What's This Place Like?

[Haytham Kaze]

Jedi Temple Ruins.
Ossus.

Ossus.

It was more or less a Jedi planet when it came to the concerns of Haytham Kaze... Or was it... Vanitas now? He shook his head as the darkly clad, lightly armoured Apprentice leapt from rock to rock of the Jedi Temple ruins. There was hardly anything of note to be seen. Just rocks and the faint presences of the Light Side of the Force. It calmed him, oddly enough, though at the same time it repulsed him.

So he made sure to move quickly when he felt the Light Side. Shaking his black mane of hair, his grey eyes looked out from a sudden cascade of hair that covered his eyes as he sighed. He wasn't feeling as if he were deserving of bathing in the Light side. The Dark was his home now. After the mission on Ruusan with Darth Orcus, Haytham had departed and headed to Ossus.

He wasn't the type of Force user to meditate and receive visions, but he did feel as if the Force had been calling him to this place. As if something important was going to happen... Maybe. Shrugging his shoulders, he lowered his hand to his silver hilt, as he expanded the Force around him. Leaping up to the top of a rock, the tall Kaasian native looked about the ruins as he scanned for something worthy to take note of.

"Someone strike me down from this life," he'd say softly, more to himself than anything.

Remaining stood for what felt like an eternity, after nothing happened he dropped down off of the rock.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

So Amnell had returned to her home planet. She was a little better at this point having gone through recent treatment for her illness, which had made things a little better. And it was at least a little easier to function as a human being. Her clothing was simple, a pair of jean, a simple shirt, and a dark blue cloak draped around her shoulders for a small bit of warmth on the otherwise cool day.

The old Jedi Temple ruins, were something she'd always loved to visit. They were quiet. Peaceful and seldom few others actually visited them. So for Amnell's part she could get some quiet time without being disturbed. Slowly she entered into the ruins, tracing her fingers over the ancient stone as she moved along the old pathways.

Somehow, today, Amnell got the feeling that she wasn't alone. Her own Force skills, were untrained, rudimentary and instinctual at best, and a disaster at worst. She had no way to hide her signature within the Force. So there was little doubt that she stood out to others who shared the same connection to that mystical energy field.

For a moment she paused and glanced around, thinking she had heard something. Without spotting anything quickly, she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and moved on deeper into the ruins.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham felt the presence of another person in the ruins. However, it wasn't just any presence. It was a neutral presence. One that was raw and untouched, one that had none of the blemishes of the light or dark sides of the Force upon it. A truly prime candidate, but that young Sith's Apprentice wasn't the sort to be going on those type of recruitment sprees, no, he was more curious as to find out who this person was.

And so he set out.

Leaping up to the top of one of the fallen ramparts, he expanded his presence in the Force once more, reaching out to the mysterious person before he eventually came upon them a few moments later. The Force flowed through his body as he moved, it pushed him to greater lengths as he sought out the entity.

Once finally coming across them, he cleared his throat to get the attention of the apparently thin woman. She looked almost as if she were sickly, but had just enough meat on her to not appear completely so.

Dropping off of the slight ruinous overhang, he'd land on the ground a few meters away from the woman, his black cloak flapping around him before settling as if it had never been touched.

"I'd ask if you were lost, but you appear to know your way around these ruins better than I." Those grey eyes of his would peek out at her from under those ebony locks of hair atop his head. It was a mess, it had been since the last time he had been on Bespin, he had lost the habit of cutting his hair and focused on one thing...

Growing stronger.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell had been so utterly and completely lost in thought that she hadn't noticed the movements or sounds that announced the stranger's presence. She jumped slightly, a little startled. "Oh, uh hi."

It took her a moment to regain her composure and form a reply. Feeling no threat, she smiled softly, "Yeah, it's quiet here. So, I tend to visit the ruins frequently. Especially when I just want to have a little time to myself, to think." Reaching up she nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. The simple movement was more painful than she liked to admit to, but at this point in her life Amnell had gotten used to the simple fact that everything would hurt. There was no avoiding that. If she wanted to live a life outside a hospital, pain was just part of that deal.

