The next morning saw the two Jedi awakening late and waiting until the sun was low on the horizon before they began their lateral traversal of the rock face. The goal was to reach a position from which they would only have to descend straight down the escarpment in order to infiltrate House Thul. The harsh, chilling winds buffeted them, making progress even slower and more precarious than they had expected. While the Force helped guide their hands and feet in the deep darkness that soon descended on the world, it couldn’t fully protect them from the powerful gusts that threatened to unbalance them and send them tumbling down the sheer rock face to a messy and sudden death.

Despite this, they progressed at a reasonable pace and by the time that the color of the horizon began to change, heralding the imminent sunrise, they were nearly in position. Suddenly, a foothold Yish had been using gave way, and she screamed in shock and terror as she lost her grip and felt herself plummeting to the ground far below. Her scream died on her lips when she suddenly felt as if a giant hand had caught her and was holding her aloft. She raised her head and saw Kayle, his body hanging off of the cliff in a rather dangerous way, one hand stretched out towards her while the other held onto a tenuous-looking handhold with the grip of a vice. His eyes were closed and his face was strained, and Yish could tell he was struggling to hold her. Part of her wanted to yell his name, but she knew that would break his concentration and possibly see them both plummet to their demise. So she kept silent, reciting the Jedi Code in a vain attempt to suppress the terror that roiled in her chest.

Kayle began moving her to the side, his eyes still closed and his face a mask of intense but straining focus. His handhold began to crumble, and he slipped an inch.

“Kayle!” Yish cried out in alarm. He gave no sign he had even heard her, so intense was his self-induced trance. He slowly moved her to a point he seemed to have chosen, then began lowering her downward. Looking beneath her, Yish could see a ledge jutting out of the cliff wall and her whole body breathed a sigh of relief. That relief was short lived, as Kayle’s handhold continued to fall apart and the young Jedi was now hanging on by only three fingers.

“Kayle!” Yish screamed. “KAAAAYYYLE!” The scream seemed to jolt him out of his trance, and Yisheera immediately felt the invisible hand vanish. She braced herself for impact with the hard stone ledge, but even so it took the wind out of her. She recovered just in time to see Kayle lose his grip and start to tumble down the cliff. Just as he lost his grip however, Kayle performed a Force-assisted leap that saw him glide a few feet across the cliff face for a split second before all four of his limbs latched onto handholds so perfect it was as if they had been sculpted just for him at this particular moment. He braced himself against the wall and began to slowly make his way down towards the ledge below, where Yish was standing, watching in awe and relief. When he finally made the leap down, landing in front of the entrance to the cave that opened up onto the ledge, she rushed to him and embraced him.

“Oh thank the Force Kayle, I almost thought…” She struggled to hold back the emotions and tears that threatened to well up in her eyes.

“It’s alright.” He said, embracing her back. “You’re alive, that’s all that matters.” She clung to him even tighter, and felt first one tear, then another, then another, escaping her eyes, and small, hiccupping sobs burgeon up from deep within her. She had almost lost him. That thought terrified her more than even the thought of her own death. To not just lose Kayle but watch him die, helpless to save him…

He pulled away from her and at first she resisted, but his arms were slightly more insistent the second time and she reluctantly let him pull back so he could see her face.

“Yish,” he said, his voice full of concern, “what’s wrong? Are you hurt? What happened? Did you get hurt from the fall?” She shook her head, and merely hugged him again, making it clear from the strength of her embrace that he wasn’t to push her away again. He relented, and Yish felt herself melting in his arms. The feeling of his breath on her neck, the sensation of his arms wrapped around her as he tried to comfort her with soft whispers of reassurance as she let her emotions out felt so good. After so many years of holding everything in, burying her feelings under the stoicism and apathy that was expected of a Jedi, it felt so good to just cry as she held onto Kayle as if she would never let him go.

It felt so good when she surrendered to her newly released desire and kissed him. Surprised at first, he soon began to kiss her back and their embrace quickly morphed into gentle caressing and stroking. When the tips of his fingers brushed across her skin, she felt the first sparks of pleasure. His lips tasted sweet and she found that she couldn’t get enough of them. Their kisses became hungry and breathless, and her desires intensified as they began to disrobe each other. In moments they were pawing and massaging each other’s nude bodies, their movements informed in equal measure by curiosity and passion.

“Oh stars Yish, I want you. I want you so bad.” Kayle whispered in her ear, each word making her shiver with raw anticipation.

“I want you too Kayle.” She said breathlessly, her body on fire with pure desire. “I want to feel you, every inch of you.”

They somehow ended up on the rocky ground, but were completely oblivious to the hard stone. It might as well have been a soft carpet of grass for all they cared. They lay together, wrapped in each other’s embrace as they hungrily explored each other’s bodies with lips, fingers, and mere skin-to-skin contact.

“I want it.” Yisheera moaned softly, pleading with him. “I want you Kayle.”

Kayle breached the entrance, and she felt a wave of apprehension mixed with excitement. She felt him pressing against her maidenhood and he stopped, looking at her with expectant eyes. She looked back at him and smiled.

“It’s ok. Don’t stop.”

With her permission, he pushed forward and Yisheera felt the tear. She gasped and her fingers sank into his arm as a flash of pain shot up her spine to explode in her brain like a firework. She felt different, very different. Sparks of ecstasy and excitement overwhelmed the discomfort and pain she felt, making her breath come in short gasps as her chest heaved.

“Are you ok? Did I hurt you?”

“No, no I’m fine, don’t stop Kayle please.” She pulled him closer to her, pressing their flesh together and causing the hairs on his skin to bristle, making pimply bumps all along his arms.

As he began to move back and forth, settling into a rhythm, Yisheera was caught up in an intense wave of lust that made her Lekku twitch and she clung to Kayle even tighter. Their lovemaking became faster and more insistent, more passionate, and Kayle’s whisper in her ear sent thrilling shivers up and down her spine.

“Ohhh Yish. I’ve wanted you for so long, I love you so much Yish.” She grabbed the back of his head with one hand as his speed noticeably increased, causing another wave of euphoria to sweep over her.

“Oh yes Kayle.” She gasped as the tides of euphoria crashed over her again. “I love you so much. I’ve wanted to feel you like this for so long. This feels like a dream, and I want to never wake up. Oooooo Kayle-ahhhhh!”

She became lost in the storm of love and affection that had engulfed her. She didn’t even realize that her nails were digging into his back, or that her lekku were twitching and spasming like writhing serpents. When she felt the rising crescendo of the long-awaited climax, she screamed Kayle’s name and clung to him as her mind went blank and she was engulfed in euphoria so overwhelming and complete she couldn’t describe it.

“Oh Kayle!”

Through the all-consuming elation, she heard Kayle screaming her name, and she felt the release.

“Oh stars Yish, ohhhhh…”

The joy that filled her was immeasurable, impossible to fathom or describe. It went beyond any experience she’d had, even the time when her mind had first been opened to the Force. She felt connected, bound to Kayle by a bond that she knew transcended space and time. She’d never felt such a raw, emotional connection to another being before. She felt something emerging deep within her, like a warm heat in her core, as if a softly burning star had taken up residence there. Bathing in the afterglow, she opened her eyes to see Kayle’s own staring back at her, lost in the same love and passion she was feeling. She reached out to touch his cheek, and his hand came up over hers, first covering it, then wrapping around it. He leaned down and their lips met in a fiery kiss that turned into more and more kisses, each one more insistent than the last. Their passions, merely sedated rather than satiated, swelled once more and they gave themselves to each other as the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon.