A Beacon in the Storm

[Riamah]

"Nowhere in the sith code does it say one must be evil to accomplish their goals. While yes, it may be common for people to live that way, not all do. I guess I might be unique, but I see the code as one of self empowerment. As for belonging to them, yes I do. If you want to know the truth, they probably wouldn't miss me if I left. The only applies to the Empire though, not my personal beliefs."

She wasn't opposed to walking away from them, but wasn't sure if leaving her code behind was a good choice.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"But what of the sith order themselves? I was once known as Darth Tsolan. I knew the code. I also know what lengths the sith went through to secure the power the code calls for. And if now they wouldn't miss you, then is not now the perfect time to leave?" As he spoke, Ace did his own work, fluffing up his already soft fur to keep the tension of the serious conversation down. "To leave the sith is to leave the taint of their evil, evil that I know you've seen. And you and I both know that as a whole, the sith have always tended towards being a malevolent force. You don't have to change who you are, simply the company you keep. And isn't the old saying, If you lie with dogs you get fleas? Perhaps you should up and go now before you start itching."

 

[Riamah]

"Ah you have something more than me. Nobody has ever given a Darth name. Any person in desperation though could be pushed to do something extreme."

As they spoke, Ra lifted the hand that had been petting Ace to allow him to fluff his fur or whatever he was doing. Even if the conversation might be something of a touchy subject, she did not feel any tension. It was a conversation to her.

If a simple change of company would make a difference in how others viewed her, then there was no harm. Her connection with the sith was tentative to say the least. His analogy made her laugh slightly and it would show in her voice.

"I didn't exepect to hear something like that."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I saw the sith kill entire families for no other reason than to crush hope for the purpose of furthering their own greed." For a moment there was a darkness in his voice, something which caused Ace's head to momentarily raise. Given that their memories were linked, the wolf would know exactly what the Zorren was speaking about. he also knew what Vulpesen didn't mention.... that he had hid a young prince in a pile of his guards whom he himself had killed... all in the hope that the orphan might have brought hope to the future. Desperation was rarely the sith way. It more often the way of those tried to fix the messes they created.

Still, the reaction to his last statement brought a bit of joy back to Vulpesen's experience. "Particularly from someone who seems to be part dog?" He grinned and ran a clawed hand over his tail. "But it is true. To follow the sith is to walk a path of ruin, even if you don't consider yourself to truly be a part of their barbarism. The best trick I've found is to run and run fast and towards something worth clinging to. Good for you, you have the luxury that I did not, anonymity and the lack of fear that you might be hunted for your treachery."

 

[Riamah]

Ra sat back and heard every word Vulpesen said, the look she gave him indicated she knew every word he meant was true. Her own master had killed her entire village, including her parents. When she was old enough to understand, he had told her. It was done well before a time that she could remember.

Reaching down to pet Ace again, she remained silent as the memory of that conversation went through her head. It was probably the one of the only times she had lashed out at her master. That was the day he broke her, the day he had implanted on her exactly what a sith could do. He had taken her when she was an infant and raised her, turned her into what she was. It wasn't a monster though.

When he spoke again the mood had lightened again between them and no matter what had happened in the past, it would remain there. Parts that made each of them who they were, but neither one allowing them to dominate what they are now.

"You mean to be within the Empire."

Continuing to pet Ace, Ra thought about her next words. She didn't want them come out sounding odd.

"What I have I've got my own, for since my master died, I've been alone. There's nobody to run to."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's single ear flicked towards Ra as she spoke, bent on every syllable as he watched her speak. It was something he was fortunate to have never faced. But even still, the idea of being trapped in a life with nowhere to go was one that made him shudder. The sith did more than inspire a belief in their people. They chained them down. They gave them no choice but to be loyal. They gave them no other options.

Vulpesen looked down for a moment, thinking on her dilemma. Before it had been so easy. The jedi would back him up and take those he redeemed with open arms. Now, that was no longer an option. The Jedi were a piece of his past and he knew that to invite a person to the order would be to take them into yet another trap. It was harder than he thought to decide on the words he was about to say. But he did have a duty to do. To save, liberate, and unify the galaxy, even if through one soul at a time. He reached into his coat and tossed Ra a shield shaped pendant that seemed to serve as a badge. "Well, now you do. Its not much, but its code is simple. Not near as many rules the jedi. And it doesn't lead to darkness like the sith. Dare I say, you've exemplified it without knowing from the moment I stepped into your home. I'm not asking you to devote your life to become a zealot. Just to use your power to do good. I and the Vitae would be happy to give you a place to go."

