The More Things Change

[Ilias Nytrau]

Yavin IV
Jedi Praxeum - Day One

Though Voss was lovely, and her needs were largely met without setting foot offworld, she had caught a mild strain of the travel bug with the very first world that Coci had taken her to. She was not well-travelled, the worlds of the Tapani sector being her only reference in memory, aside from the strange and endless realm of the Netherworld of the Force, in which she had spent some eight hundred years, as she had discovered in the early days of her 'new life'.

Also in her discoveries was the knowledge of an overarching 'academy network' and its sites, the primary of these being hosted by the Mandalorians at the fourth moon of the gas giant Yavin. It was this place that she decided to visit on the first day she spent on Yavin IV, acquainting herself with the facilites and its regular and intermittent instructors. Though each site in the network was said to be unique, this was only to an extent; after a day of exploring, talking to students and instructors, sitting in on a class or two, and keeping up with her own scant training, she slept in spare quarters.

-----------------------------------------​

​

Port Shardrock - Day Two

After morning meal and some exercises, Emiery ventured out to where the majority of the non-Jedi populace was to be found: Port Shardrock. Though far from the splendor of the culture she grew up in, the port still had it in itself to interest her. It was different, much rougher around the edges, but still civil. Much more than she could say for the Nether, for there was sense to this place, order permeating the bustle. There were controls in place here, even if she couldn't spot them, herself. Mandalorians were an utterly unfamiliar concept to her, as were the Dathomiri witches, but her mind was open and willing.

So she explored every nook and cranny she could access, asking questions where she could when she needed, and stopping to eat some of the local fare when hunger took her attention. Everything she ate since the beginning of this second chance at life tasted vibrant, as if all she had eaten was dust for her entire life, and the food she consumed in the port was no exception. It wasn't fancy, but it filled her the same. The day continued and wound on with her self-directed tour, and as the evening approached she began to consider returning to the praxeum... but an alley she hadn't seen at any other point in the day caught her attention as she began to head out of town.

"Hm..."

She stared down the alley, indecision taking her focus with curiosity nibbling at her thoughts. What was one alleyway? It didn't seem like much, surely she could return to the praxeum without regret, but... there was this feeling in the Force, and it implored her to explore this narrow representation of a street. Far be it that she ignore the Force (she was a Jedi... in training... for.. well... for Force sakes!), so she entered the alleyway, following it to the end. At the end she found a turn to the right. At the end of alley after the turn was a staircase, off to the left.

"...interesting..."

At first the question of whether she should go down those stairs entered her mind along with mild trepidation, but again, the Force won out as she considered that it had led her here, so down she went, the world around her becoming a mote darker and darker with each step, leading her to another alley underground, and the faint sounds of... well, she wasn't sure. Her feet carried her towards the sounds, and they became louder with each step, taking on the air of a brawl, with spectators hooting and hollering. She found the door, and in an effort to make more out, she pressed an ear to it.

There she remained, until a thud against the door seemed to shove her away from it. She should have backed away more than she did, because in the next instant, the door cracked wide open, and a man came flying backwards out of hit, and she nearly became the cushion breaking his backwards flight, instead stumbling away and falling ungracefully on her arse with a yelp, her eyes wide on the man that had plowed into the wall and completely ignorant of the one that had put him there.

