Private Resume Through The Morning Tide

[Arcturus Dinn]

"HA! it's like this place was made for you! Archae, Arc, ahahaha!"​

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The Sulituan's shorter tentacles which hung around what constituted as its mouth wobbled back and forth as it struggled to contain its frankly gargled laughter. One fleshy tendril rose up from where it lay at the creature's side, coming down to slap him on the back. The wheezes which it hacked up made it seem breathless. One large bulbous eye fixed him with a teary stare, the other long since removed from its all too bulbous head; it looked rather offended when he didn't laugh back.​

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"What? Don't you get it?" The creature huffed, a slimy substance leaking from the corners of its mouth-hole. Its words were oddly sticky, the sound of suckers being peeled from a smooth surface the only thing he could equate it to. Arcturus exhaled through his nose, swirling the contents of his glass in one hand, before looking the creature dead in its remaining eye. "Oh, no, please explain it to me again, Xhoudruss. Third time's sure to be the charm."​

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With a series of pops, the gangly limb which constituted as an arm removed itself from his back. They were strange creatures, the Sulituans, grey-brown skin and amphibious nature made them right at home in the depths of their oceanic home, Archae Teuthis, there they were the apex. But up here, in their cities made of coral, they were left appearing much more gangly and awkward. Tentacles made for much too long a limb, and the shell left them noticeably top heavy. Somehow it did not seem to affect their balance; that, at least, Arcturus could admire.​

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"You're a real colo claw when you drink, you know that?" it lamented, with a shake of its head. It sank back into the seat at his side, one tentacle circling the top of its glass thoughtfully. Then it slid the glass toward him, and pushed back up to a stand. "You know what? I don't even, I can't even... Ugh." With an exasperated show of tentacles rising up into the air, the creature strode right out of the bar and into the night; its long legs made quick work of departing.​

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He knocked back his own drink, then reached for the other. Didn't even bother to wipe away the string of slime which remained around the rim before he lifted it and downed that too. A gesture of his free hand signaled to the barkeep for a refill.​

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Xhoudruss would come crawling back. They always did.​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn ​

Right before Xhoudruss could make it through the door, a woman with fairly striking magenta hair stepped inside and gave the sulituan a quick nod as she passed it. She swiveled her head from side to side a few times, as though she were looking for something or someone, only to seemingly come up empty handed. The mild look of disappointment was quickly shaken off, though. The woman did not look all too bothered.

"I'll have whatever he's having," Sylvia proclaimed to the barkeep before covering her mouth with her hand and stifling a yawn. Her accent placed her origins solidly in the imperial side of the Tingel Arm, one unlikely to be heard often on this side of the galaxy. Approaching the seat the sulituan had just vacated, she greeted the man who was still there with a small wave of her hand. "Mind if I join you? Unless drinking alone's your thing, of course." The woman made the assumption it wasn't until proven otherwise.

After eyeing the seat and noticing the small fresh globs of slime, Sylvia instead decided to take the seat on the other side of the man. The thought of touching the goop grossed her out just a little too much.

"I have no idea what you're actually having, by the way. Should be a fun surprise."

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He didn't turn to the sound of a new and distinctly out of place voice.​

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The bartender had just set down a fresh glass of something distinctly dark and brown in colour, like a deep caramel on the verge of burning, when the girl slid into the seat at his side; he hadn't answered her question, perhaps he thought it wasn't meant for him. Even so he didn't seem particularly miffed when she started up a conversation, and once she was done with her ordering, and her questioning, and her sitting, he finally glanced her way.​

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Bright mane of magenta hair, that was what he noticed first, then her eyes. Almost too pale to constitute a colour. A second glass was set down and pushed toward the girl; before she could think to pay, or open a tab, he stuck the bartender with a certain look. The Sulituan retreated back to some perch or another, feigning interest in a spot on the bar which needed cleaning.​

