Ask Wherever The Trail Leads

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri kept her eyes on Altair all the while, the smile on her lips growing a bit wider and almost sheepish at his blurted-out response. Even with his dark complexion, the half-Annfyn could easily tell by now when the Tiefling was flustered - and the way he promptly drilled holes onto the crate with his eyes only confirmed it. Even still, Vahliri herself couldn’t help the places her mind wandered in that moment - lingering on the casual offer far longer than it should have in that moment. "Just ask," She muttered.

She took a moment to register Altair’s words before finally lifting up her datapad, swiping across her SpaceFlix app for a few moments. As she did so, the half-Annfyn promptly scooted over next to the Tiefling - nestling herself against the crate and with her right side leaning back ever-so-slightly against him. “How ‘bouttttttttt,” She squinted a bit before finally settling on one movie in particular.

“‘The Collector’. Horror flick,” Vahliri reached back to pass Altair one of her earbuds, turning up the volume a bit as she selected the movie unless Altair stepped in with a different suggestion. “‘Least with this one, I know you won’t be falling asleep on me.” She grinned back at him.

She felt as the ship lurched into Hyperspace, a faint knot tying in her stomach. There was no turning back at this point - and the half-Annfyn couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be until they were found or had to otherwise deal with the cultists on the ship. For now, though, she didn’t really want to think about that.

Without really thinking about it, Vahliri idly adjusted to get a bit more comfortable after a minute or two - resting against the crook of the Tiefling’s arm as the introduction scenes of the movie began to play. "Just try to keep it down during the spooky bits." She quipped with a nudge.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair almost opened his mouth to just blatantly ask, but something held him back. He was still flustered, his entire face hot. He took the earbud and popped it in, agreeing with the movie choice. However, he scowled at her comment, “When have I ever fallen asleep during a movie?” He asked, scandalized by the implication, “Last couple times we watched some shit, I recall you findin’ other things more interesting,” He said with a raised brow and a grin.

He felt her lean against him for the movie and found it oddly familiar. It was a comfortable familiarity that he leaned towards. Of course, he wasn’t going to go through the movie without tormenting Vahliri just a little. As they arrived towards a suspenseful build up during one of the scenes, his tail snaked behind her and lightly nudged her from the opposite side.

Altair couldn’t keep a straight face, biting into a fist to muffle the cackling he was doing otherwise. He looked away, clearly having a great time from taking advantage of the jump scares.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

“I'm just sayin'!” Vahliri huffed at Altair when he defiantly insisted that he had never fallen asleep during a movie. While she couldn’t factually argue that point, she certainly wasn’t going to admit that he had a point anytime soon. The next thing he said, however, brought an immediate flush to her face - cheeks turning bright red while her fluted ears twitched around a bit, entirely caught off guard by the Tiefling outright calling her out. “I-..” She muttered, the words catching in her throat at first.

She sat up a bit and turned back to face him - a playful grin spreading across her lips despite her cheeks still burning red. “Well, can you blame me?” She said, head tilted slightly, arching a brow as she gazed at him. “Besides, I seem to recall you finding some other things far more interesting to look at.” The half-Annfyn threw in a wink before turning back to look at the datapad. She leaned backwards - progressively less propped against the crate and subconsciously snuggled back against the Tiefling - finding the crook of his arm to nestle herself into as the movie began to play.

There was an inexplicable sense of comfort from that contact - and Vahliri found herself pressing into it without even realizing she was doing it.

Unsurprisingly, Vahliri was doing a terrible job of masking her growing uneasy as the movie progressed - watching as the main character wandered through some abandoned asylum. Each mini-jumpscare and suspenseful change in the music elicited a faint movement from the half-Annfyn - squirming a bit in place. Her eyes were harshly trained on the datapad screen, and as a result, she didn’t even see Altair’s tail as it snaked up behind her.

She felt the brush against her side, and Vahliri couldn’t help the yelp of surprise and terror that passed her lips - instinctively latching back onto the Tiefling as she brought a hand to cover her mouth. Her amber eyes immediately snapped to the side before glancing back at Altair, catching sight of his chuckling. “You ass!” She gave him a jab to the ribs with her fingers, but even in her protest, Vahliri couldn’t manage to keep a straight face - her lips twitching up and down as she struggled to maintain a stern voice.

It failed miserably.

