Nu sethi sviemas kia byloti zo kitok khutrai…

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was frustrated. Despite her desire to learn from the scroll in front of her, her lack of command of the Sith language was holding her back.

Her former Master was with her when they took the original from a tomb on Korriban. Her sister and former Master had kept the original and had made a copy for her. But had failed to translate it – so she had to make do with a perfect replica – albeit one she couldn’t read.

And her efforts to learn to read and speak the language had – to date – proven fruitless. So she’d decided to ask for help, in the form of a Covenant sister. She figured two heads were better than one and that even if they struggled, they could goof around – her brain was so tired, she could do with the light relief.

So she sat in the relative darkness of Tiggs Leo’s Tavern, a well-known Coruscant drinking hole. She was cradling a cold beer and had various hand-written notes in front of her, the offending scroll and a datapad with a Sith>Basic translator app open. And so she glanced up, hoping to see Ameli enter and liven her somewhat dampened spirit.

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

Spoiler

Bonus points if you translate the thread title

 

[Ameli Trahir]

The Coruscant Academy had not been for her. Incident upon incident had had Ameli at odds with the Academy's instructors, and again and again she had had to be reprimanded. They didn't see eye to eye when it came to Sith philosophy. Ameli had come this close to leaving it all behind, and trying to make it on her own. Had it not been for the Covenant of the Black Rose, Ameli would've gone mad.

She had found comfort in the sub-group within the One Sith. She felt seen, valued and equal. Their methods were much more to her liking. So far, there hadn't been a single incident. However, she was one of the newest additions to the Covenant, there was still plenty of time for that.

Ameli hadn't been hard to ask for help. She had seen Melori around, though she didn't really know her that well. Regardless, she needed to make some contacts, maybe even a few friends. The fact that the meeting would take place at a bar of course helped. Ameli hadn't been drinking before Coruscant, her father hadn't introduced her to the concept. It was, however, quickly becoming a favourite pastime, as well as long, wild nights out. That being said, the girl could not hold her liquor.

Ameli was probably the foremost enemy of the traditional Sith robes. Dreadfully boring. Yet, her wardrobe was limited. If only her father's crew had left her with any of his money before shipping her off, she would've gone on a shopping spree. Too bad. She had enough to offer a little variation, and she probably had more clothes than most would deem necessary for a young Sith Acolyte. Tonight's outfit was a grey, striped suit, on top of a low-cut, light brown shirt.

Spoiler

First things first. Ameli had entered Tiggs Leo's Tavern and gotten herself a drink. She didn't know what was in it, and she'd already forgotten what it was called, but the colour was fancy and it smelled nice. Now she searched for Melori. When she saw her, she had to restrain a laugh. Here they were at one of Coruscant's many popular spots, and she was nose deep in studies? These Sith, man.

"What'cha readin'?" were Ameli's first words. She flashed the other Acolyte a mischievous grin, before snatching up one of her notes. For a moment, she froze. Then her eyes went wide, and the young Human seemed suddenly filled with excitement.

"J'us byloti Tsis kian? Zavus! Nu buti stotikas kia minti Nu buti tave tik wo" she slid the note back on the table, though with little care for where it had laid before. "Zhol kash nely, fashi'ta, kait kelet Tsis gal byloti, j'us zenoti, Tsis" she laughed, and took a sip from her drink - ooh, it tasted sweet - and then dropped down in a seat next to Melori. "Mazo, kam buti mes dary nudien, dhasias?" she completely assumed Melori was fluent in the ancient Sith language, as she was. Ameli's childhood had been a very isolated one, having grown up on a spaceship, seeing only her father and the selected few individuals he allowed in her presence. He had taught her how to read, and the reading material had always been in the Supreme Language. They'd often spoken it too, though no one else on the ship knew it, so she had had to learn how to speak Basic as well. Learning to read it, however, was something else entirely.

[member=Melori Raaf]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was not wearing her traditional Sith robes. Nor was she dressed for a night out in some glamour establishment. Rather she was dressed casually enough not to draw attention as a Sith - or as a woman either.

Spoiler

So she sat there and continued to struggle with her translation, frustration and concentration written in equal measures in the furrow of her brow.

She looked up as Ameli spoke and broke into a smile. Thank goodness for company. She didn't expect her study-buddy to make any more sense of it than she’d been able to - but there was companionship in a joint sense of inability. She swigged from her beer bottle as her fellow Acolyte grabbed one of the pieces of flimsi.

