Fever of Our Waiting

[Vereshin]

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Beings crowded the shuttle bus taking route through the industrial level of Denon. Vereshin stood among them, gripping the hand rail for dear life while holding his breath for as long as he could before releasing. Following an announcement made by the conductor, alerting passengers to a disturbance on their line, the transport prepared to stop on the underground level and force commuters to take alternative routes. Vereshin sighed with a heavy weight and focused on slowly his breathing while mentally drowning out every noise surrounding him.

The shuttle surged to a halt and stopped within a desolate area of the industrial underground. Beggars and children ran among grinding machinery and mechanical structures beyond the clouded window of the shuttle. The passengers dispersed and Vereshin followed the Nautolan woman in front of him. He slid past the conductor without scanning his ticket and jumped cautiously off the steps to avoid stumbling into the rubble.

A vast plain of crushed stones, thick with the smell of fuel lay beyond the shuttle door. While musing on a possible solution to finding a way out, Vereshin stole the opportunity to complete the task assigned to him by the Sith. He searched for willing, or unwilling pawn to fulfill a small combat role. An unassuming fighter to shed blood where he could not. Since the battle of Thyferra, the sorcerer was ever less inclined to partake in violence. He knew his subject needed to be young and malleable.

The cold air contrasted with the heat of the furnaces and hot coals. Vereshin flattened his scarf neatly buttoned beneath his coat with the standing collar. He wore black, puffy trousers tucked into socks and patent, lace-up shoes. Standing a few feet away from the shuttle, he listened to it depart while he fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette. He found the white cylinder and held it between his teeth before snapping his fingers to light the end. He inhaled and paced along the stones, catching the sight of an ambitious street girl climbing up a trash heap awaiting the compacting machine.

The heap sat on a large conveyor belt and while the machine was turned off, there was no telling when it could be switched on again. Vereshin stood and watched with curiosity as the child rummaged through the garbage for any scraps of food. He slid a hand into his pocket and produced his wallet, flipping it open and finding a glistening credit chit. Laying open his hand, he displayed the chit to the child and stood in silence, waiting for her to climb down and respond.

"You never know when the mechanics will activate that conveyor belt." Vereshin said as he watched her rise in alert. Very few accompanied them in the vast industrial cavern. They waited together for an opportunity to strike. A tie in their feats to overcome adversity. The sorcerer traced a Force signature from the girl, though feint, rippled with potential. He concealed his own presence and made his signature radiate a sense of calm. With the cigarette in one hand, he rolled around the credit chit on his palm.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

Hunger.

Hunger was a physical sensation but it seemed to be becoming an emotion to her, a potent one at that. It had roused her from her sleep this morning. The second most powerful thing Leira had felt was terror and bewilderment. She was reminded of the harsh reality that she was no longer on Alazir. No longer at home. She no longer had her own free will. Some well-meaning passerby had seen her rummaging through garbage and reported her to authorities. She was hauled to a foster care facility on another planet. Taken away from everything she knew. Despite the years spent at the old wooden house being unpleasant and traumatizing, it had provided her with a sense of normalcy. It was the only comfort she had and it was ripped from her hands. Leira wanted to cry upon waking up but her lack of understanding of biology and naivety made her fear that the loss of water would rob her of nutrients she desperately needed.

As she got up to dress in one of the two outfits she owned, she looked down at her shirtless torso. Her ribs stuck out of her skin and her stomach was beginning to sink in. The sight shocked her and made her feel ill; Disgusted and repulsed by how sickly she looked. Leira remembered the tales her father told her when she was a child about how lucky she was to be fed and cared for and how if she ever tried to run away she'd starve to death. Leira wondered if what she had to experience daily was worth it to have a warm meal on the table every night. She felt like a selfish, insolent child for taking it for granted.

