Big Credits and Bright Lights (Rugs)

"And you are certain this deal will work?"

"I assure you, my employer will hold up her end of the bargain, Mr. Horen." Nieraan nodded at the man sitting across from him, mentality straining to keep from grinding his teeth. "For the moment, you need only concern yourself with your end of the deal, and we will be sure to take care of ours."

Horen eyed Nieraan and cautiously, leaning back further in his seat. He was an older man, nearing the far edge of his middle years. His gut was full and round, his face plump from the excess of an opulent lifestyle. A bald spot dominated the crown of his head, leaving a partial ring around the sides of it.

Why Danica had sent Nieraan to deal with this, he'd never know. Why some contract had to be investigated at some party for the rich and famous on Nar Shadaa, he couldn't fathom. It was as if the woman had compiled a list of everything the Firrerreo hated and sent him off on a task that incorporated all of it.

Negotiations. Wealthy people with delusions of strength from their heads residing too far up their own rears. Stupid parties.

He detested it.

Yet here he was, praying to the Force or to god or whatever would listen that this talk was nearly over. He already knew how it would end. The fat man would find some way to come off as agreeing because the lightsaber's at Nieraan's waist scared him. Then, when Nieraan was gone and far, far away, he'd change his mind and find some excuse to make it look like circumstances beyond his control had gotten in his way. The fact that he could read the man's emotions and lies like an open book only made the whole farce more frustrating.

Perhaps that was why he was here. To see how he did in situations like these; to see the uses of his abilities as a Force user. Though he could have offered less painful alternatives, if she wanted to see that.

Or maybe this really is some stupid joke, he grumped, nodding occasionally while Horen rambled on to make it look like he was paying attention.

"So we are agreed then," the corpulent man asked suddenly, extending a pudgy hand to Nieraan.

The Sith blinked for a moment, then took the offered hand, shaking and nodding. "Yes. Of course."

"Excellent." Horen stood, his business with Nieraan obviously concluded. "I look forward to future endeavors."

Nieraan, however remained seated, weighing the fellow with his gaze the same way a butcher did meat before cutting it. "I'm certain." He sighed and stood, saber hilts clinging softly as he did. "I'm certain my employer does as well. And while she sends her apologies that she could not meet you in person," he'd already began to walk past his contact, but he paused, turning slightly and lowering his voice, "do know that you are expected to hold up to your word here."

Horen started, turning to Nieraan with knitted brows, but the Sith gave him a pat on the shoulder and was already walking away.

Finally. Nieraan casually dropped a paper water cup into a garbage can as he passed it. I never thought that would end.

He walked around the room, observing the other partygoers. Many were watching a red Twi'lek dancing. Others were talking, or shuffling off to private rooms.

Where'd you goooo... His eyes flicked around, searching for someone in particular. There was a presence he'd noticed earlier--one that belonged to a Force user. Even with the press of souls here, it'd stood out like gently brighter star that stood out in a sea of many. And with careful focus and the application of his senses, he'd narrowed its owner down to a young woman. The few times he'd seen her she'd been moving in or out of the room.

More interestingly, though, she seemed to be, when he focused on her, quite Light-oriented. A Jedi? Perhaps. But alignment didn't make affiliation.

Still, if there was another Force user here, it might be worth his time to see what it was they were after.

He found a relatively quiet place in a corner and leaned against the wall, arms folded, acting as if watching the festivities. Quietly, he turned his sight to that of the Force, searching for the woman. His own presence was muted slightly--not hidden completely, but muffled--but she hadn't done so yet and he had little reason to believe she would have changed that...

Ah, there you are. She was going upstairs with another person. To eyes that saw through the Force, her aura stood out, that brighter star against a field of soft ones.

Going upstairs for some business, surely. She'd be back. And if she didn't take too long, Nieraan might watch and see what she was up to.

He was already there; a little while longer wouldn't kill him.

{the rest shouldn't be so long. Had stuff to set up, etc}

The guy extended a hand to Cassy, which she took with a smirk. She stood up with a bounce of her C cups, her black body suit slinked next to the man as they held hands. A few of his buddies whooped and hollered, Cassy decided to play along.

She moved closer to him, pressing shoulders with him. They made their way to the stairs and she tip toed up next to him up them. Several guys made a 'DAMN!' look, as Cassy had quite the posterior and hips. She would be considered Italy at it's finest as they finally broke into the 2nd Floor. They stepped into one of the curtained areas overcast by red LED lights. The area had couches in a perfect donut room, red in color as well. A center table with unopened champagne on ice with glasses sat perfectly.

He didn't hesitate to pour himself a glass, popping the cork and letting the champagne spill down his tailored vest sleeve. He looked up at her with a slight grin, before setting the bottle down and speaking.

"You really do look....phew...." he examined her, the red light slapping against the almost paint on black body suit hugging her. She smirked but her eyes remained serious, she moved next to him and sat as he did; throwing her hair over her shoulder and accepting a glass he'd poured for her. "Now, down to business....yes, you're super fine, and concentrating is difficult right now, under different circumstances...." he met Cassy's emerald eyes which seemed to be on fire.

Soon enough he began to swoon as her eyes seemed...entrancing.

"Now......who do you work for love?" her voice too him would have a fae like quality. Whimsical, an echo on top of an echo.

"I serve the Hutt Cartel....of course, didn't I mention that?" Cassy smirked as she took a sip of her champagne. He did the same while it probably was a reflex reaction to seeing her do it; in his mind tricked state.

