Private True Gold Fears No Fire

[Leven Jeyd]

TAG: Kaila Irons

Leven watched Kaila's reaction closely, noting the way her eyes widened with almost obsessive glee at the sight of the holocron. There was a spark there—an eagerness that went beyond mere curiosity. This was the look of someone who hungered for knowledge, for power, someone who was not afraid to tread into dangerous territory if it meant uncovering secrets. It was a look Leven had seen many times before, but rarely with such intensity. The comparison to Parasideus elicited a soft, amused chuckle from her.

"Not quite like Parasideus," Leven said, her voice carrying a hint of a playful reprimand. "Meir bound her consciousness to the holocron, yes, but her ghost does not wander the physical realm. She remains... contained." She gestured to the holocron, its surface still pulsing with that eerie red light. "No less formidable, or dangerous, though."

Leven let her hand linger on Kaila's shoulder for a moment longer than necessary, her fingers brushing against the smooth skin of her neck as she finished her survey for signs of the miasma's affliction. The contact was intimate, deliberate, a subtle assertion of closeness. She smiled at Kaila's admission about the discomfort, her tone turning more teasing.

"Comfort is a luxury down here," she murmured, leaning in slightly. "But I'm pleased to hear my concoction is working. I'd hate for our little adventure to end prematurely." There was a glint in her eyes as she spoke, a mixture of amusement and something darker, more possessive.

At the mention of Carnifex, her expression shifted, a flicker of interest passing over her features. "The scalpel of all creation," she repeated softly, her gaze drifting momentarily as if considering the phrase. "Pain is a powerful teacher, one of the most effective tools we have, with that much I'd agree..." As for the rest, she reserved her opinions for the time being. Leven had too been exposed to agony in her teachings, but it had always been out of her own choice, or as a consequence to her own actions at worst, she did not imagine it had been quite the same for Kaila.

Leven stepped back slightly, giving Kaila a small, approving nod. "You might just need that resilience for what comes next." She gestured toward the holocron, her smile returning, though now it held a sharper edge. "I want you to summon Master Greim. She is not one for pleasantries, and her temper is... volatile, mind you."

She stayed close, her presence a steadying dark force beside Kaila. "I'll be right here," she added, her tone soothing yet firm. "Should things get... unpleasant, I won't let them escalate. But she won't answer my questions, so this is something you must do. Think of it as a test. One I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors."

Leven's eyes never left Kaila, studying her every move, every breath. She was curious to see how Kaila would handle the challenge, how she would face this encounter with a being as unpredictable and dangerous as Meir Greim.

"Go on," she urged softly, her voice barely more than a whisper. "She already knows we are here."

​

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Comfort is a luxury down here," she murmured, leaning in slightly. "But I'm pleased to hear my concoction is working. I'd hate for our little adventure to end prematurely." There was a glint in her eyes as she spoke, a mixture of amusement and something darker, more possessive.

There was something about the way she looked at Kaila that was... new. Her own master's gaze cold, emotionless even. It was a little closer to the way Xyrah looked at her, although this look had a darker edge to it than his, nor was his the look of someone who wished to claim, perhaps it was instead the look of someone who wished to be claimed. To other Sith, the way Leven looked at her would undoubtedly feel wrong, perhaps even threatening. But to Kaila it was interesting for a variety of reasons. She had always been the odd one out among her imperial peers.

She turned her attention to the Holocron as the conversation progressed, shaking the thought away. They had work to do, and she needed to demonstrate the iron focus she was known for, not get lost in What Ifs and Maybes.

It seemed that Leven wanted her to summon the Gatekeeper, to which she looked up at her in surprise, then back at the Holocron.

Such an act was a rare gift of knowledge which typically required an exchange in her experience, yet Leven was seemingly gifting her this opportunity without a price. Had this been earlier in their meeting, Kaila would have expected this act to incur a debt to be repaid at an unspecified time, and yet she had a good feeling about Leven. That was rare for her.

Kaila took a moment to plan her approach, staring deeply into the holocron's eerie glow, stroking her chin in thought.

