Floating in the Onsen

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

Altiria

Vanessa sighed as she came over to the doorway where Kay's company was located. The last time the two of them had met properly, Vanessa had been attempting to engage in a form of trade with the fallen Commenori leader. And the last time she had done anything with a member of the Arenais family, Veiere's ship had been captured by her forces, though he himself had escaped. She looked up at the sign - Sphaera Tea Company, it said. How humble. With that thought still brewing in her mind, she would head into the shop.

Perhaps a smooth drink was what she needed right now.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was working away behind the counter, with a tea cup in hand when [member="Vanessa Vantai"] appeared. There were no bells or tones to warn her of an approaching customer. Instead there was just the flicker of the candle flames adjusting to the new current of air that let her know the door was open.

She turned to see who had arrived and her pleasant smile soon faded. Vanessa had tried to capture her once, back before the siege of Commenor. That sparked a domino effect that Kay has still not recovered from. And perhaps she never will. Still, a customer was a customer.

"What brings you to the shoppe today? Would you like a menu?"

 

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

“I knew you’d recognize me.” Vanessa said, giving a hollow smile in return that soon faded away almost as quickly as Kay’s own. She was frustrated, and for good reason. All the effort that Vanessa had spent to assist the Mandalorians against their shared enemies had been wasted by a move the Sith Lord had to this day considered a very poor one. The Mandalorians has managed to repulse the Sith takeover of their homeworld, though as she had understood it the clans had still fallen into disarray, their territory being scavenged over like a freshly killed carcass in the wastes of Korriban.

“Seeing you run a tea shop is... well, it’s humbling.” She said. “I’d heard from a friend of mine about the new venture you were running. Figured I would come and try the tea and scrumptules.” She pondered for a moment. “Yes, I suppose I would like a menu.”

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked as [member="Vanessa Vantai"] knew exactly what kind of reception she'd receive when she had arrived. However it probably startled them both that the Sith wasn't kicked out of her shoppe immediately.

She set down her cup and snatched up a menu from the pile and walked around the counter towards Vanessa. She held it out and couldn't help but notice the emotions hidden behind her eyes. "Heard about this, did you? Well what did one expect me to do when I'm supposed to be dead? I'd rather not have word spread too quickly lest my enemies come banging on my doorstep or at worse, dropping their bombs on this building." Kay handed her the menu to look over. "Here. Take a seat. Sapir's good if you're looking for something to make you feel better. Maybe even some Lightside Fudge."

 

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

“Why would they?” She said, looking over the menu. “You have few if any allies left. You have no power base. Not soldiers, not weapons aside from a lightsaber or two. You are to your enemies a non-threat.” She said. “I came here alone and without any support because I don’t view you as a threat anymore, Kay.” She would get back and look at the menu. “A cup of Cassius Tea, please.” She said. It seemed useful.

 

[Kay-Larr]

She clenched her jaw as [member="Vanessa Vantai"] laid out just how little Kay had. It was almost as though she was being stabbed with those words, despite them all being true.

Crazed laughter that only Kay could hear caused her to look away from the Sith. "She's got you there, Kay-Kay." The Arkanian figment of her imagination appeared to her sitting on top of one of the tables, drinking tea in a mocking fashion, with one of his pinky fingers of his four digit hands pointing upwards.

Kay snatch the menu from Vanessa, looking to her once more. "Cassius tea. Coming right up." She quickly turned on her heel and moved not to the counter but towards where Mayhem sat. And when she spoke, Vanessa would only see Kay talking to nothing. "It doesn't matter, Mayhem. The least they think of us, the better. They won't be expecting what'll happen next." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "And that's a good thing." Without another word she walked over to the other side of the counter and started to prepare Vanessa's order.

 

[Onrai]

Vanessa raised her eyebrow as she heard Kay talk to something she could very much not see. Honestly it kind of creeped her out a little bit - there was clearly no Force presence, so she wasn’t talking to some kind of ghost. This could only mean one thing: Kay was suffering from some kind of mental issue that was bringing on hallucinations of this “Mayhem” being from the depths of her subconscious.

