Change is in the Wind (Reis)

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka sat pensively in the front of her new home, which was purchased and freshly renovated thanks to a generous donation from a wealthy friend, with benefits. And she had to say, the house had never looked this good in all her previous association with it.

It was two stories, wide, and made of wood painted a very soothing shade of blue. There were large windows with a panoramic view down the slope to the very center of the caldera and beyond, on a clear day. Of course right now it had just rained, and the clouds were still dark in the sky.

Naturally, the Togruta Sith was seated on the grass of her front lawn. Her attention was devoted to a rose bush that she was growing inch by inch, crafting and encouraging to grow in just the right way. She felt very much like an artist sculpting a statue, only her subject was organic in nature.

While the inside of her home was neat and clean, it was also minimal, even by her standards. She hadn't yet had the time to assemble all the furniture she needed, so it was merely the barest of fixtures. And at her insistence, there was no electricity. Everything would be done the natural way. Even heating was done by the geothermal energy drawn from below.

It was a daunting task ahead of her now, but she felt prepared to deal with it.

It was, after all, a refreshing change from the stale Korriban air, and all the insolent little whelps who breathed it. If the red-skinned woman had heard one more person talk about unlimited power, or soon one more moron with a lightsaber and a mask, she would have snapped and murdered a half dozen people.

And that wasn't an idle threat.

However, here she was now, in her place of solace. Nothing but the world around her. No distractions, no problems. Only the furthest edge of civilization mingling with the beginning of the wild. A perfect balance for the untamed woman who lived at that precise spot.

[Reisier]

Anahid stood in silence, listless eyes of warm coffee trailing after the Togruta’s movements. For days now the Shadow had been watching the events without particular interest – watching as the female went about her business without much to report. Everything just seemed at ease.

Truth be told, ever since the Council had sent her to the arid world, the Jedi had seen the Togruta do nothing that one would consider dangerous. If she were one less inclined to perceive the Force, or feel the twisted palpitations that drifted from her red counterpart, part of Anahid would have thought her to be nothing more than a curious citizen of the planet. But the Council had informed her otherwise, said that the Togruta was, in fact, one to not be taken lightly. The Council spoke of the Dark Force, of her being one of its followers, and how her presence could potentially endanger the little rock of a planet. And so, without hesitation, Anahid had left the Temple in Coruscant and traveled to Selucia.

But as the Shadow watched how the female tended to her plants, the careful touches that many associated with the Jedi, part of Anahid hoped that this was more than just a ploy. Part of Anahid hoped, if not wished, that perhaps this Dark Force user was not the monster she had read about in her reports; that, perhaps, there was something more. It was that thought alone that finally compelled the woman to push from the wall, her limbs stretched unto a full stance. She crossed the area the Jedi had committed to memory in the past couple of days, a hand laying limply by her saber. No matter the peaceful scene she had observed through the days, nor how the female seemed to lack any of the deadly qualities she had read, the Jedi did not take the warnings lightly.

It was as the Togruta continued her endless work that Anahid made her way through the yard, boots sinking into the lush green grasses. Her steps were mostly noiseless, that is, if one were to ignore the gentle crunching under her boots, or the sound of her robes swaying against each other. “You have quite the hand for plants,” the Jedi started, eyes flicking up to the pretty enough house and its pretty tone of blue “…not many can call that gift their own.”

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"I hope you haven't been bored," Naraka answered without looking. Her attention was focused on a red rose that she coaxed into a blossom with the twirl of a finger.

The woman was a Jedi, or so Naraka assumed from the lightside presence she had felt for four days. Someone must have anticipated she would return to the place she had once called home. Her rather astute colleague had correctly deduced that the Jedi would pick up her failed apprentice, and that he would spill his guts to them. Presumably this was the consequence of that.

Still, let the Jedi do as she wished. The Togruta woman hadn't done anything that left proof of misconduct, and Saleucami was far away from the Republic's jurisdiction.

"Personally I've always preferred tropical plants over temperate, but I doubt you came here to talk about that Jedi."

Naraka rose to her feet and adjusted the leather garments she wore. Her lightsaber hilts moved with the motion, and the Togruta woman turned her chocolate eyes stared at the Jedi woman.

She was human, or close enough, and was rather attractive by their standards. She was young though, which was a rather critical error on the part of the Jedi. A young Knight against a Sith Master was no contest at all. Still, she would be a courteous host.

The beginnings of twilight were in the air, and soon the temperature would drop.

"Would you care to come inside?" Naraka asked politely.

