Fandom Star Wars: Demesne [Closed]

[cleopat]

Skye smiled as she listened to Adlai describe his homeworld. There was some bias she held towards Serenno for a few years, in part due to the Clone Wars, but that had disappeared in time.

And the planet Adlai described? It was one she wanted to visit.

“It sounds wonderful. I have always enjoyed planets with large mountains,” and Coruscant did not have that. Skye always felt at peace on mountain tops, and the most mesmerizing views of the area could be seen on top. Everything was quiet, still, one of the few times her mind slowed down.

“I hope to visit one day and see all of this for myself.” There may be the chance given her involvement with Adlai, but she didn’t know if he had a trip planned to his homeworld anytime in the near future. It certainly seemed that their schedule was full enough. One day, maybe. “The mountains, the art, all of it.”

~~

As predicted, Eira had been trained in different styles. Thrawn knew K’tara quite well, and was adept in some of its styles, he was less familiar with Zama-shiwo. It was native to the moon Jedha, but it wasn’t one he studied at any particular length.

But Thrawn had the feeling Eira knew more than she let on. He had no proof, though, other than gut feeling, and the one scene of her fighting with absolute confidence at the gallery.

“Oh yes, since day one I’ve been trained in Echani,” just like any other Imperial officer, “among several others.” Thrawn had training in martial arts back on Csilla, in their traditional fighting styles, among a few others he picked up over the years. And at least once a week, he would practice with the only thing that knew similar moves and posed a challenge, sentry droids.

“Was there anything in particular you wanted to start with?” As she ultimately decided to take him up on his offer, due to her evening, he would wait and see if Eira wanted to practice or learn anything in particular. “Did you want to learn Echani?”

~~

The other speeders were similarly hidden in the foliage, and Cora and Tobias took what they needed before leaving the speeders behind and rejoining Eli by the river.

Cora watched with bated breath as Eli took the first jump. But he made it, and she sighed in relief. That had only been the first rock though. He still had several more to jump across.

“I’ll go next,” Tobias said. He took a starting position a few steps back from the river’s edge, then, similar to Eli, sprinted and jumped to the first rock. As he mentioned, it was slick, and Tobias took each subsequent rock with utmost patience until he reached the other side.

Cora was up. Taking into account her smaller stature, she took a few more steps back from the edge, and without giving it any thought (or else she would psyche herself out), Cora sprinted and jumped onto the first rock. Mindful of the slick rocks, she continued across the river.

Jumping onto the last rock before reaching the opposite side, her foot didn’t land quite right, and Cora swayed with lost balance, but she was quick to steady herself with both feet back on the rock.

One more jump and she reached the other side as well, heart still pounding from her near slip. “That...was fun.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai made a mental note to be sure to take Skye to the mountains at some point, “Well, we will have to visit my home at some point in the near future,” he said, “I do get to go there, and try to, when opportunity arises,” he still had family he liked to see, not to mention old friends. He still had a significant life there, that he always felt he was leaving behind when he had to return to Coruscant.

But the fight on Coruscant was more important than that.

There was a reason it was him here, and not his parents, after all. His father was capable, but better back at home.

It was the only way he knew to keep them safe, too.

“We have to see what comes of things, now,” with Bail, and the rest, “but perhaps a trip is in the near future. I haven’t been in quite a while. I can always speak with our Senator and request it.” He wasn’t needed there all the time. “I would rather some people know, before others.”

Of him, and Skye.

He’d rather it be known privately, before it was known publically.

He wasn’t sure if that would even be possible, but nonetheless, he wanted it. Selfish as it might be, he wanted his family to know before everyone in the galaxy knew.

~***~

Eira would have expected nothing less from Mitth’raw’nuruodo. Perhaps other Imperial officers she found herself expecting less from. Savit, though he had the training, had settled into his position as a Grand Admiral, and it showed. Mitth’raw’nuruodo, however, seemed to understand a holistic connection between the health of his mind, body, and emotions.

Something Eira might have called Jedi. Something she had never lost in herself.

He offered to teach her Echani. It was already something she was fairly certain she didn’t want to learn. Her styles had always been graceful, and deceptively simple, as style II of the lightsaber dueling showed – but terribly efficient. Learning to blend her martial styles with dancing, and style II, had made her a decent fighter.

She’d only wanted to fight Sith, back then. Not lead wars. Not be a General.

“I’m not sure I have any real use for Echani. Or any real ability for it.” Eira said. No doubt, he would argue that – she expected it, and headed it off, “Why don’t you show me why it might be good to learn? My trainer’s never been able to convince me of it, even though they have some training,” likely nothing like Mitth’raw’nuruodo. “If you can show me in a spar, I’ll consider taking training in it.”

Sparring was what he’d offered – not training – and Eira realized that he had no baseline for her skill. She could set it where she liked, which meant, she didn’t have to hold back quite as much as she did with her trainer.

She still would. She still couldn’t beat Mitth’raw’nuruodo or use the Force.

But it might be fun to try a little harder, for once. Even if she could hear Shay yelling that it was, in fact, a bad idea to let him know she had any skill whatsoever.

~***~

Eli’s heart leapt into his throat as he saw Cora start to falter on a rock. He almost wanted to jump to it, but he knew there was no space on the rock for him. He would knock them both off and into the water. While it was probable that from that point, they’d be able to swim to the shore, it still wasn’t ideal.

Thankfully, Cora regained herself, and Eli relaxed immediately, letting out a breath he was holding. Cora was able to make it over without getting drenched, and he let out a bit of a laugh, the anxiety fading with the sound.

“You had me worried there,” he said, feeling his heart rate start to decline to normal. His voice was still a little shaky. Still, at least now he was able to consider their surroundings.

There was a path from here, one well-worn by travel.

That should have been a good sign.

What he didn’t notice was the pit trap before that path, and that he was still being watched by a small bug-droid, set to pull the pit open as soon as they were all on it, and so Eli stepped blindly forward.

 

[cleopat]

Skye couldn’t imagine that Adlai received many opportunities to see his family. Not only was there his political job, but also his position in their rebel cell required a lot of time. She knew what it was like to miss someone, but a family? It had to be harder.

“It sounds like you’re overdue for a small vacation anyways.” Would he be able to ask for some time off after his public break-up? Surely no one would blame him for wanting to get away for a few days.

But didn’t that mean she would be meeting his parents, if he wanted her to come along? Oh, let’s not think about that right now.

“What would they think?” Of me? Jumping from his cues, Skye didn’t say much where someone could overhear them easily. Had they known about Eira and Adlai? Or was the relationship real to them? She had so many questions, but she knew she had to wait to ask them all.

~~

Eira had no use for Echani, but she didn’t outright reject the idea. Thrawn had wanted to ask her exactly how long she had been studying the martial arts she listed, but he suspected she would also dance around the truth, as he felt like she had already done.

But why hide actual training?

Thrawn nodded. “Of course.” He walked out on the mat, setting some distance between himself and Eira. He wanted to see what she did first, and what kind of tactics she would employ against him.

“I want you to come at me.” He straightened his posture, hands clasped behind his back. “Use any method you wish to use.” And he would retaliate with the echani form, showing her firsthand the advantages of the style.

~~

Cora breathed out a small huff of laughter. “There’s no need to worry. I didn’t fall in, and if I did, I know how to swim.” She wouldn’t mention how she willed her heartbeat to slow down or how she didn’t know how she would fare against the current. She could’ve slammed into another rock before reaching the riverbank.

“Well hopefully we won’t be doing that again anytime soon.” Tobias may have easily been able to hop across the river, he also didn’t want to think of any one of them accidentally falling.

They had only just started, and to need help so soon?

Neither one had noticed the pit trap before them, and thus did not realize they had stepped on said pit trap. Not until the earth beneath them opened up, sending them tumbling down ten feet in a hole.

Cora landed on her back in a daze, and Tobias on his front, the wind knocked out of him for a few seconds. Both would take a moment to realize they had fallen into some hand-built hole.

