Hello darkness, my old friend.

[Necro Stormborn]

Humming in quiet contemplation, a rather tall man bearing a gray and black insignia walked slowly up to the monolithic doors that the Sith temple had displaced evenly across the compound. Cold and calculating eyes skimmed through data reports and triumphant displacings of republic troops. Narrowing, the eyes read over a death toll of known deceased jedi, some of whom had names that were now familiar. The humming paused for a second as the datapad was lowered for a few seconds, allowing one to see where to place one's palm on an identifier to grant access to some of the sanctum tunnels. Such paths were restricted for they circumvented a lot of security checkpoints, and furthermore, had easy access to most of the temples chambers, including the forbidden ones. The scanner beamed a red and yellow laser over the palm, tracing the biometric scans and fingerprints until finally, there was a ding.

The well carved, ritualistic in appearance perhaps, monolithic doors parted ways and allowed this man through. The humming continued.

a cold finger plucked at the datapad, swiping away a boring report and moving to a much more significant topic. Vreem Took. Apparently, this man was not only skilled with a blade but had a rap sheet of triumphs to support it. After Rhen Var, many names had become heavy, carry a lot of weight in political discussions. This master Took, a jedi whom hadn't been defeated in the decisive hour of the battle on that icy cold planet, was becoming more and more of an issue. Studying him, and finding what weakness he could exploit could turn the war. Change the battles from decisive counter strikes with calculated movements to aggressive strikes with no regard for possible jedi interference.

The jedi still hadn't moved against the sith, only some rebel annex of the jedi was attempting to impair the Sith war machine. Cutting off the head of this jedi combatant group would leave fair play out of the question.

"Nothing is fair in war, Master Took, nothing."

A few steps further down a dim lit corridor the man in black robes and gray vest stopped, turned on his heel and pressed his palm to another scanner. The door way opened up after another harmonic ding. Access to the main hallway of the Sith temple was granted; Darth Eurachis stepped into the busy hallway and brushed past students and masters alike till he came to an atrium that annexed into three directions. North, West, and East, all of which were pathways that lead to other test sites, meditation chambers, prison facilities, saber crafting locations...etc.

West, the direction in which this dark lord could feel his superior. Iniquitous was a charming fellow, at least, now that Eurachis had gotten to know him. However, he was rather altruistic sometimes, and perhaps far too busy for one's own good. Humming still, Eurachis found the double doors he was looking for and stepped forward allowing them to hiss and slide apart.

"Oh Dear, I didn't miss another party did I?"

Hands slid the datapad away for now, and returned to a resting position in his pockets. Dark Lord Eurachis glided smoothly and powerfully around the side of the room raising an eyebrow at the scene in totality.

Iniquitous stood ominously looking down at two seemingly innocent faces, flanked by two Dark masters of the sith. Eurachis recalled that there had been some promotions while he was away on the front lines, and assumed that the two before him, giving off a rather comforting vibe of intimidation, were the new lords.

"Honestly, There was no need to throw me a homecoming celebration.. I thought we discussed this at great lengths Iniquitous." His smile vanished as he saw his jokes were unappreciated. "Fine, stern as ever i see.... Well..." He looked to the two standing in challenge of the lords, "If you're gunna get on with it, get on with it..I'm rather bored and it's been sometime since I've seen this one fight with a saber instead of his tongue." Eurachis glanced at Shard accusingly.

His smile reappeared, quite the troublemaker as always.

[Rugs]

{Breaking order, I know, but I checked with Jenno first to make sure he was cool with it. Also, Karl, do ask before doing things like that, thank you. Edit: Or you can leave the thread in entirely the wrong way. Sorry bro, but I'm not changing my post. If you want to bow out, do it in a new post, rather than trying to force those that posted after you to change theirs. To readers: Shard gave Nieraan a talk about the value placed on lightsabers, and then took his from him. My original response is still below.}

Nieraan continued to watch Iniquitous flatly, meeting the Overlord's helmet with his yellow-eyed gaze. He wasn't going to back down, but he did hope he had his lightsaber returned. Then he'd be satiated and the situation, or that part of it, rather, would be resolved. However, it seemed that things would not go the way he'd intended, as Shard took it upon himself to speak up again.

Nieraan's eyes rolled in annoyance when he heard the man start speaking and then he turned around to face him. He went on, talking about lightsabers and the values attached to them, as though someone had asked his opinion, or as if the concept was one Nieraan didn't understand. Unfortunately, both for him and Nieraan's respect for him, it was; while Nieraan might have been brash and stubborn, he was far from stupid.

The man went on, showing Nieraan his lightsaber and telling him of people he'd slaughtered, as if it were meant to impress. Nieraan simply clenched his jaw and bore the speech out, deciding he'd humor the man until he was done and then turn his attention back to Iniquitous, where it belonged.

Well, until Shard saw it fit to take his other lightsaber. Nieraan fought to keep from lashing out at him through the Force as his eyes narrowed dangerously. His mood was already sour enough with Iniquitous taking his main saber, but now this fool of a man seemed to think that he had the right to do the same. Unfortunately for Shard, Iniquitous was the Overlord and he was not. Which meant that Nieraan cared at least a bit about not pissing of Iniquitous too much, where he didn't give a damn about what Shard thought; of course, with the man's displays and ramblings perhaps that wasn't such a bad way of going about things.

"Listen, friend," Nieraan said, smirking darkly at the Miraluka, "I'm going to tell you this, and I'll tell you once. But I'll speak slowly, to be sure you get it. He," Nieraan gestured toward the Overlord with his head, "is the one that has an opinion that matters. You are not.

"See, I'm trying as best I can to not start an even bigger scene, and then you, in your infinite wisdom, decide to butt into business that is not yours, as if I give a damn about what you think. You think I don't understand where the value of a weapon comes from? You think I don't understand where I get the value I place my own damned lightsaber?" Nieraan snorted and spit on the ground, in a direction that was quite noticeably towards Shard's feet. "Perhaps you would do well to stop assuming you know things I do not, friend. Perhaps it as she," he gestured toward Acalya this time, "said, and I'm simply laying claim to what's mine by right.

"Oh, and you want to know how I'll get my lightsaber back?" Nieraan quirked an eyebrow and made a motion with his finger, pulling the weapon away from Shard and back to his own hand, where it belonged. "That's how.

"I'll tell you the same thing I just told Iniquitous: I will not kneel or bow to you, nor will I be cowed by you. The difference between you and him is that, despite whatever delusions you might have running about in that skull of yours, you don't run the show. And as such, until you prove that your opinion is worth something, you can go space yourself, as far as I'm concerned."