"Not one for pleasantries, you say?"

If that were the case, a more direct approach might might be in order. Trying to appease the gatekeeper with flowery language would only anger it further, as would the typically grandiose imperial way of speaking. Short, to the point, observant, these were the characteristics she would need to demonstrate while speaking with Greim.

"Very well" She would nod to Leven, appreciative that the woman would be by her side.

"Master Greim," Kaila approached, hand outstretched and reaching out to the holocron through the force.

"I summon you."


Leven Jeyd

 

[Leven Jeyd]

TAG: Kaila Irons

Leven watched as Kaila reached out to the holocron, her posture steady, her concentration sharp. A thin smirk tugged at the corner of Leven's mouth. So far, the girl was doing well. And yet, a part of her wondered if Kaila truly understood what summoning Meir Greim meant. Leven's fingers twitched slightly at her side, recalling her own volatile first encounter with the old gatekeeper.

The holocron pulsed one final time, and with a sharp crackle of energy, Meir's ghostly form flickered into view, the red glow casting eerie shadows across her severe features. Her expression immediately twisted into one of distaste as her gaze landed on Leven.

"Ah, the mongrel returns," Meir sneered, her tone dripping with contempt.

Leven's smile only widened in response. It was a familiar greeting. She didn't bother replying, knowing Meir enjoyed her little jabs more when they went unanswered. Besides, the true test wasn't hers to pass today. Leven's fingers brushed idly against the folds of her robes, her eyes flicking to Kaila, silently urging her to stay focused.

Meir's attention shifted next to Kaila, her sharp eyes narrowing with scrutiny, the weight of her gaze suffocating in its intensity. "And who's this?" Meir asked, though the question felt rhetorical. "A disciple, I assume? You've brought her to grovel at my feet, or perhaps to endure another one of your failures? I'd have half a mind to send you scurrying back to your Mother like I did last time if she were still around, tail between your legs. You wretched creature."

The shift that followed was immediate. The darkness around the Jester flared up like raging beast. Meir Greim had been one of the only creatures who knew how to push her buttons - and mentioning the one being who had ever held any sway over her, putting her embarrasment out on display, it was all it took. Meir smiled, her smirk a thousand times more wicked than the Jester's one could aspire to be.

Leven stepped closer, her presence solid behind Kaila, gripping into every ounce of self control that she had. How she wanted to put the old crone out into eternal encagement within her pyramid. There was only one thing, really, keeping the muzzle on. If she played into Meir's bait, Kaila would not get the answers she sought. "No groveling required," she said smoothly, her voice faking ease as if it was second nature. "She's earned the right to stand before you. You'll find her much more receptive to your teaching than I ever was."

Meir let out a low, mocking laugh, the sound crackling through the spectral air like static. "Is that so?" Her gaze shifted back to Kaila, lingering there. The old gatekeeper circled her, her ghostly form crackling with energy as she moved. Her eyes danced between Leven and Kaila's, tasting the ire that spilled from the former but remained contained. That was new.

The tension in the room thickened, but Leven remained at ease, arms folded across her chest. Her gaze never left Kaila, keenly observing how she would handle the weight of Meir's presence. There was no doubt the girl could hold her own, but Meir wasn't just any obstacle; she was a relentless force, and Leven had brought her out to see what Kaila was truly capable of.

But then, Meir's attention shifted again. This time, it wasn't Kaila who bore the brunt of her sharp gaze—it was Leven. And it came with a smirk. "And you..." Meir's voice dripped with dark amusement. "Still playing the same old games, I see. But there's something different about you this time, isn't there?" Meir's smile widened, sensing it. "You think you can hide behind that mask of arrogance, but I know better. This one," she tilted her chin toward Kaila, "she's under your skin, isn't she? A little closer than your usual toys." The words were laced with venom, a sharp jab meant to unsettle.

Leven's smile sharpened, there was a glint in her eye that spoke of utter madness, a threat beyond what any words could ever capture. "I think you're losing your touch, Meir. You were far more clever the last time we spoke."

