Life is Beautiful (Ash)

[Silas]

(SURPRISE! So, when you happen to see this... if I haven't already messaged you, we can talk about whats going to happen. I had one of those sudden impulse things, and I'm afraid it overtook me. Anyway, here it is! I hope you like :3 )

Dance through these forms. They moved like a holofilm before his eyes as they moved from one position to the other. Another passed by in the span of a second as sparks crashed through the air and the sound screamed through his ears. A cringe passed over his face as he backed a step away, then perhaps he took another but he couldn’t remember. Time passed interminably like the slow drop of sand from the glass or the creep of axe as it came to one’s throat. It broke the skin as the last strike threatened to come fall upon his leg however in the last moments he flitted through the another move to find himself with a wall to his back. Brittle duracrete lay across his back as his hands stretched for his lightsaber that seemed so far away now but no distance could keep him from it with the Force. In a second it continued the steps of the dance as it snapped back into his hand. Their slashes and stabs formed the chasses and adagios of their ballet as both moved through the air.

As the hilt of his lightsaber touched the heel of his palm it barely took a second before he ignited it and brought the instrument down upon the man’s head. Just within seconds of it making contact the other entity slashed at it in the knick of time to bat it way before the Sith Master reached out in the Force one more. This time it was more severe than before as he sent a wall towards the other with as much strength as he might muster in this moment. For the breath of a second the man resisted the pull as his hair lashed backwards with the threads of his cloak before he was plucked from the ground beneath his feet to be smashed into a wall just moments behind him. The dance was over; the man in black had won. With victory alight in his eyes he took one more fateful step towards his partner in this heated waltz. Those cold grey eyes were finally covered he lay sprawled upon the floor unconscious.

Or at least that was what the man wanted him to think but the feign was no so clever and Silas didn’t get too close. A second too late he saw the man pull for even as Silas tried to counter it he was pulled through the air into the same wall the other man had just crashed into. This wall was made out of a much thinner divide of sheetrock that separated the two work spaces and the strain of two people propelled into it caused the structure to bow. As he slid to the ground, a pain shot through his back as he looked vainly up at the man who had just traded him positions. Now the pale light of a lightsaber lit his face as he tried to think of where this had all began. What had led him here. It was that woman. That accursed woman and her intrigue; now he remembered.

The sun had beat down on him as he’d exited the space dock into one of the cities Prazhi where he had the intentions of restocking, refuelling, and taking refuge for a while before once again continuing his travel through the stars. People had not given him even the passing glance as walked by them. Their naïve eyes glanced over the Sith amongst them as if he might be another business man coming to this place for trade; for peace. In all honesty he had no intentions of affliction towards any persons on this planet for it was simply a stop along his journey, but in the end you never knew what might come of a day abroad. Some man might give him an odd glance, or some woman might step on his shoes and in return he might give them the point of his lightsaber. The chances were low for the moment, his mood was rather sombre this evening.

The squalls of a baby drew his attention as he walked along; an innocence thick in the air. Quietly the meandered his way over towards where the mom carefully tried to console the crying infant in its stroller with a toy of some kind. However, the mood of the baby seemed persistent to ruin any attempt she made.

“Ma’am… your child is beautiful,” His firm voice rang out to her as he walked towards her. She had already noticed him coming, and was not at all caught off guard by his words.

With an awkward laugh she quickly responded, “He’s…he’s pretty tired right now. Not usually like this at all…. Its okay Ian. Everything will be all right.”

While her words were empty his words for once held some truth to them. The life she’d brought to this world with little more coherence than a lame animal would one day prove to be sentient. The brazen rebellion in him brought forth the natural human nature to fight that which tried to control and it was that simple nature in which Silas found beauty as he added, “May I?”

