Private Sweet Little Lies

[Darth Virelia]

"Like mistress, like apprentice."

Tags - Valaine Valentine (I guess Kito )

The chamber was dark but not silent.

Candles guttered in their sconces, their flames drawn high and thin by the unnatural pull of the Dark Side that suffused the air. The walls breathed with violet shadows, rippling as if alive, as if straining to reach the woman seated at the center of it all. Darth Virelia.

She sat upon the obsidian dais with one leg crossed over the other, still as a statue save for the soft rise of her chest. The six luminous eyes of her mask cut through the gloom, fixed unwaveringly on the arched doors before her. She had not summoned anyone else. This was a matter meant for only two.

In the stillness, she replayed the fragments. The grainy flicker of the camera feeds. The sound recordings, too alive to be dismissed. The flash of a young Jedi's face, flushed and trembling, and her apprentice—her Sangnir...

Virelia did not sneer at the discovery. She approved. It was corruption at its most exquisite: not imposed, but chosen. A Jedi girl lured into the trembling touch of one already bound to darkness. Yet still, the test remained. Would Valaine admit to it? Or try to bury it behind that tired arrogance, those walls of defiance and shame she clung to so stubbornly?

The Dark Lady intended to find out.

Her claws traced the crystalline node at her chest, the place where her heart no longer was. Each tap was deliberate, slow, echoing through the chamber like a metronome of judgment. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The air grew thicker, every breath laced with something cloying and decadent, something that coiled around the will like smoke in the lungs. Whoever stepped into this chamber would feel the weight of her attention before they even reached the center.

Virelia did not intend to ask much. She would not lecture. Not yet. She would only look. Listen. And force her little Sangnir to fill the silence with whatever truth—or lies—she dared.

When at last the heavy doors groaned open, the sound stretched into the chamber like a scream pulled through honey. Virelia did not move, did not twitch, save for the faintest incline of her head as her apprentice crossed the threshold.

The voice that finally broke the silence was soft, low, drawn out like silk over sharpened steel.

"Come forward."

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

As the heavy doors crept open with their ominously loud groan the pale Sangnir made herself known, walking in with her typical trudging steps. The candles only seemed to make her flinch ever so slightly, but the nice thing about candles was that the flames were typically very still and controlled, not erratic in their chaos like the fire she had such a primal fear of.

Her gaze shifted around curiously to the rest of the room however and it seemed to her that quite some progress had been made on Malachor V finally. It was good to see the fortress take shape.

But she had been summoned her for reasons unknown to her as her tired grey eyes turned forward towards her Mistress, approaching when bid to do so. She made her way over towards her, to offer her a light bow of her head in respect. Yes, she was still the usual arrogant and defiant apprentice that Virelia knew, but she had since been... somewhat tamed. Enough to show respect when it was required, at least.

Finally Valaine made her soft voice known as she asked the question at the front of her thoughts; "Uhm... You summoned me, Mistress..?" she asked with a light amount of curiosity and concern.

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Like mistress, like apprentice."

Tags - Valaine Valentine (I guess Kito )

The chamber swallowed the Sangnir's words as soon as they left her lips, carrying them upward into the vaults like smoke curling to die against stone.

Virelia did not answer at once. She let the silence stretch, let her apprentice feel the weight of those six violet eyes studying every twitch, every flicker of hesitation in her stance. The slow, deliberate scrape of a claw traced the arm of her throne, a whisper of sound that promised judgment when she chose to give it.

At last she shifted, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward just slightly, just enough that the shadows of the candles caught the sculpt of her mouth beneath the mask's open lower half. Lips painted dark, curved in something too poised to be called a smile.

"Yes," she purred, voice low, indulgent, corruptive as wine poured too slowly. "I called for you. I wish to… speak. Nothing more."

Her head tilted, chin resting against the back of one clawed hand as she watched the Sangnir approach. She drank in the sight of her—arrogant, yes, but softened now, tempered by the lash of service and the leash of desire. Virelia's tone lingered, wrapping around Valaine like silk cinched tight against the throat.