Meir's laugh echoed through the chamber, low and dangerous. "I haven't lost anything, child. You, on the other hand… You can't hide from me. You are all laid bare." Her eyes glinted, relishing in Leven's unspoken discomfort. "I can feel it. She unsettles you, doesn't she? Makes you feel things you're not accustomed to. It's almost amusing—a sithspawn with feelings. Not so much above trivialitites anymore are we?"

Leven's expression remained unmoved, but inwardly, she felt a faint stirring of something—an irritation she quickly suppressed. Meir had always been adept at twisting the knife, knowing exactly where to prod. Leven wasn't uncomfortable with this last accusation, not yet, but the old woman's insinuations struck a chord she wasn't used to. Affection?

There was a pause, the silence heavy and foreboding. Meir's voice cut through it like a knife, her focus back on Kaila as Leven stewed on her affront. "So… what is it you want from me, child?" The question was almost a challenge, her eyes glinting with cruel amusement. "Speak."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop even further as Meir's words settled. Leven, standing quietly to the side, watched closely, her mind churning. The old gatekeeper wasn't wrong. Leven was curious about Kaila—more than she'd care to admit. But Meir didn't know everything. She couldn't possibly understand the complexity. Not yet.

​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Her eyes narrowed on Greim's projection, silently taking measure of the woman. There was a cruel confidence about her that reminded Kaila a little too much of her master, though not enough to inspire the all consuming fear that Carnifex was capable of.

Just enough to know at a glance that she did not like this woman.

Nor did she appreciate the way they spoke to Leven, inspiring a certain defensiveness of the shapeshifter that felt unusual to her. She didn't look back, keeping her eyes trained thoroughly on the spectral crone, though she could feel Leven's anger boiling over in the force. Especially at mention of her Mother. There was still so much she didn't know about Leven, admittedly she was would have been at a disadvantage if she still cared to hold one, considering that Leven knew so much about her now.

Even so, she silently touched the shapeshifter's arm, giving it a slight squeeze before letting go. Maybe Leven was strong, maybe she didn't need the reassurance, but she wanted her to know that she wasn't alone.

Meir Greim was alone in her distaste, but it was so narrowly focused, so intense in it's vitriol that Greim practically ignored Kaila, and she wondered what exactly happened to make the old woman so terribly spiteful of the Sithspawn.

Sithspawn...?

Kaila glanced curiously over her shoulder at Leven. She had suspected that the shapeshifter was not entirely human, either naturally evolved or altered in a lab. But Sithspawn? A work of alchemy? She thought no less of Leven but there many questions she wished to ask, that she would ask at a later date. The invasive burden of having such curious companions as Kaila.

Or perhaps more than a simple companion? If what Greim said was true.

She glanced sidelong into the darkness. If this was truth, then it was new to Kaila. She had never considered that another being might see some value in her company besides what it use they might glean from her, or simply to satisfy some morbid curiosity as she previously assumed of Leven.

"So… what is it you want from me, child?" The question was almost a challenge, her eyes glinting with cruel amusement. "Speak."

Greim drew her attention back from the shadows, and despite the apprentice's typically aloof or passive demeanor, Kaila looked up defiantly. Perhaps the Sithspawn was rubbing off on her just a little.

"...Everything" She announced.

"The knowledge, the power"

"To bind spirits, to consume them" She took a step forward, fist clenched.

"To punish those who have taken from me... I want it all"

"But in the meantime? I want to know what makes you so special... Why does she still put up with you?"

Kaila was done watching people be controlled by old, dead things.


Leven Jeyd

 

[Leven Jeyd]

TAG: Kaila Irons

Leven barely noticed the small squeeze at first, her mind preoccupied with the creeping irritation Meir's words had stirred. But the touch lingered, grounding her. A warmth followed, a center that Leven didn't expect to find amidst the turmoil. It was such a simple gesture, yet it anchored her in a way little else could have at the moment. Her eyes flickered down briefly to Kaila, though the movement was barely perceptible.

She appreciated it.

