Ask Naboo Hunting Grounds

[Bri Valentia]

She could feel it, like a red thread through a sea of white. Intoxicating, the thinnest draw brought a small smile to her lips. He was not hiding himself from her, and he was here ahead of her. Truth be told, she could have returned to her other apartment, but this one held a nicer view, and he had bothered going all that way before.

The door let out the faintest chime at being opened. "Goodnight," she called over her shoulder, not even waiting for a reply. The dummy datapad was once more deposited in a safe place, along with the datastick. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, noting the bag on the couch. How... homey.

"How bold of you, going through a lady's bedroom," she teased quietly, her voice a low purr in the dark. Brown eyes assessed him calmly, however, she stood in the doorway, one hand propped on her hip. Observing from her quiet position his posture, body language. Even after the murder, he seemed so cool, calm, clean even. There was an element of appeal there. Eyes flicked to the portrait and back, but she would offer no explanation if no question was given.

 

[Darth Invictus]

It wasn't long before he felt her presence as it stood out easily compared to others. It was a wolf in sheep's clothing and he knew it. The chime from the door indicated that she finally came home as he heard her say her goodbyes to her fellow bodyguards. Ender remained where he was, his fingers still gently gliding over the picture as he continued to examine it. Bri's voice eventually cut through the silence with it's gentle and alluring sound.

She pointed out his actions and his fingers still remained around the frame, clearly unembarrassed about how he was caught even though he didn't give any notion to stop it from happening. Ender smirked before he replied, "I figured it only fair. You tried to figure everything you can about me and I'm doing the same for you." Gently, he placed the picture frame and the direction it faced before. "Is she dead too?" He didn't craft his words tenderly and asked rather bluntly as death was usually step by step with fellow Sith and not an unfamiliar process. It was the only picture of her entire household. Bri ordered a hit on her own father and he suspected his mother met a similar fate, at least not by her hand.

Ender eventually tore his gaze away from the picture and brought to bear for Bri. With the moonlight that flooded the room, it struck off his eyes perfectly and made them shine like burning stars. He closed the distance between them until there were only a few feet between them as the air changed. He stared down at her with an arched eyebrow as he towered over her, his arms crossing over his chest, "You find anything on me?" One of the primary reasons he came back was just for this, answers to his past questions he had long been searching for. The search had been tedious and tiring but it was about to end.

The only thing he could remember of his true home is just a simple scene by a lake. Nothing more, nothing less. Two adults sat by the water with him, their faces featureless and it only heightened the confusion he felt. If Bri kept her end of the deal, it could be the key to unlocking everything for him.

 

[Bri Valentia]

She smirked back at his bold words, staring the man down as he loomed over her. Arms crossed, he was a delectable, tall, hard-muscled figure, and with being denied Tac and Nero, he was the first she would not mind having in her bed. "To know more about me isn't in my things," she murmured throatily up at him, brown eyes glimmering.

At the mention of the woman in the photograph though, she tilted her head, lips pursed slightly.

"No. But she was weak, broken... a tender heart, you know. She could never handle Father's..." she smiled, but it was predatory, cold. Almost serpentine in its' glittering of teeth in the low light, "proclivities," in a sibilant hiss. "She has been 'taken care of' since I was small." However, as quickly as the moment arrived it passed, and brown eyes scanned those of silver with a coy smirk on her lips.

"Of course. A lady always holds her word. Follow me."

Turning away, she took care to take off her heels, unpin her hair as she walked back to the black bag. From within, a datapad and a datastick, set on the coffee table.

"I've taken the liberty of both on and off records," she commented as she breezed away to the kitchen, a silent shadow in the dark. "I will get some tea while you read."

After all, she had all the time in the world now, and so did he.

 

[Darth Invictus]

The distance between them was close and when she murmured her things wasn't how to figure more about her, something tugged within, a deep hunger for her he hadn't experienced in a long time as both of them gazed at each other. She was striking and Ender shamelessly let his eyes drift down her physique and examined every inch and curve. He let an inviting smile spread across his lips as his thoughts started to drift to different scenarios with her. "I'd be open to new methods."

When Bri described the woman the way she did, he realized there was no love lost at all with her and her blood relatives. She was a predator, through and through but for some reason, that aspect ignited a want within him. He was playing with fire but he wanted to continue to stick his hand in, despite the burn, it could give. "Unfortunate to hear that she was like that." The more she spoke of her family, the more he realized how she became what she was and he wondered what "proclivities" her father did. When she mentioned that she had found information about him, however, he straightened his posture as his mind refocused with a new intensity in his eyes and an eagerness.