 

[Lucyfer]

“True,” Adlai knew with the excuse of a break-up, no matter how amicable, he might be able to go home. This would certainly play into him being ‘due’ for it. Thinking more about family life, and trying to start that. He could probably talk his way into it – and Skye going along as bodyguard wouldn’t seem terribly suspicious.

Shay might be annoyed with him doing it, though.

It did bring up the question of what his parents would think of Skye. “They might be happy that I don’t seem to be playing around any longer,” his parents might be the only people who thought that, with Eira, but they constantly nagged him about marriage and grandchildren.

Which, he’d told them, Eira wasn’t interested in children.

Which thus continued the ‘lie’ of the break-up. His parents had known that she didn’t want them, and Adlai did.

So he was ‘playing’ around, or being an idiot and thinking that Eira would change her mind. They liked Eira, as a person, but not for him. “But I think besides that, they’ll be okay with things.” Being this vague was almost frustrating. Perhaps he shouldn’t have taken the long way home.

~***~

Eira would will herself not to hesitate, but taking the offensive was not her style. Someone had to, of course, and it certainly made more sense for it to be the small woman who wasn’t the offensive sort. The odds of her hurting Mitth’raw’nuruodo, by that logic, were slim.

That helped to relax her some,

The odds of hurting him with the initial strike were zero.

He would succeed in blocking, or dodging – it would have too many tells, coming from afar; Eira did better once in range, once on the defensive, and she knew it.

Still, she would not say as much. She would nod, and then slip her shoes off, before stepping onto the mat. She took a breath and shut her eyes a moment to center herself, to feel her heartrate. Her breathing. To get it where she wanted it.

Eira shifted her role as she opened her eyes, and sprinted forward. Her opening strike would be open-palmed, heel aimed at the center of his chest. Though she went fully into it, she wasn’t anticipating success, and was watching his body for signs of how he’d deal with it.

From this point on, Eira did not intend to get far from him, and her strikes would remain open. If he blocked, she had an advantage of being able to quickly curl her fingers around what he used – his arm, his hand, clothing – and work from that once she had a hold of it. Her steps would move around him, rather than away from him, if he did attempt to strike back, or press against her.

~***~

It seemed they weren’t going to be cut any breaks. Eli had, at least, landed on his feet, and one hand, managing to maintain his center of balance. He cursed a moment after that, regaining himself, but feeling pain radiate up through his legs.

He straightened up, looked up, and frowned. That wasn’t good. “Why didn’t we bring rope?” he complained, before looking to Tobias and Cora.

He offered Cora his hand to help her up, first. He’d help Tobias, too, if he needed it. “Everyone okay?” He asked. He didn’t see any bones sticking out from anyone. No gushing blood. The fall wasn't that far, but far enough to be annoying, and brusing, certainly.

His legs hurt from landing, but he figured he’d be okay. They just had to figure out how to get out of this hole.

Maybe if they stacked up on each other’s shoulders? It was the first thought to come to mind, and he wondered how good of balance Tobias and Cora had.

 

[cleopat]

Skye felt the same frustration Adlai did. Watching every word she spoke was a challenge, as often she was someone who spoke faster than they could think.

It always drove her Master crazy until he figured out how to work with it.

“I’m sure no matter what happens or what you do, they’ll be happy for you as long as you’re happy.” Like any good family, they just want their children happy.

Would they ask Skye about children on her first visit though? She knew what her answer would be, but she would also know she would want to run for the mountains if presented with that question.

~~

His crimson eyes followed Eira as she moved, first removing her shoes, then stepping onto the mat with him. Thrawn honestly didn’t know what to expect with her in terms of how she would fight. He had some idea, created by what she told him and what he saw for himself at the gallery.

Thrawn remained calm and collected, and he did not flinch when Eira moved towards him to strike the first blow. Her hand moved, and Thrawn waited until the last second, in which he swiftly moved out of the way and grabbed her wrist with one firm hand.

She did not give up then, which he enjoyed. In her attempted strikes, Thrawn moved around her body, grip still on the one wrist, and pinned it behind her. As he did that, the other arm pressed firmly right below her neck, across her upper chest, using the advantage of his strength to stop her strikes.

His feet were firmly planted on the ground, spread enough so he would be unwavered. If successful, Eira’s back would be firmly pressed against his front.

~~

Cora graciously took Eli’s hand to stand up, as did Tobias, who needed a moment to regain his senses.

“I’m fine.” Cora brushed off a bit of dirt that got on her during the fall. “I’ll probably be a bit bruised tomorrow, but other than that, I’m fine.”

Tobias muttered something similar, but he had been more concerned with figuring out how to get out of there. He glanced up at the edges of the pit. It didn’t seem very high, but just high enough to prove a nuisance for getting out.

Cora looked up as well, coming to a similar conclusion as Tobias. “I think I may be able to reach the ledge if I stood on someone’s shoulders. From there, I could probably find some sturdy vine to throw down.”

There had been some vine hanging from nearby trees. If she could get a long enough piece, or tie several pieces together and wrap that around the trunk of a tree, she may be able to throw it down to them so they could climb out.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai laughed, but nodded, “Yes, I suppose they will,” even if he did not want any children himself. “I still need to actually tell them about this, now that I think of it,” the break-up. It was soon to break news, he should at least reach out to his parents and let him know.

He tried to stay ahead of things, but sometimes, he forgot. He was always here. His parents only knew so much of what he did. They had a loose idea that he was involved in something more, but not much beyond that.

Not that anyone on Serenno would be surprised if their entire noble class was behind some drama, at this point. Serenno did its best to support its citizens, and had a habit of acting independently, even before the Separatist situation, but the Republic certainly wasn’t making it easier today to do that.

They did what they could to preserve the illusion that everything was okay on Serenno. That they weren’t being devastated by taxes and other ‘penalties’ for losing the war.

“I suppose I need to do that once we return, before they start calling me tomorrow during business to ask about Eira,” wouldn’t that be awkward? Having to step out of a meeting to talk with his concerned parents, “Though I suppose if that happened, I might get that vacation sooner than later.”

~***~

Eira would say she was somewhat impressed with Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s agility. Most people weren’t able to work around her, particularly when she had no interest in them getting around her, nor did she want him to win that easily. Yet, all too soon, her arm was behind her back, and she was locked in with his other crossing under her neck.

She knew multiple ways out of an arm lock, particularly just a single arm lock.

It was basic self-defense for her, one her trainer actually did drill in. Yet, the thought of actual violence that would hurt Mitth’raw’nuruodo more than just the palm of her hand did give her reason to pause.

Sure, she could easily adjust her stance, ball her fist, and put that into his groin. Or kick back in that same location. Or slam her heel down onto his foot – that worked particularly well when she was wearing heels, but she knew how to cause pain without them. She could throw an elbow if she wanted to feel more pain, but that would compete with the strength he was using to hold her against him.

And so, Eira paused, the only give-away that she could have done something in the way her own stance shifted, preparing for a strike that wouldn’t follow the adjustment to use her legs, rather than her arms.

The pause caused her to recognize the position she was in as more than one to lash out from, but a closeness to Mitth’raw’nuruodo, and a greater realization of the difference in size. Something about it made her laugh, in spite of the situation. It wasn’t a serious threat, after all. ‘All things considered….’ It might be better if he didn’t think she could break it. “It’s a good thing I don’t start fights, I suppose.”

~***~

Eli helped both up, and silently shared Tobias’s sentiments about the hole, but he didn’t say as much, Cora seemed to be on the same track as he was about stacking. He still hated his height in the moment. Why couldn’t he be at least 6’? That would make this much easier.

“I can offer the boost up,” Eli said, as he walked over to one of the sides of the hole. He crouched down, “Just get on my shoulders.” He knew he had the strength to hold her, at least.

Balance would be another story, but he figured Tobias could potentially help with that if it was necessary. Grab Cora’s legs, make sure nothing happened, if leaning back against the wall didn’t help enough.