"It's not often I find anyone else walking these ruins. I sometimes wonder if they've just been forgotten over time." She then paused and shook her head, "Where are my manners? I'm Amnell de Portier. And you are?"

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham listened when she spoke.His cloak covered his lightsabres at this point whcih was likely why she came across as quite friendly. It was also maybe because he didn't catch her while he wore his helmet. Either way, if his arms weren't crossed yet, they found themselves secured over his chest as he watched her.

"I would imagine so," he said with a pleasant enough smile that actually reached those gray eyes of his. "In my experience ruins tend to be... dead." He'd say with a shrug. Not that he often went to ruins, but it was just an attempt at seeming more experienced than he actually was. "I'm not sure why I'm here myself... But, it is a nice day anyway." He'd shrug again, seeming at a loss for words just as she introduced herself.

"Va- Haytham," he said with that same smile. "Haytham Kaze." His head tipped to her slightly.

"Are you a native of Ossus?" He asked as he leaned back on a rock, parking his rear on it.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell smiled gently. "Yes, they usually are. It's what make them good places to sit and think in as well." The girl nodded and took a seat herself on one of the nearby stones. Her legs were aching and she felt the need to at least rest them for now. "I've found that life tends to place us exactly where we need to be, even if we don't understand it. So, I imagine there's a good reason you're here. It'll come to you, I've no doubt."

"It's a pleasure, Haytham." She said slightly bowing her head in response.

"Well, yes I suppose so. I was born here and grew up here for the most part. Never spent much time off world." Her reasons for staying mostly on Ossus over the years had been simple. It was difficult to travel with her condition. It meant traveling away from doctors and hospitals she knew and trusted. And possibly going without care or medication if she got stuck somewhere. Though her circumstances in that respect had recently changed with the help of a benefactor. Still, she was only just now getting used to the idea that she had as much freedom as she wanted, now that she had protection and medical staff support anytime she wanted it. "So, Ossus is really all I truly know. And it's home."

"What about you?" Her curiosity was growing, that was for sure.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham listened as she spoke to him, politely enough as he cleared away another clump of his black hair out of his eyes. Exhaling, he'd make himself more comfortable on that rock. "Life?" He'd say in response to her first statement, chuckling softly, more to himself than anything. "Those people out there in the Galaxy, Jedi and Sith, they'll tell you that it's the Force that puts us places. Though, the people that are usually put in positions where they don't know what to do yet tend to have the gift to feel and use the Force." He'd shrug his shoulders, giving her a look as if he knew more than he shared.

The black haired male nodded his head as she gave a brief explanation of her time here on Ossus. So she lived here? Wasn't much of a surprise, someone had to obviously.

"Have you ever wanted to? To spend time off-world that is?" He cants his head to the side a bit as he asked the question, his brows furrowing in an inquisitive manner as he looks her up and down with those grey eyes of his, almost as if he was appraising her. "It tends to be quite exciting on other worlds, you know," he'd say with a pleasant smile.

"Me?" He paused. "I like to help people, I plan on doing it more in the future. But, I've got the idea in mind that I've got to help myself become better before I can help others. That makes sense right?" He aimed to make himself stronger, not just physically, but with the Force aiding him as well. "I am... Was a Jedi."

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell smiled, "Life, the Force? It makes little difference to me. I just know for most people it works out in the end, in the most surprising ways. Most people." She sighed. For most people, she certainly wasn't one of those people. At least she didn't think so. Things had only gotten a bit better more recently, and she still wasn't sure it would actually work out.

"I've always wanted to. I got off world a couple times, to Bespin, and Coruscant. But not for long. Money, time, funds, and work always conflicted one way or another to keep me here on Ossus." The sickness, that part she left out as she often did. It wasn't something she liked folks to know about.