The woman gave another one of those smiles as she said, “Umm… I’m not sure he’s just…”

Before she could finish he laced his words with the Force as he commanded, “Of course I can see you baby, he seems to like you.” and upon his beckon the woman repeated the words he’d just uttered. Carefully he came up to the small infant whose face was wracked with tears as she stepped out of the way. Calmly he put his hand on the small little skull as he patted it and whispered the same words his mother had just seconds ago ‘Nothing will harm you’ he added. Instantly all the confusion parted from the brain as a sense of happiness took hold and the little baby laughed.

The mother was ecstatic as her words of praise filled his ears and in that moment he felt the almost uncontrollable urge to snap this frail little neck. Such a small thing would fall to pieces with the slightest touch if he so wished but he backed up as the woman smiled broadly at the man who had just brought joy to her child. However her words were lost to him as he watched her walk off without so much as a second glance. Some day he’ll be full of empty words too. Empty words and an empty head.

The shadow of the deed he’d committed lay on his contentment as he made his way from the spot in the street where the woman had just been. Not really knowing where he would soon be he made his way through the people who cluttered with a flurry of things going on in his mind. From one topic to the next he tried to keep himself from thinking on that baby or that last look of happiness, or the mom and her lies. A sign caught his attention. Day by Day cuisine caught his attention despite any sort of wit or even originality in the name, but it seemed a nice small place to eat. Perhaps there he could unwind for a moment.

The small eatery rested between two incredibly large buildings with several upper stories where corporate business might have lay, but it was one of the many outside tables he chose to sit at. A large round thing with stone inlaid in the tops to provide a cool place to rest his elbows. There were no robes, nor were his lightsabers visible. He simply sat upon the chair lightly with the look of a tourist. Then there was her.

The woman he saw had brown hair much like his own but it wasn’t her physical appearance that he saw but the aura which wrapped around her. The cool fringes of the Force made a focal point of her, and he knew the moment he saw her that she was at least somewhat trained in those subtleties. Her. The woman that started it all.

[Kella]

A bell rang. It made a complicated sound for such a small bell, a tinkle cling tungle clang.

The bell hung just above the door, and it had made that same sound when Iri had pushed it open five minutes before.

Her fingertips browsed the shelves, the baubles and charms, reds and oranges, little glints in the shadows.

She came upon the window, were a shaft of sunlight cut sharply between the darkness of the novelties. Bits of dust hovered and floated in the light. But they weren't so much bits as faeries and snowflakes and diamonds and....

Iri reached her hand out into the beam. It made her skin sparkle. She closed her fingers to try and catch the bits on the air... but they flitted away. She stepped closer, cupping both her hands in the streaming light. She pushed her hands upward and tossed the air! The sparkles flew in a fountain, catching in the air instead of falling back to earth. Iri pushed her face into the shower, closing her eyes. The brightness filled her whole mind! She breathed in deep, imagining she was a bit of dust, floating on the air, glowing in the light....

"Hey! We-we're closed."

Iri turned to look at the source of the voice, opening her eyes. Short, dirty pinstripe suit, heavy stubble, twisted nose, overhanging brow, pinched chin. Really a charming fellow.

He squinted at her, the girl with the golden eyes, the light still washing over her head and shoulders.

She tilted her head ever so slightly, then stepped over to a conversational distance.

"Your door was open," she said, smiling.

"Was it?" He squinted skeptically. "W-well now it--"

"How much for this one?" She'd already drifted along to a shelf, dark robe blending into the shadow. Pale face, neck and hands floated like ghosts.

He scrunched his eyes together, and could only see the little amethyst butterfly for the contrast it held against her white palm.

"Oh that's an heirloom. Got it off a desperate uncle." His lips curved to show yellow teeth. "Real amethysts those," His voice became breathy and fevered. "Normally, I'd only take a trade of equal value, but since you're such a pretty --" He seemed to catch himself. His smile vanished. "No, no, you need to leave--"

"I'll give you fifty credits."

He tugged at his collar, went to say something else.

"No," she said, "A hundred. Definitely a hundred." She looked at him with wide, golden eyes. "May I give you a hundred?"