Nieraan started to turn back to Iniquitous and then paused before turning his gaze back to smirk at Shard one final time. "Oh, and I like the way you skirted around my question, by the way. Fitting, for a man of your caliber."

With that, he returned his attention back to Iniquitous. He said little more or paid little heed to any of the others, though he was vaguely aware of the arrival of yet another Sith. At this point, he didn't care. But he had a point to make, that point being that he would not become some docile fool, no matter who the person confronting him. As he'd said, he'd follow, but he was not some cow to be prodded along. And he wouldn't change that for anything or anyone.

[Jenno]

(Sorry for the lateness, but as I've mentioned in the Farewells section, been rather busy as of late and the quality of this post leaves something to be desired but since I will be busy the next couple of weeks I've made this so that I do not need to post for a few exchanges between Cain and Squee, and nor will they have to wait for anyone else, I'll just jump back in after a few rounds.)



Iniquitous’ thoughts passed between these two fiery members of the Order. Perhaps it would be better to simply kill them now to try and prevent any future issues from arising. Despite the calm and composed persona he put forward, there was a part deep down in the depths of his bowls that hungered, like all Sith do, for the kill. But this was why he was different from the students before him, why he was the Overlord and they were still initiates. He knew when to use the hunger to his advantage, to control what would otherwise render him a savage beast with no capacity for reason.

But perhaps there was some hope for these two. The one who had been smoking argued his case, perhaps he did not see the war that was beginning out in the galaxy, or maybe he didn’t know of the battle upon Rhen Var where the Sith Order had severed the ties between many Jedi and their lives. But whatever the reason for this unknowing, the initiate knelt before him and requested he be challenged.

Darth Iniquitous ‘looked’ at this member of the Order. If he thought he was so much more special than the other students then perhaps it would be best to pit him against one. There were a number gathered around after the commotion that had been caused. But there was one in particular that Iniquitous could see. She stood back further than the rest. Not out of fear, that emotion didn’t seep from her like it did with many of the others, but instead it seemed as though she was watching out of intrigue. She was crouched like a nexu ready to pounce. The rest of them had been so distracted that they hadn’t seen another who was ready to leap into events. Who knew what kind of damage she could have released. She interested Iniquitous enough with her stance.

Now he had an idea that would not go away. Focusing on the girl as she remained at her stalking point, he spoke to her through the force, nothing more than the transmission of a simple message. “Come forward initiate, I have a task for you.” He turned back to address the kneeling upstart. “If you wish to prove yourself then so be it. I have another initiate I want you to fight. This will not be a fight to the death. I want both of you to show me what talents you possess, what skills you can use in an attempt to best one another in combat.” By this time the student he summoned had come forward, she seemed strong enough to challenge the upstart in terms of skill and her eyes had within them the gaze of cunning and intelligence. It would be an interesting match.

Before starting the challenge he had to speak briefly with the other upstart. Iniquitous first of all deactivated the initiate’s saber and then sent it back to him with a gentle use of his telekinetic ability. “You may not bow, but know that you will follow my commands, or else I gain nothing from making you stronger. You might have an issue with orders but decide whether or not they’re worth forsaking this opportunity over. If your stubbornness gets in my way then I will cut you down, keep that in mind.” With his saber returned now and the other upstart to deal with, Iniquitous deemed their conversation over with. The initiate would know where he stood and the choice would ultimately come down to him.

Jack Makura and Tesa Yarum, Iniquitous may not have known their names but he could tell that they both had some sense of talent. They would fight one another and perhaps there would be no real winner, but that would simply allow more interesting events to transpire in the future. Assuming that both participants were ready, Iniquitous moved to begin the little sparring session. “Remember that I do not want to see you kill one another, I simply want to see you try and best your opponent. I will call an end to the match when I see fit. Begin.” And with that Iniquitous would render himself to little more than a spectator.

[Cain]

“If you wish to prove yourself then so be it. I have another initiate I want you to fight. This will not be a fight to the death. I want both of you to show me what talents you possess, what skills you can use in an attempt to best one another in combat.”

Upon hearing the Dark Overlord's order's Jack rose back to his feet. Part of him was disappointed with the lack of creativity in Iniquitous' challenge, but it would have to do. Jack's stare then rested on Nieraan as his cohort had his weapon returned to him. His business here was now finished and he could easily retreat and leave Jack to accept the ill will of gathered masses. But he wouldn't. Jack could sense that it was not in this one's nature to flinch first. It was an attribute that, while perhaps foolish, one had to respect for its outright temerity. It was fortunate in this case... Jack wouldn't want them to part ways on the wrong foot.

Seemingly unable to summon the will to move from his place, Jack's body remained stationary as his head rolled back lazily to regard the girl that would his opponent, his cold yellow eyes peeking at her from behind the upraised collar of his jacket. She was young, a picture of beauty that formed a subtle patchwork mask over the outward hints of malice that lie just below the surface. She was lean, yet not frail. Her complexion was soft as opposed to the rough, sickly textures that most of her contemporaries bore. She would appear almost completely unremarkable had it not been for the scar that graced her forehead.

After sizing Tesa Yarum up, Jack rolled his head back forward and slowly spun around on his heel to face the young lady. He kept his heavy jacket on, stuffing his hands into the pockets. Jack's lips were curled downward into a sharp frown, a typical accessory to his default exhausted expression. Jack's eyes pointed toward the floor. They seemed to linger there for a long moment before suddenly flashing up to meet Tesa's. Jack had begun using the Force to carefully probe about the mind of this young Initiate. He made no secret of it, almost challenging her to attempt and resist.

"So beautiful... and yet, so lost," Jack said finally, his eyes still locked on Tesa with all the intent of a vornskr savoring an impending meal, "Strange that my curiosity should bare prejudice based on such ocular stimuli, however I simply cannot help but hunger to learn what lies and insufferable pain could have blackened a soul such as yours." Jack's default grimace then reconfigured into a grin as he let out an odd little chuckle, "Hmph... don't worry. You needn't share it with me. I can help myself, thank you.

[Rugs]

Nieraan snorted with contempt as he watched the fool--the Lord who called himself Memnon--slink away back into the depths of the Temple. That's right, run along. I'd hate to have to yell at you. Still, he doubted that would be the last he'd see of the man. He doubted even more that they'd be on good terms, should their paths ever cross.

It didn't bother him that much though. From the outset, he'd known that he would make allies here, and he'd known that he would make enemies here. If standing up to someone brought him an enemy, then so be it, but for now, he had more important people to deal with.