"And too what end do you know Esmerelda?" her voice echoed in the fae like manner again, her emerald eyes drawing him in.

"She has the largest bounty I've ever SEEN on her...if I can bring her in too my master.....he'll shower me in riches...and beautiful women such as yourself...." his voice was lucid and plain. Ironic, this man had probably been casing her dear friend for weeks, maybe even months. Only too kidnap her or worse in the end. Cassy had just uncovered that little tidbit of information and the shock of it didn't weigh on her for more than a few moments; although it was somewhat startling.

Before she could get into which Kajidic the man was working with; another opened the red curtains. This seemed to snap him out of the Mind Trick as Cassy made a face at the intrusion. Just when things were getting good. The new intruder, a middle aged man who looked like a bouncer whispered something in the Hutt Cartel members ear. He nodded once and motioned for him to leave; he slid through the curtains in but a moment.

"Now...where were we?" he hadn't recalled a thing. Cassy downed the rest of her champagne and put the glass down on the table. It took everything in her not too begin searching for a reason to end this man and save Ezzy the trouble; however...even now. In the middle of a wild night club...it was not the Jedi way to strike down an unexpecting, unarmed opponent.

"We were just finishing up I believe....." Cassy stood abruptly and bowed to the man. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other sometime...although..it is a very large galaxy." she smirked at him, before leaving the curtain. She made her way back downstairs, however as she did so her brow furrowed.

The Force?

She paused on the stairs; and began gendering down through the endless crowds of strobe lights and people. The waves of light sweeping across everyone didn't distract her for more than a moment. It was like knowing a cat was 'somewhere' in the house. Although she was an excellent student of Telepathy, Body, and Healing, her Sense wasn't all too avid.

Someone was definitely here though. Perhaps if she got closer....suddenly, a large round of applause went off and whoots and hollers went practically insane. Cassy knew what that meant. Esmerelda finally climbed down off of the pole, every piece of her red body jiggled her way over to Cassy as she squealed, pressing her breasts together even more with her shoulders as she had her usual jubilant attitude, making her way to the stairs and plomping on the railing, joining Cassy at a lean.

"I made....SO much." she shook her head, her tendrils swaying a little. "They love to slap my ass with credits...I have no idea why that arouses guys....twisted." the way she said twisted made them both laugh. But something about Cassy's laugh ending so soon as her eyes canning the crowd made Esmerelda wonder. 'Big Red' as she was known by the few who knew her true identity as a Bounty Hunter, cautiously watched her friend with deep forest green eyes not as blazingly bright as Cassy's.

"........What is it this time?" Esmerelda rolled her eyes, resting her breasts and elbows on the railing of the club. Another group of guys passed behind both of them the 'DAMN!' expression and a few headshakes to be sure went with them. "Don't tell me.......Sith in the nightclub!"

Cassy immediately slapped her on the ass; too which she leaped up in shock and sting.

"Oooooohhhh mi god, Ezzy shut up---you're gonna blow my cover, damn, I might as well do a Saber Throw over the crowd!" Cassy hissed at low volume, leaning into her friend who rubbed her red thigh and bottom in response. Esmerelda apologized a few times before Cassy explained the situation.

"Oh....so there might ACTUALLY be a Sith in here?" Esmerelda's voice changed to that of a conniving and savvy person of wit. Her accent seemed to switch, as she probably was already thinking about getting her hands on another lightsaber to sell. The woman already had three condo's one of which was on this planet...she was insatiable. "So...how do we find them witch?" Esmerelda used that word in place of the 'b' word as girlfriends usually called one another; although she found her own clever way of introducing a little Jedi flavoring in the slang statement.

"I'm working on it........even while you're running you're mouth...you see that guy over there?" Cassy pointed out a rather slick and slender looking man. "Something about him---I'm gonna dance with him, grab a bozo, dance near me. No one'll turn you down." with that in a swift turn of her hair; she began making her way down the stairs.

Esmerelda opened her mouth to say something even after she chased Cassy back down into the lower levels of the raging party. The different colors of the prism swept the black walls. Cassy made her way closer...closer still, turning her shoulders too pass through a few groups, and wrenching her arm away from a few guys who pulled at her too dance. However, the "cat" was somewhat out of the bag now...although now that she was approaching him. He felt somewhat masked, shielded. She wondered if he even knew he had the Force sleeping in him.

"Hey there......" she said at a low whisper and somewhat of a stark voice to catch his attention. She placed a hand on his chest unthreateningly; and moved him back into the wall with a few steps. After a few moments, she ran her fingers up his chest at a tip toe. Her emerald eyes never left his as she took in his sharp features; looking up into his eyes attempting to discern him.

She swung her hair and turned, pressing her body into him and dirty dancing at a whim. A few guys looked over at her with a 'WOW' expression. Having a stripper for a best friend had...taught her more than a few things...if anyone from the Order ever saw what she was doing now....she'd be expelled for sure...if not worse. However she continued to grind on him, all the while asking him questions.

"Do you know how much power sleeps inside you?" she said after a turn and hair flip, leaning into him again and whispering these words. She continued to dance in a hip whirling manner for almost a minute before speaking again. "If you'd just let me show you?" she stopped dancing at a bounce, standing back from him and grabbing his hand. She nodded towards a private area, and led him.

