Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

[Alwine Daye]

She had showered a dozen times or more since returning from Miranda several days prior, and still the Lupine did not feel clean in any way. While she had triumphed in the mission, killed Pandemonium's ring leader, and made it with her peers to the extraction point, everything regarding that mission from start to finish had felt so utterly wrong. That entire planet had stank of death and decay, but there was another layer to it that assaulted all her senses, wolf and human alike. Never had she felt such a dreadful sense of needing to run away. And while she had prevailed, she still felt filthy and contaminated.

There had also been something about that mission that had simply exhausted her. For the first time since she'd started training in earnest, Alwine had given herself permission to not attend the training halls for several days in a row. He would return there shortly enough, no doubt. She would also have to meet with the new man who had taken some of her training on to himself, sooner rather than later. But for now… She needed some time off.

And that time off lasted for exactly a single morning before again the petite blonde found herself buried in papers and books, her arm and hand cramping like mad as she practiced her writing and dictation. She had improved immensely these past few weeks, taken leaps forward that now at last felt tangible to her. Where she'd needed at least an hour prior to read a single page, she could now complete one in half an hour. True, it was still slow by any standard. But for her, this was a huge progression. If the speed of her advancement remained as it was, she knew she could bring herself up into the average human range before the New Year celebrations rolled along.

Still, despite her attempt to improve and widen her literary horizons, there was always one letter that her mind kept drifting to. To Alwine and Varick, We were meant to meet weeks before your…

Alwine sighed and closed the book that had been laid open in front of her. She needed air, and for once, the wolf inside her lay dormant, perfectly content to just rest. Within moments she was outside, staring at the dark night of Geonosis. By the gods, she loathed this hot and sandy planet. Why the Confederacy had chosen it as its shining capital was beyond her.

As she walked around aimlessly, Alwine allowed her thoughts to wonder. Perhaps, if things would be somewhat on her side, she would be able to suggest a new semi-permanent planet to her brothers. One that was not Geonosis… And was not Ryloth.

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Nightstalker

Caid exhaled softly from his elevated seat behind the crimson-robed pilot and co-pilot of the Nightstalker. The Daisya-class Infiltrator hadn't even touched the ground yet and Caid could already feel the uncomfortably stifling heat of Geonosis' atmosphere crawling over his skin. The sensation was all in his head of course.

"Your Highness, we're approaching the landing zone."

The Sith Lord said nothing, standing from his seat and departing the flight deck without so much as a word. By the time the alien-looking vessel had descended out of the night sky and de-cloaked, [member="Alwine Lechner"] was just exiting the sprawling Obsidian Citadel. Seconds rolled by as dirt and debris were kicked up in all directions from the varied thrusting of the vessels repulsor engines.

Once the Nightstalker was on the ground, the loading ramp cycled down and the figure of Caid Centurion emerged. A tattoo that he did not previously have adorned his exposed upper torso. Familiar cloth black pants adorned his legs over soft-soled combat boots. As he reached the bottom of the ramp, the Viceroy's silver-green eyes immediately shifted in the direction of Alwine. Slowly, a thin smile slipped across his lips as he called out to her over the subtle drone of the Nightstalker's engines shutting down. "Little Wolf..."

 

[Alwine Daye]

It was hard to be lost in thought when there was an entire ship trying to land so close to you. Alwine glared at the lump of metal that made the vessel, needing a few moments to recognize what it was and who it belonged to. She had only been on it once before, but her memory was pristine; there was little she forgot, as her main problem seemed to be with understanding certain things. But this, she knew.

It was an eternity before the Nightstalker had finally completd its landing sequence and the ramp lowered. But Alwine was a patient woman who knew how to stand still for hours if need be, regardless of whether she liked it or not. This, however, she could not say she did not like. It had been a few weeks since she'd received Caid's note about his abrupt leaving and in truth, she had come to expect not to see him again at all. Not in the foreseeable future, anyway. And while she did not know him deeply, she was somehow not surprised at all that he would choose to return when she was not expecting him to.

And there he was, his upper body uncovered as per his usual, and those eyes… She had more questions about those eyes, ever since that night on Hypori, ever since her own research that she had conducted.

As he smiled, she returned a simple nod. Their relationship, entirely lacking in mutual titles for it, had never been… Very warm. It was close, it was full of respect, but it was not the kind that would have her demanding a physical greeting of sorts. Still, the happiness of his return had spread on her face, and she would not hold it back. Alwine was glad that Caid had returned.

