Like a train runnin off the track (Christian Slade)

[KitKat]

She smiled, noting the awkwardness and wondering if he too didn’t prefer to call her something else. “Alright… hmm.” She trailed off in thought as the birds darted about overhead, having their fun and searching for food. It would be wonderful to be able to fly and be so free like that. They certainly seemed to enjoy it.
“What is your favorite color?” A silly question but an interesting one and one Katarine liked to know about people.

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

"Easy...", Christian said, stepping out in front of his companion and holding up his arms as he slowly began to spin on his heel. "The color that's all around you.", he explained, motioning to the greenery of the beautiful jungle reserve they were touring with one another.

His head then fell back into place, his golden eyes following suit and falling back to her eyes. "The very same color in those beautiful eyes of yours.", he said, slowing down again and turning to walk in the same direction that she was once more.

Looking over at her, Christian smiled down at the girl and said, "So... my turn.", they walked, a few moments of silence passing before he asked her, "What is your favorite flower?"

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She smiled, watching him express his answer nonverbally by circling around. She blushed and looked at the ground when he mentioned her eyes. Every other member of her family had yellow eyes. They regularly called Katarine’s an abomination of some kind.

“Green is a lovely color.” They continued walking as he asked his question. Katarine frowned, she’d never thought much about that particular question. Sure she’d admired flowers of all different kinds. She loved water lilies, and roses, what girl could turn down a rose? She thought back to all of the flowers she’d seen and the image from her childhood greeted her. A small delicate white flower she’d stumbled upon once when she was lost in the woods.

“A night blossom. It’s something of a rarity on my home planet but it’s very special to me. It blooms only in the darkest of shadows but inside it has a tiny faint glow, which nocturnal birds use to find their way.” She remembered the plant fondly and could relate to something so small and pure cast into such darkness and yet refusing to stop glowing.

The Jedi Master was lost in thought for a long moment until she finally blushed and realized she’d been staring off into space. “Sorry Tiger. Whats your favorite food?"
@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Double post

 

[Christian Slade]

"I would like so much to see a flower like that.", he said, thinking about how very intricate it must be to the very last detail. He was fond of complex and rare things, which was partly why when he worked, he worked alone, and he only sought out knowledge of the force that had been only whispered of. Practices that were, or at least had been thought lost for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. It was amazing the different perceptions a completely different society could have of the force. That he appreciated greatly. "My favorite food is... pancakes."

As they walked, a tiny bird fluttered up to them, hovering in front of them as they walked. It stopped on the spot, it's little wings rushing top and fro in order to keep elevated. It made Christian smile, but he didn't dare try and offer it a perch on his finger. No, he was a brutish man and he figured the bird would retreat if he lifted his massive claw and offered a place to rest.

And so he simply continued their game, those golden eyes watching the bird for a moment as he asked, "What is your ideal place to be with your own thoughts, both location, scenery and weather condition?", but then he looked down at his companion while he waited on an answer.

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

“I’ve never seen them bloom anywhere else but if I ever run across one I will be sure to tell you.” She wouldn’t dare offer to take him to the place it bloomed for fear her brother might do something horrible, as he tended to do.

She giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone whose favorite food is pancakes. I guess I know what we are having for breakfast then.” Her smile widened, knowing of a small cafe that would be perfect to take him to sometime.
“That is an interesting question. I like water. It’s both powerful and serene, the giver and destroyer of life. It is balance and I think that balance helps thought. I’d say somewhere I could see the water. A cool beach… or maybe a deep forest in the middle of a rainstorm."
She smiled, somewhat pleased with her answer though she figured it needed more thought. “What is your ideal afternoon? Location and activity?”

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian smiled at her answer. It was perfect, the water she liked. It didn't get better than that.

He loved the water, specifically the rain and who it meant to any and all creatures. It did bring life and take it away like she said. It was capable of so much. It could nourish, or it could drown. It could cool you or cause you to freeze. It could help grow a rich forest, or wash it's wildlife away. The water... the rain. It answered to no one, no thing. It was free and it was awesome in so many ways.

"I'd have to say...", he said as he thought hard about her next question. "I'd say playing a sport, going for a run, working out or doing any real, physical activity in the pouring rain."

