No Relations

[Lira Dajenn]

Rahvin ast in the back compartment of a small cargo ship rushing towards Onderon. His face was solemn, his lips thin and his eyes were tired. He had not slept in days, a combination of Nina keeping him up, and restlessness due to their situation.

Ilyena had told him a tale, spun him a missive about their mothers. That would take getting used to, their mothers. Evelynn and Nemene, the two women who had come together to form the most messed up relationship in history that had eventually spawned him and his sisters. He let out a loud sigh, burying his face in his palms before slowly peeling them away.

No, no he had to maintain his resolve.

So he was born of different things, so he was a science experiment. This wasn't new to him, he had already known his life-span was shorter than most, had already know that he was a freak of sorts. He could accept it, live with it. His face turned to stone for a second, all hint of emotion gone as he nodded to himself.

His resolve came back, and his drive to push on with it. Onderon was the home of a woman that Ilyena had learned about, a master of the force with some strength. Rahvin didn't know much more about her, and Ilyena didn't either, but apparently their mother...Evelynn, had once upon a time trained with her. He had no idea the other relations of this woman of course, that she was mother to their uncle. Hell the writer of Rahvin didn't even know what that meant family wise.

It didn't matter however, as soon the ship found itself weaving through the atmosphere of Onderon, Nina skillfully driving the vessel towards the ancient Halcyon Citadel.

[member="Ilyena Talith"] [member="Quietus"]

 

[Louise]

There were times, when Ilyena Talith wanted nothing more than to slap the solemn out of her brother's face.

His morose nature had not allowed him for proper rest, and although the details learnt about their mothers had been incredibly harrowing the young woman wasn't quite sure if it was worth losing sleep over. Sadists and masochists, pursuers of pain and pleasure, it read like a holo-novel for fetishists.

No, if there were any factor that might have disturbed Ilyena's sleep then it might have been the wasted potential. Nemene Talith had been drilled into her, the legacy, the Queen of Rattatak, master of blades and goodness knows how many other titles. Evelynn on the other hand, from what Ovmar had told her, was a waste of skin and potential.

Her rather sensible boots clunked along the deck (Ilyena realising that heels, although fabulous are not great for all terrain) and she poked her head into the back cargo, observing her brother's tired and grim face.

“Cheer up, you could be dead,” the woman scolded, a smirk growing onto the end of her words, “or worse, on Zygerria still.”

[member="Rahvin Talith"] [member="Quietus"]

 

[Quietus]

Halcyon Citadel was buzzing with activity. The courtyard had been filled with several small transport shuttles around which a large contingent of Beast Hunters milled. They awaited the arrival of the Beastia and her associate, Volden, with a fair amount of excitement. Today this hand-selected group would be leaving Onderon for a journey to neighboring Umbara where, with hope, Blackthorne Beastiary would set up it's first out-of-system outpost.

First, and most importantly, they needed the permission of the heads of Umbara.

"Look at them, so excited, so giddy," Volden stood before a window of the hold overlooking the courtyard below, yellow eyes training across the scene, "almost makes you wonder if they've grown bored of the Drexls."

"Beastia, we've just received clearance and confirmation from Umbara. We are ready to leave at your command."

Quietus stood at a nearby table, hunched over a holoprojected map of the local star systems. Umbara was not her first choice - it's beasts were certainly unique but hardly well-known. It wouldn't be much of a draw to the public, but if she could secure relations with the Umbarans, she was on the right track. They were notoriously difficult to deal with, at least from everything she knew about them, but rumor had it their local beast population was getting a bit out of hand. Likely by tugging the right strings she could strike a good deal, and if everything went according to plan her reputation would be enough to get her foot in the door on Ambria - a planet currently carefully watched by the Jedi Council due to its inherent Dark Side nature.

After a few more moments of thought, she looked to Volden and nodded.

"Very well," the man spoke, "let's get going."

[member="Ilyena Talith"] [member="Rahvin Talith"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Ilyena Talith"] [member="Quietus"]

Rahvin slowly raised himself up against the wall of his ship, using the durasteel bulkhead to push himself to a standing position.

The only answer his sister received was a slight frown, There was still a bit of bite to him. Perhaps it was because Ilyena had had the opportunity to kill Cerise and hadn't carried through, or perhaps it was simply because Rahvin was in no mood to joke, even with his sister. Part of him didn't really understand this. Oh sure Ilyena had told him who was here on Onderon, what this woman meant in part to Evelynn, but why would she help them?

Why would one of their mothers old Masters help two genetic freaks?

It didn't make much sense to him, but at this point it was one of the few options that was still open to the two of them. As the ship shook, Rahvin braced himself on one of the metal handles in the back, holding himself steady as Nina called back into the cargo Hold.

