First Reply The Blood Hunger

[Ravyn]

The Hunger
Location: Nar Shaddaa Depths

​

Ravyn had come here to die. At least that is what she had told herself. The last three years of her life she was a blood bank to an ancient sith lord and his Sanguinius Vampirika coven and Nar Shaddaa was the only place she knew no one would be looking for her, here, she could die. It Hurt, the intense hunger pains in her stomach dominating her mind as she coughed and tried to steady her walk by placing her hand against the cold wet steel, trying to use its smooth unfeeling surface as a rail to stop her from falling. Forward she dragged her feet, trying to find somewhere just to sit, somewhere to just let it end. As her foot dragged over a jutting rock she toppled down into a puddle below, it would take a few seconds before she would lift her body, staring down at the water as it steadied below her. Her eyes.. they were yellow. They.. They used to be blue. As the puddle steadied further she would lift a finger to pull at the edge of her mouth, staring in silent shock at her two dominate canines. He.. He had really done it. That piece of shavit had actually done it.. She thought she didn't swallow any of the blood.. she thought she was fine..

In reality she already knew she had been turned, that is why the meals she had eaten on the way here seemingly never satiated the pain in her stomach.. that is after all why she was here. To eat from.. to feed.. such a disgusting term she had used the coven use a thousand times, so dehumanizing.. to feed, it was something she couldn't do. She wouldn't do it.

That is.. after all why she was here. If she wasn't going to feed, she would die. And if she was going to die hopefully it would be somewhere she could get some peace. And a back alley of Nar Shaddaa was the closest thing to home she had. Deciding this muddy alleyway was the best as any, and that she barely had the strength to keep moving, she would settle down in the mud. Carefully she would begin braiding her own hair, it had grown significantly longer than what she was used to, and honestly she just needed something.. anything.. to take her mind off of it. A distraction in the face of the looming abyss.

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shadaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

​

The edges of the Concord's territory were somewhere the dark lord often found himself drifting to. A chaos that called out to him awaited just a hyperspace jump away, whether it be at the hands of an alien species that wreaked havoc in any planet they reached or caused by those who he had once called his own. It had not been too long since he had walked into a Jedi temple in Kashyyyk, but the clutches the Darkness had on him were still firmly attached to the very tethers of his soul. Corruption, in its purest of forms.

This place was a slum, nothing more than a dirtball controlled by slimy creatures that the ex-Sith Lord would have gladly rid the universe of without any remorse, but he was done killing. He wanted to, the mere word stirred shadows within him that whispered in his ear to Force his hand, so that he may channel the vast power that rested just a small pull away. Anger would be all it took, hurting, hate...he had so much of them.

His coming to Nar Shaddaa was meant to be nothing but a distraction. Keeping his restless feet moving even if it felt the weight of the whole universe was resting on his shoulders, and all the shadowed giant wanted to do was sit down in some forgotten corner of the galaxy and let the Darkness take him, let him rest, until it was time to turn its dark will on everything around him. It was always the same cycle. Exhaustion, obscure rest, destruction. He was a husk of what a person should have been, a formidable monster bred by the Darkness. And in many ways, he was beyond redemption.

A stirring in the Force pulled him out of that tiresome trance, an dimmed flame amongst the dullness of Nar Shaddaa. There was another here, a weak one. Suffering was to him like a beacon in the night, and this small soul was drenched in it. Not long ago he would have let it be, meet whatever foul fate the galaxy would grant them if not offering one of his own. Even now, he could not bring himself to quite feel any particular need to reach out - but he forced himself to.

Slow, silent steps guided him to some back alley, the form of a skinny and dirty humanoid crumpled on the filthy floor, fingers wreathing strands of unkempt hair. However, it was not human, this much the dark lord could tell by its smell alone. Weak, vulnerable. He had only known one way to answer to those traits in the past. Death was a mercy to those without power. But he no longer held himself to that belief, even if was still wrapped around his very being.

Darkness rolled of of him in waves as he stood over the girl, dark robes and a hooded face hid by shadows making him look like an omen of death. He spoke no words, at first, debating what was to be done with this poor creature - bidding himself to discard the dark options he was naturally inclined to find agreeable. The Seeker reached through the Force, feeling her own feeble presence in it. This girl was dying.

