Better Late Than Never

[Louise]

Oh, so that's how they milk a grasser. Intriguing.

The ghost of Karin Dorn lurked in the Castle Library, scouring through mundane biology texts in the vague hope that time would pass just a little faster. Passing to where, she didn't know. It wasn't like she was aging...or leaving...ever.

They were the unimportant tomes that only served in making the collection look impressive. The fact it was recorded onto actual paper instead of being data was astounding. Maybe it was an antique. Peeling her eyes away from the tome, the undead woman finally noticed the servant.
The terrified servant.

Of course, the castle's hauntings were well known at this point and time, and even though Lady Dorn was choosing to remain invisible at that moment in time, a floating book only directed the flashing neon sign towards the conclusion of GHOST!

But she was in no mood to truly spook the workers.

The floating book flung itself (with a little help, of course) towards the head of the servant, who promptly responded by shrieking and fleeing the scene. The scare was too easy, there was no art to it and therefore no reward. In the genre of horror itself you know a cheap scare, sure, for a moment you leapt out of your seat but it only served to take away from the atmosphere and of course, the atmosphere was the key to the perfect scare.

Along with a decent build up and a cracking score, of course.

Becoming visible once more, Dorn sighed, wearing her ghostly visage of mild annoyance and slunk into a chair.

It was one of those death days.

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Hmm. Intriguing." The smile grew on the face of one Circe Savan, someone intrigued by the book that had floated and scared the daylights out of Kaine's servant. "But we all know there are no such things as ghosts, don't we?" The Force Immersion she shrouded herself in dissipated as she sighed, turning to look at where the Sith Spectress had been moments before. "Karin Dorn, I presume? Or what's left of you... A sad fate for such a powerful Sith sorceress as yourself."

The plant-woman began to walk in a circle. Why, she didn't know. But it seemed fun, didn't it? That, and she kinda had no idea where @[member="Karin Dorn"] really was until she manifested into the infamous blue 'Force ghost' form. "Being dead sure is fun, I'd assume. I unfortunately know from experience. But shouldn't you be trying to inhabit a body? Or can you?"

Perhaps there was a solution to be made here. "What say we make a deal? You stop being undead, with my assistance, in exchange for teaching me all you know. Fair enough, darling?"

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

Oh good, somebody of interest.

As a dead woman Pride was swiftly becoming her favourite sin to indulge in. Not only did she had an incredibly imposing statue outside but ever single person of note that she had encountered in this castle seemed to fawn over the fact that she was a powerful sorceress. No, no paparazzi, please. Oh, this dress? It's a genuine Chut'tur'gah. Oh, you might not have heard of him, he's an underground Hutt designe-

Whoa, lost myself for a moment.

She remained in the chair. Although it had to be asked, was she actually sitting? Or just floating to appear as if she was sitting. Now that is the question. The answer of course will never be revealed to the like of mere mortals so we'll have to leave that one hanging.

The ghost shot the woman a puzzled expression, did she just call her darling? Despite having that flawless blue visage the deceased Sith was far too old to be getting called darling. “All that I know?” she queried, before realising that the finer points of bantha anatomy was not the knowledge that this woman was seeking, she had absorbed an awful lot of books and holodisks in her time. Knowledge is power, even if said knowledge was regarding Jawa politics in 5975 BBY.

It already felt like a dangerous agreement.

She offered the woman a smile, a combination of the Big Bad Wolf and Grandma on her extremely dead lips. “Very well,” she said, peeling herself off of the couch, “I'm afraid that being dead has left me extremely restless. We shall begin now, tell me your name, girl.” The woman was already dead, she had nothing to lose here, so why not take the plunge?

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Circe. Circe Savan. I assume you've visited my laboratory, seen and heard my experiments twisting plant life further into my own image with the help of my test subjects. You know what I can do for you." She smiled, giving a soft chuckle. "Warping life through science is what I do. Focusing solely on the Force itself doesn't lend results as quickly as is to be expected, though I'd hope you didn't observe Kaine and I's more private work."

