[MillietheWarrior]

Sev Ref
(By Xaquaria)
Appearance
(Reference appearance picture by Starwars.com)

A wince, a growl, and a pop. Sev twisted his ankle back into its correct position as he sat on the cot that was currently his new bed. The small room was nothing to write home about. Dark, plain, sparsely furnished, it reeked of its former owner, and Sev had to resist the urge to carve a window into the windowless walls. Currently, he had forgone his armor for a set of fatigues that he kept in a small, plastoid backpack. They were a deep, dark red, with black cuffs around the ankles, waist, neck and wrists. A slurry of medical wraps, anti-inflammatory drugs, and a few soothing salves sat splayed out on the bunk in front of him. Unwilling to visit the infirmary, Sev had ‘liberated’ a few supplies from there. He didn’t like this place. Strange creatures skulked around in the shadows. Powerful beings lurked around every corner.

Sev was constantly on edge, constantly on his toes. He was suspicious of everyone, and trusted no one. It was why he didn’t dare send himself to the infirmary. Any sign of weakness could be an immediate downfall. It’d been only a day and a half since he’d been brought back to this so-called ‘base of operations’ by Aerowyn. Serissa was nowhere to be found, but he had a feeling she’d ordered Aerowyn to play minder to him. The woman constantly dogged his shadow, and wouldn’t let him go anywhere by himself. He would often catch her staring at him from around a corner when she thought he wasn’t looking, trying to be as sneaky and unseen as possible in her persistent tailing of him. It’d only bee when he’d stopped, whirled around and shouted at her to ‘get lost’ that she made her attempts less secret, and openly followed him wherever he went. Sev had a feeling she was currently standing outside his door.

With a low, gravelly growl, he turned his attention back to his ankle, and pulled then wrapping tighter around it. Although it hurt, Sev was dealing with it as if it were only a minor bruise. He’d been through worse,  that was for sure. He could remember the time that Scorch had nearly blew the entire squad up. He’d even singed off sergeant Vau’s eyebrows. Needless to say, after that, Scorch had received his current designation.  It was a bit of a joke in the squad. Each of them had received their names according to their roles. Scorch, the demolitions expert and resident explosion lover; Fixer, the hacker extraordinaire who really loved his technology; Boss, the best in combat and leader of the squad. And Sev…He was called ‘Sev’ simply because of his designation number. Oh-seven.  But he was their sniper, the resident ‘psychopath,’ and one of the best shots in the entire Clone Army.

He smirked softly in the dim light of his room. What a way to make a name for yourself…Scorch often joked that his vat had been ‘spiked’ at birth, causing him to become a vicious, psycho killer. Sev didn’t mind the jibes; even though he might never admit it out loud, he loved his brothers. They were his heart and soul, and his family. Sev decided he should turn his thoughts to something a little less mushy, and concentrated on finishing wrapping his ankle. He wondered what Sergeant Vau would say if he could see him now. Sev could imagine the harsh, angry voice berating him for what he’d done wrong. He shouldn’t have let her get the better of him. And then he’d probably be forced to fight until he was nearly dead on his feet. It was sergeant Vau’s way. He trained survivors. He’d always said ‘I’m training you to survive this war…Even if I don’t.’

Sev could remember most nights when he’d get back from his training session that he’d simply collapse on his bed. It’d forced him to wake up earlier to get his armor together and his fatigues cleaned. Sev sighed heavily, his arms falling across his raised leg as his head bounced against his knee. His other leg swung off the side of the bed. He stared at his armor stacked across from him on a large, plush chair that he really had no desire to sit in. His rifle, as always, rested beside him. “Hey,” he said suddenly, and if one were to look in the room, it would appear he was speaking to himself. “I know you’re out there. If you’re gonna stalk me, you might as well come inside and do it. Maybe I can give you a few tips on how to be more…secretive.” He smirked at the jibe, his dark red eyes falling back to his foot  for a moment as his raised his head off his knee, staring darkly at the door. “And hurry up. People will talk if they see you come in here, so might as well hurry and get inside. Makes for a few less embarrassing questions later, you know. Fewer who see you hanging around my door, the better....”

[1/14]

[Flame]

The past two days had been nothing like anything that Aerowyn had ever experienced before: She wasn’t even quite sure herself how she felt about these new proceedings. Before that day in the Slums, her life had been dull, but at least there was a somewhat comforting regularity in the rhythm of her schedule, a familiarity which gave her comfort. Instead though, she had been assigned on what should have been a quick and painless mission, and be done with it in a day, but no…now she was stuck trailing after this completely alien character, forced to lurk in his shadow both day and night. If she were another woman, she would likely have sulked about her designation, but instead, she took the job without complaint, albeit with a grim outlook. At first, she had tried being a bit more subtle with her work, but after a few short tiffs, she had given up on wasting the effort to try and remain unnoticed, instead, trailing him openly, nonplussed by how annoyed he might be by her obvious occupation, which she felt to be a waste of her time. Why couldn’t Serissa have some other dimwit follow him instead? Honestly, it didn’t take much brainpower to keep an eye on him, as he really didn’t make any attempts to be covert about what he was doing (except for his sneaky trip to the infirmary – she had the feeling that she could guess his motives for being so underhanded about it. After all, he had a pride to rival her own).

