The Hellfire Club

[Darth Empyrean]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoiUK4XlJts​

Maliphant sat in the transport with his foot tapping against the ground in tune with soft beat of the music in the hold. He enjoyed these moments, as his head dipped and swayed, an alabaster ponytail swaying and swooping behind him; only for his fingers to follow in suit on his thigh. The man was fully enveloped in his music, stuck in a reality all his own as his ship traversed through the abyss of sky.

“Sir, we’re almost-”, a man began to speak next to him.

With an startling upheaval of violence, Maliphant moved like lightning as he slammed a fist into the man’s helmet, cracking the almost steel like visor and sending the man reeling to the ground. His jaw was tight with anger as the music contrasted the sudden tension in the hold, his breath buried beneath its tunes. Dorian glanced to his fist as it began to bleed, a knuckle opened with crudeness before he sighed and offered a hand to the man;

“You know you shouldn’t interrupt my music, Squint…”, he said as lifted him back up on his feet.

“I’m not always the best at self control.” A smile crept on his lips, one that seemed vaguely friendly despite the actions he had just taken. Glancing upwards as the man he just hit sat down to recover from the assault, Dorian moved towards the ship's rear exit; the song playing over the speakers coming to a quiet standstill.

He wandered what this girl would think of him, the enigmatic ‘Tiamat’ that helped run the GenoHaradan. Would she be disappointed, or otherwise intimidated? Perhaps she would think nothing of it, and simply move on her day as she would despite a meeting taking place aboard her yacht. All of it mystified Maliphant, forcing a hand to scratch his cheek in ponderation before he called out to the other guard that sat in the hold with him;

“Get Thesh out of the cockpit. He should be with me when we go aboard.”

The boy needed to learn how to fly sooner or later, but right now impressions might mean more.

---

The advanced Tsrotzhu gunship sped through space towards the Jate’kara with speed; idling only after it had dropped from hyperspace at the predetermined coordinates established by the two groups. Soft hums of ion engines failed to traverse the vacuum, but a open communication between the ships was set out;

“This is the “Handmaiden”, transponder code “GS-7762-6854”; coming in for a landing.”

With that, the ship would speed towards the open hanger, coming in slow but careful as the electrum tower that was the vessel imposed its great beauty upon them. The ship would come in slow, its industrial military styling meant for battlefields, but obviously capable of transporting a mysterious sith lord the likes of which Nalia had likely not seen.

The soft hiss of its landing gear pressurizing signaled it had fully landed; the boarding door opening as the group slowly walked out, Maliphant and his apprentice pride and center as two guards walked behind with their own weapons; though one seemed to have a crack in his visor for some unknown reason.


[member="Thesh"] │ [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="The Slave"] ~ God Is A Woman ~ "When all is said and done, you'll believe God is a woman."
——————————————————————

"Nilia? They're here." The quiet tones of the Information Broker's Togruta assistant Eyris drew the young woman from her period of disassociation, having been staring out her viewport with a small glass clutched in both hands, thoughts lost to the void. Thoughts of her position in this strange organization that could lead to a form of poetic justice to her life, thoughts of old Senate meetings, thoughts of anything and everything that crossed her mind. Scattered to the wind like leaves with three short words that kicked her mind back into gear.

"Right, of course. You may send them to the lounge." A dismissive wave of her hand sent her old friend scurrying off to collect the motley group of visitors that had just landed aboard her liner. A strange sense of melancholy had befallen the former Senator and she couldn't place why; something in the air that seemed to speak to grim tidings. Washing the taste out of her mouth with a fine Corellian whiskey, Nilia stood, idly smoothed the lines of the imposing black gown she had donned earlier, and moved from her desk to the private turbolift that would take her to the lounge.

Less a lounge, more a private entertaining observation deck for those with enough credits to afford it or enough favour to earn it, it was a large circular space situated at the absolute top of the Jate'kara's slim profile. Viewports from every angle provided views of the stars around them, with ethereal holographic trees providing unique fascinators and seating. Various wealthy patrons milled around and simpered, drinking drinks with names too long to say and discussing deals too illegal to be talked of in a voice above a whisper or a low murmur. Just how she liked this gilded, deceptive room. Flowing with drink and, more importantly, information.

She was no strange to staring down a predator and remaining perfectly calm. This 'Tiamat' should be no different, no?

