#maurevar thane

[defira85]

A Star Wars: The Old Republic story, set during the KotET era

He snarled again, stomping away from her so abruptly that he almost seemed to be heading for the door, to lock her out in the hallway. “You need to ask yourself what precisely it is that you stand for, Tahrin,” he said, his voice low, threads of anger running through it. She could sense it in him, bleeding faintly out into the Force, uncontained and uncontrolled; she had a brief moment of disdain for his lack of control, but his next words drew her up sharp. “Because right now, your philosophy and your morality suggests you have far more in common with our father than I’m comfortable with.”

She took a slow breath through her nose before she turned to face him, her expression neutral only under extreme effort. “I beg your pardon?” she said.

If he felt the warning in the dropping temperature, he did not heed it. “I don’t need to repeat myself,” he said as he turned back to face her, shoulders rigid and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “We both know very well that you heard what I said-”

“Oh, I heard what you said,” she said, the temperature dropping further until they were both exhaling clouds of fog into the air. Behind Thexan, delicate spiralling patterns began to form on the glass through to the medbay, ice crystals flowering with increasing speed over the surface. “I just am not quite sure why you felt it wise to compare me to Vitiate.”

“What, isn’t it obvious?” He stepped further into her space, utterly uncowed by the growing warning signs of her rage. “You choose solitude over alliance, convinced above all else that your way is the only plausible way, that you alone have the intelligence and the conviction to see the future shaped as you see fit- plans that you never share with others, that you hoard and layer in order to complicate them further, so that no one will stumble upon your master plan-”

“Stop it,” she said, and she could feel her hands shaking. The cold was beginning to hurt her skin.

[defira85]

A Star Wars: The Old Republic story, set during the KotFE era

The arena was empty, and the sand swallowed up the sounds of Arcann’s footsteps as he stepped slowly into the ring. He hadn’t turned the lights on in the seating tiers, and the shadows fell almost ominously, as if to hide a hundred thousand judging, mocking faces in the darkness, sitting in judgement of him. He turned slowly, the sand soft against his bare feet, taking in the room.

How many times had he stood here as a child, looking up with his face bloodied and his body aching, only to see his father staring down at him with disgust- if he’d even bothered to stay in the first place. How many times had he and Thexan battled desperately to stay back to back, their fingers blistered and bruised as they clutched their staffs and tried to keep the prowling knights at bay?

If he closed his eyes, he could still feel the sunlight burning down on him as his vision swam from dehydration, ears ringing from the blows he’d taken to head. He could hear the echoes of their pained grunts and cries, the smack of weapon against skin, the occasional crack of bones breaking. The rattle of pained breathing, wheezing from between split, bloodied lips.

When he opened his eyes again, he half expected to see them before him, shadows of the past running through the ring like ghosts. But he was alone, the banners above slowly shifting and rustling with the air circulators. No ghosts, no living memories.

No Thexan.

[defira85]

A Star Wars: The Old Republic story, set during the KotFE era

“Do you think they know we’re here?”

She had no idea why she was asking, or why she was even bothering to talk to him. She hated talking to him, and he never seemed to respect her desire for solitude most of the time, so why should she break the blessed silence on this occasion herself? Foolish really.

As with all other occasions, he appeared beside her without actually seeming to move in from anywhere; one moment absent and the next within arms’ reach. “And here I thought you had made your opinion on my offers of assistance rather clear,” he said, smugly amused. It made her skin crawl.

“I’m not asking for your assistance,” she snapped, not looking at him as she circled around the shadowy, half-formed figures in the throne room.

“Then what are you asking for, Nox?”

Halfway through the war and halfway through the tale- and a dozen or so tales from around the galaxy as our numerous heroes reflect on the challenges behind them and ahead of them

[defira85]

A Star Wars: The Old Republic story, set during the KotFE era

After a moment she cleared her throat and stepped away again, letting her hand fall back to her side; her fingers were warm where she’d touched his skin, and the sensation prickled. “Come now,” she said, “you didn’t travel across the galaxy to fret in a cave while inane children’s songs drill into your skull. Where is Ona’la?”

He had a hand over the place where she’d touched him, as if he was hugging the arm to him; she didn’t know what that gesture meant. “She’s resting,” he said, “she’s doing well with the pregnancy except for how easily she tires.”

“Well, that’s understandable. I found the process unbearably exhausting just with human children. I can’t imagine the strain it must put on a body to carry a hybrid child to term without the body rejecting it.” He winced, and she realised immediately that that had not been anywhere near as comforting as she’d intended it to be. “I- forgive me, Thexan, I am not- sometimes I do not recognise-”

“It’s alright,” he said quickly, the wince still lingering in the tight press of his lips. “She’s healthy. And the baby is healthy too, apparently.”

She clasped her hands behind her back. “That is most excellent,” she said. “And again, my apologies.”

Wherein Tahrin is bad at being a person, Thexan is struggling with the responsibilities of being an adult, Theron is thrown in the deep end yet again, and two guest characters sneak on in

Apologies for the long delay between chapters, but onwards and upwards!