Of Slaves And Psychos (lmr)

[Space Core]

Novux closed his eyes, sparing a moment to grieve for that small glimmer of hope he'd felt but a second ago. When he re-opened them they were steely, cold and calculating. This togruta wasn't Arshala, now that his eyesight was once again clear that much was obvious. That single 'no' was the only part of anything the woman said that he was sure was true.

He had seen Arshala die on Kalee, he had felt her life seep out of her through the Force. She had died on that day and he was sure of it. Him calling out her name was desperation, a moment of weakness which he had so often tried to guard himself from. Her death felt like it had happened only yesterday, and the wound was fresh. But he wouldn't let it cloud his judgement. Not now.

He had never been known for any tendencies to give in to his anger, and he was certain Arshala had died in battle against the Sith. Therefore he knew this Rana was lying about this. Which cast a strong doubt over whether she was truly Arshala's friend. He inspected her a second time and his glance found a lightsaber hilt at her waist, that was the final proof he needed to be sure he was being lied to.

"I find your claims to be hard, if not impossible to believe," he replied in a hoarse tone after a lengthy pause. "No individual who knew Arshala would show off the fact they possess a lightsaber as proudly as you do. Now if you'd be so kind as to tell m-"

The Kaleesh's eyes emptied again and he slumped down. When he reopened them they burned with barely contained anger once again and his accent was rougher.

"Good plan. Try to repetitively make me lose control until I learn how to stay in control. But it's been tried before, and given how much I've managed to hurt myself while being essentially immobilised I'd wager my body will break before my control strengthens."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

He didn't buy the charade, but the vivid images that ran through his mind were easily plucked and taken into her own. There was a battle with the Sith, and a tree that had fallen. The perverse little romance had been cut short in tragedy, no doubt breaking his heart.

Naraka had never been in love. For her, that emotion was simply not on her radar. Physical love was nice, though not essential, and anything beyond that was pure academic. Namely, she didn't afford it much thought, and when she did, it was only with a passing interest.

Disappointingly, the Kaleesh slumped and lost his memory again, defiantly telling her that her plan wouldn't work, because his body would break before he gained control.

That might have been an effective argument, had she cared about his well-being. However, one more dead Initiate would be thoroughly trivial. Admittedly it was far more likely she'd have to have the Medical Wing look after him, but she wasn't about to give up.

No, she'd be persistent. After all, the Togruta Sith was enjoying this.

"Now I don't know about that. We'll see where you are when your body actually breaks."

Naraka laughed, revealing her pearly fangs as she calculated her next barb to harm his little feelings with. She clearly had one now after all. She'd be a fool not to use the ammunition she'd been handed.

"Clearly your mind is much feebler and weaker. You lost your control, and your memory came waltzing back as calm as could be. It turns out you had a tragic little love story, and she died because of you. Probably for the best, as it took her out of the living hell that intimacy with you must be."

The Togruta woman turned her back on him and examined her fingernails as she continued her taunt. It was deliciously fun, and she wasn't regretting her decision to 'help' him.

"If I was in a sexual relationship with you, I'd probably hang myself from an especially tall tree."

[Space Core]

Love? Him? In love? That one word rang in his mind, standing out like a lone survivor on a battlefield after the carnage. The rest of her speech he barely head, his tired mind was too busy to focus on both his internal monologue and her words.

The fact she was insulting his physical appearance registered at some subconscious level, which would have been less than effective in angering him even if he had paid any attention. After all what she thought of his looks, or his species' looks didn't really matter to him.

Most importantly to him was whether or not she was lying. She was trying to provoke his anger, he knew that much, and that meant what she had said could all be lies, engineered to make him angry. Or she could be telling the truth.

He was having trouble thinking, his entire body was screaming in pain, drowning out his thoughts. He noticed she'd finished talking, and he had no idea how long he'd been silent for. Probably longer than was respectful.

"Did my old self really come out? Because if this is the truth rather than a lie constructed to insult me I fear I may be losing my faith in the idea of eventually bringing back my memories. My old self sounds like an idiot," the statement was true. He didn't believe in love. He didn't even see it as a quaint idea, to him it was simply repulsive, both a waste of time and a weakness in those who felt it. In a way he hated it. And it broke the silence which he hoped hadn't been too long.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Both of you are rather idiotic," Naraka said with a laugh and a dismissive wave of her hand.

