Private Friend Like Me

[Oz Neru]

Location: Undisclosed Location
Objective: Tempt?
Tag: Braze

---

Even the outside of the cell was unnerving, however, it was a bit unclear if that was because of the exotic material used in its construction, or the prisoner it contained. Surely it couldn’t be the Sith inside. The material they were encased in completely snuffed out any signature kept within… right?

Once Braze had opened the cell it was he would be bombarded with bright pretty colors. Vibrant lush flowers and greenery made of the inside of the cell. As if walking into the cell was like stepping into a new beautiful world.

However, something would tip Braze off to the nature of this illusion. Maybe it was the off putting dryness of how the vegetation felt, the eerie silence and lack of any wildlife, or the absence of any of the wonderful smells that the flowers should be emitting. It was all fake, not just illusory, they were illusions of fake vegetation. Made of plastic and other synthetic and fraudulent materials. A superficial realm that was lovely from the outside, but truly hollow.

Far enough in Braze would meet this cell’s solitary inhabitant. A blue man, outwardly appearing at peace and serene. Sitting at the edge of a crystal clear pond that a tiny stream of water flowed into. “I wasn’t expecting visitors this evening… or is it morning? I can’t tell how long I’ve been here.” Oz spoke out to Braze before finally opening his eyes, His fiery hues contrasting with the cool blue of his skin. The Pantoran Sith offered Braze a gentle smirk.​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Oz Neru ​

Braze took in all the sights and sounds as he entered the prison cell. He was somewhat perturbed by the illusions he came into contact with. He had expected some form of mind games, but this was a bit beyond his own depth in many ways.

"It is evening," Braze said, cradling a basket in the crook of his arm. "You've been awfully quiet for some time… perhaps you'd like to spread your wings again?"

He stopped about twelve feet from the man, eyeing him over suspiciously as a creeping sense of unease and dread welled up through his form.
Braze brushed a few dry leaves aside, clearing a spot before lowering himself to sit on the floor. He set the basket down in front of him and lifted a hand to his pale face, tucking loose strands of snowy white hair behind one ear as he kept a steady gaze on the man.

"Will you join me for tea?" he asked, moving to open the basket and reveal the bounties hidden within. Out came a kettle and several saucers, followed by a few neatly packed boxes, some filled with baked goods, others with freshly sliced fruit at perfect ripeness. A variety of cured meats and sliced cheeses accompanied them, along with small jars of fruit-flavored jellies, jams, and sauces.

Braze set out a cup and poured the steaming liquid from the kettle. Soft delicate fragrance of cherry blossom filled the other wise stale air.

 

[Oz Neru]

Location: Undisclosed Location
Objective: Tempt?
Tag: Braze

---

“Quiet for a while hmm? Yes, I guess I have been. I suppose you could say I have a lot of experience, hanging around in a place like this almost feels like home.” He joked before narrowing his eyes some as he sensed the child’s signature and power. Already sitting with his legs crossed he nodded at the offer for some tea.

All the treats and the hot beverage gave the drab sterile cell some much needed life. Really making the illusion of the artificial garden come to life. “It would be nice to leave this place and get back to my life. It’s dreadful missing out on so much hustle and bustle.” In some ways being so cut off in the cell was more awful than before.

“Are you also part of the Winged Master’s retinue? I don’t really recognize you.” Oz asked, referring back to the angelic man he’d only seen brief snippets of.​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Oz Neru ​

Braze shook his head as he poured the man's tea. "No... not a disciple of his," he said quietly. "I am Braze, exile of the New Jedi Order. I am a Jedi Battlemaster with the rank of Knight, and student of Jasper Kai'el. " Braze offered softly.

"I'd like to give you exactly what you want... How does that sound... friend?"

 

[Oz Neru]

Location: Undisclosed Location
Objective: Converse
Tag: Braze

---

There was a slight glint in Oz’s eyes over the mention of Braze being a battlemaster. What the young Jedi told him brought the blue man more questions than it did answers. Especially given that he’d seen Braze’s mentor. Then he introduced himself as well. “I am Oz, former knight of the New Jedi Order. Sounds to me that we’re almost like kin.” Oz teased some, telling only a half truth about himself.

He took his cup of the hot tea to his mouth. Giving it a few blows before sipping from it. Giving his taste buds some much appreciated stimulation in the sterile little world he created for himself.

“You want to see me free hmm? Why is that? Has my good behavior earned me a much shorter sentence? Or perhaps you need this cell for someone who better deserves it.” Oz hadn’t harmed anyone to earn a spot here, at least not physically. He’d merely been minding his own business before getting arrested.

“I’m going to guess that there’s some strings attached aren't there?” As he spoke and relaxed some the illusionary land around them began to fade only slightly. Even in here he’d been exercising in mind, body and soul. ​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Oz Neru ​

Braze settled back with his own cup of tea, a faint smile curving his lips as he inclined his head in a slightly off-kilter bow.
"Sure… you could call it that," he said, tone easy and faintly teasing as he lifted the cup for a sip.

"Consider it a friendly favor. I'd like you to keep doing exactly what you were doing...just somewhere a bit more… focused. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. We're not pretending the casinos are spotless, but I think your talents could be put to better use if aimed a little more precisely. How does that sound as a proposition?"

 

[Oz Neru]

Location: Undisclosed Location
Objective: Converse
Tag: Braze

---

“So you want to use me as some kind of living weapon against a foe hmm?” They’ll give him an inch but he’ll be taking a mile. “I can work with that, and you won't be disappointed I assure you. Just let me know where you want my focus and then we can shake on it.” Oz said before taking another sip of the hot tea as the illusion began to gradually fade. The unnatural vibrancy of the fake vegetation dimmed and desaturated before revealing the reality of the cell he’d been stuck within.

