A New Chapter {Silas}

Silas took a step closer towards the body of the animal, as he prodded on it with the tips of his fingers he grabbed a scalpel from his pocket, and pulled of the casing. With a expert hand he ran the instrument from the base of its neck down through to the base of its stomach, having to move to the other end. A rancid smell came from the corpse, like rotting tissue always smelled when he’d forgotten to refrigerate it. The Sith needed to perform the autopsy on the Chev before it because unrecognizable from any other dead creature out there. The confines of his ship made it a little stuffy, but that was okay, he was going to finish this right now before he moved onto anything else. With a steady hand he brought the tool up to the man’s shoulder, point pressed firmly into the skin, as it ripped through past the flesh, and into the sinew, and muscles. Not enough to break the bones, but enough to cut away the skin, and reveal what was beneath that pretty little bronze colour this man had acquired.

One of the panels next to him began to beep as he began to make another cut from shoulder to shoulder, and he cursed as he threw down his instrument. For a second the Firrerreo just sat there, silently wondering if he should bother with it, but knowing he would in the end anyway. With a disgruntled sigh he pulled the rubber gloves off his hand, and threw them into a nearby trashcan, then walked over towards the flashing signal. With one hand he pushed it, the other one went to grabbing a snack from off the shelf a little ways away, he usually got hungry on long space rides, and kept something to eat in the ship. Right now it was a little junk food, nothing really sustaining, but it didn’t really matter as the small figure of a man began talking.

”Silas, whenever you get back from…wherever you are, I wish to speak with you immediately,” Told the voice he’d heard so much recently, and he bit his tongue for a second. For a second he had to keep from laughing, the man wasn’t someone he’d taken very seriously as of late, especially since Silas had convinced him of the reality of what he was doing while gone. Only someone like that initiate would believe he was working on a way to teleport things with the force. It’d be necessary to kill him soon, he’d just need to wait a little longer.

For a moment, perhaps less than a second if you really thought about it, he moved over towards the body, and examined it with more than just his eye. With the force as a prod, he danced upon the outskirts of what he could detect, but it was a minimalist’s view at best, Silas’ power in the force was not vested in sense. From first glance he had seemed healthy, but unfortunately a little too much arsenic in the blood can have a very nasty side effect. It wasn’t Silas who had planted the chemical, oddly enough, but it had shown a perfect opportunity he may not get again for quite some time, measure were made to preserve the body immediately. Hopefully it wouldn’t rot while he was away, it would be unfortunate to have to throw it out of the air lock. Even if it might prove just slightly fun.

With the force he pulled the cover over his work, for he’d need to go before the fool decided to go find him, and got himself hurt before he was done with him. Quickly he danced about the little room in his ship, as he put things away, and exited the ramp onto the hot sand under his feet. Heat wafted from the sand to the core of his being, it seared his soul as he walked from the place he‘d landed his ship, towards the actual temple just a bit away, already in sight. Little more than a disgruntled sigh exited his lips as he got closer to notice two guards arguing with someone he’d never seen before. Really, it wasn’t that hard to believe he hadn’t talked to every man, and woman in the Sith Temple, but he’d seen most of them, it was hard for him to forget a face, however hard he might try. Whether someone who knew this place, or one coming to call it home, he would soon find out.

”Me? I want….I want whatever’s in there,” Told the man to the men, his voice carried quite well, if a slightly soft at the beginning. Obviously he wasn’t well versed in what was beyond those doors, no man would drop themselves into a swarm of bees willingly. Oh yes, they were no more than annoying, but he’d rather not go through unnecessary pain if need be. Hopefully this person would realise that sooner than later.

”You want to go inside?” Asked Silas inquiringly, with a slight tinge of humour in his voice, ”I’d suggest a club, but maybe a little sense would be less messy.”