"Caid," the petite woman said as she raised her chin, her eyes moving to the tattoo that adorned his chest, "you did not remain idle while gone."

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid came to a gradual stop within arms reach of [member="Alwine Lechner"] as he extened his arm with an open hand. As was customary solely in their greetings, the Sith Lord moved to grasp the petite woman's forearm. "Idle hands are of little use to anyone. I apologize for the sudden absence. There were matters to attend to on my family's homeworld."

Falling silent for several moments, Caid allowed his silver-green gaze to take the woman in. Though his eyes lingered, per usual, his evaluation was of a decidedly less-than-physical nature. The woman standing before him seemed...changed somehow. It wasn't necessarily confidence though perhaps a modicum of the sensation could be attributed to such. Pushing the thoughts to the side, he motioned to the tattoo on his chest that had drawn Alwine's attention. "The mark of a particular unit within the armed forces of my family's homeworld." Alwine would not know this, but it meant, mostly, that Caid Centurion had chosen to devote himself to the throne of Endelaan. A devotion that mostly signified...his willingness not to seek it and the Elders' acceptance of his decision.

Still. There was more on the horizon. More he planned to do both in the name of Endelaan and that of another world. A world of equal importance in his mind but far greater importance to the woman whom he intended to bond himself. "And you, little wolf." A mischievous glint threatened to pull at the corner of his lips, but it did not. "I trust you have not been idle either?"

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine returned the grasp, her eyes never flickering away from Caid. The man, like the brothers she had grown up with, was a mountain standing next to her, and she had to look up in order to stare, but she did so shamelessly, her gaze focusing intensely on those glowing eyes that had opened more questions than she doubted would all be answered.

His family’s home world… The Lupine wondered on that part. She had bits and pieces now over the girl who inhabited the body before Madalena, but there was still too much unknown to her. Armed forces. But he was not the Viceroy of Drunckenwell any longer? More questions piling up. And before she could utter a single one of them, a question had been asked of her.

“I have not,” she answered with a proud smile, “as I did not know how long you would be gone for, I have taken up training with another, as well as received some training in firearms. Of course, I have also resumed practicing what you have taught me, as well as working on closing the gaps in my education. I am still not where I wish to be, but I can at last say that I feel the improvements in a very tangible manner.”

Looking over at Caid, the petite blonde paused a moment, a string of questions on the tip of her tongue. But where would she begin? “You have joined a unit within the armed forces of… Your family’s home world?” she tried, “what does the joining entail? And does this mean you are resigning from your position of Viceroy within the Confederacy?” That last bit... She did not like. Wherever this home planet was, it was undoubtly not within CIS space, and she did not enjoy the thought of Caid leaving permanently. Even before her new knowledge, she had sensed that there was something there that could expand into the future. Nothing of the romantic kind, as curious readers were probably guessing a moment ago, but strong ties were always made better when mutual interest was present, and she was quite certain that the interest was indeed mutual.



[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid nodded his head in response to Alwine's statements about training with another. "There is nothing wrong with expanding one's abilities. I also encourage learning from a variety of individuals. There is always more than one way to approach one's progression, and my way may not necessarily be...the best for you. Outside of that, the key facet of training is to develop your own approach and interpretations of lessons learned. This is how the power of the Force truly expands as well as your own."

The Sith Lord paused for a moment as he arched a curious eyebrow. "I mean unless you're training with a moron. I would probably go ahead and avoid that if at all possible." That being said, Caid was fairly positive that Alwine could tell when someone was...not useful in the way that she required.

The woman's questions about his personal activities and motivations did not surprise him. Alwine had always been very curious about, well, everything. It was a good trait to have, honestly. "It's more complicated than that. The unit is in direct service to the throne. However, my status on said world still enables me to be...somewhat transient in my activities. Specifically, I am only expected to act in defense of the planet when necessary. A reality that generally does not present itself given the incredibly remote location and lack of any real mention in any modern galactic maps."

Allowing a genuine smile to touch his lips, Caid clasped his hands behind his back. "Even if I were to have to resign my position on Druckenwell..." Which, in truth, he would indeed have to do. "I would not be a stranger to CIS space or to you. Perhaps you just might have to come see the homeworlds of my ancestors one day." Shifting his stance slightly, Caid steered the course of the conversation back to something slightly more relevant. "So what have you been learning in my absence?"