Then came Kaila's words—bold, defiant, full of desire. The Jester's very insides seemed to turn happily at seeing the look in her eyes, the fire behind them as she stepped toward Meir, challenging the gatekeeper with no trace of fear. The apprentice's ambition, her hunger for knowledge and power—it sparked something deep inside. It was the look of someone who would stop at nothing to claim what was rightfully hers.

It pleased Leven. It stirred pride, admiration, and... something else. A satisfaction, deeper than mere approval, watching Kaila stand her ground against the crone. The apprentice's words echoed with a force that sent a ripple through the Force itself, raw with potential. Leven's lips curled, her pulse quickening as she silently savored the moment. This—this was the 'it' thing about her. She wasn't just a tool; she was a force to be reckoned with.

Meir's spectral form hovered, her expression shifting slightly as Kaila finished speaking. The old gatekeeper's eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in mild surprise. "So she has a spine after all," Meir murmured, circling Kaila again. The praise was there, though veiled beneath a layer of condescension. "The knowledge you seek isn't easily given, girl. Power like mine—or power that binds and consumes—it requires more than ambition. Are you prepared to give what it takes?"

Her voice, crackling with energy, took on a different tone—one of curiosity. Meir lingered, her ghostly presence almost drawn to Kaila. There was something there, something that caught her interest. She could feel it now. A familiar presence, but twisted in a way that intrigued her.

"And yet," Meir continued, her gaze flicking toward Leven before returning to Kaila, "there's something... unusual about you. You remind me of someone—or something. A force once known, but forgotten... Or perhaps... dormant." Her lips curled into a thin smile, one that carried a sense of knowing.

Leven's eyes gleamed, watching the exchange with sharp intent. She didn't speak, content to observe as Meir assessed Kaila with renewed interest. The girl had earned the old gatekeeper's attention, and Leven could see that glimmer of approval, even though Meir's pride wouldn't allow her to admit it openly.

But Kaila's final words, questioning Meir's relevance to Leven, caused a slight shift in the air. Meir's eyes narrowed, her smile fading. "Put up with me?" she repeated, her tone laced with indignation. "Oh, child, you misunderstand the dynamic here. I am no burden to be borne. I am the keeper of knowledge older and far more dangerous than either of you could ever comprehend. If anything, it is IT that has the privilege of my continued presence." She cast a withering glance at Leven, who remained motionless, a faint smirk on her lips.

The gatekeeper's attention swung back to Kaila, the offense melting away into a calculating grin. "Still, I must admit... Perhaps there's more to you than I first thought." Meir's form flickered, the glow around her intensifying. "You seek to consume, to punish those who've wronged you. You want it all—good. That's the hunger of one who could become something far more than they realize." She circled Kaila slowly, her eyes gleaming with interest. However, that seemed to go away as she returned to a more stoic expression, and revealed her previous words of admiriation were only half truths. "Perhaps you remind me of the many others who once sought everything… and paid the price."

There was a strange silence as Meir studied Kaila, the intensity of her gaze palpable. Leven could feel it, too—the way the air had shifted. Whatever Meir had sensed in Kaila, it seemed to intrigue her more than Leven had anticipated. But for now, the shapeshifter remained still, her mind racing.

"But I don't believe everything is the first hurdle you intend to deal with, child. Who, or what, is it?"

Kaila had earned Meir's attention. Now, it was up to her to keep it. Leven however hovered close, content in keeping a watchful eye on things while the crone was engrossed in Kaila's words. Her own mind was stuck on one thing, a minuscule moment. Outside of Meir's field of view, Leven raised on of her hands, the pads of her fingers tracing against Kaila's back in an absentminded caress. Soon her hand came to rest lightly near her waist, Leven still standing behind her as she had done before but now linked by contact. Indeed, the sensation felt strange in a way the Jester liked. A devilish smirk crossed her features at the thought that perhaps her own attention would rather distract the blonde from her conversation than keep her from ripping a holocron's head off, as she had done for her.

​

 

[Kaila Irons]

"So she has a spine after all," Meir murmured, circling Kaila again. The praise was there, though veiled beneath a layer of condescension. "The knowledge you seek isn't easily given, girl. Power like mine—or power that binds and consumes—it requires more than ambition. Are you prepared to give what it takes?"