Hopefully they wouldn’t need to stack all three of them up. Two should, in theory, be sufficient – but they would soon find out, Eli suspected. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to call Ortell.”

It was soon to do that, but better than waiting around for what might be in the jungle that set this.

 

[cleopat]

Skye let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, wouldn’t it be something to get a call from your parents during an important meeting?” She cleared her throat, and feigning what she assumed was an over exaggerated Serenno accent, she mimicked what she imagined his mother would say, “Adlai, what is this I hear of your breakup with that lovely Eira? And through the HoloNet instead of you?”

If that did happen though, there was a high possibility Adlai would get approved for that vacation request immediately.

“You wouldn’t tell them immediately though, would you?” If he would tell his parents of Skye so soon after telling them of the break-up. Would they accuse her of being some type of homewrecker?

She and Adlai would know the truth, and to her, that was all that mattered, but Skye knew how important family was to him. “Or would you wait some time before then?” Yet before the tabloids could gossip. If they weren’t already.

~~

For a split second, Eira shifted as if she was going to break out of the arm lock with a maneuver of her own. Thrawn anticipated it, but she never did it.

But right then, he knew that she knew how. And yet she chose not to. Interesting, but why?

“Yes, I suppose so.” He didn’t let go of her yet, his hand still holding one arm behind her back, the other arm still firmly wrapped around her front. He definitely did not linger on how she tucked into his body, or how he was able to get a waft of her scent.

He did not linger on how nice it was.

“But, if someone else did, and you found yourself in a similar situation as this one, would you be able to get yourself out?” She could. He had seen it in subtle movements, but he wanted to see how she would do that, and so he would coax it from her. “Try and break free from my grip.”

~~

Cora was mildly surprised that Eli offered her a boost up, but she didn’t show it. “Alright.” She walked over to where Eli crouched, but before she moved to get on his shoulders, she turned to Tobias. “Would you stand behind me just in case I fall?”

“Can do.” He moved over to them, arms already out to help Cora, should she need help climbing onto Eli’s shoulders.

Satisfied, Cora turned back to Eli, carefully gauging how she would get on him without causing any significant bruising. “I apologize in advance if I hurt you.” She knew he wouldn’t care, as long as they were able to get out of the pit.

Still, she had to say it.

Slowly, Cora climbed onto his shoulders, with Tobias standing behind them, ready to help if needed. As Eli would stand to lift Cora up, she would stretch her arms up to try and grab a hold of the ledge.

And with success, she just barely managed to grab the ledge. “I got it, but I may need a slight boost, if you can manage, to pull myself up.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai laughed at her impression of his mother, shaking his head, “No, no, much more like, ‘Addie dear, how are you? Are you eating well? Addie we heard some disturbing new rumor in Serenno about you – now we know it isn’t true, is it, that you broke up with Eira? You would tell us this, right, Addie?’” and he laughed a bit. “My mother’s passive aggressive guilt trips know no bounds.”

His mother would be certain that it was true, but approach it with the utmost trust and faith in her son, so he would feel that guilt when he told her that the rumors were true. Oh, her disappointment would be of epic proportions, with her implicit forgiveness only making it worse.

He loved her to death, but she could be a menace, too.

At Skye’s question, he knew she didn’t mean ‘tell them about Eira’. “I will let them know a few things,” not that they were dating, but that he had a new bodyguard. He had to build this. He had to make it believable, especially to his parents. So he had to start seeding the information in their minds. “But nothing much. Some things are better in person. Since I can’t fly over and tell them about Eira, a call will have to suffice for that.”

Before he had to hear his mother calling him ‘Addie’ and asking him about these awful, disgusting rumors that absolutely could not be true. “Their names are Doron and Eitana,” he offered, realizing he hadn’t mentioned that.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo had seen through her.

Eira really needed to give him more credit in this arena. Of course, there was also much she couldn’t hide. Muscle memory was a thing all its own, and she couldn’t shake the fact that she knew how to fight, anymore than she could shake the fact she knew how to dance, or that her fingers never forgot the feel of a lightsaber, or a harp.

‘I would.’

Did she say that? No, of course not. She’d had time enough to figure out the hold Mitth’raw’nuruodo had on her. Enough to feel how her hand was pressed into her back, and into his chest, time enough to know how she was standing.

Her answer wouldn’t be verbal, because verbal wouldn’t work to prove her point. After that, he’d be prepared.

She bent her arm to wrap around the arm he had around her chest. The actions were quick following that, she couldn’t give him time to think, and this move often had the advantage of people not thinking she was capable of it.

Eira’s stance shifted, widening, and thus also dropping her lower – pulling Thrawn with her by his own grip around her chest, and her hand now holding his arm tight. It was the drop, along with the shift of her hip, shoulder, and back, that gave momentum to throw Mitth’raw’nuruodo over herself, and to the ground in front of her.

She planned to disentangle from his own hold, hoped the shock of the throw was enough, but she understood the risk in failing that, as well – he might be able to at least hold on and bring her down with him, though her position would likely be more advantageous that way.

Mostly, she hoped it didn’t hurt him.

~***~

Eli gave Tobias a quick smile for his help, and eventually, he got to standing with Cora on his shoulders, holding his balance well enough under the weight and awkward stance. Usually, he’d be the one standing on someone’s shoulders, not vice-versa.

He knew he’d had to do this with Thrawn before. Thrawn was at least ridiculously tall, and strong, so a second hadn’t been needed with Tobias.

Eli was so very glad Tobias was there, especially when Cora wanted a boost.

He grunted at first, and looked to Tobias, “Help me.” He shifted his hands a bit on her leg, intending to lift her a bit off of her shoulders. “We’re going to lift her by her legs.” It would have to be quick, Cora would need to scramble to get a good hold on the ledge, once she lost her foundational stance on Eli’s shoulders.

Once Tobias was ready, he would lift her up and off of his shoulders to give that extra boost, and hop she didn’t come crashing down on all of them.

 

[cleopat]

Skye chuckled at Adlai’s correction of his mother. “Addie?” she repeated in a teasing tone. The nickname was just adorable. “Well, you have to make sure your mother is kept up to date with your life, Addie. We don’t need you to fall victim to that passive aggressive guilt trip.”

She had suffered from several of those guilt trips from her master, who learned it was an effective way to get her to listen at times.

He may have had been the last person to express such care towards Skye, and a ping of sorrow struck as she reminisced in old memories.

If he didn’t remember to call them that night, Skye made a mental note to remind him. So he could remind them that he still thought of them often, which she surmised he did. “They sound like wonderful people,” she smiled. “Do you have any siblings?”

~~

Thrawn didn’t know if Eira had managed to surprise him, or if he expected the move.

But he did know that in a blink of an eye, he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the training room, Eira still trapped in his arms.

Eira had at least known enough fighting to break out of a hold by flipping her assailant over. She knew to use her lower center of gravity. That required some actual training.

He was fast to react, just not exactly in the way he wanted, but he did maintain a grip on Eira, and she came down with him, her body laying on his front. “Very good.” His head shifted to look down at her. “Not many people have managed to catch me off guard like that.”

Thrawn wasn’t quite aware that he hadn’t let go of Eira yet, or at least aware that he needed to let her go. “You’ve had training beyond what was required for your job, hadn’t you?”

~~

As prompted, Tobias gripped Cora’s other leg, and when instructed, he and Eli lifted Cora enough to give her the boost she needed to pull her upper body up on the ledge. Once they had let go of her legs, she swung one up and over the ledge, then rolled as the other one came up.

On her back, looking up at the underside of the jungle’s canopy, Cora took in deep breaths. “I made it!” She called to them. “I’m good!” Without wasting another second, she scrambled to her feet, and she started to look around for any vines that looked thick enough to support their body weight.

There was a vine of decent length hanging from a nearby tree. Taking out a switchblade, she walked to the tree and tugged on the vine hanging down. “I think I may be able to get enough vines together to lower it into that pit.”

