Private The Shaper and the Shadow

[Natima Vando]

Location: Drommand Kaas, Natima's Apartment

The night had been going great by Natima's standards, or by anyone's standards really. Liliana had accepted her advances, and they were now officially an item. Despite the voice inside her head that cautioned against it, railed against her establishing more relations, the Shi'ido was overjoyed by these developments. In spite of all the heart break and hurt she had been inflicted with, Natima had found someone just as precious to her as the first. And this time she wouldn't make the same mistakes as last time. No, Leliana would remain hers, and outside forces would not keep her from her lovers embrace ever again.

The tipsy Shi'ido was fumbling with her key card as she stumbled out of the turbolift, her girlfriend not far behind. Realization came over her face as she came to a stop at the door, biting her lip as she recalled that it was still a bit of a mess on the other side of the door. Spinning about to give to woman a warning, Natima began to unlock the door, though her checks turned the faintest shade of yellow from embarrassment. "So, it's a bit of a mess, and there's just...things everywhere. Sorry, didn't plan on having you over and-" She paused as the door slid open, revealing an all together intact room before the pair. Several items of interest would be seen upon the pair stepping inside, one of which seemed to be a pod racer helmet of some sort, pictures of a Zabrak swoop racer, and various framed pictures of starships. Natima would shut the door behind the pair once Lil was inside, the apprentice moving into the back room to dispose of her ruined shirt. "I'll be right back, just need to get something more...comfortable on." She balked, vanishing into her bed room, as she rushed to undress; throwing Lil's jacket onto the bed and rushing through her closet for a cute shirt to don. Giving Lil all the time she needed to snoop or question the Shi'ido on her choice of decorations.

Leliana

 

[Leliana]

Leliana was riding high on alcohol and happy emotions. Albeit, she wasn’t close to being drunk and was probably equally tipsy as Natima. But it was the latter that was most prominent, a welcome change in the assassin’s opinion. Though it wasn’t anything new when it came to Natima, the redhead seemed to have an outright proficiency in drawing them out of her.

The pair were joyous as they returned to the Shi’ido’s apartment. Cuddled together, chatting and sipping on their respective cups of hot chocolate. They were nigh inseparable until the turbolift finally opened and they stumbled out onto the correct floor. Natima took the lead as they walked down towards her apartment, Leliana kept close behind. Eyes shifting around at the shadows around them.

Old habits were hard to kick, even when tipsy and/or pleasantly distracted.

Leliana chuckled as she watched the redhead blush. “You’ve nothing to worry about Nat, you should see the state of my place most of the time.”

It truly was a state at times. Between the various projects Leliana worked on over time. Whether it be projects like the one with Sylvia, or her own personally stuff like painting or tailoring.

The assassin looked around as she walked into Natima’s apartment. She had been very curious at what it would look like, and now here she was in the middle of it. Leliana smiled, giving the redhead a nod as she disappeared into her bedroom.

She was curious to see just what Natima kept around during her years.

Natima Vando​

 

[Natima Vando]

The various trinkets told a story, or more correctly, several stories. A strange dagger laid untouched in a glass case, various pictures from swoop race locations hung on the wall, as well as various photos of different aliens or people. None of which had a single trace of Natima within the frame. "Yea, but I'm trying to impress you and all. Doesn't look too good if my place is a mess." She remarked from her bedroom, the Shi'ido finding a nice and comfortable sleeping gown to don, its' fabric as soft as silk, it's color similar to that of strawberries.

When she returned from her little wardrobe change, the Shi'ido's face was still glowing, eyes looking away from Lil as she wished to get feed back on her new attire. "So, erm, what do you think?" She asked, before realizing she hadn't clarified what she was asking about. "I mean, about anything. You know, like the apartment or my gown or...." She paused, her face shifting to a slight purple before going back to bright red. "I'm making a fool of myself, I know." She muttered, before slowly walking to the couch, sitting herself down before she did anything foolish.