He'd have an excellent view of a grade A apple bottom if he followed, her black body suit leading the way until they came too a darker corner of the club.

"............................." the silent staredown as she looked up into his eyes might've been out of character for how she'd been acting thus far. Through Telepathy, she immediately attempted to sift a little through his essence. In a few moments, she realized she'd made a grave mistake. Although she couldn't be sure of what he used it for she definitely felt the Dark Side.

A flushed feeling took her over; somewhat embarrassed and ashamed. If she'd just freaked a Sith out on a wall...her stomach almost turned over, however there was something else. The passion most Sith felt seemed to turn her on a little; she shook her head as if she was amused with him as a genuine smile curved onto one side of her round features.

"Impressive...." for once her voice was that of a Jedi, if he listened carefully enough he might even hear the autocratic tone clearly. She was genuinely impressed with the amount of energies, no matter how Dark, she'd felt when she'd cracked into him for a brief moment. No fear, only curiousness overtook her. He was definitely not 'green' when it came too the ways of the Force; that much she could discern. What he was, who he was involved with, or anything of that nature, was far beyond her at this point.

"So...." she said, moving her hair behind her with a fan of one of her hands. "I think...we understand one another a little bit better now?" she pressed her hands onto the wall behind her, leaning her perfect coke bottle shape onto the wall as well. Pressing up against it like a supermodel, not on purpose, but by virtue.

She knew Esmerelda probably had eyes on her from somewhere in the club now, but she didn't care at this exact time. She could clearly see the lightsaber at his hilt; hers was inside of her robes...which was inside of her purse...which was at the coat check....if he wanted too; he could probably strike. Though she was confident in her abilities to dodge up close and make a break for it; she didn't want a scene.

"You'll have to show me your lightsaber sometime, such beautiful instruments...I've always been fascinated with them...but never had one of my own..." she sounded oblivious, a practiced liar thanks to Esmerelda and their various escapades. Although he could probably see straight through the fact that she was merely attempting to avoid escalating the situation.

"I'm going to go grab my things from the coat check...meet me by the front door perhaps?" she smirked at the man and slinked off into the crowd. She needed to get her things now. She hadn't been able to see his lightsaber from across the room through the thick swath of this endless party; but now...the situation had somewhat changed.

Nieraan stood and waited, silently counting down the time he would allow the woman to reappear. She, and her purpose here, was a casual interest to be investigated on a passing whim, but if she took too long to come back down, he'd move along without much problem.

He moved from his position on the wall as another fellow left the dance floor and took up a spot not far from where he stood. Surely the man was just there to take a break, but Nieraan wasn't in the mood to fraternize with the common crowd that filled the place. He strode along to a table, grabbed another cup of water and found an empty table a few feet away from where he'd been sitting. And then he sat and waited.

Sure enough, just as he was nearing the bottom of his drink, the woman reemerged on the stairs, finished with whatever business had whisked her away to the higher floor. Nieraan watched her with an passive interest, though most of his attention seemed to be focused on the dance floor and his water.

The woman seemed to notice him, or at least the whispers of his muted presence in the Force. And from their interactions, Nieraan surmise that she and the red Twi'lek were friends, or at least acquaintances of some sort. Maybe more; he didn't really care.

Eventually the woman came wandering over, and Nieraan mentally braced himself for interaction. But she wandered right by him, going instead to the young man that had taken up residence at the spot where Nieraan had been standing a few moments prior.

The corner of Nieraan's lips curled up into a little smirk, showing the tips of one of his sharp canines. Maybe she's not so bright, he mused. As if to reinforce this, the woman began doing... all manner of things to the young man, who looked quite surprise that someone had picked her out of the blue.

Nieraan had to fight not to laugh.

It was funny: he could tell she noticed him in the Force, yet she went to the complete wrong person. She even went so far as to try brushing into his presence through the Force; something he allowed only the briefest scratching of the surface of before she ran into the hardened walling that protected his mind. Nieraan had very little ability to act offensively through telepathy, but he was quite capable of keeping others out.

Kamirille had made certain that he was.

Of course, the subtle probing gave the woman a taste of the strength and the taint that lurked beneath Nieraan's muffling mask, and suddenly she was wary. She backed away from the hapless man, extending an invitation to meet him outside and retreated.

For some time the fellow just stood there, jaw agape. "Did... What just... I'm so confused," he muttered, shaking his head.

"I don't think you're the only one," Nieraan replied, watching the woman's retreating form from his seat. "I think she might be more than you were."

I suppose that rules out the possibility of her being a Jedi, doesn't it? He yawned loudly, stretching his back as he did so. Or if she is, she is a poor one...

No matter. Better for her that she'd found the wrong man instead of him. He wasn't in the mood for that kind of foolishness.

Still, he allowed her some time, enough time to leave. And then he made her way down. If they wanted to chat, they'd chat. And she might just be in for a bit of a shock.

{Remember when I said to be careful about doing too much without letting the other person respond? =P Yeah, be careful about that}

(( Of course I'll be more careful XD, it is a dark night club...and I always emphasize her making mistakes with Sense anyway, PLUS she's been drinking...so it sort of makes sense, XD but OK ))

Cassy returned not too shortly afterward with her purse slung across her chest. Amidst the flickering lights and streaming spotlights on the wall she made her way towards the entrance. She looked back towards the guy she'd just danced with wondering how long he'd be, however when she looked in his direction she seemed to realize something was wrong.