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A soft exhale escaped him. Then he lifted up his glass, neither of which held too much in the way of the dark ichorous substance, and used it to gesture to her own. "Syrspirit" he finally explained, the very nature of the word causing him to sound as though he was slurring his letters. Were she paying close enough attention, she'd notice his accent hailed from a similar region to her own. Two outliers then, among the nautilus. Arcturus knocked his drink back, swallowing it in one go, though it was just a little more than shot's worth, then glanced at her. Expectant? No... The look leant a little more toward curiosity.​

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He wondered if she'd follow suit, and if she did how she'd handle the ferocious burn it left trickling down one's throat. To those not so familiar with its potency, they'd feel its journey all the way down to their gut.​

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Sylvia Virtos ​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn ​

"Syrspirit," the woman repeated in a somewhat awkward way, as though she was familiarizing herself with the name. Clearly, she had not heard of it before. Regardless, she took up her own glass and lifted it in response to the stranger doing the same thing. "If I keel over, it'll be on you."

A grin followed.

She had done a similar thing before and it had only been mildly unpleasant then. The fact the glass contained just about enough to call it a shot gave her a good enough reason to expect the worst. Even if her slender frame forced her to be careful about her limits, she had enough experience with shots by now.

"Cheers." Walking the line between courage and stupidity, Sylvia knocked the drink back. The burn hit in the middle of slamming her glass back down onto the table, causing the woman to let out a loud cough and nearly double over. "Feth me," she blurted out as she tried to regain her composure. All previous shots suddenly seemed incredibly tame in comparison. "That's a shot, alright..."

A deep in and out helped her deal with the fiery sensation that traveled down towards her stomach. "Makes you feel alive, though, by the Force..."

When the storm began to settle, Sylvia turned her attention back to the man. "A drink shared, a friend made, some guy once told me. Haven't seen him since, but I'd like to believe there's some truth to that." Sometimes, even a seedy bar could be the source of wisdom.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

The girl had much more going for her than he'd expected; she knocked it back without hesitation, and though the burn was real she took it like a champ. He nodded his head appreciatively, then signaled to the bartender for a new round. Somehow the gesture must have meant something more than just that though, because what arrived was not more of the same. Evidently, Arcturus had been here long enough to have gained a repertoire of gestures.​

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This drink held more of a bluish-green tone, and there was certainly more of it within the glass this time. Very clearly not a shot.​

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"Awake now?" he asked her, with something of a grin; some of the aloofness was beginning to wane, her chattiness was doing wonders to break down the haze which lay over him. Forced him to focus, even if he wasn't always the best at responding.​

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"What's your usual poison, then?" A curious tip of his head; ever since this strange journey had begun, he'd discovered that you could tell quite a lot about someone by the drinks they favoured. Or, well, narcotics... Some people really weren't all that into alcohol. And who was he to judge?​

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Sylvia Virtos ​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn
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In response to the barkeep setting two glasses down before him, Sylvia was quick to chime in. "Mind adding a glass of water to that order?" she asked- something she always did. Whether it actually helped against the less fun parts of drinking or merely placebo she did not know, but the habit had certainly never hurt her before.

"If I wasn't awake before, I sure as chite am now." The woman's last drink had been a little while ago now and syrspirit was quite the re-entry. Thankfully, the next drink in line looked much less potent. on the surface, at the very least. The fact it wasn't a shot was already enough to put her mind at ease.

"There's this local cider from Batuu, Spice Runner. I always pick up a few bottles when I pass through." Ignoring the glass of water for now, Sylvia picked up her other drink. "Aside from the local stuff, though, Junipera. But who knows, maybe this right here'll be my new favorite very soon." And the only way to find out was to try. She raised her glass to the man, then took a modest sip.

"Hmm..." she vocalized before swallowing the liquid down. "Not bad." It easily beat the previous drink, which perhaps skewed her reaction. Still, it was pleasant enough.