She gave him a very unconvincing scowl before turning back to the movie - watching for a few more moments. Of course, Vahliri wasn’t going to allow him to go entirely unpunished for his antics - bidding her time before very subtly reaching out with the Force. She wiggled her fingers the faintest bit - faint little tendrils of energy flowing from her fingers and brushing the back of Altair’s neck - the sensation manifesting like spider’s legs crawling on the back of his neck and slipping down beneath his shirt.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair coughed when she called him out as well during prior movie times. His mind immediately went places, places that popped images into his mind of Vahliri with far less clothing. There was no stopping the spiral of memories and images as he gawked stupidly at the scary movie, a hint of panic tracing through him. He shifted uncomfortably where he sat, doing his best to once again anchor himself to the spooky movie. Okay, yeah, watch this chick go down the stairs into the creepy basement. Think about that and not Vahliri and her perfect pair of..nope. He stared very intently at the screen as if he were training to use the Force or concentrating on making the screen explode with his mind.

Distraction came in the form of the brush of the Force against the back of his neck. Combined with everything else, he definitely jumped a bit before scoffing at Vahliri, “Nice try. That tickles,” He said smugly, though he wiggled around a bit to get rid of that sensation of tingling down the back of his shirt. Thankfully this took his head right out of the gutter and he could once again watch the movie he had little interest in. It wasn't long before his eyes glazed over a bit, but he would watch the stupid thing through.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri didn’t miss the way that Altair coughed and sputtered upon being called out, unable to help the smirk that worked its way onto her face. Flustered as she might’ve been at first, the half-Annfyn shamelessly wasn’t going to deny quickly moving onto other activities practically every time she and Altair sat down to watch something. Nor could she deny the places that her mind automatically went upon being called out - very much off in her own world for a moment or two before focusing back into reality.

Her lips tugged wide when the Tiefling jolted from her little Force trick - feeling some immediate satisfaction after he practically caused her to jump out of her skin. His smug denial, however, caused her brows to furrow together. “Oh don’t even,” She turned back, giving him shove with her arm. “You totally jumped.” She narrowed her eyes, though the smirk on her lips betrayed her expression as nothing more than playful as she insisted on that totally childish point.

The half-Annfyn shook her head before settling back - eyes turning back to the movie they were watching. Once more, Vahliri leaned back heavily against Altair - tilting her head to rest against the crook of his arm as yet another spooky-ass scene began to play. In contrast to the Tiefling, Vahliri was both entirely interested and entirely sketched out by the movie. It was an almost comical trend that Vahliri seemingly was the most freaked out by the horror movies despite being the one to always suggest them.

She shifted a bit during one of the slower scenes, lazily inhaling through her nostrils. The half-Annfyn couldn’t deny just how comfortable she was in that moment, and combined with the events of the day, slipping off into a nap would’ve been all to easy while practically snuggled against the Tiefling.

“The cologne is really nice..” She muttered quietly back at Altair, the words spilling out of her lips without giving them a second thought as she shifted more and more towards drowsiness.. It was only after they were spoken that the half-Annfyn blinked a few times, somewhat caught off guard by her own statement. Minutes passed, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Vahliri wasn’t paying nearly as much attention to the movie - drowsiness falling over her and pulling the half-Annfyn closer and closer towards sleep. As a result, she subconsciously shifted more towards her side as her eyes closed - exhaling a breath as she buried her head against the Tiefling’s torso.

Before the half-Annfyn could properly drift into slumber, however, there was a subtle twitch of her fluted ears - her sensitive hearing picking up on the sounds of footsteps on the other side of the room. Before she could move or otherwise warn already, the sound a door sliding open - one leading into the passenger compartment - filled the cargo compartment - followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. The room was dark and the pair were buried amongst a maze of crates - completely hidden from line of sight and tucked into their little corner. But there was another person amongst them nonetheless, footsteps echoing through various points in the room.

Vahliri, for her part, quickly muted the movie and froze like a statue.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair felt Vahl once again lean against him, taking his mind off the movie. He blinked a few times, watching the scenes. Truthfully, he was more into zombie movies and slasher flicks instead of the unseen spooky stuff. However, Vahliri leaning against him made it all tolerable. His heart pounded against his chest when she complimented his cologne, his tail swaying back and forth on the ground.

“Thanks,” He said quietly, a smile tracing his lips, “And I still like that shampoo you use,” He said in return, always liking how her hair gave off a beautiful fragrance. At some point, he finally looped an arm around her body to pull her close, allowing her to snugly fit against him like a puzzle. His tail affectionately coiled around her as well. He didn’t put too much thought into it, but he couldn’t deny how his chest thundered or the heat rising throughout his body.

