Developing Negative

[Keira Priest]

Another student. Why anyone wanted her to take them on as an apprentice was beyond her. It wasn't as if she had anything to offer, beyond her knowledge of combat and most everything related to it. Even that was relative when held up against her general instability in regards to her mental state. Still, one had already agreed to learn from her, with another having arrived on Bastion one day for just the same purpose. That second student hadn't been in contact for a long while, though the other had maintained his own sort of friendly relation. It was a sort of mutual bond they had formed, with the both of them agreeing to help the other. Nothing quite like she had experienced before, but then she was far from the typical mentor, and he not the average student by a long shot. Anything less hadn't been expected. Though it had taken some adjusting to at first.

That apprentice - Lorraei - was likely off in some far corner of the galaxy at the moment, exploring as he was wont to do when they weren't training together, on Bastion or otherwise. The aforementioned planet was where Keira was currently located, finding that there was little to do after her duel with a Jedi Master in the days previous. That had been an interesting fight, and one to remember. But now, just as ever after any sort of conflict, she was left with nothing to do and nowhere to go. A strange sort of exhaustion accompanied her, a combination of both the mental and physical sort. That was just another consequence of battle. And now she was doing nothing more than walking the streets of the capital world of The Primeval, bruised and sore but still as stubborn and volatile as always. It was there she waited, for what she couldn't be quite so certain.

In her time since her return, there had been talk of an unidentified ship in Primeval space. No action had been taken just yet, and thus far it seemed as if all were content in letting the stranger arrive at their leisure. It was then they would likely swoop in, taking the new arrival unawares and carting them away in chains for their own purposes. Nothing unusual, all told, and something she had witnessed a time or two before, looking on impassively. This time, however, she intended to intervene. For what reason she wasn't sure, and perhaps her mind would change once she caught sight of the individual, but for now she was intent on her goal, even if it was largely unknown even to her. Always she had been one to act on impulse, and this was no different. A friendly reception wasn't what she was expecting from the stranger, but it was nothing new. A regularity.

It was at her destination she had finally arrived, and in the spaceport she currently waited. No one was to say that anything would come of this, and she didn't expect to glean anything from the encounter, but she was curious enough to wait things out. There was nothing else with which to occupy her time, and she didn't see any harm in at least attempting to reach out to another individual for once, even if her intentions were far from pure. Leaning up against one of the many shuttles about the area, cybernetic fingers brushed against the saber hilt at her waist for the briefest of seconds as she crossed her arms across her chest. Amber eyes looked to the open sky above, and she studied it intently as if hoping to find answers among the clouds that drifted lazily along. Reaching out across the ether, she touched on that unfamiliar mind, projecting only three words, "Come to me."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

He sat on the edge of the bed, left leg outstretched before him. White bandages had already been stained red from the blood still seeping from the wound on his leg. "Kark!" He cursed sharply as he applied pressure to his leg in an attempt to stop the lose of blood. "That's the last time I agree to fight a pack of Manka Cats, even if the pay his good." He mumbled to himself, as was his habit. Xavka did not like sitting in a silent area, it unsettled him to do so, as such when ever he found himself alone he tended to express his thoughts out loud so as to do away with the quietness.

Looking around his quarters, Xavka sighed in boredom. His room was spartan, containing little more that bed, a desk and a place to hang his clothes. He had never had much need for anything and spent all of his money on maintaining and caring for his equipment. This often left him low on money and bored. The money issue was solved by participating in a Gladiatorial fight which was commonly held by Hutts for their entertainment.

His boredom was dealt with through dance. To be more precise, the ritualistic dances of Iridonians, which bestowed visions of what was to come to those that new how to let their mind flow into the Force during said dancing. A technique all Jath of Ru Uiging were taught. However his recent injury, obtained when he was securing money, prevented him from curing his boredom. 'I really should look into taking on a hobby. Maybe something to do with music?'

"Come to me."

The words echoed within his mind. Dashing away thoughts of learning to play and instrument. Sinking into the Force, Xavka followed the echoes of the projected thought back through the Force to the point it had originated from. He tracked it down onto the planet he was currently drifting past, to a strong presence in the Force. Reaching to his side, Xavka grabbed his cane before limping towards the cockpit, deciding to follow the presences command and go and meet them.

-----

Soon after, he guided his ship into a spaceport and powered down the engines. Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet and made his way back to his quarters. There he strapped his rifle to his back, placed his assassination weapons into the pouch on his right leg and hid his knives on his person. That done he made his way towards the ramp that would lead him into the docking bay, pausing only to offer a prayer to Amina while pressing a hand to his Zhabako; his first weapon that he had retired.