The man crouched, still towering over the girl even if reduced to a quarter of his height. "Do you wish to die, child?" His voice was low and raspy, like if it were coming from an injured throat. Monotone, detached, as though he was asking a menial question - and not trying to see if this was a fate she had chosen for herself.

 

[Ravyn]

As the man approached her she felt a deep primal instinct bubbling in her core, to snarl, to kick and bite and kill. It took all of her power to resist, instead, her trembling form would watch the man steadily approach her, towering above her lithe frame. She could feel his presence in the force.. the power of it. It reminded her of her mother.. and her captor.. it was a bizarre feeling she could barely stop concentrating on. She could feel him staring at her, boring into her thoughts and mind, reading her emotions like a scribe reads a page. She was certainly a mess. Anger, sadness, confusion, all bubbling around in her mind as she tried to convince herself what she was doing was right. How vulnerable he made her feel was.. excruciating, but all she could do was look away in shame.

Her ears heard him, but it took her several seconds to really understand the question. Did she? Did she really want to die? She hadn't really thought about it, just.. devolved into that mindset feeling it was only natural in her current state to want to die. But, did she really want to? Taking a long drawn out minute to think about it she would part her lips to speak but.. silence. She tried, tried to say something but nothing came out. A feeling of panic spread over her as her eyes darted to him. Did he curse her? Did he take away her speech? No.. no she would have felt that. She would have known. Another long minute passes as she tries to figure out what to do before just.. slowly shaking her head no.

She didn't want to die. Not really. But.. the alternative was so.. disgusting, revolting to her psyche. Could she ever really forgive herself for such an act? To harm another just to continue her own life? Was that.. really worth it? Certainly she was somewhat trained in the dark side.. but her mother had always shown her that the dark side did not have to be evil just.. morally gray. But hurting someone else? That.. that was evil.

Looking up at the man, her eyes scanning his cowl trying to find some glimmer she could recognize as eyes in the darkness of the alleyway she would.. ask for help. Not with her voice, but everything about her screamed help. Help me please. She didn't know what to do, she was confused, and scared, and angry, and frustrated that she had been turned into this monstrosity. It was all so much and the pain in her stomach was so overwhelming she didn't know what to do.. Help me please.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

​

A part of him reveled at the symphony of despair that were the girl's emotions. A part of him that was put aside, and instead he continued to look at her, unmoved. What she could not have known was that his eyes were closed, and it was not with his natural sight that he was baring witness to what could be her final moments - until he opened them, and the raging fires of a corrupted, glowing eyes would shine down on her. Words failed to form in her throat, but they were so clear in the anguished depths of her own gaze. Help.

The Seeker had never helped anyone in his life, excepting when he had ended someone's suffering. It would have been a noble gift had it not been him the one to create such pain in the first place. He was numb but he was observant, and she could see the fear in her. At him, at the prospect of dying. It did not take long for the thought to form in the corners of his twisted mind: if his presence caused such reaction then it must have been someone like him the one to drive her into this precarious situation.

What was he to do? His own suffering knew no ending, life was a torture he endured simply because he held the power to. Did she?

"Hmm," A brief interjection produced by a deep rumbling in his chest was followed by a slow, deep exhale. Once again he was debating, weighting his options. If her reply had been any different, the ex-Sith would not have walked away without a doubt, or even become the hand that granted her deathwish. The Jedi would have certainly frowned on it, but he was no Jedi. The Darkness had become a fetter around his will to live and he wished to be rid of it, yet some things remained unchanged. He would never see any sense in preserving a life that did not wish to continue. Sometimes death was the kinder fate, even if very few had the coldness necessary to admit it.

The silence reigned for a few more moments, before the man spoke again. "Do you know what happens when your kind doesn't feed, girl?" He had met the vampirika before, although this one seemed more feeble. He remembered the bittersweet smell of the blood feeders. They were a rare breed, as was he. Perhaps one that would have inspired fear, if he hadn't been a monster of an even fouler kind. He chose his own monstrosity, he created it. She would not die, not until after the madness had set in and she ripped apart whatever poor souls crossed her path - not until she became little more than a rabid animal to be put down.

