Private Smoke, Red Dust and Mirrors

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala never truly liked Dathomir. The planet looked beautiful at first glance, but all she had ever found here during her visits were the flora and fauna that tried to kill her. Nevertheless, the Force brought her yet again to this red planet of doom. This time, to gather some intel on a specific Moff. A man who's interests in military strength and dark artifacts made him a priority target of the Silver Jedi Order's intelligence.

Not too long ago, the Silver Jedi's intelligence found the location of a secretive Imperial digging site on Dathomir itself. What made this digging site special, however, was that it violated the Witch Accords of Dathomir. Meaning that, essentially, this act was illegal according to Imperial law. The perpetrator? An Imperial Moff going by the name of Alard Geonn. The man's reputation alone was enough reason for the SJO to send their Jedi on an investigation. For whatever the purpose of the digging site was, it had to be something sinister.

"Come on Cas, tell me." the older one of the two Jedi continued. "Nezira, is that really her name?" with her hands clasped behind her back, the white-haired Sephi turned to face Cas, a smile playing about her lips. "Don't think I've forgotten the disaster that was your first telepathy training." The young Kiffar had accidentally showed her glimpses of his closely guarded thoughts, and what she had seen wasn't something she'd describe as 'pretty'. Well, maybe she would have, had she been into girls.

She wouldn't push any further with her questions than she already had. Knowing Cas, the responses were probably going to be vague and dodgy anyway. His love life was an enigma to her, and one he had managed to keep her completely in the dark about.

While the Jedi swiftly traversed the red and rocky terrain of Dathomir, Sakadi knew that the locals eventually would catch up to them. Nobody could set foot on Dathomiri soil without the Nightbrothers knowing. But it could perhaps be considered a good thing, for they probably knew about the digging site as well. If somebody could get them there without being noticed, it was going to be a Nightbrother. Or Nightsister, although Sakadi dismissed the idea of the Nightsisters helping them. Her last experience on Dathomir had shown exactly how hostile the Nightsisters could be, and she wasn't looking forward to dealing with them again.

After a slow descend of one of the planet's treacherous cliffs, Sakadi finally sensed them. "They're here." she informed the Kiffar beside her, seconds before five tall and muscular men stepped out of the shadows. The Sephi's eyes darted over the five men. The markings suggested that they were warriors, as did the readied bows and mystically glowing clubs.

"Please, lower your weapons, we come in peace." she began, hoping that, for once, people would listen. "We would like permission to traverse your lands." Her request made the tallest of the five and coincidentally the one closest to her snicker. "You trespass on our territory, and expect to live? Not gonna happen." He spat out, as a raging green fire filled his eyes.

The Dathomirian Zabrak brought his mace down upon the Sephi in a single, powerful strike. Before the mace could pulverize her skull, however, a flash of white light emerged from her hip. The white-bladed lightsaber caught the mace in the middle of it's trajectory, effortlessly halting the weapon before it could find its mark. "Okay... so I guess this is how it's going to be." With a flick of her wrist Sakadi turned her blade downward, skillfully redirecting the force of her opponent's attack past her. It made the Zabrak lose his footing, causing him to tumble forward. The Sephi simply sidestepped to avoid the heavy Zabrak, who slammed against the ground. "Second chance. Please lower your weapons."

Cadere Nezira Viresh

 

[Cadere]

Cas, like any other non-Dathomirian native hated this red-covered rock he was currently forced to be on. The young Kiffar enjoyed some action and adventure more often than not, but even a thrill seeker like him knew Dathomir was bad news - from the deadly wildlife to the dangerous Nightsisters and savage Nightbrothers... it was like a video game on insane difficulty. Unfortunately, it was out of his control to be here, their search for Moff Geonn led them here however.

The Jedi Knight, after months of no precognitive dreams, finally had one the night before he and his former Master embarked on their search - the dream was both vivid and confusing, he felt danger and death surround him but the peripheral was hazy and clouded. Remnants of the dream left Cas fearful for his Padawan's safety should she come with him, so instead, he made the decision to leave her behind and under the tutelage of Adrian Valerius for the time being.

"It was a billion years ago, Sakadi. Nothing ever happened between Nezira and I, it's just awkward." Cas informed the Sephi with a shrug, however, his confident demeanour was quickly destroyed at the mention of his humiliating first attempt at telepathy. The Kiffar's brown cheeks darkened and grew warm, slapping his gloved cybernetic palm onto his forehead and holding it there for a moment as he groaned "Man! We agreed to never speak of that again!" he yelled out in embarrassment.

After his blushing faded, Cas relaxed his hands on the back of his head and sighed. Sakadi only knew half the story, things were definitely awkward between him and Nezira but the reason for it was, she had found out about his relationship with Tess. To be honest, he was certain that if he ever saw her again she'd sic her giant spider on him... or worse. The goal was to avoid her at all costs.

After a bit of walking and an easy descent down a cliff, Sakadi had sensed the presence of others and seconds after he sensed it too. Emerging from the shadows were hulking Nightbrothers that even towered over him, at first glance, Cas' lips drooped downward in complete surprise before shifting to a neutral expression. The dread-haired Jedi Knight would stay calm and composed as Sakadi attempted to negotiate with the apparent leader of the group, as she did so Cas kept a watchful eye over the remaining four behind the leader in case of any sudden attacks.