Tobias looked in the direction her voice carried from, then back at Eli. “I can lift you up, sir. It’ll be easier for me to lift you up to the edge, due to our…” he trailed off, motioning to the height difference between them, if only a few inches.

 

[Lucyfer]

Although Addie was ‘cute’ and ‘childish’, it didn’t really embarrass him all that much. Not any longer. He laughed a little as Skye echoed it, teasing him with it. “I will, I will,” he said, knowing he was likely to be called Addie for a bit.

Until Skye got a little bored of it and opted to reserve it for situations to tease him in.

“They are,” he agreed, and was glad that Skye was indeed over her issues with Serenno. She could see them, without that bias clouding her vision. “I had a brother,” he answered, “Younger,” still a smile, though it was no longer tinged with the same warmth. “He died in the Clone Wars.”

Fighting for the Separatist. Fighting for their cause.

Sure, most combatants were droids, but there were living and breathing creatures out there risking their lives, too.

Count Ilan Malvern had been one of them, and he had lost his life, fighting for a free Serenno. For a cause that was doomed from the start. “Ilan,” he offered the name. “He was a part of the battle of Coruscant, actually, with Count Dooku when he kidnapped Sheev. He was killed there, operating a tank.” He didn’t know if it was Jedi or Clone, and it didn’t really matter.

He was dead.

~***~

Eira had not gotten free of Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s hold, and found herself falling after him, pulled along by the hold he maintained. It wasn’t comfortable – quite the opposite, really, it hurt in the attempt to resist, but not enough to cry out or make it obvious.

Not enough to make her unaware of the fact she was now basically laying on Mitth’raw’nuruodo because of how he’d held onto her. He could have taken an advantage; Eira wouldn’t do well in a grappling match on the ground, but he didn’t. He stayed as he was, and Eira felt her cheeks slowly heating as she listened to his praise and question.

She tried to adjust, to hold herself up a bit, “More than I need for celebrity, yes, but this – my trainer actually wants me to know how to break out of holds since I’m a ransom target.” So people were going to try and get ahold of her, and from behind, more often than not. “You’re unnaturally strong though.”

A small compliment that came with a bit of an effort to twist one hand free, that didn’t work. “Or just…stronger than most, anyways.” It was entirely natural. And she really needed to not be blushing, but she knew that she was, and it unfortunately could not be claimed as a flush of exertion.

Stars, why was this her luck? “I suppose I do not know how to escape this lock.” Only half-true. She wasn’t certain how by non-Force means.

~***~

Eli was relieved when Cora was up and over. From there, Cora would be able to figure out how to get them out, or at least, he hoped so. He didn’t want to have to call Ortell just yet, after all. It was a bit too soon to need that kind of rescue.

She called back about vines, “Sounds good!” he called up, and would have been content to wait in the pit.

He almost wished that such was what happened, when Tobias spoke up about lifting him. His cheeks darkened in embarrassment. He could certainly call Tobias out on height not equating to strength, or even to balance, but he didn’t need to get into that and showcase insecurity right then, when that obviously wasn’t Tobias’s intention.

He was trying to help.

Eli just silently nodded. “Okay.” They would get Tobias out soon with vines.

So, Eli would accept the help up, and he managed to reach up to the ledge, and started to pull himself up.

Only for the situation to change, rather suddenly.

A bolt – not energy, but solid – embedded itself in the ground near his hand.

Another flew by to pin itself in a tree near Cora’s head, but Eli saw no one.

A voice did call out. “You’ll all want to stop what you’re doing – except you, climbing out of the pit. Finish that, and disarm.” Female.

 

[cleopat]

Had Skye had a similar conversation about Serenno before or directly after the Clone Wars, her biases would’ve clouded her judgement more than she would admit, or realize. Her judgement towards the Separatists lasted for several years, until she realized that no one won the war, and both suffered great losses.

Like the deaths of everyone close to her.

Or Adlai’s younger brother.

There was some instant regret for asking about his siblings, but, then again, how was she to know his brother died? “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Her arms wanted to reach out and wrap around him in a comforting embrace, even if the death had been so many years ago. It was still a sore spot. "I'm sure he fought valiantly till the last."

Skye settled with wrapping her arms around herself. To someone not listening, she would’ve just looked a bit cold.

Had he been killed by someone she knew? Did she fight against anyone Adlai knew?

~~

The reasoning of Eira needing extra protection was a sound one, although it sent an unneeded wave of anger through him. Not because she learned it, but because of the thought of someone kidnapping her and harming her in any way for a few extra credits.

Someone as nice and friendly as Eira.

He could see some of Eira’s face reddening, and he had assumed it came from embarrassment that she had been caught off guard. At first, at least. “Thank you.” Thrawn suppressed his own surprise and fluster at the compliment. “I have learned that the Chiss tend to be slightly stronger than the average man.” Simple difference in biology. “Also, I pride myself on keeping in peak physical condition.”

Thrawn thought it should be necessary of any officer, especially one in a commanding position, but some at his rank, or right below, have allowed themselves to become...soft.

His grip on her remained tight. “In this lock, you may have to, as one would say in your language, fight dirty.” Something he was not opposed to do to an enemy. “Jab your free elbow into my side, kick anywhere with your feet,” her feet could easily kick either shin or his groin, “or if you can angle just right, headbutt me in the face.” Any could stun an opponent long enough for her to make an escape.

“I want you to try any of those, or one you may have thought of that I didn’t list, and don’t worry about hurting me.” He may grunt in pain or be momentarily stunned, but Thrawn highly doubted she could cause any lasting pain or injury.

~~

For a brief second, when the flush of embarrassment spread across Eli’s face, Tobias wondered if he made an error in judgement to offer himself as a boost for Eli. It obviously was a sore spot for him.

But he had agreed, and with only a word to tell him to climb on his shoulders, Tobias lifted Eli to the ledge, who didn’t need the same boost Cora did give the few extra inches he had.

Cora had just begun to cut through one of the vines, nearly sawing through it with her switchblade, when the bolt embedded itself in the tree near her head. She let out a loud yelp in surprise, an involuntary reaction, and jumped back a step.

Her eyebrows shot up at the female’s voice. Proserpina? Could this really be our luck? Or misfortune, depending on how things went. Slowly, she placed the blade on the ground before her feet and straightened back up, searching for any signs of the disembodied voice.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai could see the regret pass over Skye too easily. It was in her words, and the way she hugged herself. He also wanted to reach out, to cup his hand over her shoulder, but he remained aware of where they were. How that could look, after everything. So, he did no such thing.

“He did what he thought was right,” whether or not it was, remained debatable, but Adlai knew his brother had died with a sense of honor, at least. A sense of doing what was right. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t.

Or he would have thought that, until time wore things away, and he saw the Clone Wars in hindsight. The only thing that still bothered Adlai, to that day, was how young he had been, but that did not need to be mentioned. His guilt for surviving where his brother didn’t, would always haunt him, as it knew it would haunt his parents.

“I still have many cousins,” he noted, “and others who survived,” friends, and other family. Malvern was not a small house. Nobility didn’t thrive if it was small. He was lucky to be born to main branch.

~***~

Of course the Chiss were naturally stronger than humans. Eira found she couldn’t be surprised by that. Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s uniform fit well enough that some of his form could be deduced. For his size, he still seemed rather strong, but she supposed she did have the advantage of one hand she had gotten free. She just hadn’t gotten the other.

He recommended plenty of options that would, in fact, hurt him, and more came to mind even as he talked. As she tried to ignore a drift in thought with ‘fight dirty’ that kept the blush on her face.

He was encouraging it.

She could apologize if she really did hurt him.

“All right,” it would at least get her out of this compromising position sooner than later, before she started to reconsider this sparring nonsense any further.

Fighting dirty still wasn’t something that Eira preferred, and her method wasn’t quite that, either.

Flat-hand, and a quick chop at the neck. It wouldn’t be hard – hard wasn’t necessary. Just enough to press into the flesh, to hit the point she wanted, and disrupt things. Mitth’raw’nuruodo was already lying down so there was at least no risk of him falling.