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Dustman’s Cove[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10.6667px]Yavin IV[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Port Shardrock had anything a man could hope for. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A dozen bars; all walking distance from one another. One cantina that made a spicy (and delicious) bantha burger with royal dressing… and an underground circuit for fistfights - obviously there was more to the Port than that, but for all intents and purposes those were the three things that made Samael feel right at home. He had returned to Yavin about a week or two ago, time moved fast with his brother and him plotting out the plans Clan Rekali had on the Coil; still a few weeks left before he himself was gonna ship out though.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Plenty of time to get accustomed to life on the surface. Honestly, it was like Ember had said, these people recognized him immediately. Not because of his reputation or anything… but shave off the beard and Sam was barely distinguisable from his older brother. News travels fast it tight-knitted communities and the Clan was [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]curious[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] about him, to say the least.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]His role within the clan’s hierarchy wasn’t determined yet - which was alright with him. He didn’t need a fancy title to be able to do some good work. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]So back to that underground fighting circuit… the man who just crashed through the door, accidently knocked [member="Emiery Athelon"] on her ass, and was currently groaning while trying to get himself up… you guessed it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Samael Rekali.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Pushing himself off the wall, he managed to retain a sense of footing -- been a while since he had been in a proper fight. His eye caught the girl currently on her ass, brow furrowed in confusion before realization dawned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Oh… uh.” the old Mandalorian scratched his beard, casting a few quick glances off into the gloomy interior of the bar. They were still waiting on him; not a lot of time to make this nice. He offered a hand, before noticing it was fairly… bloody, so he wiped it off his shirt- [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]making it bloody,[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] before reoffering it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“My apologies, miss. Might not be the neighborhood for you though. You should try the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]Broken Beskad [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]a few streets from here, they got some good drinks and it ain’t too rowdy there.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Giving her a nod, he would take a step back into the underground bar.[/SIZE]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

A bloodied hand might have been off-putting before her death, but over eight centuries in the Nether scrubbed the sensitivities and entitlement right out of the Pelagian clone; she had almost grasped his hand before it was wiped, but he took it away for the wiping before she had the chance. Presented to her again, she grasped the older man's hand and was hauled to her feet, as he told her off in kinder words than could be expected in this neighbourhood. Her mouth opened, a rebuttal on her tongue, but closed up when he tipped his head at her and was swallowed up into the brawling ring, once again.

Only a moment was she dumbfounded, before her thoughts started marching onward after being knocked right out of her. There was no way she would have been urged here, to this specific door, to be brushed off. Her nose wrinkled in some mild offense, and she tailed right after him into the bar, a woman on a mission... for what, she didn't know, but there it was, and she garnered a few looks of varied levels and types of interest when the door shut behind her.

"Y'ere to fight, lass?" a big one with missing teeth said, with a derisive laugh, "or are ye 'ere to f-"

She watched after [member="Samael Rekali"], the man coughed and pardoned himself when her chin lifted; her eyes tracked the old Mandalorian that had knocked her on her rear without intending to.

"Lass..." and the hand was on her shoulder. Her head turned, slow-like, and she looked the guy right in the eye, and said: "I'm here to watch."

If it was just the firmness of her voice, then this man had a mother that scolded very well, but regardless of the why, he backed off as the fight started up again and the bar became filled with the thunder of hoots, hollers, jeers, taunting, a cacophony of the likes she had never heard before in life. There had been duels, yes, but those affairs had been tamer, more civilized and steeped in tradition and sometimes, chivalry, but the collective heart beat wilder here. There was a liveliness in this that her experience thus far couldn't compare to. She watched the old Mandalorian, finding herself siding with him in his fight, the only separate thought being that of her purpose in being here at all. This must be where patience comes in - and was that concern? Surely not! Every soul in this room was a stranger; yet... her brow furrowed in focus.

She waited for a finish, sucking in her lower lip; she waited for a potential shoe to drop, toes curling inside her boots.

Why am I here?

 

[Arage Bao]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Few things could be compared to the heat of the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]moment[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Two pairs of fists, bare chested, blood flowing freely and all the time in the world to beat all the problems out. It was animalistic. Simple. There wasn’t anything complicated about the dance, you didn’t need a degree to get it, didn’t need to learn it to understand the language, it just [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]was[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] and currently Samael was having the time of his life. It was still a few days before he was shipping himself out to the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]Hard Roil[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]- just enough time to finish up here and get some drinks. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]He ducked under one of the fists offered, his knees cracked under the sudden crouching tension, but Sam didn’t pay it much heed; those old things held it out for a while, they wouldn’t let him down right now. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Sam’s heels were digged into the ground which gave him the necessary purchase to heavily connect his fist in the guy’s side. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]Crunch.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Now that didn’t sound too good, didn’t [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]look[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] too good either, big bad man fell down and didn’t get up. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]And the crowd cheered.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]He spit some blood, grinning before starting to move from the circle, through the crowd towards the barkeep. Time for that fething drink.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Behind him the mass of muscle, fat, pain and fury was starting to get up again. Sam didn’t hear any of it because of the cheers though.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Emiery Athelon"][/SIZE]

