No Escape Out Of The Storm

[Lief]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ69zAUHO4I​

​

A sudden flash of light was met with a thunderous clap so loud that it seemed to rock the very ground she walked upon. From the sky countless little droplets of rain descended, soaking the girl who stood among it until her clothes lay heavy upon her person and her usually curly and full hair lay limp and lifeless against her scalp.

Pulling the hood back over her head after a particularly rough breeze knocked it down, Asha lowered her head and picked up the pace. Another crack of light and thunder had her shaking in her boots, the tremors insatiable, feet slapping against the somewhat rough and cobbled pavement which led through the center of that most desolate of villages.

It had never recovered from that most vicious of assaults, which had wiped out most of its population. In fact she could not sense another lifeform in the immediate vicinity. The windows were boarded up, doors deadbolted shut, the fire which had swept through some of the main street left everywhere blackened and covered in soot, and the few buildings which remained entirely standing were just as marred with darkness.

She had been back on Thule for all of a few minutes, her ship docked on the outskirts of town, and already the nightmares were brought to the forefront of her mind. As they worsened she attempted to lift her head, shielding her eyes from the worst of the flashing lights which lit up the sky while also fighting against the urge to shy away, to flee from her past rather than confronting it.

Her last attempt at returning had been an utter failure, though truth be told she never had the opportunity to see it through before Sargon and Jyn found her within the husk of the tavern. Now, as she approached that same structure, she felt compelled to remain until she had consolidated some of those memories and fears, until she could look the world in the face, and close her eyes at night, without fear.

Without his face coming to mind.

The door was slightly crooked on its hinge from where she'd broken through last time, and it swung inward without issue - squeaking as it did so - with the smallest of touches.

She stood there for a moment on the edge of the threshold and simply stared off into the inky darkness beyond. Where the bodies of those who had been slain still remained in ashen skeletal form, burned beyond recognition. The blood, at least, had been eaten away at by the flames, though the memories of falling among it, of adding to their pools of ruddy ichor, were not so easily disguised...

 

[AMCO]

For most, the lightning-scarred plains of Thule invoked a dread most primal, the taint of the Dark Side clinging to the very terrain itself after manifold generations of Sith habitation. The young Knight, in contrast, was filled with a strange feeling of safety and even a certain degree of homeliness. Having long since abandoned any instinctive fear of the Dark, the world's oppressive gloom filled him with a quiet contentment, a sense of wistfulness at ancient glories lost and hope for glories yet to be.

Given its rich heritage, it was no surprise that Thule had known its share of suffering throughout the years. Airspeeder arcing down from the thunderclouds above, Adrian's gaze fell upon one of the scars of that suffering, a gaping wound upon the terrain that had likely once been a settlement like any other, vibrant in its own ways. Now, however, it lay cloaked in darkness; the structures still standing entirely unsuitable for habitation of any sort, at least to the Corellian's cultured eyes.

Of course, that was part of the appeal. That was part of the bizarre journey of dark tourism which a friend and fellow Sith had recommended him. Supposedly, it would increase one's connection to the past, and thus the Force, though the young man most certainly had his doubts. Still, like so many times before, his curiosity had won out. The thirst for new experiences driving him towards stranger and stranger pursuits.

Stepping out of the sleek vehicle, Adrian paused in appreciation as the door slid closed behind him. In truth, he found the harsh embrace of the storm almost as comforting as the luxury resorts of Zeltros, the constant rumbling of thunder like music to his ears. It reminded him of Dromund Kaas, though exquisite in its own way, the strange bioluminescent moss making up for the monotony of the plains.

Whistling merrily, he began to walk down what he took to be the main street of the desolate community, droplets of rain soaking his hair and the obnoxiously expensive outfit that clung tightly to his lean form.

 

[Lief]

It was difficult to sense an additional speck of darkness in an already corrupted landscape.

As Asha made her way into the decrepit tavern she was wholly unaware of the man who had touched down their airspeeder within the town. Typically, even with the nexus-like distraction at hand, she would have been able to pinpoint the man anyway, after all the majority of her training had been sensory based, but in that moment? Well, suffice to say the girl was distracted.

Her sensitive eyes began to adjust to the dim room, gaze glossing over those charred remains. A memory was pulled forth, filling in the details that were missing. Their faces, their hair, the gnarly wounds which befell their flesh. They were still lay in the same position, some just behind the bar, some upon the stairs which led to the upper rooms. Outside of their bones, though, the rest of the interior was burnt out. All of the furniture was gone, ashes mixed in with the rest, and the fireplace was choked up in such a thick layer of smoke burn that the stones were pitch black.