The Sith Lord then extended his arm, pulling the black sleeve of his robes only enough so that a small stretch of pale, scarred skin was visible. The offer he was making was quite obvious, she would not see the end of day without blood and while he would have much rather hunt down some other creature, the slums of Nar Shadda weren't precisely a hunting ground. People he could hurt and kill, but he would not for now.

"You will not hurt me." His voice was still as detached and cold, that fact stated being the only comfort he offered, having seen the fear that had kept her from feeding. She did not want to hurt people. Such a strange concept for the repentant Sith Lord. The girl was weak and dying, and the Seeker doubted that one feeding would restore her, but it would keep her from dying. The rest he would decide after. Whatever amount of blood she took, the Darkside would sustain him. He could heal.

 

[Ravyn]

Does she know what happens if she doesn't feed? She.. she thought she would die. That's what she had assumed but even now it came trickling in that perhaps she wouldn't die.. perhaps something worst would happen. After all.. this was a plague of the dark side. At least that was what she had been taught. Perhaps she would evolve into some bestial sithspawn, going on a rampage and destroying countless lives. Perhaps she would turn into a wraith? Forced to haunt this mortal realm for the rest of eternity. She knew so little.. a fact that only caused the anger to boil in her chilling blood.

As he exposed his arm, her eyes would lock on to it warily as she subconsciously ran her tongue across her upper teeth. Her eyes would drift back up to meet his, still wary, still unsure. This would be a first step.. one she was so unready to make. Yet.. she needed to, for her life, maybe for the life of others.

Without giving it a second thought, and whipping around at remarkable speeds, she would sink her teeth into his arm. As the warm liquid filled her mouth her eyes would roll back into her head and eyelids close in ecstasy as she feasted. Her hands would come up to his arm, fingernails digging into the skin to hold him steady as if he was attempting to escape as she slowly gave in to the primeval urges completely, so completely in fact it became ever more evident as the seconds roll on that she had no intention of stopping. The thought of stopping not even crossing her mind as it was so preoccupied with the new sensations and tastes.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

​

The dark master watched as any struggle she would have wanted to oppose was subjugated by the primal need that dominated those of her kind. Her canines elongated, one of the telltale signs of her true nature and she moved with a speed that would have been impossible for a being as lithe and weakened as she was. He fell nothing then the fangs punctured his arm, no pain when her hands wrapped greedily around his arms, nails also cutting into his skin. His body was nothing to him but the vessel he lived in, so beyond broken it was a miracle it still held together.

Zeren let her feed, and it was a struggle to battle the shadows within him that bid him to destroy the being and be rid of such inconvenience, but the despair he felt from her was one he knew well and where he anchored his focus. He felt a faint numbness begin to set into the tips of his fingers, then his hand, forearm...It slowly climbed up as the seconds went by, as his blood was drained by the strange little creature the Force had put in his path. However, his kindness would not be too long lived. The Lord let her take enough so that her body would endure, so that she survived the famine she had inflicted upon herself. But nothing more, not enough to restore her to a healthier state.

As soon as he could feel her presence grow stronger, strong enough to not waste away like a fast burning candle, he would stop her. Reaching through the Force into a weakened mind, one pull was all it would take to break her consciousness and make her fall into a deep slumber. The same arm that she had been feeding from would be the one to keep the young girl's head from hitting the ground when she went limp. He could feel the weakness that losing blood always brought, but he would be fine, and soon the flesh on his arm began slowly healing.

With a grunt, the ex Sith Lord picked her up. The girl was practically weightless to him, and yet the act seemed to drop the weight of a freighter on his shoulders. He loathed moving. Being a alive was a struggle in and of itself if when he was not burning the flames of the darkside. The need to delve into it, to let it take him again, was almost unbearable. Not unlike the need to feed was for the young one. And much like she had done until he appeared, he would have to resist. He had to.