His gaze returned to the group that was gathered around--the other male Lord that arrived, the woman, Jack, and of course, Iniquitous. The Overlord. The man that held his lightsaber. If he could only get the thing back, he'd be fine. Making trouble was well and good and all, but it could only go so far, at least at this point; Nieraan hadn't come this far to get thrown out of the Temple before he even got a chance to gain anything from it, and especially not because of trouble he didn't start. Makura, if you get me thrown out of this place, he mused, looking down to Jack, I'll be sure to take your head off.

“If you wish to prove yourself then so be it. I have another initiate I want you to fight. This will not be a fight to the death. I want both of you to show me what talents you possess, what skills you can use in an attempt to best one another in combat.”

Another Initiate came forth from the shadows as Iniquitous spoke. The Overlord was addressing Jack, unfortunately. Nieraan wouldn't mind beating something now, but the challenge wasn't for him.

“You may not bow, but know that you will follow my commands, or else I gain nothing from making you stronger. You might have an issue with orders but decide whether or not they’re worth forsaking this opportunity over. If your stubbornness gets in my way then I will cut you down, keep that in mind.”

Nieraan took his saber as Iniquitous sent it back to him and put it back in its rightful place at his side. He met the man's 'gaze' levelly as Iniquitous spoke, and smirked at the end. "I told you, if you give me reason to do as you say, then I'll do it, but don't think I'll fight for you without expecting something in return." Nieraan turned and started to move to stand near the wall, where he'd be out of the way for the match that Iniquitous called. When he reached it, he turned around and leaned back on it, arms folded against his chest. "And by the way, if I had decided that taking orders wasn't worth what I might gain here, I wouldn't be here. I'll do my part so long as you and yours hold up your end of things. And if not..." He grinned toothily. "It's been a while since I've had a good fight."

That was enough talking, though. Now he turned his attention to Jack and the girl, Tesa. She was young, provided she was a Human, rather than some species that aged slowly, as Nieraan was. Nieraan reached out through the Force, trying to get a feel for what kind of power this girl held. There was potential there, yes. But he wasn't too terribly impressed with her--not that that was saying much, since Nieraan was very rarely impressed with anyone. He glanced back and forth between the two.

"Should be entertaining, if nothing else," he muttered under his breath with a dark grin.

{I do believe Nieraan will fall to the role of a spectator now as well, unless/until something that calls for a response from him comes up}

[Squee]

Hm? Her? Tesa was stunned at first that the Overlord had recognized her presence. She grew excited suddenly, but she quickly subdued it. No need to become clumsy when she was called to stand before others. How embarrassing would that be?

Tesa shifted from her crouch to standing with ease. She stretched and shook out her knees as she came forward. She heard the spoken murmurs and prided herself in the surprise of the other initiates as she seemed to materialize out of the wall. The stillness of her body in her mottled cloak had allowed her to physically melt into the darkness of the wall. Her hand smoothed over her forearm, stroking her beloved cloak. Oh, how she loved it dearly. Her previous master had been a sort of genius to create such a thing.

“As you bid, my lord,” Tesa replied, lightly and easily. Her hand rose up from her arm, grasping and pulling down the hood of her cloak. No need to make such a show. She took her final steps, spacing her a couple of meters from this Jack character, her side facing him. He was already making attempts to look into her mind.

A quirky, out of place smile graced Tesa’s lips. It wasn’t so much as an amused smile as something cold and bitter, if a little taunting. Her head turned a certain degree to clash her amber eyes with this man’s.

What do you think you’ll find? Go ahead… I have nothing to hide. Her eyes burned with a passionate intensity as she thrust some memories forward in attempt to overwhelm his feelers. She chuckled.

And then he had to go and speak. Immediately the frown spread faster on Tesa’s face than a sandstorm on Tatooine. She snarled, dragged in her annoyance and bolstered it upon his telepathic feelers savagely. She smothered her mind and entire body in it, wearing it like she did clothes, and healthily. Then Tesa prepared a response to fire back at the man:

“I often wonder the purpose of speaking during battle. You are not to speak to me. I would not wish for you to lose energy thinking too hard to discover ways to boast your opinions upon me. It shan’t work, even if you best me.” Tesa found love in the patronization. “But if you find great things in stroking yourself, you may speak to this wall. Just remember: fools are the ones who must say something.” Tesa’s hand swept gently, fingers at a slight curl. Her focus was on the space around Jack’s feet, and she commandeered the Force around it, arching the edge around the back of his legs. How amusing it would be if he tripped now and fell upon his backside at her whim.

“Though thank you for the flattering compliment,” she said with that bizarre smile. “It’s nice to hear one every so often. Are we done speaking now? Good.” Tesa ended with a thrust palm, sending the Force forth with a decent push, more to emphasis her point rather than to harm the man. Let’s get started then.

[Cain]

Probing the mind of his soon to be opponent, Jack was surprised by how little resistance Tesa offered. It would not be a stretch for Jack to assume that she had absolutely no trepidation to what Jack might be trying to do. This certainly amused Jack to no end. He had brandished his axe at Tesa and she'd responded by exposing the back of her neck. It was not a surprising reaction, throughout the course of his life Jack had found himself grossly underestimated.

Tesa did not shield her mind, instead she thrust it at her foe. Jack's mind raced to collect and interpret the flood of information he was receiving, a hodgepodge of emotions and memories. Jack handled the torrent with veteran poise; after his experience with Lynn it would take quite a bit to overwhelm his telepathy again. From what Jack could decipher his foe had almost no fear, a rare and admirable trait among Sith. However, Jack could feel a deep resounding sense of doubt, as if Tesa had not been completely sure of her path. There was conflict within her, though at this point it was barely tangible, buried deep beneath an accumulation of anger and other darker emotions.

"I often wonder the purpose of speaking during battle. You are not to speak to me. I would not wish for you to lose energy thinking too hard to discover ways to boast your opinions upon me. It shan’t work, even if you best me. But if you find great things in stroking yourself, you may speak to this wall. Just remember: fools are the ones who must say something.

Though thank you for the flattering compliment, it’s nice to hear one every so often. Are we done speaking now? Good."

After her rant Tesa left no time for a rebuttal as she extended her palm toward Jack and sent the Force in his direction. Jack made no move in response. He used the Force to raise a barrier between himself and Tesa in order to absorb and nullify her push. His eyes narrowed slightly, a wince the only outward sign of the effort he had put forth to maintain his barrier. Jack let it drop only after the force of Tesa's push had subsided.

"Oh? Don't worry about me," Jack then responded with tired eyes, "I have energy to burn." With a sarcastic smirk Jack lifted his hands from his pockets and began rummaging through this jacket. He produced a cigarette carton once more and upon gazing into it his expression tightened into a sharp frown. Jack flipped the carton over and shook it vigorously, hoping to coax forth one last cig, perhaps clinging for dear life to the bottom. Conceding defeat with an exasperated sigh, Jack flicked the empty carton over his shoulder and ran a hand through his long bangs, brushing them away from eyes.