Altair glanced down at her as he felt her slump against him. He reached his other hand over to tuck a few strands of her hair behind one of her slanted ears, “Are you dozin’ off on me?” He asked with a smile, his face rather close to hers. It was then that he saw her ears twitch and he knew it wasn’t an emotion related response. Altair drew back from her as he heard the doors opening, the movie quickly paused.

“Ughhh so tired of doing these runs,” A voice could be heard.

“We barely make any commission for delivering these. We should snag a few crystals and sell them in the black market.”

“Do you wanna cross that spooky cult bitch? ‘Cause I sure don’t.”

There was a hum of agreement as the men walked in to check on the cargo. They were moving a few of the boxes around and rearranging them.

“How long to go?”

“About six hours or so,” Was the response, “Let’s just sort the big ones from the small.”

With that, the men quickly began to work on the sorting. Altair lowered himself closer to the ground to hide his horns, silent panic coursing through him. It would only be a matter of time before the men came far too close for comfort.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri glanced back over her shoulder when Altair spoke next, her lips tugging upwards when she complimented the floral shampoo she used. “Thanks,” The half-Annfyn said, her expression bright and warm as she looked back at him - a clear bit of affection bleeding into her face beyond anything merely playful. “I’m glad you like it,” She muttered quietly against him, tilting her head backwards to sweetly nudge his chest. It was no secret that she put an immense amount of effort into her hair - the silken locks proving to be one of her largest sources of pride and confidence.

The moment Altair looped his arm around her, Vahliri let out an almost involuntary sigh - her body seeming to loosen up and relax as the Tiefling pulled her close. She felt the way snuggled against her, his tail coiling around her body and filling the half-Annfyn with a sense of warmth and comfort that she couldn’t quite explain. Hours could’ve passed, and Vahliri would’ve been happy to stay exactly as she was.

She hummed softly when the Tiefling tucked a few strands of her hair back, the words spoken against her ear eliciting an involuntary reaction out of the half-Annfyn. “Maybe..” She muttered back. Of course, whatever she intended to say next was summarily interrupted by the footsteps and door opening - immediately shifting away from the Tiefling as she stared in the direction of the noise.

While the voices filled the cargo hold, Vahliri glanced back at Altair - panic momentarily flashing in her eyes as her mind raced for solutions. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone spotted Altair’s horns or simply walked up on their little hiding corner. Her fluted ears flattened against her skull as the footsteps grew somewhat closer, the half-Annfyn’s amber eyes flicking across the room and towards a stack of crates on the other side of the hold. A single idea flashed in her mind, eyes snapping towards the doors where the men had emerged from. If the pair could get to the doors without being noticed, they could seal them from the other side and trap the cultists inside the cargo hold - potentially giving them full control of the shuttle. If there were other cultists somewhere on the vessel, though..

Deciding she didn’t have time to analyze it further, Vahliri lifted her hand - the Force flowing through her fingertips and snaking through the air. Targeting the crate on the other side of the cargo hold, the half-Annfyn flicked her wrist - causing the crate to tumble forward and collide with the ground - the sound of glass-like objects, most likely the crystals within, scattering across the ground.

“The fuck was that?” A voice could be heard asking, the sound of a blaster being drawn and pointed resounding clearly enough. Much to the half-Annfyn’s joy, however, her sensitive hearing could easily pick up on the sound of footsteps growing distant - clearly moving in that direction to investigate. With her distraction made, Vahliri glanced back to Altair and jutted her chin before shifting from where she was sitting.

With that, the half-Annfyn swallowed down her internal screeching as she proceeded to - still dressed in her designer clothes from earlier - army-crawl her way across the dirty-ass floor, moving towards the doors just up ahead.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair saw the events unfold like a real life horror movie. What the hell was Vahl doing? The tiefling had no chance to say anything as she quickly plopped down on the ground. He planted himself down as crawled behind her, cursing this entire idea the entire way. He had to navigate with his four horns and avoid running into anything. After a moment, they were allowed to go through the open doors. It was only after they were out of earshot that Altair spoke in a whisper, “Are you crazy?! Where the fuck do you suppose we’ll go now, the refresher?” He asked.