"So," Sylvia said inquisitively, keeping her drink in hand. "Tingel Arm kid as well, then?"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

She ordered water to chase the next drink down with, and realization struck him that she was not seeking the same from the bottom of a glass as he was. For her this was fun, a way to unwind, perhaps meet someone new, experience the strangeness of this oceanic world. Well, good for her he reckoned. He'd drink to that, and he did - one long sip of Oo'ta Goo'ta warmed his insides. It was fruitier than the previous liquor, almost as though it was mixed with something else. Had he ordered them a cocktail?​

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Either way, Arcturus didn't order any water for himself.​

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He listened as she spoke of some cider from Batuu, something he'd never heard of nor a place he'd ever visited. Though water had been set down for her, she once again surprised him by leaving it alone in favour of the drink. Was it there just to ease her mind? So she knew it was an option? His head tilted slightly to one side as he pondered all of that, unable to contain his innate curiosity.​

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"I don't know that I've ever had cider before," he confessed with something of a loose shrug. Before all of this, whatever this was, he'd never really drank before at all. One night after Folende... That was the only time he had. And look what had come of that. Thinking about it, about her, made him raise the new glass to his lips once more. A heartier sip, it couldn't even really be construed as such, was taken.​

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Boy he'd taken a nosedive straight into hard liquor.​

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"Junipera?" he mused aloud, shifting his gaze over to the barkeep who had no doubt heard at least some of it. "Well?" he asked of the Sulituan, "Got either of those in stock?"​

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While the creature rummaged about he glanced back at her and caught her raising a toast. Not one to leave a woman hanging he raised his own and used it as another opportunity to drink from it. His was half way gone by the time she'd taken her first sip. Maybe he better pace himself, for her sake if nothing else.​

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"Isn't the point that it's meant to be bad?" he asked; for a moment he seemed serious. Then his expression broke into a grin. After which he shook his head. "Something like that, yeah," he remarked of the Tingel Arm, did it count when one had no recollection of a life before then? He reckoned it must have if she'd recognized his accent.​

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Not that Lorrdian's weren't inherently known for their mimicry of course. Arcturus didn't know much about his heritage though, he didn't know how much he adapted to those around him because he'd never noticed it for himself. Everything he had from his heritage was passive, buried deep within his bones. ​

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"What brings you all the way... here?" he inquired after a pause. Where the feth even was here, anyway?​

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Sylvia Virtos ​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn ​

Perhaps the confession that he had never had cider before was not all that shocking. Someone who took multiple shots of whatever Syrspirit was supposed to be more than likely had very different tastes in alcohol. Not that Sylvia had any intention of being judgmental, the galaxy had enough of that kind of people around. Considering how long it had taken her to cut the Sith she knew out of her life, even after freeing herself of their cultish grasp, she herself was no paragon of healthy decisions.

Thankfully, she had learned from her mistakes. Getting friendly with Sith always equated to asking for trouble.

"I always gotta be careful with it, though. The stuff drinks away very easily. Got blackout drunk without even trying, once," she recalled before taking another sip of her drink and setting it back down on the table. "Been a minute since I've gotten past merely buzzed, come to think of it." After enough time, she had found her limit and nowadays felt little for crossing it. If there was a night to slip up, though, it was likely this one. New drinks were always a risk.

"Some rich kid with a vacation home here was having droid troubles. Only wanted to have a human fix it for 'im, and he ended up calling me. Bit of an arsehole, big surprise." After a shrug, Sylvia took hold of the glass of water and took a good gulp. A refreshed 'ahh' followed. "Not that I came flying here from the galactic north. Haven't been to that Force-forsaken side of the galaxy in years."

