Private The Siren and the Hound

[Gerwald Lechner]

D E T E R M I N E D​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Damsy Callat

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There was something about training which made Gerwald feel like everything in life was going to be fine. Out of all the things in his life he did not have answers to, and no matter how uncertain things became, there had always been one constant in his life. He was a warrior, and remaining in peak physical condition was not something that happened by accident. Gerwald’s workout routine had become the one thing he had clung to in the devastation of the past year and more. Ever since leaving Stewjon his life had been one tragedy after another. The wolf would be lying if he said he had not wondered if leaving had been a mistake.

Hands pressed into the mat as Gerwald did one push-up after another. He was beginning to wind down his routine. Sweat was running down his forehead and pooled on the mat just below him. His hair was tied into a loose bun, and the tanktop Gerwald had been wearing was tossed somewhere near his bag. The recently appointed master of the Knights Obsidian was not expecting anyone, and if he was supposed to be he had forgotten.

Gerwald’s life was anything but routine otherwise. The fact he was not a wolf at the moment was reprieve from his assignment to watch the younger sister of Exarch Talon. He would never have refused her, but after Srina Talon saved his life, Gerwald owed the Echani Sith whatever she asked. If guarding her sister was in part a return on the life debt he owed the woman, then he would see it done. At least he was allowed moments to himself, and to fulfill his duties as a Master.

Each push-up saw Gerwald contemplating something new. Naedira was on his mind a lot. The friend he had not been able to protect, the first person who loved him without demanding anything from him. Whether her love was romantic or not, Gerwald did not know, and he feared he never would. His was, though he knew it was also much deeper. There was a bond that went beyond something as fleeting as emotion.

Gerwald saw the horror that was Atrisia, and the aftermath that followed. The Confederacy would rebuild the world, but there were still questions that needed answers. Whoever betrayed them would be brought before Metus himself, and Gerwald would be the one to see it done. This was not the same obsession that saw Gerwald hastily chase after Prazutis. Gerwald knew the Confederacy itself was at stake.

He was resolved, determined.

It was time for him to do more for the Confederates. Gerwald teach and he could train. For far too long he had gone without a squire, or even multiple. The lupine knew he fell back into the same trap his own selfishness fueled. It was time for Gerwald to look past his own sorrows and hurts and set his eyes on the future.

Standing, Gerwald called a towel to his hand using the force. As he wiped the sweat from his face an unfamiliar and raw presence washed over him. There was someone else in the room with him.

“Introduce yourself, if you’re done gawking,” he said a little short. Gerwald was too used to women looking at him as if he were a savory confection. “You must have a reason for being here?”

 

[Damsy Callat]

L O S T​

Form: Humanoid | Wearing: This + leg braces |
Equipment: Electrotrident + dartgun | Tag: Gerwald Lechner

Damsy stopped in her tracks, mid-stride down the temple hall.

There was no real way to explain to a non-shifter the smell of one.

Another. It came back almost instantly, both smell and memory - earthen with strangely sweet musk - but each with hints of far-off femininity. Alwine was the name Damsy couldn't quite recall. Whatever this trace, though, it played notes of salt. Even on Kamino, the sea wolf's scent had not been marred by the mineral. So the source of Damsy's primal distraction couldn't possibly be lupine like her, could it? But neither could it be squaloid, like Damsy, for she was a unique kind...

...so said Naroh Se, and her father. In a moment, the sithspawn overturned the only understanding of herself she had all her life. Those two people had lied to her either directly or indirectly before, so continuing to believe them now was more than a little foolish.

The changeling amended her path to smoothly follow the wafting path. A blast door slid open for her, and, through it, she saw the smell's origin. Into the training room she stepped, distracted by not the man's body but his origin as she stood, crinkle-nosed, trying to place the pheromone mix.

Then he spoke, all but ordering her to announce her name and purpose. Damsy raised her palms in a lazy hands-up gesture even though Gerwald couldn't yet see her - she was still behind him.