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

As the four moved with the combined synchronization of a child’s ballerina recital, Maliphant never ceased his soft smile. It was something light-hearted, betraying the very darkness he carried in his all too corrupted heart. No, the soft features of a man with vague accents of beauty and flowing silvery hair was all but lost when compared to the evil darkness that festered in the wound that was his personality. He was not a cruel man, not to those he kept close, but he was no friend of humanity.

He spoke quietly to Thesh as the two walked into the turbolift, likely to take them to the private floor the group was to meet, his words barely overcoming the sound of the buzzing as a hand rested on the youth’s shoulder;

“Make sure you behave yourself. Take notes, this will be a lesson for you.”, he said as he whispered in the boy’s ear. Standing back up straight, he waited for the lift to end on the floor it was meant for.

With a soft ding, the doors slid open as the sith lord moved with a sudden elegance ahead of his entourage; offering a now healed hand in an open shake to the newly found crime lord sitting at a table too large for a single person; though the open window next to her gave a hint she was likely not doing so on purpose.

“A pleasure, Miss Saavilin.”, he said through a grin that spoke leagues more than he. It was hungry, glaring; something she had likely seen before, but never quite such as this. If she accepted the hand shake, he’d kiss the back of her hand before moving to sit nearby.

“This -”, he said motioning to Thesh, “Is Tiamat.”

It took him a moment as the grin grew wider, only to cease in a teasing laughter, idling slow but reasonably before coming to a halt; “Oh, no, this is Thesh. He is my apprentice.”

“Say hello, Thesh.”, he said, rolling his hand as if to signal the boy to cooperate.

With that said and done, the alabaster stranger glanced back to Nilia, offering a wink before his hands cross on the table, leaning forward as he spoke;

“I’m Tiamat.”

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] │ [member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

The music which rang through the transport had the young boy softly tapping his foot; up in the cockpit alongside the pilot, Thesh was getting quite the crash course in flying. Every now and then the man would reach over and gesture at a button or dial on the consoles and explain their purpose. And every now and then the boy was encouraged to be the one to press, or twist, or flick. It was exhilarating, and soon enough he had forgotten all of the nerves he'd entered the vessel with.

It was strange, to be sure, this new life of his. Nobody was trying to break him down, in fact the opposite was most definitely true. Lessons, training, hands on experience, mixed in with the general servitude he'd come to expect in life, things seemed to be working out for the best where he was concerned, and he knew that he had Maliphant to thank for that. Each day the boy came further out of his shell, each day he found a greater strength to prove himself, and though it was still in truth a slow process it was fascinating when compared to his not too distant past.

"Alright now, you see that little --"

With a whoosh the door to the cockpit opened, halting whatever instruction was about to be uttered. Thesh's presence, it would seem, was required.

Soon enough he was stepping down the boarding ramp alongside his Master and a couple of others, stepping foot on foreign ground. The ship was much, much larger than the vessel he'd just been in the copilot seat of, in fact it was likely the largest he'd ever seen, and as they strode across the hangar his eyes darted this way and that uncontrollably.

That was, of course, until the very moment in which his Master began to speak and they stepped into the turbolift. Then he gave the man his full attention.

"Yes, Master, of course," came his own whispered response, with a respectful nod to boot. Though he had clung close by the man, the moment the turbolift doors opened there was a slight separation. Thesh was more than used to walking several steps behind, and though usually it would not have bothered him in this occasion he felt like a fish out of water. Not that any of the attention would be on him, of course, he was there more so to observe, and for formalities sake, than anything else.

A lesson, just as Maliphant said.

As greetings were made, and the man sat, Thesh remained in place just shy of the table. Upon hearing his name, however, he glanced between both man and woman and then rather sheepishly smiled toward the latter. "Hello, Ma'am," he managed to force out, gaze longing to dart away, to look anywhere else, but instead he continued to look respectfully toward them.

There, that was his introduction done. Now all he had to do was observe.

[member="The Slave"] [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="Darth Maliphant"] ~ God Is A Woman ~ "It lingers when we're done; you'll believe God is a woman."
——————————————————————

Nilia's gaze shamelessly fell first to the one who was clearly some sort of apprentice-- Or, son, perhaps, maybe just a mix of both? They didn't have much in terms of shared physical features, but, then again, neither did Nilia with her own family --Nonetheless of their relation, she offered a smile that seemed somehow to both be warm and wolfish. The elder man's moment of humour left her with a grin that was eclipsed more by the warmth than the wolf, a flash of teeth seen, even a hum of approval as he kissed her hand properly. Manners are so few and far between, these days.

