her memory for years.

Smiling softly, Allyson nestled her face gently against Taiia.

"I will do my best to make sure the road we walk isn't too hard or difficult. If it becomes too much, I'll carry you — I'll never abandon you again."

 

[Taiia Locke]

//: Allyson Locke //:​

Taiia smiled softly as Allyson spoke; there was something so unmistakably familiar in the promise that it ached. Of course Allyson would try to make the road easier for her. Of course she would place herself beneath every burden she could find before allowing even one of them to reach the woman she loved. It was simply who she was.

Taiia remained close against her, their fingers still comfortably intertwined. Her thumb moved slowly across the back of Allyson's hand as the breeze passed over the beach, catching a few loose strands of crimson hair and drawing them across her cheek. She made no effort to move them. "I know you will." There was no hesitation; she believed her.

Taiia lifted her head just enough to look at Allyson again, her green eyes lingering upon the familiar features she had carried with her through every year they had spent apart. The doubts Allyson kept buried within herself remained invisible to her, but the love behind the promise did not. That had always been the easiest part of her to understand. Her fingers tightened gently around Allyson's.

For a little while longer she said nothing, content simply to stand there within her arms while sunlight danced across the water behind them. The road ahead might well be difficult; Taiia had never been naïve enough to believe otherwise, but difficulty had never frightened her nearly as much as the thought of walking it alone. A faint smile returned to her lips. "Then I'll be there too." The words were soft, spoken as though there could be no other answer. "I've never been afraid of the difficult road..." Her gaze remained comfortably upon Allyson's as she leaned closer, their foreheads coming to rest gently together. "...not if I'm walking it with you."

Taiia lingered there for another quiet moment before closing what little distance remained between them. Her lips found Allyson's in a slow, tender kiss. When she finally drew back, she remained close enough that her breath still brushed softly against her wife's lips. "I love you."

​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd
Wearing: [X]

Adelle scoffed with a laugh at the idea of her asking Aselia to be responsible. The whole offer was largely irresponsible: she didn’t want Aselia to think of duty when answering. She wanted Aselia to think of them and if she were honest, she wanted Aselia to think of her when she answered.

The light touch of Aselia’s fingers brushing hers before holding them in a light grip was unexpected but the gentle squeeze after reassured her. These sorts of touches had become more common when they were together. Adelle lightly rubbed her thumb over Aselia’s knuckles as she watched for the answer in her girlfriend’s face before she answered.

"Tell it to kriff off."

Not even a shadow of doubt. Just confident and sure. But that seemed to just be Aselia’s way, commitment without hesitation. Adelle had to wonder what would happen if—when her medical issues reared their ugly hydra heads.

"A few days somewhere nobody knows to come looking for us sounds pretty good." Her gaze dipped briefly toward their joined hands before returning to Adelle, amusement creeping back into her expression. "Although I'm starting to question whether you're actually trying to spoil me, or if this has been some elaborate plan to make sure I never want to go back to work. Either way, it's working."

“Well if it’s working,” Adelle quipped.

Aselia settled closer, the refreshing wind blowing a loose strand of hair out of place. Adelle was once again struck by how beautiful her girlfriend was. Before Adelle could think better of it, she let go of Aselia’s hand and reached across to brush the wayward lock back.

As soon as they left here. Adelle should have been considering the logistics of that, the immediate departure from Gilaria, lodging in Coronet City, the diplomatic work she was delaying. But her hand trailed down Aselia’s arm as she rejoined hands, staring at their hands while she fought down the urge to makeout right there. It didn’t help, especially when she looked back up at Aselia.

“Then I sincerely hope you don’t mind sand,” she said.

 

[Aselia Verd]

Wearing: [X]

Aselia's eyes followed Adelle's hand as it left hers, though whatever question might have formed disappeared the moment those fingers brushed the loose strand of hair away from her face. The touch was simple, but Aselia found herself leaning into it just slightly before Adelle's hand continued down her arm and eventually found hers again.

The smile that followed was softer than the teasing one from a moment ago. She had spent enough of her life learning to recognize hesitation in other people, but whatever Adelle was wrestling with now, Aselia didn't press. Instead, she turned her hand beneath Adelle's until their fingers settled more comfortably together, her thumb tracing once across the side of hers.

"Sand?" she repeated, glancing deliberately down at the black shore beneath their loungers before looking back up at her. "You may have noticed I'm currently tolerating it remarkably well."

There was a brief pause before the amusement returned to her eyes. Her gaze lingered on Adelle for another moment, close enough now that the urge to close the remaining distance was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Aselia didn't, though there was something in the slight curve of her mouth that suggested she was thinking about it too.

"If this mysterious place of yours comes with a beach and nobody bothering us for a few days, I can't think of a better place to be." She squeezed Adelle's hand again, then tipped her head slightly. "You realize you've made this sound considerably more interesting by refusing to tell me where we're going."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd
Wearing: [X]

At the pointed look at the black sand, Adelle could only scoff laughingly. Here on this faraway beach, so distant from her job and paperwork and responsibilities, she could just be. Aselia and her could just be partners. Something in Aselia’s gaze made her heart beat faster and brought warmth to her face.

“Mmm, this mysterious place is a beach,” Adelle said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. She leaned in as if to share a secret. “The Gold Beaches of Corellia are beautiful in their own right. But the rare Black Gold Beach? Those are closely guarded secrets. But…”

Looking into Aselia’s eyes, Adelle’s heart moved before she could overthink things. She leaned in closer and pressed her lips to Aselia’s. A thrill shot through her but she kept the kiss chaste and pulled away after a moment.

“... I don’t mind sharing with someone just as rare.”