Stepping off of his ship, he limped over to where he felt the presence that had contacted him.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Steadily Keira tracked the ship as it descended into the spaceport, expression remaining impassive and carefully neutral. The individual had reached back across that crudely formed link, allowing her to scrutinize his presence in the Force for the briefest of moments. Another rogue, similar to her current apprentice, walking that line between light and dark with a careful precision, not allowing himself to sway completely in either direction. And she wouldn't attempt to turn him one way or another. He would tread his path, she her own, and life would go on either way. At the moment this was just a diversion to sate her curiosity and perhaps send another on their way with a new idea of just what ti meant to exist within the light and dark both. That would be enough, not that she would explain it that way.

It wasn't difficult to pick out the new arrival through the sparse crowd, the rather obvious limp setting him apart almost immediately. That left her at an advantage already, though she didn't think he'd come here to fight. Most wouldn't have revealed themselves so early on if they had. The second thing she noticed as he neared her was the scarring across the right side of his face, a blatant testament as to just why he was blind in that same eye. There already were two ways she could turn this in her favor should it become necessary. The rifle on his back was the only weapon in open carry, but she wouldn't have been surprised if he happened to be concealing a number of other smaller and subtle tricks elsewhere on his person. Most did when coming to a planet like this, given the behavior of most that inhabited Bastion. Erratic was one word.

Not bothering to do so much as meet him halfway, she allowed him to approach of his own accord. No words were put forth right away, and she studied him once more now that he was within conversational distance. No doubt he was completing his assessment of her in the same moment, whether through the physical realm or otherwise. No weapon he carried marked him explicitly as a Force sensitive, bringing to mind whether he was aware of his ability in the first place. However, given that he'd found her here after only conversing minutely through the ethereal, she would guess as much. Many who were untrained wouldn't have been able to manage that minute task without some instruction beforehand. No, he was certainly well aware of his talents. How he would choose to exploit them in the next minutes remained to be seen.

"It's not often we get visitors on Bastion." A rather nonchalant statement. "Not of their own accord, anyhow." That spoke closer to the truth of things. No guards or military personnel had approached just yet, but she supposed her presence dissuaded them at least momentarily. Most knew her for what she was, a slave under direct command of the Host Lord. But she was powerful enough in her own right, and more than capable of doing away with what passed for the typical guard that walked the streets of this world. A servant she was, but a capable one as well. "Is it only those three words that brought you here, or something more?" Her head tilted slightly to one side in an expression akin to a silent curiosity. He was a stranger, one of a different sort. That was enough to intrigue even her.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

As Xavka approached the woman his senses told him was the one in possession of the presence he was tracking, he let his one working eye track over her, taking in her appearance, while the rest of his senses were searching for any hidden surprises. The woman had thick, brown hair that fell past her shoulders and covered up part of her face. From what he could see though she had amber eyes, a feature common among Dark Side users, and a burn scar on the right side of her face. Beyond that her appearance was rather plain apart from her left arm, what parts of the arm he could see looked to be cybernetic. The only weapon he could spot on her person was the lightsaber strapped to her left hip. However, he was not a fool and knew that even if he liberated her of the lightsaber, she would still be armed through the Force.

When he entered conversational distance the woman spoke. "It's not often we get visitor on Bastion. Not of their own accord, anyhow." Xavka struggled to hold in a scowl at this. He knew that those unwilling visitors were more than likely slaves. Anger and disgust rolled inside of him upon realisation. He hated slavers, absolutely despised them. Xavka dispelled those feelings and thoughts as he felt a warning through the Force about being observed. He cast his senses out to try and pinpoint who exactly was watching, catching a brief glimpse of what looked to be a guard, observing him from a distance.

"Is it only those three words that brought you here, or something more?" The woman's head was tilted to the side slight, a look of curiosity etched on her face.

"Only the words." His tone was clipped while he continued to look around for more observers before putting it out of his mind and returning his attention to the woman. "My apologies. That was rude of me." He smiled slightly, exposing his pointed teeth. "Only the words I'm guessing you spoke to me, lead me here." Here he bowed slightly from the shoulders before speaking again. "My name is Xavka Duquo. May I know your name, my lady?"