His old self seemed a little ridiculous, and this new one was such a Sith. Predictable, boring. Anger and rage, the same old story from every Dark Side force user. The Togruta Master herself was very unconventional, and that was something she prized in an initiate.

It was also something she rarely saw.

"Anger is all you have to offer. You think you're fearsome and powerful when it takes control, but you're an amateur; a pathetic, juvenile fool. You're one step higher than a beast, and when the right hunter comes along..."

The Togruta woman pressed her face up towards the bars, staring from a few inches away with a smirk, a smug smirk. If someone had given her that look while she was angry, she probably would have simply choked them to death.

"He'll mount your head on the wall, and take that mask you wear for his own."

Naraka hovered near him, baring her fangs before laughing. AT him.

[Space Core]

Trying to form an intelligent reply was useless, he didn't even bother starting to think one up. The anger was back, writhing just beneath the surface of his skull, breaking his mind. Just before he gave in he sighed in resignation, five words escaping his lips:

"This is going to hurt."

And it did. Or at least it would, when his mind would regain the ability to feel pain. Once again his body strained against its physical bonds, expanding its strength in a fruitless attempt to free itself. By the end of it Novux's physical body had sustained more damage than the cage, which still valiantly stood. Its bars bent, but its structural integrity still sound.

Once again the Kaleesh lost conscious for a split-seconds before his amber eyes snapped open. His breath was shallow and ragged. A groan of pain escaped from his lips, and as his vision cleared his eyes focused on the togruta once more.

"You again?" he asked coldly as he recognised her. After all as far as he knew he'd just lost consciousness after briefly talking to this woman, and he was less than pleased to see that she was still there, but his eyes didn't carry loathing. Just indifference. To him this woman was of no importance. He wasn't willing to trust her and so whatever she said was worthless, and seeing as he was incapable of moving words were the only thing he was currently interested in.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

And another change.

This was becoming regular, amusingly so. How no one had noticed this happening before, she didn't know. Apparently he'd skated along happily with no one ever causing him to be helpless and suffer great pain.

It was actually quite amusing.

"Me again? How about you again," Naraka said with a sly smile, locking one knee and letting the other bend, giving her a casual stance that seemed to show absolutely no interest.

In actuality, this had piqued her curiosity.

"You see, every time you pass out, your alter-ego comes to life. He's a neophyte Sith in training, and when I told him all about you, he wasn't pleased. Seems to think you were weak and pathetic."

The Togruta woman chuckled softly as she stood by the cage. Would he react with denial? Certainly refusing to believe the truth made the most sense from his position. However, she had no reason to lie, a point she made clear quite quickly.

"I have absolutely no reason to lie. Do you think the Sith Order really cares about one odorous Kaleesh? Certainly you have no valuable secrets. If you did, we have members who could rip your memories directly from your mind and leave you an empty husk."

[Space Core]

"And why should I believe anything that comes from your lips woman?" the kaleesh asked blankly.

"Only one part of your speech holds up to scrutiny, and that is the mention of the Sith order. That I can believe, simply because the dark side clings to you like the stink clings to a feral animal, and given the manner in which I was defeated it makes perfect sense. As for me being odorous, well all I can answer is that I haven't been given the opportunity to cleanse myself in I don't know how long, and that I'm certainly not the one forcing you to stay here and endure my stench. You're more than welcome to turn that perfectly formed rear of yours and strut away," his voice had no inflection to it, save perhaps a mild undertone of boredom. Was Naraka to peer inside him at his emotions she would find that his tone wasn't lying. There was some anger in him, mostly directed at himself for having been defeated, from the pain, and a little bit at the togruta Sith, just for being there. But other than that he was calm, emotionless, lost in thought.

"Your reasoning as to why I should trust you seem fairly dim witted to me. I don't pretend to be of interest to the Sith order. I was an inconvenience at one time. Or some form of bother. But no longer. Right now I'm stuck here with you, who seems to be interested enough in me to stick around. Why you would be interested in me is beyond my ability to comprehend right now. As for you having no reason to lie, well that's probably the most blatant lie I've heard from you. And that is truly saying something. You are a Sith, you feed on negative feelings. Such lies could easily have been concocted to make me despair, an emotion you could easily have extracted pleasure from. Hence you have at least one reason why you could be lying."