Kaila fixed a resolved glare dead ahead and beyond the holocron even as the old crone circled, posture straightening, chin held a little higher.

"I have sacrificed every bone in this body to get where I am now. Sacrifice and I are no strangers..." She said solemnly.

There was no lie to be found in her words. Perhaps one so well endowed in the force might even sense that gap within the living force, where woman intertwined with machine- or at least the man made- in a most peculiar way. Every single cartilaginous bone in her Vahla body had been fractured and excruciatingly healed and deformed a dozen times over at least. From every toe to her very skull, all 206 individual bones in her soft, cartilaginous Vahla skeleton had been broken at varying points in time. And yet, they had been... changed. Liquid formed and hardened like steel, Laminanium now clung to each and every one of them like armor.

She made no effort to hide these shameful memories in the force, not anymore. Not the dozens of of excruciating surgeries it took to adapt her weak pathetic body to her master's demands, all done without anesthetic simply because her master forbid it. Not the hundreds of training sessions in which the Former Emperor beat his teachings into her, every single lesson fracturing her bones many times over until she adapted. She grew. She endured.

She let herself remember... Remember the Fear her master inspired, still inspired even if she had grown tolerant of it. Let it fuel her, for what else could she possibly fear now more than him? All other fears were meaningless, for there was nothing worse this old woman nor the force could do that He hadn't already done.

There was a nihilistic solace to be taken from that truth.

She let that Fear fuel her through the dark side. Let it the Anger burn upon the fuel of Suffering. Let it smolder into Hatred. And from her hatred of Him, Let it cool as iron cools within the blacksmith's mold to take shape, manufactured into Power. Power which took the steely form of Resolve in the face of this grim crone.

No one, and nothing, could truly scare her outside the Dark Lord's Hall. He would be her greatest weakness, He would be her greatest strength.

"Put up with me?" she repeated, her tone laced with indignation. "Oh, child, you misunderstand the dynamic here. I am no burden to be borne. I am the keeper of knowledge older and far more dangerous than either of you could ever comprehend. If anything, it is IT that has the privilege of my continued presence."

Yet she could still take offense.

Kaila ground her teeth at the word "It" being applied to her newfound... Companion? She was no more or less a monster than Kaila or Meir Greim herself, for all were equally repugnant in their dark practices. All were equally rejected by the weak and the blind denizens of this corrupt, unjust galaxy. All were equally... Beautiful, in their own twisted ways...

Maybe she didn't see it at first, maybe she wouldn't admit it aloud just yet, but Leven was more than a mere monster.

She was a work of twisted Art upon a once intangible canvas.

"But I don't believe everything is the first hurdle you intend to deal with, child. Who, or what, is it?"

Kaila's senses slowly returned as she felt a familiar touch to her back, Her cold fury- though still potent within the force around her- beginning to subside as if the last embers of the forge were left floating in the wind, exhaled on a deep breath as Leven helped anchor the apprentice, prevent her from unleashing slow cooked rage in a sudden outburst that was years in the making.

She needed to commit that rage to focus her attention into a precise and ferocious pursuit of her goals.

Kaila showed no outward sign of her gratitude beside the gradual, almost meditative and eerie focus that slowly came over her. But that was perhaps evidence enough of the effect Leven was having, of how deeply intertwined they had become on such short notice. She would have liked to acknowledge this too, but for Leven's sake, she would not give cruel Greim anymore fuel with which to burn the Sithspawn.

"A spirit," She finally answered the Dark Jedi in a sigh akin the bellows reigniting a forge.

"A failed possession. He is my next hurdle, the first of many... I would turn his foul spell against him, and any like him. Whether by imprisonment or by consumption of his essence, I will see him suffer and burn as any man of flesh would"

"I will find a way," She announced solemnly, but surely as the flow of time, as if was an eventual, but inevitable fact.

"No matter how many holocrons I must sift through, no matter how many temples I must break into and no matter how many dead things I must learn from. I will find a way..."


Leven Jeyd