Zeichen (Dire)

[Apillis]

Crimson eyes groggily opened as dawn broke into a new day on the dead planet of Korriban, Hervor lay there in her bed within her quarters of the Sith Temple. Under red silken sheets she stared up at the dull, stone ceiling of her room for a moment. Her eyes turned to the one who lay beside her, the lovely raven-haired Epicanthix Sith Lord, Vesperia. Yet again, last night she indulged passion and lust in Vesperia's arms, just as she did few times now since they first gave into their baser desires for one another a couple weeks prior. Was this becoming a norm now, Hervor wondered. She did not know, all she knew is she enjoyed being with her, enjoyed her touch--every time Vesperia traces a gentle finger along the scar on Hervor's face, her heart skips a beat from Vesperia's touch.

She raised her torso a little to sit up in bed as she looked to the woman at her side, the woman's eyes were still closed. Was she still sleeping? But it was in that moment she caught herself gazing upon the woman as she seemed to sleep as Hervor had not gazed upon another in a long, long time. Hervor... What are you doing...? She thought to herself, it was a confusion coupled with a concern. The coming of this day was not like the few other times the two shared a night together, this day is the day before the two leave for battle on different fields, leading the charge for Sith forces against the Jedi and their Republic lapdogs.

Hervor turned on her side toward Vesperia beside her, she rest an elbow on the pillow Vesperia's head rest upon, so she could idly run her fingers through the pulchritudinous woman's silky raven hair. Gently she lay her other hand on Vesperia's side as she leaned in giving her a simple affectionate kiss, merely wanting to feel those soft lips against her own once more. Quietly pulling herself away, she slid out of bed sitting at its edge for a moment staring off trying to gather what exactly she is letting herself fall into, because she knew this... weight... she feels in her chest, she had felt it before--she had felt this worry and concern and knew what it stemmed from... an insecurity wrought from something far more specific and broad. Perhaps, it simply never dawned on Hervor that she could feel such things again, it had been so long... maybe, she had merely forgotten it was possible.

Glancing back over her shoulder at the woman in her bed, she sat there for another silent moment. It was an unconscious action, yet it held its own significance, for as the woman in her bed appeared to be sleeping, Hervor pulled those red silken sheets up a little more to cover the woman. It was that moment where she found herself being honest with herself that... she cared for this woman at her side. Her confusion was not the experience of the feeling itself, but merely... that she even still could, even after all the crimes and literal evil she herself acknowledges she has committed, the realization that she still held the capacity to still care for another--it never occurred to her after decades since the last person she cared for... died by her own hands.

While finding herself in a pensive moment, she muttered quietly to herself, "Hervor... What are you thinking...?", she asked herself this because of something else that was ruminating within her mind... Would if... Vesperia never comes back from Makem Te? What kind of silly thought is that? Of course, she will come back, why would she not? Even if she did not, it means she was weak--and is to be forgotten... right? No.... she wants her to come back. And in a way... it scared Hervor a little, even shook her.

"This is insane...", Hervor mumbled quietly under her breath.

[Dire Wolf]

Vesperia's eyes fluttered lightly beneath their closed lids as she slept and Allvitende sat at the edge of the bed in confusion. The silky crimson sheets caressed her form gently as she lie curled up against where Hervor had been a few minutes prior. Despite the fact that her voice was little more than a mumble it caused the raven maned woman's eyes to slowly drift open, and a rare smile creased the woman's lips as she slowly lifted her torso above the sheets and slid her way over to the pale lady's back. A pair of deft hands pressed against her shoulders and gently kneaded the taut muscles beneath Hervor's pale skin.

The taller woman pressed her chest against her Sith Lord's back and brought her lips close to the woman's ear. "What will you do while I'm on the other side of the empire, hm," she whispered against Hervor's ear. Vesperia's hot breath washed across the woman's cheek when--wait. HER Sith Lord? Lady Vesperia's hands quickly ceased and her mind began to take stock of her situation.

