Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (Rugzy)

[Poludnica]

A plume of fragrant smoke appeared in the air from the expensive, Coruscant cigar. It danced slowly toward a ventilation shaft watched vigilantly by a pair of stark green eyes. Cassius inhaled deeply, enjoying this ridiculously expensive smoke. It had been too long since he truly enjoyed something so simple yet extravagant. Hopefully today it would change. With small, content smile the human turned from a panoramic view of a waterfall and toward the entrance to the VIP lounge of the overpriced club. For a moment he passively listened to the Force only to dull his own presence in it to a small flicker. Appearing as an average bread eater to anyone skilled in reading strings of the Force.

He was alone here, leaving Broca behind on Coruscant. This was something he had to tend personally but it had been intrigue, rather than malice that pushed the Liviana owner to act. Who was this boy that dragged himself around Danica? That lovesick pup that had killed so much of Livco security. Or maybe his motives were different. Money? Some imaginary slight against Liviana family? Cassius believed himself to be paragon of knowledge, a good man who always wanted to get to the bottom of things. Like now.

What do you want, Nieraan Onin? Cassius smiled faintly and crushed the rest of cigar in a crystal ashtray. It let out an angry click as if speaking of frustration that coursed through the man's veins. The Firrerreo was a ghost. Nowhere to find, nowhere to dig out. Like a sneaky roach appearing here and there in the Core and Hutt space. Though the CEO knew already one thing – he was a force user of great patience to spend so much time with Danica.

After using all the means to track down the pest, there was only one thing left. Meet him in person. Not as Cassius Liviana of course, that would be too easy. Too obvious and unsophisticated and he was all about doing things as perfect as humanely possible. Remembering this, the man adjusted his perfectly cut jacket that hid still fit body of a warrior in his primes. Still, last years took a toll on Cassius, showing in dulled reflexes. But mind stayed sharp and disciplined even if body refused to. Certainly an arrogant brat would be in for a surprise, from what Broca was telling he had big mouth and even bigger ego.

There was nothing in life Cassius enjoyed more than putting people in their proper place. Especially those that didn't respect their elders. His gaze swept once more over the room, briefly stopping on a large mirror. With a tired sigh the man put in place an unruly strand of gray that nestled itself in his ebony black hair. Would the alien notice the odd similarity Cassius and Danica shared? Maybe but the boy didn't strike Broca as a thinking type. More like a terribly uneducated, brash child that got dangerous toy to play with. ”Dany, how much more will you humiliate yourself only to ruin my day?” He chuckled under his breath, crushing small flickers of irritation this sentence had caused.

Foolish girl. The man leaned against the gilded wall, flicking on and off old fashion chronometer, counting how much the Firrerreo boy would be late. Such types never kept to such boring thing as time but for Cassius it meant discipline, being perfect, impeccable. How a poorly educated alien boy could possibly understand that? The man would forgive him this slight, he was generous like that.

[Rugs]

Hapes was not a world Nieraan liked.

It was entirely too clean, its people were entirely too absorbed in their own looks and machinations, and the makings of the world were far too extravagant for the Firrerreo's taste.

He'd grown up in the seedy navel of the Galaxy's underbelly, away from the glaring displays of wealth and fullness and comfort. The shadows had been his home, the streets his schoolhouse and training ground, and the narrow, winding alleys and old, decrepit warehouses had been his jungle, to play and explore in--to discover himself.

And here he was now, in a place that never even had a proper night. It was hard to think of anywhere that could be more different.

Yet here he was, at the behest of one man who was named--or went by the name--Darek. The inviation had come a few days prior, and Nieraan had had half a mind to just ignore it when he got it. It wasn't as though he didn't have ample reason not to; the war was gaining steam, he had students that needed training at the Temple, Jack had plans that were still being set in motion, and he still had his own problem in Kamirille's resurfacing to deal with.

More than enough items on his plate, and that was without the constant politicking and plotting of the Sith, or the missions that were sometimes assigned to him.

Or Danica.

Nieraan scowled slightly at the thought, making a passing woman look askance at him. He ignored her.

It wasn't that he minded the feelings he felt toward Danica--though they were the source of an uneasy mix of emotions in the bit of his stomach--but the way they popped up when he didn't intend them to was... troubling at times. He was a Sith, and that brought daily interactions with people that might use whatever they could against him.

His assignations with Danica had to remain secret. For both their goods.

Which means I need to stop worry about it, he chided himself as he reached a great, curving set of doors that swung gracefully open for him. Back to the business at hand.

The business at hand was that he didn't know what to expect from this meeting; little information beyond the basics had been provided to him. A quiet, nagging voice in the back of his mind warned that he should be wary, warned that he was walking into a carefully-laid trap. But who would the hunter be, and what was their purpose?

A Jedi? Some aristocrat upset at the killing of a family member he'd carried out at the command of the Order? Too many possibilities to consider. Too many things to fret over.

So he didn't. His posture had the usual note of quiet confidence as he strolled down a curving corridor. Stay alert. But not afraid. This could be nothing, anyway.

Eventually, he reached the reception room that the meeting was supposed to be in. He could feel a presence through the door. So this Darek was likely there, waiting.

The door pulled away to allow Nieraan passage and the Sith stepped into the room. The room itself was moderately-sized and comfortably furnished. A panel of large windows let light the sunlight pour in waves and offered a flawless view of part of the city and sea stretched out a few floors below.

The man the room held was one that made the hairs on the back of Nieraan's neck stand up slightly. He presented an impressive figure, tall and impeccably dressed, gracefully aged. Nieraan couldn't feel the Force in him, but something about him made the voice in the back of his mind whisper warning, whisper to be caution.

Perhaps spending too much time around the Sith was honing him. Or making him paranoid.

Whatever the case, he kept his little bit of apprehension locked away and hidden beneath the surface of his presence and his being, instead folding his arms over his chest and shifting his weight slightly to his left leg.

A black brow arched gently and he addressed the man with a question. "You wanted to see me, I believe?"

[Poludnica]

Stiffling a yawn, Cassius walked over to a large bar. Ignoring a service droid, the man picked one of the bottles of aged liquid. Critical, chartreuse eyes fell on the label and he scoffed silently at Hapes inferior tastes. Typical. Well, unrefined palate or not, certainly the Firrerreo couldn't tell a difference between this and Hutt piss. With a wave of his hand, the human called upon a delicate music to fill the silence as he waited for the young guest to arrive.

Finally the doors opened and moderately tall figure slipped in, soundlessly, like a graceful feline. Cassius didn't really hear his steps as much as felt the presence – tainted and vile. The dark sider, of course. One of those stray souls that sought power because were too weak to stand on their own two feet. Lazy, so lazy. The Coruscanti business legate turned to face the new arrival and stared at him callously from beneath well-formed brows, before beaming a charming smile. Warm and non threatening. ”Ah, mister Onin I presume.” Nieraan Onin. Even his name sounded shoddy and dull.

Despite elegant and pleasing demeanor eyes didn't seem to reflect it, coldly assessing the young alien, taking in any detail. Clothes – shabby and stained, this child looked like someone raised in the deepest slumhole of the Galaxy. Messy hair, equally messy and unpleasant attitude. Cassius didn't ignore how quickly Nieraan crossed arms on his chest, keeping literal and figurative distance. Like a stray dog expected to be kicked. No pleasantries, not even a facade of them.

A troubled child for sure. Not a surprise Danica would choose someone like him. The girl liked broken toys, if only to feel better about her own fate. ”Please, have a seat. Maybe a drink? I hope your flight went well.” Cassius said, making himself a drink. Ice clanked in the glass, swallowed by soft tunes of music. ”There are cigars next to you, please, help yourself. A fine, young man as yourself should know the taste of a good cigar.” The man smiled again, gesturing at the small table next to Nieraan. He didn't even try to hide his accent, one born in the upper echelons of the Core society.

