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Realms: These Shattered Stars Logs

Interlude VIII


Freyja's room is snug and spartan, but warm and comfortable. There isn't much decoration to it, but what little there is, is nicely elegant; the one picture in a wooden frame is a single-brushstroke painting of a flower. The sleeping pad and the frame it rests on, set low to the floor, are covered in several complimentary-colored blankets. A low chest of drawers sits against the far wall, with a mirror over it. Aside from a bowl of local flowers set on the chest-top there is no other decoration, though the walls are painted a warm shade of blue and it is impossible, of course, to escape the overall warmth felt within the Satau home.

Freyja smiles, pausing to sniff the sweet-scented flowers appreciatively before sliding off her all-temperature cloak and hanging it on a convenient peg on the back of the door. She settles on the low futon, stretching her arms and legs out with languorous pleasure, right down to wiggling her toes lazily. She starts mentally reviewing the day as she pulls off her boots and socks.

Was a good one, she thinks... Master Roakkana would probably approve. She talked to a Sedraki native and maybe at least confused two worms... they found out what happened to the former Sith lord, and caught her apprentice... she pauses thoughtfully, putting her boot down gently on the floor, the leather cool under her fingers. Hm... Vakkal had seemed rather... unhappy after that. Why, she wonders? Is there something he's worried about -- perhaps something she can help with?

Freyja considers for a moment, pushing her lengthening mane of gold-streaked hair back out of her face. He's her huskarl and Soulguard. If there's something she can do to make his life better... she should. It's a family thing. She nods once to herself, rising and pacing silently out of the room in her bare feet.

Freyja taps very lightly on Vakkal's door, her head tilted to hear if he responds. She doesn't want to disturb him if he's already asleep... but if he's still getting ready for bed too, she'll try asking. Vakkal's door opens, and the Sith canid stands there, blinking, apparently in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt. "Urrr? Yes, Freyja?" he asks quietly.

Freyja blinks herself, stepping back a little startledly at the big dog Sith suddenly in her face (relatively speaking, at least), then laughs softly. She whispers, "Sorry, Vakkal! I was just wondering if you had a second? May I come in? Or would you prefer coming to my room?"

"Oh! No, not at all. Please, come in," He steps to the side, opening the door to let Freyja in. His own room is decorated in much the same way as Freyja's; a neat and tidy room with little decoration but plenty of warmth.

Freyja steps in quietly, then stands out of the way as he shuts the door. She clasps her hands behind her back, looking around and smiling. She's not sure why such tiny rooms feel so nice... but in some ways they're much more comfortable than her suite at the Rigg mansion. She tilts her head, considering... of course, sleeping alone has its drawbacks too. She remembers what a relief it was when she first left home, when Master Roakkana would wrap her up in a blanket and let her curl up against him so she could sleep.

Freyja smiles again. My, but that was some time ago. She still remembers the scent and feel of fur with great fondness. That, and the slow, quiet, deep breathing, reminded her comfortingly of sneaking her frehkee into her room at night after bribing the serving girl that was always there also. "May I sit?" She waves a hand at the bed, the only available place to sit aside from the chest of drawers, "If that's all right?"

Vakkal closes the door and looks inquiringly to Freyja. "Oh, sure, please, go right ahead," he says. He chuckles quietly. "I hope you don't mind me changing," he says, taking off his shirt, "-but after a day or so clothes I wear tend to start to smell very, very much like me..."

Freyja tilts her head curiously again. Interesting... in the candlelight, Vakkal's fur is colored vaguely like Master Roakkana's. Lovely tints... like a cascade of shadings down each hair shaft. She wonders idly if it feels the same too. Probably not, all things considered... Master Roakkana's is longer and more hair-like, while Vakkal's looks more like the thicker, shorter fur of a frehkee to her. She takes a step towards Vakkal, one hand out to touch his fur as he turns to put his shirt away -- then blinks, stopping herself. What is she thinking?!

Freyja pauses, starting to pull back... then pauses again. What is she thinking? Vakkal did say he liked being touched. Zero said she should try just being more the things she wanted to be, or admired. She... should! Hai... she should. If she's worried, she can keep an eye on Vakkal's behavior and see if he likes it or not, right?

Vakkal blinks only a little, tilting his head to the side, one ear cocked back to listen to her behind him. "What's wrong?" he asks. Freyja's eyes widen slightly, and she takes a deep, slightly tense breath... then she steps forward and runs her hands slowly and firmly up Vakkal's back, through the fur. She can't help watching his ears a little nervously... does he mind? Vakkal's ears perk a little, and he makes a curious 'urr?' sound. After a moment, though, he seems to relax -- not quite go completely limp, but does sigh a little comfortably, his ears lowering somewhat.

