Between the Bars

[Eve Siren]

Eve Siren had been wandering the forests and canyons of the planet Dathomir for weeks already. The land speeder she rode on was beginning to croak, but it didn't worry her so much. She always had a knack for surviving in the wild for an extended period of time. Aware of the fact that the Witches of Dathomir might not be fond of her presence, she has also successfully avoided getting into contact with any species, aside from the wild. So far. A much more important issue was clouding her mind. She had no idea why this location attracted her so much, but like a magnet, she was drawn to it, convinced there was an answer for her current condition. Her senses were attuned to the settings of the planet and drove her to wherever they wanted her to be. She had nothing to lose, by trusting her instincts.

Since her awakening, Eve has had no recollection of what transformed her into what she presently was. She could not explain her descent into the depths of the deceased, and especially not how she managed to come back from it. She also could not put together why she needed to subtract a certain quantity of blood from living things in order to feed herself. She couldn't even remember the taste of a cooked meal anymore, but she fought herself to try to hold back from feeding, not because she felt it wasn't morally right but because she was physically disgusted with herself.

Perhaps Dathomir was the answer. Or the cure. Even just a hint would satisfy her.

As predicted, the land speeder's motor blew out and left her at the entrance of another broad forest. The cool temperature of the planet kept her mind off of her condition and as nighttime began to take over, she was content with the fact that she had spent another day without feeding. Stepping out of the speeder, she got rid of the gogles and helmet, unraveling her long ash and brown hair, but kept a long cloak over her usual leather garments. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked upon the terrain of vast trees and wilderness before her. Like each time before, her instincts told her to walk into it and as so, she listened to them.

Underneath her cloak, one of Eve's hand rested on the holster that held her saber, but she noticed that it had begun to shake a while back. If she didn't give in to her need to feed soon, she knew that she would have a hard time getting through the night. Cursing under her breath, she leaned against a tree and closed her eyes to focus on stopping the shaking. When she felt like she was in control, she managed a few steps but the stops became progressively more frequent. Soon enough, she sat down against a large tree trunk and cursed louder. Like a wounded predator, she knew her defenses were down but she could only wait for some weak hot-blooded animal to pass by and make this all go away.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth had been wandering around the outer edges of the forest for hours, and his feet ached after covering so much even terrain. He would have rather choosen to fly, but aside from the constant pain he suffered whenever he exerted his wings -- a side effect of the long-term torment he had suffered at the hands of the wicthes of Dathomir -- the forest was too dense to fly over; he wouldn't be able to catch a clear glimpse of what, or who, might traveling below him.

He had been drawn out into the wilderness, and compelled to expose himself to the dangers that lurked there, by a subtle shift in the balance of Dathomir's web. He doubted that any of the witches had sensed it as well -- he was considerably more sensitive to the Force... It was the reason they had tortured, poisoned and broken him into further their own abilities.

His thoughts were, as always, not whole. He couldn't remember why he chose to investigate the strange presence on his own... and yet he now felt that it was very important that had done so. He leaned against a tree, his wings tight against his back, and let out a sigh. He didn't see Eve from where she sat, but at such proximity, she was likely to have heard his frustrated exhalation.

"I sense you, but I don't see you." he said out loud. "And, though I know that we haven't met before, I've been expecting you for several days."

Jeseth kept one hand on his lightsaber, unsure of what to expect. Now he remembered why he had come out here alone; he'd had visions for almost a week, and in those visions, he'd seen a women dying in the forest... and he also saw himself dying in the forest. Neither of these things were likely to be true, though. His visions were only ever glimpses of the possible futures, and he knew from what was left of his memories, that he didn't posses what was generally considered to be true Force Sight.

[Eve Siren]

His voice startled her, her hand immediately tightening around the handle of her saber. At least as best as she could, considering the tremors her body underwent. However, her instincts didn't indicate that she was in any danger. Maybe he was the reason she innately felt compelled to travel across Dathomir, maybe he was the one who had an answer for the state she was in.