Silas chuckled to himself as he came up to the place where the two guards were, and looked at them both, neither would hold themselves for a second under a barrage of the force. “You don’t want to waste our time, you’d rather us just go on our way,” Muttered Silas to the pair, not really caring to argue with them, and they repeated to him exactly what he had said, and moved out of his way. The Sith took a few steps through, and told the man behind him, ”If you want through, better hurry up. Whistling as he moved through the gates, he looked about with not a single notion as to whether this person would want to talk to him, but if he should, so be it. Things in this place could be a bit dull, and the child could wait for him just a bit longer.

Nieraan felt the other's approach long before he saw or heard him. It wasn't very hard to do. Sense was one of Nieraan's stronger areas among the schools of the Force, and whoever was coming stood out; they were strong. They felt strong, anyway. Or perhaps strong wasn't the right word, though certainly a person with such a presence was not one to be trifled with. There was a certain... distinguishing factor about the presence, something that made it stand out from the other faint presences he could feel within.

A smirk spread across Nieraan's face as the presence grew nearer. Maybe they weren't someone to be trifled with, but he intended to do exactly that. He still had to figure out if this whole Sith Order was worth his time or not. Shouldn't be muc-

”You want to go inside? I’d suggest a club, but maybe a little sense would be less messy.”

Nieraan turned to look at the source of the voice, and there he was: the man the presence belonged to. That man, whoever he was, was a bit taller than Nieraan, with dark, wavy hair. He didn't seem to pay too much attention to Nieraan, though. In fact, he went on to make the guards move aside and continued on, with only a casual line to Nieraan to hurry up if he wanted in. Nieraan's jaw set obstinately, but he didn't have much choice but to do what the man said. Otherwise he might just end up stuck outside the Temple for the Force only knew how long. I'm already taking orders and I just got here, he thought irritably.

See, Nieraan was the sort of person that did not at all like following orders. He was a man of independence, a free spirit that preferred to do as he wished, when he wished. It would be an understatement to say he had problems submitting to another's authority, unless that person showed themselves to be worth it. He knew that would probably lead to problems with this particular group of Force users, but they had power, which was something he rather wanted.

He half-ran to catch up to the man as he was walking through the entrance into the Temple. They passed through the threshold and Nieraan stopped to look around as the great stone doors slid shut once more. He pulled the hood of his jacket down, now that he was inside, letting his shaggy shoulder length hair go free about his head. There was a sort of austere grandeur to the Temple, if such a thing could be said about a place. The ceilings were high and arching, but there was little decoration to be seen in the stonework. Interesting...

Nieraan growled under his breath when he looked back toward the man to see that he'd simply continued walking into the Temple, carrying on with his whistling without much to indicate that he even was paying attention to Nieraan. Again, he ran to catch up to him. "Hey," he called before he caught up to him, "who are you, anyway?" If he was going to see how far he could go with this particular man, now was the time to do it. His hand went up, toward the stranger's shoulder to grab him and turn him around so that they would be facing each other. "What's your rank here?" A cocky grin touched his lips as he took the Force and let sparks dance lightly around the hand he hadn't used to turn the man around in a display of his own power. "Are you strong? I hope you are, or you might not be worth my time."

A simple growl came from behind him as he didn’t give much more attention to the kid than he might an ant, and this reaction made him chuckle. People were all full of reactions, and Silas found a curious interest in the exploration, and exploitations of these little behaviours. If you played with them enough you could eventually get a response you wanted, one that no one saw coming, which pleased the Sith well enough. Life was his play ground, with arcane precipices, and dark columns of insanity which to meander about, and consider with all the graces one Sith could. Of course Silas realised full well that this person was probably annoyed by his less than benevolent nature towards him, but in all reality he cared little of the whims and wishes of someone he barely knew at all. If anything the boy should be happy he didn’t question him further, the only reason he didn’t was he could feel a resonance in him, the same one which emanated from the planet he stood on, a darkness which floated about the air around him. Silas guessed it probably did the same thing for him, hopefully it was nice and dark.

”Hey, who are you, anyway?” Came the voice behind him, the curiosity in that voice made him stop for a second, but he could already tell what was coming, and he was dreading it. People weren’t as smart as some would like to make them out to be.

