Mistaken Identities [Litin]

[Rugs]

Tag! Danee

----

“I do appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Aldeiri, and you can I can assure you, if I’m pleased, my client is pleased.”

Nieraan smiled toothily, intentionally showing the sharp fangs in his mouth. He turned on his heel and started toward the door, waving over his shoulder. Obviously, he’d not plans of biting Kyrin Aldeiri, nor his employer, Aiden Farazen, but the gesture served its purpose, as he felt a tinge of uneasiness snake through the clerk’s presence. People could be easy to manipulate like that, he decided as broken glass crunched beneath his boots. Show up unexpectedly, act a little unhinged, show some teeth… It spoke to a fear, even if an often subconscious one, that could be rather useful in the right circumstances.

Well, he supposed the lightsabers at his waist helped.

The door hissed open in front of him, admitting four of Novus’ handpicked accountants into the messy room. Nieraan paused before he crossed the threshold, one hand stuffed in his pocket, the other up as if he’d suddenly remembered something.

“These are your new work partners,” he said, voice nearly singsong as he looked over his shoulder at the frightened clerk. “Do make sure their every demand is seen to, and do be sure they don’t have to call me with a problem.” This time he smirked, the tip of a canine just barely poking past his upraised lip. The room — just the lobby to the Farazen family’s business office on Balmorra — was decidedly worse for wear. A vase was tipped over here, contents spilled over an undoubtedly expensive end table and couch. A painting had been knocked off the wall there, glass shard shattered over the floor. A lightsaber score darkened the wall dangerously close to a large, roped-off statue of some Mid Rim tribal people’s god…

“Trust me when I say neither of us wants that,” he said with a turn, white sash flaring behind him as the door hissed shut.

He’d had quite a bit more fun with this assignment than he’d thought. Novus had set him to the task, sending the order from wherever deep off in Sith space she’d entrenched herself. Lucas Farazen, the ridiculously-wealthy Aristocrat who’d defected to the Republic roughly a week prior, had a son who had his own considerate personal wealth. The Sith had already seized Lucas’ wealth, but the son would have to be stripped as well. Even if he’d not defected it was a message—no one betrayed the Sith without consequences.

Or, they'd send an aggressive, tactless Firrerreo who may or may not have been one of them to force your compliance.

It also had the handy side effect — or main goal, Nieraan suspected — of keeping the money from a transfer to the prodigal father.

Novus’ accountants would take care of the numbers work. Nieraan was merely here as an enforce, to strong arm the clerk into cooperating or remove him from the equation if he did not. And to make a choice, he thought as he walked back out into the sun-soaked outdoors, on where you’ll be spending the next little while, Aiden. Steal him or not — Novus had afforded him a choice. He’d not made up his mind, but the time would come.

For now he’d float around and let the accountants do their work. He’d know if something happened to them, and didn’t plan to stray far from the office. But first, something needed to be dealt with.

He followed a meandering, casual path to a quiet, largely empty part of the business park, walking beside buildings that’d not yet been fully constructed.

For most of the few hours he’d spent on Balmorra, he’d felt something nagging, something annoying in the back of his mind. A presence, he’d realized after some time, and following him. Whoever they were, they’d not yet revealed themselves. But Nieraan intended to change that.

Yes, little light, it’s time to come out.

[Danee]

Balmorra, it wasn't the first time that Litin had been on this planet, but this time it was for a completely different reason as well. The Echani had taken her time to go to Industrial world to get some peace and quiet from the otherwise barren planet of Korriban, she didn't like that place and any chance she got she'd probably take to get off it.

Now she was walking along the rooftops of what seemed to be buildings that hadn't been finished yet, keeping herself out of sight for the people on the streets below while she followed a trail most of them would never pick up. She had been on Balmorra a few hours when she first felt the presence of a force sensitive and it had peaked her interest, especially since the planet she found herself on was so close to other Republic Worlds, with that in mind she had jumped to a conclusion that the other person was without a doubt, Jedi, which meant that she'd finally have some fun again.