Unfortunately, negotiations failed and a small scuffle between Sakadi and the Zabrak ensued - she quickly handled him with ease, of course. The Zabrak, embarrassed and angry, rejected Sakadi's second chance and signalled for his men to attack. Igniting his amber blade, the Jedi Knight swiftly redirected an incoming plasma arrow into one of the Nightbrother's shoulders, as he did so he quipped "Ever the sweet talker, Sakadi." with a light chuckle.

As two aimed their energy bows at Cas, a single Nightbrother with a blade rushed toward Sakadi. Trusting her to handle him, Cas quickly dashed toward the two energy bow wielding Nightbrothers in the blink of an eye, enhancing his speed through the Force. While they prepared to shoot at him, the Jedi Knight performed a Force-enhanced somersault over the two, landing behind them he performed a sweeping kick on one of the brothers knocking them off their feet. The remaining one attempted to sucker punch Cas which he easily caught with his cybernetic hand and used its strength to crush the Nightbrother's fist until he heard a grotesque crunching noise. With his hand broken, Cas kicked him onto the ground next to the other Nightbrother and aimed the tip of his lightsaber at them, encouraging them to surrender.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala
[/div]

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

The Jedi Master rolled her eyes as the Nightbrother still refused to surrender. "Yeah well, I've never been much of a public speaker." she retorted, waiting for the Nightbrother to stand up again.

A second Nightbrother tried to attack her from behind, but was quickly subdued by a simple gesture of the Sephi's index and middle finger. A ripple moved through the Force, disorienting the warrior in the middle of his dash and causing him to trip over his own feet. His head would be spinning so much, that she suspected him to stay down for a while.

"You will pay for that!" The Zabrak with the mace barked, as he swung his weapon at her with surprising speed. Effortlessly, she avoided the strike and readied for a counterattack. Two swift and elegant strokes of her blade were all it took to incapacitate the hulking warrior. "Okay. Third time's the charm. Will you surrender now? Please? Her ears twitched when she heard the sound of bones being crunched behind her. "Cas! Keep it civil! We're not trying to antagonize them." It was going to be difficult not to after their short skirmish, but she was still going to try it.

A growl came from the Zabrak as Sakadi directed her attention at him again. "We are looking for an Imperial digging site. You must know where it is. Can you point us in the right direct-" Her upfront question was cut off by a low, exotic roar. Before she could place it, however, the corresponding animal showed itself already. "Nydak Alpha..." the Nightbrother before her blade whispered with wide eyes. "And it's not alone.." she conveyed, pointing at the two other, smaller Nydak creatures lurking on the cliff side above them.

Turning to her former Padawan, Sakadi would again project her thoughts. "So Mr. Knight, got any bright ideas?"

Nezira Viresh Cadere ​

 

[Cadere]

"Hey, I didn't kill him. Besides, his hand will heal... probably." he called out to Sakadi, lightsaber still pointed at the two Nightbrothers on the floor. As Sakadi handled business, he kept his attention focused on the two Zabraks "I got a question, what's it like having horns on your head? Do you, like, feel it? Is it lethal to damage or remove them? Lemme guess, you use them for reproductive--" Cas quickly stopped himself short of his punchline as he shuddered at a low, familiar roar in the distance.

The young Knight prayed that it wasn't what he thought it was but it was all but confirmed when he turned his head to see where the sound was coming from. A Nydak Alpha, accompanied by two smaller ones. "It just had to be Nydaks didn't it." he muttered in dismay, moving his lightsaber away from the Nightbrothers on the ground, Cas quickly performed a small back flip retreating back to Sakadi. Positioning his lightsaber defensively "I don't know, don't die?" he answered her projected question, slightly panicked "Last time I went toe to toe with one, it almost killed me. It was a lesser one too." he confessed. However, his powers had doubled since the last time he had encountered a Nydak.

As the two lesser Nydaks descended from the cliff top, the Nightbrothers would use the Nydaks' focus on the two Jedi as an opportunity to retreat - "I'll hold off chunky, while you take care of the small ones. Deal?" he proposed, referring to the Nydak Alpha. The erratic alpha performed a leaping attack in the direction of the two Jedi - rolling to his right side, Cas narrowly evaded the Alpha's attack but it's attack placed it in between the Kiffar and Sephi, temporarily separating them. The Knight performed an evasive back flip, dodging a series of erratic attacks from the Alpha.

Creating a safe enough distance between him and the apex predator, Cas hurled a wave of telekinetic energy at the large creature momentarily staggering it before rushing in its direction. In the time it took him to close the gap, it had already recovered and retaliated by lifting its abnormally large arms to slam it down onto Cas. Raising his own lightsaber upward, he managed to block the otherwise fatal attack, luckily for Cas, if it wasn't for his cybernetic arm he'd have been flattened by now. Having been forced onto one knee, the Kiffar held his ground but was forced to free his organic arm in order to use the Force and summon a powerful push to knock it off balance, releasing some of the pressure on him, giving Cas enough space to roll backward out of its way.