Melori’s nose wrinkled - clearly a family trait. “You…you…you understand that poodoo?” Her voice was a mixture of incredulity, annoyance and relief. As much as she was feeling like the only person on Coruscant who couldn’t read old Sith, she figured she might have a fighting chance now.

She glanced at her partner’s drink and waved down a passing waitress. “Two more of those and another beer.” She downed the remainder of her bottle and placed it on an adjacent table - much to the annoyance of the occupants - a young couple clearly in love. She gave them a hard stare, her baby-blue eyes morphing briefly yellow - her irises ringed crimson, before returning to their usual hue.

The young Rodians suddenly found a table on the other side of the bar much more to their liking, and as they passed the waitress, they asked - in a particularly loud voice - if they could pay for the next round of drinks for the lovely young ladies.

Melori grinned before returning her attention to the translations. “So, do you think you can teach me?”

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Ameli Trahir]

After she'd settled down into a seat, Ameli had the time to look around. Kark. She had overdressed! She must've mistaken this for one of Coruscant's well-known hot spots. This was a chill spot. Ameli didn't look very chill. Oh well, the damage was done, all she could do now was try to own up to it. She looked back to Melori, smiling, as if she wasn't mentally cursing herself for not going with that other outfit she had laying prepared on her bed.

Ameli looked at Melori surprised after she first spoke. "You don't?" Ameli asked, genuinely confused. There was no hint of condescension. She had really thought she spoke it too. Ameli wasn't truly aware of how uncommon it was to do so. Surprise turned to a grin as Melori ordered her another drink. This girl got her! She took a heavy sip from her fruity-looking drink. Beer tasted weird to her. It was a shame, as that often had her turning to heavier stuff.

Witnessing what just happened with the Rodians, she looked at Melori, visibly impressed. "If you can teach me how to do that!" she smirked. She didn't really require anything in return, she'd be happy to help. Ameli wasn't yet quite Sith enough to demand something in return for every single favour offered. Besides, Melori had already ordered her two more drinks. Ameli was in a fantastic mood for it. In truth, she was just glad to have some company. Her past had been lonely. There weren't many other girls around her age.

Ameli shifted from her seat, placing herself a little closer to Melori, so they could both be looking at the same piece of paper at about the same time. Her mind went back to the lessons her father had given her. She wasn't exactly an educated teacher, so her methods may not have been the most efficient, but she tried her best to retrace his steps, in a summarized and shorter format. "So, you see these two words here?" she'd point at the appropriate places. "What's important to remember, when a sentence starts like that, it usually means..."

[member=Melori Raaf]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was broadly oblivious to things like dress sense. She wore her Sith robes most of the time and had one ‘posh’ dress. Otherwise she had dancing and running clothes for the most part, plus an eclectic mix of casual clothes for the odd occasions she came to places like this.

“And no, I can’t speak it. I was initially trained as a Jedi.” Maybe it was the beer talking, but she hadn’t shared this with anyone except her new Master – the whole story that is. “On Corellia. But I was actually not very good and they thought I was not going to make it. So I left and went to Prakith. I timed it badly – the Republic were invading at the same time and I was flying a Jedi ship. So I was shot down and was in a coma for a long while.”

“When I awoke, I became a Sith. It seems I did have talent, but only for the Dark-side. So my training has been entirely practical, no theory.”

“Oh, and do you mean the eyes thing? It’s not something I learned, it just came naturally to me. When I pull the Force to me, my irises change to yellow. If I pull a lot of the Force, they ring crimson.” She shrugged. “It happens for some, not others. It can be useful, like then – or a curse. I can’t pull a Force Ability without people noticing, unless I close my eyes that is.”

She downed the next beer and waved for a replacement. “Now…I recognise the symbols but I get some mixed up…”

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Ameli Trahir]

Melori was initially trained as a Jedi? This came as a surprise to Ameli. It didn't spark any hints of disgust, as seemed to be the way other Sith reacted whenever the name 'Jedi' was spoken out loud. She was simply curious. "You were a Jedi? They're like... Our enemies, right?" She was pretty sure they were, though she wasn't sure why. She really was new around here...

"Sorry about your coma. Sounds like a pain. How long were you out?" she asked, again with genuine curiosity. 'Sorry' was probably not a word Melori heard often around over at camp Sith. In many ways, Ameli was more Sith through association, rather than being fully devoted to their ideology.

"That's very interesting." Ameli nodded. She hadn't met anyone who had changing eyes before, it was pretty fascinating, even if a slight shame that she couldn't pull off the same feat.

"Oh!" Ameli said, focus back on the scribbled notes and flimsiplast. She took another large sip of her glass. Remembering Melori had gotten her a refill already, instead of putting it back, she downed it. "That's a common mix-up. That one there has a double meaning. If a sentence starts with this sound, then their meaning is..."

