Monsters Among Men

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Coruscant. Katrine had no intention of going back here. It had fallen to the Sith. There were reports of Sithspawn, of Sith, of the Galactic Alliance, falling. All this paled in her eyes in comparison to the loss she suffered here. The rest of the galaxy didn't concern her right now. She loved so she had lost, she had been accused of many things since, which included a complete stranger whom she owed no explanations to. He had been insightful enough to let her know how Pebble was. Worse even than she had expected. Far worse than she had hoped. She had said the words, she had given what the teenager had wanted but in reality, even though her own broken heart, she loved Scherezade deWinter. And no matter what the darkness had her believe, she was still her sister. She still had someone waiting for her when she wanted her back. Whether it was now or in fifty years, Katrine had sent that thought before the physical connection to Jart had been destroyed.

None of that changed the fact that the other monster had caused her to be trapped in the darkness, barely alive when they had found her, taking a whole week to recover even with the ichor and Kat's healing. Wounds so severe from a blind fool. A fool Katrine had once been taught to think the very best of. She had never met the Jedi and until she had seen the footage, Katrine hadn't seen the face of the man. The name though was recognizable enough. It had been spoken by Nona many times over, it had been said between her and Aston as well. Katrine knew [member="Kamon Vondiranach"] was.

Katrine was angry and hurt by the events on Coruscant. Each and every one of them. Let the past die, her protector had tried convincing her against this course of action and yet the visions had been clear to his whereabouts. Coruscant. Fighting. Playing the role of a good Jedi. It made her wonder if Mother was wrong after all. Perhaps the Jedi weren't boring at all but rather than they all hid a far worse evil inside them than the Sith. Because Kat knew Sith. Her Uncle Isley was a Sith and he was always good to his family, good to any child. Pebble was a Sith and yet she was so innocent in her behavior, obviously so young for this galaxy despite her true age. And then there were the Jedi. One of them capable of murdering a child and another accusing her of things he knew only partial facts too.

Nocte Aranea had entered the atmosphere, coming above the city before she had ordered the cargo bay doors be opened. Dressed in her armor, she had jumped down, using the Force to lower herself. Beside her though, had been her faithful protector [member="Larentia"], adorned in her own armor. Together, they had plunged into hell to face a man who had done the unthinkable. You shouldn't have, she sent through the Force, barely reaching her mind as the other woman fell alongside her. Katrine had recognized the amulet on her neck before, having seen it on another. Larentia had offered a vague explanation. Protection on those who would try to invade her mind. It was working, she was sure of that.

She still knew that the other woman's control over Telekinesis was not as good, that when she reached her hand out, it was to take hers, using her own power to slow their fall just before they would land.

The wolf wanted to do a great many things to the traitor. Ripping his throat out was one of them. She had promised though, after much protest. Family attacked the family, whether he knew or not. She had been appalled by the story none the less. A child, brought to the brink of death, barely saved. Just for being a Sith, was it? Just for being part of the Confederacy? Her own blood used to write a message on the walls. Today, Katrine was not the heir of Figaro Favoura VII nor was she the Nightmother. Today, she was an elder of her family. And Kamon had crossed a line no Hawk should ever cross.

Beside her, Larentia had pulled her hand away the second their feet had touched the ground. Gerwald would be upset or even angry she had gone by herself but she knew the Lupine was no match for the Jedi Master. Her protector had been ordered to stay behind as well but the new Lupine seemed to have trouble with taking orders, Katrine had noticed. Still, now that she was at her side, she moved forward, taking her chakram into her hand. This planet had become hell and the demons were running free. Still, it was her vision that guided her to where she was going, with a given vision letting her know where to go.

Something had run from the corner, giving her a split second to access the horrific look before she had thrown the chakram at the creature, the melee weapon traveling towards the demon, striking him before it had begun its path back to her. With the help of the Force, she had called it to her and caught it, continuing. It was her protector though that drew her sword and struck at him, cutting off the head before they continued.

Katrine instead focused on finding the one she had come to find. There had been a lingering presence in the area where she had found Pebble but she wasn't picking up on it right away.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

It wouldn't be hard to find the person she was looking for. He made no effort to hide where he was as he sliced a demonic creature clean in half. These were the things leftover by the Sith when they had come knocking. Stupid. He hadn't been there because he was off doing something else. Not that he could have personally stopped it or anything. He could probably kill some Sith, though. That would have been helpful.

