Make Me Something Pretty

[Nisha Decrilla]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

It had become clear, though it had taken far longer than it should, that it wasn't possible to keep Calina contained. It was necessary for her to accompany Anaya everywhere. For the best, perhaps, she would learn more in the real world than she would through any research. Calina was gifted in ways Anaya was not. Where Anaya had relied on her prowess as a fighter and her skills as a manipulator, her powers in the force were limited. Calina though? She was gifted in the force in ways anaya never would be, in ways she would never be able to teach her. It both terrified and excited her.

For Calina to accompany her, she needed to be able to appear null in the force, a skill she had not yet mastered. Calina could shrink her presence, but anyone with keen sense would know what she was. So Anaya set up a meeting with the head of AEI, she had a special request for them, an object she needed made. She would have reached out for Valik, but truth be told she didn't know where the mad scientist was, nor was she 100% sure she could trust him with something like this. She trusted business. Reputation was an easy thing to shatter and shatter it she could if confidences were broken.

With her hands folded neatly in her lap, Anaya sat in the waiting room of Akure Executive Interstellar on Kyrikal 17, eyes glassed over as she stared unseeing at the wall opposite lost in a tangle of her own thoughts. Calina stood at her side, eyes watching her mother carefully. These moments of silence always worried Calina, she never knew who would be behind the eyes when she snapped back to the world. Whether it would be Anaya the Mother, Anaya the Psycho or Anaya the Manipulator.

An attendant made their way towards them and Calina rested a hand on her mother's shoulder, nudging her mind gently. Anaya blinked, eyes focusing she rested a hand on Calina's looking up at her with a warm smile of thanks.

Anaya the Mother, then.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

It was a rare occasion when Akure Executive Interstellar considered and accepted a custom order these days. Rave had always made time for her close friends and associates, but neither Ostanes nor Cerita had much in the way of either, so the business of AEI stayed just that, business with no nepotism breaking the monotony of work.

But there was always a but.

When an individual such as [member="Anaya Fen"] contacts you things change. She was no longer one of the greater power players in the Galaxy, too much time spent away from the apex of things to truly matter in the greater sense of the word, but her name still carried weight.

Enough weight that Ceri settled for an appointment, to see exactly what it was miss Fen wished to buy from Akure.

The attendant would guide them through the corridors. Until they reached an unassuming door which led to an equally unassuming office. This wasn’t the same office that Ostanes had received her in when he had convinced her to take his mantle as the caretaker of the corporation’s business.

But Sarova was a paranoid individual. This was drilled into her by Valik, then Rave and finally Dissero, until she instinctively took all precautions necessary to stay safe - both mentally as well as physically.

“Miss Fen.” Ceri offered a greeting from behind her simple table. She gestured towards the seats in front of it. “Please take a seat.”

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya settled into a chair, crossing one leg over the other and bringing her hands to rest in her lap. It took her a moment to realise Calina was still on her feet, a pace behind her as always since the events of Garn. Anaya nodded, indicating she should sit a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It was nice to finally have Calina's respect and obedience, though she wondered if the cost had been too high.

"Miss Sarova," she greeted, "Thank you for seeing us. This is my apprentice Calina. I must say I'm surprised at the speed at which you were able to meet with us."

Perhaps her entanglement with this one's masters meant that she understood the weight of her name, even if she'd been sculking in the shadows for the last decade. "Before we begin, I want to ask for your word that this meeting remains confidential. There's a reason I've been away for some time."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"Your name holds weight, miss Fen." Ceri acknowledged the oddity without much of a fuss, while giving a nod. "We strive to maintain good working relationships with all power players in the Galaxy."

Even the ones who resurfaced after a decade or so and had lost much of their standing.

She listened slowly to her following request. One eyebrow rose itself a fraction, before returning back to the calm. It wasn’t an unusual request in itself, but it was unusual to ask for it as bluntly as that.

Most of the time it was a given that their dealings would be clandestine.

That was the entire essence of Akure Executive Interstellar.

Not that it truly mattered to Ceri.

“Of course, all of our dealings are strictly confidential and you have Akure’s reputation backing that, miss Fen.” She took a singular moment to study Anaya’s apprentice, giving a short nod of acknowledgement before returning again to the twi’lek. “So what can AEI do for you?”

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya studied her for a long while before settling back in her seat, content that the woman spoke the truth.

"I need something to conceal Calina's force presence. Completely, if possible. It need to be small, discreet and easily removable." she smiled slightly. "Easy on the eye wouldn't go amiss either."