[member=Melori Raaf]

 

[Darth Timoris]

“Yes…a Youngling officially as I was never allocated a Master, so never became a Padawan. It was…complicated, but I suspect they were glad when I left. They thought I would make a bad Jedi I heard, and I guess they were right.” She smiled and took a large gulp of beer.

“Gotta love these microbreweries. I mean, I love a cocktail but sometimes even I have to pace myself, so these are wonderful. Not like the insipid stuff you get in most places.”

“Anyway, where was I? Yeah, they’re enemies. They hate us, we hate them…you know how it is. We’re just not compatible. They act all selfless and goody-goody but like to be in charge. We’re just more open about our approach. Look around. Do these people look oppressed?”

“And I was out for six years apparently. It took a while to get back into physical shape – lots of muscle atrophy and my bones had still been growing whilst I was out. So it took a few months to become fully fit. But I run and dance mostly, so that helps.”

And then she listened and realised that with someone to actually show her, things started to make sense. Waving across for another round of drinks, Melori looked at her companion. “Anyway…what’s your story? We all have one.”

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Ameli Trahir]

"Eh" Ameli shrugged, raising her glass. "You make a fine Sith, so that makes up for it, right?" she took another sip from her fancy drink. Damn, that tasted good. Ok, another sip. Jedi, Sith... It was still a little confusing to her. Maybe if she ever bumped into a Jedi, she could get her to explain it to her.

"Yeah. It's cute" Ameli nodded in agreement. The place certainly had its charm. It was a great place to meet friends and have a chat, without worrying too much about interruptions or loud music.

"That sounds... Awfully boring" Ameli said with a smile. She couldn't imagine living a life like that. Soo... Restricting. It was as if the people Melori described were her opposite. Maybe she didn't want to meet a Jedi after all. "Nah. People do what they want. I know I do. Maybe the Sith aren't so bad after all" Ameli laughed at that last part. She was starting to realize that Sith was more of an umbrella term, with many different interpretations. Melori was nothing like those rats at the Coruscant Academy.

"Wow! Six years, really?" Ameli was really surprised by that. She gave the other blonde an examining look. in a way that a guy might've done if checking her out. "I couldn't tell! Looking good, blondie" Ameli winked, then laughed again. She'd clink her glass against Melori's, unless it performed any evasive manoeuvres.

"Wait, you dance? I love dancing! We should go dancing sometime" Ameli's voice hit another level of excitement, it seemed. At her father's ship, there hadn't been many activities for her to do. Dancing had been her one escape, the form of self-entertainment she had been most fond of. She had never had anyone to dance with, until arriving on Coruscant. Here everybody danced, even those who didn't know how. It was easy to get lost to the night life.

"My story? Umm, there's not much to it, really" she said, a bit unsure. On one hand, she didn't want to bore her. On the other, she had never really told this to anyone. Well... What was the harm, right? "This is kind of the first planet I've been to. This... This is actually my first month on any planet at all. I was born in space. My father was a powerful man, he travelled alot. So I stayed on the ship, always. I wasn't really allowed to do whatever I wanted, so I didn't really see many people. I was mostly to myself. I mean, he'd visit me, and sometimes I got to hang out with some of the crew, but... That was just my world, you know?" Luckily, someone showed up with another round of drinks. She needed it. "Then one day, he just disappeared. Something went wrong during an attack, I guess. After that, the crew of the ship didn't really know what to do with me. They told me he was Sith, and I was too. I didn't really know anything about it at the time. So they shipped me off to Coruscant, to the Academy there, and, well... Here I am!" she said, quickly filling her mouth with another sizeable sip from her drink.

It felt strange sharing all of this stuff. Strange, but strangely good. Like a little burden off her shoulders, someone else who knew. What the other girl would make of it though, she had no idea.

[member=Darth Timoris]

 

[Darth Timoris]

The sight of a lightsaber can inspire great fear, but it can also inspire great hope. It all depends on whether one regards the Jedi as friend or foe…

Melori was now punctuating sentences with the neck of her bottle – prodding the air with the coloured glass to emphasise points. How many she’d had before Ameli arrived were anyone’s guess.

“I’m a Sith – pure and simple,” she said, her voice not yet slurring at least. “But try to define what that means and you’re in for a hard time. Some love Dark Jedi, some hate them. Some hate Jedi only, some hate everyone. Some love to kill, others love power and only kill what’s necessary.”