Ender gestured with his hand for her to lead the way as he followed behind. He took the moment to appreciate the view once more as her brown locks were released and stretched down her back. His eyes flicked down and up once more as he suspected it was on purpose by her end. But when she put down the datapad and stick, his attention immediately snapped to it and only it. He made his way over to the couch and sat down across the devices, his gaze lingering on them for a few moments. Ender registered her words but they were simply too hard to grasp with the datapad there that contained his past.

After a few moments, he finally stretched forward and inserted the stick into the datapad with a click. It uploaded the files in a matter of moments and his eyes soon reflected the screen as it showed a picture of him when he was a kid. His eyes had still been silver but not as intense. Ender started to comb through the documents that were attached, scanning each line and rereading over them twice to make sure he didn't miss anything. As he read further, he eventually let out a deep chuckle at the contents, "I have a juvie record. I'm not even that shocked." He had always been a trouble starter.

 

[Bri Valentia]

It wasn't unusual for their kind to put business before pleasure; she wasn't exempt, and a deal was a deal. That way, any outside activities could be done without the deal hanging around in the atmosphere like a bad odor. She walked in the dark kitchen, knowing everything by touch. In stark contrast to Senator Valentia's apartment, hers was free of most clutter, practically minimalist in its' aesthetic.

A single teapot, with hot water, and carefully filling the filter with loose leaf tea. The scent of cinnamon and other spices filled the air as she collected a cup and paced back quietly, listening to his words. "A troublemaker... I knew I had to keep an eye on you," she teased quietly, setting down both teapot and cup before casually draping herself down on the other end of the couch, mindful to move his bag with a light flick of her fingers to the armchair next to it.

The way he said it... like he didn't know. Brown eyes assessed the silver-eyed man with curiosity and hunger, equally, both tamped down but still burning within. There were questions, but she wouldn't speak them aloud just yet. Instead she leaned back against the armrest, full lips tilted into a grin. "I hope you've found some answers you sought," her voice was soft, low in the light. "And that datastick is yours to keep, should you want. Or I can have it destroyed, your choice."

 

[Darth Invictus]

The room soon flooded with the smell of cinnamon and other ingredients as it gave the place a nice aroma. In response to her words, he chuckled softly, "I think you'll find that I'm rather hard to keep up with." There was an undertone to his words as even she would be able to sense the slight hunger in them. But it was also true as Ender was always on the move and sometimes didn't even know where he was going to go next. It was the life he lived and one he had grown used to at this point in time. But his still were never removed from the datapad, even when she sat down on the couch and moved his things.

His eyes moved at a constant pace, continually reading whatever was written about him. It outlined his education, his old address but more importantly, it listed his last days on Naboo. Apparently, he had gotten in a "verbal argument" with his parents before eventually, an unnatural phenomenon happened and their entire house nearly caved in on itself. Without needing it confirmed, It had been the first time he ever displayed any notions of being a force user and his parents were quick to realize what that meant as well. From the documents, he had been sent to some undisclosed facility afterward but never arrived. That's when flashes of the Imperial doctor came into his vision and himself on an operating table.

Ender had finally found what he had been searching for, the missing pieces of the puzzle to his life. But nothing changed, the walls didn't come crashing down or he wasn't hit with a new epiphany that would change his life. He had expected something greater but he just felt more... complete than he did before if that meant anything. When Bri commented that she hoped that he had found the answers he sought, he gently tossed the datapad on the table before huskily murmuring, "Well, not all of them." He turned to face her on the couch as he opened his hand and directed his fingers toward her, his features changing once he laid eyes on her.

Bri would start to be gently pulled across the couch and right towards him. Ender's burning silver gaze never left her eyes and it seemed to grow brighter with every inch she got closer to him. When there would be barely any space separating them, his arm would smoothly snake around her hip and pulled her up onto his lap to let her straddle him comfortable. His arm would remain around her curvy waist, as he kept her tight against his muscular frame and let her feel the heat that radiated off him. Only a few inches separating their faces as she would be able to feel the tips of his breath. "I still have some questions about you." Ender stared up at her, the silver pools that were his eyes appearing like vast oceans as they crashed and fluctuated with desire.

