Ask Something Different

Altair Din

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Music

It had been just a few weeks since he was liberated from New Alderaan. The entire thing felt surreal and it was only later that realized that a whopping five Sith had barged into the prison. He didn’t know what to make of all that, and it humbled him. If there was any doubt that the Sith were his family, all of that was immediately squashed. There was a pang in his chest whenever he thought of Clove, but for now he set that thought aside.

Altair had agreed to go on another mission with Vex at some point, but he suggested meeting somewhere to ‘strategize’ on their game plan. Really he planned on tricking her into coming out to a club because she could stand to loosen up a bit. To avoid completely throwing her off, he told her where the venue was so she knew to dress appropriately. Quite frankly he still expected her to show up in super formal Sith get up. He purposely picked a venue that had a wide diversity of patrons.

The tiefling strode into the club and found himself a table in the corner, dressed in more or less his usual style with several beaded bracelets on his wrists. The club was full of species from all over the galaxy. There was a scantily clad Cathar woman dancing on an elevated platform. Altair couldn’t help but gawk at her while he waited for Vex to arrive. There was an open dance floor starting to get slowly packed. He checked his chrono. Damn, was she too much of a square to show up to this? He almost expected some lame ass excuse at this point. His backup plan was to just down a few drinks and find some ladies to dance with if Vex ghosted him.

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex ghosted no one. Club scenes weren't entirely unknown to her. She did masquerade as a billionaire playgirl by day, though she certainly could stand to do a better job of it. Lately, her Sith duties had overwhelmed everything. She needed to find her balance again. Which was why she accepted Altair's invitation. Well, at least, it was partly why. Mostly, she just wanted to see him after the recent business on Alderaan. She had been late to the party and couldn't really claim any part in rescuing him, but she wanted to be sure he was okay all the same.

She came in a black dress with gold trimmings that showed off her shoulders. It was a variation of the white attire she sometimes wore as Nahri, but black somehow made her feel more... Sith-y. She also made the effort to style her hair. She was used to keeping it up in a bun, making it easier to wear her helmet. But tonight, she let it fall free, and had braided it with gold bands. Her outfit was complete by a black masquerade mask. Much as she would have liked to come fully as herself, she had a double-persona to play.

Even when relaxing, she could not forget her duties.

Vex found Altair at a corner table by himself. Seeing him there, alone and in the shadows, was so at odds with what little she knew about the Tiefling. On Rakata Prime, his personality had filled up all the empty spaces left by her lack of one. She half expected to find him already dancing. Instead, he was checking his chrono, and she smirked to herself when she considered why. He thought she wasn't going to show. Well, she would show him.

"I have to admit," she said, suddenly announcing her presence, "when you requested to meet, this was not the backdrop I had expected." She waved absently to the dancing and the booming music going on behind them. "But I suppose we could both use a little break from the norm."

She slid into the seat across from him and looked him over up and down. She was searching for any signs of the trauma he had experienced in that Jedi hellhole on Alderaan. "How are you feeling?" she asked a bit more seriously. @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair was certainly not used to sitting at a table by himself for long, but it was almost nice. He simply relaxed and people watched. As this club was more open to all species, there had been more than a few occasions of people asking to join him. He had surprised himself by remarking that all the chairs were reserved.

When he heard Vex and spotted her, he almost did a double take. He was in the middle of taking a sip from his drink and some of it ended up dribbling down his chin because he stupidly tried to smile and greet her. Face burning hot, he quickly wiped off his face, kicking himself and hoping she didn’t notice his bullshit in the darkness.

She dressed up, and he didn’t know what to do with this information. Vex looked like a stunning, refined lady complete with an elegant mask. Damn, did he pick the wrong venue? Altair realized he was gawking again and cleared his throat, subtly pushing out a chair for her to take a seat with the Force.

“Damn, you putin’ me to shame lookin’ that nice,” Altair said with a grin. He paused for a moment to reflect on how he was feeling after Dantooine and New Alderaan. Confused, angry, grateful, and so many other things. Altair didn’t even know where to begin, but he didn’t want to turn this into a therapy session for him, “I’m aight,” He said simply, “I didn’t expect you to also be at the prison, I’ll be real,” He said wish a sheepish smile, "..Thank you.."