Maybe it was because this was such a brainless job that Serissa had set her on it. Just the thought was enough to get her temper boiling, but never did she let her discontentment show in front of the others. She saw the looks that the others at the base gave her as they watched her trailing this obvious misfit, some furtive, some sympathetic, and others openly contemptuous. Even though they said nothing, they knew how high up in the pecking order the young woman had been until now, and this fall in grace was as plain as day to anyone with half a brain. As prideful as ever though, Aerowyn chose to ignore the opinions of her comrades, and she spent most of her days in complete silence, focused resolutely on her one, if boring, job. She had yet to speak with her charge either: Instead, whenever he caught her at her occupation, she simply gave him her patent blank expression, her face completely unreadable, until he simply gave up. Serissa’s goal may have been to break her, but she would find that the young woman was more resilient, if silently so, than she had thought.

It was the evening of the second day Sev had been here, and true to his instincts, Aerowyn was lurking outside his door, seated just around the corner of the doorframe where she was hidden in shadow, like a dark, relentless sentinel. She suspected that he knew she was there: Only an idiot wouldn’t expect to be trailed 24/7 if they were a potential enemy in unfamiliar territory. She had resigned herself to the less-than-rewarding task of sitting out here all night when she heard his voice from inside the room. It sounded decidedly different without his helmet and breathing apparatus, but still held its trademark gravelly quality and frank, gruff undertone.
“I know you’re out there. If you’re gonna stalk me, you might as well come inside and do it. Maybe I can give you a few tips on how to be more…secretive.”
She sighed, not very inclined to budge from her position. She hadn’t actually spoken to him after their encounter with the boss, and she had a hunch that starting now would be awkward. After all, what did you say to a person in a situation like this? She wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, at least, she had never really been given anyone to talk to since her arrival here, too long ago for her to remember. She listened quietly as he spoke, her hazel eyes glittering faintly in the darkness as she weighed her options. She could truthfully say that she really didn’t know what the better choice was in this situation. So, she fell back and let her instincts do the deciding for her. After several moments of silence, she sighed again, resigned, as she stood, bracing herself both physically and mentally before turning. Now was as bad a time as any, and what he said did have some logic to it. Not that any more gossip amongst the others in the building would really have any effect on her.

Finally, having given herself sufficient time to steel herself, she padded silently to stand in the doorway, hesitating as the light from within his room fell on her. She was dressed similarly to the day when he had been “recruited”, the only difference being the fact that her shoes were no longer muffled with cloth, and she no longer bristled with weapons, including her bow, although she wasn’t stupid enough to go completely unarmed. From where she stood, she let her gaze come to settle on the man who currently occupied the edge of his cot, apparently in the middle of patching up his souvenir from their battle. She had one of her own: An impressive, very large bruise which mottled one side of her abdomen and still caused her a good deal of pain whenever she moved. She noticed that he had finally shed his armor, and instead, he wore a plain set of fatigues. This was the first time she had seen him without his armor encasing, and he looked decidedly different without the barriers which provided him with some form of security and anonymity. He looked more…human, without armor on, and seemed almost like a completely different person. If not for his voice and attitude, she could easily have mistaken him for a total stranger.

She was right…this was awkward already. Standing in the doorway with one hand resting against the doorframe, she really didn’t know where to go from there. She decided to settle with waiting where she was until he decided to be a little more specific with his requests. She wondered why he had suddenly decided to welcome her company after spending the past day-and-a-half either ignoring or bellowing at her. Nonetheless, she fixed him with a level gaze, waiting for him to say something, anything.

[MillietheWarrior]

It took her longer than expected to accept his invitation. She did so silently, and Sev hadn’t expected her to say anything to him. She’d been stubbornly refusing to hold any sort of civil conversation with him since he’d gotten here. He was starting to think she didn’t like him. He smirked; that was quite obvious. Considering they’d nearly beat each other to a pulp on their first meeting, it was pretty much a given that they harbored some sort of dislike towards one another. Sev looked down and tied the bandage together to keep it from falling off his foot, before he set both feet down on the carpeted floor. He had been somewhat surprised to find the room in relatively good condition; despite the slight smell, it was a rather nice place.

With two large chairs, a small desk and a dresser, and a closet built shallowly into one wall, it was just enough for him to live in comfortably. Sev snorted mentally; he didn’t plan to get comfortable here. He wasn’t going to be staying long. His brothers had already commed him to say they’d finished up their side of the mission. Sev was itching to get out there and blow something up, but he was still stuck here, and knew he would be for a few more days. He had an empire to crumble, after all. A few days seemed like a short amount of time to take out such a large crime syndicate, or even to find out enough about it to be a possible threat. But hey, even if Rome wasn’t built in a day, it only took less than two to topple it, right?

