MENTAL LINK | IC INBOX

[narcissithstic]

HATRED all will suffer for their crimes.	SERVICE within it, glory beyond measure.
CONTROL chaos brought to heel through pain.	FEAR failure, weakness, mediocrity...

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[narcissithstic]

( The gardens, then? )

[And she would not be his if he didn't know her.]

[erbier]

( Come. )

[ She's there like she always is, dressed in white with bare feet, her blonde hair down around her shoulders. It is comfortable to finally have cast off the trappings of 'Saffron' but even having done so... she is not quite the same as before they left. She's growing up, growing into her new life, its new rules, its opportunities. Something in the way she holds hers, the look in her eyes.

She leaves off pruning down a shrub to join him when he appears. ]

Are you glad to be returned?

[exhuxperation]

( Excuses, excuses. )

[ Hux finds him in the nesting deck– well, this will certainly be a snug fit. But, he's determined and selfish. Ren's own selfishness is something that rarely bothers him anymore. So, he makes his way to the pod that Ren has curled himself into. ]

Are you really going to make this difficult?

[narcissithstic]

I don't know.

[Black— the only color he ever seems to love. He turns up in it with a weariness that's settled down into the marrow of his bones, thin-skinned and overfull. Where she flourishes, he wanes.

He has lost much.]

Are you?

[narcissithstic]

[With a heavy sigh he relents, eyes drawn up towards the paneling overhead as he rolls his shoulder back against the far corner to leave the General room. A small, pitiful amount of room— but perhaps, for him, enough.

There isn't much more Ren could offer even if he were feeling generous, after all.]

Fine.

[exhuxperation]

[ It's a small victory when Ren shuffles over, leaving him a sliver of room to wiggle into. For once in his life, he's thankful for his slight build and frame. Otherwise, this would be impossible.

With some careful maneuvering, he slides in next to Kylo, shoulder blades pressed against Ren's chest. Quietly, he lets out a tense sigh he'd been holding in, relaxing into the familiarity. ]

Is this where you'll be spending all your time now?

[narcissithstic]

[Ren, on the other hand, already seems relaxed. Tethered. For once, there's little tension to be found in his heavy muscles, the sleek lines of his features.]

Not all of it.

[Maybe most of it.....]

[exhuxperation]

[ Kylo's already relaxed state is telling. Hux can't think of many times where he's seen him so unwound. There's a few moments he can name, but otherwise...they're both people who live in varying states of tension.

Though undeniably, something about the nesting deck is soothing. Where he once found it creepy and avoided it, he's more accepting now.

Or maybe it's just the pure amount of warmth Ren is radiating that has him feeling strangely lax. ]

I suppose I'll have to get used to this smaller space then. It's rather a downgrade from the room at Bearings.

[narcissithstic]

[That, at least, prompts a rumbling growl of warning from Ren. If he could erase all of Concordia from his mind, in a heartbeat he would. Less than, perhaps.

Regardless of what closeness or compromise they've found in the wake of it, his contempt for that world and what it cost him will never subside, never be quelled.]

It is where I wish to be, General.

[erbier]

Yes. It is quiet here, solemn.

[ If she had her way, she wouldn't leave again. They would let her stay in the garden, where she was happy. She has accepted, however, that they will send her out again. Perhaps, sometimes, it is worthwhile not to get her way. She is coming around to the concept of it, as she learns more and more. ]

I disliked Concordia. I'm happy to be done with them.

[narcissithstic]

[Pacing warily between rows of flourishing plantlife, he regards her contentment with little of his own.] And yet neither Cathaway nor Prince seem happy for us to have returned.

[What did you expect, Ren, fanfare?]

[erbier]

[ She lets him pace for now, keeping her finger on the pulse of his restlessness, lest she need to intervene in it. ]

Do you need them to be?

[exhuxperation]

[ Right, Concordia left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. He'd much rather put it behind him as well. Though the lodgings having doors were a large plus in his book.

The station can practically do whatever is asked— except make doors. Nevermind that his mind and emotions are on display all the time. It really goes against his sense of propriety to be physically bare and possibly seen as well. ]

While I understand the merits of remaining in the pods, I have to point out the beds in our rooms are more comfortable. And less cramped.

[ Ok he's beating around the bush a little here, just spit it out. ]

...Would you rather we break off our compromise?