For Whom The Bell Tolls

[Lief]

Blinking back the pain in his unnaturally sensitive eyes, the boy stumbled out into the dawn which was breaking over Bastion.

Were he able to he might have shielded those eyes, yet the heavy manacles about his wrist refrained him from doing much more than he was bade. He took a moment to soak it in; the air, while dirtier than that of the transport ship he'd spent the past few weeks inside the hull of, was a welcome respite from the artificially filtered kind his lungs had been forced to endure. Almost sweet, in a way.

Ears rang, blood thumping at his temples and within his swiftly constricting throat. It did not take much to enrage his handler, who had swiftly backhanded him across the face for his momentary lollygagging. The butt of a rifle was pressed against his back, urging him forward on legs that had not been used in what felt like an eternity. Atrophy threatening to overtake his weakened body.

All around him words were spoken, yet the voices were nearly inaudible and impossible to make out. Onward he trudged, until all of the light was drained once more from his surroundings as a thick veil of darkness spread over his skin. The interior proved just as cold as the morning breeze. Eyes trained on the ground, shoulders hunched with craven insecurities, animosity locked beneath the surface, pressed down among the bile. Silently indignant.

Memories of Ession lingered on the very cusp of his mind, the events which had led him from there to this point seemed to have taken place over a decade, or a millennium, feet dragging through the dirt just as he was dragged from his home. How long had truly passed he could not say for sure. Had he mistakenly celebrated a birthday among the squalor of the compound? Was it time yet to mourn the anniversary of his loss?

Perception was reality, and the boy dubbed Thesh had certainly found his own perception skewed. His life had become one monotonous cycle of servitude, where once he had truly lived. He had been a child once, who learned, and ran, and played. A child with hopes and dreams. But that child was gone, dead with all the others. Thesh couldn't even remember the name of the boy who had been.

By the time the journey finally ground to a halt he was fighting back tears. A firm hand pressed against his shoulder, and for once he did not resist as he was forced down to his knees - oblivious of what fate had in store.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Darth Maliphant, so he’d been christened.

The pseudonym felt good rolling off his tongue, a gift for proving himself in the academies it seemed. One hand moved to tie what strands of hair were left dangling, leaving the silver mess dangling behind him; splashing water on his face as he went about his morning routine. The man moved effortless, quiet as he donned the dark clothes sith often wore out of choice, than of necessity. Something about ‘dark and brooding’ sat well with them, and too did it sit with him.

Filling a small mug of Caf, Maliphant glanced around the mess his apartment had become. Bastion had been his home for so long, and yet he’d lost himself in ambition and late nights studying for his next would be invention; this sith alchemy, or that sorcery. If nothing else, he had a dream to prove himself to not only the Emperor, but to the people of the Sith Empire.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Glancing to the door, he took a drink of his Caf as he glided across the floor. The door made a small hiss as it depressurized and slid open, revealing two Imperial soldiers with a small boy before them. Maliphant looked down, cocking a brow before lowering himself to the tear soaked cheeks of his would be visitor. It was the agents that came with him that broken the attention of the Sith however;

“Sir, delivery. A slave, from Ession. Information is on this datapad.”

Maliphant slowly stood and took the device to glance over the information. He shook his head as he saw the craven mess before him, digitizing an entire history of weakness; something he didn’t experience himself. Not to this degree. Another sip of the Caf, and he set it aside on a small table next to the door.

“Where do I sign?”, he offered.

The agents offered him a second pad, in which he signed with his finger while the two uncuffed the slave and tossed him inside. After handing it back, the door closed with a hiss once more, sealing the boy into his new life; an unsettling memory if it stuck. To lose all freedom to the soft churn of a door.

“Got a name, child?”, Maliphant asked as he grabbed his coffee once more.


[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

The boy did not dare look up as the hiss of a door opening resonated around him, as his oppressors spoke their words, as he was roughhoused from his knelt position and thrust forth across the threshold of some place or another. How many times had he experienced this, of late? Dragged from his home, from a ship, from a cell, from the compound... The time inbetween was both vast and quickly spent, punctuated by the crack of a whip and the sting of a backhand.

