Ask Follow Up

[Renfry]

She watched him execute his maneuvers with grace and agility. He moved fluidly with each motion, tearing through the beast with the sword. It seemed to react to his each and every call and she felt no further need to intervene. He had the situations fully under control.

She was about to step in once again when it reared up but then the sword pierced through and he appeared once again. The creature was dead, its head rolling to a stop in front of her. She watched him as he came closer, his attention on the blade.

The fear she had shown earlier seemed gone. In a flash it was burned up like the rage he had shown. Instead, she looked at him, the pride he took in his work. Somehow it was... almost adorable. It was entirely not the word that almost anyone else would use, but Renfry wasn't anyone else.

She suppressed a smile that was entirely out of place, perhaps he wouldn't even note the look if he was too focused on the blade.

She walked forward, making for the body but diverging from her path as she reached him. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her. She kissed him deeply, tasting him and savoring him for only a few moments before pulling back again, releasing him, and continuing to walk on toward the creature as if nothing had just happened.

She stopped to inspect it, bending over and prodding the stumps of the appendages and the area where the head had been. Blood pooled on the floor now, clinging to her boots as she knelt low. It wasn't like any creature she had seen before. It was... a hybrid. Like a combination of multiple creatures. She wondered where it had come from. In fact, she was fascinated.

But fascination or not, thoughts stung at the back of her mind. Questions she didn't ask. She held her tongue.

Do you actually know how to corrupt one of these Nexuses? she asked, not turning to look at him yet.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

He was still eyeing the blade with fascination when she abruptly pulled him towards her. He didn’t fight it as she pressed her lips against his. She was unapologetic, something he was known for. She took what she wanted and she captured his mouth with hers. He didn’t respond immediately, but he gave into it seconds later. He used his free hand to begin to slide along her hip as he tasted her. There were hints that he had no qualms with taking it further.

However, she pulled back abruptly, and he released her when she did so. There was no change or shift in his demeanor, and his eyes betrayed nothing. However, he took a moment before he spoke.

“Careful,” He said quietly, “You may fall for me if you keep doing that,” Emryc warned about the kiss she had stolen, a rare show of mercy. He didn’t dwell on it further, moving over to inspect the creature as well.

“I know how to do it theoretically,” He explained, drawing from all the knowledge he had read, “I have never done it practice. It involves pouring Dark Side energy in to corrupt it. It will fight us when we do it.”

 

[Renfry]

His words stuck in her ears. She wondered at them for a moment. Would he fall for her, though? What even was she getting herself into with this? She didn't know anything about him. She hated him but didn't. He tried to kill her but also saved her. They were each fire and ice, but something about him... she had a feeling the answer to her question was "no."

She took a silent breath, slightly deeper than normal. She almost didn't respond.

And what do you think of that? she asked without looking at him, still examining the creature without breaking concentration.

She stood once again and looked to him, turning her mind - by force - to the Nexus. The process sounded dangerous, but actually not so unlike a ritual she was familiar with. In fact, she thought she might be able to use an alteration on the ritual to help with the corruption.

I think I know a way to amplify your power for it, she said. She knew she wasn't even close to matching the darkness within him, but she could multiply what he had inside of him. To draw out his power and stamina throughout the breaking of the Nexus.

I'll need open space and you'll have to be willing, she said, wondering where precisely he intended to do the deed. Not... that deed.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

She asked what he thought of it. It was met with a noncommittal shrug, but she would miss it since she didn’t look. She knew he simply didn’t bother answering most questions, and this was one of them. It didn’t pass through his internal filter to bother with a response.

He didn’t quite understand what it meant, but amplifying his power was something he would always welcome. He thought about the different means of doing that, and they were usually dangerous. Would she be left vulnerable, and therefore useless, to actually pouring energy into the nexus? He didn’t ask anything aloud.

“I’m always willing,” He muttered quietly, “Let’s do it here,” He said casually walking around the creature. This room was the hub of the Force energy. The room began to smell from the dead man and the dead beast, and he only hoped they could get this over with quickly.

 

[Renfry]

No answer to her question was no great surprise, and with her mind now churning over the ritual and the alterations she might have to make to it, she didn't focus on it further for now.

