Private So if I win, you buy me dinner right? (Duel)

[Darth Strosius]

"Really? You, in an underground fight club?" A smirk bloomed across his face at the thought, but he supposed it did make an amount of sense. Alina Tremiru certainly threw punches like the had been in a fight club. "I can see it." He nodded after a moment, his mechanical hand idly fiddling with the mask on the table. There was some temptation to put it back on, but he resisted the urge. "Okay so we're even for now, give me something to tell you about."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"My mother didn't see a reason in teaching me to be Sith, so I had to find something somewhere. Couldn't go to the academy and I didn't really feel like dying." She shrugged a bit, perhaps oversharing but feeling in the mood to at least explain Darth Strosius that much. Her gaze drifted around the room, just looking at the people who were already dining here. "Mm. Why aren't you in the academy? You've got the skill, and at least there you'd get some kind of allowance so you don't have to keep bumming rides."

 

[Darth Strosius]

"...Ah, I see..." He wasn't sure what to respond with, other than a tone of sympathy. Of all the things that Alisteri had no clue how to deal with or assist with, one of the big ones was any sort of family-related thing. Mostly due to the fact that he didn't really have a family. "That's actually a bit of a funny story. You see, I wasn't born in the Sith Empire so I didn't really know that the academy existed. I sort of just made my way to Bastion and was lucky enough to gain the attention of my master." He did his best to change the subject, sounding almost sheepish to be admitting his previous ignorance.

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

She waved it off, knowing that it wasn't an easy subject to talk about. Especially for other people. Alina raised a brow curiously at Darth Strosius 's story. "That's.. Pretty intense. Who's your master? Why haven't they at least helped you get around? My master helps, somewhat. Gives me the tools to get what I want but expects me to get it on my own." She paused, then leaned forward on the table with a sigh. Different masters had different things they did for their acolytes training.

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Oh make no mistake, my master hasn't left me all high and dry. I actually have a pilot that could shuttle me around whenever, but I like being able to prove that I can be independent some you know? Prove that I'm not totally useless." He chuckled at that, as if it were some form of inside joke. "As for my master? She's rather unconventional from what I can tell. Her name is Darth-" Alisteri was cut off by two plates of steak dinners suddenly being set in front of both him and Alina Tremiru with the utensils include on the plates. "Enjoy!" The waitress smiled before turning and heading back to the kitchen.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina nodded slowly. That made sense. It wasn't that Darth Strosius didn't have the means, just that he chose not to use them. Like how she still went to fight clubs despite having the academy to train in. She did lean up though when he started to say who his master was. Only to get cut off. She nearly glared at the waitress before looking back to her fellow Sith. "Please don't just leave it as a cliff hanger. Darth whom?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri looked as if he was about to answer, but a smirk crossed his face instead as he idly picked up his knife for the steak. "Questions come after dinner, once you enjoy the fruit...er, the meat of your victory, then we can get back to playing twenty questions." He winked at Alina Tremiru mischievously, quickly shifting his focus to cutting a piece off of his steak to avoid any other questions. It's not that he minded answering them, he merely wanted to punish his friend a bit for her earlier victory over him.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Don't make me beat you up again." It certainly wasn't a serious threat, given the playful smirk on her face. But still, she wasn't the happiest that he'd turned it around on her. Darth Strosius certainly had the cards this time. Still, the steak smelled great. Good enough to have her let this go in favor of dinner. She dug right in, happily eating. It was surprisingly good, for a regular diner.

"We gotta come here more often! It's pretty good!"

 

[Darth Strosius]

The usually-masked acolyte merely chuckled at the playful threat, too busy with his steak to offer her a proper response. He hadn't eaten here before, but he had tasted a bit of the cooking via the Legionnaire that he had saved. That Legionnaire had been honest as well, his sister was a better chef. "Indeed, provided we come next time with some proper form of payment. I doubt that we can hold onto a favor forever." That, and Alisteri held disdain for washing dishes. Although, the idea of Alina Tremiru having to wash them with him was almost tempting enough to make him consider it.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I might be able to steal something from home to sell, make a couple credits and pay for the next one." She finished off her steak, chuckling a little. "If you can beat me." There was a wink before Alina leaned back in her seat, smiling smugly at Darth Strosius . She could still hold that over him at least. Her gaze drifted around the restaurant again. This was surprisingly nice. Relaxing, eating dinner with a friend. All of it.

"So, what happens now?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

He idly glanced up at Alina Tremiru with a bit of concern as she mentioned something about stealing, but a laugh did escape him at her next remark. "If we're going to settle all our costs with a duel, then I suppose I'll need to get a side-job." Alisteri joked, giving her a wink in return. As much as he liked being in the heat of battle on some random planet, he had to admit that it was nice just relaxing with a friend and having a good meal. He hadn't gotten the chance to sit back and talk with a friend in far too long.