"Tell me, Valaine…" Her voice throbbed with something licentious, an intimacy that cut sharper than any blade. "Have you been feeding well?" A simple question, yet asked with a decadence that turned it into something else entirely—an insinuation, a prod, a temptation.

Her claws tapped once more against the throne before the next followed, unhurried, as though she already knew what the answer must be. "And tell me also…" she leaned in now, words softer, darker, almost conspiratorial, "…are you happy, little Sangnir? Content?"

Nothing more than that. Two light questions, deceptively harmless on their face. But the air thickened with corruption as the words left her lips, a quiet test folded in with every syllable.

Would Valaine answer easily, or stumble over truths she wished hidden? Would she reach for honesty, or dare the danger of a lie?

Virelia leaned back once more, mask gleaming in the candlelight, every inch the predator awaiting not words, but prey's reaction.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

Tired eyes briefly glanced towards the fact that Virelia's mask was only half up, revealing her lower face; a humanizing sense that she was certain wasn't by chance or coincidence knowing that Valaine found it easier to speak with her in this manner. As she watched Virelia lean forward and those six eyes bore into her she remained standing resolutely in the face of what might be scrutiny.

When finally her Mistress spoke she seemed only lightly startled by the sound, as if she was expecting the silence to simply continue. She had been brought here just to speak? Then surely she had nothing to worry about at all. She had a strange sense of certainty that Virelia wouldn't lie to her and that no matter what she said she was just in fact here to hear those words. At least for now.

"Have you been feeding well?"

She tilted her head curiously at that question. While naturally Malachor V proved to be extremely slim pickings for the Sangnir considering her particular palette, she had found a means of sating herself, a particular Shaper she kept encountering. With that in mind she spoke honestly as she had always done with her Mistress, for it was one of her few good traits. "Mmm. It was rough at the start, but yeah, I've been finding ways to keep myself fed well here." she offered a nod of her head in return.

But it was the second question she found somewhat perplexing as she appeared confused for a moment.

"…are you happy, little Sangnir? Content?"

"Happy...?" she paused in thought for a moment; was she happy here? She glanced around herself and offered a brutally honest answer, "I don't know that I'm happy... It's a very boring place." she stated before looking back towards Virelia. "But... Boring is better than bad, so I'm content, yeah." another nod offered in return. She spoke honestly but she only answered the questions she was asked. Nothing more, nothing less.

For all intents Valaine seemed at ease now, it was simply the doubt of what she had been summoned for that brought her concern.

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Like mistress, like apprentice."

Tags - Valaine Valentine (I guess Kito )

Virelia let the words linger in the air, her gaze never wavering from the pale girl before her. Content. Boring. Fed, but not full. She tasted the honesty in them, but also the restraint. Valaine never offered more than asked, never stepped beyond the lines drawn for her. A cautious little Sangnir—obedient, but always hedging.

The lower curve of Virelia's lips moved, faintly, as though tasting the word that had been given to her. "Boring." She let it roll from her tongue like an obscenity, a charge leveled against the very stones of Malachor. "You say this place lacks… flavor."

Her claws drummed once against the arm of her throne, slow, deliberate. She leaned forward again, her words folding low into the shadows between them. "And yet… even boredom can breed appetite. Hunger of other kinds. Do not tell me, little Sangnir, that you are without… indulgence." The way she spoke it was decadent, a purr that sank beneath the skin, laced with suggestion.

She rose from the throne then, each step toward Valaine silent but for the faint sigh of her robes. The six eyes glimmered violet in the candlelight as she drew close, close enough that her shadow spilled over the Sangnir entirely. Her gloved hand lifted, talon brushing just beneath the girl's chin, tilting it upward with practiced possession.

"Content…" Virelia echoed, voice dipping, silken and dangerous. "That is not the same as joy. And I wonder—" her thumb brushed over Valaine's lower lip, deliberate, corruptive, "—what you seek when no one is watching. What you take when you think it yours to take."

She held her there, suspended in that moment, as if she could peel the truth out of her with nothing but touch and tone. Then, almost too softly, she added: "Do not mistake me. I ask not to punish… but to understand. To know you. You belong to me, after all. You are to be honest... with your mistress."

