Private A Dance in Hunger

[Faegard]

D R O M U N D K A A S

This was hardly where I had expected to find myself.

A sith planet, of all places. What was I thinking? My heart had been in my throat as I had gently guided the Phantasm through the Dromund system, praying that she would remain undiscovered. Were it not for my ship, I wouldn't have even bothered trying. But I needed answers, and it was clear that I could not get them from Dathomir. A smile curled at the corners of my mouth despite everything; it was ironic, in a way, that in chasing me from my home, the Sith had unintentionally sent me to theirs. Oh, the reaction if they found me here. My smile faded and I swallowed, my heart leaping into my chest as the planet came into view. I hoped those thoughts would remain just that; thoughts.

Thankfully, the man who was rumoured to have the particular tome I was after didn't sound like one who concerned himself with bounties. Otherwise, it would have been even more foolish than it seems to try and seek him out. As I brought the Phantasm down into the jungles outside of the city, I considered the message I had sent to him;

Esteemed Inon,

Please forgive my forward approach.
You do not know me, but I represent seekers of Dathomirian magick
Our search revealed your name in connection to a tome that belongs
to the sisters. It would be proper for this tome to be returned to us,
in exchange, I offer you secrets not in any book of ours.

I will be on Dromund Kaas at the attached co-ordinates.
If you would consider the trade, I look forward to meeting you

Faithfully,
- A witch​

But there was no time to second-guess myself now. The die had been cast, and as the Phantasm's ramp descended with a soft hiss, I swallowed back my fear and descended, alighting onto the soft ground of the jungle.

The air was thick, almost palpable. The aroma of flora and fauna hung heavy in the stillness. Mossy rocks and dense undergrowth covered the ground of the small clearing, the jungle itself clawing, tangled and chaotic, at the sky. Pullin up my hood, I took a step onto the planet's surface.

Time to find out.

Inon​

 

[Naran Ambras]

For a planet steeped with Darkness, Dromund Kaas held within it a strange and destructive beauty. Everything, from the vicious nature of its dense jungle to the storms that raged above, and bellowing thunder ever present somewhere off in the distance, was utterly beautiful and captivating. Perhaps the Sith held a bit of bias within him. Recently, rain also became a fascination of his. It was… soothing to hear and smell and see. For all that he coveted and held dear, it was somehow the little things that seemed to catch him off guard in the most unusual of moments. Even as bloodshot emerald eyes scanned the message on a datapad brought to him by Vernon.

A Dathomirian witch, how intriguing. It was a miracle that she would even attempt to fly into Sith Space, let alone to the heart of it in the pursuit of gaining lost knowledge. Ordinarily, he may have dismissed the woman as foolish, suicidal even. But, he had a feeling that this was intentional, deliberate. Surely, she knew the risks and she knew, at least on the surface, who he was. She wasn’t foolish at all, the girl was simply and completely daft it seemed. Her insistence and perseverance in returning that which belonged to Dathomir to its rightful owner would have been admirable, had he had a semblance of compassion within the warped thing he called a soul. Or, rather, souls.

His eyes looked up and found his clone. “Dress in something nice. You’ll be venturing to the given coordinates with the tome. I will be with you the entire time. You leave in 15 minutes, take the Lambda.”

Inon did not know this witch, which gave him even less reason to trust her and all the more to be cautious of her. He told Vernon where to find the tome that the witch required and gave him instructions on what to do once the volume was “returned” to her. When the boy left, he relaxed in the obsidian throne and waited, planning out events of the day in his mind.

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V E R N O N

He found a very nice suit in Inon’s closet, he was instructed to wear something “nice”, something that would make it believable that he was Inon. It wouldn’t be hard. They were nearly identical anyway, the largest difference would be their eye color. His were brown and Inon’s were a deep green. But, the witch wasn’t likely to know that without having first seen his Vassal.

10 minutes.

The next item on the list was to get the tome from Inon’s study and get to the landing pad. The tome itself stuck out like a sore thumb, which was odd because he’d never noticed it before. Perhaps it was because he was actually looking specifically for that book now. Who knew?

5 minutes.

Double checking his appearance in a quick glance to make sure everything was in place, he rushed to the hangar and boarded the Lambda T-5 that was assigned to him. He sat in the cockpit for the short flight, reassured by the pilot she had been sent the coordinates by Inon himself moments prior to Vernon’s arrival to the vessel. His objectives were simple. Give the witch the book, maintain a friendly and professional relationship, and guide her back to Inon if she was deemed “safe” to bring back to the Sanctum.

The flight was no more than 20 minutes into the jungle, if that. The coordinates led to a clearing, which was large enough for the shuttle to land in to allow for a swift departure. He made a note that they were miles and miles from any sort of civilization of any kind as well as any Sith structures, a smart move, all things considered. The Subject exited via the ramp and gave a nod to the witch, borrowing from Inon himself a bit as he gently opened himself to the Force, allowing it to radiate from him in a gentle but choking ebb. He walked within a few paces of the witch and gave her a grin and broke the silence that hung in the humid jungle air, his voice as thick and smooth as honey. “I’m assuming you were the one that called me here, yes? You know my name, I believe it only fair if I know yours, darling witch.”

