The Calm Before the Storm [Training]

[Nyxie]

The days passed had been long and arduous. They had seen Ashelotte through many a fight, and many of that many were fights she did not choose; Aeten II. Coruscant. Rodia. Despite this, she held true to her duties and her honor. The girl was ageless, immortal some even whispered in daring rumors, but she was not without limits. Her body had been pushed to its limits and she required relaxation. For Ashe, that began as some "down time" with her wife, but even that, however invigorating it was, drained her as well. Her focus wasn't clear and her wits dulled. The foxtress decided to do something she'd never given a second thought before - meditation. There was no rest for the weary, however, and with the dawn of a new kind of fight on the approach, she would soon be yet again struggling to stay afloat in a sea of troubles.
A visit to the local cafe was in order. A decent blend and some good old relaxation under a mild sky would do her an infinite justice. Lifting the hot thermal cup to her lips carefully as she left the waiting line, she began to make her way back outside.

[member="Krius Syonis"], [member="Lord Tristan"]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

The galaxy really was full of pathetic parasites, and it enraged Krius no end.

From Bastion, to his home planet of Hapes and even Coruscant and Utapau, the amount of those beings who felt they could take what they wanted from the galaxy enraged him with the use of nothing but overt power, deception and big, brash technology.

There was so much potential out there from those he had crossed paths with, and if he could just make a few ripples across the galaxy to champion those Gods and Goddesses alike, he could start to see a difference.

But not yet, he wasn't ready.

Now was time to simply...watch and think. But first - one of those hot cafs would do the trick. He wasn't totally devoid of what beings out there could create, and a nice hot drink was one of them.

Coming across the first café he found, Krius wasn't focusing enough to notice the girl coming towards the door from the inside with her drink. He reached and pulled the door outwards and his senses immediately pricked his awareness.

"Woah, watch it...!"


[member="Ashe the Reaper"] [member="Lord Tristan"]

 

[Edward Vyperion]

Everyone in the galaxy are maggots feasting upon the flesh of war itself... Everywhere from Tristan Demuth's unknown homeworld to the depths of the Eye of Flames Nebula is corrupted with sin... While Tristan now lives, he is also technically dead in the sense that he has a huge stab wound where his heart is.
Tristan felt the need to attempt to calm down from his seething rage at not having his original lifespan with a drink of some sort, but he bumped into the man and girl in the process. The undead "youth" silently stared at the two with his cold, piercing eyes...

 

[Nyxie]

Ashelotte was well on her way to the door, cup to lips still, blocking her line of sight, when she heard the ever so close and sudden voice sound off in proximity. Almost immediately, the cup slipped from her grasp in a way fangs could not catch. As if all in a mirage of movement, hands swiftly and gracefully draped forth and slender, clawed fingers wrapped around its base, the smallest gout of fluid springing up and falling back down in place. Her golden, animal eyes now fixed on her coffee slowly broke their gaze to scroll up and meet his own; there stood [member="Krius Syonis"], total stranger who nigh ruined her morning, but averted disaster... and wasn't half-bad looking either.
That's when it happened....
"'Watch it?!' Hey, you're the one wh-" her words were interrupted by the slam of a foreign body against her own.
Just like that, the cup relieved itself from her grip and the force of impact threw fluid all over her silken and cotton clothes... very hot fluid. It sizzled at first on her skin and steamed off - not of heat, but more particularly, of the fire within her. She was a pyromancer, after all, and the Ruferalahuin were renowned for their natural fire manipulation, among other subtle skills. Had she been a being free of the higher machinations of the Force, she'd been all but burned right then, head to toe.
A deathly stare rose to [member="Lord Tristan"]'s face. The slits of her pupils grew narrow and long as her impotent anger threw them into a tunnel vision upon him. Slowly her eyebrow twitched off as though it had been tased. A picture was worth a thousand words; her look, a million. All the cusses in the galaxy couldn't describe just how upset the seemingly-young vixen was at that moment. Finally, a soft sigh escaped her lips.
"Mother always said not to cry over spilled milk.... I guess she left out the part where it's boiling at a hundred and fifty degrees, huh." she suavely jested.
Undeath was a familiar scent.

 

[Connor Harrison]

He didn't have time for this, at least not in a doorway regardless of how attractive this young Ruferalahuín was. As for the young, icy looking figure before them, he too was part of a stale mate, but it was all just stares and daggers.

"Excuse me, sorry, but I don't have time for this gawping."

He edged past the two, looking over the burnt stain on the girls skin and noting her resistance. A small smile passed his lips. Passing the scrawny looking youth, Krius could all but offer a shrug.

"I think you better buy the lady another drink my friend."

Turning his body away, he moved to the counter to make an order for one of his favourite - Blue Milk. Cooling and refreshing and good for the brain.