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

She nodded. It appeared that it was as she had permitted herself to assume; Caid was not her ‘master’ in the sense that her brother Gerwald had tried to claim he was. Her training with others would be supported, which was good, as she saw no reason to stop her training with Jaron, just had she had no intention of not training with Caid anymore, just as she had been training with Maple Harte throughout this entire time. The Lupine’s need to train, improve, and get better, was almost insatiable, and she had little doubt that even those three together would succeed in satiating her on their own.

“I am most definitely not training with a moron,” she smiled, “though it sometimes appears as though the Confederacy has an abundance of them.” She had found… More than a few of them, during her KO-mandated missions.

“Your status on said world?” came her next question then, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, “does this mysterious world of yours in such an incredibly remote location of the galaxy have a name? What is your status upon it?”

If Alwine’s suspicions proved true… It would be the very same world mentioned in the letter she had received from who she believed was a family member of Caid’s, though a name had not been mentioned in it. But it had been mentioned as a potential future home for the Lupines, and since the auflaque had no involvement with it…

“Pyrokinesis, mostly,” came another answer, “an ability I have not been able to recreate since the first time I discovered that I even had it. I have no full mastery of it yet… But it is no longer entirely dormant.”

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid smirked slightly at Alwine's reply. Naturally, he'd not expected that she would train with someone of low-quality. To her comment about the competency make-up of the Confederacy, Caid gave no outward response. It wasn't really a matter that he had much of an awareness of given the simple fact that he tended to keep to himself. If it did not pertain to Druckenwell, Endelaan, or Malagarr, Caid was normally not an active participant. In fact if it wasn't for [member="Alwine Lechner"], Caid probably would have distanced himself even farther from the greater Confederacy.

The follow-up questions of the Lupine regarding his ancestral homeworld were to be expected. Alwine had always been a very curious, knowledge-thirsty woman. It was a good trait to have. "You should not concern yourself with its name, little wolf." As much as he did trust and respect Alwine, he was not sure if he trusted her fully. More accurately, he wasn't sure that he trusted her ability to keep the information confidential in the event it became required. "My bloodline has ruled there long enough for the exact length of time to be completely unknown. As it stands, there are generations of my family alive today that are, naturally, members of the royal family." The Sith Lord paused for a moment, watching Alwine for any reaction. "I am a Prince, and there are many other Princes and Princesses that walk this galaxy today."

As if there was nothing further interesting to say on the matter, Caid allowed his comments to shift towards that of Alwine's recent progression. "Pyrokinesis..." Caid said the word as if he was trying to taste every syllable. A useful skill, indeed. Perhaps one he thought might be...a touch beyond Alwine's experience and connection with the Force, but he was obviously incorrect. "Show me," was the only logical response.

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine gave no outward reaction to Caid's refusal to give the name of the planet, but inside of her, she could not deny the disappointment. She still believed that the planet he spoke of was the same one alluded to in the letter, and she wished to at least know what it was named. Perhaps, despite the mess that her brother had created, the future of the Lupines could still exist there. It would certainly be better than anything the auflaque had to offer. The future Lupines would have better things to do than follow a woman who would crown herself over her family while destroying the families of others.

He then spoke of bloodlines, of Princes and Princesses. Now Alwine narrowed her eyes. This was a piece of the puzzle that she did not quite have before now. Of course, it would mean nothing if her suspicions regarding who exactly was related to Caid proved to be wrong, but… No. It could not be. She had perhaps not seen much of the galaxy, but she was certain that the glowing green eyes were not common outside of the Confederacy. Caid had also told her of it being a family trait last they trained together in the hall.

"You are related to the woman called Scherezade, are you not? Her eyes glow as yours, though she lacks the silver," she half asked half stated the question that had been burning within her since Hypori, "and if so, what are you to each other? Is she a walking princess as well?"

If she was… It would make sense. It would explain why she had said she imagined the future Lupines on her planet. Her ancestral home planet, where there was no place for the weak and the broken… Of course. It had to fit together. There was no room for another explanation. And unless Caid denied it entirely… Would she owe him a life debt as well by extension? No, she did not believe that she would, but it did add another layer to things, and she would have to think them over.

When Caid asked her to show him her new abilities, Alwine cupped her hands together. "This will take a while," she said without a hint of embarrassment or shame, "I am nowhere near ready to call the fire on a whim just yet, and it easier to manipulate fire that already exists."

