Summer Nights

[Mordecai Zambrano]

Ordinary kids learned how to fight and survive in their own right. School was never easy, especially the social aspects of it. Loneliness, depression, and all of the tribulations of youth culminating in a series of nerve-wracked years for all of them. Mordecai never discounted the average schoolkid's life - it was never easy for him either, even being a member of the royal family. For some unknown brat off the street, it was hard to imagine what they went through was easier than his circumstances.

They commanded a lot more respect. Many men had managed to fight, conquer, and live to tell the tale all without the blessings of the Force. Eating vegetables happened to be a part of their typical diet, so Mordecai begrudgingly followed suit.

"Yes, little one, vegetables are very necessary. I don't like them either but my wife makes me eat them." He smiled, wondering what she was doing at the moment. "They've kinda grown on me though. Some aren't all that bad."

Mordecai glanced at his young apprentice, skipping happily alongside him. The Palace Guards were still as stone, their searching gazes hidden behind the dark visors of their helmets. It seemed none of them happened to be interested in the man's gleeful companion, content to render a salute as he passed and return to their posts. The Sith Lord returned the gesture crisply, taking the courtesy in stride.

"My second lesson," he dropped the salute, "Is to treat your subordinates with dignity and respect. If you treat them well and take care of their needs, they will be with you until the very end despite your questionable morality. You may have none at the moment, but you will in the near future."

The pair quickly moved past rows of more guards. Tall pillars supported the Citadel's weight, lining the long corridors at perfectly even intervals. There was little here in the form of art, but there was a sort of regal elegance that charmed the first floor of the place. As quiet as a library and as hallowed as a church; there weren't too many people milling about as night slowly came upon Bastion.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Funami’s lip curled in disgust. Like many young children, she, too, hated vegetables with a passion. Almost as much as mud. Ew! Just thinking about it gave her goose bumps. Was she an animal to be fed vegetables? Kids needed meat to grow strong and big. Even though she hadn’t grown yet and appeared almost scrawny save for her round face, the girl did not want to turn smaller by abandoning her meaty diet!

Crossing her arms over her chest, she pranced next to the Sith lord and looked mighty displeased with his words. Everyone turned their gaze away and pretended the pink-haired child did not exist, for cranky little Sithlings tended to explode in worse ways than their older, more experienced superiors. Perhaps, just maybe, she would sacrifice her own well-being and make her teachers happy by eating a few veggies. Such a selfless act would naturally be followed by stuffing her face with mountains of junk food.

Little shoes echoed through the citadel as Funami and her new instructor pierced deeper into the structure. Knowing the guards paid her no heed, the girl did not return a single salute. Instead, she clasped her hands behind her back, straightened her posture, and strode forth on her short legs in a proud, boastful parade, pretending she ruled the Empire and everyone about saluted to her greatness. It was just a silly thing, really, but somehow turned her appearance more mature.

A sharp, attentive glance was cast Mordecai’s way as he went over the importance of good relationships between master and subordinates. “I know,” Funami spoke softly, her voice almost a purr. “I am starting my own power base as instructed by lord Vaulkhar. Managing one’s resources well is an important part that greatly contributes to success.”

Gazing up gave away the sheer size of the place. Impersonal and cold, it had a way of turning those within feel insignificant next to the glory of the Empire. Excitedly grasping her hands together, Funami turned to Mordecai and beamed an innocent simper.

“Is the Citadel a recently built structure or is it old? As in, super old? Um, I am not that familiar with Sith history yet, my lord. Sorry! I’m at Darth Plagueis right now! Will be starting Darth Sidious next week.”

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

He withheld is warning intentionally. That if he ever caught her mistreating the soldiers and agents of the Empire, that he would see to it that she never saw the light of day again. It was one thing to earn and command respect, and another entirely when undeserving, ambitious brats ended up responsible for the lives of so many. He had personally seen many other acolytes ruin their first charge, taking their anger out on young men and women that had volunteered to serve the empire and protect their home.

Many were never heard of after that.

Being of the royal family afforded many perks, he had to admit, especially in regards to cleaning house. Being able to weed out behavior in any echelon of the entire military-political spectrum was an absolute godsend. Corrupt judicial officials? Brazen and careless legion officers? Sith Knights that killed and murdered one another? Sith were not defined by pure hatred and the spread of war and crime, they were defined by their emotions. Jedi were stoic and diplomatic whilst their counterparts were emotional and took action on the spot.

