And the Little Dog, Too

[Nassier Zirfae]

Welcome to Leritor, a diverse world known for its oceans, its mountain majesties, and fruited plains! Nassier yawned as the overly-cheerful droid's voice droned on. She shifted from her position of lounging across two chairs, bare feet propped up in angles that'd look uncomfortable to all who hadn't known the Caprine before hand. She had to stop and readjust once more, horns catching the underside of the seat at her head. With a huff, she forwent the seats entirely, rolling out of them and slipping her way to an area more populated.

"Are we there yet?" She leaned against the wall of the ship, voice a mixture of excitement and boredom. Expeditions to the outside galaxy were a rare thing. Journeys on her own, or at least without other Lyleks, were unheard of. Now if only they'd hurry up and get there.

She was promised Yorshi, and from what little she'd looked at when she was handed a datapad, she wanted one. She really wanted one.

[member="Rapax"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

Why was she here, on this world without any merit to history, with people she barely knew, searching for something that she barely knew, Grace could barely answer. She was bored, mostly, and part of her missed the Vorsknr she had lost while fleeing Bast Castle. It hadn't been much for company, but the beast had been loyal and fierce guard dog. From what she understood of these creatures, they were nothing like that. Well, they were loyal. But these were pets, little balls of fur who loves snuggles and petting. Something to keep her company while reading or writing a thesis paper.

As she stood, musing, her back leaning on the wall, a creature looking like some mythical Satyr entered, looking somewhere between bored and restless. Her question drew a short laugh from Grace. "If we were there, we would have stopped." Pushing off the wall, she studied the woman for a moment. "You're the acting Shaman of the Lylek, right?" Her question wasn't meant to pry, but she wanted something to talk about. This woman was... interesting. Maybe this wasn't as boring as she had thought it would be.

[member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Rapax"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"]​

 

[Srina Talon]

Srina stepped down from her Masters ship, the Ferocity, with the tiniest bit of excitement in her step. The typically even tempered, intense, and mature Echani apprentice was also the curious sort. She’d never been to Leritor and she’d also never seen a Sauvax before. She knew that the galaxy was wide and vast with a colorful population but the notion of a sentient crustacean was absolutely foreign to her. Slim fingers tugged on the arm of mentor’s armor in an attempt to hasten his stride. Impossible, of course. No one rushed Darth Metus. He arrived exactly when he meant to, not a moment sooner, or later.

Leritor seemed like a bit of a backwater but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a certain level of beauty in it. The slender woman spun in a slow circle to take in the view as they slowly exited the shadow of the assault frigate. Taking this particular ship was a little bit excessive for a recreational venture but Srina was fond enough of it that her master indulged her rare moment of whimsy. Two of the crew brought down a pair of Q3-R Landspeeders and the silvery woman smiled in response to their prompt attentiveness. The durasteel transport would be more than sufficient for such easy terrain.

Breathing deeply, she was amazed at how fresh the air seemed. Clear. “We’ve been spending too much time on Coruscant. This planet is beautiful.”

There were honest to goodness oceans with blue waters and rolling grassy plains as far as the eye could see. Obviously, Darth Metus wouldn’t have acquiesced to this outing if there weren’t some sort of lesson to be found. He had taken quite a bit of time educating her about the different peoples in the galaxy, especially when it came to fighting prowess, so that she might make better use of her Echani awareness.

There were other starships coming and going. Srina was confused. Hadn’t she read that Leritor had minimal contact with more advanced civilizations? “What do you think they’re all doing here?”, she questioned her mentor, lips quirking to the side as she raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Srina was curious as to what had suddenly made such a relatively peaceful and boring planet something of a hot spot.

The small woman took off her dark jacket and set it neatly on the seat of one of the speeders. The sun was warm, bright, and she’d much rather feel it on her skin versus baking in leather. Twin vibro blades from Eshan were visible in a harness that ran along her spine. Beneath that she wore a patterned blue corset with black piping. Protective leathers tucked into knee high boots with small slim daggers secured in each one. “So, Master, what are we here to work on?”

Other starships were landing as she spoke. They didn’t look like battle cruisers. Expedition ships?