Killing it easily was out of the question, but he was doing a lot better than his last encounter. Panting heavily, he gripped his lightsaber's hilt with both hands before calling out to Sakadi "How's it going over there?!"

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala Nezira Viresh

 

[Nezira Viresh]

Watching from above, the Nightsister had followed the interaction from a pillar. Nezira had been the one to send the Nightbrothers out to check out and attack anything they deem necessary to kill. She was without her spider for the time being, not that she needed it to fight or defend herself if it came to that. Nevertheless, Nezira stood with her arms down the side of herself, realizing who it was that had returned. Old anger towards the Kiffar. No, not anger. It was something else, annoyance maybe? Nezira wasn't sure what kind of feeling she felt, but she knew that it was that Jedi's fault after she accidentally landed in his bedroom with another woman.

The Alpha Nydak started to jump around in a sporadically wild and primal manner, slamming its powerful arms down into the rocky surface. While Cas did wound the beats after blocking its brutal fatal attack, it was not nearly enough to even push it back. It's primal jumping around, slamming its arms into the ground, at first looked weird and almost as if it was trying to hurt itself. However, it couldn't have been further from the truth. The Alpha Nydak was actually going into a primal range, force the adrenaline to pump into its veins.

The sudden attack came with renewed speed and ferocity as it with a deep thundering roar launched itself from the ground. The Nydak swung both his long powerful arms, dagger long claws aiming for Cas's body while aiming for his head or neck with its mouth.

However, it's attack never managed to get to Cas as it went flying through the air, slamming into a large boulder. Creating loud echos as the boulder tipped over and crashed into the ground the cliff, the Alpha Nydak was quick to recover. Shaking its head, the beast growled and roared at the Nightsister, standing a couple of meters from Cas.

The Nydak went back into raging jumping around the spot it landed, before launching itself off, charging Nezira and Cas in a fit of primordial rage. The colourful magick flared around Nezira, having the very recognizable, almost toxic green colour to it. The smoke-like mist surrounded Nezira's hands as she opened them, letting lightning crackle in the palm of the same colour as her magick. Her pupils were gone, devoured by the Ichor until both her eyes lit up with magick while green smoke slowly floated from the corner of her eyes.

Walking past Cas, not even giving him a single glance, she started to increase her running until she went into a full sprint and jumped directly at the Alpha Nydak who also jumped into the air at Nezira. But the clash never came. Right before the impact, the Nightsister disappeared in a cloud of green-coloured smoke and appeared behind the Nydak. Grabbing on the Alpha's neck, she released a lethal dose of electricity into the beast's head with a rage-filled scream of her own, before she was thrown off.

Having been shocked with enough lightning to fry a human, the Alpha crumbled to the ground. It tried to get up again, but the sheer among of energy that coursed through it made that difficult for it. Nezira, on the other hand, levitated, still completely devoured green eyes, Magickal Ichor flowing around her hands as she looked at the Alpha fighting to regain itself.

Cadere Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi's lips curled into a smile. Of course he wants to fight the Alpha. Placing a hand on her hip, Sakadi would cast a skeptical look at the Knight. "You're telling me that one of those smaller Nydaks nearly killed you, and now you want to challenge the Alpha?" She dismissed her own question with a wave. "Sure, good luck with it.

The two Nydaks stalked their prey from atop the cliff side hesitated for a moment. While the Kiffar immediately engaged the feral Alpha, the purple woman made no move. She clearly noticed them, but made no attempt to fight or flee. It was the kind of behavior that could be considered unusual to the predators of Dathomir. But unbeknownst to them, the Sephi was already busy with her assault.

A swift probe of their minds gave her all she needed. To someone who made use of telepathy on a daily basis, dealing with animals was a piece of cake. The Sephi raised her hand and closed her eyes, as she summoned the Living Force to her aid. A Jedi Master did not need her blade to deal with a situation like this.

To all beings in their vicinity, nothing out of the ordinary could be heard. But the two Nydaks? They were completely taken aback by the sudden roar of an adult Rancor. A sound that not only frightened them, but also made them abandon their prey. Within mere seconds after their appearance, the two lesser Nydaks were gone again.

"Everything's under control. Dealt with them alr-" Sakadi's projected message was cut short, for her attention was drawn to the surge of Dark side energy. Energy that threw the Alpha off its feet. She knew exactly what that meant. A Nightsister had arrived.
​

Cadere Nezira Viresh ​

 

[Cadere]

Sakadi's voice echoed in his mind as he stared down the Alpha about to charge toward him, although when he prepared to evade with a frontal somersault. Cas watched in its entirety as the Alpha was launched into the air, colliding with the rock creating a loud crackling sound, before he could even begin to process what had just happened - he saw her.