After the situation with Romi, he had decided that he didn't care anymore, though. What reason did he have to? None of his children wanted him around and he didn't have any other family to be with. All he had was himself, and as time had shown, the only thing he was ever good at was fighting. He could fight like he was a full-blooded Echani, and didn't care if he killed the person he was fighting in most cases. Most of those he fought deserved it.

Sometimes he made mistakes without knowing it, though. He wasnt perfect.

He was utterly covered in filth, though. The downside of fighting numerous Sithspawn throughout the city planet, and the occasional Sith as well. He hadn't been able to sleep in a bed for quite a while. He would meditate in some broken piece of building or something, but that was about it. Coruscant was not in a good enough state for hin to otherwise impose on people, and he didn't want to anyway.

He just wanted to kill Sith and their creations until one of them killed him.

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

The closer she got, the more she could feel the Rogue Jedi. He was close and they were getting closer to him. Finally, as she made a turn and saw him, her hand gestured to her protector to make her stop. Larentia made a grunt before she had actually stopped and lingered in the back, blue eyes staring through the wolf mask as the masked Nightmother approached the filthy man, one who had obviously fought through a large number of Sithspawn. Or did he? "Stop pretending you care, Kamon Vondiranach" Katrine spoke beneath her mask as she continued walking towards him.

Her chakram was still in her right hand though she made no attempt to rise it now. She wanted to. She wanted to throw it at him, wanted to smoother life out of his throat. He was a liar, a man held so high and capable of killing a child. That was what her sister was. A child. Same as she had been in her age except Katrine had been actually given the gift of growing up to that age whereas Pebble had not. She only had months of her life before he chose to administer justice, chose to be the one high and mighty. If she had died, this would have been far worse for her though. No, instead of waking and recovering, she and Gerwald had made things far worse, coupled with the darkness that had already made her believe in the far worse versions of them. If she had died, Kamon would have been a murderer of an innocent girl.

"Raise your weapon at me and you raise it at your own apprentice. At the mother of your children," Katrine continued before removing the mask off her face. He wouldn't see it. She was blonde, whereas Satara's hair was raven black. Her eyes were sapphire blue while Satara's were a mix of a different blue and green. She was still her descendant. She was still a child of the Hawks. And today, she had the authority to speak on behalf of her maternal family.

[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

The sithspawn fell to the ground in pieces as she spoke. The voice he did not recognize. Many women had spoken to him with that tone, however. Either way, when he looked up, he felt out for intent, and while she seemed to absolutely hate him, she did not feel like a Sith. Her garb gave her away, too. He deactivated his sabers and watched her, waiting for her to continue speaking. After all, he cared little whether he was veing judged. Ultinately, his conscience was clear.

When she continued about him raising a blade he understood further, but he knew this wasn't Satara. She would never feel such malice towards him. He hadn't done anything to warrant it. And when she removed her mask he knew for certain it wasn't her, but he could see the similarities. Probably one of her other children or children's children at this point. It was very hard to say.

"I don't hurt family. Satara would know that. I may not be the best father, but family is the most important thing in my life and she would know that."

Was that a dig at her? Not really. Just an explanation that she was not Satara, and regardless of what she was, she was not going to gain the power over him that Satara would. Though he did owe her the courtesy of at least listening to her. She seemed to hate him for some reason, which made him curious since he hadn't done anything to the Witches or Nightsisters. He had deliberately avoided it.

"Why the malice for someone you've never met? Unless you married a Sith that I killed then there shouldn't be a reason for it. I do not bother your kind out of respect for my children and their mother and the familial ties."

He looked around briefly, feeling something off, but it passed and he returned his gaze to her.

"Also be nice to know who you are."

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

He didn't hurt family. Katrine snorted at that. Sure, he didn't, if he knew, she was sure. "Unless you don't know, then you'll have a great excuse to murder someone, right?" She shot back in a heartbeat, not bothering with the family bit at all. Katrine knew Aston, she'd heard plenty already. Besides, she had her Nono and her Nono was there for all of them, including Aston and Spencer when their own Father wasn't. She wasn't going to bother with that at all.

Why did she have malice for someone she hadn't met before assuming she was married to a Sith and he killed them. Another snort. He didn't bother her kind out of respect for the twins and her Nona. "No, you didn't kill my mate," Katrine answered quickly. "I normally have malice towards people who pretend to be something they're not. Like you being such a good guy that you'd kill a teenage girl because she's a Sith without seeing her commit any crimes." Katrine didn't exactly expect him to put two and two together with that statement but it was true. Even if it hadn't been her sister but it was far more personal because it was.