He walked through the dark streets of Nar Shaddaa, that choking darkness rolling off of him ensuring not even the pirate moon's most detestable kind dared turn their heads his way. As tough some kind of terrible predator was walking down their streets and alleys. A monster of the night, holding what many would call another one of his kind. Dawn would break soon, and he knew the sun was no friend of the vampirika. After some time, they would arrive at his freighter. Zeren put the young girl down on a cot, letting her sleep for as long as her mind would let her. He would simply allow his body to fall and sit on a box in the corner of the same room, the exhaustion caused by his corruption luring him into a slumber like trance - but he was very much aware.

 

[Ravyn]

As she began to feel the subtle pull of the force in her mind she would begin only to feast faster before the full effects triggered, her eyes shutting and her body falling limp only supported by the kindness of this dark stranger who had already done so much for her. Already she looked better, her pale skin having a slight coloration to it, and her body no longer quaked in pain. Instead she seemed.. almost peaceful? A deep slumber which she had not had the luxury of in so long.

As she was carried she dreamed, dreamed of a life she never had. Of finishing her training with her mother, of setting out on her own to carry out the family tradition, uncovering ancient ruins and discovering long forgotten secrets. These dreams continued as the cot provided a more comfortable environment than the cold rainy streets of the moon. She'd sleep for just over two hours, before instantly and without warning shooting straight up in bed with her eyes darting around frantically as she desperately tries to calm both her nerves from a nightmare but also trying to figure out where she was.

Eventually her eyes find him, and its very clear that her mind instantly shoots to kidnapping as she tries to get out- no, falls out of the cot before picking it up and threatening him with it like a giant cumbersome club as she tries to look around for an exit. She would not be taken hostage again. If she had to fight him with this mishmash of fabric and metal she'd do it. All the while she's trying to speak, mouth opening and lips moving as if trying to speak some indistinguishable language but no sound coming forth from her. Had he really helped her just to kidnap her? Why? She had no money, no relics, just a ship and she doubted he even knew about it let alone could find it.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

​

His eyes opened slightly moments before the girl jumped out of the cot like an animal that suddenly found itself caged. She had been peaceful a mere second ago, pleasant dreams twirling through her mind allowing her to actually acquire rest from her slumber. That was something entirely foreign to him, barred from proper sleep or any form of rest that was not the eternal, torture-like wait until the next time he gave in into his dark tendencies. Fighting his need to give in to the Darkside was harder than any war he had ever fought, any duel he had ever finished.

A guttural noise that sounded much like growl came from the Sith as the girl lifted the cot, pretending to use it as a weapon against him. Not only would have the attempt been laughable, he did not react well to defiance. Suddenly his hunched back was straightened, glowing yellow eyes meeting the girl's own from the shadows cast by his hood. The air turned cold and almost sharp as this darkness flared, ready to turn against the little vampirika.

Keeping a grip on himself was excruciatingly painful in ways only being who shared his corruption could understand, but then he felt the fear oozing from the girl. Fear he was the cause of, as it usually was for all that stood too close to the beast. This was not defiance, it was fear. Clenching his fists, keeping himself from retaliating, the man returned to his previous position, back resting relaxed against the wall behind him. One flick of his wrist was all it took for the cot to fly away from the young girl's grip and back into its place. He saw her mouth words that never came, her voice failing her.

The dark lord pushed into her own mind, letting his voice fill her thoughts. <<"If I wished you harm you would be long gone, girl.">> Zeren did not know if she knew the Force, or of her connection to it. He had no interest in prying into her mind beyond what he could see at its surface. He was no teacher, never had been, but showing her would perhaps be enough. <<"You need no voice to speak to me. Reach out with your thoughts.">> What he was asking was not as simple as he made it sound. A being must have been either very gifted or had instruction to practice telepathy, but her kind often favored the mental arts and even if her attempt was weak, the dark man would be able to read her.

 

[Ravyn]

As the cot was pulled from her hands and placed back at its origin her eyes would show the briefest flash of confusion as they watched him like a hawk. His apparent relaxed disposition was rubbing off on her, after all, if he had meant her harm clearly he was powerful enough to do so already. As thoughts rang in her head.. thoughts that weren't hers she would instantly freeze, eyes darting around the room as if looking for a hidden speaker before once again resting on him, squinting unsurely.

