Road Home

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

For a moment Talus stood in front of the girl, and then slowly he squatted down in front of her. Pale yellow eyes slowly inspected her, looking at the cuts he had left behind and glancing at the bruises she had acquired during their fight. There was no satisfaction or pride within him, only a small amount of annoyance at the damage he'd needed to do in order to get her here.

The Kiffar did not care for money, he had no use for it. Back home he was as wealthy as he could be, and out here he simply took whatever he wanted. Possessions meant very little to him. This girl was here only to buy him safe passage off of Corellia, and judging from her rather delicate appearance she would do just that. Of course he still guessed that she was a Jedi of some sort, her use of the force making that more than obvious for him. The Sith had spoken of the Jedi, though Talus had never encountered them before.

"Your name." It was less of a question and more of a demand.

There was no doubt in his mind that it was only a matter of time before the Corellian Security Forces found them, and once they did he would need to barter for this girl.

Having her name would be better than her just being some random college co-ed.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula stared back, well aware of her situation but just not level enough to put her own survival as the top priority. Instead of focusing, irritation bit into her like a snake’s venom.

She stared back, afraid of her situation yet at the same time unafraid of the man with the strange facial tattoos. She fought the urge to struggle in her restraints, eyes fixed on the person in front of her as he again asked her for her name.

“What do you want with me?”

Repeating her question, she wanted to let her eyes wander around the room and look for any potential escape routes, any loose objects she could use as a weapon. Maybe if she knew why she was here, she could figure something out. Barter with him, maybe even reason.

Okay, probably not reason. He seemed beyond that.

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

Annoyance flashed across his features.

Every second that passed the security forces closed in, every second that passed things got more dangerous for him. He knew that she was a Jedi of some sort, guessed that she was probably not a Master, but she would be worth something to someone. The sad truth of the galaxy was that a pretty face was always valuable, and here on Corellia where things were supposed to be 'safe'? It meant all the more. CoreSec would scramble to save her, but he needed her name.

Needed to know her true worth.

Without much thought Talus reached out and grabbed her face, his index and middle finger pressing into one side of her cheek while his thumb squished the other. With no small amount of force Talus dragged her forward, his pale yellow eyes burning into hers. "Name."

As he spoke the black of his pupils seemed to begin to expand, slowly converging to cover the yellow of his iris'. At the same time Yula would be able to feel a spike within the force, an odd sort of dread spreading into the Kiffar's very core as the power swept into him.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula grunted as he grabbed her chin forcefully, dragging her onto her knees via his grip. She could feel the ire within him, the noticeable spike in the Force as his patience began to wear. She couldn’t blame him for his reaction, but…wait, she could. She totally could.

Like a hunter honing in on his prey, his pupils dilated as he stared her down and once more demanded her name.

Instinct decided to start kicking in at this point as the young man made himself a rising threat. The Force shifted around her as she gathered it inward steadily towards her core. While unfamiliar with using specific light or dark sided abilities, her mother had instructed her on the more neutral supplementary applications of the Force from a young age.

“Tell me why I’m here.” Threads of anger and irritation wove their way into her stern voice. Though not lacking in spunk or the daring nature most Zeltrons had, Yula’s experience fell short in certain areas. “And I’ll tell you my name.”

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

He stared at her for a moment, glancing towards the broken and barred windows for a moment as Sirens looped by. "You're a bargaining chip."

Talus' voice was still that bare rasp that it had been before. It was clear that he did not often speak, and when he did it was only a short few terse words. Conversation had never really been something that he enjoyed all that much, even back among his own people.

With his tribe there was never much need for actual speech. They had their own language with signs, but that was mostly used for hunting. Communication among his people was often far more about actions rather than words, something that showed itself well in his interactions with the greater galaxy. He likely could have taken this girl far more easily had be spoken to her first, had he attempted to trick her or been more subtle with his actions. But that wasn't his way.

Never would be.

Violence and might were what Talus relied on.

"Name." He prompted her again, this time the force slowly beginning to flow into his hand.

 

[Yula Perl]

So that was it. Couldn’t say she was surprised. How much did he think she was worth? For all he seemed to know, she was just a random girl off of the street.

She eyed him, his stance, the aggression written into his features.

“Yula Perl.”

Could have probably just taken the pilot’s license that was in her back pocket but Yula vaguely wondered if he could read.