His eyes bugged until they showed white all around. "O-oh, um, yes. That'll do."

She flashed him a wide smile, and with quick steps approached. In one hand she gently held the iron-and-amethyst butterfly. With the other, she poured a little rivulet of credit chips into his hand. He squinted at them through the darkness.

"How do you see, in here, without any of the lights on?" He squinted up at her.

"Very well," she assured him, dipping her head in curtsy. "Thank you. It's magnificent." She ran her thumb over the butterfly. "It was very nice to meet you." Iri stepped towards the door.

"Y-yes, well--"

"Goodbye!"

Iri waved at the man, who remained rooted to his spot in the shadows. She pushed the door open. The bell tinkle cling tungle clanged at her in fairewell, and she stepped onto the street, leaving the curio shop behind.

--=--

She walked along the sidewalk next to the bustling traffic, black hair trailing off behind her in such a way to make the gold strands stand out. Her black dress swirled around her ankles, the embroidery catching a bit of sheen in the sun. A cloak rested lightly on her shoulders, held beneath her neck by an antique broach. Gentle strands and branches of black wrought iron held more than a dozen purple gems, glass colored to look just like amethyst. A beautiful piece, but quickly recognized as costume jewelry to the experienced eye. But to everyone else, and the girl who wore it with pride, it was a small treasure.

Her eyes wandered as her feet floated down the way, and somewhere between the charming architecture and the irresistible smell of baking pastries, she decided to venture toward the cafe.

She stepped through the outdoor tables, looking around and attempting to find a place to sit, though she was more concerned with figuring just which pastry was making that incredible smell...

That is, until a little simian alighted on her shoulder. She grinned at the monkey in greeting, admiring -- as she always did -- the purple sheen in his slick black fur. If the light was just right, you could even catch a little green. Aucep liked to watch people, and furthermore was a gleeful gossip. He cupped his hands around her ear and whispered.

"Watch--" she said, but Aucep shushed her. "Watching me?" she whispered, and this time, he nodded. He shrugged and shuffled and pointed towards the man with his tail. Iri glanced over her shoulder at the heavy brow, the dark eyes, the short, wavy hair, the rumpled but clean clothes. Nothing to set him apart from anyone else in the cafe. Except that he was indeed faced in her direction.

She began to walk casually toward him. Aucep whispered in her ear. "You think he's older than he looks? How old?" The monkey looked thoughtful. "Ninety? That is quite old. Do you think he's anyone special? -- The mythos? Really? Come to think of it he does have that look about him. Well he's dressed like everyone else, but the look... Oh, you know what I mean." The simian nodded, then whispered. "He does look like he could be a Firrerreo! If he is, do you think he knew mother and father? Oh probably not, it's a well-populated planet."

Iri quieted as she neared the man. She took the empty seat at his table, leaned back, and sighed. Her eyes tilted upwards, she couldn't help but look at the buildings.

"They just keep going up, and up, and up, and up....." she said. Aucep scurried off her shoulder to find a vantage point atop one of the open cafe umbrellas.

At some internal cue, or just a whim, she leaned forward and turned her body to face the man, using one hand to prop up her chin, and letting the other fall across the cool table. She had no reason to avoid the man -- if she were in danger, Clamo would having a hissy fit. He wasn't, so she was safe.

"What do you think that smell is?" She breathed deeply. "I know it definitely involves almond..."

[Silas]

There he sat gently upon the edge of a seat, his fingers cupped gingerly around the delicate porcelain of a cup of tea when it appeared. Upon the hitherto unadorned shoulder of the woman his eyes had so easily found there perched a little creature. The long tail of the black figure flickered once or twice as it seemed to whisper into the little woman’s ear. Those big eyes fell upon him once or twice as a his own gaze went from curiosity to subtle amusement. It seemed as if this woman had more surprised to her than first met the eye, and it was that which wasn’t first apparent that made him so intrigued. It wasn’t still she turned to look directly at him that he so quickly adverted his own attention quite abruptly to something else. In the near future he’d not remember what it was for his mind was still securely wrapped around the woman and her odd little friend that sat so quaintly on her shoulder.

