* / CHAINED

Mash’ia gives her a smirk, and spins slowly on her hills while Vaylin circles her. “There is no such thing as luck,” she says lightly, remembering her Padawan days and the other ginger in the Order. But it’s her negotiating skills that must get her out alive, without the Bloodbird Company barging in to save her, blasters blazing.

“You could utterly destroy me, and I would survive just to spite you; it’s a unique Mandalorian trait, I’m afraid,” she says with a shrug, beskar’gam clinking slightly at the movement. Her mother would not appreciate such words, but it was the truth. Vaylin might just find her amusing; her shields were too strong or her to even attempt glimpsing inside the other woman’s, woman’s?, mind, so she could not really tell.

“I am not foolish enough to seek permanent residence outside of Assurias, even if my exploits in the Wars might suggest otherwise.” Even if Commander Sevens would beg to differ. She shook her head a little, trying to rid herself of the thought of her Clone Commander. “I want to… may I say, regroup. Contact some old friends, before I set out again.”

FROWN TAKES THE PLACE   of her smile, and Vaylin’s lips press downwards, brows furrowing thoughtfully. One finger is lifted and placed delicately against her jawline, then the yellow ‘saber is extinguished and finds its place back at her belt. 

Vaylin has always enjoyed playing with her food. She toys with her prey, offering hope to snatch it away, she keeps people around in case they might be useful as tools, or destroys them on a whim. There’s no set plan for it-- it’s whatever she feels in any given moment. And right now, she’s curious-- despite it all, Vaylin hasn’t seen much outside of her own homeworld, aside from Nathema-- and she hardly counts that horrid place worth mentioning. This here is one of her first ventures into the wider galaxy. And from what she knows, Zakuul isn’t exactly well-known here... 

@etrnlson​​ sent:  “  if our roles were reversed  ,  I don’t think I’d be able to forgive you  ” oh hi

VAYLIN SHOOTS A PIERCING GLARE toward her brother. He stands outside her cell, walking free, while she remains imprisoned. She’s refused to speak to Arcann at all since she’d come to, bound in more ways than physical, her newfound freedom and power stripped away from her in moments. 

@fealtybound​​ sent:  “ you act like you’re full of regret , but I know you don’t really mean it ”

OH, BUT SHE DOES MEAN IT. What she regrets, though, might not be what her mother would wish that she regretted. She regrets her weakness, her lack of control, her inability to destroy her enemies. 

But she will never be strong enough to gain her victory if she remains imprisoned, cut off from the Force. So, she puts on her mask of feigned regret. Apologetic gaze, head bowed, shoulders drooping. She is humiliated by the posturing, the face she must put on. 

It means first accepting her defeat, her powerlessness. But Vaylin must. If she remains stubbornly rooted in her hatred, spitting venom at anyone who dares approach, she will never see the outside of this cell. 

Ah, but Senya sees through it. Vaylin should have expected this-- her mother is annoying in that way. That way, and many others. But she restrains herself, only allowing the slightest of pouts in response to the accusations. 

Mash’ia considers to draw her white ‘saber, but she was always better with her pair of tonfa, and unique style; she was oh so grateful for Master Koon and how he indulged her. She rested her hands on the hilts, not taking a single step backwards. “I’ll admit that was a mistake. But with Sidius on my heels… what can one do?”

“I’ll have you know my dear; I am very hard to kill. You won’t be the first to try it, nor the last.”

SHE LAUGHS AGAIN. A single shake of her head, fingers delicately resting against her forehead. “ you think you have a chance? ” she mutters. “ your sith emperor has nothing compared to my power. ”

Really, Vaylin will love seeing the look on his face when her own Empire rises to overtake his. Well, her brother’s, for now. 

“ hmph, ” she gives her ‘saber another spin, and begins to circle the other. “ while it would be fun to kill you, it would be boring. i’ve already killed twelve people today-- so you’re in luck. ”

it  is  not  in  her  immediate  interest  to  cage  her  daughter,    but  she  is  not  trusted  with  her  own  children  here,    not  after  letting  the  empress  live    &&    so  adamantly  fighting  for  the  better  of  her  son.  senya  supposes  it  is  for  good  measure,  knows  there  is  an  inherit  softness  that  cannot  be  shaken  from  the  epitome  of  her  person  ;   no  matter  the  hate  they  express.                    a  mothers  curse :   she  cannot  carry  the  weight  of  taking  life  that  she  had  helped  create.

and  so  her  opinions  on  what  is  done  with  her  daughter  are  limited.

at  least  here  the  dreams  do  not  haunt  her  as  they  had  done  lifetimes  prior     –     she  knows  that,  while  her  daughter  suffers  in  captivity  once  more,  it  is  not  for  a  wicked  man’s  game.  vaylin  is  no  longer  caged  within  herself,  power  curved  with  strong  hand  and  inhuman  methods,  guarded  by  zealots  just  as  unsettling  as  their  master.  valkorion  had  done  little  for  her  beyond  give  her  children,  a  responsibility  that  had  proved  perhaps  too  much  for  a  woman  doomed  to  lose  control.

she  had  failed  her  daughter  once,  she  would  not  fail  her  again.

