Private Two Sith walk into a Bar

[Kaila Irons]

Darth Anguina had offered her a drink, a way to drown her sorrows after the terrifying revelations upon Praesitlyn, or that is how Kaila saw it anyway. And so the unlikely duo had traveled to the nearest inhabited planet in search of a bar, that being Seswenna, a former Rimward Trade League world in neutral space boasting the only populated city for many systems between here and Sith Imperial space. It was also home to an orbital shipyard built by the first galactic empire, and despite no longer being the capital of this sector, it had grown fat with the league's profits.

The bar discovered by these mysterious women reflected this strange position, being a small yet no less lively club.

A neon sign had brought the location their attention even before the low thrumming music, which seemed to grow louder as they entered, bathed in soft purple lights as they entered which Kaila thought would surely drown out even her violet lightsaber if it were turned on in such a place, not that she planned to. The closer they got to the bar, the more awed and out of place she seemed despite otherwise blending in with the crowd. Her golden eyes, which seemed to be slowly overtaken by the reflection of the neon lights the deeper they went, began to drift all around at every movement of the dancing crowd or flashing lights.

In fact it looked as if, despite her clearly imperial accent and fine silken cloak, that the young Darth Anathemous had never seen the sights nor heard the lively noise of a big city before, as if her lavish aristocratic persona was just that; a persona.

In fact the change was overwhelming enough to the senses that she almost forgot why she was here. Almost. She was still eager for a stiff drink, and the force betrayed the utter anguish gnawing at her from inside, but at least this was distracting enough for it to subside if even a little.



Ansisa

 

[Ansisa]

It had been a long time since Ansisa had had the time to visit such an establishment. She had been young, masterless and full of stupidity. Still, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as the familiar steady thump of music reverberated through her core as she found herself moving slightly with the beat as they moved through the crowd, her red eyes scanning the crowd as other dancers recognised a kindred spirit and flashed her a smile.

She settled her gaze on Anathemous who seemed like she was in a daze, drinking the sights in. Anisisa chuckled, looping her arm through the other woman's and tugging her towards the bar. "Come on Princess, let's get you a drink."

The bar was as busy as the small club itself but she managed to squeeze them in, flagging the bartender down with a wave and sliding a credit chit across the bar to him which he caught with a deft hand before leaning over to hear her request. There were a handful of circular booths around the club's edge, slightly raised and cordoned off; they offered a little privacy but still allowed for easy access to the dance floor and its sights. After some fast negotiation, the tender finally nodded, setting two glasses on the bartop and a large bottle of amber coloured liquid.

Snatching up all three, she turned to her companion and nodded towards a booth. "It's ours for the evening, and there's a hotel a couple of blocks over if we need it."

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"Come on Princess, let's get you a drink."

Kaila felt as if she'd stumbled out of the mesmerized trance when Darth Anguina tugged her towards the bar, but when she looked, they were arm in arm and her physical balance was unbothered. She glanced down, then away as she moved in a little closer, chin held a little higher as she tired to look a little less out of place.

They stopped by the bar next, color coming back to her wandering eyes as the source of this neon haze was now at their backs.

"It's ours for the evening, and there's a hotel a couple of blocks over if we need it."

Anguina said after a brief round of negotiations with the bartender.

"A hotel? someone's feeling confident about this evening." Kaila managed to chuckle as she took the bottle to free the Chiss' hands.

All the while she wondered what had possessed the woman to do this, or to indulge in this particular brand of banter which they'd began during the assault. By the way she'd greeted Kaila, the Kainite had initially assumed they would be natural enemies. A Tsis'kar assassin and a Kainite sorceress, and now they'd walked arm in arm into a bar. It was the like the beginning of some awful joke told by a jedi.

She wandered toward the booth, realizing that perhaps Anguina's offer was less about getting information from her and more about getting her mind off their heart breaking discovery. She looked down, noting the bacta patches covering her sore hand and tender fingers, remembering that the Chiss had seen definitely seen her punch a nearby monitor earlier that day, the glass cutting her hand to ribbons even though she hadn't felt a thing but rage.

Perhaps then she was wrong to question her. Perhaps she'd even found the only sith in this whole empire who cared.

Whatever the case, she was content to spend the evening with such a strange and intriguing woman after such a long day. She slid into the booth, popping the cork off their bottle and offering with a gesture to pour with a slight smile seeing as Anguina still had the glasses.

