A Friendly Clash

[Nyx]

Ord Mantell. Nothing much here but some cheap cantinas and bored spacers. It was out of the way, and not a lot of law. It was the perfect place to get lost, and that was exactly why Nyx was there. The new Dark Jedi walked into a cantina, her mind heavy. She and her Master, Darth Mordred, were on the planet is search of materials for her lightsaber, and Mordred had told her to wait in the city while she 'meditated' in the wilderness. She had no idea what her Master was up to, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Nyx sighed as she sat at the counter, and ordered a drink. She tentatively felt the scars on her face, the result of her last venture with Mordred. The Miraluka had told her that the pain would make her stronger, would help her embrace the Dark Side; and Nyx had believed her, but now she was having. . . doubts.
Mordred made no secret of the fact that she wanted to wipe out all Jedi, and expected Nyx to help her hunt them. Jedi had always made her uncomfortable, but she didn't hate them like her Master did.
She thought about this as she drank from her glass, deep in thought. She enjoyed the power the Dark gave her, yes; but she felt it corrupting her, putting thoughts in her head that weren't hers. And that scared her, more than anything ever had. Even now, she could hear the whispers, could hear it beckoning to her with promises of power an riches beyond her wildest dreams, and it tempted her.
She stared intently at her drink, her distress obvious to the world as she battled herself in her mind. The outside world became inconsequential as her inner conflict raged, and her hand tightened on the glass, making it creak but not break.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

It had been a long trip to Ord Mantell, coming all the way from Voss. The Grandmaster had been sought out by its leaders to discuss the encroaching threat of the Sith and the so-called "negligent" Republic. Thurion knew such wasn't the case, for no-one could ever hope to be able to help everyone. It was the eternal struggle of walking the narrow, winding road of selflessness. In the end, someone will always resent you even though you tried your best. He'd asked why they sent for the leader of the Silvers when the Jedi Order is right around the corner - comparatively speaking - and was flattered by their response, saying they thought him a better diplomat than most and wished his wisdom in the matter.

Once the meeting was adjourned, Thurion was deemed free to come and go at his own leisure. He didn't feel he needed to stay longer than necessary, and so after giving thanks to the delegates he was on his way to leave Ord Mantell via the same way he came; his ship docked at the space port. When he passed the cantina, however, he suddenly felt parched after much talking and debating. "One glass can't hurt. Hope they've got blue milk."

Entering the cantina, he was surprised by how void of patrons it was. A handful of people was scattered about the place, some at the tables and others at the bar, drowning their sorrows in whatever cheap drinks they could afford. A dark woman stuck out like a sore thumb from the rest, and looking at her made him aware of her not-so-light Force aura. It didn't really matter to him - she was merely getting a drink, same as anyone. Giving his golden beard a good scratch, Thurion took a seat next to her at the bar. "Blue milk, please."

[member="Nyx"]​

 

[Nyx]

Nyx sighed as her tormented mind warred with itself. Her greed faced off with her self-preservation, and both were integral facets of her personality. She honestly didn't know which was winning, or even had an advantage.
The street rat looked at her empty glass, and sighed deeply as she motioned for the bartender to get her another one. She didn't know what she was drinking, and didn't really care that much. She needed to take her mind off of her problems, and this seemed like the best way to do just that.
For a little bit, she wanted to forget about Mordred, about the Dark Side, about the Jedi, about everything. That's what she wanted, but it wasn't what she got.

As she ordered another drink, she felt someone enter the cantina. Their presence radiated through the Force, imbuing the nearby atmosphere with Light. Her own Dark presence recoiled, but Nyx didn't feel any violence from him, or any ill-will. If Mordred were here, she would demand that Nyx attack him. . . But Mordred wasn't here.

As he sat beside her and ordered blue milk, she had to say she was surprised. She hadn't expected that. Nyx was expecting him to sense her at any moment, to turn to her and demand to know what a Dark Jedi was doing there. . . but he didn't. He simply sat, and drank his milk. She sent him glances, turning back as soon as she thought he may be looking back. She wanted to talk, but had no idea what to say. How did one talk to their sworn enemy?

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

The barkeep raised an eyebrow. "Here you are, sir," he said handing him the glass, then took to cleaning some of the used ones with a piece of cloth. "You Jedi?" Thurion put the drink down after having a couple sips. "Lightsaber give me away?" he chuckled. "Plenty of people running around with lightsabers, these days. Some good, others bad. Figured Sith don't say 'please' when ordering a drink." Thurion offered a smile and a grateful nod, then watched the man return to his duties.

There was little talking going on in the cantina, a few murmurs here and there. He turned to the young lady next to him. "Not the chattiest bunch, huh?"

[member="Nyx"]​

 

[Nyx]

Nyx was surprised when the Jedi turned to her and spoke, and for a moment, she was left flustered and gasping for something to say, anything to say! Half of her wanted to crawl into the corner and die of embarassment at being caught, and the other was screaming at her to rise to the challenge, to stay cool. Just stay calm and respond.

"Well, most of them are probably on the run from the law in one way or another." She said, her voice only holding a little nervousness. "That, or they're depressed and trying to forget their horrible lives.

Ok, good answer. Answered his question, but gave away nothing about herself. Good, good. Nyx just kept herself from sighing in relief, and instead took another drink.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Thurion offered her a smile after she'd spoken her mind. She didn't have to - she could've just ignored him, so the gesture was nice. He looked over his shoulder at the other patrons, all seemingly down on their luck. For the longest time he just sat there, watching them. "They're hurting because of their past," he finally spoke. "Some of them have done terrible things they will never forget, hurt the ones they loved or worse." He turned back to the dark woman.

"Remembering the past is well and good, but when it comes down to it you have to move on with your life. Same goes for the future; if you keep wondering whether this will affect the future, you'd be terrified of making any kinds of choices. What truly matters is the here and now." He took another sip of his blue milk. "There's a saying: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the 'present'." As he finished, he summoned a credit chit into his hand from seemingly nowhere and slid it across the bar to her. "Next round's on me."

Grabbing the barkeep's attention, he placed his order. "Another one of those for the young lady, please." The man shrugged and poured her another. "Is that why you are here? Running away from the law? Or is it the latter?"

[member="Nyx"]​

 

[Nyx]

Nyx raised an eyebrow at his speech. She had to admit, it was impressive. He was obviously an observant fellow, and was well aware of the world around him.

Then he asked her which of the two she was doing, and she had to think. Running from the law? Sure, she supposed she technically was. She had gotten in trouble with law before, and likely had a few warrants for her arrest out there somewhere, but she didn't have any bounties, which were what really mattered.
Trying to forget her horrible life? Hm. That was more accurate than she liked. Nys wasn't one of those people who sat around feeling sorry for herself, as that accomplished nothing. But she had to admit, her life hadn't exactly been easy as of yet. Between her face getting ruined, a sadistic insane woman lording over her, and her own inner conflict, she wasn't living the 'high life'.

". . . The latter is much more accurate than I would like." She finally admitted, her aura growing darker as her frustration stewed within her.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

He could feel the darkness fester inside her as she searched her soul. Brows furrowed in concern, he placed a hand upon hers. "Don't," he told her. "Don't give in to despair. It's not too late." He removed his hand out of respect for her privacy. "I don't know who you are or what you've done, and you don't need to trust the word of a stranger, but this isn't the way."

Returning to his glass of blue milk, he downed the remainder of it in one go. "It seems to me you have a choice, my dear: Do, or do not." With that he got off the bar stool and adjusted his leather jacket. "The name's Thurion, by the way." He then slid a napkin across the table over to her. It only had one word scribbled on it: Voss.