"Calm down, if you're done presuming," she muttered before remembering where she was. Who this man likely was. She didn't know many of the Knights Obsidian, so he could not be one after all, but treating him as one wouldn't hurt. "Damsy Callat, sir," She began again, falling into parade rest after walking into on of the mat's sidelines approximately across from him. She left it at that - no captain, no Vi'dreya. In all likelihood, this man, Force user or not, knew of her in one way or another by reputation, either as one of Metus' many spawns who happened to be an actual spawn or as the unwitting source of the Blackwing vaccine. She had been willing, of course, in hindsight, though, for she was in and out of consciousness for and after the blood draw.

"I didn't know this room was occupied. I was..." She had been looking for a place to meditate because she assumed that would be the place to start easing the rupture developing in her head, but she didn't how to go about it. She sighed, nonverbally resisting the urge to run her hand back through her hair.

"I'm not too sure what it is I'm looking for."

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

D E T E R M I N E D​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Damsy Callat

This one had a bit of a bite to her. Gerwald smirked as his head turned over his shoulder and followed as the girl moved to stand across from him. He regarded her stance. Parade rest. She was military. Had her stance not give her away, the way she addressed Gerwald as sir certainly did.​

He waved his hand at her as he tossed the towel over to his bag.​

“None of that formal military stuff here. Miss Callat,” Gerwald replied noting the name and the connection to Atrisia. So this was the pup of Darth Metus which provided the cure…​

Interesting.​

Gerwald supposed she had her to thank for the fact any form of cure was available and that it had minimized the number of casualties the Confederacy and the Knights could have faced. Part of Gerwald felt as though she had simply done her duty, and the outcome had been its own reward. Yet, a deeper part of him knew she was there for a reason. Gerwald knew it was not simply because she got curious. Something had brought her to the room, and as Gerwald moved closer, he dared to assume why.​

There was something about her that few in the Confederacy could boast. Her scent was the giveaway. She smelled of Kamino, but not of the cloning facility, of its vast ocean. No human would smell as she did. Damsy Callat carried a secret with her, one similar to the one Gerwald bore, though he did not hide who he was. ​

“Something drew you in, surprise… curiosity maybe? There are not many like us among Confederate ranks. However, there is something else, isn’t there.”​

Gerwald stepped closer, almost smothering the woman. His musk would be overwhelming to her by now, and the steel gaze of his blue eyes fixed on hers. He studied her, searching for something through the force, any indication as to why she was there. Her aura was strong, powerful yet raw. She was certainly the child of Darth Metus, but something else. Had she gone untrained, undeveloped? That certainly would not do, not with the deaths the Knights Obsidian had suffered. They needed to fill their ranks, needed more recruits. Gerwald cared not if they stole them from the CDF, any and all were needed.​

“So tell me, Damsy, what brings a soldier to the Knights Obsidian Headquarters in the first place?”​

There was still no introduction, not on Gerwald’s part. Gerwald would reciprocate in time, after his questions were satisfied with answers.​

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[Damsy Callat]

L O S T​

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Form: Humanoid | Wearing: This + leg braces |​

Equipment: Electrotrident + dartgun ​

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Even before he had finished his say, she had fallen out of stance. When he moved towards her, however, she didn't surrender any ground and stood almost as rigidly as if she was in formation. She was indeed easily overwhelmed by smell, making her momentarily duck her head to deal with overstimulation, but quickly shut her nostrils off from her olfactory system and gazed stalwartly back up at the lupine.​

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"Atrisia. Changed. Me." She had heard parts of her DNA was used in the developed inoculation. Something about it, something in it, sithspawn or Shi'ido, afforded her immunity, and now, whatever it was, extended that blessing to millions upon millions of others. Maybe, though, as those few, free-floating proteins entered others' cells to multiply and safeguard them, they had left her stands. "And I want to know how."​