"Well..." Jack began with a yawn, "if you don't wish to talk, you don't have to answer me. You wouldn't be the first woman to give me the cold shoulder. But if you don't mind, I think I'll take you up on that offer to talk to the wall. If at any point it seems like I'm talking to you, I apologize." Jack maintained his probe about Tesa's mind, still not trying anything overtly offensive, only allowing his presence there to be felt. Jack wondered if Tesa would dial down her blase approach to his telepathy or would she continue to taunt him. Jack did quite enjoy these little chess games. To the many observers around them the battle probably seemed horribly uninteresting up to this point. Jack, however, was enthralled.

"Are you certain it's wise to lower your guard?" Jack asked, leaning back and stretching his arms out behind his head. As he stretched his body Jack let his tired eyelids rest for a moment, peaking at Tesa from behind the slightly raised left veil, "I could be dangerous, you know. I do hope you have something up your sleeve. It would be a terribly disappointing test otherwise. Just be sure to let me know when you play your trump card. I wouldn't want to miss it."

[Squee]

As the man tossed the empty carton over his shoulder, Tesa reached with her hand. She plucked it from its arching flight and taunted it back, bringing it to ping off the back of the man’s head. Tesa chuckled, amused with the sight she’d just created, however the silence of the room disagreed with her. The smile overturned.

Tesa worked with her hands, mostly, while taking slow steps around him. Twitching, pointing, bending fingers on a rolling, flicking wrist her elbows leading them in different directions. The fluidity of a magician flowed in her arms. Controlled, disciplined disposition of a serious puppeteer telling a grave tale. Her eyes were half-closed, and the bizarre amber stones that represented her eyes moved pointedly up and down the man’s body.

With her mind, she acknowledged the man’s presence, and fed him disinteresting and moot experiences and thoughts. He’d grow bored. If he didn’t, she’d take up Insanus’ habit of thinking and spurt random objects or subjects. As for physically, she raised up pebbles from their dormant places on the ground, directing them toward the man. Every so often, a broken stone found its way among her projectiles, ordered to cut him if it could. As sure as her fingers worked, pinching, weaving, and releasing the air, invisible hands were told to pick and flitter the man’s robes.

You’re going to give me what I want… thought she, a satisfying smirk on her face. Because you don’t want to look the fool by standing around doing nothing. Nothing… oh, at the moment you’re being beat by some superior-thinking, smirked-eyed brat that needs to be shown her place. Tesa levitated a large piece of rubble about the size of her fist and hurtled it toward him. Look there!

“She dares…” Tesa whispered gently. The embarrassment! They’re all laughing at you, right now. “Can’t you hear them?” I can… She grinned, pivoted, and began to walk the opposite way, all the while her eyes held his. So, won’t you be a dear… “And be a man!” Energy drew to her palm, and, repeating her gesture before, Tesa thrust out with the Force. This time she meant to unbalance him. Immediately following the Force push flew a barrage of pebbles and dust, seeking to sting and blind.

Sound blasting music, suicide holostars, hung twi’leks, homeless veterans, bantha fodder, singing upon the hill, gizka’s teeth, charging reeks, crying child, eyeless ghouls…

[Cain]

Jack winced slightly as his cigarette carton came back to strike the back of his head. It wasn't in any way due to pain he felt, but rather the awkwardness of his opponent, Tesa, chuckling over such a feat. She certainly was an odd Sith specimen. Jack stood in his place, still reclining against his arms which were raised up and tucked behind his head for support. Tesa on the other hand began a strange sort of gyrating dance, strafing around Jack slowly while adding fluidity to her movements through her arms and hands. Occasionally she would flick the odd bit of debris in Jack's direction. Using the Force he would intercept the projectiles as he sensed them, the forces working on either side of such small pieces of rock usually causing them to harmlessly crumble into dust.

"You’re going to give me what I want…" Tesa's thoughts were very close to the surface. It was obvious she wanted him to hear this, "Because you don’t want to look the fool by standing around doing nothing. Nothing… oh, at the moment you’re being beat by some superior-thinking, smirked-eyed brat that needs to be shown her place."

A larger rock was then thrown at Jack, to which he made a single step to the side. He used the Force to simply deflect and redirect the object away rather then completely stop it. It would waste less energy this way. Allowing his arms to drop Jack glanced over his shoulder at the rock as it collided with the wall before turning back to Tesa, a tiny grin on his face. Me look the fool? Jack thought to himself, the idea spreading his grin wider and inducing a slight chuckle.

"You know, if you keep that up I do believe it might start to rain," Jack commented aloud, not caring whether those watching understood the context. What followed from Tesa was a series of nonsensical thoughts that Jack could only guess were aimed to act as a mask over what lay beneath the surface. Indeed it was a clever tactic. Most Sith, or Force users in general for that matter, could only perceive the most immediate and obvious thoughts or emotions of others. Overloading one's own mind with purposefully inane thoughts in that case would be an effective strategy in cloaking one's mind from a Force user. However, this implied that the Force user in question's intentions was an interest in what lay below those surface thoughts. With Jack this was not the case.

Tesa concluded her routine with a blast of telekinetic energy which Jack, as before, countered with a Force Barrier. The barrier also acted as a screen against the pebbles and dust that followed. Jack frowned sharply and let out a loud, long yawn. With a stretch he settled himself down on the floor, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. Jack supposed he could have watched Tesa dance about and flick pebbles at him a while longer, it was kinda cute in its own silly way. But at this point Jack already could surmise what he needed about this opponent to proceed.

To begin with, it seemed clear that Tesa was making an attempt to demoralize, enrage him, confuse him or some combination of the three. Second, it was also apparent that she very much did not want to make the first move. To the first, Jack may have liked to play along, but he was far too weary a man to be concerned with such matters of face; which probably should have been made obvious when he smashed a Temple pillar to get the attention of the Sith Lords. To the second however Jack had determined to be chivalrous and oblige the young lady's desires.

There was already a connection between Tesa and Jack through the Force, a connection which Tesa made no attempt to block. Instead she was quite content to feed this connection with all sorts of random gibberish. All it would take was a tug and the flow of the Force between Jack and Tesa would be altered. In that moment Jack's presence in Tesa's mind would change from simply probing and interpreting thoughts into a violent invasion. Jack began to absorb the thoughts coming to him along the connection between he and his opponent like a dry sponge; not waiting for Tesa to offer any new thoughts up and instead reaching in and ripping them free. The purpose of this was not to learn anything about Tesa... Jack didn't care particularly about her past. It was not gain any secret Sith information... Jack doubted this apprentice would be privy to such knowledge anyway. No, this assault had only one purpose; to inflict psychological harm until either Tesa or Darth Iniquitous were able to stop it.