[member="Ashe the Reaper"] [member="Lord Tristan"]

 

[Edward Vyperion]

"Got no credits..." The "young" undead said in his usual wispy tone... then he noticed the girl was a Ruferalahuín and said in the very same tone, somehow piecing together the resistance with her race and powers... "Ice against fire... this would be an interesting confrontation if we really had to fight."

 

[Nyxie]

You sound like you're begging for it.... Fine, after I sit down and enjoy another fresh cup, Ashe said, invading the acolyte's still-impressionable mind. Someone missed the science memo.
The foxtress smiled brightly and turned about face, three tails brushing aloft in her pirouette.
Hers was one of the rarest species yet, her race even more still. The Oólb Rudle Tribe - the fire benders and pyromancers of the Ruferalahuín - were among three known and distinguished tribes, but were still one of the most secretive and unknown quantities in the galaxy wide. One common trait consistent across all sub-races was that one could not immediately tell the age of a 'Rufie' by their body but by how many tails they possessed. Simply put, their bodies stopped aging at around the peak of physical maturity, twenty one in human years. Only around their sixtieth year did the ninth and final tail set in place fully. But Ashe - she was different. Her body was not the one she was born to, and thus her biological age was far behind her years.
"Don't worry about it, I'll just get another one. It's fine," replied Ashe to [member="Krius Syonis"]. Money was something she had plenty enough to spare on such simple things.
She wound up engaging the man in further conversation as the two pressed on to the counter to order their beverages.
"So what brings a person like yourself to a wonderful little hole in the wall like this?"

[member="Lord Tristan"]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

As Krius waited, he felt the girls presence behind him and she was obviously focusing on him too because it was almost like she was wrapping her very own awareness around his mind. As for the ghostly figure at the door, he was still there and he too had a presence about him, but if felt...un-natural. Those sorts were the most dangerous, but nothing he hadn't seen before.

And on cue as his drink came by a small Twi'lek behind the counter, she was there beside him and talking. Krius turned to face her.

"What am I doing here? Well, I'm trying to find creatures like you who could become something greater in the galaxy then they could imagine."

His dark eyes met hers, and then scanned over to the boy behind them.

"And I'm also seeing what sort of beings the galaxy has created through it's own obsession to become something bigger than it can be."

Eyes flicked back to her.

"He's going to try and make you suffer, you know."


[member="Ashe the Reaper"] [member="Lord Tristan"]

 

[Nyxie]

"Another cup of the usual, please, extra creamy - nah, I doubt he'll he bothering us any more. He knows. So... I'm a 'creature', is it?" Ashe joked and ended with her tongue sticking out at him.
She grabbed the cup and turned around leaning back against the counter while she waited for [member="Krius Syonis"] to receive his.
"I won't lie, that would be fairly accurate. Anyways, what is it you hope to find? Every man has an agenda. Surely you have an end goal as well."
Her eyes rolled out towards the sunny outdoors as she spoke the last line, and she raised her fresh cup to her lips to taste the mix.
"Perfect...."

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Thank you."

Finally - Blue Milk. Perfectly refreshing for a day like this. He took the cup from the counter and placed three credits down. He motioned to the door with his hand, letting the girl go forward so he could get a better look at her figure. She certainly held herself well.

"My agenda? My agenda is simple - to enable those in our position to be something more than what society dictates for them. Why should any one person or Lord dictate how a birth right should be used or controlled? I've lived too long in darkness and fear. Not anymore."

Pushing outside into the bright, cool air, he took a good mouthful of his cold drink and smacked his lips, looking at her.

"I'm simply seeing what sort of potential is out there in the galaxy while I make my own way to ensure people don't take us for granted anymore."

He slowly walked around her.

"So what's your story?"


[member="Ashe the Reaper"]

 

[Nyxie]

"My story," asked Ashe rhetorically, "Well, my story is long, and yet simple, I guess."
The foxtress made her way to the door, taking due note of the Force sense of his eyes upon her.
"I used to live on Csilla. Even had a thing for some Chiss. Well, long story short, he got older... only I did not. I left without a word and moved to Atrisia. There, I became a po-err... citizen. War with the Fringe Confederacy struck. I found myself on the wrong end of the wrong guns, and to my surprise, the Fringe 'rescued' me... if you can call it that. That's how I met my fiance. We were supposed to wed long ago but various difficulties have gotten in the way, including the ring. I haven't even been able to propose but I'd like to. Oh - How silly of me. It's probably occurred to you by now, but I'm not fifteen. I'm not eighteen. I'm not even twenty. I'm technically fifty-seven and this was not how I was born - though it is actually in it's forties if you can believe that. My species age incredibly slow, feed off of the Force and I'm also actually an energy vampire.... Well, thanks to all those Sith Alchemy serums. Honestly, it suits me well, and no one seems to care as long as I don't feed on them. I save that special 'privilege' for the forces of the Sith."
Ashe grinned and let out a timid laugh, looking back to [member="Krius Syonis"]. She found a comfortable place to sit outside and waited for further cue. Though Ashellote was not a Sith and did not agree with the vast majority of them, she did find several of their deeper arts useful; especially the transferring of one's own life essence and the ability to bend life with alchemical concoctions. Despite all that, her aura wasn't distinctly dark.
"Guess that's probably not what you expected, was it?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius was interested in the creature's history, it helped paint a picture of her which was always nice to have for those who were pricking his intrigue. She sat down, but Krius decided to stand, resting his foot on the seat and leaning on his knee.