the  detention  center  seems  to  creek  and  crawl  around  footsteps,  it  has  taken  far  too  long  to  garner  some  semblance  of  trust  here  ;   trust  that  she  will  not  be  so    weak    as  to  allow  her  daughter  to  run  loose  yet  again.        **  THE  MOTHER  OF  MY  CHILDREN,  WEAK,  REDUCED  TO  A  PARENT’S  FOLLY.  **        senya  is  many  things,  and  above  them  all,  she  is  a  knight     /     she  will  not  endanger  what  has  only  begun  to  repair.  still,  it  makes  it  no  easier  to see  her  daughter  as  she  is.

beyond  broadcasts,  beneath  layers   -   for  a  moment,  she’s  caught  off-kilter.  as  if  looking  at  the  girl  from  her  visions     –     her  nightmares.

               ❛      vaylin.      ❜               there  is  some  idle  relief  in  her  tone,  a  low  breathlessness  that  seems  to  carve  exhaustion  into  the  aging  contours  of  her  complexion.  she  expects  nothing  less  than  hostility     –     draws  a  palpable  sort  of  sorrow  for  her  daughter,  her  children,  for  leaving   /   for  handing  them  over  to  their  father.   (  even  if  there  had  been  nothing  she  could  do.  )   the  knight  lingers  perhaps  too  close  to  the  shields  separating  them,  brows  pinched  ever  so  slightly.               ❛      i  have  come  to  check  on  you,  no  more   -   no  less,  daughter.      ❜              

OH HOW SHE WISHES TO LASH OUT, curses the barrier between them. Her vengeance doomed to be forever unfulfilled. Vaylin holds little hope for escape-- and knows well that should she, she’ll most likely be killed this time. The only way to be freed from this new cage is to cooperate. Even then, her freedom is not guaranteed, and the common thought seems to be that she will remain imprisoned indefinitely. 

Cooperation is not something that Vaylin gives lightly-- and her chance for freedom at the hands of the alliance is slim enough that she is not inclined to give it. Once already she bowed her head, allowed everything to be stripped from her. Once before, she had no choice in the matter, could do nothing save resist within her own mind. This time will be different. She is not under the thumb of Valkorion, her accursed father is not here. 

Her mother’s love can be exploited here. 

It has already kept them from killing her. It could no doubt do so again. Vaylin can afford to push her limits, to test the boundaries of her new cage until she finds a weak point. 

They won’t kill her if she’s careful. 

If she plays her cards well, she could get out. If she only waits a little longer, convinces her mother that it would be safe. Perhaps then she’ll be freed, and her power returned to her again-- she can destroy the alliance and finish what she started as eternal empress. 

All is not yet lost, but she’ll have to be careful if she wishes to regain her footing. So she considers her mother, lip curling in a snarl, aggression and hatred barely contained and seeping through the cracks. 

“ oh, ” her voice cracks as she speaks, and there’s a note of bitter laughter within it. “ how thoughtful of you. come to make certain that my bindings are secure? that i haven’t breached my cage ? ”

THE SOUND OF THE RAY SHIELDS IS MADDENING. There is little that Vaylin despises more than being imprisoned. She has spent far too much of her life trapped. And this... it’s all too familiar. All too much. 

She isn’t in pain, at least, no more pain than she’d suffered in the battle, but she might as well be. It’s all too easy to recall when she’d last been confined for so long, when the Force had last been warped around her and bound away beyond her reach. She had been free for such a short time-- it had been exhilarating, her power had been endless, beautiful--

But not anymore. Now, she’s trapped once again. Caged, despite her best efforts. Defeated, broken. The now former empress is a shadow of her former self. Her dark hair hangs down in tangled waves over her shoulders, glassy yellow eyes unfocused as she sits on the floor of the cell, legs crossed and hands clasped lightly over her ears, trying to block out the hum of the shields. It’s infuriating, but Vaylin’s anger has been expended, and she reaches for the Force to no avail. 

The door to the detention chamber opens, and she lifts her head. Even separated from the Force, she can sense that presence. Rage which even she had thought to be exhausted bubbles up again, and Vaylin bares her teeth. Hands drop to the ground as she staggers to her feet, posture aggressive-- no doubt had there not been a shield separating them, she would have leapt forward. 

@ordersurvived​ sent:  “ i actually envy the size of your heart ” (Sorry this is late!)

THE STATEMENT MAKES HER PAUSE just for a moment. Vaylin’s heart used to be wider. She used to love-- once, a foolish young girl had loved her mother, her brothers, her father ( though she had ever feared him ) . But she had learned quickly that such love was false. There was no use for it-- trusting others only ever ended in pain and despair. There is only one person who Vaylin still loved, and he’s dead. 

It’s ironic, really. Her family had betrayed her, every last one of them but Thexan-- and he had been the first to fall. The one that she would have liked to remain alive. The universe really does like to conspire against her, doesn’t it?

@quccns-blood​ sent:  “  yesterday’s enemy is today’s ally  ” ((My girl is very spiteful, and hates the Empire))

i killed three knights to make sure they weren’t lying,

                                       and three more because i hate odd numbers.

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