He had to admit though, Danica could find them handsome. Though most of the Firrerro's traits were terribly repulsive in their strangeness, the boy's features were regular and body amazingly sculpted, even when put in such raffish rags. But with a bit of tending to his aesthetics, Nieraan could be a truly handsome creature. That was another thing about his progeny – she liked her toys looking nice. They had this thing in common. A part of him felt truly bad for the poor youngster who caught himself in a net of his daughter's lies and tricks.

On the contrary to what man would say, Cassius didn't really hate the Firrerreo. He didn't hate anyone in particularly, that was such low feeling, lacking restrain of any kind. No, there were actions and their consequences. For the world to go round without a hitch someone had to be punished on occasions so the order could be maintained. Things removed from the great equation. Though, he could not go around maiming and murdering every alien who offended him, so he had to think of clever and horrid ways to damage those who Cassius deemed worthy of his ire. Taking his anger out and discipline it before acting.

And this boy looked like someone lacking restraint. The human briefly considered using force to gently touch the Firrerreo's mind, peg his strengths and weakness but he stopped himself. Force was a tool, not something to flaunt around in a cocky manner like a certain silver hued being before him that made no effort to stay quiet and vibrated strongly in the fibers of the Force.

[Rugs]

Nieraan nodded curtly to the man's greeting as he stood, waiting to see what the meeting was about. "Yes, that's my name." What do you want, he wanted to say, but for the moment he held his tongue.

He could at least wait two minutes before he started being an ass.

”Please, have a seat. Maybe a drink? I hope your flight went well.”

"It was fine."

”There are cigars next to you, please, help yourself. A fine, young man as yourself should know the taste of a good cigar.”

An annoyed sigh quietly broke Nieraan's lips, but he shook his head. "I'm fine," he muttered, walking to the other side of the room. In truth, he didn't smoke much, save the occasional cigarra lifted from Jack. But even those were rare things.

Now Nieraan waited, watching the city below through the window while he waited for this Darek to get on with whatever it was he wanted. Nieraan was very much a man that had a mind for doing things. Meetings bored him.

Meetings with strange men that called him halfway across the Galaxy out of the blue left him uneasy.

Shouldn't have come, that little voice, deep within his consciousness, said. Should've stayed at Korriban.

But he was already here, and there was no point in just walking out--yet--so it was best to make what he could of the situation.

"So.....," he started when it became clear that Darek was waiting for him to say something, "what's the business here?"

He turned around, leaning lightly on the back of a well-padded leather seat. His stance was loose, but his impatience for the whole affair glinted in his eyes.

"Why'd you call me here?"

It was nicer than "What do you want?"

For that, he patted himself on the back.

[Poludnica]

With a smile, the human pored a hearty glass of the golden liquid, twirling the bottle quickly to stop any unruly drops to fall on a designer table. Cassius believed that the discipline should come even in the simplest of actions to firm ones character. ”Shame, this seems like a decent brandy, not too luxurious but you can't expect too much from only a four star hotel.” He flashed surgically cutout pearly whites in a toothy grin, looking at the young alien before him. The boy just couldn't stand still, turning and sighing. Was this what his silly daughter liked in him? Rude impatience? Absolute disregard for manners?

”Such impatient young man. I assume, a privilege of age.” Cassius clicked his tongue with amusement, seeing obvious uneasiness. One didn't need Force to spot tension in the Firrerreo's short comments, rushing the deal to end. So be it. The human put the glass down after few sips with an audible clank!, his green eyes fixed on the little daughter's thief. The gaze indifferent and blank now, despite charming demeanor. One could even call it dead or lifeless with yellowish sclera. It was a stare of a sick man, no matter his carefully honed power. Cassius was dying and he knew it, implants could buy only this much time before his goal could be achieved. So little time, so much to do.

Casually, the grey jedi walked to seat across Nieraan who tried very hard to mask his impatience. He titled his head, making the sneaky thief wait few more moments before breaking the silence. ”Business it is.” The man let out a disappointed sigh, seeing he wouldn't get much more enjoyment out of clueless boy there. ”There is a young woman to be taken care of. A liar, who uses people, mostly men as an end to very troubling goals.” Cassius started pushing a small holocom on a table. ”Can I trust you not to fall to her whims? I heard you can be a very reliable professional.” The man folded hands under his chin, inhaling slowly, enjoying the moment of calm before all the tantalizing storm.

”I offer five hundred credits for this, a small fortune for someone like you no doubt, but a task will be demanding.” Cassius put out another cigar in an ashtray, half undone. With a flicker of his wrist the hologram came to life and a dark haired woman appeared. Red dress flowed down her frame, marking well kept, soft figure and oval features. The resemblance between father and daughter wasn't striking but subtle hints could be spotted by a keen eye.

The pictures began to switch quickly, ending on a the most indecent scene taken in a ship cabin, but this time the woman wasn't alone but a certain two tone haired male accompanied her. Both of them locked in a tight embrace, lost in passion and completely oblivious to the small tracking device in a family heirloom. Broca did well, the man once again proved resourceful.

Cassius' brows raised, faking a surprise to make an expression of endless disappointment. ”I see it may be too late for you, sadly.” He said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ”But despite that, maybe you will consider my generous offer, Nieraan.” The human added, slight amusement playing at the tips of his words. Loyalties were often so easy to buy, especially among dark siders.

Slowly and carefully, Cassius peered through the tight curtain of the Force he veiled around him to gently touch the surface of the young alien's thoughts. Neuro from the nerves, the silver paths. He saw a network of glittering neural routes, molding and shifting, slowly forming into solid images. The man's expression didn't change as he wondered if the Firrerreo was skilled enough to pick up tendrils of the Force caressing his cognitive processes, pulling at them cautiously.

What are you hiding there?

[Rugs]

Nieraan's eyes narrowed in stages. First there was wariness of this man, this so-called Devon who called him from across the Galaxy without even knowing who he was and played at manners, offering him drink and cigars and other luxuries. It was a front; that much was readily apparent to the Firrerreo. A youth spent among drug dealers and mobsters made that easy enough to see. The reason for this fronting was harder to maintain.

Until the old man started talking.

Then Nieraan's jaw clenched, making the muscles on the side of his face stand out as he glared at Devon. Pictures of his intimacy with Danica flashed before his eyes, but it was the words that got him. Five hundred credits to kill her. For an assassination, it was a pittance.

As if he were some buffoon who didn't know what he was doing.

As if she weren't worth a thing.

”I see it may be too late for you, sadly. But despite that, maybe you will consider my generous offer, Nieraan.”

Nieraan stared at Devon for a long time. Restraint and furor crashed against each other beneath the surface. Anger and control warred at the core of his soul as he tried to determine what to do with this old, stupid man and his ridiculous offers.

That was all until a subtle stirring in the Force, until a little finger of power inserting into a place where it had no business tipped the balance to wrath.

A terrible snarl worked his face as his skin turned to silver. The Force screamed in an angry tempest within him, roared like a dragon caged and yearning to be free. An ejection of power escaped him and the expensive bottle of brandy shattered with a crash. Glass and liquid sprayed away from the side of impact, away from Devon and Nieraan. Shards of glass embedded themselves into furniture and the walls and ceiling like little daggers. The brandy itself splattered onto the walls and windows and floor and ceiling, ruining all that it touched.

Through it all, Nieraan stood still as a post, glaring murder at Devon.

The Force returned to him after the outburst, came back to his control in the way an rabid Kath is kept in check by chains wrapped around its neck. Nieraan's fists were tight nearly to the point of pain. The sometimes-wolfish features of his face were tight and rigid with anger.