"No matter how heated you get, you are cooled... No matter how thirsty you become, you are hydrated, and if you want to have some real fun, there could be no more fun had than slipping and sliding in the mud and rain trying to look good playing a sport you had no business trying to begin with.", he said with a light laugh.

"What is your guiltiest of private pleasures?"

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

He painted a really tempting picture. Playing in the pouring rain sounded like a blast to Katarine. She'd done it once after begging her twin for hours to allow it. She smiled at the memory. Yes the rain certainly was fun.

His next question sent the smile right off her face. It was a personal question to ask, though he hadn't done so in any prying way. It was just another innocent round in thier game, but standing there, watching those golden hypnotic eyes the question hit a lot closer to home than he could have realized. Her deep green eyes traced his jawline and for a second she considered not answering the question... But no .. He'd asked for honesty and she was honor bound to keep hey end of the deal.

Her eyes left his face, turning instead to admire the planks beneath thier feet. They were now walking along a board walk designed to take them into another exhibit in the wild life emporium.

"The company I like to keep." Perhaps like was the wrong word. It was more like the company she was designed to keep but it would be a lie to say she didn't enjoy it. She sighed and watched the birds flying around as the boardwalk took them towards a door leading to the underwater exhibit area.

She opened the door for him, her way of glancing at his face to see what he thought of her answer. It hadn't been much of an explanation but how did you explain wanting to keep a demon near when you were asked by a devil? What rightful Jedi would admit to the allure of the Darkside, even if the Jedi never wanted it for herself? She couldn't put into words the game of cat and mouse she was bread to play. Danger... Darkness... Passion... A Jedi craves not these things. Or they should not anyway.

"What would you say is your deepest regret?" She asked as they passed Into the dimly lit underwater exhibit. She smiled slyly, teasing him slightly. One deep question warranted another it seemed.

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

She looked at him carefully as they walked, especially after he'd asked his question, which seemed to strike a chord with her. He had a feeling it would because guilty pleasures weren't the friend of any Jedi he'd ever known. Her answer was an interesting one, though, and although it was truthful, which he could tell by the way she was carrying herself and speaking, it was also not a defined answer, at least not the one that he'd wanted it to be.

Still, he couldn't be so hard on her. After all, she was opening up to him. That was enough for him, and so he kept the tone even and light hearted, laughing as they walked. "What?", he asked, watching her with those golden eyes he had. "You mean like me? The dark and mysterious type? The passion ridden man that could be set off at the drop of a hat?"

He laughed again as they continued to walk and wondered what she thought of his bold response to her answer, but really he was just teasing her not knowing how she would react. As they walked, though, Christian became a bit excited as they neared the underwater exhibit, but his laugh faded, and his mood became a more serious one when he'd heard her question.

He wasn't angry with her, but her question had struck a very fine chord as well. As a man, he had many things he regretted, but he couldn't regret them too dearly because if he did, if they hadn't happened, he wouldn't have learned his lesson and grown from them. He knew that they were necessary things, all except for one experience he'd had.

"Not being old enough to defend my mother and father when they were released from this life...", he said, a lower, softer tone to his voice as he looked down for a few moments as they walked. In those moments, he thought of their faces, knowing that he couldn't change anything now and that he was too young at the time, yet he did so want to relive that day so that he could try to do something about it anyway.

The thought was too much, and he knew that he couldn't ruin the mood by focusing on it. It was too long ago and he was enjoying himself too much for that. That was why when he raised his head back up and cast those golden eyes in her direction, smiled at her and asked, "What is your greatest accomplishment in this life?"

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Kat chuckled along with his teasing but did not meet his eyes. Her thoughts drifted towards Ravage and his constant presence in the back of her mind. It wasn't something to dwell on now. Like other things it was unavoidable. Niether could live in peace apart and there would be only darkness together. She sighed and let her attention fall on her partner on the tour.

Her face fell into a guilty frown as he described his greatest regret. She had not meant to bring up such horrible memories for him. "I'm sorry." She watched him with sympathetic eyes, and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He put on a brave face and changed the subject, and she decided to follow his lead to avoid hurting him further.