A pair of electrolite binoculars observed the pair from outside however, several blocks away, three cloaked figures seemed to be looking into the window of Natima, though they said not a word. They lingered there, in the shadows, the only hint of their being was that of rain washing off their stealth ponchos.

Leliana

 

[Leliana]

The assassin laughed lightly, amusement clear in her tone. “I find a messy apartment builds character.” She teased Natima even when the redhead wasn’t in the same room. Alone, Leliana wandered around a little bit. Immediately she moved to where the encased dagger was, her hand gently tracing along the case’s edge, but not directly touching it.

Her inner assassin didn’t dare to, trained to be mindful of any traps. Though others would question if that was just paranoia more than anything.

Next, Leliana’s gaze turned to the various pictures that were displayed on the walls. A nice variation, each of which the assassin assumed held a memory for Natima. Her curiosity wanted to know about them all, be they good or bad.

The pictures of the various people and groups fascinated her, and Leliana almost wanted to play a game of ‘spot the Natima’. The one she knew was obviously not present in any of them, but Leliana wondered if she was, but as a previous alias; a former life.

Her thoughts were drawn away however when Natima finally re-appeared. Leliana turned around and smiled, arguably grinned at the sight of the redhead. “You look lovely.” She slowly began to stroll over to her, taking off her coat. “Although now I’m feeling a tad overdressed in comparison.” With the coat off, the assassin threw it to one side, managing to land it perfectly on the back of a nearby chair, leaving Leliana in her vest and shirt.

“Nah, you’re not making a fool of yourself.” Leliana smiled as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. “Frankly, I find it adorable. Especially given how many lives you’ve likely lived, and yet I’m managing to make your cheeks turn the same shade as your gown.”

While she was distracted by the redhead in her arms, and somewhat inebriated by the alcohol, Leliana was completely unaware of those spying on them. But the assassin was never truly alone, and while the host was not consciously aware, the shadows around her were. The numerous darkened spots in Natima’s apartment were growing denser by the moment.

Natima Vando​

 

[Natima Vando]

She had planned on being bold, and confident, and ready to face her Leliana with a new wave of energy. Which quickly shrunk as she witnessed Lelianna toss aside her coat, and hit her with a follow up of compliments. Damn it. Natima's face flushed, the red head averting her gaze as Leliana closed in.

The moment she was pulled into an embrace, it was over. Lilanna won, flawless victory. "Stop talking all...sweet and stuff....it's not fair. I have no defense." She grumbles, her face now a slight shade of lime green. She places her head against Lilanna's shoulders and sighs, taking in the scent of the woman's hair. "It's because you're you. I miss it when you were one that was always blushing." She didn't really, but she just wanted to tease her a tad. Her fingers traces the fabric of her clothing, and gave a sigh of approval, the shapeshifter pulling her head back to smile at her newest catch. "I've always loved your sense of style Lil, you're just...so cool." Amoung several other things, but the woman's taste and eye for art was yet another thing that drove Natima crazy for her. Lilanna was a woman with a vision. She bit down on her lip, drawing closer as she would continue to speak. "I wasn't sure if you'd even like me back when we first met, you know, I'm overly talkative, you're rather reserved...oh, and Quinn. Can't forget that schutta." She giggled, stopping an inch away from Lilanna's face. "But now we're here and....thank you." She stumbled over the last few words she was trying to muster, but it came from the heart none the less. She gave a moment of pause as the shadows subtly darkened, a nice reminder that Lilana was watching over her; intensively or nor, it didn't matter to Natima.

This time Natima would go for the kiss first, but she had a devious plan she had set in motion. In the midst of the kiss, she was attempting to maneuver Lilana closer to the couch, aiming to set up for a staged tickling exchange, with the desired outcome being several hours of cuddling and watching terrible holofilms. Of course, this was a plan she had formulated in the last five minutes, so something could easily go array.

Outside the figures would began to move into motion. Several grapple lines were being set up, though one of the men lifted his hand and brought his operatives to a halt. He could sense an opening was about to present itself, the best time for his team to strike would be when their targets were nice and distracted. So if they had to wait another five minutes for that, then so be it.

Leliana