Private The Skull Mesmers

[Quintessa]

Location: Hangar - Ragathor
Time: Morning
Attire: X
Equipment: Passion and Prejudice │ Jin'Wodasir (2) │ Amulet of Many │ Spirit Anchor │ G1 OmniLink
Dialogue Legend: <<Ghoul-Speak>> │ “Galactic Basic” │ <”ur-Kittât”>
Tag: Darth Malum of House Marr

The retrothrusters of the Gravus-class shuttle burned hot in the void as the black-hulled transport approached the underside of the dagger-shaped corvette looming in the distance. It was the Ragathor, a vessel that Quintessa had been unfamiliar with until now, as it suddenly began to dominate the viewport of the shuttle that the tiny Asa’nyx had been gifted after her elevation to Knighthood. However, the corvette itself was of little relevance to the forthcoming meeting. It was merely a backdrop to a reunion between former friends—now rivals.

Nevertheless, for her part Quintessa felt no need to bluster or impress. Had she asked of it, a star destroyer would have been hers to command as she saw fit. Instead, she had only her personal shuttle—piloted by her personal assistant—and a large loader droid, who was currently powered down in the cargo area. Such displays of power were reserved for the nobility, bound as they were by the demands of power and the need to demonstrate status.

And yet, status was a fickle thing.

Quintessa was all too aware of the fact that House Marr had fallen into a sort of disgrace with the treachery and subsequent penance of the Tsis’Kaar. While the reputation of House Marr was still intact, it was clear that they were being watched for further signs of perfidy. In that regard, she knew Malum could not entirely enjoy the power that his bloodline might have otherwise entitled him to. As such, the tiny Asa’nyx was secure in the knowledge that she possessed something that her wealthier counterpart could now only dream for.

Freedom.

In that regard, Quintessa had leveraged said freedom to allow her to accompany Malum on an expedition, of sorts. Officially, her assignment was to watch over him and ensure that he remained true to his penance. Unofficially however, she had made an agreement to assist Malum in a specific quest, in exchange for the opportunity to learn a rare Force power from a mysterious order of skull-wearing illusionists, of whom both Sith would seek to convince towards teaching them.

As her shuttle pulled into the hangar bay of the Ragathor, Quintessa stood up from the co-pilot seat in the cockpit and moved into the passenger area of her shuttle, before taking a small box out of the lower compartments. The gynoid followed a few moments, after safely landing the shuttle. In that, she passed the box to her assistant only moments before the disembarkation ramp began to open.

Moments later, Quintessa descended it with her gynoid assistant walking in her wake, her features unreadable as she took in the hangar bay and the tall, black-haired figure standing ahead of her.

Darth Malum.

“Malum!” Quintessa purred, as if she were a former lover visiting a past flame. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” She continued, her alabaster features shifting into a smile as she descended down the ramp. “We have so much to catch up on, since we last met, hmm?” She finished, her tone a feline mix between a purr and a growl, her smile now showcasing two pristine rows of pointed fangs. "What was it that we were doing then?" Quintessa made a show of thinking, before her gaze shifted to the assembled forms of the scion's household guard, her gaze seeming to light up in the process.

"Ahh yes, I remember now!"

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It had been a long time.

Arguably too long.

He could blame some of that on circumstance, ultimately, after Faldos their paths had diverged very quickly, though their paths had been diverging for some time before that. Still, Faldos had been the last time they had seen each other, for him it was almost half a decade ago... for her, who knew how long it had been. She had likely continued to serve Kaine, assisting him in reclaiming the old Sith Worlds, once the Kainites faced their exile from proper Sith space, all the while Malum remained behind in the empire proper, with the Tsis'Kaar and Eternalists ascendant. There was little reason for their paths to cross again, on opposite sides of the galaxy.

Still, it had been more than pure circumstance, he knew that very well. After all, that duel near Faldos had been his first major defeat from a peer, in what had been a stream of constant success, from Saijo, Eliad, Elrood, Qi-Ko, the Kathol Outback, and numerous other worlds which he could barely remember. It had been a shock, it had been humiliating, it had had let him know fear.

