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[ Her head tilts slightly as she listens to him, slowly becoming aware of more pain from him as well. His response is more helpful than expected. Exactly what she wants to know, actually.

She gives him a look at his parting remark even as she moves his arm and hand to rest back against the floor next to him. ]

I could have, but why do that when I have someone I can experiment on?

[ Setting the knife on the ground beside them, she holds her hand out to summon another off the table to her. At first it appears perhaps to be a broken knife, just the hilt of one, and she toys with it in her hand for a moment as her gaze settles back on him. Surely a mere knife hilt is harmless, right? ]

Have you ever been struck with a lightsaber before? [ Her thumb presses a small button in the hilt and a pale white blade of light appears only a few inches long. She glances to the knife and then back to him. ] Granted, this is no lightsaber, but it's the same in principle.

[ Attention shifting from his face, Kylo presses her free hand to his injured shoulder, but not before tearing the hole in his shirt a little more so she can better see the wound she created. The hand on his shoulder is to keep it steady in case he feels the pain strongly enough to move. Then she carefully presses the tip of the blade against the wound to cauterize it. She didn't want him bleeding out on her, but he didn't need to know that was half the reason for her changing knives. ]

[ his eyes go wide at the hilt and the lightsaber question. no, he had not, but he saw what happened to finn. or at least, the part where he was carted off to medical and shoved in a bacta bag. finn just about got torn in half.

he's already recreating that nightmare for himself when his activates the hilt. it's smaller than any lightsaber he's ever seen (not that he's actually seen that many in the flesh), but the size didn't do much to assuage his newfound flavor of dread.

when she presses the knife down, he struggles against it. barely, since full range of motion still eludes him, but it's pretty apparent that he can feel it and isn't enjoying what he feels. despite it being limited to one space, the small but deep cut in his shoulder, it feels like the pain is spreading through his entire body somehow. he closes his eyes and clenches his teeth. it's so much, and he knows it could be even worse if he weren't still fighting off the stun baton effects. no smart words leave his mouth now. something between a groan and a scream slips out from behind his teeth, though. ]

[ Ah, yes, this is more what she likes. From the look of fear on his face to the slight struggle he offers to the sound of pain that her simple action gets out of him.

She lifts the knife after another moment or two and inspects the wound, brushing her fingers over it to make sure it no longer bleeds. Satisfied, she starts to turn her attention to the cut near his neck but then she notices how he's closed his eyes. Not one to overlook an opportunity to deliver a lovely surprise, she leans up a little, the fingers of her free hand threading in his hair and the heel of her hand against his forehead as she holds his head against the floor, wanting him still. At the same time her other hand brings the knife close, to where he can likely feel some heat against his face. ]

Keep your eyes closed and try not to move. We wouldn't want any accidents.

[ Of course, if she wants to make sure he doesn't move she can always use the Force. Which is the backup plan to prevent any major damage should he struggle too much, either by choice or involuntarily.

She waits a moment to be certain he's heard her before she leans in closer and begins to draw the blade across his forehead at an angle, above his left eye. Her intent is to mark him in a mirror of how Rey struck her, although not as severe given the smaller blade and the fact she was only using just enough pressure to 'cut' through a few layers of skin and create a mark. Kylo's own scars were long gone, healed part by technology and the rest through the Force. She would have Poe healed up when she was through, probably. Most likely. No need to ruin a pretty face so soon. ]

[ it's hard to not immediately open your eyes the second someone tells you to close your eyes. especially when she grabs his head and forces it down. he feels that much.

there's a feeling bubbling up inside him — he hates it, but immediately knows what it is. fear. He's scared of what's going to happen to him and of how helpless he feels inside this moment. he knows from past experience that if he put his entire body into it, he might be able to jerk away from her. even that much resistance would be worth it.

but he can feel the heat against his forehead, above his eye. if he tried to move now, it'd be worse than the wrong end of the stun gun and probably worse than the normal knife had been, too.

she was cutting into his face.

despite still being some degree of immobile, it felt like all his effort was going into not moving away or screaming or doing anything that would interrupt the knife and make it worse. was it vanity? maybe a little bit of vanity, but mostly pain.

when he thinks maybe she's done, he asks in a shudder: ]

Why? What are you doing?

