Private Snake & Mouse

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Darth Strosius //:​

Talk moved fast among the Sith. It didn't take long for the Echani woman to catch wind of what had caused Alina's death. Secrets and whispers were like the plague; no matter how hard one tried to suppress them, they spread. Quinn used her resources to find the man, the one who she least expected to be the murderer. There was a time when they were younger that Alisteri was with Alina. Quinn never felt the Sith was a problem or even a threat - obviously, she was wrong.

She drew a deep hood over her blonde hair, making haste to the planet, Formos.

Formos was a planet that was historically known as a slum. Traders and junkies alike relished in the spice that was delivered from Kessel. Quinn would have never stepped foot on the planet if it wasn't for her personal vendetta. Drawing her cloak tightly around her, the woman moved quickly, coordinates leading her to where she could find the Sith known as Alisteri. Thinking his name made the woman scoff, she only had short memories of him, but even then, they were brief and unmemorable. Her irritation showed on her face as she continued to wander, drawing closer to his location.

Quinn didn't know what she would accomplish coming to see him. Would she try and kill him? Would she cry, begging for some sort of reason? Nothing felt right, but she wanted to see him. She wanted to look him in the face, see his face, and memorize it. She exhaled, stopping where she stood; Quinn reached out through the Force - searching for Alina, hoping that maybe she was wrong with her feelings. It could be another one of her excursions where she disappeared and ignored the Princess' summons.

As she reached out, nothing but void answered. No one was on the other side, pulling at her ties through the Force.

There was nothing.

And Quinn realized she was alone.

Quinn pulled herself out of her despair and knocked on the large door. The princess lowered her hood, and the woman's perfect blonde tresses framed her face as she called for him, her Imperial accent sharp.

"Alisteri Haxim, where are you!"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Reclusive did not do justice to Alisteri's state of being these past few days, completely solitary was a far greater term. He had cut himself off from almost all contact with his cult aside from the occasional vague answer to the concerned messages sent his way. Locked away from them all to think, to mourn, to stew in his newfound power and guilt. Which one was greater than the other was still very much up for debate in his mind, and the answer had yet to make itself clear.

Long days and nights spent in meditation and reflection, often simply sitting and blankly staring at the wall whilst his thoughts battled against one another. All in all he felt sluggish and melancholic, useless almost.

And then the door to his quiet and empty confinement was knocked upon, his name called out in a voice that he did not recognize. Definitely not a member of his cult, they knew better than to disturb him from his musings even when he was in a good mood. With a sigh the Sangnir could feel energy returning to his form and soon enough he was standing up again on legs that had barely been put to use the entire day thus far. Time to deal with whatever, or more accurately whoever, had decided to disturb him. With any luck a bit of shouting and waving of his lightsaber would be more than enough to scare off some random visitor.

After a few moments the doors to the building were opened by a simple gesture of his hand, the masked man himself standing a small distance away from the entrance as he looked his visitor up and down. Something about the woman seemed familiar but he couldn't place it, only vague and distant glances could come to mind. Alisteri crossed his arms behind his back and regarded her with a slight incline of his head, eager to get the disturber away as quickly as possible despite no urgency or any emotion at all seeping into his tone.

"Yes? Do I know you?"

Quinn Varanin