Novux took in a long breath, his breathing had steadied, but he was still feeling stabs of pain throughout his body any time he so much as attempted to move. He was fairly sure several of his ribs had been broken, as well as his right shin and both his wrists. But that didn't make much sense. He was in a Sith prison of some sort, that much was clear, but why would Siths use such brutishly physical torture? They had so much more subtle ways of inflicting pain that it seemed beneath them.

But the Kaleesh's reasoning was broken short as Novux the Sith neophyte snatched control again. His eyes snapped open and he looked straight at Naraka.

"I have an idea," he blurted out quickly, before she could start another series of insults. "It's only a theory, but I think that if you were to turn my old self to the dark side I should be able to control my anger. The way I see it the anger comes from my old self, but-" the kaleesh's speech was interrupted by a fit of coughing, and blood trickled down, slipping past his mask.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka folded her arms and tapped her fingers against her bicep nonchalantly as she waited for the old Novux to shut up so she could find a way to get him to believe her story.

Or not, as she really didn't care what he thought. His opinion didn't concern her one way or another, and while the truth was always flexible and in the eye of the beholder, it was on her side in this case. Other times she might have been lying, but she was genuinely honest right now.

Which made it especially funny that he didn't believe her.

While she was looking away, Sith Novux returned, and made an amusing little proposal.

Turn his good side to the dark side. Very profitable, for him.

"And what do I gain from it?" Naraka asked smoothly, in a calm and even tone.

With the Sith, everything boiled down to a delightful little capitalistic philosophy about gaining things for oneself. If you gave more than you received (and there wasn't a tax deduction in play), then you came out behind. Naraka played by that rule, living up to the ideals of rugged individualism quite well, or sociopathic narcissism depending on who you asked.

The operative point was that she wanted some kind of benefit to go about the oh-so-difficult task.

[Space Core]

The Kaleesh had the resist the sudden urge to roll his eyes in exasperation. Sith were so predictable sometimes, even the unpredictable ones followed certain rules and patterns. He did too of course.

"Nothing less than you're getting right now," Novux replied he'd expected her rebuttal and had an answer already in mind.

"To access my old self you need to bring out my anger, which is what you've been doing all too efficiently for most of the lovely time we've spent together," that wasn't flattery, it was more of a cold statement of facts than anything else. Except for the bit about their time together being lovely. That was just a little bit of sarcasm he failed to bite back.

"But that's besides the point, after all you could easily continue to break my self-control at next to no personal cost, and when you've had enough you could dispose of me with sickening ease. But that would be the extent of my use to you," now he was entering the meat of his argument, and he knew he had to sell this well. After all the reason he was about to give was to her advantage if she was willing to take a risk.

"If you agree to help me grow in power you'll make an ally today. I'm not pretending someone of my lowly skill would be invaluable to you, not by any stretch of the imagination. What I am saying is that even the most powerful Siths can use allies," Novux had pride, but he also knew when to beg and discredit himself. He was willing to walk any path necessary to gain more power. For eventually power lead to freedom, no matter how it had been earned.

"Consider me a long term investment, with increasing returns over time," he added that last bit as an after thought. This was the language of the Sith, one eerily similar to that of the few traders he'd heard haggling or read about.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka stared at him with a neutral expression. He made a simple argument, but he had no choice, as he really had nothing to offer her. This was basically an act of charity in the hopes it would pay off for her later.

The Togruta woman didn't know if Kaleesh had any refined sense of honor that would force him to pay her back. That would be a nice bonus though, something to sustain her and reward her for all the trouble. However, sometimes you had to just gamble.

And admittedly she wasn't doing anything better.

Naraka made up her mind to do it, but as she had to get him angry to bring back his good personality, she had no intention of telling him that.

"You're not worth my time INITIATE. I'll never waste something so precious on vermin like you. I think I'll just turn on the torture cage and leave you overnight. Maybe I'll remember you in the morning and throw whatever is left of you onto the garbage heap, where you belong."