[Squee]

((Feel bad for taking forever like this.))

Obviously, either this man exercised extreme self control or he was lying through his body. Tesa respected him if it was the former reason. He might be unusual. But to Tesa it was as if someone else, or something else, was in control of this man and could determine her exact purpose. It was a silly notion, but it seemed proper to consider, since no normal Sith man would simply sit down and radiate his lack of annoyance.

Though Tesa believed after enough pressure and enough pestering, she could make him snap, maybe she needed to reconsider her methods. First of all, he had that barrier. He was a cowardly man, then. Afraid of being hurt. He would never admit that it was a fear. The prevention of harm was so familiar to him that he did not expect physical pain. He was certain he would succeed without a scratch. She needed to maim his body.

But how to do? Tesa crouched then, placing a hand on the floor, staring directly at the man. The pazaak rules are… She kept up the constant surface thoughts, having to consciously remember to keep up the nonsensical rambling as she plotted. His parasitic feelings would snatch it up. He would notice that the thoughts had grown sluggish since the first onslaught, but he wouldn’t be able to eat his way through and gobble her plans. At least she had faith he wouldn’t.

How to do… There was always her lightsaber, but Tesa rejected the idea strongly. The lightsaber only made appearance in the most dire of situations or when a purpose needed emphasis. This was a sparring match, not a stampede of seven hundred men coming to meet her head on. The lightsaber would remain hidden. Nimrod naked wookiee, gize molester… She had a knife but she couldn’t throw it. His damn barrier would prevent it. A hand must guide the knife and make the proper cut. It was worth a go.

Now to get NEAR him. Tesa smirked. He also needed to be disengaged from her mind. Since he was merely leeching thoughts from her—

Worms with teeth sunk in. Pushing past all her appetizers and burrowing right for the main course. Outwardly Tesa’s smirk vanished and she bit down, pinching her tongue as she did so. The pain wriggled violently into her head, fingers bypassing her skull and jabbing its piercing nails into the soft, wrinkled matter beneath. Heat rose within Tesa as she snarled loudly, her nose scrunching and eyes narrowing to near shut. NO!

Energy built up within her center as she sucked in the Force like a vacuum. Desires arose within her heart – hot, heated desires amassing into an internal flame. The will to break free. The drive to chase out the invader. In a fleeting thought, her lack of impacting the man translated into failure. Frustrations sprouted from that thought, accumulating to a dangerous level of pressure. His worms continued to bite, to chew through her brain, and the very pain of it annoyed her. Tesa’s body swayed slightly, dizzy, and her body began to bend in retaliation to the unattended attack.

HOW DARE YOU! Tesa asserted her position forcefully, jumpstarting her spirits, fueling her desires, her frustrations, her annoyance. You ARE a nuisance! MERELY a pest! The pressure and heat within her combusted. Anger flooded her. It boiled her. It corrupted her thoughts and she considered how a fire burns, how the flames deliciously blackened the skin and welcomed the remembered scent of burning flesh with delight. Then she bent those memories and feelings, feeding her attack, commanding flames to rush his attachment with an uncontrollable rage, fighting worms with fire, wishing that worms squealed so she could be satisfied to the uttermost.

For several moments now, she’d been chuckling darkly with pauses in between. Tesa let loose a giggle that rose quickly to an excited, pleasured laugh. Her fingers were touched to her temple as if to stabilize her head. Her face lifted back to him, a madwoman’s grin stretching the corners of her mouth to her ears. She stood then, fighting the tremendous excitement of her body. The twitch in her fingers. The tremble of her thigh. Her brain throbbed, but she surged another attack against him with a grimace molded over her face. A sweat appeared on her brow as she swept her hand back and forth slowly in front of her, swirling the air around her with great effort. “You will come out of my head,” she murmured. The dust whirled up and Tesa waved it in the man’s direction. “I will make you…”

Tesa breathed in deeply, finding a purchase of control from earlier in the midst of her impulse of butchery. She yanked her plug on her psychological counterattacks and funneled most of her energy to holding the cocoon of dust around him. Then she selected a large piece of the recently broken pillar with her eyes. Her focus settled back on her mind to determine the extent of her psychological damage, feeling the stress of holding the dust. “Out of my mind, out of my head, away I say, so much away and out!” The muttered string of simple words poured from her mouth monotonously. Diverting energy away from cocoon sustaining, the dust began to thin, and she tossed up a couple of weak mental barriers to annoy him.

Then she consulted memories again. If this trick didn’t work, her mind had already made decided to grind down and pound it out. Her chest was swollen with desires and frustrations, and that lamp that held her rage was oozing. Keep your head level… Can’t… fall into animalistic instincts just yet… Tesa brought forth her lustful desires, the touches of the opposite sex, the meshed and passionate mouths, deepening her sense of personal emotion… Come now… join me now… Hopefully he'd freak.

[Cain]

((It's all good ))

It seemed unusual to Jack that upon his sitting down to meditate Tesa did not simply run at him with her lightsaber. In the time it took Jack to prepare his mental assault there had been an opening in which she might have disrupted his concentration. Trying to avoid such a barrage would have, at the very least, made the process of draining her knowledge a more complex task. Jack expected that his sitting in the midst of Tesa's display would likely be interpreted as a sign of disrespect that would invoke her rage, but perhaps he had underestimated her control over her own emotions.

Admittedly, if their roles had been reversed Jack likely would have reacted the same way. Using a lightsaber was a terribly abrasive and vulgar means of attack, at least in Jack's eyes. He would only ever use the weapon as a means of defense, never attack if he could help it. Had he been in Tesa's place Jack too likely would have taken the opportunity to think instead of raining blows down on his opponent in anger.

However, in this instance it seemed that the more savage approach also turned out to be the most prudent. It was a lesson that Jack would consider carefully, even if it was not he who had made the mistake. Jack recognized how easily he could have been in Tesa's place.

Regardless, what was done was done. For all of their idiosyncrasies the cards were now on the table. The duel was no longer a game of Pazaak, with each side attempting to hide their hand from the other. It was now a violent clash, an adrenaline fueled, primal struggle for survival. Jack's emotions were like a stone wall. Cold and unflinching as he poured all of his focus into tearing that poor Sith girl's identity from the depths of her skull.

His victim, however, was in no way willing to roll over and die.