 

[Riamah]

For a moment there was silence between them when she finished speaking. He moved to reach into his coat and drew something out to toss at her. Already knowing she could trust him, Ra knew this item wasn't going to hurt her. Catching the item, she looked at it in her hand.

It was shield shaped pendant. He said the code was simple. The feeling it and his brought made her feel a little odd. There was not one specific thing she could nail down as to what she felt, just that it wasn't something she had known before.

She spoke in a quiet tone, but loud enough to be heard in the almost silent room.

"What have I done to warrant this? I've been nothing but myself."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smiled softly as he listened to her words. Two sides of the same coin. One who wondered why everything seemed to change around her. And another who seemed to constantly change himself. "You chose the side that would seek to change you into something else. I'm not asking you to change, and in case you think I am, you are free to decline this invitation. And even if you do decline, I'll still offer you sanctuary. I'm simply offering another path to walk, one I think you are far more equipped to tread than that which the sith have laid out before you." His voice was low, allowing her enough peace to think of his words and her position.

"Under that badge you may pursue a Life as fulfilling as you desire. You will have the Freedom to be yourself, unhindered by the chains that the Sith code would place on your desire for compassion. All your life, it seems you've wanted to be a part of something. While not some grand player in this galactic game of Dejarik, we still offer the chance of Unity with those that would see you safe and prosperous. The sith code is thirty four words of law. The jedi code is twenty-nine. Here I offer the guidance of only three. Life, Freedom and Unity."

 

[Riamah]

Ra ran one of her fingers over the front of the shield almost without thought as she listened to what he said. His tone the same as hers had been. She knew he may not be intentionally trying to change her, but in a way he was. By offering her this new avenue and potential new life. While he implied she could remain herself, there would be a change if she accepted.

"This is the code you live by then?"

Lowering her hand to rest on the arm of her chair, Ra kept a hold of the shield and pet Ace with the other.

"Not ever having known a family or been a part of one, yes I suppose it is something I have wanted. Though my master lead me to believe that attachments were a weakness that could be exploited. This isn't exactly though, much more akin to something of a family?"

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"It is." Vulpesen watched as Ace rolled over a bit, his azure tail now wagging back and forth in the air. "I won't lie and say your master was a fool would was completely wrong. The truth is, the most pain I've ever felt was when something I loved was lost or on the verge of being so. But the most powerful I've ever been was when I was defending that which I held dear. We zorrens have a saying, he who fights for the pack, fights with the power of the pack. He who fights for himself, fights with the power of himself." Vulpesen had grown up raised by his master Zarro. The wise fox had taught him much of what family meant, but it wasn't until recently that he had discovered his own mother and father. And since that moment, he had never found himself regretting the reunion, nor had he found himself at any disadvantage due to it.

 

[Riamah]

The two word answer he gave was a simple answer to her two questions. Both the code he lived by and that he was offering her a family of a sort. At least that was how she heard them.

Ace rolled over in her lap and she smiled down at him and allowed him to get comfortable in his new position before moving to pet him more. The fluff of his tail tickled the top of her hand as she ran it along his soft belly.

"He really is a trusting creature. Maybe he can read people."

Along those lines, she considered his and her code side by side. Not yet ready to give up fully what she followed, Ra felt she could incorporate what he offered into them. Looking up at Vulpesen again, he might be able to read what was going on in her mind. She had stopped a while ago trying to keep or hide anything from him.

"One saying I've had is that life is pain. I'm just come accept that as fate, kept my distance from anybody and not allowed any in close to me. Call it a fear of having pain. In a way though, I guess I brought the pain of being alone upon myself. Never have I had to defend what I hold dear as there isn't anything really. Other than my own life."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

He grinned at her comment on Ace's abilities as an empath. "He's pretty good at it. And I've learned to trust him to keep me in one piece. In return, he does the same." He smiled as Ace continued to roll and enjoy her petting hand, his voice constantly buzzing in the Zorren's head with simple ideas of enjoyment and comfort. In truth, it was getting a bit distracting.

"Life is pain, is a lie. It is a truth that pain exists in life. But that doesn't mean we should resign ourselves to its hold. In life there is also joy, love, and excitement. Anger, hatred, compassion, and peace are all felt through the span of a life. Your life is no more pain than it is joy unless you decide that such is as it should be. If you want happiness, then one unfortunate truth is, that it will rarely fall in your lap. It must be chased, hunted, and pursued. Will you sit back and let that life of joy pass you by, or will you chase it down?" Vulpesen could prattle on for days about how hope was the bane of the sith and all evil. But in truth, Hope was only the spark that sets off the explosion. It needed something to ignite, a mission to follow.