With a soft sigh, the plant-woman turned away. "Follow me to my laboratory, Karin. Let's see if we can't bring you back to the realm of the living." A very difficult task, but really, all she needed was a body to possess. Did it really matter if said body was comprised solely of plant matter? She'd have to find out when they reached the laboratory.

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

She was definitely aware of the laboratory within the castle, the problem was, she didn't understand it. A mental note was made to include plant biology to her reading list. Of course, if this Circe came through on her end of the bargain then the reading list would be null and void. She'd be able to leave this forsaken planet. Of course, Lady Dorn would have to first impart her knowledge upon this curious creature. Can't go back on a deal you know, well, technically you can if you're a bit of an arse but this was a Sith with standards.

“I'll be keeping what I've observed here in this castle to myself, my dear,” the spectre bluffed. Truth be told, Karin hadn't witnessed anything too shocking to explicitly mention but it's always handy to fake prior knowledge.

Let's insert some mild conversation for the trip to the laboratory, shall we?

“Tell me about yourself, Miss Savan,” the ghost smiled politely, “after all, I feel like I should know a bit more about the woman that's about to transfer my soul between planes of existence.” She knotted her hands behind her back. “Be sure to make it a riveting tale.”

Your lord and saviour demands story time.

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Well, where do I start? I was a Princess on the planet Falleen. I was mocked and scorned by my fellow "pureblood" Falleen. I was a hybrid, after all. Zeltron mother. I got depressed, stole my dad's shuttle to leave home, and bam. I got captured by slavers. They sold me to a Nar Kreetan who tortured, mentally abused, and sexually violated me, basically fethin my mind up into the current state it's in today. Me and a couple friends were going to escape, but I was beaten so badly that my friends left me behind. I was tortured for years as a result of that, and eventually, the Dark Side sort of clicked for me. Shard of metal came to my hand, and I stabbed that fat fierfek through the gut, killing him. Traveled around the galaxy, learned from some of the greatest Sith of our time, and bam. Here I am."

That was basically her story in a nutshell. "So how about you, Karin? I must say you tantalize me significantly. Tell me about your past." After all, by the time she finished, both of them would be in the laboratory, a perfect opportunity to get some filler in so the next time Circe spoke , it would be inside the laboratory.

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

Oh my.

This was not the light frothy entertaining discussion that she was looking for, but if you ask, you must receive. Slavery was an area that Karin avoided like the plague, the association with slavers can earn you all kinds of interesting enemies. Take this one for instance, tortured for years, abused to no end but now free and climbing the knowledge ladder and you want to say, 'O, I have some stocks in SlaveCorp', no, don't be silly. No association there. Let's not be daft.

“I'm sorry for your hardships, my dear.”

Words would never be able to heal those wounds but it's always nice to squeeze a little sentiment in there. Even for Sith. Still human, bro.

The ghost snorted at the prospect of being tantalising to anybody, now that was a crazy little notion. “I used to be average, frustratingly so. Trained to be a Sith from the start but I never could compete with my peers, I lacked focus they said,” the undead woman still sounded ever-so-slightly bitter about her youth, “so I buried myself in the temple library and I found strength, strength in knowledge. I attached myself to a group of upcoming apprentices who were admittedly too stupid to live and rose with them. As much as their brains failed them they were invincible in their pack and thus I was invincible.”

Lady Dorn shook her head, half in nostalgia and half in embarrassment.

“I killed them all. Unfortunately my means of their demise has lead me to be in this current predicament. On the other hand, the Council started to notice me after that. It was then I flourished, became a Master and concentrated my studies on Sith Magic. I was no longer average, and I reigned high over Thule for many many years. Until Zambrano came along, of course.”

There was much more to that final piece, but it was better left unsaid. The secret double life of Karin Dorn was known by only her and a Kath Hound named Chomp. She missed him terribly, and her sweet Evelynn but no, thoughts must never turn to that life, you never know who can see into your head in this castle.

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Yeah, of course you are." She tossed off the sympathy as the two moved down to the laboratory. "It's intriguing. I would've loved to have known you in life. Still, bringing you back from your state of being undead is good enough, I suppose." The door opened to the lab as the plant-woman and the ghost, an unlikely duo, entered into the abominable facility.