“Can I buy you a drink?”
He asked after a moment of pause, “And I won Huttball MVP so you ain’t gotta ask me to be cheap,” Altair gave her a smug grin and a wink. Now that was more like him.

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex eased into the seat he graciously offered her and crossed her legs. It was a weird sensation. She was herself, and yet, she felt as though she was having to act a bit like 'Nahri' would. As Nahri, she frequently had to act a certain way in public. Smooth, relaxed, hopefully charming. But these were acts. Now, she had to do it and not pretend.

She cocked a brow at his offer. A drink would be nice. Something to ease her nerves and help her act a bit more at ease. "Alright, Mister Hutball MVP. I'll take a glass of whatever you recommend," she said. The sly smile that had formed when she saw him spit up over himself just moments before still touched the corners of her mouth. "You seem to be an expert on this, so, go ahead. Impress me."

Vex kept her gaze fixed on him while he selected something. His emotions were difficult to read, but she was no fool. No one went to prison and was unaffected by it. She should know as someone who ran one and was building a horrific dungeon for Force-wielders at the Empress' behest. But she shoved that thought aside for now. This was not supposed to be a business arrangement. They were relaxing.

"There's no need to thank me," she added. "You're the only reason we made it off Rakata Prime alive. And I arrived rather late to Alderaan." She was still lamenting that part. The one Jedi she had encountered had in no way sated her rage. "There were quite a few angry women in there by the time I arrived." She hiked her brow higher. "Seems like you've made quite an impression on a number of Sith."

Her mind was specifically on the Togruta. The anger had come off her like noxious fumes. "Did you woo them all with your Huttball skills, or are you responsible for saving more lives than just mine?" @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Whatever he recommended? Damn, he wasn’t exactly fancy about drinks. Back home he tried moonshine and other cheap spirits and otherwise he just guzzled down beer. Altair eyed her for a moment and flagged the waitress over, “A smoking Corellian old fashioned for the lady,” He said. Vex seemed like a whiskey or bourbon type of gal.

Altair looked sheepish as she explained her reasoning. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought twice about helping her out on Rakata Prime. However, he flashed her a grin, “Who knew drumming and rhythm was the secret to your fancy beacon?” He would never let her live that down, the turn of events actually hilarious now to reflect on.

He coughed a bit at the mention of a small army of women coming to rescue him. Altair knew that would make the rounds within the Sith circles. He sipped from his drink, his face suddenly hot, “I… well one of them is my ex, the others..” Altair smiled at her, “I guess it must be my farmer boy charm.”

Altair’s gaze flicked past her towards the dance floor, “Matter o’ fact, I was hopin’ to use some of that charm to talk you into dancing with me,” He looked at her again, “After you enjoy your drink of course.”

He gazed at her for a moment, “I didn’t expect you to show up, gonna be honest. Thought you’d think a club was stupid.”

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex smiled and chuckled at his rural manners. It reminded her of her relatives in the countryside of Serenno. When the drink was sat before her, she picked it up and sipped it before taking a deeper drink, surprised by how much she enjoyed it. He really was good at this.

"I went to clubs in another life," she confessed, sitting her drink down—and it was true. 'Nahri' was the type to go to clubs. Vex was the recluse that lived in a literal prison. "It's not my usual haunt, but... I'm learning that perhaps I've been a bit too rigid."

She had not missed his invitation to dance. She thought about it a long moment over another sip of her drink. On the one hand, she could not recall the last time she danced and did not trust herself to do it right or well. On the other hand, she had not gotten this dressed up for nothing. She had actually never been this dressed up in her life as a Sith. Always just Nahri.

"Is that why you invited me out?" she teased. "To convince me to dance? Were you not worried I was going to bore you with some soliloquy about another tomb I'd raided recently?" She was only half-joking on that one. The last tomb on Ziost she'd visited and managed to scare Varyn right off—at least for the time being. She was surprised she wasn't known as the 'tomb lady' among the younger Sith yet. "I might take you up on that offer," she continued, nodding to the glass. "Especially with taste like that."