The wail of the sirens bounced between the buildings making them difficult to accurately pinpoint. Such was the boon of a city with tall buildings obstructing the soundscape. But it was the only sound aside from the creak of the ancient building and the steady sound of rain. It all came together for her.

Her chin tilted towards the window in a slow gesture. “Yours?”

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

Talus didn't answer, instead he half turned his head as one of the siren echoes came a bit closer than the one before it. His lips thinned, and for a just a moment he wondered if they had finally found him. After a second passed the noise once again grew distant, and slowly he turned back towards the girl.

He knew that there wasn't much time. These warehouses were good cover, but eventually they would use life form scanners and other more deliberate methods to find them. Once that happened they would close in on the building and do their best to snatch Yula beforehe could even make his demands. Her name meant nothing to him of course. Joza Perl might have been famous, owning her own galaxy spanning company and all, but her name had never quite made it to Talus' side of Kiffu.

The Kiffar came from a tribe of exiles and outcasts, news generally didn't filter their way.

After a moment more of studying the girl he shifted slightly, peering around her body and slowly searching. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for, a small token that hung just above where he had bound her wrist. Without a word he took a step to the side, moving to stand behind her before crouching down. His index gently brushed against the metal of the bracelet, the power filling him in an instant.

Flashes of memory shot through his mind. The bracelet sitting in a box, a well dressed woman handing it to a younger Yula, a large house(by his standard), small sparks of Yula's life that the bracelet had been present for. He frowned slightly, then took a deep breath.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula watched him carefully. Her name sparked neither recognition nor disdain, which she supposed had to be a good thing.

He didn’t seem intent on answering her, so Yula snorted softly. “Rude.” Not that she imagined he’d care. The strangely dressed young man didn’t seem to worry much over behaviors or social graces.

She tensed as he shifted to her side, wary of his every moment. It was only natural, given the nature of their situation. Instead of harming her, he did something that seemed strange to her. Rough fingers touched the thin silver band circled around her wrist and she thought that he was going to remove anything valuable from her for sure. Instead he remained still, finger resting against the metal of her bracelet.

“Uh, rude.”

The item wasn’t particularly fancy or highly valuable, but an heirloom passed down to her from her mother, who in turn had received it from her own mother. Yula’s grandmother didn’t have much, but the bracelet had been given to her by a suitor long ago who’d ultimately disappeared during her pregnancy. Memories from all three generations of women would be accessible, but Yula’s obviously the most recent.

He would see snippets of her life until now, a younger Yula following her mother into Heartbeat’s headquarters on Zeltros, her first flying lesson as a teen and fights with her brother. The most recent memory he’d see would depict her hiking through the forest with a tall man, then flashes of them skinny dipping in the ocean.

Yula for her part remained as still as she could. She may have heard of psychometry somewhere, but she’d never seen it in action so she was unsure of what exactly was going on right now.

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

The memories flashed through his mind as though he were there, the perspective being an odd sort of look into the bracelet itself. He heard no voices, could recognize no words, but what happened all around him was more than obvious.

He saw it all, flashes of her life, moments in time that seemed to be stuck in some way. The Kiffar's expression stayed neutral, though as time went on it grew more and more strained. His eyes became that same inky black, and then suddenly his fingers snapped away from the bracelet and returned to his side in a tightly curled fist. He let out a heavy breath, his body shaking. The experience of Memory had swept his mind, sticking within his thoughts and nearly touching his own memories.

It was a dangerous thing, looking into the past of another.

"You are wealthy." It was the only thing he said as he slowly stood.

The revelations he had received didn't tell him much besides that. The Tall man meant nothing to him, the face of Joza Perl even less. He hadn't even heard of Heartbeat. The isolation of his Tribe on Kiffu had been almost complete, and during his travels through the northern part of the galaxy he had never much cared to pay attention to the more innane things. All that he knew now was that Yula was worth something more than she had been before.

That was good. Very good.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula let out a soft hum, low and short. The man stood after making his revelation and she figured that he had to have done some witchy—but she hadn’t felt him break into her mind. Either he was incredibly stealthy, or something else was at work here.

Instinctively she wanted to refute the claim, but it was true. Could he tell that from just the bracelet? Yula had grown up wanting for nothing, educated and fed and cared for. It didn’t really cross her line tha essentially being held for ransom as a wealthy young woman could have upped her chance for survival in this scenario.

Still, she didn’t like the idea of being a delicate little rich lady. It was a privilege that she could think that way, though. Yula hadn’t shunned her life or her family, but rather set out to create an identity for herself. The money? It did help.