For the merest of a moment he thought the woman had moved on with her interest but a quick side sweep of his eyes brought him back to see her talking once more. Still her eyes seemed to look upon him. While he had no room to judge age on appearance alone she didn’t look to be as old as him. Some people could feign and elderly appearance, and some such as he could look to be young but somewhere deeper than the set of their jaw lay the truth. Age was made up more than just the break down of cells in ones body, but the level of maturity in ones eyes, and the weight of experience upon ones shoulders. None of this was apparent upon the woman, and instead there was a graceful air of naivety which brought him to think her young. Perhaps it was the innocence that made him think of the woman wither her baby, but in some way that little girl reminded him of this bystander.

In time, however the quaint little girl with the monkey on her shoulder took leave of her seat as a man came to ask what it was he wanted. With little thought he demanded, “A strudel, whatever you find most appetising.”

Luckily the boy who looked to be a little younger than thirty didn’t demand a more solid answer, and scurried off on his way with little more than that small command. At the same moment the woman took a seat next to him, here attention diverted as she looked up towards all the buildings around them. They seemed to go up forever, he’d give her that and they wouldn’t quit growing until this planet was just as urbanized as Coruscant, or Nar Shadaa where. If things went well it would turn out like the latter for Coruscant had always given him an odd sense hate. Perhaps it was the host.

However, it was at that moment that she turned to look at him so innocently as her voice found his ears. It was almost as naïve as her eyes, “….I know it definitely involves almond…” Despite himself it made a smile quirk the side of his lips, perhaps even bashfully.

For a moment he tried to discern some sort of a hidden message within those words, or perhaps a threat somewhere behind what he tried to make out to be a façade. Try as he might however, there was nothing more than just the face value to it, and he had no choice but to answer.

Slowly he found his voice as he mulled over the word, “almond… almond.” The smells around him were fragrant and rich but it only took but a moment to catch what it was she smelled. Like her he had little to no clue as to what exactly it was that made the odour, which he would agree was quite appetising. For just a moment he thought he’d giver her no response till the most curiously coincidental thing happened as the young boy returned with his food. Now come to think of it the woman beside him seemed of an age with him, but for some reason he wanted to say she was much younger.

Then he looked at her once again with the distance now shorter to see that perhaps he’d misjudged. Beyond the level he’d seen of her face there was a slight understanding that he didn’t quite grasp. Quickly he shook it off as the man brought forward a small plate upon which was a small strudel just as he had asked. Flaky brown crust covered a slight ooze of filling that was ready to bust out of the sides while covered in thick syrupy icing.

“Here is your strudel with an almond filling,” The man said most politely before he once again disappeared.

For a second the elderly Sith wondered if this was some sort of ploy, or if the woman had set this up some how, but he simply smiled. This was no the most odd of coincidences to ever happen if it was as such so he politely responded, “Perhaps it is this right here. Would you like some?” With a chuckle to his voice.

With curiosity he once again looked at her, and there seemed something off as his eyes caught on the little butterfly that was connected to a chain around her neck. That leer remained as he cautiously stated, “Such a beautiful broach. Does it mean anything?”

Four of his fingers drummed against the side of the delicate procelain as his thumb kept it in place. One sip was all he took, as his eyes left her for just a moment. As he observed the monkey upon the top of an umbrella he was almost afraid she might disappear as simply as she had come. Thankfully she didn’t, though, and when he brought the cup back down upon the table she still sat there, not quite as mysterious as that monkey had been.

[Kella]

Irrisorie watched with interest as the little white plate approached. The server who brought it smiled at her, so she smiled brightly back.

Aucep winked at her from atop the umbrella, and she giggled.