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

He was quiet, careful and observant. All appreciative traits. Xavka. The name wasn't familiar, but Keira hadn't expected it to be. For all intents and purposes he was just another stranger that had happened upon the planet due in part to the unspoken guidance of another. Nothing else needed to be revealed, whether to any security present or otherwise. If he happened to be a threat, she would deal with things without comment. But she had a feeling his curiosity would win out over any desire to cause harm. It usually did, at least when it came to places like this, which were oftentimes clouded with an ethereal darkness and a mystery by themselves. With the addition of those that inhabited Bastion or otherwise dubbed it a temporary home, that factor was only further increased.

The aversion she could sense from him upon her mention of those kept prisoner or as rather unwilling servants was, in its entirety, a rather unsurprising thing. Most with even a shred of morality left opposed the practice of slavery in some manner. Her reaction would have been different had he demonstrated the sort of indifference she held towards the practice. Being more or less a slave herself with her current servitude something she was unable to alter, there wasn't a need in her mind to rise up just yet. That time would come later. It was his reaction to the revelation of her place within The Primeval that she had yet to determine. But that would come later. At the moment they were merely two strangers that had happened upon each other in a manner that was best described as entirely purposeful.

"Keira Ticon. You can just call me Keira." Just as she had told her other student. Anything else was mere semantics, and entirely unnecessary. When required she would submit to a title, but rarely even then. Words that emphasized one's ability were one thing, but the capabilities that were demonstrated on the battlefield were an entirely different thing. And she was of the sort that preferred to explicitly show just why she had gained the title of Master. "Don't worry about any titles or formality. You'll only be wasting your breath." A pause, and she decided to reveal just where she sat within the hierarchy of the group that claimed Bastion as its capital. "On this world, I'm nothing more than a slave. But I think you'll find that I'm allowed more freedoms than those you may have encountered in the past." Of course, that was due in part to her own stubbornness.

"Why did you bother following the words of a stranger? Most would have been far more cautious. I'm not criticizing you, only curious. I've not seen many approach so openly." At the very least she had expected him to have a weapon drawn throughout the beginnings of their encounter. In contrast, he'd merely introduced himself and asked for her name. A sort of unease had been palpable, but she credited that towards an arrival on a strange planet after having been spoken to by a stranger. But she had noticed his gaze straying to one that lingered nearby, likely a guard of sorts. She looked him over from a distance, carefully calculated, extending dark tendrils of the Force towards the security present. Within seconds he turned on his heel and left, and her gaze slowly settled on Xavka once more.

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka kept silent while Keira spoke, his attention was focussed more on the guards that wondered about nearby, although his make an effort to memorise what it was Keira said, it would be rude to ignore such a beautiful woman after all. He felt a sliver of shock run through him as a guard that had captured his attention, due to how close he was wandering, suddenly turned and walked away. This would have normally not have inspired any sort of reaction, but he had felt tendrils of the Force reach from the woman before him and invade the guard's mind, twisting it to her will. He gave a small smile, which revealed his pointed and blood-stained teeth, at Keira when he felt her eyes settle on his person again. "Most impressive." His tone was clipped as he reviewed his memories on the conversation he had paid attention to, although that attention was less than what it could be if he focussed fully. "And, Keira. Its a pleasure to meet you."

As he was reviewing him memories, one piece of information revealed to him brought a stop to his review as a dry, humourless chuckle managed to push its way past his emotional and mental barriers. "A slave with freedom?" More humourless chuckling and a scoff emerged from Xavka. "You have more luxuries than I did during my time in the Pens." Without realising it he began to rub at the scars that covered his face, scars he had received as punishment for trying to rebel against his Master, scars which had blinded him in one eye. Shaking his head, both mentally and physically, Xavka brought his attention back to the here and now, pushing the memories which he used to fuel a fire within him back into his subconscious, where he would not have to relive them to use them. "But never mind that." He gave a warmer chuckle than his previous dry one, although it was almost obviously fake.

"The why about me following the words of a stranger to you is simple; I was bored. Nothing more, nothing less." He hid whether or not this was true deep beneath his mental shielding, hiding it from even he. For now, that was a truth. "I thrive on challenges and action. Sitting around like I was doing on my ship, no, I much prefer to chump into the unknown and take what happens when it comes."

