5/21/2014
5/20/2014
5/15/2014
Drama (OOC Rant)
All I really want to do is just rp. It's the most de-stressing
activity I have. It gets me out of my own convoluted emotionally
fucked up screwed up head where I'm very aware that I once had a
genius IQ and a rock solid memory and real potential to be someone but am now defined by a mental illness that makes me “that crazy woman” no
one can rely on. It helps me fend off paranoid thoughts, hopeless
thoughts, irrational fears, unbearable memories. It's my greatest
coping mechanism, gives vent to what creativity hasn't been burned
out of me by years of medications and other soul-crushing experiences
that, quite frankly, are none of your damn business, so, no, I won't
go into detail about them here.
It's an escape. It's fantasy. It's better than a movie or even a good book. It's a game of pretend and make believe. It's a safe place to be.
Now, imagine that I'm in this safe space, relaxed, guard down, and it's invaded with ooc whispers/messages about how Person A is pissed with me or Person B is mad at Person C or how someone thinks I'm a bad person for whatever reason. It chases me out of that safe space and back into a reality where I'm a bundle of insecurities and irrational, where my uncontrollable emotional reactions are waiting to take over. It feels like an attack. It's drama with a capital D. It makes me want to flee, which I often do quite readily.
This is a game. This is supposed to be where I go to have fun. Logically, it would seem to me that if I'm not having fun, then I should go elsewhere. I have enough stress in my real life. I have enough real drama to deal with. I have real problems in the real world.
Let me be clear here. If you choose to yell at me, the player, for what my character does, be sure it's for an RP faux paus and not a character flaw. Be sure you know that what my character does is NOT what I would do in a similar situation. For example, if you met Alan Rickman tomorrow in a grocery store, would you yell at him about what his character, Hans Gruber, did in Die Hard? Would you get into a screaming match with Roderick Thorp (the novelist who wrote the book) about how evil the character he wrote is?
If you can't separate IC from OOC well enough that you have an emotional reaction that makes you yell at me in ooc tells about my character's actions, you will be ignored. If you have a problem with someone else that I'm friends with, don't bring it to me, go talk to them, and stop trying to put me in the middle! I can talk things out rationally if you talk to me rationally, but I'm not the villain in your little personal melodrama.
I'm done being sent into tears every time someone wants to yell at me about how to play my characters. I'm not your whipping post. If you need to vent about something, fine, but don't bring me your issues with someone else and expect me to solve them or stop being friends with someone else on your behalf. I don't do that.
So, back the hell off.
It's an escape. It's fantasy. It's better than a movie or even a good book. It's a game of pretend and make believe. It's a safe place to be.
Now, imagine that I'm in this safe space, relaxed, guard down, and it's invaded with ooc whispers/messages about how Person A is pissed with me or Person B is mad at Person C or how someone thinks I'm a bad person for whatever reason. It chases me out of that safe space and back into a reality where I'm a bundle of insecurities and irrational, where my uncontrollable emotional reactions are waiting to take over. It feels like an attack. It's drama with a capital D. It makes me want to flee, which I often do quite readily.
This is a game. This is supposed to be where I go to have fun. Logically, it would seem to me that if I'm not having fun, then I should go elsewhere. I have enough stress in my real life. I have enough real drama to deal with. I have real problems in the real world.
Let me be clear here. If you choose to yell at me, the player, for what my character does, be sure it's for an RP faux paus and not a character flaw. Be sure you know that what my character does is NOT what I would do in a similar situation. For example, if you met Alan Rickman tomorrow in a grocery store, would you yell at him about what his character, Hans Gruber, did in Die Hard? Would you get into a screaming match with Roderick Thorp (the novelist who wrote the book) about how evil the character he wrote is?
If you can't separate IC from OOC well enough that you have an emotional reaction that makes you yell at me in ooc tells about my character's actions, you will be ignored. If you have a problem with someone else that I'm friends with, don't bring it to me, go talk to them, and stop trying to put me in the middle! I can talk things out rationally if you talk to me rationally, but I'm not the villain in your little personal melodrama.
I'm done being sent into tears every time someone wants to yell at me about how to play my characters. I'm not your whipping post. If you need to vent about something, fine, but don't bring me your issues with someone else and expect me to solve them or stop being friends with someone else on your behalf. I don't do that.
So, back the hell off.
5/08/2014
5/07/2014
5/06/2014
5/05/2014
Veeh'ra Bio
Age: 19
Eye Color: Pale blue cybernetic implants
Identifying marks: Extensive scarring over her scalp
Background:
Severe head trauma caused by crushing damage in a "training incident" (that wasn't her fault), so her entire skull had to be rebuilt. Cyborg tech was used to restore 100% of her motor functions and 75% of the rest of the damage to her brain. This made for a total personality change from the dedicated and good-natured soldier she used to be to a calculating, cold, fearless warrior without a moral compass. She follows her orders completely without regard to right or wrong. She is actually a better fighter than she was before the incident, the cybernetics enhancing her combat skills and abilities. She's blunt and sometimes crude. Her blaster rifle is named Jayne, and it is her most favorite piece of weaponry in the whole universe.
5/04/2014
For Lei and Kraxys
Haven't RP'd them in a while, but still...I hear this and immediately think of them.