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How, not why. Somewhere deep within her cartilage, she knew her own suspicion to be true - either entirely or mostly - though she couldn't explain how. She was very technically not be the same changeling that had led the Omegas into heavily infected hell. In fact, Damsy Callat had died along that river canal, but not to her own gunshot nor Blackwing, but being rewritten deoxyribonucleically as she yet lived and breathed. Another Damsy Callat, still sithspawn and still Shi'ido hybrid, was who stood before Gerwald Lechner .​

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"You smell familiar. I want your help." Yours. Spoken pointedly, meaning his, not spoken generally to mean the Knights', any Knight's.​

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[Gerwald Lechner]

D E T E R M I N E D​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Damsy Callat

Atrisia changed her.​

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How many times had Gerwald heard someone say something about battle changing them. Eshan, Taanab, they had changed him. Both had devastated the woman he loved, and twice he had not been there to keep her safe. His notions of being there for the woman were old fashioned to some, but Stewjon had been an old fashioned world. Perhaps he needed to change his thinking, but that would only come with time. For now, the Master Obsidian focused on what he could. For the moment, that was the woman in front of him.​

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The more he listened, the more Gerwald realized she truly meant changed in a different way. Atrisia had not left her different in feeling, but rather something had changed her. THe lupine stroked his beard for a moment as he pondered the question before him. Certainly he needed to know how she thought she was changed if her were going to help, but there was now another matter.​

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He smelled familiar.​

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“There is only one way I would smell familiar to you, considering we have not met.” Gerwald drew closer still, allowing the woman to feel the full weight and intimidation his height and stature could bring. “You knew Alwine,” he said at last before turning away.​

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A few steps were taken toward his bag where the black tank top he had worn to the room sat. It had been tossed there somewhere during his workout, still slightly damp from the sweat it had collected. Gerwald remained quiet as he lifted the shirt over his head and pulled the cotton fabric over his torso. The tie which held his hair up in a messy bun was let loose as Gerwald ran his fingers though the blonde mane to shake out any tangles which the bun had left.​

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“She is my sister. I am Gerwald Lechner, if the name means anything to you. I am certain she would have only told you about my ill decisions. Are you sure you want my help in the matter?”​

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He waited for some sort of answer before asking the one question he needed in order to offer help. Walking back to close whatever distance remained between them, Gerwald let in a deep breath through his nose then let it out the same path.​

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“How has Atrisia left you changed? What is so different that it brings you here and not a medical facility or a therapist's couch?”​

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Gerwald did not intend for the question to sound as cruel as it may have come across, but Gerwald was a blunt creature these days. His own mistakes in relationships had made him much more so than before. His friend Naedira had been known to temper him at times, as had others. There was no one who remained that could, not in the way that was often needed.​

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Eyes watched the woman as he waited for the answer. His gaze bearing past hers as if he were searching for the answer deep within her soul.​

 

[Damsy Callat]

L O S T​

Form: Humanoid | Wearing: This + leg braces |
Equipment: Electrotrident + dartgun

Alwine, that was it. She admitted, "I met her before signing on. She didn't mention you."

And...ill decisions? Damsy crinkled her brow. Now that she couldn't recall. "But whatever those decisions were, I can't forsake my nose. If you can pardon the allegory: Back when I prowled the Kaminoian oceans, few and far between it got me in trouble, but, every time, I swam faster than my would-have-been prey." Doubtlessly, she respected any military or -like leader that disclosed any and all of qualities that might jeopardize the lives of those they were in charge of, but Damsy had long since been a G.I. Jane. She was a captain in the 117th most elite squad; her squadmates might just have thought her killed in action for the time being. She meant to rectify that as soon as she had some answers to satisfy herself as well as offer them, but regardless of a title, the sithspawn was very capable of looking after herself. If that had to include disobeying this Gerwald Lechner when he had a lapse in judgement for both of their sakes, then she'd be damned if she couldn't step to the plate.