“Almost there!”

Rahvin frowned, then looked to Ilyena. “Are you sure about this?”

The question came just as the shuttle touched down on one of the landing pads.

 

[Louise]

Truth be told, Onderon was a gamble, this woman was a gamble, but from their point of escape, wasn't everything?

There were likely Sirens scouring the galaxy to find the pair, bring them back to Zygerria where they could return to their former status as prisoners. Although with a little more emphasis on the prison this time, a tighter grip, a closer eye. Although Ilyena imagined that Cerise would have Rahvin crippled, more revenge than to prevent him from running away again. For herself? A few gilded bars upon the windows, a golden lock upon the door.

Time to think, learn, to repent. We'll stop Rahvin's manipulation yet, my love.

She should have cut deeper.

The raven-haired woman braced herself as the ship began to rumble, their lusty pilot proving herself a worthwhile asset. “No, Rahvin. I'm not,” she replied with a stern tone, staring her brother in the face.

The moment the ship touched the landing pad the woman moved, pushing herself off the bulkhead and heading straight for the boarding ramp, of course, Nina took her sweet time to lower it though. Likely too busy making kissy-faces at Rahvin. Ilyena rolled her eyes so aggressively that they could have fallen out.

[member="Rahvin Talith"], [member="Quietus"]

 

[Quietus]

"After Umbara - Ambria," Volden spoke as they walked the halls, "I've always wanted to gaze upon those ponds."

Do we have intel on what sort of Council protection Ambria has?

"Not yet, but they've been a bit busy with their war. I imagine the detail has taken a back seat."

Good. We can take advantage of that situation. We'll provide the planet with our own detail for the Council so they won't need to worry.

"Beastia," an Acolyte dressed in the deep evergreen robes of the Pillar of Knowledge trotted to catch up from behind, "an Umbaran Representative has agreed to a meeting with you - a one Licinius Kolt. I have forwarded the location to your ship."

"I've taken the liberty of adding a few crates of the Queen's Red Reserve to the cargo hold, compliments of the crown and a bid of good luck from the High Lady."

You know I don't like wine.

"Not everything is about you, M'Lady," Volden quipped in reply, smoothing his robes as they descended a staircase from the main hold out into the south courtyard where [member="Ilyena Talith"] and [member="Rahvin Talith"] had just touched down in their ship, "it's for the Umbaran Representative."

 

[Lira Dajenn]

The Ship touched down, and the ramp was lowered almost immediately. The blonde man cast one long look at his sister, not quite sure of what their next step should be. They would have to leave the ship o course, but how did they approach this woman?

'Oh, were the children of your failed apprentice and we've come to speak with you, wouldn't you be so kind as to tell us your tale?'

He doubted that strategy would work. Then again Ilyena was quite a bit smarter than him, and perhaps she had a more diplomatic way to phrase what they wanted here. Inwardly he shrugged, taking a quick few steps over to Nina and bringing her into an embrace. The girl had to be satiated before this whole ordeal so that she would at the very least keep calm about everything.

“Stay here Nina, Onderon is dangerous.” It wasn't really, but the slave girl wasn't very smart.

Instead she simply nodded at Rahvin and went back into the cockpit.

Seconds later the blonde man once again stood next to his sister, his coat ruffled and worn, his face equally so. He looked down at his sister, ever present frown on his face. The two of them exited the craft, and to Rahvin's surprised, were greeted by Quietus and a companion walking down the steps.

[member="Quietus"] [member="Ilyena Talith"]

 

[Louise]

The brief interaction with her brother had left Ilyena somewhat tense, planting tiny seeds of doubt in her mind. Was she sure? Well, she'd already said that she wasn't. Pay attention. However was it dangerous? The genetic anomaly was uncertain, knowing virtually nothing about this woman, this Bestia. Was she kind? Was she wicked? Would she take them up? Or would she laugh them off of Onderon.

The idea of such rejection sent a wave of nasuea through the pit of her stomach, but that only made her more determined to rise above it. It's just feelings. Hurt feelings should mean nothing, attribute to nothing, factor in nothing. A cold shoulder would be a cold shoulder, but where would they go if they were rejected?

Something about a cliff. Her pillow talk with Ovmar had covered such an expanse of that wasteful Sorceress tart's life that some of the early details were hard to remember.

Ilyena frowned to herself as Rahvin joined her. What a pair they were. The solemn twins, who strode around brooding wearing their faces of thunder. They'd clearly arrived in the middle of something important, people buzzing around chatting about their beasts and bobs. Inconsequential, to the twins at least.