5/03/2014
Aliyobi's bio
Name: Aliyobi
Age: 27
Race: Rattataki
Gender: Female
Ship: Vice Hound
Rank: First Mate
Background:
Born to the first mate and ship mechanic of a pirate ship known as the Ravage, Aliyobi grew up surrounded by a close knit crew that raised her as their own, even after losing her parents in a raid when she was about five or so. While she'll claim to know a little about everything after bouncing around a ship her entire life, her true talents rest in the blasters on her hips, and by the time she was sixteen, she was providing back-up fire in boarding parties and was developing a sharp eye for detail that would make her useful in finding those little hidden niches that were likely to be hiding something of value.
Ali believed her entire life would be spent on the Ravage's crew until the ship was attacked by a mysterious Sith Darth. While waiting at a rendevous point with "cargo" recently aquired on a raid targetted against a transport ship registered in the Republic, the unidentified Sith cripled and boarded, slaughtering the entire crew save for the rattataki. All she remembers of the attack is his approach toward her defensive position, then darkness.
When she woke up, Ali found herself on an escape pod, looking out of the tiny porthole at the wreckage that was left of the only home she'd ever known. A day later, she was rescued by a passing frieghter, the captain of which was kind enough to take her to Carrick station with no questions asked. There, she was sort of 'adopted' by a former Jedi named Skyka, who helped her get on her feet and began an unofficial investigation into the attack on the Ravage.
Age: 27
Race: Rattataki
Gender: Female
Ship: Vice Hound
Rank: First Mate
Background:
Born to the first mate and ship mechanic of a pirate ship known as the Ravage, Aliyobi grew up surrounded by a close knit crew that raised her as their own, even after losing her parents in a raid when she was about five or so. While she'll claim to know a little about everything after bouncing around a ship her entire life, her true talents rest in the blasters on her hips, and by the time she was sixteen, she was providing back-up fire in boarding parties and was developing a sharp eye for detail that would make her useful in finding those little hidden niches that were likely to be hiding something of value.
Ali believed her entire life would be spent on the Ravage's crew until the ship was attacked by a mysterious Sith Darth. While waiting at a rendevous point with "cargo" recently aquired on a raid targetted against a transport ship registered in the Republic, the unidentified Sith cripled and boarded, slaughtering the entire crew save for the rattataki. All she remembers of the attack is his approach toward her defensive position, then darkness.
When she woke up, Ali found herself on an escape pod, looking out of the tiny porthole at the wreckage that was left of the only home she'd ever known. A day later, she was rescued by a passing frieghter, the captain of which was kind enough to take her to Carrick station with no questions asked. There, she was sort of 'adopted' by a former Jedi named Skyka, who helped her get on her feet and began an unofficial investigation into the attack on the Ravage.
5/02/2014
Wait...there's one more, you say?
(( The following is converted from RP that took place on 5/1. My eternal gratitude to the player of Darth Ragious for helping me torment one of my most favorite characters in TOR. ))
Darth Ragious waited until it was early morning on Nar Shaddaa before settling into his secured private office aboard the shipyard where his new flagship and it's sister were currently being built. He'd left orders with his adjutant that if he was disturbed by anything other than an all out assault on the shipyard that she would pay a heavy price.
Entering a deep state of meditation, he began to project himself across the vastness of space, zeroing in on Aittera, still able to "feel" her through the Force. Even though the Twi'lek witch's meddling prevented him from hopping directly into her mind, he was able to make an image of himself appear in her room, clad in the simple black robes he had taken to wearing lately. He knew she would be sleeping, so he settled in to watch her until she woke.
When she stirred on the sleeping pallet that was substituting for a bed until she furnished the little one bedroom apartment, it was with a weary groan as consciousness brought the reminder that functional alcoholism only went so far, and she had been drinking too much lately. The headache wasn't as bad as it could be, though, and she pulled herself up into a sitting position to look around the empty room, carefully stretching.
When she saw the projection of the man who'd held her captive and continued to pursue her after her rescue, she drew the light blanket pooled in her lap up toward her stomach. She wasn't nude, of course, but the light shirt and panties she slept in suddenly felt woefully lacking, considering the unwelcome visitor's piercing gaze. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you to awaken so that we could have a conversation. I would have holo'd, but I had a feeling you would ignore the call."
Ragious gave her a smile as the image of him leaned forward in the projection of a chair. "You've met my son, and he did something rather interesting, did he not? He offered you a chance to end the hostilities between us, and to keep both you and your Cathar alive."
Aittera narrowed her gaze at the ghostly vision. "And?"
"I'm here to make you a far better and more direct offer than Khor ever could."
A bitter laugh erupted from the redhead, her response drenched in sarcasm. "Because I can trust you more than I can trust him."
"This isn't about trust. This is about both of us getting something we desire."
"What makes you think you know what I desire?"
"I think you and I both know the other more than either of us wants to admit, Aittera."
Her fists clenched the material of the blanket with a rush of anger that was reflected in her gaze. If he started in on that crud he'd tried to put in her head a few months earlier, she might just put a blaster bolt into her temple. "Say what you came to say, then go."
"I have no desire to continue to fight with you. I have no plans to escalate our conflict further. Believe what you will, but I know when enough is enough. You and I will fight this until we burn everything we hold dear if we continue down this path, and that is something I have no desire to force you to do. The truth is, I wanted you, I desired you when I saw you, and I overreached. I had someone that was able to resist my power for the first time in I can't even remember, and that alone makes you someone I want to preserve."