Morality was a fickle thing. Even Jedi were evil, even Sith were good. Perhaps Funami would end up like him in the future? Hopefully so, he prayed.

"Attagirl," he praised with a small grin. "It's never too early to start making connections and contacts. People are the number one resource in the entire galaxy."

Mordecai nodded evenly as his little apprentice inquired about the palace. He paused for a moment, recalling his own memories of schoolhouse history lessons.

"Fairly old. It was constructed back in forty one ABY, around the end of the Second Galactic Civil War. Many decades after the age of Darth Vader, Sidious, and Grand Admiral Thrawn." The Sith Lord glanced around at its walls. "Fortified to the max. Bastion is a fortress world, after all."

His voice trailed off as they finally began to near their destination. As the pair passed through the threshold and into the natural light, a garden within the palace was revealed. Small statues littered the interior circles of it, with fallen walls and rock formations left where they stood. The Emperor and his caretakers had deemed it to have a bit of a historical quality, and left the damage as is. A reminder of the orbital barrages on the world from years long ago.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Funami gave a nod, agreeing wholeheartedly. The galaxy was all about networking, making the right connections. Those with good enough contacts could rise through ranks without ever lifting a finger. People were naturally lazy creatures and often sought shortcuts. The unassuming Sithling presented a prime example of just that, someone who wanted all the power in the universe without putting too much effort into achieving it.

It was the way of the Sith, after all.

Have others do the work while those in charge claimed all credit. She thought it natural, though many would undoubtedly disagree with her. Mordecai struck her as one such Sith; a man who had, despite being born into luxury and possessing countless perks usually not afforded to others, earned his position. Someone had to do the hard, dirty deeds while those like Funami lazed about!

Her legs were starting to grow tired a bit and her pace had slowed a tiny bit, positioning the girl behind her new teacher.

“Um, Vader?” The girl questioned with childlike innocence, arching an eyebrow, and turned those large eyes of vibrant purple at the man. “Who is that? I’ve never heard of him. He comes after Plagueis, right?”

She hoped so, afraid of the possibility of accidentally skipping the unknown Darth.

Descending a few steps, Funami emerged from behind the Sith lord as they entered the garden. While pretty at first glance and almost reminding Funami of her family’s summer home high in Atrisian mountains, pacing through and inspecting things up close revealed an alarming state of disrepair. A ruin by all accounts, hopelessly beyond saving. Displaying her disapproval by posing akimbo, the girl peered about, mentally expressing despair over the crumbling ruins.

“Um, not really? It's kinda falling apart,” the girl replied with an apologetic shrug. “Is there nobody to maintain it?”

Sauntering toward one of the broken statues, she looked upon what used to be a head. Now she turned it into a cold, hard seat. Her short legs needed it.

“I’m pooped. For every step you take I take three!” A gentle whine voiced her discomfort and she pursed her lips.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

A tender smile caressed his lips as the girlish voice echoed around the hallowed garden. It was a place of meditation, peace, and restfulness. Even Dark Lords of the Sith that came before his brother, generations ago, sought after quiet places to hang their heads and envelop themselves in the Force. Peace and quiet was something craved by both Jedi and Sith. It offered clarity, wisdom, and a nice opportunity to gather your thoughts or plot your next moves.

"That's correct, Lord Vader comes after Plagueis." Mordecai remarked approvingly. "He was Lord Sidious' apprentice, the Chosen One to restore balance to the Force. I guess you could say he did in the end, at least for a little while. Lord Vader killed Sidious in a bid to save the life of his son, a Jedi Knight just as he was decades before."

It was a somber, sad story. At least Vader had managed to find peace before the Force took him.

Mordecai turned to face Funami, planting his own haunches on a chunk of fallen wall. Another smile took him, albeit far from the gentle one that came before.

"Of course it has someone to maintain it." The smile grew. "That's why you're here, little Funami. It might be wise to stop sitting atop Lord Vader's head and get to work. We'll be here for a little while."

