The Fox's Earth.

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen lurched a bit in his seat as the twilight Vixen left hyperspace with a momentary roar. Looking through his cockpit's view port over the massive planet before. His home, Veradune. It only took a moment for him to disclose his ship's identification codes to be allowed down on the surface. As he descended, he couldn't help but smile as he surveyed the forested area of his home city. Zorros was a beautiful sight, its buildings built around and among the trees with tall spires that reached into the sky.

"That would be my place." Vulpesen pointed to the castle that dwarfed all the other buildings, its five spires seeming to peirce the very clouds. Of course, he wasn't talking to Ace, but rather the company that had joined him on this adventure, Ra'a'mah. Some how, whether by luck charm, or fate, the sith woman had managed to keep him on the planet of Vjun by the sheer radiance of her smile. And after a few days, he had finally decided to give her the tour of his own home.

Further behind them, Shadow would be curled up with Akata and Ankhaara, two of her tails waving behind her as she enjoyed her company. Ace was as usual, sitting beside Vulpesen, working on the piloting rig to aid his bond mate in landing the ship on a fairly large landing pad, one of the few places where tree's weren't very popular. Of course, that wasn't to say that the city was uncivilized. To the contrary, Zorreos was a sprawling metropolis which simply sat among the green.

 

[Riamah]

Before Ra had learned of her true past, she had been a ship pilot. Being a passenger again was odd to her, the arrangements were nice though. The amount of time they had spent together on Vjun was spent wonderfully and Ra had learned more about what nature there was on her home. Now it was his turn to show her his home.

The sheer amount of green was a shock to her. Nothing in her life prepared her for that. Even knowing about it didn't help as her imagination couldn't picture it. Vulpesen pointed out his castle. Built to work with nature like he said, it was beautiful. She saw him smile and could feel the pride he had for him home.

"I'm looking forward to this, Vulps."

The ship landing brought a smile to her face and to a point there was a feeling of innocent excitement radiating from her.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"So am I." Finally landing the Vixen on the landing pad, Vulpesen started towards the back, dropping his ramp. Immediately, there would be two other golden eyed zorrens before him, one sporting a confident grin while the other held a more charming wide smile. The former was a large man with a tail less like a fox and more like a wold. his body was a mountain of muscle and a large rifle was slung about his back. The latter, a gentleman of normal body size with his hands collapsed peacefully in front of him on his white uniform while a ruddy red and brown tail swayed behind him.

"Tis good to see you, Valde. Did you enjoy your holiday?" The smaller man spoke fist as he walked over to greet his leader. Though, as he approached, his eyes flicked up catching sight of Ra. Moving on as if he had never asked Vulpesen a question, he spoke to Veradune's newest visitor. "Ah, and this must be the lass you spoke about in your message. A pleasure to meet you, Lucas Gracin Councelor and leader of the Rerreno Senate at your service." He offered a polite bow that might have seemed a bit exaggerated. Vulpesen in response simply patted his shoulder as he rose up.

"Good to see you too, Counselor. And how have you been General?" He addressed the other man,who simply shrugged and looked cautiously at Ra. It wasn't quite a look of distrust or dislike, but certainly one that was wondering what to expect from the woman..

"I've been well. Went on a zipher hunt recently and came out with a bit of success." His grin widened and he reached up, and tapped a necklace of talons around his neck.

 

[Riamah]

Ra followed Vulpesen to the rear of his ship and stayed behind him. When it opened, two zorren men were waiting for them. The smaller of the two spoke first and asked if he had enjoyed his holiday. Not bothering to wait for an answer, he brushed past him to introduce himself to Ra. Giving her a polite, but excessive bow, Vulpesen just patted him on the shoulder.

"Ra'a'mah Numare."

Listening to the interaction between them, she couldn't help but have half a smile. The other man was silent during this and answered the question posted with a sense of formality that ended in a grin for her companion. The way he had looked at her was filled with caution, but was quite neutral.

Putting on the neutral force façade, Ra wasn't sure how to react to either of them, so kept quiet after giving her name.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

There was a small discussion among Vulpesen and his fellow zorrens, though it ended a few moments later, the topics mostly going over a few pressing policies that he would have to see to on his return to the palace. After a small bit of coazing, Vulpesen shoo'd them away and called out Shadow before offering Ra a hand. "Sorry about that. They weren't exactly happy with me leaving in the first place." Behind him, the two were devolving into quiet bickering. "Mostly because I'm the only one that can gt them to agree on anything." The pair had been two thirds of the Vitae Excelsus class, a tier that rested just below Vulpesen himself.