Thankfully, finding a figure of serious power wasn't at all difficult when one held the maguffin of the Force. Ilyena's emerald eyes focused in upon the pair descending the staircase. Best not leave Rahvin up to introductions. Do you bow? Curtsey? Wrestle a bantha to the ground and declare yourself one with nature? Customs across the galaxy were too vast.

“Bestia,” Ilyena announced, cutting straight to the chase, “I am Ilyena Talith and this is my brother Rahvin. We've come seeking your aid.”

[member="Rahvin Talith"], [member="Quietus"]

 

[Quietus]

Smell.

Sense.

Sight.

Sonofa-

Talith.

They were quite literally crawling out of the woodwork of the galaxy and it made Quietus cringe. You know, it wasn't that she disliked the family or the man from which this pestilence began. It was that they all seemed to have an affinity for becoming problems. The only one that hadn't, so far, was her own son. She'd made damn sure of that from the start.

At least so far as she was aware. Apparently there were more than she knew.

The Beastia did not pause in her stride as they crossed the cobble pathway of the courtyard towards the assortment of transports and throngs of people waiting, keen eyes blazing a sharp stare from beneath the wild tangles of black hair landed upon the young woman who so boldly spoke. Her clipped and purposeful pace carried her past the pair, leering gaze lingering only long enough to take in their faces, before she had passed them by, bone spikes and ornaments of her armor lightly clattering along the way. A path parted for her through the crowds as she headed for her own ship and ascended the ramp, disappearing inside.

So much for the welcoming committee.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

[member="Quietus"] [member="Ilyena Talith"]
Well that was entirely awkward.

Rahvin stood for a moment, stopping his stride and simply watching the woman as she walked on by. Part of him wanted to laugh, it was an odd emotion coming from him, given that he hardly showed any joy or amusement at all. Yet the situation was so absurd, so oddly hilarious to him that the temptation to laugh was simply to much.

With a single look at his sister, Rahvin began to chuckle.

It was a low rumble at first, a quiet whisper of a thing that hardly seemed to be conducive to emoting joy. Yet it grew. Over the passing few seconds his chuckle grew into an outright laugh. It didn't help when he looked at Ilyena, then back to the Beastia. Pure amusement ran through him, and the young blonde nearly doubled over as he was consumed in laughter.

What an odd day.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

At the ever so gentle request of his fearless and untamed leader, Volden hung back to see to the strays that had just walked in the front door. Hands clutched lightly at his back, the man drew to a stop halfway between the pair and the congregation of people and ships the Beastia had left to. Hand lifted to greet them he was abruptly cut off by the growing hem-hawing of the younger male.

Bemused, he allowed him a few moments before sharply clearing his throat.

"You Talith's always have such impeccable timing..." expression growing stoney he looked off towards The Blackthorne as the engines suddenly rumbled to life, "...that ship will not be returning for at least a week. It would interest you to be on it in the next thirty seconds if you have any inclination at all of speaking with the Beastia."

 

[Louise]

She stood there for a moment, emerald eyes still full of steel, looking forward at where the Bestia had once been.

Ilyena was not accustomed to this, as a child born of legacy she had wanted for nothing. With the exception of real freedom anything that the young woman had asked for was given. No denial, no rejection, only instant gratification. Treat me like you would the Queen, or rather, treat me like you would Nemene.

The awkward silence left hanging in the air was broken by...her...brother of all...people.

Slowly she turned upon her heel, eyes wide and full of indignation but not directed towards the back of the Bestia, but rather Rahvin himself. Who evidently found it all rather hilarious. Of all the times for Captain Stoneface to come to mirthful life. The look said it all:

Are you karking kidding me?

Then, of course, came the gem of advice from tall, pale and creepy. Get on the ship. Fine, if she had to stalk the Bestia to get her attention then she would. If she had to shout at the woman to get her attention then she would. If she had to slap her in the face to get her attention then she would. Ilyena Talith wouldn't be dismissed so easily. “Thank you,” she said curtly to the man with the valuable notion before storming off past Rahvin and towards the departing vessel.

“You can stay and guffaw if you like,” the woman said to her twin with very clipped tones before rushing at and up the boarding ramp like a determined stalker. Not even thinking where the ship might have been going, or why.

[member="Rahvin Talith"], [member="Quietus"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Rahvin smiled, his laughter slowly dying down into only small chuckles as Ilyena stomped off. For a moment he looked to the man who had directed them towards the ship, then he peered over towards their own vessels where Nina stood in the cargo bay. He frowned slightly, getting on board that ship could be dangerous. They knew next to nothing about this woman, and by all indication she was much stronger than they.

A frown crossed his lips, but eventually he shook his head.