"Oh, crap..."he thought to himself as Nezira nonchalantly passed him, eyes scorching green. He knew that look, and it made him feel uneasy. He took a step back, eyes glued to Nightsister and the Nydak as they charged each other the Kiffar reached an arm out instinctively, fearing that she was about to get herself killed but to the Jedi Knight's surprise, she'd teleported behind and unleashed a blinding flash of electricity against the Nydak. In response, Cas shielded his eyes with his forearm and felt the ground shake slightly as the Nydak collapsed, lowering his arm he stared at Nezira in caution. She'd gotten stronger, way stronger since the last time he'd seen her properly - and with the terms they were on, he didn't know if he could trust her not to attack him.

Shutting his lightsaber off, he cautiously approached the Nightsister and greeted her in an awkward manner "Hey, Nezira... it's been a while, huh?" rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze "Fancy seeing you around these parts. Would've thought you'd be... literally anywhere else." he joked, slightly nervous. Cas was so caught up in the surprise of seeing Nezira and the awkwardness that followed, he'd completely forgot about Sakadi and the Nydaks she faced.

Spinning his whole body around in break-neck fashion, whole body tensed up, he faced Sakadi in slight panic. But loosened up, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw she'd handled her business - smiling, he straightened his posture. Raising his index finger as to say 'hold on a moment', he turned back round to face Nezira. Closing one eye and sucking his lips in tight, he tensed up again and clenched his fists tight "I know I'm the last person you'd want to see but we need your help. Once we do that, we're outta here and you'll never see me again." he promised, facial features relaxing as he went on. Motioning in Sakadi's direction, he continued "We're looking for an Imperial digging site, to be specific, a digging site that violates the Accords." he glanced at Sakadi again then back at Nezira "So... you know anything about that?" he asked outright.

Cas knew Nezira wouldn't be obliging if she didn't know the full story, or was being lied to. If Sakadi didn't agree with what he was doing, she'd just have to trust him.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Nezira Viresh]

As Cas approached Nezira, the Nightsister descended in the air to the ground. Landing silently, she gave the Jedi Knight a cold stare, still having her glowing green-coloured eyes flared. She only took a couple of steps, but ended up in his face, "You're right, you are the last person I ever what to see!" hissed Nezira threatening, completely ignoring his attempt to speak to her. A few patches of hair that hang loosely, floated as if they were underwater due to the magickal ichor still flared from Nezira.

Electricity crackled in small sparks, slithering around Nezira's hands as she stood, staring coldly at the young Jedi Knight. As Cas started to explain, Nezira disappeared in a green coloured smoke cloud right in front of Cas. The Nightsister appeared further back behind Cas, walking towards the Alpha, starting to wake up again. The low guttural growling mixed in with another foreign sound, most likely because of the confusion from getting zapped by lightning to the head.

As she neared the alpha, the Dark Side of the force around Nezira began to increased as the Nightsister stoked her hand from side to side and down in a line. Magickal Ichor in front of Nezira took form, shaping into an almost lightsaber looking sword, made out of pure magick. Before the Alpha got the chance to get up, it received a killing blow from Nezira as she stabbed the beast through its head. And just as out of nowhere the magick sabre appeared, so it disappeared again.

Turning back to face Cas and then to the other female further away, to then back to Cas, still having the Ichor flared in her eyes and hands. As she stood in front of Cas again, she poked hard at his chest a couple of times with her index finger, "how dare you to show your face here again".

Cadere Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Her brow furrowed as she listened to the exchange between her former apprentice, and who she assumed was Nezira. Sakadi had refrained from meddling in Cas's personal life, but the anger of the Nightsister was slightly worrisome. What had her former apprentice done to receive such an outburst?

A slight sigh escaped from the Sephi when Nezira ignored Cas's question. She still appeared as calm and serene, but the Jedi was out of patience already. The only thought that went through her head, was why missions like this always had unforeseen complications. Why wasn't it ever just a quick and easy assignment?

Sakadi snapped out of her thoughts as she felt the cold touch of the Dark side through the Force. Before she could lift her hand and call out to the Nightsister, the young woman had already taken the life of the alpha. Her ears lowered as the life force of the Alpha ebbed away. She slightly mourned the loss of life, although she wouldn't admit that in front of the Dathomiri witches.

"If she is not going to tell us what we need to know, I suggest we move on." she calmly projected to her Padawan. She didn't want to share her message with the Nightsister. The young woman seemed unstable. Plus, she wasn't that fond of the cultists to begin with. She had met some in the past, and one in particular had caused quite a bit of pain and suffering for both of them.

"So? What will it be?" She would ask again, as she folded her arms across her chest.

​

Nezira Viresh Cadere ​

 

[Cadere]

He watched her slow descent to the ground and remained stood in place as she approached him, stopping only a few inches from his face - what was it with her and personal space? "Yeah, I probably deserved that." Cas quickly interjected. He tried hard not to avert his gaze and watch her floating strands of hair for the simple fact at how creepy it was and his brown eyes remained locked onto hers, hoping she'd give them what they needed and then part ways.

Unexpectedly, she disappeared - seemingly poofing out of existence in a green mist, with Nezira previously so close to him Cas accidentally inhaled the green smoke and nearly entered a coughing fit as he waved the fumes away from his nose "If I grow two more of everything after today, we'll know why." he quipped before turning around to see Nezira killing the Alpha, the Dark side that she radiated gave him goosebumps - being in the presence of the Dark side was never pleasant for him.