“You know, Kay, I do owe you some positivity in exchange for all the negativity you’ve experienced from my associates.” Vanessa had never been clear on the depths of what Kay had experienced as a Sith prisoner - unfortunately someone else had gotten to her instead of the Sith Lord standing before her now. “You clearly... well, have a problem.” She looked over at the booth Kay had been talking to. “This ‘Mayhem’ you’re speaking to is some sort of hallucination, likely brought on by mental trauma. And whatever it is, I assure you as someone who has dealt with the mentally ill before that letting this hallucination go unchecked is not good for you, either in the short term or the long term. I can help you deal with this issue so you can live a normal life, unhaunted by the spectre of your past torments.”

@Lady Kay

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay opened up the cannister of Cassius tea bags and placed it in a cup. After resealing the cannister, she poured in some already boiled water. Her motions slowed however as [member="Vanessa Vantai"] tried to tell her that Mayhem wasn't real. No one has ever said such a thing before. As far as Kay was aware, she had never hallucinated before in her life! "You don't know what you're talking about."

After lining the tray with the tea cup, cream, sugars and spoon, she lifted it carefully and carried it over to where Vanessa sat. "Here. Enjoy your tea. Would you like to pay now, or do you plan on buying more after you finish?" Oh yes, the benefit if a business was that she could change the subject on a whim! And it wouldn't be rude.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

“I know damn well what I’m talking about, Kay.” She said, looking at the woman. “Do you know how many Sith I’ve treated that talked to things that weren’t there? Far more than you’d think given how fragile little minds are affected by the Dark Side. This ‘Mayhem’ entity is a splintered part of your subconscious that needs to be brought back into line.” She replied, taking the tea cup and sipping from it.

“Quite good.” She said. “I likely will buy more - but right now I’m more interested in helping you with this longer term issue.” She replied.

 

[Kay-Larr]

"Mayhem is not some entity or part of my subconscious. He came to me when no one else would, he rescued me on Nelvaan. Now how many hallucinations can do that? Hmmm? None. So I say again Vanessa. You don't know what you're talking about."

Kay looked over to where Mayhem was seated, half expecting him to laugh or come up with some witty comment. But no, he just got up and walked over to the back room, no doubt to work in the labs.

She turned her attention back to [member="Vanessa Vantai"] as she seemed insistent on 'helping' her. "Well I'm not interested. I'm getting along here just fine, thank you." Of course [member="Veiere Arenais"] knew she wasn't fine. He was worried about her and what she was doing with the tea shoppe. He even told her as much, tried to get her to hide away in SJO territory, but out of her own stubborness and not wanting more to die to prptect her, she had refused him that too.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

“You’re a Force user, Kay. He didn’t ‘rescue you on Nelvaan.’ You did that yourself - whether consciously aware of it or not. Your mind created the Mayhem hallucination in order to rationalize you assumedly being strained to or past your limits when it came to using the Force to save you.” Despite drinking the tea, Vanessa was becoming notably more aggressive as she pressed on this. “The fact you’re willing to so adamantly defend this delusion makes me extremely concerned for your safety and the safety of others around you.”

She sipped some more tea. “I don’t suppose your husband knows about the slipping grasp on reality you’re experiencing.” She sighed. “Frankly I’ve half a mind to bag you up and drop you off on his doorstep, wherever the hell he’s at in Silver territory now.”

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sighed and slowly shook her head while [member="Vanessa Vantai"] spoke of nothing but the Force aiding her in her escape instead of Mayhem. "No, I didn't escape on my own. How could I access the Force when I had a collar on that prevents that? You weren't there, so you don't know. Mayhem is not a hallucination. I'm fine." Why would Vanessa say that she cares anyways?? Why would she be concerned about others? The fact that Kay wasn't considered a threat anynore couldn't be enough to justify that.

At the mention of her husband she held her breath, her body stiffening slightly as she recalled their last meeting. It wasn't entirely a goood one, but lately that seemed to be the norm. Still, it was far better knowing that he was alive and well rather than the alternative that she was forced to believe earlier on.

"Veiere knows I'm here. He came to see me and asked me to go back with him, but I refused. I'm not ready. I want to stay away from politics and those that would just look down on me for my crimes and what I've lost. Here I can just do my own thing, I can sell my teas and products. There's no war, no politics to worry about. It's all the advantage of living on a backwater planet that no one cares about."