Now that brought a bright smile to her lips. Reaching up with a hand she brushed a few stray stands of hair from her face and tucked them neatly behind her ears. "I like helping folks too." The girl gave a nod, "I understand, all too well. You can't do much for others, unless you yourself are in the right state of mind and body. Otherwise it can be damaging to both parties. So, it makes perfect sense to me."

She then lifted an eyebrow at the mention of the word Jedi. "Was a Jedi?" Amnell had always been curious about the Jedi, but too weak or sick to ever be a part of them. That had been her mindset for a long time. And it would have been an unlikely possibility with how terrible her condition had gotten, if not for the recent organ transplant that would extend her life for a few more years. It gave her a renewed strength she didn't know possible.

"I'm not judging, truly. Just curious. The Jedi, I've just always been a bit curious about them, wanting to understand more, to learn...." Her voice trailed off, and she sighed again. Amnell knew she was force sensitive. A Jedi long ago had told her of that. So that much she was aware of. It was just a tiny bit complicated.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He shrugs at her statement. It wouldn't help to make her understand the viewpoints of other Jedi and Sith. Especially when he didn't believe in them either.

"You've been to Bespin?" Suddenly curious. There had been a time when Haytham had spent much of his training there, but those days had passed long before. "Ever been to the resort, Cloud Nine?" He was more curious than anything else. She didn't look familiar, so he couldn't say that he had seen her there... Maybe. When he had lived on Cloud Nine, he had spent most of his time training and rarely socializing. That would only slow him from getting to his end goal.

"I'm glad we can see eye to eye on the situation," he'd say with a faint smile. He had wanted to put it in a different way, but he hadn't wanted to sound crass. Clearly it wasn't a concern to the female. He got the sense that she was stronger than she wanted him to know, stronger than she even knew, but that was likely because he figured her sensitivity in the Force was unbeknownst to her.

"I was formerly a Jedi. Until my first Master was captured on the field of battle." He'd explain. "I'd say her friend became my Master, but she never showed to our first training together," he'd say with a shrug of his shoulders. He hadn't even sought her out again, he didn't particularly wish to waste his time with that anymore. "Then there was my last Master -- Got herself killed after falling to the Dark Side." He'd shrug his shoulders. In his relatively short tenure as a Jedi, he hadn't had the best of luck evidently. "Cut down by a Sith Lord no less," he'd continue on to say. "Decapi-" He'd stop there, he didn't need to continue. But the image of her head on the floor laying on some fallen pipe made it's existence clear in the back of his mind.

"It is tough to describe the Jedi. They're like people, there are different types. I'm not too keen on explaining every single type of them." He'd wave a dismissive hand, "The kind you say in the holofilms and the news is typically what Jedi are like." He'd shrug. They were people who had a gift and were able to swing around plasma blades. Haytham didn't think too highly of Jedi anymore.

He didn't even think about Sith.

"You could say I'm one of those Sith," he'd say blatantly. His shoulders went up, and then dipped downwards to complete the shrug. "But I wouldn't. At least, not the kind of Sith you see waging war across the Galaxy."

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell smiled, "Only briefly was I there. I didn't stay too long. I was just there to acquire a droid and a few very specific parts for my work. I'm an engineer, mostly I work with droids and more simple machines." Then she shook her head to his question, "No, I haven't. I had heard about it but never went that direction."

She nodded, glad they were on the same page as well. It was something that rarely happened. Then he moved on to answering her questions about the Jedi.

Amnell listened closely, "I'm sorry to hear about your former Master. That's a horrific way to die." She said sadly.

Another nod, "I understand. I just have held a curiosity about them for a long while. I know I'm force sensitive. I just, well it's complicated as to why I never sought training." Amnell was still trying to avoid stating what had kept her from doing so many things in life. "The Jedi at least to me, seem like some type of religion that's gain almost a mythical status. It's just, interesting, to me at least."