He folded his arms and slid further back against the wall, getting comfortable. "You are free to use whatever means available to restore this place, even if marginally. You claimed you had a knack of telekinesis, so I would absolutely love to see what you can do firsthand. However, no getting help from anyone or anything else.

"You will find yourself alone and tired more often than not. You cannot trust anyone, despite their offers of help or even a place to rest. You must accomplish your task at hand and survive long enough to make it home."

Mordecai pulled his legs inwards, crisscrossing them as he artlessly stared at Funami. "You may begin now, or you can leave this instant and never return to this place. The choice is yours, little one."

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

“W-work?” She stuttered, staring at the man as if refusing to accept the reality of what he just said.

What?

Disbelief raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth. Funami was no gardener. She had never tended the garden back home and had little intention to start now. Money existed for this very reason! So those with money, like her, could buy people to do undesirable tasks for them! Like gardening! Born into a life of luxury and opulence, the girl had not touched manual labor in her entire life, evidenced by her incredibly soft, small hands.

She raised them, palms open, and held them out in front of her. Those were the hands of a pianist who had not touched a piano in her life, the hands of a killer who had never physically killed another being. She brought both hands closer to her face, scrutinizing them with her big violet eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of physical strength in her body, she had no muscle and everyone towered high above her small, underdeveloped figure. She was undeniably just a child in every sense of the word.

“That sounds like child labor. Isn’t it forbidden? I mean, look at me! I am small, tiny, not built for hard work!” Her mouth reported a whine of protest as her attention snapped back toward Mordecai. “Besides, my lord, I have no clue how to go about this. Everything’s a mess!”

Despite outwardly acting annoyed, her voice had remained playful. Hopping off lord Vader’s stone head, she threw her arms about to further accent the situation was hopeless. The entire place needed to be torn down and made anew. Something something Sith philosophy, she could not remember.

A mischievous twinkle glimmered beneath her violet eyes as the head of Darth Vader rose off the ground and obediently connected with the rest of the statue. Seated atop the shattered neck, Vader’s head appeared far from pristine, though it was never about Vader or even the garden. It was all about her, the girl’s telekinesis and her willingness to abuse it for menial tasks. Weight itself did not pose a problem for Funami, for she knew she could lift these rocks with the Force. Her mind had prevailed over matter long ago.

The memory of it came to her – she saw herself, telekinetically lifting what seemed like a small, light pot with no effort. Only later did she discover the pot to be massively heavy. As such, when it came to telekinesis, the concept of weight was only an issue if she fell for its blatant lie stating she was too weak and tiny to lift such heavy objects. There was no issue there, clearly evidenced by more statues reaching partial completion as she reattached fallen heads with a flick of her violet eyes. Adept at telekinesis by the age of four, the Sithling had little need for hand gestures.

“Hmph. Don’t expect me to fuse it together on a molecular level.”

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

The easygoing smile never left him.

Even as the girl whined, even as she complained, even as she dutifully did as she was told. She seemed to have a habit of doing that - mockingly whining before putting one hundred percent effort into whatever she was doing. Whether it be playing up her childlike, girlish charisma or moving the statue head of the age-old Lord Vader. It was nice to see for once, that even some Acolytes knew when to stop and finally get down to business.

Mordecai sat atop the stone wall, motionless. His gaze was firmly locked upon his little Sithling. Her control of the Force ebbed and flowed like a water hose with a kink in the middle of it. Sometimes it was firm and strong, and other times it was unfocused and sporadic - sloppy. Nothing too surprising whatsoever.

"Excellent work, little one!" The Sith Lord praised from afar, watching the girl heave the stone and statue back into place.

Then the stone pieces began to shift and tremble, as if an invisible hand was pressing against it. Some chunks of stone began to fall, and others were teetering on the edge of descending onto the cold, hard ground.

Mordecai frowned. "Catch all of them, now. Each little scrape and scratch on the Emperor's beloved statues will earn you even more time spent in here. There will be no resting, no cupcakes, and no stopping until I'm tired of watching you work.

"The same rules apply. You are free to do whatever is in your power to prevent damage to these beautiful pieces of work."