[Reisier]

The Jedi smiled gently as the Togruta spoke, an equally soft laugh following, “In one or two occasions, yes.” Anahid admitted with a small roll of her shoulders, eyes still set on the peeking red blossoms, “…but duties are rarely entertaining in my experience.” Granted, Anahid would never complain of her duties as a Jedi, finding her purpose in life oddly comforting, but they were by no means, ‘a walk in the park.’ Part of her supposed her quiet acceptance of her duties was a desperate attempt to cope with what the Force had brought; but, perhaps she was wrong.

The female was speaking again and Anaid forced herself to tear her attention from the blossoms and unto the Togruta’s equally red face. She tested her lip with her teeth, before a sigh was unable to be held any longer. “You are right,” the Jedi begun, finding no reason to deny what was so obvious, “…as interesting as the topic would be, I am afraid it was not flowers that brought me here.” The Jedi shifted, her movements marred by the crunching of grass underneath her feet. But, then again, neither had the Council sent her to the planet to take a life – she was there to observe, which granted, she was doing no longer, and to see what the Togruta’s intentions were. So far, however, all that she could report was of the Togruta’s careful, almost motherly, tending of the garden before her.

It was as the Togruta rose to a full stance that Anahid became aware of the height difference between the two, of how she stood several inches shorter than the crimson woman. The thought amused the Jedi as se shifted her weight, soon coming to favor her left leg. “That would be lovely,” Anahid added shortly after the invitation, a pleasant smile still lingering across her cupid lips, “I have heard this planet is not the kindest at night.”

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Naraka nodded and motioned for the woman to follow her. She crossed over the green grass of the yard, her bare feet sinking in and making absolutely no sound. The only noise was the soft jangle of the gold bracelets on her wrist.

She pushed open the door, and it swung in with a slight creak. It was still an old house, despite the recent renovations. And of course without electricity, it was mostly dark inside.

The Togruta woman walked deeper in and picked up matches off of a table in the entry. She carefully lit a series of candles that filled the room with a flickering red light. Then she headed into the main living area and motioned for her guest to sit on a cushion on the floor.

Naraka herself sat on the hearth of a fireplace, her hands placed neatly in her lap.

Now would come the interesting part, a verbal battle to determine just how much the Jedi knew, and to find out her orders. It would be deliciously fun, an exercise in wit perhaps. Somehow she doubted it would turn into a fight.

"So Jedi, did you come here to kill me, or to talk to me? Or just to spy from the bushes?"

[Reisier]

Anahid followed the Togruta without hesitation or doubt, her movements mimicking the female’s own. It wasn’t long before they crossed the gentle green, and the Jedi found herself through the threshold of the powder blue house. The wooden boards underneath her feet, creaked in complaint against the foreign weight, her steps exaggerated every time she moved forward. While outwardly the house did not show it, Anahid quickly realized that the Togruta’s home did not show its true age. It was a thought that brought a small smile to the woman’s lips as she walked, her eyes exploring the endless walls of the timeworn abode.

Old houses were always curious things. It wasn’t the way they creaked and grumbled in the middle of the night, or the way they sat back on their hunches, looking at the world with indifferent eyes; it wasn’t their oral history that captured her imagination, nor was it the pulsation on her veins of the remnants of the Force that remained. No, to the Shadow it was something much simpler that caught her attention, something that greeted her as soon as she found herself inside the Togruta’s home – it was the scent. Buildings of age had a certain scent to them, a comforting air that embraced all that came near. It was subtle, barely noticeable at times, but something that keen senses could readily sense. To Anahid, this scent was the history of the house, telling a story of those who lived there once – sometimes the scent was heavy and musky with remnants of spices and teas, other times cool and sweet, like a soft autumn day.

This house in particular, however, was a combination of things, some of which, the Jedi noticed, she could not place her finger on quite yet. Sadly, the thought was quickly interrupted with the flicker of light and Anahid forced herself to look back. With partial interest, Anahid watched as the Togruta moved about the room, lighting candles as she moved. The Jedi noticed how the fire flicked across the Togruta, how her impossibly red skin was exaggerated even further. In those short seconds, Anahid saw, how the Togruta was no longer just someone going about her business, but rather she had become just as dangerous as the reports had said – at least she reflected it in appearance. The Jedi, however, pushed the thought away seamlessly, and when the Togruta finally spoke, she seemed more amused than anything by her words.