Pulling the grey, oversized shirt over her head and putting on a pair of jeans with holes in the knee, she slung her backpack over her shoulders. The administration at the facility was neglectful; Which meant she hadn't eaten since she arrived but also meant she could slip away to scrounge up a few morsels of food. Leira opened the door to her room gently, tiptoeing across the wooden floors. There was really no need to tiptoe and sneak around, as nobody cared enough to stop her from leaving but it put her mind at ease. The children in the main room were immersed in some sort of old board game, not looking up long enough to notice her heading towards the back door. Some of the staff members were drinking morning cups of coffee and talking. The smell wafting up from the warm liquid made Leira's stomach twist in hunger, like a knife going round and round. Nevertheless, they were distracted by whatever they were discussing, giving her a clear path towards the back door. She wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and warily pushed it open. It made a high pitched, yet oddly quiet, creeeaaakkk as it opened. Leira's head snapped around to see if anyone heard. After a few seconds, she determined nobody had and went on her way.

The pungent smell of industry hit her as soon as she exited the foster house. It was a smell she wasn't accustomed too; She wasn't sure she wanted to become used to such a distasteful scent, either.

She searched the town she was in. Every part of it seemed mechanical, from restaurants to shopping centers. There were no dumpsters for her to go searching in, just these... Big, loud trash compactors. The realization struck Leira that if she was searching in one and someone activated it, her small body would be crushed to death and her existence would be reduced to a paste of crushed bones and organs on cement. But, was starving to death much better?

She decided the answer was no. It was better to be crushed quickly than to starve slowly.

Leira gathered her courage and mustered up any strength she had left in her frail body. It was a bit of a climb to get to the mouth of the thing.

She jumped; Abnormally high for a normal child her age, much less a malnourished one, but the Force was her ally. She caught the edge of it with her fingertips. Her feet found a ledge to rest on. Using it as leverage, she pushed herself up into the garbage using her arms and legs. Once she landed in it her vision began to darken at the edges. Her breaths became shallow and labored. It was a huge tax on her energy to use the Force for anything. She gave herself a quick, sharp pinch on her arm to bring herself back to reality. If she waited too long, they could turn the trash compactor back on.

Leira began searching, digging through endless piles of spoiled food, hoping to find something editable. Her attention was totally engulfed in her search until a voice cut through the endless sounds of machinery and the conversations of the passerby.

"You never know when the mechanics will activate that compacter."

She immediately looked up in surprise, quickly connecting a face to the voice. A man, with skin so pale it almost looked bleached and piercingly green eyes looked at her. Leira kept staring at him wondering if he had mistaken her for someone else, but his gaze didn't falter. He was definitely talking to her. His delicate, skinny hands held a shiny credit chit. Credits meant food. Food meant survival.

She scrambled to get out of the garbage, climbing up the side and jumping down with a renewed vitality about her. Leira came close to him, looking at him, then the credits, then him, back and forth in utter shock. Leira then pointed towards herself, asking wordlessly in disbelief if those were for her. She prayed to whatever omniscient force that they were and that this wasn't a cruel joke. She was so, so hungry. Her amazement deafened her ears to the roar of the compactor behind her, which she avoided by seconds.

 

[Vereshin]

The conveyor belt surged into motion as the trash compactor began to grind. Vereshin stood unmoved as the girl panicked, only watching eagerly to decide whether she possessed the strength he required. He offered no assistance or help as she scrambled for her life and remained motionless as the credit chit rested in his outstretched hand. No muscle moved in his expression, save for a sly parting of his lips which communicated the words "come and get it." The girl stumbled down the hill with abnormal agility for somebody in her condition and when she stood on her feet, Vereshin nodded in satisfaction.

"You are stronger than you look." He said as he watched her tremble with malnutrition, eyeing the chit with eager desperation. With one raise of his eyebrow, Vereshin closed his fingers and slipped it away. He pulled his hand from his pocket and smoothed out the scarf warming his breast while watching the girl shiver beneath the cold. "I will buy you something to eat, then you will show me the way out of this level." Vereshin's lips parted with a smile as he watched her eyes widen. He turned around and waited for the girl to follow him, scanning the district for a make-shift stand selling food.