"Well hopefully I have a lot of accomplishments left to give this galaxy." She smile at him, trying to cheer him up. Her deep green eyes caught the first tank they encountered. It was full of brightly colored jelly fish.

"My students have accomplished many great things in their lives." It was the first time she had spoken of her past, and the first real hint at her true identity. "I have watched them overcome struggles, defy odds, and help this galaxy in ways I never could. It is a rare and precious gift to watch a student grow." She fell silent, watching the jelly fish swimming softly in the tank. Katarine was not trying to play modest. One of the biggest weaknesses the Jedi warned her about was her lack of confidence in her own abilities. Katarine could recognize greatness in others but not herself.

She could sense him watching her and smiled at his reflection. "But you asked for my accomplishment and to this all I can reply is my heart. Kindness where I come from if considered a weakness. I am fortunate enough to know that love, kindness, and a pure heart are the strongest weapons in this galaxy. That knowledge would be my greatest accomplishment."

It was a little longer than her last answer but she felt guilty for being so short before and for bringing up the memories he had.

"What would you say is your most important long term goal?"

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian's eyes glazed over for a moment as he watched the tank of jellyfish in front of them. He was deep in thought again, thinking of Katarine teaching young boys and girls the arts of the force, and those young people growing into young men and women who were able to accomplish so much that their teacher hadn't.

Really, the greatest of all of them was the teacher, when considering the value in each of them. The students might soar past their Masters one day long ahead, or soon on the horizon, but one fact did remain that without their teacher, they would be nothing. The teacher made all the difference in the life of someone who wanted to be extraordinary, which made Christian feel inadequate at times.

He knew he was powerful, but he felt so weak knowing that he'd never really had a teacher. He was an apprentice for a couple of years on Dromund Kaas, but he'd escaped that life and ventured out on his own when he was but a boy. Everything he'd learned he was taught by the mere memory of his father, forever etched into his most prized of all of his holocrons. The first he had obtained. A gift from his father and the many years of knowledge that he had at his disposal.

"To see to the destruction of the Empire, and every Sith who operates within it.", he said, rather bluntly, his eyes flashing as he blinked and found himself tugged back to reality. It was like being slapped in the face by his own subconscious that had realized what he'd just said, and he was unsure what Katarine would have to say about something like that.

It was bold and not a goal to be taken lightly. It would likely never come to pass, but he had vengeance on his mind, though it even surprised him the way it sounded. That was why he remained silent in the following moments as he looked over into those green eyes of hers to see what reaction she might have had.

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

His statement should not have surprised her. He wasn't the first darksider she had met with vengeance on his mind. He was perhaps the first one who put it so bluntly. She kept her eyes on the jelly fish while the silence fell between them. It was strange to worry for someone you just met but Katarine had always been too tendered hearted to do what was fully expected of a Jedi. Should she not want the same thing? If someone asked her would she not agree the empire had to fall and the Sith had to be eliminated?

The honest answer was no. She wanted salvation for those doing wicked in the galaxy. She wanted their hearts free of whatever torment drove them to hurt others. She wanted the politics set aside and the people saved. She was perhaps a dreamer who would never see reality happen that way but she could not imagine living do full of rage and vengeance.

She watched the jelly fish, purposely avoiding his reflection in the glass. Her words were soft, full of concern rather than some preachy righteousness. "Remember that destruction isn't always controllable. It isn't always easy to aim vengeance at a target and completely miss your heart." She fell silent, in the way that only a teacher could. Kat had given advice before but she knew the game and understood where the boundaries were. She realized the next time she set eyes upon this man it might be from the opposite side of a battlefield. He wasn't here to have his goals challenged and who was she to tell him he were wrong? His way would win the war wouldn't it?

But at what cost? She blinked when she felt moisture in her eyes and took a deep breath. "It would be a shame to lose a soul like yours.. Right.. Wrong... For sure a shame."

She took another deep breath and opened those green eyes to cast a glance at him over her shoulder. She smiled an impish smile and nudged him playfully with her shoulder. "You forgot to ask me a question Tiger." She walked past him, heading toward the next tank to see what was waiting for them there.