 

[Onrai]

“Force collars can malfunction, and even As is they require regular upkeep to remain functional. A collar without ixetal cilona is useless. The most likely solution, given no one is here, is that whoever had you collared failed in their duties to either refill the cocktail keeping you subdued or maintaining it to ensure regular injections.” She sighed. “Not knowing, and too distressed to consider that you could get out, you created this hallucination to rationalize your escape.” She said. “There is nothing else here. No Force presence. No physical presence.”

She listened to the latter comments. “You should have gone with him. By my estimate he clearly still cares about you and ultimately doesn’t want to see you like this.” She elaborated, sipping the tea once more. “Go back, and let him help you if you won’t let me do it.”

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

"You know, I can hide my Force presence too. I had done it for years. But as I said, you weren't there, so your knowledge on the matter is limited."

[member="Vanessa Vantai"] was almost as stubborn as Kay was. Almost.

Again she slowly shook her head and gestured to the shop. "I'm not leaving. I have a quaint business to run and it's not causing any harm. I told him that I needed time. You can't rush me either, you know."

 

[Onrai]

“I know what is statistically more likely.” She said. “There is no presence of this Mayhem being, physical or ethereal. He’s a figment of your imagination, or an Omni nanite, or something other illusion being put within your brain. He has no substance, is what I know trying to say.”

She sighed. “You needed time... and time’s allowed you to rationalize the existence of the delusion. It’s not good, Kay...”

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay waved her hand, shaking her head.
"Forget statistics. Mayhem is real. He captured me when I was younger, during my first marriage. Both him and his wife experimented on me before my husband rescued me. And now he's here, helping me for some...strange reason." She could never quite predict Mayhem's motives. He was always erratic and chaotic.

"I'm fine, Vanessa. I feel just fine. Would a delusional person be able to do what I've done? My tea company is doing well. I have big orders from all over the Galaxy. I'm safe and free from my enemies and the burdens of leadership. If Veiere didn't think that I was well, then he'd of forced me to go with him, don't you think?"

[member="Vanessa Vantai"]

 

[Onrai]

“...what?” She said. “He may have been real, but he’s not now. Though you telling me this certainly helps explain things - your mind has likely latched onto some sort of earlier trauma and is manifesting that through the hallucination of Mayhem you are experiencing now.” She pointed out. “I again have to confront you with the lack of Force presence and physical presence. Can you accept that what you are seeing is not real?” She inquired.

To the latter, she sighed. “Yes. I’ve seen Sith who’ve been in far worse mental states than you are. Hell, there was one suffering from spongiform encephalopathy. Malformed prions literally rotting their brain away. I was able to fix that and I can fix you as well. As for Veiere taking you - you were always independent. He was going to let you do what you wanted to do regardless of whether it was beneficial for you or not.” She took another sip.

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay rubbed an imaginary itch on the back of her neck. The kind that she always had when she was getting uncomfortable. "He's not here right now. So that's...probably why you don't notice...." Again she tried to rationlize her mental state, grasping at whatever straws she could.

She shifted her weight on her feet. [member="Vanessa Vantai"] was right. Veiere would let her do whatever she wanted. Unless of course she was wanting to do something horrible. "Why are you here? Surely it's not to just drink some tea." To gloat, perhaps? No. She wasn't quite rubbing things in.

 

[Onrai]

[member="Kay Arenais"]

"I didn't notice him when he was here either. Hallucinations only have a presence for the people who are experiencing them." She said, sighing. "I get you're trying to come up with an excuse for why you're experiencing this, I do, but you have to understand that it's not real. I'm a master of illusions. I know about how to induce hallucinations, and how they work conventionally without any application of Force powers. Trust me on this one." She took another sip.

"Well, I figured I would make you an offer. I'm guessing you've probably experienced the whole 'getting traumatized by experimentation and torture' thing, and it probably causes you nightmares, hallucinations, and all sorts of other bad stuff regularly. Would I be right about that?" She inquired. This was going to be an interesting pitch.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay shifted her weight on her feet. What other falsehoods was she given? She had been made to think that her family was dead, and that all of Zakuul was burned; only to find that most of that was untrue. Only members of her government were assassinated. All others were...fine.

Her brows furrowed as [member="Vanessa Vantai"] proposed the idea of some sort of offer. "That's what the tea is for....So what are you suggesting?" There was going to be a catch and she knew it. It wasn't as though Vanessa would just appear to her out of the goodness of her heart.