The Mouse and the Model

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael watched as the armorer dressed his apprentice in fine leather and slight metal plates. His his dropped slightly, as if he were tired. Every now and again the black specs would float across his iris and pupils obscuring his vision for a few moments and rendering him completely blind. As Evelynn gradually received more and more layers Soliael simply tuned out, focusing on the black specs instead of on Evelynns armor.

The specs were now completely taking over his sight, most of the time he could not access the force at all without being rendered completely sightless, and even at times that he did not use it at all he was rendered half blind. He focused on the black specs as they passed across his vision again, his sight fading and turning to blackness.
He frowned, knowing that soon they would completely cover his eyes.

Finally Evelynn finished dressing and the armorer clapped his hands with a loud boom.

“Perfect!”

The man yelled and Soliael simply smiled. He looked at the armor, and then Evelynn the squirrel standing within it. He smirked, knowing that she was likely very uncomfortable. Still, she looked good. The armor suited her well enough, and she would need it over the coming days. “Good. Now lets go back to your pup.”

About an hour had passed since Evelynn and Soliael had left Quietus, and as they passed through the gates of Halcyon citadel back into the courtyard Soliael wondered how he would broach the topic of his fading sight with his mother...she would likely be none too pleased.

@[member="Quietus"]

 

[Quietus]

The connection made with hounds was easy enough - child's practice for someone in the business of Beast Mastery. Hounds were inherently quick to follow those capable of leading the way. As social creatures they willingly sought out packmates and all manner of connection that came with having a pack. Quietus had merely offered the Kath Hound a new one - one that his charge would now also belong to. Family was a strong pack, and this family was one of the strongest.

Fingers deftly lacing through the mane of the beast, Quietus had entered its mind and its memories without any fuss at all. And when, sometime later, her son returned with the girl the Beastia looked on at her with fresh recognition.

It's a small, small galaxy after all.

Quietus sent Chomp away and out of sight, to explore and to learn as well. The hound would need to familiarize himself with his beastly new companions, and he would need to learn quickly how to live amongst them. Their pack was far more savage, terribly unforgiving and he would find himself learning to survive a new way of life - one that didn't involve a cozy home on Dantooine or the love and care of a young girl. For now, the pair that had been inseparable for years would learn to live without.

The Master regarded the girl dispassionately, vivid eyes never hinting to any amount of nostalgia seeing her tiny frame clad in leather and plated armor might've brought. Evelynn had a lot of hard work ahead of her. Had she been born here, or at the very least raised her, she would have already learned the lifestyle of a Beast Tamer. She would know the mannerisms of the skreev, the best way to catch a boma, how to elude a zakkeg, where the nesting grounds of behemoth drexl lay, the difference between the numerous cries of the maalraas-

These weren't things Evelynn could be taught in a week. Not even a month. Years, it would have taken, for her to get to the point that she was - to get to the spot where she currently stood. Absolutely no one of her inexperience was given the opportunity she would soon receive. The Beast Tribes' children her age would have killed for the opportunity to see the Beastia in person, to visit her holdfast, to see the nests of her noble skreevs. They would have died in the Reaping during the summertime to prove their worth for the mere consideration of Beast Rider training. Quietus hated it, but as she had found out from Chomp there was more at work here than simple happenstance.

There was a time, hundreds of years ago, when Quietus herself had been chosen by the Messiah known as Daritha, but it had been for entirely different reasons.

Soliael was no Messiah of Onderon, far from it, but he was her son and with that title came certain considerations.

Come here child, the unspoken voice of the Beastia entered Evelynn's mind with a resulting sensation of painful prickling along her scalp. She would have to fortify herself, build her mettle against the feeling.

Standing beside a nest, Quietus nodded to a nearby Beast Tamer who moved forward to begin removing the layer of rocks that covered the eggs within. As he did Evelynn would spy the curious forms - varying shades of orange from bright and molten to dark and earthy. They were scaled and the size of a football.

The nest itself belonged to the mate of her personal mount, Miir. But the mother had died recently in a rather unfortunate turn of events, leaving the eggs untended - males did not partake in this job, they merely protected and hunted for the females. Miir remained, still sunning on his boulder, waiting for a missing mate that would not return.