The word Sith, sure she'd heard the term but she'd met few. She had little understanding of the word. "Well, I know most Sith are dark, evil and all that. Or so the story goes. But I prefer to judge for myself rather than rely on a simple word like that. So having said that, what kind of Sith are you?"

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham nodded his head to Amnell. She certainly did seem pleasant enough. She was easy to talk to and more importantly easy to be around. There wasn't much need for explaining things, at least this early in their conversation and getting to know each other and he could only hope it would stay that way. "If you ever find yourself on Bespin again, do head to Cloud Nine, I'm certain it'd be... Worth your time," he says with an almost amused smile. Not like he had had plenty of fun there. It had only been one thing for him there.

Training.

"There's no need to apologize for it. There may not be a contract for when you become a Jedi, but it's apart of the job description," he says with a wave of his hand.

"A mythical status?" He hums softly as he took a moment to think about it, but then he shook his head after a moment. "I don't think so, more of a, 'we've been around forever' status," he'd say, his tone taking on a more jovial one as he made the joke. Exhaling a pent up breath he didn't realize he had been holding as she continued to speak, he'd seem at a loss for words when she asked him her final question. Though he wasn't the sort to play the game. At least, not anymore.

"The kind that does what has to to save everyone." He shrugs his shoulders as he lifts his rump from the rock and pushes a hand through his hair as he sighs. "A cordial one, at least What do you take me for?"

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell smiled and nodded, "If I ever make it back that way, I'll have to have to check it out. It could be interesting."

She nodded. It was still a sad tale to her. "I suppose not, but still. I don't imagine that's the way anyone expects things to end. Well, at that rate very few people know how their lives are going to end." I do, but that's a whole different matter. Most folks don't have the warning I have, the knowledge this disease will take my life from me. And it does take it from me, bit by bit, every day it steals a little more from me.

With a sigh, the pain in her fingers spiked and she reached down to gently rub at them. It was an attempt to will some of the pain away. And unbeknownst to her, it was also an weak but instinctual use of the force to help ease the pain. After a moment, she reached into her bag, and retrieved a pill bottle, taking a single tablet and swallowed it quickly. With some luck the pain medication would kick in quickly and she'd feel a fair bit better. The bottle was quickly put away and her attention turned back to Haytham.

"To me, that doesn't sound like a Sith. But maybe I do not understand the term as well as I think I do." Then Amnell paused and looked him over for a moment. "Honestly? I see someone who is kind, caring, and hardly a monster that the stories we've all heard depict. I think you are different. Unique." She said quietly. "I don't see a Sith. I see a man before me that might be as lost as I am in this galaxy, grasping for purpose and meaning in life."

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham nodded his head twice at the statements of his new found companion. He folded his arms over his chest after she mentioned the second one of not knowing how you were going to go. He got the feeling that she was perhaps hiding something, but he ignored it and just exhaled from his nose.

Twisting his head to look at her at a new angle, his grey eyes watched as she rubbed at her fingers. They may have been in the ruins of a Jedi Temple on Ossus, and there may be some remnants of the Force in the form of those that used to be there, but what he felt was directly in their premises. His jaw clenched as he watches her reach into her bag to retrieve a small container, a pill bottle he realized when she pulled out a single tablet and swallowed.

Dry. That mustn't taste good.

Pocketing his hands, he listens to her.

"Perhaps it is true, that I am lost and looking for purpose." For a moment his fist clenched, he turned his head away and locked away his emotions to some dark corner within him. A place that they could stay safe until there was a place for them to be released. "My purpose in life is to bring peace to the people of this Galaxy." He stopped himself before he could start shrugging.

"You have the Force." He tilts his head to a side, "Why not further that gift?"

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

For the record, the pill hadn't tasted good. It was a bitter one to swallow but she was used to it by now.