Yet, he knew it was more than just those items which had made him actively avoid the woman these past years.

It had been the sense of betrayal.

It was an irrational thing, something that made little to no sense when examined under any serious scrutiny.

Yet emotional responses were rarely made from rational discourse.

She had been a friend to him, he had thought a dear one at the time, but in retrospect, it was not as if they had truly known each other to a great degree. Yet she had been the one who had joined him in that mad venture to Korriban when it was still crawling with the fools of the Light, the fact she had come with him, solely to recover the Holocron that had belonged to his great ancestor, without guarantee of reward, or even demanding reward.

Well, it had meant something dear to him. Perhaps she had her own reasons, indeed, he suspected that she did. Yet, she had come anyway.

Then there had been Saijo, she had followed when he proposed the stupid plan to advance out to meet the tyrant's army. She likely should have slapped him instead and called him stupid for even proposing it. Yet they had been younger than, wilder, wisdom was a trickle before it became a deluge, and he was certain they had such youth that it could hardly be called that.

Still, she had come with him regardless.

It was... nice to have someone believe in him like that, a peer at that, she was a woman that even in their creed of betrayal and sabotage he had trusted to watch his back.

And so, he felt betrayal, when she followed her master, rather than supporting her friend.

It was stupid, he knew that well, yet it pained him still. He had hoped perhaps to have convinced her away from that path near Faldos, convincing her of the tyranny and failure of Kaine, yet he had never had a true chance, and their battle had been far more important by the end. It was not that he did not understand why she followed Kaine, for whatever he thought of him, the man was powerful and utterly terrifying. Yet, he had naively thought friendship that had evidently meant more to him, than her, would have been enough.

It would have been hypocritical for him to blame her after, she had done well for herself, he had heard rumours she had even progressed to knighthood.

He was silently thankful that he did not see her during the Ouroboros Crisis, it would have made things so much harder than they already were. Yet the Crisis too had given him much time to think, it would have been truly hypocritical to blame her, for what she had done when he himself had followed his own Mistress into betrayal and treason.

Up until he had stopped.

He winced as the fragment always did when thinking of that.

It had been partly why he had accepted her presence here after a long near half-decade. Oh certainly, he knew she was technically meant to be his minder of sorts, after all even if the Tsis'Kaar had technically been restored to the Order, the group of scholars, sorcerers, and especially, assassins, were never truly trusted in the first place, now though... well.

Not trusted, even distrusted, did not do it justice.

But he had used it as an opportunity, as with all things of recent days when events were moving far from favourably. To reconcile, to meet an old friend.

Such were his thoughts, as a smirk plastered itself across his face, an eyebrow raised, a low whistle playing through the air, all in appreciation for what stepped out of the shuttle. It was such provocative attire he felt somewhat bad for the men surrounding them, who stood still, perfectly disciplined for a sight that was... phew... libertine, would be putting it lightly.

But that had always been the way of the Kainites, had not it? Even their droids had to look as if they were the definition of sin. It was a trait that he both admired and considered too much, at times. He was firmly in the former camp at the moment.

He swept forward, his black cloak billowing in the air, "Quintessa, now why did you never dress like this around me before, I would have asked you to come to my quarters in a hurry back at the Palace of Silver Rain," His crimson eyes glimmered with both amusement and the vaguest notion of lust, "In fact, I would be tempted to do so even now, open invitation, no charge, the perfect place to catch up~" His smile was entirely mischievous, he knew what game she was playing, and though something deep inside him was very tempted to fall victim to her taunts, he had known they were coming as soon as it became apparent that they would be partnered together for this. He was older now, as charming as ever, and knew he was attractive, to fluster little Quintessa would certainly be far more fun.

Not that he was serious in his offer, his heart already belonged to another.

And Bogan knew Elise Ahana-Gwyneira would utterly annihilate him if he even considered straying.