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

Her eyes followed him from the dirt to the bar, part-mildly fascinated at his taking down a man a good deal larger than himself, and part-still flustered at being brushed off. She watched him go, remaining rooted in place for another moment longer before she wove through the gathered to introduce herself and... or confront him. She could feel a number of hands and other parts graze her form as she passed through the crowd; a few deterrent, snapping slaps were applied to hands that tried to get a piece before she reached her destination.

"Hello, again."

Maybe it was too loud, what with all the cheering? She tapped him on the shoulder, and spoke a little louder.

"I didn't catch your name," let's start with humour, shall we? "so, Mister As-Yet Nameless, do you always judge a book by its cover?"

Did they still have books in this age, or was absolutely everything digitized? No matter, she could scratch her head about that one, later. The turn-of-phrase might still be in use, or she might be dating herself. A lot.

"Also," she looked him over, "good fight? You... seemed to know what you were doing."

She meant that, as much as she didn't know squat about fighting. Could be that she was unwittingly giving off the impression of more wit than wise.

[member="Samael Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Emiery Athelon"]

Sam took his time to reply.

It wasn't meant as an insult or even to test her patience, but after a fight like that... a man needed a little bit of down-time. Said time came by the way of a glass filled with a dark red liquid, he made it swirl for a moment before drinking it down. Burning sensation, but nothing that he wasn't used to - when you were out there in the cold void of outer space, all alone and wondering if you were gonna get out alive? You weren't all that discriminate about your alcoholic beverages. There was this one cooling agent used by the Givin that... well that was a story for another time.

"The cover is the first thing I see, lass." the Rekali clansman replied after setting his glass down. He shifted his body a fraction, just enough to face her and see what he was dealing with.

"Gotta read the pages for a more accurate review."

Was he flirting with her? The girl was probably half his age, what was wrong with him? Sam coughed, before gesturing to the barkeep. Another one.

The remark about his fighting style was ignored. It had been an alright fight, nothing to brag about; sure he knocked the idiot on his ass, but back in the day... back when the Crusades were in full-swing and the Mandalorians were ramming the Sith full throttle? Those were the days.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Samael Rekali"]

She paused her response for a beat or two. Was he flirting? Well, he looked twice the age she appeared, but this was far, far, far from the place or time where appearances mattered. How did one go about explaining that, anyway? 'Hi, I'm technically over ten times older than you and I used to be dead'? How should she reply in this situation? It had to be simpler than navigating court. She nipped at her lower lip repetitively, catching and releasing, catching and releasing over those scant few moments.

"You can read mine if I can read yours...?" she gave, after those moments.

She might be out of practice. Very out of practice. She glanced at the new glass that came for him, then resettled her gaze on his face. Right, she didn't know about that. A slight unease passed through her belly. Was that nerves? Was that even necessary? Slowly, one of her hands rose, and slipped over her mouth, though there wasn't much she could do about the rouge that crept into her cheeks, and it was a sure thing that, within, she was cursing the involuntary responses of her body.

Living was strange after more than eight-hundred years!

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Emiery Athelon"]

Sam blinked at that, before a hearty chuckle rumbled forth from him.

"Good delivery, intonation perfect..." he glanced at her with an amused expression. "Timing could have some work."

He shrugged.

"I give it an eight for a review score."

