Private And in the darkness...bind them

[Darth Strosius]

Not many things scared Alisteri. A great not many things. What he did fear was either understandable, or just plain obvious. His cult however, had been his newest source of worry. But still, not since Zygerria had he been worked up into a frenzy like this, spending hours or even days at a time cooped up in a library somewhere. He had been looking for something for almost a whole week now, feverishly scouring all that he could find for any clue or inkling of information that could lead him to what he wanted. And finally, he had found it.

Nathema.

Many a sleepless night had been spent discerning where to go, where to find the object of his desire. And it was there, on that planet. Now, all he had to do was recover it. Easier said then done of course, but he was coming prepared. He found himself now pacing in one of the hangars of the academy, idly worrying that he'd walk a rut into the floor if he kept at what he was doing.

Alina Tremiru , the one person that he trusted more than any other. She needed to be here before he set off.

Thankfully this time, he had a ship ready to go. Force knows that Barlan has been aching to get off of Kaas for awhile now. He had no idea what she got up to whenever she wasn't carting him around places, but he had no time to think on such matters.

He supposed he could ask her later, whenever they got done with this little holocron retrieval.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

It wasn't hard to tell something was up with Darth Strosius . He was constantly busy. Distant. Alina was sure he was searching for something, but what she had no idea. In a way, she wanted him to find it on his own. At least, find where it was, whatever it was. The second he did, however, she planned to be right there to stand beside him as he always had for her. Even if they weren't together as they were now, she would not hesitate.

She arrived in the hanger completely ready for battle. Pike in one hand, saber on her hip. Armor strapped to her limbs. She certainly didn't want to make him wait, either. Alina stepped into the hanger with her head held high, offering a quick nod to Alisteri. She wasn't exactly sure how to treat this. Yes, she was here to help him. But wasn't she doing that as a fellow Sith? Or as a lover?

Both, in a way. Her controlled expression softened as she looked upon the familiar metal mask. "We ready to go then, Ali?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

The moment that he spotted his...well she was far more than a friend by now. Regardless of whatever they were, the moment that he spotted Alina Tremiru enter the hangar, a significant amount of tension simply left him. She had done this before, had even brought him along on a similar adventure once before. Her experience would be invaluable, Alisteri had next to no experience with searching for and through ancient Sith ruins after all.

He returned the nod, seemingly bouncing in place for a moment to help calm his nerves. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around her and apologize for being so distracted and absent for so long. For the moment he held himself back however, deciding that he could wait until later to apologize to her.

"Ready indeed. I've been ready since I learned of where to go." A small chuckle left him as he turned, gesturing for her to follow as he ascended the ramp into the shuttle. "Did you ever feel this in your training? So anxious yet so eager to feel your efforts and hopes bear fruit?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"The first time, for sure. Getting that holocron so I might be able to better understand by connection in the Force and use it as a weapon, there was nothing more thrilling. And horrifying." That did explain more of why Darth Strosius had been so distant. The struggle of getting stronger was what all acolytes had to face. It was a harrowing experience. Alina followed him into the ship. Out of sight of the hangar she was far more tempted to actually show him affection. At least until she smelled the blood of another on the ship.

Curiosity took over her features.

"Is that a stowaway I smell?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Hm. It's the horrifying part I'm worried about..." It had been months since he had a proper training lesson, but the wars and the occasional sparring match had kept his skills with a lightsaber fairly sharp. It was his weakness in the Force that disturbed him the most, but he was taking steps to remedy that even as they spoke.

He raised an eyebrow at the question, but he shook his head.

"Oh no not a stowaway, that would be our pilot. I had wanted to go on this little trip with only the two of us but she was...insistent." A small laugh came from the cockpit as the shuttle's ramp slid closed and the engines activated. "Don't worry Miss Tremiru, I'm just here so that my master doesn't think I've abandoned my job of watching him."

Alisteri resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he offered Alina Tremiru a sheepish shrug.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina blinked a little. Then smiled. She reached out, setting a hand on Darth Strosius 's shoulder. "Whatever's ahead, we'll face it. Together." That she could promise him with ease. Her eyes flicked towards the cockpit as the voice came out from there. A pilot? Who knew her name? Must be a good friend of Ali's to know her. Still, she raised a brow as she glanced back to her fellow Sangnir.