Quintessa

 

[Quintessa]

Location: Hangar - Ragathor
Time: Morning
Attire: X
Equipment: Passion and Prejudice │ Jin'Wodasir (2) │ Amulet of Many │ Spirit Anchor │ G1 OmniLink
Dialogue Legend: <<Ghoul-Speak>> │ “Galactic Basic” │ <”ur-Kittât”>
Tag: Darth Malum of House Marr

He swept forward, his black cloak billowing in the air, "Quintessa, now why did you never dress like this around me before, I would have asked you to come to my quarters in a hurry back at the Palace of Silver Rain," His crimson eyes glimmered with both amusement and the vaguest notion of lust, "In fact, I would be tempted to do so even now, open invitation, no charge, the perfect place to catch up~" His smile was entirely mischievous, he knew what game she was playing, and though something deep inside him was very tempted to fall victim to her taunts, he had known they were coming as soon as it became apparent that they would be partnered together for this. He was older now, as charming as ever, and knew he was attractive, to fluster little Quintessa would certainly be far more fun.

There was no hiding the flush of crimson that was quickly struck across Quintessa’s alabaster features in response to the scion’s advance. The speedster’s sudden discombobulation was immediately evident as her gaze suddenly widened, then narrowed. Concurrently, there was a subtle, yet distinct twitch of her lips, before a pointed fang bit down on the puffy brims of her mouth, the tension evident in the muscles of her face.

And yet, in spite of her best efforts to appear unfazed, Quintessa knew that Malum had gotten the best of her. Safe to say, the speedster’s poker face was not nearly as agile or controlled her feet.

“Clever, Malum, very clever.” Quintessa started with a growl, before her voice softened into a purr. “Unfortunately, I doubt that catch up would last very long. You’ve seen how fast I can run, Malum. You weren’t able to keep up then. Now, imagine…” The speedster drawled impishly, putting that image into the scion’s head in not-too-subtle terms.

Then, a smile.

“Gigi!” Without warning, Quintessa snapped her fingers with a force so extreme that it might have seemed as if a shockwave had emanated from between her thumb and middle finger with the action, as if she could physically break the sexual tension that was thick in the air. All the while, her voice took on a more formal tone as she turned towards her assistant, at which point the gynoid offered the box in her hands to her mistress, which the speedster promptly took. “Thank you, darling. Stay with the ship for me, if you please. I’ll call if I need anything.” The tiny Asa’nyx said with a grateful smile. With that, Quintessa moved towards Malum with the box in hand, before glancing up towards him.

“I'd like to present this to you—a gift for your dear sister Sophia of House Marr , to celebrate her recent ascension to Knighthood. I would have given this to her directly during the masquerade ball on Korriban, but I was unfortunately indisposed at that time.” Quintessa said, before opening the top half of the box to display the weapon contained within behind a transparent screen. “Given your sister's affinity for whips, this gift felt most fitting. I had it modified just for her. I foresee that she will slay many enemies with it.” The tiny speedster added with a playful mirth before closing the box and offering it to Malum.

However, just after the scion accepted it, the speedster piped up once more, seemingly having neglected to mention a key detail.

“Oh! Do be careful with that, Malum.” Quintessa spoke.

“There’s blood poison inside.”

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

As he saw her cheeks flush at his approach, his smile grew wider, point one to him then.

He cocked his head, seeming to consider what she said, "Is that an acceptance of my invitation then, because I for one would love to test out your theory~" It was hard to truly deny the thoughts, his old friend was an attractive woman, though in their friendship he had never consciously considered her as such, it was hard to deny now. It was not simply the dress, though the provocative and revealing piece had likely been what had triggered the realisation, but there was much more at play, her blush had been something... entirely adorable, combined with a relatively short and petite form... well she was not what he would have normally considered his type... she had certainly drawn his interest.

Of course there too were the fangs, something he was remiss to even admit to himself. A mix of cuteness and primality, he was... uncertain of why that had specifically made him wonder.

Made him imagine a rather intimate scene, that he had the good grace to swallow, a solitary drop of sweat trailing down his features, and a rather uncomfortable tightening down south.

Think of Elise Ahana-Gwyneira , think of Elise.

No wait... that would worsen those phenomena dearly.