He shrugged his shoulders, before winding them backwards, hearing a very satisfying pop as his back realigned itself after an hour of sitting in a hunched over position. He was slightly surprised to see Aerowyn hesitate in the doorway. With a scowl, Sev gestured towards the empty chair, the one across from the chair that currently held his armor. “Go on, sit down. What do you want, fanfare or something?” he growled. His voice was probably becoming quite the staple in Aerowyn’s life; she hardly went anywhere without hearing it, after all. Sev smirked as he reached down to put his boots back on, careful as he slipped the second one over his still swollen foot.

“You pack a nasty wallop, woman,” he said, sounding slightly impressed. “But I’ve been through enough to know this is nothing but a bruise compared to some of the other injuries I‘ve received...And I’ve fought better men than you who did a whole lot worse.” It was a barb, meant to sting. He shrugged one shoulder, before laying back in his cot, arms folded tightly behind his head. He reached down and laid his rifle across his stomach, and it rose and fell with each word and each breath he took. He turned his head slightly to watch her with brilliant, red eyes, a cold smile fixed on his face as he crossed his feet at the ankles. “So, let me guess...Your my new keeper, huh? What am I, your pet now? You certainly follow me like I am. Did Serissa decided to give me to you, or what? Should I be calling you 'master'?”

[2/15]

[Flame]

She had to admit, there was the smallest hint of satisfaction which sparked in her mind at the sight of his injured ankle: At least he had a keepsake which would rankle him for at least the next few days to remember her by. It was hardly compensation for everything she had been put through for the past few days though, and she knew that if given the chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to give him a real piece of her mind. Okay, so maybe she was just a little dubious about taking him on again, if it were to come to that, but hey, anything was better than the living hell which she was stuck in at present. The same way he had been drilling his voice into her head for the past two days, he’d probably been getting acquainted with the very pointed silence which kept him company day and night. After all, Aerowyn wasn’t inclined to talk to him, and apparently, neither were the other residents of this base. Speaking of which, Serissa had been a step ahead in planning out her actions: The base that Sev was now at was not actually her real base of operations…she highly mistrusted this stranger, but what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Or her.

“Go on, sit down. What do you want, fanfare or something?”
Ah yes...a reminder why she hadn’t bothered to talk to him for the past few days. She was very tempted just to spend the rest of the night, standing here blocking the doorway without opening her mouth once, just to see what results she would get. She fought the urge to scowl back at him, instead, keeping her face almost disturbingly emotionless as she finally forced herself to move, stalking over to the chair indicated and seating herself on its edge, as if reluctant to touch anything in this room. Her hands gripped the edges of the chair on either side of her legs, her gaze still fixed pointedly on Sev’s face as if daring him to provoke her further.
Which, of course, he did.
She let the next slur slide, but knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up her own silence if he was going to spend the rest of their time together occupied with his new favorite hobby, shooting snide comments at her. She had patience, but she certainly didn’t take well to being used as a doormat: There were only so many insults she could take lying down before she lashed back, and it seemed that today, she wasn’t planning on letting him reach that limit. ”The same goes both ways,” she retorted; which was true. ”Except some people don’t have to hide behind armor to do it.” For someone potentially surrounded by enemies, he seemed surprisingly unconcerned. And cocky. She should have gotten used to that aspect of his personality by now, but he managed to astonish her each time with his apparent lack of self-preservation sense.

Sitting back so that her spine rested against the back of the chair, she crossed her arms over her chest, looking almost defensive as she eyed him squarely, seemingly undaunted by the presence of the blaster which he seemed to always have with him at all times.
“So, let me guess...Your my new keeper, huh? What am I, your pet now? You certainly follow me like I am. Did Serissa decided to give me to you, or what? Should I be calling you 'master'?”
She snorted at his jibes, despite how accurate they might be. ”Fortunately for you, I have yet to get that lucky...If she had placed you in my charge, you would long since have been snake food.” Airily inspecting her fingernails, she added, ”It’s a shame she knows me so well.” There was actually truth behind her last statement though: It was because Serissa knew so much about her fears, her strengths, and her weaknesses that she had been condemned to this life-sentence under the Mekkayena’s service. For just a moment, she seemed almost wistful, but it vanished again from her features so quickly that anyone would have mistaken it for a, to further wear out the term, ‘trick of the light’.


{I just realized that they don’t actually know each others’ names yet xD Wow...after two days spent glued together too x3}

[MillietheWarrior]

Sev sat up slightly, his head lifting from the enfolded circlet of his arms. He managed to look angry even sideways, and he shot her a nasty glare before letting his head plop back down against his arms. He stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, before shutting his eyes. maybe it wasn’t a smart thing to do; after all, he was stuck in a room with  a potentially homicidal woman who really hated him. Sev could only grin further; if she wanted to see homicidal, then he’d show her the meaning of the word. A psychopath like him could teach her a thing or two...