When the ever so slightest bit of contact came, along with some odd force technique meant to impress him or something, Silas had a moment of animalistic instincts rip through his entire being. It was an uncontrollable urge, but the sad thing was the killer didn’t care, he probably would have followed through either way. With one hand he grabbed this kid around the torso, and with the force as his guide he sent him hurtling through the air. Not really enough to hurt him, but enough to make him get the point. Looking’s free, but touching, that’s going to cost you.

Something akin to pure rage probably crossed his face, contorted the natural lines of his appearance to the point where he might have been more emotion than man for just the slightest inkling of a second. With a steadied hand, he pointed at the kid as he spoke, ”Fool. Learn your place.”

The Sith hadn’t really taken note of the second part of his speech until after he’d lashed out on him, with that little stunt. Hopefully he gained some sort of awareness as to his power during that exchange. Silas didn’t like to have any physical contact with other people if avoided, that implied attachments, something this man had abandoned long ago. With a dark glare he regarded the kid in the floor, not sure what to do with him now, not sure if he should have brought him in here at all. In all honesty, he had more potential than most of the people here, which was a plus for him, but it didn’t quell the anger which was in him at the moment. Emotions were such a trivial thing, perhaps one day he’d rid himself of them, but right now they were there.

”I’m just an initiate, but I‘ve only been here a short time,” Told the older man slightly quietly, still contemplating the situation, ”But I was probably using the force before your dad was born.”

Quietly he turned around, his thoughts still in what to do next, still caught up by the situations, and all the many avenues which he could travel down. Sometimes life was a bit more than he needed at the moment, and he intended full well to break anything which got in his way. Something just needed a little push.

When prodding others you don't know, it's important to keep in mind the possible reactions that might come from it. It was paramount not to push too hard, or you might end up in a fight when not trying to start one, or, worse, on the receiving end of the wrath of someone who was more powerful than yourself. Nieraan kept all of these things in mind when he did his usual poking, especially in this place. Well, to a degree. He needed to have some note of genuineness to his actions, if for no other reason than to let these Sith know that his irreverence was not feigned. Still, though he held back; a fight was the last thing he wanted, and if other Sith came to the aid of the one he started a fight with, things might go very poorly for him indeed. His goals would be ruined, at the very least.

But at the same time, he wanted to see how this man reacted. Hopefully he'd have some sort of spine, since Nieraan doubted that he could bear to be a part of this order if it was filled with weak, groveling fools. Fortunately, he was not disappointed. To be honest, he was actually caught a bit off guard by the intensity of the reaction he got, which was a rather firm rebuke.

The man's hand lashed out at him the moment the last of his words was leaving he mouth. An attack was coming; Nieraan could feel it in the sudden rage that swelled up within the Sith, thought it was coming too quickly for him to react. At first, he thought it might just be a punch. That could be dealt with. Punches weren't too bad; painful, yes, but nothing he couldn't handle.

He was wrong.

The Sith suddenly grabbed him, and then the Force grabbed him, and he was airborne, sailing through the air across the middle of the corridor. His shoulder hit the rough stone of the wall behind him, and he grunted as a dull pain spread through it. Everything ended with him landing unceremoniously on the ground, glaring at the Sith. His shoulder still ached dully, but he'd experienced much worse.

Nieraan snorted arrogantly when the Sith told him to know his place. At least this one has a backbone. But how far could he push this Sith? He needed to know what the limits where, and they probably differed from person to person in a gathering like this. He smirked when the Sith said he was only an Initiate, but that quickly faded when the other man made mention of his father. No, then the smirk became a snarl, twisted by a finger of genuine anger. With it came his next opportunity to see how much he could prod at this Sith.