And yet again the Mandalorian gestured towards the barkeep. This time to signify that he should pour something for the lady next to him, but he wouldn't presume to know what such a fancy lass would want to drink, so he gave her the chance to order something specific. In that time Sam took another sip from his drink, this time savoring the burn more instead of drinking it all down immediately. He glanced back to the fighting field he had just left - the burly Mando seemed to have gotten up by now, he was shaking his head in confusion.

A couple of his friends were around him and they were shouting.

His brow furrowed in thought. This could spell some trouble, but he wouldn't act until necessary; no sense in causing problems when things were still in the preliminary period.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Samael Rekali"]

Her eyebrows crept up when he laughed; she stared at him in some incredulity when he gave his critique, and laughed in spite of herself at the summary. It wasn't at all what she expected - really what was she expecting? - and that was alright, because he'd mad She had little else to do but follow his movements, so when he gestured to the barkeep again, indicating her, she blinked. The barkeep looked at her with a bit of expectation, and the thought occurred to her that she hadn't imbibed in at least as long a time as she had last flirted. Long enough, certainly, that she had a hard time remembering the names of anything she used to enjoy. Her lips gathered to one side of her mouth, and she slipped a furtive glance to the man beside her and his drink.

"I'll have what he's having," she said, throwing caution to the wind, "please."

Already, her attention was being drawn away, following the glance of her Mandalorian... whatever he was to her, back to the ring. Saw everything, heard everything that he was seeing and hearing. Including the big guy he'd put down, getting up again, and the ruckus that accompanied it; her eyes widened a small fraction, and she turned back to the bar to find her drink waiting, thanks on her tongue, but the barkeep was already attending to another. A small smile with a short shake of her head, and her fingers were around the glass. She eyed the Rekali, the man who as-yet had no name, before taking a single sip.

"That doesn't look good," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "do you think he might want to rearrange your face?"

Where had she heard that phrase? Oh, yes. She remembered. Some pompous duel that had gotten a little out of hand. It was strange what she remembered. She looked to her glass, lifted it, and took a sip, letting the liquid pass over her tongue, at which point she sealed her mouth shut tight. She glanced again at the man beside her, eyes widening again, and swallowed. A prompt wheeze, and a few moments of considerable coughing followed, a hand going to her mouth a second time.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Emiery Athelon"]

"Hmm?" Sam hummed a question, while keep studying the scene next to them. Port Shardrock was under the protection of the Rekalis, true, it had been the spaceport of the Clan for over a decade now, but to trust upon reputation when bruised egos were in play? That was a tough one, probably not a smart idea to test it out either. See, he could handle a rowdy bar-fight, but could the lass next to him? She claimed he was wrong about her in not so many words, but Sam doubted she would fare well if this turned really ugly.

Mandalorians weren't the most tender of combatants. Never had been, but once the drinks were passed along and the blood ran hot... could never know what way it would go. They were men, living, breathing, made out of flesh, bones and blood. It wasn't their fault, was just the way of life.

"Might be, won't be sure until he tries." a soft chuckle followed. "Might be a good idea to avoid that entirely though."

He drank up his glass, nodded to the bartender and threw a credit chit on the counter. Enough to pay for the lady's drink, his own and a sizeable tip to boot, never be stingy with your tips around here. First lesson of Shardrock, as far as he was concerned.

"Wanna get outta here?" Sam asked the lady, while keeping an eye on the problem case. If it came to fighting he'd be ready to end it quickly. Before it could escalate entirely.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Samael Rekali"]

She'd taken another sip, larger with less wheezing this time. Imbibing such liquids was going to take practice, and whether it was a worthy or useful pursuit would remain to be seen. Other sips followed, on the premise that it would be rude to not at least try to finish it, as much as she could manage up until he asked if she'd like to blow this joint. The glass wasn't empty, but it was a valiant first try - the centuries in the Nether had done squat to the sensibilities of her tongue. She set the glass on the bartop, and nodded her assent with one tip of head.

"As charming as this place is," she said, her eyes skirting to the potential trouble that was brewing, "let us do just that."

