Chapter 5: Carrying Tension

It absolutely did not take the edge off. Kayora returned a couple days later, as did the rest of the crew, and it was like being reminded why Nadia had the crush in the first place. All of the feelings immediately came rushing through her body as soon as she saw Kayora, but now those feelings were intertwined with that erotic night in her bunk, which did not help matters. After her resurging attraction literally caused her to stutter-step, she pulled herself together enough to welcome her master back.

“Master, it’s so good to see you!” Nadia almost raised her arms for a hug before catching herself, awkwardly transitioning into clasping her hands together in front of her.

“It’s wonderful to be back,” Kayora replied, a genuine smile gracing her face. “After finding out Jedi Master Syo was the First Son, and subsequently defeating him and bringing him back to the light, I am definitely ready for a bit of a rest.” She laughed lightly, though the circles under her eyes betrayed the exhaustion that she must be feeling after such a grueling campaign.

Ignoring the voice at the back of her head, Nadia grabbed Kayora’s hand. “Then let’s get you some downtime.” Tugging at their joined hands, she began leading the way toward Kayora’s room. “I’m sure the rest of the crew can get us heading back to Coruscant, or wherever we’re going next.” Nadia caught Felix’s eye and raised an eyebrow, receiving a casual salute in response.

It was obvious how tired Kayora was as she didn’t even argue the point, allowing herself to be led across the ship to her chambers. Once they stepped inside, Nadia quickly let go of their hands, her previous confidence evaporating almost as quickly as it had appeared.

This was the first time Nadia had been in Kayora’s room, and she swept her gaze across it briefly. As expected, it was fairly sparse: a large bed up against one wall, low to the floor, a pair of spiritual statues in what looked like a meditation alcove, an empty armor rack, and a set of shelves against the far wall, with only a few items on them.

“Let me know if I can get anything for you master,” she said, preparing to make a quick exit.

“How many times must I remind you to call me Kayora.” Blinking owlishly, Nadia looked up to see Kayora loosely crossing her arms, a playfully exasperated look on her face.

“Right, let me know if I can get anything for you, Kayora,” Nadia reiterated, watching as Kayora sat down onto the edge of her bed, rolling her head as she stretched out her neck. She winced as she tilted too far to one side, and even though this situation was getting far too close to her previous imagined fantasy, Nadia couldn’t help herself. “Do you need me to help you with that?”

Opening one eye (they’d closed when she winced), Kayora regarded Nadia questioningly. “With your neck,” Nadia clarified, swallowing anxiously. “I could work on the muscles, loosen them up for you?” There was silence for several long moments as Kayora obviously wrestled with the offering. Finally, she bowed her head slightly, once again letting out a slight hiss of pain.

“That would be much appreciated, actually. Thank you. Where do you want me?”

Nadia stifled a groan. How was it that the Twi’lek constantly managed to make such routine questions cause a jolt of heat to ripple through Nadia’s body? “Sit down on the floor in front of the bed,” she finally managed to get out. Kayora slid forward off of the bed, but paused before sitting down. 

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take my armor off. I feel like I’ve been wearing it for weeks.” Before waiting for a response, Kayora quickly slid her hands underneath the armor plates that were positioned in strategic locations around her body, finding the hidden clasps to release them. Mutely Nadia watched her remove each piece, carefully placing them on the rack that was in the corner of her room. It didn’t take long, and soon enough Kayora had returned to the edge of the bed, sitting down on the floor in front of it. She wasn’t quite as lightly clothed as when they sparred, but with all the armor gone it was much easier to admire the svelte curves of her body underneath her dark close-fitting robes. Hoping she hadn’t been staring long enough to be noticeable, Nadia swiftly made her way to the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress behind Kayora, her legs spread out wide enough for her master to fit between them.

“You can scoot back, until you’re against the bed frame.” Kayora followed her instructions, and as she leaned back, she pulled her lekku over her shoulders so they ran down her chest, getting them out of the way of her neck and back. Nadia hadn’t even really thought of the logistics of the lekku, though to be fair she hadn’t thought much of any of this through. Realizing her hands were slightly shaking, she took a deep breath, pulling in some of the techniques she’d learned while meditating. She hadn’t given many massages in her life (okay, she’d given like two), but she was pretty sure shaky hands did not make for a good experience. Luckily, she was able to quickly settle them, and then looked down at her master nestled between her legs.

Which almost immediately got her unsettled again. The smooth green skin, the beautiful dark markings on her lekku. No, she reminded herself, this is for Kayora, and I’m being a good padawan and friend. She moved her mostly steady hands to Kayora’s shoulders, and as soon as she made contact, she could tell even through the fabric how ridiculously tight Kayora’s muscles were. When was the last time she’d actually had a break? Nadia thought. Wrapping her fingers around the Twi’lek’s shoulders, she began to knead them, using her thumb to rub firm circles against the fabric. A small sigh slipped out of Kayora, and Nadia could feel her relax just a little bit more, some of the tension draining out of her body.