He had learned quickly, to keep his head down. To be nothing but the worm they saw in him. It was easier that way, even if it brought further resentment from his handlers. How could they want him subservient yet not craven? It did not make sense. Alas, one was as he had always been and the other had been of their own doing. Truth be told the boy had found himself locked in a near constant state of detachment; it was as though he was floating several feet above his own body at any given time, looking down on himself though not necessarily the circumstances surrounding him. His actual body was numb, mind disconnected from the here and now.

Was that normal?

It had become his normality, if nothing else.

His hands, he had come to realize, were finally free to move. Almost instantly his first course of action was to wipe away the streaks of tears from his cheeks, those salty lines which betrayed his inner thoughts and left him even more of a whelp than he already felt. Seeing himself as he did, from a perfect ringside seat, he could only feel disgust. Was that truly how he appeared? How could he be so weak? He hadn't always been like this, he knew, there had been a time when he'd been the eldest of several boys, he'd been strong then, brave. Watched over them, tormented them in a way only a brother could.

Now he felt as though he was the youngest, downtrodden and filled with uncertainty.

It wasn't until the question was asked that the boy realized the handlers were gone, just as the manacles now were. The immediate response it had brokered left a name on the very tip of his tongue, one he had until that very moment quite forgotten in the time since leaving Ession, since he was passed from hand to hand, from camp to compound.

A name he began to speak, before catching himself in the middle of the act.

"Ma--" The boy clenched his mouth shut, and seemed to shrink even further in on himself. Shoulders slackened, eyes fixed on a spot on the ground that quite frankly looked the same as every other bit of floor around him yet in that moment appeared frightfully fascinating. He shook his head, no name, and instinctively flinched in anticipation of yet another strike. He turned his right hand over in that moment, stretching out his arm timidly to reveal a brand upon his wrist. One which showed the letter 'Thesh' followed by three digits. 028.

That was who he was now, right?

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Dorian grinned, something cruel and demeaning. It festered on his lips like an infection before a hand betrayed all he carried about him, and rested on Thesh’s head; the gentle caress of his new owner it seemed. The smile faded to something more gentle, subtle almost, as he looked over the young boys expressions;

“You’re learning.”, he offered, almost proudly.

“I’ll call you Thesh.”

With that, Maliphant moved to stand, motioning for the property before him to follow in suite. Stepping back into the apartment, the mess around would become obvious. It was by all means not abhorrent to life, but the soft warmth of candles on a distant windowsill offering a faint cranberry mandarin scent gave some comfort to the child as they moved towards the kitchen. Inside, it was reasonable clean, only the few day old dishes sitting idly by the sink.

“Boy, do you know why they sent you to me?”, Dorian began as he turned his back on the child, but not before motioning him to sit at the table.

Regardless of answer, he would continue;

“They sent you to me because they’re testing me.”, his words came out cold, yet a soft inspiration riddled each. A contradictory statement in emotion alone.

“They want to see what I can make of you, as a person. As a sith.”

Maliphant turned around now, two small plates of food in his hand as he moved to sit across from Thesh.

“Do you understand?”

[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

The hand which caressed his curls did not match anything he had recently come to know.

It was not harsh or controlling, not in that moment at least, and the voice which soon accompanied it reminded him of his Father. Their tones were nothing alike, of course, accents at complete ends of the spectrum, but it was filled with similar... Emotion? Could it even be deemed such? His Father had always been a bit of a closed off individual, he showed his gratitude and his pride in odd ways but the boys had all come to know the signs. Of course, the nature of their heritage would forever help with such.

At this point the boy had still not looked up. He did not have a face to put to the voice, nor the hand, and the more time dragged on the more reluctant he felt to break the spell he'd unknowingly put himself under. To look upon his new keeper was to make the whole situation that much more real.

When the man rose he lifted his head just enough to know whether or not he was expected to follow, and was grateful to have done so being that it was the case. He rose on shaky legs, using his freed hands to steady himself, and then followed several steps behind the man. Still not having looked up enough to know who was talking.