She pushed away from the bar, not enough to put any sort of distance between herself and him, with care taken not to bash her body upon any of the others nearby. She smoothed her vetements, and waited for him, letting him lead the way, whatever path that might take. This was, after all, his territory far more than hers.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Emiery Athelon"]

Let us do just that.

This girl was definitely the fancy sort.

Million credit vocabulary and manners that reminded him of the Alderaanian nobility. What was a woman like that doing in a dingy bar like this? Lost? Didn’t seem to be the issue at hand, she wasn’t exactly put off by the display.

Sam was pretty sure that if the Queen of Alderaan had wandered into this place she would have fainted from all the blood.

“Right ya are.” He mumbled, before giving one last nod to the bartender and dislodging himself from the counter. A hum started up during his walk and so began the weaving through the crowd. It was a subtle effect, but every step he took was the right step without so much of a break or hesitation.

A body stumbling backwards was avoided in the nick of time. Em pulled in and away from Rough Nosin’ John who had been punched in the face again by an unruly crowd. Then they wandered again. For a singular moment that bar floor was like the hyperlanes he loved to traverse. In his wake there was just enough empty space for Em to keep following him.

And just like that the dance was over.

With Emiery out of the bar, he shut the door and leaned against it hard.

Somewhere in the revery Sam had managed to dodge the revery of the angry knocked-out man.

“Well, that was fun.”

Instinctive Astrogation. Ya didn’t need to be a Force Master to be a Master of it.

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Samael Rekali"]

She slipped hands into the pockets of her modest longcoat once they were well out of the bar, and stood in front of his slanted self, finding the whole experience the worst from one perspective, and at the same time safe from another viewpoint. Wondering still what she was doing here at all, but knowing better than to question it. She might as well have a go of gleaning what she could from a man she shared a drink with.

"Well, now that we've had fun together, I must know your name," she insisted, knowing that at one time she would have pressed the matter much sooner, it being quite simply the way things were done, "or I'll have to resort to finding you a name of my choosing."

Mild bemusement played across her face. Maybe there had been an imprint, or she was bound to be the same as the woman from whom she was made, to a degree, no matter what occurred - whatever the case, this line of thinking was an acceptable thread of discourse to the woman that later called herself Armistra Bane.

"And I can't promise you would like it."

It really couldn't be all that bad of a thing, but somehow unhealthy.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Emiery Athelon"]

"Hrrm, is that right?" Sam responded with amusement. Violetish eyes wandered across their surroundings - Port Shardrock was a safe place, most of the times, few people really wanted to make trouble while there was a chance the literal Witch-King of Yavin might come around to pose judgement, but that didn’t mean shet always went down neatly and cleanly.

"Samael Rekali, then." Cutting through most of the foreplay and joking around like he often did.

"Call me Sam though."

Few people called him Samael these days. It was either Rekali for those who weren’t close enough to him to use his first name or Sam, for those that were and after that little dance show in the bar?

She could call him Sam.

"So what’s your destination, miss…?"

 

[Ilias Nytrau]

[member="Samael Rekali"]

Rekali, hm?

She knew what that name meant on this moon, but was far from daunted by it, the vestiges of her earlier life as a girl on Pelagon still touching her in some way, through the centuries, through the ravages of the Nether. She sported an affable smile, and tucked his name away for remembering.

"Sam it is, then," she gave, with a short tip of her head; eyes rose, and she responded in kind on the tail of his question, "Emiery Athelon," and most would have called her Emiery, as it was proper, but Emie still became the nickname in relaxed settings, "and you may call me Emie, or..." she mused on it a moment, nipping her lower lip, "...Em, if you like." She was a long way from the Tapani court, and her time, after all. "I've no destination in mind; I came to the moon to see the academy, and once I was satisfied that I'd seen enough, my curiosity got the better of me, and here we are."

Again, a moment's thought.

"To be honest, though curiosity brought me to the port, I was led to that bar door," she said, looking Sam full in the face, "and I'm not quite sure why."

Her eyebrows crept a tad upward.

"No complaints, of course."