The Adventures of a Healer and a Viking: Pirates, Part II

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A solid six hours later, the Mirialan woke up. Chestnut strands of hair were now dry and she felt MORE than enough warm. Val was like a giant heating pad at her back. Leg flexed, slightly entangled with his.

It felt a hundred times better. Must've healed the rest of the way in her sleep. He wasn't the only one with fast healing capabilities even if hers was through the force and his was...well, his just was. Rain was still beating on the outside of the pod but it seemed like it was lightening up.

That was a good sign. How long had it been raining?

Hourglass shape shifted gently against the slumbering viking, as her hands shifted his palm so it rested on the curve of her hip so she could prop herself up on one elbow to get a better view outside.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

She would find the rain was still coming down with a steady enough beat, though if she peered further out the viewport she would see that on the other side of them were the same black clouds that had begun when they first reached the escape pod.

They were in the eye of the storm.

The calm center of the massive hurricane loomed over them, giving the island a moment of rest before the torrential downpour continued. Val shifted slightly, his hand flexing on Taheera hip as he noticed his own source of warmth had left him. He let out a yawn, and then shivered slightly as he pulled the blanket further over himself.

”Storm done?” He asked sleepily, eyes shifting to her green form.

Val looked up at her, a smile of appreciation running over his lips.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"Hmm," she mused, trying to get a better look. "Whatever we're in now doesn't look so bad but there's more on the horizon."

Still had a ways to go.

"Good thing you moved this pod up so far or we'd be on the ocean again." She frowned and eased back down, slowly turning to face him. They could still be in for one rough time. And there was a power to the storm the could sense. She could almost...

"Hopefully it'll be enough," myrtle ellipses caught his look and smile. "Hey," a finger lightly poked against his bare chest. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He perked an eyebrow. ”I can’t look at you now?”

Val smiled at her.

The truth was he was enjoying his time with Taheera. It wasn’t...it wasn’t the same as it had been with Aerith. He doubted that it would ever be the same, but he knew himself well enough to know that Taheera had at the very least become something that he’d not had in over five decades...a friend.

It was an odd thing to think about. Especially considering that he’d been alone for so long now. Alone for...well since Aerith had died. Perhaps it had been partly self isolation, or perhaps it had been entirely so, but...well now it seemed that it was changing.

”I was just taking in the lovely view.” He commented. ”Green suits you.”

The joke was meant to complement her, make her feel more comfortable in what was now her new body, though Val had no idea if that would work at all. He’d said it before, but...well one never knew.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She felt her cheeks betray her. "Thanks, it's," gaze drifted down to her own body. "Strange. I'm still getting used to it. Things feel so different. I had no idea that Mirialan's senses were so heightened. Like with that storm out there, it's almost like I can feel a living force connected to it, a pulse. A heartbeat."

Green shoulders shrugged beneath the blanket.

"One day I won't be so surprised to see this face staring back at me. I hope."

She smiled, eyes drifting lazily back up to meet his. "And it's a good thing you didn't kill me on the ship."

A part of her still felt panicked about the whole thing, like it would be better to bolt and never look back. She felt restless. Hopefully the feeling would turn into something more healthy.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

”Mirrors are overrated anyway.” Val said simply with a shrug, finally laying himself back down fully on the odd makeshift bed. The cushions had proven to be surprisingly comfortable, certainly better than bare metal and much improved over the cave-floor that they had spent their first night on.

The blankets helped too.

She said something about that moment on the ship, when he had nearly killed her. He frowned for a moment, casting his eyes up towards one of the panels where he had placed the electro-staff. The memory was still somewhat dimmed by the rage he had felt at the time, though there was a bit of guilt that ran through him.

”Yeah.” He said quietly. Then suddenly the hand on her hip flexed, and with a sudden, gentle pull Val hauled Taheera on top of himself. ”Sometimes I lose control.”

He shrugged, though his tone of voice denoted the fact that he found the idea not at all pleasant. ”Don’t know why. Probably something to do with what I am.”

Exactly what that was...well he didn’t know.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A gasp left her throat as his hand tightened on her hip and she found herself perched on top of his chest. Hips pressed against him, legs entwined with his. Back arched slightly so her forearms could prop herself up a bit so she could see his face.

They rhythm of his breathing tickled her stomach and his voice reverberated through her body. "I was wondering about that," she spoke thoughtfully. Fingertips brushed absently across his shoulders. "You're not human. But. You don't know what you are? What about your parents? Family?"