They came upon a room that smelled fragrant, a pleasant scent - far nicer than anything he'd been subjected to more recently - and when he finally dared to take in at least a little of his surroundings he deduced it to be a kitchen. He was urged toward the table, specifically one of the chairs, though while he shuffled toward it he did not yet take a seat.

He shook his head to the first question when it was asked, though he doubted it was noticed and the man continued to speak regardless. It wasn't until the man sat, two plates settled to the tabletop, that he turned his attention to the chair itself. He could feel his heart quicken, feel the blood in his throat and throbbing at his temples.

Was this a test?

After a few moments he realized that his breathing had become ragged and fought to regain control of it. A question had been posed, and this time still lingered on the air. One which he was no doubt expected to answer. He didn't really know what a Sith was, in fact most of what had been said was confusing to the boy, but he didn't want to make the man have to explain himself so he gave a very slight nod. Not necessarily one which inspired confidence, but it was something at least.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Dorian watched Thesh nod, disappointed he had chosen not to speak yet. Truly, the boy was less than the usual stock of Sith; and as a result he didn’t have high hopes for the child. If nothing else, he’d turn him into excellent stock for the imperial sectors; maybe even a scientist if he turned out to be academic. Much of that was in the future however, the plans needed to be fleshed out before giving Thesh a chance to prove himself.

A sigh followed, letting himself fall back to watching the food he had made for the two. Unless Thesh were to speak, Dorian would eat quietly; the soft clinks of his fork against the metal plate accented by the occasional audible chew. When he was finished, he’d stand, driving a few wild strands of hair back behind his ear and speaking once more;

“First duty you will have, Thesh…”, Maliphant began;

“Clean the apartment. Find where things go, clean what must be cleaned, and don’t get in trouble.”

Maliphant walked towards the doorway of the kitchen, glancing back to the boy;

“I’ll be in my study. For now, it is to be completely off limits to you. Knock when you’ve finished.”

His words were simple and straightforward; though they carried with a slight coldness nonetheless. When what he said had concluded, Dorian gave Thesh no second glance, no departing smile, only a turn as he moved across the living space to a door with a small caution sign next to it. If Thesh could read, he’d quickly be able to tell what it said;

“Study”

Outside, the door quietly opened and shut as the lady known as Odona walked in. She took her coat and rested it aside before settling down on a bench near the entrance to remove her boots; though she’d offer Thesh no glance. She was far too occupied with what ailed her in those moments.


[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

For a moment there the boy could practically feel the disappointment from the man, the sigh putting it into an audible form. There was no way he could know what he had or had not done to cause it, because it wasn't vocalized, but it did leave him wondering on the matter.

His eyes fell back to the table, and upon seeing the untouched food no doubt intended for his own consumption his stomach growled. He couldn't remember when he'd last had a solid meal, certainly not that morning; but it wasn't until the man finished and rose, not until he his instructions had been given and the ground rules laid, that he finally slipped into the seat itself.

By this point the man had already left, heading off to the out of bounds study. Still nothing said by Thesh, of course, even though the words lingered on his lips. Once alone he turned his attention to the meal. To begin with he started slow, eating a small piece at a time, but soon enough hunger took over and he wolfed down the entire plate of food faster than a boy his size had any right to.

"Thank you," he whispered, under his breath, when he was done, knowing that he could not be heard yet expressing it all the same. The first real words he'd spoken in some time, said to an audience of none. But it broke the ice for him, made his mouth feel less like it had been sewn shut.

It didn't take him long to begin work. Being that he was already in the kitchen he opted to begin there, stacking up all of the dishes he could find to one side of the sink. He scrubbed clean as many as could fit on the draining board - though there were a couple left behind - earning him a slightly soaked shirt by the end of it. He'd never been very good at keeping the water from splashing. Then, while he waited for the dishes to dry so that he could finish up the task he cleaned down the counter tops, table, and then swept the floors.