"So, that's it? I'm supposed to believe that your son is a reasonable peaceful being and you have suddenly changed?" If this was supposed to be as convincing as Khor'deth's performance, it was falling much father short for the redhead.
"I have recently learned something that has caused me to rethink things, Aittera."
"What's that?"
"That someone I thought dead and lost to me was alive. It has made me look at my past mistakes with new eyes."
It was an answer she wasn't prepared for, and a recent conversation with Jean Schramme about second chances came to mind. "What the hell is in the water you Sith are drinking lately?"
"I want you to understand, I am a patriot, Aittera. I won't stop fighting my Empire's war against the Republic, because I understand that it is a war for the very survival of my species. This offer I am about to make, I want to stay between us. I would prefer you cloak it in something else when you tell your Cathar about my visit, but I understand if you have no desire to lie to him."
Aittera rubbed her eyes as a heavy sigh left her. Could this whole situation get anymore unreal? "Wouldn't be the first secret I'd be keeping from him these days, I guess."
"I will limit my engagements to military targets only, unless a group of civilians decides to attack me in which I will take measured actions against only those responsible whenever possible. I will take the dirty out of my fighting. In exchange, I expect you to cease attacking my ships, and I have a job I want to hire you for."
Apparently, unreal was just beginning, and she furrowed her brow as she looked back to the image's face. "I don't work for Sith."
"But you do work against them, do you not?"
"Whenever I get the chance."
"Then consider this a chance. I simply wish you to find out why Jheryth Chrystopher has renewed his interest in me and my pet. I thought the matter settled years ago, but apparently I should have beheaded him then."
Aittera cursed. "Is there some reason the two of you are so intent on trying to drag me into things between you like this? Is this how things started with Renn'a?"
"I don't want to put you in the middle, I just want information. And would you not fight if someone tried to take Selus from you?" As if to drive home the point, he used the Cathar's name for the first time when referring to him.
"Selus isn't a slave or a toy. Your comparison is an insult."
"Renn'a isn't either of those things. That may be the twisted impression that he has decided to portray her as, but she knows exactly how much she means to me."
"Yeah, well...I'm sure you have a lovely relationship, but I won't put an innoc--" She bit the word off with a grimace, chiding herself for not being more careful. Under better circumstances, Aittera would never have let her tongue get so far ahead of her thoughts that she'd even let such volatile intel as Will'a's existence enter her mind.
She'd been trained in ways to conceal her thoughts from Force users in her SIS days, and yet, she wasn't employing a single tactic she'd learned. Hell, part of her was ready to buy the utter crap he was peddling. Let them all go kill each other and leave her and her hangover alone. "No deal."
"You think Jheryth is innocent? Really I thought you knew better."
"I think you'd both burn the universe down for your own interests and to hell with the rest of us who might get caught in the blaze."
"Aittera, what do you need me to do to show you that I can be trusted not to misuse what you tell me. I only wish to know why after years of staying off my radar he tried to hire pirates of all people to take me on. I could have easily swept them aside, one of them even owed me their life, why would he out of the blue do that? If you want an example of people potentially caught in the blaze, it is he who is dragging others in."
"Then, why don't you ask your wife!" she growled back through gritted teeth. Screw it. If she'd already flubbed by nearly mentioning what she knew, she might as well make it count for something. Hopefully, Ragious and Kiabe would start fighting, and somehow, Jheryth could use the distraction to kill at least one of them. Hell, if all three of them killed each other, at least they would stop visiting her dreams and bedroom and brain and...damn, she needed a drink.
He seemed to find meaning in her words, whether that was her intent or not, and nodded. "I will, thank you Aittera."
The apparition stood, and the chair it had been sitting in dissipated into nothingness. "Are the other terms of my offer agreeable?"
She glared at the apparition. "If you touch one civilian without provocation, I will make it my life's work not just to stop you, but to kill every damn person you ever even looked at longingly."
Ragious bowed to her and disappeared.
Aittera fell back onto her pillow to glare up at the ceiling, retreating into her natural state of dark sarcasm. "I think I liked it better when he was mucking around in my head."
Darth Ragious waited until it was early morning on Nar Shaddaa before settling into his secured private office aboard the shipyard where his new flagship and it's sister were currently being built. He'd left orders with his adjutant that if he was disturbed by anything other than an all out assault on the shipyard that she would pay a heavy price.
Entering a deep state of meditation, he began to project himself across the vastness of space, zeroing in on Aittera, still able to "feel" her through the Force. Even though the Twi'lek witch's meddling prevented him from hopping directly into her mind, he was able to make an image of himself appear in her room, clad in the simple black robes he had taken to wearing lately. He knew she would be sleeping, so he settled in to watch her until she woke.
When she stirred on the sleeping pallet that was substituting for a bed until she furnished the little one bedroom apartment, it was with a weary groan as consciousness brought the reminder that functional alcoholism only went so far, and she had been drinking too much lately. The headache wasn't as bad as it could be, though, and she pulled herself up into a sitting position to look around the empty room, carefully stretching.