"Her master? She a fellow apprentice of yours? Under your master?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small smile crept onto his face as she set a hand on his shoulder, her words seeming to draw a good bit of tension out of him for the moment. Together, that they could do. It wouldn't be the first time that he and Alina Tremiru had faced a daunting tasked and come out alright. Becoming a Sangnir hadn't exactly proved to be a walk in the park after all, to say the least.

"Apprentice no, at least not in the Sith Apprentice sense. She's just a pilot for my master, but since my master is away she's technically my method of transport." A sheepish laugh left him. "I usually ride into battles with Legionnaires though."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You have your own private pilot with their own ship and you've been hitching rides with legionaries?" Wait. Alina stared at Darth Strosius now, almost glaring. "You have a private ship and I've been stealing freighters from pervs and scum to cart us around in?" She let it linger as if she was mad, then flashed a grin. She wasn't actually upset. She learned a lot about how to deal with people in her grand theft spaceauto. Her hand lowered from his shoulder to find his, squeezing lightly.

"C'mon. Why don't you explain what we're going after?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri merely blinked in response to her first remark. She says that like there's something wrong with that...I always enjoyed it... He did seem to shrink a little at the sight of the look that Alina Tremiru gave him however, letting her words hang in the air as he attempted to come up with an excuse. Thankfully her grin halted his thoughts as relief set in.

He perked up at the question and nodded, quickly fishing a small holoprojector from one of his pockets and displaying the planet Nathema on it. "Simple, or well that's the idea anyway. Over the centuries Nathema has been used for various grand Sith projects. As of now it's under our control and serving our purposes of course, but there are plenty of hidden and rumored vaults that the Sith of old left behind." He stopped the spinning projection and gestured a spot in the northern part of the planet.

"I believe there may be a holocron somewhere in this region, in one of those vaults."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Alright. So a holocron hunt." Well, he probably said something about it before. But there was something else bugging her mind. Alina found a spot to sit, motioning for Darth Strosius to join her. "What's on the holocron? There's plenty in the Empire we could use for you, so there must be something special with this." That, and she wanted to spend some time with him again. Not on a mission. No sooner did he sit down that she'd lean against him, closing her eyes happily.

"I'm excited for this, though. You deserve a chance to get stronger."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri didn't hesitate to sit down next to Alina Tremiru , another smile spreading across his face as she leaned against him. It had been a little while since they had spent some time together, away from the battlefields and missions. He missed her, and he made a note to take her out somewhere as soon as she was available.

"Oh the holocron right." He cleared his throat, idly realizing he had been staring at her. "Well there are a couple of reasons. The main being that...well I don't like borrowing things you know? I'd prefer to have one to keep. This holocron in particular though should contain a variety of knowledge on Force abilities, as well as something strange I discovered in my studies called..." He glanced around and then spoke in a low tone as if it were a secret. "...Sith Alchemy."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

A soft smile formed after a moment of the silence followed by Darth Strosius clearing his throat. He was staring again. It'd gotten much easier to know when he was staring by just how quiet he got. It was cute how flustered he still got, even after everything that happened. Even after all the death they faced together. Her eyes opened as he spoke, one of her brows practically lifting off her face.

".. You do rememeber that my family line are Alchemists as well as Sorcerers, right? When we get this holocron you'll have to come over to peruse the library. And use the basins." She paused for a moment, glancing down. Truthfully, she hadn't been home since the last time they were there. Her brother was left in charge of the alchemy. He, like her, simply hated the direction their mother was taking the family. "Do you think you can do it? Alchemy is.. It's own beast. Like Sorcery. Maybe.. We could see if you can use Sorcery too..?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri was silent for a moment, glancing between Alina Tremiru and his hand. "...Oh." He supposed that Sith Alchemy wasn't the secret and arcane science that he thought it was then. Oh well, he still thought it was new and exciting. He did perk up at the mention of a library and basins however. Ooh, perhaps we could have a study date.