"What is your name?" He asked as he lead her away from the trash compacter. Moving into the populated area of the level, they passed whores and refute and the smell of fried dumplings and k'lor slug and noodle soup filled the air. Vereshin held his cigarette to his mouth and inhaled, blowing lavender smoke smelling of cloves all around. "You can call me Vi." He said to his companion with a smile before turning into a secluded noodle shop. He pushed open the door and bell rang. A long bench sat before the kitchen and no customers sat on the seats. Vereshin silently thanked chance for the lack of people.

"Sit down Leira, order anything you want to eat." Vereshin sat down and next to Leira and hailed the water. While she ordered, he procured his notebook and pen from the inside pocket of his coat. He folded it open onto the last page over the bench and channeled his focus in the Force. He set the ball of his pen to the paper and began to compound a spell. As he slowly wrote the first equation, he imbued Leira's body with his own energy, implanting part of his essence into her own. The process took time and he split his focus between the mathematics and keeping Leira distracted and comfortable.

"Tell me." Vereshin said as Leira's meal arrived. One eyerbrow raised in her direction as he continued to write. "Do you live here? Or have you run away?" He leaned on the counter and inhaled again on his cigarette. The pen rolled gradually within his grip as he transferred the energy from one form to another.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

His words echoed in her mind. Had she really heard them? Was this a dream? The thought of choosing a meal, a full meal, not a can of pet food or a discarded meal from a restaurant that had already attracted flies seemed to be too good to be true. Leira wanted to snatch his words out of the air and hold them in her hands. He started walking towards the restaurants and shops. She was then sure it was true.

As they walked side by side her new companion, for lack of a better word, started to speak with her. Leira was almost put off by his attempts at discussion, as she rarely willingly made conversation. When she was asked questions she usually just glared at the asker until they dropped it completely. Leira felt different this time. If he was generous enough to buy her a meal she could be generous enough to offer her name.

"Leira." She said, a very subtle accent of some sort marking her voice. It was made obvious that she was not a native to this wretched planet.

Smells from restaurants teased her senses, making her stomach growl audibly. Fried dumplings and slimy soup sounded heavenly to Leira at the present moment, even if most people found it disgusting. She looked in each window of each shop. The atmospheres inside seemed so warm, the people browsing the selections so content. Leira had never had the luxury of shopping. It seemed insane that one could walk into a shop and buy things for the sake of buying them and have enough credits left over to feed themselves. The notion was almost offensive to her.

They entered a small noodle shop with a quaint mood about it. The lighting was warm and friendly, the wooden booths and tables almost reminded her of a country home. Leira was handed a menu. She browsed all the options, not because she was picky, but because she wanted to know what had the biggest portion size. She needed something that could hold her over for a while. Leira ended up picking a spicy beef noodle dish, which sounded delicious. When the dish was brought to the table, Leira picked up her fork and shoved a big bite into her mouth, noodles hanging from her lips for a few seconds. It tasted incredible. For the first time in a long while, she smiled, and it was genuine. After swallowing, she spoke.

"Dankie. Vir de kos."(Thank you. For the food.) Leira said. She spoke in Alazirian, being more comfortable speaking it in the presence of strangers. It was a defense mechanism to her. "Ek is van Alazir. Ek woon in 'n pleeghuis." (I am from Alazir. I live in a foster home.)

Having answered all of his questions, she took another big bite of food.

 

[Vereshin]

Vereshin squinted over his notebook and realized he had forgotten his glasses. Smiling to Leira, he slid a hand inside of his coat and found them, sliding them over his ears and regaining his vision. He winced in disgust as the waiter brought her the plate of spicy food which looked like something he could not stomach himself. He blinked in confusion as she spoke to him in her native language, not understanding a word of the dialect. Vereshin could only speak basic, High Sith and the dialect of lower Sith spoken in the rural areas of Ziost.

"Forgive me, I do not understand you." He glanced over towards Leira and balanced his pen, offering her a wide-eyed expression of curiosity. "Do you speak basic?" Vereshin asked. As she gulped up the dish, he diverted his gaze to the numbers and strengthened the spell with which he held her. He jotted fervently while she ate and penetrated her mind with his thoughts, hoping the method of telepathy might enable her to understand him.