When she saw the projection of the man who'd held her captive and continued to pursue her after her rescue, she drew the light blanket pooled in her lap up toward her stomach. She wasn't nude, of course, but the light shirt and panties she slept in suddenly felt woefully lacking, considering the unwelcome visitor's piercing gaze. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you to awaken so that we could have a conversation. I would have holo'd, but I had a feeling you would ignore the call."
Ragious gave her a smile as the image of him leaned forward in the projection of a chair. "You've met my son, and he did something rather interesting, did he not? He offered you a chance to end the hostilities between us, and to keep both you and your Cathar alive."
Aittera narrowed her gaze at the ghostly vision. "And?"
"I'm here to make you a far better and more direct offer than Khor ever could."
A bitter laugh erupted from the redhead, her response drenched in sarcasm. "Because I can trust you more than I can trust him."
"This isn't about trust. This is about both of us getting something we desire."
"What makes you think you know what I desire?"
"I think you and I both know the other more than either of us wants to admit, Aittera."
Her fists clenched the material of the blanket with a rush of anger that was reflected in her gaze. If he started in on that crud he'd tried to put in her head a few months earlier, she might just put a blaster bolt into her temple. "Say what you came to say, then go."
"I have no desire to continue to fight with you. I have no plans to escalate our conflict further. Believe what you will, but I know when enough is enough. You and I will fight this until we burn everything we hold dear if we continue down this path, and that is something I have no desire to force you to do. The truth is, I wanted you, I desired you when I saw you, and I overreached. I had someone that was able to resist my power for the first time in I can't even remember, and that alone makes you someone I want to preserve."
"So, that's it? I'm supposed to believe that your son is a reasonable peaceful being and you have suddenly changed?" If this was supposed to be as convincing as Khor'deth's performance, it was falling much father short for the redhead.
"I have recently learned something that has caused me to rethink things, Aittera."
"What's that?"
"That someone I thought dead and lost to me was alive. It has made me look at my past mistakes with new eyes."
It was an answer she wasn't prepared for, and a recent conversation with Jean Schramme about second chances came to mind. "What the hell is in the water you Sith are drinking lately?"
"I want you to understand, I am a patriot, Aittera. I won't stop fighting my Empire's war against the Republic, because I understand that it is a war for the very survival of my species. This offer I am about to make, I want to stay between us. I would prefer you cloak it in something else when you tell your Cathar about my visit, but I understand if you have no desire to lie to him."
Aittera rubbed her eyes as a heavy sigh left her. Could this whole situation get anymore unreal? "Wouldn't be the first secret I'd be keeping from him these days, I guess."
"I will limit my engagements to military targets only, unless a group of civilians decides to attack me in which I will take measured actions against only those responsible whenever possible. I will take the dirty out of my fighting. In exchange, I expect you to cease attacking my ships, and I have a job I want to hire you for."
Apparently, unreal was just beginning, and she furrowed her brow as she looked back to the image's face. "I don't work for Sith."
"But you do work against them, do you not?"
"Whenever I get the chance."
"Then consider this a chance. I simply wish you to find out why Jheryth Chrystopher has renewed his interest in me and my pet. I thought the matter settled years ago, but apparently I should have beheaded him then."
Aittera cursed. "Is there some reason the two of you are so intent on trying to drag me into things between you like this? Is this how things started with Renn'a?"
"I don't want to put you in the middle, I just want information. And would you not fight if someone tried to take Selus from you?" As if to drive home the point, he used the Cathar's name for the first time when referring to him.
"Selus isn't a slave or a toy. Your comparison is an insult."
"Renn'a isn't either of those things. That may be the twisted impression that he has decided to portray her as, but she knows exactly how much she means to me."
"Yeah, well...I'm sure you have a lovely relationship, but I won't put an innoc--" She bit the word off with a grimace, chiding herself for not being more careful. Under better circumstances, Aittera would never have let her tongue get so far ahead of her thoughts that she'd even let such volatile intel as Will'a's existence enter her mind.
She'd been trained in ways to conceal her thoughts from Force users in her SIS days, and yet, she wasn't employing a single tactic she'd learned. Hell, part of her was ready to buy the utter crap he was peddling. Let them all go kill each other and leave her and her hangover alone. "No deal."
"You think Jheryth is innocent? Really I thought you knew better."
"I think you'd both burn the universe down for your own interests and to hell with the rest of us who might get caught in the blaze."
"Aittera, what do you need me to do to show you that I can be trusted not to misuse what you tell me. I only wish to know why after years of staying off my radar he tried to hire pirates of all people to take me on. I could have easily swept them aside, one of them even owed me their life, why would he out of the blue do that? If you want an example of people potentially caught in the blaze, it is he who is dragging others in."
"Then, why don't you ask your wife!" she growled back through gritted teeth. Screw it. If she'd already flubbed by nearly mentioning what she knew, she might as well make it count for something. Hopefully, Ragious and Kiabe would start fighting, and somehow, Jheryth could use the distraction to kill at least one of them. Hell, if all three of them killed each other, at least they would stop visiting her dreams and bedroom and brain and...damn, she needed a drink.
He seemed to find meaning in her words, whether that was her intent or not, and nodded. "I will, thank you Aittera."
The apparition stood, and the chair it had been sitting in dissipated into nothingness. "Are the other terms of my offer agreeable?"
She glared at the apparition. "If you touch one civilian without provocation, I will make it my life's work not just to stop you, but to kill every damn person you ever even looked at longingly."