“Nina. Stay here.” He called out to her, and the young woman simply nodded. She understood why they had come here, and wasn't about to question him now. The blonde then regarded Volden. “If you could ensure she gets some supplies, food, things like that, I would be grateful. There are credits enough in the ship to pay for anything.”

Rahvin paused for a moment, looking back at Nina then at Volden again. “Thank you.”

The young man then took off after his sister.

Unlike Ilyena, Rahvin maintained none of his decorum. He took off at a full sprint, rushing after Ilyena with long confident strides. His boots struck the ramp of the ship just as it began to lift off of the ground.

 

[Quietus]

The children made it up the ramp just in time to feel the planet heave out from beneath them, helter-skelter. They didn't get far into the ship either.

Quietus met them at the entrance, the beastly woman in all her armored, spiked, leather adornment effectively blocking what was the only means of stepping away from the very open doorway. Onderon fell away from them with an alarming speed. Try though they might, there was no way forward or around, only the heated, acidic glare of the Beastia. Though not a large person in any form, it was not her physical stature that generally intimidated others, though it could and very often did, it was her mere presence.

A commanding aura, domineering both in a spiritual and mental sense. She was the feeling one experienced when facing imminent death, she was the weight of doubt on the mind, she was the curl of anxiety tugging painfully at your chest.

The Beastia leered at the pair, a faint look of disgust crossing her expression as the seconds slowly ticked by. Immune to her attempts of communication, she was left but one option.

Jaw set, shoulders squared, she lifted one hand and made a signing motion with it to express the notion of speech, gave each a pointed look, then waved to the gaping exit and the slowly diminishing speck that was Halcyon Citadel in the far distance. Gaze hardening, the woman withdrew her hand and leveled the two with an impatient stare.

Speak up or get out.

[member="Rahvin Talith"]
[member="Ilyena Talith"]

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Rahvin looked back at the still very much open door, his eyes flickering to the slowly fading planet, then to the Beastia, then to his sister. He saw the look on Ilyena's face, and his eyes immediately focused. He became tense, though not because of the threat of an immediate death by falling, but rather because of the fear of what his sister might say to cause said fall.

Before Ilyena could open her mouth, Ravhin cut her off.

“You taught Evelynn Dorn, one of our Mothers.” He spoke quickly, curtly, but there was a clear hint of respect in his tone.

The young man knew very well that offending Quietus would likely be the death of both of them. They could likely survive to run away from a fight on the ground, but with their backs to an open view of the planet, and a fall that was in excess of several hundred feet, it was better to play the safe game.

“We didn't know where else to go.” The truth of that stung him slightly. “Our mothers are dead, our Uncles are hidden from us, and our Grandfather lays in his grave.” They had no idea Soliael was with the Crusade, Byss was unreachable due to their...circumstances, and Moridin had long since died. “We thought perhaps you would help us, since you taught her.”

The truth was the Twins had no family they could turn to. Soliael was always hidden, his location and position as a God of Moross was a carefully guarded secret, with only the Quietus, Dissero, and Silencia knowing the truth of it, he had never cared to share this with Nemene. Of course both of the twins were unaware that Soliael was Quietus' son. As for Sven, the twins knew of his existence and his location, but due to their limited resources and the war between the One Sith and the Republic, reaching Byss was impossible.

Throughout his speech Rahvin was very careful to pick his words, lest he offend the Titan of a woman.

[member="Quietus"]
@IlyenaTalith

 

[Louise]

By now Ilyena had already been filled half-way to the brim with her standard variety of indignation, so when she encountered the woman blocking them from going any further into the ship there was almost internal combustion, which of course only showed itself as a stormy exhale from her nostrils.

She was far from the type to let herself stand and be ignored, be embarrassed in such a manner. If the Bestia had more important things to do? Well then she would have to drop them because there's been a shuffle of her priorities. They were more important.

Of course, Ileyna wasn't going to keep that as a thought and nothing more, this woman had to know of her indiscretion.

So when Rahvin cut her off just as that venomous maw was about to open there was a very slow, very dangerous head turn towards her twin's direction. Her brother had never, in their unnaturally short life-span interrupted her before. It was beyond a rare sight, almost infuriating her even further. Well, that was until she got a glimpse of what was behind them.

The safety of ground falling further and further away from them until it was more than just a health hazard. Not to mention the Bestia herself, who was no scrub either. She could always count of Rahvin to hold some form of self-preservation instinct while she was flashing with the pans.

“Yes,” Ilyena finally spoke through gritted teeth, diverting her course of insults back up inside of her mind, “there is nowhere else for us to turn.”

Those words left her mouth like teeth being pulled by hand. She was not a creature designed to be humble but rather be humble than be humbled*, eh?

* Or killed by very very very long fall.

[member="Quietus"], [member="Rahvin Talith"]