“Is there a need to escalate things so quickly?” Anahid started, moving towards the cushion on the floor. She sunk into it in a single motion, hands resting limply on her lap. She chuckled softly as she glanced at her counterpart, the simple smile never wavering from her lips. “Frankly, I would prefer to keep this as civilized as possible.” Anahid admitted with a shrug of her shoulders, eyes traveling through the illuminated area. She opened her lips to continue, but trailed softly, finishing her thought a few seconds later. “I am not keen on taking lives just as I expect you are not keen on calling attention to yourself.”

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"I'm under no delusions that if I kill you it will magically put an end to this. More people would be attracted, and my nice private retreat would be kept secret no longer. As a result I would have to leave behind my home, which I am not keen to do. Be that as it may..."

Naraka folded one bare leg over the other and lightly strummed on her knee with her fingers.

Her casual demeanor was superficial. Internally her full attention was on the Jedi. Telepathy, body language, vocal tone, and the slightest movements all stayed clearly in the Togruta woman's mind. Nothing slipped by the watchful gaze of her chocolate eyes.

"You see, generally when a Jedi meets someone like me, it isn't for a social visit. That raises a few questions of you. A Jedi Shadow who doesn't want to destroy a follower of the Dark Side? I'm sure you can sense my aura quite easily, so why would you follow me into a dark room you don't know? You see, that shows some degree of trust. So I take it you a young and naive idealist, and that you came her expecting something different."

Naraka idly ran her fingers over her ligtsaber hilt, feeling the cool metal under her fingertips.

"So why did you come inside?"

[Reisier]

“I may be young,” she admitted with a small chuckle, “…but I do not believe it is naivety that has brought me here.” She smiled just as gently as before, eyes flicking to her right. She stared off to the dancing flame as the Togruta spoke, silent and still. Anahid knew the question would come – she would be surprised if it didn’t. After all, it was not usual that a Jedi and a Dark force user, a Sith if one believed witness reports, would sit before each other without necessarily resorting to violence.

Sometimes, it was difficult to discuss topics that not many agreed upon; it was a sensitive issue that had, more than once, deemed the Shadow as an idealist at times. Frankly, Anahid found the title to be tedious at best, seeing her belief as nothing short than the culmination of what she had seen over the years. As a Shadow, she had seen in more than one occasion what the touch of the Dark could do to a kind heart, how it could corrupt and break. Anahid had seen the extent of the Dark side of the Force and its corruptive nature, and how it could destroy with the flick of a wrist. Similarly, however, Anahid had seen how the Light could mend, how it restored, how it healed. It was not idealism that made her believe that just like the Dark could corrupt, the Light could restore.

So as she sat on the cushion by the floor, the Jedi was silent, contemplating the best explanation she could come up with. How she could explain herself to one equally dogged as some of the more traditional Jedi? After minutes of soundless thought, the Jedi finally parted her lips. “You have quite the lovely house here.” The thought, at first, seemed dismissive to the Togruta’s question, a desperate attempt to avoid the topic altogether; but as the Jedi remained still, eyes locked into the Togruta’s own, it was clear she meant more. “It has been torn by time, beaten, and yet it still stands.”

Anahid leaned back slightly, resting her palms against the warm floor, but eyes never parting from the female. “It is a house that has seen much, but whose foundations still stand strong,” She continued, her voice never breaking or wavering once. If anything it seemed as if she had quietly rehearsed these words again and again, until Anahid had learned them by heart. Yet, it held no detachment, it was candid and real – a true insight to what the Jedi believed. “it is a home that with patient mending can be returned to its previous glory.” She sighed softly as she straightened up on her seat, wrist rolling as she motioned to the silent room.

“Knowing this, would you deem it wise to destroy it?”

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"There are many things you can notice about this house, Jedi. But there is one fact about it that you cannot deny or ignore. This house will never be as it was before. At best it could be an imitation, an external copy of what it once was. But never again will it be the same."

The Togruta woman proved she could speak equally well in metaphors, a small smile on her full lips.

She was enjoying this change of pace immensely. It could be so dreary to constantly fight any opposing force user, and the inability to trust any of her Sith colleagues further than she could throw them was virtually guaranteed they would never let her sit and have as pleasant a verbal joust as this one.

Besides, it was her home, and that meant a certain sense of hospitality was in order.

"Now perhaps I can offer you something to eat? Some tea maybe? I have all of the comforts of home right here at my fingertips."

It was true, as a closer examination would reveal that though the room was minimally furnished, the attached kitchen was quite well-stocked, with dangling links of meat from the ceiling, and assorted food products all within easy reach. And there was a kettle of course, right next to the hearth. Wood was already stacked neatly there, and the Togruta woman eyed it before looking back to the Jedi.

"I think a fire would be lovely, now don't you?"