But the aroma drew her back to the little white plate, and she observed it in its place in front of the man. She leaned forward, pushing both her hands down on the table, and used a breath to pull the smell of the strudel across her nose.

"Almost," she said, returning her chin to her palm. "But not quite." Rather than looking put-out, the girl looked thrilled by the prospect that the mystery goodie was still at large. "Though that doesn't make it any less delicious." She took the offered pastry and hummed over her first bite, and all the almond-y goodness made her eyelids fall shut for a moment.

“Such a beautiful broach. Does it mean anything?” he asked.

"Well of course it means something," she replied gently. "Everything means something. Like your clothes. They're worn to your shape, so you must wear them a lot. Even though you use the Mythos, you must do it mostly alone, because all the people who do it together wear special clothes to set them apart, or else are in disguise. Those clothes know you too well to be a disguise."

Iri smiled knowingly, as if just handing a bunch of flowers to a new neighbor.

Iri took another bite of strudel, but unfortunately, it was at that moment she was struck with a question. Never one to waste a good pastry, she tucked it in her cheek something like a chipmunk would, and spoke around it.

"What's your name? You don't even have to give me your real one, but I ought to have something to call you be, seeing as you've shared your lunch with me. And then I'll tell you mine."

[Silas]

It was quite disappointing, actually; that whatever it was she smelled wasn‘t the same to which she‘d found so pleasant just moments ago. It wasn’t as if life should really be that easy, in truth some of the most wonderful things were found when you had all but just given up hope.

“Perhaps fate will bring us closer to whatever it is you’re smelling… and if not this is rather good” The older mused as he lightly tasted a bit of the food he’d been brought with a quiet delight. It was quite good, so he ventured on one more bite as the crisp outside gave way and the chewy inside flooded his taste buds.

With all hope he could move on from this little experience with more knowledge for it seemed as though the woman was devoted to some sort of Force User, however he could not believe she was a Jedi. It wasn’t simply the look that she gave him but she lacked that filth that all Jedi held about them as if they were better than everyone around them. However if things turned around and she ended up to be some kind of a Jedi bigot he would not hesitate to run one of his lightsabers through her as quick as a whisper. While she might be pleasant there would be no remorse, however he sincerely hope it wouldn’t come to that. She really did seem like a decent person.

Then came an assumption, while wrong; still interesting enough. It was the kind of thing that brought a delicate leer to his face from sheer astonishment. Perhaps there was another layer to this woman he’d not quite anticipated, one which he had just began to brush the surface of hopefully.

“These clothes do know me quite well, it seems,” Silas began with a chuckle; a smile, “But in a robe of black or shirt of white your monkey would still be a primate. Things aren’t always a riddle, dear. Sometimes appearances are only skin deep and the creases on your face are there to tell a story you’d rather keep hidden.”

Two fingers clasped around the edge of the a spoon as he brought it up to examine it while he finished, “Maybe in time you’ll find out where my allegiances lie.”

Being a Firrerreo brought a new odd complication to that question. Some people would look to hold his name against him; to use it as a ploy. Only one other person knew his name in this galaxy, and she‘d dies a long time ago. He wasn‘t about to make that choice again any time soon as he said, “My name…. well people have called me many things in the past. Friend…more like enemy in all cases… but I think you’re looking for Silas.”

He placed the spoon idly in the cup of tea as he began to stir it lightly without really thinking about it adding to their conversation, “You mentioned mythos? Something tells me there’s a story in this, miss? You did promise your name in return….” With a smile he enjoyed another sip of his tea to the promise of an interesting evening.

[Kella]

"Things aren’t always a riddle, dear. Sometimes appearances are only skin deep and the creases on your face are there to tell a story you’d rather keep hidden."

"Oh." Irrisorie said. Like with the elusive scent, she seemed utterly unbothered.

She listened intently, until his qusetion about the Mythos made her visibly excited.

"My name is Irrisorie. Most people ask me if there's anything more, but that's all. Irrisorie." She shrugged.