He snorted derisively in his head. Since when had he referred to himself as a psychopath? It wasn’t exactly true, no matter how much Scorch pushed the title onto him. He just happened to really enjoy his job; it didn’t make him crazy. But closing his eyes when Aerowyn was in the room was another sign of how little he thought of her. She wasn’t enough of a threat to even register on the ‘Sev radar,’ so he ignored her for a moment. “I don’t hide behind armor,” he said at lat, annoyed at her implications. “That armor is my life. It’s my second skin. I don’t go anywhere without it and vice versa. I lived and trained in it. I’ve been shot, stabbed, mangled and blown up in it. It’s...A part of me.” He cracked open one eye. “You don’t know what’s it’s like, though, do you?” He seemed suddenly chatty, as if he had something to get off his chest. And he did; he wanted this woman to know more about him so when the time came, and she was either forced to or tried to kill him, she would know the man behind the mask.

“You wanna know how old I am?” he asked slowly. “I’m twelve. Physically, I’m twenty-four, but numerically, I’m only twelve. You know what happened when I was two years old? They put a gun in my hand and told me to shoot. When I was three? I went through actual battle simulations. Four? I went through live-fire training exercises. Five? I saw many of my brothers killed in those same exercises. Six? I was nearly beaten to death by my own training sergeant...Multiple times. Seven? They put me in a set of armor, and threw me into a live ordinance field test. When I was eight, I was nearly killed by my own squad mate...It was an accident, but he nearly blew us all up. From the point of being nine to the age of eleven, I saw the same things over and over again. Live fire tests, life ordinance tests, battlefield sequences, weapons training, hand to hand combat, the death of brothers, accidental or not....”

He paused to take a deep breath, and closed both of his eyes, suddenly seeming a little less hostile than he had been before. “When I was eleven, my brothers and I were sent into battle, and thousands of them died.” Sev lifted his head to stare at her, a wicked smirk crossing his features. He didn’t find any of it funny, but he wanted to see her reaction. “So I don’t hide behind my armor. I am my armor. And it’s me. Your a little too quick to judge.” He paused suddenly, and sat up a little straighter, his hand going to his blaster. “You’ve been tailing me for the past two days. And I don’t even know your name. What is it?” He didn’t seem inclined to be polite, or to offer his own first. He simply demanded o know her name.

[3/16]

[Flame]

He gave her the satisfaction of a murderous look, and she was very tempted to smirk back in reply. Naturally, she had expected him to be defensive about his armor, but the last thing she had anticipated was for him to launch into a narrative about his life. For the past two days, they hadn’t even been on speaking terms, but here he was, spilling the details of his life to her.

“You wanna know how old I am? I’m twelve.”
That stopped her dead in her tracks: At first, she thought that he was pulling her leg again, but as he continued, she realized that he was serious...about every single word he was saying. She watched  him silently as he recounted his tale, her expression carefully veiled as her gaze remained riveted on his features. She didn’t interrupt him: She could tell that it was something he wanted to get off of his mind, though for what reason, she had no idea. Why she was actually sitting here, listening to this incredulous tale was a mystery to herself as well. Why should she care? Why did she care? At one point, she had the urge to simply walk out, not wanting to hear the rest of his story. Why? She had never had to view her enemies as people before. It was so much easier to face someone and consciously end their life, thinking that they were simply another soulless face, a body with no one truly in it. It was the easier choice for any warrior...easier, but a lie.

This was so incredibly frustrating. Why did this man have to suddenly make her life so much more complicated? All he had to do was appear, and suddenly, everything that she had lived for and lived with was thrown into doubt. Inwardly, she was angry at herself for hearing him out, but in reality, he was breaking down the simple box which was her life, a world where she could simply turn away from reality and act as if it didn’t exist. She feared the unknown, and in a matter of a few minutes, this complete stranger had destroyed the easier route which she had chosen to take in her life, a route of innocence from actually leading a life of her own, a route which ignored everything which existed outside of her mistress and her orders.

Opening her mouth, finally, after another awkward silence, she looked as if she were mentally chewing on words that she was trying to spit out, but instead of the stinging comment she might have meant to deliver, what actually came out was, ”Who are you?” For a moment, she looked like the young girl that she really was inside, one who knew nothing of life but simple, mindless combat. She’d never had to think for herself until now, and it threw her into unfamiliar waters, a fact which made her distinctly uncomfortable. She half-wished that she had never come in in the first place, knowing full well that in doing so, she had somehow left a different life behind. She had had no choice or say in it, a fact which sparked resentment in her, as if it was somehow Sev’s fault that her life had been turned upside-down. Which it was, in reality.

“You’ve been tailing me for the past two days. And I don’t even know your name. What is it?”
She suddenly seemed weary, and her eyes finally dropped to her hands, which were now curled in her lap. She looked...distant. She actually couldn’t recall ever being asked that question in her life, before now. It only served to make her reflect further on her own existence: If Serissa knew of the conversation which was currently taking place, she certainly would not have let it proceed this far. She had intentionally kept the young woman in self-isolation for this exact reason: She didn’t want a servant who could think for themselves, especially this one. Aerowyn’s gaze now remained on her hands, although she wasn’t actually looking at them. It was as if she were looking through them, at thoughts which only she could see. Finally, after a long pause, she spoke, her soft voice very different in quality than it usually was, one which seemed to reflect her own insecurities. She spoke almost as if Sev weren’t there, more to herself than anyone else.
”It’s never mattered to anyone before...why should it now?”