 

[Bri Valentia]

When he pulled her into his lap she obliged, folding her legs to either side of his hips and resting squarely in his lap, knees adding just enough pressure to keep him against her firmly. Though there was time for subtlety, there was a certain charm to frankness, and she had her moments definitely. Silvery eyes gleamed almost brighter than the moonlight, and her lips curved in a wicked smile as his arm wrapped around her hips.

At his statement of questions, a low chuckle hummed in the air between them as she leaned in, brown eyes flicking between a glance at his lips, then back up to his eyes. Fingertips ghosted up in the narrow space between them over his stomach, then up his chest until the slightest touch framed his jaw. Eyes half lidded, she leaned in as though to close the distance to kiss him---

And instead turned her head away, lips a breath away from the pulse of his throat. He would feel the warmth of her breath, even the ghost of lips as her voice breathed against the skin there. Teasing him with the promise of teeth if he moved, the press of her lips.

"Then ask," she murmured, a smile still in her voice. The air in the room warmed ever so slightly, energy flickering in the air as though in anticipation. In either fighting or anything else, it was this way. She would like to tease it out of him ever so slowly. He would possibly hate her for it... but that was all part of the game. Gentle actions were all well and good, but there was hunger flickering through brown eyes, in the calm voice.

She could entertain his thirst for curiosity for now, but she wasn't here to be unwrapped from her past or self. There was a hunger and ambition in him she enjoyed, and she intended to enjoy it for as long as he intended to pin her there. However long he intended to stay.

"After all, I have plenty of time now."

 

[Darth Invictus]

With the proximity between them, Ender's hunger continued to multiply steadily as his fingers dug into her skin. The change in the air was unquestionable and felt like little bolts of electricity flowed through them. He felt her finger trail along his abdomen and the muscle all the way to his chest as her little touch lit a fire wherever it was dragged across his body. Just that small dose of contact made him want her and keep having her until he had his fill.

Bri finally began to lean down for their lips to connect and as he was about to oblige as he leaned forward as well. However, she tilted her head the other way and instead went for his neck as he could only let out a husky chuckle in response. It was close enough that her lips had tugged his bottom one slightly but he felt her then start to kiss the skin and give a little nibble here and there. It raised the hairs on the back of his neck and drove him crazy and his arm snaked around her tighter and pulled her even closer if it was possible. Ender turned his head to let her have his fun.

Eventually, he let his hand that was on her hip slide back and to her rear before it traveled up. Ender lightly dragged his fingers to trace her spine and dress before they eventually weaved through her hair. He tightened his grip and with a gentle but still sharp tug, he brought her head back by her hair and exposed her neck as he forced her to look up at the ceiling. His other free arm replaced his previous one and wrapped around her inviting waist, keeping her snug against him once more.

Ender dipped his head forward as his lips pressed against the valley in her chest before up to her collar bone and traced that to her slender shoulder. She would get the similar treatment of nibbles as she would feel him bite at her flesh before slowly kissing it afterward. "I want to know how you feel." His words were barely above a whisper, the heat of his breath colliding against her smooth skin. His one hand on her hip began to explore her body, his fingers pressing through the soft fabric as he answered his imagination.

Ender's lips continued from her shoulder and up to her neck, lightly grazing the skin as he paid attention along the nape of her neck. "I want to know how you scream." His words struck her skin and were slightly muffled as he directed his lips to the base of her throat and went up from there. Ender stopped when his lips hovered just a few inches away from her's, "I want to know how you taste." In a split second, he spun them around so that Bri would be underneath him as he placed his hands beside her head to keep him from crushing her. His hips nestled within hers as she would see a predatory streak shoot through his eyes. Without hesitation, his lips claimed hers as his hunger would finally spill through and attempt to be sated.

 

[Bri Valentia]

Before her lips were parted from his throat, she nibbled and bit before pressing her lips over them, a possessive hunger sparking to life in her veins. Warmth sparked where his hand traveled from her hips on up her back, and she groaned low in her throat when her head was forced back, bowing her spine into the motion and feeling her bare her teeth.

As his lips traveled from her chest up, the hand pressed against his chest curled into a fist, breath leaving her lips in a rush and a low growl. She relished the pain of it, her neck angled, body pliant as his other hand explored. She would bide her time, pulse thundering as he teased with both bites and kisses. A slow shiver crawled up her spine at the muffled words to her throat, and brown eyes sparked faintly. He wanted to hear her scream, did he?