[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Rapax"]

 

[Malok]

What the Sith had in mind reminded him of Zenith Prime.

During his youth, the first Confederacy had taken an outing to the manufactured world in order to learn in the Force. Particularly, the resident Force sect had dedicated the venture to the taming of various creatures. Some practitioners decided to use their talents to form an instant bond with the beasts in question...whilst others simply dominated their will. Regardless of method, this was one of the lessons that Darth Metus looked back upon with fondness. For, not only did it build upon his foundation of mentalism, it afforded him a new companion for many months to come.

Enter Leritor: a world formerly not on Darth Metus' radar.

It was during a routine afternoon on Coruscant that the backwater planet first caught his attention. With datapad in hand, the Sith recalled going over the basic news of the day: Silver Jedi at War, Mandalorians at War, etc. However, whilst he skimmed the usual reports of an embattled Galaxy, he stumbled upon a divine contradiction to the norm. It was a simple opinion piece regarding a resident species of Leritor: the Yorshi. At a glance, the tiny, canines were the definition of useless to the Sith; and any other day he would have simply flipped over to the next tab.

But.

The Sith had a few people in his life who might enjoy one. His spouse. His daughters. His Apprenrice. What woman could say no to something that a reporter spent ten thousand words doting over? Thus, a much-needed departure from the Coruscant office was planned and undertaken, culminating with a safe landing on Leritor's surface. When, at long last, the Sith and his Apprentice were greeted to the light of day, Darth Metus squinted. Despite the brightness, everything before him was excessively beautiful to gaze upon. The greenery. The cloudless sky. It was a stark contrast to the cityscape of Coruscant or the red sands of Geonosis.

A content sigh escaped him as [member="Srina Talon"] tugged on his arm. She led the way down the Ferocity's ramp until his boots crunched against the fertile ground. It was quite obvious that the young Echani was excited, given how she twirled with arms wide open. And that gave Metus a light smile. In truth, the free spirit in Srina reminded him of his youngest, Adela. She would have loved to have taken this trip...but...

"What do you think they're all doing here?"

The question roused him from picking at an old wound. Looking skyward, Darth Metus witnessed the descent of other vessels down to the planet's surface. This...was an unforeseen event, indeed. He was not aware that the Ferocity had been followed...and he dared not assume that those vessels were simply locals from neighboring worlds. Looking over his shoulder, he spoke to one of the Droid crewmembers within earshot. "Give me an IFF on those vessels, please." came his simple, yet firm, order. The droid, which had just finished setting up the Sith's speeder, looked to the ships and began to process.

"Origin: Confederacy of Independent Systems. Designation: Civilian Transport."

Darth Metus relaxed ever so slightly.

"Sounds like we weren't the only ones in need of some time away, eh Srina?" he began, stepping towards his speederbike. Swinging one leg over, he promptly seated himself before gripping the handles firmly. "I've got a lesson in mind for you today, but first we need to find a couple Yorshi. Ever heard of them?"

His speeder then roared to life.

"C'mon, might as well see what they're up to. Maybe they'll help us find what we're looking for."

[member="Srina Talon"], [member="Rapax"], [member="Lady Psyona"], [member="Nassier Zirfae"]

 

[Rapax]

He doesn't know why he came here for these little creatures all they served was to be simple cuddle creatures for reading and such like that however relaxation like this was needed as well as interaction with a few members he hasn't met yet but others of his pact have arrived he could tell which was interesting that alot of the Mandragora have arrived for these little creatures, Oh well to each there own he would assume besides the Yorshi may have other uses here and there, He recognized Lady Psyona who was one of the newest members of the Jart pact he was there when many of them where changed but why the mandragora wanted to come here was beyond him. He simply walked over to meet with the others and waited to go.

[member="Srina Talon"] [member="Nassier Zirfae"] [member="Darth Metus"] [member="Lady Psyona"]

 

[Nassier Zirfae]

"Yup yup, I am," Nassier replied with an energetic nod. "Have not a clue as to why anyone thought leaving me with such a title was a good idea, but who am I to question those above us?" Everything, the Daughter of Lylek had learned long ago, happened for a reason. It was her purpose not to question the Lylek's wisdom, merely to bend to its will, serve as its tool, and apparently, lead the other chosen ones until there came a time where someone better suited for leadership took over. "'M a bit anxious to find out who our next Shaman will be. The formalities that come with Shaman are so boring." She spoke without so much as a breath in between her sentences, words getting jumbled together as if she couldn't get them out fast enough.