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

When she'd nudged him his body swayed away from her, and then back in her direction, like a blade of grass that had changed directions during a storm. He wasn't feeling as playful as she, and as he stared into the glass at his own reflection he realized what a monster he was. Maybe not as vicious as the monsters he aimed to take down, but vicious and rabid all the same.

"They took everything from me.", he said, not really realizing what he was saying, and in fact, had he not heard himself speak, he could have sworn he had only thought what he'd just said. It startled him a bit even, his eyes flashing closed again as he flinched ever so slightly, his mind teetering between reality and his memories of that day. They day his life was changed forever. The day his childhood was taken from him and replaced with a life of solitude and hatred. The day he lost everything he cared for, and the void left behind was filled with painted targets.

He finally managed to pull his attention from the reflection of those golden eyes in the glass. Those evil golden eyes...

Looking over at Katarine he noted the moisture in her eyes, and in his, though he hadn't realized it, the slightest hints of red, working their way in to his irises as he'd almost drawn back all of his feelings from that very day. Every thought that ran through his mind, every emotion he was overcome with. It had almost all come rushing back in a torrent of anger, but it had slipped past him.

"I'm sorry... I...", he said, his darkening golden eyes looking deeply into her green ones. "It slipped my mind for a moment.", he said, sighing and releasing some tension as he did, his eyes shutting slowly so that they could return to normal, as if nothing happened. He then opened them again, looking back to the tank in front of them, and hoped that she hadn't noticed. That his eyes hadn't started to turn like the typically did, but he couldn't be certain. He could taste that hatred, a sickening aftertaste that slipped away as he composed himself.

"What is your dream profession?", he finally asked, looking back at the girl and forcing a smile, despite the sadness he so desperately tried to suppress.

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She was trying not to overstep any boundaries with him but as she headed towards the next tank she heard his words and hesitated. They were about to cross bridges that couldn't be uncrossed and probably were better left unexplored for a pair of newly aquanted strangers. She turned slowly to face him as he tried to pull himself together and frowned. Stranger or not she just couldn't let him continue to be so sad.

"Nobody can take everything from you. Your humanity Is something you have to choose to give." It sounded so simple but it was difficult beyond the normal realms. The reason for this was the simplicity. There was no trick, no secret weapon or practiced method of resisting temptation and revenge. It was a choice. A simple choice that fooled followers with its simplicity. You had to choose not to let others turn you toward a path and then you had to honor your choice. So simple... And yet far too complex.

"No.. I am sorry. I really didn't mean to torment you with the past." She was running from hers so she knew all too well wishing to escape.

"It is not fair that so much was taken from you. I just wish you could avoid handing over any other piece of yourself to it. Friendship and support is what will start healing those wounds, not destruction. I can show you. I know what it's like to lose a family."

She placed her palms on the bars preventing people from getting too close to the exhibits. She offered a small smile at him, trying to express without words how the feeling of guilt for having brought up such pain.

"Honestly I don't know. They say you come to college to figure out your future. I feel more lost than when I started."

@[member="Christian Slade"]



@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian was quiet for a long time as he listened to Katarine speak. He watched her closely with those golden eyes that almost looked hurt as she spoke. They weren't hurt by what she'd said, but more for what she was making him feel. He was struggling with it, that anger that had festered in him so long, and now a young woman who challenged him to rise above his anger and hatred for those who'd stolen his childhood away and ruined his life. She seemed to expect more from him, despite having just met him, or maybe she didn't. Maybe she simply wished more of him.

Either way, it was a hard thing to listen to, knowing in some way that she was right. That he should be brave and not seek vengeance on someone for something done so long ago, but he wasn't strong enough. In fact, he was a very weak man. So weak that he had devoted his life to becoming the strongest possible version of himself so that he could rip them apart, one at a time, like some outraged animal.

It was infuriating, the inner struggle he was having, and he looked away from her, grabbing the bars the same as she had, only he squeezed them as he braced his body tightly. He didn't show it physically, but his hands were slowly crushing the bars he held on to, and as soon as he noticed it, he stopped as suddenly as he had started.