“If Jedi are a bit…homogenous…the Sith are spectacular in their individuality. Jedi are just way too stuffy and self-righteous. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’re right and they’re wrong – but we don’t pretend we’re something we’re not. They act superior and pretend they’re for the everyman. Pfft…”

“Boring doesn’t even begin to tell you how it is. Not allowed money, or boys, or opinions. OK, that last one might have been an exaggeration but if there’s ever a discussion, all they say is, ‘What does the Code say.’ Dull, dull, dull, dull dull.”

“And I tell you what,” she said and managed to touch her bottle to her partner’s glass, “You’re worth ten of them. Probably more. They can’t sit here and have fun. And thanks by the way, I work out a lot you know.”

Melori suddenly stared at Ameli’s face, as her companion clearly got excited by the concept of dancing. “I was classically trained. Ballet. And I tell you what, it really helps with saber fighting. Balance, footwork, agility, suppleness. It brings them all to the party.”

She reflected on her last night out dancing – that ended prematurely when her fellow Sister disappeared with a buxom Twi’lek after about ten minutes it seemed. “I love dancing, so just say when and I’m there, OK?”

And then she listened to Ameli. Too few Sith opened up to each other. Too much rivalry. But Melori was too arrogant to see anyone as a rival, so she quite happily shared of herself. But hearing it from someone else was refreshing.

“Your first planet? No way. Actually, until I left Corellia, I’d never travelled, so I’m a fine one to talk. But to live your entire life on a ship? I mean, do you actually have a nationality? And do you have any other family?”

The last question was a little close to home for Melori, and she’d asked it without thinking. But it was out there now and she just had to hope Ameli didn’t ask her back.

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Ameli Trahir]

"I guess that means there's room for everyone. Even me" Ameli shot it, after Melori gave her explanation on the Sith. She hadn't exactly felt like she fit in with the Sith, though Melori was giving her hope. If there was such diversity, maybe Ameli could find and make her own way. For the first time in her life, her future belonged to her. She had no kriffing idea what to do with it.

Ameli had listened closely, and laughed, as she made her comment about the Jedi being dull x 5. She sipped from her drink -ohwait, nope it was already empty. Time to wave in another round! "Thanks!" she quickly said to the compliment. Her mind was too influenced by the alcohol to recognize the fact that the other girl's compliment might've been the same.

"To us Sith ladies then" she said with a smirk, clanking glass against bottle in a kind of cheers. Only, it reminded her that her glass was still empty. She stared at it with eyes that seemed to sigh Kark my life.

"Nice! Maybe I should think more about dancing when it comes to saber practice..." that was one area Ameli had never excelled in. "I was... Unclassically trained. In that I was self-taught." when you spend so much time alone on a big ship, one kind of had to find ways to escape. Dancing had been Ameli's escape. "That sounds great! I will! You too! I'm always down for a night of dancing" it was genuine, Ameli's favourite hobby was partying and dancing. Probably didn't do her Sith training any good...

"Oh really? Is it nice, Corellia? Is it like Coruscant?" Ameli thought she had heard of Corellia before, but then again, she had heard of so many places. "I don't really know. I guess not? I haven't even thought about nationalities. It's my first time in one" she laughed, as finally another round of drinks were served. Ameli eagerly drank from her new glass. "Nah. Was just my dad. As far as I know, at any rate" he was good at making it seem he was the only one she had got. That was of course, until he suddenly left. "What about you? Big family?"

[member=Darth Timoris]

 

[Darth Timoris]

The conversation flowed. At times it seemed like two parallel streams of thoughts and talking going on, but they touched in all the right places, so it worked.

Melori was getting serious now. Or rather her drinking was – as she ordered a red bourbon chaser to go with her beer. And her hair was becoming less orderly as she waved her head about and ran her fingers through it from time to time.

“Dancing and fighting. Kind of the same. You know what you want, you don’t care what you look like as long as you’re having fun – unless someone special’s watching of course – and they both burn calories. What’s not to love? So I’m down when you are – the dancing not the fighting part – unless you want a practice partner, then just ask, right?”

“And Corellia is no more. It kind of…” she balled both hands into a single shape and then pulled them apart. “It kind of split in two. Before it was alright. I mean, it was a planet really. No more and no less. It had shops and parks and the beach I guess.” She shrugged. Her parents and siblings had been buried there and she could never visit the graves again.

“If this is the first planet you’ve ever stepped on, this should be your nationality.” Melori touched glasses again by way of making it a toast. “Sorted.”