Adara's heart fluttered every time that she felt Hervor's touch, and her lips fought to spread into a small smile whenever they spoke. It was disconcerting. The last time she had felt that way for another person that man asked her to marry him, and in a bout of fear and stupidity she immediately snuffed his life out. Had she not done so, it was likely that Adara would be elsewhere at that moment in time. Swimming in credits and the collected joy of wealth, at that. Though some part of Adara's heart nagged her that there was another reason to her regret, and why she had been so perturbed by Luwen's murder.

Was the situation the same for Hervor? Would the pale Sith Lord attempt to bind her down with feelings and marriage? Fear struck her heart. The very same kind of fear that caused her to snuff out the life of her ward It was likely that her companion didn't feel the same way at all. No. No she doubted that a being as heartless and terrible as Hervor could reciprocate such feelings. Such thoughts caused the woman's heart to lurch and a slight quiver to come to her chin, and anger immediately followed. Was she some weak and sniveling whelp? Such emotions were for children and fools, and Adara was neither.

Vesperia decided it was best to shove such superfluous feelings and notions to the back of her mind. They wouldn't leave at first, but Adara was the master of her emotions. Not the other way around. With enough will and focus, they left. Finally, the woman's hands began to knead the powerful woman's muscles once more. The Sith searched for words for a brief moment, but none came to her. She chose to continue to massage the woman's shoulders and back in silence rather than speak meaningless words.

[Apillis]

Hervor's eyes gently closed as she felt Vesperia's touch messaging her shoulders, it held its own comfort, and just hearing her voice and feeling her breath caress against her skin was insatiable to always wanting more. But Vesperia paused for a second, which caused Hervor to freeze in turn with it, but then the relaxing caress returned a trice later. Staring of she chuckled a little--though it held a bit of uneasiness with a waver as she lay an affectionate hand atop of one of Vesperia's own as she messaged her shoulders, "I think you know by now I seldom have a clue of what I'm going to do until I'm in the moment itself... I... honestly don't know wh--", Hervor stopped herself from saying any more.

It was the insecurity that seemed as though it was beginning to pervade into her thoughts that wore on her mind. And for the first time in a very long time, her she was in the moment--and yet, her drive and impulse did not know what to do. But all things being honest, she knew what it had all stemmed from--while she believed she had long loved on from it, she was feared a repeat from a past over fifty years old. It was a time where everything she held close to her heart was torn from her, and while her fall was a gradual build from vengeance to cruelties, the despair she felt from feeling through the Force those she loved die certainly had its role in her descent into darkness. Ironic that the power she prizes so highly, she fears a repeat of something that had a strong hand in leading her to it.

With a scoffing chuckle at herself Hervor remarked, "I don't... even know what I'm going to do at Thila", glancing over her shoulder at Vesperia she smiled a little, "I probably won't even think of it until I get there", with another half-chuckle she went on to say attempting to make light of the situation, "All I have right now is get there, blow stuff up, kill some Jedi, come back, and spend the next week with you in my bed side."

But she fell quiet for a moment as the hand that lay on Vesperia's tightened a little as she uttered, "That means you have to be here... Understood?", she tried to maintain her confident, domineering persona, though in this moment it was more along the lines of bravado.

Not another repeat, the last thing Hervor wants is her fear to become a reality. For one who indulges compulsions and passions as often as she does, and fully aware she does not often know what her own actions will be, she has no idea what will happen to her if Vesperia fails to return to her. An insecure fear that begun gnawing at her heart, it tugged and pulled at the strings of her heart as it gnawed away, and progressively did it make her feel uneasy... She hated it.

While Hervor was blind to it... the idea was creating a new fury within her. And fury was something that Hervor was something she gave into often, from the battlefield to the bed chamber, after all, what is sex without fury?

Hervor would be lying to herself if she tried to convince herself that she did not fear Vesperia dying in battle. Her own death in truth meant little to her, in a way she felt that if she died it would be no great loss, just a loss, one among countless in the galaxy going unnoticed--a sentiment she has never shared with anyone. But Vesperia's fate... it worried her... Hervor has had enough close calls in warfare and battle, the latter especially when fighting Jedi. Albeit, while that normally gave her a thrill for combat, it only brought concern in regards to Vesperia.