Nieraan's temper was a thing of stages. When it first flashed, it was usually a thing that was hot and wild, much like the rush of the Dark Side. But past a point, he became very quiet, very cold. It was at this point that the Firrerreo became extraordinarily dangerous.

"Give me one reason," he said, voice cold and hard as Rhen Var's abandoned temple, "why I should not kill you."

The Firrerreo stepped forward abruptly, levying his phsyical prowess to shove roughly at Devon. "Because I don't care for your lies, and I don't care for your games. Devon." The stress of the false name, the twisting and venom in his voice as it tainted his tongue told he knew the moniker as false. "And I don't care for you sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong."

Nieraan lifted a hand, his palm callused from handling a blade for so long. He lifted a single silver finger.

"One. Reason."

[Poludnica]

(( I am sorry it's so long but wanted to make it believable <.< yhh that's a very poor excuse xD Passed out Nieraan approved by Ruglet, don't do it at home kids. Or at least ask your rp buddy if you can do it :3 ))

Cassius wanted, like nothing else, to punish his daughter, to show her that there were consequences to bad decisions. Nieraan was just a tool - a foolish, lovesick pup that couldn't tell manipulation from a genuine feeling. The moment the Firrerro saw the pictures, Cassius knew the young male was lost. In the force he could feel his anger rising, noticed tightening of muscles that changed Nieraan's features into sharp, predatory mask.

The boy was lost.

The aged man sighed regretfully and measured the young alien with a steady, cold gaze before a charming smile returned to his features. ”I see.” Cassius said with a hollow voice, rid of any feelings. He raised his hand, beckoning the force to create a subtle barrier between them, just in time to stop major damage from the sudden outburst of pure, raw but tainted energy. The glass shattered in a storm of shards, most of them caught themselves in the protective barrier – still one or two managed to break through, pushed by the imminence power of a furious lover whose woman was slandered. Or a vicious animal which territory had been invaded.

He felt stingy pain in his cheek when the sharp shard cut the delicate skin of his face. Blood trickled down from the small injury creating a hideous trail on suspiciously unblemished complexion. Cassius winced, placing two fingers on the flesh wound, massaging it.

My face... Cold, calculating anger flared in the Force and the man struggled to keep control. He was a creature of strict discipline, striving for pure perfection and this...this slumborn mongrel! This alien nothing dared to cut his precious face! Slight tension showed in Cassius features that lost any pretense of being gentle and charming. He raised verdant gaze, looking at Nieraan with open disgust. Whatever to say about the Firrerreo, he was powerful and worry that Cassius instantly loathed began to stir beneath the cold mask.

”It's Darek, actually. Hard to believe Danica chose a man with memory of a goldfish.” The man smiled but the expression didn't reach his lifeless eyes, giving an impression of a chilling threat. ”I guess her standards dropped over the years.” He added, without moving an inch when Nieraan stepped closer. It would take much more to scare him than a violent dark sider with temper issues. The boy was a bully that tried to force his will with idle threats.

No class at all. Cassius slowly reached for a tissue to wipe blood from his face, before responding the infuriated Firrerreo which turned into a silver nugget all of the sudden. ”Do you assume this childish tantrum scares me? Think again.” The man titled his head, finally letting the ice cold fury to have its way, unleashing one focused wave that tore through any telepathic defenses Nieraan could muster: searing nerves, flaring up pain receptors and for the first time in years Cassius stepped close to the dark side, flirting with dangerous power, craving to cause mind numbing suffering.

A temptation to kill lingered in the back of his mind, pushing him to press against the Firrerreo's mind but the boy was resilient, tough like a particularly nasty cockroach. Cassius knelt next to the passed out alien, taking a handful of two tone hair, pulling the Sith's head back. ”Don't touch my face ever again.” Cassius snarled, his features briefly losing the typical indifference, showing what beast truly dwelt deep inside this human man.

Wiping his hands, Cassius turned on the comm device. ”Sarez, get yourself up here.” The man demanded harshly, finishing to clean the blood. The cut wasn't deep but there was a chance for scarring and this Cassius just couldn't accept. With stern expression he looked like his men tied down the unconscious Firrerreo to a luxurious chair. ”Check the bidings, he is skilled in the Force.” The Liviana senior ordered whilst pulled sleeves of the silk shirt up to the elbow. Seeing it, his men stepped away, knowing it could get messy any moment now.

”Leave.” The man's voice had algid quality, nothing was left from the superfluous charm Cassius so often maintained. The man didn't hesitate, didn't ask questions – scurried away in great haste before the grey jedi looked over the room with a growing distaste. ”Such a mess.” He concluded and grabbed one of very few bottles that survived the carnage. Cassius was angry but mostly with himself for lacking control. To get provoked by a poor scamp half his age.

The brandy was an expensive brand and Cassius would hate wasting it but it was all about the message. ”Your nap is over.” He concluded coldly, pulling the Firrerreo's head back by his hair again, before pouring half of the bottle all over silver streaked face. Hopefully he didn't suffer any lasting damage, at least for now. Though certainly the dark sider could count on hell of a headache.

[Rugs]

”Do you assume this childish tantrum scares me? Think again.”

Nieraan snorted and scowled, face twisted with rage. Fury filled him to the point of making him feel a water skin near to bursting. With it came the unrelenting torment of the Dark Side, at once both heat and cold, ecstasy and torment, power that could give him strength beyond measure all while threatening to burn him away.

And this man dared toy with him.

"I'm gonna do more than just scare you, you bastard." His hands clenched into a fist, and the muscles of his forearm corded tightly beneath the sleeve of his jacket. Sparks of power flickered dimly around his fist."I'm gonna-"

A pressure bloomed behind his eyes, cutting him off mid-speech. He tilted his head slightly, brows drawing together as the pressure grew. Abruptly, plain blossomed and tore through his mind like fire through a dry forest.

Immediately a spark of pure, white-hot fury took him. "You!" he growled through the pain at the old man. But it was all it could manage before he was overwhelemed. He thought about lunging at Darek, using his strength and weight to send them crashing down, to force this invasion to stop.

But his body did not respond. The room turned in a way it should not have and darkness took over all.

---

The world came rushing back in a wave of pain. Nieraan groaned, eyes opening to see the hazy world beyond. He tried to grab whatever was holding him, but he couldn't move his hands. That was odd. He should have been able to move them.

His vision slowly came to focus on a hand above him. Holding a bottle. Opening it. Turning it sideways.

He cringed away, shutting his eyes as the brandy came pouring down on him. It soaked him, running in rivulets down the side of his face, into his shirt, into his nostrils, making him cough violently.

”Your nap is over.”

If the dousing hadn't done it, the voice was more than enough to bring everything crashing back into remembrance. The strange man and his invitations, the fit of rage, the blinding pain before he must have passed out...

Nieraan's head throbbed, but he didn't care as another wave of anger rolled through him. He struggled and immediately found himself tied down. At this he growled, trying harder to move, muscles straining to move his body against the bonds that restrained him, but he could not.

And then his eyes found his captor. His skin turned silver in fury.

"You," he snarled, venom on his tongue. "I'm going to kill you."

[Poludnica]

There was plethora of dangerous power in the boy. Raw, pure , unruly and untamed. In Cassius' eyes Nieraan looked like nothing more but a child with a blaster. He doubted his captive was aware of what treacherous path the Force had forced him into. But given Firrerreo lifespan Onin was barely an adult, maybe mentally more a teenager – one could only wonder what power this boy would harness in hundred years if not stopped.

At this thought Cassius eyes narrowed slightly and cold tendrils of deadly Force slithered over Nieraan's semi conscious mind, sapping a bit of life out of still active cerebral cortex but momentarily the aged human pulled away, deciding it wouldn't serve any of his purpose. That clueless Firrerreo was suppose to be a tool to show Danica her place. To see there was no escape from his grasp.