A smaller sip, this time. "At least the Sith got what was coming to 'em. The New Imps are right bastards too, but my, uh, distaste for the empire they split from comes from personal experience. You'd think half of the stories I could tell you were banthachite." Before her tone could get too heated, she shook her head to shake it off. Instead, she reached for the alcohol-filled glass and took a good sip. "Surely, I didn't offend you with that?"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Blackout drunk is all I aim for," he retorted with a shrug, though whether he was being serious or not was not inherently obvious within his tone. It was almost sardonic... Yeah, that summed up present day Arcturus. Sardonic bastard.​

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He knew of course that there were individuals out there in the Galaxy who drank for the taste of it, or drank to just slip them past their most basic inebriations, but all of that nonsense wasn't for him. Until a few weeks ago he'd only drank once prior, in celebration, and he hadn't much liked that feeling at all. No, drinking was not for Arcturus Thesh.​

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And yet here he was, traveling along some way too overhyped hyperlane, boozing like some animal. Ah well, development of character was everything, right? Isn't that what people had always told him. Grow, Arcturus, become more, Arcturus, well... Hopefully they were satisfied at least.​

​

Soon enough the girl was rambling on about rich kids, and droids, and then somehow the Sith entered the fray. He might have been offended, perhaps deep down part of him even was, if not for the fact that he hadn't actually been around for their downfall. He'd never really held strong to the Empire itself anyway. Or the Eternal. Or any other iteration he'd sat through in his measly few years of existence. He was a Sith though.​

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He should have been offended.​

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Why wasn't he, then?​

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He just sort of shrugged when she asked him if she'd offended him. "Gotta have a heart to take offense," he offered, downing the rest of the drink despite having only just decided he'd be pacing himself. Pacing seemed boring though. It would pull him out of the funk. No, no pacing. She could have her water, and he'd pile up drinks beside her until there were so many he could finish them for her when she inevitably departed.​

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Nobody stuck around for particularly long these days.​

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Had they ever?​

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Not really, no.​

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"Anyway, you say you have stories... Let's hear'em then... One survivor to another."​

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Oh, Arc, stop tempting fate. Stop it right now. He didn't relent though. He leaned into it. What would she have to say about the Empire, he wondered, what all had she experienced at their frightful hand?​

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Sylvia Virtos ​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn ​

The reaction to her drinking habits put Sylvia off just somewhat. His perceived indifference to the way he used alcohol, even if she wasn't entirely sure whether he was serious or not, gave her a feeling of concern she couldn't shake. Ultimately, though, there wasn't much she could do. He was still a stranger and she wasn't confident enough to try to cut him off. He'd more than likely find a way to get what he wanted regardless.

The comment was given no response. It was his claimed heartlessness that did elicit a rebuttal, though.

"I know one when I see one, bud. I still said it." Sylvia spoke with authority and took another sip immediately after. She did not intend to leave any room for debate. About a third remained of her drink as she set the glass back down. "A heartless bastard in the Tingel Arm in our early years trained to become a Sith or a politician. You don't strike me as either. Besides, you prolly would've found it funny. What I said." He either didn't see any particular humor in Sylvia's distaste, or was incredible at hiding it.

To the woman's surprise, though, the man did want to hear the stories. Perhaps she shouldn't have been, but it had thrown her for a loop somewhat regardless. "Well..." she spoke as she leaned forward to retrieve the glass of water again. "Two conditions. First, I get a name so I don't have to come up with one of my own for you." She fell quiet for a moment, giving him the room to properly introduce himself.

"Second, every story's going to cost you one of your own. It can be anything, as fethed up or boring as it may be. Deal?"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus had never given off much of a Sithly presence, had he? Even so, hearing the way in which she was so vehemently against the idea of him even running the possibility of being one made made him laugh a little. How many people had tried to tempt him off the path? How many had claimed he should be anything else?​

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Seems they got what they wanted, didn't they? Not a Sith indeed... Then what?​

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What was he?​

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Just some nobody finding comfort at the bottom of a bottle. Nothing to see here folks.​

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Her conditions were set, and he found himself tilting his head to one side curiously. To give a real name, or to give a fake name? Could he even be bothered upholding the pretense of an alias? It wasn't as though his was a name any knew in the Galaxy, small game to be sure. A self-given name, too. No records of it really.​

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Oh but then she came up with an even better idea... She'd give him a name?​