The assault on her psyche had triggered the emotion bottled up within Tesa. Jack could feel her will eroding the hooks he had dug into her subconscious. The muscles in Jack's face tightened, manipulating his expression into a deep scowl as he strained to maintain his concentration despite the surge of dark power rising in his victim.

A cloud of dust whipped up around Jack that he hardly detected as he honed his focus on Tesa's mind. The disruption to his breathing caused Jack's hold on Tesa to waver slightly. It was possible to use the Force to sustain one's breath for very long periods, but Jack was unfortunately not very skilled in applications of the Force to his own body. Jack's barriers could defend him against large projectiles, but he had very little defense against a dust storm other then to center himself and hope to outlast his enemy. Fortunately he didn't need to wait long as the dust had begun to thin.

Tesa's fatigue was catching up to her and her baser instincts began to bubble to the surface. He was close now, but Jack's own fatigue was beginning to show itself as well. A deep, head splitting pain began to manifest itself as these deeper, heavier thoughts were drug to the surface. Jack was suddenly reminded of why he had avoided using this technique for so long. The last time he'd drained the knowledge of another it had been his old master, Lynn. In emptying her mind the strain created had left Jack nearly as paralyzed as his catatonic former teacher. The headaches from that night still plagued him and now he was placing a second helping on top of what was there before.

Jack loosed an audible grunt as the pain in his head rapidly built. He gritted his teeth, pushing himself to bear it for as long as possible, maintaining his stoic disposition as best he could. Finally Jack conceded that if he were to continue he would risk incapacitating himself and carefully he dialed back his attack.

Even as he loosed his grip on Tesa's mind, Jack could still hear her in his head. He could still feel her anger and animalistic desires which had been fleshed out by his assault. His blood pressure had risen and his heart rate quickened, it took a moment for Jack to regain control of his own thoughts. When at last he did he was out of breath and covered in dust.

Steadily lifting himself back to his feet, Jack returned his focus inward, calming his body and his mind. If Tesa still had the will to fight Jack would have to be ready. Though he wasn't looking forward to it. The rings under Jack's eyes had grown darker and his head was pounding as if a pair of Akk Dogs were mauling his brain.

"I don't know about you... but I could really go for a cigarette right about now."

[Rugs]

Nieraan shifted against the stone wall behind him, trying to find a way to stand a bit more comfortable against its rough surface. There wasn't really a way to be found. In the end he crouched down as he was wont to do, resting his forearms on his thighs. And there he stayed, watching.

His yellowed eyes glinted curiously in the dim light of the Temple as he focused on the two combatants-to-be. Jack, he knew very little about, save what he'd seen in their short scuffle with the other Initiates before Iniquitous arrived. He knew even less about the girl, Tessa.

Now we'll see. An eager glint came into those eyes of his. He was ready for action. He longed to see a real fight. He longed even more to be in a fight, but Iniquitous had not called him forth. Instead he could only hope that Jack and Tessa could be sufficiently entertaining.

The fight began.

Sort of.

Maybe?

The exchanged words, she threw a half-hearted push that he nullified with a shield. Nieraan furrowed his brow slightly. "They're testing each other," he muttered to himself. But who will make the first real move?

They continued along, doing more of their antics. Nieraan could feel the Force flowing between the two of them, but save Tessa's throwing things and Jack's protective countermeasures, he could see nothing of what they were doing. Something is up, though. A hand went up to rub at the side of his face. He blinked in surprise at the feeling of something stuck to the skin near his temple. He followed with a single finger, tracing it down the side of the face to his chin.

It was blood. Dried from the wound he'd taken in Iniquitous' sudden appearance. He'd forgotten about that. Nieraan gave a soft grunt and shrugged. The wound would heal soon enough.

He looked back up. Jack was sitting now, but Tessa... Something was brewing inside that girl. Nieraan chuckled lowly and leaned forward. Primal, base emotions were swelling in her. He couldn't say why, but he could say with certainty that they were. Maybe the fight would get good now. Maybe it would get physical, instead of remaining in the realm of the mind, where it seemed most of it was going on.

Jack stood up. Nieraan watched him, wondering what he'd do.

He made some comment about having a smoke.

Nieraan narrowed his eyes and scowled slightly. "Is that it?" He said it softly, though perhaps it might have been heard by someone other than himself; he wasn't concerned about that. Sighing, he looked over to Tessa. Maybe whatever had stirred her up had stirred her to the point of physical violence. Maybe. Both of these Sith seemed to be of a different breed than he. They fought differently, probably thought differently.

But he could hope, right?

[Squee]

As soon as he’d retreated, Tesa noticed immediately and dropped all her memories. She sucked in the Temple’s air, taking in the musk and gloom and treasuring it in her lungs briefly before she sighed. It felt as if a rift had cracked open her skull and created a canyon. She wished just rubbing the spot with her fingers would ease the pain, but Tesa recognized she was going to spend some time meditating her healing. Gritting her teeth against the pain and wishing she had the means of erecting pain blockers, she switched her attention to her opponent.

Heat still whirled in her chest, a mixing spoon slowly turning all the ingredients and creating the desired dough. As long as she had her frustrations and ambition, Tesa could continue making this difficult for this man, who looked quite fatigued. She smirked, bitterly admitting it was only a matter of time before her fatigue caught up with her actions. With a sleeve, she swiped her forehead and one side of her face. One of these days she’d develop a technique that fed off her tiredness, she swore it.

She giggled however, and tugged her cloak against her with one hand. She was abandoning the idea of flinging the giant slab of rock. Instead, Tesa jump started her adrenaline, which had begun to wane. She drew up her hood and snuck her hand to her belt, where she drew a red ribbon. Tesa wished she had the energy to observe the crowd’s reactions to the simple fabric, but if she wanted to keep pushing, she had to refocus her center of attention to her body. Tesa tied the long ribbon to her wrist.

The adrenaline made her heartbeat sit in her ears. Tesa made it the only thing she could hear. She breathed in another large breath and resurrected the resting dirt. Her brow was already glistening again and the swirling dust stuck to her. Between the dust and the gloom, Tesa hoped her mottled cloak aided in her “disappearance”. She bent to extract the knife from her boot, taking it into the same hand with the ribbon tied to the wrist. She walked through the dust, heartbeat wild in her ears, excited over using one of her old master’s plans.

Except, her master would’ve known exactly where his opponent stood. Unfortunately, Tesa was too tired to constantly use the Force to keep check of where the man stood.

When she was sure she stood but an arm’s length from the man, she decided to speak: “Too bad you ran dry of cigarettes then, yes? A terrible misfortune for you.” Hopefully he’d answer back. More than likely with a quip about what she’d stated about talking during a fight. Slowly, Tesa moved from the spot she’d spoken from, in case he decided to attack. She took a half a step toward where she believed he stood in the moving dust and slashed controllably with the knife.