As she took a deep breath, her arctic blue eyes examined swiftly her surroundings to see where the voice came from. "... Who are you ?" She uttered as she used the tree trunk as support to get herself back on her feet, trying to hide her struggle. Her hands held onto each side of the tree, her back resting against its large black stem. Frustrated with her current state, she exclaimed. "Show yourself !"

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth moved nearer to the sound of her voice. When he finally laid eyes upon her, he realized that she was in no condition to be of any threat to him. At least not physically. Her blue eyes were icy and pierced his layers of warmth. His senses told him that she was very sick, and possibly dying.

"I am Jedi Master Jeseth Cloak, King of the Dathomir Witches... although I'm king in title alone. If the witches come upon you here, there will be little I can do to stay their hand. What's wrong with you?" he asked.

She was shaking, and going to great lengths to hide the extent of her illness. For a moment, when he saw that she held a lightsaber, he had begu to hope that she would be the answer this his painful question; an end to his imprisonment on Dathomir. But she was so sick. How could she help him?

"I won't harm you... save your strength." He said to Eve, not waiting for her to answer his question.

[Eve Siren]

The dark figure revealed itself but all Eve could visibly notice was his red glare. The closer he got to her, the more her body wanted to feed from him. As he spoke, she bit on her lip, trying the chase the gruesome thought away. He proclaimed himself to be the King of the Dathomir Witches, which instantly made her nervous at first. In her state, she couldn't physically defend herself if he chose to attack her, nor could she risk assailing him because he could easily kill her. But his last words were soothing, encouraging her to raise a shivering hand in an attempt to show him that she also didn't mean any harm and perhaps could just lean against him.

"I ... Eve." She managed to whisper her name. "Please, come closer."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth slowly stepped towards her, dropping his guard. He realized that he words carried considerable power. She was weak now, but capable of wielding the Force just the same...

He took her hand to offer her support. At this range, she could likely smell his perspiration, which most races found appetizing. It was explained to him by a fellow Padawan ages past that the reason had something to do with sugar, and the way in which Jeseth's body processed it.

"Eve... that was my sister's name." He drew closer to her and examined her eyes and skin. There was something about her that felt unnatural, but it drew him closer... and then he sensed a darker intent. "I sense the conflict within you... you're want harm to me." His red eyes fixed upon her as he probed her emotions deeper still. "No... you don't want to harm me... you need to. And yet I don't sense in you the desire to kill. In fact, I sense fear."

He placed one of his hands behind her head and ran his pale fingers through her hair, tilting her face up towards his. "Why are you dying?"

[Eve Siren]

Eve's wintry blue gaze softened as Jeseth tilted her head back. She could finally see in whose hands she let herself fall, defining his cunning traits, his pale skin, his dark hair and especially his carmine eyes. Her hands rested on his chest, as if the two were in an romantic embrace yet they were perfect strangers to each other. Although Eve was never one to be shy around unfamiliar faces, she didn't have the usual habit to let herself be this vulnerable in front of one. But he was warm ... And she was so hungry.

"It's ... It's a condition." She whispered, their faces were so close. "I can't help it ..." And his scent hit her. She couldn't hold back a soft low gasp as she took in this dulcet body odor, suddenly latching onto him. Obscure fangs grew from her canine teeth and her breathing became heavy, but she locked eyes with Jeseth, her voice pleading. "I just need ... A little bit of ... Your blood." She analyzed his reaction as best as she could, but her overbearing need to feed clouded her judgment.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Her need was urgent, and the emotions within her overflowed and intoxicated him quickly. His instincts now compelled him to allow her to do as she wished. "Take it." he said, his eyes closing instinctively in preparation for the pain he was to endure. He had suffered a great deal at Matier's hands, and enduring pain was his forte.

"I won't fight you..." he whispered as he drew her closer. She was a stranger, but oh so stunning and fragile. She had captivated him, despite all of his training and torture. Somehow, she'd broken through...

[Eve Siren]

At those words, how could she hold back ? Eve leaned her head towards Jeseth's neck and pressed her lips against his neck. Her fangs pierced his pale skin and almost instantly, an immediate rush of pleasure streamed into her mouth in the form of his warm fresh blood. The process was slow, as she did not let a drop go to waste. More importantly, the nourishment in his blood helped her stop the tremors in her body immediately and also gave her back an inhuman strength. Her lock around Jeseth's upper body gained self-confidence, pushing aside the vulnerability she felt moments earlier.