"But first," Another sip before she sat the glass down again, "I hear you finally got that promotion. The higher ups giving you any 'fun' new tasks now that you're a Champion? Maybe take on an Acolyte of your own?" She had been thinking about training a student of her own of late, but she was rather amused at the mental image of Altair teaching one his rhythm-based bomb-disarmament techniques. She wondered if it would nearly make them go bald as it had her. @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair laughed at her lowkey throwing shade at herself about soliloquies. In truth, that sounded very on brand for her, “I mean… you can always give me a sermon about the Force and dark side while we’re dancing so it’s a win win,” He rationalized. He certainly wouldn’t mind twirling around with a hand on her waist to make her long shpiels that much more tolerable, “But I just wanted to get to know ya in a setting where we’re not in immediate danger of death," He gave her a half grin, "Though that dress definitely slays."

The tiefling practically choked on his drink at the thought of taking on an acolyte. He honestly had forgotten about that part of being a Champion. He still barely felt like one himself and the thought of teaching anyone else sounded almost overwhelming. Altair blinked a few times as he quietly finished off his drink, “I don’t think I’ll take on a student anytime soon. I feel like one myself still,” He shrugged vaguely. He couldn’t help but think of his incomplete training with Veles having disappeared from the Sith. He missed his old Master, but he still planned to deliver on the promise he had made, “Well I got Ossus and Agamar under my belt so I think they’ll probably send me on more planetary invasions. This time I’ll get to write the mission reports,” He said brightly.

The music continued on an upbeat trend. Altair smiled at Vex, “Now I know this music looks a bit faster paced than what you’re dressed for, but I think we can still have some fun,” He gave her a wink as he slid off his chair. He extended a hand to her to guide her to the floor. If she accepted, he would start swaying even as he walked towards the floor, his tail swinging to the rhythm of the song.

Altair would turn to face her, tugging her close as he smiled down at her, “Clubs in another life, eh? You mean to tell me you ain’t fun no more? Only tomb raiding gets you excited?” He asked as he dropped an arm to snake around her waist, his footwork perfectly on beat as he moved to the quick pace of the music. The vibe was very lighthearted, fun and playful and everyone was clearly enjoying themselves all around.

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex laughed as he pulled her into him. She should not have been surprised at his strength. She had seen it first hand, but the way his muscles rippled beneath his taut skin, the ease with which he managed to bring her out of her seat and onto the dance floor, made something flutter in the cavity of her chest. She kept pace with the music as they moved, letting him lead, and while it was slightly faster than what she was dressed for, she couldn't deny enjoying it.

"I wouldn't necessarily say that," she said. "Only that my job in the Sith... it's a little bit different than yours."

We all serve the Empress in our own way.

The words were not her Master's for once. They were her father's—when he was still alive. He had been a man of honor and duty. A man who instilled those values in her. And she still carried them with her, no matter how heavy the burden of her two lives got.

She was somewhat confused by the nostalgia she felt. Her whole life, she had felt at odds with who she was as Nahri Nalju. And now, Nahri and Vex had every so briefly become one. And somehow that felt more 'right' than being just Vex. It was if she was glimpsing another life. One where she could keep the best of her old one, and the sense of rightness being 'Vex' had first given her. A life she could not have now, no matter how real it was for the moment.

"Though, I have to say, I pity any Jedi who gets in your way while you're on duty," she continued, punctuating her remark with a firm finger into his pectoral. "The way you dashed that old man against the wall." She shook her head, still swaying to the rhythm of the booming music. "You know we're still cleaning that off the walls? I was going to invite the Empress to see the temple. See if we couldn't repurpose all that rubble for a shipyard." She smirked up at him, her golden eyes molten in the strobe lights. "Can't exactly do that with brain matter staining the cinderblocks."

Her own mention of the Empress dampened her mood slightly. She had liked the woman, truly, but she couldn't help but think she had failed on some level in their first meeting. Because she was all Vex all the time. "Which..." She fumbled for the words. "Which reminds me. There's a reason I came to see you too." Her eyes fell away from his, and she fixated them on a spot on his chest. She still wasn't good with this emotional transparency business. "There's something I need to ask you." @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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“Ohhhh got me all figured out, eh?” He quipped at her as she remarked her job was different. Altair was still figuring out his role within the Empire, and it was likely considered linear. However, it wouldn’t stop his ascension in any way and he already knew he would combat other Sith to get where he wanted.