The man mentally shrugged, wondering if she would choose the wisest, most efficient way to stop this. Only time would tell. She needed to surprise him.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Beaming a proud smile, Funami clasped her hands behind her back and basked in the teacher’s praise. It felt good to be appreciated. Turning to face the ancient Sith immortalized in stone, she pretended to admire her work while mentally laughing at how easy the ordeal had been. Others tended to underestimate her powers due to her small size, but size mattered not. Curiosity widened her gaze a moment later as the unyielding stone trembled and threatened to render everything she had done meaningless.

She smelled telekinesis at play and it wasn’t her own, leaving only one suspect. A part of Mordecai’s test no doubt. A telekinetic prodigy, there was little doubt she could simply will the stones to cease moving and they would obey. Funami just didn’t feel like wasting her effort when the perpetrator was so obvious. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she found him sitting in the same place as before, yet his mind most likely stretched in all directions. A smirk crossed her face.

“I can do whatever I can to save the statues?” She asked cautiously with a curl of an eyebrow in an unspoken question, her mind already hatching a simple yet effective scheme. “Really? Hmph. Okay!”

A good student, she would heed her master’s words. He did say she was to do whatever in her power to stop the ageless stone from crumbling into pieces and undoing her work. Yes, Funami could have erected a protective barrier or two, she could have channeled her psychokinetic might to catch the little pieces, she could have steered her telekinesis directly against his own. But no; the little girl went for the heart of it all instead.

As Funami stifled a cackle, her shoulders shrugged nonchalantly in acceptance of what had to be done. Despite assuming a neutral expression, the impish sparks in her eyes did not vanish. With a spin on her heel to face Mordecai, Funami whipped one hand out from behind her back and extended it before her, palm open as she unleashed the Force in a blast of concussive power at the Zambrano.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

Ah, there we go, little one.

He might've beamed his own proud little smile had his mind not been in dozens of places at once. Telekinesis was one of the few things he was very good at, and the Sithling was an excellent practitioner of her own right. Mordecai had expected many of the little chunks of stone to have already collapsed upon the floor long before they'd even reached this point. For all the talk she did earlier, at least Funami could walk the walk after boasting.

He caught her wry gaze with his own. In the next instant, he felt the opposing forces on many of his downward thrown chunks dissipate. A large portion of the girl's focus had been directed elsewhere towards something... or someone. The Sith Lord slowly closed his eyes, sinking into the well of power that dwelt deep within the confines of the Citadel.

Then it came at him. The force of a flying snowspeeder hurling right at him. He exhaled, hastily erecting a barrier between himself and the girl. It was definitely not enough to completely stop the entirety of her might, but it sure as hell did slow it down enough for him to breathe and speak.

"Focus!" The man reminded loudly. "You are right in cutting off the head of the snake, but remember your objective. If you are wanting to tackle multiple opponents and dilemmas at once, you had better be strong enough to juggle the tasks."

It was all energy conversion and movement. It was hard to put one hundred percent of your effort into many things at once. One needed to balance the needs of the moment - and maybe even do something that wasn't telekinesis? Wasn't she good at Makashi?

Mordecai mentally shrugged as he pulled force away from the stones and channeled it further into the barrier, attempting to prevent the thing from collapsing into him.

"Impress me, Funami."

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

She had been using telekinesis for long enough to tell what was going on. While unexpected, the barrier had not caught her by surprise. In fact, sending the man flying would have been far more unexpected. As the slightest hint of a smirk passed over her lips, Funami let her hand fall down as she contemplated her next move. Intimately familiar with barriers and using them rather than armor to shield her frail body, the girl knew there was no getting through it. Capable of stopping high-powered Mandalorian slugs, these unseen fields of protection relied on their user’s focus and willpower.

With enough firepower, it would be possible to wear the near-invincible shield down. Albeit lacking the sort of artillery needed to put a dent into the energy cocoon wrapped about the Zambrano, the Sithling was a wile creature like any Sith worth the name. Reliant on sight, the girl cast a gaze about, mentally mapping the place in her mind and searching for potential projectiles.

Anything still standing would be spared, but smaller rocks and pebbles scattered all over were all fair game. After her violet eyes snapped back at the dark-haired man, she reached out with her mind, anger, and wrath.

It was akin to closing one’s eyes and knowingly grabbing an object right in front of them. Where Mordecai saw statues, Funami’s pragmatic mind thought ammunition. Weapons. The ancient relics ultimately did not matter one bit, for the place had fallen into disrepair and the Sith lord himself did not hesitate to use the surroundings to test her.

