Ask The Err's of Pirates

[Asminys]

He watched the younger Sith clean the instruments with which he wreaked such havoc upon his own body through lidded eyes. He wanted to be angry, wanted to hate him. Maybe later. Emryc didn't look at him as he replied, not with an answer but with a question. He was beginning to think that this was typical of the man.

"Should it?" He asked. He hauled himself up from his sitting position, regaining his feet wearily. He approached the Sith's back once more. The wounds looked deep, perhaps deeper than last time. He wondered again just what the Sith had purged from himself this time. Perhaps he should just ask.

"What weakness do you seek to destroy today." Not really a question, because he expected no answer. Scars old an new marred the man's flesh, and those in turn were layered with a fresh coat of suffering. He reached out, laid a single finger on one of the old scars. "What sin caused this?" He murmured, the finger grazed the scar ever so lightly, perhaps light enough that the deadened nerves wouldn't feel it. "Or this?" His touch bolder, as he brushed one of the fresh scars from the current batch, the feeling of the fresh wound different from that of the old.

He wondered if he was too bold in his questioning. But he was too tired to care.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc’s jaw tightened as Asminys rose and began to trace along the wounds. It was a mixture of pain and something else. Something that he fought hard to strike from himself. He heard Asminys speak softly, the rage notably absent from his words. There had been a thousand walls that had been shattered, and Emryc wondered if those ice walls had been melted along with the blood on his skin from earlier.

He caught that jolt again, but he stopped it once more. This time it made its way to the middle of his back, and it reminded him that he still had work to do. Asminys was bold and yet he questioned his own gestures. Emryc could feel the uncertainty, and it permeated like a sweet smell to him.

Before Asminys could continue to trace along his back, Emryc slowly turned around to face the man. He spun where he had stood, and this put him close to Asminys. It put him much closer than before, and Asminys suddenly found himself staring into those vacant, cold eyes up close. The silver pools were empty, bearing within them a tranquility that was fashioned and honed by pain. It was a complete dichotomy from the heat between their bodies.

He gazed into the older Sith’s own eyes, where the vibrant gold had melted to a honeyed hue. When Emryc spoke, it was barely above a whisper.

“Perhaps I am atoning for us both.”

 

[Asminys]

He could feel Emryc tense under his touch, the ghost of a tremor that the younger Sith stopped before it could start. He wanted to continue tracing the lines that covered his back, but before he could, Emryc had whirled on him. At first he thought he would be met with rage, but he was wrong.

Just those empty pools of silver. Cold, remorseless. Calculated. He wondered if what he said next was calculated, or if he spoke from a place other than that constantly turning mind. He could feel the heat radiating between their chests, so close that it wouldn't take much to touch. If he wanted to, it would take but a movement to lean in and steal what he had desired earlier, though far gentler than he had imagined earlier.

"What sins have we committed, that I should not bear the price of as well?" He asked in earnest. If he had sinned, then he wished to know. If he had misstepped in his path, then he deserved to hear why. If it was both of their sin, then why did it feel so right.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Asminys didn’t back down. He didn’t have that spike of rage that he normally did. Emryc stood his ground as well, meeting his gaze silently. Nothing was betrayed in his face, his mind reaching levels of serenity that would make Jedi envious. It was a path he walked, and it was a very narrow path that he always had the threat of falling off.

When Asminys spoke, Emryc’s jaw tightened. However, as he parsed through the words, there was a faint grin that began to form again. He simply couldn’t help it, and after a certain point he didn’t want to. He stood so close to the man, and he could make out every detail of the tattoos. He could tell where he had scars instead of ink, and he could smell the sweat off him from their battle earlier.

“You are in the habit of carrying your sins instead of repenting for them,” Emryc said flatly, “They live inside you, unbridled, unchained and roaming free. They simmer below the surface, waiting for the moment to devour you,” He spoke as he gazed into the older Sith’s eyes. It was as if his gaze pierced in and buried deep into the confines of his psyche.

“You can clean the blood off yourself a thousand times,” Emryc spoke, “But it matters not if you purposely miss the same spot,” He leaned in a bit closer and murmured softly, “Every single time.”

 

[Asminys]

He could tell that his words had struck a nerve, so close that the tightening in Emryc's jaw was visible to Asminys eyes even as they gazed deeply into Emryc's. His words struck deep as he spoke, spoke true to a part inside Asminys. His eyes flashed as Emryc leaned in closer, so close he could almost taste his breath as he whispered to him.

The beast within rattled its cage as it cried out at the words that struck it. The cage was ironclad, formed over years of torment as he had learned to lock away his rage, to save it for when it was needed. It did not live unchained and free, but it bled with the wounds of a thousand cuts, felt the pain of every evil deed done in the name of power. Blood pooled in its cage and spilled over into his psyche, always. So much blood. The path behind was soaked with it and the future promised so much more.

So much blood.