If she attempted to lock the doors, he would stop her - they couldn’t rouse any kind of suspicion. Not when they had no idea where they were going anyway. Altair spotted a door to the side in the corridor and opened it, hoping against hope the room was empty. Naturally, it was nothing more than a storage closet. The tiefling grimaced at the sight but he heard footsteps. Without a word, he grasped a hold of Vahliri and yanked her into the room, closing the door.

The two were now in pitch darkness. Altair heard the footsteps fade for a while before he spoke.

“Brilliant plan,” He whispered, “Now we get to chill in here for six hours instead of that roomy cargo hold,” Altair said grumpily as he crossed his arms over his chest. He could already feel one of his horns piercing into a bag of some sort on a shelf.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Unsurprisingly, Vahliri hadn’t given her flawless plan very much thought. The half-Annfyn only knew that they had to move, and quickly. Whatever came next they could figure out on the fly - or so she reasons - and her attention was strictly focused on crawling her ass towards the door - dirt and gunk smearing across her nice, long-sleeve top in dark streaks as she shimmied with Altair just behind him - just narrowly moving ahead to avoid getting horned in the ass.

Oh yeah, this was going fantastic.

She passed through the open doors, immediately turning around to close and lock them - only to be stopped by Altair in the middle of her attempt. She blinked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly as he went on to criticize her plan. “What the hell was I suppose to do!? Wait for them to spot your ass lookin’ like a Gallaze in there?”

Maybe she could admit this wasn’t the most thought-through idea. But Altair wasn’t providing alternatives either so she wasn’t about to take any shit. The half-Annfyn glanced around for a moment before snapping back towards the Tiefling, stifling her surprise as he abruptly pulled her into the storage closet. She brought a hand up to cover her mouth - fluted ears picking up on the sound of footsteps that once more passed the door, growing distant until she heard another door open and then close again.

There was nothing but darkness and silence, up until the moment that Altair spoke once more. The grumpiness in his voice immediately elicited a groan from Vahliri, rolling her eyes at the words. Not that he could see her rolling her eyes, but she did it anyway. “Did you have another idea, Altair?” She grumbled in return. “Besides, I didn’t hear you complain the last time we snuck off to a broom closet..” She added in quietly at the end.

After a moment or two, the Tiefling would be able to hear Vahliri shuffling around - a moment of careful observation revealing that she was, in fact, digging through that purse he seemed to hate so much. There was a quiet ‘Aha!’ before Vahliri proceeded to pull a tiny little flashlight from her purse - pointing it vertically and flicking it on.

It was a dim and almost comically small light, but it was better than complete darkness - and it had the added effect of illuminating their faces as if they were about to start telling campfire ghost-stories. She was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was silent after the gallaze comment, “Damn Vahl, that was low..” He muttered quietly as they shuffled into the closet. He had heard the comparisons to farm and other animals all his life, but to hear it from her hit different. In all the years he had known her, he had never used terms like knife ear or other snide terms that made fun of her ears. He barely paid heed to any remarks she made about the past after that, suddenly withdrawing into his mind.

The flashlight would illuminate his expression which was a mixture of hurt and anger, but he said nothing. He reached up to see what his horn had pierced, finding that it was a bag of snacks. He reached up and helped himself to it, popping some into his mouth to quietly crunch. He listened for any footsteps and heard none, deciding that they had time to kill.

The tiefling slowly slid down to the floor with his bag of snacks, his tail coiled around himself like he did when he withdrew into himself.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Even in the heat of that moment and amongst all the commotion of shuffling into the broom closet, Vahliri couldn’t help but clearly pick up on the muttered response that Altair made to her gallaze comment. It resounded vividly in her fluted ears, and there was no mistaking the shock and hurt that edged them. It was enough to give her pause as she settled into the darkness, growing quiet after her comments about the past.

It was a comment made without giving the words a single thought to how they might be perceived - though the moment she did, Vahliri couldn’t help but harshly kick herself internally. She knew the Tiefling long enough to know exactly the kind of comments and ridicule he had suffered his entire life, and even a split-second of reflection - irrelevant to her intentions when the words were spoken - was enough to cause a wave of shame to wash over the half-Annfyn.