The wind was picking up slightly, blowing towards her it lift up her cloak from the ground while she walked, it was a soothing feeling to have the window blow against her like this and not feel like it was going to burn her like the wind on Korriban, she absolutely detested that planet. Along her waist she had her two lightsabers attached to the belt she was wearing, she hadn't had a proper fight in a while now and she was starting to get restless, but that was soon going to change as she followed the presence up to the edge of the rooftop.

Putting her foot against the edge of the roof she looked down to see if she could see the presence, but she doubted it and took a few steps back before running over to the edge and leaping across to the next rooftop where she continued her walk along the trail that only she knew. Looking around she could still feel the wind against her and judging by the fact that she could sense the others presence, he or she could probably sense her as well. Reaching under her cloak she brought out the mask she wore whenever hunting Jedi, Litin looked down onto it for a moment, silently watching it before putting it on and continuing her walk.

"Soon, we shall dance, Jedi." The Echani thought as she wrapped her fingers around the two hilts, making sure she was ready to fight the Jedi when he or she appeared, whether it was it coming up to her, or her sinking down to their level.

[Rugs]

Nieraan continued along, well aware now that he the presence continued to follow him. It was an annoying thing, like the stinging gnats that sometimes followed him in the heat of the burning summer days deep in the alleyways that crisscrossed Metellos’ underbelly.

The person, whoever they were, was above him. That much, he didn’t particularly need his senses for, though it helped — there weren’t really any other places to skulk about, beyond directly behind or before him. He could look up, he supposed, but he wasn’t ready to make so blatant a show to his stalker that he was aware they followed him.

He turned instead to the Force, using his senses to subtly probe at the presence from afar as he continued his casual stroll. Strength alone, from what he could feel, was no particular threat to him, though that was often the case. Surprisingly, though, the presence was dark. Not a Jedi, then, he thought, turning a corner into a narrow alley as a quiet breath of wind set the long, white sash that hung outside his legs to flapping. A rogue, perhaps?

That, however, brought entirely new questions. Why would some rogue be following him? And why do so in such a way that made them seem less than friendly? Good way to die, he mulled. But that’s hardly my problem.

Still, something would have to be done, he decided, as he reached out with a quiet finger of the Force to a loose piece of metal laying on the other side of the fence. His hands never left his pockets as he strolled along, lightsabers clinging in time to the steady, easy rythmn of his steps.

The metal, a half-foot long piece of durasteel lifted from the dirt and dust. It hovered there for a moment, then flew like a shot from a canon into the air toward the building ledge above him.

It wasn’t meant for the stalker, of course. It’d hit the building and bounce harmlessly away, but it was a message.

I know you’re there, it said. And you’re going to have to come get me if you want me.

[Danee]

Litin looked down between the buildings towards the source of the presence, it seemed to slow down its movement for a few seconds and it peaked her interest. She raised a brow and looked towards the source,  however the sound of something soaring through the air towards her made her take a step back and lean away from the edge just as the durasteel bar hit the building she was standing on. This Jedi seemed to be eager to play, she thought as she looked down towards the source once more. Judging by the fact that the bar almost had hit her, she assumed the Jedi could see her, so there was no point in remaining up on the roof if the Jedi didn't want to come up to her.

Pushing down against the roof she jumped out into the air and landed on the building next to it, two floors down. She walked across the floor, through the shells of what was going to be walls later before dropping down into the alley. A dampened thud sounded as she landed on the ground a couple of meters in front of the Jedi, for the first time in a long while, Litin had a wide smile on her face, though hidden beneath the mask covering her face.

"I see you finally noticed me, care to dance?" The Echani spoke through the mask, standing up with a straight back she tilted her head slightly and raised her left arm pointing towards Nieraan. "Though I have to say, I prefer the blade dance." Litin spoke again as one of her lightsabers, Light, activated and the red blade appeared from the hilt.

[Rugs]

A thud sounded in front of him. Nieraan titled his face slightly down, half-hiding it in shadow as a crooked smile split his lips. The landing, sudden as lightning from a clear sky, didn’t surprise him. He’d called her out after all, with his unspoken challenge. He’d even stopped before she hit the ground, dust drifting lazily up from around her shoes.

"I see you finally noticed me, care to dance?"