He spoke of telepathy, a subject her mother had only briefly touched on in their few years of training. It was certainly an idea.. but she had never particularly been good at it. Letting her guard down a little more, she would take a step away from the wall as she squints at him. What was he. He seemed Sith.. or worst.. but he certainly wasn't acting like one. She had a vague feeling of inner turmoil, a conflict of will underneath his emotionless voice. Yet she couldn't pry much more information from that feeling no matter how long she dwelled on it. Instead she decided his plan was probably the best.

Glancing around the room for a second, she would seem slightly disappointed as if not finding what she was looking for. Slowly making her way back to the cot, she would sit, legs crossed under her, she would focus. Her ember of the force glowing slightly brighter as she reaches out to him. She found words.. difficult. Not entirely sure how to make sounds in his mind, or the complexities of emotion to make him feel what she intended. Rather, she would try a synthesis of ideas.

Her mind to his, the link was weak and not much information was passing through no matter how hard she focused. The best she could get through was a somewhat pleasant feeling, a warmness in the chest. In tandem she would move one hand to her chest, her fingers taking the general shape of half of a heart over the left side of her chest as she moved the hand forward towards him, her fingers except the index finger coming together with the index pointing at him. It was sign-language, or at least an attempted version of it. Her parents had used a varient of Twi'lek sign language during her father's smuggling operations if they needed to speak without speaking, and she remembered a few basic concepts.

She would repeat the process, the hand gestures forming a simple two word phrase. Half a heart over chest 'thank', and then pointing at him. 'Thank You'. The meaning of the message only emphasized by the weak feeling she attempted to share with this stranger through the force. She hoped he could understand, especially since so few she had met had learned sign language and she was rather certain she was doing some part of the gesture wrong.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

Mute? Traumatized? The dark man could have easily searched her mind for that information, unraveled the secrets she kept before him, and remove any need for communication they could have because he would know it all. But he wouldn't, a nagging feeling in the back of his head kept him from attempting it. It would have been wrong, he would have had to abuse the Force with dark intent to achieve such a thing. He could not allow himself to. However, he let her try.

Zeren felt the bridge forming between their minds and he let it exist, seeing what little flickers of emotion she managed to transmit. For a moment something froze within him. Terror, rage, pain, hatred...these were the emotions he knew, the ones he could feed on to fuel his power. This...this warmth, he simply could not remember the last time he had felt anything vaguely positive. A sharp breath left him in surprise, yet the coldness would not take long to set back in as realization dawned in on him that this feeling was not his, but hers. Perhaps the girl was not very good at telepathy, but maybe she had the natural talent of an empath.

The Dark Lord watched her as her hands moved making signs he recognized individually. A half heart, then pointing towards him. It took but a second for the man to understand the girl's meaning. He had never been thanked for anything in his life, nor had he ever extended that same politeness to anyone. She had not wanted to die, and he had not wanted to kill. Zeren did not see himself deserving of any gratitude. "Don't thank me." The response perhaps was a bit coarse, but she truly did not know who it was that she was thanking. A monster.

"You can't stay here, girl. Soon you will be hungry again, and you will need to hunt." Unless she wanted to prey on the people on Nar Shaddaa, she'd need to search for a more suitable home. Zeren could think of one place, she was strong in the Force after all, and in need of guidance. "Do you have a name?"

 

[Ravyn]

"Don't thank me" the man commanded, catching her off guard. Her eyebrows would come together, seeming confused or perhaps concerned as she would let her hands fall to her lap and begin playing with her thumbs nervously. She was still a little wary of him, after all he was fully capable of ending her life any second he felt like it. why was she here? she couldn't help but wonder. He could've just left her in the alley after helping her. She wasn't entirely sure why she would bring her to this ship let alone spare any more kindnesses towards her.