Ragious bowed to her and disappeared.
Aittera fell back onto her pillow to glare up at the ceiling, retreating into her natural state of dark sarcasm. "I think I liked it better when he was mucking around in my head."
5/01/2014
Because there aren't enough men telling her what to do...
(( Thanks to the player of Jheryth Chrystopher for always being a fun collaborator when it comes to mucking up my characters' lives and just being an all around great husband. :P ))
The crowded pleasure barge hummed with conversation as music throbbed from the speakers and seemingly through the guests who were dancing. The party was in full swing, as the saying goes, and the stunning redhead who cut a path through the throng seemed to gleam from within in her white strapless evening gown. She was searching for someone, and now that she'd spotted her quarry, she made her way toward where he stood at the railing with his back to her.
Jheryth Chrystopher rested his full weight against the railing, one hand propping up his chin, the other holding a glass of brandy that was balancing precariously on the edge of the railing. The occasional breeze tossed his hair back and forth across his back, revealing how thick and long it really was. As another gust of wind played by, he took a deep breath, catching the scent of the light, distinctive perfume she always wore. His head turned slightly to the side, the well tailored black suit shifting effortlessly with the motion. Turning back, he rested his arm down on the railing, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I knew it was only a matter of time until you returned.”
The assault of noises coming from the party seemed to bend away from his voice, making his words heard clearly.
The raucous party-goers faded from the corners of Aittera's vision, and the music died away. She knew without looking back that the barge was now empty save for herself and the white-haired man before her. She stepped to the railing beside him with a wry chuckle and took the glass from his hand to take a sip. "I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense - dreaming about you again after seeing you at a couple of these parties."
As the glass slipped from between his fingers, he turned to face her. That green energy flashed across his eyes, revealing an intense seriousness that the wry grin on his face did not reflect. “This must be of your doing. I would not dream you in such a place.”
He moved his hand away from the railing, motioning down the length of her body before falling to rest at his side, “You wear that halo of yours very well.”
She looked down to take in the beaded, shimmering white material that wrapped around the curvature of her voluptuous form and lifted a reproachful glance back to Jheryth's face. "If the party barge is my doing, this dress is obviously yours," she chided, and a sudden thought occurred to her. "The green dress in the woods - that was you too. Just how long have you been stalking me in my sleep?"
His eyes flashed again, and he turned away from her, staring out over the skyline, “Of course I must be the monster. How else could you absolve yourself if it were you who sought out my company?”
Aittera smirked. "Aww...feeling the martyrdom vibe, are we?" She was not about to let him play the victim card with her. It was beneath both of them. "So, if you're not doing this, and I'm not...who or what is?"
He spun around to face her, his face set, growling, “I DON'T KNOW!” He took a breath, avoiding her eyes, looking around at the surroundings, his right hand clenched. “What we do know of already, it would seem we both are.”
She flashed him an angry look. "Don't be melodramatic. What the hell are you yelling at?"
Jheryth looked back at her, pain written on his face. “I have a lot to be angry about! How dare you presume to know what I'm feeling?” He glared at her. “I am glad to see that your time with him has hardly broken your stride!”
Aittera rolled her eyes at him. "You have a lot of nerve! It's not my fault we're in each other's dreams! Why the hell are you yelling at me?"
"It is amazing how lucky you are. You saunter in here like you haven't a care in the world. Tell me, did you enjoy your stay with Lord Ragious? Because you do not even have a scratch to show for it!”
That hit a nerve. The storm that suddenly shook the air around them in the dreamscape dumped buckets on them as she threw a fist toward his face in a sudden rush of anger.
He rolled his head back with the punch, avoiding a broken jaw, thrusting an open palm towards her rib cage.
Thankfully, the rain had already rendered the beaded evening gown slick, and Jheryth's palm slid over it, reducing the impact and propelling his hand off toward her side. It slowed her momentum though, diminishing the power she put into a follow-up jab to his gut.
He let out a grunt as her fist landed, the drenched suit offering no protection. He swung his fist under her extended arm, aiming for her kidney, but the telegraphed punch was easily avoided with a quick step to his side, where Aittera sent a kick into the back of his knee.
He felt his knee give way, and he let himself drop down to both knees, Force reflexes already bringing his hands up to meet her swing, aiming both hands to grab hold of her arm. Trying to throw the matted hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head as he looked up at her, he raised his voice over the rush of wind and rain. “Aittera! Look at me!”
She was about to wrench her arm from Jheryth's grasp, but stopped to shoot a look of pure rage at his face. Blinking the rain from his eyes, his hair was a tangled, dripping mess, some of it plastered to his face. He kept a firm grip on her arm, keeping his senses alert for another attack. “He were are, fighting each other – and he's out there, laughing at us! I did not lie when I said you got off easy. I've watched him utterly destroy someone I care about. Twisted her mind, broken her, made her a true pet. Complete with her own cage, whoring her out. She's so broken now, she's just accepted that's who she is!”
The rain was gone as quickly as it had come, though the storm clouds remained, and she was backing away from him with the look of someone begrudgingly conceding a point. "You mean the slave."
He let go of her arm, picking himself off of the ground, "Her name was Renn'a. She was someone I care about. He destroyed that person when I abandoned her to save her sister. And what she went through was far worse than what you or Renn'a had to endure."
