Old Battlegrounds and Grudges

[Kurenai Yumi]

So this was where her search came to, the largely uninhabited work of Saleurum, a planet that fit time had been was more or less neutral to everything going on in the galaxy. Even when under the control of the Silver Jedi such a world was left untouched, along with no Sith Empire or major organization making any stake in the largely unused world.

The last real events that had any real impact on the galaxy was probably the few skirmishes fought from the days of the clone and the odd conflict during the Vong and original One Sith era though over all as more of a foot note in hisotry. In a sense such a planet made sense, for the place mother was hiding out at, she should have figured I out sooner, though being a vampire time was not much of a problem.

Even so the longer Kurenai spend in her search the longer mother could get wind of it and make a move, though considering what had happened between the family she shouldn't run... hopefully. It had been pointed out time and time again the family rivalry and fights for control of another persons land happened often in the vampire world, though whether those fights where swept under rug or held onto remained to be seen.

As such here she was, sitting atop of a small ridge with a pair of micro binoculars, scanning the open country side for any clues to lead her to the next destination. So far Kurenai had not found anything of interest, well nothing of immediate interest, upon arrival she had felt something, smelled something familiar, but could not really put a finger on it. If all else failed perhaps it would be worth checking out if, just to kill time.

[member="Watcher"]

 

[Watcher]

Watcher​

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Saleurum​

Time had not been kind to either the nomad or the ground beneath his feet.

His travels had been lengthy and showed no signs of stopping any time soon yet his travels had brought him to the scarred world of Saleurum. Conflict had ravaged the ridges and countryside that the wandering soul now found himself travelling within; from his generation and the ones beyond, each time the world fell under the skies of smoke and fields of fire, it left a wound much deeper than the last. Natural beauty could recover, the denizens of its kingdom could survive and thrive once again but death was not one to discriminate, especially so in times of conflict. For now, however, the planet was unclaimed and untouched by industry or by the longing hands of the factions that vied for control over territory or resources and thus the recovery of the acclimated wounds could continue without interruption. For all it was worth, Watcher wasn't here only to live off the land but, in his new lease of life, found fulfillment of exploring planets and their natural treasures along his nomadic journey; documenting the fauna all the way down to the smallest insect and the various flora that sustained said life.

Of course, this path was typically dangerous and whilst Watcher now lived an isolated and simple 'life', his knowledge of time and a duty long since passed were retained. He was no push-over, not by a long shot; his mentor and brothers had ensured that he was the very best that he could be when put into a position of danger. It usually came as a last resort; fleet of foot and the environment being his methods of remaining undetected and out of harms way but alas, as he moved along his path, the occasional use of a sniper rifle's stock was used as a method of support, an impromptu walking stick. Everything that Watcher carried had more than one purpose; a knife was a means of preparing food but also defense and the occasional need for construction purposes, a sniper rifle was a means to defend one's self but also as a method of observation and, when the road ahead was tough, a helping hand along its path.

Perhaps he too would find the clues that he looked for along his way, clues that would point him to any signs of a family faded into dust long ago... Or so he thought.

[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

A small sigh escaped her lips as she looked one last time, nothing, no clue to mother's whereabouts on the planet, or at the least non that she could really catch up on. Maybe mother was hiding in plain sight among the scattered population? perhaps, but checking Saleucami scattered farming and small urban population over over a billion would just take much to long. In the end but another dead end unless great grandmother could scrounge up another lead or two... so now what? The day was starting to wane away, thus traveling all the way back to Atrisia would take to long, best to hunker down for the nigh and make the trip in the morning, now to find a place to stay.

Grasping hold of her speeder hold handles the ancient vampire started to slowly make her way back to what she presumed to be a small town taking things slow along the way as to not get lost, such a planets terrain was unfamiliar to herself. Along the way though her blue eyes gaze fell upon an oddly dressed figure, on that seemed to emanated a familiar force feeling, but in a strange way, not so much the their personal feelings but a similar natural imprint in the force that most living things of similar birth shared. strange but not of importance at the moment, from their get up the person was probably a local of some sort, or at least been around for a while.

"Excuse me sir, or madam, would you happen to know a nearby inn or resting area that I could lodge in for the night"? Or at the least someplace warm to camp out, she was no stranger to roughing it out in the bush. While waiting for a reply Kurenai turned off her bike, stepping off it's seat in a smooth and quick fashion.

[member="Watcher"]

 

[Watcher]

Watcher​

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Saleurum​

The gentle breeze brought tranquility with its blow.

Watcher had been walking for some time now with no real sense of objective or urgency, simply allowing the paths to open up to him the further he walked. Feet wrapped in nothing more than cloth kept up their soft and graceful step over soft and rough surface alike; Watcher had become something of an expert outdoorsman over his travels. From the desert to the forests and everything in between that the galaxy offered in wide quantity offered not only a wide plethora of different conditions to conquer and study but the animals that had gone through their natural journey to not only survive but thrive. In a sense, he was envious but also in awe of this; the power of evolution, change and how given enough time something so weak could become so strong. He never had that, his origins gave him everything from the very start, no sense of building up one's self, it was all handed to him on a silver platter. He was bred for purpose rather than allowed to develop skills in a natural manner like the majority of the Galaxy had and what little time he had to build himself up not as a Clone but as a person, it was all snatched away from him as time allowed wounds to rot.