[Dire Wolf]

A strange comfort fell over the woman's heart as Hervor placed an affectionate hand on her own. It perplexed Vesperia to no end. How could a simple touch cause her heart's pace to quicken and a pleasant fluttering feeling within her belly? How could all of the doubts and reservations she had within the back of her mind seem to vanish all at a simple touch. Adara soon realized that she was, in fact, not the master of her own emotions and that they were her master.

Lord Allvitende, like Luwen Sundar before her, was quickly becoming the master of Vesperia's emotions. Despite these thoughts she heard a light chuckle brush past her lips at the woman's attempt to make light of the conversation, and she felt her eyes harden at the final part of the Sith Lord's remark. Those icy blue eyes didn't harden out of anger or pain, however, and she found that her own hand reciprocated the gentle squeeze. Vesperia didn't quite know why they did, and that only perplexed her further.

"I... I wish I could promise as much," she was at a loss for words. Gone were the witty retorts, innuendos, and playful ripostes. Vesperia's cold and logical god took their place. Both hands withdrew from Hervor's shoulders and her grasp and the woman's bare feet met the cold stone of Allvitende's bed chamber. The Sith Lady rose to her feet and moved towards the clothes that had been discarded the night before.

For a moment, or more, Adara didn't see the slight form of the pale Sith Lord before her. In her stead sat a well toned man in his late forties, beautiful blue eyes, and the hair of an ancient nordic god. Luwen sat on the edge of the bed with that damned corusca gem ring in one hand and those pretty blue flowers in the other. A red line circled his neck as he sat there with those baby blue eyes locked with her own.

Hervor took her rightful place in reality after a blink, and the look of horror on Vesperia's face was replaced with one of apathetic stoicism. So it was happening again, but this time a question lingered within the woman's heart: was this a second chance, or merely a second test on the road to true freedom. Vesperia took the time to weigh the options within her own mind. The path to her own personal freedom lead through Allvitende's broken and destroyed corpse. It was a path that Adara had been set upon since before she could remember. Yet... every iota of Vesperia's being wanted nothing more than to walk over and hold her close to her chest. To plant a kiss on her lips and feel her warmth at night.

Was Vesperia strong enough to do what needed to be done?

No. No she wasn't.

Vesperia couldn't handle going through yet another wave of anguish like she had when Luwen had the life strangled from him. Though what if Hervor wasto suffer the same fate as that insufferable man? Perhaps the Sith Ladywouldn't be Allvitende's bane, but what if another Jedi was destined to be? What then? A tinge of anger coursed through the woman's heart at the thought. Anger and... sadness? That gnawing feeling was far from pleasant, but it couldn't be helped.

"Allvitende...," stoicism was replaced with worry, "I died long ago, and what is dead can never die. It can only rise again. Harder. Stronger. There is not a creature alive that can bar my return to this chamber, but that does either of us nothing if you do not return as well."

A slight smirk pursed the woman's lips as she remembered her old master's quote. He had many others, each one just as interesting as the last.

[Apillis]

Hervor was silent for a moment in reaction to Vesperia's answer to her 'demand' that was little more than bravado to shield her own insecurity and fear of the tall, dark beauty not returning from Makem Te. Even the concept and idea of no longer feeling the warmth of Vesperia's body against hers held its own emptiness. No longer having little bantering conversations with her, hearing that strong, elegant voice of hers. The lack of the woman herself was something that was enough to disturb even one to the likes of Hervor. But she was not going to give Vesperia another line of proud confidence that in truth is nothing more than bravado, she could not dispute the reality of being unable to promise something that may not happen. Doing otherwise should be left to the silly thoughtlessness of adolescents, whereas both of these women have seen and experienced too much to kid one another.

She watched Vesperia slide out of bed, and begin to dress herself with her disgarded clothes. Hervor just sat there admiring the grace and beauty she held, that long, slender figure--firm and athletic while maintaining the fair pulchritude of their sex. Strong, proud, and certainty is what Hervor saw in the tall, raven-haired beauty, its what Hervor loved to engross herself in about the woman when spending intimate moments with her. She gave as good as she got, and that Hervor loves and often needs, to be challenged.