Sending a message to someone. [ Her reply comes easily. Implying that she's going to record this in some manner. A pity that she already sent his droid back. ] Indirect payback, if you will.

[ Having lifted the knife away at his eyebrow, she turns his head slightly away from her so she has a better view of the side of his face. A moment later she has the blade against his skin again, cutting across his cheek and down almost to his jawline. Kylo's careful, oh so careful, aware that it wouldn't take much additional pressure to turn a mostly superficial wound into something far worse.

Once finished she lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and sits up a little to look at her handiwork. ]

You should consider yourself thankful I'm not using my saber for this. It would be quite unpleasant. [ And likely kill him, she imagines. She credits the Force fully for why she didn't end up half blind when Rey wounded her. If the young Jedi thought she could protect the Resistance and its assets, Kylo would show her just how wrong a thought that was. No one could protect Poe now, and any who tried would only find themselves meeting a similar fate. ]

[ it's kind of insulting, that it's not even about him. he's caught in the middle of some kind of fight that has nothing to do with him. but that's just salt in the wound, and the wound stings so much that it doesn't really matter. metaphorical and actual wound. enough sensation is back in his face that it burns, burns enough to make his eyes water. but he's not crying. nope. his eyes are just watering.

he has to stay strong. find some part of himself and cling to it instead of breaking completely. instead of letting pain and fear warp him. ]

I can't believe you're this jealous of my looks.

[ Satisfied with the marks she's made, Kylo turns the blade off so there's no risk of accidental damage at the moment. She doesn't want to do anything else until she can capture a nice clear image to send off. The rest of the Resistance will only see a wound but Rey will know exactly what it is. They should all be thankful she's being so kind in it being more of a superficial wound.

She notices the tears then and she faintly smirks. Leaning down, she flicks her tongue at his cheek, tasting the salt of his tears and the pain that's causing them. ]

On the contrary, if I weren't so fond of your good looks you would likely be screaming in pain right now. [ She releases her hold on his head and trails a finger along the line of the cut, delicately brushing over his eyelid in the process. ] This can all be healed but if I let the blade near your eye... well, we'd just have to replace it.

[ Lightly patting his cheek, Kylo sits up and finally moves to get off of him, taking both knives back to the table as she moves to get her communicator out of her cloak. There's video surveillance in the room of course, but she didn't plan to send footage of the torture. She just wants to share this one little piece. ]

[ wow. she's licking his face. he didn't think he could like anything less than that blade cutting into his face, but here it was. he found it.

the thought of her stabbing? burning? whatever. obliterating his eye made his stomach churn, because he wasn't so sure she wouldn't do it anyway, if pressed hard enough.

he realizes, though, now that she's given him a moment alone, that he can move again. he tries flexing his fingers and toes experimentally, waiting for her to be distracted. there was nothing to be gained by moving now, though. thinking of a plan felt beyond his anxiety-ridden attention span, not when he was this on-edge. but maybe if he kept still, kept that card to his chest. he could gain some kind of advantage.

what kind of advantage? again, no idea. ]

Well, you know, I've always been real interested in cybernetics. Maybe my next eye could see ultraviolet to infrared, like a Keshian.

[ so, instead, he continues to run his mouth. ]

Is that so? I'll have to remember that. [ It almost sounds like they're having a casual conversation as she replies without turning around, adjusting settings on the device to prepare for taking an image. ] Perhaps if you become no longer physically useful to me I'll replace you piece by piece with cybernetics.

[ In a way it's idle conversation because such a thing wasn't presently on her long list of things she could inflict upon him. Dismemberment wasn't a casual thing after all and usually reserved for those ultimately to be killed. Taking a hand though... she supposes it's not out of the realm of possibility if he truly angered her at some point in the near future. Or cutting off somewhere below the knee, make it more difficult for him to get away.