"I've sensed more in the last few days that I have in my life." Feeling, smelling, touching, tasting, seeing - all at once. Through all her senses, she came to understand more than her physical surroundings. It was more than her mind could process, causing headaches of pressure and pain most every waking moment she couldn't understand how didn't put her down.

"It can't be a symptom if I was never sick with Blackwing. And...the kind of work we're in, seeing a shrink is often more harmful than helpful. Excuse me saying so." For her kind - the soldier sort - old habits of speaking formally to superiors died spectacularly hard. "But, by all means, if I came to the wrong place, please. Scarif's much more hospitable to me than Geonosis." Gerwald didn't have to tell her she had or hadn't, for she knew it was the former. Somehow, her headaches behaved themselves in the stronghold. Telling, she thought, of only she could assume what. Still, her instinct was not to stay on the capital world. With just five percent surface water as well as a CIS branch largely unknown the her, it was a no-brainer to visit the new Dauntless base and perhaps take a long overdue swim.

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

D E T E R M I N E D​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Damsy Callat

”She wouldn’t have. We are not exactly on speaking terms, and she is no longer part of the Confederacy as it is. She got angry because I left, and in the end… she is the one who abandoned me.”

Gerwald shrugged. There was no need for his personal baggage to be the focus of their conversation when it was clear the woman had her own reasons for being in the room. His scent, the part of it which was familiar had earned him a modicum of trust, and Gerwald would be unwise to squander it. This was Metus’ child after all, and if he could find himself in the good graces of the Vicelord then perhaps the things he wished to do would be permitted. She was as much a means to an end as she was someone that needed help. Gerwald was keen to see both of those facts put to good use.

The lupine stroked his beard at the admission she had sensed more in the past few days than her entire life. He knew this all too well, and as he closed his eyes, the wolf reached out with the force. His own presence was thrust upon the woman with little warning to see if she would react. His suspicion was that she would.

“Did you feel that,” he asked with a grin suggesting he already knew the answer to the question. “I cannot tell you what happened exactly on Atrisia. I was off doing something else for Exarch Talon that led me to a different place than where you were. What I can tell you is that what you are sensing, the extra, it is the force.”

Eyes studied the girl to see what her reaction would be. It was only natural if the gift lay dormant inside her. Metus was powerful, and while genetics were not the only factor in being force sensitive, it did play a part.

“You did not come to the wrong place, though the environment might be hostile to your… other state.”

Gerwald pondered what was before him, an opportunity or a mistake? Either way he was inclined to help this one find her footing. The Knights Obsidian had taken their losses, and they needed new members. With Voph dead and Alkor still missing, Gerwald was one of a small group of masters remaining among the force order. How he wished right in this moment more than usual that Naedira were still alive. Gerwald did not just need his friend, the one he loved, but the Knights needed her as well. She was not alive, sort of, and not in a position to help. It fell to Gerwald to do what he could, and to personally get the answers to the questions few were asking.

“I will help you,” he said finally, “but it means you will have to do as I say, and that you will officially become a squire of the Knights Obsidian. If you cannot agree to these terms, then the door is that way.”

Gerwald lifted his hand and pointed toward the door just past his shoulder using his thumb. He had a feeling she was not about to leave, but he had to be clear.​

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[Damsy Callat]

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L O S T​

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Form: Humanoid | Wearing: This + leg braces |​

Equipment: Electrotrident + dartgun​

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Concealing any emotion she might have felt towards Gerwald's relation of his family history, Damsy looked on relatively unbothered. In fact, she was a bit surprised, even saddened by the irony, but something - maybe shifter intuition - suggested she not show any inner workings. Not quite yet. Maybe not ever. The male lupine might have smelled familiar, but pheromones didn't indicate danger or lack thereof. If the former ended up hiding under his shaved hide, she would have to come up with an evasive plan quickly. No doubt, he ran faster than her, and she had no practice in being prey.​