But... her eyes widened in dismay, Vesperia uttered something... and it was if she heard another voice speaking in unison with Vesperia's--a man's voice--a strong voice of a warrior. The two of them speaking at once is how she heard Vesperia's words. Her widened eyes stared at Vesperia as Hervor's visage also took on a disturbed expression. Like a ghost of her past that she believed she had severed the shackles that bound her to it long ago was in truth still bond to her firmly, and those shackles chained her to Vesperia where that ghost of the past loomed over her.

Hervor rose from the bed pulling the silken red sheets with her covering much of her body, she took a few idle steps toward Vesperia, "Wh... Where did you hear that...?", Hervor's stunned and disturbed expression was one that no amount of bravado or attempted saving face could hide. Nor did Hervor have the presence of mind to try, she was a bit too shocked to even think straight. And it showed on her face...

[Dire Wolf]

One elegant brow quirked in response to the surprised expression that Hervor held within those malevolent crimson eyes and that beautiful, almost ethereal face. The shorter woman collected the red silk sheets around her form as if privacy was a sudden need, and took a few careful steps towards the taller Sith Lady. Hervor's voice was full of surprise when she asked her question, and this caused a tremor of worry to course through her heart. Had she known her old master? Known him well? Perhaps she'd be distraught to know that he was dead, and by Adara's hand at that.

No. Probably not. If Hervor had some special connection to Abraxas she would have known about it. So, the woman simply shrugged, "my master said that after he strangled me, once. He killed me, then resuscitated me, and then spoke those words. I hated him for it at first, but later on I realized that he took the fear of death from me. Abraxas was his name. The man's dead and has been since I was a girl.

He was a wretched man, and deserved the death he got." A tinge of hatred and bitterness seeped in through the otherwise stoic and apathetic tone of her voice. While Vesperia was the type to be calm and stoic, she bottled up all of her hatred and mal emotions to be used later. When Adara unleashed the full fury of her hatred she was quite the terrible sight to behold.

[Apillis]

For a long moment Hervor had fallen silent, both as Vesperia spoke, and after she had finished speaking. Hervor seldom ever dwelled on all the lives she had touched or indirectly touched in the course of her plowing ever forward. So much death she had been immersed in she had never really paused to look around at those who still lived. And here she was sleeping with a remnant of a link to a dead past. In a away it was astounding to Hervor and disturbing. True coincidences are rare in matters of the Force, and for her to be with Vesperia... given the woman's master... this was no accident. This was a will.

In a brief contemplative pensiveness, Hervor looked away from Vesperia to stare of idly into nothing as she ruminated for a second. Hervor's voice did not hold its usual authoritative,commanding manner, but rather it was fairly quiet--one could say it was even a little humbled, "A man... from a long time ago used to say the same thing to me, too... But... as you say... he's dead now."

Hervor chose not to go any further into it, there was always a point in time when a person touched by the Force found themselves receiving a reality check by the Force itself. For Hervor this was one such moment, while there was a bit of uncertainty and doubt about it lingering within Hervor--she still could not deny there was a chance that she may have had a hand affecting Vesperia's life.

Softly Hervor spoke somewhat off-handedly stating, "Just... call me Hervor... from now on... At least... when we're alone--in here. Away from the nonsense and pretentiousness and redundancy of the status and titles..."

[Dire Wolf]

"A popular saying, I suppose," a sigh trailed the woman's response. Curiosity struck Adara then, but only enough to make her brow knit together and head tilt to the side ever so slightly. Hervor was an old creature. Perhaps older than Adara would ever really know. Perhaps some fluke, or twist of fate, had made Abraxas familiar with the pale Sith Lord. Some Jedi would argue that there were no flukes. There was no luck in the 'verse.

Adara disagreed. The Force was not some singular living creature that had designs on everyone's life. It was merely a cosmic oddity that allowed for outstanding people such as Adara and Hervor to live the way they do. Too many odd things had been seen by the brigand in her time out at space to simply write them off as the Force's work. This was a story made for the comfort of weaklings and old men who looked to a higher power for comfort in their time of need.