The sharp rocks of varying weight and size rose, floating in the unseen currents of the Force, held aloft by her will. A dark glower continued to dig into Mordecai as she subtly flicked a finger, mentally commanding the psychokinetic hands to strike.

A gust of makeshift projectiles whooshed past the pink-haired terror, straight at the Sith lord. Funami had turned into a turret, channeling the flood with her mind. A potent weapon, but a stationary one nonetheless. Completely still, concentration directed solely on spamming Mordecai’s barrier with her telekinetic onslaught.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

"Attagirl," he growled appreciatively.

This little test was finally culminating into what Mordecai ultimately wanted it to be: a fight. A clash of two wills and whatever weapons they had at their disposal. There was no better way to see what someone was capable of other than finding out yourself, firsthand. Staying at range was her best bet, and one the little Sithling had definitely taken advantage of so far. Though that was much his fault for playing passive so far, to give her the impression that this was just a usual little test.

Those jagged little rocks sure posed a great threat to his health. That was no fair, not at all.

With a scowl, the Sith Lord quickly rose from his seated position. The Force barrier positioned and held in front of him, something akin to an invisible tower shield. Mordecai held it there firmly, block the torrent of the wave along with whatever smaller chunks that he possibly could, just as his crimson lightsaber snap-hissed to life in his other hand. Mordecai gave it a quick twirl of a flourish as it came before him, twisting and darting in unnatural ways to eviscerate debris flying towards in.

The Sith Lord hopped down from the stone wall. Then he started his slow jog towards the Sithling, blade in hand, as he tirelessly worked at blocking the stone with his Force shield and saber.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

The violet of her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as Mordecai finally made a move. The Sith lord’s scarlet lightsaber shined like a beacon of light and demanded a worthy adversary. Its call would go unheeded, her lightsaber silently tucked beneath the red cape. Lightsaber combat wasn’t the pink-haired Sithling’s forte. In fact, just about every acolyte in the order would effortlessly overpower the girl when it came to physical abilities.

The petite child had her dexterity and nimbleness about her, but it simply wasn’t enough to match raw strength and trained muscles. Funami realized all that, preferring to keep her distance and strike foes from afar. Even now, during training, she would use every ace up her sleeve before resorting to saber-to-saber combat.

A little hand curled into a fist, ceasing her barrage of rocks and rubble. Set on avoiding direct confrontation and seeing the Sith lord’s incoming charge, Funami fell into the Force and commanded the unseen waves to take hold of her body and bring her up. As if caught in a surge, the child suddenly rose off the ground and floated atop Darth Vader’s statue in one motion. A smug grin widened on her lips as she looked down upon Mordecai. His lightsaber would not reach her unless thrown - and the girl thought herself good at catching objects headed her way.

Funami flicked a finger upward; an effortless expression of her legendary hold over psychokinesis. Displaying an alarming degree of skill with telekinesis, a blast of telekinetic power from somewhere under Mordecai would shatter the tiles beneath his feet and continue up, up toward his body, delivering the crushing concussive blast of energy and countless sharp shards of the broken tiles.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

His charge became a comfortable stride, as it had dozens of times before. The clatter and clang of whatever shrapnel of the day it happened to be. Some days it was artillery, or the deafening explosions of hand grenades, but today it was simple stone chunks thrown with an invisible hand. It was almost cathartic in a sense. Relaxing to finally feel adrenaline pump through his veins, for the threat of danger to be very real.

Ironic. He felt most alive when death was so near.

Mordecai glanced past his invisible shield to survey the little girl. The shift in the Force was almost telltale. She was still just an amateur, but the way she tried and adapted made it all the better. The Sith Lord matched her smug grin with his own, preparing his own counter for whatever she had in mind. When the torrent of jagged rocks ceased their endless rain upon him, that was when he knew it was time to change the pace of things. Little Funami rose in the air, well out of any reasonable approach from the ground. A headlong charge would only serve to see him lose the upper hand.

Then he felt the pressure welling beneath him; like a teakettle whistling before it burst. His smug grin found Funami's eyes once again as he crouched deeply into the Force beneath him. Just as the concussive blast erupted beneath his feet, he jumped.