Each of the cabinets was quietly searched, and though he knew it would take him a while to learn the full layout he made a mental note of what went where. Anything that happened to be lying around that shouldn't have been was put away, and then he turned his attention to the next room adjoining the kitchen.

There was plenty of work to be done, he realized, but even back home he'd felt a little better when he was busy than when he had nothing to do at all. Something about idle hands, his mother would always say.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Odona moved only after her freshly muddied boots were removed, stretching slightly as she walked through the apartment with her casual attire. A tank top that exposed the shoulders, and jeans that kept her covered; the usual off duty clothing she needed to be comfortable regardless of her always on guard. It was only as the small Thesh walked out of the kitchen that she stopped, arching a brow.

“Who are you?”, she said with a dull, quiet tone.

In reality, she understood. She’d already been given a full report on the child given to ‘Maliphant’, given to him through the grapevine from the rubbles of Ession. She knew his name, where he came from, even the failure he experienced in the academy; and it was her job to ensure his maintained loyalty to the empire, just as it was Maliphant. She furrowed her brow as she looked him over, mildly unimpressed at his short stature and sad eyes.

[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

The boy who had just found his voice suddenly wished he hadn't.

When the voice broke through the air, feminine yet monotonous, he froze still on the spot. Had he been carrying something he felt certain it would have ended up on the floor, but she'd caught him between jobs and for that he was truly grateful.

There had been no mention of another person in the apartment. No warning that one might appear. His chest visibly rose and fell at an alarming rate, and for a moment as he stood there and stared it almost seemed as though he wasn't going to say a single word.

But the spell she'd been put under by her handlers on the journey over here had been broken. And as much as he might have wished otherwise, Thesh wasn't actually a mute. In fact, once upon a time he had been a very social butterfly.

"Thesh, ma'am," came his meek response, eyes averting to the ground, and new name sliding effortlessly from his lips. Still, he had said more in that moment than he had to his new owner, so he supposed that was some sort of progress on his part. "Just cleaning," he swiftly added, figuring he'd best explain himself, lest she thought him a cat burglar of some sort. "Don't mean to disturb you, ma'am."

Now that he'd started he seemingly found it a little difficult to stop. In order to refrain from saying much else he bit down on the inside of his lower lip and waited to no doubt be reprimanded for running his tongue.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Odona offered a receptive ‘Hmm’, emanating from her throat as she seemed to lose interest and walk towards the couch; taking a moment to adjust a throw pillow and set it behind her before she sat. A hand lifted into the air, the tv responding in unison from the specialized movement, slowly turning to the Imperial News Network;

“In today’s news, the result of a military operation on the border of Sith Space, and how it affects-”, the news began to prattle on. The network anchorman moved flawlessly between slides and news articles, stealing Odona’s attention for a few moments before she glanced back to Thesh;

“How old are you, Thesh?”, she asked suddenly, glancing over to him. She knew, of course, but it didn’t mean any less to ask.

The holonet television continued despite her change of attention, the words ‘Rebel’ and ‘Casualty’ stuck out more than anything else, though it seemed muddled in comparison to what the woman spoke of now.


[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

When she walked away without a word Thesh continued on with what he was doing. Some children might have found it awkward to do what amounted to chores in the presence of a stranger, someone sat there in the midst of the chaos they were attempting to clean up, but he'd never been afforded such self-consciousness when it came to work. Not even prior to the attack on Ession.

He started to pick up any trash which had been left around the place, starting small while he surveyed the space and tried to figure out mentally where everything was meant to be. About half way through this process, with the whine of the holovision in the background, the woman finally spoke again.

"I'm not sure, ma'am" came his honest response, with what looked to be the start of a shrug. He had thought better of that, of course, stifling it before it became much of anything. "Never kept count."

That had not been by choice. It wasn't as though they were eager to have their newfound slaves tracking the time, keeping note of anything which might remind them of their past. Birthdays were forgotten, the days merged into one another, and time became wholly inconsequential. Manipulation at its finest, just like how they had been stripped of their names.