Choose an egg, the command was simple, though there seemed to be an amount of challenge in the woman's gaze as she watched Evelynn, it will be yours to tend, to hatch, and later to raise. I suggest you choose carefully, her eyes narrowed, as it could mean the difference between a loyal lifelong companion or a heedless monster that will challenge you at every turn.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael simply began to watch as his mother began to instruct his apprentice. He ahd nothing to add to the situation here. Soliael of course had been present for many of the migrations, he had helped his mother and tried to learn as much as he could. Back then he had still denied himself the force, preferring to instead live as a regular...well cocktail of genetic humanoids.

Even now however he felt he had no talent in the area of beast training. He could feel the minds of the creatures, he could get inside them and take their memories, perhaps even implant suggestions, but he couldn't control them, couldn't bind them to him. It was simply an oversight in his abilities in the force. Merovign his teacher had once told him that certain force abilities skip generations, perhaps Beast Mastery had skipped him over.

As he watched his Mother and Apprentice he found himself frowning slightly, jealous that he could not be more akin to his Mother.

Part of him longed to be closer to him even now, a childs fantasy coming from an ancient. He scoffed at himself slightly, and his eyes drifted towards Evelynn. At least she would learn something here, if she survived.

 

[Evelynn]

Do you know who the worst people in the universe are? If you said Mecha Hitler, then you would be wrong. The correct answer to the worst people in the universe is Mason and Spencer. They are the embodiment of Satan, they are two of his faces. The third face is a secret of course. Once you see all three faces of the devil your soul no longer belongs to this realm, I'm sorry, I should have said something sooner.

I'm so sorry.

The first thing she noticed was the distinct lack of Chomp. Please don't cry. Find some logic. Why isn't your Kath Hound here? This is a trial. He's off the cliff. They're testing you. Can Kath Hounds fly? But Soliael said...

If she could hold onto her marbles, that would be great.

She would have been content to stay paralysed but unfortunately she had been brained by a mental cactus. The girl flinched. I just have this perfect image of Quietus holding a cactus and smacking Evelynn in the face with it like a baseball bat and it's just cracking me up. Although the speed in which the young girl moved upon being summoned was impressive, it was the fastest that anybody had seen her move on Onderon so far.

Evelynn stared blankly at the eggs.

No pressure.

She crouched down at the nest, casting a cautious gaze over the eggs. There was a temptation to look to her Master, to try and find guidance within his eyes but this was a task for her and her alone. With hesitant hand, the young woman reached out to feel the eggs. The Force would guide her, that or whatever was to hatch from the mystery egg was going to throw her off the cliff instead.

Each egg held a different sensation to the last. So fascinating that life could be felt before it was even hatched. A few of the eggs were bitter and unfeeling, not at all on her wavelength and one of the brighter ones even caused her to recoil. This process continued until the girl came to one, mahogany in colour. As soon as her fingers touched upon the egg she felt a tingle. It was this one. It was always this one.

With a bit more courage in her touch Evelynn placed both hands on her chosen egg.

“This one...”

 

[Quietus]

A nod of acknowledgement was all Evelynn received from the Master. No hint or clue as to whether or not she had chosen right - only time would tell.

It will be another week before it hatches. You must keep it warm - sunlight by day, hot stones by night. A full turn once a day. For now leave it in the clutch. We must rid you of your fear before the week's end or you will garner no respect from the drake.

Without any prompting or preamble, Miir the skreev lifted his head and turned with a gaping yawn, drawing from the boulder in a hulking slither. The great flame-colored beast stretched its wings and gave them a hefty flap, sending strong gusts at the leafy girl. Coiling past Quietus, the dragon approached Evelynn with a keen gaze. The girl had absolutely no hope of Mastering his mind or any other Skreev for that matter, no matter what bloodline she came from, at least not yet. But there was more to Beast Mastery than simply subjecting them to mental control.

They know your fear, Quietus' telepathic voice intoned, they can sense it, smell it, taste it on the air. It is how they hunt. You must learn to overcome it or you can never hope to control anything more than your little hound. The day you can sit astride this beast is the day you have defeated your fear.

Miir would not make it easy, oh no. As the personal mount to the Beastia, a woman who had never known fear in her life, he had no regard for the trembling human before him. In fact the skreev barely paid her mind and instead turned its attention to Soliael in foggy recognition.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

As Miir swung his massive head over towards Soliael the Sith lord blinked a few times. The black specs across his eyes moved away for just a split second, clearing the Sith Lords vision entirely. One of Miir's massive eyes seemed to fall directly on Soliaels own, and the two powerful creatures shared a moment of absolute communication.