 

[Riamah]

"Has he ever made an error?"

She had no real idea of the connection between Vulpesen and Ace, but assumed it was much like that of a dog and a master. They shared a small moment of joint peace together and Ra was comfortable in that.

Not looking at him as she said the first thought that came to mind at one part of what he said.

"Love is a myth, Vulps. Then again six years ago, so were Jedi and Sith. So I suppose it might be real."

Then she looked up at him before speaking again. Giving him a small and almost bitter smile at her words.

"I've been holding myself back from searching or hunting."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"He usually doesn't have the opportunity. If someone wishes me harm, either I sense it before he sees them, or they've already started in their attempt to kill me. He's much better at reading me, particularly since our minds are linked together." Her denunciation of love, caused his brow to furrow a bit. "I've held it, lost it, and seen in it with others. I assure you its real, even if elusive." He grinned widely at her and folded his hands on his lap. "Those who never search shall never find. A sith of all people should know that." Having reconnected with his mother who was once one of the more psychotic members of the sith order, Vulpesen had been told quite a lot about the virtues of ambition.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

Lifting the hand that had been petting Ace, Ra pointed as he spoke his point and lowered it when he was done. Once again resting it on Ace.

"At this time, you don't have to worry about me trying to attack or harm you, but I think you already figured that out."

He clarified their connection and she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Something like beast trick then?"

What he said about his own past did tell her a little more about him. He spoke with humor, but with an honesty she came to realize was just a natural part of him. She chuckled lightly and nodded her head.

"Let me just say, I'm a very unconventional sith."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen chuckled at her question. It was becoming rather obvious it seemed that she didn't understand Ace's intelligence. "Maybe you do want me dead. You just don't want to make a mess on such a nice couch." His crooked grin returned in full force with the comment. "And no. Ashlan Wolves survive by bonding with another creature, usually an Ysalimiri since they come from the planet of Myrkr. And to call Ace a beast does him a disservice. He's as intelligent as you or I. He simply lacks the means to use that intelligence. That, and living on a backwater planet doesn't exactly give him much life experience." As Vulpesen spoke, Ace sat up and stared upwards at Ra, his eyes showing their intelligence as they pierced into hers with the gaze.

 

[Riamah]

"Ah you see there are clean ways to kill somebody."

As she thought of it, she had only killed one person and that was actually in defense of somebody that was enemy. The thanks she got from him was a broken bottle to the stomach at a later meeting. In the end, their relationship was a very odd and confusing one. He was what she considered one of the chaotic sith and no matter what she had tried with him, that was what he was. While she could pass on her knowledge she had learned she couldn't change him, he didn't want to...

The thought made her look up at Vulpesen again and she really had a laugh as she shook her head. The situation with her and him almost seemed to mirror the one she had with her apprentice. He said he wasn't trying to change her, just like she couldn't change her apprentice. Her guest may not know why she was laughing, but in time she would tell him. Just not right now unless he asked.

He continued on a little about Ace who sat up in her lap to look up at her. Like he knew he was being spoken about. To prove what Vulps said, he looked at her with a full display of his intelligence. Ra looked down at him and smiled.

"I didn't mean to call you a beast like Vulps is suggesting."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

He grinned and nodded a bit. "I've found suffocation is a rather nice one." As Ra started to laugh, the zorrens head tilted. No doubt something form her past, the sight of her enjoying a moment of happiness widened the smile on his own face. Oh, its fine. Vulpesen told me to expect it from a lot of people. Again, the voice was only present in Vulpesen's head, head, though it did bring a grin to his face. "He says its alright." Vulpesen brought his glass to his lips, taking a long sip.

 

[Riamah]

"Suffocation huh. I hadn't thought of that one."

Still smiling, she pet Ace and had a comfortable silence between them. He seemed to enjoy the attention as much as she enjoyed giving it. Turning her attention back to Vulpesen, she still had that smile on her face.

"How you got me to trust you so easily is beyond me, Vulps. Not saying it's a bad thing, just not like me."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Honesty when possible. One of the things Zarro ingrained into the younger me, was that trust was often more valuable than a mountain of credits. And considering he named his Ashlan wolf Credit, that's saying quite a bit." Vulpesen lifted his hand and called upon the force, causing the pendant to float back into his palm. "So, what do you say? Of course, you don't need to make the decision right now, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it."

@Ra'a'mah