Blood was better than cauterization.

[Cain]

Jack's head pounded with a slow, yet rhythmic throb. The disdained whispering hiss of his dead master was now intermingled with the dark visceral thoughts of the Sith that was standing before him, both voices cursing him ceaselessly inside his own head. Jack twisted his expression slightly, his nostrils flaring and his eyes squinting as if he'd just taken a rather large, unintentional swig of stale Tarisian ale. His headache was still there... it was always there, but at least now he could focus again. Jack's awareness of the Force began to pour back to him, it was that familiar repugnant feel of disdain and unfettered hatred that only trickled from most sentient beings, but poured from every soul in the Sith Temple as if they'd grown impatient and shattered the hour glass.

And then there was Tesa. Jack could feel her too, all too clearly. Normally Jack's ability to sense the Force in others was quite limited, but after leeching it from Tesa he had been given an up close and personal glimpse at his opponent. His assault had wounded her, that much he could sense as he drained Tesa's thoughts and feelings, but it was likely not enough to incapacitate her.

Sure enough, Tesa rose again with a devious giggle and produced a bit of ribbon from her belt. Jack cocked his head slightly to the left, giving the red bit of ribbon an inquisitive glance. He could only hazard a guess as to what the purpose of this ribbon would be as Tesa tied it to her wrist. Perhaps to extend the range of her attacks? Or maybe just to distract his thoughts...

Before Jack could come to a conclusion about what this Sith was plotting she had summoned up yet another dust storm. As Tesa and the rest of the Dark Lords around him disappeared from view a small twinge of panic shot down Jack's spine. His ability to sense others through the Force was limited. While he could feel the dry hatred of the Sith watching and the dull throb of pain from Tesa, it was no where near attuned enough to allow him to competently fend off a hand to hand assault while blind. If Tesa was at all skilled in such things Jack might be in trouble. Rapidly Jack determined that he would have to take drastic action to finish this match. Calling upon the raw, animalistic power of the dark side was not something Jack reveled in as many Sith might, but it was an area of the Force for which he had a great talent, and being unable to further manipulate Tesa telepathically coupled with his growing fatigue, he was running low on options.

Jack raised a simple bubble of Force energy around himself about a meter in all directions to shield his body from the stinging dust, and also to allow a small buffer zone which Tesa would have to cross in order to attack him. The barrier was far too weak to stop anyone from launching a physical attack, but if anything were to break the bubble Jack would sense it and would be given a few precious tenths of second to react. More than enough for a Dark Jedi.

Jack's first difficulty now would be locating Tesa in the dust storm. Fortunately his opponent took care of this for him, "Too bad you ran dry of cigarettes then, yes? A terrible misfortune for you."

Why would she go to the trouble of blinding me only to give away her position? Jack thought to himself. Jack could only think of one explanation and even it did not totally satisfy him. Perhaps Tesa too was having trouble locating Jack in this dust storm. If this were the case then maybe Jack wasn't in as much danger as he'd first assumed. Even so, by calling out to him through the dust Tesa also clearly did not expect that her foe might be having trouble with the dust. A rookie mistake - and Jack had made a mistake himself.

In contemplating Tesa's intentions he'd drawn his own attention away from the battle. A sudden and jarring feeling of danger jerked Jack from his thoughts. Feeling his bubble breached and all at once beset upon by Tesa, Jack's instincts took over and he quickly fell back away from the swipe of Tesa's knife, rolling back along the ground before popping up some meters away. A hot, stinging pain suddenly inflamed Jack's right cheek. Tesa's knife had grazed his flesh and drawn a few drops of blood.

Normally such a thing wouldn't faze Jack, but anger was what he needed at this point and Jack made no attempt to stave it off any longer. Jack began to collect his negative emotions allowing them to fester with the aid of Tesa's own dark feelings which he'd wrenched free from her for himself. Jack drew the dark side of the Force to him and channeled it through his body to his limbs. A sharp yet intoxicating pain accompanied the dark side as it rushed through Jack's flesh, blood and bones. Jack dropped his Force bubble and then, all at once, loosed the power of the dark side from his finger tips in the direction which Tesa had been. The energy exploded forth as arcs of blue-violet lightning that forked out and expanded across the Sith Temple's main hall, covering a wide area. It was a terribly vulgar use of the Force, but one that Jack was not beneath using to subdue a strong opponent.

[Squee]

She’d felt it. Her knife had parted flesh, and it satisfied her on some level. Of course, she hadn’t exactly hit the spot she’d expected. When she had enclosed on him, the Force had kissed her, almost physically. He’d erected something, a warning, and that was how she’d missed her ultimate mark. He wasn’t bearing an enormous cut; the pressure on the knife had lasted all too soon. A larger, unprepared cut would have had a lot more tension behind it.

Unless, of course, she’d missed. However, in order to feed upon self-confidentiality, Tesa was telling herself he’d moved. The man had known. The Force she’d felt had been a barrier of some sort. An alarm. It had to be. Because she’d touched it and it had fallen.

Smart man. Maybe if she wasn’t so irked and determined to bring him within an inch of his life, she could stand back and respect him more. He’d still been stupid in tearing down the pillar, and he was still a coward in Tesa’s eyes, but he’d been clever to erect an alarm. Just paranoid enough.

In the present action, Tesa had cut him, and she knew he was bleeding. As soon as he’d fled away into the dust, Tesa was twisting in another direction. It never did her any good to remain in one place. Attack and move, speak and move, make noise and move. The area within the dust was her playground. She’d created its haze and therefore she belonged within it. If this had been the outside and the dust her shadows, it was the same scenario. So she deemed truth to herself.

While she’d left her spot, she’d noted the direction the man had jumped back toward. Purposely, she kicked some rubble by her feet, making some clatter in the direction she was headed and other pieces tumbled toward the area she believed he was in. This time she’d try approaching from his side instead of circling behind him. The dust swirled lazily around her moving body, curling into her nostrils, tickling her senses and stinging her eyes. She only blinked and stepped lightly on her toes, light and controlled breathing, open eyes searching the space for the shadow of his body.

Then there was a noise that filled Tesa up with dread in an instant, chilling her. She rocked from her toes to her heel just as her eyes caught the first signs of the brilliant light. She flicked the knife away, knowing and understanding the hopelessness of her situation immediately through all the emotion and adrenaline. It was better to accept her fate.