While the feeding, Eve kept her eyes closed. Instants later, when she opened them, she suddenly realized that she had had enough and consequently felt repulsed by her behavior. She then leaned back, wiping the side of her mouth for any remaining blood, avoiding to see Jeseth's reaction to all of this. Still, she remained close to him.

"I'm sorry." Her voice became clearer to distinguish, her eyes bashfully looking up to him. "Are you okay ?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

When Eve had begun feeding from him, the experience had been like nothing he'd experienced before. His body trembled from the waves of pleasure as she sipped from him. He felt his life slipping away a little a time, but strangely, he arched his neck for her further, as if he were being compelled to give himself over to her and hasten his journey towards death.

And then he began to feel slightly tired. Her grip on him went from pleading, to demanding. His eyes began to close as he gave in to the ecstasy and urgency of her need.

When she let him go, he stumbled back, his foot snagged on a loose branch and, as if he had completely forgotten how to balance himself, he tripped and fell flat on his back. The leaves on the ground all snapped and rustled at once as they softened the blow. His red eyes opened and he looked up. He could hear her voice now. It was the only thing he could make out in the world around him.

"I feel tired... and... I don't know. That was amazing." Jeseth answered softly. He sat up slowly and blushed weakly. "How do you feel?" He brushed some hair out of his eyes and noticed that his hands looked much paler than usual. He didn't know how much of his blood she had drank, but it must have been a considerable amount...

[Eve Siren]

Eve quickly kneeled down, towards him, as he spoke. When she noticed that he was examining his hand and how pale it had become, she swept it downwards with her own, locking her blue eyes with his red stare. Her arctic gaze became more substantial and her skin more blushful. She had taken from Jeseth a considerable amount of his blood, and it was quite normal for her to feel fortified and him, physically weaker.

"I feel fine. Thanks to you, Jeseth." As she said those words, her hand intertwined with his and she helped him get back on his feet, simultaneously as she got back on her own. "And amazing would be the last thing I would describe this ... condition. I've managed to withhold myself from feeding since I've landed on this planet ... But I guess I've anticipated wrong." Her voice was sincere and genuinely concerned. She ran her fingertips over the apparent wound her bite caused, as a comforting gesture more than anything. "I apologize for this. You will get back to your normal healthy state very soon."

[Jeseth Cloak]

"If I stay here, I don't think I'll have much of a chance to return to any state... and especially not a healthy one. I'm a slave to the Dathomiri Witch Queen, Matier. I train her and her followers to use the ways of the Force... towards such dark ends. I fled here seeking a safe haven during the Jedi Purge. My heart and mind are broken into so many pieces... I've done such terrible things."

Jeseth's euphoria faded steadily as he realized that they could both die there on Dathomir. Matier would notice him missing soon. It was ironic, he thought, that the very act that made Eve feel a monster, made him feel alive.

He stepped closer to her, small red flowers sprouting in the wake of his footsteps. The euphoria he had felt in her embrace had faded, but the need he had felt in her arms had not. "I want to come with you, and leave this world." he said softly.

[Eve Siren]

"I ..."

Matier. The famous Witch Queen's name was enough to make Eve's skin crawl. She was well aware that the Queen's wrath would be abominable if she was to help the King of the Dathomir Witches escape this planet. It was a terrible idea, but she also knew that Jeseth could help her in uncovering the mystery surrounding her death and resurrection. Having only seconds to decide as Jeseth's soft voice pleaded and his figure drew closer, there was no place for hesitation.

"... Alright." Eve heard herself speak, but couldn't entirely wrap her mind around her decision yet. Feeling a little anxious, she looked up to Jeseth's carmine eyes, as if to confirm that she had made the right decision. "We should hide for the night ... There isn't any way we can get to my ship tonight."

Indeed, while the whole feeding situation transpired, a fog gradually seeped in through the forest. A natural phenomenon that could prove to be dangerous, since not only was their visibility reduced but their Force senses obscured.