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He pause for a moment. Val didn’t talk about his origins often. Sure he had let it slip once or twice, had even told his entire life story in return for a night in an inn, but it was odd talking about it like this. He frowned for a moment more, his fingers roaming gently up and down her back in an odd massaging touch.

”My mother died giving birth to me.” Val said simply, his fingers continuing to roam over her, moving over the small of her back and lower before quickly sailing north once more. ”I have no idea who my father was.”

Simple truth. ”The people who raised me didn’t know either. My mother came from off-world.”

Neither of his parents had much to share about his mother, and they had never lied to him about that, or any other subject. His mother and father...the people who raised him had always been kind and honest, wanting only what was best for him and nothing else.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Have mercy. His hands were magical on her skin and they continued to illicit that fire she'd felt before. And it was making it extremely difficult to hold an intelligible conversation with him.

Like, VERY difficult.

Slender neck lowered and she kissed him gently on the lips. Curse this man. Their little pod was getting steamy.

She broke free from his captured lips, voice certainly an octave lower. "We could run a blood test. That might show something."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Any effect he was having on her was somewhat unintentional. Val had forgotten all about his fingers as they roamed over her back and lower, cresting the curve of her rear before slowly trailing up and over her spine. ”I’ve considered it.”

It would certainly solve quite a few mysteries, but not the largest one.

Running a blood test against...well every known humanoid species could take weeks, perhaps even months, and in the end he very likely would come back with half a dozen different results that didn’t tell him anything at all. The easiest way would have been to ask his mother or father, but one was dead and the other...well he just didn’t know.

”But, those are expensive.” The simple truth, Aerith and he had looked into it at one point, and the cost had been...well more than the entire village back home would ever make in their lifetimes. Granted that had been during the Gulag Plague, when technology was still rare in the Outer Rim. ”I wasn’t kidding when I said I was a farmer. I don’t really own a lot.”

Wealth had never been a priority for him, even after all these years.

His hands continued to roam in the same fashion. Trailing all over her skin and even to her thighs before slowly returning to her back.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Heart was thudding very quickly. He'd probably feel it. She kissed him again, this time more urgently. She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine. Lust or something more?

She wasn't sure. Nor did she need to be at this moment.

Fingers danced across his chest and shoulders. Voice was throaty as she came up for air once again. "Yeah but, you're forgetting I have access to medical equipment." She frowned. "Well, I used to. If I can convince the jedi I still am who I am...then...I'm not so sure, though."

There was an edge of panic in her voice. That feeling to bolt was creeping back in. What was she doing?

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He was slowly catching the hint.

Their conversation had distracted them, but the press of her body against his, the push of her lips, even he couldn't miss those signals. His fingers moved over her back once more, thumb quietly slipping beneath the snap of her bra, undoing the hook there and swiftly pulling the cloth away from between them as he leaned up and kissed her. When he pulled away he took a second to admire her, perched atop him with her breath quickly rising and falling.

"You'll figure it out I'm sure."[/colore] There was an easy confidence to his tone.

"They must have seen this happen before." He told her. "I'm sure with my testimony they'll believe you."

His hands returned to her back, this time roaming more freely. His touch turned from a soft caress to a massaging press. Fingers working into the knotted muscles of her shoulders, pressing into her lower back, and eventually sailing even lower as he finally took the hint that she had been throwing at him.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"We'll see," she grunted. Luckily the blanket around them both kept there from being a sudden draft. Still, she felt her cheeks warm as his eyes took in her form. She cast a quick glance to her favorite undergarment cast off to the side like it was nothing.

Rude.

Thoughts wandered as did his hands. Fingers entangled in his hair, taking out that manbun. Lips found his again. And she found herself lost in passion again. Completely entwined with Val for a second time.

There was definitely something about this beach. Maybe it was something in the water. For now, she didn't care. Her thoughts were only on him and how each touch seemed to send electricity down to the tips of her toes.

. . .

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

The storm was still raging outside of the escape pod, Val wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, but he could still hear the wind buffeting the metal housing of their little hideaway. From the sounds of things the storm was slowly dissipating, though it would probably be another hour or so before things were safe enough to venture outside. The inside of the pod had become rather cozy throughout the storm, far better than the cave they had previously stayed in.