As she spoke, she ended up sliding to the floor, legs sprawled out to take up the majority of the doorway. "And what of you? You're with...with one of the other pacts, right?" She vaguely recalled seeing the Sith at the Mandragora gathering. She hadn't bothered to engage the other that night. No, she'd seemed a bit out of it. That and Nassier had been more interested in speaking to the more lively folk, not to mention the new Shamen of the other pacts. If she was going to maintain her position as acting Shaman, she couldn't just completely ignore the other leaders.

[member="Rapax"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Lady Psyona"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

A small smile crossed the Vahla's face as the Lylek woman spoke. She's nervous, doesn't like her job. "The Spirits choose who they will. It is not our place to question them." Not that she believed her own words for a second. After all, she refused to bow to some Force entity just because it claimed that He owned her. It wasn't part of who she was to submit. Not to the proclaimed Dark Lord in the North, not to any man, not even to what some would call a God. "I guess the rest of us don't see as much of what goes on behind the scenes." The words masked something, a drop of bitterness diluted in her voice. "Must be difficult for you."

"I'm a Jart. Or so I'm told." A smile flashed across her face, glancing around the room as they landed. "Speaking of, looks like we're not the only ones here. There's the Jart's Shaman." Jealousy seemed to bite into her words. It seemed the woman wanted the position. Perhaps why she didn't have it. Then, without another word, she headed off the ship. There was something she could feel. No. Someone. Who was that?

"You here for a pet, too?" She asked her Shaman. "They're cute little things."

[member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Rapax"]​

 

[Srina Talon]

Srina cast a small smile back toward her Master as they surveyed the area. He seemed fairly relaxed, despite recent events, and she was glad for it. It was easy to feel less burdened when she had someone at her back that actually seemed to care whether she lived or died. Rather insistent force visions had led her to his side and she was finally beginning to understand that it wasn’t simply for the sake of much-needed guidance. There was a mutual benefit. Seeing Darth Metus relatively content, even if it was just because she was acting a touch juvenile, was almost worth getting chased down by a mentalist Sith and a few deranged Echani. “What are you thinking Master?”

“If you keep smiling like that the common riff-raff will forget to fear you.”

She was teasing him, of course, but silvered mirror eyes gave nothing away. She continued to visually examine the planet while her Master looked into the starships that were descending rapidly through the atmosphere of Leritor. Srina stretched her arms over her head and tilted her face up to the sun for a few moments. It felt wonderful. Real sunlight to enjoy, and real, clean air to breathe. It made this trip worth it just for those few natural amenities that most took for granted.

The droid reported that the ships following them belonged to the Confederacy and Srina noticed that her master instantly seemed to relax. Of all the worlds members of his faction decided to visit, it was strange, that they had chosen the very same one that Metus had. She bit her lower lip for a moment before choosing to follow her mentors lead and let her anxiety abate. If he wasn’t worried she shouldn’t be either. “I think everyone could do with a little time away. It's just a strange coincidence...”

Srina also slid onto her speeder and turned gracefully to swing one long leg over the side. Her jacket secure, she fished a pair of slim goggles out of a pack on the side and slid them over her head. She’d only recently learned how to use the speeders from the Ferocity to their full potential and some sort of protective eye covering was definitely necessary. Her reflexes were the only things that initially saved her from crashing. She pulled up smoothly beside Metus and intently waited for further instruction. The words that followed confused her and her elegant brow creased slighly. A Yorshi? “Forgive me…I read of the Sauvax on our way but I do not know what a Yorshi is.”

Her master didn’t explain but instead suggested that they follow up with the Confederacy starships that were landing in the distance. Srina took his words as a challenge and smiled at him, sweetly, before throwing her speeder into high gear. “Last one there is a rotten krykna egg!”