After finally doing away with the false world he created he let out a deep sigh. As if finally relaxing after a long and strenuous activity. “Since I’ve been here I was only able to just create little things here and there.” He commented before finally rising to his feet. “If I accept, I'm confident that you’ve never had a friend like me before.” ​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Oz Neru ​

"Not particularly. I imagine I would leave you to your own devices, with only a bit of encouragement here and there. I do not intend to dictate what you do, only to express what I would prefer you focus on. I abhor the idea of policing Force users, but I understand the damage that can be done and the sorrow that follows when the gift of the Force is abused. Freedom, in many ways, is a double edged sword.

I do not care much for killing. Unfortunately, that is the way of the galaxy more often than not. You end up taking so many lives that the memories blur together, and you begin to wonder whether it truly makes any difference in the grand scheme of things. There are always arguments to be made, but I am tired of hearing them and even more tired of making them.

Right now you do not seem to pose much of a threat, but such behavior is a red flag. It is an easy path to take, a tempting one, because it feels good to fulfill your own desires. The dark side is very giving in that way, but it always leads to a cycle of suffering. Those who claim otherwise are the ones who revel in that pain and call it power."

Braze paused to take a slow drink from his tea, letting out a quiet sigh. "I have no love for keeping anyone caged," he murmured, setting the cup aside. The cell around them shifted in tone, its comfortable furnishings seeming duller and more confined as the illusions faded.

"There is little to be done when someone robs you of your time. You can never get it back," he said softly, gaze drifting toward the wall. "People think loss is only about death, but time is the one thing you can never reclaim. Every moment taken is a piece of what you could have been, conversations never had, choices never made, peace never found."

He looked back toward Oz. "You have already seen how other Force users feel about your actions. Most seek balance, not dominance. When you take what you want from others, even something as small as their time, you disrupt that balance. You steal the chance for them to grow, to change, to live as they would have. It is a quiet kind of cruelty."

He studied Oz for a moment. "Maybe you thought it was harmless. The credits were theirs, the skill was yours, and no one got hurt. But that is the trick of it, isn't it? The Force makes everything feel justified when it works in your favor."

Folding his arms, Braze's expression hardened slightly. "Every con, every illusion, every time you twist chance to your liking, you take something that was never meant to be yours. Not just credits, but the honest flow of things. You rob others of their freedom, and you rob yourself too. The more you rely on tricks, the less you grow. You lose hours, days, whole years to self-deception until nothing left is truly yours."

His tone softened again. "It is not anger most of us feel toward you. It is disappointment. The Force is not meant to be a set of loaded dice. It is a trust between you and the galaxy itself. Break that trust enough times, and eventually, it is going to stop answering you the same way."

 

[Oz Neru]

Location: Undisclosed Location
Objective: Converse
Tag: Braze

---

The young Jedi had a lot to say. Laying a decent chunk of their heart out to the wayward Sith. Showing the kind of empathy he would come to expect from a Jedi who has seen a lot and hasn’t had the years let their habits and opinions clarify into stubbornness. It often came with lots of passion as well that the infamous liked to exploit.

“Your heart is in the right place young master Jedi. But fret not because time is rather cheap for me.” It was an experience that Oz needed to make up for. Having experienced centuries now of ‘fomo’ that had to be corrected. “But do not underestimate what a lone man or woman can achieve when all they have is themselves for long stretches of time. You’d be surprised I’m sure.”

“Now I must ask, where exactly would you like for my talents to be focused? Is there a Sith that has been a thorn in your side that you want handled. Or perhaps some pirate or warlord causing trouble along the hyperlanes. I’m much more than some mere scoundrel and con artist.”​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Oz Neru ​

Braze's fingers tightened slightly around his cup as he listened, though his expression looked more thoughtful, a soft furrow settling between his pale brows.

"Perhaps," he said quietly, "but time is not cheap for everyone. Not for the ones you touch in passing, not for the lives you wander through, and not for the people who never get the chance to correct what you take from them. You seemingly have centuries to make up for what you missed. Most people do not."

He lifted his gaze to meet Oz's, jade-green eyes steady.

"You are right about one thing though. A person left alone with nothing but their own mind can become capable of very strange and powerful things. Isolation shapes you. It reveals what you cling to when everything else is stripped away."

He set the cup aside with a soft clink.

"So I am not looking to point you at a target like some hired blade. That is not what I want from you, and not what I came offering. I want your focus on something far more subtle. I want you to keep your talents aimed at the right kind of disruption."

Braze leaned forward slightly, elbows resting loosely on his knees.

"There are people who thrive on taking what they want from others. People who twist the Force to grind whole systems under their heel. Warlords, slavers, petty tyrants, Sith who build their strength out of the suffering of those weaker than themselves. You know their type. You can sense them as surely as I can."

His voice softened just a little more. "I am not asking you to kill them. I am asking you to upset their balance. Slip the knife out of their hand before they know it. Bend the game around them so they trip on their own greed. You can do that without spilling a drop of blood if you choose to." A small faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"You said you could surprise me. Then surprise me with that. Surprise me by using your gifts to tilt the scale toward those who do not have centuries, or soldiers, or power. Surprise me by being a complication for the ones who believe they cannot be moved."

His tone remained calm, but there was something steady and resolute beneath it.

"If you do that, then you will not be my weapon. You will be my ally. "