So this 'Thesh' was a student of a kind. Her intuition beamed at the correct call on her part. She was getting good at this. Maybe.

"Nilia Saavilin. Fortuna will do as well, whichever you prefer." Tiamat was nothing like she'd expected, but her Senator's mask of an expression didn't budge, not revealing an inch of what she truly thought. How do people even get that pale? Eyes that seemed analytical but gentle focused on the younger of the pair once more, lips twitching just a little, "It's a pleasure to meet both of you. Take a seat, if you'd like." Of course, she had pretentious, high-backed chairs available across her equally-as-ridiculously-sized desk. What sort of two-bit would-be crime lord would she be if she didn't?

"Now, tell me what I can do for you."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

He glanced over her many features, the way she held an apathetic wall beneath the smile she offered at his jest. There was a danger in it, something withheld he knew she learned to carry from years dealing with lesser elements and equally dangerous elements. It intrigued him, though as his voice carried through the air as molten silver and formless pillows, he grinned wildly;

A predator, if nothing else.

“It’s not about what you can do for me, Nilia, it's what I can do for you.”

He readjusted in his seat as he glanced to Thesh, his childlike wonder distracting him for only a moment before he glanced back to the ex-politician;

“On one of our previous encounters, something you likely didn’t realize occurred, I noticed something in you.”, he said as he passed over the fact he had been spying on her at some point.

“Something that should be nurtured, brought to fruition.”

His hands moved as if to emphasize his point.

“Nilia, have you ever heard of ‘The Force’?”

[member="Thesh"] │ [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Lief]

The woman's unexpected glance and long stare in his direction finally got the better of him, and whether out of cowardice or respect the boy swiftly averted his gaze and looked instead to the floor. There was plenty around them that might garner his attention, and indeed soon he knew he would cave and visually explore the place from his vantage point, but then and there, with the conversation still so fresh and newly blossomed, he wanted only to shrink away into nothingness.

To become an ant, or a single-cell organism. A fly on the wall.

When he was directed to sit he of course did, sliding into a seat beside his Master at the edge of the table and as the two began to truly converse he finally lifted his head enough to make sense of the space they were in. Men and women mosied around the lounge, many with tall and slender glasses held within their tender grasp. An almost ethereal glow had descended upon the room and those within, an elegance the likes of which the boy had rarely seen save in the one now at his side, otherworldly and mystifying.

Whispers were exchanged between those strangers, men and women Thesh would never know the name of, the stories of, and though he could not read their lips he watched their bodies for subtle signs and deduced all that he could about their deceptive natures. Everyone seemed to be trying to con or mislead someone in the room, and he wondered if so much as a single truth was shared between them.

A very soft frown formed upon his lips, before he looked away from it all and focused back in on the conversation at hand. He felt bad for listening in on the pair, yet his Master had instructed him to pay attention and learn all that he could. So he supposed, in that regard, it was okay to eavesdrop.

[member="Darth Maliphant"] [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="Darth Maliphant"] ~ GRRRLS ~ "I can’t blame them, I’ll just maim them on my throne."
——————————————————————

There were a few ways she might have answered Tiamat's odd question, yet each potential seemed worse than the one that came before it.

Why, yes. My uncle is a Sith Lord.

I used to have a bond through it with a Jedi, but he's not exactly a Jedi anymore.

I have absolutely no idea what it really is, but it scares me more than anything. The Sovereign could use it to cripple whole civilizations and told me as much during my tenure.

"I've heard of it, same as anyone." Were the words that finally came from the still-poised woman. That, at the very least, wasn't a real lie. A white one, at the very least. Admittedly, Nilia was a bit of a loss; she had expected this to be some sort of business meeting, perhaps an opportunity for further employment to get some credits and maybe climb a few more ladders in the GenoHaradan. This?

This was unexpected, and she hated the unexpected. So she did what she always did when faced with the unexpected, and that was to keep going and see what happened. His words also left her with a nagging bit of doubt; had he been watching her? Well, he was her superior, technically, so what did it matter. She still made a note to investigate potential security breaches and improve it if at all possible.