The anger returned to his eyes. Not quite rage, softer, but still there. He was so tired, had been so tired for so long and only his anger gave him strength. It was exhausting.

His hand came up to Emryc's face, hesitantly at first before gently touching his cheek, traveling back to trace under his hair under his ear. He leaned in, letting his forehead bump against Emryc's as he gazed into his eyes, the beast still roaring under the surface of their light, its rage visible behind the bars of its cage.

"Sin with me. Then show me. Teach me how to repent." He whispered. The rage that burned within his chest lay locked away behind a yearning ache that pounded with each beat of his still human heart, however shriveled and cold it was.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc had expected many things. The rage. Another slap. Being bodily thrown from the room. Anything else.

All of those things would have been preferable to what Asminys did instead. Emryc saw that simmering rage in his eyes, but Asminys did what Emryc did with the jolts down his spine. He tempered it, he controlled it and he bottled it. Or it was simply too exhausted to charge through.

Emryc felt the touch against his face, tracing along his jawline to rest behind his ear. He didn’t react at first, feeling Asminys touch their foreheads together. There was no distance to allow him to smugly grin at the man. His heart beat rapidly, and it wasn’t something he could actively temper.

And then he knew where that rage had gone. Asminys hadn’t locked it away, he simply channeled it. It came in the form of his words. It came in the form of changing the battlefield. They had their own battlefields, but now Asminys had joined his arena, and he spoke in his language. There was nothing to argue when the playing field was of his own making.

The cold stare lowered at last, and he could breathe in Asminys for the first time. He didn’t have to reach out with the Force to feel what churned within his mind. It was the sweetest sin, and it was intoxicating. But it was still a sin. It was a sin from that part of Asminys that survived the Cadre and every attempt of the galaxy to snuff it out. It was the single bit of life in an entirely barren land.

Emryc exhaled slowly as he tilted his head to the side. His lips pressed against the crook of Asminys’ neck and he traced the lightest, feathery kisses up along the length of it. He arrived near the jawline as the hand that held the whip slowly came up behind Asminys. One of the hooked ends slowly raked along his back, just barely breaking skin as he dragged it along.

Emryc’s lips pressed along Asminys’ jawline, placing deeper tender kisses along the path towards his lips. The hook dug a little deeper that time, just enough to draw the faintest hint of blood. His lips finally arrived against Asminys’, and he paused there.

“The price will only get higher…” Emryc whispered against his lips.

 

[Asminys]

Asminsy could feel some of the tension leave Emryc a few moments after his request, or offer. He wasn't sure quite what it had been, too caught up in the moment and he was far too gone to analyze it now as he felt the tips of Emryc's lip against his neck. It took everything in him to contain the shiver that shot down his spine, only to lose that control for a fraction of a second as a small spike of pain dragged across his back, one of the barbs of the younger Sith's whip.

A gentle sigh escaped his lips, a release of control as he closed his eyes. Savoring. The small and human part within him cried out for release, given hope by the touch of affection only to shrink back as the barbs dug deeper. Then Emryc was whispering against his lips and he could almost taste him. His heart pounded and he knew the price, knew what he had offered in exchange for the sweetest of sins as blood began to slowly drip down his back.

"Then make it worth the cost." He whispered back as his fingers grazed a trail over the other man's hip to settle there, a firm but gentle grasp with which he pulled them together. The fingers of his other hand continued their path, driving furrows through Emryc's hair as he pressed into him, pushing their lips together to seal the pact of their transgressions. In this moment there was no price except one that he was unwilling to pay.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc felt Asminys grab at his hip and tug him closer, killing that final gap between them. He closed his eyes as Asminys met his lips. He wanted to hide his eyes. He wanted to hide himself and yet reveal himself at the same time. He could feel the same in Asminys as he tasted him for the first time. He dove into the kiss, feeling Asminys curl his fingers into his hair.

The sensations sent a jolt down his spine, and there was no stopping it this time. He sighed into his mouth, his own hand sliding up along Asminys’ back to trace along the smooth skin that was so different than his own. He felt nothing but Asminys' warmth and the muscles beaten, shaped and chiseled into form over a lifetime of his own devotion.

Asminys’ words lingered in his mind. Sin now. And then repent. His mind began to cloud as he kept kissing him, drawing from the intoxicating taste of his mouth and the fire that burned between them. The whip slid from his hand, clattering to the floor to free up his other hand. He wanted to feel every surface of Asminys, and he wanted to pull him into the darkness that he asked for.

Ice could burn, and the same held true for Emryc. His frost was biting and cutting, and it manifested in the way he bit into Asminys’ lip and the way he raked his nails along where he left the cuts on his back. He took his time to savor the moment before he pulled back slightly.

He shifted so Asminys lined up with the bed behind him. Emryc used the Force to send him back to where the backs of Asminys’ knees would buckle and make him fall backwards into the bed. The bed that smelled of Emryc, the bed that was already tainted with Asminys' blood.

