Nexu on a leash

[Daria Cavill]

Activated almonds. Organic spirulina. Hand-grown plantains. Alkalised water. Maca and other things Daria knew the general gist of, but suspected looked and tasted like grey slop before some expensive droid threw them together into a smoothie and served it to her work a simpering, mewling tone that she suspected her father had commissioned special for her droids. Just looking at it - the droid AND the smoothie - infuriated her, and she'd initially suspected that they were part of the ongoing campaign to fill her heart with hatred and allow her to more readily access the Dark Side... but that was seeming less and less likely. Breaking one last month had resulted in the same complicated dance of guilt-tripping, threats, and strained, fake smiles that answered all of her little acts of rebellion. Jacen Cavill was many things, but subtle was not one of them; if he didn't want Daria doing something, that fact was made quickly and readily apparent.


Grimacing through the last of her 'breakfast', Daria slipped off of 'her' 'shuttle' and into a transit station above Dantooine with a foul expression and a fouler demeanor. Given the current political climate, anyone with a lightsaber on her hip was afforded a little more elbow room than was usual, especially if that someone was a surly young woman who looked like - and was - An irritable Sith apprentice who would likely suffer little to no consequence for sudden and random acts of violence. The fearful expressions of the people around her only frustrated Daria further. Downcast eyes, hidden resentment, like a whipped dog that couldn't muster the courage to snarl at a bad master. She hated it, she hated how it had simply become the background noise in her life. She hated how trapped she was, she hated how she'd been captured and would forever be associated with the worst monsters in the galaxy. Mostly, she hated how easy it was to project all those negative feelings onto the faceless and spineless masses around her. There was no way they could have known that she'd grown up on a farm, that she'd once been a Jedi (for a hidden value of Jedi) and hoped to make a positive impact. They could never know that she chaffed under the yolk of oppressive Sith as much as they did... But a part of her expected them to, even if only to point out that her pampered prison was leagues better than an ACTUAL prison. At least then she'd have somebody talking to her.

Daria couldn't tell them anything, though, and they wouldn't want to hear it. He struggles were her own to bear. Resenting the crowds for what they didn't know wouldn't get anything done and, worse, was likely exactly what her father wanted. Daria pulled her hood up and took a deep breath, continuing her aimless wander in search of a quiet place away from simpering nanny-droids.

 

[Niysha]

Niysha was on another public shuttle into nowhere. This time, it was a tiny farming planet that had only the most ancient of relevance in the galactic scene. Dantooine had once been the site of a Jedi enclave, in the extraordinarily distant past, but those ruins had long since been picked clean. There was nothing of value to them. What there was value in, however, was the byproduct of their existence. A local species called the Kinrath had been affected by the presence of so much Force energy so long ago, and the occasional interference of Sith (and less often, Jedi) in recent years had done little to slow the progress of the creatures' mutation.

While she wasn't big on biology, Niysha found the idea of an entire species being altered by simple proximity to be engrossing. Kinrath had been so grossly changed by their Jedi neighbors in eons past that their eggs were a source of lightsaber crystals...and, most curiously, of a singularly dark disposition. It was fascinating. She simply had to find out more. She had to See them for herself, to really understand what was going on.

As the shuttle Niysha had hitched a ride on finally hit the atmosphere, she took a moment to orient herself. This far into a) Sith territory and b) the boondocks meant that there was little that posed any real danger to her. Even so, she couldn't tolerate the idea of being caught off her guard. She hadn't survived this many years on her own out of sheer dumb luck after all.

She might have taken a few moments too long to focus. There were enough people milling about now to push past her in a crowd.

 

[Daria Cavill]

A trip to the surface, Daria decided, was in order. Dantooine wasn't too hazardous to merit heavy preparation, but not safe enough to be boring, and that was by and large why she'd arrived there. Civilisation might be busily filling in the cracks everywhere, but a love of nature, solitude, and travel had driven Daria to fall through the cracks where she could. If nothing else, it meant she could leave the droids and holocalls behind for awhile.