Val smiled slightly as he pressed his lips just above the curves of her chest, slowly trailing his lips down until his beard scratched gently against her stomach. He rested there, looking up at her with a slight smirk on his lips before he placed one more kiss onto her navel. "The storm is nearly done."

Meaning they would leave the pod soon.

"We'll have to try and find a way off this island." They could survive for some time, and in truth, Val didn't hate the idea of staying, but he knew that such a life wasn't for Taheera. She was a Jedi, a healer, a good person. She needed to go back to her people, get answers. "We can build a comm-array I think."

All they needed was something to boost a signal, they could fashion that with parts from the pod.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

She rested on her back, thankful for the makeshift bed once again. Fingers twirled around the tips of Val's hair as his head rested on her stomach. Her smaller form was dwarfed by his larger one. But he was careful with his weight and she never felt like he was smothering her or crushing her.

Thank the stars!

Fingers stopped as she remembered something. "Oh. Back at the freshwater spring, after you left, I found parts of an old starfighter wreckage. There wasn't much left but I was able to salvage an old comm system. We might be able to get signal on top of that bluff." Myrtle-ellipses panned over to the window. Couldn't see much with a viking on top but she could make out the swaying of a few palms.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He frowned for a second in thought.

Val was by no means an engineer or even a comm-officer. When he'd been in the Planetary Defense Forces his job had been a simple one; Marine. He had boarded enemy craft and defended the frigate when it was boarded. Simple, easy, more like him. Technology wasn't exactly his strong point on any sort of corner, so if Taheera said that they might be able to get a signal on top of the cliff face, then he would take her word for it. Simple as that.

"Alright." A shrug rolled over his shoulder. "Climbing is easier than my plan."

He had no idea how one built a satellite array or any sort of thing like that, though in his head the process was pretty simple.

"I just need some rest." In all honesty his muscles still ached from earlier, and climbing a cliff? Well that wasn't something he was quite ready for. "Maybe a massage."

Val gave her a cheeky smile.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"I think you've gotten plenty of touches for the rest of the week, mister," she lightly pressed her hands on his shoulders, giving him a quick rub before squirming out from under his weight. Blanket dropped from her nude form as she stood, carefully stepping to avoid the viking. Sitting on one of the hard benches, she reached over and snatched her clothes, beginning to tug them on.

Wait, first her favorite undergarments.

Then the clothes.

She looked down at him. "You get some sleep. I'll be right here."

Okay, maybe she wouldn't but he didn't have to know that.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

He shook his head.

"How about no." Val told her. "You either lay in this bed with me until I wake up."

He knew her too well by now. "Or I go with you."

It was really as simple as that. It wasn't like she could really sneak out anyway, not with the noise the hatch to the escape pod made when opened, but he wasn't going to budge on this. The storm was still going on out there, and he didn't want her going out in it, especially since she had already stated her intention about climbing the cliff on the island. There was no way she was going to go anywhere near that until the storm was well gone.

"Your choice." Val said as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

He had no idea what she had done with the tie he'd used earlier, though his eyes darted around the pod looking for it.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

A burst of laughter left her throat. Eyes traveled up and down his form for a moment. "As much as that offer is tempting, let's be real. I don't think you'd get the rest you're looking for."

Clothes were fully on and she stood, gathering together some supplies.

"And don't be foolish. You need rest. Stay here."

It was as simple as that.

"The storm is dying down. I can feel it. Plus, I'm a bit insulted you don't think I'm intelligent enough not to get myself killed. Well, you know what I mean! Don't give me that look. I got killed WITH you, remember?"

He just needed to stop acting like a standard-school overprotective boyfriend.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Val looked up at her, his eyes simply setting on her. ”No.”

Perhaps he was being overprotective, but there was a point to it.

”I’m not insulting your intelligence. There’s a reason I didn’t go running around on my own while you were sleeping.” They were the only ones on the island, or at least the only ones that they knew about, and that meant they were dependant on one another. If one got hurt, then the other one suffered. ”We need to survive.”

Simple. ”The best way of doing that is to stay together.”

All he wanted was for there to be a little thought. Going out by yourself after a storm, especially on an island by yourself, probably intending to climb a perilous cliff was neither smart, nor very prudent to staying alive.

”Every time either of us goes out alone, we risk our lives.” Val continued. ”If we’re together. We can help each other. If we’re alone. We can’t.”

It was that easy, and though he of course liked Taheera, he would have made the same argument if he’d been trapped with the actual Pirate Queen. ”I don’t want to wake up and find you gone.”