To finish her statement, the Togruta woman spat directly onto Novux's face, though the mask caught the bulk of her spit. Still, it was something she bet would infuriate him. That would serve her needs well.

The final touch was turning her back on the Kaleesh Initiate and walking over to the control panel.

[Space Core]

More than the insult, more than the threat of pain, more than the spitting it was the blatant lack of logic of the refusal which angered Novux the most.Well actually at a calmer time he might have been capable of deducing that his offer really was more of a gamble than anything else, but now was not one of those calmer moments. His mind was fogged by pain and desperation, and now by anger.

The very same things which clouded the kaleesh's reasoning also made it harder to fight back the rapidly rising anger.

"And here I was thinking Sith were meant to be daring," he groaned, more to himself than anything else, before his mind succumbed.

Rinse and repeat would have been a frankly perfect way of describing the pattern of the process. Togruta insults kaleesh. Kaleesh tries to resist. Kaleesh fails miserably. Kaleesh has tantrum. Kaleesh's 'good' side emerges. Togruta and good side exchange not-so-pleasant pleasantries. Kaleesh loses conscious. Kaleesh sith is back. Repeat process from there. And that's exactly what happened this time.

By the time Novux's less tainted side opened his eyes, his body was battered and broken. The damage he caused to himself had decreased with each passing fit, but the initial damage had been significant enough to make subsequent weaker efforts caused severe harm to the Kaleesh.

"I'm not feeling too good," Novux groaned as he opened his eyes, and they settled on the togruta. His brows furrowed in a faint scowl. "You still surviving my stench?" he asked coolly.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

If there was one emotion that Naraka could seize on to her advantage more than any other, it was love. Nothing else could be tainted quite so much, and transition into anger. It had happened to her first apprentice, and she'd made him her own that way. His love had transformed into jealousy and anger, just out of his control, and out of hers as well.

It hadn't exactly been ideal, but it was proof of concept.

Now the trick was to touch on his love, and to tap in just such a way as to inspire his wrath.

"Arshala's body is ready for your viewing," Naraka said as she removed the cage and turned off the restraints. "But..."

She smiled cruelly. "It might not be as you remember it. You see, she wasn't quite dead when we found her. But we took good care of that. But not before she screamed, and screamed. Your name actually, along with a few other words like 'help' and 'please, no!' However you never came, and she died all alone. It's all quite tragic really, and to think, I could have eased her passing..."

Naraka turned her back on him, in a calculated move. Even if he had known a Togruta, he might not have known the way they detected space ultrasonically. If he thought he had an opening, then he might lash out, and if he struck in anger, then she could seduce him to the dark side.

If not, she had half a mind to simply kill him and get it over with.

[Space Core]

Novux's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her words. It made sense that the Sith would have her body, but it didn't make sense that she was tortured as the woman implied. She'd died. He'd seen it, more than that he'd felt it. He had felt her life force extinguish as she was crushed. There was no way any of that swill held even a glimmer of truth, logic screamed that it was impossible, experience was doing much the same. Of course what are logic and experience to a grieving lover's mind? Nothing is the answer to that question.

That having been said he still didn't believe they'd tortured her he wasn't so far lost to love that he could believe things which were blatantly lies. The rest of the lies though, that he gobbled up like an obedient little pet laps up the food put down by its master.

"Please, take me to her body. She may not have been a Kaleesh, but she fought alongside my troops. She deserves her last rites, no matter how maimed her corpse may be," his voice was blank, but unlike before it wasn't out of disinterest. He was being careful to keep his tone blank so that his voice wouldn't crack.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka suppressed her frown, as his reaction wasn't holding true to her plan. Rage would have been nice, anger would have been good, but plain and simple grief? Aside from being boring, it was useless to her. And now she had to create something to serve as substance to her false story, which she wasn't keen on.

Fortunately there was someone she could rely on, a powerful telepath down in the Medical Wing. Doctor Q'asdan was an odd Sith, but exceedingly useful in her ways, and her medical skill would be convenient here.

Sobi, I need a pile of ashes on a table big enough to be from a sentient being. Don't dawdle.

For those highly skilled in telepathy, mental conversations were possible. Naraka and Sobi both fit the bill, and within seconds there was a nonverbal reply.

All right. But I expect a good explanation.