 

[Riamah]

Ra stood back, observing and listening to the conversation going on between the three men. It didn't last long before Vulpesen basically pushed them away and offered her his hand. Taking a hold of it as apologized, Ra waved it off with her hand.

"You are essentially their king, so you have business to tend to."

Hearing the light argument happening behind them, Ra couldn't help but smile a little.

"If they act like that after such a short period of time, I'm surprised Veradune didn't go up in flames while you stayed with me. I'm glad it didn't."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Well, maybe I lied a little. My father is still around to take over whenever I decide to take off somewhere. While he's happy with retirement from the spotlight, the people are fairly happy that he's still active from time to time." Having Shadow swing her tails around, Vulpesen started to rise up, getting atop the fox while he aided Ra in joining him. "Should be a fairly short ride. Ankhaara and Akata should be able to follow behind us as we go." He felt a small weight crawl up his leg to his pocket, as usual, Ace had chosen the lazy route of hitching a ride in Vulpesen's coat.

 

[Riamah]

Giving Ankhaara a hand signal, Ra watched as she got Shadow to follow her. Nodding, she turned her attention back to Vulpesen and just hoped Akata would get the idea and do the same as her cat. He got on the back of Shadow and once again offered his hand to assist Ra up onto her back.

Putting her arms around him, she breathed in the scent of him and his world. Closing her eyes as she placed this memory into her mind, she opened them when she was done with the breath and let it out.

"Thank you. This really means a lot to me."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

His tail coiled around Ra's waist as she held onto him just before Shadow secured them into place as always. Deciding to take a bit of a precaution, Vulpesen reached out through the force and called Akata over, ensuring that the fox would follow them in a bit of a charmed state. "Its the least I could do after the welcome you gave me. And I'm happy that you came along." Once everything was settled with their companions and the ship, Vulpesen urged shadow on to trot through the forest.

It was a stark contrast to Vjun. The trees ranged from normal low lying branches that would hung a bit over their heads, to so tall and grand that some times they seemed to block out the sun, allowing its light to shine down with glowing pillars. And while there were no large animals the area was alive with sounds of some chirping bugs or skittering creatures. While those sounds might have grown quieter as they approached the capitol city, Vulpesen still smiled at the welcome the planet was giving Ra, as well as the feeling of her arms wrapped around him.

 

[Riamah]

The comfort brought was now an almost familiar feeling to her. The thought that she didn't have to go on alone was becoming a reality. A week ago, the lone sith had never expected to have anybody in her life, now sat holding somebody from a dream. Like an angel sent, he had opened a door for her. Setting aside the fears she had, Ra had walked through that door.

Around them, the sounds of nature filled her ears. From bugs to small animals, all natural.

"Well, what sort of welcome did you expect from somebody that had chosen to live her life alone? The kind that thought love was a myth."

Again, she gave herself a mental kick, but it was too late to take back her words.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"One that involved less kisses and hugs and far more stabbing and shooting." Outwardly, Vulpesen hardly reacted at all to her words. Though, his tail wrapped a bit tighter around her, and it wouldn't take an empath to notice the emotional spike in his force presence. "And it goes without saying that as much as I like the stabbing and shooting, these are nice to." Cheekily, the zorren turned and pecked Ra's lips, a grin forming as he turned back to the path ahead.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

"To be fair, you didn't exactly know you were entering the castle of sith."

Her words effected him and through the Force she felt his reaction. That and the snugging of his tail around her. Both made her smile.

"So you enjoy things a little rough at times. Good to know."

The peck didn't last nearly long enough, but Ra contented herself with it for now. Looking around them, she marveled at the new and strange beauty.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

He nodded as she brought up the point of his ignorance. Though, it was her next comment that brought a reaction out from him, causing his cheeks to turn a dark red with blush. Leave it to a sith to turn that phrase against him. Refocusing on the ride, he continued on through the gates of a large wall. Immediately Ra would find herself facing rows upon rows of stalls and shops lining the streets. Some were build into trees, some around them. And others simply seemed like a piece of civilization that had been dropped into nature. Of course, the development did mean that quite a few trees had been removed, making the place look far less like a forest and more like the city it was. "Welcome to Zorros."

 

[Riamah]

Giggling a little at his blush that died in her as the ride continued on and they came up to the open gates of a large wall. In cross the threshold she saw they were in what looked like a market place. Rows of vendors were in front of her. Constructed various ways, it was on its own an unique sight to see. It wasn't so much of a forest in here, but there still nature present.