The sounds of the engine reverberated loudly in her ears and she took off with the notion of prompting the Sith Lord to match her in an impromptu race. The repulsorlift vehicle didn’t disappoint as greenery and low growing shrubs blew past. It didn’t take long to reach the expedition ship from their landing point but it was far enough that her cheeks were tinted pink from the rush. She liked going fast almost as much as she enjoyed besting Metus in something. Sure, she’d had a slight head start, but win was a win. Srina pulled to a stop and her speeder swung to the side in a neat half circle before the engine cut out. “Too slow Master!”, she called out to the dark-skinned man as she pulled her goggles up and let them rest in white-gold hair.

Srina squinted up at the open hatch to see who had arrived and her head tilted. The pale skinned Echani recognized all of them from some place or another. From the Golbah Games and Ryloth. Lady Psyona, the Jart Shaman, and the current Lylek Shaman. “It’s nice to see all of you again although we didn’t expect the Confederacy here... We’ve all met, briefly, but just in case, my name is Srina.”

She didn't know who would remember her or not and it felt polite to reintroduce herself. Metus required no such pleasantries.

“Darth Metus is looking for Yorshi. Can you tell us where to find them?”

[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Rapax"] | [member="Darth Metus"]

 

[Malok]

What are you thinking was quite the question.

In the context of the lesson this day, Darth Metus had not yet nailed down how he would introduce the ability to his student. For all her strengths and martial experience, there was a purity to [member="Srina Talon"] that kept tugging at memories of the past. The Sith knew that she was not his Adela - he had come to terms with that on the day that they had met. But there was a part of him that cringed at the thought of exposing the young woman to the abyss. He could tutor her, yes. He could show her all that he knew. Yet to cast her into the maw of the Dark Side...

Would he have done the same to Adela? Could he?

The Sith's smile waned, not in response to the Echani's jab, but due to his train of thought. Of course, he would never voice that to his apprentice. "The ability to influence minds is valuable, Srina. I am thinking of introducing this to you in the most...gentle...way possible." Because nothing said "gentle" than telepathically encouraing a tiny canine to sit, stay, or roll over. Darth Metus cast a knowing glance to his apprentice, lofting a brow as she settled down upon her speeder. "The common riff-raff don't get to go on field trips with me, so they'll never know."

For a moment, the Sith turned his attention to one of the bags situated upon his speeder. Stuffing a hand into its depth, he, too, produced a pair of goggles and flipped them over his mass of dreadlocks. The last thing he needed was crashing due to dust. "Aye, everyone could use a vacation. I sure as chit could use a week on Dubrillion. Beaches. Sun. The whole nine." He began whilst settling the goggles over his eyes. "As far as the coincidence goes, Yorshi are most likely the culprit. They are a recently discovered type of canine. Ridiculously adorable, according to the HoloNet."

He parted his lips to divulge a little bit more information, but before he could for a word he was eating dust.

"You little chit!" he yelled, between laughs. His fists revved the engines before his speeder took off after the Echani's. Although close, the minute head start Srina managed to steal was just enough to see her arrive a few seconds before him. Apparently he was now Darth Metus, Vicelord of the Confederacy and Rotten Krykna Egg. Coming to a halt beside her, he then turned off the speeder and settled his feet on the ground. His arms rested upon the controls, casually, as his sulfuric gaze swept over the Mandragora.

"Well met, one and all. Hope your journey was well. As Srina was so kind to inquire - have you seen any Yorshi yet?"

[member="Srina Talon"], [member="Lady Psyona"], [member="Nassier Zirfae"], [member="Rapax"]

 

[Rapax]

He listened as the two talked he could tell there was some amount of jealousy in [member="Lady Psyona"]'s words when she pointed out he was Shaman, But the choice of selection was not in his control but perhaps someday the opportunity shall arise where she can take his place but he had already chosen a successor so she may have to wait a long time before the opportunity comes. For now he simply responded to her question about the Yorshies. I figured I could use the mental practice even on such small creatures like these. He almost was about to wonder where [member="Darth Metus"] and [member="Srina Talon"] where until the sound of there speeders where heard as they arrived one by one, This was the first interaction between him and Metus and Srina since he joined the CIS this wasn't the most flashy or fitting event for the present company but everyone even Metus could use the practice around beast taming perhaps with more practice they could use it on bigger beasts in the future. No Yorshies have been found as of yet, Perhaps they are not near by after we arrived they can be quite ...Shy creatures.