"Hello Leira, do you speak basic?" Vereshin spoke into the girl's mind as he continued to implant his essence. The numbers rolled beneath his grip and conveyed no emotion. He related to them. He hailed the waiter with one finger for a shot of alcohol, he did not like the tea served in these places. The waiter arrived and set the small spirit glass beside him. Taking one sip, he winced from the strength and turned away to his notes. If he could discover where the girl came from, there may be a way to earn her trust and seduce her into his command.

"Where do you live?" He asked again through telepathy.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

Leira did happen to speak basic but greatly preferred Alazirian. It was something that felt familiar to her. It was almost like a traumatized child carrying around a teddy bear they had from infancy to give themselves a sort of grounding, except instead of a cute plush toy, it was an entire language. Her senses told her it was rude of her to speak in another language when she knew full well he may not understand her, but speaking basic didn't feel... Right. It made her feel naked in a way, vulnerable.

All of a sudden though, she did not have a choice. An echo sounded through her brain, not of her own thoughts or even her own voice, but of Vereshin's. Leira's eyes widened to the size of saucers. If there hadn't been a big bowl of noodles in front of her, Leira would have burst out of the restaurant and gotten far, far away from this man who was entering her mind without her permission. She couldn't find it in herself to be angry, though. She was scared, yes, but not angry.

"Holy sh*t" She whispered out loud, involuntarily. Her voice was tinged with fear and intrigue. Leira studied his expression, searching to find malice in his expression. There was none that was apparent to her. Slowly, her shoulders relaxed and her face uncoiled itself from its tense expression. She regained her composure, took another big bite of food, swallowed, and began to speak again.

"Sorry." She started. "I-I'm not... Comfortable with basic. " Leira looked down, ashamed that she'd even thought of treating someone so kind to her like that. "I'm from Alazir. It's in the outer rim. I live here now. In a foster home." She said. It was the most she'd spoken in years. Leira pressed her lips hard together, fervently wishing she could make it through life not speaking.

Silence ensued for a few seconds as if Vi was giving her time to recover from speaking. In the lingering quiet, something clicked in Leira's mind. Vi gave off a signature, just like her mother and father did. A potent, distinct one. He was a force user. That was how he entered her mind. He must've known it from the moment he saw her, as the force was almost as strong, if not as strong, with her as it was with him. They were like minds.

She didn't know if this knowledge made her fear him or relate to him.

"You have the Force," Leira said. "That's how you did... That."

 

[Vereshin]

The girl responded with visual shock as Vereshin spoke into her mind through the Force. He only assumed she had never encountered a Force user before and delivered a calming signal into her mind in effort to subdue her fear. As her eyes widened, he extended a hand in a reassuring gesture.

"Don't be afraid. I am not trying to hurt you." He said while tapping the pen with his other hand. A sly glint reflected on the surface of his eye. "You will become accustomed to speaking basic with enough practice." Vereshin continued to calm Leira's signature through the Force. He offered her no apology regarding her discomfort of speaking basic, only a practical response. "Do you like it there?" Vereshin asked Leira about the foster home where she lived.

Since the girl barely spoke, Vereshin found himself becoming uncharacteristically talkative. Under normal circumstances, he barely managed to speak himself. When he did speak, he was incapable of using slang or understanding common jokes. "Yes, I can use the Force." He replied to her observation of his mentalist technique. "As can you." A pause followed between them. "Come with me and I can show you how to use the Force to make yourself stronger." He turned back to the last equation on the page of his notebook and continued to write, melding his Force energy with Leira's own essence.