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid arched a curious brow for a brief moment, debating on how to respond. Naturally, he wouldn't bother denying the accurate statement, but his intrigue was more in line with how Alwine knew her. "How do you know of Scherezade?" It had been some time since Scherezade stopped...being Scherezade. This wasn't a huge issue, it merely meant Alwine had interacted with the woman prior to the transformation. That or she had been related some story, but that wouldn't exactly explain Alwine knowing the woman's eye color.

Making a motion for Alwine to cease her efforts, Caid made a simple statement though there was an undercurrent of strength to his voice. "Forget the pyrokinesis for a moment. There will be time for that." Falling silent, the Sith Lord patiently waited for the young woman to respond to his inquiry.

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine thought he'd say that, and wiggled her hands a little, releasing the smudge of heat that had already built up in them. She herself had no objections to showing him what she could do and discuss his family member at the same time, but it was clear what Caid's priority for that second was. All she could do was offer him a nod as she put her thoughts together, the fact that he had not exactly answered what their family relation was not going unnoticed.

"My brother told me of a woman he claims to love but ended up mistreating and running away from," she said, "and that was the name he had given. I had not thought I would meet her, but we stumbled into each other on Hypori, shortly after we left you and your lady." That had been the first and third thing. There was a second, in between them, but there was something else that had to be said before that, "but she introduced herself as someone else, a woman by the name of Madalena. I checked her words through the Force and it did not feel as though she was lying in any way. The way she spoke to my brother… It was not the way any woman would speak to someone who had treated her as he had."

Alwine sighed. The part that she had yet to speak of was the hardest one. She had put it to words only in front of one other person, but he had not been someone close or important to her in any way, and she knew that he would never be involved with any of the people concerned. With Caid... It would be different. Or at least, Caid had the power to make it different if he wanted. Was it her right to keep this from him, when the woman involved was family?

"But before Hypori, I received a package," she said at last, "from her. From Scherezade. There was such love and pain in that letter and she signed it off by saying not to look for her because she would no longer exist." Another sigh. "I believe she sort of killed herself. But at the same time, the package she sent contained the key that could provide my species an actual future. Not the made up future that the auflaque is lying about, but a real one. I owe Scherezade a debt, and with her being both gone and not… I do not know what to do. I am trying to put together the pieces of the full picture but I do not even know if that would make any difference."

As she spoke, Alwine never moved her gaze from Caid. It was clear there if there any embarrassment to be felt over any part of the story, she did not see herself as the one to ave it. She bore no guilt regarding herself over what happened while she was on Stewjon, and she would carry the debt she owed with pride because it meant the future of the Lupines. There would be no other way.


[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid was completely silent and motionless as [member="Alwine Lechner"] went about explaining her familiarity with his niece. While Caid knew that Alwine, in fact, had two brothers, he was relatively certain that she was referring to Gerwald. The thought entered his mind before the woman was even to make mention of Hypori which only confirmed the immediate suspicion.

As Alwine continued, Caid's expression gradually went from mild intrigue, to concern, to understanding. On Hypori, he had reached out to his niece, but his efforts were largely rebuffed, shrugged off. At the time, Caid hadn't thought much of it...assuming the girl was still just being emotional over a whole bunch of things that didn't matter. Standing outside the headquarters of the Knights Obsidian with Alwine, Caid realized he had been wrong and right at the same time. Scherezade's situation, whatever it was, certainly demanded further investigation, but he was not quite certain it was his part to do it.

During his recent trip to Endelaan, Caid had been informed by the Elders that another of his family had elected to emerge from the fold. He'd initially thought they were referring to Aiden, a troubling prospect because the man just seemed to lack...well...he didn't quite know, but the Confederacy's Minister of War was different than Caid and Scherezade. In the end it did not matter as they had been referring to a different individual, a nephew of Caid and the twin brother of Scherezade. Unlike Caid, the man...Brayden they called him...seemed to be much more connected to the planet. An understandable reality...given it gave birth to him, the Forbidden Temple Brayden and Scherezade's home for a time. The only problem was...Caid had no idea where the man was.

When Caid did finally speak, he didn't really say anything specifically about Scherezade. "The key to provide your species a future? What possible key could she have given to make you indebted to her, a woman you do not even actually know?"

 

[Alwine Daye]

A silence followed. Alwine gave Caid the time he might have possibly needed in order to digest her words. And when they finally came… Alwine realized she would have explain this sooner or later.