This had certainly gotten interesting very fast.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

The Slave beamed as she went through lightning fast processes in thought; little known to her they were surface, conscious beings that the force could partake in. An idle grin swept across his features as he nodded, an almost coy tone coming through his voice;

“Of course, same as anyone.”, he said, as though he were playing along.

“Well, Nilia, have you ever noticed the subtle feelings you get? How lucky you’ve been so far in life?”, he said with a cock of his brow.

“Life doesn’t treat you the same as… These.”, he said motioning to the others that wandered through her ship.

“No, you’re gifted, amongst the chosen few. I want to bring that to the limelight; so the whole galaxy can bear witness to it.”

Maliphant glanced to Thesh, tapping his shoulder lightly with a protruded knuckle, speaking quickly and sternly;

“Thesh, take this coin-”, he said as pulled some electrum plated piece from his coat, “- And show Nilia what I’ve taught you so far.”, he said, setting it on the table.

As Thesh would go about his actions, he’d turn to her;

“I could teach you the same, and so much more. All I ask for…”, he said slowly, to emphasize his point.

“Is loyalty.”

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] │ [member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

As talk turned to the Force and its endless possibilities, Thesh's mind relayed information from one of the many books he'd been tasked with reading - Studies of the Force. He'd been hung up on it for days now, pouring over the pages in awe of what he was reading, constantly cross-referencing words with the pocket sized Basic Dictionary he carried everywhere. Even in his pocket right now.

He was so absorbed in his recollective thoughts that he almost missed his Master's instructions until the coin was passed across to him. Mentally scrambling to extract the memory of words uttered mere seconds ago, he finally realized that he was being asked to perform. To show the Force in action, rather than merely have it spoken about.

This was something he'd first been introduced to back in the Academy, years prior to meeting Mal, he hadn't fully grasped the application of it until his Master pushed him to truly try. The circumstances had been entirely different, though there was still pressure and expectation the boy had not been inherently forced to do it, which in and of itself gave him more incentive to try.

Pushing those memories back down, deep, deep down, he took the coin and turned it over in his hand to get a brief feel for it. Not that touching it or even knowing its weight had any real part to play. He'd seen Acolytes lift entire boulders without so much as breaking a sweat before now, though he'd never tried himself.

The coin, flat on his palm, began to steadily levitate into the air, moving first just a few inches and then several feet. Thesh's control of the object had improved since he and Mal had last had a training session, where before it had been a shaky grasp now it lifted firmly and without wavering. Then it turned, circling within the air between he and the woman, before he brought it down to hover just before her face. Not close enough to cause concern, but enough that she could see there were no tricks involved.

Just the concentration of the redheaded boy.

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] [member="Darth Maliphant"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="Darth Maliphant"] ~ GRRRLS ~ "I stand above my throne, waiting for an invite to never come along."
——————————————————————

His words rang true and seemed to change something in Nilia's gaze, from the business-like analysis of someone looking to just make a quick credit to something a lot more vulnerable, a lot more contemplative. This new look shifted from Tiamat to his young companion, Thesh, and the show he was beginning to put on. There was little surprise in her expression, or awe, just contemplation.

She wasn't from normal people. Normal people fell on a level below her. This enigmatic figure was correct in that regard; criminality had certainly done something to her ego.

Loyalty. A priceless commodity. Her head turned again as the coin began to float, hover, soon directly before her. Her experiences with the Force had all been mental, emotional encounters, the ties between individuals. Never once had she truly seen it manifest physically like this, though she had heard the stories from her time in the Sovereignty.

"You're offering to teach me," She echoed quietly, shifting in her seat slightly as her gaze remained affixed on the floating piece, "Teach me that."

If there was a catch, the only catch was the aforementioned required loyalty. A tilt of her head, a contemplative expression, and she continued, "Might I ask why you've decided to approach me with this offer?" It was one that seemed almost intangible.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

That same predatory grin, the sickening sensation Maliphant carried with his presence alone. What rolled off him was darkness, and it licked at the skin of Nilia even now; a cruel smile forming on his lips at her question. Why would he do such a thing? Because the uninitiated were easy to manipulate? Simply because she shown herself well versed already? Or because he found her attractive?