"You know there's no record of a sister, right?"
Jheryth nodded. "I am very much aware of that. I have been trying to look into it, but have made no headway. Without ever having met, they share the same last name."
Aittera fixed him with a dubious expression. "Dawes is not an uncommon last name. Sounds like you're reaching."
He smiled calmly back. "That would be a valid point if they were not identical. She believes Kiabe intended to use that fact to replace Renn'a with her to spy on Ragious."
"Wait. Back up. I think I'm missing a few puzzle pieces. Twins? And what does Kiabe have to do with any of this?"
His eyes sparkled with a soft green glow and he folded his arms across his chest. "Of course you are. Until last week, the only two people who knew Will'a existed were Kiabe and myself, and I worked very hard to keep her identity a secret." He looked down at his soaked clothing.
"I guess it's time to start talking then. Who is Will'a to Kiabe?"
Jheryth closed his eyes, concentrating as he lowered his arms to his side. After a few moments his suit melted away, being replaced by a green terry cloth robe. He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling in satisfaction. "That's better."
Aittera rolled her eyes and stalked back to the railing, folding her arms to rest against it, looking up at the storm clouds. In spite of the rain that had poured on them earlier, she was completely dry, her dress unaffected. Dream or psychotic break, it wasn't her that needed to put on a show. "Are you going to give me a straight answer, or do I need to wake up and hunt you down?"
He sighed as he joined her at the railing. "Of course, Aittera." He looked out at the horizon as he spoke, keeping his face passive. "As I understand, Will'a would have been a tool for Kiabe to use. Allow me to expound on the question. Will'a had been a guest of Kiabe's torture room for about a year before I rescued her."
A hushed expletive left her lips with a look of disgust. "How did you find out about her?"
Jheryth continued to keep his face passive as he spoke. "Completely by accident actually. I was summoned to Kiabe's estate for business. I do not believe she expected me to find out about her. When I happened to see her on a security monitor, I destroyed anyone who attempted to keep me from leaving with her. Leaving Renn'a where she was, and keeping off Ragious and Kiabe's radar was the only way to keep them both safe."
"That explains why you disappeared for so long, I suppose. Why is she wandering around Nar, asking my boyfriend to arrange a meeting with Renn'a if you're trying to keep her off the radar?"
"Because she asked me to give her the truth about her imprisonment, not because she was fully ready, but because Kiabe has found her. I told her it was unwise to seek out her sister, but she is determined."
Aittera nodded with a slight scowl. "That'll be a disappointing family reunion for her."
"I am inclined to agree with you. I am also certain that should she accomplish that, then Ragious will learn of her existence."
"You think he'll decide he wants a pair?" She smirked at her own double entendre.
"As sick and twisted as he is, how could he resist?"
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
Jheryth turned to her with an evil glint in his eyes. "Kill them both."
"Good luck with that."
"I despise everything they are. For all that power they have, they pervert themselves by preying on the weak. They use dirty, underhanded tactics to get what they want. They have hurt people that I care about. Even Will'a understands that the only way to be safe is to kill them. That is my stake in this. You at least deserve the truth, though I'm willing to bet you do not want to hear the rest of it."
Aittera's expression became hardened, and she kept her gaze fixed to a point on the horizon. "I don't care."
"Only one of us is going to speak the truth. I do not blame you. I had hoped I earned at least that much."
Had he? She supposed she owed him something for giving Selus the security codes to the Avenger. "The truth is I can't help you."
Jheryth looked at her with tenderness. "The truth is you would rather run than stay and fight. It does not matter how many others he hurts, as long as it is not you. If that is your position, at least have the courage to admit it."
Aittera growled low, clenching her fists where they rested on the railing. "It's not. My hands are tied. If this was my call, I'd still be going after him like gangbusters until the bastard is dead."
"I truly apologize. If I had not given him the means to rescue you, perhaps this conversation would have gone differently."
"Oh sure. You'd be having this conversation with a dead woman. I bet that'd be useful."
"You misunderstand. I had intended to get you out myself. I chose to give that information to Selus instead."
"You'll understand if my confidence in Selus's abilities overwhelms any I might have in your own."
"His confidence in your abilities seems lacking."
"Kriff you." Aittera spun to face him, the storm raging in her deep blue gaze as intensely as it had assaulted the dreamscape around them. "Do you really think that coming to me with this self-righteous spin on things is going to sway me or get me to help you? You really think I'm so blind as to not see that you're just as selfish and self-serving as you ever were? You saw a girl who looked like the one you lost to your rival on a security monitor and ran to her rescue. What if she'd been a common soldier or a captured Jedi you had no personal stake in? You were already doing business with a damn Sith known for her cruelty and viciousness, Jheryth! I may have shed my ideals for a more realistic view of the universe, but at least I don't pretend to be something I'm not!"
He met her gaze without flinching. "That is why I gave the information to Selus."
"Exactly. That's exactly why I didn't choose to walk away from my partner and best friend for you, and it's why you don't get to criticize him or his influence in my damn life. You forget that I have as much intel on you as I do on Ragious, and all I see are similarities. The only loyalty either of you have is to yourselves and your own self interests. The idea of putting someone else's interests ahead of your own for no other reason than loyalty or honor is a foreign concept."
