Sharpened Knives - Episode I - Domino

[Scherezade deWinter]

The Galaxy was never a safe place, and yet in recent months, that safety had lessened even more. As gigantic factions opened war against one another, it appeared that no planet or systems were now safe. Some people were against this, vying for peace, preaching patience. Scherezade herself could not be counted among them, her lust for blood becoming better and better known to those outside of her close circle with every war that was waged, with every battle in which she easily took the front line without a second though.

The only thing one could control was who they were off to fight; but no one could truly control what others decided to come fighting against them. The dance of death was not one done by mutual consent, and while peering over her Blueprints of Doom, she had come to realize just how lucky the Silvers were, for no knock had come knocking on their door thus. Yet this did not mean they were safe. There were whispers, rumors, coming from the eastern side of the galaxy. Whether those proved to be true or not, there was something she knew deep to her core; a war coming to them had a likelihood of taking too many lives, regardless of whether or not they emerged victorious.

Normally, the Blood Hound would not care. A life lost was a life lost, another number on a never-ending array of statistics that did not touch her. Yet in the heart of Silver space, there were those she cared for; those that if any harm would come to, would send her raging and willing to burn the entire galaxy, regardless of what the rules of the Confederacy stated. In the heart of Silver space, there was a child, a child by the name of Jason Dragonsflame, son of [member="Josh Dragonsflame"], and Scherezade had loved him from the moment she'd met him, though she'd been entirely too awkward about showing it.

So this… this series of training, was for him.

And none of them had to know about it.

The first round for the day was against @Domino. She had set the meeting at the Training Grounds outide, and had sent work for the blue twi'lek to come fully armed. While she had no intention of actually harming the woman, the woman who she knew very well had worked with her own mother nearly a millennia ago, the entire idea was to ensure they would not hold back when fighting those of east who would come to them; chickens hiding behind bigger empires that could kill them in an instant.

And so, Scherezade waited.

Wearing​

Armor| Pathfinder Boots | The Forgemaster's Ring | Ring of Stasis | Sofitor
​

Wielding​

10 Czerka knives | 2 Nastirci Combat Knives | Copero's Wail | Fire and Smoke (lightsabers) | Combat Gauntlets | Knight Obsidian Sword | 2 Dissuader K-30 Pistols with Glitter Bullets​

 

[Domino]

Scherezade didn't have to wait long, Domino had been anticipating this meeting for a long time. Her and this nearly Human had crossed paths several times before but had yet to have a chance to talk. The Twi'lek couldn't care less about empires, or wars, or body counts, these things had lost meaning to her a long time ago but still she signed up for training with this girl to find out about the family she belonged to, to see if the name was in good hands. Still, she had decided against going 'fully armed' to their meeting. Her last duel had left her and Synlidwirh being yelled at by the Masters for what had felt like hours, they'd wrecked the gardens had shattered most of the windows in the school in their over the top fight, stepping up her armament after that didn't seem like a wise decision.

Emerging out into the sunlight, Domino was wearing her personal Vornskr armor that left her arms bare save for the leather leviathan bracers that started just below her elbow and continued to form fingerless gloves over her hands. Strapped to her back was her pikesaber and her ancient and battered lightsabers were sheathed to her hips where they wouldn't bounce around, an equally well used stal-11 was holstered to her thigh, and a pair of vibroknives rode in a shoulder sheathes to finish off her armament. Lastly she wore her usual diadem as most Twi'leks traditionally did. Most would consider this overkill but what was the point of training for a fight if you didn't intend to fight that way? She had at least left off her grenades and wasn't using her Beskar armor.

It was with a casual tilt of her head that she studied the young woman across from her as she tied back her lekku with a strip of leather, mild interest written across her face. "So, which are you?" She had never learned the exact lineage of the person standing across from her, the deWinters weren't exactly a public family and Domino honestly hadn't cared enough to force a confrontation to learn just how closely related she was to someone Domino knew.
[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Scherezade was not aware that hers and Domino's path had crossed at all. During those events, Scherezade had been stuck in the space between dimensions, and it had been Madalena who walked around in her body. Madalena, who had no memories of Endelaan, not the proper way, who had been certain Endelaan was a magical made up kingdom that she and her brother had conjured as children.

Had it not been for her meeting with Razelle, Scherezade would probably have needed more time to realize why this beautiful twi'lek was familiar to her. But she remembered. Domino had been there, when Scherezade and Brayden were but babies; she had held them. Of that, Scherezade was sure. But what had happened since? And how many more of those who ran with her parents were still around, still alive, still breathing?