Behind Vakkal, Freyja sighs almost inaudibly herself too, although hers is more relief. He can hear the smile in her voice as she replies, "I was worried about you, Vakkal. You looked rather uncomfortable after you caught the apprentice... so I wanted to know if there was anything I could do?" She trails her fingers slowly back and forth through Vakkal's fur, stroking slowly, and deeply enjoying the feel of the thick, warm fur on her skin.

Vakkal sighs again and shakes his head, not moving from his place at all. "No, it's... all right. There isn't; seeing another of Khar Velos was just... unexpected. It... kind of brought back some memories, that's all."

Freyja considers for a few seconds, although she doesn't stop slowly stroking her fingers through Vakkal's fur. He seems to like that... and she remembers him liking being sniffed also -- or rather, mistaking her for a female of his species when she'd sniffed at him on Marnaas, and he'd seemed a bit happy about that too. She leans to sniff a bit next to his head, then adds thoughtfully, "I think it's a nice scent. I like the way you smell, even if my sense of smell isn't as developed as yours."

Freyja smiles, "Want to sit down, and I'll keep doing this?" She's not sure if this will help him feel more relaxed and comfortable... but she's trying her best with the little information she has. She's also finding that doing this -- trying to make sure Vakkal feels good -- is making her feel very relaxed and comfortable too!

Vakkal looks over his shoulder, smiling quietly. "Certainly -- uh, if you wish to, that is."

Freyja chuckles quietly, "Wouldn't offer if I didn't wish to." She seats herself on the bed, back so there's plenty of room for Vakkal as well, and pats the blanketed surface next to her, "Come settle?" She considers thoughtfully as she waits for Vakkal to settle. She doesn't want to pry, definitely... but she does want to be available if he wishes to talk. That's a delicate line to tread. How to do so -- that's the question of the moment.

Vakkal nods and pads over, settling down quietly beside Freyja. Almost without preamble, he asks, "Freyja... what did you think of when you saw that one?"

Freyja starts lazily and pleasurably running her fingers through Vakkal's fur again, occasionally scritching gently in areas where the musculature feels tight, as she considers her reply. She remembers the frehkees always finding it wonderfully reassuring when she scritched them... which made sense, actually. As she recalls, for both frehkees and the wild white ice wolves up north, grooming from the pack's alpha told the groomed individual that they were accepted and appreciated... and their way of saying thanks was gently licking and nuzzling the alpha in return. She smiles a bit dreamily, her gaze far away for a few seconds, remembering many lovely, lazy times with her beloved frehkees... then smiles again, pulling herself back to the here and now.

Freyja says slowly, "Well... at the time I wasn't exactly thinking about him. I was more worried about you. I'd just heard impact and a firearm go off... I wasn't sure what I'd see when I came around the corner." She grins lazily, tilting her head to regard Vakkal, "One near-death experience per lifetime is quite enough for you, I'd think, hai?" She chuckles quietly, then says simply, "Mostly what I felt was relief to see you were fine. He was secondary, at that moment."

Freyja shakes her head slightly, faintly amused at herself. She sure is woolgathering tonight! She should focus on the here and now... and on this extremely nice person letting her run her fingers through his fur. She's terribly pleased he doesn't mind.

Vakkal chuckles softly. "Thank you. It wasn't much of a worry for me, though; I could tell just by looking at him he did not have the training of War. I'm sorry you were worried."

Freyja adds with quiet curiosity, "Why do you ask?"

Vakkal shakes his head. "I was... wondering what you thought. He looks a little like me, though not quite my 'brother' as Zero said -- then again, most humans look very similar to me at first." He fidgets just a little, settling somewhat onto the bed. He doesn't flop out though, instead remaining seated and relatively upright, leaning on his arms. Freyja's fingers make faint patterns in his soft, almost monochromatic fur; there's very little patterning, and it seems very homogenous in color. He makes a quiet sound. "I... looked at him and it just... reminded me a lot of Khar Velos."

Freyja nods silently at Vakkal's words, shifting over next to him and continuing the slow, enjoyable stroking of her fingers through Vakkal's fur. She hopes he finds it relaxing and calming... that's how it feels to her. She's always enjoyed fur. After a moment she says thoughtfully, "Well... I suspect Zero's seen fewer furred people than I. My first thought was that he was probably younger than you by a few years, since he was more slightly built and a bit smaller... and his fur's more yellowish than yours. Yours is darker... a bit thicker and richer looking too, at least to me." She considers a bit more, then adds, "You move different, too. You move like... well, more wary-like. Like you've been combat trained, you know?"

Freyja grins, adding, "The other Khar Velosian, I mean... not Zero." She starts rubbing gently around Vakkal's ears. She can tell he's still a bit tense, although she's still not sure why. Maybe this will help him relax a bit.