The Force wasn't emanating as strong as it should've been from him, as strong as it was a moment before...had she made a mistake? With her purse slung over her shoulder, she looked quizzical for a moment...before shrugging her shoulders in an oh well type of fashion. Dancing with a boy who may not have been a Sith was a step up from where she'd been a moment ago. Although she probably really turned the young lad on which was something she hadn't truly intended. No matter.

Even as she was realizing she'd picked the wrong person out of the darkness, she was already righting her wrong. Expanding her Sense to it's limits, the souls of the room came alive too her; each taking on a faint glow. The person she was looking for couldn't have been easier to spot, however what she did now was up too her.

Curiosity ended up getting the better of her as she casually strolled up towards the person radiating Force much more so than anyone else. He was seated in a table area, well lit UV lights above. She walked forward and literally stopped short of him, still standing.

She casually gandered over him, emerald eyes taking in both his attire and demeanor. If it was this man she'd sensed..and not the other hapless guy she'd whispered sweet nothings too....then what she'd felt still applied. She should probably have been more careful, however she had been drinking all night, and although now by the moment she revitalized her focus and senses through Body; she'd broken the rules several times already as she usually did. She really was a horrible Jedi. If anyone knew about her clubbing habits or the fact that she was Best Friends with one of the most wanted Twi'lek's in the Galaxy...well...things wouldn't be pretty. However at times, Lallane's belief in 'understanding what we shy away from' went a little far. As for the man across from her now, all she could do is address him as she sobered up by the moment.

He did somewhat rub her as the type too never truly...want too enjoy himself, in the conventional manner anyhow. He seemed dark, scrutinizing even in his eyes. She'd already looked like a fool to him once, however she didn't really care what she looked like too him on a night such as this. He held no authority where she was from, and couldn't punish her, however what she'd Sensed from him Telepathically earlier had her somewhat interested and worried. Eventually he'd made his way out. She looked around for Ezzy for awhile, and when she found her. They exchanged hand signals. She was going to head outside, Ezzy nodded saying she'd follow and keep watch.

Tailing behind the man, Cassy in her black leggings black top and high heels threw her Jedi cloak on after picking it up at the coat check. She stepped out into the buzzing streets of Nar Shaddaa. The waves of light from billboards people and passing cars was distracting and disorienting for a moment compared too the dark club, even with all it's flashing neons on the inside. It was like Times Square too the umpteenth power.

However, it wasn't hard too pluck a signature out that she'd felt not too long ago. She tailed behind him, black body suit slightly unzipped and warranting a few hoots as her cloak swooped behind her. The nightlife didn't distract her in the least however, she merely remained honed in on him and continued to follow.

Cool night air greeted Nieraan as he left the nightclub and returned to the streets of Nar Shaddaa. He glanced for the Force woman as he walked along, hand stuffed casually into his jacket pockets. He couldn't see her, but with the Force, that didn't matter; a gentle touch to its swirling currents told Nieraan that she'd delayed to come out behind him and was following him.

Invite a man out to talk and you can't even show yourself to him, he thought amusedly, a corner of his lip drawn up in a subtle smirk. He might almost have felt disappointed, if he'd been the poor sod she'd dumped herself onto.

But he was not, nor was he clueless as to what it was this woman actually was.

So he decided to move on through the streets and string her along. See how much she wanted to follow him and deal with her at a time and place of his own choosing.

On he went, passing like a shadow through the throngs that choked the streets. His path meandered naturally, allowing for the variance of a man who was going somewhere without being in any real rush to be there.

Nieraan moved away from the main plaza that the nightclub sat at the edge of. He led the woman to a quieter area, where the press of people wasn't so tight and the steady, throbbing boom of bass didn't constantly fill the air.

Through it all, he kept his presence in the Force wrapped tightly around itself, closed enough to ward off being noticed by someone he didn't want to be noticed by, and open enough for his follower to keep tabs on.

Eventually he came to another plaza. It was smaller, and blessedly quieter. Here he decided he would address the woman, and he went to the edge of a small fountain and leaned against it, peering in. Coins, distorted again and again by waves, littered the bottom.

As if throwing them into water could make an easier life.

If only.

"So tell me," he called out, loudly enough for her to hear him. "You plan on saying anything to me, or are you just planning on following me around all night?" Nieraan turned around, smiling enough to show the tip of one of his sharp canines. "You stink of Jedi. Not the best idea, just following a man like me around with that odor on you in the Force. Not if you don't want trouble."

A moment's pause. Then, "So what do you and your little hiding friend want, hm?"

Cassy wandered the city, or so it appeared. In truth she hadn't lost the trail of the person in question since she'd left the nightclub. She could feel Ezzy's signature in the Force, moving every so often somewhere off behind her.

Perhaps she'd wait for Cassy to cross a street before she did, subtle. Yet on time.

Cassy weaved through people as crossed streets, ignored vendors, and wait, was that a drunk Wookie? Anyway, she'd learned long ago that anything could happen on Nar Shaddaa, and it probably was happening. However she had more pressing matters. For awhile, the signature of the man seemed to move faster deliberately pressing onwards at a good clip. However it was as if she was being baited, allowed to follow him.

No matter, his own curiosity interested her.

Eventually it came too a halt. She wondered for a moment what the significance of this meant, had he encountered trouble? Someone he knew? Or----no...there he was. Through the crowd of moving people constantly stepping in front of him and moving on at a good walk; she could see him. Leaning on a fountain, staring down into it's waters.