As he paused before her lips, her mouth parted slightly, leaving in a gasp as suddenly she was on her back and he was hovering over her.

A wicked grin would be the last expression he would see on her lips when she met him halfway, lips clashing against him almost angrily as the frustration crested. Two could play this little game; one hand traveled lower, close to their hips, while the other threaded through his own hair, pulling him in closer. First to tug off his shirt, there were too many clothes in the way. Pulling back to bite on his lower lip, not hard, but enough to drag him closer as legs wrapped around his waist.

When she spoke again, her voice was a low, throaty purr between them. "Then stop talking and figure it out," she challenged him, then pulled him down again, thighs squeezing around his waist and her nails gliding dangerously close to skin, a tease and a promise over his own skin.

By the time this would be over, she would have her way as well.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Bri's lips clashed with his as they danced together, it rough as both knew what it was and their plain desire taking over. Ender felt her hand travel down his torso and even lower as he let out a soft groan in her mouth in response. It wouldn't be long before she felt how he ached to have her in the heated moment. When she tugged at his shirt, he sat up slightly and helped in the process as he lifted it from the hem and exposed his skin. It had been damaged numerous times as she could see the small cuts across the strong physique and it was that of warriors.

His eyes drank in every detail of her from his eagle view before he was pulled down and felt her bite his lip. After she spoke, his hand slid up her body and to her throat, squeezing lightly as he pulled back away from her's slowly. "Gladly." He murmured huskily right above her, his face only hovering a few inches away. Without hesitating, his lips claimed her's once more as his other hand began to remove her dress and the rest of the obstacles for them.

---​

Their activities had transferred to her bedroom and by the time he had woken up, Bri was still asleep on her side as the sheets covered half of her. Ender ran a hand through his hair as memories of last night played through his mind. It was nice, it was more than nice as it served as a suitable way for him to forget about people and things that plagued his mind. It was a reprieve and one he needed. With quiet grace, he got up from the bed and began to dress in the clothes he had brought into her room. When he finished, he offered a glance to Bri and maintained it for a few moments before he stepped out and into the living room.

He stopped at his bag and began to stow his things in it and pack it up for his departure. It was time for him to go like he always had. Last night didn't change anything for him except make it easier for him to leave his planet. Ender thought he would have stayed at his home longer but it was his time to go before it got complicated.

 

[Bri Valentia]

She woke the dreamless sleep that the guiltless and the dead slept. Deep, undisturbed, without nightmares or care. However, at the slightest movement, the faintest change of breath she was awake. So many years used to waking up to pain by her Master, to torment and pain. Though her skin was unblemished, some scars never healed. But she didn't move until he left the room. When she did, she stretched and relished the soreness.

The bruises, the feeling of a night well spent was one she needed to ease the edge off the tension from last night. She had felt his eyes on her; did he expect that she would develop feelings overnight? What an adorable thought. She was broken, such emotions were beyond her scope or care.

So when he began packing, she merely pulled on a silken robe and padded into the living room, breezing into the kitchen. She had her fill of him, there was no need to cling on any longer. She checked her comm for messages from either Tacitus or Nero; both of them had vanished on her, and she frowned at the flash of no new messages before setting the comm on the counter with a sigh.

She waited until he left. The datastick was gone. Her father was gone for good; one last weak, spineless man erased from galactic memory, and a position was left open. She could play the bereaved daughter. The lone rock, and when the Eternal's plans came to fruition, she would savor the ashes that came.

I'd rather be the Queen of the Ashes than the Queen of nothing.

A bitter, twisted smile touched her lips as eyes flashed gold. The apartment was empty, and she was alone. Caf dripped into a black cup, and when she took it, the bitter smell wended through the air.

She gazed into the sunrise, leaning back into the armchair with a content sigh. It was a new day. Changes were coming... and she pulled out the other datastick from her bag, smirking.

"Ender Halcyn..." she chuckled, golden eyes sparkling. "You've made a fine addition to my collection." With a twist of her fingers, it elevated from her palm. A wall painting slid aside, and a safe beeped open, where it nestled with so many other datasticks. So many other lives, so many other secrets. She shut the safe, the painting slid back into place as she sat back, sipping her caf. Copies of everything. Always erase your tracks, and burn your bridges. They would never cross paths again... but she didn't mind at all.

After all, his hatred, his anger, and his passion left their marks, as she had branded hers. Just as she would on the rest of the galaxy. It was a new dawn, and a new day...

And she was feeling good.

//End Thread