"Well, I've decided against accusing you of poisoning me, Blue, but what are we drinking anyway? I can't read the bloody label in this lightning" she chuckled softly.

"And don't think I didn't see all the smiles you've been getting. Are you popular here or something? Do I need to prove myself by fighting your previous dates? Doesn't seem very princess-like to me but I suppose I could indulge you" she added with a coy smile.



Ansisa

 

[Ansisa]

Ansisa smirked as the bottle was tugged from her hands and Anaathemous led the way to the booth, letting the woman get a few feet ahead of her to appreciate the few before following after her. "Maybe I'm confident, or maybe I just value the comfort of a real bed over a ships bunk when I have a hangover."

Beside indulging in baser fantasies, Ansisa had another agenda for playing nice with the Kainite. If her powers of deduction were correct then she was a possible asset. She might consider the game of politics above her head, or even not worth her time, but she was not so oblivious to them to miss an opportunity that Darth Malum of House Marr would benefit from.

There was part of her that did care, the part that had come alive the day she'd given birth to the twins. The maternal instinct to protect and nurture, the one she had to work very hard to keep buried beneath layers of ulterior motives, subterfuge and lies, more often to herself than anyone else.

She slid the glasses toward the uncorked bottle as she manuervered herself into the booth next to Anathemous, a laugh escaping her lips. "No idea, I asked for something expensive and strong enough to erase the day. Don't think about it, just indulge." Slender fingers wrapped around a glass once Anathemous had poured and she took a sip. It was warm on her tongue, slightly sweet and very smooth. A rum perhaps? She wasn't certain she cared.

"As entertaining as it would be to see you wipe the floor with my previous dates, you won't find any of them here. These people just recognise beauty and are hopeful that it might go home with one of them," She tilted her head "Unfortunately for them, I have my sights set elsewhere."

A smile spread across her lips as she studied her in the neon lights, enjoying for a moemnt the way her eyes seemed to reflect the dancing colours.

"You've never set foot in a club before have you?"

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

"No idea, I asked for something expensive and strong enough to erase the day. Don't think about it, just indulge."

"I'll drink to that!" Kaila chuckled, lifting a glass to her lips.

Only, she stopped to glanced as Anguina slid into the booth. Not at across from, not at a distance despite having an entire booth to themselves, no. She sat next to her. Normally she'd have to fight with herself to keep from imagining all the ways another sith might try to her kill her from so close, and in fact she'd denied herself the basic necessities of a social life and pleasurable company more than once because of it. But after their exchange earlier, only one thought came to mind...

She never realized how beautiful that blue skin might look under the neon light.

Kaila glanced away, drinking away the thought with whatever they'd bought themselves. It was good. A bit stronger than the fancy wines she sometimes enjoyed at important gatherings, but it was good.

"As entertaining as it would be to see you wipe the floor with my previous dates, you won't find any of them here. These people just recognise beauty and are hopeful that it might go home with one of them," She tilted her head "Unfortunately for them, I have my sights set elsewhere."

But unable to help herself, those once golden, now silver-blue eyes were lured back in by the Chiss' antics, drawing a little smirk out of the young Kainite.

"You've never set foot in a club before have you?"

"Ah. That obvious?" she stifled a nervous chuckle.

"Truth be told, unless indulging my master's wives in their more... frivolous pursuits, there's rarely time for pleasures nor niceties for a Kainite. It's a... dull life we lead. Lonely too, but I can't stand my master's fanatics so it's not a huge loss"

She took another sip, this time much larger, and deliberately so.

"That's why I became a Seeker, a wandering scholar and essentially. Before the Siege of Echnos, I was allowed to roam the galaxy on my own to pursue the lore of sith and jedi, only ever returning to turn in my findings to the grand library on Malsheem. Truth be told I... I miss not having to speak with my master."

"Everything's changed since I was recalled to imperial space..."

Kaila took another sip, or swig rather, giving her a moment to think things over. Tonight was a time to forget the past, not dwell on it. Besides, she had all the tools she needed to do so, thanks to Anguina. Perhaps even more, if the night went as her momentary companion teased of.

"Well, I suppose that's a long winded way of saying No, I've never been to a place like this. Just outer rim cantinas and dusty tombs. I think I might like it though, perhaps it'll make my imperial stay worth it."