Miir was a Skreev, the dominant creature on both Onderon and Duxen, save of course for the Drexl. Miir was powerful, he was at the near top of the food chain, yet something still sat above him. Soliael found that fact quite amusing as their situation was more than a little similar. Both of them were strong, both of them held a strong connection to Quietus, and yet both of them were outclassed in certain areas. Miir by the Drexl of this world, and Soliael by some of the Sith and even Jedi within the galaxy.

It was a funny thing, that comparison, and as it rolled through Soliaels mind he wondered if the beast felt the same, if it even realized.

The Skreev and the Sith stared at one another, Soliael eyes remaining clear as the drake looked at him. This lasted for what seemed an eternity, and suddenly the massive dragon turned away from Soliael, seemingly satisfied with the exchange.

As soon as Miir looked away from Soliael the black specs returned, moving Soliael back into the darkness.

 

[Evelynn]

I LOOK ONCE MORE, JUST AROUND THE RIVERBEND, BEYOND THE SHOR-

Now that's how you open a post, although I don't particularly want you to marry Kocoum, you don't need handsome sturdy walls, you are your own women. Also, don't talk to old trees, they're a dangerous sort, you know? Ever sat around the firedamp and listened to the horror tales of the loggers? Oh yeah, sailors and their sirens get all the glory but that's just because those rock lounging creatures are aesthetically pleasing. Grandmother Willow is going to ruin your day, that's for sure.

Now that's how you derail a post.

The thorny telepathy of the most intimidating woman in the galaxy struck again. Funnily enough, caring for an egg sounded like something Evelynn Dorn would excel at. It had the word care in it after all. Empathy and compassion was more her cup of tea than dispelling her fear and being thrown off of cliffs.

Thankfully, Evelynn was not physically bowled over by the wing show extravaganza, because the young woman needed no more ways to embarrass herself further. Can't be toppling over when you're supposed to be posturing with the beasties, can you?

It actually baffled the young woman how she would rid herself of her concerns and anxieties. Life had been so sheltered, so safe, absolutely a zero percent chance of chaos and now, now it was an orbital bombardment of new terrifying and sometimes even terrible things. Unfortunately there was no room for doubt here, the girl would try, give it the top effort but it was daunting.

The squirrel of a girl took a small breath and made eye contact with Queen Prickly, “But how can I conquer my fear?” she squeaked. There's a moose loose aboot the hoose.

 

[Quietus]

Miir meandered off after him moment with Soliael, doing what dragons do on a casual, lazy day.

Quietus scowled at the girl's reply, Belief in your own unworthiness is what drives a fear-based life. Do you find yourself unworthy of everything, child?

 

[Evelynn]

Jings! Crivens! Help ma boab!

Evelynn stumbled backwards after being blasted by the verbal shotgun. Eyebrows proceeded to knit up a storm as she was taken completely taken aback by the woman's searing question. Would Miss Dorn please report to the burn ward for a liberal application of emotional salve.

“N-no! Of course not!”

If you listened carefully enough there was very nearly a touch of belligerence in her voice, perhaps maybe an eight of an ounce. I mean, she was a fantastic learner, with a want for knowledge but how could that aid her in the dominion of skreevs? Was she to carry around a large tome to smack the beasts with? I can see that working out well. Evelynn Dorn: Book Smacker. Sure, you can cram all the information of a creature's anatomy and it's behaviour into your brain but you need more than that to tame the damned things!

The word 'damned' had just been uttered in an Evelynn Dorn post. Look outside the window to check that the sky is still blue and that the grass is still green.

"I just..."

There was a slight huff that escaped the girl's nose but no flurry of comebacks were to escape her lips. Just a nice pot of simmering frustration. Perhaps the cliff was the better option. Although words escaped her, at least she stood her ground against the infuriating woman.

 

[Quietus]

If Quietus took a moment to think back on her rather long life and all the terrible Apprentices that had come with it, she might remind herself that Evelynn was practically the smartest one. Not that Evelynn was truly hers, of course, but the girl at least had intelligence, and that was half the battle. A confounding foil to all those that came before her.

Bravado but no brains.

One day Quietus hoped to find one balanced somewhere in the middle, but she'd not been that lucky yet and it wouldn't make sense for her to get lucky now, after so long.

Somewhere, deep down inside of Evelynn, there was a shred of her mother. Qui just had to find it and feed it miracle grow.

Then what, came the infuriating woman's response, sharp and smartly stinging, are you afraid of?

 

[Evelynn]

There was an obvious answer to this question:

Being eaten.