The answer wasn’t so simply; but getting the truth out of the Sith would be hard.

“I’d hate to see you wallow in the ground, Nilia. Spending your life doing menial criminal work with no hope of seeing a brighter tomorrow…”, he said with an idle fancy, golden eyes glancing over the crowds of intoxicated goers.

“Don’t you see yourself fit for the best? Dominating planets and living as a being worshipped for presence alone?”, turning his piercing gaze back on her.

The face of Maliphant carried harsh lines, accenting his numerous features; yet there was a certain femininity about them. Although he certainly could not be mistaken for the wrong gender, his gaunt, highly placed cheekbones and thin face seemed to point in the direction of a demon; something his words only reinforced as he talked; even now, as the two conversed in hushed whispers.

“Even if you don’t see a transcendent existence, consider for a moment what you don’t know.”

“The secret of all of this, every lesson I have to teach, is the right to choose. To be truly free, Nilia. Is that not the thing we all truly seek?”

That sentence held more true than he realized.


[member="Thesh"] │ [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Lief]

Bringing the coin back toward their side of the table, he settled it down on the table before Maliphant.

The two adults talked more of what could possibly lay in store for the woman if she accepted his proposal, and though he was listening his eyes began to wander once more just as his Master gestured his gaze over the intoxicated strangers in the room to emphasize his point.

Rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt somewhat absentmindedly the boy began to imagine up stories for each of them, those men and women he'd never actually interact with. Fantastical adventures they might have been on, the sly little lies they were telling one another, their plans for the future.

One hand clasped over the wrist of the other arm, rubbing at the still fresh scarring where the brand had once been. Though the skin had been immediately knitted back into place, courtesy of the Force, there remained slight disfiguration and at times such as these it itched something fierce.

Tsis' lessons were never far from his mind these days, and coupled with those provided by his Master he found himself better able to multitask - to listen in and sense what was happening at their own table, while also watching the fancy animal show happening around them.

[member="Darth Maliphant"] [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="Darth Maliphant"] ~ GRRRLS ~ "Trace back to all the millionaires, snake oil traders, no one shares, soulless and stealing what they dare."
——————————————————————

Tiamat certainly knew how to persuade. That was part of why he kept her on edge, and part of why she smiled and bobbed her head slightly. The enticement she felt stirring within would not be visible on her expression but it was there, palpable. Everyone has dark longings, don't they?

Everyone wants to be loved, willingly or otherwise. And everyone craved the power to keep it that way.

"You're not wrong," Nilia began quietly, fingers idly tapping on the surface of her desk, "And I would be a fool to turn you down, of course." There'd always been something inside. Even during her days of Senator, during the days of her bond with [member=Arekk], that hadn't just been luck or fate. It'd been because she really wasn't like anyone else aboard this vessel -- Except for these two. Two near-kindred souls who could perhaps understand.

"Where do we begin?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

“Well, if you’re curious…”, he said with a slight glance around the room. It’d be interesting to give her a task to test her, though it was unrealistic in their current situation. He tapped his chin for a second before looking back to her;

“I’d like for you to come live with me and Thesh on Bastion, at least for a time until we know for a fact you have control over your powers.”

He leaned forward as he watched her reaction;

“I’d also like to see your limits.”

With that, he glanced to the young boy next to him, his attention obviously off. He jutted a finger into his ribs, not painful, but to remind him he was supposed to be paying attention;

“How does that sound, Thesh?”

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] │ [member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

The sudden and sharp jab to his ribs had Thesh round his attention back to their table, no longer splitting it between the entirety of the room.

Though he had been listening in all the same, it did take him a few moments to fully register what had been said between the two. For a second there it might seem as though he hadn't listened to a word which had been said, which no doubt would have been very bad news for the child, but as he mentally caught up his lips pulled into only the slightest of frowns.

"Where would she sleep?" he asked, voice whispered so that only really his Master could hear him. Thesh and Odona were already sharing a room, adding another into that mix might make things all the more complicated. And it wasn't as though there was another space the woman could use as her own. Though, perhaps she could have her own apartment. She wasn't a child like he was, after all, so she didn't need to be watched over at every hour of the day.

Swallowing back those uncertainties, he looked across to Nilia and this time when he spoke it was to the both of them.