"The company is nice too, even you'd probably smell of blood if not for the drinks and spice in the air"

She laughed, leaning in a little closer so as to speak in a more hushed tone. She was quite curious about her companion, and just how far she was willing to take their little alliance. Besides, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had a positive interaction with a fellow imperial, even if this one was something of a wildcard. Then again, perhaps that was why they got along so well.

"You know... the lighting, it really brings out that pretty shade of blue."

Kaila glanced down for but a moment, that smirk returning in force.

"...especially your lips."



Ansisa

 

[Ansisa]

The barest of frowns creased Ansisa’s forehead and the mention of her master’s wives, wondering what frivolous pursuits she was required to indulge in. Her mind drifted briefly to the red eyes of her master, the man she had fallen in love with…whose children she kept hidden from him. A blink and the thought was forcefully eradicated, encouraged to vacate with another swig of the swirling alcohol in her hand. Tonight was not for them to invade her mind.

She listened, allowing Anathemous to slowly unfold before her. Granting her a larger glimpse of the woman behind the name, her only response was an understanding smile. It had been a long time since she had been able to indulge, Her ascension to Shadow Hand of the Tsis’Karr came with vast responsibilities and missions that took her to the far reaches of space, and the downtime she did get was spent at home with the twins.

There was a small intake of breath as Anathemous leaned closer, bringing Ansisa’s smirk back to her face. Her red eyes surveyed the Kainite’s golden orbs that so perfectly reflected the flashing lights, searching for some hint of deception, poised for a blade to appear. After all, she was the only one still breathing who had seen the footage that Anathemous had been searching for.

It would have been the smart thing to do. It would have been what she would do, were the tables turned.

Yet, there was no malice there.

Ansisa’s free hand slipped onto her thigh. “Funny, I was thinking the same about your eyes.” she titled her head neither retreating nor advancing. Her gaze dropped slowly appreciating the details of the woman before her, before she lifted her eyes back once more. “You are beautiful, princess.”

Kaila Irons

 

[Kaila Irons]

Anguina's touch caused the muscles in her strong, well sculpted legs to contract momentarily, only to steadily relax. The only thing between the Tsis'kar's blue fingers and her soft, pale flesh, was a shiny and thin bodyglove, allowing them to feel one another's touch quite closely.

She glanced away momentarily, thankful that this blue haze might drown out the heated blush rising in her cheeks, although her smirk had parted into a grin. Kaila was certainly unused to comments about her eyes, lest they were about the visible corruption which brought about their golden glow, an aspect of her appearance she'd been unable to hide and even shamed her as an undercover agent in the field.

She had Kaila's undivided attention now, pulling her gaze back to the Chiss' own red eyes, and never leaving them even as they drank her in like a savory wine, eventually meeting one more.

“You are beautiful, princess.”

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to enjoy that name."

"...though I've a... question, if I may?" she added, biting her lip.

There was but a moment of consideration which followed, musings of the various consequences this may have, of what might be done to her if she were caught fraternizing with the enemies of her lord and master, or even ways the Tsis'kar might use this against her. But... she was tired of denying herself over petty politics and factionalism.

She wanted this. Wasn't that the point of being sith? To take what you want?

Kaila swallowed and, hesitantly at first, began to lean forward, inch by inch. A slick bodygloved hand rose slowly to cup the Chiss woman's soft cheek, all the while she neared even closer, lips pursed as she traced her thumb down Anguina's own. And as she spoke, she stopped close enough for her to feel her hot breath against them.

"How beautiful?"

Less of a question, and more a request of consent, or perhaps even permission to advance, if Anguina preferred.



Ansisa

 

[Ansisa]

Everything about her, from the shy glance away to the momentary hesitation only drew Ansisa in. She had intended to bring the woman's guard down, to draw her in, and allow her to feel safe enough to share more. Yet as each beat passed, Ansisa realised that she wanted this just as much as Anathemous did. She wanted to forget, to indulge, to, for once, take what she wanted without consideration of the impact it might have.

To hell with the Tsis'Kaar and the Kainites. To hell with the order. To hell with masters and apprentices and bonds and responsibility. One night, that was all she wanted. She set her glass on the table freeing her hand.

Ansisa's lips parted as she drew closer, she found herself leaning into the gloved hand, heart racing as she found herself becoming lost in the swirl of Anathemous's golden gaze.

"Very beautiful," she replied, with a soft murmur, brushing her nose against hers, her free hand sliding the nape of Anatahemous's neck and pulling her the last few centimetres and kissing her softly.

Kaila Irons