Amnell nodded, "I understand entirely." The girl sighed quietly, her chest aching as she did so. "I've been lost for quite some time. I've only ever wanted to help others, and tinker on machines. But, I've been ... limited in what I can do." Once more she didn't mention why or what kept from doing all she wanted.

Her eyes dropped to the ground as he asked the question. The one she hoped to avoid. For a moment she dug her foot into the soil, scraping her boot across the ground. "I don't tell my friends this. I barely tell my family what's the deal. I don't like sharing it. I don't like people to know. People find out, they treat me differently, pity me. And I ain't got room in my life for that. I don't want any of that. I just wanted to be treated as normal, not as if I am a disease. I am a person, I am not a disease. A disease isn't who I am. It doesn't define me. It's just a bad card I was dealt."

Amnell sighed again, still not looking up. "So, don't treat me differently for what I am about to say." She took a breath, pausing and debating a second what she was going to say. "I've been very ill for much of my life. Quannot's. A disease that slowly degrades my nerves and organs. It will kill me. It causes me more pain than I want to even talk about. I recently underwent an organ transplant, all of them. Which helped to ease some of the pain. I've just been so weak for so long, that training wasn't an option. At least that's what the Jedi told me." She said with a shrug.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham nods his head her words. He wasn't surprised that she felt as if she had been lost for as as long as he did, maybe even longer, he didn't know how old she was but she did look young.

Then she went on a long speech. Of course, he nodded his head. Haytham didn't pity anyone. He didn't have time for that, he didn't look at people differently if they had a disability. Especially if they had the potential to use the Force like she did. No, he instead regarded them in a careful light. "I understand," he says softly, those grey eyes shining brightly at her as his lips begin to twist in the light that the Ossus sun offered above them.

"I've never heard of Quannot's." He says shortly after. He hadn't heard of a lot of diseases, he wasn't a doctor. "The Jedi said so because you'd likely find yourself in large amounts of pain because of their training," he says with a shrug. "The Sith on the other hand... Or better yet, I... Can teach you how to utilize the Force to protect yourself... To soothe those pains."

He hadn't needed the Dark Side to soothe pains he had faced in combat. In fact, they were self taught abilities. First, he had begun with a soothing aura, and then he had developed it into a reactionary defense when he was in combat. He healed faster than the average man because of his potential in the Dark Side, but that was certainly it.

"I can teach you. You're built more along the lines of a Sorceress rather than a warrior.. But you'll still get some muscle on you." He shrugs his shoulders as a thought comes to his mind, but he doesn't vocalize it just yet. That wasn't something for either of them to speak of just yet.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

"Most people haven't. It's incredibly rare, and I'm one of the unlucky few doomed with it." She said, her words seeming a bit distant. His thinking she understood, it was a thought she had herself. "I think it was also the shortened lifespan. Until recently I had no idea that there was any kind of treatment at all. I learned transplant of all my organs, could at least give me a few more years each time. Cloning helps. But even that's got it's limits. I think to them, I was just a liability, and useless to them." A painful thought but it seemed true enough to her.

Her brow knitted together as she thought about what he'd said. If it had been any other Sith offering her this, she'd probably have walked away and forgotten about it. "You would teach me? You wouldn't mind?" She paused for a moment, "I just don't want to be a burden to you, or take up too much of your time. I've been enough of both to far too many people." It was one of the many reasons she preferred droids to people these days.

This method to ease pain, seemed a great relief to her, after all medications had their limits and unpleasant side effects. If her pain could be eased that way, it could make a great difference in her life. And while she'd caught the mention of sorceress over warrior, she didn't inquire. She was just glad for the small bit of help.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He hums thoughtfully as he watches her. Exhaling softly, he tilts his head to the side inquisitively. "I won't speak to what the Jedi were thinking at the time," he said, almost apologetically after she had spoken about being a liability.