 

[Nassier Zirfae]

The ghost of a shrug, partially masked by a bit of a shudder overtook the Caprine, partially trying to shake stray hairs from her eyes. "It's not so bad. Just a lot for one person, I s'pose. I guess that's why it's meant to be a two-person job." The moment Psyona mentioned the Jart, Nassier's focus deterred. Not meant as an insult to Psyona, of course, just Nassier had better things to think of over the other, lesser pacts.

"Jart's okay, I guess. If you like books and reading and that really long history stuff." There was no malice in her voice, just matter-of-fact statements. She didn't see the whole appeal in books. She liked doing things, not reading about them. There was no fun in that, nothing really learned. That, and reading often involved mostly staying in one place, hardly appealing.

She snapped back to focus at the Jart Shaman's voice. "Mental practice? What are you going to do to the poor things?" Since when were the Jart into experimentation? She nearly asked about it, nearly inquired as to what other darker methods the Jart had turned to. She was stopped, however, by the addition of two others. Nassier had seen both of them in passing. She'd never had the time to figure out how they were significant, nor earn their names, but based off the white-haired girl's introduction, they were somewhat important.

Nassier paid little attention to the introduction, nor did she answer their question. No, with the ghost of a 'woah' she pranced right up to Metus' speeder. "Nassier be me, yes, yes," She drawled, her silent pace to the Sith Lord coming to a halt. Eyes wide, she leaned forward to observe the contraption, too enthralled in the technology to even be aware of her horns poking out from her head. "What are you?" She'd seen speeders, sure. From afar.

[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Rapax"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Srina Talon"]​

 

[Grace Darkson]

There was a small pause as the woman's eyes shifted from the Caprine's scorn of knowledge and the Shaman's darker intention, not sure of which was worse. The glance of disappointment she managed to summon could fit for either one, really. "They'd only leave it to one person if it wasn't." She replied, before adding, "And yet I've learned more about the Force from books than any being alive or dead." A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, only to be replaced by a frown at Rapax's comment.

The Vahla turned to her Shaman, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "If you really need that much help with your mentalism that you need to practice on puppies, I certainly can't help you." Cold eyes shifted to the Caprine again, seeing the confused look on her face. "An animal's mind is easier to manipulate, so you teach a beginner to influence them first." There was someone approaching fast. No, two someones, like light and shadow mixed. Hmm. And then she heard it.

Speeders.

Almost as an instinct, her hand found the saber handle at her side. Golden eyes scanned the horizon for a moment, searching for dust clouds before her rational mind kicked in. Slowly, carefully, she relaxed, her hand moving away from the blade. Deep breaths. Slow breaths. Why was she so on edge? How had she become this paranoid? They weren't here to kill them. They were friends.

The first rider was a woman with silver hair, introducing herself as Srina. She was still young, and still proud of her master. When she spoke, announcing that he was looking for Yorshis, and asking if they knew where to find them, it was all Grace could do not to laugh. But when Metus came in asking the same thing, she snickered. "We literally just landed. For Vahl's sake, we haven't even gotten away from the landing zone!" Her smile widened, and there was something of a mischevious look in her eye. "So yes. We know exactly where they are."

If the Echani couldn't detect the sarcasm in her voice, there was nothing Grace could do to help her.

[member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Rapax"]​

 

[Srina Talon]

“I am not a child, Master. You needn’t be gentle.”, Srina drawled slowly to her Master, dual-toned voice agreeable, but lined with all the unapproachable necessities that etiquette demanded. If the dreadlocked man listened hard enough a touch of mirth could be detected beneath layers of learned formality. The prospect of practicing her mental abilities intrigued her. Darth Metus knew how much she liked to train, to pick up the tricks and trades of the Force, and this would be no different.