"Well, my congratulations for the wedding. He, she or it, is a lucky being."

He sipped his drink, looking out at the city around them.

"I wouldn't waste your time with the Sith and all that magic they want you to weave. It will only lead you to being killed once your talent dries up, or someone else who is stronger comes along."

Krius spoke very casually, very matter of fact.

"You'd be stronger on your own. Focus on your life more - you could have anything you wanted really."

He took another sip of his drink.

"And you could finally have that wedding and have a secure future."


[member="Ashe the Reaper"]

 

[Nyxie]

And you could finally have that wedding and have a secure future.
The words set deeply in Ashelotte's mind. A future. For so long, she'd simply been moving along, aimless and astray. That's how life had always been, and that's how things especially were since losing Atrisia and becoming an exile. Most people never even knew it, never would, but Ashelotte never truly let go of the feeling of homesickness. She'd finally found something to replace the void, something real and tangible and someone she truly loved; a whole family of her own. Were they not part of this secure future? They deserved her safety. Then, reality took over again.
The vixen grew a cold, void expression.
"I didn't choose to be this way. She was taken from me... that bastard, Zambrano.... I felt helpless, hurt, so I got drunk and I got killed. I was murdered by a Sith... and brought back by a Sith. That's why I am what I am. Ironic, isn't it...? One to steal my heart. One to rack my mind. One to take my life and one to claim my soul," apathetically she stated. Huffing and shaking her head slightly, her tone quickly grew back into something a bit more colorful and upset-like. "Anyways, it's not important. I'm here, alive and well, with the ones I love and no one left to change that. The last person to come between me and my fiance ran home with third degree burns the first time and missing parts the next. I hear she is a Sith Lord now.... Hmph, pathetic."
As she spoke the last lines, she'd been toiling her palm around in front of her subconsciously, inadvertently conjuring a ball of liquid-like blue flame that swallowed her hand in a surreal opaque glow. As she angrily uttered the last sentence, it condensed like a star and continued to form and suck in more material until the bladed crushgaunt fingers of her hand closed into a fist around it and created a raging pillar of fire that rose high into the sky, the heat affecting all but the semi-fire-retardant hairs of the Ruferalahuín pyro.
Looking back on it, all of it really was ironic. Ashe fell for a Sith Lady who was once the fool of an emperor's plaything and ally of her enemy. She had a Sithspawn child, Saera Aynea Savan. She discovered Sith Lady Circe Savan was stolen by former Sith Emperor Kaine Zambrano and was killed by yet another Sith, Isley Verd, only to be snatched from the jaws of death by those of a third and former ally of hers, Dark Lord Darc Talus, unbeknownst to her. Her salvation from death was at the cost of her life, the strange limbo of the undead, and even still... it was a Sith technique that had given her the 'live and well body she currently inhabited today, exactly like her original save now a Ruksenmih tribal due to selective genetic engineering and Sith Magic. Now she fought by the same one she died to, and neither even knew it. It was all so beautifully twisted; truly, the Sith were a plague, unable to be loved but unworthy of being hated, indifferent in all they'd do throughout the galaxy. It almost proved that Light and Dark were as subjective as colors in a spectrum.
Ashelotte finally rose herself to a stand, unable to sit still any longer in contemplation.
"C'mon, I'm sure you've had enough of my boring life story, why don't we go somewhere if you're not busy?"

[member="Krius Syonis"]​

[member="Krius Syonis"]​

 

[Connor Harrison]

Krius couldn't help feel sorry for the creature; but he wasn't surprised. She seemed to have worn her heart on her sleeve and it had been abused, broken and destroyed by the Sith. Another example of them taking someone with such a gift and breaking them for their own twisted game.

And then the blue fire came - he wanted to say something but it was obvioust it didn't bother her as he words came out stronger, and the flame spat violently.

Taking his foot from the bench, he stood back just in time as the fire erupted upwards in a small explosion. He twisted his head, brining his arm up to cover his face from the flash and dropped his drink in the process.

Silence...

Krius blinked and turned back to the girl, but she was fine, as if nothing had happened. Remarkable.

"You're sitting on an awful lot of rage there. You should use it to more devastating effect, to send a message to the Sith and those beneath you who would dare to try destroy your future again."

He watched her stand and nodded to her, forgetting his drink on the floor and everything else for the time being.

"Please, let's go. Anywhere in mind?

Placing his hand on her soft back, he guided her along with him.

"And your life is certainly NOT boring."



[member="Ashe the Reaper"]