She nodded but it was clear her mind was now elsewhere. She was utterly focused on what she was doing.

She held out her hand and with a flash of green a sword appeared in it. Her eyes dropped to the ground and the tip of the sword dug into the dirt. She began carving symbols and runes into the floor of the cave. She knew this would have his undivided attention. He was far too hungry for knowledge to not want to absorb every piece of it that she had.

The area covered in the symbols was extensive. He would be able to see that each of her footsteps was careful, avoiding smudging any of the marks or symbols.

This went on for several minutes before she stepped back.

It's ready. Kneel there... she said, motioning to the center of the marks where there was an empty stretch of dirt with no carvings. ...and careful where you step, she said.

She maneuvered to the same stretch of empty dirt and kneeled directly across from him.

This will be painful, but I don't think that will be an issue for you, she warned.

Eck lakbean il espend artuth, she said, touching a hand to one of the symbols next to her. The lines in the dirt burst into green flame all around them. They didn't lick at the pair but the heat was easily felt.

She closed her eyes, reaching out with her other hand to place her fingers against his forehead just as she had done on Dathomir. Except this time instead of opening his eyes to second sight, she let the power collected by the runes flow through her and back into him.

She was turning the power of the Nexus against itself. The power flowed through her like a conduit but pounded into his mind like a raging sea slamming into a dike. He would be filled with power that was amplified far beyond what a single person could collect on their own, but the strain on his mind would be tremendous, as if his head were on the verge of being split in two by a physical force.

But there was no question. If he harnessed the power he would have more at his disposal than he had ever felt before and corrupting the Nexus would be like squashing an ant.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

He watched with genuine curiosity as she got to work. His gaze followed every rune and marking she made. It was the only time since they met that she had his full, complete and undivided attention. His eyes followed every single move of hers, and he silently studied it all. All of it was rapidly committed to memory, every little gesture filed away and everything she said was planted in his mind.

He did not question what she commanded, stepping forth to kneel where she pointed. He knew she very well could have drawn something to potentially trap or harm him, but his thirst for knowledge was deeper. It was the only thing that could drive him to danger and sin.

He prepared for physical pain, but what came next was something else entirely. She touched his forehead and the world exploded. His mind shattered into a thousand fragments, and some of these shards cut deeply. They came from the outside, past, present and future. It was the Force in its unbridled fury, and it raged through the limited corners of his psyche.

He didn’t even realize he had begun crying out loud at the top of his lungs, hunching over to dig his nails into the dirt. The cursed part of his mind cried out shrilly, fighting back against this intrusion. Emryc was drawn to the power, and he was climbing a mountain that had an avalanche on it. He could barely hang onto one piece of rock, the tumultuous wave threatening to bury him and throw him over.

He was losing his grip. He was beginning to slip. He could barely see. And then there she was. It was the girl that did this to him. It was the girl that feared him. Except she was fearless here. She stood above the summit of that mountain, and she slowly extended her hand. He despised himself for it, but he reached out and he took it. He grabbed with his life, allowing her to yank him up.

Back in reality, he raised up from the ground and slammed both palms into the ground. His eyes flashed open then, glowing pure white from the Force churning through him. His power and his dark energies flowed into the nexus. The ancient blade was in his hand and it mixed its toxins into what he poured in. He remained crouched on the ground, vulnerable as he poured everything into the nexus. It should have hurt and killed him, but he could just see himself on that summit. He could see himself above it all. At the apex of it all. As the master of the Force. He didn’t know if it was past, present, future, but it was him.

 

[Renfry]

She focused on the power and on his mind. She could feel it fragmenting and could catch glimpses of what was within, but those shards tore through her own psyche as well. Her breathing was heavy and labored but she maintained her focus. She could hear his screams and wondered if she'd made a mistake. Perhaps altering the ritual had been dangerous. Perhaps it would shred his mind entirely.

But they couldn't stop now.

And so she pressed on. It felt like a physical force was pressing down on her and every muscle in her body felt as if it would collapse under the strain, but she held on.