She felt Calina's eyes swing slowly to her, choosing to ignore them. "We're heading into potentially hostile situations and it's imperative her identity remains a secret."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

She suppressed the desire to blink twice.

Not because it was an impossible request, in fact, it was quite the opposite of that. Perhaps in a different universe where AEI hadn’t made it their business to merchandize every single aspect of the Force for profit… minimizing or completely hiding one’s signature from the Force was a trivial matter.

So a request with Sarova had not been strictly necessary, though perhaps it was an application and show of power.

Trying to prove a point that Anaya was still something of a name in the Galaxy?

Perhaps.

"This can be accomplished. Do you wish any other qualities to be added to the… hmm a necklace maybe?"

 

[Mia Monroe]

"Like what?"

Calina's question slipped from her lips before she could stop it, curiosity getting the better of her. She'd read a great deal about alchemy, even studied Glamour, the belly bar Anaya had made to allow her to change her appearance at will. It's endless possibilities fascinated her.

She cast a glance towards her mother who smiled and gave a small nod of her head to indicate that she was free to speak.

"Could it be made so I can chose when to have it conceal my presence and perhaps amplify my abilities?"

@Cerita Sarvora

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

Now it was getting to be more interesting.

"Yes." Ceri simply responded, while studying both the Master and the Apprentice. One spoke without permission, noticed her error and quickly checked, but was given permission afterwards regardless. This told tales, but she wasn't here for that - pity, it seemed an interesting situation.

"With the obvious risks involved, of course." Usually she wouldn't mention them, but usually she wasn't dealing with Anaya Fen. "Force amplification will not only amplify your strength in the Force, but also your corruption in the Darkside, proportionately."

A pretty rare artifact, that. A talisman of concentration. AEI and others have retooled them in the past already, turning them from one-shot use amplifiers for a single ritual into something more akin a battery.

Tapping it when necessary, instead of burning yourself through with the Darkside and collapsing from exhaustion aftewards.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina pulled a face at the mention of dark side corruption. She really hadn't gotten over her time with Kaine, and he was as corrupt as they came. That was the last thing she wanted. She shook her head, indicating that was the last thing she wanted.

Anaya snorted derisively, earning a cold look from Calina, though she said nothing, letting the girl take the lead on this. It was, after all, Calina who would be wearing it.

There was a glitter of excitement in her eyes and she leant forward slightly. "What else could you do with it?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

And now it was truly interesting.

"Well, it could be as simple as a shield talisman." This was effective, functional, but also completely boring. Oh, shield talismans would always be wanted and AEI would probably create something like it at some point, but there just wasn't any creativity behind it anymore.

"We could probably attune it to the both of you, so you would always be aware of each others location... well, at least the general direction and distance." This would either be very precious to them or completely against what they wanted. Ceri wasn't yet aware of the particular dynamic of their relationship. "Hmm, what kind of combat style do you usually use, Calina?"

"That would make it easier to ascertain what would be helpful for you."

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina went slightly pink at the question, eyes dropping to the floor. How was she supposed to answer that. "Umm..."

Anaya stepped in, amusement dancing in her eyes as she spoke. "Calina is still in training, as yet she does not know the full extension of her skills and she is unblooded."

For now. Calina thought. Lifting her head up she opted to respond to the easier suggestion. "I don't need to know where she is, and she always knows how to find me so that's a no go." She pursed her lips in thought. "I have some mentalist capabilities, as yet unrefined but..." She trailed off with a shrug.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

Now the eyebrow did raise itself.

"I see." There was little judgement in her eyes. She could still remember the days that she was unblooded - if only in spirit, considering the hands of Savan were covered in the blood of thousands... and Cerita was sprung from one of them. It were the simple days, when she had a Master and didn't need to consider the ramifications of her actions all that much.

Someone else would take up the responsibility, but that was then and then is now.

"Nihil Smokestone." The woman responded after a moment of thought. "We can make the necklace out of that to increase your affinity with mentalism."

It wasn't incredibly interesting or exciting, but it was difficult to come up with something unique for an unblooded whelp when you weren't certain yet how she would be fighting.

"Other than that- Well, would you say you are more the agile and fast-type or do you use heavy attacks, slow movements in your attacks?"

 

[Mia Monroe]

"Fast and agile." She replied without hesitation. Her embarrassment forgotten and curiosity taking over again. If she could amplify her mental powers, perhaps she could keep him out. That would be a blessing, to be in a position to remove Anaya from the scene and keep him at bay.

Then and only then would she truly be free.