Melori looked pole-axed by the next question. “Me? Um…kind of. My parents are dead and my brothers and sisters are dead too. I no longer have any family.” It wasn’t far from the truth – depending on your perspective. “Awkward subject. Another time or maybe more beers.”

She placed her bottle on the table and stared at it. Her voice suddenly became solemn. “What if you had a sister. Or two to be honest. One was a Sith Lord, well respected and then she joined the Jedi. And your other sister. What if she were the GrandMaster of the Jedi Order.” She looked at Ameli now. “Would you tell people?”

[member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Ameli Trahir]

"You know, that makes so much sense!" Ameli said, completely drawn in by Melori's argument about the similarities of drinking and fighting. In that moment, she connected all the dots, and it felt like she was on the verge of a groundbreaking discovery. "A fight, really isn't anything but a dance off" The amount of alcohol within her system might've been to blame for the realization being blown a touch out of proportion. While Ameli's new life on Coruscant involved drinking, partying, and such, it was a new experience. The girl was a lightweight in terms of alcohol tolerance. She was hammered.

"I am always down! We could... We could dance right now!" Ameli said, already half-way out of her seat, before she realized she had miscalculated her balance, and fell straight back into her seat. Oh well, she thought, taking another hungry sip from her drink.

The talk about Corellia distracted her next. The way Melori described it being torn apart, with visual aid, had the blonde's mouth drop open into a gasp. "Is it normal for planets to do that?" she asked, hoping Coruscant wouldn't split in half anytime soon.

"Yes!" Ameli agreed now, eagerly clinking her glass against Melori's. "I am now Coruscantian. Coruscanter? Coruscanti!" she went through the thought process out loud. It felt good, finally having a nationality, somewhere she belonged.

Ameli felt horrible now for asking, and bringing up that memory. She had no idea, and she hoped she hadn't made the other girl sad. Puzzled by what she said next, she tried to make sense of it and think of an answer. "I don't know... I'd say it sounds like that person's family is prone to doing great things! Family dinners might get awkward, but I think anyone in that sibling group is probably destined for greatness. I don't know if I'd tell or not... Sith seem to like to not share their secrets, and the secrets they know, they use against the other person. If it's something that could hurt you,- or I mean, that person! If it's something that could hurt that person, maybe it's safer to keep it secret? Though I wouldn't be ashamed of it! If it's no threat for it to be out there, wear it proud!" Ameli said, trying to be subtle and wise at the same time. While her experience was severely lacking, the alcohol filled her with a false sense of confidence and an unbalanced self-insight, that had her rambling on.

Before moving on, she remembered there was something she hadn't addressed. Perhaps she didn't know how yet, and had thought it easier to tackle the question, before the tragedy. "I'm so sorry to hear about your family though! Do you want a hug?" Despite asking a question, Ameli seemingly thought herself more than qualified to make an answer for her. She stood up and leaned far over the table, arms reaching for Melori to pull her into a supportive hug. She knocked over her glass in the process, but thankfully for her, Ameli had already emptied it. With almost her entire body on the table, she was pretty committed to the move. Whether it succeeded or not, Ameli would soon retreat back to her seat, hoping that she had been able to express some supportive compassion.

[member="Darth Timoris"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori watched Ameli’s efforts to get up and dance and suppressed a laugh but not a snigger. “Another time perhaps,” she said as her companion sat back down abruptly.

“And no, I don’t think planets regularly split in two. It was some weird Galactic Event, so unless there’s another on the horizon, I think we’re safe here.” She smiled. I mean, what were the odds?

“From a Corellian to a native of Coruscant…welcome.” Melori wasn’t sure herself what to term someone from this planet but had enough control over her alcohol to avoid trying (and failing).

So Melori listened and tried to make sense of what was being said. Like many lessons they’d had at the Academy, it would probably make more sense when she was sober. Or in ten years time. Or when she was dead. These things tended to work that way.

“Inscrutable,” she offered by way of a response. “Wise beyond your years…thanks.”

Then her companion seemed to be climbing on the table and Melori wondered if she was going to dance on it – before she realised she was in some vicious head-lock. But by moving slightly, it became a far more comfortable hug.

The last person to hug her was her sister – who then betrayed her, and the Sith. Before that, it was her mother. And she died straight afterwards. Melori gave Ameli a sideways glance. She hoped it wasn’t an omen.

But she returned the hug regardless and was disappointed when it was over. She’d forgotten how good they felt. Then she waved for a fresh set of drinks. “I think we deserve to get drunk.”

Then she headed over to the juke-box and selected a few very loud songs that would be ideal to dance to - especially if you'd had too much to drink.

[member="Ameli Trahir"]