"And just who the hell do you think you are?" Nieraan stood to his feet after the Sith turned around, but he did not follow. Tendrils of the Force went out from his hand to pull on the Sith, to keep him from walking away. The pull wasn't hard enough to knock him over or anything; it was only strong enough to be annoying. "My father was a light-hearted fool, but he was strong, and could probably rip your face off in a fight, Initiate." A sneer formed, and he shook his head, as though he was disappointed in the Sith. "Besides, unless you're a particularly long-lived species, there's no way that's even possible. I am, like my father, a Firrerreo. He was probably Knighted before your father even thought about gettin' busy with your mother." He folded his arms and smirked openly, satisfied with himself. "You really shouldn't be so presumptuous, you know."

Sometimes when you cut someone they would heal, but if you cut them far enough they left scars, and Silas liked to make scars. Not in himself of course, but in other people, ones that would never go away, so that every time they saw what he had carved into them their minds would instantly go to his eyes, to his face as it laughed in pure and utter hysteria. They didn't know what truly went on in his mind, but they would know how he felt about them, about their pain, and their suffering. That was what he liked to see in people, not the good side, for he played no protagonist in any role which garnished him. For in a second he could destroy all the hope someone had, all those feelings of harmony, and perpetual happiness. And those sort of powers brought no sense of moral soundness to him, so there could only be left those feelings of narcissism which caught him in this uproar. Nieraan got up without much of a pause, which only made the urge to telekinetically rip the boys head off his shoulders, but he’d probably save that for someone a with a little less promise.

Probably.

More than the ability to get up, Nieraan’s little chuckle was more proof that he was not very interested in his the thing which rested on his head anymore. No harm came to him at this point, he even kept the level of anger in his eyes down a bit, he’d gotten used to that now. Although he’d been walking away from the scene, those steps abruptly halted as the man, boy whatever he pretended to be began to speak again. There was a difference between a slightly courageous young man, and someone who was completely out of line. Right now Silas knew he’d make Nieraan learn his manners, if he had to teach him one finger at a time. This Sith wasn’t one for idle threats, so the boy best learn to know him as an elder pretty soon, or he might have to start on something he’ll miss more.

”And who the hell do you think you are?” First asked the boy, a question which most curiously made Silas almost laugh.

A slight breeze tugged on the hem of his clothes, bits of hair, and caused his skin to crawl as he turned about to face the boy once more. Perhaps insanity burned the edges of his eyes, perhaps just maybe he’d lost his grip on reality, but perhaps this Nieraan needed to realise that. With a grin, one which belonged in an asylum, and a grim look to his eyes as he took one step towards him. Slightly he cocked his head to the side, as he assessed the boy, and thought of how easy it would be to kill him, or even easier make him sing like a little bird. Once it’d been a difficulty to get people to talk, but now it was easy, but then again once you put your mind to something it invariably became easy with time. No matter how sick or twisted something was, it all became easy with time.

”Who am I? Who am I? Well, I’m the one who let your sorry ass into this place,” Silas almost whispered as he got closer to the dark sider, his fingers twitched silently towards his lightsaber as he burned for this Nieraan to fall victim to his arcane practice. No, not another so soon, maybe in another hundred years, but not right now. If people around him started to disappear the entire Sith would begin suspicions ”Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

Not his temper was not quite so confined as he wasn’t quite sure whether to laugh or to kill him was the appropriate response to this situation. Often times people looked down upon killing, but it didn’t bother Silas too much, only when they got blood on his good clothes. Either this kid knew way too much about Silas and needed to die right there, or he was oddly naïve and similar to Silas in an almost disturbing way. With one hand he slammed the Force into this boy, not at all aiming for asphyxiation, that’d come without the aid of the Force. Which was where the other hand went to as he brought up his hand to his adam’s apple quickly without much restraint on strength. With his throat between his thumb, and the rest of his fingers he looked at him with a severity few people ever truly got to see.

”Are you playing some sort of game with me?” Silas angrily spat at the boy, as he waited to see if he was lying or not, ”Next time you’re going to be a smart-ass bastard, get your facts straight. I doubt with your current state of mind, your dad is any old than 60, much less 90.