"I...well I'm not really sure if I could do it or not. I suppose I'm hoping that the holocron will help to answer that question for me." Sorcery and Alchemy were odd and mysterious concepts to him, and he had no idea if he held the ability to do either. There was only one way to find out in his mind.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"The holocron might. I know that the Sangnir use blood, at least. Maybe that means even if you couldn't before, you might be able to use Alchemy now?" Actually, did that mean she might be able to? That sort of question was clear on her face now as she watched Darth Strosius from where her cheek rested on his shoulder. That hope that maybe something thought unachievable was finally within reach. But the idea faded as soon as it arrived. This was about him. His hunt.

A cheeky smile formed as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek.

"Either way, it's time for you to stop being so easily shown up by me and get you stronger. You been practicing your lightning?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"You make a good point..." Becoming a Sangnir had certainly opened up new avenues of Force abilities, even giving Alina Tremiru the ability to use the Force in more ways than just clouding or nullifying it. Perhaps he had wound up gaining the ability for sorcery and alchemy even if he hadn't had it before. Perhaps not. Only way to find out, he supposed. Maybe she could do some alchemy or sorcery with him, could be a fun date project.

A small blush lit up his face in response to the kiss and her remark. "It's not my fault that you can bench press me..." He muttered under his breath as he shifted in his seat slightly. "I've been practicing yeah. I think I've finally got to it be more lethal than a taser, but I don't know for sure."

He had always struggled with his Force abilities, even his telekinesis had taken time to get as good as it had.

He hoped the holocron could provide whatever he was missing.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Not mine either. Though I'd be far more curious to see you bench me." Alina snickered a little. Humor was important. It's what kept her from feeling completely defeated when she was still weak. Now? She wanted to keep Darth Strosius smiling. "Just don't test it on me. I'm sure we'll have plenty to use it against when we find the holocron. Guardians and such."

There was a ssilent pause as she seemed to think on something. "I think I'm going to leave the Academy. I've learned everything I can. But also.. I want to live in my home. And I.. Want you to, too."

 

[Darth Strosius]

A small scoff and a smile was his only response to her remark. As interesting a thought it was, he was content with being the less physically strong of the pair. Alina Tremiru looked far better with muscles than he would anyway. "For sure. I have no doubt that the Sith of old would leave any of these vaults unguarded." He had no idea what would be guarding said vault, the scattered bits of information he gathered had been too vague on that point, but he was confident they could handle it together.

Alisteri let the silence settle over them, eager to spend some time with her before they had to run off into an ancient Sith storage vault. He made a small hum of surprise at as she spoke, but he supposed it made sense. Her statement about him living with her did catch him off guard however. There was a moment of disbelief before his face turned a bit red at the thought, glancing back at her.

"You...you want me to come live with you?" He didn't sound opposed to the idea, if anything he just seemed to be asking for clarification.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Yeah, bringing that up certainly changed the subject from the holocron. It wasn't exactly her intention, but, his reaction brought another smile to her lips. Darth Strosius was really an open book. "You should really learn to control that blush. Makes it too easy to know your thoughts." Not that she minded of course. But the last thing either of them needed was him getting visibly flustered with her around and easily being called out for it. But her own blush formed after a moment. The realization of just what she was asking settled in pretty quickly.

".. Yeah. I do. We don't get to see each other all that often, and if we live together we could at least see each other more."

 

[Darth Strosius]

He shot Alina Tremiru a small, playful glare at the sight of her smile. This is why I wear a mask. Alisteri did his best to fight off the red that was still present on his face, glancing away from her for a few moments as he recomposed himself. "I'm getting better than I was..." To an extent he was, but not all that much. Adjusting to being in a relationship hadn't been as quick as one would think for the usually-masked acolyte.

"You aren't wrong..." The offer was rather tempting, and there weren't really many downsides. He couldn't exactly sleep on Saket's couch forever, and sleeping on the streets or wherever else wasn't an option. Besides, spending more time with her was more than enough to convince him. "...okay. I'll move in with you." And just like that, any progress he had made in fighting his blush was reversed.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You can keep eye contact for a couple seconds longer, true." There was another light giggle at Darth Strosius 's embarrassment. Not because she was laughing at him. Mostly. She certainly wasn't making fun of him, but she couldn't help but laugh that he was still getting so embarrassed even after all they'd done. Or maybe that was why?

She leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder again. "Good. We'll be able to shower and such more often this way. And get you more training."