"I do not know how much you actually know about Lupines," she began, "on Stewjon, our mother told us that we were the last. That there were no others. I never believed her because of how Lupines are made; when a Lupine and a non-Lupine mate, the child born is fully Lupine, and having seen how both men and women happily lay with each other… The idea that we were an extinct species never felt right. But I had never seen a Lupine that was neither my mother nor my brothers, and our mother taught us that we must always hide who and what we were, or we would be hunted and then become truly extinct. Part of the Lupine package comes with always being able to know when another Lupine is nearby, without any mistakes. So when I returned home with Varick one morning, and my house was full of the scent of a new Lupine, a female Lupine, I knew that I had been right. That there were others."

And that this new female Lupine had abandoned her and Varick. She had been in their house, she had their scent, but she did not take them with her. The auflaque could excuse her actions all she wanted by claiming to have been drunk, but she had been there during the morning as well. The scent was too strong for anything else. And she had taken one, but left the others behind, and never even inquired as to the family of the man she had offered a crown to. No, all she had needed was to see what his prick looked like and ensure his Lupine bits were in order, and the offer of a crown had been made. Why anyone would follow someone who would so easily and foolishly offer a crown was beyond Alwine, but then again, why family members would accept the crown of one of them just so she could rule over them was beyond her as well. There was no way this story was going to end well with her brother involved with the auflaque. But her brother was not who they were discussing then.

"Eventually, Varick and I were extracted from Stewjon," she resumed, "and learned that there was one other family left. This still does not make sense; I firmly believe that there are others, but I have no proof of it, nor have I been able to locate anything that would point to other existing Lupines. With time, I may. But I also may not."

And that was the background of it. Nearly extinct, with only two families left, and her brother and the auflaque would make them one, while forbidding any other members of either families to amte with each other. It was sickening, no matter how you looked at it.

"Scherezade knew all of this, as she had been the adopted sister of the auflaque," Alwine resumed, "it is my understanding that she wanted to help. But when my brother and her former sister betrayed her, it was before she could give them the plans. It is a giant stack of paperwork, filled with formulas and calculations. I have not dared to delve deep into it; not only would I not understand it, but I fear that if the auflaque received note of its existence, she would use her witchcraft to draw the knowledge from my mind. Presently, I have not told either her or my brother what Scherezade has sent me."

At last, Alwine allowed her body to move. She leaned against the wall, her gaze moving away from Caid for the first time as she looked down, allowing herself the space of several breaths before returning it to him.

"She found a way to make more of us using Sith Alchemy and forms of science that are beyond my current understanding. Do not ask me to explain in more detail than that, because I have yet to understand the specifics of it myself. But it is there, and I believe it will work. She, at least, believed that it was the key to ensuring that by the time my brothers and I had children, they would be surrounded by hundreds of other Lupines who were not related by blood. She wrote that she dreamed they would be a clan on her ancestral home planet, but that it was no longer to be, after what had happened, and that she herself would never set eyes on the planet either."

So many holes in the story that Alwine did not comprehend, even if the retelling she gave Caid was near enough to be complete. She didn't completely know why she had told him so much detail either; but if nothing else, Caid was among the few people who, as far as Alwine was concerned, not only had her respect, but had out right earned it in what little time they had shared training.

"She also wrote that Varick and I should not be held as collateral damage for what her former sister and my brother had done to her," she continued, "I cannot claim I comprehend it. I do not even have the full picture of events that occurred between the three of them, nor what eventually drove her to do whatever it is she has done to herself to longer know who she is. Yet as I flicked through the pages she had sent me, I knew that what she had written was true. That what she had sent me was indeed a key. Perhaps there are others, but what I have in my possession now is something that work better than my brother stupidly turning the last two Lupine families into one. She knew of our existence because we were supposed to meet… She was supposed to be the one Gerwald came to Stewjon with, to free us, much earlier than when he actually did with the auflaque."

Alwine sighed. While her tone had remained steady as always while she spoke, she doubted that Caid would have missed the under turrets of motion that lay beneath it. She knew she owed a debt to this woman the moment she finished reading the letter the first time. That feeling had strengthened every time she re-read it. Scherezade had written that she would never demand payment for what she had sent, but Alwine knew she could never pretend she had never been granted something that was bigger than she herself. For that alone, she would investigate, and find out what exactly happened. And after that? She did not know. Not yet.


[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid blinked several times as he absorbed all of the information conveyed by Alwine. At the outset, she was certainly correct regarding his lack of genuine understanding of the Lupine species. More specifically, she hadn't really made much of an effort to investigate their history either. For that reason, he did feel a small amount of guilt. At one point, it had certainly been on his list, but he'd been otherwise occupied with official affairs.

