Time for Tea

[Vereshin]

In the heights of the Spire, Vereshin made himself presentable before he received her majesty, the Lady Kay. His pocket watch lay open on the bathroom sink below him and ticked away, alerting him to the imminence of her arrival. After slicking back his glossy, black hair, he tucked his comb neatly away in the small box of toiletries, before adjusting his purple bowtie. He wore a black overcoat over a three-piece suit with a geometric pattern of black and cobalt blue, his pocket watch hanging neatly from a silver chain inside his jacket. Once the hands passed the hour, he slipped it away and left the bathroom.

A circular room awaited him outside, each window baring down onto the city below, all surrounding a table prepared with cakes and tea, which he would be sharing with Lady Kay. Unbeknownst to her, Vereshin had arrived first and strolled over to the head of the table where she would be sitting. He slid a hand into his pocket and produced a silver pendulum, which hung from a string. With his watch in his other hand, he held the pendulum directly above Kay's chair and fed his telekinetic reach through the bob. The watch ticked, counting down the time Vereshin had before she arrived. Wrapping the force around the frame which occupied the room, he bound it the mass of the bob, which kept the time through which it passed.

"By the mass which keeps the present, hold this point as it proceeds before me." Vereshin said, binding the chair to the mass of the pendulum, which he would use to manipulate Kay's place in time. As soon as he recited the spell, he hit the timer on the pocket watch and the hands began to race forward, covering the amount of time he would bypass. Walking around the table, he placed the watch down and allowed it to tick, then placed a finger against the string of the pendulum to increase the rate at which it swung. "On the command of the hands I present, bypass it and shift forward the frame which it occupies, according only to my position." He said, binding the frame to the hands of the watch, which maintained the rate at which it proceeded.

As the pendulum sped up, so did the trameframe of the area, which Vereshin would set forward once Kay was inside. Retracting his finger from the string, he allowed it to swing at it's regular speed, establishing the mark on the timeframe in the process. With the mark set, he scooped up the bob and wrapped the string around it, then picked up his pocket watch and stopped the timer. The watch began to tick as normal and slid it, along with the pendulum, inside his jacket pocket. With a skip in his stride, he walked around the table and towards the door, which he opened and entered into the corridor, only to shut it, locking it from the outside. He quickly headed towards the entrance, where Kay would have met him had he arrived at a later time.

Checking the time on his watch, Vereshin closed the lid and slid it back into his pocket, then raised his head and awaited the arrival of footsteps. With one hand in his trouser pocket, he held back his jacket in a rakish pose and felt around for his cigarette holder, only to look up and see Kay arriving, flanked by Eternal guards. The holder was still beneath his teeth when he nodded to greet her, his hand in the process of retrieving his cigarette case.

"Your majesty! It has been a long time, have you been well?" Vereshin asked, taking Kay's hand. He took the holder from his mouth and leaned down to grace the top of her hand with an air kiss. "Times no doubt have changed since I left the Sith, but hopefully I may assist in your fight against them." Releasing Kay's hand, Vereshin stood up straight and reached into his overcoat to produce a small, velvet box. He wrapped his hands around it and smiled, waiting patiently for the woman who claimed the title of Empress to show him into the room. As far as Kay knew, Vereshin had left the Sith, but she was still not aware that he was working for the Confederacy.

"Shall we?" Vereshin offered, waving a hand towards the door. He held the black case snugly under his arm and began to slip out of his overcoat as a servant offered to take it. Taking off the coat, he revealed his blue and black geometric suit underneath and reached into the pocket of his waistcoat for his watch, then flipped it open. "Well what do you know? It's just about time for tea." He said jovially.

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

It had been some time since Kay had met with [member="Vereshin"] . The two had shared tea and conversation back on Commenor. He was...certainly a unique individual, even among the Sith. Yet she had some uncanny ability to have those types of people drawn to her, whether for her gain or their own. And right now this visit was probably good for the both of them. She needed to know where his loyalties lay, and he no doubt needed to know her version of events. At least that was how she figured it.

She wore a black military coat with gold trim over a black skirt that billowed as she approached him. Her smile was bright and genuine. Kay held out her hand, letting him kiss it as some were accustomed to doing. "I've had my good days and bad. Much has changed as we last spoke as you can easily guess." She nodded as he indicated that they head inside the meeting room, moving to lead him. Her guards followed suit and took their places along the walls of the room.

"It's always time for tea, is it not?" The smells from the teas and cakes hit her senses straight away. It was all prepared, as expected. Kay immediately moved towards it to make her own selections of the tasty treats. "I trust that you've been well? Leaving the Sith must've been difficult. Have they tried hunting you down? Or are they just not aware?" Of course she had plenty of questions. After gathering her treats and tea, she sat herself down in her chair, not aware that anything was amiss. She was in the company of a friend. And having tea.