"There is a story in it." She grinned coyly. "The Mythos is stories, it is history. It is and was in everything there ever has been. The Mythos is the empty space that holds the whole universe together." Her characteristic smile sparkled.

"At least," she qualified, "That's my theory. We can speak to the Mythos," she said eagerly, "Me and my friends. We ask it to do things, and sometimes it's stubborn, but mostly it listens."

Irrisorie glanced up to check on Aucep. He was peering down, looking at the other patrons. However, when he saw that Irrisorie was looking at him, he cocked his head and began to peer around behind Silas, as if he was looking for something, but Iri knew he wasn't looking for anything in particular.

She quickly turned back to Silas to see what he thought of her explanation of the Mythos. She still knew for a fact that he used it, so why did he question? Was he testing her? She eagerly awaited his response.

[Silas]

When Silas was young he remembered someone telling him to think outside of the box. In the galaxy there were few people he’d met who actually ventured into a realm aside from what a citizen of the Republic might call normal. Iri might have just made her way into that category inside his mind, for her description slowly began to push aside in his mind as some sort of a parallel to the some sort of philosophy he had never heard of before. It seemed oddly familiar in the back of his mind, as if he’d heard all this described to something else before, but he couldn’t rest his finger upon what that was. It danced upon the shadows of his mind like a fly might skirt just inches from one’s fingers as they tried to bat at it.

“The Mythos is the empty space that holds the whole universe together,” She seemed to recite to him as if from some book, or perhaps a verse so well dedicated to it might be from the page of some old text. He decided on the latter, for he was not sure if he could trust a book to be that presumptuous.

With a slight hesitation he began to say, “This Mythos must be rather big. There is much of the world…”

She continued on as his mind tried to unravel all that she had spoken of; it kept the whole universe together seemed to have some sort of importance. He wasn’t sure if she had meant it to be, but he’d turned it into a riddle that needed to be cracked for she seemed to give him little hints. He felt like a dog being led on with little pieces of food, which in all honesty bothered him quite a bit.

“…speak to it…me and my friends…”

She kept leading him on with little puzzles. How could something that seemed utterly inanimate as the spaces in the universe be spoken to? Who were these friends she spoke of?

“We ask it to do things…sometimes it listens…”

That sounded like something he’d heard before like from a dream or a dream of a dream. It was long ago he remembered from before he’d joined the Sith, the Dark Side, or even met Anne. Long ago before he’d known that there was a darkness in him or the realities of the side he had been forcefully brought into. When he’d been a part of the Jedi so long ago, and thought he was meant for grandeur amongst the light, that was it. Back then. A sorrow came to his heart as he realised what he remembered. Whatever this woman thought of the Mythos, it seemed as though she’d been horribly mistaken.

“Irrisorie? Are you talking about The Force?” He asked her as he wondered if she knew the chord she had just struck within him. The times when he’d once been a Padawan always brought some shadow of sorrow or perhaps even anger to his heart. They had used him and he had fallen for it so naively. Never again would he be used. Never.

You won’t? Remember the pirates….remember… A voice taunted him inside his head; feminine in nature. It brought with it a face, but he closed his eyes to wash it from his mind. Then he was back. Back to the present and the woman before him who was neither the one in his head, nor the one that had taunted him. Had they been the same?

“I-I’m sorry. I seemed to have lost myself for a second--The Force? Was that what you were talking of?” he reaffirmed in a more present, and decisive voice the rang. Aucep looked at him, but he gave the creature no mind, for his was far lost in the past at this point.

[Kella]

“Irrisorie? Are you talking about The Force?”

Irrisorie looked puzzled. "No, I don't think so..." He didn't seem to have heard her.

“I-I’m sorry. I seemed to have lost myself for a second--The Force? Was that what you were talking of?” So he definitely hadn't heard her.