[MillietheWarrior]

Sev laughed. It was a low, gravelly sound in the back of his throat. It was quiet, and humorless. He didn’t know what he was laughing at. Maybe because he’d never been asked that question before. It had never mattered. He did his job, and that was all that felt significant to him. That was his purpose; he was a solider, not meant for a life outside the army. What would he do with himself if he couldn’t fight anymore? what would he do when he couldn’t do his job? Sev wondered if all the rumors about not being able to leave the army were true. You either died in combat, or you left in a body bag. There was no in between. Sev figured that the bet he could hope for was a long life of combat, and then perhaps a short term of training new commandos. There wasn’t much else for him after that. He’d have worn out his usefulness.

Sev was surprised to find himself thinking such reckless thoughts; here he was, stuck in a room with a stranger whose name he didn’t even know, and she was already making him question everything. He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m a soldier. I’m a fighter. I’m a killer. That’s all I know how to be. That’s who I am. It’s what I am. I don’t have a life, or a real home. I just have me, my armor, and my and a short lifespan.” For all intents and purposes, to Aerowyn, he was a renegade Clone; a man who left a life in the army far behind him. Even his story revealed very little about his current day situation; it was meant to be that way. Aerowyn wasn’t meant to know he was still working undercover, still in the army, still taking this place down. He turned his head to look at her, watching her sink back into the chair with a weary expression.

“Shab, would you knock that off?” he muttered. “Would it kill you to show some emotion? Why don’t you act like a girl instead of a zombie?” he sighed in annoyance. “I’m a nobody, and even I have a name. It matters. And so does yours. I can’t keep calling you ‘Hey you, skulking behind that corner,’ all the time.” He reached down and grabbed a roll of bandages that had rolled down next to his hip. He chucked it at her, aiming for her nose. “My name is Sev. I suggest you remember it. Stop being such a depressing little ball of annoying and just tell me your kriffing name already. I want to know what to call you next time I have to pound your face into the pavement.”

[4/17]

[Flame]

Aerowyn was so lost in thought that the fact Sev was speaking again didn’t register until the roll of bandages smacked her squarely in the face. Just the fact that she hadn’t dodged on instinct showed just how out of it she was. That certainly had the effect he had been looking for, as she instantly snapped out of her trancelike state, one hand flicking up to grab the projectile as it fell, and she was about to hurl it back at the man out of instinct when she stopped, realizing that there really wasn’t any danger…except getting another talk-to from Sev. ”Would it kill me?” she echoed, her eyes finally flicking back to his, her expression unreadable. ”Yes, I actually believe that it would,” she retorted, finally letting one single emotion, the only one she was comfortable voicing, anger, bubble up. ”A zombie? I don’t know if I’m person enough to be a zombie,” she said with a bark of bitter laughter. ”How do you think I’ve survived for this long with Serissa as my superior?” The words which flooded from her were just as new to her as they were to Sev: She had never seen her life in this light before, or at least, what excuse for a life she had. ”I don’t even know who I am,” she said, laughing mirthlessly. Why she was telling him all this, she didn’t know. It was as if years’ worth of bottled-up resentment that she didn’t know existed now flooded out like a poison which had run in her veins, slowly killing her from the inside faster than her hazardous way of life could.

Drawing in a deep breath, she dropped back against the chair again, exhaling heavily as she let her head flop onto the top of the chair’s spine, staring up at the ceiling. In her short outburst, she had given herself a lot of food for thought. Suddenly, apparently out of nowhere, she said, ”I guess I never actually did thank you for saving my life back in the Slums.” There was a pause, as if she were fighting a desperate battle to bend her pride enough to finally say, ”Thank you.” Another short silence, then she finally seemed to shake off the blanket of emotion which smothered her. Sitting up again, she chucked the bandages back at Sev, less than gently. ”Don’t let that get to your head…it’s big enough as it is.” Although she seemed to visibly have ridded herself of the unsettling wave of thought and emotion which had engulfed her, it still clamored in her mind, demanding to be heard. ”It’s Aerowyn.”

[MillietheWarrior]

“Shab, you’re depressing. And I thought my life was bad.” He narrowed one red eye in her direction, shifting slightly so he could stare at her. “You need to lighten up. I’m about as dark and broody as they get, and you depress even me.” He sighed, patting the blaster on his stomach. For a moment, as he stared up at the wall, he contemplated just bouncing out the place and banging out of the mission early. Would it really be so bad? He’d found their hideout (Though he had a feeling this wasn’t the actual hideout), he’d found the head honcho, and he had assessed her ability and threat level to the best of his ability. Sev was so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed her hurried ‘thank you.’