Vakkal smiles quietly; he does indeed seem to be relaxing, even more so when she starts rubbing his ears. "A hunter for ten years, then a Sith trained by a Lord of War. He... seemed to have barely become a hunter before he left Khar Velos." He shakes his head and sighs, murmuring, "Too damn young, the fool...." A little louder he adds, "I imagine we'll have to be somewhat careful in how we deal with him, since the Jedi here are not familiar with the Oath of Fire."

Freyja nods quietly, "Hai. Quite possibly he thought war would be one big adventure... and not much more." She continues slowly rubbing Vakkal's ears, scritching gently at the back and base of them if he seems to like it -- that always made her frehkees burble contentedly and almost fall over on her! She grins quietly to herself, then says softly, "Did hunting on Balmorra answer your question for yourself?"

Vakkal tilts his head forward almost unconsciously as Freyja scritches at his ears. "More likely," he says softly, almost not quite present -- 'blissed out,' as Fhazil Taas once put it -- "-he had a reason to get away from Khar Velos.... oh... yes, it did, I think." He chuckles softly, "I know I can still hunt reasonably well, at least."

Freyja smiles, looking pleased, "I'm glad to hear it." She doesn't mention it, but she's also quite pleased at how much Vakkal seems to be enjoying her running her fingers through his fur. She doesn't know what cultural messages she may be unwittingly giving Vakkal... but it's enough right now, she decides, that he's calm and relaxed and feeling better. She wonders thoughtfully why she never did this with Master Roakkana... she mentally reviews. She can't think why. Of course, he never asked, but surely some help brushing all that hair would have helped him too?

It's a few seconds later that she grins to herself, figuring out a possible reason why -- not necessarily the right reason, but certainly a feasible one -- he's her superior. It wouldn't be right for him to ask, just as it wouldn't be right for her to ask Vakkal to tend to her physical desires or needs. To have her offer to Master Roakkana, or Vakkal offer to her, would be fine -- because it wouldn't be a potential abuse of hierarchy. Tricky situations, hierarchies... she's seen too often how unhappy and unpleasant things can get when serving folk on Balmorra weren't treated with courteous dignity. She's internally proud her family was extremely careful about that.

Freyja grins with quiet pleasure as Vakkal's head starts drooping slightly towards her as she scritches. It makes her feel surprisingly good to know both that he's really enjoying this, and that the hunt was good for him. She'd been worried for him on both counts. She adds with quiet curiosity, "Do a lot of your people leave your world?"

Freyja considers the little data she's got, from having been around Vakkal. She'd guess most of them don't leave, actually, both from only one person having recognized Vakkal as a Sith (not including the Temple folks who knew where he came from)... and the commentary of that same person, Paladin Dakkan, who'd mentioned seeing few of them on the front. Considering what strong and loyal folk they seem to be, she'd think the Sith lords would avidly court as many of them as possible. Perhaps there's something else about them she doesn't yet know?

Vakkal remains quiet for a bit, simply enjoying the moment and sighing comfortably. He shakes his head a little at Freyja's question, not wanting to move his head too far from her scritching. "No... no, not often. Most of the soldiers in the Empire's military are Massassi. There are few Arkanians or my people, though my people are rarer in Sith service. Usually when we go off-world we go as apprentices to a Lord, or soon are."

Freyja considers silently. She'd love to ask why... but not to intrude. She continues running her fingers slowly around Vakkal's ears, thoughtfully tracing their edges and scritching gently at their base, next to his wide skull, as she lets her mind drift. Hm... dark, rich, thick fur... triangular, pointed ears, with medium sized bases... not like the small, rounded ears of an ice wolf. Still, the fur is thick and close there, so she'd guess cold winters on his home world... or maybe cool all the time, perhaps? Nice, expressive ears; dark, lovely-feeling fur; pleasantly calm, musky scent... she's starting to feel vaguely blissed out herself too.

Hmm... maybe just being straightforward is best -- that's what she'd appreciate most herself too, in this situation. "I'm curious as to why so few of your people leave, Vakkal. As an example of your people, you've been strong, honorable, dedicated, trustworthy... I'd think the Sith lords would really want folks like you." She takes a quiet, slow breath, then adds, "But... your past is your own, my friend. If you'd rather not talk about it, I'll quite understand." She considers, then adds truthfully, "-but if you ever decide you want to talk about Khar Velos, I would be honored to listen."