”You gonna... you gonna do what exactly?” Cassius said in a painfully mocking tone as Nieraan coughed out expensive brandy. The man threw away the bottle that shattered loudly on the nearest wall. ”You alien filth, your kind is good for nothing more than a servitude.” He spat, seeing the young Firrerreo waking up. It was admirable how quickly the boy gathered his wits. Maybe his species had naturally high pain threshold but most likely someone had trained him to be this way. And did a good job considering what they had had to work with - An insufferable brat severely lacking self-control.

Cassius stepped to place himself in front of Nieraan, locking gaze of the yellow irises. A visible taint of the dark side which made him snort in disgust. Apparently the boy didn't learn his lesson, what coaxed a surprise raise of an eyebrow from the man. Danica could really find them smarter...He sighed at that conclusion and his hand shot up to catch Nieraan's chin in a tight, painful clench. Cassius winced at sticky sensation of brandy mixed with alien sweat.

Disgusting.

With endless patience he watched the boys skin turning silver in a fit of senseless rage. The more Nieraan struggled the more Cassius would close his fingers, breaking the boy's jaw if that what was needed to calm him. So much hate, so much anger....Troubled child. ”Don't do that. You will hurt yourself.” The man said slowly, lazily even. He already worked threads of the Force to establish strong link between their minds.

You won't win this one, child. Echoed in Nieraan's mind. ”Now, let's start again, shall we.” Cassius asserted without letting go of the Firrerreo's chin. ”My other name, one that may sound more familiar to you is Cassius Liviana. He continued, loudly and slowly as if he was speaking to a mentally challenged child. The man spoke in a strange accent of High Galactic now that gave his surname an exotic set of vowels. ”I believe you know my daughter Danica....Very intimately I may add.” At this statement, the man's nails began to dig into silver skin.

”And as a concerned father, I would like to have a word a some dirty, slumborn non human cur that felt like reaching far above his low-born status .” Cassius finished, his mind already worked on prying important memories. A Firrerreo female...Aggressive, demanding...Name, what was her name? A former lover? No...The man closed his eyes. ”I am sure my daughter, being a lying, sneaky viper she always has been, didn't tell you what to expect from her old father?” A mirthless, empty smile spread on Cassius lips before he finally let go of Nieraan's chin but only to slap him painfully. Over and over again.

”How dare you defile my only child like that and expect to live?” He sneered, tainting biting words with the Force so they would carry like a vile echo in the boy's mind.

[Rugs]

The old man crouched down in front of Nieraan. Their gazes locked. Despite his less than ideal position, Nieraan stared his captor down, yellow eyes brimming with hateful challenge. Tied down, he might have been, but submit to this old fool, he would not.

A hand suddenly grabbed him and clenched down hard on him. Nieraan grunted as fingers clawed into against the bone and muscle of his jaw. His silver skin grew darker as he glared at his captor. His body strained again against the bonds of his restraint, but yet again, they refused to relent more than enough for him to move in his struggle against them.

"My other name, one that may sound more familiar to you is Cassius Liviana."

Realization hit Nieraan like a cruiser tearing out of hyperspace. Even without Cassius going on to confirm it as though Nieraan was some stupid child, he knew.

This was Danica's light-blinded father.

”I believe you know my daughter Danica....Very intimately I may add.”

Even as nails that were far too manicured dug into Nieraan's skin, he had to fight the urge to laugh. Even as the father scolded him to dare defile his daughter, Nieraan knew he'd gained an advantage. Cassius had had him. Held down, groggy, unable to defend himself.

And then presented Nieraan with a weapon to turn back against him.

So enthralled was he with the sudden prospect of this, that he didn't notice Cassius' careful picking around in his mind. He didn't truly even notice the word that drolled on and on out of the old man's mouth. He didn't notice any of it until the slap came.

That got his attention.

Nieraan's perception of the room snapped sharply in and out of focus. He noticed that he was very abruptly looking to the right of where he had been. Then there was a loud pop!, another shifting of perception, and he was looking to his left. His cheeks smarted acutely, and his jaw throbbed dully where Cassius' nails had been digging into him.

Another slap came.

Then another.

And another.

Alone, Nieraan might've laughed at the thought of someone having the balls to slap him, and then broken their wrist. But his hands were restrained against the seat and as the blows piled up, they began to hurt. It wasn't the worst he'd felt, not by a long shot, but still...

”How dare you defile my only child like that and expect to live?”

An echo of the words, pushed by the Force, dug itself powerfully into Nieraan's mind. The last slap came and the room fell silent. Nieraan's head was turned to the side, resting limply against the back of the seat.

It took a moment for Nieraan to gather his wits back around him; at first all he knew was that he was tired of the room shifting suddenly from one side to the next and that his cheeks burned with a sting that would not stop. But his mind came back, and with it, he knew that he still had his weapon. He still knew that Cassius' furor was because he'd bedded his daughter. Repeatedly. And continued to do so.

And with that knowledge, he finally allowed himself to laugh.

It started softly, almost sounding like a sob with his head still turned aside his mouth nearly kissing his shoulder. As he righted himself, his strength grew, and he threw his head back and laughed in Cassius' face until his sides and stomach hurt. When finally the noise died down and he lowered his face, the red already fading from his cheeks, he'd regained a measure of his composure. He stared Cassius down with a challenging defiance, with a devious smirk resting comfortably on his face.

"Poor, poor daddy," he cooed, voice thick with mocking, "so upset to know I've been bedding his girl." Nieraan's smirk grew into a toothy grin in fool, showing pointed fangs to his Captor. He leaned forward in his chair, as far as his bonds would allow him to go. "Yet still curious enough to take pictures of us while we're together. Though to see her or me, I'm not sure I can say..."

Nieraan winked at Cassius and settled back against his seat, making his body relax. He still had to figure out a way to get the hell out of here, but if he could stall--if he could turn some of Cassius' own game back against him...

"Do you want me to fill in the details for you, Cassius? Do you want me to tell you how she arches her pretty little back for me and whispers sweet things into my ear? Hm?" He lifted a brow slightly and tilted his head, as if making a true offer in good faith to the man. "Do you want me to tell you how she calls my name? How she moans when I push her to heights she hasn't explored before?"

Nieraan grinned isolently at Cassius. "Is that what hurts you most? That you can't know that?" He adjusted himself, sitting him straighter, relaxing his hands and feet so that he sat in the chair as if he willed it--as if he was the one that called Cassius there.

"Or does it sting the most to know she's found something better than any Human could ever be for her?"

[Poludnica]

Oh how much hatred burned in those sickly hued embers. Cassius caught this gaze, relishing in this display of endless acrimony. A part of the aged Force user was impressed by how unyielding Nieraan had been so far. For an alien he possessed strangely strong will, very difficult to find in young and restless. And it only added to the cold fury Cassius tried to take in tight reigns. Even as the humiliating slaps came down the boy seemed calm, though pain must have been searing his silver cheeks. He didn’t like this defiance - it couldn’t be natural; something had shaped this boy into a killing machine that took physical punishment as if it was a sting of a wasp. Nothing more.

Something else than anger swelled in Cassius’ ice cold soul that lingered in chilling, though oddly vivid gaze. It was intrigue that forced the man’s hand to halt - hovering above the Firrerreo’s head but not striking again. The nasty bruises already began to fade but it wasn’t what caught Cassius attention.

His expression remained listless and detached, any indication that might have justified previous fit of rage gone withing a heartbeat. Cassius’ hand glided down but not to slap Nieraan viciously but caress his already healed cheek with gentle, almost loving stroke. His finger trailed under the boy’s chin, along line of hardened muscles on the neck and lower to stop on the collar bone. ”Tsk. So vulgar and rude. No wonder Danica likes you.” Cassius smiled but there was nothing pleasant in the predatory expression that sharpened his chiseled features. ”She always had a thing for delinquent waifs.” He replied to Nieraan’s childish goading and the sly wink, his cold fingertips still caressing along the well defined line of the near-human’s collarbone.