When she returned to him, she was still, understandably mad at him and it showed as she practically poked a dent into his chest with her harsh fingers. The young Knight's head turned ever so slightly in Sakadi's direction as her disembodied voice startled him for a brief moment - "Just... hold on. I think I can get her to talk." Cas would project back only for her to hear while glancing in her direction.

Glancing at Nezira's emerald ichor eyes, his expression was still serious "Believe me, I don't even want to be here." he confessed while folding his arms, continuing "So, like I said; the sooner you tell us what you know, the sooner we're out of here. That's a certified 'Cas Tynen Promise'." he concluded with his trademark smirk, making up the last thing he said on the spot in hopes of getting Nezira to lighten up. Extending an arm for her to shake it, he hoped she'd agree - otherwise, he was worried things would get ugly between her and Sakadi.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Nezira Viresh]

There it was, that stupid, annoying smirk of his... and yet all the old feelings just came back in a tidal wave of emotions when looking at his smirk. While it was impossible to see Nezira's eyes due to them being completely covered in the toxic green-coloured mist-smoke. However, his smirk for some reason made her a little less mad at the Jedi or at least made it hard to stay mad at him.

Nezira closed her eyes and when she opened then again, the magickal ichor had disappeared and a pair of greyish blue eyes looked back at Cas. The Dark Side that had radiated off of her, was gone and subsided. It was still present around her and a person strong in the force would still be able to sense the dark side but wasn't as obvious. Looking at the other purple-skinned woman further away, before looking back at the Jedi Knight. She felt weird, standing so close to him, some kind of feeling and sensation just wanted her to bite her lower lip for some reason when looking at the man before her. It was honestly all very confusing, not to mention that she was still mad at him. All these emotions that Cas managed to pull back made her confused.

Thinking Cas's words over... certified 'Cas Tynen Promise', Promises was a dangerous thing to do. After a bit, Nezira finally broke the silence after Cas's little speech. "Nightmare's Grove, that's where you want to go," said Nezira almost in a whisper, so only Cas heard her which wasn't even on purpose, but his closeness to her made her nervously distracted.

Nezira had to force her eyes away from Cas, or she would just keep staring at those stupid brown yet so beautiful eyes... argh keep it together!

Taking an awkward step back, so she and Cas didn't stand so intimately close to each other. Looking over to Sakadi, feeling the air get a bit lighter when focusing on anything else than Cas. "Nightmare's Grove, that's where the Imperials are at" explained Nezira to the Jedi Master with an indifferent tone, holding an unreadable facial expression, which was in the complete opposite of how she was in front of Cas. Looking back at Cas, wanting to say something as she opened her mouth just a bit, but decided against it. it was just stupid anyway. The Nightsister started to walk away from where the duo stood, heading in the direction of the dig site.

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala Cadere

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi impatiently waited for her Padawan to fix whatever mess he had thrown himself into prior to this encounter. It made her feel as if, perhaps, it was time to start asking questions about his private life. She had wanted to grant him as much freedom as possible during his time as her Padawan. But had she perhaps given him too much freedom? Should she have taught him more than just the ways and ideals of the Jedi? Did those even leave a lasting impression?

Nevertheless, the anger of the Nightsister somehow seemed to subside. All it took was a "certified Cas Tynen promise." She'd remember that. Sakadi would respond with a slight, absent minded nod to the Nightsister. Nightmare's grove. It had an ominous ring to it. If something screamed Dathomirian, it was a located named Nightmare's grove.

With a slight gesture she invited Nezira to lead on, with the two Jedi closely behind her.

After twenty-six minutes of traversing the rough, red terrain of Dathomir, Sakadi began to notice a subtle change in landscape. Changes that became increasingly apparent, as they exited a narrow canyon that led straight into 'Nightmare's grove."

The first detail that caught her eye were the many dark and crooked trees that made up the grove. Each tree held numerous amounts of glowing orbs that covered the grove in a blueish hue. She suspected that they were fruits, but wasn't willing to test her theory. A purple mist covered the soil like a soft blanket, and made terrain seem treacherous. While she had always viewed Dathomir's nature as unhealthy, this place could be described as nothing but ghastly.

Not only did it look ghastly, but it felt ghastly as well. The cold, unsuppressed presence of the Dark side pulsated through the grove. She felt the Dark side in every fiber of her being. It whispered to her. Tried to goad her into a violent frenzy, but the Master would not yield.

"Cas. Can you ask your ex-girlfriend if the outpost is heavily guarded?" It was the first thing she conveyed in a while, as she was rather unsure of how to approach the Nightsister herself.
​

Nezira Viresh Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas took Nezira's eyes returning to their normal, more pleasant form as a good sign as well as the Dark side slowly diminishing in the area. Nightmare's grove, she revealed in a hushed tone which resulted in a subtle, barely noticeable sigh of relief - "Thanks." he said quietly back, clasping his gloved metallic hand around hers and squeezing it lightly before giving her a genuine smile this time.