"I see no reason why I shouldn't teach you," he spoke softly. Though his head straightened out at her final words, a small smile came to his lips as he slowly nodded his head. "You likely will be a burden," he said shortly. He continued on speaking regardless of that 'revelation,' "But it is something that I will bare happily if it will help you," he says. Would he finally have the chance to help someone on a personal level? Fighting in the battles of the Republic was good and all, but that wasn't personal.

This.

This was personal.

"You'll grow stronger yourself. Physically, and mentally. I'm unsure if it'll change your situation with Quannot's, but you will at least be able to make a difference in the world." He pauses for a moment, and then he smiled. He figured they were similar in that fact. They both wanted to help people, but she had been denied by the Jedi because of her condition. The Force could heal almost anything he knew, but there was a sacrifice needed when doing it. Usually when immersed with the Dark Side of the Force it gave you greater power, but it changed your physical appearance and twisted your mind. But, in this case, and in Haytham's own, he deemed it one that was a necessary evil.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell nodded. What the Jedi had said back then had been painful. More painful than what the disease caused her. She simply wanted to do something in her short time to help others. To do anything that might save another even if it cost her life it'd be worth it in her eyes.

She frowned at those words. The girl had always been the burden to someone else, for someone else. And well, on her own she'd never quite been able to shoulder the burden on her own either. "Are you certain? Absolutely certain?" There was pain in her eyes that was unmistakable, though she did try to hide it a little. "Because I don't think I can handle another person walking away if I become too heavily a burden. It's happened already far too much."

She sighed again, "If you are certain that you want to do this, to teach me .... I would very much love that. Anything to not be as feeble and weak as I've been. Anything that might possibly help."

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He exhaled. He had been holding a breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Pushing himself off of the rock he stepped towards Amnell, maneuvering through the rocks and hopping over the final obstacle, standing less than a metre away from her as he begins to say, "I keep my word. I've only gone back on my word once in my lifetime, and... That was something that I had not foreseen," he said, and his eyes darkened for a moment, those full lips of his thinning for only the briefest of moments as she likely would've felt uneasy for the briefest of moments and then it passed.

He shoves a hand through his hair as he smiles brightly at her.

Am I really going to find my own Apprentice... Or Acolyte so soon in my tenure as Orcus's Apprentice? Perhaps I am meant to kill him.

"I can take it. And I will take you on. Though it will be painful and you will likely want to quit before I ever think of dropping you as my Apprentice." He cants his head to the side.

"The first lesson however, is to stop saying things like that." His voice took on a makeshift authority tone. He was unused to it, still an Acolyte, right? "Stop feeling bad for yourself. The only thing you'll be saying when referencing your disease is it's getting better. That you're going stronger and you're doing what you always wanted." He pauses.

"Do you understand, Amnell?"

Although it had been getting annoying to hear her repeatedly reference her disease and the Jedi, it was also to help her. If she repeated it enough aloud and to herself, it would become true over their time together in the future.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell nodded. It seemed something of a miracle that she'd run into him here. He seemed to be just the thing she needed in her life. She breathed a slight sigh of relief. Though a small part of her did wonder if he'd truly stick to his word. So few did these days. "That brings a small measure of comfort to hear that."

The unease was hard to miss, though it seemed to slip away just as quickly as it came. For her part, Amnell chose not to ask. Everyone had their secrets, and things they wanted to keep to themselves. She wasn't about to pry.

"I just needed to hear it. Even then, it's hard for me to trust words. Actions speak much better for a person." She sighed quietly as he continued on. There were doubts floating through her mind still, about whether or not she could handle this. Until now, she'd always felt so fragile, weak. And the Jedi hadn't helped. They'd only reinforced that idea within her mind.

She frowned slightly, but nodded once more. "I understand." Unfortunately, it would be a habit that was hard to break. She'd spent so long under one line of thought, that she had her doubts about being able to change how she had viewed herself. It was going to take time, and well, at least she had that, at this point. "I think I can manage that." Her tone wavering just a moment with uncertainty.

[member="Haytham Kaze"]