”I can guess very well what she is doing with you, she was trained to be perfect, beautiful but very impractical toy.” Cassius said with seemingly polite, even warm voice. ”And you entered her trap all too willingly. Taking what is rightfully mine.” He added when the audacious laughter died down. The boy even dared to relax - still brass and defiant even when facing a superior foe.

Interesting and infuriating at the same time....Cassius’ eyes narrowed suddenly, hearing the last statement from the insolent brat that indeed hit the core of his worries. ”You reached for something you simply doesn’t deserve ." The man’s hand suddenly shot up, giving the Firrerreo one last slap before Cassius leaned in, placing his manicured palms on the side of the chair. "Hubris is a sin that can’t stay unpunished.” He fin ished and reached deep within Nieraan’s mind, deciding no physical abuse would make a difference. The Firrerreo was a good friend with pain and Cassius began to have a vague idea why.

Fascinating...

The grey Jedi closed his eyes focusing solely on Nieraan, pouring his entity into the boy’s mind and with long tendrils of the Force he began to claw at the entirety of the Firrerreo’s being, finally clutching at the precious, tightly knit ball of feelings the dark sider fought hard to hide away and with devilish smirk Cassius forced them to slowly blossom. The strength of it made him wince when he briefly shared the surprisingly strong feelings Nieraan held for his despicable daughter. Force the boy to be deeply aware of them before backing slightly away with the intrusive presence.

It was Cassius’ time to let out a hawkish laughter that carried so little warmth it sounded more like an angry bark. ”You lovesick idiot.” He commented harshly, bitingly. ”You are nothing more to her than a pawn in our game. She wouldn’t even look at you if it didn’t mean my resentment.” Cassius leaned back with hands in his pockets with a cruel smirk giving his classically sculpted features.

But that wasn't the end of the torment, not by far...The human once again strengthened the link between them, trying to focus Nieraan's attention on the shreds of memories Cassius willingly offered him. If his daughter how he saw her – terrible temptress that manipulated others for own gain no different than Cassius himself. That in her fake vulnerability she managed to destroy any men who got too close.

The images Cassius attacked the Firrerreo's consciousness morphed into something different, images of Danica dying, her presence gone and those ill fitted feelings Nieraan held turning into grieving pain that was much different than physical suffering. This awful sense of loss that crushed all motivation to live like a plague wind destroying everything in its path. Cassius knew how it worked for even he had loved years ago and now could share this horrifying experience with a young man who couldn't even admit to himself true nature of his own emotions.

”Even if she truly loves you, the day will come I will kill her and annihilate everything you two created.” Cassius spoke this with menace that was almost palpable. Maybe the Firrerreo was used to harsh, physical abuse but the way he guarded those flickers of attachment spoke how the boy could be scared of being wounded emotionally. To be left rejected and pathetically weak. ”What would your mother say seeing you like this?” The human finally added in an oddly casual manner. As if it was an afterthought. For now prodding if his guess had been correct.

[Rugs]

"Ah, it's because of my mouth," Nieraan said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, sarcasm clear and true in his voice, "and here I was, thinking it was because of so many other things..."

The Firrerreo paused for a moment, thoughtful, trying to ignore the old man's near-molestations.

"Though, I'm sure she's enjoyed some uses of my mouth as well, now that I think on it..."

”She always had a thing for delinquent waifs.”

"Is that so?" Nieraan titled his head away from Cassius' touch as a finger drifted down his cheek. He was acutely aware of what it was the old man was trying to do—to make him uncomfortable. And, to that end, he resisted overtly displaying signs of his discomfort while Cassius did all sorts of strange things like rubbing his neck and looking at him as though preparing to whisper sweet nothings into his ear. It was disconcerting. "Seems to be something she has in common with her father," he remarked offhandedly, the barest hint of bite trailing on the back end of his words.

Fingers brushed the edge of his collarbone, and despite his desire to move, there was little Nieraan could do, strapped into the chair as he was. So he continued to push back. "But sorry, dear daddy," he offered, frowning regretfully, voice slightly softer, "I'm afraid you're not my type."

Cassius moved on, telling him the wholly believable tale that everything was actually a ploy, that he'd fallen into her trap. Taken what's rightfully yours? Well now, he mused, a lone brow arching over his eye, ew.

The last thing, though, the last stabbing little taunt of Nieraan's seemed to hit a nerve, and hit it hard. Cassius' cool facade fell away and with precious little warning even from the Force, he leaned forward and slapped Nieraan again. The blow smacked loudly on Nieraan's smooth skin, pushed his head to the side and made his vision shake for a brief moment. His face stung from the strike, but despite it, Nieraan chuckled—a deep, full chuckle from down in his throat.

"Come on, why so angry? Shouldn't you be proud that your daughter's gone for the best?"

Rather than word, Cassius answer came by way of making Nieraan once again very aware that he still held presence in his mind. Nieraan felt the pressure Cassius' hand in his head, felt it straining to look into his thoughts and feelings like rancor straining at the edge of a gate. His face twisted with effort as he resisted, but his strength failed him.

It was a strange thing, being confronted with the strength of one's own feelings. The knowledge that they were his own made his mind say that he shouldn't have been bothered by them. But knowing he possessed something and being forced to see it through a mirror were too disturbingly different things...

Sith strove for detachment, in some ways. In that, they weren't so different than the Jedi—connections were a weakness. Weaknesses could be exploited; for that very reason, Nieraan had tried his hardest to keep knowledge of his trysts with Danica from getting out in the Temple.

Yet, here he was. Attached, and the cords of emotion that he allowed bind him to Danica were far stronger already than he imagined they would be. Here was a weakness of his own design—a potential downfall of his creation.

All because this woman was the first good thing to come into his life in years.

So would I change that? he wondered, remembering his challenge to Danica back on her ship as she'd trembled with sobs against him. Even as he was aware of Cassius letting his intrusion fade from his mind, he still didn't refocus his attention on the man. Not yet.

No, he thought. His mind turned, unbidden, to Kamirrile. That's what she would want.

".... I will kill her and annihilate everything you two created.” Nieraan's awareness shifted back to the matter at hand—enduring this man's annoyances and getting away without too much harm being done. Or with him dead.

His eyes narrowed dangerously as echoes of Cassius' work played in his mind; he saw images of Danica hurt. Dying, crying for him, when he was unable to do anything to help.

His body tensed. His bonds strained against him as he sat up straighter in his chair.

”What would your mother say seeing you like this?”

The Sith's jaw tightened. No. I'm not playing this game.

"My mother's dead," he said, knowing the statement to be a lie as the words left his tongue. The threat that followed, however, was everything but. "Quit playing the coward and let me free and you can go join her to ask for yourself."

[Poludnica]

The young Firrerreo built the thick wall of detached arrogance, though his discomfort clearly woven in the loose strands of the Force around him. The foolish boy tried to get upper hand with sarcastic bites and petty insults. ”Don't flatter yourself, Nieraan.” Cassius offered calmly, his hand giving another measured slap to the insolent brat right before another one, this time born out of pure fury painted deeply silver cheeks crimson. ”At the end of the day you are nothing more than a slum born scoundrel.” The older man moved away from the Firrerreo, content with the amount of uneasy discomfort he had caused the boy, who so bravely tried to hide it.. Cassius stepped toward one of the small coffee tables and took a piece of neatly folded cloth. Gilded strands were woven into the ridiculously expensive fabric.