Sith Lords and Ladies don't need such comfort, and that included Adara.

Hervor's soft voice pulled Adara away from her thoughts. A small smile tugged at the corner of the woman's lips as she closed the distance between them and placed her calloused hands on the woman's bare shoulder. For a moment she took a second to enjoy the soft warmth of Hervor's skin, and then moved her icy blue eyes to meet the other woman's crimson ones.

"Hervor," she almost chuckled, "'tis certainly easier to scream than 'Allvitende,' I think. Call me Adara, then. I rather mislike the other name I've been given, especially when it is said by you, Hervor."

[Apillis]

Hervor cracked a little smile as she slid her arms around Adara, the only thing keeping the red silk sheet covering the front of Hervor's torso was the pressure between their bodies. With soft gentle kisses she whispered playfully, "I can get you screaming my name now if you like...", resting her head on Adara's shoulder she remarked, "One more time before parting ways... at least for a time."

Idly Hervor's arms coiled around Adara's torso pressing her tighter against her own body solely for the firm, sensuous embrace of a lover. As a creature of impulse, Hervor has always been inclined to indulge whatever pleasure she can when she can, and with the time ticking away until they separate perhaps never to enjoy the arms of the other again--Hervor wanted to take advantage of whatever she could now and not live with the regret of wishing she experienced more.

The feel of her smooth skin, the refreshing smell of her hair, the taste of her soft lips--Hervor hungered for more of the raven haired woman. And should she not be back in Hervor's arms should she return from her own battle. There would be nothing more than ire and wrath in Hervor's darkened heart, and perhaps the rise of another personal jihad waged against the Jedi as she had done years ago.

[Dire Wolf]

Adara's arms wrapped around the shorter woman's form and gently pressed their bodies together just a little bit harder. Those icy blue eyes gently shut before a small smile spread the woman's lips thin, and she felt Hervor's soft and warm lips against her. One of her hands moved up to caress the shorter Sith's head as it rested against her shoulder, and a sigh slid out from between her lips at the comfort she felt. A pair of lips were pressed into the top of Hervor's head, and the woman took a moment to enjoy the soft scent of the woman's hair. She tried to remember a time when she had been more content, or happy, in someone's arms... but she simply couldn't.

The Sith Lady didn't want to respond to the woman in her arms. She didn't want to break the spell of silence that had fallen between them, ruin the intimacy that they shared. Words could only do harm. All that Adara wanted in that moment was in her arms. Her lips pressed against the woman's warm cheek moments later, which brought a flutter to her heart. It amazed Adara how such polarizing figures could find comfort in one another's arms... and fear in the possibility that such things would end so abruptly. Hervor was a warrior who's fury surpassed even the greatest of ancient reavers, and her actions were almost exclusively driven by impulse and passion.

Adara was at the complete opposite of that spectrum, albeit her fury was just as terrible. Passion and emotion were almost foreign words to the aloof and sarcastic Sith Lord, and her combat doctrine was more akin to a Jedi's than a true Sith's. She sensed that the Sith Lord felt the same way she had, and the feeling that it brought on was bittersweet. Yet there they were, taking comfort within one another's arms. Adara brushed her lips against the Sith Lord's cheek once again to simply enjoy the warmth and softness of her face. Hot breath washed against the side of the Sith Lord's face, and the Epicanthix brought her lips close to the woman's ear before whispering, "I rather like it right here, Hervor."

Before Adara knew it her forehead leaned against Hervor's ever so gently, eyes still closed and a sad smile writ across the woman's plush lips. These last few minutes could full well be the last that Adara held Hervor within her grasp, and that thought brought a certain gnawing to her heart. Moments later she pressed her lips against the plush red vestibules of her lover, and simply enjoyed the firm grasp she found there. Hours seemed to pass before the Sith Lady pulled away from the kiss with Hervor's lips still gently held between her teeth. That sad smile had been replaced with a hungry one, which reflected the desire within her heart.

"We will see," a husky whisper was uttered beside Hervor's ear, "we will see who makes who scream."