This was much more a k’jtari teaching, but zama-shiwo wouldn’t frown on it. K’jtari was just more about the quick, silent, strikes to bring things to a sudden conclusion.

Assuming it worked, Eira would be able to pull free and quickly get back to her feet – and add distance. There was the chance it wouldn’t – Chiss differences, and all.

~***~

Eli crawled the rest of the way onto the surface, reached for his blaster, and laid it on the ground in front of himself. He wasn’t going to toss it.

The voice addressed Cora, “Do you really think I’m going to believe that’s the only weapon you have, missy?”

Others walked into the area, mostly aliens, Eli noticed. That was usually how it was, something he didn’t need an explanation for – most aliens were dissatisfied in this galaxy. ‘But Alderaan is known for being…well, better towards them.’ So how would the Queen be a target?

Probably wasn’t related to the Empire, but Eli couldn’t help but think it was.

He muttered under his breath, hoping Tobias would hear, “Ping Ortell.”

Among them was, indeed, a lavender-skinned Sephi with white hair that fell to her hips, and a flowery attire. Not exactly what he was expecting.

Someone came closer to the hole, “We’ll get you up in a moment – but drop all your weapons,” Tobias was addressed, as another came around to Eli and grabbed one of his arms, and pulled him to his feet.

“Just cooperate,” Eli said. For now. Better to get captured, and see where they were.

"I'd listen to the pretty boy," the Sephi said.

 

[cleopat]

Skye gave a sad smile. “We all did what we thought was right.” And in the end, none of them had been right. None of them had won. Only suffered great losses.

“I’m glad you’re still surrounded by those who care about you.” That he had a large family, and friends, who either hadn’t fought, or hadn’t died.

Skye had lost everyone, but it was something she had learned long ago to let go of and look to the future. She tried not to mope about it. It wouldn’t bring them back.

“Maybe we should talk about something more cheerful.” She let out a small, forced laugh. “I didn’t mean to sour the mood, even more than it already had been.” Referring to the break-up. The break-up everyone expected to see him distraught over.

~~

The swift strike had, indeed, momentarily stunned Thrawn enough for his arms to slack and Eira to escape. He had to take a moment to straighten his breathing and rise to his feet. “Very good,” he said with a slight smile.

Eira calculated and attacked with a move he hadn’t listed for her, and she successfully performed it and escaped his grasp with little difficulty. Not many could say that. “Very good indeed.”

He took a few steps closer to the center of the room, eyes never wavering from Eira. “Come over here,” he directed. Thrawn wanted to ensure that they weren’t close to any walls or anything they could accidentally hit. “I want to see how you react if I were the one attacking you.”

They both now knew that he knew she had some experience in martial arts training. He knew that training ran a bit deeper than she had let on initially, and Thrawn wondered how that would translate into an actual grapple between them. If she would pretend to not be as good as she actually was, or if she wouldn’t hide anything from him.

Thrawn hoped she didn’t hide much from him.

~~

Tobias had sent a subtle ping to Ortell before Eli even instructed him to. The second he heard the strange voices, demanding them to lay down their weapons, he pressed a button, without looking, on his datapad that would alert Ortell of their position and that they needed help.

They could only hope Ortell arrived before it was too late, or that his arrival wouldn’t spurn any drastic action from their assailants.

Cora bit back a retort for the condescending nickname she was given. Missy. As if she was some youngling scolded by her parents! Still, one hand raised in the air in surrender, the other slowly reached for her blaster attached to her belt, and laid it on the ground in front of herself.

Tobias did as instructed as well with no argument. He reached for his blaster and laid it on the ground, now that one of the aliens approached the pit and looked down at him.

One of the assailants walked near Cora, his blaster in hand but not aimed at her. Not yet, at least, Cora thought as her eyes flickered from his weapon over to Eli, then to the Sephi. “What is it you want?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai shook his head lightly as she spoke of souring the mood. She hadn’t – not really. Everyone liked to dismiss it for that reason, though, but he wouldn’t comment on the oddity that was he liked to talk about Ilan. It made others uncomfortable, so he’d made a habit of not doing it, so much so he rarely heard his brother’s name anymore.

Only when he was back home.

But speaking of Ilan…that made it easier, after all that time had passed, to smile about him, and not let their memories turn sour, as Skye feared.

“It’s all right,” he offered, but wouldn’t linger on it. It was sad, after all, and they shouldn’t discuss the war for too long. It might not raise their tempers, but it was still not a decent subject to discuss for any length of time in Coruscant. “I am sorry you had to be here for this,” he offered, meaning, the break-up.

Even if she absolutely had to be there to meet Shay.

“My life is usually much less exciting than the days you’ve seen me so far. Tomorrow should at least be fairly normal, going to the office, and working on political matters with some of the others.” In theory, that would be boring, and easy. Busywork, really.

Adlai knew they didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The Senate’s existence was laughable at this point.

~***~

Chiss anatomy wasn’t that different from humans. That was a good thing to know, even if Eira immediately had to shake off another thought about that once she was on her feet. Thankfully, worry overcame such thoughts, as her hand went to hover over her lips in the few moments that Mitth’raw’nuruodo remained down.

When he spoke, she let out the breath she’d been holding, relieved.

She still wanted to blurt an apology, but refrained, as he got back to his feet with ease and strode to the center. Apparently, he wasn’t put off by being flipped or momentarily stunned by her, though he did want to change things up.

That was also a relief.

Eira much preferred defensive combat to offensive combat, “That, I can do.” Not that she hadn’t just shown she could do the other, but she had more confidence here.

So, she would move to the center, adjusting her stance, loosening the tension, to wait for his first strike. She was already setting the baseline high – she didn’t know how far Mitth’raw’nuruodo would push it, but she would dance along for a bit, until she recognized that something might be a bit too complicated to fully avoid.

She still had to find a way to downplay.

She hardly knew that he was already considering one of her problematic areas.

~***~

A rope ladder was lowered for Tobias to pull himself up with, the group evidently prepared to get people out of the pit. This couldn’t be the first time it happened. No, they were prepared for this, which meant others had tracked them this far before, and figured out their rocks. And those who were a part of them, were likely able to avoid the pit.

The Sephi looked to Cora, but shook her head, “We might answer your questions, but later,” she said, “First, you’re coming with us to a new area,” not their base, no, but a decent clearing away from the river, “and answering some of ours. You’ve come here seeking us, after all, haven’t you?”

“Depends,” Eli couldn’t keep the annoyance out of his tone, “Are you Proserpina?”

“I am,” the woman in the flowery shirt didn’t even hide it. “Most people do come here looking for me, and I can imagine why a few Imperials would be here.”

“Maybe because of Breha?” Eli suggested.

Proserpina just smirked.

That was answer enough, really. But then what more did they have to say?

 

[cleopat]

Adlai liked to talk about his deceased brother. Skye could catch on to that, not in his words, but in what she felt. She had been wrong to assume it only brought up horrible memories for him, and she told herself to ask more about Ilan again.

Not now. They would move on to a different topic.

“Oh it’s alright. I signed up for this, didn’t I?” A smile flickered across her expression. “I sure hope not every day is completely boring, or else I probably won’t have a job.” Though that wasn’t true, and Skye enjoyed the unknown each day brought.

Just as long as it wasn’t too exciting.

But sometimes, fun excitement was needed, such as the mischievous idea that crossed Skye’s mind. With the Force, she reached out to grab Adlai’s backside. Her face did not betray the thoughts she had.

~~

Thrawn analyzed Eira’s posture, stance, and any body language he could read carefully. She didn’t appear tense, her muscles were loose and ready for his attack.

He wouldn’t alert her as to when he was about to strike. She was ready. Instead, he lunged forward, one hand striking forward to hit her sternum, an attempt to knock the breath out of her.

Then, in near sync, one foot would swipe out to hook the back of her leg to knock her down onto the mat. He recognized the difference in their size and strength, and Thrawn sought to use that to his advantage, before she could use her own small stature to evade him.