Each step she took seemed to kick up dust and ash into the air, causing the woman to cough in order to keep her airways clear.

This time she did not sink to her knees in despair. Instead she stood and observed, witnessed the room in its untampered state, and began to draw upon the Force which lay around her even now, even with the sorry state of a room around her, with its distinct lack of life.

To understand, to truly understand, what had happened that day, returning to that moment in time seemed like the best course of action. Though she knew it was dangerous, potentially foolish even, given the nature of such a technique. The last thing she wanted was to slip from the threads of time, to become separated from body and spirit, a very real possibility if she didn't keep her head, if she allowed the despair to wash over her too heavily.

A fine line, that was what she was forced to tread. That was what she'd be attempting.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

The darker the night, the brighter the light of a single candle, flame flickering in the wind.

With the soft thudding of leather against rain-soaked stone, Adrian made his way further inwards. At first, he had not known to what he walked, but now he sensed it. A presence neither light nor dark. One that stuck out against the darkness of this clouded world like a sore thumb, one that he would have sensed earlier, had it not been for his tendency to get distracted by the remnants of days long passed, and the stories of which they spoke.

While indisputably arrogant, the young Knight was not one to hide his weaknesses, least of all from himself. He knew of his own presence, knew of the "taint" of Sorcery that clung to him like a looming shadow. For that reason, he had no doubt that the presence was aware of him, as he was aware of it. There was no movement, no obvious response. Of course, that meant very little. His was the complexities of sorcery, the science of alchemy, and the might of the raging storm; his senses were finely honed, yes, but no more so than any other Sith of his status. Even so, even to him, a tinge of fear was evident. A hint of pain and sorrow.

Perhaps a more emphatic man might have learned a great many things from these fleeting impressions, but alas, that was not the inquisitive Sith's field of expertise. To him, the minds of others remained an elusive mystery, a strange amalgamation of impulses which he could influence and to some degree interpret, but never understand.

Gait uninterrupted by the musings going on inside, he would find himself at a structure much like any other. Much like any other, except for the presence emanating from within. Perhaps it, no, her, was expecting him. Perhaps not. Whatever the case, he had never been one to let his curiosity go unsatisfied.

 

[Lief]

Those dimmed green eyes of hers, scarred by damages sustained upon the Smuggler's Moon, turned hazy as she further channeled the Force around herself, locking onto the memories of years long since passed. Back to simpler days, before darkness had ever shrouded her doorway.

Though in truth the room remained entirely the same, when viewed through those paled eyes life was breathed anew into the structure. Skeletons became corpses of flesh and blood, lay in the same place and pose as their burned comrades, the blackened interior revealed wood paneling and hardwood floors. Glasses still littered the bar top, a few lay shattered against the ground. Her hand began to burn and ache, remembering the visceral pain of those shards embedding within her flesh. Every part of the room told a story to her, even before her arrival within it.

Aellin must have just left.

She began to walk through it, steadily, with a purpose, glancing over the faces of the freshly departed, and the sticky mess left behind by their ruddy life force which seeped through the floorboards. To an onlooker she would no doubt appear quite strange, walking within a burned out shell, tiptoeing over glass that no longer remained, looking on with pure empathy at the charred bones, as though features still existed upon their lifeless skulls. It was a dichotomy that had never really been witnessed before where the girl's own studies were concerned, typically she flow-walked alone, and the few times someone else had been present they had been sharing in the visions, usually with her hand around their wrist or set within their own grasp to keep that connection strong and focused.

In fact, as the stranger entered the remnants of the tavern the door opened within the vision, and a much younger Asha entered with the living nightmare that was Aellin holding her by the scruff of her neck. She could remember the day vividly, she'd come to Thule after a long stint on Korriban, studying the tombs with her Father; she often got a little restless when they remained on world for too long, like a bird she needed to stretch her wings, and Thule had seemed... Interesting. The storms had invigorated her back then, an exciting change from the red sands of the Sith homeworld.

She'd found the man within the street, bleeding. Of course she'd wanted to help, and it was likely her usefulness that saved her from an immediate demise.

Watching now, she saw how all of the happiness and life had left her expression at the sight of the blood, the bodies, at being manhandled into a room that stank of death. As she realized that she should have run away from the injured man, rather than toward.

Her true self shivered, a slightly breathless whimper gasping from her lips. Another shiver ran down her spine, though this time it was accompanied by the tiny hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention in warning.

Someone was there, and not just in the vision...

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Intense eyes raking over the charred husk of what must have once been a place of gathering, Adrian could sense the presence. Could sense it pulling on the Force to do... something. Whatever she was doing, it was like nothing he had ever felt before, which only served to spur him on.