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Oh... Ho... Yes.​

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"Well, why not name me?" he said with a shrug. It wasn't as though anyone else had ever bothered to do the same. "I'm curious as to what you'd come up with, in truth."​

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Second condition... A like for a like. He shrugged. Why not.​

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"Sure. I accept the conditions. You first though, lady, I did ask to hear what you had to say after all."​

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Sylvia Virtos​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn
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"Got things to hide, then?" A grin was quickly concealed by the glass of water, of which Sylvia took another sip. She took a moment to ponder as the water sloshed around in her mouth for a moment, carefully taking in the sight of the man in the meantime. After some time, the woman nodded. "I got it," she revealed after swallowing and setting the glass back down.

"The first drink you got me may as well have been liquid fire, and you got red hair..." Sylvia crossed her legs and got a little more comfortable in preparation for the exchange of stories that was about to take place. "So I'll call you Cinder. Hope you don't hate that."

Cinder wanted her to start, which was acceptable enough. "If we're not using real names, though, you can call me Rat. Unless you got a name for me too." A name she had reclaimed from those who had used it as an insult growing up. She wouldn't keep the man waiting any longer, though.

"I have never known my parents. For all I know, the Sith Empire could've just generated a first and last name and given it to me." That tidbit of information was irrelevant to the story, but it did provide that extra little morsel of context. "Of course, orphans don't get adopted. Waste of resources, right?" A thick layer of distaste coated her words.

"Especially Force sensitives. Turns out, 'the Force is strong with me'. By my early teens I found myself living in the Sith academy on Bastion. Grim fething place." There had only been one good thing to come out of her time there, though it was probably also the best thing she'd ever had. But that was for a later story.

"I got more than enough stories from there to last us days. I think I'll start with a less rough one, though. To ease us into it." Before continuing, she took up the glass of Oo'ta Goo'ta again.

"So the overseer didn't like me very much. Turns out a bullied kid who doesn't revel in violence isn't really a shining example in Sith circles. Now, there was this other kid, and he tried to beat me up to gain brownie points with him. I was twelve, he wasn't much older." A sip, just to prevent a dry mouth.

"He jumped me in a crowded hallway, outta nowhere. Even in that Force-forsaken academy that chite was weird. Problem was, I reacted a bit quicker than he expected and dodged him. I caused him to trip and fall face-first. Even worse for him, the overseer watched it all happen. That was the last time I'd ever see the guy." Another sip. The drink was down to just a small layer at the bottom.

"Unless you managed to escape, the only two ways to leave that academy was as an apprentice or in a bodybag. I'm glad I got out on my own terms." Cinder was free to draw his own conclusions on the kid's fate.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Something to hide?" he asked, baffled, "Me? I'm an open book, love. Nothing to hide, just curious as to what you'd come up with." Was that entirely the truth? Probably not, but what did that matter? He gestured for another drink, and received another random liquor in response. Something blush-pink, it smelled fruity but there was a strong alcoholic tang to it.

He swirled the contents in the glass while she pondered a name. And oh, she didn't disappoint.

"Cinder..." He allowed it to roll over his tongue, musing on the reason it had been given, and then nodded. "Alright. Cinder it is. Though if I'm Cinder you're Blush." He raised both hands before she could protest. "I don't make the rules, it isn't my fault all that colour entered your cheeks when you took your first sip. Plus, I mean, your hair... Yeah. Them's the breaks I'm afraid."

Blush and Cinder, they were forming quite the rap weren't they?

What came next was an explanation of life. Arcturus shifted in his seat and leaned against the bar, watching her as she spoke. He didn't interrupt, he didn't show much in the way of a response on his expression, he just sat through it like a fly on the wall.

Then when all was said and done, he nodded.

"I have a similar story," he stated, with a shrug, "of Acolytes overstepping and never being heard from again." Had he told her he'd been a Sith too? Nope. Oh well, revelations aplenty. "We were on this survival trip, and a trio of Acolytes tried to jump a girl. Dainty little thing, didn't look like she'd ever hurt a fly before. I stepped in, helped to scare them off. One of them was hurt in the process, but we didn't exactly stop to see how badly."