Kamon asked who she was though. "I'm Katrine Van-Derveld Hawk. You almost killed my sister just because she's a Sith and a deWinter. Used her blood to leave a message for the Confederacy. As if your first act wasn't horrific enough. And yeah, I'm sorry to disappoint you but she survived." Lived. She wanted to say lived but after what she heard from Josh on Ryloth, after what happened when Pebble woke, she couldn't say she lived. Survived seemed to be way more fitting at the moment.

[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Kamon frowned. When she mentioned the teenager bit he did connect the dots that she was talking about the deWinter girl. He didn't understand how she could be family, though. Katrine looked nothing like her. Adoption maybe? But then why hadn't she spoken up about them being family? She knew who he was when she met him, so shouldn't she have known to mention the familial connection? Maybe not. Either way, he couldn't be blamed for doing his job.

"A person who has made the committment to the darkness is old enough to know right from wrong. I'd say you know little of Sith, but I know there are some in the Hawk family. Probably your own mother if I giess correctly at your lineage," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Had be Curupira's kid. The fiery nature of her tongue was enough to give that away. He still wondered how it seemed that none of Satara's children had turned out as mild-mannered as she was. He still missed her. When he was teaching her he had enjoyed her company, and had learned as mich from her as she had from him. It was why he had chosen her over anyone else to mother his children. He had thought they were his first, and still did since it had been years since Squeak and those memories had washed away with death.

She mentioned the girl had lived. That was a surprise, but perhaps he just wasn't meant to kill her. The Force worked in mysterious ways. What it willed was ultimately what happened. They were just vessels for its judgment on the galaxy. Her life had been spared because she wasn't meant to die. Undoubtedly he had served as a lesson for her instead.

"She knew who I was the moment she saw me. The recognition was there. She should have spoken and I'd have let her be. Instead she tried to play me for a fool. I know what the Sith Code says and every Sith abides by it or they wouldn't be Sith. I had no reason not to kill her. If she didn't know of the family relation then the fault is in you for not telling her who the father of her Aunt and Uncle is."

He was not going to take the blame in this, especially since he knew she knew.

"How is it you have a deWinter for a sister, anyway? That family is a monstrous one. If she hasn't tried to kill you yet then she will eventually. Just like Shery. That family is full of deep corruption."

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

A person who had made the commitment to the darkness was apparently old enough to know right from wrong. Kamon considered the possibility of saying she didn't know the Sith enough but he suspected why she would. "You're correct. Both of my parents were Sith in their youth," she told him flatly. A long time ago in comparison to the time in which she was born in. Distance in time enough for Curupira to insist on raising her children in a way that they would decide for themselves. The only bad thing she had to say about the Jedi was that they were boring, which she based on her own experience. Otherwise, the galaxy was their playground, to be entered as they saw fit.

"She happens to be a Witch-practicing Sith," Katrine pointed out after a beat. Big righteous Jedi and all he assumed was that Pebble was a Sith and nothing else. And he did say he didn't bother her kind. And that was exactly what he did.

Apparently, Pebble knew exactly who he was the moment she saw him. If she didn't know about the family relation than the apparently was fault lay with Katrine. "The long tree hadn't come up. Besides, I only knew who you were in the name before you were so nice to identify yourself for the camera. If you hadn't, Aston would have told me. He happened to be right there. He tends to be there when I need him." Pebble had only been alive for a few months now. When she had gone to Dathomir, Katrine had sent her to the family. When she was with her on Figaro Favoura VII, she introduced her to her Father, brother, and cousin. Kamon Vondiranach, whose name and stories she only knew hadn't come up yet.

He was curious about how a deWinter became her sister. That family is a monstrous one, Kamon shared his opinion of it. Just like Shery, he added. Katrine recognized the name. "Yeah, I met the evil Nona in the spirit realm. She put Scherezade into my care," Katrine pointed out, consciously avoiding the mention of her sister's nickname. It was none of Kamon's business. "I found her, freed her from the prison the evil Nona had her in. She's been under my protection for months. She's been Mandragora, which are Witches of Ryloth, since the first day."

Being Mandragora didn't erase everything else. It didn't have to. But all of Pebble's training from the beginning was the mix of spells and Force Powers conducted by Katrine. He could justify his actions all he wanted, Pebble was a deWinter but she wasn't only a deWinter. She was herself as well.

[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Kamon nodded his head.

"Good on her for mellowing some," he said, turning his gaze away as he caught a flicker of movement.