The sirens blared closer and she stared at the odd man, wild and tribal looking with his facial tattoos and scars. “So, what did you do?”

Not that she expected an answer, but sitting in a dilapidated warehouse with a stone wall for a captor wasn’t exactly exciting. At least she could have a one-sided conversation.

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

They were close now. It wasn't just the sound of their sirens, it wasn't the noise of the speeders...he could feel them. None of them were force users, there were no Jedi among them, but he could feel them all the same. They posed a danger to him, and through whatever deity had given him his strength he could sense that danger.

His fingers tightened. "I killed their friends."

Talus didn't know why he answered, perhaps he hoped that the girl would be intimidated and fall into silence. It was a small hope given what he knew of her so far, but there was really no other reason. Slowly the Kiffar pulled himself up from his crouch, wandering past the girl and heading back towards the broken and barricaded windows. Pale yellow eyes peered through the wooden boards, spotting a Security Speeder just as it came to a stop outside the warehouse.

Lips thinned, and suddenly the inky blackness of his pupils began to grow once more.

He would have no choice, he'd have to make them aware of the situation.

Without a word Talus stalked back towards the girl, his eyes filled with the Abyss. The power rushed through him, veins standing from his skin and the black of the scars on his right hand seeming to pulse with energy. He reached out to pull Yula onto her feet by the scruff of her neck, intending to drag her to the window.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula hadn’t expected an answer, but if she had to expect an answer?

“Yeah that…” She shifted in her restraints a bit, wrists itching from the coarse rope he’d used to bind her. Eyes drifted over the boy once more. “Sounds about right.” Shoulders went up in a reflexive shrug before she’d was nabbed roughly by his hand at the scruff of her neck, body being pulled upright forcefully as if she were an animal.

She cringed for a few moments while finding her footing, eyes darkening with irritation at being yanked to her feet. Even though there was a chance that she’d leave this situation unharmed, the idea of being used as a bartering chip stung her pride.

The Kiffar dragged her towards the window with little trouble, though there wasn’t much polite cooperation on Yula’s part. Instead she glanced over towards a group of hastily stacked boxes in the corner—wooden if she could guess, but she was only taking quick, sneaky glances before shifting her attention elsewhere. The same power that flowed through him pulsed in her core, shifting along the floor slowly like a serpent made of sand.

Once they made it towards the window, dilapidated as it was it could still be called a window, Yula attempted to yank herself away from Talus one last time, bringing the stack of boxes with her. Bound wrists shoot in the opposite direction, dragging the boxes and whatever was in them towards him at a high speed.

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

He watched Yula Writhe, her hands jerking to the left.

A curse left his lips.

They never learn. It was the thought that spiked through his mind as he saw something move out of the corner of his eyes. Talus had no idea what it was, no idea how large or how hard it would hit him, but he knew he at least had a few seconds to respond.

The Kiffar twisted slightly, moving one foot back and turning. At the same time he tightened the grip he had on the back of her neck, making sure that when he turned she came along with him. Whatever it was she had grabbed with her Jedi Magics would hit him, but it would also hit her.

Best he could do.

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula had expected him to fight back, but also not at the same time. Funny how that worked.

She swore at him over and over during their struggle as she tried vehemently to rip herself away from his grip. But he was too strong and had an established hold on her, pulling her into the way of whatever projectile she’d just launched at them.

The old ship parts being housed in the boxes hurt like hell. They were engine parts, she’d determine, if she had the time to properly examine them. Didn’t really have that luxury afforded, or else she most certainly would have taken some for herself.

Something nailed her in the stomach hard, knocking her onto her butt. Swearing, she managed to lurch forward and spit up blood in Talus’ direction.

[member="Talus Morid"]

 

[Talus Morid]

[member="Yula Perl"]

Talus wasn't entirely free of the strike, and one of the parts managed to catch him across the side of his bicep. The old junk sliced through his skin, cutting muscle and flesh and causing a sharp hiss of pain to pull through his teeth.

He was about to speak, turning to Yula when the little witch spat at him.

Blood and saliva struck him on the cheek directly below the scar that marred his face. The Kiffar blinked for a second, somewhat caught off guard by her continued resistance. His face morphed a second later, featured growing dark suddenly. Any hint of amusement disappeared from his face, and in one swift motion he moved towards her. His step was quick, but his hand was even faster.

The flat of his palm swept towards her throat, his intent to scoop her up and slam her directly against the wall behind her.