She didn’t hear her knife hit the ground as the forks of lightning touched and seized her. Blank numbness coated her brain first as her body locked up, rigid. Then the pain awakened in an explosion as she began to convulse. She lost all sense of balance, all direction, didn’t know when her body hit the floor. All she could feel was shocking pain, the clenching of her muscles, and her insides on fire. The dust had fallen when Tesa became detached from her own will and her grip on the Force had slipped. The clearing area revealed the writhing woman as she twisted in agony. A horrifying scream was ripping from her throat, though now the muscles in her neck were contracted and wouldn’t relax.

Gods, no, stopstopSTOP! Make it stop! Oh please make it stop! I’m cooking alive!

[Jenno]

Iniquitous, along with the others gathered in the hall, watched the two initiates as they tried to gain the upper hand on one another. He had to admit, the arrogant agitator did have some potential in him, but so did the girl he was fighting. He had secretly witnessed many of the initiates fighting with one another, from some of the stronger members who had stepped up into the ranks of Sith Lords and to some who were struggling to grasp basic control of their powers.

These two certainly had a grasp upon their strengths and weakness. But they still had a ways to go. His lips pursed slightly beneath his helmet as he contemplated for a few moments, midway through their fight. He had not taken on any apprentices since the four members of the Inner Sanctum. Certainly he was accustomed to teaching by this stage, he had to instruct many classes and at the same time prepare those possessed the strength to be counted as a Sith Lord. Perhaps he could choose one of these students and turn them into assets with worth comparable to the Darths. If he could hand craft more weapons like them then perhaps these two would be suitable candidates for such a selection.

He would have to lecture them not only on their martial practices but also the personality that they presented; the Dark Overlord could already foresee that they were more likely to provide a greater challenge to mould in that respect. But it seemed as though they might be worth the effort in the end. It was as his mind drifted onto this thought that the pace of the fight seemed to shift slightly and Jack took hold of this opportunity. With a burst of lightning, Tesa was caught and as things started to get dangerous, Iniquitous reached out with the Force to both of them, projecting the same single word. “Enough.”

With a steady few paces forward and closer to the two of them, Iniquitous spoke up. “Well done, you both have potential. Time and dedication to this Order will allow you to become powerful Sith.” Now he turned to address Jack more specifically. “You have proven that you do not entirely lack strength, though should you attempt to cause a similar incident again, I will crush your body limb by limb” he finished with a cold edge to his words.

“Now,” he said aloud, turning to those who had stood at the sidelines, watching the fight, “things here are concluded. Continue with your training and duties, there are many upcoming difficulties that we will all be required to face.” With his brief throw-away line to the ‘public’, Iniquitous turned his attention to Jack and Tesa, he did not wish to get distracted by members of the Order seeking to discuss things with him or to request him for some task. He had his own agenda and that was his priority.

“I wish to speak with the two of you in private,” he said in his usual emotionless tone, “we have things to discuss.” Steadily he made his way towards the exit of the large hall with a destination in mind. He did not look to see if they were following; it was their duty to make sure they kept up with him.

(OOC: At this point I believe its best we move the Ini/Jack/Tesa discussion to a new, private, thread/location, I’ll have to write up a new thread in a few days.)

[Cain]

Calling back the reigns on the dark side once Jack had began to let it flow was difficult, but Jack complied with Iniquitous's orders and stopped the lightning pouring out from his finger tips. The fog created by a flood of emotion... the temporary insanity of the dark side (Jack could think of no better way to describe it) had created a strange sort of numbness within him. Jack felt no pity for the girl writhing on the floor nor did the throb of his headaches bother him as they had before. Almost immediately after cutting off the dark side's flow, however, Jack found the stabbing pain behind his temples returning. Jack looked down on Tesa with a pitying expression. She had been a worthy opponent.

"You have proven that you do not entirely lack strength, though should you attempt to cause a similar incident again, I will crush your body limb by limb"

Jack registered Iniquitous's words, but regarded it as an utterly frivolous statement. There was no doubt that Iniquitous was capable of what he threatened, but that was irrelevant. Jack had caught the attention of not just the Sith Lords, but the Dark Lord himself. He had accomplished what he'd intended by smashing that pillar, and in the future, even if it were not by the same means, he would continue to do all that was necessary to get what he wanted.

After dismissing the others Iniquitous expressed a desire to speak with Jack and Tesa in private. He began to leave the room with Tesa still on the floor. Jack touched his hand to his cheek, checking to see if it was still bleeding before stepping up to Tesa and extending a hand down to her. Anticipating her reaction to his gesture being less than positive, Jack gave a slight chuckle, "Hey, just because we're evil doesn't mean we have to be impolite." he quipped.

[Squee]

Enough.[/b]

The outpouring of lightning ended and Tesa was left gasping. Oh, thank the Overlord. She lay lightly curled on her side with one arm draped awkwardly behind her. After another muscle spasm, she forced the arm over, her palm slapping the ground softly. In that more comfortable position, Tesa contented herself with breathing in dust. Her flesh and innards radiated an uncomfortable warmth. Muscles ached and twitched, still involuntarily convulsing impulsively. Her eyes felt wounded, swollen, so she allowed them closed.

She was going to get the passing whispers of her weakness. Her pathetic proneness upon the floor. I’d like to see them get up from this immediately, the dogs, she thought hatefully. The murmurs of this moment wouldn’t bother her too much, in actuality, but instead the fact that everyone’s eyes would be drawn to her for quite some time. That was what was going to piss her off. No more Miss Nobody.

Had her brain melted? Tesa groaned lightly without knowing it, turning her forehead along the ground, relishing in the fact that she could feel the rough stone. Then her ears tuned into the world outside her brain, catching the Overlord’s dismissal of the crowd. She opened her eyes carefully, her vision somewhat botched, and didn’t give a damn that she was looking at Iniquitous’s boots. She was quite comfortable lying on the ground right now. Why move?

Of course, then he had to go on requesting a private discussion. Well… nerfs and gizkas. Now she had to get up. The Overlord began walking and Tesa sighed loudly through her mouth, stirring up a puff of reddish dust. That’s when a different set of boots obscured her small slit of vision. Tesa frowned, taking a gander at who-in-the-galaxy he was, and tilted her body so she could gaze upward at the man. Jack’s hand was extended down to her. Tesa scowled.

"Hey, just because we're evil doesn't mean we have to be impolite."

“Evil?” she rasped. “Evil? What is evil, Jack? It’s all a matter of perspective.” Her hand lunged upward, grabbing firmly to his wrist, and allowing him to pull her to her feet. “There may be sin. And there’s always redemption.” Tesa swiped at her face, rolling off the dust, holding eye contact with Jack. “Except for you. You’re still stupid.” With a smile meant for only herself, Tesa walked after Iniquitous.