The force of the snap emanating from her finger was enough for the dryness in his mouth to dissipate, as he watched Quintessa order her pet droid to deliver some package, and then watch with curiosity as she brought it to him. A gift, not for him, but for his sister. That was... odd.

Yet he was in no position to truly doubt it, or even reject it if he even wanted to do that. No doubt though he would need to have some of his men examine the thing for any traps or secrets. He did not exactly trust a gift from one of Kaine's ilk, old friend or not, especially not from his precious sister, "Thank you, that is very kind, I know Sophia will appreciate the gift immensely," He had never learned beyond the basics of a whip, but Sophia had taken them to them naturally, like a fish in water, it was a thoughtful gift certainly.

Even if he distrusted its source.

Of course, even after bringing himself down to pick it up, Quintessa revealed and confirmed why exactly he should be careful, his blood freezing for but a moment, until a grin overtook his face, "You always did have the penchant for surprises, something I always admired dearly about you," Whatever their flirting, it was their friendship he had desired above all to rebuild.

And so he would.

Quintessa

 

[Quintessa]

Location: Hangar - Ragathor
Time: Morning
Attire: X
Equipment: Passion and Prejudice │ Jin'Wodasir (2) │ Amulet of Many │ Spirit Anchor │ G1 OmniLink
Dialogue Legend: <<Ghoul-Speak>> │ “Galactic Basic” │ <”ur-Kittât”>
Tag: Darth Malum of House Marr

A coy grin formed across Quintessa’s alabaster features as Malum accepted her gift. In that, the brief flicker of fear which registered across his crimson-eyed visage at the mention of the blood poison was enough to coax a small giggle from the tiny Asa’nyx’s lips. Such was the impression she had made upon him during their previous duel on the Crimson Eternity that the mere allusion of the pain-inducing substance nearly drained the blood from his features. Nevertheless, to his credit, he recovered quickly.

Now, it seemed the blood poison was nothing more than a playful, if slightly biting joke between friends. And yet, as much as Quintessa hated most non-Kainites, for Malum, she hoped that it would stay that way.

“Well, if you would like a gift too Malum, you need only ask.” Quintessa purred. “I can offer you most anything, so long as it’s…reasonable.” She added. “Now, with that said, perhaps we should move from surprises and onto business, yes?” The tiny Asa’nyx continued as she glanced around the hangar bay, finding it far too open for her liking. “Do you have anywhere we might be able to discuss in private?” She asked.

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

He supposed they were all tied up now.

On the other hand, he was always a bit of a sore loser, though he always desired that it was rather described as being stubborn.

Indeed, there was still an opportunity for a counterattack.

He tilted his head, and quirked an eyebrow, seemingly thinking. That voice, if he had still been his younger self, certainly would have been the death of him, "Private? Is that a coy way of accepting my offer?~" If there could be something said of Darth Malum, of House Marr, it was that the man did not know when to give up, even when the clean option to do so, was given to him, hat in hand.

Malum brought himself down to the speedstress' level, red eyes glimmering with the glow that made many a knee weak.

"After all I am much curious about this... reasonable gift... of yours." Of course, amidst their game, he was well aware of the greater one as cyan orbs gazed about the hanger.

Those of his crew, those of his Guard were loyal entirely, he knew that much.

But such could not be entirely trusted, or even comforting to the Asa'nyx.

"But yes, business before... pleasure... and all that." Malum offered with a smirk, rising, his cloak billowing in his wake, as he marched off, trusting his old friend would follow, passing hallways and bowing heads, before reaching his quarters.

Both... uncomfortable... and comforting memories passing his mind at the everpresent reminders of all that had taken place in these rooms.

Banished away, he turned to consider the Kainite he was closest to.

"We are to make for Jedha, to make ourselves known to the Brotherhood of the Ninth Door, they are not having the easiest of times, with their planet ruled by the Alliance, even if at the periphery of their control," Malum spoke, easily enough, "Yet, that much you know, the more intriguing proposition," His eyes narrowed, his thins lipped, "Why did you ask to be added to this expedition?"

He imagined he knew, but best to get it from the source, it would not be the first time they had gone on an expedition like this.