"Hmm... This one appears to be fully grown. Merely needs a little bit of facial shaping. Experiment number... twenty-three, I believe. Odds are female, evens are male. She's crafted from my own DNA, grown within a willing female host. Marvelous, really... But as an early experiment, she has no mind. She is living, yet she is brain dead. With minor cosmetic procedures to match your statue in the hall, as well as your ghostly form, your body will be ready for your spirit to possess it. Does that sound good, Karin?"

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

There they were.

You had to marvel at it, the plant-woman surely must have slaved away in this laboratory to create these experiments. You had to question what her motives were when you laid eyes upon her creations, what was at the end of Circe Savan's path? Immortality? An army? Karin didn't yet truly know the woman's mind, so she couldn't say what kind of grand fate she was tilting towards.

The ghost peered at what would be her newest vessel.

“Does it sound good?” she queried with a smirk, “It sounds like the single most peculiar situation that is occurring in this galaxy at this exact moment. I'm a Force Ghost bound to Thule Castle and you are a plant woman offering me a body which may be female, may be male. Does that not sound strange?”

Dramatic pause, soak it up, in fact let's marinade in it for a while. What kind of marinade? I'm unsure, I'll let you decide. Karin enjoyed a spare minute for the dramatics, you know?

“But of course it sounds good. How long will the cosmetics take?”

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Well, this one is female. Odd numbering and all. Cosmetics should take around fifteen minutes at the mad. We only have to reshape the face after all." Which was indeed true - and make sure that the chip was properly installed. "I look forward to seeing you as part of the realm of the living again."

She smiled happily, eagerly awaiting her pseudo-daughter/experiment/pseudo-sister's animation.

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

“Oh, believe me, so do I,” she agreed, “of course, you'll have to explain the finer details of plant life to me, I wouldn't want to make any faux pas.”

The Ghost watched on as the cosmetic adjustments took place, as the husk's face began to resemble the cold and smug visage of the former Lady Dorn. She had been a cruel looking child and that aspect remained with her throughout her life. It was just the way her face settled naturally. If she wasn't raised into the Sith lifestyle Karin could have easily have been a child actor, playing the creepy role in all of the horror films.

When the adjustments had been made and the go had been given, it was finally time.

The feeble servants were unsuitable to body snatch and Kaine would most likely not appreciate Karin swooping in and casting his Apprentices' minds to Chaos. Now was her time. A suitable host.

If you were looking for a valuable lesson on transferring essence then this was not the right demonstration. For one Dorn was not casting her old body aside, that corpse was long gone and secondly, she wasn't evicting anybody's spirit. So this wouldn't exactly be the most exertion the woman had ever committed in her lifetime. Just a touch of focus, all that was really needed. Like walking into the shop to grab some bread, eggs and milk except you tap into the dark side of the force and then forcibly insert your spirit into a body. Potato potato. The Force Ghost of Karin Dorn disappeared.

Time froze.

Y҉͉̣̬̖O̷͇͉̲̮Ú̵͍͇͖̹͙̖͓͢ ̡̢͔̯̤͓͕͔̰̘͢ͅC͏̵̗̪̀Á̙̲̯Ņ̢͇̥͞'̲̟̕͠ͅŢ̦́!̛̛̲̰̟

Somewhere, in a void between life and death her path was blocked. She was cheating her fate, and that was something that Daemons of the Force did not appreciate.

Watch me.

T̝̜̭H̕҉̜̜̩̟̝͕͖̺̀Ȩ̶̣͘N̼͇̼̦̻̝͘͡ ̴̡͉̮̯S̶͎̺̖̹̠U̜̠̣̞͇͖͇̳͈͢F̧͖̩̙̙̟͞F̶̛̮̟̱͓̰͙̤̦͢ͅE̵̥͖̫Ŕ͕̻̜̬.̴̣̯͎̯͓͡


Pain. A blinding screeching pain at the back of her mind that left her metaphysical eyes rolling. Those attuned to the force would have most likely felt the echo of the crack in the woman's mind as betrayal incarnate attempted to prevent her escape from spectrehood. Not this time.