So far he's done nothing to draw her ire, and she was interested in keeping him whole for the time being. There's plenty to occupy herself with that small parameter limiting her torture choices.

Walking back over to him, Kylo again sinks down to kneel, straddling his torso. She's focused on what she's doing and not so much paying attention to any little movements he may or may not be making. ]

Be good and hold still for me. [ The way she says it is like she doesn't expect anything but compliance and she reaches with her free hand to turn his head a little so she can get a clear shot of the cuts on his face. ]

[ that moment when running your mouth sends you to a place you hadn't anticipated. should have have expected kylo to come back with that? probably. did he? no. he was too busy trying to stay as still as possible.

and he stays still. still enough for her to get one good shot, maybe. and then he decides to do something stupid. (more stupid than talking as much as he has.) it's pointless, but all he is is a bunch of pointless acts of defiance in a trenchcoat, at the end.

in a rush, he tries to push her off of him (probably smearing blood all over her with his untreated hand) and tries to scramble away. where??? he has no idea. not here. out of this room at the very least. ]

[ There's no reason for her to worry about anticipating actions right now and so she isn't. Her attention is fully focused on what she's doing and nothing tips her off that being stunned has wore off. If anything she's probably a little too focused, wondering to herself at the young Jedi's reaction to seeing the similar wound inflicted on another who was arguably innocent.

So Kylo's caught off guard when he moves, confusion temporarily interrupting her thoughts. She half falls to the side, catching herself with an elbow and her other hand so she doesn't drop the comm device, though it shortly gets set on the floor and pushed out of the way. The blood merits no attention; it's not as if it bothers her.

There's a moment where she considers letting him fleetingly feel victory. The door was locked and even if he got it open in his frantic state there's nowhere for him to go, nowhere she or someone else can't catch him. But instead a very predator-prey reaction comes to the forefront.

Eyes narrowing, she pushes herself up and lunges after him. There's no use of the Force to stop him, just pure physicality, grabbing at his clothes and clutching at him in an effort to get on top of him and pin him down. At the very least she wants to bring him to the floor and, assuming she's successful, a knee will dig into his back and one hand will go to his injured shoulder, pressing her fingers against the wound. ]

[ he's usually fast, all reflexes (lightning reflexes not just limited to his hands in the cockpit), but he's still sluggish from being stunned. shoving her off was a lot. he couldn't sustain that kind of sudden movement long-term yet.

so his "escape" plan doesn't last very long. it doesn't take that much to stop him. there's the uncomfortable yet increasingly familiar feeling of her weight on top of him, and then searing pain from the pressure on his wound. his vision blacks out for a minute and he makes a mangled animal noise. he still tries to scramble for purchase away from her, smearing more blood on the ground from his hand. it feels shaky, he realizes. from all the blood loss and from the trauma of the injury itself, now that he can actually feel it.

he tries to yell "get off," but no words actually come out. only more pained noises instead. ]

[ It's satisfying, 'catching' him, yet it doesn't strike her half as much as the sound that comes out of him. By the Force, that did things to her. For a moment all her senses get from him is pure pain and she relishes in it. ]

Where are you going, Poe? We're not done yet.

[ Her hand lets up on his shoulder as she shifts her position, moving so her knees press into his sides and a hand presses at the back of his shoulder in an effort to keep him down. The other hand grabs his hair to tug his head back, and she hopes it makes that cut near his neck hurt. All the blood he's smearing everywhere draws her gaze and absently she considers those wounds will need to be tended to in some manner. But not right now.

Right now she's more interested in leaning in close, listening to his pulse and his breathing for a moment before her voice comes out low next to his ear. ]

So much fight in you, I love it. Although I seem to remember wanting you to tell me when you could move again, not show me. [ Her hand presses harder on his shoulder though she doesn't reach to outright aggravate the wound. ] Can't say I was planning to put you on your stomach tonight but I can work with this. Perhaps it's a different sort of torture you're wanting, hmm? Tired of being cut and bled?