For the most part, Caid had no further reaction to Alwine's words. The fact that Scherezade had offered to effectively bolster an entire race through Sith Alchemy actually sounded like a...bold claim. A very bold claim. While Caid's own experience with Alchemy was enough to modify weapons, it pretty much ended there. He couldn't even comprehend the amount of time and energy it would take to successfully create a functioning, autonomous creature through a similar means. Further more, he felt fairly confident the result would be so contorted and twisted by the dark side...well..he just couldn't imagine it being quite what Alwine was looking for.

As Alwine finally fell silent, the Sith Lord nodded his head somewhat simply. "I see." For several moments, it seemed as though he was searching for the right words to say. Eventually, he managed to offer something definitively less than supportive. "Alchemy is a very involved, complicated process. If Scherezade was convinced she could do this, then she is either much more powerful than anyone realizes, or she was some very, very powerful and amicable friends." Shrugging slightly, Caid made only one final comment. "I hope she can reclaim what she's lost of herself before long. For all our sake."

Unclasping his hands, Caid managed a warm smile in Alwine's direction. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Alwine. I certainly appreciate it."

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

No, Alwie had most certainly not made an effort to research into the Lupine history. The only source for that was the auflaque and she did not believe anything that came from her direction. Moreover, Alwine firmly believed that the Lupine history did not matter; at present, there were two known families. Whatever had happened in the past was just that; in the past. They had a future to think of. A future that was best of the families were separated. Friendship could happen, she supposed, though not with the auflaque. Anything beyond that though… Absolutely not. There would be nothing gained by making two families into one, and lacking any proof or lead to more than the two families, she could not base any plans for the future on there being more.

As Caid said that Scherezade was either much more powerful than anyone realized, or had some very powerful friends, Alwine realized she could make no relevant comment to that. Certainly, she believed the woman was indeed powerful. Her ability to erase who she was along proved that, and having never known her before, she could not assume to think what others thought or did not think of her power. Neither did she know anything about her friends or the company she kept. Normally, she would ask her brother, but… No. Gerwald would not be likely to be happy about any of it, especially when he would learn that Alwine would do anything within her power that the auflaque never received a copy of a single page of the package. For now, it was better to remain silent on the matter.

"I do not know if she can," the petite answered honestly, "not without help. But without knowing enough, an attempt at help may merely cause more damage, and I do not wish to damage her beyond what she had gone through to cause her to erase any notion of herself."

When Caid thanked her, Alwine nodded to him. "You never answered, Caid," she realized, "what is your family relationship to her? Are you a sibling? An uncle? A cousin? …A parent?" He did not seem old enough to be the woman's father. But perhaps the green glow of their eyes was not the only family trait that was different compared to other families.

"And… Perhaps this would be an odd question, but I must ask it," she said, her voice lowering in volume, "would you have any suggestions for how I may act to find out more? I am at a loss here. All I have managed thus is to find a friend of hers, a Jedi Master who knew her both as Scherezade and as Madalena, but other than that… Nothing tangible enough."

No, she did not expect Caid himself to actually help out. Knowing nothing of their family dynamics, Alwine could only assume that if he had not looked into it, he had his reasons, and she would not impose herself on that specific matter.

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Caid had allowed his mind to momentarily drift off into parallel thoughts. However, Alwine's soft reminder of his own lack of honesty pulled his thoughts back to the present. He supposed given all of the information that Alwine already knew and had relayed to him, he did owe her some type of honesty in return. "My family is...complicated. I will spare you the...exact details. My family is large. I have, to the best of my knowledge, four brothers and four sisters. Scherezade's father was Diomedes Antares, and he was my younger half-brother." Caid did not, however, bother to name any others at just this moment. Even though, she would know one of them very well given his position within the Confederacy.

As the topic of conversation changed to suggestions on what Alwine should do, Caid fell silent for several moments again. Eventually, he reached into the pocket of his pants for a datapad. As his fingers typed in a variety of information, he gave her an answer. "My suggestion... I think you will require the assistance of someone with a much deeper connection to Scherezade than myself. Another..." Caid paused only long enough to look up from the information on his datapad, surprise completely absent from his features. He'd had his suspicions since his visit to Endelaan, and he had just confirmed them with a handful of key strokes courtesy of his access to databases as a Viceroy of the Confederacy. The information he pulled up on screen wasn't a complete personnel file, of course. It only contained, undoubtedly, what Brayden had given to the Confederacy.