He jumped so high and so fast, that he turned himself into a literal projectile. Sure, the bottom of his feet were probably ruined, but the adrenaline stymied the pain. At least for now. And he was on a direct collision course for the little girl, with his blade readied to cut her in two.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Painfully short of options, Funami had found herself facing a dilemma that needed quick solving, especially in such a short window of time. Erecting a telekinetic shield pretended to be a valid option, but barriers took time to strengthen enough to withstand any considerable damage. Taking that chance was off the table, the girl could not afford hesitation. Dismissing the notion, she was left with three choices - or maybe only two, as being cleaved in half was not an acceptable option either.

Between sliding off the statue in retreat or striking back, the unassuming form of Funami chose the latter, an innocent smile curling the corners of her lips as she cocked her head to the side, watching the Sith lord’s approach.

It made sense. Exploding a blast of psychokinetic energy beneath his feet would not kill Mordecai’s momentum achieved moments earlier, but catapult him into the air and send him soaring right her way.

For all intents and purposes, he had played straight into her hands. Funami's lip curled in a manner that might have been a smile or a snarl. Timing was everything and failure to execute her plan correctly equaled death. Such was the way of the Sith. A risk he had agreed to take the moment she set foot on Korriban.

The girl gathered the Force once more in a single indrawn breath that summoned power from throughout the universe. Just as the fiery gleam of his lightsaber filled her violet eyes, the little acolyte shot both hands out toward the Sith. The slightest whipcrack of that power, negligent as a thought that commanded the Dark to rush through her outstretched hands, sent forth a Force push as solid as any stone wall.

A glimmer of sadism twinkled beneath her violet eyes as her petite, soft hands clenched into fists. Reaching out with her mind and anger once more, the acolyte used to direct her infinite telekinetic might into a grip that sought to seize the Sith lord’s throat and squeeze the air out of his lungs.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

Raw and unrefined power coiled around him as he shot through the air at near terminal velocity. A sort of visceral rage crept through him as he soared through the air, though the guttural warcry that threatened to escape his lips never came. An invisible hand had wrapped its wretched fingers around him the moment he breathed. It tightened firmly, and it took nearly all of his focus to stave off a portion of the pressure - but it wasn't enough.

Mordecai struggled to take a wheezing breath, summoning what reserves he could to keep the girl from crushing his trachea completely. Then came the Force Push, a blasting wave that threatened to put his entire plan in the dirt. A two-pronged attack meant to halt him completely in his tracks and finish the fight as quickly as it had started.

As the Sith Lord fell down to the earth, he straightened himself to land with catlike grace. The hand was still on his throat, but the Force Push had alleviated a margin of the pressure to where he could breathe, albeit barely.

He coughed once, frowning as speckles of blood came with it.

I will make you burn.

The lightsaber came down to his side, as emerald eyes grew golden. It was time to play the ace up his sleeve: the only true Force form that he was good at.

The entirety of his strength focused upon the little stone platform she stood upon. Then it erupted into searing hot flames, snaking upwards towards the little girl that stood atop it. However, that was only the beginning. Liquid flame dripped from the stone she stood atop and downwards onto the floor, igniting whatever it touched, sticking to stone as if it were glue.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Seeing everything connect and play out as anticipated was beyond satisfying and filled her eyes with childish glee. With the immediate threat of going melee delayed, if not outright removed, Funami’s little, harmless hands continued to channel the destructive rush of energy designed to rob her would-be master of breath. Casting a downward gaze upon the Sith lord allowed Funami to witness a rare moment of perceived weakness. The temptation to snap her fingers and end it all was there. Sith ate their wounded ones and tolerated no hesitation. And yet the girl paused, unsure whether to go all out on him or not as she watched the bearded Zambrano with a calculating coldness in her purple-hued eyes.

Was he all right?

Did it actually matter?

Would she get away with it?

Had he died in her crushing grip, it would have proven him undeserving of his title and position and unworthy of being remembered. Such was the Sith way. The weak died so the strong could thrive. Folding her arms across her chest, Funami lifted her chin, violet eyes looking at the downed man in observation. An ambitious little thing, the young girl needed a powerful master and some third-grade Sith lord would not do!

But he moved still, far from death. A small hint of a smile and a nod of approval replied to his angry glower glowing with the consuming flames of hatred. Good - she had expected nothing less from a Zambrano.