"I think that it sounds good, Master," he responded instead, giving Nilia a small, somewhat sheepish smile. "I would like it if Miss Nilia came back with us." He couldn't deny that it would be nice to have someone else around the place, not that Maliphant and Odona were particularly difficult to tolerate on their own. Far from it, between the both of them he found pretty much everything he could ever really need.

But the potential for an actual companion, someone more on his level?

That even he didn't want to pass up a chance at.

[member="Darth Maliphant"] [member="Nilia Saavilin"]

 

[Nilia Saavilin]

Space, The-Not-So-Final-Frontier, The Jate'kara, Undetermined Time
Interacting with [member="Thesh"], [member="Darth Maliphant"] ~ GRRRLS ~ "Hold your deck to your chest; faceless, nobody is your friend; make it, take it, they won’t share."
——————————————————————

To leave the Jate'kara?

For something such as this?

It was disconcerting how fast she felt an affirmative response jump into her throat, without giving it a second thought. Her life and livelihood were aboard this vessel, all those she knew from the Sovereignty and who had risked life and limb to follow her from the collapsing government. People who trusted her to keep them safe and secure and free.

Of course, the ship would remain hers. She wouldn't give up the liner for anything, and her assistant could always manage in her stead...

Thesh speaking is what drew her attention then, gaze shifting from the affluent & well-spoken Tiamat to the other apprentice at his side, the child, the one that momentarily captivated her attention.

Ah, kriff. How could she say no, now?

"I'll need some time to get affairs in order, but," A practised and pleasant smile crossed Nilia's face then, looking back to Tiamat, "I believe I could join you and Theth on Bastion."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

________________________________

As Thesh leaned over, Maliphant rested a hand on the boys neck, offering him a warming smile. If nothing else, Maliphant was charismatic, a trait leftover from his previous life, and as the boy looked up to him he’d be a stalwart statue of confidence if he could help it. It was simply what the boy required, and he knew that. His voice came soft as he whispered back, knowing his immediate concerns;

“I believe we’ll soon be moving, Thesh.”, he said with a small squeeze.

As Thesh moved to reinforce what he said, he nodded gratefully. The boy was learning quick, and he couldn’t help but be proud that he at the very least bought into what he was saying, quickly serving as a foundation with nothing but his childlike presence. If he learned to take advantage of that sooner than later, he could be an excellent diplomat.

Maliphant offered a small laugh as Nilia sat quiet, mulling it over;

“I believe I could join you and Thesh on Bastion.”

“Of course you can, we both know you can.”, he said with an idle smile.

“In time, Nilia, I think you’ll come to realize this is the best decision you’ve ever made.”

He paused for a moment as he eyes opened slightly more, exposing the gold irises;

“I guarantee it.”

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] │ [member="Thesh"]

 

[Lief]

Moving?

That had the boy slightly taken aback.

He did suppose that the apartment had been a little tight even with just the three of them, and adding a fourth into the mix meant that an upgrade was most definitely a necessity more so than a desire. Even so he knew that such was a lot of work, he'd moved around a lot in the past though that had been nothing, for a slave did not own possessions. But a move for one with plenty of things? He'd been privy to that process, also, it was back-breaking and tireless work.

Though... He supposed there were droids made specifically for such labour. Using slaves had been more of a statement piece than anything else, now he came to think on it.

The feeling of his Master's hand on his neck, squeezing slightly, had the boy right his posture and refrain from letting his eyes wander once more. But it was more than that, at least in his eyes, it was a reassurance that everything would work out. He need only trust in the way of things, in his Master's plan. Not that he ever doubted him, of course, not only was there no room for such, but Maliphant had risen him up from the dirt and given him a fresh chance at life.

Whether that had been at the behest of the Empire or not did not matter. He could just have easily kept the boy completely under thumb, refusing to teach him, or house him, working him as a slave as so many others had. But he had given him opportunities, instead. Allowed him to feel human once again, rather than some small pitiful creature.

The thought of it all weighed upon him, and for a moment he quite forgot to breathe. His throat had constricted, face turning a very subtle shade of pink which was only really noticeable due to his naturally pale complexion, though after several seconds he managed to regain control over that.

It did not do to dwell upon the past, he decided. There was a future to think of, now. Something more than a tireless abyss to look forward to.

[member="Nilia Saavilin"] [member="Darth Maliphant"]