Silas wasn’t sure if he should let go or not, but he wasn’t sure if Nieraan could talk at all, so he took his hand from his throat, but kept him pinned to the wall as he finished, ’Street rat.” With a glare he waited for his response, still astounded that someone of his own species could be so stupid.

There was always a line. For some, crossing it didn't lead to anything bad happening (well, not to Nieraan, anyway) but there were those that the young Firrerreo knew it was best not to cross. Now, he knew nothing of Silas, other than the small voice in the back of his mind whispering that this man was not someone whose line should be crossed. Nieraan ignored that voice, though and pressed on; he had to know what kind of man Silas was and how far he could push him. It might not be the best way to know what the Sith in this order were all like, but it might be a good way to at least get a feel for what he might need to expect.

The sound of his voice brought Silas to a halt, and some primal part of Nieraan felt fear at the man's expression, at the way his voice suddenly dropped to a dangerous whisper. Nieraan instinctively took a half step back when Silas stepped forward, though he found that his back was--quite literally--against the wall with that one simple motion. Wait, what am I doing? I'm not afraid of him, he thought through gritted teeth. But that look on the man's face was so disconcerting... In what was perhaps an attempt to prove that statement to himself, he took a step forward, meeting Silas' eyes defiantly with a glare of his own.

Nieraan's expression darkened at the when Silas mocked him with the suggestion that allowing the young man into the Temple might have been a mistake. An angry retort was set to fly from his mouth, but he never got the chance. His senses screamed a warning at him, but they were far too late this time. The Force slammed into him, causing him to gasp as the air was thrown from his lungs. The blast of energy lifted him from his feet, but his flight was very short, as his back slammed into the rough stones behind him. He growled angrily as he started to move off of the wall, but Silas was there, and a surprised Nieraan found himself pinned back. Then the Sith's hand went to Nieraan's throat, and the air that had been flowing into his lungs was halted in its tracks.

His yellow eyes went wide, both as he struggled to pull more air into his lungs and as Silas spoke again. Nieraan stepped incorrectly. Badly. He didn't know how Silas knew, but his guess of his father's age wasn't wrong; Ared had been fifty-four when his mother killed him, which would make him fifty-eight now. And, if Silas was near ninety, as he claimed... But he didn't look to be that old. No, he barely looked older than Nieraan, who looked like a man who was just barely coming into his twenties. Could it be, then? Were they both Firrerreo? If they were, that mistake alone would probably have been enough for Nieraan to concede to the older man. He'd made a big enough fool of himself already.

He gasped weakly and put a hand on Silas' wrist in a vain attempt to lighten the grip on his throat. The Sith released his grip on Nieraan's throat a few moments later, though he kept the younger man pinned against the wall. As Nieraan gasped deeply, sucking in the sweet oxygen that'd been denied to him, he heard the man's last two uttered words.

"Street rat."

Nieraan froze, save for his labored breathing and looked up to stare at Silas. How did he...? Truthfully, Nieraan wasn't sure if he needed to be terrified or furious. One the one hand, he had grown up on the streets. The streets of Metellos to be exact, though he didn't have a clue how Silas might know that. But on the other hand, there was the chance that Silas didn't really know about Nieraan's past and was only trying to insult him. He'd made a fine choice of words if an insult was what he was going for, because in taking Nieraan's youth and making a mockery of it, he pissed the young man off.

Let it go, whispered the small voice that'd made him wary of Silas a few moments earlier . Don't make him angrier, or you might regret it. Of course, that voice was almost unnoticeable, as the rest of Nieraan was enraged. Needless to say, he went with his temper. "So I'm a 'street rat', huh, Initiate?"

Lightning crackled around his fingers again for a moment as he held a hand up to point at Silas' chest. Nieraan didn't say anything; he only narrowed his eyes dangerously before a very brief burst of the energy leapt from his fingers at the Sith. It wouldn't be strong enough to do any damage; Nieraan's only goal was for it to hurt. Yes, he knew he'd probably end up paying for it, but he didn't care. He'd show this Silas that he wouldn't take his insults laying down.