The steps of her high heels approaching him confidently the 'click, click, click' seemed to last forever. Until his voice called out too her. Yes, definitely a Forcer like herself. His Sense might've been leagues ahead of hers.

He even knew about Esmerelda. Yes, his Sense was definitely leagues ahead of hers. For awhile, Cassy simply remained still, before pushing her dark locks behind her ears and stepping forward in a few more clicks of her high heels. She would stand...a few feet to his left, and look into the fountain herself.

Various currencies from different worlds glittered inside it's clear waters...the fountain had three levels, and the splashes of water almost had a trancing effect. She was reminded of her sparring matches with Teer Ka on Shili, before she joined the Jedi High Council. The sound of running water always seemed to bring her back to the waterfalls, and lakes of that place. She would snap back to herself, and slowly turn and face the man as he insulted the Jedi Order as if he was used too doing so.

A clear sign, but not too be set in stone just yet.

"Is it that important too you? Jedi? Sith? What's the difference after all...." she looked away from him, leaning with her arms a bit more into the fountain. "Oh....she always follows me when I follow suspicious and dangerous characters like yourself....." a hint of flirtation leaked from her voice.

"Yes...I am a member of the Jedi Order........I won't lie too you." Cassy went out on a limb, her senses braced for the sound of a lightsaber or the twirling of the Force just incase he decided too take this a different route at the moment of that new piece of information. "But......I'm beginning to have some doubts...you don't seem the type too hold anything back....why is it you detest the Jedi Order so? If....I can ask that of you...."

She had a feeling this person was either a Sith...or someone who'd left the Order....or even someone who'd escaped his servitude of the Sith. It made no difference too her. She wanted his opinion.

Cassy and Nieraan's reflections glittered back through the waters of the fountain, as they both stared into their reflections while conversing.

Click... click... click...

Stop.

Nieraan's lip pulled back slightly in a smile as the woman stopped short of him. Though he couldn't see her, back facing her as it was, he could feel her through the Force--feel the way she was suddenly forced to reconsider her position like an overcurious pup faced with the rattling of a serpent's tail.

Yes, I know about your friend, he silently taunted. In another time, another place, he might have gloated. He may have teased and taunted that keeping track of her little sidekick wasn't hard, if he willed it.

But gloating was best saved for things worth gloating over.

So Nieraan stood quietly, watching ripples arc across the water's surface, until a strengthening of resolve precluded the rhythmic click click of the woman coming to motion again.

He felt, rather than saw her come to stand near him. The drawing close of another presence like his own, the subtle way the body knows that another person has gotten close, the subtle hints of perfume and natural scent that broke through the air between them.

All these, Nieraan noticed before she spoke, before he looked to her constantly-distorted reflection in the water or acknowledged her with little more than a sidelong glance and a soft, half-interested chuckle.

"Does she?" he asked of her companion, a subtle humor lurking beneath the surface of his words. His eyes flicked back and over his right shoulder for a brief moment, looking in the direction he knew the other woman to be without moving his head to do so. "It must be nice, being in such capable hands..."

The flirtation in her voice was ignored wholly. She was a curious traveler, wandered into a den in which she had no business. She meddled with a slumbering dragon, unaware of the consequences of making it stir.

"Yes...I am a member of the Jedi Order........I won't lie to you."

"I do dislike it when people lie to me," Nieraan said. His words were casual, his face almost bored as he peered into the water. But a subtle, quiet threat was buried in them, and beneath it still a warning, a hint of some of the breadth of his ability. Whether she read it or not was little concern to him; the smart and strong flourished in the Galaxy, while the foolish and weak failed and faded away.

"But......I'm beginning to have some doubts...you don't seem the type to hold anything back....why is it you detest the Jedi Order so? If....I can ask that of you...."

One of Nieraan's dark brows arced slightly. Some of his peers--Makura in particular--might have jumped on the first thing she said, but his curiosity turned to the last part.

"Detest?" he asked with a half-laugh. For a moment he looked to her, his youthful face amused like a cat with a toy of a catch it hadn't quite decided what to do with yet.

"Why do you assume I detest the Jedi?"

A question in answer for a question. Perhaps she wouldn't like that, or perhaps she would. Nieraan, though, wasn't the one seeking answers, nor were his own going to be so easy to attain.

As they stood side by side, she continued to watch both of their reflections bounce and ripple off the water. She focused lucidly on his expressions, they seemed somewhat difficult to read at first; but shortly there after came to a realization that this being possessed some form of inner calm, whatever twisted fashion it might've been in.

"Well...capable yes...she's racked quite the bounty up in recent years, enough for a family too make sure more than a few generations of theirs were well off..." she smirked "Makes for interesting travels...." she subtly humored the fact that everywhere she went with Esmerelda, everyone was gunning for the Red Twi'lek. Whether literally, or sexually.

His tone seemed slightly irked with sarcasm, but something else came shining through. The Force seemed to whirl off of him for a moment, in a magnitude that had her draw completely silent. She raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips together, staring him down as they leaned on the fountain. The noise of running water in the air as the water made it's way down the multilevel fountain in ribbons of clear sparkling liquid.

'Detest....' the first time he said it, she continued too look at him. Still a little bit worried at what she'd felt a moment ago. 'Why do you assume I detest the Jedi?' his voice was committing itself to memory at this point, it was a slight Telepathic habit she had. So that she never forgot a voice.