She cast about for a way to end the dream, finally settling for walking toward the pleasure barge's exit without waiting for a response.
Moments later, she was seething as she sat up in the still unfamiliar surroundings of her new flat on Nar Shaddaa.
The crowded pleasure barge hummed with conversation as music throbbed from the speakers and seemingly through the guests who were dancing. The party was in full swing, as the saying goes, and the stunning redhead who cut a path through the throng seemed to gleam from within in her white strapless evening gown. She was searching for someone, and now that she'd spotted her quarry, she made her way toward where he stood at the railing with his back to her.
Jheryth Chrystopher rested his full weight against the railing, one hand propping up his chin, the other holding a glass of brandy that was balancing precariously on the edge of the railing. The occasional breeze tossed his hair back and forth across his back, revealing how thick and long it really was. As another gust of wind played by, he took a deep breath, catching the scent of the light, distinctive perfume she always wore. His head turned slightly to the side, the well tailored black suit shifting effortlessly with the motion. Turning back, he rested his arm down on the railing, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I knew it was only a matter of time until you returned.”
The assault of noises coming from the party seemed to bend away from his voice, making his words heard clearly.
The raucous party-goers faded from the corners of Aittera's vision, and the music died away. She knew without looking back that the barge was now empty save for herself and the white-haired man before her. She stepped to the railing beside him with a wry chuckle and took the glass from his hand to take a sip. "I suppose it makes a certain kind of sense - dreaming about you again after seeing you at a couple of these parties."
As the glass slipped from between his fingers, he turned to face her. That green energy flashed across his eyes, revealing an intense seriousness that the wry grin on his face did not reflect. “This must be of your doing. I would not dream you in such a place.”
He moved his hand away from the railing, motioning down the length of her body before falling to rest at his side, “You wear that halo of yours very well.”
She looked down to take in the beaded, shimmering white material that wrapped around the curvature of her voluptuous form and lifted a reproachful glance back to Jheryth's face. "If the party barge is my doing, this dress is obviously yours," she chided, and a sudden thought occurred to her. "The green dress in the woods - that was you too. Just how long have you been stalking me in my sleep?"
His eyes flashed again, and he turned away from her, staring out over the skyline, “Of course I must be the monster. How else could you absolve yourself if it were you who sought out my company?”
Aittera smirked. "Aww...feeling the martyrdom vibe, are we?" She was not about to let him play the victim card with her. It was beneath both of them. "So, if you're not doing this, and I'm not...who or what is?"
He spun around to face her, his face set, growling, “I DON'T KNOW!” He took a breath, avoiding her eyes, looking around at the surroundings, his right hand clenched. “What we do know of already, it would seem we both are.”
She flashed him an angry look. "Don't be melodramatic. What the hell are you yelling at?"
Jheryth looked back at her, pain written on his face. “I have a lot to be angry about! How dare you presume to know what I'm feeling?” He glared at her. “I am glad to see that your time with him has hardly broken your stride!”
Aittera rolled her eyes at him. "You have a lot of nerve! It's not my fault we're in each other's dreams! Why the hell are you yelling at me?"
"It is amazing how lucky you are. You saunter in here like you haven't a care in the world. Tell me, did you enjoy your stay with Lord Ragious? Because you do not even have a scratch to show for it!”
That hit a nerve. The storm that suddenly shook the air around them in the dreamscape dumped buckets on them as she threw a fist toward his face in a sudden rush of anger.
He rolled his head back with the punch, avoiding a broken jaw, thrusting an open palm towards her rib cage.
Thankfully, the rain had already rendered the beaded evening gown slick, and Jheryth's palm slid over it, reducing the impact and propelling his hand off toward her side. It slowed her momentum though, diminishing the power she put into a follow-up jab to his gut.
He let out a grunt as her fist landed, the drenched suit offering no protection. He swung his fist under her extended arm, aiming for her kidney, but the telegraphed punch was easily avoided with a quick step to his side, where Aittera sent a kick into the back of his knee.
He felt his knee give way, and he let himself drop down to both knees, Force reflexes already bringing his hands up to meet her swing, aiming both hands to grab hold of her arm. Trying to throw the matted hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head as he looked up at her, he raised his voice over the rush of wind and rain. “Aittera! Look at me!”
She was about to wrench her arm from Jheryth's grasp, but stopped to shoot a look of pure rage at his face. Blinking the rain from his eyes, his hair was a tangled, dripping mess, some of it plastered to his face. He kept a firm grip on her arm, keeping his senses alert for another attack. “He were are, fighting each other – and he's out there, laughing at us! I did not lie when I said you got off easy. I've watched him utterly destroy someone I care about. Twisted her mind, broken her, made her a true pet. Complete with her own cage, whoring her out. She's so broken now, she's just accepted that's who she is!”
The rain was gone as quickly as it had come, though the storm clouds remained, and she was backing away from him with the look of someone begrudgingly conceding a point. "You mean the slave."
He let go of her arm, picking himself off of the ground, "Her name was Renn'a. She was someone I care about. He destroyed that person when I abandoned her to save her sister. And what she went through was far worse than what you or Renn'a had to endure."
"You know there's no record of a sister, right?"
Jheryth nodded. "I am very much aware of that. I have been trying to look into it, but have made no headway. Without ever having met, they share the same last name."