"So I'm a 'street rat', huh, Initiate?" The voice said to him, almost seconds after he had released this boy even in the slightest bit. More than ever it seemed a mistake to Silas.

Then came that mistake. The horrible mistake which had ripped apart anything else which the boy had said, done or as far as Silas was concerned had even thought. Lightning danced across the boys fingers as he raised his hand, and the iridescent light danced its ways from his fingers to Silas. The Sith didn't raise a finger to stop it, didn't even consider using Force Absorb to change the direction of it, and only stared as the lightning struck him. It knocked him a step backwards, but other than that the pain was bearable, he'd long ago learned to accept pain in a way most people couldn't comprehend. It was in a way which was psychological, for that was the only way powers seemed to manifest themselves in this Sith.

Fury was released. This Sorcerer could no longer control it once the boy finished his Force lightning, but he didn’t attack him right away. With a careful step, and a clean smile he came a span closer towards this boy, towards his death which would no longer be questionable. This boy would die once he’d figured out a way of doing it which befit him, but that wouldn’t take long. There were so many ways to kill, and so few people to try them on that he was bound to find one before the boy even realised what was going on. If he timed it right, perhaps he wouldn’t even have anyone witness it. That’d be nice, people sometimes frowned upon murder, a slight set back in his plans occasionally.

First, however he’d have to get him back to his ship with the other body. Perhaps he’d just do it the easy way. With one hand he made a fist, which began to choke the boy as blood began to flush through his face, and it turn red Silas just cocked his head to look at it a little closer as he whispered, ”I’m going to choke you out, then I’m going to take you to my home. After that, I’m going to cause your entire world to turn inside out, and you’ll know true pain, child. Get…..”

From behind him he felt another presence coming up, and he let the boy fall to the ground hurridly as the sense grew. It was someone he knew, and if they should think he went around beating up small children during his free time, Silas might just have to kill someone else. While admittedly more fun that way, Silas didn’t have any wish to kill off the entire Sith Order before they got on their way. To chip away a little annoying kid was one thing, but this person behind him knew what they were doing, and it would be a shame if they were killed.

”Silas, Silas, Silas,” Came the sing-song voice from behind him, and slowly he came to meet Alice face to face, and one of the few genuine smiles he gives tugged on the edges of his face. ”I wanted to ask you if you would help me with a little hunting trip, but it seems you’ve got your hands full,” The woman said with a slight wink.

Alice was one of the most unique Sith he’d ever met, and one of the most intriguing creatures he’d ever met. Not in the way he might cut someone up, but in the sense that her personality itself was always confusing him, and unpredictable. There where few times when people like this were met, and if found they were best treated kindly for you never quite knew when you’d find another like them. Brown curls fell down her bright cheeks, and the pink dress she wore stood out so brightly in this temple that you could spot her from miles away. Not only that, but she was oddly strong in the force, in such a way wherein one would expect a deformed personality, one cynical in nature, but not even Silas could imagine this woman in such a regard. People could be deceiving, and he had his doubts about even this one, but for now he simply regarded her as an ongoing experiment to see just how far her own special type of insanity goes.

”I’d love to later, but I do have a little….nuisance at the moment” Replied the Sith, a single glare launched at the boy made the woman chuckle a little bit.

”Oh, Silas you are so silly. You shouldn’t be so mean all the time,” Laughed the woman as she looked over at the child he’d picked up at the gate as if he was a child of some sorts. Then again she did that to a lot of people, not to Silas for there was no mistaking age in his eyes, but to most people. ”Perhaps he would like to go too? Did you ever consider that?”

The last thing Silas really wanted was this kid along with him whenever he went on a ‘hunting’ trip with Alice for the Force only knew what they would get themselves into. It’d probably involve trying to acquire a ‘pet’ for her, but her ‘pets’ usually involved Terbeasts, Maalraas, or god damn Wampas. He’d never quite gotten over that trip to Myrkr, and she said there wouldn’t be anything that bad there. Too bad he wasn’t able to use his force, and those Vornskr had showed out of nowhere whenever he had least expected it. Because that was perfectly fine.