It wasn't but someone's housecat, but on Coruscant after the invasion even a housecat could prove to be something else. He would take no risks. Besides, this wasn't something he was doing for himself outside of the therapeutic nature of drowning his depression. The people of Coruscant were still being menaced by sithspawn and Sith alike and he couldn't bring himself to really rest until that was no longer the case.

Not that [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] was going to let him. She had come for vengeance after all.

"I stand by what I did as being just. Had I known she was family I wouldn't have harmed her, but what ifs mean very little. I can't change what happened and neither can you. If vengeance is what you seek you won't find any satsifaction from it. You can't kill me."

It was the simple truth. She was not blood. Blood alone could kill blood in his family. She was not a descendant of his. She could beat him to a pulp and temporarily kill him, but he would return. She would find no satisfaction in it. Not that she should be seeking retribution. If anyone should it was Scherezade. He was surprised, now, that she hadn't come for him already. Of course this whole situation could be a trap, but it didn't matter to him if it was.

She was clearly hurt by what had transpired, but he doubted it was just him that had caused it. Any descendant of Satara would be smart enough to connect the dots of what had hapoened and come to a logical conclusion on the situation. She probably had, too, but hadn't come to terms with it.

"I am sorry that you don't believe me, Katrine. I am sorry that you think me a monster. I've spent my entire life hunting Sith and culling them in order to protect those I care about and those who cannot protect themselves. So much so that I was never there for any of my children, or my grandchildren. I love them all dearly but I was never the father they deserved. I couldn't bring myself to stop doing what I felt was right and the one thing I have ever been good at.

"Ask your mother or grandmother about it. When Aston and Spencer were conceived it was because I was leaving to face a Sith organization in Fringe space and believed I wouldn't return. I didn't know about what I was then, and they did kill me as I expected they would. But I returned, and when I did Spencer and Aston were teenagers. I missed everything of importance in their lives and I couldn't cope with it so I went back to doing what I do, and kept my distance.

"But I still always did what I did in an effort to keep them and the rest of your family safe from the Sith that now make up the Sith Empire. Family is everything. My father told that to me more than eight hundred years ago. I can't even remember his face or my mother's anymore, but I remember that mantra and have always stuck by it. I didn't know she was your sister. If I had I would have let her alone. I acted on the knowledge I had of what she was. That's all I have ever done."

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

He stood by what he did as being just. Katrine rolled her eyes with an ease. If he had known, it would have been different but time for that had passed. But apparently, she couldn't kill him. Though the idea wasn't permitted, she would entertain it before revealing what she'd been sworn to. "And why not?" Katrine asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. She would have preferred to but more so because she was a Lupine than a Witch, it was more in her nature as Beta to obey the Alpha. And among the Hawks, that was their one and only Matriarch. So, no, no matter how much she wanted to or how much Kamon deserved it, the killing wasn't on the table.

Kamon was sorry she didn't believe him or that she thought he was a monster. That wasn't her fault though, it was his, Katrine thought to herself as he went on about hunting Sith and culling them. Culling. It reminded her of whatever madness Uncle Vega had fallen into, that nearly eradicated their species. She hated that word. Kamon was talking still, about not being there for his children or grandchildren, about not being the Father they deserved. He told her to ask her mother or grandmother about them, about him leaving when Aston and Spencer were created, she corrected herself in her head. Katrine had asked plenty of questions about the twins, years before she actually got to meet Aston. He returned when they were teenagers. She knew this story.

But he did what he did to keep the rest of her family safe from the Sith? Her eyebrow arched. How did he keep her family safe? The Sith Empire crumbled and fell as all things did. Of course, he wouldn't know that he lived in the now. Katrine, on the other hand, heard the stories.

"It's fine, Aston and Spencer had a great Father. Nono never left any of his children for any sort of culling," Katrine addressed first when she finished. "And I'm well aware of the story of how the twins were created, Nona told me plenty of times. You know what she regrets the most? The day she allowed them to be taken by the Jedi. She would never do it again. No child of hers, born of her or after would be permitted to leave young under her watch. She thinks Aston and Spencer were robbed of a childhood same as my Mother was, and she was actually stolen." He didn't know Katrine well enough but for every story left incomplete in her mind, she asked a million questions to get the full story. "But they still had a great Father who loves them. You don't have to worry about that ever." Her Father wasn't around, sure, Katrine longed to spend more time with him growing up but it gave her a chance to spend more time with Nona and Nono Madoc. Though right now, she used it on purpose. If he was going to bring Aston and Spencer up, she was going to bring up the parents that were there for him.