Whether she chose to respond or not this time, the boy continued on with the task at hand. After a very meek and uneventful arrival he decided he wanted to at least prove he had a little worth around the place. After all, the alternative was to be sent back to the compound, and even the thought of that was torturous.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The drone of the television maintained despite their momentary conversation, Odona simply humming and affirmation in the temporary lull, glancing back to the news with what seemed like the entirety of her attention. She carried a soft beauty to her, though it wasn’t motherly; jagged edges and cuts that cried out danger, something she never chose to hide.

She’d do little else to interrupt him as he moved about, cleaning much of the living area; though the moment that had been done, and he began moving to the bedrooms still open for cleaning, she’d stop him. Her voice broke the temporary silence with quick interjection;

“Don’t clean those, Thesh.”, she said with some authority in her voice.

“There is nothing you need to touch in either my, or Maliphant’s room. Is that understood?”

Regardless of his answer, she’d slowly stand and groan as she came to a realization. Just where exactly were they going to keep this child? Almost every room in the house was already taken by some utility or purpose, yet the other guest room had been taken by Dorian’s study. Her voice came through once more;

“Thesh, come with me actually.”, she said as a mixture of disappointment and annoyance filled her tone. It was obvious it wasn’t directed at Thesh, but the anger was present regardless.

The two walked into the room he hadn’t tried entering; inside it was exceptionally clean. Two beds lay on either corner of the room, both looking like they hadn’t been slept in for some time; while a desk with a computer sat near the one on the left. A closet sat between them, with half of it filled thus far; though the room lacked any peculiar decorations or otherwise dedicated features.

“Your bed-”, she began as she pointed towards the one nearest the window, and farthest from the desk, “- Is that one.”

“Two things, Thesh, you’ll only sleep in here. All other times you must be elsewhere, understood?”, she said with equal affirmation as she had before.

[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

By the time that he had finished cleaning the very core of the apartment, Thesh had worked up a bit of a sweat. Nothing gross or noticeable, but it clung to his muscles and left him feeling fatigued. He couldn't wait for the day to be over, to find a corner and curl up, so that what had been a challenging experience could melt away into what would no doubt become routine instead. He always hated the shipping days the most.

When he made his way toward what he presumed to be one of the bedrooms, saving the refreshers for last since they were typically the worst offenders and he didn't want to spread grime around, he was horrified to hear the voice of the woman calling out to him.

Now he faced quite the conundrum. He'd been told to clean the apartment, with the only stipulations being to stay out of the office. Surely that had meant the whole apartment? He turned slowly, looking to the woman with an expression of abject terror, stuttering over a series of words which never actually fully made it past his lips.

Soon enough his chance to do so was over, as she whisked past him and bade him to follow. Which, of course, he did, still worrying over the consequences of missing two whole rooms. Making excuses, even valid ones, had never gone down well before; he could only hope that the woman was around to attest to her added instructions when the time came.

Led into one of the two rooms, her eyes fell over the bed which was pointed toward. His bed, she'd said, though the room itself was not his. Nothing new to Thesh, so when she questioned him and this time seemed to expect an answer he easily nodded his head.

"Of course, Ma'am," came his swift response, tone tenser than it had been previously due to the change in his instructions. "Thank you."

Then, with one soft step back, and darting eyes, he began to excuse himself.

"Need to... clean the refreshers, Ma'am..."

And then he turned tail, quick as he could.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

And so Thesh would return to his assigned task, Odona quietly following to the living room once more to finish watching whatever news program she intended. Hours began to pass as the sun of Bastion began to set on the horizon; a metropolitan city scape reinforced through thousands of years of generational defense. The bodyguard never moved, her form remaining almost disturbingly still as the tv flashed through various political concerns, propaganda, and inevitably discussions of the active rebellions on the edge of Sith Space.

Odona seemed to move only at the last mention, a contorted temporary look of disgust before fading back into her usual apathetic emotion.

After some time, Maliphant eventually opened the study and walked out. In his hands was a case, the approximate size of a sword, and an exceptionally tired expression on his face. He set it down with a sigh, glancing over to the two others as bags had formed beneath his eyes. Although it’d only been sometime, it looked as though he had been awake for a week; likely a result of whatever it was he was doing within the room.