Her words coiled, licentious and corruptive, promising intimacy while pressing down with quiet dominance. She did not demand confession. Not yet. She only left the weight of expectation heavy in the air, like a velvet chain around Valaine's throat.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia Kito (Mention)

Valaine softly nodded in affirmation when Virelia stated the Sangnir's belief that Malachor V did indeed lack 'flavor'. She watched silently as her Mistress leaned forward in her seat.

"And yet… even boredom can breed appetite. Hunger of other kinds. Do not tell me, little Sangnir, that you are without… indulgence."

To this Valaine seemed somewhat puzzled, trying to decipher what Virelia was perhaps hinting towards. "... Indulgence?" asked the Sangnir with a hum. She had a couple ideas what might be getting referred to, but as to how her Mistress would know of one of them? She was uncertain. Her attention however was distracted as her Mistress stood and approached her with measured and firm steps.

The Sangnir knew what to expect at this point, it was a common song and dance between the two after all as she practically lifted her chin up in anticipation for the hand to place beneath it. Her tired eyes stared back at the six that glowed their radiance upon her pale visage. As she listened while a thumb brushed over her soft lips she offered a light pout in response.

"Mm...? Aren't I being honest...?" she asked softly in return before offering a gentle sigh. "I'm going to guess you're talking about the girl with the flames...? Didn't know you were aware... What did you want to know about her?" she replied rather bluntly. She would bring Kito up herself if her Mistress desired to dance around the subject, impatient as the Sangnir was.

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Like mistress, like apprentice."

Tags - Valaine Valentine (I guess Kito )

Virelia's smile was small and entirely private, as if she were tasting some delicate thing only she could appreciate. She let Valaine's honesty settle into the room like warm smoke, then leaned back against the throne with the casual grace of someone who always gets what she wants. The six violet lights in her helm softened; the edge of menace remained, but it was threaded now with a genuine, almost maternal pleasure.

"Good," she murmured, voice low and velveted. "Honesty is… rare. Rewarding it is wiser still."

She rose and paced three slow steps, the armor whispering, then returned until she was close enough that Valaine could feel the heat of her presence without being touched. One gloved finger traced a lazy circle on the Sangnir's jaw, an intimate gesture that carried none of the old teeth and claws. "You tell me true, and I will give you what you found on Chandrila," Virelia said, the promise soft as silk and sharp as a blade. "Not in public. Not hurriedly. A private pleasure for a private truth. Is that… motivating?"

When Valaine answered, Virelia's eyes—those unnatural facets—brightened as if lit from within. "Then begin at the beginning," she said, and the command was gentle but absolute. "Name her. How did you meet? When did you first touch hands? What does she say about you in the dark, when her guard lowers and her hand finds yours?"

Her tone slid from velvet into something greasier with appetite, but never cruel. "I like subtleties—what drew her, not only what you took. Jedi are fragile in their certainties; you broke a seam. Describe for me how you did it. I want the small things: a laugh she couldn't hide, a secret she thought she'd kept. Every detail is a lever."

Virelia's hand lifted; she let it rest at the back of Valaine's neck, not in force but in possession. "Do not be coy. If you want the reward, do not pare your words. I approve of what you've done." The admission came smooth, almost proud.

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Tags - Darth Virelia

More rewards? Thought Valaine, she certainly appreciated the one on Chandrila, so it was only in her interest to take the carrot rather than the stick when she could. That being said, this was a subject about someone she actually cared about. She'd need some assurance first... Her tired gaze fixated on Virelia, "... I'll answer your questions about her... But, I want to know that she won't be apprehended or hurt. I can handle this." she spoke with certainty as she looked to her Mistress. Whether she accepted Valaine's request or not was to be determined, but what mattered was she made her position known on it.

She then offered a light nod at the offer of the reward she would receive as that finger traced along her pale jaw, tilting her head just slightly to bare it to her.

"Name her. How did you meet? When did you first touch hands? What does she say about you in the dark, when her guard lowers and her hand finds yours?"

