Like the Waking Dead

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime shifted uncomfortably in bed as he awoke. He was sure with morbid confidence that the porcelain-like face that layered his own skinless face was not properly portraying his utter disgust and annoyance with his present... awakeness. He shifted again, and more than anywhere else, inside his... carapace, for lack of a better word at the moment.

This was probably the seventh or eighth time tonight, and that was fairly average actually. The fact that waking up eight times in one night was average did not make it any easier to settle with Grime. It succeeded in only frustrating him more. Presently though, Hawkins was debating on the pros and cons of the weight of the supple Valeria on top of him. Actually, she was more on his right side. And while his limbs couldn't go numb from the inner workings of his exoskeleton, he had that false sense of it. She did however provide an ample amount of body heat that was being comfortably conducted through the frame of the exoskeleton.

Grime was missing some essential parts to his faculties and with the exoskeleton, intimacy was a dead thing, with so many others. But his mind, as warped as it had become, still found some comfort in the presence of a physically appealing woman. But the fact that she reminded him of so much, it left much to be desired for that was no longer living. The impulses of murder, like heart beats, ran through his body as his free hand gently ran through Valeria's long hair.

Grime wondered if he was fortunate that she was such a deep sleeper, that she would sleep through all his stirring. He even found himself wondering if she'd be in some mood about it if she wasn't a deep sleeper. He could feel his fleshless face quiver with a smile. Wondering about something as pitiful as that, in the grand scheme of things, was ultimately pointless. Her concerns, beyond Grime's, meant nothing, no matter how petty they were. Someone used to bother him with that all the time, that saying, Everything is in the details.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

Valeria Tur'ilian appeared to be deathly still. Her chest did not rise and fall with the air she drew in and let out, nor did her eyes flicker behind the creamy expanse of her lids and stir the fullness of the inky lashes that fanned across her rose tinted cheek. Rather than turning blue from the lack of breath, her body exuded another torrent of heat that was promptly cooled by the shivery grasp that commenced in a gentle promenade down the wavy path of her ebony tresses. She was stirred, yes, but she did not completely awaken just yet. Such was the cycle every time he made the slightest movement.

Her chest, the pearly composition of flesh being somewhat exposed by the low cut silk garment she wore and pressed firmly to his side, swelled with the breath she had captured. One clawed hand, almost ladylike in the manner it was draped across part of his abdomen, tightened. Her unyielding grasp, the sudden twist of her once peaceful expression, and the rigidity of her spine were bathed in a sudden, unexpected possession.

The air gushed silently past her lips, ushered by a most haunting and avaricious growl. She was like a predator sensing something potentially threatening approach that which she had claimed. Then, all at once, the notion dissipated. Her iron grip loosened and her violet gaze raked open to find everything as it should be.

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime's bloodshot eyes were directed at the ceiling. The edge of his vision seemed to be moving, and he kept watching, trying to catch whatever unseen thing shivered in his peripherals. The darkness, the ravenous hatred inside of Grime shifted as it, not Grime consciously, noticed Valeria awakening. It was the hissing and screaming noises, coming from... nowhere, that sounded like the demons of Dxun that drew his attention to Valeria. They stopped though when he caught her violet eyes in his.

"Sleep... Beautiful..."

Even while resting, it was still a labor to do the simplest thing, as if to speak were such a hardship upon his withered core. Valeria could feel the trembling of his weakness most likely even through the exoskeleton. But she knew, first hand, that despite Hawkins' frailty, Grime was capable of inspiring raw, unadulterated power. His will to persist his existence was enough, when properly understood, to be intimidating.

The metal finger tips of his hand traced down her spine slowly as he rested his head back against the pillow of their cot. The captain's quarters of the Malevolent Wyvern were accomadating enough. But who didn't wish for a yacht when they could?

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

The jagged, lightning-hued irises of her eyes tripped along the inflamed fissures carved into the dwindling white of his eyes, drinking in the lingering hostility that surged there. It was faint, but she could not miss it. What exactly was he thinking of? She suddenly found herself more awake than she desired to be, though the reason for it was sustaining enough.

Sleep... Beautiful...

Those words lulled her, despite the persistent need to remain conscious and explore his thoughts, the other things unsaid between them.

The cool metal against her spine made her sigh and then shiver as the alloy enforced caress transfered from heated skin to lustrous and glossy silk. She settled deeper against him and lowered her chin a notch.

"It seems unfair that I should sleep so soundly when you cannot."

[Hawkins Grime]

The perfectly pale face did curve into a smile at that but was quickly followed with a shattering cough. As the pain racking disturbance subsided, Grime continued.

"Unfair? Look at us..."

The arm that was beneath Valeria was wrapped slightly around her waist and it pulled her body tighter to his exoskeleton.