[Jeseth Cloak]

He smiled and put his arms around her waist and lower back. The fog became so thick that neither of them could any longer clearly see the other.

"Hold on tight," he spoke into her ear, "I know of a place we'll be safe for the night... but getting there in this weather... it's going to hurt. Very much."

Once she had placed her feet over his and found a comfortable position for her arms, he flexed his wings. A few soft white feathers came loose and settled in the space between her chest and his. The smell of sugar. Thunder clapped in her ears loudly, and she felt a sudden and painful increase gravity. Then came the loud and persistent snapping of branches and twigs. Once in a while, she felt a stray twig scratch around her back with a biting sting...

Jeseth tried to shield her from the worst though, taking more of the impacts with the branches himself. After a few seconds of drowning in a sea of snapping and cracking wood, Eve felt a sudden gust of cold air pierce the fog. They had finally cleared the forest and left the maze of trees far below them. A few warm drops of Jeseth's blood dripped down his cheek and onto her forehead. As they did so, they went cold almost instantly.

When Jeseth finally settled into a peaceful glide, the fog had managed to soak into his clothes and chill him to the bone. He had a much greater tolerance for these kind of conditions than humans did. He was worried at first by the silence. Worried that perhaps Eve had frozen to death... but the feeling of warmth that was shared between them told him that she was probably, somehow, more comfortable than he.

"..here..." his voice came softly, trailing away. And then they fell. There was mossy ground waiting only a few feet below them, but the fall was brutal nevertheless.

Jeseth hissed in pain as he struck the ground and partially lost his grip on Eve. His hands latched onto back and gripped tightly at the last moment as they both lost momentum and came to a rolling stop. There was a snap that pierced the mist; Jeseth wouldn't be flying for quite a while.

He lay on his back taking deep breaths. His fingers laced through hers as he pointed motioned her hand in a direction someplace behind her. The ground was wet and soft, and visibility was poor. His red eyes closed involuntarily.

[Eve Siren]

All those abrupt and different types of pain caused a vast range of reactions on Eve's part. The coldness of the air, the thundering sounds, the wetness of the mist, the snaps and crackles of the branches, were a lot to handle. The fog, up here, was a lot less dense but cold, nonetheless. Her back to the ground, Eve laid still for a few moments, trying to catch her breath. Her breathing was heavy and it hurt to move, but she noted where Jeseth had motioned her hand, realizing that he wasn't in any position to voluntary move right now. With her free hand, she brushed away wet locks of her dark brown hair and sat upright, without losing sight of Jeseth.

After taking a few minutes to recollect, she pushed herself to her feet, groaning. If it hurt this much for her, she couldn't imagine what he was going through, as she was aware that he tried his best to protect her. She extended her arm underneath his and around his back, pulling him up in an awkward manner since he was heavier than her, and marched slowly towards the direction he indicated. She kept him balanced, by having his body lean into hers, but she cursed underneath her breath all along.

As the fog dissipated and uncovered a large and hollow cave, Eve sighed of relief and picked up the pace. Once they were inside, she set him down as comfortable as she could. Inside the cave, the ground was soft but not wet like outside. It was big enough to fit up to three or four people, she thought, and enough space to make a decent fire. When she set her weapons down by Jeseth, she couldn't hold herself back from staring at him. She still couldn't believe that they were going through with his escape plan, putting each other in such a high-risk situation. Brushing aside a few strands of his dark hair, she sighed, wondering if he could really help her solve her predicament.

---

A while later, Eve managed to make a decent-sized fire and sat across from where Jeseth laid. Her hair was still moist, but she was no longer cold. Most of her clothes and accessories were set down besides her, as she stripped down to only the inner shell of her attire - a black turtleneck, a matching short skirt and a pair of knee-high boots. She held her hands near the fire to keep them warm, looking at Jeseth from the corner of her eye.

She had taken the liberty to remove his outer gear, but didn't dare touching anything else. Although she knew that in his current state, she could overpower him if she had to, she still didn't want to take the chance to trouble him. Once her coat was dry, she got up and draped it over him, in an attempt to keep him warm.