[ the scar running down his face burns. the cauterized wound in his shoulder burns. his hand burns, his neck burns, blood gently seeping out from it, too. these points don't comprise his entire body, but in this moment they feel like they do. he feels like a raw nerve. a raw severed nerve, all blood and pain.

he doesn't know what she means when she suggests something besides being cut and bled, but he has a few ideas and can't imagine liking them any more than he's liking this. he remains still, but tense. coiled up. like he can do anything to move from under her. (he can't.) ]

Maybe we can go without the torture. [ if he acts like himself, mouthy and insolent, he doesn't have to choose. :) ]

But this is a torture room, it's what you were brought here for. Whatever else would we do here? [ Her tone is somewhat mocking as she replies and she releases her hold on his hair with a light shove. Though she sits up a little her hand doesn't immediately move away, instead briefly taking hold of the collar of his shirt to pull it away from his neck so she can eye the skin, and her fingers seek out the spot at the base of his neck, right at the top of his spine. ]

You know, a slight injury at just the right place can swiftly paralyze a person from the neck down. Enough pressure on a certain bone -- [ said as her fingers pointedly apply a little pressure, feeling the bones so close beneath his skin. ] -- or a cut in just the right place with a blade. The pain doesn't last long, from what I've been told.

[ She sits up fully then, straddling his lower back, and her hands slowly run down his back on either side of his spine, her eyes following the path. ] I hear the traitor survived being sliced open with my lightsaber. Perhaps next time I'll recreate that. Hurt your friends through hurting you, demoralize them with footage of the damage they didn't try to prevent.

Fearless Poe Dameron, heart of the Resistance. [ Chuckling, she leans down again and reaches to lightly grab his throat, half-purposely pressing her hand against the cut. ] Not so fearless now, are you?

His name is Finn.

[ it comes out in a quiet voice, hardly more than a whisper. spat out despite the sharp stinging from the cut so close to his throat. he doesn't know what else to say, because literally anything else would betray his emotions. the sick dread he feels as she runs her hands down his spine, envisioning the kind of helplessness that would accompany being paralyzed like that.

and, if not that, and he doesn't want to talk about how finn close finn came to not surviving. he was there when they brought him to medical. he saw what happened before the bacta bag. (he saw what happened after the bacta bag.) when she says "recreate" he doesn't know if she means superficially, like the scar on his face ... or something more genuine. he's pretty sure he doesn't want to know.

there's a lot of fear churning underneath the surface, barely contained below "his name is finn." ]

[ Her lips press together in a brief thoughtful expression at the words he seems to barely get out. As always, what he chooses to say and not say is interesting to her. This instance in particular feels like she's found a little string just waiting for her to tug on it.

Kylo releases his throat, shifting a little to one side so she can get a look at his face. ]

FN-2187 is a traitor and deserves to be executed like one when the time comes. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have a good view when it happens. I wouldn't want you to miss seeing the light leave his eyes. [ A hand lifts to lightly run over Poe's hair, almost like one would pet a domesticated animal. Her precious little unwilling pet. ] Or perhaps when FN-2187 is at last captured you can make the case for why I should be merciful. It's what you'll do, won't you? Beg for the lives of your friends.

[ She's fully confident the day will come, whether it takes weeks or months to get there. Kylo could have sent the full wrath of the First Order along with the droid if she wanted to. But she wants it done once and for all. That means destroying the outside layers so there's nothing left to scatter when the core is reached. Remove their allies, shrink the playing field, pick them off one by one if necessary.

And she fully intends to keep Poe alive for it. To let him witness the complete and utter destruction of the Resistance, to watch her wring the life from them until he is all that remains. One final ember glowing in the palm of her hand. ]

[ he looks at her with anger — and hurt. the hurt is different. like maybe he feels a little something more than friendship for the traitor. she tried to strike a nerve and ended up hitting the jugular. he couldn't stand it. he couldn't stand the thought of losing any resistance members — each loss more personal as the circle drew closer — but finn was ... finn. finn saved his life. finn gave him hope when he didn't have any. finn was hope in the form of a person.

so he gets an early start on that begging. ]

His name is Finn. [ his mind races, scrambling to hold on to something that isn't a simple "leave him alone." ] You could —

[ as he thinks of a way to save him, he almost chokes on the words. she could recondition him instead of kill him. it's selfish. it's too much. he can't finish it. he knows finn would rather die. he wanted to keep him alive but it wouldn't even be him anymore. just someone else with his face. ]

[ Oh, she sees it. Feels it. The way the chord she struck felt similar yet uniquely different from the one that belonged to his droid. Such a big heart the pilot has. So many feelings for others.