"I have fed you, now you will show me the way out of this level." While Leira finished her meal, Vereshin confirmed their deal, one the girl had not agreed to. The Sith gave her no choice and continued to implant his essence in her form. She would experience a slight surge of power and a rise in her confidence. Vereshin finished writing and closed his notebook for the time being, sliding the pen and the book into coat and taking a final sip of the shot. He remained lost in the industrial level followed the detour of shuttle and now relied on Leira to help him find his way.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

The question of if she enjoyed her time at the foster home was one that Leira assumed would be obvious. She was severely underweight, her face was pale and skinny with malnourishment, she shook from exhaustion. Leira's misery was written all over her. If she weren't captivated by her gratefulness for his favors towards her, she would've been offended.

"No. I don't like it there." She said simply, her voice not begging for pity nor seeming cheery about her situation. Leira hated her life, and sometimes she thought it would just be better if she threw herself in a trash compactor and waited. But, there was no point in making herself seem more like a victim. Everybody saw her desperation. It sickened her that she needed help just to get a meal in her stomach. She didn't want to make Vereshin as disgusted with her as she was with herself. With that though, she swallowed her last bit of noodles and set her utensils aside. She listened intently as he began to speak about the Force, her green eyes getting intense. Leira was decently trained in the Force from her father. She was no master at it though. Leira could move things, had heightened senses and agility, which was the full extent of her usage of it. Sometimes she was even shakey in those parts and it consumed a lot of energy. The idea of him teaching her didn't sound half bad.

It was something she had to consider. Especially since her last teacher was her father and she remembered all too well how that went. For now, she left the question unanswered. She stood up, no longer shaking. Leira felt like a butterfly that had just emerged from its cocoon. She offered no objection to leading him out of the industrial level, but she was unsure of it herself.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she walked a few paces ahead of Vereshin. She remembered there being some sort of tram that would shuttle him out of there, but she couldn't remember which station it was in. There were multiple. One brought people to the lower levels, the other transported them out. Leira doubted she could find it without a map. At the nearest station, she picked up a directory. It marked all the stations. At the bottom, it listed the locations they offered. She quickly deciphered which one it was and began to walk briskly towards it, silently.

 

[Vereshin]

The stern tone of Leira's statement told Vereshin she had been taken aback slightly by his comment. Not one for being greatly astute, the apparent nature of her situation did not resonate with him. Up until now, he had been too focused on compounding the spell to implant particles of his essence in her body. He rose to his feet and smoothed down the scarf buttoned beneath his coat. Finding his wallet, he set a few credit chits on the counter and signed the bill. When Leira mentioned that she did not enjoy living in her foster home, Vereshin raised an eyebrow with anticipation.

"Well then." He began with a rise in his tone. A child enduring a turbulent proved rife with potential for future Sith training. As Leira answered his question, her grief, sadness and anger coursed the link forming between their essences. He sensed deep turmoil within her and almost perked up at the thought of tutoring her in the ways of the Dark Side. "Why don't we pay them a visit along the way?" Vereshin said as he opened the door for Leira. She slipped through and he duly followed, closed the door behind him and exited onto the street.

With no direct answer from the girl, Vereshin followed her through the crowd of the strange planet. The smell of filthy beings and violent rogues overwhelmed his senses, causing his breath to quicken and his heartbeat to rise. Anger pulsated through his every fiber as they brushed past and touched him. A child even played with the ends of his coat. He jerked away in a brief moment of rage and pressed onward to follow Leira. He failed to notice his glasses still sitting on his nose.

As Vereshin quickly became distressed by the crowd, he stopped in his tracks to gather his senses while Leira moved on. She did not notice him stopping and he lost sight of her, becoming disoriented in his confusion. He reached through the Force bond he attached to her and detected her essence amidst the throng of people. Like a metaphysical thread, he followed the trail of energy and witnessed her aura glowing slightly lavender with his own potency. Vi caught up to Leira reading the city directory and stood behind her.