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Her facade fell away like a sheet drawn up over her vertical body fluttering from her hands the moment she flinched back at Gerwald's mental presence cracked her skull all over again. Gritting her teeth, she resisted screaming out and instead swallowed the lumps that had climbed up the back of her throat.​

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She regained her ground as soon as her legs allowed her, turning back to bone and muscle from lead weights, not saying a thing but listening intently. The Force? Her eyes widened slightly, then narrow just as much. Like...her father? After Gerwald had laid out his conditions, the sithspawn replied dryly, mostly due to her dull pain, "Damsy Callat's dead to CDF anyway." A pause, but then: "I'm in. What's first?"​

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[Gerwald Lechner]

D E T E R M I N E D​

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Damsy Callat

She did feel it. The woman before him did not need to answer for Gerwald to know the truth. Her reaction gave her away. It seemed Atrisia was going to put Gerwald in the debt of more than just one of the powers of the Confederacy. He had managed to keep Eira Talon alive, and now the truth of Damsy’s death was staring him in the face.

“Does your father know,” Gerwald asked plainly.

If the Vicelord read any reports indicating his daughter were dead, and she were suddenly found to be in the service of the lupine, well Gerwald knew the questions would be directed toward him. This was not something he wanted to blow back on him. If it meant telling Darth Metus the truth, Gerwald would visit him personally. It also meant that Gerwald was going to have to ensure that Damsy remained dead to the CDF, and very much alive in other ways.

“Also, if she is dead, then what are we to call you? I certainly can’t be shouting Damsy across the battlefield.”

He nodded with his head as he motioned for her to follow him out of the room. THere was much to discuss, but getting the girl settled among the Knights Obsidian was their first task, and helping her to control her new found gift was the other. The training room Gerwald was using was not ideal for what he had in mind. They needed to requisition another.

His hand passed over the controls to open a room that was full of practice weapons, training probes, and various other things. The most awkward would be what looked like a set of dodgeballs, Gerwald used the force to float one up toward his hand.

“By the time we are done today, you will able to manipulate just about anything in this room, if you are willing to put in the time and practice.”​

 

[Damsy Callat]

L O S T​

Form: Humanoid | Wearing: This + leg braces |
Equipment: Electrotrident + dartgun

"No." Damsy straightened and spoke as plainly, with no hint to apology. Maybe she shouldn't have - should have been sorry to her new commanding officer, so to speak - but she really couldn't be bothered. Everything she had done to get from Xiaolang to here had been for a reason. "He doesn't. Not yet." If he had ever retrieved her last official transmission as Damsy, which she could only assume he did - he really cared at least that much about here, didn't he? - he would think the same as the entire CDF besides those in this room plus Allya Vi'Dreya did: Captain Callat was KIA. Her body had never been found, but that was no reason to doubt the reports. Atrisia was a shebbs show.

"Not until after I know." About the Force, about her potential, about what happened in painful detail. Darth Metus wanted someone to inherit everything. On Nantoon, before all this mess, he had told her as much. Not one of her many brothers or sisters who could feel like him. Her. The Forceless commando who couldn't even walk on her own legs. She had shoved it off her cold shoulder then, bitter as he shared how the twisted idea to conceive her was, itself, born. But is wasn't twisted at the beginning, she knew, or at least not on purpose. No one, not even the powerful Darth, knew what crime against nature his test tube experiment would produce.

Though she could, and would, still periodically be petty in hindsight.

But now, she had the Force within her. And she felt the need to live up to Father's legacy.

Damsy didn't give Gerwald Lechner a name alternative until they had moved into the other training room. "Niobe Crowe. It's a bit of a story, but that'll do." Crowe was better than Fisher. Thank the ocean tides that she hadn't made that Freudian slip back on Atrisia.

As the dodgeball floated towards the lupine, Damsy traced its path with her eyes. She had seen the Force used many times, but now, with the anticipation of learning how herself nipping at her heartstrings, the experience was different. "I don't have much of a choice, General. Whatever you teach, I'll learn."