He would start off easy, to see how much Eira could fight back. Or rather, see how much she wished for him to see how she can fight back.

~~

Tobias grabbed the rope ladder and climbed it without any protest. As he pulled himself onto the ledge, he was grabbed by the upper arm and pulled to his feet.

Don’t hurt either of them Cora wanted to scream at the group as she had seen both Eli and Tobias manhandled. If only they weren’t so outnumbered…

Proserpina’s smirk told a story in of itself. And what she had said? The incident with Breha wasn’t their first run-in with criminal activity, nor will it be the last.

“Alright, come on, let’s get moving,” the alien closest to Cora instructed, gesturing with one hand for them to move down a path leading away from the river. With concealed irritation, Cora started in the direction, and Tobias did as well, once his arm was let go.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai chuckled at that, “Oh, you’d have a job, your existence is supposed—ah!” He jolted, startled not by words, nor by anything around him that he could sense, but by a sudden grasp at his rear.

His gaze shot to Skye.

She wasn’t standing close enough, of course, and her hands remained perfectly far from him, but he knew, and he narrowed his eyes a little…before his expression broke into mild exasperation, and another short laugh with a shake of his head. “You should not do that in public.” Mostly because he couldn’t explain it.

But he wasn’t against it in private. He hadn’t much considered how the Force could be used in such a way, given what he knew of it came from Eira and she certainly wasn’t one to entertain such thoughts.

He was morbidly curious if the Force gave her any real idea of how his ass felt, anyways. But he couldn’t ask that, either, in public.

~***~

Defense, Mitth’raw’nuruodo said.

Eira had not expected a lunge. Not from standing still. Not from close. “Ah!” She managed to get a step back, but it wasn’t enough. She only got one foot back – and not the one he took out from under her, unfortunately.

The blow to the sternum was mitigated some by the lean backwards she’d started with the step, but there was still a connection.

‘No!’

Eira did not catch herself with the Force.

Eira did not throw Mitth’raw’nuruodo with the Force.

But this was one way to kick in old instincts, and Eira made sure that her legs were not locked beneath him or otherwise trapped. She locked her legs around his waist, digging her knees into his sides, crossing her ankles behind his back, a way to help with attempts to pull him back from her.

And of course, that’s what she’d try, arms moving a bit in front to guard, while she did try to push him off, push him back, just enough to crawl out from under with the knees digging into his sides.

Or at the very least, make sure he wasn’t getting into a comfortable grappling position anytime soon unless he wanted to deal with the problem of her locked legs.

~***~

Eli would also walk in the given direction, away from the river, further into the jungle. Would Ortell be able to find them? He didn’t know, right then. He didn’t know if Ortell had been pinged, even, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask. He had to trust that much.

Thankfully, the walk wasn’t long.

The area was well-covered, and no sign of a building in sight. Eli did take note of ropes, and some structures within the trees, however. Not a base, no, but ways to move around above people’s heads’. Ways to go about without leaving tracks on the ground.

“You’re here from Grand Admiral Thrawn?”

Eli glanced to Proserpina as she asked, and then, nodded. “Commander Eli Vanto,” he introduced. “Those at the gallery gave up your name.”

“If I tell you who hired me, will you all get off my back?”

Eli blinked, a bit taken aback by that.

How could he trust that? She might just be setting him up to take down a rival. Then again, if she wasn’t…, “What so you’re not in charge of all this?”

“I am—but I’m hardly a Hutt, and I don’t need this kind of trouble.”

 

[cleopat]

Skye looked startled by the sudden jolt from Adlai, and feigned concern for his well being. As if something had happened to him. As if she wasn’t the one that caused the reaction.

“Do what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She couldn’t stop the small smile that betrayed her words, but she still played innocent. It was more fun that way.

“Maybe we should get you home. You’ve had a very taxing day, after all.” She had to bite her lip to stop the grin from stretching. Oh, how she wanted to try that again to see if Adlai would make that same noise.

But she refrained. They were in public, as he said, and once could be passed off as something easily explainable.

~~

Thrawn’s mind came up with varying scenarios of how Eira would respond to his attack in rapid succession, and her legs locked around his waist was low on that list.

And his mind most certainly did not linger on how her legs felt wrapped around him. Or how his hands itched to travel the length of her legs.

Thrawn rolled onto the mat. One hand grabbed a hold of one of her knees, trying to dislodge her from his torso, and the other reached for an arm, an attempt to pin her and immobilize her.

He had been pressed up like this with so many people in sparring sessions past, Eli included, but none distracted him like Eira did, and she wasn’t even trying to distract him. He was all too aware of her pleasant scent, and how soft she felt against him, how small she seemed compared to him.

An overwhelming protective instinct to make sure nothing ever harmed her washed over him, but Thrawn had to shake that aside.

He couldn’t allow himself to get distracted and for her to gain the upperhand, all because her very presence distracted him.

~~

The base was exactly how Cora imagined one built from the jungle and into the jungle would look like. They used the trees, like a stealthy predator hunting down its prey on the jungle floor.

And right to the point, they were.

And Proserpina offered to tell them what they wanted, as long as they left her alone. Could she be trusted? Then again, did they have much else of a choice? They were outnumbered and outgunned. Until Ortell arrived, if he arrived, they had to be careful in their approach.

“So,” Cora slowly started, “will you tell us what happened? Why the attack on Queen Organa?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai huffed and rolled his eyes, but the smile remained on his lips, “Yes, you’re right. It’s been a long and taxing day,” he should get home. They should get home. The hard part was over – and it hadn’t really been that hard.

‘The days ahead may actually be the hard part.’ Although, he didn’t think so. He and Skye couldn’t act in a relationship…but what they expressed could grow, gradually. Just as they were getting to know each other.

It wouldn’t quite be natural…but it wouldn’t be a lie, either. They were just at the start of this relationship business.

They would eventually make it back to the Serenno manor, and Adlai let them in, and led them back to his wing of the place.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo rolled, enough to get onto his side, enough to pin one leg, and twist Eira’s own position so she wasn’t directly beneath him. She lost some of the strength of her attempt to keep him locked, and lost the other shortly after as his hand gripped her other leg, and pushed it aside so she wasn’t adding pressure to his side.

One arm was caught. Pinned.

That left Eira with one hand for defense.

And a leg, if she could get that back. She did want that back. That was a bit stronger in this situation, and she still wanted to get it between her and Mitth’raw’nuruodo.

To ignore the fact that for a moment, they had been around him.

To ignore that the scuffling on the ground was continuing to make sure her blush was going to stay with her.

At least she was always good at maintaining her head – and so she tried to strike out at the hand that moved her leg, to try and free that, so she could get a knee into his gut and try to roll him so he’d get off her leg. So she could pull away, before she was fully pinned.

~***~

Proserpina shook her head, “Not until you agree to call this off.”

“We will,” Eli lied, “We need to get to the heart of this, so if you have information, we can move on to that. We don’t like being here anymore than you like us here.” Except he couldn’t trust her word, and she was still a criminal.

This organization would fall.

Proserpina hesitated, perhaps sensing Eli’s bluff, or just being uncertain herself that it was agreed to so quickly. Still, she did speak, “We were only going to bring her to the Hutt, Niima, on Jakku.”

Eli didn’t know Niima. But he imagined she was like Jabba and plenty of others.

“What did she want with Breha?”

“I wasn’t stupid enough to ask that kind of question. The credits were good.”

 

[cleopat]

Skye felt herself immediately relaxed when they stepped into his wing of the manor. There was no more pretending, no more lying, for the evening. She could be herself without worrying about the public gaze watching them.

“I don’t know how you all manage to do this every day. Constantly aware of the eyes on you, the lies you have to tell.” But he had been born into that world.

And, Skye supposed, she had been doing something similar for many years. Always aware of who was around her. Lying about who she was.

“But,” she stepped closer to Adlai, now that she could, “I suppose that doesn’t matter right now, does it?” Right in that moment. For now, they were safe.