Stretching some, he took another sip of the drink.

"Ended up with one of the Overseers pulling us from the game. They were pissed at her, the girl, for retaliating, even though they admitted to having seen the entire thing play out. He was okay, turns out, but that trio... Well they never returned to the Academy. There are rumours, of course, some of them were simply pulled out of the Academy entirely, but... One of them, well."

Arcturus shrugged. His expression had turned rather grim.

"I'm glad you found your own way out of it, Blush. You don't seem the dog-eat-dog type."

Sylvia Virtos​

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn
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He had a similar story.

Oh.

Turned out, Sylvia's judgment skills were not nearly as sharp as she thought they were. Cinder had a Sith background much like her own after all. At very least, that meant her stories wouldn't be as far-fetched to him. That, and he likely wouldn't be as horrified. Exposure made anything less scary, even the worst things the galaxy had to offer. Losing that innocence was more of a curse than a blessing, though, as far as Sylvia was concerned.

"Well, chite..." Blush polished off her glass and looked towards the next one that had been placed before her, but reached for the water instead. There wasn't much of that left either, but a break didn't seem like too bad of an idea. "Bunch of sadistic bastards."

Sylvia still wondered how she had ever strived to become a Sith herself, despite her obvious 'shortcomings'. Indoctrination was an insidiously powerful thing.

"Would've been long dead if I hadn't," she freely admitted. The story of her escape seemed too tame, now that she knew of Cinder's background a bit more. "The feeling goes both ways, by the way. You're not a bad guy." Despite her poor judgment skills having been exposed already, she still believed that much.

"My turn again, then." Blush had more stories to tell, but one stuck out. There was some hesitation, but if there was anyone who would believe her beyond Elle, perhaps it was Cinder. "I know you're supposed to save the best for last, but I'm just telling it now." There was still the potential of cutting it into several parts.

"I was tracked down and captured, once. By Darth Carnifex." Instead of the distaste she had shown towards Sith previously, her expression was a lot more grave. "It just happened out of nowhere. One moment I was on my freighter, about to enter hyperspace, the other..." A moment of silence. The event had clearly left its mark.

"I remember waking up in a cell. It was tiny and lightless, and the floor and walls caused constant irritation. Though, after a while you kinda become numb to that." And she ended up spending a lot of time in that room.

"I was confused... I mean, why me? I was no threat to him. I had avoided everything Sith like the plague, too." It made a little more sense after the fact, but even now her suffering felt like it had been without any real reason.

Raising the glass to her lips, she gulped down half of the water left. The temptation to pick up the other drink was strong, but she resisted. "After some time awake, I was dragged out of the cell and brought to Carnifex. I was literally thrown into that room, the doors closed behind me, and there he was. First he pretended to be friendly, then..."

Those moments still haunted her nightmares.

"He nearly crushed my neck, he hit me with lightning... had this Yuuzhan Vong... thing, nearly burrow into my brain. Just to make me talk. I still don't know how I managed to break through his hold to crush the thing between my forehead and his chest." Though she spoke the truth about what Carnifex had done to her, not everything she had said was equally as accurate. She knew where that strength had come from, but she wasn't quite comfortable enough around Cinder to expose the bond she shared with Elle. If the former Sith emperor wanted to know about it, keeping quiet about it to strangers was a wise idea.

Setting it to her lips for the last time, she finished her water. Sylvia set the glass down next to the other empty glass.

"I thought I was going to die there. I should've died there."

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Even now, even in the face of recollecting all of the horrors she'd experienced, Blush was pacing herself. He took note of the fact that her glass of water was nearly empty, and without giving it a second thought he gestured to the barkeep to bring her a new one. Arcturus did not get to decide how others lived their lives, if he tried to do so he'd be no better than those who had once raided Ession.

