Erith swayed as she supported her own weight, heart speeding up to a dizzying pace as she watched Maul remove the upper portion of his robes. She was unable to suppress her shuddering gasp and her arms gave out at about the same time that he grabbed her shoulders. With a few deep breaths, she regained some of her balance as Maul knelt in front of her.

"I have to remove this." Maul watched her steadily for a reaction. If possible, her face became an even paler shade of white. A fresh tear fell, but she nodded.

It seemed that everything Erith wore was only loosely draped over her body, fitted only to accentuate her small waist and bust. With the pull of a few strings, her gown fell away from her. As usual, her eyes were immediately fixated on the painful reminders of the permanent damage that had been done to not only her life, but her physical body as well. Her breathing became erratic as she stared at one of the sets of bite marks on her thigh.

Maul had spent little attention to Erith's condition when he'd rescued her. She was bloody and therefore injured, and that was all the information he'd needed at the time. Despite Erith's way of dressing, none of her more severe scars has been evident until now. The small nicks to her wrist and neck were nothing in comparison to the damage the rest of her body had sustained.

The tops of her breasts had been cut repeatedly in the same place and there were deliberate cuts across her ribs and stomach. There were a few places where, with careful precision not to kill her, she had been outright stabbed. There was hardly a portion of her hips that weren't covered now in raised, pink scar tissue. He imagined claws were at fault for that, and the thought brought a boiling anger into his chest.

A small, pathetic sob drew Maul's attention away from Erith's body and back to her face. She tried to cover herself, but it wasn't possible. No matter how she twisted her arms or legs to cover her body, deep, telling scars were plainly visible.

Maul easily brushed her arms aside. He nudged her chin upwards slightly, so she would look at him. She could barely see him through the tears in her bloodshot eyes.

"You don't need to hide from me. You can trust me." Erith, of course, knew that was true. And she did trust him. She would put her life in his hands without question. But this was different. No matter what she felt for him she couldn't bury the fear or the memory of the cold floor of that ship.

Erith had screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to save herself from reality. Her heart leapt into her throat as Maul's arms went around her and she was hoisted up again, this time able to curl in on herself as a primal form of protection. Maul knelt in the shallow water, keeping one arm securely around Erith as he settled her on his lap. Her hands were now balled up into fists, pressed against her eyes. Her ankles were crossed and toes curled, either from anticipation of pain or the cool water already sending goosebumps across her body.

"Look at me," Maul's rumbling voice and his hand firmly on her wrist sent her into a panicked submission. It was the only reason she had survived before.

Maul's hand was warm against her cheek and the feeling of his thumb stroking her face should have been calming, but it only made her squirm. In like turn, the fear in Erith's eyes nearly convinced Maul she had a reason to fear him. He couldn't help feeling like he could break her just by moving the wrong way.

"Keep your eyes open," He was hoping that if she could see him, her thoughts wouldn't go back to that place. Unfortunately, they were already there. Whatever Maul had meant to Erith in those moments months ago, that had gone with her vulnerability and fever.

Maul wet a cloth and carefully squeezed it out across Erith's body. She shivered hard at the sensation of the cool water across her over-heated flesh. Despite Maul's demand, she tightly closed her eyes again, accepting her fate. Once her body was used to the temperature of the water, exhaustion began taking it's hold. Within minutes she was asleep in his arms again, flinching when he touched certain places.

With Erith unconscious, it was significantly easier to bathe her. Maul took his time, examining every scar, knowing he could have prevented it had he only been quicker. He dried her as carefully as he could and wrapped her in his cloak before changing into dry clothes of his own. For a moment he just sat next to her, his fingers brushing lightly over the marred flesh of her soft stomach. This was the first time he had grieved for her.