Scherezade looked Domino over, taking in her lekku and her gear. The lekku was always such a sensitive part of twi'leks, and she couldn't help but wonder why they rarely went through the measures of protecting it better. Not that it mattered much; Domino had been alive long enough to know her lekku would be targeted by people who held nothing back, and if the Mandarlorians came knocking on Silver doors, not holding back was exactly what they were going to do.

Which was she?

The Sithling frowned. "You were there when I was born," she said, "you held me in your hands on at least one occasion," she added, "we can go have a drink after this," came the last addition, followed by the most charming smile she could muster.

And then came the Kinetite orbs, forming quickly in the Blood Hound's hands, magnificent orbs colored pink and purple, shooting one after the other at @Domino.

 

[Domino]

"Ah, the baby." Seemed like everyone was coming back one way or another. "I'd forgotten your name." The way Domino said it held no apology or malice to it, she was simply stating fact. Her duties as her mother's demon and acting as governess of Ilum and Cloud City had stretched her time thin. And of course there was her own emotional trauma muddying those days. Then the child flung a pair of kineite attacks at Domino, the style of attack and their coloration proving she was her mother's daughter as assuredly as any DNA test.

Almost casually Domino reached behind her to grab the haft of her staff and brought it around, turning sideways-on Scherezade as the Terentatek tusk infused weapon sliced through the attacks, dissipating them. "Your mother's attack, it's what she used during her fight for ascension to Queen you know." She looked to her own hand where her own kinetite was forming, beaten blackish purple shot through with violent pink as if it were lightning flashing across a night sky. "It's been a favorite of mine since she taught it to me."

She tossed it at her sparring partner, letting it arc through the air before splitting into two, and then four.
[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"There were two babies, twins," Scherezade answered and stuck her tongue out, "Scherezade and Brayden." And the twi'lek would… Most likely know which of the two she was; it didn't really take more than a single brain cell for that one, and if Domino had both been part of her parents' kingdom and still lived now? Her intelligence was definitely not on the list of things Scherezade would ever assume did not exist, even if she was a little lost on why the woman would be with the Jedi.

Her mother's attack? Scherezade blinked, almost caught off guard by that comment. She actually knew very little of her mother; save for some flash memories when she was baby on Endelaan, and how her mother had been as a child, she knew next to nothing about her mother as an adult, as a leader, as a Queen.

"You were there during her ascension?" she asked with almost child-like curiosity before a string of curses in various languages escaped her mouth, moving quickly to avoid getting hit by the four orbs that had been sent flying her way. The last one was a very narrow dodge.

Force damnit. Now she wanted to talk, not fight.

Still, she did what she had to do; trusting fully well that Domino would be able to block it, she raised her right arm and released two bullets from her combat gauntlets, aimed at the middle of her ribcage.

[member="Domino"]

 

[Domino]

Bullets, that was what armor was for, "I was her demon," Domino stated as she moved not to dodge, but to place herself more firmly in the attack's path as the girl lined up her shot, taking it squarely on the strike plates. The breath was knocked from her lungs and it felt like a mule kicked her, but she would be fine and her concentration held. "The Warden of Ice," her open hand stretched out, "The reason hell freezes instead of burns," her and drew back with those words and clenched.

Domino's words were dramatic but the reasons for that were two-fold, to distract herself from memories she thought long-forgotten that were now too fresh in the face of this girl so like her mother and the frustrations they brought with them, she did not truly want to crush a child. And to distract Scherezade from the attacks that had reversed themselves and were now coming at her back. Which was why her concentration had been so important.

Under the Twi'lek her feet shifted as her hips turned, readying a lunge forward.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]
((Sorry for the long wait! Work has been super exciting recently as I prepared to leave.))

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"Yeah, okay, that doesn't answer the question," Scherezade pointed out. Domino could've been her demon and Warden even after her mother became the Queen. But there was something glaring in Domino's words – Domino was far from a Jedi, even if she was with the Silvers.

Sighing, Scherezade let all the knives slide from her body, twelve blades now spraying around her in the air like a fan, all the sharp bits pointed at Domino. The bullet hadn't worked, but that was fine; she didn't actually want to kill the woman. Priorities changed; now she wanted to end the fight and go talk somewhere.