She had followed him to Dromund Kaas after all.

But that was before they had been foes.

Before they had fought.

When they still had been friends.

Could they do it once more?

Especially if she was here as a spy to watch him?

Quintessa

 

[Quintessa]

Location: Malum’s Quarters - Ragathor
Time: Morning
Attire: X
Equipment: Passion and Prejudice │ Jin'Wodasir (2) │ Amulet of Many │ Spirit Anchor │ G1 OmniLink
Dialogue Legend: <<Ghoul-Speak>> │ “Galactic Basic” │ <”ur-Kittât”>
Tag: Darth Malum of House Marr

"Private? Is that a coy way of accepting my offer?~"

Quintessa opened her mouth to respond. And yet, as the scion tilted his head and lowered himself down to her level, it suddenly became more apparent how truly handsome—no, beautiful he was. An intense, burning crimson gaze peered deep into her soul, causing the speedster’s heart to race inside her chest with such blistering pace that she feared that he might sense its rhythmic beating. Her cheeks flushed crimson once more, at which point Quintessa suddenly turned her head away, seemingly refusing to cede defeat.

And yet…

“Maybe if you behave.” Quintessa chided, an attempt at taking back the initiative. Though she had surprised herself with the response. She had once wanted to kill Malum more than anything. Such was the potency of her previous hatred of him that it had lingered after their duel, for a time. Now, here she was, flirting with him on more than just a surface level, but rather, out of what might be legitimate interest.

"But yes, business before... pleasure... and all that."

“Right.” Quintessa agreed, as she followed Malum out of the hangar bay, relieved that the tension was finally broken. Perhaps he had taken her chiding to heart. Nevertheless, the tiny Asa’nyx shook her head and allowed herself to be led through the ship, committing the route to memory as she did. As beautiful as the scion was, Quintessa still had her wits about her and thus, she made note of possible escape routes, chokepoints, and select other areas, for use in the unlikely, yet all too possible occasion that affairs turned hostile.

And so, she arrived at Malum’s quarters a few moments later, at which point the scion began to explain their mission.

“We will have leverage, then.” Quintessa piped up. "Given their weakened position, they will almost certainly require resources or some other need which we might be in a position to provide in exchange for instruction in the secrets of their illusory powers.” She suggested.

However, Malum’s last question caught the speedster off-guard, causing her elegantly-groomed brows to raise with surprise.

“Is the desire to grow stronger with knowledge not justification enough?”

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The memory of her flushed crimson cheeks was a hard thought to strike from his mind, even when he knew he should. He needed to focus, yet, how could he, when staring down upon truly... a beautiful woman. Certainly, it was hard at least on the rational level to not admit at some regret.

Why had he not considered the idea when he was a younger man?

Had he truly been so infatuated with the Sangnir to not notice the allure of the one before him?

And then well... even in the midst of all his adventures beyond, the Kainite War, had made it so there had never been a renewed opportunity since.

Lust was... a weakness of his admittedly, yet one to be tempered and controlled, like all vices. Especially...

Especially... for all the harm it would cause beyond him.

His heart still burned, for so many.

Red eyes, of so many identities tore guilt in him still.

He banished those thoughts, focusing, regarding, the one staring up at him, his lips still thin, his eyes still narrowed, "It might be," Malum took a step, sidestepping the speedstress, circling her, an aristocrat circling a peculiar and particularly intriguing curiosity, a particularly apt metaphor, "Yet, I believe we both know that is not the case, or at least not entirely so, has K- Darth Carnifex taken an interest in me?" He would have perhaps felt honoured, if such an admission was not so dire.

He finally took up position behind her, resisting the urge to leer.

"Yet you are right, the Brotherhood are too of the Dark Side, only half-blind to the truth of the Force," Entirely blind in his perspective, but that would be a matter for another time, "They will likely be at least somewhat happy with our presence, and we will give them what they need to survive the Alliance until we are ready to bring the war to the Core." He had once thought they would never return to the Old Sith Worlds... yet, they had achieved that much in his lifetime.

Who knew what else they could achieve?

Quintessa