"You are flesh, glamour. I am a shattered doll of what I once was, held together by the cold metal of my mind and..."

The demons screamed in that silence... By the Hutt Moons, could she hear them? The darkness didn't just quiver, it felt like exploding. As if his personality itself was imploding and the darkness was the explosive result.

" - Let us rest, lest I wake us both... more than we should be at this hour..."

His free hand ran back up her spine, up her neck and the metal fingers intertwined gently in the roots of her long hair.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

Glamour...

Valeria didn't really think so, but she was glad he did. Someone did. She could remember what it had been like before she had met him, before she had struck out on her own even. Fact of the matter was, she wished she couldn't recall any of it. She would have given up everything just to forget.

With her head nestled against him firmly, she narrowed her eyes until they were no longer open. Eventually sleep claimed her, but it was anything but restful. But just for his sake, her body refused to move and make him any less comfortable.

------

It was still early, yeah. But she just couldn't rest anymore. Valeria's supple frame undulated against his side as slowly as possible, her lithe arms stretching sideways rather than up above both of them. Swinging her legs off of Grime, she stood and neared one the walls in the captain's quarters. Her hands were placed upon the wall, her back slanted downward, and she stood on tiptoes to reinforce the stretch.

The flimsy silk of her night gown dipped down as the straps slid down her arms and the jagged scars that seemed more like tribal designs were revealed. But only just a hint. She needed clothes, food, and an energy drink. Yeah, that sounded about right.

"I need a walk...." She added aloud, casting a glance back at Hawkins.

[Hawkins Grime]

"I need a walk..."

"As much as I'd enjoy taking you out in that get-up, I'd rather you take a shower, than we'll go stroll the lovely slums of Iziz."

Grime hadn't moved from where he lay, only his mouth had moved. His eyes hadn't even felt obligated to open for that response, who knew how long one of Valeria's showers could take. And as far as responses went, that one was nicer compared to what Grime might say at his worst. At the very least, he still had agreed to go along with her.

He sat up slowly, his exoskeleton creaking. His legs stiffly moved over the edge of the bed and bent until he was sitting up right. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as two metal fingers went to each temple. The blood and fluid in his exoskeleton was righting itself slowly and it always took a moment to reorient himself every day.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

"Of course."

Valeria's tone was unreadable; perhaps a healthy mix of amusement, annoyance, and satire, however each was blended so perfectly that the compound could not be broken down or properly categorized. Lacing her fingers together and then placing her hands behind her head, she stepped over to the small closet holding her combat suit.

Throwing open the door and snatching the black get-up from the hanger, she eyed it for a moment before shutting the closet again. Pacing but a few feet to the shower, she stepped forward, set the light weight material on a small ledge outside. Slipping the nightgown up and over her head, she folded it and then the screen of the shower appeared.

She flicked the on button then canted her head back into the steady cascade of water. It trickled down from the ceiling of the shower, slicking her hair, her body. It was hot, too.

Yeah.. just like that..

[Hawkins Grime]

Grime watched Valeria through hooded eyes, the blood red waves of pain fading in and out as he rubbed his temples in a circular motion. Massaging his temples actually had no physical benefit. He could barely feel the pressure of his metal fingers against the fake skin of his face and it really had no affect upon him at all. The waves of red were synchronized with his assisted heart beat which was so lax upon waking every day.

Grime's exoskeleton was as naked as it could be without being opened up. There was lithe, black armor plating worked into the major areas of surface, the chest, stomach, back, and elsewhere but for the most part it was black cords and sinews that almost resembled muscle. And they twitched with every movement as if they were muscle. They even covered over most of the joints which made the exoskeleton that much more obvious when scrutinized. The black muscular structure of the exoskeleton stopped at his neck though, which was made of the same articificial skin of his face, as pale as snow, and as real as porcelain. And while most would expect an exoskeleton to be bulky and out of proportion, like a powersuit, Grime's true body, the corpse underneath, was just that pathetic that he appeared more normal than expected.

The noise of him standing and moving was washed out by the sound of the shower, the water pelting against the screen. The sound of the shower shifted slightly as the screen was moved to the side and closed again, Hawkins' figure joining Valeria's.

Some might view it as a perversion, as his slick metal hand slid around her throat and his face, streaming water with glossy strands of hair matted against it, pressed against hers. Lips that could barely move according to his will opened against hers. The shower trembled slightly as Valeria was pushed against one wall. Grime's black, synthetic tounge ran along the inside of her mouth, as the metal plates of his chest pressed against her chest.

Grime wasn't debating his action. He felt unable to in the moment. That demonic machine of hatred and hellborne passion had risen up inside of him in his moment of reflection. Any sort of pain relieving meditation had been cast aside like trash. The lust had been unexpected, something Hawkins was reasonably unused to having to restrain himself from. The beast that bided its time in the pit of his torment had come at him sideways while he was still waking up and had motivated his mutilated corpse to such immediate action that it left Hawkins still bewildered.