The sounds of a speeder picked up upon his ears. Before, he would have found himself concealment and wait for it to pass. Those days, however, were only very rare occasions in the present times. He had nothing to hide and nothing to fear; a simple nomad with his name erased from history, who would be looking for him? This was a mere chance meeting of two travelers upon a crossroads of their individual fates. It was this that brought Watcher to a halt as he'd find a spot for a short reprieve, if only to let the speeder come into view and with it, its rider. Soon enough, said woman and her method of transportation revealed herself as it seemed to slow down. She was no doubt lost or perhaps simply wondering if the travelling soul was alright. Watcher did, after all, look rather... Rough. His figure was concealed by a cloak that covered him from head to toe and his face concealed by a bone mask of some description but those were only the subtle details. A pair of pale eyes watched the woman as hands that seemed elongated and more akin to talons then fingers rested in his lap; he was no doubt quite a unique case in regards to what little apparent detail was revealed.

As she asked about lodgings, the figure simply shook his head at that. It didn't seem as if he was going to respond verbally at first but then a gentle and calm voice emitted from underneath the mask. Alongside his speech, the figure didn't seem to move an inch, perfectly statuesque in his position save for the occasional movements of his head to her and the speeder behind her; "Well met, traveler." he started, fixing his eyes upon the speeder for a moment, as if examining it with an artist's eye or its presence simply opening the gate to some form of memory but alas, whatever it was soon faded as he looked back to the woman herself; "I do know of a settlement, located at least an hour on foot in that direction..." his hand raised and a single talon-like finger pointed out, towards the West; "I'm sure with your Speeder, however, the time will be significantly shorter." the hand lowered after that, resting back into his lap.

[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

At first glance one would assumed the beginning question was some sort of alien from an outer rim world, the long almost unnatural nails and face mask helping along with that, but for Kurenai she could see through it. Despite looks this person was human, or at the very least a humanoid being, the drain of life and perhaps old age being the forerunner of their almost ghastly appearance, not that she minded. The death bringer look gave the person character as she continued to observe him.

The voice that echoed from the mask seem to be one laced with experience and age, but once again she felt that famailer pang in her gut, but at the same time did not feel any connection. perhaps they where just someone what seemed similar to a past associate, but no this felt old, like really old, a small flash of memories from her youth seeming to be triggered by their voice, and not nice ones at that. 'No, just a coincidence, don't think about it, maybe they have just had a similar past, yes it must be that.... hopefully'.

"Ahem, well thank you for that information, though are you yourself okay, mister. ummm", she was not sure what to call the being traveler? wanderer? well she did no actually know what the man did for a living, perhaps they where a Shepard or farmer form around here. After all they did know directions to the nearest town, so at least they where a local of some sort, at least that was her conclusion, but something told her just from those sparking memories that this person was not just some simple farmer, though once again the reason eluded her.

[member="Watcher"]

 

[Watcher]

Watcher​

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Saleurum​

She was uncomfortable in his presence, that much was obvious.

The nomad got to his feet as she asked after his condition, offering a simple nod of his head; "I'm quite alright, thank you." he took a pause before adding; "Mister Watcher. Perhaps a strange name to you but it holds significant wealth to me, even if the powers that be made it their will to erase it from the annals of history. That was so long ago, now..." he trailed off, allowing a few moments for his mind to run wild and explore the deepest depths of his psyche; the traveler before him had no idea just how long ago these memories originated from and the true extent of just what path the nomad before her had walked before he took to open roads and fields. If anything, she could notice the sniper rifle sat in a gentle grip tighten significantly over those few moments of silence on his part. His condition and his past was a tale to behold yet he felt compelled to keep it withheld, perhaps out of fear that the powers that be still existed and would come looking for him to finish what they started; from what he could remember, the Galactic Empire weren't ones to cut corners or leave unfinished business.

Yet it all could have changed over the course of eight generations. What he knew of present day was limited and even that wasn't confirmed. Being a nomad made it quite counter-productive in that regard but alas, he felt more comfortable constantly travelling alone.

After the brief period of recollection, the grip on the rifle loosened and the nomad simply looked at the woman; "May I ask for your name? A fair sharing of identity on equal sides, as it were." and all the while he remained standing. Perhaps the aftershock of whatever had locked him up in place and gripped his rifle or she simply hadn't noticed before but there was a clear dark side presence to the nomad, something not quite right; as a matter of fact it had flared and intensified during that brief period of recollection before it mellowed and returned to that lowered base level that she could sense. His eyes, pale and somewhat beady perhaps thanks to the mask that he wore simply remained on her, awaiting her response.

[member="Kurenai Yumi"]

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

He did not look in peak condition but once more never judge a book by it's cover, "Mister watcher, perhaps strange but I am no stranger to titles, even if it does not necessary mean much to anyone else". Unless it was literal, like an actual watcher of sorts, they did seem like the old wise man that would guard some ancient relic of temple, but such was not really present on such a planet. Or it may have refereed to something similar, her eyes taking not of a sniper on the mans back, herself almost instantly able to recognize such a device, perhaps watcher refereed to his role as a sniper. Keeping watch over something or someone? One could not know, but it was interesting to speculate, possibly and old veteran.

Mister Watcher did have an air about them of old age, that feeling being something she two could share, even with the youthful appearance of a vampire, maybe they had met in the past? No, the feeling was much older then that, the more she stared at the being the more interested she became, which was something considering her usual 'I have seen everything' view on the galaxy. "Well I am no strange to 'long times ago' event" she used quietly commenting on the end of his sentence.

"My name... I have had many, though Abigale is the one you would want, simple, not the most inventive but it was what mother named me", even if she had forgone it for a more up to date one. "... you sure you're okay? you seem a little agitated"? Herself about to feel a strange sense of darkness in the man during the short talk with one another

[member="Watcher"]