"Lead me to the place where you live." Vereshin breathed and tried to appear stoic above his stress. He tugged at the fabric of his coat and straightened the garment, brushing down the front and flattening the scarf on his breast. His command sounded monotonous, as though nothing had happened. In his distress, his hold over his Dark Side presence was released, allowing his full potency to be detected. All though it remained confused and merged with the countless life forms surrounding them, Leira would experience a surge in Vereshin's power combined with an icy chill.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

Leira stopped short when he asked her to take him to the foster house. It was a stark difference from how just a few seconds ago he wanted her to take him to the train station. Why would he want to go to such an awful place? It was dismal and run down and there was nothing but unhappiness there. She doubted he could help, either. What was he gonna do? Show up and say "This child is mine now, I'm taking her."? Use the Force to manipulate them to feed her? She was extremely suspicious of his motives and for a brief second she considered telling him no thank you, and that if he lingered any longer he would miss his tram.

That thought seemed to disappear from her mind milliseconds after she thought it, like a pile of dust being blown away by hurricane winds. She was filled with a sense of trust in Vereshin. She didn't know where it came from, the food or his demeanor, but all of a sudden she felt confident in him. Whatever his motives were, they had to be good. He fed her out of pocket after all.

Leira stared at him in a few lingering seconds of silent contemplation until she parted her lips and said "Okay. I'll take you."

She slung her backpack off of her shoulders for a second and shoved the map in one of its pouches, figuring it would be handy for later. Despite feeling confident, a lasting sense of worry crept around the back of her skull and made her wonder why she suddenly had no worries. It was unlike her. Was it the food? Was it the Force reassuring her his motives were good? Or was it something... Sinister.

She couldn't finish mulling over her thoughts. Before she knew it, they were nearing the rickety wooden home. It was large enough. The ugly wooden boards were covered in a white paint that was flaking off, some of the windows had cracks in them. A fenced yard had a swing set that was badly rusted and similar playground equipment that was in poor condition. A wooden sign read "Denon Foster Home: Giving Children Hope since ----" The date was scratched out, seemingly worn away by time.

Leira looked up at Vi expectantly, wondering what was next.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

As Leira hesitated to lead him on, Vereshin approached her from behind and gripped her shoulder. He collected his focus and blanketed his Force signature once again. The feeling of calm returned and he continued to deliver his power through the bond forming between the essence of Leira and his own. She reluctantly started walking, leading him through the populated upper district of Denon and away from the streets. Vereshin maintained his grip on her shoulder in order not to loose her again, rather than a means of controlling her. He played the dominant figure while relying on Leira for his sense of direction.

The city played it's last broadcast as they moved into the residential area, the houses becoming more derelict the further they walked. Once the population grew thin, Vereshin released his hand from Leira's shoulder with confidence and continued to follow her. She arrived at a melancholy house, the windows boarded up and the sign having never been repainted. Vereshin regained his composure and stood upright behind Leira. He channelled his focus and heightened the power of the bond, driving his essence further into Leira's form while preparing to begin her first test.

At first, she did not respond to his command through the Force and stood unmoved in front of the door. Vereshin tightened his control over mind and delivered a signal to push her forward. Leira only turned around in bewilderment. "Open the door." The Sith ordered directly, somwhat frustrated that he was unable to control her without a verbal command. He began to realize the possession only took effect when his own actions related to Leira's genuine desires in some way.

When Leira opened the door and lead him inside, an eerie silence overcame the faces of filthy and malnourished children. The abandoned pieces of a board game lay at the feet of an overweight woman, cigarette in hand, reclining on the couch. Alcohol hung thick on her breath and Vereshin repressed his disgust for the sight of her. She did not seem to notice or pay any care to Vi and Leira as the odd child ran by her feet and threw pieces of the board game at the wall to arouse any attention from her.