Still staring him down, a small smile traced itself on her lips and her expression softened.

"The word "stink" doesn't usually come out when you're talking about something you approve of...." she sighed, the soft expression still on her face as it wrinkled slightly in thought. "I suppose..."detest" is harsh...but so is stink." she almost laughed. "Apologies......as one of the few of my Order that do traverse the Galaxy...I know first hand that there are lots of people out there that detest everything I am."

With that she remained silent. With a sigh, the Jedi Knight would push her light brown locks behind her ear on one side by habit.

"Perhaps it is I that have doubts...." her voice was light and peaceful over the sounds of the fountain...but something else was in her voice. Honesty. The drinks she had consumed were kicking back in, as she hadn't spent that long reducing their effects with Healing and Body. She'd already been too drunk too pinpoint him earlier in the club, she didn't want another escapade out here.

However by the moment she started feeling as if she'd fall into the fountain.

"You don't have to hate something to think it stinks," Nieraan pointed out lazily. His face was bored, his voice soft and lax, as though he were speaking to a child. Perhaps he was, in some ways. Despite her words and claims of knowledge of the Galaxy that others among the Jedi lacked, she was young; older than he looked, yet still younger than he was.

He rather doubted that the years she'd lived had been near as trying and harsh as his own. Could he blame her for making assumptions, for being naive?

No. But that didn't make things any less dangerous for her. The Galaxy was a cold, uncaring place, and Nieraan had no reason to care for her.

"Perhaps it is I that have doubts...."

"Perhaps..." Nieraan said idly as he stared at the waves rippling out across the water's surface. He stood still, his body relaxed though his mind was alert and wary. The Jedi, though was different. He could feel the clouds that filled her mind, and not only from her admitted doubts.

Pitiful, he thought wrinkling his nose like a dog that'd sniffed some foul scent on the wind.

With a sigh he turned and walked away from her, letting a finger trail lazily along the fountain's grimy metal rim. "You're in a place you don't belong Jedi. Like a kitten in a nexu's den."

The Firrerreo stopped on the far side of the fountain, looking straight across at her through the thin veil of water that fell down from its terraced form. "Assume I am what you think I am, Jedi," he went on, smirking enough to show the predatory tip of a fang. "Assume I'm hostile.

"Assume," he continued, holding up a hand and looking at it for a moment, "that I want to capture you, take you where I will, turn you in. Interrogate you. Kill you. Do whatever I feel like at the time. And here are you, inebriated, not even sure what you believe, and too curious or too stupid to keep yourself from following me around when you don't even know who I am or what my purpose is.

"What is there to stop me, hm? Your protector might as well be a flea, and you were stupid enough follow me after filling yourself with drink. You're no challenge for me." Nieraan snorted softly. "Even if your mind was clear, you wouldn't be."

His voice wasn't arrogant, nor thoroughly overcome with cocky self-assurance. It was, for him, a simple stating of fact, just as if he were telling her the time or day of the week.

"Yet here you are, following me into dangers you don't know, into places you don't belong.

"I ask again, Jedi, why are you here? Do you think I'm here to save you from your doubts? To reaffirm them or breed new resolve in you?"

A pause, a quiet moment of consideration as he weighed her with his gaze. Carefully. Measuringly.

"And why should I stay my hand and save you from the punishment that every other one of us has had to pay for stupidity?"

"I know more than you think," Nieraan answered wryly from his new station on the other side of the fountain. He stood easily, one hand stuffed into a jacket pocket, the other hanging by his side. The girl felt indignant in the Force, as though he wasn't giving her her due. But Nieraan wasn't putting her down, wasn't building himself up for his own sake.

He was merely stating fact.

The girl kept talking, going on about the will of the Force and her betrayals of the Jedi Code. Nieraan laughed at that and at the accusation that he had any intention of helping her walk the path properly. "Girl, I don't give a nerf's ass how you walked the path your Code calls for." No, her sin was stupidity, though unsurprisingly, she seemed to miss that.

If she didn't, she likely wouldn't have found herself in this predicament anyway.

"You Jedi do love to talk about it," he said, tapping his hand on the fountain's rim and turning from it. He strolled casually away from it, only regarding her from the corner of his eye as he walked to a railing by the plaza's edge and looked out at the city from it. "The Code and the 'will of the Force,'" his voice turned the words in his mouth twisting them with sarcasm. "Easy thing to talk about when you live in your Temple, surrounded and protected by the riches and power of the Republic. While the rest of us suffer."

Nieraan snorted in his throat and turned away from the rail, looking the Jedi girl in the eye for a silent moment. "But in places like this, the only law is what the criminals that run it decide it should be. The only good there is to protect you is the strength of your own back. Mercy.." he scoffed at the notion of it, "is for pious old men on fat, peaceful worlds."

"Is it the 'will of the Force' for a child to be snatched away from his father and punished for sins that aren't his own, Jedi? Is it the 'will of the Force' that a family that's done nothing wrong should have to struggle under the weight of gangs and criminals--should have to break their backs to satisfy them to keep from having a bolt put in the back of their head?"

Nieraan snarled for a moment and shook his head. "All the while, you all talk about your Light. You say that the Force wills all things to happen. And when you finally do come," he went on relentlessly, "you come arrive like you have, too worried about yourself and your secret vices to help the people you're supposed to be sworn to protect."

Nieraan snorted roughly and again shook his head, shaggy hair turning n the night air. "Hypocrite."