Nieraan raised his head, one brow raised slightly. He didn’t say anything though; instead he took the chance to study his opponent. Short in height and slight in build. Physically unimposing, though, as Kamirille often said, that didn’t tell the whole story. She hid her face behind her mask. Assassin, perhaps? Someone who’s been reading to many comics on the holonet?

"Though I have to say, I prefer the blade dance."

Nieraan chuckled. “You’re not so stealthy as you think, friend,” he said in a voice more suited for talking meat at the market than dealing with a mysterious assailant. “And not half as clever as you should be.” His hand fell to his waist, unclipping one of the hilts that rested there.

The weapon hissed to life, its blade throwing a vivid green flare onto his person and the bit of alley around him. The green blade was not his — it was a trophy, taken from a fallen foe shortly after he joined the Sith Order. It was a mockery, most times; a foe could earn the right to face his gold and blue blades, if they could survive his Shii-Cho. Else, they got the green.

Nieraan took no stance, made no moves to attack this unfamiliar foe.

“I can assure you my dance is nothing you want a part of, friend,” he warned, allowing his canines to show in a crooked smile. “But far be it from me to keep you from your wishes…”

[Danee]

The Echani kept her blade raised and pointed at him while she listened to the Jedi speak, he seemed sure about himself and a bit cocky as well. Though she had met other Jedi who had been the same and they were the most satisfying fights, or at least in her eyes it was. Tilting her head as the other's blade hissed to life, casting a green light against him and the ground, she did expect him to move first but when he didn't she tilted her head slightly. 

She kept her other lightsaber, Darkness, unlit for now as she lowered the active blade, Light, down towards the ground. "Let us Dance." The Echani spoke, moving her other blade to the holster again, she wasn't going to use both of them right now but would save Darkness for a chance to surprise the jedi. The Echani took one step forward towards her opponent, slowly while she briefly scanned the ground for any objects that the Jedi might use against her. 

Brief as the scan might have been, she couldn't see any objects which would be a threat during combat. Before she took another step she stopped and tilted her head slightly, looking at him once more before she took another slow step towards Nieraan, her third step wasn't as slow as she began to pick up her pace, closing the distance between the two. 

Litin moved her right hand to grip the hilt of her lightsaber along with her left hand as she got closer to him. The red glow cast by the lightsaber starting to blend in with the green of the Jedi's blade as she got even closer to him. But instead of pushing closer she stopped just outside of striking distance of her opponent, waiting for his move.

[Rugs]

“Oh we will, friend,” Nieraan said, light and shadow playing briefly across his face as he lazily twirled his once beside him with a flick of the wrist, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His smile deepened and, for the briefest moment, turned darkly malevolent before it faded away like sand washed from a shore.

Nieraan remained still as the woman, his assailant, closed in to attack him. He reached to the Force—a gentle tap on the source, for now—and it lent him a strength and clarity of sense even as he felt the ever-present struggle to control it. Sometime he might draw deeper, to flex his power and intimidate, but not now. Let the girl stick her hand foolishly in the trap before the jaws snapped shut.

She moved faster as she drew closer, moving both hands to grip her crimson saber’s hilt. Nieraan felt a rush rise within him as he readied to lift his blade to hers… Then a crushing disappoint as she stopped short, waiting instead for him to make the first move.

The Firrerreo sighed irritably, black and blue-streaked brows drawing down as he frowned slightly. A flurry of opportunities blurred through his mind on how he could’ve made the girl pay for the crime of hesitation, but that wasn’t the point; he wanted to enjoy himself for at least a few short moments before he offed her and continued on his way.

“I hope you don’t do that often,” he said, voice taking the same tone it did when he berated one of his students at the Temple. “Some assassin you are.”

But she’d already ceded her best hop—the element of surprise—when she opted to engage him in conversation before the duel started. What matter did it make if she ceded another chance.

Not my problem, Nieraan thought, lurching to motion. A faint touch of the Force to augment is natural speed had him easily within striking distance, and quickly, as his blade shot out at in a sweeping arc at her neck. It was a feint, however — misdirection as the attack suddenly dropped into a low, quick cut at her leg.

It wasn’t a gimme attack, by any means, but easily defendable. But that was the point, for now — to test and poke her defenses and gauge opportunity.