[Jeseth Cloak]

---

Some time later, Jeseth's eyes slowly opened. He looked around his surroundings, the crackling of the small fire drawing his attention. It cast an orange glow upon him that was comforting and warm. Across from the flames, Eve Siren sat. With the bulkier parts of outfit now set aside to dry, Jeseth found that he couldn't help but admire her figure. The realization that he was doing it caused him to look away quickly. "Thank you." he said quietly, drawing her coat off and folding it neatly besides her other clothing. It carried her scent, which now lingered on him, along with the faint smell of blood and ash.

He found himself struggling with several feelings all at once: guilt, at the thought of leaving Matier; anger, at the realization that he'd allowed himself to be manipulated enough to feel guilt; and desperation, because he hadn't imbibed any of the drugs or poisons that the Dathomiri witches regularly put in their food.

"The fog will pass soon." he said. He felt a boyish impulse to invite her to sit by him. He reached up and touched the wound she'd given him on his neck. It was a fond gesture, although perhaps it would project the notion that he was in pain.

[Eve Siren]

At the sight of Jeseth touching the wound she left him on the side of his neck, Eve's lips discreetly frowned as a hint of guilt struck her. While he commented on the fog, she got up and sat down next to him in silence. Now that she had her necessary share of blood, now that he was awake and out of the Witch Queen's sight for another night, now that they were both sitting in front of light, she could finally examine his features and clearly hear his voice.

"As the King of Dathomir witches," Eve dared lifting a hand and lightly traced the cut across his cheek, "why flee from your own home ? Why would you leave your queen behind ?" Her voice was soft, but curious. Her arctic blue gaze looked at him, carefully avoiding meeting him eye-to-eye. Her fingers ran down to the bite marks on his neck, and immediately, her expression changed and she retrieved her hand.

The sweet smell of his body pierced through the wispy scents of blood and ash, though it did not drive her as crazed as earlier since she already fed. Uneasy, she shifted her body so that it faced away from Jeseth, putting her knees together and crossing her arms on top.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"I leave because I must... I dreamnt of you, and I sense that somehow, my destiny is intertwined with yours. Matier, Queen of the Dathomiri, worked hard to bind me to this place. Drugs, poison, torture, sex... This spark inside me, the last piece of me left unbroken, surfaced and survived because of you." Jeseth said. He observed her reaction, the way she'd shifted her body. Humans did such things to communicate feelings without words.

He took her hand gently in one of his, pulled her fingers back to the mark she'd left upon him, and waited for her head to turn towards him before catching her shimmering blue eyes with his. "I allowed you to have of me willingly... You don't need to feel ashamed. And in order for us to survive, you cannot feel ashamed." he told her, as his other hand brushed aside her hair.

"I won't allow you to die, or to suffer hunger. I'll do whatever I must to see this through to the end, whatever that end might be. This shadow of my former-self you see before you... In time it will be much more than a ghost." She could see a slight glimmer of eerie blue light flicker in his eyes, and for a moment, all her hair stood on end as if drawn up by an invisible electric current. Jeseth had been a formidable Jedi before exiling himself to Dathomir, and there was no telling what dark secrets now lurked about his shattered mind.

"Maybe there's some meaning to be found in one another..." he trailed off and winced as he felt a dull stabbing pain at his side.

[Eve Siren]

A soft gasp escaped her lips because of the invisible electric wave, but Eve couldn't tell whether it was real or she was simply mesmerized by Jeseth's answer. Her eyes closed halfway while her fingertips slowly ran from the wound on his neck, across the lower edge of the side of his face before brushing against his lips, as his voice trailed off. A meaning to be found in one another. It was evident to her that he was the reason why every fiber of her being ordered her to come to this planet. However, the primary goal of her presence on Dathomir was far away, tucked in her mind. For the moment, she was busy fighting back an urge to brush her lips against his.

"... I don't understand why I need you like this, when I don't even know you." Her heart pounded when her face drew closer to his, so close that she could feel his breathing. Then surprisingly, Eve just shut her eyes, lightly nuzzling his nose, and pulled away. Feeling slightly mortified as she stood up, she ran her shaky fingers through her hair and paced towards her dry garments.