This was truly a galaxy of horrors, where death and destruction reigned supreme. The advancement of technology was not parallel with the advancement of society. Slavery ran rampant, disease seemed to overcome entire planets at times and war never seemed to end. This was not a pleasant time to be alive.

“I don't want to fail!”

The words came bursting out of her like a torrent of water bursting the dam of insufferable politeness. Strange priorities. The fear of failure ranked above death and getting eaten by giant carnivorous creatures for Evelynn Dorn.

The usually timid girl's jaw tightened. The mouse has left the house, I repeat, the mouse has left the house. “You can't just show me this wonderful new world and expect me to pick it up instantly, that isn't fair!” In her moment of passion Evelynn suddenly pointed at the Master of Beasts and made a peculiar exasperated squeak. “I'm not like you! This isn't in my blood! I come from an ordinary family, I was not born into greatness!”

Upon that last remark somewhere out in the vast galaxy Karin Dorn scowled for no apparent reason.

 

[Quietus]

A strange, severe sort of smirk worked its way across the face of the Beastia at the girl's outburst. She was amused. The woman rounded on her and took one step towards her, shoulders squared, a light clinking of bone ornaments on her person.

Oh the wonders of this great galaxy that a child could still yet be born and know nothing. Aboslutely nothing. About anything, it seemed. It was time to bring an end to this ignorance.

The Force Master was upon Evelynn Dorn so quickly the girl wouldn't even have time to give another simpering squeak. The girl's hand ensnared in an unforgiving grip, Quietus hoisted her up by the arm until she leveled her with a stare that would make her wish she'd been caught by a beast instead.

Wrong, came the flat telepathic reply, you are the daughter of Karin Dorn, a powerful Sith Master. You are more like me than you will ever know. Life's not fair child, never fair, but make no mistake in telling me what I can or cannot do.

Grip tightening on Evelynn's wrist, the girl would suddenly feel herself wrapped in the sensation of the Force. With an effortless heave, Quietus lifted her petite frame into the air and in the greatest moment of unceremonious apathy jettisoned the girl over the cliff.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael sat and watched Quietus interact with his Apprentice for quite a while. He perked his eyebrow slightly as she yelled at his mother and winced slightly waiting for the response to that. He was a bit shocked when his mother revealed Evelynn's Sith Ancestry, it was a fact that Soliael had not known and his interest was now quite piqued. He had no idea who Karin Dorn was, but he would have to remember to find out. When Evelynn was tossed over the cliff the Sith simply stood form his place on the steps.

“I remember the first time you threw me off a cliff.” Soliael said with a slight smirk, completely unconcerned with his apprentices life. She would save herself one way or another...or maybe she wouldn't who knew.

Either way this would give him time to talk to his mother. With methodically placed steps Soliael moved around Miir and walked up to his mother, his eyes shifted slightly with the black specs as he reached her, a slight frown on his face. “What was I? 12?”

 

[Quietus]

Young enough to bounce.

Quietus eyed her son for a moment, the strange black specks crossing his cornea not missing her own keen gaze. The woman leaned in to peer at him closely, you've been meddling in Sorcery. The sensation the dark arts left in its wake long after use was something she was intimately familiar with. There was no way to tell how fresh, though it had to have been recent. The time between now and their last visit was not so long - but what was long to a creature that had lived for nearly 500 years?

You'll be blind before long if you keep that up, the woman then reached up to rub at his shaved scalp. Wasn't so long ago she'd ruffled his hair and now it was gone. All the better, it made him look less like his father and seem more like herself. She had a penchant for shearing off her own locks, after all.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Yes. Good thing I knew how to avoid the ground.” Soliael said as his mother inspected his eyes. Of course corruption when using sorcery was a natural thing, but his eyes were anything but the normal corruption. Quietus assumed that it was simply how Sorcery was taking its toll on him, she was wrong for once and that pleased him slightly, after all it was rather new that she was wrong about anything in his life.

“Usually Mothers say that regarding something other than Sorcery.” Soliael sniggered slightly at his own little joke and then took on a more serious face. “Though this isn't the normal bit of corruption i'm afraid. A fathers gift to a son. I imagine it would have come along no matter what I did.”

Soliael of course knew that this little...gift was Moridins doing, or rather the souls that he had trapped within himself. He had learned this little bit of information from Spencer and Anaya, the curse of his fathers hubris. He frowned slightly, wondering how his mother would take that bit of news.

 

[Quietus]

The woman's brow rose in curiosity at this revelation, and for a moment she considered this. Then, as though his affliction were simply some common cold or virus, she shrugged.