Emryc simply stared at Asminys for a moment, eyes vibrant with life. The silver orbs had flecks of gold, and there was a sea storm where there was normally a placid lake. He let Asminys admire him from there, letting the man drink in all the details of his body without any shame.

As Asminys watched him, his fingers traveled to the belt on his own waist, unbuckling it, slipping it out and casting it aside. He met Asminys’ gaze the entire time. The fire was there.

And so was that grin.

 

[Asminys]

They kissed, and Emryc's sigh was met with a sharp intake of breath. A breath stolen. The hand on his hip sliding to nestle at the small of his back, fingers gently tracing their path across the unmarred flesh there. There were no scars or open wounds, here he was pure and without sin. He would explore the the sins later.

Asminys burned as the bite of Emryc's frost pierced his flesh, his lip bleeding, an offering. He burned as the fingers found open wounds, gnawing at them like shards of ice as the fire found his flesh. But fire could bite too, and he bit back with claws as the beast inside roared at the pain. But not in anger.

Asminys could feel a surge of frost from Emryc and he was on his back. He could see the storm raging in front of him. His own fire burned brightly in his eyes, low and hot as it lacked the fuel of his anger, though he wondered if he might need it once the waves started to crash. It was a sea as salty as fields of Crait. He knew to drink would be to drink of the purest poison, to risk everything. But Emryc held the antidote.

He drank. He drank it all as he watched the belt come off. And then there it was, that damned grin. It looked different. Just slightly, like there was more than just mild amusement at your actions in his world. Asminys smiled back, and it wasn't a sneer or disapproving grin.

It was a true smile.

-----​

An alarm trilled through the cabin and Asminys startled into the waking world with a jolt. Eyes bleary, he looked around for Emryc from his sprawled out position on the bed. He didn't know how much sleep he had gotten, but he knew it wasn't much. The alarm that indicated the ships imminent return to realspace thankfully stopped and he leaned back, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments before sitting.

"I told you we wouldn't get much sleep." He said lazily as the sleep faded from his mind.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

By the time the alarms began and Asminys awoke, Emryc was already away from the bed. He was sitting on the ground a short distance away, eyes closed and focused in prayer. He was in a different place entirely, and he began his daily rituals for the morning. His eyes slowly opened as the alarms began and settled down after some time.

He heard Asminys, but he didn’t say anything, leaning forward to touch his forehead against the makeshift table he had used to place the figurines. He drew back, staring at them for a moment before rising to his feet. Asminys would see that Emryc was already showered and dressed in whatever clothing he could find on the ship - which meant some casual civilian clothing the pirates had kept.

His eyes roamed over Asminys, drinking in sight of the body he took the time to learn the night prior. There had been passion and countless sins committed. He took what he wanted from Asminys, and he knew he gave the man what he desired as well.

There was just the slightest twitch of muscle in his jaw as he saw Asminys move to sit up. Both he and the bed looked welcoming, and invisible anchors beckoned him to close the distance yet again. He had Asminys several times already and he wanted him several more times. They certainly hadn’t gotten much sleep, and even less so for him. He took the chance to glance upon his sleeping form, pressing his face against the man and sighing against his skin when he knew Asminys wouldn’t remember it the next day. He had willed himself away from the bed and to shed himself of the sins.

A soft exhale and a slow blink was all it took for Emryc to instead turn and blow out the incense he had lit. He began to put the figurines away into his back, his attention focused on it.

“We will be landing soon,” He said curtly.

 

[Asminys]

When his eyes found Emryc he was already at prayer, bowing to his idols that had begun to spark a greater curiosity in the older Sith. He was disappointed, to find that the man who he had shared the long night with was already cleaned and clothed, but not surprised. As he rested for a moment he heard Emryc stand and turn, the feel of eyes wandering his form, burning into his flesh.

He let them as he opened his own eyes, watching the shadow of conflict that showed just under the surface of the icy pool, a flickering shadow but there nonetheless. He would remember it and savor it as he remembered and savored the long hours of the night he had spent in the other man's embrace. He knew he had offered to repent, to sin and repent on Emryc's terms... but he wasn't sure he was ready quite yet to take the plunge as he had into those stormy eyes the night before.

He knew what it would mean. What he would have to give up. He had seen that now, clearly as Emryc exhaled, blinked and turned away. In the moment after the blink he saw the shadow gone, the conflict fading within the younger as he blew out his incense, his prayers for forgiveness complete. Just like that, the Emryc of the night was gone, having moved past the sins and passion. The storm in his eyes had long receded and the icy sheen of cold emptiness once more reflected in those silver pools like glassy ice.

"I'll be in the shower. If you need me." He replied as Emryc put his idols away and left, his words both a statement of intent and a tantalizing offer, one he doubted would be taken up. He sat there for a moment, alone with his thoughts and the memories of the night. They would stay with him for some time as he questioned many things he thought he knew.

//endthread.