As she fastened the clasps to her coat and belts, her voice became clearer, a perceptible change from the soft murmurs that she whispered to him minutes before. "We should get ready. The fog seems to have lifted and the sun will rise soon. The earlier we get off this planet, the better."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth wasn't really sure what to say after she pulled away. To say he felt confused was an understatement... the withdraw, pain, and strange tired feeling. She was right though, in the end: they had to get off Dathomir.

The idea of romance, affection and closeness... It was almost otherworldly to him. That's why the thought of kissing Eve made his heart pound so much more. His heart, usually beating faster than a human's, was racing. He'd only known one other's touch for most of his life. It was an intoxicating thought that he could experience her's.

"You're right..." he said, getting his gear together and putting on his robes. He looked like a Jedi that had crawled from a bloody grave. Each spatter and blotch of blood on his outfit, a badge. Most of the blood was his own; some of it wasn't.

As he stepped over the soft floor of the cave and towards the entrancing, he stopped. He knew that if he didn't act on his impulse now, he would be distracted for the rest of their journey.

She felt his hand take her wrist and a charge of electric energy flow through her - Jeseth pulled her close to him, placed his other hand behind her head, and kissed her with no thought to inhibition. He reigned in his impulse to increase the level of energy he was putting out. He realized that although this kind of pain was how he knew to show affection, it might feel unpleasant to her. The current stopped as he continued to kiss her quietly... he pulled away only slightly, lookig into her eyes for a moment and searching her feelings.

[Eve Siren]

The electrifying current caught her by surprise at first, but Eve slowly melted in his embrace, pressing her lips back against his. Her heart and thoughts raced at a rapid pace. Jeseth's kiss was breathtaking but also a new sensation that was pleasurable and that rendered him all the more desirable. She was never one to give in after such short timing, but it felt right. Once he pulled away, she leaned in for another quick kiss and looked up to him with her ice blue eyes.

"You .. You're something else." She managed to whisper, her hands holding onto him gently. Feeling as if he might go away if she let go, she stayed within his clasp, avoiding to look directly into his carmine gaze. "... I can't explain this." A small smile drew on her lips. Usually this sort of situation frustrated her, but this time, she found it amusing and precious. "Jeseth ... We need to go, if we want another opportunity like this."

[Jeseth Cloak]

---

Half a day later, they had managed to make their way within a few hours of Eve's ship. The journey had been uneventful, but difficult nevertheless. Jeseth managed to contain his impulse to wince with every step he took along the way, but for his effort, the pain was no less severe. He focused on it as they went, letting the aches and sudden stabs of pain punctuate his every thought. The more he allowed his suffering to become a part of his everyday life, the easier it was to continue growing and living... perhaps that was the most valuable lesson he'd learned on Dathomir.

"The galaxy's changed a lot since the fall of the Old Republic, hasn't it?" Jeseth asked Eve, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "I've been here so long, all I've heard have been rumors here and again. The few times I went off-planet... they just weren't as enjoyable as I remember in my youth." He stopped himself as he realized what he'd said. In my youth, he thought silently, have I really spent so much time among humans, that I now consider myself old?

For a member of his species, Jeseth was relatively young. Even considering the physical trauma he'd suffered in his lifetime, his life expectancy was still several times that of a human.

And how long will she live? he wondered about Eve, as he listened to her speak. He couldn't help but hope that she would live for a very long time.

[Eve Siren]

Eve was standing at the control panel of her ship, focused on lifting off and away of Dathomir. Though nothing major had happened on their short journey from the cave to her small ship, she was glad that they didn't run into any witches. Even though Jeseth's physical state had gotten slightly better, they were still no condition to be fighting against the powerful beings of Dathomir.

"It has." Eve's voice was neutral, at first, but she caught the second of disbelief Jeseth displayed after the comment regarding his youth. She realized for the first time since they had set eyes on each other, that they were different. Being submitted to millions of different species had rendered her indifferent about races and physical particularities, but this time, she faced a dilemma.