You'll get one.

Naraka looked at the Kaleesh and motioned for him to follow.

"All right vermin, come along. Or do I have to drag you through the dirt?"

[Space Core]

"I don't need help from your ilk," the kaleesh replied coldly. As he was released from the bonds that had held him in place.

He grunted as pain shot up through his shins, up his calves and throughout his back as his feet touched the ground, his head felt light and he stumbled, before righting himself. He was standing, albeit shakily.

Now that he was up he could feel the extent of the physical damage that had been inflicted on him. He was fairly sure that one of his arms was broken. One of his wrists wasn't responding to commands from his brain any more, and the other was bleeding badly.

"Lead on."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Ilk. Such a fun word.

For a simple Kaleesh, he had a rather extensive vocabulary in Basic. Maybe she was judging the book by the cover a bit too much.

Without even looking, Naraka could tell Novux was rather bedraggled from his experience. The sound of his walk revealed it was tentative and hobbling, which was why she kept her pace very slow. Each silent footfall was well-spaced to keep the Kaleesh up close, and she had to admit, the coolness of the stone floor felt delightful under her bare feet.

The Togruta woman didn't even try to keep her charge engaged in conversation, merely trusting he would follow down the long corridor she needed to travel along.

After what seemed like an eternity, Naraka waved her hand, and a pair of doors slid open, revealing the sanitary and stark medical wing, being tended by an Arkanian woman with short white hair, wearing a lab coat. At her waist was a lightsaber.

"Ah, Naraka. Here's the body you wanted."

Doctor Q'asdan pulled off a sheet to reveal a large pile of cinders.

The Togruta looked at the Kaleesh with a snide smile.

"I forgot to mention we cremated her body. Guess you won't ever see her again. Pity."

[Space Core]

((OOC: Just a heads up I'm going to be test running a new speech pattern for the Old Novux to easily differentiate him from Sith Novux, so if he starts speaking weirdly that's normal))

The Kaleesh followed the Sith out of the room, gritting his teeth to keep down groans of pain. Every step was agony. At some point he sneezed, the sudden movement sent strong bursts of pain throughout his chest, nearly forcing him down on his knees, but he to stay upright, and to keep walking.

Novux spared the Arkanian a quick glance. White hair, comfortable stance, confident in her own abilities. He could feel the Dark Side oozing from her like blood from a wound and the lightsaber hilt at her waist implied she was a Sith. But his attention was quickly dragged away from her to the pile of ashes next to the doctor. Ashes? How was he meant to give her a proper Kaleesh burial now?

In normal times he might have doubted everything he was seeing, but his mind was too overcome by pain to make sense of anything right now.

He could still remember the first time he'd seen Arshala, the heat on the badlands, the smell of death surrounding him and his men as they finished off the last survivors. She'd appeared like a threat to him at first. He'd never met any non-Kaleesh who'd not wanted to harm him and his people. When she said she'd be willing to help their resistance effort he'd had half a mind to send her off to die in the wasteland, but he'd been in no position to refuse help.

He balled his fists tightly, anger was bubbling in the pit of his stomach, swallowing his grief. But he wouldn't let these two animals get any satisfaction from him. He ground his teeth, and allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as he remembered the deaths of the two Siths he'd personally slain.

He knew he couldn't kill these two. For one he was at a serious disadvantage in terms of physical condition. For two there were two Siths. For three he was unarmed. For four he could feel they were both more powerful than the ones he's slain on kalee. Still it felt good, to remember the look of surprise on their face as a simple alien drove a metal blade through their chest, their blood spilling over his hands and forearms.

No. Arshala would be disgusted if she knew he'd had such thoughts. But then again she was dead. Arshala the pure one, the noble one. Of the two of them the one that always strove to do the right thing. She had died, and he was alive. Was this the truth of life? That there was no natural inbuilt justice to this world? He'd always been a cynic, Arshala had often said that his refusal to simply accept good deeds as being natural was the only thing holding him back. But what if she was wrong? Had he ever seen any evidence of this natural justice? No. He had fought for the freedom of his people, and his people had deserted him. She had been honourable and righteous. She had died. At the same time the Sith Empire went from planet to planet conquering, pillaging and enslaving, and was anything being done against them? The republic was nowhere to be seen, the Jedi couldn't agree with one another over whether they should intervene or not. He wanted revenge against the Sith that had killed his beloved, and he would fight fire with fire.