The moment that Vahliri saw the look on his face, the half-Annfyn felt her heart sink into the bottom of her stomach - a sudden wave of guilt and remorse washing over her. It pierced deep into her chest, burning with an agony reminiscence of being run through with a saber. She wanted to say something - to apologize or do anything to banish that look of hurt in the Tiefling’s eyes. It was a look that Vahliri wouldn’t forget anytime soon. One that eradicated any sense of confidence or self-assurance and left her feeling like the biggest moron to walk the Galaxy. One that left her to drown in that sense of shame and remorse that just wouldn’t relent.

Almost at once, Vahliri’s fluted ears swiveled and moved within the dim light of the flashlight - though in an entirely different way than the Tiefling had seen in the past. It wasn’t the flattening or swivels that had occurred before, but instead they drooped down to an almost horizontal angle - an unmistakably defeated and sorrowful edge bleeding right into her expression and body language.

She was entirely silent for a while - slowly but surely sinking down to sit just opposite to the Tiefling. It didn’t matter that they were merely inches part - Vahliri couldn’t feel further away from him. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she stared off at nothing. Even with the light - even if she could look right at him, Vahliri couldn’t look him in the eyes at that moment.

“Altair I..” She began, the words immediately seeming to catch in her throat. A moment ticked by before she attempted again, quiet and melancholy albeit easily heard within the closet. “I’m sorry.. I shouldn’t have said that and I didn’t mean it like..” She shook her head, cutting herself short. She finally swallowed that growing lump in her throat and lifted her gaze from the corner to look at his face, even if he didn't do the same. “I’m so sorry,”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Of course you meant it,” Altair quipped back before she could even finish her sentence, “It was prolly a moment of clarity and truth when you were under pressure,” He scowled at her, “You ain’t no different from those girls on Bandomeer I told you about and you prolly talk shit about my ‘demon’ traits to your friends when I ain’t around.”

He stared at the ground, furious that he had to be stuck here for hours. He couldn’t run away, he couldn’t tell her to fuck off, he couldn’t escape. He had to be here just inches away in this dark room fuming. His blood ran hot, and his chest rose and fell rapidly. It shouldn’t have bothered him like that - it was a stupid comment and one he had heard many times over. But he always thought it was different with her. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Anyway, we’ll land in a few hours and can focus on the mission,” He said flatly. Altair closed his eyes and leaned as best he could against some crates.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri physically recoiled when Altair snapped at her. As if the words carried a physical force of their own, the half-Annfyn’s body tensed and jaw set tightly as he spat venom - her face tilting away as she couldn’t bear to meet his gaze in that moment. She couldn’t bear to see the way that he scowled at her - the very same scowl that he had directed at countless hecklers or that bigoted Acolyte bitch on the party bus.

She couldn’t bear to see him look at her like that.

But there was nothing that could buffer the words that he spoke - every bit of anger and vitriol bleeding into his words. They boomed in her fluted ears and proceeded to echo on repeat in her mind - breaking past any barrier or attempt to steel herself. They cut right down to where the half-Annfyn was most vulnerable and shattered her into a thousand pieces. They left her feeling exposed and so much smaller than before. There were few things that could hurt her the way those words did - few people who could cut her that deep - and even if the half-Annfyn couldn’t bring herself to meet the Tiefling’s gaze, he would without question see it written all over her face as he scowled at her.

As much as she attempted to prevent them, Vahliri could feel the tears that welled in her eyes begin to form - and there was no stopping as they began to roll down her cheeks. She purposefully tilted her head away just a bit more than - eyes squeezing closed as she faced off into nothing in particular - a mixture of shame and guilt coursing through her veins. A thousand different words swirled in her mind - things she wanted to say to put it all back together. To convince the Tiefling she wasn’t what he claimed. That she was exactly the person she had proven to be over every year they’d known each other.

But she knew that her stupid, thoughtless comment had hurt him. And she couldn’t help but wonder if he would even believe anything she said at this point.

“I didn’t, Altair..” She muttered, inhaling sharply as she brought a hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks and forcing the rest to keep from falling. A part of her expected him to cut her off, but the words spilled out anyway. “I didn’t mean it like that and I shouldn’t have said it.. It was..” Thoughtless. Ignorant. Stupid. She knew better, because she knew him. “It was a stupid comment and you don’t deserve it.” Another breath exhaled. “That isn’t how I think, and I wouldn't talk about you like that to anyone.. I never have.” the half-Annfyn chewed on her bottom lip, giving her own legs a squeeze. “You mean everything to me..”