Vakkal is quiet for a long few moments, just sitting there. He doesn't say anything at all right away. Finally, "I... should tell you at some point, after all. It would be... better that you heard it from me." He takes a breath, then adds, "I had said that few of my people leave Khar Velos. We are technologically savvy, and we know which way to hold a wave- or c-gun. For hunting, we simply choose not to use such weapons. Even so, most of us remain on Khar Velos. There are... familial obligations, and it is an enriching and warming atmosphere to be born, grow, live, and die in. Most of my people are simply not inclined to seek more than this, as far as material or physical things."

Freyja curls one arm loosely around Vakkal's shoulder, to scritch gently in the fur under his chin, resting her chin on his shoulder as she does so. She remembers the frehkees liking to almost drape across each other, and Vakkal's strong enough he may not even really notice her slight weight... plus he just said himself how close they were on Khar Velos. With the other hand she's still doing her best to be comfortingly distracting as she rubs his ears. She murmurs quietly, next to his head, "Vakkal... I don't know what happened there, but... that person isn't who I know. Who I know is you, in the here and now... and that's the person I'm willing to entrust my life to. Don't tell me about your past unless you're comfortable doing so... because your past isn't going to change my opinion of you."

Vakkal seems to be even more comfortable with the scritching under his chin, lifting up his head a little. He nods only a little, more to let his chin remain in scritching range. "I... I understand. It should be enough for now, at least, to say that... both you and I faced similar decision gates, with regards to... obligation and responsibility. And my own choice took me away from Khar Velos."

Freyja smiles quietly, "That's fine." Her voice is low and calm; she told him the truth and while she'd like to know, it's not pressing. She can wait as long as he needs. She lets her head relax enough to rest against her arm, and just continues doing her best to bliss Vakkal out until he either goes limp or falls asleep.

Her mind wanders lazily as she does so... his ears have gone all soft and relaxed, like the fur there -- such soft, fine, thick fur! -- like velvet... and right under his chin where she's rubbing it's a bit thinner and rougher feeling... almost raspy under her fingers. He makes pleasantly relaxed sounds too... or maybe that's just his breathing when he's quietly contented. She doesn't know... but she knows he feels warm against her front, and where her midriff is bare the fur is thick and oddly soft-coarse... must be the longer guard hairs combined with the softer underfur... or something like that?

Softly she murmurs next to his head, "Can you tell me about what a family on Khar Velos is like with each other? I mean... is this nice, what I'm doing? Am I scritching the right places?"

Vakkal's voice seems quieter, almost distant; he seems extremely relaxed and sleepy from the long work of the day. He gives a soft, throaty chuckle. "We are... were close. Bathing was more fun, and more efficient the more people who got involved with it. Yes, you are. It's..." He stifles a yawn. "Excuse me... it's very relaxing, actually..."

Freyja grins quietly, "Glad to hear it... I was hoping it was relaxing. It's certainly relaxing me too. Want to lie down while I do this?" She pauses, then wonders thoughtfully if Vakkal's people sort of 'dog-pile' when they're together. That'd explain both his complete comfort with being touched by her -- someone he'd accepted -- even in places many folks would ordinarily consider too close or personal, like under the chin near the throat... and also why he wasn't disconcerted at all at bathing with her, where Fhazil Taas had been a bit taken-aback.

A bit wistfully she wonders if he'd mind dog piling with her. Only Master Roakkana and her frehkees have done that with her, without her also getting caught up in associated emotional baggage. She sighs quietly, wishing more of the folks she'd been raised with had just liked touching... for touching's sake, without assuming it also meant an implied sexual encounter immediately thereafter. Besides... fur feels so nice to rest against.

Vakkal urrrfs? quietly, then nods sleepily. "Oh, certainly, thank you....." He doesn't quite flop down prone -- he's at least a little more graceful than that. But a pile of fur he does become; comfortable and at ease and rapidly blissing out to the point of drowsiness.

Freyja giggles softly, then stretches out contentedly next to him -- well, partly across him, so she can easily reach his ears and under his chin. Her fingers continue their languorous, peaceful, gentle rubbing, cueing off of Vakkal's increasing relaxation and deep, slow breathing. She smiles contentedly, her eyes half-closed as she rubs her own chin gently against Vakkal's head, like she's seen sleepy, happy, friendly frehkees do.

As she does so she considers the situation thoughtfully... and a little slowly -- she's quite relaxed herself also at this point, and she worked hard today within the Force. He didn't ask her to leave... he's obviously comfortable falling asleep with her... he's wonderfully warm and soft feeling... as her thoughts trickle dreamily through her mind, with the same increasing slowness and deepening as Vakkal's breathing, so does she unwittingly slow her fingers' gentle, lazy scritching. It's not long after Vakkal is quite obviously asleep that she goes bonelessly limp herself also, comfortably and contentedly dog-piled with him.

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Last modified: 2002-Jul-16 16:14:54

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