Altair spun her around and led the dance, stepping through the rhythm and taking her along. He had no qualms with keeping a close hold on her, his arm snugly fitting around her lithe frame, “Ughhh must you remind me?” He asked with a sheepish grin, “I had no idea it was some old hobo! I thought it was some powerful sorcerer that was gonna hand our asses to us,” Altair smiled as he leaned in slightly close, “You were already halfway there to begin with,” He teased with a wink.

He twirled her again and faced her once more when he noticed her staring off a bit. Altair eyed her curiously, slowing down the dance as he looked down at her, “Sure, what’s up?”

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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How did she say this?

It wasn't easy to admit to someone you had met the Empress and nearly blown it because you had never been raised to read basic social cues. Well, that wasn't it either, was it? The simple truth is, Altair had begun to challenge Vex's view of the Sith. And then Varyn had challenged her further. And then the Empress had taken her to the edge of a ledge and shoved her over the side. Vex had spent days pouring over her memories of what had happened, but all it did was make her head hurt.

"I don't even know how to say this," she said. "Recently, I've had my views of the Sith... challenged." Well, that sounded treasonous, so she quickly recovered and added, "You may have noticed I'm a bit of a loner. All your talk of friendship and relying on each other didn't match up with the way I was trained. But... recent events have begun to convince me you were right back in that temple." Vex was surprised she managed to keep the tempo of her dancing up to pace with the beat given how heavy the conversation had suddenly gotten. "So, I want to hear it from you. In an Order that prides itself on culling the weak to preserve the strong, that insists on the accumulation of personal power above all else, how do you do it?"

That really was the best way she could phrase it. The Empress had given her an answer. It went something to the effect of keeping a few close and fighting for them, the rest of the galaxy be damned. And those words had never left her. They made so much sense, but the monarch had also said that every Sith would find their own interpretation. Their own path. And she was still finding hers. But what about Altair? What answers had he come to?

"It's just," she tucked a thick lock of hair behind one of her ears, "I don't really have friends. And I always believed that was the way things were supposed to be." The music shifted, and with it the tempo of the dancing around them, becoming something more slow. Slow, but, still somehow upbeat. "I don't want to open myself up to people who are going to put a blade in my back. Being alone would be easier." @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair was surprised at the shift in the dialogue. The music slowed, and it allowed him to just gently sway while his arm loosely remained coiled around her waist. The tiefling gazed at her in silence for a moment, suddenly wondering if they should keep dancing when the conversation took such a serious turn. For now, he simply kept to the light sway, their surroundings blurring all around them.

“Being alone is prolly easier,” Altair said with a shrug, “But it ain’t fun and it doesn’t get you nothin’. I would be rottin’ alone in that prison even now if I didn’t have any friends. They tried sawing my horns off and made cracks about cutting off my tail. All of that prolly woulda happened if y’all didn’t show up,” The thoughts of what could have been would always haunt him. Altair chuckled a bit to her line of thinking as he tugged her a bit closer.

“You don’t always choose whether you open yourself up or not. It just happens. It makes you do things,”
He said as he smiled faintly at her, “I didn’t ask you to show up at the prison. That building served no tactical purpose. So why’d you come?” Altair said simply, “You knew there would be no big mission or some big advancement for the Sith here tonight. So why are you here right now on the dance floor with me?”

The tiefling leaned in even closer, his lavender hues vibrant, “Truth is, everyone will hurt you at some point. Including yourself. So you just have to decide who is worth it."

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex had been asking herself that question silently the whole night. Why had she come here? He had tempted her with plans for a new mission, but she knew that wasn't where tonight would go. And though it probably would have been easier—formulating battle plans, discussing which planet should fall into the hands of the Sith next, or talking about long dead civilizations had always engaged the more mechanical side of her mind—she was glad it hadn't.

Understanding suddenly blossomed in her.

The hurt that had shot across the Empress' face when Vex had turned what was obviously meant to be an overture of kinship into a request for something. Had she come to this club tonight only to be regaled with questions about the next mission, she might have felt something similar. Like the kinship she had felt between them was fake. A mask to get something out of her. She resolved never to do that again. And the first steps towards that were being honest with Altair.

