Private Unpleasant First Impressions

[Jas Katis]

When Millicent commented on staying too long in one place, Jas smiled down at her and gave her a slight bump on the shoulder. "Exactly. I am glad to see your instincts are not too bad." he quipped before moving on. While they were sitting in the cockpit, she denied knowing about any cells or activity. She seemed to tell the truth... until there was a sudden shift in her presence. He couldn't pinpoint it but she seemed much more worried all of a sudden.

Despite that, she politely asked if he wanted something to eat. He glanced at the droid then back to her, giving a soft nod. "That would be quite welcoming. I am curious about food outside of the typical Sith meals I am used to." he commented as he sat back. But after she was gone, he rose from his seat and followed her.

Her sudden shift seemed very odd. Almost as if she was hiding something. Once she seemed busy with her own thing, he leaned against the wall and stared at her for a few moments. "Is there something you are not telling me?" he asked with a much more serious tone. He pushed himself off the wall, and closed the distance between them until he stood right in front of her. With piercing golden eyes he glared at her without saying anything for a few long moments.

"You seem strange all of a sudden. What is on your mind?" he asked her, his voice not changing at all.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

Unpleasant First Impressions

Her eyebrows furrowed in defeat when she noticed that he had decided to follow her. But at least, he'd see that she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary when let into the kitchen. Turning to look at him, resorting to walking backwards for a few steps, she sent him a seemingly humble smile "I bet it isn't anything too unfamiliar" Turning once more, she continued walking down the corridor, hoping that he didn't mind that she didn't reply to him when he first made the comment. At least, this should keep him occupied with other thoughts for a while, or so she hoped.

Millicent didn't know what culinary choices to expect from a Pureblood. So far, she had assumed that it would be pretty similar to other species, although judging by Jas' immense strength of impressive physique, she did assume that he might have a slight tilt in his preference. Slight might have been an understatement as her first comment after opening the fridge and seeing its contents was "You like meat, huh?" Bringing out a heavy slab and putting it on the bench, she looked up to him "How much would you like to have?"

Working away, the girl brought out some herbs, potatoes and other ingredients for the meal. Just as she brought out a knife, she found the Sith standing right infront of her as she turned to move to the bench. "W-wwhat?" she asked, failing to hide the slight shiver in her voice as she tried to push away her fear. His tone had shifted dramatically and she couldn't help but to think that he was onto her. But she had no idea how - from her perspective, she had hid the information about the family on Telos well so far. "Nothing!" the almost panicked exclamation escaped her as she looked at him innocently.

The thief's gaze fell, lingering on the knife for a bit. In her eyes, it was just a tool to cut stuff with, the way in which she held it also told of her non-combative state of mind. In fact, she had never tried to cut someone with a life for as long as she could remember. Still, her eyes focus started switching from the knife to him, travelling up along his shirt, pausing by his wound and then up to his throat. She took a deep breath while observing his chest to see it rise and fall as he breathed. Trying to calm herself, she spoke once more "I was just going to make something to eat."

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

A faint smirk appeared when Millicent pulled a large hunk of meat crom his fridge. "Most of it. Of course you can have some as well." he answered, though his mind didn't wander from the situation at hand for even a moment. She finally realized that he was standing right behind her which earned a fright from her. "Nothing? Is that so? The anxiety and fear pouring from you says otherwise." he answered without skipping a beat.

He bent over slightly, bringing his face closer to hers as a frown formed on his brow. His eyes studied her as she looked down at the knife in her hand and then up at him, earning an animalistic growl from the Pureblood. "You will need more than a simple kitchen knife to kill me." he warned her.

She gave her answer but he was convinced she was hiding something. He took hold of the knife and yanked it free from her grasp while his other hand gently curled around her neck to pull her closer. The knife was brought up to her face where he scraped the blade against her cheek. "You are hiding something." he muttered as he pressed her against the counter. "Unless you want to lose the little bit of beauty you precious little human face has, I suggest you speak up now." he threatened her as he rested the tip of the blade against her cheek, nearly breaking her skin.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

Unpleasant First Impressions

He seemed to be reading her like an open book - Millicent really wasn't used to dealing with force users and while she had hung around local crime lords and street gangs from time to time, none of them had made her quite as terrified as Jas. He had made it abundantly clear that, whatever his opinion of her was mattered greatly - and right now, he seemed mightily suspicious. And then he mentioned that she'd need more than a knife to kill him. With a fear induced shake of the head she let out an innocent protest "I wasn't going to!" and that much was true. Her defence about only wanting to make something for him to eat was, of course, not.

What happened next happened fast. This time, she was prepared for it but still failed to pull away in time. We was, basically, standing on top of her, after all. Soon, she found herself in a rather precarious situation as his powerful hand easily wrapped around her neck and the knife that had just been hers. Almost as if by instinct, she began resisting and used both of her hands to try to pry his one arm away while her legs pushed against him to try to make him back away. But after a few futile attempts, it felt like she'd have better luck trying to bend beskar than trying to make him budge. But then, she had been in this situation before - being threatened by her Sith captor. Whimpering and sending pleading looks at him whilst struggling, Millicent also tried to think of a way to get the upper hand.