A gasp. Every single feeling that Dorn had lacked came flooding back at once. Still mildly panicked by the painful encounter with her sordid past, the woman instinctively grabbed the back of her head. No gaping holes, a grand sign. Life, life, she was alive. Opening her eyes, her brain was flooded with light. Too many feelings, too fast, too much.

“My goodness! That was...most...unpleasant.”

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

A soft smile hit Circe's lips as Karin finally began to settle into her new body. Sure she appeared green and had green eyes, but considering that she would be able to change the former and hide the latter, it was no big deal. The original plant-woman smiled, happy to see that her experiment was a success. It made her exceptionally happy to see that such a thing worked out, a long-dead Sith Lady coming back to life.

"Karin... How do you feel?" She wasn't the only plant-woman anymore, but she was was still the original, a fact she made sure to know as she slid behind the fellow Darksider, massaging her shoulders and acting as though Experiment 23's body wasn't completely naked.

That would be a bit awkward when @[member="Karin Dorn"] noticed.

 

[Louise]

“Alive, for starters,” she smirked, craning her neck. It really was the little things in life that she missed, the warmth of the laboratory, the feeling of somebody else's touch. If Karin Dorn had a Tumblr I'm sure there would be a post about this, a vague picture of space with '#justlivingpeoplethings' plastered on top. Fortunately Sith Masters aren't teenage girls with access to the internet on Earth.

A worry lay heavily on her mind, not her nudity but something far more sinister.

The daemon had definitely done something, obviously malicious but what. Something didn't feel right, like the world had a filter on and that filter was the colour wrong. As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn't break the bonds of a summon.

“It's new, it's different but I'm no longer merely a spirit and for that I must thank you,” the Sith said, bowing her head slightly before the Cheshire Cat's grin emerged, “of course, there really should be no need to thank you, considering that I'll be showing you the tricks of my trade”

She remained increasingly cavalier about her nudity, after all, Miss Savan had would have been used to seeing this Experiment's form and Karin had been a part of this galaxy for too long to be concerned with matters of being naked.

#justoldpeoplethings

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Hmm... Well, before we begin, shall I tell you some things you should probably know about your new body?" She raised an eyebrow, curious as to whether Karin was interested in figuring out what features her recently retrieved physical form now had. "Aside from the fact that you're as sexy as I am." She gave a soft chuckle to her last comment.

"So tell me, what'll you be teaching me first? You're obviously a skilled Sith Sorceress. Shall we begin?"

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

“That would be essential, dear,” the woman crowed before performing a mental double take, did she just call Karin Dorn sexy? What a strange creature this woman was. Back in her cult days the Sith Master was a touch on the androgynous side, combined with the fact that they were an extremely hedonistic bunch then anything could have gone down. The Karin that once was would have jumped on that compliment with glee and perhaps with a side order of spice.

But those were days long past.

Between the odd comment and the fact that a couple of her new assets were of unfamiliar proportions the Sith had to chalk the plant woman up as a bit of deviant but everybody has their ticks.

“I master the realms of the mind tricks, a simple technique that branches off into finer nuances. I can create insanity, conjure fear and craft hate,” she spoke plainly. Karin Dorn was not a fighter but with her powers of mind she usually never needed to fight and thus she survived that was until she came up against a certain Zambrano. “The Jedi have battle meditation to bolster the troops and boost morale and I can take it all away again.”

Then of course there was her pièce de résistance.

“I'm also partial to the powers of the summon and will gladly show you the ways of smoke demons, if you're up for it that is.”

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

"Well, your new body isn't as easily killed as your old one. You can suffer mortal stab wounds, lose limbs... And with enough water and biomass, you can repair them. As well, with training, you can increase and decrease the length of your arms. Basically you can punch someone from several feet away. But onto a more simple switch: focus on your skin and tell the chlorophyll to retract from the outermost layer. Your skin will revert to a normal coloration that can tan or become pale like any other human skin. Lastly, you, like me, can produce exceptionally potent pheromones, even more powerful than Zeltron and Falleen pheromones combined."

She listened ardently to what Karin stated she could teach. "The arcane? Most intriguing... I'm ready to learn anything you have to teach me." She leaned in a bit further towards Karin, inches away from her face as she delicately smiled.

