001 ✫ video

[warfares]

( the feed opens to a young man, pale skinned and dark eyed, a scar cutting across the left side of his face. his surroundings, while fairly nondescript, place him in somewhere in the Queen's Residence.)

Does anyone know where I can find a map?

Comments

[warfares]

That sounds dangerously close to encouragement, my Lady.

( slipping the title in like one might slide a blade between ribs. more elegant than you'd think a man like him capable of. )

[purpose]

Don't call me that.

[ it's clipped, guard rising. he knows her too well, she thinks, for it not to be an insult of its own — a reminder of where she had come from. people like rey never receive that courteousness, and she hardly expects it from him. if anything, she can hear the whisper of scavenger between the lines. ]

It wasn't anything but a statement.

[warfares]

It is the proper title, isn't it?

( unseen, his mouth curls, satisfied at having landed a blow. stealing some of her own satisfaction, in turn.

she knows him too well. )

Lady Rey of Jakku. It has a pleasant ring to it.

[purpose]

I'm surprised you didn't use 'nothing' instead. We both know what you think of me.

[ there's a bite to it that implies she believes he would, even after all they've exchanged. it's what he's getting at, anyway. ]

It must bother you to have to defer to me.

[ in rank, and as a woman. higher than him, here, on those merits alone. ]

[warfares]

Do we? Last I recall I offered you the galaxy on a plate.

( which she had rejected rather rudely. )

No. Though it clearly bothers you immensely.

[purpose]

You offered me an ultimatum.

[ that's all it had been, in the end. join me and destroy your friends, or i'll do it for you. she knows well enough to read between the lines. ]

Having more power than you has never bothered me. [ the barb is there, unmistakable, in its attempt to prick. ] Don't pretend you didn't use it as an insult, Ben.

[ that facade of ignorance, of pretending it's the ranking she has received here that perturbs and not his clear derision, is doubly insulting. ]

[warfares]

If it doesn't, then the title wouldn't bother you either.

( oh, he knows.

he knows exactly what she is doing, and as much as he buries that bristle of anger beneath that facade of calm, it's there. a twitch in the corner of his eye. )

Regardless, I would grow accustomed to it. I don't imagine we'll be leaving any time soon.

[purpose]

This isn't about the title or the power for me, and you know it. It's about the title and power for you. You've made it obvious.

[ the attempt to tear her down, that is, and pretend that she is the one uncomfortable with the power and regard she has been given here — excusing his callous treatment of her, of her upbringing, in the process by blaming her for her own feelings.

it's enough to make her believe she has struck a cord simply by daring to exist with power over him. ]

There is no 'we.'

[warfares]

Everything about this place bothers me, not least of which is the fact that we've been dragged into a conflict that nobody has really explained.

( how can the Hunter's Guild continue in such open defiance of the Queen? has he really been dragged in to save another toothless government that is probably mired in all manner of corruption. )

There is, and there will always be until the day you kill me.

[purpose]

It must be difficult for you not to overtake this empire next, Supreme Leader.

[ it's a barb, undoubtedly, thrown back in his face. she'd agree with him, otherwise, but he has already set her blood boiling. ]

I've shut you out before. [ there is, undeniably, a satisfied edge to her voice. a predator, moving in, canines out. ] I'm stronger now. I can do it again.

[warfares]

By the sound of it, it wouldn't be so very difficult.

( he snarls back, unthinking. )

We'll see.

[purpose]

Go ahead and try. You're no match for her, and I won't help you this time.

[ it's laughable, almost, if it weren't so infuriating. ]

You'll see when it's broken.

[warfares]

I have no interest in this planet.

( ... well, no. that's not strictly true. he's plenty interested about parts of this place. the jewels ㅡ where they are drawn from, how they are chosen ㅡ in particular. )

And their Queen would offer little challenge as she is now. Hardly worth the effort.

( honestly, there's a begrudging respect for the woman. she'd drawn ㅡ successfully, at that ㅡ twenty people across time and space, and survived. but he's still angry, still suspicious.

her threat to break the bond will trouble him later, once his ire has cooled. he is surprised, truthfully, to find it still in tact after how they had parted ways before. )

[purpose]

You won't touch her.

[ it's not confidence, or even a call on a bluff, despite the slight inkling that it is just that — a bluff, meant to rile her. it's a clipped warning, biting and feral in its edge, with clear implications.

he can try, but she'll be standing in his way.

there's a beat, small, with the sound of her breath heaving out through her nostrils heavily — and then, harsher and far more angrier than that inherent threat: ]

You're hardly worth my effort.

[ it's untrue in the grander scheme — more than. but in the moment, it's a jab she can't stop herself from giving before she ends the connection to leave him with empty air instead, and the wavering of their connection before it does cinch tight. she can't disguise herself on his end, can't end it — but her end remains still like water, quiet and unmoving. ]