Vahliri didn’t know what else to say - or if any of it matters at all. If he even wanted to listen while he fumed mere inches away. Those pangs of shame and guilt - of pain both self-inflicted and from his words - didn’t leave, and she doubted every would anytime soon. And all she could do was slump back against the inner wall of the closet, riding out every wave that crashed against her.

"Please just.. Say something."

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was in his own head and he replayed every one of those scenarios back on Bandomeer. He felt as if he were that boy again - overweight, feeling hideous and foolishly obsessing over a girl. But that wasn’t him now, and he still wasn’t sure why the otherwise comical comment struck him like that. He only half heard Vahliri’s word vomit and even through the Force he could feel the emotional surges that went through her. There was a long moment of silence after she asked him to say something, and his eyes remained closed.

After a few minutes, he finally sighed and looked at her. He always struggled to figure her out despite knowing her longer than anyone among the Sith. He didn’t miss what she had said about meaning everything to her, even though she thought he couldn’t hear her saying it.

“Look it’s done,” He said at last, “I ain’t gonna get my tail knotted up over it,” Altair shrugged, “But you really don’t gotta say dramatic shit about how I mean everything to you or whatever. Just diggin’ yourself a hole there.”

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri was uncharacteristically quiet after she spoke - allowing that silence to linger between them as they sat in the near-darkness. For once, the talkable half-Annfyn didn’t know what to say - a thousand different words swirling in her mind and yet the right ones to help the situation never seeming to find surface. And she couldn’t help but wonder if there were words that could be said at this point - not when she could hardly tell if the Tiefling was listening to begin with.

The half-Annfyn eventually brought her hands up to her face - wiping any remnants of wetness from her eyes as she simultaneously composed herself - refusing to sit there as a blubbering mess, even as those pangs of emotion continued radiated off of her and betray everything she felt in that moment.

She finally glanced back at Altair when the Tiefling spoke again, shrugging and seeming to brush past the comment - though Vahliri nevertheless couldn’t help the faintest frown that brushed her features. “Just.. I am sorry, Altair.” The half-Annfyn turned a bit to face him once more. To say she was caught off guard by the next time he said, however, would’ve been an understatement - having not expected the Tiefling to hear her whispered words. Vahliri blinked a few times in response, allowing his words to linger in her mind.

“I’m not being dramatic,” She said flatly, letting out a faint exhale through her nostrils. Vahliri lifted her eyes to fix onto his own for a moment - meeting those familiar pools of amethyst in the dim light. “I said it because I meant it." The half-Annfyn kept her eyes on him for a moment before tilting her head back against the wall - idly fidgeting with the bangle on her wrist.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair eyed her skeptically as she stressed that she meant what she said. After a moment, he cracked a grin, “You mean to tell me you ain’t gonna say that about any new Sith dude that pops up at a social gatherin’?” He wasn’t going to pretend that he didn’t spot Vahliri cycle through boys as often as underwear, and he certainly had his series of hookups, “Your eyes get huge every time a bro walks in that doesn’t look like he got more estrogen than you do,” He said with a grin.

His tail flicked back and forth to make it clear he was having a great time teasing her a bit. There was nothing but silence outside of the doorway and it suggested that the people in the cargo hold had long since left. However, they still had several hours to kill and they didn’t have the room they had before.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri continued to fidget with that bangle onher wrist, allowing the aurodium band to roll between her fingers and shift around her wrist. For that brief moment, her mind seemed to wander to different places entirely - lingering on those words until Altair finally spoke again. She looked back to the Tiefling, her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly and a groan escaping her as he spoke skeptically.

“Of course I wouldn’t,” She said with a sense of finality to her words. The half-Annfyn wasn’t going to deny that she had flitted around other boys in the past, but that had never changed how she felt about the Tiefling. He was the person she had known the longest out of anyone in the Sith - easily the person she was closest to - and she valued him far more than perhaps either of them realized. “You're more than just some.. guy at a party for me, Altair. I care about you and that’s that.”

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes ever-so-slightly at his last comment. “Y’know, I’m fairly positive there aren’t more than three dudes in the entire Order that fit that definition. And one of them happens to be Darth Raze, soooooo.” She shook her head. Vahliri didn’t miss the grin on the Tiefling’s lips nor the way his tail flicked around - and they were two little gestures that immediately brought the small, dimpled smile back to her lips - just as they always did. That regret about her stupid comment didn’t entirely fade, but seeing the Tiefling grin, even as he teased her, certainly caused her to brighten just that bit.