With a lazy gesture, the man wiped his hands into it, as if they were tainted and filthied by sheer contact with Nieraan's skin. ”Sooner or later my daughter will find someone more suiting her needs. Like she has done for years.” The aged grey master put away the mangled fabric back on the table, exchanging it for a glass still filled with the golden beverage. ”And no amount of arrogance will make you into something you are not. Won't make up for...” The human broke midsentence when he thought about how the Firrerro twisted his words. Disgust mixed with bemusement crossed usually impassive, sharp features. ”And on top of that you are also dense.” Cassius let out a defeated sighed, showing the true disappointment in Danica's choice of a partner.

A cold chuckle rang in the room when Nieraan boldly stated she had gone for the best. ”No, on the contrary.” Cassius protested – so recent fury fading away, replaced by cold, focused anger, hidden behind a mask of indifference. ”Danica always picked up the most damaged ones.” The man inhaled deeply and sank into a cozy armchair in front of Nieraan. His green eyes carefully measuring the alien boy before him, trying to break through the shield of pompous bravery and callous attitude. The Firrerreo tried to fight back, Cassius couldn't neglect the spontaneous strength with which Nieraan called the Force to aid him. There was something inexplicably sad in the fact such powers so easily responded to an unruly brat whereas disciplined warriors had to work years to achieve this.

Such injustice unnerved Cassius to no end. This anger showed in the way he ravaged through Nieraan's unconsciousness, forcing all the feelings the alien child held so close to his being to resurface and finally the careless arrogance, this false pretences of not caring for anyone or anything began to crumble. The Firrerreo responded to disturbing images of his lover hurt, only to prove himself how much he truly cared. But there was also something more, something that stirred much older, much deeper and primal.

All the fears of an abused, neglected child. This special kind of vulnerability such kids carried through their lives like the worst kind of baggage. Loud protest that came from Nieraan followed by a clumsy provocation elicited a pleased laughter from Cassius who emptied a glass of whiskey, putting it away right next to the gilded fabric. ”Just because you want her dead, doesn't mean she is.” The grey master's lips pulled in a Debian smile. ”You still think lying to me is possible?” In truth the statement Nieraan made carried so much wishful hope it could pass for the truth, but Cassius felt too much desperation for it to be real.

The human leaned forward in his seat, eyes closed. He briefly considered letting the young Firrerreo free, to beat him into coma and be done with it but Cassius was too cautious by now to let temptations of vain arrogance to win. To believe in faultlessness was to subscribe to the worst kind of folly. It inspired false confidence, which led to a dangerous breed of arrogance. Far too often the shame of a downfall was born of having underestimated the simple value of something small and inconsequential, the tiniest seed of possibility that was considered meek and unable to sprout. Like underestimating youthful infatuation and calf love of a barely adult Firrerreo to his daughter. Such feelings brought blind loyalty and pushed to limits that could force Cassius hand and kill the young alien in self-defense.

And that he never let a useful tool to be wasted like that.

Suddenly the room began to fall apart around them, giving room to vast, crimson desert with a lone moon hovering above. He left Nieraan there, melting with twilight of the strange phantasmagoria. The boy was free to roam this desert, there were no binds no chair to hold him. Very carefully Cassius sifted through the early memories the Firrerreo kept locked away. One of them screamed to him with vivid emotions of fear, anger and desolation.

Look.

The human ordered as three shadows formed in the air next to Nieraan. They were shapeless at first, inky dots in growing dusk but with every heartbeat they gained humanoid qualities until three Firrerreo danced locked in one, specific scene. A father and a son trying to fight away a dark haired female. Young Nieraan tossed around like a rag doll, helpless and scared. Crying from the dread induced anger. ”Is this what you are running from Nieraan? This what you are hiding behind all this arrogance?” Cassius suddenly appeared in the elaborated mirage, his hands stuffed into his pockets in the most casual manner. Predatory smile spreading on thin lips.

”From a cage made for you by one woman to exactly the same created by another, tsk.” Cassius shook his head, his features morphing into look of honest pity.

”Bound to repeat the schema of this pathetic dependence over and over, and over.” The image and shadows changed to much more fresh memory of Danica and him, arguing. How Nieraan could easily caved in under clever manipulation, how attachments he held toward his mother and Danica were similarly damaging and how Cassius' daughter was able to bring up this vulnerable child in him. Not unlike the one Nieraan called Kamirille.

”They will destroy you.”

[Rugs]

”Just because you want her dead, doesn't mean she is.”

Two things happened to Nieraan at that moment.

First, he decided that he was starting to hate this stupid old, insufferable man. He was sticking his nose into business that wasn't his, thinking he had a right to meddle. Nieraan's bonds groaned as his body strained against them. If he could only be free...

If he could only strike the old man down now...

The second thing that happened was that a cold, hard knot of fear began to develop in his stomach. No one was supposed to know Kamirille still lived. Not Renata. Not Danica. Not Jack or Jessoin. No one.

The situation had changed, and not in a way Nieraan liked.

”You still think lying to me is possible?”

"Won't matter after I snap your neck," he shot back. For all the fury plain across his silver face, Nieraan's voice was cold. It was hard and sharp, like shards of ice in winter's heart. Cassius pushed Nieraan to a dangerous place—past the levels of anger that come and burn and die away like a fire when its wood runs out, and into the depth of hard, relentless fury.

Most troubling of all, the man knew the stakes he was raising.

The walls around them seemed to crumble away like dust on the wind. The city beyond was gone. In its stead stretched a desert—harsh, endless, empty. The chair was gone. He was standing, free to move about as he wished. His breath misted before him in the cold, moonlit desert night.

"Where..." he started, rubbing his wrist where the restraints had pressed into his skin, "where am I?" Cassius was gone. Every trace of Nieraan's brief imprisonment was gone."

And yet...

Look.

Nieraan felt the command more than he heard it, some unseen, unknown urging that commanded he turn to see what lay behind his shoulder. So he did.

What he saw made his breath die in his throat.

He saw himself. Young, lanky, hair tied neatly in a tail behind his head. He had a gold blade in his hand, and fought alongside his father. His motions still had the awkwardness of a youth whose mind and body weren't quite together as the body grew to fullness. His face carried grim desperation, before the enemy tossed him aisle. Like a toy.

Like an unwanted child.

Nieraaan's mouth worked, suddenly dry at the sight of his memories brought to bear.

”Is this what you are running from Nieraan? This what you are hiding behind all this arrogance?”

Nieraan didn't acknowledge Cassius, who'd appeared from nothing to stand behind him. He was still transfixed by the scene, watching his father fail to keep Kamirille's assault at bay. Then he saw his younger self rise again, bloodied, shirt half-falling off. That golden blade was still griped in his hand. Determination burned like wildfire his piercingly-green eyes. Determination and belief that if they could just hold on, they could drive her away.

Nieraan's scars seemed to burn on his back.

"No," he whispered, watching himself gather his strength. "Don't!" He screamed, but the young Nieraan lunged anyway, thinking to catch his mother unawares.

A boot to the stomach was his reward. A flick of Kamirille's saber sent the gold blade clattering uselessly away in the sand. A hard blow to the side of the face put him on the ground, back exposed.

Then the saber fell. Nieraan screamed.

Suddenly the sight changed. The young Nieraan and Kamirille and Ared turned to smoke that drifted aimlessly on the night breeze, obscuring the sand where the fight had been.

”From a cage made for you by one woman to exactly the same created by another, tsk.”

The smoke faded away and he saw himself and Danica. Serving her. Saving her. Liberating her. Arguing with her. Fighting with her. And then bars appeared around him. Chains clasped onto his wrists and ankles and bound him in place. She held the key, and he begged for freedom. But she never did...

”Bound to repeat the schema of this pathetic dependence over and over, and over,” Cassius said, unrelenting. ”They will destroy you.”

"You..." Nieraan said. His voice shook. His hands clenched into fists. "You don't have the right." His chest heaved as he struggled to control himself.