Finally, she seemed to stop resisting. She was genuinely tired but as her arms fell, her left one also did something else. She tried to lift his lightsabre from his belt. If successful, she would activate it between them and cut off the knife, threatening to cut off his arm if he did not remove it. Trying to step away from him, Millicent would grasp the weapons with both hands and hold it up between them - in her hands, the sabre seemed more like a large weight than a sophisticated weapon. Her lithe arms were getting a light shake as she swallowed hard "I'm sorry" she said, with tears starting to well up in her eyes "I just want to be free" Her willpower was wavering and for a few moments, it seemed as if she was going to put the lightsabre down.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

Jas was too slow to realize what she was doing. Becore he could react, his lightsaber activated between them and nearly cut off his hand. Instinctively he backed away and made room between them as he glared at her. But he could see the turmoil eating her up. She gave her answer. Her desire. One he understood, though not one he exactly wanted to grant.

His menacing gaze softened slightly as he relaxed, looking down at her. "You are bold, I must admit. I always thought of you primates as spineless, unable to stand tall. But you surprised me today." he commented as he took a step closer. "However I can not simply give your freedom. I spared your life when you should have been rightfully executed. By right, you are mine. You belong to me." he continued. He scratched the back of his head as he stared at her, not sure of how to diffuse the situation properly.

On one hand, his control of the force was not yet fine enough to snatch his weapon out of her hand. He could simply send her flying into the counter but then she would keep making problems for him and constantly try to get away. He could set her free but then he would betray the rights of his people. It was a difficult situation... plus he didn't want to simply let her run off. For a human, she didn't seem like bad company and she had pleasant features. He sighed as he scratched his head again.

"You..." he started, not entirely sure of what to say. And even if he knew what to say, translating it into Basic was tedious. "If I let you go free, I will be betraying the rights of my people. I can not do that. But what I can do is promise not to hurt you again. If you do not lie or wrong me again, I shall not raise my hand. And of course, you have access to the rest of my ship as well as my protection if you obey me." he promised her with a gentler voice. "That is the most I can do for a lifeform like you. Anything more than that and you can fall on that blade." he spoke with his more familiar rough tone.

He reached out his hand to take back his weapon as he waited for her answer.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

Unpleasant First Impressions

With fear, the girl waited for what he was about to say. Seeing as they were on his ship, making a speedy get-away was out of the question and she was not quite all too well made to keep threatening him with his weapon. But when the Sith finally spoke, he seemed far less angered than she had expected him to be. When he took a step closer, her instinct was to pull the point of the blade away as if not to hurt him - Millicent really didn't have a killer's instinct - but Jas already seemed to be set on talking to diffuse the situation as he soon continued explaining it from his perspective.

The constant hum of the lightsabre that bathed them both in its crimson light was a fitting backdrop to the tension in the room. While she fundamentally disagreed with the concept of him having a right to her, Millicent started to understand where he was coming from. It was far easier to tolerate an idea that she vaguely understood compared to one that was completely foreign.

For a few moments, Millcent's mind was stuck on the concept of turning to him for safety. It was so different than their dynamic through the day where she had rather looked at him as a direct threat. But then, he had saved him earlier and she did kind of trust him to be honest - at least he had not shown signs of being dishonest so far. Just as she was stuck in her thoughts, his rougher voice returned and fear struck the very core of her being. Millicent almost dropped the lightsabre but managed to get it back in her grip. By now, after holding it out for so long, it felt rather heavy and she doubted that she could get anything better than what he had just offered. With that, she extinguished the blade and handed it over to him with sorry eyes staring up at him.

Her eyes, still wet from before, kept looking to his. It had been an emotional rollercoaster and at this point, it was impossible to know what to do, think or feel. On what felt more like a whim than anything else, Millicent decided to act on her gut-feeling more than anything else. Jas had already closed the distance between them before, so now, she only had to take a small step forth to hug him. Her small frame was dwarfed in his but this time, it was fortunate, because she could mostly stick to the side that had not just been hurt by the Jedi. "I'm sorry" she said once more with head brushing up against the part of his chest that she reached.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

She made her decision and handed him back his weapon. He relaxed quite a bit as he atared down at her, his hand hanging by his side with the lightsaber still ready to activate. He expected her to run off or simply crack in a mess of tears... what he got was something completely different.

Her arms wrapped around him and he froze up completely. For the first time his face was blank in shock. Like a statue he stood in her grasp for several moments, not sure what to do. "I, uh..." he muttered stiffly. His free arm finally moved and awkwardly wrapped around her, giving her a light pat on the back. "You are a very peculiar specimen. You have no reason to like me. You have no reason to show kindness to me. Why do this?" he asked in confusion as he slowly started to relax in her embrace. The only people who hugged him was his brothers in arms and his parents. For a human to do this was a shock... and the fact that it felt intoxicating didn't help.