Brushing stray hairs from his face, he glanced around to the now clean apartment. It was by no means perfect, considering the child’s age, but its detail was notable. Certainly cleaner than Maliphant or Odona kept it, so with it he offered the child a small smile. His voice matched his expression, coming across with exhaustion, but a scintilla of appreciation;

“Good job, Thesh. C’mere.”, he said motioning the boy to follow along.

Maliphant moved back to the study with Thesh in tow, though motioning him to stop at the doorway. A glance inside offered no real detail as to what was within, as the room was void of all windows and light, suffering a slight musk from dozens of bookcases built into the walls lined with aging tomes and incompleted artifacts of unknown design. However, the Sith walked through the unseeable maze with grace, returning a short time later with a book he had.

“This will be your first lesson. Read these books. You…”, he paused for a moment.

“You know how to read, right?”, he said quietly offering both “Studies of The Force” and “Aspects of the Force, The Light and the Dark”.

[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

He wasn't interrupted for the rest of the day.

Able to crack on and finish cleaning the rest of the apartment - minus those rooms he'd been told not to touch - the boy felt a lot of his worries begin to melt away the further he got into the task. Not having someone over his shoulder while he worked was a blessing he didn't realize he'd needed, there was nobody critiquing every decision he made, or his methods, and that lack of pressure led to a more productive afternoon.

His work was not perfect by any standards, but he gave it his best effort. When everything was cleaned to an acceptable level he set about figuring out where everything went, seemingly trying to memorize the cupboards and shelves and drawers to make his life easier.

By the time he was finished he was both tired and thirsty, and during the brief amount of downtime he had while waiting for further instruction he carefully poured himself a glass of tap water and chugged it down - cleaning the glass as soon as he was finished. Usually he wouldn't have dared, but dehydration was a powerful motivator and so long as he cleaned up after himself it wasn't as though anyone would even really be able to tell.

When the sound of a door opened, however, the boy stepped back into the main living space and glanced over to where his new Master was now stood. He was smiling, which Thesh hoped meant good news for him, and upon being beckoned closer he followed obediently. Of course, even without having to be told to wait on the threshold he didn't enter the office, and while the man went inside in search of something he waited patiently.

It seemed, when he returned with the books and asked the question, as though the boy was once again going to remain silent, as he had done earlier. But he had witnessed the mans earlier disappointment at not having a verbal response, and the way in which the woman engaged him in conversation, and thus after a few moments he gave a timid nod.

"I can read some, Master," he responded, voice respectfully quiet yet holding more certainty than his prior demeanor had. Way back when, on Ession, his mother had taught him how to. His brothers had never gotten a chance to learn, and he couldn't help but wonder if they'd gotten the opportunity to since. If they were even still alive.

"Thank you, Sir."

He took the books and glanced down at the covers, half-squinting for a moment as he read their titles. Most of the words he knew, the rest... Well, there were ways of learning such things. He at least knew how to sound words out, he'd been particularly good at phonics, it was just learning their meanings which would take the most time.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant nodded as he tapped his chin, finishing his thoughts on how he’d go about initial training of this boy. If nothing else, he’d fail in the harsh environment of the sith academy, especially without some time to grow into that world; Dorian knew this, and idled for a moment before glancing back to him;

“There will be more. One moment.”, he said, walking over to a seperate bookcase in the main room, one Thesh would recognize from dusting it. Its library was littered with some aged tomes, but most seemed relatively new and well kept, likely bought in the last few years.

He pulled a few more books from the shelves, some larger and some smaller, but after a small pile found itself in his hands, he moved back to Thesh only to set them in his arms. The weight was adding up for the young boy, something Maliphant didn’t seem to notice as he walked away.

In the pile, books like “Writing in Basic: An Orthographic Chrestomathy”, “Squib Jedi”, “Basic Dictionary”, “Encyclopedia Galactica”, and “The Little Lost Bantha Cub”, books of heavily varied skill levels and subjects. Maliphant moved to some chest within the room as Odona piped up, glancing over now;

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much there, Dorian?”, she said in her usually flat tone.