Here a smirk crossed the tanned features of the Zabrak. "As for me approaching you openly." Xavka raised a brow slightly as he continued. "One such as yourself, who has explored the mysticisms of the Force, should know that a weapon and visual age is always at hand. Beside," his smirk grew larger and more lopsided, "who ever said that I ever approach someone openly, even if that is what it looks like. Even through the Force." He twisted the hand that held the hand holding the handle of his cane before lifting it slightly. The result of this was a quiet but shrill scrape being emitted from the cane as finely tempered steel scrapped at fire-polished wood. He quickly reassembled the cane before anyone other than the woman he was conversing with could notice what he had done. There was no point revealing one of his hidden aces to anyone who needn't know, after all.


[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

He was bored. There already was a similarity, and it had been less than five minutes that the two had been in each other's presence. Nine times out of ten Keira herself did this or that because she had nothing better to do, and she could speak for such an attitude being an equally beneficial and detrimental thing. There were experiences she had undertaken that wouldn't have transpired had she not been bored at the time. On the other hand, there were near-death scenarios she wouldn't have been involved in as well, and chances were she likely would have still remained mentally stable and not turned to the dark had she simply not been bored. It was a strange double-edged sword, though a good sign that he approached it without hesitation. One moment of pause had the potential to get one killed. It was better to show no signs altogether rather than work towards such a goal.

A wry smile turned up the corners of her mouth, and she laughed quietly, shaking her head. "I've been bored, too. That's also the reason I have so many scars, whether mental or physical. It's likely why I'm in the position I am. On the other hand, it's also why I've made it this far. The only word of caution I'll offer is to be careful with just what you decide to do with your leisure time. It wouldn't do well to get yourself killed just because you don't have any better way to spend your time. There's a difference between bravery and foolishness." Not that she was necessarily one to talk, given all that had transpired in her life. Time and time before she had meandered down that fine line with no real differentiation between the two, seemingly blending both and rejecting them in the same instance.

The reveal of the weapon hidden inside of his cane was met with a slight incline of her head in unspoken appreciation. Sometimes she had to remind herself not to let her guard down while she was busy telling others the same. "I would keep that ace carefully hidden in your sleeve. If you continue keeping company such as mine, then you'll likely need it." It wasn't as if she was attempting to deter him, but it wouldn't do good to sugarcoat any of the dangers inherent in remaining near her in any sense. She had a way of attracting trouble, something he would learn in time. Never did a day go by in which she didn't find herself in this or that combat scenario. "You'll find that threats tend to follow closely at the heels of someone like me." Such was the life of one that thrived in combat.

Subconsciously she ran a hand through her hair, fingers brushing against the numerous scars that covered her head beneath those brunette locks. "You know better than to judge a book by its cover. Anything can appear pristine on the outside, but you don't have any idea of what's going on in here." With that same hand she tapped on the side of her head with a finger. "But I'm not going to argue about who has the better reason to be just who they are today. I'm sure we've both suffered in our own way." Something she wouldn't delve into even when pressed. "I don't have any desire to discuss our pasts further. What I would like to know is what you're looking for." A beat passed. "You can be bored all you want, but if you're anything like me you don't do something without a greater purpose behind it."

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"Aye, there is a difference between bravery and foolishness." Instead of replying directly to the question Keira had posed Xavka had decided to work through all of what the brunette had said, in an attempt to buy himself some time before he had to answer. Time in which he would too be seeking an answer. "But the line is thin and easily missed, a line that is formed only by the perception of beings and nothing more, a line that, while colouring someone as foolish can spare them that label and name them as brave. The line that you speak of does not exist but in the minds of people. So, fear not. I do not believe I will be crossing it anytime soon, as such, my perception will shape it so and I will not."

He gave a wry chuckle, thinking back on Keira's mention of trouble following her. "As for trouble following you. We may be cut from a similar cloth as, while trouble may not dog at my heels like it apparently does you, chaos takes that role instead. Interfering in my life and blurring boundaries that should be clear." He smirked darkly. "Even if chaos did not pursue me, I think I would still enjoy your company, after all I am Zabrak, trouble is where we thrive."

It was now that he sighed, running a hand through his hair, carefully avoiding his thorns. "You asked me for my purpose behind my actions. You ask me to explain why I act. All that I can say to you is thus. I do not know. Just as chaos bites at my heels and ruins my vision of clarity within this universe, so does it blur my vision of self." He gave a slightly sad smile to the brunette. "I cannot answer you with a purpose as I find none. I find none because I am cast adrift within this." He gestured around the spaceport, but indicated to the greater galaxy. "What does my answer say to you Keira Ticon? What does it reveal about me?"