She opened her mouth to repeat herself, but she was distracted by a ruffling of feathers as a brightly colored bird alighted on the edge of the table. His plumage was every color of red and violet, with obsidian eyes and a dark beak. The long, flowing feathers of his tail draped over the edge of the table, and Iri's eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Orpheus!" She stroked the bird in greeting, and he crooned in a very self-satisfied manner.

"What was I saying?" Aucep looked jealously down from the umbrella. "Oh yes, No, I don't--" Orpheus made a sound between a squawk and a hiccup.

"What?"

The bird let out a long, murmuring sigh.

"Oh yeah... I remember that... Thanks, Orpheus."

She gave him an appreciative pat, at which the bird narrowed his eyes.

Irrisorie nodded. "I've heard a few people call it the Force. That seems like a silly name, though," she added, somewhat whimsically, "Because there are lots of different forces, like gravity, and pushes, and pulls, and anything that has energy, and the Force really isn't very descriptive, because it's more of an entity than a force, because it imparts force on other things, but it supersedes just being a force, by definition. But most everyone I know calls it the Mythos."

She smiled sweetly at this man's minority ways. He'd looked troubled earlier, like she often saw people to be. She didn't really understand what it was to be troubled, but it didn't seem pleasant. Besides, she liked it when other people were happy, because that made her even more happy, and it just became a win-win situation. Not that losing was bothersome, but winning was better.

Orpheus eyed the almond pastry, and pecked at it. The pastry remained undisturbed, but Orpheus seemed happy. Aucup's face suddenly appeared at eye-level -- upside-down.

He was hanging by his tail, and glaring at Orpheus. The bird simply huffed and settled his feathers. Aucep hissed and dropped onto the table, scurrying to perch on Iri's shoulder. He bared his teeth at the bird, then dropped behind her back, his eyes peeping out to keep a vigil.

Orpheus looked around, blinked his big black eyes, then tucked his head under his wing to take a nap.

Irrisorie seemed accustomed to their antics, and turned her attention back to Silas.

"How well are you at working with the Myth-- Force? I'm still learning, but I'm really good at telekinesis." She wasn't bragging, she was merely repeating what she'd heard a hundred times.

[Silas]

"Orpheus!" The shout of this name brought his attention to a bright sprout of feathers that had quite literally appeared from nothing. Something was odd about this woman, for he had no doubt this was a projection from this ‘Mythos’ of hers. While he might call it the Force, it was no more the Force than it was the Mythos so he would accept her terminology for now.

The bright red creature that looked at him was a bird that was almost as verbose as the primate that sat upon a nearby umbrella to look down upon the pair. Its beak was a coal black that seemed to shine in the light as its beak ruffled those long elegant feathers. One of his pale fingers went to touch the bird and as he did so it felt so real beneath his touch. There was even a spark to the sleek feathers that was dauntingly real and for the barest of a moment he was faced with a dilemma as to if this was real or not. After a second, though, he reaffirmed in his mind the reality that non-sentient creatures did not actually talk and he’d never met any creature of sentience such as this.

Instead her conversation with the two little creatures seemed to put her mind back on task; however, he noted that if this was an extension of herself she must have known what it was she was looking for all along. This woman was wrapped in mystery so profoundly he began to wonder if this was all some sort of illusion in and of itself even as she began to more appropriately describe her situation.

“…But most everyone I know calls it the Mythos." The dainty voice told him as she mused about this ‘Mythos’ and its correlation to the Force.

It was true, though, that the name ‘Force’ was a rather broad term and her description of her discrepancies with it made him chuckle. If not for the connotations behind it the word could mean just those things she described. Luckily, though, their languages was not simply confined to the literal but also extended to a deeper meaning.

“I’ll give you merit in your intellect, Iri,” He chuckled to himself whilst he sat there, for she was quite more intelligent than she had first seemed, “However, I suppose that while the Force is quite by definition more than just that word alone; an entity as you describe it. In this light, though, you must consider for a moment that the word itself has evolved to absorb this deity, or abstract thought you call ‘Mythos’ and I call ‘The Force’. No word can truly describe it in all its pitfalls and splendours, so we simply take the second best thing. It’s like trying to describe the colour blue, without actually using a colour word. You simply can’t, so we denote a word that might be second best, but allows us to speak of it without giving ourselves a headache.”

