Private Feral

[Rayth]

Rayth snarled like an animal. He rubbed his forearm. The wooden training sword had struck the outside of his arm. The little skin and flesh between the stick and bone would bruise quickly.

It didn't sting quite as much as his pride. He was faster than his opponent. He saw each strike coming.

Rayth felt that he should have been winning every bout. After surprisingly his opponent in the first round, they had won every that followed.

Even though he could see it coming, the bothan he faced kept out maneuvering him. She was efficient with movement and kept forcing the mistakes that she could punish.

"Are you done?" She asked Rayth.

He wanted to wipe that triumphant smirk from her muzzle.

He didn't dignify her with an answer, but walked away, cradling his left arm.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"You should be healing."

She'd only seen it in passing. An acolyte fighting with a speed she knew all too well. The scent. Anima. She recognized it. How could she not? But to see him walking around, cradling his arm, left her rather curious indeed on if she was correct on what he might be.

It felt almost like she'd guessed wrong.

"What are you doing, boy?"

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

Rayth turned sharply. He couldn't hide the look of irritation. All he could do was smooth it over as he transitioned into a low bow.

Darth Reprimar had told him that when he couldn't think of anything else to do, he had to show respect. In fact be had said 'deference' but when Rayth had looked at him blankly, Reprimar had chosen different words.

"I am losing fights, my Lady," he replied.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

My Lady.

Right. Alina bit back the usual snark she'd give to such a greeting. She was, for better or worse, a proper Lady now. And she'd have to carry herself as much if she wanted to avoid the headaches her past actions often brought. Hindsight and all that.

"I can see that. Do you at least understand why you are?"

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

"I can see that. Do you at least understand why you are?"

"Because I'm shit at fighting people with a sword?" he offered.

There was a momentary look of fear in his eyes. Darth Reprimar had taught him to be respectful. The Sith Lord had used pain to hammer that lesson home.

Here he was, swearing at a sith who had addressed him first.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina snorted. It was correct, technically. But she hadn't expected such an answer regardless. A softer smile took over her expression regardless. He smelled thick of Anima. Underutilized, unrealized. Stagnant in it's flow through his body. "You are, that's true. A little training, drills and practice, and you'll get at least competent in how to handle your blade. But you're wasting your potential. Why not draw on your Anima? It doesn't matter if they can see the future as that girl did if you're just faster and stronger than they can handle."

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

"I..."

Anima. He didn't remember the term. Rayth tried to run through those lessons he had been provided, hoping it would spark something.

Rayth bowed his head. There was no way he could bluff this.

"I don't know how," he admitted.

It was not quite the truth, even if he did not know it. Rayth had some instinctive control over it. The truth was that he had never heard the word before and did not know what she was asking him to do.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

He didn't know how?

Alina blinked in surprise. Canted her head to the side. He was Sangnir. She confirmed that much now. But he didn't even know how to use the one thing that made him strong? "That won't do." Alina turned then, only once motioning for him to follow. "Who is your sire? Your master? Are they one in the same?" There were enough Sangnir among the Sith for her to believe they could be one in the same, but for them to teach him nothing on Anima was.. Insulting.

"And what of your status?"

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

Rayth offered Alina little more than a blank stare.

"I don't...I don't have a master. Darth Reprimar sponsored my entry to the academy."

The pureblood sith knew little of his nature and thought of it as an interesting experiment. It was something to be controlled.

Rayth had no memory of his turning and had no contact with anyone who understood what he was.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Oh."

Realization dawned in her eyes. He didn't know what he was. He was just someone this Reprimar picked up to use. Her expression tightened, just a little. It was a fitting fate for young Sith from what she learned, what she went through herself. But neither this Sith or Rayth knew that he was Sangnir. Which was a problem. For more than just him. If he went feral, it'd only reveal the weakness of the Sangnir to too many eyes for her comfort. All at once the smile on her face faded, replaced instead with a narrowed gaze and a thin line of a frown.

"How often do you get blood?" A pause.

"And when was the last time you lost control?"

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

Rayth was the deer in the headlights here. He wasn't supposed to tell people. Reprimar's orderly had struck him with a shock whip at the same time to ensure that message was hammered home. She would see the fear in his eyes, he exuded it through the Force.

"I don't know what you mean," he said.

It was a weak defence, but he hadn't come here expecting to be called out. Rayth was not a social creature. The part of his life that he could remember had been spent in complete isolation.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Her gaze narrowed further as she took a step forward. Did he not know? Was he hiding it?

Did this Reprimar tell him to keep quiet?