The unfeeling, telekinetic hands at her command were about to squeeze further when fiery flames burst out of nowhere, licking Darth Vader’s stone statue and crawling dangerously close to her shoes. Wide-eyed, she stared at the unnatural phenomena, only to realize it to be the Sith lord’s doing. The heat and blinding intensity of the flames prompted the child to loosen her crushing grip. Panicked, she glanced in all directions in search of an escape. Trapped like an animal, Funami had no other choice but to retreat.

Grunting with effort, the Sithling bent her knees slightly and jumped. Focuses solely on reaching safety, her telekinesis let go of Mordecai completely and carried the girl over the pyrokinetic inferno in a short, dignified flight. The moment her shoes tapped against the tiled floor again, little Funami scurried off without looking back, crimson cape fluttering behind. She sought the statues and rubble about, searching for cover. Pressing her back against the cold smoothness of the stone, she drew a deep breath, feeling beads of sweat upon her brow. This had been too close to her liking. Reaching out with her mind's eye, she fell into focus and tried to sense the man to predict his approach.

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​

 

[Mordecai Zambrano]

The intense blaze of the inferno lasted only seconds. Enough to singe hairs, redden flesh, and cause a few coughs from the smoke. Doing something far more destructive in the Emperor's old garden wasn't very wise of him. Lest the flames spread across the entirety of the Citadel to the point where even his affluence in the art would fail to stave off the unyielding, fiery tide.

Mordecai snuffed the flames out with all but the snap of his fingers. The coppery taste lingered in his mouth like a bad aftertaste, or was it really that bad? The Sith Lord licked his lips once and silenced the crimson lightsaber that hung by his side.

"Not bad, little Sith," he called out. "Come now, let me check you for burns and we can clean this mess up."

Mordecai gestured for her to drop down and come closer, satisfied with what he'd seen already. Control of his own emotions was probably his greatest talent out of his entire arsenal. Even more so than swordplay, pyrokinesis, or even riding dragons around wherever he wanted. A raw, extreme rage could be stomped out of existence in the matter of seconds. Mother and father had always told him that restraint was pathetic, though he knew that's what made him human.

And he doubted the little girl before him wanted to stretch this fight longer than this. They'd ruin each other at this point.

[member="Funami Teriyaki"]

 

[Funami Teriyaki]

Trust was a rare commodity among the Sith and she had none to spare. The word of a Sith was best taken with a grain of salt, and even as the fiery inferno Mordecai had created died down, leaving burn marks and scorched tiles, the girl remained motionless, silent, hidden from sight and very unwilling to show herself. Cowardice, some would call it. Funami thought of her decision as a healthy self-preservation instinct. The thin layer of her cape had trapped some of the heat, making the child uncomfortably hot, yet she wouldn’t take it off for all the credits in the universe. Unlike the lightsaber-resistant cloth draped around her shoulders, the rest of her apparel boasted no advantages.

Hungrily gasping the cool air and trying to remain silent like a mouse, the child weighed her options. Obviously she stood no chance against the Sith lord. She disliked the idea of taking his offer for what it claimed to be, and thus proceeded with caution. A hastily erected barrier of telekinetic energy became her shield.

A spot of pink appeared among the statues as Funami dared to poke her head out. Violet gaze warily scrutinized Mordecai for any sign of hostility. A sigh of relief left her lips as she spied none, prompting the entire Funami to stop hiding and come out into the open. Rather than approach the Sith, the child assumed an annoyed frown and dusted off. But most importantly, she fixed her hair. The pink crown needed to look perfectly groomed at all times, lending her much of the cutesy appearance she valued so.

Removing the scarlet cape from her shoulders, Funami held it out in front of her while inspecting it for damage. No scorched marks or black spots to report. Unlike her shoes. Wiggling her toes gave away the soles of her footwear had most definitely felt the heat more than any other part of her apparel, having her know she’d need to buy new ones. Pursing her lips, the girl casually hung the cape over a shoulder and slowly padded over to Mordecai.

“I’m fine!” She cooed, eyes narrowing and lips curling upward as she scrutinized the Sith up close. “How is the throat, my lord?”

[member="Mordecai Zambrano"]​