Then he launched himself at Cassius.

[Poludnica]

The air in the room thickened with anger. Cassius knew that fury wasn't a primal emotion – it always covered something else. A weakness hidden deep within the Firrerreo's soul; something the boy went out of his way to mask with brash, reckless attitude and flaring temper. It struck the grey master how alike were Danica and Nieraan. Maybe that was what kept them together, this sense of common misery. Pitiful, weak and pathetic. The boy immediately lost the arrogant, careless attitude, showing true colors to his nature. The human inhaled deeply, as if reveling the scent of hatred – now he had managed to break through the facade. She was the key – the mother; How disappointingly predicable and cliché. Yet poetically true. The young man who couldn't get free of the past ghosts, like a child still bound to relive the nightmares of the childhood. That was his cage, not Danica, not Kamirille. Everyone was an architect of their own demise.

”You would like that Nieraan.” The tall human commented with a short laugh that carried undertones of superior mockery. ”To show me my place?” With a content smile Cassius stretched on his seat, dismissively relaxed. Devlish glimmer danced in green irises that watched the struggling boy with the quiet contempt. A sad creature, trying to act tough when all his weaknesses were laid bare. Stripped to the raw core. ”You are good, but not this good.” The man admitted truthfully, for him it was a simple fact. Long time ago Cassius had left the youthful arrogance, replacing it with aged pragmatism. He didn't need to boast about being superior. ”We both know that.” The grey jedi added, though his expression changed slightly, from contempt to pity in a span of a heartbeat. The look one gives to a helpless pup discarded at the side of the road.

As the vision grew around them, Cassius smiled with malice, relishing the confusion and fear that nestled in Nieraan. ”In your very own purgatory, boy.” The voice echoed in the empty space. ”Very own.” The words turned into a hum and faded away, leaving the scene for the main act. There was so much innocence in this lanky youngster it pained Cassius to watch it in a way. How unfair the Galaxy could be sometimes, though the aliens had their way to stoop very low. The terrible memory only served to strengthen the man's notion he was of a superior breeding and the Firerreo before him failed to keep maintain a shred of grace. Having a row like that in the open. Unsavory, crude and primitive.

Seeing Nieraan's reaction Cassius stayed silent, smiling at the vain protest. As if he never truly accepted what had happened there. The desperation awoken anew in the Firrerreo, flaring his anger beynd the point where a rational thought faded. There was only hatred and the dark side to consume it and fuel it in the never ending cycle until his soul would burn away. But then something happened, something the grey master wasn't truly prepared for.

The Force filled with uncontrollable emotions erupted from Nieraan in a wave that crushed the fabric of the vision. Cassius felt pain when the telepathic connection violently broke. He winced, letting out a hiss, pressing hand to his forehead. With awe and surprise the man watched the Force thickening around the boy, dark and tainted one. Feeding off the terrible turmoil that wrecked Nieraan's soul. A worry crossed Cassius features – this he didn't expect. No, that shouldn't have happened.

And then the Firrerreo broke the bonds, straining his body to an extend that should probably harm him. Cassius reacted immediately and instinctively, whenever threatened as this kind of fury he didn't predict. With all the power granted him through years of harsh training, he called in to the string of the Force and called up a wave of crushing power to meet Nieraan head on. Pushing the boy and everything around him to meet the wall with bone breaking velocity. ”I gained this right the moment you laid your filthy, alien paw on my daughter.” Cassius shouted out, embers of ice cold embers luring in his voice. Contrasting with the searing dark, fury. With a fluid motion he reached to his inner pocket and sharp hiss cut the air when the pale blue saber came to life. ”You are a slum born child cowed by his own mother, nothing more.” The man proclaimed steely, dismay clear in every word. ”If you can't see a reason otherwise, maybe I should learn from Kamirille and beat you senseless instead.” Cassius prepared his body, strengthening it with the aid from the Force. Joints and muscles protested with pain but the man brushed it off, letting emotions to dull it.

[Rugs]

The desert shattered around them. Danica and Kamirille and the young Nieraan all faded, crumbling and blowing away like dust on the wind. The world turned and for a moment it felt as though time itself stopped, with Nieraan hanging in the air, mouth twisted into snarl, fingers arcing from his hands like claws as he leapt at Cassius.

Unknown and an unseen to him as the barrier between reality and Cassius' conjured world crumbled, the straps that held him down snapped as the whole weight of his fury tore them apart. His vision narrowed to a tunnel with Cassius as its end point as he flew through the air.

One thought echoed through his mind. Kill him. Hurt him.

Make him beg for forgiveness before cutting his throat.

So narrow was his focus and so blinding was his rage that the sudden explosion of power from the other man caught Nieraan completely off guard. The push felt like something solid he and all his momentum slammed against it, but it didn't let him fall and rest; it arrested his own energy, used his short flight against him as it tore him backwards and slammed him into the wall.

Nieraan's vision dimmed as his head banged against the wall and impact knocked the breath out of him. He fell to the ground with a cry and stayed there, feeling the world spin around him.

”I gained this right the moment you laid your filthy, alien paw on my daughter.”

Nieraan stirred on the ground, trying to clear his head. His back ached and his head throbbed. The room turned around him in ways that were not natural.

---

”Rage is a tool,” he heard his mother's voice say. Suddenly he was back in that ratty old apartment they lived in, lying on the ground. Beaten. Broken. Kamirille's foot on his chest pressed him to the ground with a surprising firmness. Her navy-blue blade burned a centimeter away from his throat. ”Anger is a weapon — a powerful one when used correctly.”

She looked down at him, something resembling pity working across it. Pity for the beating she'd inflicted or his weakness, he didn't know. “But when you don't use it right, well... She clicked her tongue sadly. The tip of her blade pressed against the side of his neck. It was set to a strong stun setting, but it still hurt badly. Nieraan almost bit himself trying to hold the cry back as tears welled in his eyes.

“Well, now you know what happens, don't you?”

---

Nieraan's eyes snapped open. A wave of dizziness washed over him—a sign that he'd nearly passed out. From one blow. That's embarrassing.

”You are a slum born child cowed by his own mother, nothing more,” the old man said as Nieraan pushed himself to his feet. His body protested, but he forced it to obey; he'd suffered worse before. If the smell of ozone alone didn't tell him that Cassius had pulled out a blade, the sound of it did, right before he turned to see the weapon burning in the old man's hand. ”If you can't see a reason otherwise, maybe I should learn from Kamirille and beat you senseless instead.”

“Don't flatter yourself,” Nieraan shot back, glaring at Cassius. He pushed up onto one knee, and from there to his feet. His hands still shook as he struggled to keep himself from leaping at the man again, wanting to tear him apart in the bloodiest way imaginable. “You couldn't hold a candle to her if you wanted to.”

He gave Cassius' lightsaber a significant look and motioned at it. “So now you want to take me on with that, hm? Think and old man like you can keep up?” He narrowed his eyes, knuckled popping as he closed his hands. The Force roared into him, pushing him to the limit of his control.

Even so, he managed a sly, smug little smirk. “Or do you just want me to make you squeal like your daughter does for me?”

[Poludnica]

Even with all his superiority and sense of pride Cassius had to admit the alien showed a considerable strength, resilience and stamina. At this point nothing but stubbornness had to push the silver skinned creature. This and the pure, untamed rage. The older man could taste it's sickening, dark hue in the air. The surge of the despicable dark side always left a disgusting stench of decay and death in its wake. The Firrerreo was young and yet to the bone soaked with this taint – there was no salvation for him. Sickly yellow eyes betrayed the twisted nature of the darkness already molding his body into the hideous vessel. Nieraan Onin's soul was lost and the Coruscanti master thought it would be so easy to put him out of this miserable existence.