How utterly exhausting that must be. Kylo can't relate. There's no one remotely close enough to her that could be threatened and invoke such an emotional response. Not even the single other member of her family; Kylo would kill the woman who was her mother with less hesitance than she killed her father. Leia meant nothing to her now. People were pawns. Weaknesses for others. A Supreme Leader had no need for weakness.

Kylo lifts a brow as she gives him an expectant look, waiting a few moments to see if Poe will finish his thought. When he doesn't she lets the Force finish it for him, her power dipping briefly into his mind. ]

Hmm, yes, I could do that. Or I could torture him to death. [ She shrugs a shoulder, her fingers trailing through his hair even as he radiates anger and discontent. ] Perhaps I should subject him to a similar fate to yours, hmm? Give myself a matching pair of toys. [ Now she's purposely trying to provoke him. It's good practice for when the First Order does eventually capture someone else from the Resistance. ]

No!

[ it bursts out of him before he can temper his emotions. he's running too hot. and she looked inside his mind, he knows she did and it just serves as a further irritant.

he didn't know what was worse. there wasn't a good end. torturing. reconditioning. being tortured as part of some mindgame, instead of the straightforward way to death. that seemed like the "best" option and he still couldn't allow the thought of subjecting finn to it. ]

Leave him alone. Just ... just leave him alone.

[ maybe finn would die in crossfire before kylo had a chance to get ahold of him. maybe he'd go headfirst into another cannon. at least a death that way would be quick. not drawn out by a sadist. it felt so grim to actually hope for that. parts of him keep slipping. ]

[ One hand moves to cup the side of his face as her eyes run over him, noting the emotion but also the way the cuts look. Part of her thinks she went too easy on him. ]

You can't even save yourself, how in the world are you going to save anyone else?

[ There's more Kylo could do, so much more, but he's so riled up and in pain that she feels fairly satisfied.

She moves, getting off of him, and she steps over him to walk over to the door. A slight gesture of one hand unlocks it and when it slides open she half steps out to address the trooper on guard in the corridor. ] Take the prisoner down to holding, and have a doctor come patch up his wounds. If he struggles too much, stun him.

[ When she steps back in the room Kylo merely casts a glance down at Poe and walks over to retrieve her comm device. Once she's cleaned up a little she'll be off to see what comm frequencies have been found within the data from the droid, as she has little doubt the droid had a way to reach practically everyone in the Resistance. That way she could send the image directly to Rey, assuming they hadn't started changing up their frequencies upon the droid's return. ]

[ she's right, and the truth of it cuts into him, colder and deeper than her prods with the knife had been. there was nothing he could do to help finn. or anyone. he couldn't even save himself. he kept trying, and it was like throwing himself at at a barrier. an endless cycle of smashing uselessly against it.

being stunned didn't feel like an experience he wanted to repeat today. not after the first time left him so vulnerable. so he tries to behave himself. sit still through the stitching and the smearing of bacta. none of it made him feel better. sure, the actual physical pain was lessened, but it did nothing for the dread. she was just creating a new blank canvas to inflict more torture on. thinking otherwise was stupid.

holding felt better than the officer's room, though. more real. he didn't have to feel disgusted with himself when he was sitting in holding. instead, he could worry about what terrible things kylo was probably going to do to his friends while he's left sitting. all the finn talk dragged that line of thinking up to the surface. ]

[ Kylo finds it amusing that after all this time, it's something so simple that causes the Jedi to reopen their private line of communication. The bond rips open with force some hours after the image is sent, and she readily accepts the headache because the sheer fury she can feel from the younger woman more than makes up for any moderate pains at having the dormant connection reopened.