"May I assist in its creation?" She asked, drawing Anaya's gaze upon her. If the twi'lek had eyebrows, she imagined one would be arched eye.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

"I think we could also add something that will enhance your ability for agility, make you faster, lighter in the air, things like that." She had already done it once with her Wraithcloak- one of her more interesting projects, even if morally it was a bit unbalanced. She wondered what people would say if they'd know that she sometimes wore a cloak made out of a sentient species' skin, leathery and treated it didn't look like that at all, of course.

But still.

"Hmm?" Ceri met Calina's eyes. There was enthusiasm in those eyes, but it took more than enthusiasm to become proficient in the arts.

"You would need preliminary training in alchemy, without it you would be more a burden than help." Blunt, but honest. And by the looks of Anaya Ceri doubted that it would ever happen regardless.

More and more Fen was reminding her of a motherly Akk dog, constantly circling around her baby, before something would snap and she would eat it alive.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina could see the line touching her toes, she could feel Anaya's patience wavering. A smart move would have been to accept that she was not trained, to sit back and let Anaya take over. The smart move meant boing entirely to her mothers will and as much as she had submitted, it was impossible for Calina not to press for her own goals.

"So teach me."

"Calina, enough." Her mothers tone was warning, her knuckles paling as she tightened her grip on the arms of her chair. The only thing preventing Anaya from lashing out was that she would lose face.

And Calina knew that. She sat back again, not taking her eyes off of Cerita. Let her decide how this meeting ended.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

Amusement was in the atmosphere now.

She had never taken an apprentice before, mostly because there was always a new thing to learn for her and an apprentice would take up too much of her own valuable time. But that was winding down, wasn't it? Dissero had moved back to Rudrig with his bride in tow and left her mostly to her own devices, she still self-studied and experimented, but more and more she started to realize that there just wasn't much else to learn for her in any theoretical sense when it came to Alchemy.

"Does she have any potential for the arts?" This time the question was directed to Anaya. "Is she patient? Does she have a creative mind? How learned is she right now?"

These were all questions she needed to know, before being able to make a decision. A blank slate was all good and well, but it would be better if she already had some measure of education backing her.

That would make the progress less painful for the both of them.

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

"Out." She told Calina as Cerita spewed questions in her direction. A string of curses were muttered under her breath as Calina rose angrily, resisting the urge to slam the door out of respect to Cerita.

For a long moment, Anaya stared at the now empty chair, listening to the blood rushing in her ears as its pressure rose. She was certain this child would give her a stress induced heart attack before her time.

She swung her gaze slowly towards Cerita. "I have no skill in alchemy. Sith Magic however is a different matter, a skill we are developing together. She studies hard, but what you learn from text and what you learn in the field are totally different things. A simple answer would be I don't know. She is a teenager who has spent a very long time cooped up, patience is most certainly not her strong point. She does have a creative mind, I will give her that much."

She paused. "This was not my intention."

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

"I see."

She was calm and patient with Anaya. It couldn't be easy to have a wayward child under you care, constantly vying for control, undermining her and stretching the limits of what she could and could not do. Had it been Rave instead of Anaya, Calina might have had a very different outcome in store for her after such a public display of rebellion.

"I am in no way interested to cause an issue, miss Fen. If you wish for me to take on your apprentice and teach her in the ways of Alchemy, I can try- but it's an art of patience, resilience and copious amounts of study. So the results might be less than satisfactory, that would depend entirely on her."

The lightest of shrugs followed soon after.

"If not, we will forget this exchange ever happened, I will create the necklace according to your specifications and part ways amicably."

 

[Nisha Decrilla]

Anaya could not exactly blame Calina for her attitude. She was, after all, her daughter. There were times when it was often like staring at her past self and other times where she was far calmer and more calculated, much like her father.

She took a deep breath, blowing a long sigh out of her nose. To refuse Calina would set her back in the progress she had made. Cerita could teach her something Anaya could not and perhaps from it she would learn patience as well. To accept meant giving Calina what she wanted.

Perhaps this once, it was the right thing to do.

"What would you require in return?"

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Anaya Fen"]

She leaned back against her seat, while thinking it over again.

This was a dangerous transaction and she realized it. Fen wasn't just a business lady with high aspirations, she was a killer and had an ocean of blood on her hands- this in itself did not intimidate Cerita all that much, she doubted that her psychology truly allowed herself to feel emotions like that.

But what it did do was make her cautious about stepping into the metaphorical snake pit. Right now she was already trying to make nice with one titan of industry in [member="Danger Arceneau"], the last thing she needed was to suddenly have two powerful individuals hating her for one reason or another.

"What can you offer?"