For a single moment, Xavka's masks fells as the weight turned to be too much, but that moment soon faded and any sign of his mental distress was gone. Once again the thoughts of attempting to latch onto something within the galaxy but always feeling some pull tearing and his grasp, weakening it bit by bit, were locked away within his subconscious, hidden from his mind until his next breakdown.


[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"You misunderstand." But he really couldn't be blamed, given that her explanation hadn't been entirely too clear in the first place. Soon enough each would learn of the other's thought processes. That would come in time. "When I say 'greater purpose', I don't mean something entirely breathtaking or unfathomable. I just mean something, an ideal in and of itself, no matter how small. You don't have to be fighting for world peace to have a worthy purpose or place in this galaxy. Force knows I've done a lot less than that in my lifetime. I'm usually the one battling against any sort of peace. No, what I mean is something different. And for me, it would have to be survival. Survival is my purpose." Or at least, the only worthy cause she could conjure up.

Crossing her arms, she studied him for a moment, finding something familiar within him, something that resounded with the brokenness in herself. "I wouldn't go so far as to say you'd enjoy my company until you've spent some more time around me. You might find that you'll change your mind. Not everything is what it appears to be on the surface. The moment you start assuming as such is the moment you relinquish your life to the next stranger that happens by. But I'm sure you already knew that." That was at once an observance of the talent he already possessed and a sarcastic remark, though what reaction the latter was intended to instigate she wasn't certain of.

Her teeth toyed with her bottom lip, and she released a quiet sigh. "It reveals that you need something to challenge you. In your life you require constant action of some sort, or you get bored quickly and begin to think that life has no purpose for you other than simply existing. I know this because I'm the same way. Somehow I have to have something with which to occupy my time, or I become exhausted of simply living. Something tells me you feel the same way, even if it isn't mirrored exactly. You require stimulation of some sort as well. I can't promise I'll be able to make that go away completely, because I've not yet determined just how to fix myself yet. But it'll work out." Probably.

"You must have something, because you wouldn't have come here for no reason. Sure, you were bored. Believe me when I say that I know what you mean, because I've been there plenty of times. But I don't usually wander into situations I'm not fond of just because I don't have anything better to do. That act by itself would cross the boundary of bravery and delve into foolishness. You know just as well as me that something more lingers beneath the surface, even if you aren't sure of what it is just yet. So tell me again," A half-smile, "Why is it you find yourself here, Xavka, when you could have just as easily ignored me and moved on with your life? What made my word so compelling to you?"

[member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Xavka stayed silent throughout Keira's speech, simply staring at her, taking in everything she was saying with an attentive ear and held tongue. It was the final questions though that brought about his silence for an entirely different reason. After being locked within his mind, searching for a satisfactory answer to give to this woman who had begun to challenge him in a way that no other had for so long, forcing him to think and examine his very actions.

"You ask me a question that is hard for to answer. You understand that?" Xavka quirked his lips into a wry smirk at this. "This requires me to do what I've not done since I became a Jath on Iridonia, to search my mind in search of answers to intentions." Sighing, Xavka rubbed at the front of his neck, absentmindedly tracing the marks of his Clan Tattoos.

Starting slowly, Xavka began to answer as the words entered his mind. "Yes, I could of ignored what you said, I could have easily of done so. But I didn't, and I'm not really sure, to be honest. I think that it was partially like what you said. I was bored, drifting and doing nothing much else, finding no enjoyment in the monotonous movement of my life and drifting away. You contacting me created a spark within me, one of curiosity which lead to returning life back to me like I haven't felt out of the adrenaline boost that is fighting But, it's more than that, I think."

He stopped to rub at his neck again in a rare show of awkwardness. "I've been searching for so long now for something new, something more to look into, someone to help me explore the Force, if I'm honest, in a new way born from a new perspective. You contacting me through the Force obviously shows that you know how to use it and your strength within the flows of the Force, show your strength. The chance to hopefully learn from you was one of the reasons I approached, I admit. For so long, during my early life, knowledge was all I strove for, knowledge n the workings of the wider universe, to seek the answer woven within the fabric of reality. That was my goal. But, recently, that goal had died off as I've become sweapt off from my perch and into the flow that is now my life. You offer a chance for me to return to that life, for me to once again spark my curiosity and aim to subdue it within the mysticism of the Force now, not just the universe."

Xavka stopped to stare at Keira intently. "Does this make sense to you? The fact that I yearn to return to something that once held comfort and guidance for me? For me to jump into foolishness for even a chance for it?"


[member="Keira Ticon"]

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been ill and have not had much muse recently.