He opened both eyes and looked at her over the edge of the cot, finally sitting up and pushing himself up to sit on the side of it, staring at her with a slightly smug expression, albeit, a surprised one. “Well, I’ll be,” he said, crossing his arms and smirking her way. “Never thought I’d hear that come out of your mouth.” Sev easily reached up and caught the bandages in one hand. He stood up finally, padding forward to stand toe to toe with her. She was much shorter than he was, and he found himself staring down at her with that same, infuriating smile he always seemed to wear.

“Aerowyn,” he repeated, testing the name. “And what…You’re the top dog around here, right? Besides Serissa.” He looked contemplative, but his smile didn’t disappear. "If you keep taking people like me on, you’ll end up dead before the weeks over. Who was your teacher? They did a kriffing poor job in training you, I can tell you that.” He tossed the roll of bandages up and caught them easily. “If you’re the best she has, I’d hate to see the worst...Aerowyn.” He seemed content to leave it at that, and hopped back onto his bunk, folding his arms behind him and crossing his ankles.

[5/18]

[Flame]

”Glad to have been of service,” she shot back snidely, the humor in her voice dark. “You need to lighten up. I’m about as dark and broody as they get, and you depress even me.” She snorted. ”Try that out yourself and tell me how it goes for you.” Well, if there was one thing for Sev to be relieved about, it was that the old Aerowyn was back...if that was really something to be glad for. She seemed to be herself again: Cynicism and all.

Sighing dramatically, she cocked her head back to stare nonchalantly up at Sev, who had walked over to stand in front of her, towering over her. She shook her head with mock disappointment. ”You see? I told you that it would go to your head. Keep this up, and you won’t be able to stand straight much longer.” Her hazel eyes hid a faint twinkle of amusement in their depths, although she managed to keep a straight face, her expression mockingly disapproving. "If you keep taking people like me on, you’ll end up dead before the weeks over.” ”Well, that’s what I’m trained to do.” She shot a sly glance at him, unable to resist taking another jab. ”What were you trained for? Bullying people weaker than yourself and calling it fighting?” A smirk crept up to curl the edges of her lips as she returned his expression, undaunted by his attitude.

”Oh stop,” she said, ludicrously pretending to be abashed. ”You flatter me.” Snatching the roll of bandages out of the air as they fell back towards his hand, she rolled it between her palms, tipping her head to one side as she grinned up at him. ”I’d advise you to always sleep with one eye open...with that attitude, I’m sure that there are a lot of people out there who would be more than happy to go through an army to put a knife in your back.” She paused, looking theatrically thoughtful. "I would do it myself, but I don't think it's worth the trouble...After all, with your sense of self-preservation, you'll probably manage it pretty well by yourself."

[MillietheWarrior]

Sev rolled his eyes. He'd get nowhere with someone who was just as stubborn and hard-headed as himself. He didn't really care to be saddled with someone who could be considered his twin, personality-wise. But he supposed there wasn't anything he could do to make her stop following him. A sudden thought occurred to Sev as he sat back down on his cot. If he was going to ban gout of this place in one piece, he'd have to be sure Aerowyn didn't follow him. Not only could she raise the alarm, but he'd have his hands full if she tried to stop him. Sev was faced with the grim realization that, in a few days time, he would probably have to kill her. He sighed mentally, resisting the urge to vent his frustration openly.

It wasn't as if it really bothered him, but he saw a kindred spirit in Aerowyn, even if he wouldn't quite admit it. In a lot of ways, she was just like him. But in many others, they were different. Even though Sev didn't want to have to kill her, he knew he might have no choice. And if it came own to his life or hers, he knew which one he'd choose. "What?" he asked, shooting her an annoyed stare. "Your trained to die? What a wonderful life you lead," he muttered sarcastically. Not that his was much different. "I was trained to fight, to kill and to survive. That's all," he said, not elaborating on what he was talking about. He simply left it at that. "I always sleep with one eye open," he muttered, letting both close in an obvious negation of what he'd just said.

"If I'm going to be killed, it won't be by the likes of you, I can promise you that," he said at last. "No...There's something more out there waiting for me...I can feel it." He said nothing more, before he made an annoyed shooing motion with his hand. "Now get lost. I'm going to sleep..." he cracked one eye open, and smirked darkly. "Unless you'd like to stay here with me and keep me company tonight...No point in letting all those lovely rumors go to waste?" He was clearly trying to make her angry enough to leave.  He continued to stare at her, still wearing that infuriating smirk. "But if not...then again, get lost. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and you need your beauty sleep...Although I doubt it'd help."

[6/19]

((-Smacks heem- Shab, he's mean...Dirty minded clone...XD))

[Flame]

A figure darted through the forest, weaving through the maze of trees with a practiced ease, seeming almost to blend in with the cover which the foliage provided. Yes, here she was…running. Again. She told herself that this time, she wasn’t running away, per se, from an enemy, at least, not for the same reasons. She had to repeat to herself, over and over, that she was running with purpose, not to escape from a pursuer, but either way, both felt uncomfortably similar, no matter what she tried to convince herself of. She stopped with an exasperated sigh, listening for the hunters which tracked her through the woods, even coming to a dead standstill as she waited for their labored breathing to come back into range before she took off again, feeling as if she were running while dragging her feet on the ground. Honestly, if she had to go any slower, she’d be running backwards.