The Jedi Knight released his grip as she averted her gaze and began to awkwardly back away, he watched as she informed Sakadi of where they needed to go as well. Pinching his nose in frustration and embarrassment, he just realised that Sakadi had to witness all of that which would make things a lot more awkward between him and her going forward. More fuel for her sibling-esque teasing. Returning his attention to Nezira once more, he noticed her part her lips to say something before she visibly changed her mind.

With all of that out of the way, he would match his former Master's pace as they both followed behind Nezira. The walk there was long and awkward as, in a rare occurrence, he wasn't sure what to say to either Sakadi or Nezira. He really needed more male friends. However, as they reached nearer, the changes in Dathomir's geography were extremely noticeable. The presence of the Dark side felt like an invisible thick fog that was almost suffocating, gnawing at his ear to embrace it. Keeping a straight face, he ignored its pull despite how tempting it was - the Dark side was always a struggle for him, even in Knighthood but right now, he needed to stay focused and fight at the urges.

The presence was so powerful that it seemed to be affecting his mood also, to the point where Sakadi's question with the undertone of a jab bothered him. Snapping his head in her direction, his otherwise relaxed face turned to genuine anger as he raised his voice "SHE'S NOT MY--!" before quickly cutting himself off, pursing his lips tightly together and shaking his head. "Sorry." he muttered, embarrassed of letting himself lose his composure, Cas then looked toward Nezira who was ahead of them "Hey, uh - is the outpost heavily guarded or what?" he asked rather bluntly.

He was more than ready to get out of this Nightmare's grove.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Nezira Viresh]

While Nezira normally wouldn't take issue with the Dark Side, The Nightmare Grove, was different, the stories was creepy and nightmarish. the Dark Side had an eerie feeling of death and the netherworld. Entering the Grove, Nezira started to guide the two Jedi through the place. Before Nezira even got to say anything snapped Cas, causing Nezira to whip around and place her hand over the Jedi's mouth. "You mustn't yell in this place!" hissed Nezira in a whisper. With a hand placed at the back of his head and another on his mouth, the Nightsister looked frantically around.

From the ground, not far from them to the side, rose a shadowy figure

from the ground, phasing through the soft dirt and stone, like ghost or spirit. A couple more started to form from the ominous and ghastly mist on the ground and started to float aimlessly around the area. With a low creepy sound, they sounded as if they released their final breath. Locking eyes with the figures, Nezira didn't move her hands from Cas's lips or let go of him, until she was sure the spirits hadn't heard them.

With an absolutely low whisper, "husks. haunted spirits" explained the Nightsister, "they're blind, but hunts by sounds. Don't let them possess you if they attack us" warned the white-haired girl. Turning to look into Cas's brown eyes, "and don't eat the fruits" added the Nightsister and let go of his mouth when they were safe to continue. Nezira was rather on edge here, as she kept on glance around the area while guiding them through a path that led the trio deeper into the Grove.

The husks started to subside the further in they got and if none of them made any loud sounds. Stopping up suddenly by some large rocks protruding from the ground, into the air, Nezira turned to look at the two Jedi. "Behind the rocks" explained Nezira and pointed to the tall rocks in front of them, blocking the path. They could even hear low muffled voices on the other side from people talking.

Cadere Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She was taken aback by Cas his sudden outburst. She often teased him or sarcastically questioned his actions. But rarely if ever did he yell at her for doing so. Sadly, she wouldn't be given much time to apologize, for Nezira intervened. And with good reason.

A part of her immediately wanted to channel the light through her body to burn the ghosts away. But the Sephi was experienced enough that that was the Dark side gnawing at her. Wanting her to lash out, begging her to lash out. She had fallen for that trick before, and she wasn't going to again. Instead she followed behind their tribal guide with a closed-mouthed smile. For once, she was the one with an advantage. Make no sound. Yeah, she could do that.

Once the Nightsister pointed out where their destination was supposed to be, Sakadi would gesture for them to stop. She would need a moment to make the three of them blend in.

The Jedi Master narrowed her eyes as she drew deep into the Living Force. She looked her two allies up and down, closely analyzing the shape of their bodies as she channeled the Force. It took a moment to set this up, but it was better than having to sneak through the camp. Sakadi pulled her arms inwards, curling her fingers as if she pulled a warm cloak woolen cloak over her shoulders. All three of them began to glow brightly, the silhouettes of their bodies twisting and bending as she skillfully crafted the illusion. Once the light began to diminish, the fruit of her efforts would become visible.

All three of them were now clad in what seemed like a holographic rendering of the standard Imperial stormtrooper armor. The exception being that this was no hologram. It looked transparent and holographic to them, but any other being would perceive the three intruders as Imperial stormtroopers who returned from their 'patrol'.

With her illusion now in place, Sakadi gave the signal that they were good to go. As long as they would stick close to her and did nothing that could give their identities away, her illusion would hold. The Force was a powerful ally indeed.