When he mentioned that the common people didn’t get to go on field trips with him her silver eyes widened, filled with feigned innocence, as her hands clasped neatly together in her lap. “This is a field trip? Really? Did you make my lunch for me too?”

Her tongue-in-cheek approach faded just as easily as it had arrived. She settled down on her speeder and listen to her Master talk about needing a vacation. He mentioned beaches, sun, and relaxation. Srina imagined that it would be nice for a little while but the Echani had a tendency to get restless when she remained in one place for too long. A side effect of evading capture, for months on end, she supposed. “I’ve never been there. What’s it like? Aside from sunny, that is.”, ever curious, the apprentice often picked her Master’s brain about things she didn’t know.

He also explained about the Yorshi and she nodded her head. That definitely made sense. If the HoloNet was advertising such creatures it was no small wonder that the air traffic would have increased. It was about then that she decided to get moving and a little bit of delight broke through her pristine exterior. She made sure that she had a lead on Darth Metus, his laughter in her ears, and very maturely avoided a victory dance when she won.

Srina greeted those that appeared from the hatch as kindly as she could. Always, she remembered that in most cases, she represented her Master, and she had no want to embarrass him. There was no hubris in the little Echani, merely lingering adrenaline from the spur-of-the-moment race, and it showed in the light coloring on her cheeks. Srina balanced on her Q3-R with ease, though her eyes lingered on the horned woman, who seemed entirely charmed by her Master’s speeder. Interesting.

Silvered eyes fell to the Jart Shaman and she smiled politely at the information he provided. “Thank you. That will help in our search. I don’t know much about them…Other than the fact that my Master believes them to be ‘ridiculously adorable’.”

The pale-skinned woman hid a small laugh behind her hand when her Master repeated her question. Perhaps he hadn’t heard her over the resounding loss he’d suffered at her hands. There was a slight issue of cheating for their race, but rarely, was anything ever made fair. Lady Psyona responded with a certain level of mischievous sarcasm and the Echani played along.

“Oh? Do you? Perfect.”

Raising her hand to the level of her eye, she surveyed the area, and tried to decide which direction to go. She was a little worried that the noise from the Q3-R’s would scare off the little canines but she wasn’t sure how she felt about walking all over Leritor for hours on end. Tilting her head, she looked toward Darth Metus, and nodded her head north. “We could head that direction. There’s water…Some small patches of forest area that they could live and hide in. It seems as good a start as any.”

[member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Rapax"] | [member="Darth Metus"] |

 

[Malok]

"Well since you're so grown up I'll teach you how my Master did me - hanging you out of the airlock until you get it right."

At first his retort was delivered with a grave seriousness, but any look at the expression on his face told a different story. With a single eyebrow raised and a half smile upon his lips, the Sith was a poster child for sarcasm. And, apparently, [member="Srina Talon"] had realized the truth of his expression - as she then asked a question about a personally packed lunch. Darth Metus snorted and gave one of the side bags a light pat. "I got you covered Srini dear, sandwiches with the crust cut off and everything."

When the moment of sarcasm subsided, the Sith paused the adjusting of his goggles in order to answer her followup question about Dubrillion. For the most part, the planet was all about the sunshine...but it had some other defining features that made it a fantastic vacation spot. "Warm. Oceans as far as the eye can see. Untouched by human hands for the most part. It's the perfect getaway." he said. "We'll go sometime."

Several moments and a crushing defeat later, Darth Metus found himself being stared down.

It was...jarring...to say the very least, but one of the fellow adventurers seemed very fascinated with his speeder bike. What's more, after she had asked about it...he was met with a touch more sarcasm.

Ha.

Ha.

Ha.

"It's a speeder bike?" came his eventual response before he slid his gaze to the other Mandragora. "And firstly, the HoloNet said they were ridiculously adorable thank you. I reserve my adoration until I have one in hand. Second, is it possible to get some fried nuna with that sass? I'm famished."

And just to be a jerk, Darth Metus revved the engine of his speeder bike once Srina had given them a heading.

"We can certainly feel them out as we get closer. Lead the way."

[member="Srina Talon"], [member="Rapax"], [member="Nassier Zirfae"], [member="Lady Psyona"]