Realizing what he'd done he released the bars and quickly looked back over to Katarine with an almost resentful look for having made him feel something other than hatred towards the Empire and their deranged Sith pawns. "I don't know that I can let this go...", he whispered back to her, knowing that if it ever did come to pass, he might not be long for the world considering the source that fueled his soul had been a dark and calloused hatred that had been fostered by his endlessly deep sorrow.

"I have so much... hatred... for all of them.", he said, his eyes shivering as a surge of energy rushed over his very skin, this time shivering visibly as he took another breath and composed himself, leaning against the waist high stone wall that the bars were perched upon.

After a few moments he raised his head and said, "Alright...", looking up at the sky for another moment or so more. He then looked across at Katarine and said, "Let's change the subject, shall we?"

"I don't think that you're lost.", he said, looking down at the ground between them, still gathering himself for the time being before pushing off the wall in front of him to walk with her towards the next exhibit. "I think you're right where you need to be, right now."

He smiled, halfway genuinely as he held out his arm for her to take, "And I think it's your turn to ask a question."

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"That's okay, because I know you can. As long as one of us has faith then you are ahead of the game." She smiled at him and nodded when he described his hatred. It was understandable. Taking someone that was loved so much was a horrible act. It would be all too easy to hate the person responsible.

Again her thoughts returned to Lord Ravage. In a way she had done the same thing to him. By running away she had taken his sister from him and he'd reacted with cruelty and hatred. It was understandable, it just wasn't acceptable to the woman.

She smiled at him and nodded when he wanted to change tr subject. "What do you like to do for fun?" She had a feeling he was all work and no play, a contrast to the extremely impish woman standing next to him.

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian was a bit surprised by the woman's next question. He hadn't really done much fun in a long time. He'd tried college out for a year or so only a while back, but that hadn't much been for him, yet here he was sitting in on a college class that very day. It was odd the way things turned out, at least for him and how he saw things going. At the same time, though, he wouldn't have changed the way they had been going for anything. After all, he'd come to find this woman, who at every turn was surprising him, unlike any other he'd ever met before.

"I... I guess...", he said, still thinking on her question as they walked deeper into the underwater exhibit, a darker area as to simulate the predators of the oceans that were technically nocturnal creatures. All of a sudden, his golden eyes flashed up above them as a single light burned above them in the water. "I guess... sports like huttball are fun, or relaxing and watching professionals in a championship game or something. I do so enjoy actually playing the sports I watch, though, so I guess that would be my favorite thing to do for fun."

Eyeing the light as they walked, Christian asked, "What is your your heart's truest desire?"

As they continued to walk, the light flashed as an ugly, large, gaping mouth snapped at the top of the tube shaped glass they walked in. The teeth of predator scraping up either side of the glass around them which had been trying to hunt the pair. It's large, gaping mouth may have consumed them both had they not been so well protected by the exhibit's setup.

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She eyed the predators in the tanks as they walked. They were frightening and yet fascinating.

"I don't know. I guess I just want to help others while I am here." She thought briefly of her own feelings of abandonment and pushed them away. Her broken heart had consumed her once. If she let it then it just might destroy her.

"Where were you born?"

@[member="Christian Slade"]

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian noted the feelings welling up inside the woman. After all, he was still a Sith, and she'd let her guard down with him in the last hour or so. He could feel the feelings of loss and resentment in the woman, knowing that she'd have likely gone through something tough earlier on in life that would most likely have to do with family, probably her parents, but possibly her siblings.

"I don't know, but I think I was born on Dromund Kaas.", he said, his golden eyes looking from the predatorial fish around them to the young and beautiful Katarine next to him.

"Why do you fret?", Christian asked, bringing to light the obvious feelings she had been suppressing that she had lost track of for a moment.

@[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"I've never been there." She'd seen some pictures in Jedi databank but hadn't ever traveled that way.

He surprised her with his question and she smiled and shrugged. "I was just thinking about things. A lot of the past seems to be resurfacing today."

They had walked by a few predatory tanks and were now going by a very large tank that contained a large cave. Whatever lived there must be hiding inside because her green eyes didn't see anything.

"Are you enjoying the tour so far?"

@[member="Christian Slade"]