Something deep inside of him shattered. Whether that was sanity, or something else he didn't care. All of a sudden he felt another presence within his own mind, and it felt him. Between them was a wall of rage which prevented them from merging into a single entity, but they could communicate with one another. But now was not the time for long discussions, short introductions were made.

"I am Novux, a Sith Initiate," the other one said. He was the one around which the wall of anger was, cutting him off form the rest of their mind.

"This one is Novjalkzymaen Lig Raxkxala, Kaleesh Warlord and rebel of Kalee," The main body of their mind replied. The entire exchange took a split second and all occurred in Novux's mind, but he felt calmer all of a sudden. Saner than he'd felt in a long time. More powerful too, as if he'd been held back all his life by an invisible shackle and that shackle had just shattered.

"This one would pledge himself to a woman," Novux said suddenly turning around to face Naraka. The movement was painful, but he grit his teeth and endured it. He fell on one knee before her, a closed fist hanging over his chest and his head slightly bowed. "A Sith promised a pledge should a woman help him. This one would honour that agreement, and seek her teachings as well," he added.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Sobi looked to Naraka with a gaze that clearly said 'all that for this?' It was quite clear the Arkanian didn't think it was worthwhile, and Naraka honestly felt the same way. All that effort just to deal with a random Kaleesh Initiate's personal problems.

"How cute," The Sith Lady said with a smirk. "I have your loyalty now. Charming."

The Togruta shot a look at Sobi, who promptly walked over to a cabinet and started straightening out the materials. Apparently their conversation was back down to two, which was a pity.

"Now which one of you is carrying out the promise? The one with the dead girlfriend, or the one with impotent rage?"

Her tone was rather mocking, making it clear that she wasn't about to suddenly respect him or consider him an equal. After all, he wasn't even a full Sith. He was little more than a hopeful, without training. The real pity was that he wasn't even handsome. He was a scaly and gangly creature she found rather hideous, and when she compared that to her own past...

Her apprentice had been so much more satisfying, and his young heart had been easy to twist around her finger. It had been child's play really, and she missed it. She wanted to relive that experience again, and to corrupt a youth.

Maybe Naraka just had nostalgia, but things seemed better before Korriban, before the Sith Order. However they weren't too keen on leaving the Order, though she could come and go as she pleased. That made it bearable.

Besides, she had her old house to go to every time she had her nostalgia to contend with.

The Sith woman simply folded her arms and looked at the subservient Kaleesh with a smirk.

[Space Core]

Novux paused for a few moments, pondering the point of the question, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. Her mocking tone and taunts had little affect on him. In their mind the Sith Slave was fuming, but the Rebel Warlord remained cold and stoic.

"A man must ask if the answer would matter," he finally replied.

"A lady was pledged a man's loyalty in exchange for her wisdom. The lady has fulfilled her part of the bargain and the man wishes to fulfil his. Does it matter which part of his mind speaks at any given time? Whichever half it may be it speaks for both," he added, almost as an afterthought.

The pain shooting through his entire body caused him to ground his teeth together. During the entire time when he spoke he'd had to fight to keep his voice steady. The Initiate was raging, howling within his prison of rage.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka's full lips curled up into a smile, her wickedly sharp fangs peeking out to say hello in a rather sinister expression of mirth. For whatever it was worth, she had her first minion now.

"How delicious," The voluptuous Togruta woman said as she started to circle him. "I have my very own pet Kaleesh."

This was amusing. While she had no idea what to do with such an untrained apprentice, she did realize this would be useful. And undoubtedly entertaining as well. Besides, perhaps the day would come when he would be truly helpful. Perhaps she could cultivate in him some kind of strong loyalty.

Her wry and dry tone ended as she laid a hand on the Kaleesh's shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"I'll take good care of you Novux," Naraka said sincerely with a very thin smile. A single pat accompanied the words, and then she crossed over to the Arkanian in the room.

"See to it that he's taken care of."

The Togruta woman walked back to the entrance and paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder.

"I'm easy to find. Come to me any time you want advice or training."