The half-Annfyn allowed her gaze to linger on Altair for a moment before snagging a little bag of those snacks. She popped a handful before extending it out towards the Tiefling. She shifted a bit closer, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. “Well,” Vahliri said, tilting her head a bit. “On the bright side, I’m pretty sure there isn’t any chance of those wacko's coming to explore the broom closet.”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair snickered as she mentioned Darth Raze, “Raze would break you in half, Vahl,” He couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking about their size differences, “But hey, you can probably go down on him while still standing,” He had to look away to suppress his laugh then, knowing Vahl would slap him for that one. In the end, his mood was lightened again and he moved on past the senseless remark. It wasn’t in his nature to dwell on things for too long.

When Vahliri reminded him of how much time they had left, the tiefling sighed, making himself comfortable against the boxes behind him. It was true that no one was going to burst into this closet, but they still had hours to kill.

“I s’ppose you wanna finish that shitty movie,” He whispered quietly, but he once again made room for her to sit next to him.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri kept her eyes on the Tiefling for a long while - the smile on her lips tugging bright and ever-present at this point - just as it so often seemed when he was near. Any of the lingering tension has all melted away, and the change in Altair’s own demeanor thus elicited the same out of her - legs falling away from her chest as she scooted a bit closer. Of course, the half-Annfyn’s brows immediately furrowed when Altair began to snicker about Darth Raze - cheeks immediately shifting red and jaw hanging open when the Tiefling casually mentioned going down on the Dark Lord.

“Altair!” She scolded, her voice ever-so-slighyly tempered in its screeching to avoid making too much noise in that closet. The half-ANnfyn proceeded to pick up the closest thing to her at that moment - which in this case, happened to be one of those unopened snack bags - and hurled it at the Tiefling - smacking him rather pathetically in the chest in retaliation. Vahliri shook her head a few times, unable to stay grumpy at the Tiefling for more than a second or two.

She watched as he reclined a bit more against those crates and proceeded to make room for her once again, shimming over from the opposite wall to sit beside Altair. Just as before, the half-Annfyn leaned her back half-against the crate and half-against the Tiefling’s side - letting out a soft hum through her nostrils as she got comfortable. There was something about that closeness that was familiar so easy to sink against, inexplicably putting her at ease at once. She glanced up at him just then, her honeyed gaze to linger on him a bit longer than was necessary. Even amidst the dull light, she could clearly make out the defined edge of his jaw from her angle - as well as the way his violet eyes seemed to luminese with a fire all their own. It was abundantly clear that her mind was somewhere distant at that moment, a swirl of thoughts and the previous sequence of events playing out in her mind all at once.

The half-Annfyn heard as he whispered about the movie, a smile tracing her lips just then. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it would only put us both to sleep,” She muttered back at Altair. Even then, Vahliri made no moves to retrieve the datapad from her bag that was still slumped against the wall. Instead, Vahliri finally shifted from where she was sitting and moved herself closer against the Tiefling - closing that bit of distance. She brought her hand up from her side, snaking across to lay over the top of his bicep - manicured nails lightly grazing his skin. Her grip was a bit loose - allowing him the opportunity to pull back from her if he so chose.

“And.. Finishing that movie is about the last thing on my mind..” She muttered close against his ear, an almost sheepish smile tracing her features that only seemed to surface in those moments. The half-Annfyn brought her other hand up to draw across his cheek - cupping the side of his face and tilting it ever-so-slightly to face her.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair didn’t miss Vahliri eyeing him from his peripheral vision. He quirked a brow but said nothing, feeling her get cozy against him. He expected her to take out the stupid movie all over again and prepared himself for a nice, long nap. However, when she reached over and grazed her nails along his arm she certainly had his attention. His face was tilted towards her, and he looked visibly surprised. He had felt her touch before, but it had been some time and this certainly bubbled up memories.

“Vahl..” He mumbled almost awkwardly, blinking a few times, “In here?” He whispered, eyes wide as he glanced towards the door and then back at her. Altair was usually the king of stupid ideas, but this was risky even for him. However, having her all close and that familiar look in her eye turned his brain into mush. He had all sorts of logical thoughts that all crashed and burned.

“You know you’re way too loud to handle it,” Altair gave her a teasing grin before he leaned in to kiss her. Despite having done this before, it wasn’t any less exhilarating. She would get a taste of that familiar metal as his hand curled gently into her hair to pull her head closer.

@Altaris