None of that was a good answer. Not for Alina. This was a threat that she wasn't about to let wander the Korriban temple and possibly fall to the Red Thirst. The last thing she needed was a scandal. Not many knew about the Sangnir, but they did know she was one. And enough knew that she could make more. Ghouls were all she'd made so far, but if they thought she might be responsible for one of the students going haywire and devouring his classmates, that'd be a headache.

"We're not dancing around this. You feel hunger for blood. I can see that much by your eyes alone. So I'll ask again, and I expect an answer, when was the last time you lost control?"

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

When she took a step forwards, he took a step back. Rayth didn't like being cornered. Fight or flight instincts kicked in. He trusted those; they had kept him alive so far.

"What do you know?" he asked.

His instincts were strong, but the temptation was there. She knew more about what he was.

"I haven't. Not since he let me out."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I know what you are, and why you hunger. You truly do not know?" Alina paused her step. He was indeed a tool. She grumbled, reached up to rub at her brow. The easier thing would be to either kill him or remove him from this temple, and yet, she couldn't bring herself to believe either option was good. Memories. Darth Strosius was a slave, once. She didn't remember much, but she did remember she hated the idea.

"Come." She turned, motioning for him to follow. "I hate seeing a Sith flounder because of the stupidity of their betters."

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

He allowed himself to relax as her posture changed. Rayth was an instinctive creature. The line drawn between them, the draw between predator and prey he had sensed, had broken. His own stance changed, Rayth standing more upright. He was less ready to run.

Rayth dutifully followed. He remained a half-step behind her on the left.

He grimaced at the stupidity comment. He had experienced what Reprimar was capable of without losing his temper.

"What...am I?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"A predator that can easily become slave to their hunger. You've felt it, right? The need to drink. To eat. A hunger in the back of your mind that never goes away, only lessens." She waved open a door before stepping into the empty training room. She'd made sure it was empty, just by smell alone. "Sangnir are what we're called. We feast on Anima. I'm sure you've at least noticed that some people smell.. Better than others. More appetizing. Especially among the people here."

She raised a hand, casually drawing a nail across her palm to let the red energy seep out. Let it gather in her palm as an orb similar to a free flowing cloud.

"We eat the Force. And we do it through the consumption of people's blood."

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

"What..." Rayth started to say, but his gaze remained fixed on the floating cloud in her palm.

Even speaking of their hunger drew it from the back of his mind. Opening a wound in her had made it hard for Rayth to think of anything else.

The sting of a lash across the back, punishment from Reprimar, gave him a modicum of control back.

"I did not get to choose who I fed from," he admitted.

We

"There are more...like us?" he asked. That fact was more important to him than the nature of their feeding.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Yes. Though they tend to live in the shadows and hope people don't realize who we are, and what we can do. What our weaknesses are." He was quite malnourished for a Sangnir, that much was apparent. She let out a sigh before reaching under her collar to pull free the necklace she'd kept all these years. Then casually tossed it to him. She didn't need to worry too much of her reserves, and if she needed to, she could always make her own.

Arcturus Dinn would just have to appreciate the intention she had; keep this young blood from going starving and killing everyone around him.

"This holds Anima. A lot of it. Don't hesitate to fill the vial when you can, and feed from it if this Reprimar refuses to feed you. You are your most dangerous when you are utterly starved." Well, no. But as he currently was he wouldn't be a threat even if fully fed. That was something else they'd have to work on.

"Drink your fill. Feel the Anima as it courses through you and your Maw, then we'll begin the lesson."

Rayth

 

[Rayth]

"It doesn't..."

Rayth was about to say that it didn't look like it held a lot of blood. That would have been contradicting his superior. It there was something particularly stupid one could do on Korriban, that was it.

"How would I fill this?" he asked.

Rayth turned it over in his hands. No matter how well sealed it was, no matter how well cleaned, he had the scent of blood now. Stale particles of blood on the outside that instinct warned him off, but as soon as it was opened he stopped listening to Alina.

Only fear held him in check. His self control was weak. Rayth had always been hungry and had never needed to learn to control his needs.

The vial was knocked back and a deep growl of satisfaction rumbled up from deep in his chest.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Just pour blood in. It's a lot bigger than it seems, I assure you."

That was the advantage of Alchemy. Alina's eyes narrowed just a little as she watched him just down the whole thing. He was weak willed when blood was present. That wasn't good. But, he was starved. She let out a heavy sigh.

".. At least focus on the feeling of Anima coursing through you, alright?"

Rayth