Walking over the ashen rubble that had once been the doorway, his blue eyes fell on the rain-soaked form of a young woman, her eyes staring towards him and yet not at him.

Raising an eyebrow, he entered and moved to the side, observing how her eyes seemed to be looking at something else. Almost as if she was here and yet not. Then again, that assessment might not be entirely inaccurate. From the way the Force flowed around her, she might very well be occupied elsewhere, experiencing a vision or observing distant locales through the currents of the Force.

Then, the red-haired woman shivered slightly, a whimper escaping her lips. Frowning slightly, he took a step forward, words calm and perfectly enunciated. "Are you all right, miss?"

While his tone was genuine, it would no doubt sound strange given its source. As she returned to the present, she would become aware of a tall form standing before her, a form wreathed in a strange fusion of high fashion and traditional Sith attires, the ornate hilt of a Sith Sword strapped to its hip. Looking quite out of place in the previously empty ruins, no doubt.

 

[Lief]

A voice broke her already wavering concentration, breathing life into her paranoid thoughts.

With a slow exhale the girl slowly removed herself from those vivid strands, the illuminated tavern space melting away back into the desolate space before them. That inky black backdrop which appeared ready to collapse at a moment's notice, held up by a hair.

At the same time those eyes seemed to demystify, though even when it was clear that her mind was back with her body they still seemed a little dulled. Not that it would be noticeable to a complete stranger, of course, someone who had never seen just how vibrant they had once been. Still they were somewhat cloudy, clearly damaged even if only in a small way, even though she had worked hard to heal the damages sustained. Thankfully the room was dark, so she was able to keep her eyes open without wincing or squinting.

Able to look upon the individual who stood there now, just beyond the doorway.

He was taller than she was, so much so that she had to lift her head in order to get a good look at him, and though his concern seemed real she could sense darker undertones piercing through the corrupted landscape. A darkness permeated him, he was swirled through with Bogan energies, where she held the Bendu firmly within her grasp. Unwavering. A calm amidst a storm of light and dark.

"Quite well, thank you," came her response, after a few moments. It often took her a minute or so to adjust once she came out of such a trance, her words were soft and made her seem as though she was still a little distant. The corner of her vision still held hints of the past, though when she subtly turned her head the light was washed away and replaced by the ashen interior.

"Forgive me, if I have intruded. I did not expect anyone else to be here."

One small exhale brought her fully back, her shoulders relaxed and a weight seemed to lift from her chest. Her attempts at walking through her nightmare had been interrupted, and she could not help but wonder why it was that the Force had chosen to guide her here if not to move on from the past. If only to meet with another darksider, like the one which haunted her waking and sleeping hours.

Still, Asha had never been one to judge a book by its cover, so he would find no immediate hostility from the girl. Not that Asha had ever truly been hostile in her life.

[member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Whatever she had been experiencing, he must have interrupted it. A bit rude, but perhaps it was for the best; after all, the reaction he had observed had hardly made it seem pleasant.

As she once more became aware of her surrounding, of his sudden presence, he couldn't help but notice the change in her eyes. Couldn't help but notice how they seemed to clear up and focus on their surroundings, their true surroundings, once more. Even so, to Adrian's perfectionistic eyes, they were flawed. Whether through inborn limitations or injury, they were marked with imperfection. Perhaps he ought to offer to... no, even his fellow Sith tended to be concerned by such suggestions. A stranger would be even less likely to appreciate it, unless he had stumbled upon a fellow seeker of perfection through means most arcane.

At her response, he smiled slightly, a cheerful glimmer in his eyes. Not many would be so unfazed to suddenly find themselves face to face with a Sith, let alone finding themselves alone with a Sith in the middle of nowhere. On a planet tainted by the Dark, no less. No, such calmness was admirable indeed.

"Your manners do you credit, but if anything I'm the one who should apologise for intruding." A slight pause, followed by a wry smile. "Oh, but where are my manners. I am Adrian Vandiir, Knight of the Sith and Sorcerer extraordinaire."

Walking inside to get out of the rain, he made a show of pushing his drenched hair backwards, eyes never leaving the young woman before him. That being said, his pose was relaxed. He made no move towards his weapon, gathered no surge of energy for a surprise assault. While focused, his eyes were filled with curiosity, not hatred, nor was any hint of cold determination to be found.

In truth, he was more intrigued than anything else. He had not met many neutral practitioners of the Force, but all of them had been interesting, in their own way. Not to mention that they usually made far better conversationalists than those pesky Jedi and their delusional dogmatism.