"Anything."

@[member="Karin Dorn"]

 

[Louise]

One of the first few things somebody has to do within a new body is look at their hands, how Karin had not fulfilled this cliché yet was astonishing. First the backs of the hands, then the palms. Upon hearing that the colour of her skin could be altered back to her old hue it was decided that would be the first order of business. A wiggle of the fingers, a crick of the neck, a flex of the shoulders, feel the skin stretch over muscle and bone, moving, shifting an eternal struggle of life and death.


From a pale green the tone of her skin de-saturated, leaving it like deathly ash, the statue did not lie, the Lady Dorn was indeed a grey lady. Sith Magic will always take it's toll, but it was a toll that the woman enjoyed, grey skin imitated death and death intimidates all.

The Sith Master lofted an eyebrow towards Circe, was she truly going to make Karin Dorn the target of playful affections?

Time to dust off the cobwebs.

From deep within the darkest recesses of her mind all emotion was unleashed. Rage, fear, contempt, disgust, despair and even a touch of worry conjured all at once, swirling about her own being once again. In death she had been reserved but now that the woman breathed new life it was time to unleash. Focusing on all those negative energies, a literal aura of darkness surrounded the Sith. Any feelings of the light were smothered by those of darkness, agony and horror littered the air, choking and draining.

The power of the dark side literally roared around them, all light vanishing. No hope. No escape. Can barely breathe. Help.

Karin smirked and suddenly all darkness that surrounded them dissipated, light returned as all pain and dread vanished as quickly as it had swarmed. “Waves of darkness,” she crowed, it was a cruel stunt to play but dramatic pay-off was grand and it had been so long since the woman had flaunted her figurative plumage, “Here begins the lesson.”

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

Circe's mouth remained wide open as @[member="Karin Dorn"] adjusted to her new body, and remained open still as the Waves of Darkness washed over her, emanating from the reanimated Sith Lord's body. It was already beginning to show signs of corruption, and that... tantalized Circe, particular as since Karin wore nothing, the corrupting of her body was exceptionally visible. And she liked it. The way she was licking her lips made that exceptionally visible as Circe herself attempted to do the same thing.

Hate. Anger. Passion... Mmm, yes. Passion. Lust. Carnality. Debauchery. Darkness...

Similar Waves to Karin's own would begin to emanate from Circe's body. It showed she was capable of doing it... though obviously not as strong as Karin's own. She would need to practice more in order to build up her strength in this form of Sith Magic. "This seems somewhat easy..."

 

[Louise]

“If it seems easy, make it difficult,” Karin snapped, folding her arms across her chest, “make it hurt.”

The woman gingerly stood, she hadn't walked for so long. Such a strange sensation having to use limbs again to move, floating had been so much more convenient, of course nothing beats the intimidation of a strong stride, a powerful gait. The swoosh of swirling robes that screams FEAR ME, ADORE ME, GIVE YOURSELF TO ME. How one holds themselves after all, is very important.

Never underestimate the power of dramatics.

“Use your suffering to decimate both the spirit and minds of your enemies but approach with caution,” the usual smirk of the Sith was replaced by quite a stern expression, “Sith Magic is not to be taken lightly, I have met many potential Sorcerers, time cut short by the abuse of the arcane. It is a fate worse than death, twisted abominations, shells of their former selves.” Those who underestimate the powers that be always suffered accordingly, left as deformed babbling idiots less capable than most children.

“Where are the servants? I require a robe. The library is our next destination.”

And demons of smoke.

@[member="Circe Savan"]

 

[Onrai]

And hurt it did. The scream of the Dark side ripping through her body as the waves grew stronger, more potent. Only once she had finally exhausted herself did the waves slowly dissipate, the plant-woman on her knees as she longingly looked up at Karin. "Karin... I need... You..."

Circe slowly reached over and rang a bell. A servant soon arrived with water, as well as a robe for Karin. Drinking the pitcher dry, Circe slowly re-energized, smiling as se looked back over at Karin. "Let's head to the library. And once you train me, I would like to show you my gratitude the best way I can."

Yeah, you can guess what way that was.

@[member="Karin Dorn"]