Taking a breath, Nadia breathed in Kayora’s scent. She could definitely smell the dust and soot from Corellia’s industrial districts, but underscoring that was the same forest-y scent that Nadia had begun to associate with her master. It was so soothing, Nadia thought as she continued to work with her hands.

After spending some time on Kayora’s shoulders, Nadia moved her hands inward, going to work on her neck. She pressed down with each of her fingers, applying force one by one up the soft green skin, then repeating the action going down. Each time she attacked the tense muscles, she was rewarded with quiet sounds of appreciation from her master, as well as feeling the muscles loosen up. Nadia smiled to herself, rather proud that she was able to help out in this way. Also, maybe it turned out she was actually pretty damn good at giving massages.

Deciding to ask the question she’d thought to herself earlier, Nadia broke the easy silence that had descended upon them. “When was the last time you took a vacation?” When her question wasn’t immediately followed with an answer, Nadia knew that it was going to be a worryingly long time ago. She continued to press her fingers down the side of Kayora’s neck, rotating her hands so her palms were applying pressure to her upper back at the same time. 

“I honestly don’t know.” Kayora sounded embarrassed, or possibly worried, with her answer. She let out a long breath, and Nadia felt a little bit of tension creeping back into her master’s shoulders. Smoothly, she transitioned her hands back to the shoulders, once again applying alternating pressure and circles to try and get that tension to leave again.

“It’s just one crisis after another,” Kayora continued. “And once I was given the title of Barsen’thor, as well as being told to lead the support for the Rift Alliance planets, the expectations just kept coming.” Nadia ran her fingers back and forth across Kayora’s shoulder blades, idly thinking that it would be much better if these robes weren’t in the way. She shifted her focus to the back of Kayora’s neck, moving up into her scalp. “I’m afraid if I stop, people will get hurt because I’m not there to help protect them.”

“But that’s just it Kayora, you are there to help,” Nadia said insistently. “The galaxy is a big place, and there’s always going to be a crisis somewhere, but you can’t solve all of them yourself.” Her hands moved a little higher, fingers now digging in at the base of Kayora’s skull. “Speaking as your friend, and also your padawan, I guess, you need to take care of yourself too. Next chance we get, we are going to give you at least a mini-vacation,” she stated with conviction.

Kayora let out a soft laugh. “Okay. I would argue the point, but I can see there would be no chance in convincing you otherwise.”

“Nope!” Nadia smiled broadly, feeling very proud of herself for voicing her concerns, and even better that Kayora had accepted them. Fairly pleased with how her massage had relieved her master’s tension, she removed her hands from her neck and placed them on Kayora’s lekku, intending to gently knead them as well. However, a sharp gasp from Kayora caused Nadia to jerk her hands away, unsure as to what she’d done wrong. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

Kayora let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “No, no nothing like that. It’s just that my lekku become extremely sensitive when I’m … relaxed.” Nadia noticed the very slight hesitation before the word ‘relaxed’, but wasn’t sure what to make of it. She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she’d read or heard anything about Twi’leks and their lekku, but came up blank. Maybe it was just a well known thing for most of the galaxy, and she’d managed to miss it.

“I’ll remember that,” she said, relieved that it wasn’t something worse.

Kayora got to her feet, giving her body a quick shake. “That does feel much better. Thank you Nadia.” She turned to face her padawan, smiling brightly. “And I think I will take you up on that mini-vacation, whenever we get to it.”

Grinning, Nadia hopped up off the bed. “Not like you have a choice. I’ll begin planning it right away!”

Kayora chuckled. “Don’t get too excited, something could come up at any time, which might delay your plans.” Rolling her shoulders, she let out a yawn. “I’m going to use the refresher and take a nice shower, then try to get some rest. You’ll let me know if anything comes up?”

“Of course master.” Nadia bowed her head and left the room, closing the door behind her. She could still feel the heat from Kayora’s skin on her hands. Groaning, she made her way toward the cockpit to check in with Felix. Why did she keep doing this to herself? At this rate she was going to have to figure out another time to relieve her … tension, and fairly soon. Since she was a glutton for punishment, she should get started on planning a vacation for her master too. Maybe it’d be better if it was a solo vacation, she mused. Then Nadia would get some alone time and wouldn’t spend the entire time trying to prevent her hormones from doing something stupid.

“Earth to Nadia.” Startling, Nadia looked wide eyed at Felix, who had been calling to get her attention. Apparently, she’d made it to the cockpit and had continued to be stuck in her head for an embarrassing amount of time.

“Sorry, lost in thought!” She let out a forced laugh, to which Felix raised an eyebrow. “Where are we headed?”

“I have us on route to Coruscant, but I’ve got a feeling we won’t be there long.”

Nodding, Nadia crossed her arms, staring out at the mesmerizing view of traveling through hyperspace. Hopefully they would at least be there long enough to send Kayora somewhere nice. Nadia had to get to planning.