~~

At first, it seemed that Thrawn would easily win this little match. He had Eira pinned, and unless she had uncanny strength compared to her form, she may remain pinned by Thrawn.

But, fortunately for her, Thrawn hadn’t quite expected her strike.

She was successful in striking at his hand, causing him to pull it away, but in an instant, he retaliated. He rolled onto his knees, Eira beneath him, and he struggled to capture both wrists to pin on the floor.

Therein was an issue Thrawn didn’t quite foresee. As her legs had still been in a position of around him, his rolling resulted in his body kneeling between her legs, as he fought to pin her arms.

He hadn’t quite realized his position yet.

~~

Cora looked to Eli. Will they call it off? Somehow, she didn’t think they would, not with everything this group had done. Had been tied to.

And to threaten royalty? Oh no.

No matter what the truth was, Proserpina was easy to give them an answer. It seemed she really did want to get rid of this mess, and left alone from the Imperial officers.
But the answer only created more questions. Cora didn’t know Niima either, but to her, it seemed strange that a Hutt would want Queen Breha. A Hutt on the desolate desert planet ofJakku.

Stars, did this mean they would have to go to Jakku next? And talk to this Hutt?

Alien bias or not, Cora did not want to talk to any Hutt.

“Great, now that we got what we wanted, are we free to leave?” The alien closest to her, who had silently threatened with a blaster, looked to Proserpina with a questioning gaze.

Tobias just hoped that Ortell would show up soon. If he received the ping and left as soon as he got it, assuming he hadn’t been somewhere in the Facility, he should only be a few minutes away.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was easy to see how Skye relaxed on entry. It was something Adlai had seen numerous times, not just in her, but in plenty of others. Some relaxed as soon as they entered the area itself, but most waited until they were closed behind the familiar doors.

‘I don’t have a choice,’ it was the simple answer. The honest one. If Adlai failed to keep up appearances, he wouldn’t be able to continue on as he was. He wouldn’t have moments to be himself. To be honest.

He’d be dead, imprisoned, or kicked from the job.

He didn’t get to say that, when Skye came in closer to him, and he smiled as he tilted his head down to look at her. He lifted a hand to brush his fingers across her cheek, “No, not now,” he agreed, before he’d dip his head to place a kiss on her lips.

Right now, he didn’t need to mask what he felt for Skye, he just had to hope that he continued to read the signs right – or that she’d make it very clear to him if he did not.

~***~

Eira would have much preferred staying on her side, but she hardly had the strength to fight Mitth’raw’nuruodo on that, and so once again, it was back on her back. At least he hadn’t quite broken the leg lock, just disturbed it, but she couldn’t focus on regaining that.

No, she had to focus on her hands, because this time his attention was them.

There was no success in landing a strike, he caught each, and pinned them above her head. That was when the position clicked, particularly given Eira wasn’t trying to murder his ribs with her knees again.

Her face turned scarlet. She was fairly certain her entire body felt that rush of heat and flushed scarlet, and her focus broke entirely. Sure, she’d been in this kind of position with others, and managed to keep on, until she broke free or it became painfully clear that she wasn’t going to break free.

It wasn’t at that ‘painfully clear’ moment, but she couldn’t immediately get her thoughts to direct themselves to the tactic of murdering his ribs when he was just above her. When it would take nothing to lift her head and….

She did turn her head away so she was looking to the side. Her arm obscured her view of the wall. It was a great looking wall. “Okay, you win this one.” He probably wouldn’t accept that. He hadn’t accepted it with the others so easily, but grappling was still her weakpoint. Even if she dug her knees into his ribs again, he could pin her hands under one of his, and deal with that.

~***~

“Wait, wait,” Eli wasn’t done questioning. This wasn’t adding up, “Much as I’d love to believe this and get out of here, this doesn’t make any sense. A Hutt on Jakku wanting a Queen of Alderaan? How much is that worth to Niima?” He had to stall, for Ortell. He had to stall for the back-up, and the hope they could catch them surprised, and overcome the situation.

A starship tended to outgun any amount of blasters.

“One billion credits,” was Prosperina’s flat answer, “only if she was taken at the gallery.”

‘Only if she was taken from under Thrawn’s guard?’ Eli wondered, but didn’t ask. There was…something wrong about this. How was a Hutt getting that kind of credits, in Jakku? What was going on, on Jakku?

He shook his head, a bit. This didn’t make sense.

“I don’t know why it was worth that much to her, and I should have questioned it more, too. I just want out of this,” Prosperina said. “I just want amnesty for me and mine.”

Eli understood. This was larger than she knew – but with the failure, and the gleam of credits gone, she was realizing how bad this was for her. But he couldn’t grant that to her. Wouldn’t.

 

[cleopat]

Her grin widened as Skye felt his fingers brush across her cheek. Her lips pressed into his. Her hands rested on his chest, feeling the heat from his body through the fabric of his clothes, before they slid up to rest on the back of his neck.

After a few moments, she pulled away to say, “I have been waiting all evening to do that.” To have him so close, but not be able to touch him in any way, had practically been torture for her. His hair just looked so soft.

And then his backside…

Skye leaned up to press her lips against his once again, and as he would be distracted by the kiss, she repeated an earlier movement. She willed the Force to act as a hand, grabbing Adlai’s backside, as she had done so on their walk home.

~~

Her face is flushing red. Her breathing doesn’t suggest exertion. It took Thrawn another second to understand her reaction. His position, while not terribly uncommon with grappling, was still rather suggestive with the woman he found himself thinking about a bit too much.

A light blush spread across his cheeks, darkening the blue hue of his skin. Did he actually want to separate himself from Eira? No. He wanted to close the distance and feel how soft her lips are.

But he did.

“Yes, I would say so.” Thrawn let go of her arms and rushed to his feet. Oh, how he hoped Tarkin never somehow learned of what had happened.

Which will not happen again.

“Another round?” he asked, as if nothing had happened. As if he wasn’t just between her legs, pinning her arms to the ground.

~~

Cora and Tobias were just as confused as Eli with the answers they were receiving. A Hutt from Jakku and a billion credits? But why? And how? The Hutts owned a large criminal empire, but could they afford a billion credit bounty?

“Will they even grant us amnesty? They’re Imperials! We can’t trust them. We may as well do something with them,” the alien closest to Tobias said. Cora shot him a panicked look.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice stated. Out from the jungle came Ortell, blaster in hand and aimed at the alien who just spoke, and he wasn’t alone. Several Imperial officers flanked either side, whom Cora recognized from the Facility.

When Ortell received the signal, he had a feeling something more was wrong when nothing else accompanied it. No words. No message. Just a ping for help. So he had asked some of the officers he had been conveniently talking to at that moment if they would accompany him.

And in no time, they had arrived, easily able to track them down.

 

[Lucyfer]

Adlai let his eyes open as they parted, though the lids remained lowered a bit. He smirked a little at Skye’s declaration. ‘So have I.’ His agreement was voiced in the kiss that followed, in the way one of his hands moved to rest on her hip, and hold her closer to him, to press himself against her, as her hands lingered at his neck.

At his hair.

And then at his ass, once again. He jolted, eyes opening a moment, and lips parting from hers, as his gaze automatically went down to the nothing that was there, before he laughed. “It’s going to take a bit to get used to that.” He said, “Do you actually feel anything that way?” He asked, as he moved the hand he had at her hip, to her own backside.

He cupped a firm handful.

“This seems like it would be entirely more pleasant.” Even if clothing was in the way.

~***~

Eira saw the flush when Thrawn started to rise, finally tearing her gaze away from the wall as he got up. It didn’t surprise her, given the hasty way Thrawn agreed to get off of her. He had seen, and realized, what she did. His thoughts had also strayed. A further confirmation of what existed between them.

What she could not act on, and what he could not act on.

She waited a moment for him to put distance between them, to sit up, and then to rise to her feet.