Faegard ​

 

[Faegard]

It wasn't long at all before I heard the sound of a shuttle approaching.

The sound at first incited my inner panic. For a split-second I considered rethinking this entire endeavour and merely slinking back onto my ship, stealing away into the atmosphere and pretending I'd never had such a foolish plan. But with a soft grimace, I drew in my breath and held my ground. Even though my heart race in my chest, I knew I had to see this through.

So as the shuttle landed and Inon exited, I turned to face him. Even though he offered me a broad smile and a pleasing, charismatic gait as he approached, I felt something... off-kilter about him. Darkness was thick on Dromund Kaas, but even then, something exuded from him... I swallowed as he reached me, speaking in a delightful tone.

Deception

That was it.

Although what exactly, I couldn't tell, but I could feel a deception around him. However, even as I fought to focus on it, I felt the tingle of butterflies in my stomach flutter to life. His words were flirtatious, his voice smooth and soft. It was almost aggressively pleasant. It was harder to resist than I'd expected, and even as I spoke, it was with a soft, shy smile and a girlish tone,

"Thank you for meeting me, Ser. My name is Faegard."

My words were accompanied by a slight curtsey, enough to reveal the robes under my cloak; not quite the shamanistic jangling cords of bones and talismans... but I was definitely getting there.

"Please forgive me for cutting right to the chase, this is not exactly my favourite place to be at present. Have you considered my message?"

It was difficult to get a sense for the emotions of the man before me, beyond this strange air of deception, I had no idea what he was feeling. Something felt wrong about it; about him, and it was making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Dare I call it out? No, better to find out what it was, first.

At least... I hoped.

Inon​

 

[Naran Ambras]

V E R N O N

It was second nature to examine every single microexpression and telltale that a being could possibly use to express themselves for him. Even the smallest movement held secrets within it. He’d been trained to notice these things, some of them were innate. Perhaps those instincts came from Inon himself. Nevertheless, the witch betrayed herself. Her mannerisms were a sign, she seemed enticed by him. A coy smile, a high tone of voice, was that a slight flush that he spotted on her cheek? He clutched the tome in his hand, his knuckles somehow becoming a lighter shade of white than his typical alabaster skin tone as she spoke, conscious of Inon’s presence within his body.

Both of them were now listening to what the witch had to say, gauging and analyzing what came from her and how it was offered to them.

Faegard.

It was a very lovely and eccentric name. Very unique too. It suited her. Vernon’s dark eyes followed the incline of her arm and then the movement of her cloak as she brushed it aside to reveal garbs that spoke of her… affiliation. Not very flashy as he expected initially, but forward enough to get a point across, if there was a message to be found there. “I have,” he brought the tome in front of him. “I believe this is what you ventured all this way for?” Vernon fully extended his arm, offering the book to the woman mere feet from him.

“Which also begs the question of why you traveled into Sith Space when a rendezvous would have been an obviously safer and more rational option than meeting me on Dromund Kaas?” Something seemed to change ever so slightly as he spoke, the young adult’s voice shifted gradually, dropping a few pitches as the sentence went on. If she had a keen enough eye, she might have noticed a change in eye color, noting the fluctuation from a dark brown hue to a lighter hazel one.

“What was the difference between here and a more discrete location?”

Faegard ​

 

[Faegard]

I studied the man closely as he seemed to study me in kind.

Although, whatever observations there were to make, I found myself too distracted. There was still... something about him I couldn't place. It was a feeling, as though I were not speaking to whom I thouht I was... or... I wasn't sure. His eyes seemed to give away a flash of something, right? Or was I just seeing things? Not that it mattered, as he spoke, he produced the tome.

My gaze instantly fell to the Dathomirian book, a symphony of desperate, timid whispers seeming to swirl and emanate from the pages within. It was... almost enthralling. Hands that were almost not my own reached out to gently take it, unless he were to remove it from my reach. Finally, his words seemed to break the entracement and draw my attention back to him.

What was that? I narrowed my gaze slightly. A trick of the light? A flash of lightning? No, there had definitely been a change... in the eyes, although what exactly I couldn't tell.

"Would you have come?" I asked in return, "to meet a potentially dangerous coven of witches in a location of their choosing? I'm no master tactician or world-weary nightmother, but I wanted to show my sincerity, by coming here, at least, I hope to show that my intentions are to do business; as I'd hardly risk anything more than that in Sith territory, would I?"

I paused, taking a deliberately slow breath as I forced my heart to slow somewhat. Closing my mouth, I gazed up at the man, awaitng his verdict.

Inon​