At the Ends of Change, Paths May Part

[GABA]

She stood there watching Thaed clean up the mess, her arms folding, her weight shifted to one foot, she even thought she felt it tapping at some point. Ebberla glared at him until he disappeared into the refresher. She unfolded her arms and let out a heavy sigh, conflicting thoughts and feelings battled in her head as she tried to figure out what to do next. She scratched her head and heard the water running, she let herself flop down face-first into the bed.

Ebberla was a standstill, no clue on what she should do, where she should go. Thaed had been that guide for her, though his mannerisms on how he exposed her to a different view were a bit unorthodox, she was beginning to thrive beneath it. The Sith told her to leave him, he let her go, she knew why she didn't go the first time, but now, why didn't she? The Zabrak was in the refresher, she could slip out the door, never to hear from him again, or even see him.

Damnit.

She cursed into the sheets. She knew why and she didn't want to let go. With all the loss she had suffered through, it hurt so much now as she tried to grasp the little she had left. Would she have felt any different if she still carried the Force? Or if the situation was any different? She had spent so much time with the Zabrak, Ebb had eventually gave in, instead of hating the creature that caused her so much pain and ever so much more misery, she had come to respect him and while she knew he was a Darth, she also saw him as just Thaed and she smiled.

Ebberla heard the door of the refresher open and shot up quickly, sitting on her knees. The scowl returned to her face and he commented, making his way to the bed.

"You missed a spot." she stated flatly, "Several spots." Ebberla leaned over the ledge and pointed them out. "I don't care if you haven't done it since you were a teen, though that's why it would explain you did such a fantastic job cleaning up. I still have seen a Hutt clean better than you, they probably could have done it faster too. Besides who vomits like that? I have never seen such a despicable display since the last I was on Zeltros." she nagged.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed ignored her for a long time as she ranted, pulling out a cigarra and lighting it. He closed his eyes, letting the thick smoke exhale out of his nostrils. He quietly peered out the window, where the first rays of dawn were streaking through, the sky still an abstraction of red and blue. Simply by gazing at it, he could almost feel the cold, morning chill on his skin. As a native of Iridonia, the thought of cold bothered him, almost causing goosebumps to rise.

As he took another long drag of the cigarra, he realized she was still ranting, turning his head to gaze at her. It was then that the earlier memory came back to him, before he had spilled the contents of his stomach everywhere. As she bitched and moaned, he simply watched her, puffing on his cigarra. As he did so, he could tell she was getting more and more infuriated, his face devoid of emotion, his silence a blatant defiance to her objections. The Zabrak was still as a statue, the morning light tracing the contours of his defined physique.

In the middle of her speech, without warning, the Force reached out to her. It was at Thaed’s beckoning, though he did not lift a finger. Within an instant, she was flung from the bed, past him, while he was still casually smoking. She was spun and shoved back against the wall, levitating a few inches off the ground. Though this was an abrupt action, it wasn’t enough to harm her, her back gently tapping the wall. At last Thaed, finally turned to her, holding the cigarra off to the side between two dexterous fingers and letting the fumes rise.

“You…”

With her levitation, she was at face level with him. He took a step close, and then another, his primal eyes piercing into hers. Thaed moved in till he could hear her heartbeat, feel her tenseness, taste the sudden hint of fear and confusion. He drank it in, his face leaning in close to hers. He lightly traced his lips along her jawline, teasing her, dragging them along near her lips. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper, the spiced scent of cigarra in his breath.

“..need to shut the hell up.”

He did not shift back, did not lower her to the ground, leaving her entirely powerless. He did not kiss her, though his lips were tantalizing close to hers, tracing over them till she could barely taste him, but yet entirely too far away.

 

[GABA]

Ebb unexpectedly was thrown from her spot, she tensed, bracing for the impact, feeling her back turn to the wall, she waited for the eruption of pain. It never did come and confusion struck. Her body a moment to process, she didn't hit as hard as she had expected. Ebb's heart was raced, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment that she would be taken such off guard.

Ebb hated to be embarrassed and glared dangerously at Thaed.

His steps were slow and with each one she wanted to rip him apart, images of her doing so rushed through her mind, and she felt her body reach for the Force, but it didn't come. Ebberla let out yell in frustration and decided she didn't need the Force to do so, she would do by hand. She kept focus on his eyes, not breaking until she felt his lips brush down her jaw in a tease. The Corellian closed her eyes, shutting them tightly, refusing to let herself enjoy it. But a new passion begun to stir loudly inside her, her hate and anger now focused on only one thing.