He welcomed her as they entered and she gave him a smile with a hug.

"Thank you, I just hope your people are as welcoming."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Welcoming was a bit of an understatement. While it wasn't quite a fanfare, there were plenty of people welcoming the Valde and his guest, and more than a few opportune merchants attempting to show Ra her wares. Vulpesen however, waved the away, stating she would have plenty of time to look over their wares one she had been settled in. Reluctantly the crowd would disperse, allowing Vulpesen to continue on towards the main castle. The amount of foliage as they traveled would vary, generally disappearing when the city had many small buildings while a few large ones were simply built to incorporate the trees into their structures. "I assure you, that won't be a problem."

 

[Riamah]

Seeing his people greet him and a few brave vendors approach to try and tempt her with their goods, she shook her head. Leaning in close enough that he would feel her breath on his ear, "your people love you."

Adding anything else would be saying too much and she closed her mouth. He lead them out of the market area and continued in the direction of his castle.

"If they knew what I was, it might be."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"My people are fairly understanding. And considering that my mother is a sith, and you're here riding with me, it doesn't matter what you are." He grinned and nudged her. "You might even get some respect considering you aren't one of the bad ones, and sith are known for their combat prowess." He stopped at the main gate to his home where a pair of guards opened up to allow them inside. "Just don't make any claims you can't back up." Sliding off of Shadow, he offered Ra a hand in getting down. Since his mount would be taken to the stables, the short distance into the castle would be on foot.

The Vitae Castle was a magnificent thing. The capital of Veradune, and the crown gem of the arboreal Zorren architecture. Grand massive trees stood around it, stone and wood melding into one structure while spires pierced the clouds. Its various yards were each filled with growing flower beds and all around them, staff bustled and worked to further prepare things. Of course, that wasn't to say it was without faults. In a few areas, the stone had been smashed or broken. There were areas where the masonry was obviously a patch due to the newer quality of stone. Only a few years ago, this had been the home of a people with no pride and nothing but hate in their hearts. It had taken Vulpesen quite a bit of time to fix even most of the damage done by the raiders and bandits, and even then Veradune had its scars.

 

[Riamah]

His words gave her pause and she considered lowering her façade...but it was second nature to her when she wasn't home or with other sith. Around people that didn't know her, if they felt that dark of her, they were scared. That didn't bother her as much, but as a businesswoman first it did.

"Let me think on that."

He had accepted her when he learned of her alignment and felt no hostility from her. While he had expected her to attack, she had sat calmly and allowed him to adjust to her revelation.

"I don't claim anything, Vulps."

He gave her a nudge and she decided to trust him. In a blink, she was her natural self. No façade was up.

"We're not ALL fighters!"

She could be when pressed, but did her best to avoid it. He brought them to a stop, hopped off Shadow and offered his hand yet again to help her down. Looking around them at courtyard, Ra could see the primal beauty and repaired areas as well as areas that still needed work done. Wanting to keep her hand within his, she would only let go if he pulled it away as they walked to doors of his castle.
​
[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

He chuckled at her exclamation, his hand ramming happily in hers. "I know that. But that doesn't mean they won't expect power from you." Stepping forward, Vulpesen waved his hand, causing the grand doors to the castle to swing open, allowing the pair inside. The main hall was large and spacious with plenty of room to hold a multitude of guests. At the back would be a large stair case leading to the second floor, and to their sides, would be different wings of the building. Even after a few years of living here, there were times that Vulpesen thought he might get lost. Of course, one large contrast of his place against Ra's would be the bustling workers who ran around, cleaning and doing various errands around them. "Have anything you might want to drop off in your room?" Of course, having known ahead of time that Ra would be coming to Veradune with him, Vulpesen had been able to arrange a place for her to lay her head during her stay.

 

[Riamah]

"There are other ways of showing power though."

Hand in hand he lead her into the castle, the doors opening with a wave of his hand with the Force. Seeing the size and layout, Ra would need a bit of time to get used to it. She wouldn't be surprised if she lost her way at some point.

In her own home, she had only a handful of people that worked for her. The castle had been built to last and very little repair was ever actually needed. His was far different and many people were inside taking care of business and running errands. He offered to have her drop off any belongings she had brought with her, but she was pretty self-sufficient and hadn't brought much. An rather delightful idea came to mind though. While the thought was nice and she knew her fate had been decided when they first met, it might be too soon to suggest it. Her eyes got a slightly diabolical look though and Vulpesen might feel what she did maybe even share it.

"Perhaps. I'd at least like to see where I will be sleeping."

[member="Vulpesen"]