Nezira Viresh Cadere ​

 

[Cadere]

Nezira had managed to surprise the Kiffar when, instead of answering him, she swiftly turned round and placed a hand over his mouth to silence him. Raising an eyebrow, he quietly asked "What, why?" muffling it through Nezira's hand, brow furrowing he watched Nezira before glancing back and forth between her and Sakadi. Then, much to his horror he witnessed a black misty creature seemingly emerged from the ground near them.

Frustrated, Cas rolled his eyes - as if he needed another reason to hate Dathomir. Noticing the Nightsister's pale hand was still placed over his mouth, his shoulders slumped in annoyance as he hooked his thumb and index finger around her wrist, ready to remove it when necessary. When she was done speaking, he gently moved her hand from his mouth and looked her in the eye and sarcastically retorted "Gee, and I was hoping we'd all be friends." in a whisper.

Returning back to his serious mindset now, he quietly followed behind Nezira as she led them out. As he did so, his eyes were planted firmly toward the ground and specifically between the point where he could see both his and Nezira's feet from his peripheral vision as to avoid stepping on something that could alert those husks to their location.

Thankfully, they were successfully led out without encountering any issues and stopped in front of a large rock formation, just behind it Cas could sense the presence of others coupled with the murmur of voices. Turning his attention to the lavender skinned Jedi Master, he was about to ask her what the plan was but before he could ask he noticed she was up to something. Her gestures gave it away. Awkwardly glancing in Nezira's direction, he shrugged only to realise that the three of them began to glow - Cas quickly looked at his hands and noticed that they were inside something transparent looking. The Jedi Knight lifted his head to look at the Sephi and Dathomirian and saw that they were, sort of encased in what looked like transparent Imperial stormtrooper armour.

It took him a moment but Cas had realised what Sakadi did, earning the pale-haired Jedi a grin from her former Padawan "You never taught me that." he quipped. Sakadi seemed in control of the situation and so, he'd let the more experienced Jedi take the reigns as he motioned for her to lead them into the heart of the outpost.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Nezira Viresh]

Watching the female with a mistrusting look, the Jedi started to do something weird that involved the force, she could feel it. Tilting her head to the side, she saw how the illusion taking hold over them all three. Seemed rather unnecessary to try and trick their way into the dig site of the enemy? So much could go wrong and Nezira honestly would feel much more secure if she went invisible.

Plotting down on her bottom and crossing her legs, she retrieved a small water pouch and placed it in front of her, "it's unnecessary to trick the Imperials" commented Nezira and flared her Magick up again, letting the dark side of the force course through her body. The loose locks of hair that wasn't tied up started to float unnaturally again and her iris had changed into the same bright toxic green colour. However, unlike earlier, the magickal ichor didn't completely consume her eyes.

As Nezira opened the pouch, a misty smoke started to slowly pour out of it, spilling over. "Sisters. Mother. Lend me your strength. Sisters. Mother. Lend me your strength" started Nezira to chant, with each word an eerie echo of other voices, repeating the Nightsister's words. When she said the final word in the ritual, watery substant, yet it moved as smoke started to rise from the pouch, floating higher and higher. It stopped in the air, forming a watering orb of smoke in front of Nezira.

With both hands, she moved them inside of the orb and held the hands there for a few seconds. The liquid seemed to react to the Nightsister's hands, as it started to expand with Nezira moving her hands in the opposite direction of the other hand. After a few seconds, Cas and Sakadi would see the orb having been turned into a sort of humanoid tall circular gateway. In the edge over the circular ring of the gateway, it had the same toxic bright ichor green colour as Nezira's magick, while the closer to the centre, the darker it became until the was completely black.

The moment Nezira went through the gateway, the dark side around her subsided again.

Getting back up on her feet, Nezira went through the greenish-black gateway but didn't come out the other side. The Nightsister was near invisible and almost impossible to see. In fact, unless she right up in their face, they wouldn't be able to see her. Of course, there was always her signature in the force and if she didn't hide it, another force-sensitive individual would be able to feel her presence.

Waiting to see if the Jedi joined her in going invisible, and would wait a few seconds.

When Nezira grabbed her pouch again and closed it, the only thing Sakadi and Cas would see, was the pouch floating middle of the air and was closed and then also disappear when Nezira strapped it to her belt. The gateway disappeared and the Jedi now looked as if they were alone in this place. A dislocated voice came beside Cas, "ready" confirmed Nezira.

@Jedi

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

"Maybe I have. You rarely paid attention to any of my lessons if it didn't involve lightsaber combat." she teasingly retorted with a sideways glance and a grin of her own. She was proud of his progress as a duelist, and held faith that he would one day surpass her in lightsaber combat. But his control and mastery over the Force? Rudimentary at best, if you would ask her. She had spent more than five decades learning, developing and honing her Force techniques. Meeting her expectations in that field of study seemed like an impossible task for physical-oriented Jedi like him. But still, she hoped to pass on all of her teachings and techniques to him or another Jedi one day, should the Force allow it.​

The illusion she had so skillfully crafted over Nezira shattered the moment she began channeling the Dark side to create her own disguise. She glanced at the witch and the Knight for a moment. She disapproved of her alternate approach but was unwilling to comment on it. Rejecting the invitation of the Nightsister to go invisible, Sakadi would instead wait for her to close the portal, before leading them on to the camp. "Do stick close to us please." She'd convey to the witch, hoping that the woman wouldn't run off on her own, like many people under Jedi protection tended to do.​