Quickly putting the ship on automatic once she had chosen the destination - Coruscant - she turned around to face Jeseth. She leaned against the edge of the panel, looking at the floor instead of directly at him as he stood in front of her. In a similar situation as him, Eve was a bit older than she physically appeared to be. Although she didn't know much of her current condition, she knew drinking blood was repressing the symptoms of old age, but no amount of blood she could drink would keep her young forever. Whether or not the length of their lives were corresponding, one thing bothered her.

"Actually, I'm telling you that it has, only because I know so. I've only been alive for the past few years ... Before that, I was buried six feet under." Her explanation was crude and she wouldn't be surprised if his initial thought was to get to hell away from her. "I came looking for an answer on Dathomir as to who or what brought me back from the dead, and that's when I stumbled onto you."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth felt himself leaving Dathomir. And in those minutes, he had a hard time existing in the here and now. When Eve finally started speaking to him, it took a moment for him to refocus on the world around them.

"I met another like you once, when I was a Padawan at the Jedi Academy. But I'm sorry... I never did learn the cause of his condition. My master at the Jedi temple and I... we were sent to investigate a small mining colony."

"Someone had been murdering women, and evading capture, since the planet's colonization almost two decades prior to our arrival. When we inspected the bodies he'd left behind, we found that they'd all been exanguinated.. It turned out that the murder was a Force adept, and had learned to harness his abilities all by himself... but it was only after we defeated him that we learned the truth about his identity: All of the planet's records indicated that he'd died during the first year of colonization."

"He had come back from the grave somehow, and had taken to living in the tunnels below the colony that had been deserted by the miners. He was more animal than man, preying upon the weakest of the colonists..."

Jeseth wondered if that would be the final course of Eve's condition (beastial hunger and rage), and took her hand in his. He didn't want to get away from her. He wanted to hold her.

His arms came around her and he squeezed her comfortingly before speaking. "We can figure it out to together. I'll help you... no matter the cost." The ship hummed around them as he held her, and when their embrace had ended, Jeseth emptied his pocket's of the things he'd brought with him and set them on the small table inside the ship.

The entire collection of trinkets wasn't much to look at. Two lightsabers, a strange black cube (a Sith holocron he'd taken from the Dathomiri), a small holoprojector, an antique cylinder with a hidden compartment, and a slender set of primitive knives bundled together with a blood-stained piece of thick yarn.

"I'd like to rest soon." he said wearily as he look at Eve. "If you need to feed before I sleep, or anytime during the rest of the trip, you may, without shame." Jeseth smiled weakly as he thought to ad, "Unless space travel has advanced considerably during my exile, I'm estimating that I'll have plenty of time to recover before we arrive on Coruscant. I'd rather that we both arrived there in better health, and it'll be good for my body adjusts to you now..."

[Eve Siren]

More animal than man. Eve shuddered at the thought, but was interrupted by Jeseth's embrace. For a minute, she felt her body loosen in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder in that brief moment, his sweet scent overwhelming her. But she caught herself back, stiffening as he let her go. His words of encouragement were welcomed, but a wave of uncertainty still hit her as she listened.

From the corner of her ice blue eyes, she watched him empty his pockets silently and then look back at her, expressing his fatigue. At the mention of the word 'feed', she looked away. No matter the times he told her not to be ashamed of her needs, she still felt a tinge of disgrace. After a moment of silence, she only took his hand and led him to the back of her small transport, where a simple bed was situated.

At the door, she lingered for a few minutes more before kissing the corner of his pale lips. "You have all the time in the world to rest now." She murmured. "So ... Sleep well."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth enjoyed Eve's soft kiss, and smiled at her involuntarily. He brushed her hair back, touched his nose to the side of her own, and whispered, "Goodnight." before retreating to the cozy bed.

He undressed himself, setting aside his old robe and outer garments, and then preened his wings briefly with his hands before laying down and closing his eyes. It felt good to sleep... and for the first time in years, it also felt safe. His last thoughts before he finally passed into a deep slumber were of Eve, and how grateful he was that she'd come along when she did.