She focused on his mind, feeling the walls being pressed to their limits as if a balloon about to burst under the flow of power inside. She reached out to those confines, pressing down, forming a barrier that she refused to allow to shatter. She didn't know why she worked so hard to save his mind from destruction. Letting him die and be ripped apart would have ended all her troubles, even if they were self-inflicted. But she didn't. She wouldn't.

Then all at once it ended. The flames snuffed out in puffs of smoke and the power ceased to flow. She could only assume that meant the deed was done. She all but collapsed forward, catching herself on her arm as she gasped for breath.

It was several moments before she managed to turn her head to look at him. She could see his eyes glowed, not unlike a Nightsister who was completely enshrouded by the ichor. It was an image she recognized well and she knew the power within him at that moment was beyond words.

She pushed herself off her arm and rolled over, laying on her back and facing the ceiling as she continued to catch her breath. She closed her eyes and reached out to the Shadow, and there was no question in what she felt. The power of the Nexus - once a mix of melodies - was now a slower, more ominous song in her mind.

It's done, she thought to herself. She didn't open her eyes as her mind let the song flow freely through it. It was peace and chaos. It felt like home.

A part of her expected to never open her eyes again. He had wanted her for this and the job was done. He had no reason to keep her anymore, but she smiled. The smile came from a dark part of her mind, a part that reveled in being on the edge of death without fear. She assumed that surely he didn't know what she'd done during the ritual to maintain his mind, and the irony that it may lead to her own death wasn't lost on her.

I don't fancy being prey, she had once said, and it was true. But while she may well end up dying here, she didn't feel like prey. It almost felt like her terms. There was a freedom in having no fear of the end. It shattered her chains.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

It took several moments, but it felt like eternity. He felt drained and empowered at the same time. His voice was hoarse from the shouting, but he couldn’t control it. The energies flooded in and corrupted the nexus that fought so valiantly against him. In the end, it simply couldn’t withstand him. The nexus began to corrupt, and the process became easier.

Within moments, he felt nothing but a deep pleasure from being fully immersed in the dark side. It was exhilarating and intoxicating, and he relished every second of it. He was back to being the puppeteer, and he could bend the Force to his will. It had been a wild wolf, and now it was his tamed, obedient dog.

The ritual was taxing. After it was over, he could only breathe heavily, still hunched over on the ground. The girl was already on the ground, and he thought he could stand. Sweat lined his entire body, and his pains from this plane of existence returned. His bicep hurt from the searing pain from earlier, and his entire body was pushed beyond exhaustion.

Without a word, collapsed onto his back as well. He landed into a pool of the monster’s guts and blood, but he didn’t care. He silently gazed up at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling. He saw nothing but the dark ceiling, but he could see that vision again. The vision of himself on that summit.

He pointedly ignored the fact that she had made an appearance in that vision.

 

[Renfry]

She continued to wait for a blow that never came and as the flow of energy finally ebbed out of her body, the pain in her back returned and she was forced once more to sit up in order to escape the perpetual pain.

Do I at least get a name out of you after all that? she asked. This entire time he'd been simply "that Sith." She half expected that even if he gave her his name he wouldn't ask hers in return, but that was fine, it didn't much matter to her.

She rubbed her hands together, brushing the dirt off of them. She knew they should have probably gotten moving, but at this point she didn't feel the slightest interest in moving, so she didn't. Not to mention she didn't know where she was going now. She had spent so much time traveling, trying to learn how the outsiders interacted with "the Force." This had been probably the most productive thing she'd done in that process so far.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Many minutes passed until Emryc felt his strength beginning to return. In fact, he even drifted off to sleep for a few of those minutes. Somewhere along the way, she had asked his name. He was too out of it to answer, and there was nothing but silence for a long time.

At long last, he finally sat up. He was covered in grime, and he had to clean it out of his hair. Emryc slowly rose to stand, glancing over at the entirely torn off sleeve of his left arm. The rest of his shirt was bloody, and his entire body was sweaty. With a sigh, he simply tore the rest of the shirt off, tossing it aside.

Emryc looked at the girl briefly. He thought many things, but none of them ever materialized on his face. Debts had been owed and paid. He got what he needed from this place.

“Emryc,” He said simply before he turned on his heel and slowly began to make his way back. The ancient blade was firmly gripped in his hand.