As for Pebble... "I don't care for your politics, Kamon. Your beliefs. Your ideas of justice. I couldn't kill you even if want to, I've been sworn. I'll gladly you scar you so you don't forget you touched my family, she won't be able to deny me that right," she said, gripping at her chakram as she debated how much would he had a facial scar. "I am here, however, to say that you are no longer under the protection of Satara Hawk. If you ever step foot on Dathomir, you're a free man. Free to be claimed, free to be enslaved. It's not our concern anymore. I don't know what you think you did for this family but I'm afraid you're quite wrong. You haven't done anything and you won't in the years to come. In the future, you're nothing but a name in Nona's stories. I've never met you growing up and neither have my siblings." He didn't have to understand she was speaking of the future from which she came from, it was none of his business really. "I love Aston but as far as I'm concerned, as is our family, he's a Hawk, as is Spencer."

[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Only blood can kill blood."

Cryptic but also extremely simple. It didn't matter if she wanted to kill him because she was not blood and she never would be. She could stab him to her hearts content and he would regenerate evebtually. It didn't matter. So long as a part of him remained, he would return. But she didn't get that. She didn't get any of it. Too much of her mother in her. Too much fire, not enough reason. A shame, from what he could see.

He waved a hand at her when she said he wasn't protected anymore. Having never asked for it, he didn't care. Let one of the witches try and claim him now if they wanted. It would be a spectacular failure on their part. Twice in the past he had been claimed, but he never would be again. For a couple of reasons, but primarily because he wouldn't allow it. He was far stronger now than he had been.

"I don't care what you think, but my blood courses through their veins and they are adults, capable of making their own decisions on what they want. You can't take the blood out of them. They will always be just as much Vondiranach as Hawk. That's the way it is. The same as I am both Hinata and Vondiranach."

He put his hands behind his back as he regarded her.

"You have much to learn yet, including how to control yourself. How not to be impulsive. How to investigate facts before making decisions. You aren't fit for your position regardless of what you or others think. Why don't you go back to the only place you can properly function and leave the rest of the galaxy to the people who actually understand it?"

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

So, only blood could kill blood. Whatever sort of witchcraft was, she didn't care. She was more interested in the wave of the hand he gave to her words. They made her snort as much as they infuriated her. "Nice, Kamon Vondiranach. I'll be sure to mention that one. It means nothing to you obviously but it meant something to Nona, to this family. We don't take words like that lightly. But you have no regard for that, just as you have no regard for life. So that's fine,"

He didn't care what she thought. It was true, unfortunately, they did have their blood. And like her being a Lupine was looked down upon while she was growing up on Dathomir, his blood made them outsiders as well. "Oh, I know. They know too. The whole clan knows. Aston and I have something in common that brought us together, the Witches don't accept us because we're different." Same as he was Hinata and Vondiranach. "So is Aunt Rach. You're not that special for being a Hinata," she said with a shrug.

Apparently, Katrine had much to learn, including how to control herself. Not to be impulsive. Silly monster, this was her not being impulsive. She wasn't fit for her position? Oh? A brow arched. She was incredibly calm, calmer than she was when she marched on Stewjon for what they did to a Lupine, calmer than she was when she was in the week she had watched Pebble suffer. He didn't know her at all. "Silly monster. You don't know me at all. This is me being opposite of impulsive. If anyone is not fit of anything, it's you claiming to have ever been a Jedi," her grip around her chakram loosened as she spoke, her hand slowly rising to place it to its holder on her back.

"You don't comprehend the meaning of family nor have you ever respected mine. I used to respect you without even meeting you. Even if you are deadbeat Father, Nona still looked up to you. Not enough to bed you but enough to teach all of us to respect you. We're done, Kamon Vondiranach, you're done with this family. Don't even think of stepping onto Confederacy territory. I wish upon you a slow death from your own kin. You deserve it. I don't plan on wasting any more of my time," and she spun on her heel before she would walk away. She'd come angry, she'd come upset she couldn't break the vow she had given her Nona. He was to be forgotten but left unharmed because of Aston and Spencer. If they chose to end his life, that was their business. Not even Nona would lift a finger. It was kinda surprising, knowing what she knew about her, drawing questions she had never considered before but the current situation hadn't permitted it.

In the near distance, Larentia stood and watched, her hand on the hold of her weapon once Katrine's back was turned. She was her protector, after all, staring at the man.

[member="Kamon Vondiranach"]