As the man explained her predicament to her she simply give a brief nod. She had the Page Eater, but other than that she had no home. She wasn't entirely sure where she could go or what she could do other than trying to find and meet up with a Raskava chapter somewhere to continue her training and she couldn't remember where any such chapters or secret hide outs were. Such information her mother had never shared with Ravyn, so now she was truely alone. No family left in the galaxy and a part of an organization she was only just initiated into and had no way of contacting let alone proving her membership to especially with her lack of speech. But the idea of hunting terrified her, she doubted she would run across those like him who were so willing to give away their blood and the creeping suspicion that she would either have to buy it through less than legal means or take it was steadily gnawing away at the back of her mind. It still felt wrong, still felt so incredibly sinful or morally wrong to do and yet it was such a key part of her existence now. It would be something she would have to master, a skill to hurt others.

Her name? That would be easy enough. First she would mime Resh, one of the letters in the Galactic Standard alphabet, by forming a 'finger gun' with her hand but pointing down and slightly at an angle. Next would be Aurek symbolized by bringing her right hand up, palm facing herself and fingers pointing to the left paired off into the index and middle finger and the four and pinkie fingers creating a sideways V. Thirdly she would come Yirt by making the same V symbol but facing upwards, then Vev made by dropping her pinkie and index fingers making a V out of her fourth and middle finger. And to finish off the spelling of her name would be Nern by pinching her thumb and index finger together on her right hand with her other fingers pointing straight up. Accumulated these individual letters would spell 'R A V Y N' or Ravyn.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

No one would have ever described the Sith Lord as patient, and yet as he looked at the girl putting effort into trying to make her sign language understandable to him the man seemed to wait calmly for her to produce the shapes and exemplify their meaning. No rushing her. Perhaps it was his curiosity, for Zeren could find no other reason to dissuade himself from simply pulling on the Force to comprehend her or search her mind for the information he wanted. Patience was something he would need to have a lot of if he had any hope of removing the colossal weight that suffocated his soul.

Some letters he recognized instantly, some took merely a moment of thought or tilting his head to one side or the other. Soon enough, the mysterious little creature he had saved had a name, "Ravyn." He said, if only to confirm that he had understood her sign language. It would be the next part, however, the one that would really be a test of his patience. His next question would not have an answer as simple as this one, yet it needed to be asked.

He was no force-sent savior nor would stay on Nar Shaddaa for a second longer than he originally intended to. He could read the doubt and the uncertainty in her thoughts, even if he was not prying enough so as to get concrete versions of her machinations. She did not know where to go, there was one place she seemed to be considering but her certainty on it was dim at best. "You will not last long without harming anyone if you stay here. You must learn how to hunt, and how to use the Force - before it uses you." Kashyyyk would provide for both of those needs. The forests and its creatures would sustain her, the Jedi would teach and care for her. That alone was a thousand times more than what he had had when he was her age.

"I can take you to the Jedi. Or you can leave." She was the master of her own fate, but he would demand a choice from her now. He no longer had a desire to remain on Nar Shaddaa, whether he would come with or leave and wound up in some other back alley was up to Ravyn.

 

[Ravyn]

She would sit quietly on the cot for a few solid minutes, clearly trying to figure out what to do. She had been forced to make a lot of difficult decisions recently and it was certainly not getting any easier, the pure weight of them pushing down on her shoulders more and more with every choice she made. She wanted to go with him.. but her ship, her belongings, they waited for her perched on a building out of reach of most people on the planet and hidden well behind expensive technology. She wanted to have a family again.. and the jedi, they could teach her how to truly harness her power and to stay the beast within. But, she was not a part of their order, she needed to find a member of the Raskava.

Yet, survival came first.

She would not, before motioning to herself with her thumb and then motioning to him. She would go with him to the Jedi, and she would plan her next move from there. Hopefully they can help her, and who knows maybe she'll find a member of her order hidden within their ranks. They did after all try to conceal themselves throughout the galaxy. Leaving her equipment here would be risky.. yet the ship could take care of itself and honestly she was not looking forward to returning to it and the many mixed memories she had with her mother within its small frame.

Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Nar Shaddaa.
Tagging: Ravyn

The dark man only nodded his understanding. He would convince himself he did not really care whether the girl was accepting out of true enthusiasm, if it was with ulterior motive, or even if she had only agreed out of fear of rejecting his offer. The third one made a certain feeling stir within him, one that was swiftly pushed back down into oblivion. People would always be afraid of him, and for many reasons that was for the best. A monster was bound to lead a solitary life, he had already embraced this.

"Come," Was all he said as he finally stood up. She had agreed and gave no signs of needing to retrieve any personal belongings. Zeren doubted she had any, or at least they definitely weren't important enough for the girl to bother. She had been nearing death just a couple of hours ago after all. He showed her to an empty cabin in the freighter, a proper bed and a refresher awaiting within. He did not care one bit for the grime, but perhaps she would appreciate the chance to rid herself of it. Most people did.

Without saying more, he left once again, disappearing into the corridors of the large freighter. He would take his seat on the cockpit and not long after they were leaving Nar Shaddaa. He wondered if the girl would find him, either making use of the Force or some other method she came up with. It was a small test, of sorts. He had questions to ask.

 

[Ravyn]

As the man she barely knew left to the depths of the ship Ravyn would turn to the refresher, stepping in nervously. She'd test the water, as if unsure if it would even work, before washing up and drying off. Waltzing back into the room she'd slump down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she could feel the ship move. Not like one can tell a ground or air vehicle moved, but just the general sense of motion she got whenever she was aboard a ship of any size. It was a strange feeling, but she was dealing with a lot of strange feelings. Her hand would find her stomach as she thinks about her most recent meal. How much did she drink? It.. it was weird to think about. How she just completely lost control, like an animal.

She certainly felt defenseless, she had left her mother's saber hidden away on her old ship in a small little memorial constructed for the woman who raised her. It was kind of pathetic now, thinking the only way she could preserve her memory was a little shrine made out of knick-knacks from her Mother's life. Eventually that ship would've been found and everything taken, including the saber. She should've taken it with her or destroyed it, try to keep it out of the wrong hands.

Deciding to explore around the ship for a bit Ravyn would head out into the corridor, exploring other empty rooms, cargo bays, and any other places of interest she wandered across. This ship was massive compared to her ship, The Page Eater, which barely had enough room for two people inside. Yet, The Page Eater was most likely faster and a little more maneuverable. Speed and the ability to avoid conflict, two lessons she clinged to from her father. The smuggler had taught her many lessons, and she was certain that he was alive somewhere in the galaxy, having escaped the same fate as Ravyn and her mother.

Eventually finding herself in the cockpit, she would silently pause outside the door as she watched him unsurely. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him so many questions and figure out who she would meet there but she was both too nervous to ask and unsure of the exact signange to do so. Eventually she would enter the cockpit and take a seat, awkwardly staring out the front window as she would twiddle her thumbs in the first initial awkward silence not entirely sure what to do or say.


Zeren

 

[Zeren]

Location: Hyperspace, en route to Kashyyyk.
Tagging: Ravyn

He could feel her moving about the ship, and he let her. There was nothing secret or hidden between the freighter to be found - the dark lord himself was the only mystery that resided within the metallic walls of the spaceship. He could feel the weight of doubts that pushed down on the young girl, as well as something he knew very well: the feeling of being lost. However, that was not all there was to it. If the Seeker could recognize one thing, it was someone who was searching for something.

Eventually Ravyn would find her way to the cockpit, and the man, his face forever covered by a dark hood, at first made no attempt to dispel the uncomfortable silence that reigned. As he made the jump into hyperspace and the dots of light that were the stars became dashes, his hands would fall back into the folds of his robes, producing a small knife and what seemed to be a wooden block. Silently, he began etching away at the thing, beginning to shape it into something else.

Speech would come when it was least expected, a certain tiredness clinging to his voice. His gaze did not move, face still angled towards the piece of wood. "What are you running from, Ravyn?" It was the first time he used the name she had provided. He had not yet given his own. "Where were you going?" Two questions, inevitably tied to each other.