"Because you were really the first person to speak to me in that way," she confessed. "Some people look upon my masked face with horror and suspicion." Images of Varyn swirled into her mind, though she knew his adverse reaction to her was warranted after their trip to Ziost. "Others see merely another cog in the Imperial machine." And that was clearly her old, dead Master. And XII... He had a mechanical way of looking at her that always managed to expose her prickly side. "I'm happy to do my part. The Empire is my life. But out of all of the people I've met in its service, you were the first who offered me friendship. I suppose I came tonight to make sure that offer was real." @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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She wasn’t the first Sith that was caught off guard by him. In many ways he didn’t fit the mold because he joined the Order later in life. Even though he was well versed with the Force, oftentimes better than other trained acolytes, he came from different ideologies. He could tell she was teetering on the edge of her comfort zone and unsure of how to entirely step out. Altair stared at the masquerade mask as she spoke. Truthfully, he never questioned anyone for it within the Sith. He had never seen Raze or other Sith leaders without a mask either and he assumed it was because they played other roles that risked Sith affiliation. Why else? These people were certainly intimidating enough to show their faces otherwise.

Altair smiled after she finished speaking, stepping back to gently twirl her during the chorus of a song before returning her to face him, “I ain’t jaded enough to fake things like that just yet,” He said with a wink, “Question is, are you bein’ real with me, Vex?”

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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"No," she said, the word was out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Shit. Why did she say that?

Because it's true.

She wasn't being 'real' with anyone. And yeah, it was part of her job. In the borders of the Empire, she was Vex—herself. Altair had met and gotten to know as close to the truth of her as she had ever allowed anyone else. But outside the Empire, she was 'Nahri'. CEO of a recently disgraced company, thanks in part to her own sabotage and the machinations of the men who had sought to steal it from her family. The Empress and XII were the only ones who knew that secret. But she needed someone else to know. A friend. She hadn't realized how much she needed that until tonight. Because it was so lonely bearing that burden — striking that careful balance — alone.

Vex sucked in a shaky breath. And then she let go of him and reached carefully towards the mask that hid the upper half of her face. Her fingers danced, momentarily uncertain again, on the black material before she steeled herself again. She twisted the fingers of her other hand through the air, inviting the Shadow to condense around them. A simple concealment spell. To the others in the club, a haze would fall over their mind if they looked in the pair's direction. Their minds would become unfocused, and then they would look away, promptly forgetting whatever they saw.

But Altair would see her as she pulled her mask free of her face, exposing her violet-Sith eyes and the rest of her facial features. In reality, it was a rather basic transformation. But she suddenly felt very, very naked—exposed. She summoned every ounce of her courage, letting him see the duality of her. "Now, I'm being real with you," she said. "It goes without saying: this has to stay between us. I keep my face masked for a reason. But... You seem the dependable sort."

She hoped to the Shadow, and all the gods it concealed that she was right. @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair wasn’t sure what to expect, but he was thrown off when she bluntly said she hadn’t been honest. She clearly kept everyone at an arm’s length, and for her to readily admit it or confront it was surprising. She had his undivided attention, and his gaze remained on hers. Their surroundings blurred and became entirely irrelevant. All the patrons were too drunk or caught in the moment to consider the pair.

He watched as Vex removed the mask, revealing her face to him for the first time. Right away he could tell there was something familiar about her. His mind jogged through all the details and random trivia he knew before it went back to his comlink - the one he used to score drugs and stay in touch with shady characters. It was through his Naltech comlink.

“Wait you’re..” He paused for a moment, his surprise slowly giving way to a smile. His hand came up to gently cup the side of her face, “..way more beautiful than I was expecting,” Altair finished, giving her a dorky grin because he knew the line was absolutely cheesy. He drew his hand back but didn’t step back from her.

“I ain’t gonna tell anybody,” Altair smiled at her again, “But can I get some discounts on your goods?” He chuckled softly to himself, glancing around at the club, “Did you wanna stay here or you wanna show me what else you did ‘in another life’?”