She said something then which gnawed at his insides, proclaiming that she did not believe him to be a bad guy despite the upbringing they shared. She wasn't the first to claim it, likely wouldn't be the last, but now as with then he couldn't entirely believe the sentiment for himself. Nobody resided alongside the Sith for as long as he had, succumbed to their teachings, without becoming corrupted in some way.

He'd left Ishani for a reason.

Still he didn't say anything on it. Just listened as her next story came. He wasn't expecting the name she spoke of, and talks of Carnifex had the boy stiffening. He knew who it was, of course, and was confused himself as to why hearing it made him feel so suddenly on edge. He'd never interacted with the man, had he?

Not that he could recall.

He forced himself to focus back in on the story, to keep from being distracted. But what she said didn't help matters either. He felt a lump forming in his stomach, and the drink he'd been swirling in one hand now ceased to move at all. He just stared, and listened.

"Why?"

That was the first word to fall out of his mouth, and for a moment it seemed as though it might be the only one. A solemn expression had fallen over him then, blacker than a pit of tar, and he found he couldn't actually look at her for fear of giving life to a rage he'd spent years keeping down.

"Why did he do that? What did he want from you?"

Arcturus was supposed to respond in kind, give her a story of his own, but he couldn't. Not in that moment. What would the likes of Carnifex want with her? Wasn't he busy enough razing worlds---

Oh.

Arcturus' heart sank as realization long since buried washed over him.

Sylvia Virtos

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn ​

Sylvia had expected Cinder to act as nonchalantly as he had done since the start, but his reaction ended up coming as a surprise to the woman. The life of a Sith was filled with horrible things wherever you looked, and somehow a single story of torture was enough to upset him. Had she been as good of an empath as Elle was, she would've sworn she even felt a spark of rage in the man.

Then came the question. In a way, Sylvia had seen it coming. Not like this, though. Her apprehension remained, but to refrain from answering entirely didn't sit right with her either. A half-truth would have to do; she wouldn't mention the Force bond. If he ended up putting two and two together, then she'd simply have to hope he didn't have any ulterior motives. What she wasn't thinking of, was the relative ease of figuring it out.

"It wasn't just about me. He wanted to know about my girlfriend as well. I would die before telling someone like him a single word about her."

A new glass of water had been brought to Sylvia earlier, which she now picked up. In an attempt to mask the fact she was looking for the words to say, she took a sip.

"We met in the academy. She was the golden child, I always was the next in line to get the axe, only to survive by the skin of my teeth. She, uh... she's the reason I'm still alive." If Cinder hoped for further elaboration on that point, he would be left wanting.

"She got out long before I did. I was too afraid to leave. She ended up becoming a Jedi while I was still trying to become a Sith somehow. Our friendship was done, or at least I thought. After I escaped too, we somehow ran into each other again. We fixed everything, and now, well, yeah." A gentle smile broke through her grim features. "I fething love her, you know."

That smile didn't last long, though.

"But that's not the answer to your question. Simply put, he wanted leverage over her. She's a fighter, even went face-to-face with him a couple times. I'm... not."

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Blush's expression was enough to indicate to him just how tense the conversation had begun to make him. He paused, inhaled a slow breath, and tried to clear a little of the fog from his brain - insofar as he was able after how many days lost within bars similar to this one. Arcturus knew it wasn't right to suddenly switch moods on her like that, this had meant to be little more than an exchange of stories after all.

Still, talks of Carnifex had put a bad taste in his mouth.

The worst part was that her answer didn't even really clue him in all that much either. He couldn't blame her for her secrets, but it was a little infuriating all the same to have key pieces left out. And all the lovey dovey talk just twisted the knife in his heart, the one of his own devising.

Arcturus made to stand. This had all been well and fun, until it wasn't. Perhaps he ought to have known better than to push someone about information on their Academy days, it sounded good in theory but reality...

Well, he was busy running from reality.