“No, I don’t.”, he said as he paused from the footlocker and glanced up to Thesh once more, “Those don’t all need to be read now, but I want you to try. We’ll start with the children books, you’ll read me those outloud, and we’ll move on from there.”

Maliphant quickly looked back into the footlocker, rummaging around for a few things before setting out a new set of clothes, a small necklace with an identity pass on it, and what looked to be a lightsaber, though it held a cylindrical metal core over its entire expanse. When finished, the sith motioned to what was on the floor;

“Those will be your new friends. The robes will help protect you, the ID will identify you as a force sensitive in Bastion under my care, and that training saber will…”, he paused before shrugging his shoulders; “Well, it’ll protect you. That, and we’ll work on basic lightsaber forms. Its also weighted to help ensure muscle development.”

All of this he said before moving to sit a chair not in line with what surrounded the television, speaking more as he did;

“We will also be doing physical training. I think Odona will help with that, she’s in better shape than me.”

“I’m what?”, she said with a sudden scowl.

“See? She already wants to fight.”, Maliphant chuckled.


[member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

When the other books were handed across to him, the boy stood balancing them as best he could. So tall had the pile become that he couldn't even really see over the top, and before he knew what was happening the top two plummeted to the ground.

Thesh froze just as the heavy thud resonated through the room.

One second passed, then two, then three, and after what felt like an eternity the air rushed back into his lungs. As quickly as it all happened, the boy was on his knees with the remainder of the pile at his side, scooping up the books and trying to make sure nothing had happened to them. Nothing had, of course, they had landed back cover side down, but he worried over it for a moment all the same.

"Sorry, Master," he hastily said, tone actually a little louder than it had been previously. Once they were all stacked back up he rose back from the ground, leaving them neatly piled in place to the right of his feet. There was, of course, still more than enough space on the ground for someone to walk around them, he just needed to figure out where he could place them in the meantime. After all, the room with his bed was off limits.

The realization that he'd have to read the stories aloud struck him then, and his face paled slightly. "May I try and practice aloud alone, first, Master?" he asked, somewhat timidly, before watching as a few items were pulled out of a footlocker elsewhere in the room. Robes, ID, and a training sword... The trio of items reminded him of things he'd seen other kids with back in the Academy, before he was shipped off to the compound.

When the man walked away to find a seat, he stepped over to the objects and lifted them up, careful not to drop anything or wrinkle up the robes. Then he stopped back beside the books, and glanced between the two of them.

"Thank you, Master," he said, when all seemed done with, finally beginning to feel more comfortable with the sound of his own voice. "I'll work hard, I promise."

With that, he plucked one of the books from the pile, The Little Lost Bantha Cub, as well as the Basic Dictionary in case he stumbled across a word he didn't know, and sat down on the ground with his back against the wall. Close enough that he could hear if he was needed, or wanted, but also out of sight and mind. His eyes fell over the pages, gaze skipping back and forth between both books he'd chosen.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Maliphant either didn’t notice, or didn’t care the books had fallen, turning his attention now to the distant doorway of his room. He sighed softly as he began to move towards it, rubbing his head slightly;

“Well, with that, I’m off to bed. Try and finish one of those books before you sleep, Thesh.”, he said idly, without glancing back to him.

“No supper?”, Odona asked in almost hurt manner. The theatrics were anything but palpable.

“Not for me. Better get to cookin’.”, he almost laughed out, before shaking his head.

“I’ll make breakfast.”, he said as the door to his room shut tight behind him.

Odona sighed and stood to move towards the kitchen, the soft sounds of pans hitting each other as she began to cook some unknown meal. Thesh was left to his studies, but when it was done, he would be called to eat.

And so the night was move on. Thesh’s new life had been established, and a routine was to be made. All of this dependent on its newest addition; the young soon to be sith with innocence still in his heart.


[member="Thesh"]