Private Of Beast and Man

[Arcturus Dinn]

A swarm...​

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That was certainly one way to look at the collective that was Melydia Gold and her insectoid companions. Yes, he liked that. Some might also have said hive, though that came with other connotations and he felt certain that she had a mind of her own. Yes... Swarm.​

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He smiled softly; she didn't understand but she didn't try and force it any further either. She was happy to let it lie, allow it to be, despite that. Arcturus wondered how it was that he had managed to make a friend like her, in the Sith of all places. It was rare to have a companion who accepted the differences in opinion. He hoped that he came across in a similar fashion too, but who really knew?​

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"Don't worry, I'll get as many as I can."​

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Reaching out through the Force, once he'd placed as much as he was willing to take into his satchel, he lifted the eggs up and held those he could, carrying the rest through help of Telekinesis. It wasn't that there were a great many eggs, but they were rather bulky. He observed as the bugs ate what remained of the Terentatek and then turned to leave with Melydia.​

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"Why are you with the Sith?" he inquired at some point during their journey away from the valley and toward the eggs she'd buried, "Did you have the choice?"​

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It was a frequent thought in his mind as of late. How many others were here simply because they had no other choice? Certainly many of his fellow Acolytes seemed a little too selfless and ... innocent? Was that the word? Hard to say. Perhaps it was a question he shouldn't have asked, but in that moment he really was just curious.​

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Melydia Gold ​

 

[Melydia Gold]

She watched with curious gaze as Thesh gathered the remaining eggs, giving a quick nod of approval when they all appeared secured. Telekinesis had been one of those skills she hadn't dabbled in, hyperfixation demanding she learn everything there is to learn about friend-making and little about anything else. Perhaps later, Thesh would be willing to aid in expanding those skills? She'd have to ask once the time came.

And likewise, if he needed help in friend-making, even if she didn't quite understand his methods. Methods were methods, friends were friends. She would be no gatekeeper as to who got to make them.

They traveled in silence for several minutes, Melydia humming a vacant tune along the way. When Thesh posed her question, she stopped, having reached where she'd buried the eggs. She knelt in the sand, digging the eggs out herself rather than having bugs do the work for her. It was strange, some distant part of her expected the sand to be warm, rather than the chilled surface that Korriban was known for. That, too, caused her to pause, lifting a handful of sand to eye level, contemplating it as it slipped between her fingers.

"We were born cold," she started, the wandering tilt in her voice displaced from its usual sound. It still wandered, yes, but it managed to sound distant, missing some extra glimmer of light. "We were too cold to survive a singular and so we were made to be many. We were created Sith, as you call it, though we also do not know just what that means."

Arcturus Dinn ​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Their quiet walk was not uncomfortable, save for the everpresent chill in the Korriban air. It was always nice to be able to exist silently around others, without the need to fill the void with mindless chatter. They were purposeful in their venture, and perhaps that helped the situation run smoothly. His attention was mostly on the soon-to-hatch eggs, and ensuring their gentle transition back to the Academy.​

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He halted when she did, watching as she dug up the eggs she had hidden away in the sands, half expecting her to give nothing in the way of an answer to his questions. Much to his surprise she humoured him.​

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What she said though made him frown ever so slightly.​

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"Sithspawn?" he inquired softly, his tone erring on the side of caution. He did not wish to offend her with his queries, he did not wish to come across as demeaning. Melydia Gold had been created, not birthed, and yet unlike many Sithspawn he had encountered she seemed decidedly her own person. That created a slight conundrum in his mind, how was it that so many of those created by the hands of the Sith were little more than drones?​

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And yet here she was, defying all of that...​

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"Remember this, Melydia Gold... You may have been created Sith, but everyone is capable of escaping their birthrights. Everyone."​

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Nobody was locked into a set course at birth. There was always a choice, and her creation did not define her unless she wished it to.​

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Melydia Gold ​