"Don't let yourself be a pawn in someone else's game, Blush" was all he really said in response to it all, as he knocked back any remnants of his drinks one by one. Swayed a little on the spot. "Maybe take a few self defense classes."

A shrug, then he turned and made to walk away. A slow venture to be sure, as he stopped to settle a hand atop any table he came across. Fresh air... Yep, he needed fresh air.

Sylvia Virtos

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn
​

Silence.

Eyes filled with incredulousness bore right through the back of Cinder's head as he walked away. From one moment to the next, the man cut their conversation short with a near-disorienting suddenness, an act that Sylvia could only see as an act of simple disrespect. The remark before went to take his leave only reinforced that feeling. She could have responded, told him there was a difference between knowing how to fight and it being a natural part of who you were, that she hadn't survived the academy by pure chance, how he knew nothing about her if he really thought what he had said...

But she knew there was no point. Having her capabilities underestimated had been an all too common occurrence and experience had taught Sylvia that words were powerless to change such views. If he wanted to be a cynical prick, there was little to be done about that. Not to mention the fact she had nothing to prove to Cinder.

Cinder would spend a few minutes outside by himself. For a little while, it seemed like Blush had no intention of following him outside.

Until she finally stepped through the door herself.

"Alright, joker," the woman said with razor-sharp words upon finding out Cinder hadn't gone far. "You still owe me a story. What got you so fethed up? Or do I need to 'self-defense' you for that one?"

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Outside was all sea breeze and briny air. As with the building itself, most of the ground was made up of a coral substance that jutted up and out of the waves. A long landing pad stretched out to the west, wherein various different ships were docked, and here and there various fishing vessels lay with nets of raw fish being pulled up from their bellies.

It was bracing. Not quite refreshing; Arcturus had never been a fan of the smell of fish, after all. Still, preferred to the interior at that moment. He needed to clear his head, to remove the thoughts which threatened to linger and ruin his good time. He reached into a small pouch on his belt and produced some sort of shimmering substance pinched between two fingers which he proceeded to raise up and breathe in on his next breath. Boy, if that didn't pack a punch and wake him up nothing would.

He rubbed the smooth remnants of the spice against his trouser leg, then turned his head when Blush came storming out of the cantina. Clearly something he'd said had really pissed her off, most likely the self-defense comments. Wasn't his fault she'd made it sound like she couldn't handle herself, was it? "I was trying to be helpful" he huffed, turning from her to lean his head back against the uneven surface of the wall.

A story. He should have known she'd want a story.

"You want the one where they stole me from my home, stole away those memories of home, and enslaved me? Or maybe the one where I ended up in the Nether and lost four years of my life? Or the other one where I came back to find out my girlfriend had twins while I was away, only now she's well into her twenties and I'm still stood here like this" he gestured to his 19-year-old self, then shook his head. "And I'm so fethin' scared of how much of a kark up I am that I ended up drinking my way here rather than taking responsibility for it. Any of them pique your interest, Blush?"

Sylvia Virtos

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Arcturus Dinn
​

That managed to silence Blush. Just like that, she was made to feel like an insensitive idiot. Despite going through her own share of trauma by the hands of the same kind of people, she had walked straight into the problem. The way the past followed her suddenly didn't seem nearly as bad anymore. The result of that was visible- irritation made way for a somber look.

With a self-scolding sigh, the woman shook her head, keeping her eyes away from Cinder afterwards. Suddenly, she didn't have a lot of guts to show.

"Fething... forget it. I'm a dumbass," she offered while sitting down against the wall of the cantina. Blush only very rarely smoked, but oh what she wouldn't have done for a cigarra in that moment. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts, and it would certainly have helped.

"I've been through kinda similar things. The chite I already told you, the time Carnifex killed Ellie... it's all fethed. I've even seen the Nether first-hand as well, when I went to save her- all I'm trying to say is... I know how that messes you up, to put it mildly."

"Sorry."

Were his coping mechanisms extremely unhealthy? Yes. But Sylvia had no clue how to approach that subject without ending the conversation before it even started.