The lightsabers in her hands ignited, and she began to move forward, her, her lightsabers, and her blades, when the kinetite hit her from behind and she was tossed forward, all of it rushing towards Domino at high speed.

[member="Domino"]

 

[Domino]

Domino blinked, okay, that was actually pretty impressive. Even the part where the kid pretended to get suckered in by the missed kinetite, that had to be a.... Seven out of ten? This was what Domino was thinking of as she sprung forward into her own attack, the ends of her pike erupting into arcs of lightning as the electrical generators sprung to life. She knew it was stupid, that the girl had two sabers to defend with and the knives could close in on her from every side, but she had speed and reach. And a plan. The girl was into some pretty flashy stuff, but Domino had a few tricks of her own, tricks that had not come easily to her.

Her lunge carried her forward, the pike pointed unerringly at the center of Scherezade's chest, the near two meters of phrik running through her forward guiding hand with her thrust. A thrust that ended as Domino changed it into a spin, twisting as she put her hips into it, a faint smile dancing about her lips as she disappeared with a faint pop of displaced air, leaving behind empty space her sparring partner's attack now rushed through. To the warrior's right, Domino finished her half-step turn and wondered if her opponent would counter this attack from behind her guard with her knives surrounding her before subsuming herself in the force again, letting it wash away the hesitation and distraction as the vividness of the world popped around them.

Following her attack almost leisurely if it didn't connect , the blue alien drew her blaster, flipped the selector to burst-fire, and pumped the trigger in succession.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Lightning did not bother her. Her lightsabers were great for that, ready to absorb most of the electricity. The spear that was coming towards her, however, was another matter all together. With how quickly both women were moving, there was no time to assess what this or other weapon was made of, so Scherezade fell into the place where she assumed that everything was resistant to lightsabers and she couldn't count on spears – or any other of Domino's weapons – breaking.

She had not counted on Domino either teleporting or folding space. But when the blue Twi'lek disappeared, leaving Scherezade to block an incoming attack that wasn't about to meet 'n' greet her, it was only by pure luck that she sensed the woman behind her almost immediately. Her knives needed more time to turn around than she did to kick backwards, her foot aimed for Domino's jaw.

Whether her attack ha hit or not, Scherezade managed to keep her balance as she landed now facing Domino, taking the fire straight into her chest. She could feel matters beginning to heat uncomfortable beneath her armor.

"Enough!" she said loudly, moving her chin as she collected a fist of earth from the ground via the geokinesis, and sent it hurling towards Domino along with the knives.

[member="Domino"]

 

[Domino]

Continuing her current movement, Domino leaned back while allowing the girl's own forward momentum to carry the kick harmlessly past. The little voice in the back of her head said that she should have just brushed one of the generators against Scherezade's leg to stun her or toss her off balance with the weapon's haft instead of firing the blaster, but she quashed that, she wasn't here to kill. Instead she fell back, opening the distance between them under her blaster's fire as her sparring partner showed her armor worked as well.

With some more space, Domino tossed aside her blaster and drew out her virboknife, flexing her fingers through their guards as she did. By all reasonable accounts it was an insane move in a fight to drop your ranged weapon for an extreme close-quarter one after drawing back from your opponent, but she had a plan, a plan so crafty and cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a fox. A standard part of Domino's battle strategy was to constantly view the world a few seconds into the future, a lot of Jedi did this, and a lot of Jedi died to seeing too much and being overwhelmed by the possibilities, watching their death dozens of different ways as one of them killed them. Domino however focused down to the one thing on the battlefield she could control absolutely, the one thing that only had one variable that depended on her choices, her actions, herself. And she knew those knives were about to stab through her. She lived through the pain of them piercing her flesh.

An acrobatic flip back as Scherezade cried out gained her a precious microsecond and placed her closer to one of the columns surrounding the ring they fought in, a column she then lept back up to, activating the knife so that it dug deep into the pillar were, now deactivated, it provided the perfect hand-hold. Crouched, hanging from her perch, she watched the attack come as her mind reached out, didn't arrive at a future without her getting cut, made a slight adjustment to the angle, and then there was a twisting, folding, shimmer in the space before the blue lady as the attack passed through it, and continued forward into the space behind her sparring partner. A sparring partner that now shielded Domino from their own attack. "Yes I was there." She finally admitted to the younger girl. "It was the first time I laid eyes upon my favorite technique, she used it so beautifully as they made her fight for the right to rule over them."

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]