 

[Renfry]

There was silence in response to her question, but given the fact that it was followed up moments later by very quiet snoring, she decided that he may actually have a pass on that one.

Whatever, she thought to herself, shaking her head and finally pushing herself back to her feet a few minutes later. She went once more to examine what had become of the room. Shredded remains of a monster and the victim of two monsters hanging maimed in a web. She didn't tear her eyes away from it even though she wanted to.

Eventually she did. She turned her eyes down to her own state of attire. Filthy, bloody, and tattered. She could have done with a bath and a change of clothes. Not to mention a change of bandages, she thought to herself. In fact, she was just considering heading out when she heard that he had awakened.

He promptly tore his shirt straight off and she had to stifle a childish giggle. She knew the reason he did that wasn't to entice her, but she also knew that on some level, deep down, there was a part of him considering that angle. All she could do was smirk.

Emryc, she thought, surprised that she'd actually gotten a name out of him. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do with it, but there it was.

He started heading out and she did as well. She assumed this would mean they were parting ways, but she also knew she could track him down again. In fact, now that she thought about it, could he do the same? Customarily the blood tracking only worked one way, but perhaps with his aptitude for harnessing the ichors of Dathomir... no, of course not.

Where will you go now? she asked, curiosity always a plague on her mind. No reason not to ask. Not to mention her growing curiosity with the Sith may see her heading in the direction of their space sooner rather than later.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc could feel the dark energies pulsating from this place. He knew it would be a promising hub for things like the ancient arts of Sith alchemy. His interests ranged far and wide, and he would have to return to his books before he could return here again. His thoughts were far away when the girl fell into step near him.

She asked where he was going, and he didn’t have an answer right away. His gaze was trained ahead as he kept walking. After a moment, he slowed down and turned to look at her. He gazed at her curiously for a moment before using the Force to slam her back into the wall behind her.

He closed the distance between them, using the blade in his hand to slash directly down the front of her clothing to make it fall apart it in tatters. He didn’t bother reading her perception of all this, tossing the blade aside as it landed with a clatter.

He grabbed her legs around the thighs, hoisting her up to pin her against the wall till her slender legs were around his hips.

“I’m going to go here,” He said curtly and simply. There were no games this time. There was nothing but the sweat of their bodies, the grime and the blood that all mixed together. She could feel and grasp along every scar on his back, old and new. Perhaps even leave some of her own. She would see the fire in his eyes, and he would finally take what he pleased, and what she wanted to give. She would know the smell of him, the taste of him, the passion of him. He would know the sounds of her, the songs he wanted to hear earlier but in their full glory.

Some time later, he would set her back down to stand and he would step back, more than satisfied. He kept his gaze trained on hers as he zipped up his pants. He walked backwards away from her, using the Force to call the fallen blade back to his hand. She was left with her clothing in tatters around her feet, her body marked by him in many ways. She would see the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“You know how to find me,” He said simply before he turned and left.

Just like that.

 

[Renfry]

She frowned as he slowed his pace and suddenly turned. The sword came up in a flash and she actually thought this was it. Couldn't he have just done it when she was laying peacefully with her eyes closed?

She was slammed back against the far side of the cavern and the sword came down, but rather than tearing away her flesh it simply found cloth.

Her eyes went wide as she realized what this was... or might be. He had already proven... problematic. Performance anxiety.

Well, not this time. His grip was strong and her arms and legs wrapped around him to support herself.

It's about time, she gasped in response. She could feel the scars along his back, wondering just how many times he had beaten himself. She couldn't have begun to count them. Did he even feel pain there anymore?

The thoughts were quickly and violently shoved from her mind. She didn't bite her lip this time or concern herself with waking a sleeping monster. She already had.

When her feet hit the ground once more, her breath was still returning, but her gaze locked with his. She was both terrified of him and completely unafraid of him. There was primal passion in his eyes even now and she saw a moment's smile.

He backed away with those final words and she was left in an even worse state than she'd already been in. She leaned back against the wall once again with a sigh. Back to the ship, yeah. Yeah... she thought, but her mind... well, it wasn't on the ship.

//Thread