The transit station wasn't busy at all, but the shuttle down to the surface absolutely was. At least, everything felt busier when you had a backpack laden with camping equipment on in a standing-Tom-only transport, and ESPECIALLY when you were in a hurry. Occupied as she was in her datapad, Daria didn't even notice the presence of another force-sensitive on the shuttle... Not that her perceptions had ever been so sharp. The jostling of the ship as it entered atmosphere caused everyone to lurch a step, and Daria's step just so happened to cause her to collide with a timid-looking Miraluka, shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Watch it." The tall girl growled with irritation, adjusting the strap on her bag. "...there's a seat over there. You should utilize it." She added a moment later. Sure, those seats were reserved for handicapped passengers and maybe being conventionally blind only technically qualified a Miraluka, but still. It'd get her out of harm's way.

[member="Niysha"]

 

[Niysha]

Hm? Jeez. Some people had no coordination.

It always felt odd that one could be so attentive that one missed really basic stuff nearby. Niysha was so busy Seeing everything around her that she didn't really see much at all. Some tall woman with hair as frizzy as her own whacked into her from behind, and Niysha stumbled silently with the burden that was her life. Fortunately there was a bulkhead nearby to brace against.

Sit? Oh, right. She looked...right. Unfortunately, no matter how craven or unspirited Niysha was, she was still a Sith at her core. She had enough pride in herself not to need a seat for the disabled. "I'm fine," she managed in a quiet tone, lips pursed. Having no eyes made poker faces much easier, though it also meant that much of the time she just looked annoyed. Or possibly constipated.

Her aura was...tumultuous. Roiling. There was raw power there, but more importantly there was frustration in nigh limitless amounts. An endless ocean of malcontent. An infinite cornucopia of irritation. It didn't seem to have any direction, as if she was preemptively frustrated, annoyed, or dismissive of everything around her on principle. Maybe a self-defense mechanism. This wasn't the bitterness of someone who had seen the world. This was the bitterness of someone who thought they'd seen the world and drawn oh so many conclusions about it.

"You should hold on," Niysha began, an almost imperceptible hint of snide malice in her tone. "This landing might be rough if you aren't prepared."

[member="Daria Cavill"]

 

[Daria Cavill]

The blind woman said she was fine, so Daria rolled her eyes and shrugged one shoulder - if she wanted to keep banging into everyone, be it on her head. Daria herself had bigger things to worry about, or to think about. She turned her attention back to her pad, quietly steaming.

At least until the Miraluka forgot herself long enough to enter in a parting shot.

Daria felt heat rise in her face, her ears practically burning. Now the Miralukan had her full attention, and Daria was aware enough to take note of her Sithy adornments. Hood, saber, general aura of force ability. An assumedy worthy challenger, as if she had any interest in such a thing.

"I'll show you a rough landing if you don't check your tone." The tall farmgirl snarled quietly, glaring at Niysha with the corners of her vision. "Sit down. Before I sit you down."

 

[Niysha]

Niysha raised one eyebrow.

This untempered child wouldn't have been much of a match for a trained warrior, or even an acolyte with a decent amount of talent. Unfortunately Niysha was neither of these things. She had only the most basic of ideas on how to hold a lightsaber, no grasp of unarmed self-defense, and her understanding of the Force was almost entirely ephemeral and metaphysical. Whether or not an aberrant wild talent was or wasn't dangerous, she lacked the confidence in her own abilities to test it.

Doubly so with a crowd nearby. There were so many people in here that any show of power, mystical or otherwise, would result in casualties. This was Sith space, so casualties were expected when red lightsabers started igniting. She'd likely get a "my lord" or two as she was being asked off the shuttle, but the resulting investigation into which Sith had done this wouldn't be fun for her. She wasn't even aware whether or not people who knew she existed were around.

So she raised an eyebrow, and turned back to where she'd been "staring" at before.

 

[Daria Cavill]

The smarmy alien found somewhere else to turn her face rather than continue bickering, which was a relief in its own way. Sure, Daria had appreciated having somebody to channel her focus on, but she really hadn't wanted to beat up a blind woman on a public shuttle. Even if the woman sorely needed to learn why shooting your mouth off was a bad idea.

"That's what I thought." Daria grumbled. "Best keep your head down and your mouth shut." In a final act of disdain, the curly-haired young woman half-turned away from Niysha, dismissing her in both tone and body language... Though, Daria guessed, whether or not a Miraluka could read body language was anyone's guess.