The boy had hit the wall, few pieces of furniture followed him, shattering and falling on the ground below, next to the young Firrerreo. Cassius didn't move, only obscenely bright green eyes vigilantly watched the listless body.

That was short and disappointing.

But then the male stirred, sun flared orbs fluttering open. An amused chuckle left the dark haired man lips that twisted into a cold, cruel smile, changing sharp features into a hawkish mask as the young alien climbed to his feet - with obvious pain and strain put on already abused body. Cassius let tendrils of the Force to slowly glaze over Nieraan's mind, licking its surface with cold their presence. Reminding both of them who was truly in control there and then.

”Are you now trying to hide behind your mother's skirt, boy?” Cassius mocked the petty insult the boy conjured. ”Now, that's just pathetic. It wasn't relevant, maybe she truly was more powerful – the man accepted a truth many wanna be masters should have: there always existed someone better than you. The grey jedi clicked his tongue with disapproval and shook his head, clearly seeing how eagerly the Firrerreo wanted him dead. It resonated in his thoughts, stance but no amount of raw talent would replace decades of experience. ”If you thought I couldn't keep up, you wouldn't stand there like an emotional idiot.” Cassius snorted at another poor attempt to anger him. This boy lacked social skills like a misbehaved, silver ape though the next jab did flare icy bites of fury deep within him. Waking up almost primal fear the man had carried around from the day his daughter had been born.

The grey master's eyes narrowed dangerously but in no other manner would Cassius show how that stung. The moment he had seen Nieraan and Danica together, the man noticed something that put him apart from other failed romances his ill progeny tried to maintain. There was a dangerous possibility Danica truly loved this foolish, uneducated rascal. It was an abomination of a natural order and a disgrace to the respectable name. ”Talking about my daughter like that won't make your life any easier.” Cassius reached to the inner pocket of his expensive jacket and took out two lightsaber's hilts.

”On the contrary.” The man stated calmly, at this point believing the boy seemed a bit mentally challenged as well or deeply disturbed in some other manner. Who else would provoke an already angry dragon to stomp on them? With a lazy, almost dismissive gesture Cassius threw the sabers at the boy. ”But please, feel free to satisfy your inner masochist and attack me.” A taunting chuckle escaped Cassius who already let the Force around him to thicken, strengthening his aged body: rising strength, sharpening reflexes.

Cassius took a step back and spread his arms in an inviting, yet mocking gesture. ”Who else would be willing to stay with Danica but a glutton for punishment, eh?” He threw offhandedly.

[Rugs]

{GOING FROM WRITING A COURT REPORT TO A FYTE POST IS KINDA HARD FORGIVE THE SUCK}

Nieraan snatched his lightsabers out of the air. Surely the old man meant the gesture to be a taunt—proof that he thought the Firrerreo well enough in hand to give him the weapons back.

Well, Cassius didn't know him. Cassius didn't know what he was getting into. His two matching blades stayed with him, but the third, the odd one out, went to his belt.

Nieraan activated his blades together, and blades of molten gold and navy blue erupted from his hands simultaneously. “I don't think,” he said with steady confidence, “that you are in any position to tell me what will make my life easier. Especially considering that you'll be dead in minute.”

He felt the old man drawing on the Force, using it to augment his frail, aging body. Nieraan snorted, then sneered. “Not even confident enough to go naturally, are you?” Now the Firrerreo smirked, showing a pointed tooth. “Pity.”

It wasn't a completely fair mockery, though. The Force filled Nieraan completely, down to the deepest depths of his soul. It was nearly painful, so fully did the wild, roiling energy fill him. Like trying to hold a storm in a bottle, it pressed against his limits, struggled against his restraint. Urged him to motion. Demanded he crush Cassius and grind his bones to dust.

So he moved to act.

With little more than the subtle shifting forward of his weight as a hint, Nieraan closed on Cassius, blades weaving strands of gold and blue as they whirred through the air alongside him.

His body turned as he closed the distance, aiming to strike hard and fast. His wrist flicked and the gold blade whipped out like a serpent's strike—not at Cassius's body, but at his blade. Swat it down, keep it bound while his blue blade rushed forward, hilt first in hard strike at the side of Cassius' face.

It was purely vindictive. Pain caused for pain taken.

[Poludnica]

((Welp, first ever duel post, it may kinda suck. I hope they will get better >.> ))

The boy all too eagerly grasped the sabers, an elaborated taunt. Cassius smiled at this, seeing how dearly Nieraan clung to those. ”They won't save you.” The dark haired man stated calmly, in this awfully patronizing manner a parent talks down an unruly child. A mixture of pity and mockery. ”And deep down...you know it.” The Coruscanti noble chuckled and inhaled deeply, feeling the wisps of the Force weaving around him. It bore light, clashing with the swirling darkness that enveloped the defiant Firrerreo. He could sense the familiar tension that proceeded every duel. Cassius couldn't count how many of them he had won, and lost. Looking back at his life, it was a miracle that he had survived, sometimes only thanks to blind luck but was now two decades older. The years of youthful arrogance had passed, leaving room for experience and adult assurance.

”Look who's talking.” Cassius winked at Nieraan; his crude taunt did nothing to anger the older man. There was no shame in drawing the power from the Force, it fueled its every wielder. He stood relaxed, seemingly casual with a Delphic smile spreading his thin lips. The powers near the Firrerreo raged in an uncontrollable squall but on the other side of the room the Force remained tranquil, precisely controlled with a surgical precision. A peacocks last dance. The grey master concluded noticing this difference. A prestidigitator's show aiming to scare and intimidate but Cassius knew those who shouted the loudest often had little to support it. ”Maybe for once you will actually do something about those threats, child.” Cassius sighed, focusing on the small room and strands of Force that bore immediate warning.

Nieraan lunged at him with a furor of a rabid beast. The human's eyes widened briefly, noticing how the strongly dark side resonated from withing the boy. It was disgusting and terrifying in a way how a simple Firrrerreo youngster became a vessel for such taint. Ending Nieraan here and there would be an act of mercy though today, for the way this alien wretch insulted him, Cassius wasn't in a generous mood.

The man felt more than noticed incoming blades, he raised his own in a vertical ataru block to catch them and trying to deflect them away, using Nieraan's own force against him. The blades danced and Cassius focused on short, powerful strikes to pushed the Firrerreo into a defense, aiming for one blade only to quickly move to another. Hoping to dash away in a daring jump, before Nieraan could attack again.

Smell of ozone filled the room as the fight went on. Cassius had to admit there was incredible skill in how the boy handled his sabers. Years of relentless practice and endurance beyond those known to humans. The grey master didn't expect Nieraan to show such focus, though there was one thing he lacked – restrain. The Force was only as useful as one's control over it. Still, Cassius slowly lost delusions he would wear the boy down, not this one.

[Rugs]

[Has it really been this long? Whoops >.>]

Nieraan struck. Cassius defended. Gold and blue clashed violently with the old man’s lavender blade, hissing and crackling with fury.

He’d thrown Cassius back onto the defensive, taken him by surprise with the strength and speed of his furor, but surprise alone wouldn’t get the Firrerreo what he wanted. Cassius stuck his fingers into matters he had no right in, had dared to dredge up the pains of the past and shove them in front of Nieraan’s face. Shocking him with his own mortality wasn’t going to cut it — not until Nieraan sent the old man to meet it.

Yet he knew it would be easier said than done. Cassius was old, but not a pushover. His foe took the offense, pushing Nieraan back to defend, which he did easily, with deft counterstrokes or evasions.

Nieraan launched a counter and Cassius defended, then dared to leap back. Nieraan took a breath, as though inhaling the Force itself, and loosed a scream as the older man retreated. What glasses in the room hadn’t already broken from his earlier display of fury cracked, then shattered as the Force tore them apart. Even the thick, strong windows began to crack as Nieraan’s rage beat against them.