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Vex didn't miss the way her stomach twisted at the sensation of his hand on her jaw. The way he was just close enough that she could feel his breath caressing her skin. And then he was pulling back, snapping her back to reality, and leaving a sudden frustrating itch underneath her skin. She covered it up with a smile ghosting across her face. She had never been called beautiful in a non-derogatory or objectifying way by a man before. She could get used to it.

"Sure," Vex said, an edge of sarcasm entering her voice. "I'm sure you have so many uses for battle droids." She huffed a laugh, and teased, "I could use footage of your conquests to secure more investors, and I'd probably have the whole galactic military industrial complex in my back pocket by Life Day."

It was strange to be without her mask, her enchantments and a haze of booze the only thing preventing the press from spotting her here. The urge to put it back on and never take it off again seared through her like a swarm of ant bites, but she fought it. She refused to allow her courage to be dashed so easily by fear. And then his suggestion provided her with a way out. Again, her stomach twisted, tighter this time.

What would Nahri do?

Her two lives were blending for the first time in months, but it didn't take much imagination to know what the noble daughter of House Nalju would do with a man beckoning her away from this place. Nahri's tongue was more loose. Sharper, too. And she knew how to have fun. She would march this man out of here to whatever place he had nearby without a backwards thought. So, for once, Vex let Nahri have her way. "A more quiet place does sound tempting," Vex confessed, as if she hadn't just had a whole back-and-forth with herself about the wisdom of doing this. "I trust you have a place in mind?" @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair grinned at her response, “I would have uses for battle droids, in fact. I’m doin’ campaigns now, remember?” He replied back, actually seriously thinking about the benefits. His brows rose as she remarked about his marketing potential, “Is that your very roundabout and scenic route of giving me a compliment?” He asked with a lopsided smile. It was actually endearing how she stumbled her way through some of these interactions, and it only made him want to understand her more.

He was actually caught slightly off guard by the suggestion of a quieter place. He could only dream of the level of confidence these Sith women had. Altair chuckled softly, “I do got a place in mind, but you gotta promise you won’t call it cheesy,” He said firmly. With that, he drew back and grasped her by the hand, leading the way out.

The night air was warm and the streets were quieter than the chaos at the club. Out here Vex was free to keep the mask off and be whoever she pleased. Altair didn’t even notice that he had still loosely kept his grip on her hand as they walked, “It’s kinda stupid, but I was wandering around aimlessly when I first landed. I wanted to have a smoke and some privacy so found a quiet place.”

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They would walk for a while before arriving towards a hill that overlooked the calm ocean. The moon hung low, the waves shimmering beneath the rays. There was a gentle breeze as the wind brushed across the grass and the leaves. There was no one anywhere nearby and the sounds of cities and industry faded into the background. The view was stunning and it was obvious why he had made her promise not to call it cheesy.

Altair tilted his head to look at her, “Where did you think I was gonna take you?” He asked with a teasing grin.

@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Mockingjay
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Vex loved the ocean. The Belsallian Sea back on Serenno was one of her favorite places to visit in the rare moments when she got down time and could return home. The sea here was calmer, shimmering with ghostly moonlight, the cool breeze licking at her face and hair. The night invigorated her more than the club music or the alcohol sitting hot and low in her stomach. She chuckled to herself. "I don't think this is cheesy at all," she said, gaze fixated on the waning moon. "I was just thinking... most men would have probably taken me back to some booze-stained hotel. The kind you need a black light for." She looked at him then, the way the moonlight left silver streaks in his black hair. "This is better."

She strayed further towards the cliff-edge, where the spray of crashing waves could sprinkle her cheeks with salt and seawater. "When I was a girl on Serenno, my father took us on a cruise along the Belsallian coast," she said quietly. "There are a cluster of islands there that rely on the noble families for the tourism industry. Once, our ship was returning to the capital, Carannia, when we struck a storm that sent the waves so high, I thought for sure we would be crushed. My little sister was so scared, but... I was mesmerized." She realized she sounded insane for saying this, and more than a little rich, but she carried on with her tale. "I have loved the sea ever since. Such calmness disguising raw power. It's truly a thing of wonder."