He returned to his place, standing now with arms folded over his chest and watching the Jedi with predator's eyes. Now, if anything, he felt a hardening of his resolve to make her see how life was in the outside world, to see for herself the suffering that others endured while she drank herself to silliness in a cantina.

And so, he decided, he would.

"How much if the life of another worth to you, Jedi?"

"Of all the things I've known Jedi to be, I've never known one to be stupid." Nieraan looked across the water at the Jedi, the incredulity in his voice betraying the steady look on his face. The Firrerreo was completely baffled as to how a Jedi, of all people, could so completely miss the point of what it was he'd said. But here she was, staring at him from the fountain, somehow managing to combine tone-deafness and idiocy into a package the likes of which he'd never quite seen before.

The very fact that she thought his examples of life beyond the Core, beyond the gleaming polished world and peaceful wealth the Republic and its supporters liked to pretend made up the whole of their government were complaints about his own life was enough to convince him, if her antics in the Cantina hadn't, that it wasn't the alcohol that made her the fool.

You're a Jedi, he silently berated her. You come to a world of filth and decay and you can't even pay attention to the suffering beneath your own nose.

The degree to which that annoyed Nieraan surprised him.

"Amazing..." he muttered, shaking his head.

"Jealousy's a funny thing, Jedi," he said, turning away from the fountain. "See, I didn't grow up in a fancy Temple like yourself, but I've managed to learn a thing or two for myself. Usually, there has to be something for someone to be jealous of, yes?" He looked over his shoulder from his causal strolling, quirking a brow in the manner of a teacher awaiting answer from a reticent class.

"Since you seem to be either too proud or too stupid to put one and one together, allow me to speak plainly: I'm not jealous of the Order, and I never have been. Try again."

Nieraan snorted and shook his head disdainfully as he turned to face the Jedi again. He almost wondered if she was worth the bit of time it would take to dispatch her if he decided to. Defeating Jedi was a point of pride for some Sith, but who respected the hunter that downed a deer with a gimpy leg?

"Or maybe you just don't have the capacity to answer a simple question," he started again, voice quiet as though muttering to himself. "So you try to turn your insecurities on me, hoping I won't notice.

"But you asked me question, and it would be so rude of me to pay you in kind without answer." Nieraan resumed his strolling, meandering over to a sandy-haired youth that had stopped whatever it was he was doing to watch their exchange.

"The Dark is life," he said. "It is death. It's blessed warmth and frigid cold at once. It's a tide that can fill you to brimming with powers unimagined and at the same time," he snapped his fingers, "snuff your life out like a candle's flame."

The Dark Side was all of that, and so much more. But explaining it to a Jedi, who by admittance seemed to have the same cursory curiosity about it as a stupid teenager would a hard drug seemed a waste of time. The Dark Side was pain. The Dark Side was hatred and loss and wrath. The Dark Side was suffering.

But let her find that out on her own.

"Now," Nieraan continued, still speaking to the Jedi, though he'd turned to face the youth. The boy couldn't have been much older than Nieraan looked to be. The Sith watched him like a cat watching prey. "I do believe I asked you a question and you refused to acknowledge it." His senses were still aware of the Jedi near the fountain, and her little ant of a friend.

The young man tried to move, but an invisible something congealed around his figure, holding him in place. In a few steps, Nieraan was beside him, a laid comfortingly on his shoulder

Then a web of red light flickered around his hand, like crimson electricity dancing between his fingers. It crawled and spidery down his quarry's youthful body. The youth gasped loudly. When Nieraan released his shoulder, the body slumped lifelessly to the ground.

"So, again, I ask," he looked up at her again, feeling the strength, the raw force of life from the Drain coursing through his body. It had been so long—too long. "How much is a life worth to you, Jedi?"

He smirked at her, showing the tips of one of his fanged canines.

"Clearly, one isn't worth much."

From across the little square, he felt the wind come out of her sails.

The lifeless youth fell to his knees and his body slumped limply to the ground. Arm sprawled out as he came to rest. The hand fell palm up on the grimy duracrete, lifeless fingers reaching toward the Jedi, toward the source of an unanswered prayer.

A deafening silence followed Nieraan’s words. To his senses, heightened with the force of life pounding through his being, the thud of the corpse on concrete seemed to echo hollowly through the air.

And still the Jedi stood motionless like she didn’t know what’d hit her. Nieraan smiled coldly. It was a hard lesson, the one this Jedi had to learn, but a lesson he’d know the ending of from the beginning.

The Jedi couldn’t have her convictions challenged. Not this one. That, he could gather from the moment he first saw her in that club.

“You could have saved him,” he said quietly to her toothless accusation. “Didn’t you see the look in his eyes, Jedi? Couldn’t you feel his plea for help?” His voice rose, a false conviction giving it fire as the crowd began to take notice. “You could have saved him, Jedi, but you didn’t! You did nothing but stand there and watch. Him. Die.”

The smattering of people that noticed the dead boy turned to look at the confrontation. Some began to gather, curious as to what happened — it wasn’t uncommon, seeing someone killed in the streets of Nar Shadaa, especially away from the rich areas. Though often wise to keep your head down when it happened, that didn’t stifle curiosity completely. And a Jedi’s presence made everything about the suddenly-dead boy all the more curious.

“The Jedi could’ve saved him?” A man asked in the crowd as the Jedi turned to run away. “Why didn’t she?”