He finally let go and stepped back, clipping his lightsaber to his belt. It was starting to feel very comforting and he didn't welcome feelings like that from lesser beings. But he couldn't stop himself from resting a hand on her shoulder. "I am a man of my word. I do not have time to lie. I shall let you get away with this instance. You are forgiven. But do not lie to me in the future." he warned her with a much softer tone.

He finally turned and made his way to the cockpit. "Do not worry about food anymore. I am not hungry. But feel free to help yourself to something." he explained over his shoulder. Sitting down, he pondered over what happened just a few seconds ago. This was the first time in his life he had a slave of his own. But for some reason it was feeling like he wasn't doing it right. Unfortunately, he didn't have contact with his own people. So he was going to have to figure it out on his own.

"Droid. Set course for Dromund Kaas. I have business there I need to attend to." he ordered his droid as he sat back.

Millicent Tharoul

 

[Millicent Tharoul]

Unpleasant First Impressions

His response to her apology was barely intelligible but at least it wasn't a no. For now, Millicent felt safe as she hugged him with her head brushed up against his chest. Surprisingly, she didn't feel threatened or as if she was in danger when she felt his hand on her back. It was the same hand that had casually picked her up and thrown her away earlier, and now it was resting on her back. Instead, she felt safe. Jas had promised to keep her safe and that hand probably contained more potential to do just that than she had in her entire body.

Then he asked his question. The girl looked up with an uncomfortable tilt to her head. Upon seeing him for a few moments, her gaze fell once more and she resumed the hug. Releasing a long "Uhhhhhm" as she considered her answer, "I don't know" she answered honestly before adding a more vulnerable "I wanted to, I guess" Her tone turned to one which sounded more comfortable as she closed her eyes while letting herself relax just a little bit more "It feels pretty good" something which was especially true when considering how starkly it contrasted to how tense and fearful she had been before.

Way before she was ready to let go, however, Jas took a step back. It was hard to miss how she took a step to follow him but stopped herself with a shamed gaze falling to her feet. But then he put his hand on her shoulder - it was heavy, even when he had no intention for it to be heavy - but she looked back up at him with a smile anyways. It was weird how things changed - but he had promised to keep her safe, and that meant a lot to someone who had been forced to only rely on themselves for that a lot. "Thank you" she said, her voice small as she felt the weight of his trust in not lying to him in the future.

At first, she continued to act by her instinct and followed in his trail as he started to move towards the cockpit but soon started to fall behind until she stopped. On the one hand, she kind of wanted to be with him, on the other, she wanted to get some things done. And with that, she turned around and started to explore the ship. It wasn't a large vessel, far from it, but it was always good to know ones surroundings. Right now, she had no plans on escaping - but if she was going to be stuck there for some time, she might as well familiarise herself with the vessel.

It would be some time before she came into the cockpit again. He had already said that he wasn't hungry - but Millicent had gone ahead and prepared half the slab of meat for him anyways - if nothing else, then perhaps just as a snack. As long as he didn't make her eat it - for she knew that it was far more than what she would be able to eat without throwing up from being so full. While her voice was not quite excited, she did let out a "ta-da!" with some sense of happiness as she brought him the tray.

Millicent then took a seat next to him - it was far closer than where she had sat earlier as it was within arms reach - but she also felt safe enough next to him to not worry about it. "Soooo" she said, eyeing him curiously "Got any big hobbies?" she asked, trying to get to know him better aside from his big scary Sithy side.

Jas Katis

 

[Jas Katis]

The girl gave her explanation but to the hardened Pureblood it didn't make a lick of sense. She was terrified of him. She had no reason to show affection towards him after the way he treated her. Yet here he was, being held in a surprisingly comfortable embrace by his slave. "... Okay..." he muttered as he stood frozen like a statue.

When he left for the cockpit, sge stayed behind and soon he could smell the scent of cooked meat fill the air. Hunger quickly returned with a low rumble in his stomach. She entered again with the plate of meat in hand, earning a faint smile from him. "Thank you." he said softly as he accepted the meat and popped a piece into his mouth. His eyes widened a little in surprise at the taste. "I didn't expect you to be a decent cook." he commented before popping in another piece.

After a few moments of silent eating, she asked him a peculiar question. He stopped and thought for a few moments on how to answer the question. "Exercise and training, mostly. But I do find myself reading and experimenting when I am not busy. To try and learn about how modern technology works. However it is not exactly easy when I barely understand how to use what you call the 'holonet'." he explained to her, eating another piece of the meat. "Though I do want to learn more about starships. I find them particularly fascinating pieces of machinery." he continued as he turned to look at her.

A few moments later, he swallowed the last piece and set the plate aside. "I am going to rest. There are other beds in the crew quarters, feel free to choose one. The droid will do the flying. Do not bother me unless it is important." he spoke as he turned to leave.

Millicent Tharoul