Most of it was a lie. Caid was keenly aware the man may not yet be happy for what was about to happen.

"...Prince of Endelaan may yet know better. He is Scherezade's twin brother, and he...is probably in the building directly behind you. A member of the very same sect of the Knights Obsidian as you, Alwine." Even as he finished relaying the information, Caid stored his datapad just as he recalled something. "Wait. What Jedi Master?"

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine jotted the name of the father down in her memory, and then… "You are her uncle, then," she said with a nod. But… Wait. Diomedes Antares. If the woman had wanted to forget herself, why had she kept her father's last name? "Is Antares a common last name?" she asked, looking at Caid. On Stewjon, it had not been, but Stewjon was not a representative of the galaxy regarding almost anything.

And a planet name. Endelaan. Alwine's fingers twitched as though they sought to grab it. The ancestral home planet. Caid had said that it lacked a mention on any modern map. An ancient map then? Where did one find those? And if she found it, would it matter? If she had been in her wolf form, the Lupine's ears would have perked up. For a moment, her searches to put the pieces of the puzzles together did not seem to finish off in a dead end.

Turning around, Alwine looked at the building they were standing by. This twin brother – Gerwald had never mentioned a twin brother – was in the building? She could sense a variety of people within it, but she did not know how to hand pick a specific one that she had never met. And an executor, no less. How much did he know, Alwine wondered. And how did it come to be that they were all; all the Lechner siblings and all the deWinter… Antares… Whatever they were calling themselves siblings, all within the Knights Obsidian? Was this what destiny felt like?

"Josh DragonsFlame, Jedi Master, Master of the Order of Silver Jedi," Alwine replied, her eyes still glued to the building before she turned back to Caid, "there is no mention of Scherezade anywhere that I can access within the CIS. But there are many mentions of Madalena Antares, mentions by that name that date to much before I received the package, even though it should not have taken more than a day or two at worst. I went through all the missions and events that logged presence and searched for the names that repeated. He was the first successful one among them."

Glancing at the building again, Alwine wondered. "What is his name?" she asked, "this other Price of Endelaan, her twin brother. And now that I know the title you hold in your ancestral home planet, will you be expecting me to use it when addressing you?"

[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

Though Caid actually did hear everything Alwine had said, his mind focused on two things. He started from most important to arguably the absolute least. "It's relatively common, yes. However, if you are thinking about attempting to find the world, I strongly caution you against that." The Sith paused for a moment, considering the best way to explain why. "It is not a place that is welcoming of any offworlder save those brought in the company of a member of the royal family." Taking a step closer to Alwine, Caid reached out and gently grasped her shoulder. "I am very serious." In truth, it might not have been that grave. She'd be a curiosity, certainly. However, Caid was...fond of the little wolf, and he would prefer she not come to harm. "Likewise. This goes nowhere. Not to your brothers or anyone else. You have no idea the degree to which my family has saturated every element of this government and the influence they can bring to bear across the galaxy."

Releasing Alwine, Caid took a half step back, silver-green eyes still burning with intensity. "DragonsFlame. I recall the name. He was once a member of the Galactic Republic's Jedi Order. He half-fled, half was run out by the majority of the Order at the time if memory serves. Into the waiting arms of the Silver Jedi Order with a number of like-minded others. They did not like...the militant nature of the Jedi Order. Amusing given what the Silver Jedi Order has become." Caid did not bother going into how and why he knew as a former Supreme Commander of the Galactic Republic. It had been a particularly confusing point in his life and arguably...a waste of time.

Allowing his gaze to shift to the large structure behind Alwine, the Sith Lord allowed his full presence to expand, shifting and rolling through the halls of the Citadel. He had never met Brayden, but if he was of Endelaan, Caid's blood, and so closely connected to Scherezade...he would not be impossible for his uncle to find. It took...not even sixty seconds. Knowing precisely what he was looking for, Caid brazenly forced...or attempted to force his presence into Brayden's mind. Having met Scherezade, Caid moronically assumed that Brayden would be of a similar...experience level.

Nope.

The mental recoil he suffered from Brayden's rebuff actually forced Caid to take a step back and place a hand against the side of his head. Yes, Caid was strong and fully trained. He'd experienced a great deal, but he'd only been a master of the dark side or...anything for perhaps six or seven years at this point. What he felt emanating from inside the walls of the Citadel was someone that...had probably lived nothing other than training for most of their adult life. "His... His na..." Caid grit his teeth, clearly working to force off the heavy hand. "BRAYDEN," Caid managed to force out loudly. The moment he did, the weight against his mind evaporated entirely, but the unmistakable presence of his nephew quickly began to spill out from inside the Citadel.