"Show me who hurt you." Vereshin spoke into Leira's mind while gripping her shoulder once more. He delivered greater power into her body, causing her to experience a rush of confidence and a rising lack of fear. "Show me who you hate the most." Vereshin finished with a resounding tone

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

Leira opened the door at his verbal command, the rust hinges squeaking as it swung open. When their shoes hit the wooden floorboards they creaked loudly. The place was definitely not up to living standards. A sign on the wall read 'bathrooms' and had an arrow that pointed down the hallway. The bathrooms had two shower heads and no shower curtains. There was no soap in there or other grooming supplies. The bedrooms had hard mattresses with metal bedframes that were barely sturdy enough to hold up their top bunks. The windows had no curtains but were instead boarded up. The kitchen, which was barely ever used to cook food for the children, was filthy and the stove had crusted food and grease on it. The food preserver wasn't filled with snacks or food for the children but rather alcohol for the staff members. The common area had a large, circular dirty rug that the children played with their toys and board games. The staff were in their backrooms 'working' or sitting around 'watching the children', like the obese woman on the couch was. Her name was Gretchen and she was the head of the Foster Home's administration.

Leira hated her. So, when Vereshin asked her that question, her mind went to Gretchen.

She was a fat, lazy cow, but that wasn't the sole reason Leira hated the woman. Leira hated her because on the night she arrived at the foster home she tried to run away. Gretchen caught her in her chubby arms and used her fat hand to drag her back to her room by the hair. She slapped Leira, telling her she was an ungrateful little brat. That they were doing her a favor by taking her in and to not take it for granted. Leira hated people hitting her. It made her scared, it made her angry. Remembering it turned her blood to acid and put a painful lump in her throat. She wanted so badly that night to claw the woman's eyes out, to use the Force to slam her against a wall and break her neck. She couldn't, though, as much as she wanted to. Leira knew it wasn't right to take lives. For some reason now it didn't feel so wrong.

It felt like the most right thing she would ever do in her life. The thought of killing her felt as natural as breathing.

"Her," Leira responded to him through the Force. "That fat cow sitting on the couch."

Leira felt very much unlike herself. She had never desired to mutilate somebody the way she did in that moment, not even her depraved scumbag father who definitely deserved it more than Gretchen.

Leira coiled her tiny fists so tightly that her overgrown nails dug into her flesh. She waited to be told what to do.

She was too consumed by her anger to realize that she wasn't fully herself; She was part of Vereshin now.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

Vereshin chuckled slightly at Leira's passionate dislike of the woman. He released his grip from her shoulder and slipped off his glasses, sliding them inside of his coat pocket as he prepared for what was about to unfold. Gretchen hauled herself off the lounge as she noticed them an stood in the middle of the living room, large arms folded as she demanded to know the identity of the man through her defiant pose. The young boy who threw the game piece at the wall stood behind her and hung on to her leg.

"Hello Madam." The Sith Sorcerer gripped the edges of his coat and rolled backwards on his heels, offering a jovial greeting to Gretchen. She delivered a mere grunt in response, refusing to acknowledge his manner of class while allowing him to relieve her of one less mouth to feed. "Are you quite busy here?" Vereshin continued to patronize her and eyed the child clinging to her leg with a sly glint in his eye. As he pulled his hand away from Leira's shoulder, he delivered his own disgust for the woman in front of them and tied their desires into one.

"Reach out with your emotions." Vereshin said into Leira's mind while filling her body with his own raw potency. "Do not hold back your anger. Let your hatred extend your reach." As he allowed Leira to channel her feelings, a surge through her body would cause her hand to shoot forward involuntarily. Power unleashed from Vereshin's will into Leira's own reach and she would hurl Gretchen backwards into the wall. The young boy screamed and ran away to hide behind a side table. Vereshin's powers manifested in a different way when channeled through Leira's body and she released a beam of fire, engulfing Gretchen in flames and setting the room ablaze.

Vereshin cupped his hands to his mouth and giggled uncontrollably at the sight. He continued to deliver his essence into Leira as he allowed the child to run rampant and destroy all ties to her past. "Go now and let them feel the same pain they caused you." Vereshin said allowed to Leira as she moved onward into the foster home. He delivered all of his power into her form and let her channel the potency at her own will.

[member="Leira Rhys"]

 

[Leira Rhys]

Thoughts swarmed Leira's head, images of fire and murder and death. Burnt bodies and cracked bones, flesh stinging from severe burns. The ash of the wretched foster home lying in a big pile. Slit throats. Leira closed her eyes, giving her last futile attempts to push all these dark things out of her mind. She tried to picture her mother's face, but the violent images returned ten times stronger with each attempt. The right side of her face twitched before she opened her eyes. Now instead of the innocent, discerning green-grey, they were yellow. Eerie and unnatural. Corrupt.

