Stood at the back of the Observation Deck with his Assassins still grouped behind him, Darth Lykos stared at the group of Sith Lords gathered before him, feeling a spark of dark amusement as they preformed a real world, physical display of the definition of the word entropy. However, as much as the Assassin bit his tongue so as to continue to watch the display and lack of decorum being shown in front of his lone eye, as much as he felt the swelling of sadistic glee, a fire of anger was sparked within him, born forth from an offhanded comment and fueled further by words spoken along the same line until it threatened to growing into a roaring inferno within his mind; one that would melt the steel trap forged out of pure self control that existed deep within Lykos' consciousness. Finally, however, words spoken by the gathered Sith - words that, admittedly, may not have directly expressed their sentiments but, instead, but certainly spoke of the true thoughts of the Sith - wore away at the Zabrak's patience and so he stepped forwards, his movement silent apart from the almost inaudible sound of cloth running across cloth as his robes moved with him, and into the line of vision of the three Lords who stood within the Deck.
"If I may speak?" While his words kept the same amount of stoicism that they had when Lykos had previously spoken, a neutrality that spoke more of a control over one's emotions than an expressed disinterest, the natural growl that accompanied his voice due to being a Zabrak - one in particularly close, if controlled most of the time, contact with his more animalistic side at that - was louder and more easily noticed than it normally would be. Those that had previous interactions with Zabraks that still labelled themselves as 'True Iridonians' would be able to recognise the fact that this meant that Lykos was feeling more than a little irritated, even if he hid his emotion from his voice. However, one would not need to be familiar with a 'True Iridonian' to understand that Lykos wasn't as emotionally stable as his voice was projected as, within the Force, slithers of his Presence was seeping through his grasp, making it possible for the other Sith to be able to feel the rolling howl that was rising up within Lykos' mind as his feral, animalistic instincts fought against the metaphorical steel trap that usually kept them separate from his conscious thoughts if they paid close enough attention.
"I thank you, Ferus," much like during their meeting within the Dunes of Tatooine, Lykos made sure to express his animosity with Darth Ferus in a subtle manner, by dropping the Darth title out of disrespect, while the curl of his lips, exposing his pointed teeth, spoke only of how much Lykos wished to challenge Ferus, even if he withheld only due to the fact that Ferus would always seek to see the group that he had founded flourish and Xavka did not wish to do away with a potential resource, "for your advice. But, as much as the Assassins do not bow and dirty their foreheads for Darth Vupua, we do not bow our heads to you either. My counsel for matters that concern the Assassins shall be my own. I, also, do not see it as wise to speak out against our host, nor to abandon when more is to be spoken." While little had been spoken to the man that Lykos had once called Ay'edar, much more could be found within his final words when it was assumed that he spoke of Vaulknar and not Ferus, hinting that Lykos currently believed that Ferus' apprentice had been foolish in his actions and, as such, the punishment that had been received had been received for good reason and that, with the potential resource up for grabs, the Zabrak did not see it as wise to flee their host's current hospitality.
Now Lykos' orange eye turned towards the cloaked form of the Mon Calamari Sith. "Darth Veles, as Ferus speaks, he does not hold a voice for the Assassins. That responsibility falls to me. So, I ask of you, not to presume that when Ferus speaks of war, he speaks of a war involving my Assassins." Any grievance that Lykos felt towards the amphibian was, even he had to admit, relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. However, even then, he could not keep the faint ring of a challenge from entering his voice as he simply corrected the Sith Lord, the inferno roaring behind his eyes seeping forwards into his words even as Lykos tried to push down the flames of anger and reassert the fierce levels of self-control that he would usually exhibit in his quest to maintain sentient thought and not give into the bestial thoughts within his subconscious.
Returning his attention towards the woman that had called for his and his Assassin's presence, Lykos paused for a moment before speaking. His wide nostrils, which commonly gave many the thought that his nose had, at one point, been broken in such a way that it had been forced closer to his face, flared strongly as Lykos pulled in a sharp breath, his eyelids drooped for a moment. With a long, slow exhale, Lykos' expression became sharp and pointed once more, his eye no longer hidden behind a heavy eyelid and gone was Darth Lykos on the verge of becoming the very thing he had taken his name from, the wolf, the feral beast, that prowled within his subconscious, in his place was Darth Lykos the Assassin, focused, calculated and in possession of iron clad self control, his momentary lapse brushed aside.
"If everyone is quite done with their grandstanding, might we continue this meeting with a sense of decorum benefiting of our stations?" The final word was bit out sharply. "You will find, Lord Vupua, that Ferus did not come to offer protection, protection that would be refused even if offered. As such, I will admit, I do not care that he and his might decide to abandon, but might this issue be resolved soon so that interruptions to out talks do not continue? I also ask, My Lady, that might I receive an answer to a question posed twice?" The fact that the words that Lykos spoke were challenging and might well incite a physical response from the Sith that surrounded him was not done out of a mistake, nor was it done out of arrogance; Lykos very much doubted that he would win any straight up fight he might be forced into with those that stood around him, or, at least, any victory would not be easily achieved. No, his words were chosen carefully, no longer driven forwards out of the feralness that had come close to consuming him, for the exact purpose of inciting a response. The actions presented so far by the Sith had born doubts within Lykos' mind and, now, it was only the promise of power and knowledge long lost that kept him willing to test the situation once more.
"What you offer is a prize that is very much tempting. And, most certainly, one that is not offered lightly nor freely. You could easily offer something lesser if this man you wish to see within the embrace of Nath...ah, forgive me, that you wish to see dead, was a simple concern. Mayhap you would be willing to reveal the details as to why you are willing to offer so much for them?"
[member="Darth Ferus"] | [member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Avedia Lacroix"] | [member="Vaulkhar"]
OOC Note: I admit that I'm not entirely happy about how this post turned out, so, I'm sorry for any lack of quality. As for the length, I have attempted to address everything that has happened since my last post, hence why it is so long. Also, you may notice in Xavka's/Lykos' speech that the grammar or word choice seems a bit odd, or that in a few places words seem to be missing. These were conscious choices that I made and are not mistakes. Thinking on it, I decided that, due to the fact that Xavka's/Lykos's main language is Ul'Zabrak and that the language is structured differently to Basic, that he would have a slight oddity to his speech that he has kept despite his time away from Iridonia.