How she had gotten into this predicament in the first place? Of course, it was a given that Sev was at the bottom of all this, if unintentionally. Only days after their arrival at base, Serissa had dispatched them to take care of a few enemies which had been located at the perimeter of the territory. Aerowyn had the sneaking feeling that the boss might even have planted them there herself, just to give the unlikely team some trouble to deal with. It was just a hunch though, but it seemed that when it came to Serissa, her hunches were generally not too far removed from the truth. So, here she was, being used as bait for this wonderful plan to eradicate these enemies. How quaint. In a matter of days, she had been turned from a hunter into the hunted, a fact which didn’t sit well with her at all. Nonetheless, now was no time to brood on her own indignation. She heard the lumbering beasts beginning to gain on her, and putting on a burst of speed, she emerged into a small clearing in the forest. Skidding to a halt, she turned to face the direction from which her pursuers were approaching, her expression clearly one of boredom. Planting one hand on a hip while tapping her toe edgily, she pretended to check the time on a nonexistent watch, the picture of mock impatience. Anytime today would be good.

Suddenly, a pair of lumbering Battlehearts came crashing through the foliage to explode into the clearing, the looks on their faces malicious as their giant heads swung from side to side, seeking their quarry. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for them to locate her, standing in the middle of the clearing before them, her expression still unchanging, despite the fact that she was now being approached by two giant lizards, which could as easily tear her to shreds as they could a rag doll. In fact, she acted almost as if she hadn’t even noticed them, although she seemed to grow less patient by the second: Personally, she wasn’t a big fan of those “wait for it“ moments.

And in three…two…one…


{Ouch…I hurt for her xD Aerowyn: -glares- So yeah...time jump of a couple of days x3}

[MillietheWarrior]

Sev snorted in annoyance.

Currently, he was nearly twenty feet up in the air, suspended on a very large, sturdy branch in the trees high above the scene below. Sev supposed that this entire fiasco was Serissa‘s way of testing him. He didn’t like it though; everything felt a little too staged. But he did his job without question. He was currently fully armored, leaning against the trunk of the tree as he straddled one of the branches. His DC-17 was clutched tightly in his gloved hands, and he monitored Aerowyn’s progress through the trees. One of his personal missions was to make sure she didn’t get herself killed. Although granted, she was his ‘bait,’ she was also a useful asset as long as he was here. Sev was amused by Aerowyn’s predicament. When told exactly what her job on the mission was to be, she certainly hadn’t been happy with it.

Sev, luckily, had the luxury of turning off his inbound audio speakers, and completely ignored her angry grumbling the entire time. It was simple enough to pretend that he was listening when he actually couldn’t hear her. But Aerowyn knew he wans't paying attention. Of course, it’d made her just a little more mad, but where would the fun be if there wasn’t some sort of danger involved? And Aerowyn wreaked of danger. He watched, from high above the heads of her pursuers, as they crashed through the forest. Aerowyn moved with the grace of a dancer, her long legs propelling her through the forest with cat-like elegance. Sev found himself staring at her for longer than was appropriate, but he could look away from her as she nearly glided across the forest floor. He was impressed by her skills; anything that could make an impression on Sev was a miracle.

And Aerowyn seemed to have done what no one else could do; grab his attention. Sev told himself he shouldn’t be staring, and wrenched his eyes away to focus on the battlehearts and on their mission. But his eyes kept inadvertently straying back to Aerowyn, and he found that he enjoyed watching her. It wasn’t beauty that attracted Sev (Although it did help in this case), but skills, ability, and the fierceness that Aerowyn possessed. It was as alluring to someone like him as a beautiful woman was to a shallow, rich man. Sev smacked himself upside the helmet. “Focus,” he snarled at his own mutinous mind and eyes. He managed to wrench his gaze away for a second time to focus on her pursuers. As Aerowyn skidded to a halt to stand in the clearing, Sev watched as the monsters drew closer.

As one of them passed beneath him, Sev leapt down from his tree, landing on the back of it’s neck with a skilled ease and perfect balance. He drew back his hand, and punched the beast in the back of the head with enough force to stun an elephant. The giant creature yowled, and Sev was forced to knock it upside the head with his rife as it tried to shake him off. Stunned, the creature stumbled forward slightly, before another well placed and angry punch with a vibroblade sent it careening into the forest floor. Sev rolled off, tucking his legs against him as he somersaulted across the leafy ground. He gained his feet and came up jogging, moving towards Aerowyn to stand beside her. The second creature was looking over it’s fallen comrade with something akin to disdain, before it roared it’s displeasure and swung it’s head around to face the two warriors. “Your turn,” Sev managed casually, before he took aim at the creature with his rifle. He didn’t pull the trigger, but he would if he had to.  