Leira screamed a ragged, horrible scream that would be imprinted in the minds of the survivors for the rest of their lives. She thrust her skinny, frail arm out and sent Gretchen flying against the wall so hard that it would crack her skull. The fire that wouldn't escape her thoughts now seemed to appear in the palm of her hands. Leira sent it forward. It enveloped Gretchen's body, lapping at the wooden walls. It would soon spread throughout the entire house.

"Get out of here!" She screamed at the other children watching her. Though Vereshin was no longer directly controlling her actions, the hate he implanted in her was intoxicating. The sight of Gretchen's burning corpse was euphoric.

Continuing on with her rampage, she walked towards the backrooms where the rest of the Foster Home administration resided. She slammed open a door. Inside the room was a man trying to break the boards of a window to escape the imminent threat of being roasted alive. Leira used the Force to feel the soft flesh of his neck and then to apply slow, steady pressure to crush his windpipe. His lips slowly turned blue, the color draining from his face as the life left him. After she was done, his body dropped to the ground lifelessly with a wide-eyed expression of terror permanently captured in his features.

The delusion broke. Dazed and disoriented, Leira's eyes darted around with panic at the quickly spreading fire and the cacophony of childish voices screaming in fear of the fire and victory of being freed from the prison that was Denon's Foster Home. Leira knew she had to find an exit. The window was too heavily boarded for her to possibly break through. The path to the front door was swallowed by flames. The path to the back door, though, seemed survivable.

In an instant, she forgot Vi. She ignored all the bodies surrounding her and the possibility she could've caused this carnage. She gathered every ounce of energy she could through the Force and sprinted towards the exit. Her legs pumped, aching from malnutrition and exhaustion. It was very, very fortunate that she had eaten, or else she would have collapsed and burned alive.

It was either fortunate or part of Vi's plan.

She felt the cool from outside break through the scorching heat of the burning facility. She pushed the door open with both palms, causing her to stumble and lose her balance for a few seconds. Black edges began to consume her vision, her hands and legs seemed disconnected from her body. Leira managed to stagger a few paces away from the inferno behind her and into safety before her vision turned to black. Her body landed on the ground with a soft thump.

In her last few seconds of consciousness, she processed something terrible had happened and that she must have had something to do with it. Leira felt terror, dread,

and then nothing.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

The flames raised around them and engulfed the wooden house. Death laced the air as shrieks from children sounded around them. For a moment, Vereshin lost consciousness as his essence took over Leira completely. His eyes glazed over with black until they appeared as glossy windows, void of colour or expression. He moved slowly between the flames, mouth fixed in a line and hands waving gently by his side along with the billowing edges of his coat. Mind subdued, all of his energy transferred to Leira as she utilized his power, leaving him in a semi-conscious trance.

Vereshin unleashed the violent aspect of his perception which he maintained on a daily basis with immense control. The fear transformed into anger and delivered through the violence Leira committed. As she slaughtered staff throughout the house, Vereshin pressed on slowly behind her, the part of his essence inside drawing him closer with her every move. Suddenly, his perception shifted and he experienced a rush of energy. He regained consciousness as his essence returned to him and released Leira from the spell. Eyes widened, he watched her run outside and followed with haste as the house burned behind them.

When Leira collapsed on the road, Vereshin picked up his pace and moved in a short sprint towards her exhausted body. He wrapped the Force around her and levitated her slowly, picking her up and carrying her in his arms. Children ran from the house as it collapsed. Vereshin made no intention of staying behind to rescue any remaining survivors. With Leira in his arms, he dissipated the mass making up both of their shapes and apparated into a cloud of opaque energy. He soared over the city and allowed his captive to sleep while the skyscrapers flew beneath them.

/end thread​

[member="Leira Rhys"]