 

[Vereshin]

As Vereshin placed the on top of Empress Kay's hand, he released his grip and slipped his own hand back into his pocket, holding the edge of his jacket to the side. He fumbled around for his cigarette case and holder while listening to Kay speak, the ends of his mouth pulled back in a devilish grin. Nodding, he pulled his glossy, black holder out of his waistcoat pocket and fastened a cigarette in the end, before swiping it away to speak. Much had indeed changed, the Commenor Systems Alliance had been conquered by the Sith and Lady Kay was now calling herself Empress, which Vereshin found himself in the middle of when he left the Sith for himself, although that had only been because he had an accident with a black hole.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Vereshin asked. The holder with an unlit cigarette poised between his fingers and ready to light. He knew that Kay did not mind his smoking, but only thought it polite to ask.

The Empress lead Vereshin through the two large doors and into the meeting room, where a chandelier hung above a table laden with cakes and tea. The light from the chandelier glistened in the surface of the silverware and Vereshin's cigarette holder, bathing the room in a kaleidoscope of crystalline hues. The doors closed behind them and the guards were dismissed, leaving the Force physicist alone with the Empress, who took her seat at the head of the table, where he had already cast his mark in time. When she said that it was, indeed, always time for tea, Vereshin released a bout of jovial laughter and clasped his hands together, his black teeth glistening under the light of the chandelier.

"Always!" He chortled. He always looked forward to whatever fine teas Kay had in her palace, especially the Sapir tea which had come to be associated with her.

Once the Empress was seated, Vereshin pulled out his own chair at the opposite end of the table and sat down. With his holder between his teeth, he snapped his fingers to create a spark of electricity and lit the end, then inhaled and swiped it from his mouth, blowing smoke into the air. He rested it on an ashtray Kay had considerately put out for him and helped himself to the silver pot of Sapir tea in the middle of the table. He poured it carefully, filling the cup halfway, then added a drop of milk and a little sugar to stir. Upon placing the pot back on it's stand, he stirred gently and lifted the cup to his mouth, then took a good, long sip.

"Beautiful, as always." Vereshin said, his cheeks tinted purple as he set the cup back down. When Kay asked him how he had been, he took a drag from his cigarette and smiled, the holder poised between his fingers. "I am fit as a fiddle." The sorcerer exclaimed happily. The answer was almost genuine, he had succeeded in travelling through time, which was enough to keep him happy for a while, but now he was stuck in the past and needed to rectify it before it repeated itself, then came the matter of travelling to the future in order to correct his passage of time. "Yes, the change has been rather drastic, I did spend my whole life with the Sith, as you know." He said, leaning forward. He rested his elbows on his chair and entwined his fingers, staring forlornly at the table.

"No, they have no idea where I am." Vereshin shook his head. In truth, the Sith still thought Vereshin was a Knight within their ranks, as his past self was still out there and going about his life. The Sith had no idea that the real Vereshin had spent the past six years in a black hole, only to be shoved back into the past, to a time when they only recognized him as a Knight in their ranks. "So far, I've been working as an independent sorcerer and conducting research for various universities." Vereshin spoke assuredly, inhaling on his cigarette holder a second time, before placing it back on the ashtray. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, then refilled it with hot tea before it went cold. After taking a sip, he leaned back in his chair and returned his focus to the matter at hand.

"Which lead me to you, your majesty, I do believe you are in need of my assistance in combating Sith magic." Vereshin said with a smile. He took a drag on his cigarette holder, then placed it aside and looked directly at the Empress, his lime green eyes glinting beneath the chandelier, which made the cobalt blue, geometric patterns on his suit look all the more rich. Sliding a hand into his pocket, he grabbed his watch, which he pulled out and set on the table, ready to send Kay and himself into the future when the hands hit the time he had marked on her chair.

[member="Kay Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay shook her head as [member="Vereshin"] asked her for permission to smoke. She didn't mind it. Her psychiatrist smoked as well. Though she hadn't seen him in years.

She smiled as he enjoyed his tea and took to starting on the first of her treats that she had selected. It was a fruit tart with a sweet glaze on top. One of her favourites. Kay kept her attention on her guest while she ate, however, listening to the update on his life thus far. Of course she was relieved that it didn't seem as though he was being pursued at all by the Sith. To live a life on the run wasn't fun, and so far Kay didn't have to worry about that on this side of the Galaxy. The eastern half might be another story, however. With the Sith there, and the Jedi, each would have their own reasons to have her incarcerated again. Or killed.

Another sip of her tea was given, helping to wash down the tart that coated her mouth and throat. "I'm glad that you're doing well and appear to be thriving. And you're very right. I do need some help combating Sith magic. I have some light armour that can help in some ways. But what's to happen if I get attacked by [member="Darth Prazutis"] without it? He always uses his magic and it's through that that he manages to capture me. He wants me destroyed, for I am a constant reminder of his failure. I broke free of his will and I don't want to be trapped in it again." Kay folded her hands on top of the table, not yet touching the other treats on her plate. "So how can you help me with that? I'm not looking for some quick fix. If there's skill involved, I will take the time to learn." And she meant it. This was very important to her.