”Fine, but only if he has to,” Mumbled Silas as he gave Nieraan a look that said he better thank her later on, for she was the only reason he was really alive.

Okay, so now that that’s settled. Do you wish to go, Mr. Alice managed to ask his name, opinion at the same time. Silas hoped he would say no, the Force only knows what he would do if he didn’t.

Nieraan knew he'd piss the Sith off with his shock. He knew the Sith was probably more powerful than he was. He knew that angering the Sith could put him in a bad place.

He simply didn't care.

One of them would learn that the other wouldn't take some things, and Nieraan was determined to show that he wasn't afraid of this Sith, whatever the cost to himself. Thinking back, maybe that wasn't the best line of thought. Well, maybe not to such an extreme anyway.

The lightning hit the Sith, which led to Nieraan being released as a cocky smirk grew on his face. That smirk paused when he didn't get much of a reaction. No, he got a reaction. It wasn't the one he was looking for, though. Rage exploded within him. Fine then. Nieraan clenched his fists and met Silas' eyes defiantly, when the older man stepped forward at him, in a refusal to back down. Then everything fell apart.

He was slammed back into the wall again, with Silas' hand around his throat again, more tightly than it had been before. Nieraan's fight to show the Sith that he had a backbone was left behind and forgotten as he began to fight to bring air into his lungs. That was a losing battle. He couldn'y get any air in. Before, he'd been able to suck in little gasps of it, but Silas' grip was too strong now, and he'd suffocate if the Sith didn't relent.

Relenting was apparently the last thing on Silas' mind, because he leaned in and whispered about how he was going to, presumably, kill Nieraan. Nieraan was only half paying attention, however, as he struggled to breathe. His hand went to Silas' wrist in another vain attempt to pull it away as the edges of his vision started to darken. He'd messed up far too badly now. The only way out that he could think of was to launch a blatant attack on Silas. Doing that would start a fight. A fight he wasn't sure he could win. A fight that would, without a doubt, end any hopes of joining the Sith. What do I do? A mixture of hopelessness and anger started to blossom in Nieraan as his hold on Silas' wrist weakened and he inched closer to passing out.

Fortune smiled on him that day, though. Silas released him without warning, which lead to Nieraan collapsing into a heaving, coughing heap on the ground. 'Silas,' the voice called the Sith. Nieraan, still breathing heavily, looked up to see a woman had entered the area and was, apparently, talking to Silas. She asked him a question, though Nieraan wasn't really paying attention, as his focused switched to the way his neck ached from his recent strangling. It'll probably bruise a bit, he thought with a wince. I've been through worse. The lightsaber scars that crisscrossed his back were a testament to that much.

When he started listening again, he her asking Silas if he thought Nieraan would want to go on whatever trip it was she was talking about. Silas was obviously reluctant, but he didn't shut the door on the possibility completely. The look he gave Nieraan let the younger man know that he should consider himself lucky, though. Nieraan only grinned wryly at Silas. Perhaps he had taken his prodding a bit too far. Silas was still, for the time being, his only real ticket in to the Sith, as far as he knew, so it would be best to avoid pissing him off too much. Nieraan would back down. A little bit.

"My name is Nieraan," he said as he pushed himself to his feet. His breathing was still a bit labored, and he rubbed his neck, but he was alright, compared to where he might have been if Alice had not shown up. "And I'd love to tag along." A sly grin was sent to Silas with those words. "I mean, Silas here is such a charming fellow. How could I refuse?" To be truthful, though Nieraan had formed an opinion of Silas. It wasn't a deep one yet, but he had some respect for the man. Silas apparently wasn't the sort to take crap from people, and Nieraan liked that. It didn't mean he wouldn't keep poking at the Sith though, if only in jest.