Vex turned to look at him over her shoulder. In the dark, with only the moon as a light source, his long black hair shone in soft blues. His eyes glittered out from beneath his horns. It was enough to make her forget that he was several years younger than her. Not that it mattered. Species aged differently, and Altair had his maturity to him—even with all his talk of rhythms and smoking and nearly getting them killed with a beacon atop an ancient alien temple.

She had never really admired him like this before, but now she took her time. "I'm glad I came out here with you," she confessed after a moment had passed in silence. She stepped closer to him and, despite her instincts telling her to lock down, to recede back into that shell she was so comfortable in, she reached out and carded her fingers through his long hair. "I needed a reminder that there's more to life than just work all the time. Though it can be easy to forget when you're living two lives. I'd love to make it up to you some day. Maybe you could come to Serenno some time. They hold a festival in Carannia every year. It's quite the spectacle. The music is impressive too. Seems like it would be your rhythm." @Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Empire
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Sreeya
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Altair couldn’t help but chuckle at her guess, his face actually heating up rapidly at her very blatant admission. However, he wasn’t the type to back down when something got him flustered, “Please,” He said with a slight scoff, “You’re a lady and I’m a Huttball MVP. I’d have the decency to take you to a five star hotel at least,” Altair smiled playfully at her. He found himself certainly stealing more glances at her than he ever had before. He wondered what she looked like, but now he could gaze into both of her eyes and take in sight of her face. He could see the details of her countenance, the way her hair framed her face, the way she was confident and unsure at the same time with the way she looked at him.

The tiefling looked away and stepped towards the cliff with her, feeling that breeze and the salty taste on his lips as they gazed out over the water. As she described the story of her past and the sea, Altair couldn’t help but smile. It was both from the story and the way she fondly gazed over the sea - a place he had chosen without knowing what she would have liked.

The tiefling looked at her when she gazed at him, and he could tell she had a lot going through her mind. Altair said nothing during that moment, his violet gaze vibrant and softly illuminated by the moonlight. In turn, he watched the moon bathe her skin, the breeze brushing against her hair and bringing her to life far more than the mask ever did. She was good at keeping herself guarded and keeping her eyes from becoming windows to see through. Altair was left guessing until she spoke, her words causing a flutter in his chest that felt almost boyish.

Altair didn’t move as she stepped closer, feeling her fingers brush through his hair. It was a gesture that always sent jolts through him, and it was amplified with the way she looked at him and spoke of Serenno. His gaze never shifted from hers and for a moment his eyes were almost as difficult to read. The tiefling moved a bit closer, his tail snaking around her waist to tug her even closer. Altair moved his face in, tilting it slightly as he whispered close enough to where she would feel his hot breath against her jawline and dangerously close to her lips, “What if I don’t want you to put the mask back on just yet?”


@Mockingjay
 

Vex

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Mockingjay
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Vex was intoxicated by this. She couldn't explain why it felt so forbidden. Were Sith allowed to feel this? To be intimate this way? More importantly: Did she really care? No. The answer rose unbidden to the front of her mind. No she didn't care. Being Sith wasn't always all about duty, she'd come to surmise. But it was about taking what you wanted. And she wanted this. More now that the possibility was real and in front of her. Her eyes glittered a bright fushia in the moonlight, and, for some reason, in that moment, she realized their eyes matched.

"Well," she said, a faint grin crawling up the side of her face, "I suppose I could keep it off a bit longer."

Vex let their breaths brush each other a moment longer, fighting the last remnants of hesitation, and then she was kissing him. Softly at first, her hands now ghosting the tops of his shoulders. Her stomach wasn't just a knot anymore. It was like the knot had burst open and released a thousand tiny spiders to skitter around in its place. She pushed that sensation down and focused on the desire she had felt. Was feeling. And then she twisted the fingers of one hand through his hair, gripped his shoulder tighter in the other, and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.

It was like being a girl again, sneaking away from her father's manor to meet some girl or boy in the woods, between the shafts of moonlight blazing through the canopy of the trees. She drank it all in. The freedom. The desire. Even the fear, because, yes, that was there too. The fear that this was a momentary thing. An experience she would get to have once, and then it would be back to her prison on Belsavis to covort with the absolutely charming people locked up there. But then, she was shutting the fear out, letting this moment fill up her mind. Until he chose to end it. @Sreeya
 
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