She could taste the smell of his cigarra off his breath and she gritted her teeth, "I hate you." Ebb sneered, feeling how close he was, his lips just barely touching hers, "I hate you with every fiber of my being."

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed simply grinned, letting her feel the subtle action, his lips still against hers. He lowered his gaze, his yellow eyes no longer piercing into hers. When he spoke, the words echoed within her mind with haunting clarity, enough to send chills up her spine, as if he were also behind her, fingers tracing up one on top of another through each vertebrae. The sensation would travel up to her neck, make her arch back, exploding within her mind, the aftermath trickling down her body, through her bloodstream.

"Do you? Do you truly?"

He did not give her the opportunity to respond, leaning in to gently bite into her lower lip and holding it captive. He shifted closer, his hand crushing the cigarra between his fingers and tossing it aside. Both hands grasped her waist, sliding down her legs and to the sides of her thighs to prop her up. As he did so, the levitation effect abruptly withdrew, so it was simply him holding her up. She was free to do as she pleased. Though he had her pinned, he did not apply pressure.

 

[GABA]

Ebberla closed her eyes, the touch of his lips, his body, the smell of the cigarra still lingered in the air about them. She wasn't going to fool herself, she knew what she wanted, and he seemed to know exactly also. His touch through her body left an eerie, but sensual chill, she could hear him inside her head and she slyly grinned as he gently bit her lip.

Undoubtedly.

The Corellian felt his hands on her waist and thighs, finally releasing her from his Force induced grip, holding her place. She didn't push away nor struggle, instead letting herself go, her fervor taking hold of her thoughts and desires. Ebb continued to kiss him, tasting the spices of his cigarra, her arms wrapping around Thaed, pulling herself as physically as close as she could to him. Her clothes were getting in the way.

She pushed a little more forcefully, wriggling out of her jacket, kissing Thaed softly and letting it drop on the floor. She wrapped her arms around him again, feeling as though she would burst if she released him too long. Her fingers ran across his back, pausing for a moment before she removed her shirt, pulling it over her head and throwing it to the floor, creating a pile. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up, wrapping her legs around him. Her lips left his, spotting him with seductive kisses along his face and down his neck before finding his lips once again.

The odds of what Ebberla Daw wanted were turning favorably.

 

[Sreeya]

--- [YOUTUBE]lQlIhraqL7o[/YOUTUBE] ---​

When Thaed woke up next, it was night again, a full 24 hours having passed. For the first time in many days, he felt refreshed, his energy back in full force. The Zabrak yawned and stretched, glancing over at Ebberla. He didn't bother waking her up, turning to check his comm, where he had countless transmissions to return to Imperial space at once. Thaed was immediately uneasy, pretending not to have seen anything. Part of him considered crushing the comm, getting rid of one of the many ways the Imperium contacted him.

The Sith Lord finally rose to stand, stretching and gazing at the mirror in the room. He could make out his own outline, his eyes gazing over the various scars and old wounds on his body, starting from his chest, all the way down to his legs. He remained there for a moment, recalling every battle he had ever been in. Every single strike, every mistake, every near-fatal experience had conditioned him to be the man he was today. Though Thaed didn't often think about these things, there was a hint of pride within him as he gazed upon his scars, knowing that each one was a lesson learned. Without lingering, he walked over to put on his pants, grinning at Ebberla.

"Woman! Get up and clean my robes! There's still vomit on them."

 

[GABA]

Ebberla squeezed her shut eyes tighter hearing the Zabrak yell about his vomit spotted robes. She groaned with annoyance, her slumber had been peaceful, something she had not had in a while. Usually her slept would haunt her of faces, beings she thought she knew, but could not place a finger on who they were. These dreams had frequently occurred since the Force was torn from her.

The Corellian peeked open an eye, it was night, no sun shown through the cracks of the curtains and the familiar flashing lights of casino signs blinked across the floor. Ebb laid there for a moment looking to see if she could once more feel more than just her skin touching the sheet. Nothing.

"No." she grumbled and buried her head into the mattress, finally answering Thaed. She wasn't sure where the pillows had gone off to, "Clean it yourself. I'm not your maid." Ebberla spat, rolling over to sit up in the bed. Thaed was already getting dressed and Ebb decided on doing the same, her clothes scattered in random places, though with how filthy they were, she would have preferred wearing just the bed sheet if she could.

She tightened her belt, adjusting her clothing in the mirror, she noticed Thaed's lightsaber. Ebberla un-clipped it and tossed it on the bed behind her for him to take back. "I think I only paid for one night here." she glanced at Thaed, eyebrow arched.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed narrowed his eyes.

