Trails of Broken Dreams (Circes Litai)

[Muad Dib]

Muad slowly shook his head as she spoke. This is a near innocent ... I'm used to training sith who know what they were in for ... With his moment of introspection over he shrugged while turning to return to the body of the sith on the roof. Squatting he began to rifle through his pockets. Finding a few credits, a small holdout blaster, a few jewels, a vibroblade, and an id chip he stood and turned back to the young woman.

"Your training will bee hard. I will push you to your limits, then break you. But every time you reach the end of your endurance you will grow stronger. I will mold and shape you. There will be sweat and tears and blood. You will come to hate me. You will become familiar with pain. But know that as long as you do your best and heed my instructions you will live and you will become stronger for it. You are under my protection until I deem you worthy of knighthood. But that road is a long and rocky path where many have fallen astray and surrendered, given up. This is your last chance to walk away. Are you sure you are prepared?"

The glowing blue eyes pierced her as he awaited her response as sirens sounded in the distance growing closer.

[member="Circes Litai"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Muad Dib"]

Circes gulped at the implication of what Muab was saying. But, somewhere, she had known that training wasn't going to be easy. Plus, a small drive to prove something had taken root, so, squaring her shoulders, the woman jutted her chin out in defiance. "I'm probably not prepared, but I'm willing to make myself better. That should be enough."

She looked over her shoulder at the sound of sirens, adding, "So, Master, I'm correct in assuming you have a hideout?"

 

[Muad Dib]

He arched an eyebrow.

"Prepared, no you are not. But willing ... Yes, that is enough"

Turning to look down the alleyway where the sirens were now echoing he merely grinned.

"A hideout? Not exactly."

Looking down the rooftop he chuckled before swinging over the edge and grabbing the drainpipe. Then he slid down dropping from sight. Twelve floors down he clamped his boots tight as well as his hands he slowed his descent and dropped three feet to the catwalk of a lower level building.

Walking down thee steps he hit the ground with a splash in a puddle and turned toward the mouth of the alley where he leaned against the wall and waited for his apprentice to make her descent.

[member="Circes Litai"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Muad Dib"]

Circes rushed over in time to see Muab slide out of sight on a drain pipe. She noted the positioning of his hands and legs, and slowly climbed over the ledge. She then reached for the drain pipe, holding on as tight as she could without going a snail's pace. It still took her longer than her Master, especially since she had her eyes closed for most of the time.

Her landing was no better. As soon as she sensed the catwalk coming, Circes kept stopping so that she wouldn't hit it too hard. She staggered off, hoping her Master hadn't seen her descent...But considering he was right at the mouth of the alley, her hopes weren't very high.

Still, she tried to play it off. Walking up to him as if she hadn't just done the worst slide down a drain pipe, she asked, "Please, don't tell me you live in an alleyway?"

 

[Muad Dib]

He grinned as he slowly clapped.

"Impressive feat. Now welcome home. Do you want the cardboard box or the dumpster?"

He pointed between the large cutout box and the dumpster. Then he chuckled and walked from the alley and onto the sidewalk. Moving past building most were locked down for the night but a few blocks away was a small storefront that was still open. As he reached the doorway the sign was easily read. 'Dojo' was brightly lit by a blue neon sign.

Opening the door he held it open for his apprentice.

"Welcome home."

The inside opened up into a narrow room that extended all the way to the back of the building. The vaulted ceilings were lined with mirrored walls. There were several sections with weight equipment, cardio equipment, and even a section for parkour and gymnastics. In the back was a ring for sparring and a large area for training. The floors were covered with hardwood. In the very back a staircase rose up to a second floor.

[member="Circes Litai"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Muad Dib"]

Circes couldn't tell if Muab was being serious or not -- from what she had seen, it didn't appear that he was all there -- so she kept silent just in case. However, when he started to walk out of the alleyway, she decided that he really had been kidding, especially when they stopped at a doorway with a bright blue neon sign. Her sensors placed it at 51% artificial light. Wow, that's bright.

As she walked in, Circes did a slow turnaround, taking in the sights. "Whoa...." she breathed. "This is incredible! Although..." She looked back at her Master. "Don't you think the sign is kind of a signal for Sith to get you?"

 

[Muad Dib]

Muad chuckled as he walked through the room. Memories of training and fights bubbled beneath the surface of his mind. His blood brother had once owned this establishment, once upon a time, and Muad had helped out first as a trainer and then as an investor to become a partner in what had started off as a gym. Now he was the sole owner. Pausing in the back he turned to look at his new apprentice.

"If the sith wanted a reason to 'get me' they have plenty of reasons and opportunities. I always enjoy a good fight. And any way this is a pathway of giving back to the community. Plus it lets me hear all sorts of juicy gossip and little secrets that otherwise I would not hear. And I have a small group of fighters who owe me should I need them."

Grinning he walked to the stars and motioned for Circes to follow. Up the narrow stairs he entered an apartment with an open floor plan. In the back under a pair of windows was a bunk framed by a dresser and nightstand. The center of the room was sparse having only a bamboo mat. To the left a door led to a refresher unit.

At the top of the stairs ran a bar which led into a small kitchenette. Along the bar were bottles of many different sizes and an assortment of colors. He pointed within.

"Your quarters. My bar. You have any questions?"

[member="Circes Litai"]

 

[Ibby]

[member="Muad Dib"]

Circes nodded her head in understanding as she listened to Muab answer her question. As she followed him up the stairs and listened to his very brief tour, Circes couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the simplistic setting. She would have thought that her Master might've had more...stuff. Even so, she didn't complain. After sleeping in the first-available place for a few weeks, one learned to get what could be got.

"Do you have any water?" she asked. Her throat was parched from the excitement of everything that'd happened. "And, if you don't mind, would you be able to turn the lights down to the lowest possible setting? I'd like to take my mask off, if that's alright." Hopefully he wouldn't ask too many questions about her condition, or, if he did, they wouldn't be ones that made her feel belittled. Thousands of different species, and people still gawked when they saw an albino. Well, Muab hadn't (as far as she could tell), but at the same time, he was insane, so Circes didn't really count him.