After his last word, the vampirika would feel how his dark presence pushed against her mind. Once again he kept himself from ripping through its walls and finding the information he wanted, instead only allowing himself to see what she brought forth. Perhaps she could not speak to him telepathically, but he could still read her thoughts. Handsigns were unlikely to suffice to provide an answer to the questions he had asked - or to make the ones she wanted to voice.

 

[Ravyn]

As his presence touches her mind, he gets faint glimpses of memories. Whether or not she meant to show them to him is unclear, but they're certainly making her uncomfortable and she's quietly trying to control them as if scared too delve too deeply into the misery they represent. Flashes of a woman, by her appearance Ravyn's mother, opening an ancient sarcophagus only for the individual inside to be found alive and to kill and drain the older woman. Flash forward, the view from behind bars as the ancient man, now with a small collection of others, feasting on the remains of what appears to be a twi'lek woman in a horrific sanguine feast expected in the darkest of fairy tales. Small snippets of physical and mental abuse whiz by, attempts at escape secretly permitted by her captors to see how far she would get before they'd find her, a sick game.

Eventually a more hopeful memory bubbles up to the surface, the slaying of that man, a pale sickly white lightsaber puncturing his stomach only for him to pass his curse onto Ravyn. Then, the most recent memory of watching Zeren walk down the alleyway where they just met.

Ravyn would sit there in silence, hoping that he read her thoughts well enough to receive these glimpses into her life she now desperately tries to repress. She would sit in an awkward pose, occasionally fidgeting as she tries to think of a way to explain herself before very quickly forming the sign for 'thank you' before allowing her hands to rest on her legs again. How many more times would she have to relive this? How many would she have to explain it to? How many could she afford to explain it to? Who knew what memories would slip through such the more horrific memories that scarred Ravyn's mind and body alike that she certainly did not want to relive.

But on the bright side, there was hope. She could start anew, do something with her life even. Maybe she could find a home with the Jedi, maybe she could help those stuck in situations as horrific as hers. Her life was really just getting started, just not along the plan she and her parents had devised.

 

[Zeren]

Location: Hyperspace, en route to Kashyyyk.
Tagging: Ravyn

He kept on carving as the memories flooded his own mind. The small chisel he held would dig into the wood with precision but also unwarranted strength as the pain, fear, and horror of her recent past was revealed to him. A dangerous tension grew within him, the darkness that had wrapped itself around every inch of his being reveling in the feelings that had made it grow - gave it its immense power. He had been both victim and author of such atrocities like the ones the young girl had gone through, perhaps even worse.

It bid the darkest forces within him forward. It angered him.

But why? He should not have cared.

And yet, the one thought that crossed his mind was that she was barely more than a child and had already been victim to terrors many never got to know. He had been nothing more than a little, scrawny boy when his own suffering began. Perhaps that was the root of his empathy. The more time passed, the more aware he grew of the darkness' grasp on him - and now seeing the emotions that created it pushed onto another, and one so young, created a wrath he could not easily control. He knew he should not condone her killing the vampirika, and yet could not help but feel satisfaction, perhaps even pride, that the small thing that occupied the passenger's seat had found the strength to do so.

However, he would not voice that thought. He was a product of suffering. He was nothing if not pain, fear, anger, and suffering made flesh. And so, the Seeker knew that his own dark presence could not possibly bring any comfort to the creature besides him. He tried to focus on the Force, on the diminute part of it he could see that was not utterly tainted, and he found a certain sense of calmness. A feeble tranquility that he unconsciously tried to project onto the young girl - perhaps she would understand his sense of peace better than actual peace, for it would always hold the stains of corruption and hurting. In a way, that familiarity made it more soothing.

"Your memories need not follow you were we are going, child," Her past could be her own, away from prying eyes. Even himself would agree to never speak of it if that was her wish. The Darkside had touched her, but it had not sunk its claws on her to the point of no return. "It is not too late for you to let go of them." It was too late for him, perhaps he could at least spare her of a similar fate. As he said his final word a gloved hand would extend towards her, offering him to take what had not long ago been just a wooden cube. It was now a delicate, intricate, and detailed figurine of a raven. Her name had reminded him of one of the many birds of his homeworld. To her thank you, he offered nothing but a nod made barely visible because of the hood that covered his face.