Eventually, Grime separated himself from Valeria; the exoskeleton was drenched, which again actually affected Grime physically none at all. He stumbled out of the shower and more like collapsed than sat on the bed, blood running freely between his fake, ivory colored teeth. His eyes were closed as his breaths came in worked effort. Not from what just happened physically, but the mental strain of keeping the depths of his suffering from taking such a controlling advantage of him.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

The floral fragrance of the shampoo Valeria had dumped in her hair had suddenly been outweighed by a scorched scent that she somehow found more appealing. The last of the suds from the body scrub slid down her torso, traveled the length of her lithe legs, and finally spun down the drain at her feet. Still that essence lingered, grew more powerful in fact. Then, the full force of his presence impacted upon her like a wave. A scalding wave of pleasure and pain.

It all started with her neck and damn if she couldn't hear her flesh sizzling. But that was fine, he could have even grasped tighter if he wanted. Instinctively, her tongue darted out to trace the porcelain perfect structure of his mouth, gradually working in deeper. All the while she was aware of the blood that had begun to coat her lower lip, but again that was fine. Her mind was running one track and she'd have time to savor the pain later. Just the pleasure would suffice right now and she was deriving quite a lot from those metal tipped fingers scratching their way across her stomach, her chest.

Valeria's back slid silently across the extremely slippery, water coated wall of the shower and she clung loosely to his frame for support. But then, suddenly, without any blasted warning at all, he was gone.

Her hands flew to the bars attached to either side of the shower and she stared after him. In his wake, he'd left several splotches of water and one extremely confused and awed accomplice to this madness. The shower clicked off, but her flesh still steamed from the water and the marks now stretched across her stomach and throat from his anything but timid exploration.

Valeria stepped forward, dragging a towel from the rack outside the shower. Her advance continued until she stood directly before him. The black item was clutched tightly and she shed water quite readily. But rather then enclosing herself within the soft material, she crouched between his legs and dragged the cotton across his face.

Whatever had brought that on, she wanted to do again.

[Hawkins Grime]

Surprisingly, the response Valeria received was not the one she had warranted. The metal hand quickly caught her by the side of the face. Not slapping her, it more like actually caught her face in Grime's palm and then pushed her to the side, off of him, and then to the ground. The black sinews of corded muscle of the exoskeleton quivered as he stood, his eyes seemed to have been lost behind the doll-like face and there was only a gaze of blackness where they should've been. With a push from the metal foot of the exoskeleton in her shoulder, he rolled her over to her back. The image of his other foot colliding with her face and breaking the bone structure there was only a hallucination. He stumbled back a few steps as the hallucination contorted and twisted.

=======

She lay back on the bed, screaming in pain as he plunged a wickedly curved knife into her chest, her neck, her face, over and over again. CENSORED smiled with a malicious humor as the knife slid through the side of her neck again and blood splattered into the air like an eruption from an organic volcano.

Grime stood to the side of the bed, smiling as CENSORED licked her blood from his free hand.

=======

"Morghelia..."

That hadn't been real. Too many... of himself... and he had never... Grime's lips, the fake curved slits of his even more fake face quivered in sudden frustration.

"Get dressed... And then help me get my armor on..."

His eyes seemed to have returned to the weary and aggravated state. He seemed so much more tired now and for what? A mental barrage devised by his own internal demons? He collapsed back against the bed again, reaching for the plates of armor that rested against the wall, and slowly began to apply them to their respective places on the bare exoskeleton. His life support system wheazed and hissed as it struggled to regulate the physical condition of the corpse inside. Grime kept his eyes downcast and away from the form of Valeria as he went on about his business in silence.

[Valeria Tur'ilian]

Valeria's narrowed, violet eyes remained glued to his face, taking in any of the intentions revealed there. She was no fearful peon to cower beneath this wrath that had suddenly announced itself. The last thing she felt at this point in time was dread. Rather, her own anger sparked to violent life and her nails drove into the floor, which she had been cast upon like a lifeless rag doll. Her lips split to impart some livid comment to properly define exactly how his actions made her innards seethe.

But then..

Morghelia...

Blind hatred. Reserved solely for this wretched creature that drove through his thoughts like a blade, skewering the reality of her very self. Through the crimson haze of her rage, she managed to piece together his order. Her mouth sealed into a painfully tight line.

Rising, she silently and rigidly adorned her combat suit and boots. Combing her clawed fingers roughly through her wavy hair, she pivoted on her heel and again faced him. The indignation had left her presence completely, she seemed utterly calm. Which, for Valeria, was never a good thing.