[7/20]

[Flame]

Waiting was one of those things that made her antsy: Exasperated, she was just beginning to wonder if he’d bailed on her, and that she’d have to take on both of the battlehearts herself, a familiar crimson and white figure literally dropped out of the tree above one of her adversaries to land on its neck. Grinning, she called up at him, ”You’re late!” She sat back on her heels to watch as he took down the first of the pair of battlehearts, a twinkle of amused approval in her hazel eyes. ”Show-off,” she said, half to herself, as the monstrosity came crashing to the ground, its massive body effectively widening the clearing by crushing several trees as it fell. ”Not bad,” she said as he jogged over to join her. ”I’d give it an eight out of ten: Could have put the poor beast out of its misery a little faster…at least it didn’t have to see your face in the process. I’m pretty sure that would have been considered cruel and unusual punishment.” Flashing a wicked smile at him, she took off before he could reply, running dead-on towards the remaining battleheart, claws, jaws and all.

At first, the beast seemed perplexed: Could prey really be stupid enough to run straight into its mouth? Beady eyes followed Aerowyn as she approached, then, once she had entered its striking range, it made a lunge for her, a movement quicker than one might have expected from such a lumbering monster. She dodged the huge head and snapping jaws easily, coming to stand directly in front of her opponent, her eyes locked on its every movement. As the jaws plunged towards her again, the battleheart seemed quite certain that catching this sitting duck would be no problem, only to find itself with an empty mouth as it smashed its blunt snout into the ground where Aerowyn had been a second ago. For a moment, the beast was confused, dazed both by the impact and the fact that its quarry had somehow escaped. It turned out that the young woman had swung herself up onto the creature’s snout, directly in front of its face. Roaring in fury, the battleheart shook its head violently, trying to fling her off and forcing her to cling for dear life to its slippery, scaled muzzle. Unfortunately for the lizard, its arms were too short to reach its face, and all it could do was flail violently, gnashing its jaws dangerously close to Aerowyn’s handholds, just waiting for her grip to slide and send her straight into its gaping mouth.

Suddenly, the battleheart keened, a long, pained sound before it too joined its companion on the forest floor. It turned out that Aerowyn had grabbed one of the retractable blades from the side of her boot, and while the creature’s mouth was open, wedged the weapon between its jaws near the back of its snout, and when the hinged jaws smashed shut, the force had effectively driven the blade straight into its skull, killing it quickly and cleanly. A classic move, but it never got old. Leaping off just before the battleheart’s skull hit the ground, Aerowyn landed on her feet, not even bothering to look back at her downed opponent as it came crashing down behind her. Sauntering back over to Sev, she stopped in front of him, a small smirk decorating her features as she looked up at her taller partner, her hazel eyes amused as they stared up into his visor, almost as if she could see through it. ”So…how was that for ‘the likes of me’?”


{Haha…so tempted to pull Scorch’s line and say, “Hey Sev, this one looks like your mother!” xD}

[MillietheWarrior]

Sev’s sights remained on the other creature, the barrel of his rifle following it wherever it went. “It’s not showing off if you do it right!” he called after Aerowyn as she charged into battle. Sev ignored her other jibe, deciding it could wait ‘til later. He’d get her back eventually; he always did. But his mutinous eyes decided to follow Aerowyn again instead of the giant battleheart and Sev had a very difficult time focusing. He growled, a low, deep, gravelly sound in his throat. He’d never had this hard of a time controlling his thoughts or his eyes on a mission before. He was a quick, effective killer, who never missed a beat and never got distracted. But he’d also never been on a mission with a deadly, beautiful woman who was like him in almost every way and could nearly match him step for step. It was distracting, and grating on his nerves.

But his traitorous eyes still followed her, watching as she performed each precise move with absolute ease and fluidity. Sev tried keep is mind focused on the mission, but it kept slipping back to Aerowyn. Only a day ago, they’d been trading insults and practically hated each other. Now he couldn't stop watching her. Sev couldn’t deny she was attractive, no matter how much he didn’t like it. The fact that she had injured him, showed absolutely no fear, and ran headlong into danger wasn’t helping matters; it only made him like her more. Sev shook his head, smacking himself on the helmet again as he realigned his sights on the creature. He needed to stop drifting and focus. He wasn’t supposed to ‘like’ anyone like that, nor was he allowed to, as far as he knew.

He had no time for a woman in his life, and even if he did...It wasn’t allowed in the army. And imagine what his squad mates would think? Sev wrenched himself back to reality as the creature made a painful, keening noise and slumped heavily onto the ground. The earth under his boots actually shook. “Not bad...For the likes of you. I could’ve done better. That took too long.” He lowered his rifle and slung it across his back. “But...Area-pacification complete. Were there anymore following you?” Sev looked Aerowyn up and down; he was glad she couldn’t see his eyes or the smirk that he wore. Man, he really hated himself for thinking she was attractive. But then, it wasn’t just her beauty that was attractive; it was her brains, courage, bravery. Mentally, he smacked himself again; he was going to stop staring at her right now.

Sev had to wonder, if Boss had come in his place or Scorch, or Fixer, would they be having this problem? Maybe something was wrong with him. He turned on his heel and began marching back to the compound without a single word to Aerowyn. Maybe he needed to get away from her; she was starting to stalk his thoughts now too.

[8/21]