#conlink

                        ❝   the   desert   is   merciless.   it   takes   everything   from   you.   ❞

his sweat mocks him as it rolls in tiny beads from his forehead,   leaving shimmery trails across the sharp tattoos that had once decorated him from head to toes,   now only to thighs.    when the nabooan townspeople found him they’d wasted no time submerging him in bacta ;   he had healed quickly and yet the coma-like inactivity had left him the weakest he could remember feeling since childhood.    stopping the bleeding was one thing.    recovering,   learning to walk,   to fight  ( to exist with autonomy ).    that was something else entirely.

her voice rings out and he looks up from underneath furrowed brows,   arms crossed above his knees where he’s sat on the durasteel floor :  ‘good job out there.’ @conlink

she’d been patient with him  …  shown him a kindness than he hadn’t expected from Aurra Sing,   The Jedi Killer.    but then,   she hadn’t abandoned him on the moon of Drazkel,   perhaps it was time he stopped underestimating her.    there had of course been money involved then,   as there was now,   but even so he almost dared to hope she felt some kinship the same as he.

he gave her a quick nod and then,   turning his head to the side  &  looking away again,      ❝  thanks.  ❞      his voice was dry,   no doubt betraying the frustration he ordinarily would’ve fought so dearly to keep hidden.    it wasn’t her fault,   really–-  he appreciated the encouragement,   more than he could express,   but at the same time he couldn’t silence the voice nagging in the back of his head  ( for every hit she landed a punishment should’ve followed,   new burns to keep old scars company ).    it left a bitter taste in his mouth.     

“--heard you were being tracked.” his voice materializes out of nowhere but it couldn’t have been surprise to her. after all, he’s never managed to sneak up on her in the past, no matter how hard he tried. now, his chances are even slimmer with the clatter of beskar accompanying his every step. “did you lose them?”

she cuts him open,   again and again,   both of his hearts exposed  &  beating for her   ( … )   the bluntness of her words tug at his lips,   back of his hand covertly hiding the fact from her.    at first she had reminded him of Komari Vosa:   both being former jedi,   betrayed by their own order  &  consequently rising to embrace the entirety of the force.    then she had reminded him of Kilindi with all her wit  &  how irrevocably her eyes pierced him when she smiled,   but if time had shown him anything it was that she was entirely her own ;   one-of-a-kind.

❝   no,   no kiss.   ❞      his arms are crossed  &  body leaned against the durasteel walls of Aurra’s ship,      ❝   not when there are bounties to hunt.   ❞      he smiles again now,   this time feeling less inclined to hide it.       ❝   let’s make a bet :   you kill him before i can  &  i’ll do whatever you want.   ❞