Caid knew what it felt like. He had no idea if Alwine would even notice.

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Caution against finding Endelaan? Alwine did not have time to blink before Caid closed the distance between them and placed a hand upon her shoulder. It was the first time he had touched her outside of a training requirement. It was enough to startle her. Chocolate eyes swiftly moved up, looking into that glowing green again. She would have listened to him no matter the body language, and while she had nothing specific against it… It was strange.

"How likely is it that Gerwald knows about Endelaan due to the time he spent with Scherezade?" she asked, wondering if he knew at all. He had not mentioned her being a princess at any point… But he had not mentioned a lot of things. Regardless, she nodded, "I will not try to find it on my own," Alwine assured him.

Released now, there was little Alwine could offer to the short history lesson other than a shrug. "I know very little of the Silver Order," she admitted, "but if there was one thing I could easily see, is that he cares for her. Both of hers." Would that be enough though? Only time would tell.

Following Caid's gaze, she looked at the citadel again. Was he looking for him? Did he know how to find him? Only now did she wonder just how close any of them were; Caid with the twin rother, Caid with Scherezade, the twin brother with Scherezade… Perhaps the sibling route would provide no help at all. Perhaps the twin brother would not even care. Was looking for him a mistake? If they were rival siblings over a crown… But no, she could not assume that. She knew nothing of how Endelaan was governed, even if it seemed weird that so far three of its princes or princesses were within the Confederacy.

Her hands instinctively went for her sword as Caid took a step back. She saw him gritting his teeth but without an enemy within her field of vision there was nothing she knew to do. He screamed his name at the citadel and Alwine looked again, any comprehension of the situation going completely over her head.

She could feel something. But she did not know what it was, or what to make of it.

"Have you just summoned a demon, Caid?" the Lupine asked, a perplexed look on her face.


[member="Caid Centurion"]

 

[Caid Centurion]

The dark-skinned Sith Lord, noting the decrease in his energy levels, reached into the ether of the Force. He specifically avoided touching Alwine's presence or that of the Endelaan Warriors that were... Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Caid noted the two warriors were no longer on the vessel. They had, most likely, exited as they felt the tension between Princes in the Force. Even in this moment, Caid couldn't tell if the two men, swords drawn were there in his defense...or to kill him.

Momentarily forgeting his exhaustion completely, Caid turned his gaze back towards Alwine and then the Citadel. Steeling himself in spite of his desire to siphon the life force of a few living entities to prepare for another fight, he recognized when it might just be better to...cease and desist. During his time on Endelaan, Caid had made it very clear to the Elders that he had no intention of seeking the throne of Endelaan. It would have to be something out of necessity due to lack of options. Similarly, he conveyed his concerns about Malagarr and his affections for and interactions with [member="Cersei Moirae"], a Princess of Malagarr. The Elders had seemed...less than surprised by that revelation. He had no idea why, and he certainly had not asked.

However, if one thing was certain, they had certainly inquired as to his willingness to defend Endelaan if he dedicated himself elsewhere. In that moment, he had pledged his loyalty to the throne. A throne that, at the time of his visit, was still technically filled by Nessarose and Diomedes...despite their status as missing.

The low whine of a speeder engine in the distance shifted Caid's attention once more. It came rocketing over the horizon, eventually slowing to a stop some one hundred meters away. Even at distance and in the dark of night, Caid could make out the features that...tended to be shared among most natives of Endelaan outside of Nessarose and Diomedes' immediate descendants. At least, the skin tone was different. More warriors. Six warriors, in fact. Whereas Caid's were dressed in crimson-cloaks, these were dressed in more ceremonial looking black and silver robes. Caid, of course, recognized the difference...but made no mention of it to Alwine.

At their appearance, the two crimson-robed warriors that accompanied Caid sheathed their weapons. No obvious effect of deference was given to Caid by the newly arrived warriors. Instead, they merely watched him with curiosity as they approached, encircling both Caid and Alwine. Turning his gaze to Alwine, ever ready for a fight, he made a motion with his hand for her to remain calm. "I certainly hope not...but let's not choose to engage a demon that comes with its own warriors..."

No sooner had Caid stopped speaking than a figure, slightly smaller than himself, emerged from the dark entrance to the Citadel.

[member="Alwine Lechner"]