"Now? First I need to go tell the owner that we're even now. After that I'm up for anything other than another sparring match." He chuckled and patted his side. "Too many bruises already. Be right back." He took a moment to don his mask again, the clasps clicking in place quickly, before getting up and sneaking into the nearby kitchen where the waitresses kept emerging from.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"All our costs with a duel? That actually sounds pretty interesting. Maybe we should do that from now on." Her grin widened playfully at his wink. Without the mask, Darth Strosius really did seem human. Though he was quick to put the mask back on when he had the chance. She chuckled a bit at his laugh, nodding. He could handle this part at least. She got up from her seat and went to the exit to wait for him. She still had a couple of questions for him, especially about his master.

 

[Darth Strosius]

It took the better part of a couple minutes, but eventually the masked man emerged from the kitchen doors. After giving whoever was on the other side a small wave, as well as a nod to a couple of the waitstaff, Alisteri joined Alina Tremiru at the exit. "And just like that, we no longer have to dine and dash! I told you I was a hero of the people." He chuckled as he stepped out of the restaurant. "So, what now?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"All praise Darth Strosius , slaver of fashion and enjoyer of diners." She snickered lightly once her fellow acolyte emerged. Truthfully she thought she'd have to go in and pay herself if the favor didn't pan out. The fact she didn't have to was a relief. Despite the extra money she did have.. Well. The extra money she did have was being saved for something special.

"Now? Dunno. Could tell me more about this master of yours. What they look like, what they enjoy. Their name."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri chuckled and rolled his eye, lightly elbowing Alina Tremiru on her arm for that remark. "Says the terror of would-be boxers everywhere." He paused outside of the diner for a moment, glancing back at her curiously. Ah, she was still on about his master eh? Well he supposed that she had waited long enough. "First off, believe it or not, she's even paler than I am."

He smothered a laugh as he began walking, idly heading back towards the academy. "In all serious though, she's a Rattataki by the name of Darth Ophidia. She enjoys long walks through shadows and sending me through canyons. Oh, and she has a particular penchant for staying fairly incognito most of the time."

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Boxing Terror. Maybe that should be my new nickname at the fights." Alina puffed out her chest proudly as she walked beside Darth Strosius . Finally, she could get an answer on who exactly was training him. Honestly she was more worried he might have a terrible sort of master. Instead, it was a Sith name she didn't even recognize.

But if she didn't recognize it, why did she feel so afraid?

Pale Rattataki who enjoyed walking through shadows? No way, couldn't be what she thought. Yet she stopped walking, staring at her fellow acolyte. ".. Is she bald?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

The masked acolyte smirked at the thought, idly imagining Alina Tremiru being some form of holonet star in the fighting realm with such a name. It would be amusing for sure, if a bit useful to boot. Reputations were always good to have. He paused and turned to look back at her once he had noticed that she stopped. "Uh...yeah? Why?"

He tilted his head curiously before resting his hands on his hips and giving her a small chuckle. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" He assumed that she was pulling some sort of joke.

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"On Korriban I found a tomb of a Sith Lord. During the war. I opened the jar, and a woman kind of like what we're talking about came out. She.." Alina's gaze glanced around, suddenly worried about what this meant. Was that Darth Strosius master? Or just someone who happened to be similar? It was totally possible it was just something similar and she was overthinking this. Honestly, the acolyte hoped that's all she was doing. Whatever it was that came out wasn't natural.

"I have a coin. That she gave me." She reached through her robes, almost in a panic. A controlled panic. Then she pulled it out. A simple coin. Of the Assassins.

 

[Darth Strosius]

It took approximately a full minute for Alisteri to realize that this wasn't some form of joke or story. His eye narrowed slightly as he listened, seeming to hang on every word and think them over carefully. Emerging from a jar wasn't something his master had done before, to his knowledge anyway, but he supposed that it wasn't that far from the realm of possibility. The Force could do many strange things after all.

For a moment he was a bit concerned for Alina Tremiru as she looked and then produced a coin. His master wasn't that intimidating was she? Then again, he had become rather desensitized to strange happenings nowadays. He looked over the coin curiously, his gaze running over it for a long second or two. "Hm. My master does like handing out mysterious objects occasionally..." He muttered under his breath, pulling back from his inspection.

"Is there anything else or did she say anything? She spoke to me on Korriban, in my mind, but as usual she was vague. Maybe something that could help me find her?"

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Just that I would be rewarded. And these were the reward. If it was her, I let her free near the end of the battle." Alina stashed away the coin after it was clear Darth Strosius was done looking at it. Whatever this meant, she wasn't sure. Not sure enough to let that linger over the mood this day had brought. Relaxing with her friend. She forced a smile after a moment, offering a shrug of her shoulders.

"If it can, I'll help you. We can go to the tomb I mentioned. It.. Might be intact enough. The earthquake did send me into a cavern from it. Oh, and we'll have to get through man eating plants and.. Man eating dead bodies. Not fun stuff."