It's almost too easy, goading Rey. Hanging it over her head that for being a Jedi, a sworn protector, she's sure done a piss-poor job of keeping those arguably in her charge from harm. She makes some blind threats in return but Kylo barely gives rise. The thought of the Resistance being able to strike out is laughable. As is the thought of them rescuing their prized pilot. She points out that she could have blasted them to pieces instead of returning the droid, though she hopes they've moved bases because she's going to send a dreadnought in the coming days to check.

By the time the connection is severed again, Kylo's in a wonderful mood despite having to feel a level of Rey's emotional pain. She so hopes the Resistance will do something foolish. In the meantime though, there are plenty of planets yet to bring under the First Order's shade and pockets of local resistance to exterminate.

Several days later the holding cells are a little more populated. They've rounded up one of the rebel groups they found through the droid's datafiles, and while several were killed in the fighting or left to be executed by the planetary government as an example of what happens to enemies of the First Order, a dozen or so have found themselves guests of the First Order. Over the following days they're taken off one by one to be interrogated; a few don't return.

When troopers eventually come to take Poe from his cell, he won't be the only one. The youngest of the rebels still alive, a girl barely out of her teenage years, will also be hauled out of her cell. While the girl's only been to interrogation, Poe will likely recognize where they're being taken to since it was his last 'visit' with Kylo.

And Kylo's there, waiting, when the troopers drag the two of them in the torture room. ]

Put the girl on the rack. [ She makes a gesture with one hand that's already holding a long blade, and then points to a set of chains attached to the nearby wall. ] And put him over here. I want to make sure he has a good view.

[ the time alone is never really any easier than the time spent in her presence. instead of actively being in pain and turmoil, he has to spend his time constantly on edge for the shoe to drop. for her to show up to inflict more pain, or to deliver news that he knew he'd probably never be ready to hear. (his resistance being destroyed. because it was his. his as much as anything. and whatever happened to it ... the darker part of himself didn't hesitate to point out that it would be because of him.)

as the holding cells fill up, all the captured rebels feel like a weight crushing his chest. these were people who relied on him to give them hope. and here ... now ... he didn't feel like he could. too much of the light was smashed out of him. all broken and fractured. who could look to that? for all his fighting, he couldn't even save himself. he keeps his distance, stays quiet. it hurts to do it, but the thought of leading them into a fool's errand hurt more. it's like he learned something after all.

that said, it's not until he's struggling against the knights trying to pull him towards the chains that he realizes there is still fight in him. enough fight to save one person, because she's barely more than a child and she's good. she didn't deserve any of this. ]

Leave her alone! Hey! Leave her out of this! I thought we had something special.

[ Observing his struggling against the knights, Kylo makes no effort to intervene. She's enjoying the sight of his fighting spirit far too much for that. Besides, a decent struggle now means less energy he has to fight her with later. ]

Do we? I don't know, after last time you left me feeling very unwanted. [ A smirk is kept off her face and mostly out of her voice. The banter is a fun little touch to her; perhaps she won't alter his personality completely if she does decide she wants a permanent change. Blind obedience could get rather boring, and boring things weren't kept alive for very long. Besides, if she keeps a bit of that attitude in place then he'll yet be able to run his mouth and give her an excuse to punish him.

The girl, for her part, puts up a bit of a fight as she's dragged over but she's fairly easily overpowered. Kylo smiles at the fear she can sense from the girl, watching her eyes flit around the room like a trapped bird. Stepping in as the girl is restrained none too gently, her empty hand goes to the girl's face, thumb stroking across her cheek. ]

Such a sweet little thing. A pity your parents had you fighting on the wrong side. [ Striking a nerve -- the girl's mother was one of the ones who didn't return from interrogation -- the girl musters a glare and spits in Kylo's face. As she wipes off her face and steps back one of the troopers backhands the girl, and though the action from the girl surprised her Kylo laughs. ] Oh my, you've got some spunk to you yet. No wonder the hero over there doesn't want me to hurt you.

Edited 2018-07-24 21:09 (UTC)

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