She was, for the most part, unharmed. A bit mussed, but that was expected, but somehow his comment to continue made her laugh as he neatly put aside what position they’d been in. “All right, but no more grappling. I’m clearly not at the level to compete there.”

Yes, that had totally been it. She just wasn’t skilled enough.

The lie wasn’t likely to be challenged right then, given the alternative confessions.

~***~

Eli didn’t quite contain the satisfied look that came to his face as he saw Ortell, not alone, come into the area. Proserpina lost color, and in the moment, Eli put an elbow into the one closest to him. He hadn’t been bound – a really stupid decision on their part, honestly.

A few adjusted their attention to Eli as the criminal let out a startled sound when he was struck, but as Eli wrestled the blaster from their hand, Proserpina spoke out, “Don’t!”

They were outnumbered.

Her glare was harsh. “Take me. Just me. Or we will fight.” Proserpina said.

Eli considered, glancing around at them. At how close they were to Cora, and Tobias.

“Agreed.” He said. On that much, he would allow, “Go to them,” Eli gestured towards Ortell and his forces of officers. “The rest of you, clear out, now.”

Proserpina gave them a look not to fuss.

Somehow…she would find a way out of this. She knew who she was going to see. Mitth’raw’nuruodo. She knew his reputation – not only among Imperials, but among criminals, as well.

Including pirates from Culoss, and others.

He wasn’t entirely irrational. It was one of the few reasons she’d been willing to speak with Vanto.

 

[cleopat]

Skye’s mischievous smirk broke out into a smile at Adlai’s surprised reaction. Really, that in of itself was a great reason to do it. The pleasantly surprised looks on his face.

She opened her mouth to respond to his question, but instead a slight gasp sounded when she felt his own hand cupping her backside. “Oh, I agree, this is more pleasant.” Even if there were others ways she would prefer doing that.

Such as in a bedroom, with less layers.

“I can get an idea of the shape, but nothing more. I mainly enjoy doing it because it can be quite a surprise.” Like for him. “But before we forget,” she drew her hands down to rest lightly over his chest, “shouldn’t you call your parents? You don’t want your mother calling you during a business meeting tomorrow, Addie.”

~~

Thrawn nodded, the corners of his lips twitching in slight amusement. “Yes, maybe we should move on from grappling, now that we’re done with the warm-up.” A near hidden threat of what was still to come.

Eira needed this to help her with the evening, and Thrawn will make sure she forgets about what happened.

“Maybe we can try some Echani moves. Or you can show me one of the two styles you trained in.” An offer to allow her to pick their next course. As if they both weren’t aware of what just transpired between them, on the floor.

It was nothing, and it wouldn’t be spoken of again.

“The choice is yours, Eira.” He also hoped the offer would help her get rid of some embarrassment Thrawn just knew she had to be feeling.

~~

Cora was completely transfixed on Eli when he attacked the criminal and grabbed his blaster. The officer she watched was far different than the blushing one from that morning, when they had woken up entangled in each other’s limbs.

At the stern look from Proserpina, the others departed the area with a grumble and a glare. The one who had taken Cora’s blaster and knife didn’t leave them behind, which had annoyed her, but it was better than being dead. She would easily get a new one when they returned.

When Proserpina approached the officers, they would immediately place binders around her wrists, and one of them aimed a blaster at her, in case she tried anything funny.

Ortell spoke next. “Really? You guys couldn’t last a few hours without me?” Tobias merely scoffed and rolled his eyes, though the smile betrayed his attempt at seeming annoyed.

Cora chuckled, as she started walking towards Eli. “This team would obviously fail without you here to help us,” she joked back to Ortell.

 

[Lucyfer]

It seemed there was no satisfaction of grip with the Force, just ideas of what it would be like. The satisfaction came in the surprise, which Adlai couldn’t fault her for in the least, given his own pleasure in seeing her short gasp. He chuckled a little at it, before groaning as she reminded him of what he had to do.

A few brief moments of play, and then back on track.

Maybe she was good for him.

“You’re right, you’re right,” he said, moving his hands away from Skye, and stepping to the side to go around her, so he could step further into his home and call his parents. He took his datapad out into sight and set it upon the caf table in the living space, taking a seat on the couch as the call started to ring through.

He wouldn’t advise Skye to either leave, or come forward.

This wasn’t meant to be hidden from her, but he also didn’t think this would be the moment she’d be introduced, either.

~***~

‘Warm-up? Stars….’ Though Eira might have admitted this was definitely lighter than what she usually went through. She wasn’t about to; her mind was hardly thinking in that direction, no matter how much she wanted to steer it there.

She was aware that it would be fairly easy to take control of the situation if she opted to teach Mitth’raw’nuruodo, though. She still wasn’t convinced about Echani, anyways – though she probably shouldn’t be teaching an Imperial fighting methods.

“What do you know of Zama-shiwo?” Eira asked, deciding that was the route she’d go, in spite of the consequences. It wasn’t as if they’d get far in instruction, unless he decided he wanted to making learning it a regular thing.

~***~

Eli smirked at Ortell as he made his comment. He took it well, “Why do you think I had you away from here?” For something just like this. It was easy enough to predict that they would end up in a bad situation, outnumbered, and in unfamiliar territory. It was so predictable Eli would have given it ¾ odds.

Obviously, he was hoping for the ¼ where they somehow got ahead of their enemy and things worked out, but this was just as well.

Proserpina never knew there was anyone prepared to come to the rescue at a moment’s notice. “Thanks, Ortell,” he added, walking forward, “Let’s get to the ship, get these officers back to base, and secure Proserpina for delivery.

He’d call ahead to Thrawn once they were set for departure, so he could have a place prepared for Proserpina, or anything he needed to do.

Thankfully, Proserpina didn’t seem to have any intentions of trying anything funny. She may not have seemed resigned, but she was cooperative all the same, with a strange sort of dignity about it that made Eli wonder just what she knew to be confident in coming with them under cuffs.

 

[cleopat]

Skye chuckled at the groan. Of course, she didn’t want to stop either, but after their earlier conversation, she wanted to make sure he kept his family updated on his personal life, before the tabloids did that for him.

And so as Adlai took a seat on the couch, Skye decided to take a seat on a chair in the living space. Not to make sure he actually did it, but because she was curious about his parents. What were the people like who raised Adlai.

She would leave if he requested, but as he hadn’t said anything before, she assumed she could sit in and watch, making sure she didn’t make any noise.

~~

So it seemed that Eira made her decision about Echani for now. She would rather teach him about Zama-shiwo, which Thrawn would oblige. He knew very little of it, aside from origins and basic principles.

But now he could learn new fighting techniques thanks to Eira’s willingness to teach him. And he would be her eager pupil.

“I know it originated on Jedha,” Thrawn started. “I know it allows a form of meditation during battle, and I know its practitioners sometimes refer to this fighting method as ‘the inward eye of the outward hand.’” No doubt a phrase contributed to its long history on the moon, as Thrawn thought it to be a little archaic in form.

But it was a tradition still practiced today on Jedha, and in the rest of the galaxy.

“As for anything else, I admit I am completely clueless.” Eira would have the upper hand here, a fact Thrawn was all too aware of, and one he didn’t mind one bit. He wanted to see how she fought in a style she had been trained in. How fast she could move, how she could think on her feet.

Like the unexpected warrior he saw in her at the gallery.

~~

Cora watched with one brow raised the officers take Proserpina to the ship. The air of confidence, of assurance, wasn’t typical of most prisoners, unless they thought they could get away with something.

Had something planned.

But as far as she knew, the Sephi was unarmed and had enough evidence against her to ensure she didn’t get released.

“I’m just glad we didn’t have to stay in here long enough to get lost or see a serpent,” Cora chuckled, a sentiment Tobias shared with her.

Ortell couldn’t say anything. He had been safe at the Facility from such wildlife and dangers. But he nodded his head in agreement, for he didn’t have to worry about them anymore.

Proserpina was taken onto the ship, and Cora looked to Eli, “Do you think she’ll try and strike a plea deal before giving us any answers?”