Once they circled around the tall rocks that served as the entrance to the digging site, Sakadi could finally lay eyes on the camp. It was larger than she had expected, with many small groups of tents spread out over the first level of the site, encircling the large pit in the middle of the camp. Many grey tree stumps stuck out of the red soil, indicating that these grounds had belonged to the grove before the Empire's arrival.​

A better look at the encampment revealed that this wasn't just a simple Imperial operation. Wooden elevations were carefully constructed over rock formations to serve as guard towers, each manned by a couple of Imperial stormtroopers. The camp itself was buzzing with life. While the presence of the Imperial infantry was hard to ignore, she couldn't help but notice the large amount of civilians involved in this undertaking. Archaeologists, miners, geologists and construction workers all worked in unison here.​

Her gaze eventually fell upon the far eastern side of the camp. Six poles stuck out of the ground, five of which had people bound to them. She immediately recognized the three emaciated women and the two beaten men. Nightsisters and Nightbrothers. Their mission, however, took them to the other side of the camp. It was where the largest tent stood; the one that undoubtedly held the information they needed. A bit pained by having to make a decision, the Jedi Master would project her thoughts again. "Should we... help them? I don't think we can help them to escape without alerting the whole camp." It was a bit of a dilemma. Help the Nightsisters and forsake the mission, or track down the Moff who orchestrated this operation.

 

[Cadere]

Playfully rolling his eyes, he smiled at the Sephi "Alright, you got me there." he relented, waving a finger at her. However, the moment between the former Master and Padawan was cut short when Nezira caught their attention by channelling the Dark side, its presence washing over him like an ice cold wave. Turning toward her, he knew what she was doing as she had done it before during their first meeting.

Leaning over sideways to Sakadi, he whispered to her "Nightsister magick is just... too creepy." and when the Nightsister's chanting had subsided, she had created a sort of gateway which radiated from the gateway and for a moment he was tempted to step through it as Nezira did, so much as to take a single step towards it before eventually shaking his head "I'm good thanks, I'd rather stick to tricking imperials. It's funnier." he said, shrugging at his last sentence - it was true, but mainly he was deflecting from his dark temptations.

With all of that over with, Cas heeded Sakadi's advice and remained close to her, standing at a safe enough distance beside her he followed the Sephi inside the digging site. The site reminded him much of the outpost he and Nezira brought down back when he was a Padawan, he still had nightmares of Nezira's pet spider crunching on the bones of the stormtroopers. As they passed infantry, Cas nodded and saluted everyone he passed at a weak attempt of being casual and to avoid suspicion.

Cas' gaze followed Sakadi's as at the eastern side of the camp, the spotted some Nightsisters and Nightbrothers captive who'd been noticeably tortured and abused by the Imperials here. Clenching his fists, Cas felt an anger build up in his chest that quickly dissipated when Sakadi's voice projected into his mind - without hesitation he projected back "We have to help them." gaze remaining completely focused on the captive Zabraks. But the Knight had an idea to achieve both goals, turning to face Sakadi he projected his voice once more to her and to Nezira, wherever she was "You and Nezira do what we came here to do..." he then looked in the direction of the east side "... I'll free the captives." he concluded with the upmost conviction. He had a plan... sort of, don't die, it was simple and he'd done it enough times to know it worked and he had enough stimpacks to keep him going should things go to hell. Regardless, they weren't going to stop him from helping them.

Taking a deep breath, Cas had to psyche himself up for a potential suicide run.

Nezira Viresh Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Nezira Viresh]

Nezira's eyes went wide when she saw her sisters and brothers tied to poles. When Sakadi thought of leaving them, the Nightsister was just about to speak up and leave the two Jedi's side to go save her Sisters and Brothers. But Cas came spoke up before she did. Nezira was ready to deny any kind of sense the Knight might cast her way to convince Nezira, that when he actually said he would do it, it shocked the Nightsister.

The same warm but strange feeling, every time Cas spoke with her, returned, but something else. Happiness and relief? Maybe, but whatever it was, the Nightsister's anger towards the Knight shattered just a bit more inside of her. Cas would feel something invisible touch the upper part of his back, followed by a dislocated whisper, only he would hear.

"Thank you... Cas" whispered the voice of Nezira and Cas would feel the slight pressure of what most likely had been Nezira's hands lightly pressed against his back, was now gone again. When Nezira had thanked the Jedi, Cas might only have heard a short "thank you", but if he had listened to her voice, he would find that it had been difficult, yet a very deep appreciation for him doing it. With new determination, Nezira's invisible form walked by Sakadi, "let's go" she said with a stern tone, very much different from her voice when speaking to Cas. Going silent again, she didn't even leave sounds when walking, or did she levitate above the ground?

However, the Nightsister stayed by the Jedi Master, as her connection to the dark side could be felt. While very faint and hard to pinpoint, if Sakadi focus, she would feel the dark side of the force from Nezira.

@Jedi