Savin' Me

[Jiang Winters]

Rook's jaw hung slightly open as Kusuyk gushed over her apparent beauty. "I'm really not all that," she muttered after she'd collected herself, her ears pinned back against her head in utter embarrassment. Heat had risen to her cheeks, but her short, velvety fur hid the blush from sight, much to her relief!

As her new Kushiban 'friend', for lack of a better word, heaped on the praise, Rook realized it was a useless fight. She couldn't win, not against a little bundle of energy like Kusuyk. She smiled very, very thinly and shook her head. "Naiya. You can call me Naiya, Kusuyk. It's my first name. Rook is the name of my Kiithid."

She stripped out of her armor after speaking - the gloves and boots went first, then the leg armor, followed by the arm and torso gear. She wore a simple black bodysuit underneath that, which was shed just as quickly, leaving her wearing little more than knee-length black elastic shorts and an olive drab combat vest, which hugged tight to her frame and provided a small measure of protection in a fight despite being thin as a tee-shirt.

Her body was as tough as Kusuyk might've suspected; she was not lean and athletic, but rather, was rugged and powerful. Though her build still had its share of curves, her frame was packed with well-defined muscle and her shoulders were fairly broad, lending her an intimidating and powerful aura. Her tail uncurled from the silk sheath she wore 'round her waist, which she untied and tossed to the bed, allowing the lengthy appendage to dance around behind her. A golden blond tuft of long fur, almost identical in color to her hair, adorned the tip of her tail.

"Scoot," she ordered, before crawling up until the bed and tucking herself in under the topmost sheet of the bed. Kushari beds didn't have comforters - instead they had anywhere between 4 and 16 thin sheets, allowing them to add on or strip layers as they needed. In the case of Rook's bed, she had 8 sheets, as was standard for military beds.

She'd been up for just over 24 hours, and exhaustion was setting in. She wasn't about to let herself get petered out, and so decided that a nap was in order. She'd wait to inform Kusuyk of her intentions until after the bunny had calmed down, however.

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk had done as instructed and scooted over to the edge of the bed, letting her front and rear right paw hang off the bed. She flipped over a moment later.

The Kushiban was deeply touched that Roo- Naiya told her what her real name was.

"May I confess something?" Kusuyk asked, looking at Rook with her large violet, innocent seeming, eyes.

Kusuyk was damning herself for mentioning Ruu. Memories of home were making her want to cry. Had it not been for the fact Kusuyk became attatched quickly to those she loved, she'd probably been a Jedi. Thoran saw who Kusuyk was and knew that life wasn't for her. He was too right. The day he died was the day the Kushiban left Togorian and never reconnected.

How I miss home. . .

DSEG needs alliances, Togorian may not be a strong place for trading alliances, but it might give them a safe planet in the Mid rim so they could expand further and deeper into the galaxy.

"What if. . .?" was the only thing that blocked the Kushiban's thoughts.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Of course."

Though the armor had come off, Rook's answers were as short and simple as ever. The feline looked down at Kusuyk, blue eyes carefully studying the Kushiban's expression. It didn't take an expert to tell that something was nagging at the small sentient, though Rook wasn't much of a people person. All she could deduce was that something had her upset, but she couldn't tell what that something was or even guess as to its nature.

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk stood on all fours and turned herself so she better faced Naiya and plopped down with her chin digging lightly into her paws.
"I think I'm in love!" Kusuyk giggled slightly, not completely serious, but serious on a small, miniature, scale. "Tell me about the Lor- Jun. And Mohatu! And your planet! You all are so fascinating and beautiful." Kusuyk had Ruu still tugging at the back of her mind.

She felt a light touch on her back and heard the one and only Leto Ruu's soft, seducing voice. Kusuyk looked over her shoulder, seeing what was a hallucination of Ruu behind her. The Kushiban simply snapped her head back to focus on Nayia and ignored the fake as best she could.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Naiya leaned her head back into her pillow and curled up on her side. "One thing at a time. Our homeworld, Kushaa'vo. It's a... Well, it's not any one thing. It's a diverse place. Much of it is vast grasslands, but there are mountains in the deep south and high north, and bands of forests between the mountains and grasslands. There's the Aegean Sea, a vast freshwater lake, and the Deep Deserts, where Kam's from. Then there's Ialyos, the port city on the northern shore of Aegean, just south of Mount Onar, and... I could go on and on."

She chuckled and shook her head. "It's hot though, and gravity is too high for you to survive. It's about two of your standard gravity units, so... 2G. Twice what you'd be used to. Temperature around the equator tends to hover around 100, but it almost never deviates from that. The deep South usually sticks around 10 to 20, but the North averages in the 40's. Weather is stable and predictable. Snow in the south, rain in the North, windstorms in the grasslands. The Aegean is pretty calm, but the Pinyos Ocean and Black Sea are rough and have a tendency to spawn hurricanes. Pretty stable geologically, no major earthquakes or volcanic eruptions in the last three centuries. Did have a minor one in Mount Onar thirty-five years ago, but it didn't do any damage."

The feline shrugged. "Anything more specific you want to ask about our hometown... Or d'ya wanna hear about Kam?"

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk crawled on her four paws close to Rook and nuzzled her head into Rook's arm and rested her head, "Tomorrow, Nayia! We need sleep." she nuzzled once more into Nayia and closed her eyes.

One day she would go to their homeworld and see it's beauty. See where these wonderful and interesting people came from. Kusuyk really wanted to go back to Togoria. Their homeworld was much like hers, different gravity though. . .

Home.
Would they want me back?
Do they need me?
Have they forgotten me?
Are they all okay?
Are they even still alive?
Are they happy now?
Did they move since?
Has Ruu finally found a mate?

None of these did Kusuyk know the answer.
She blamed herself for Thoran's death and she's never been able to grasp the concept of what happened, much less confront her family with what happened.

Kusuyk hadn't noticed her fur had turned a deep chocolate brown and was still getting darker.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Naiya smiled. It was neither thin nor grand, but small. Content. Genuine. She hooked her arm gently around the Kushiban and drew her in a bit closer, then made herself comfortable. She flicked her tail against the light switch on the wall by her bed, but a moment before she did so she noticed Kusuyk's fur becoming dark. The lights shut off, but even in the dim lighting provided by the night lights set at the edge between the top of her drawers and the ceiling she could still make out the darkness of the rabbit's fur.

"Your pelt went dark. You alright?"

 

[Ash]

Kusuyk pretended to sleep, not wanting to confess. The moment Nayia had let her snug up closer quickly changed Kusuyk from her dark dank mood to a bit brighter.

She wasn't going to be able to sleep well tonight. Maybe she would explore areas that don't look scary and aren't off limits.
Find a small place and talk to her imaginary stalker about what he wants out of life. That sort of thing.

If only she would hallucinate a therapist that didn't scare her and actually was therapist worthy. Kusuyk didn't care anymore. It'd be nice, but with the Deathstick fading finially and her life seeming to find order; there wasn't a need for a imaginary Deathstick therapist. For all we know, that therapist is on Deathstick too!

Sounds... Good. . . to me. . . Kusuyk's mouth spread wide and it released a small, kitten-like, bunny yawn and nuzzled once more before shutting her eyes to the dark of her dreams.