"This is the thanks I get for pleasing you? Ungrateful bi-"

He was distracted as his saber was tossed back to him. He immediately called it back to himself, putting it on his waist.

"Sneaky. I completely forgot about that one. You could have murdered me while you had me in a compromising position.."

Thaed paused for a moment, eyeing the stump at the end of her arm. As he did so, a myriad of thoughts went through his mind. There was also conflict within his mind. Since when did Thaed want to help anyone? Especially a woman that didn't even want to wash his clothes? He pushed the thought aside, slinging his disgusting robes over his shoulder.

"All right, let's go. For Force's sake, please take a damn shower first."

 

[GABA]

She smirked, "I could have, but I wasn't done with you yet." Ebb replied darkly, letting her words roll off her tongue. It took a moment for her own tone to register with her and her cheeks blushed, realizing what she just said. Ebberla quickly pushed the doubting thoughts aside as she fiddled with her shirt.

She frowned to his shower comment and turned to look at the door to the refresher. She dreaded going in there, but then again, she couldn't argue with him on that one. He did brave it in order to clean himself up. The Corellian let out a huff in defeated protest, but complied anyways.

It still wasn't a hot bath like she'd been wishing for months now, but it sufficed, thinking she had felt pretty good beforehand, she surely felt better now, the dirt and grime cleared as best as she could. Though she was sure it would be a few showers before she ever felt back to normal. Ebberla rejoined Thaed, cleaned.

"Are you going back to see the Emperor?" she asked him.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed couldn't help but grin at her slip up, though he made no comment on it. The fact that she was as red as an apple directly afterwards was satisfying enough for him. The Zabrak sat on the edge of the bed, putting on the rest of his clothing, glancing back to ensure she was in the refresher taking a shower. He then grabbed his comm and quickly dialed, waiting till he got a voice on the line.

"Hey, bro, I need a favor."

The conversation went on for a few minutes, most of it being Thaed defending himself against an onslaught of jokes and teases. The Zabrak braved them all, finally describing exactly what he needed done. At last, they had come to an understanding, and Thaed clicked off the comm, staring at it for a moment. He wondered what had driven him to do it. With a sigh, he pushed the thought from his mind, right as Ebberla came out. Her question caused him to grimace.

"I don't want to think about that."

His moody nature was instantly back, a noticeable change in his demeanor. He was visibly irritated at the thought. Exodeus' death still bothered him, and the thought of returning to serve another made him cringe inwardly. He walked past Ebberla and made for the door. As always, he once again whipped out a cigarra, lighting it the second he was outside.

"Where do you want to go?"

 

[GABA]

Ebberla frowned as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to comb it out. She obviously hit something by mentioning the Emperor and mental note to avoid that subject. They took their leave from the motel walking down the busy streets, filled with night patrons, drunk and happy as they gambled their credits away. She watched Thaed pull out another cigarra and she quickly snatched it from, her reflexes still quick even without the aid of the Force.

The Corellian pocketed the cigarra; she didn't respond right away to Thaed's question, she really wanted to tell him she would rather stay by him. She wanted to learn more, but there was only so much she could do. She truly knew this and was sure the Sith wouldn't keep her around any longer than they needed too. Ebberla looked at Thaed, "Home." she stated quietly, but knew he would hear her, "To Corellia."

She then smiled to the thought of being back on Corellia, she had not been back since the start of the war. She went down a list of places she would visit first and it would be blissful. No Force to tell her where to go, no one picking her out from a crowd because she carried a lightsaber, she knew where she could stay and finally take that hot bath.

 

[Sreeya]

Thaed let out a stream of profanities as his cigarra was snatched away.

"Woman, you've got some nerve doing that. I've killed fellow Sith for less."

He glared at her for a moment, though his evil face obviously wasn't working on her. She simply turned away and got lost in thought about Corellia. Thaed noticed the smile, something she hadn't done in days. The Sith Lord was silent for a long moment, thinking about exactly what he had to do. He had a calling, his own path, his own issues to tackle. It was a different path from hers, though he inwardly knew they would meet again. Thaed called a saber hilt to himself, discreetly handing it to Ebberla.

"Keep that. I'll want it back."

Without giving her the chance to respond, he also handed over the rest of his credits, leaving him penniless. He said nothing, simply looking at her for a moment, his face once again difficult to read. Without a word, he turned and strode away in the opposite direction. Within seconds, he blended into the crowd, as if he were never there, doing what he did best, and becoming a shadow once again.