Moridin was bound to influence the boy at some point, in some way. This was a tad more artful than she imagined him capable, but then again it was likely he'd had nothing to do with it directly. The man's influence had been far and wide, his teachings and pupils many, his corruption present in some of the oddest places. Who was she to question it here, now, in her son who had never met him?

Legacies have a tendency to catch up to us when we least suspect them.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael let out slight scoff at his mothers words. Moridin's legacy was one that he could due without quite honestly. His fathers tale had been rather disappointing to hear and the things he had left behind were very...flawed. His children, his apprentices, his artifacts, they were all broken in some way. All of them had their little quirks that made them less than desirable, though in Soliaels mind that gave them a little bit more charm than the man who had created them.

“I have siblings you know.” Soliael said quite suddenly to his mother as if the thought of them needed to be blurted out. He did not know if Quietus knew about Anwen and Sven, but the revelation had come as quite a shock to him.

The black specs floated across his eyes for a few seconds, obscuring his mothers face. “A Sister and a Brother. Both of them created in a lab, mothered by some...woman.”

Soliael didn't really know how else to describe Anara. The woman had been strong that was for sure, but she had not been Sith...or Jedi, or anything for that mother. Though the conversation they had had about Moridin had been interesting and had set Soliael upon the path of discovering Moridins many flaws.

 

[Quietus]

Her expression held no great surprise to this news, and she shared as much with him telepathically. What she wasn't surprised of she didn't elaborate on; that the boy had siblings, or that they were lab rats. She didn't concern herself with either, there was little sense to really.

Moridin was a bit of a ho, but then again she supposed so was she. At least they were selective.

All the better that he is dead, then, she remarked, less lives for him to purposefully feth up. I suppose you mean to find them, if you haven't already.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“I've met them both. On Byss no less.” Soliael said in a flat response. He was clearly unimpressed with his siblings. Both had their charms, but when compared to himself they were quite lackluster. This was perhaps because Soliael's ego was quite large, but who could say really. He frowned slightly, as if thinking for a moment.

“One is bound to the light. Unable to even touch the darkside, she is very...limited.” He referred to Anwen of course, the girl whose brain chemistry did not allow her to touch the darkside of the force, her emotions limited to the spectrum of “good” thoughts. It was disgusting to Soliael, the thought of not being able to use the gifts that were so naturally granted to him. “And the other shot me three times on first meeting.”

That had been rather amusing, and unexpected.

 

[Evelynn]

Instant regret.

Evelynn's eyes widened to beyond even a dinner plate's comprehension, if she were really a squirrel she'd be halfway up the tallest tree right at this moment, but sadly this was not the case. Snared by the now scariest sentient being in the universe the young woman trembled. She had overstepped her bounds, gone to a rather bold place of no return and surely she would pay.

Then the atomic bomb was dropped.

Evelynn barely had a chance to react to the revelation that her own mother was a Sith Master, oh no, let's not give her a breather to contemplate that. No, you know what we should do? Throw her off the cliff! Yeah, sounds reasonable! A sweet scream arced through the air as the girl was simply flung with ease.

Was this how it ended? With the big reveal and an unceremonious splat?

The girl forced her eyes shut as she plummeted, not wishing to watch the ground fly closer and closer. Any moment now. Or not. Something caught her. Evelynn's eyes snapped open to find herself on the back of one of those massive orange beasts, she didn't even notice that it had a saddle at first, oh no, instinct screamed at her to cling on for dear life. Clever fellow that instinct.

The skreev dipped before it began to climb, thankfully the young Dorn did not lose her breakfast in this process. Adrenaline had kicked in, wind rushing through her hair and the sound of her own heartbeat blasting in her ears. It almost made her forget about the discovery made just moments before.

Almost. At least the view was marvellous though.

A pity there wasn't a running soundtrack in the background of this moment it was bordering close on a Studio Ghibli production. As soon as Evelynn had scraped up an ounce of courage and was beginning to loosen her death grip ever-so-slightly the ride was over. Back to the courtyard and away from the magical terror mystery montage.

She slid off the creatures with legs of jelly, almost tumbling to the floor upon contact with the ground again. The last five minutes of her life had been beyond surreal. We should write a book about it.

My Mother: The Sith Master and the sequel, How I Learned to Stop Falling Off Cliffs and How to Fly.

Not the most catchy of titles, but there could be a straight to Lifetime movie deal in there somewhere. Lost in a world of feels, Evelynn Dorn just stood there, mind going into pure overdrive. All hail the catatonic state!