Aittera fixed him with a dubious expression. "Dawes is not an uncommon last name. Sounds like you're reaching."
He smiled calmly back. "That would be a valid point if they were not identical. She believes Kiabe intended to use that fact to replace Renn'a with her to spy on Ragious."
"Wait. Back up. I think I'm missing a few puzzle pieces. Twins? And what does Kiabe have to do with any of this?"
His eyes sparkled with a soft green glow and he folded his arms across his chest. "Of course you are. Until last week, the only two people who knew Will'a existed were Kiabe and myself, and I worked very hard to keep her identity a secret." He looked down at his soaked clothing.
"I guess it's time to start talking then. Who is Will'a to Kiabe?"
Jheryth closed his eyes, concentrating as he lowered his arms to his side. After a few moments his suit melted away, being replaced by a green terry cloth robe. He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling in satisfaction. "That's better."
Aittera rolled her eyes and stalked back to the railing, folding her arms to rest against it, looking up at the storm clouds. In spite of the rain that had poured on them earlier, she was completely dry, her dress unaffected. Dream or psychotic break, it wasn't her that needed to put on a show. "Are you going to give me a straight answer, or do I need to wake up and hunt you down?"
He sighed as he joined her at the railing. "Of course, Aittera." He looked out at the horizon as he spoke, keeping his face passive. "As I understand, Will'a would have been a tool for Kiabe to use. Allow me to expound on the question. Will'a had been a guest of Kiabe's torture room for about a year before I rescued her."
A hushed expletive left her lips with a look of disgust. "How did you find out about her?"
Jheryth continued to keep his face passive as he spoke. "Completely by accident actually. I was summoned to Kiabe's estate for business. I do not believe she expected me to find out about her. When I happened to see her on a security monitor, I destroyed anyone who attempted to keep me from leaving with her. Leaving Renn'a where she was, and keeping off Ragious and Kiabe's radar was the only way to keep them both safe."
"That explains why you disappeared for so long, I suppose. Why is she wandering around Nar, asking my boyfriend to arrange a meeting with Renn'a if you're trying to keep her off the radar?"
"Because she asked me to give her the truth about her imprisonment, not because she was fully ready, but because Kiabe has found her. I told her it was unwise to seek out her sister, but she is determined."
Aittera nodded with a slight scowl. "That'll be a disappointing family reunion for her."
"I am inclined to agree with you. I am also certain that should she accomplish that, then Ragious will learn of her existence."
"You think he'll decide he wants a pair?" She smirked at her own double entendre.
"As sick and twisted as he is, how could he resist?"
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
Jheryth turned to her with an evil glint in his eyes. "Kill them both."
"Good luck with that."
"I despise everything they are. For all that power they have, they pervert themselves by preying on the weak. They use dirty, underhanded tactics to get what they want. They have hurt people that I care about. Even Will'a understands that the only way to be safe is to kill them. That is my stake in this. You at least deserve the truth, though I'm willing to bet you do not want to hear the rest of it."
Aittera's expression became hardened, and she kept her gaze fixed to a point on the horizon. "I don't care."
"Only one of us is going to speak the truth. I do not blame you. I had hoped I earned at least that much."
Had he? She supposed she owed him something for giving Selus the security codes to the Avenger. "The truth is I can't help you."
Jheryth looked at her with tenderness. "The truth is you would rather run than stay and fight. It does not matter how many others he hurts, as long as it is not you. If that is your position, at least have the courage to admit it."
Aittera growled low, clenching her fists where they rested on the railing. "It's not. My hands are tied. If this was my call, I'd still be going after him like gangbusters until the bastard is dead."
"I truly apologize. If I had not given him the means to rescue you, perhaps this conversation would have gone differently."
"Oh sure. You'd be having this conversation with a dead woman. I bet that'd be useful."
"You misunderstand. I had intended to get you out myself. I chose to give that information to Selus instead."
"You'll understand if my confidence in Selus's abilities overwhelms any I might have in your own."
"His confidence in your abilities seems lacking."
"Kriff you." Aittera spun to face him, the storm raging in her deep blue gaze as intensely as it had assaulted the dreamscape around them. "Do you really think that coming to me with this self-righteous spin on things is going to sway me or get me to help you? You really think I'm so blind as to not see that you're just as selfish and self-serving as you ever were? You saw a girl who looked like the one you lost to your rival on a security monitor and ran to her rescue. What if she'd been a common soldier or a captured Jedi you had no personal stake in? You were already doing business with a damn Sith known for her cruelty and viciousness, Jheryth! I may have shed my ideals for a more realistic view of the universe, but at least I don't pretend to be something I'm not!"
He met her gaze without flinching. "That is why I gave the information to Selus."
"Exactly. That's exactly why I didn't choose to walk away from my partner and best friend for you, and it's why you don't get to criticize him or his influence in my damn life. You forget that I have as much intel on you as I do on Ragious, and all I see are similarities. The only loyalty either of you have is to yourselves and your own self interests. The idea of putting someone else's interests ahead of your own for no other reason than loyalty or honor is a foreign concept."
She cast about for a way to end the dream, finally settling for walking toward the pleasure barge's exit without waiting for a response.
Moments later, she was seething as she sat up in the still unfamiliar surroundings of her new flat on Nar Shaddaa.
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