After a second he added, “I am most curious to who your friends are?”

Whoever these ‘friends’ of hers were they were most definitely some small cult like group that had probably made residence in the galaxy. It was quite surprising that the Jedi had not rooted them out, however, if they confined themselves well enough those bigots might not see it beneficial enough to attack them.

Whilst he thought these things the two little….creature got into a small fight it seemed as the primate named Aucep hung upside down to look scathingly at little Orpheus. With a smile the Sith looked at the interaction with relative ease and wondered if she consciously did this, or if it just happened. He assumed the latter for she didn’t seem to be concentrating on it much.

"How well are you at working with the Myth-- Force? I'm still learning, but I'm really good at telekinesis,” She asked him and with this revelation of a inclination towards telekinesis he was rather confused.

“That’s odd I’d almost certainly peg you as someone strong in telepathy,” He told her, for it had seemed interesting that two telepaths would meet in the same place. Still, he carried on with his explanation of his abilities in the Force, “Well, as far as the For—Mythos goes I’ve been using it for a while now. So, I’d say I’ve fairly well mastered the areas which I excel in. What I tend to be most proficient in actually is telepathy. I have a fondness for illusions.”

Upon saying this he let his mind wind among the ever present entity of the Force to delve in it for a second as he molded it into his thoughts. His ability in illusions made it almost easy now, however it still took a moment of concentration to cause the butterfly upon her neck to take flight as it alighted the air. The amethyst wings grew in stature until it was large enough to fly timidly into the palm of the hand he now outstretched. For a second it sat there until an image in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A smiling figure sat next to him and the image of her caused his heart to race as he looked at her. Suddenly he pushed his feet back as he knocked the chair over in an attempt to make it out of the chair. A pressure seemed to collapse his chest as he attempted to breathe however futile the effort was. His mind seemed to be frozen on that image until it simply disappeared as his concentration was broken.

His subconscious had never created an image like that out of nowhere and the response he had give made him shiver. In that one moment he had displayed so much emotion, and weakness that it was disgusting. With a deep breath he fixed his chair as a couple people looked at him oddly, but he didn’t have to answer to them. He simply took another sip of his tea to get his mind back in order as he thought of a way to recover this situation.

“Telepa—telepathy has always been something I was fond of,” The Sith told her, however he wasn’t sure if at this moment if he was so certain about that anymore.

[Kella]

Iri had to agree with Silas when he talked about words having deep meaning, especially after he'd complimented her intellect. So, she nodded attentively.

“I am most curious to who your friends are?” he said.

"Well, Maggie and Mathathy and Cruentus and Vulf and Locke and Abernathia, and lots of others. Most of them are still back on Aiaru right now, though. But Richael, one of the pilots, said that if I cleaned the tower cellars, then I could come along on the next trip, and I cleaned the cellars, so here I am!" she smiled brightly.

Then, he answered her question about the Mythos.

"Maggie said I'd be much better at telepathy if I focused better." She looked thoughtful. "I don't really study it much, though. That would take too much time away from... exploring..." she trailed off as the butterfly on her necklace came to life!

Her eyes were wide as the little purple creature fluttered through the air -- just like a real butterfly! -- to land in Silas's hand. Her breath rushed gently past her lips.

"Oh... I wish I could make illusions like that!"

Suddenly, a woman appeared next to Silas. He jumped straight out of his chair! Maybe it was because she was so beautiful. Men did strange things around beautiful women. She tried to get another look at the woman, but she was gone.

He settled himself again.

"It looks like you're better at making illusions than you thought," she giggled, absent-mindedly petting Orpheus. "How did you learn how to make things look so real?"