The Sangnir wasn't expecting so many questions at once, but she tried to take her time in answering as she hummed gently. "Well... Her name is Kito. I... encountered her on one of my patrols outside, she came at me with flame and I sort of just... Froze up." she admitted with a gentle sigh of perhaps shame. "But... She stopped. Something about my fear stayed her hand, and instead she sort of opened up the dialogue herself. Then these claws popped out by accident." she spoke, lifting a hand in gesture to the metallic claws hidden within, "I wasn't used to them yet, and so she thought I was attacking. Pushed me over, got on top of me and uuuuuh..." the Sangnir stopped, the memory flustering her somewhat.

"... Your... Other questions sound kinda like riddles to me, but... Look, I think for some reason she pitied me at first, and then when we started to tumble around on the ground I think... It was a very, like..." a light huff of annoyance. "It was pretty spicy, okay? She liked it, I liked it, things went from there. We're not in a relationship if that's what you're worried about, more just..." she hummed in thought, could she really just call Kito a friend in front of her Mistress? Would that upset her? No doubt Virelia believed that the young Sangnir had found a way to start corrupting a Jedi after all, not just befriend her.

She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet in an awkward nervous motion before she felt Virelia's hand upon the back of her neck. "I've met her a few times since then. Not just on Malachor V either. She's invited me out to uh... Naboo? Some party or something? But... I don't think she's a threat to us. I think I can keep her off our backs, as it were... Do you trust me with that?" asked Valaine as tired eyes looked back to Virelia searchingly. "... She helps me train too, you know? I've been getting better. I even keep stealing her lightsabers."

 

[Darth Virelia]

"Like mistress, like apprentice."

Tags - Valaine Valentine (I guess Kito )

Virelia did not answer immediately. She let silence do the work first, as she so often did, her presence filling the chamber more loudly than any voice. Six violet eyes gleamed, studying every flicker in Valaine's face, every tremor in her tone. Her thumb traced slow strokes at the base of the Sangnir's neck, not affectionate in the ordinary sense but steady, claiming, as though she could feel the rhythm of her apprentice's pulse and mold it into calm.

When she finally spoke, her voice was low, silken, carrying none of the harsh edge Valaine might have feared.
"Apprehended? Hurt?" A pause, then a soft chuckle—warm, almost indulgent. "Little Sangnir, I am not here to clip your wings when you have only just learned to fly. You have chosen your prey well. I approve."

Her hand drifted upward, cupping Valaine's jaw with deliberate intimacy, angling her pale face toward the half-bared mouth of her Mistress. "You ask if I trust you with her. I do. More than that—I admire what you have begun. A Jedi who once came at you with fire, now inviting you into her quiet moments, sharing hands, blades, even laughter. That is no accident. That is corruption, subtle and sweet. You have opened a seam, and you are prying it wider each time she seeks you out."

The corners of Virelia's lips curved faintly into something like a smile, licentious but sincere. "That she pities you, that she helps you train, that she invites you to parties like Naboo's soft courtyards… all of it tells me she already feels bound. Do you not see? You have taken her first step from the Order without her realizing it."

She leaned closer, her words brushing against Valaine's lips like breath. "That pleases me, little Sangnir. You have given me honesty. In return, I will give you this: she is yours to manage. I will not touch her unless you fail or she tries to hurt me. You may feed her doubts, steal her sabers, let her hands tremble on you. Every small surrender she gives, you place into my palm as if it were a jewel. In this way, you serve me twice—once in body, once in conquest."

Her fingers swept across Valaine's lips, pressing lightly at her mouth as though reminding her of Chandrila's reward without granting it just yet. "Continue to be honest with me, and the rewards will flow as freely as you drank them then. Continue to turn the Jedi's affections to desire, her pity to need, and I will see you are sated in more ways than one."

Then she drew back, not breaking her gaze. "Do not mistake me: this pleases me deeply. You chose indulgence, and you chose well. Now prove to me it was not chance. Show me you can keep her. Show me you can make her beg to be yours."

Her lips parted slightly, almost a smirk, almost a kiss withheld. "Do that, and you will find my faith in you very… rewarding indeed."