“What happened to protecting the poor?”

“Aren’t the supposed to be guardians?”

Nieraan smirked darkly as he pulled his hood up over his head and melted into the crowd, just as he had time after time after a hit in his gang days. A crowd couldn’t be treated as an individual—they were creatures unto themselves. Confuse it, turn its attention away to something else, and use the chance to slip away.

Slip away he did, but not to disengage the Jedi; he wasn’t done with her yet.

It was easy to track her; he’d spent more than enough time near her to acquire a knowledge of her particular presence and her Force sensitivity shined above the rest of the rabble that crowded the grimy, narrow streets.

She’d gone up, and so he followed, jumping neatly from ledge to fire escape to balcony until he came up to her roof. He stood from a crouch, on the opposite side of the roof behind her.

“It’s funny, you know,” he said, stretching his senses wide across the area, keeping the friend’s location in the back of his mind. “They act like they care now, but soon they’ll leave the body alone in the middle of the square. Go back to their own lives. No one will remember the boy.” He looked down at one of his gloved hands, fingers outstretched, as a rotten wind blew against jacket’s hood. “A friend, if he had any. Family, perhaps, if any lived or cared about him. All minor in the scheme of things….”

Nieraan allowed the thought to die on the wind and looked up at the Jedi flatly. “Why did you run?”

Nieraan smirked at the Jedi’s answer. He even chuckled — a menacing, predatory sound borne from deep within his throat. Obviously, the girl didn’t have much experience out here in the real world. On a Republic world, perhaps she’d have something to worry about.

But this was Nar Shadaa, not the Republic.

Here the law was what the ruling cartels made it, and its enforcement came when they felt it served them. A worthless boy dead in the streets? Commonplace, in some districts. Gang violence, it was often assumed, and that was a violence that rarely cared who it killed.

“A Jedi wanted for murder,” he said, his tone whimsically dismissive of the notion. “And who would bring the claim to the Order? What evidence would they have, hm? That you, a member of the Order, were then when a boy died. And so guilty.”

The Firrerreo snorted.

“The only thing you’re guilty of is failing to stop it. But perhaps that’s not any better…” Nieraan’s voice trailed as he shifted his weight to his left leg, and tilted his hooded head slightly at the woman. “And since when do Jedi run from blame?”

"What is it you want? Do you want to fight? I'm lost enough as it is, why don't you just go?"

Nieraan grinned and laughed at that. “I want what I want, Jedi,” he answered, deciding not to play along with her line of question. “But if I wanted to fight, I’d attack you. And you’d be dead.” Fortunately for her, Nieraan wasn’t particularly interested in such a boring affair at the moment—earlier perhaps, but now he played a different game.

Unless she drew a blade. It would be a pity, but he’d gladly oblige.

“I’ll go when I feel like it,” he went on with a shrug. “And my name isn’t important, not to you.” He smiled a crooked half-smile at her, exposing a fang. “Just another face in the crowd… Though for your benefit, hope we don’t meet again. Might not be as pleasant next time.”

"I really wish you hadn't killed him...."

Nieraan shrugged, glancing down at the street below. “I bet he does too. But the weak are meat…” And the strong do eat. He could nearly hear his mother’s voice finishing the old idiom in his head. He snorted in annoyance at it.

“So what will you do now, hm?” He asked, continuing his game of toying with the Jedi. “Run back to the council and tell them you couldn’t dare to help the boy like a good little Jedi? Or go find some club with booze and sex to hide from your problems like you were earlier?”

She rolled her eyes at his statement; he was extremely overconfident in his abilities, as to be expected from a Sith. She hadn't met many in the Force who were faster than her; and she wasn't worried about escaping if need be, she knew these streets quite well. But for some reason, she knew she wouldn't be able to defeat him in a Lightsaber duel. It was his stance, the way he held himself. Plus he seemed somewhat older and more experienced, and she truly wasn't in the mood for it.

"I doubt that, very seriously." she said without looking at him. "Sex, Booze? Oh, that sounds absolutely wonderful right now, I thought you'd never ask." she sarcastically spoke; however there was a hint of seriousness in her voice; getting laid and getting wasted after witnessing a murder was just what she needed.

She relaxed a bit; and turned around, her bodysuit still hugging her figure; as her lightsaber clipped too her leg; tied to her thigh hung by a sheath. She finally looked him up and down, apparently he wanted something more. A little bit of sweat, was on her face, from partying, drinking, and running. Her reddish locks fell backward into her usual braid, but some of her hair was matted down.

"So, do you want to have a good time or what?" her buxom features were hard to ignore; as she cut her green eyes to the side, and waited for a reaponse. "I don't mind, I'm just tired of this little game of political chess. To be honest, I don't plan on going back to the Jedi Temple, so I could care less." mixing seriousness with any amount of alcohol often brought the real out in individuals, and Cassy was no exception. "Or...if you don't want to frak. Just stay out of my way, if you won't teach me anything of value you're nothing but a waste of time." the redhead crossed her arms on top of her breasts and shook her head. With the advantage of training under a Jedi Watchman, the Ex-Grandmaster, and the Battlemaster, Cassandra knew the value of learning. She was curious about the Dark Side, but this man seemed to arrogant to even begin to know how to share knowledge, or perhaps it was just a facade. Perhaps she would have to seek the Darths rumoured to exist only in myth if she wanted to truly learn anything for herself.

"So?"