[Danee]

The Echani stood there silently and looked at Nieraan as he said that he hoped she wouldn't do that again, smirking under her mask as he complained about her style. She enjoyed toying with those she was going to fight and it made the fighting a bit more, personal, if the other was more invested in the fighting. As Nieraan began to move Litin kept her eyes at him, thinking various attacks he might try to pull. 

Seeing the blade come up towards her neck she pushed her blade down to cover her leg as she slid it backwards away from Nieraan as the blade suddenly changed to go towards her leg. It was a simple trick which her old master had taught her avoid falling for, no one opened with such an easy strike to block and since he didn't want her to keep acting like she had she assumed he wanted her to move at least. Sparks flew as the red blade was struck by the Jedi's green blade. "Tch tch tch, is this what they teach you?." The Echani spoke as she moved her right hand out from her side.

Grasping the force she moved her second lightsaber, Darkness, from her waist into her free hand. The blade hissed to life as she moved her arm through the air towards the Jedi's waist while she pulled her leg away from the two grinding blades. 

[Rugs]

Nieraan huffed slightly as his blade met the girl’s. Her defense was brisk, sound, if predictable. But predictable and legged is much better than unpredictable and legless, he mulled, grinning as he let his blade linger against hers for a moment.

He was tempted to force a lock and see if he could overwhelm her with his strength while he held the advantage of leverage. He decided against it, though, withdrawing his blade as she quipped at him. Just as well that he did, as a second blade hissed to life.

Oh?

His blade flicked around in a sweeping parry to knock her stroke harmlessly aside. “A bit, maybe,” he said, answering her taunt as he took a flowing step back. The Force surged in him like water through a flooded channel as he raised his hand, fist clenched, and made a sharp motion to the side.

Part of the fence lining the construction site beside them, to his right, shattered into and flew into the alleyway. A quick motion from Nieraan that had him press his power forward sent them hurtling toward the girl, hundreds of little knives of metal and wood. No individual piece posed any serious harm, of course, but together…

“It’s still more than enough to handle you,” he cooed.

[Danee]

Litin knew her strike would be easy to block, it had only been thrown in to give her some space to pull back. Twirling her blades in her hands she looked at him as he raised his arm, she could feel the pull in the force as Nieraan shattered the fence, seeing the debris move through the air towards him then get pushed towards her she raised her lightsabers once again.

As the debris got close enough to her she did her best to deflect most of the metal pieces with her blades. Most of them either got destroyed or sent in another direction but there was also some pieces which made it through, gracing her mask, leaving thin marks on the full face helmet. "And here I thought you'd do something that might harm me." The Echani spoke, sprinting towards Nieraan, both blades angled out from her sides as she got closer to who she thought was Jedi.

When the Echani got close enough to him she lashed out towards his right shoulder with her left blade while moving her right blade in a slashing direction, going from his left hip up towards his chest.

[Rugs]

The assailant raised her blades to defend herself, knocking away most - but not all - of the debris he'd sent hurtling her way. It was a valiant defense, but the new scratches on her mask didn't go unnoticed.

And she didn't try to blow them back, Nieraan pondered as the woman began shifting her weight forward to attack. By choise, or necessity?

"And here I thought you'd do something that might harm me," she taunted.

"If you insist...." Nieraan answered, showing his canines in a crooked smile.

She lunged forward at him. He waited for her to get close, but didn't rest on his laurels as he had at the beginning of their combat. As she closed to attack range, he stepped forward, face contorting into a malevolent smile as he did so. It was a solid, controlled step as her own attacks were coming forward, but all he needed was something to break her rythmn, to invade the space of safety she thought her twin glowing blades allowed her.

His lone blade darted out, down and low to knock one of her strikes away long before it oculd threaten his hip. For the other, he let his momentum keep carrying him forward and ducked beneath the strike biting out at his shoulder. The blade hissed harmlessly through the air, burning away a strand or two his black and blue hair, and nothing more.

He kept moving forward, spinning slightly around her as he stepped passed her. He let his blade, in his clearing hand, sweep wide and safely around her. His empty hand pushed forward, open and flat as he slammed it toward the small of her back. The Force surged into him and he let it blast out as he struck at her.

[Danee]

As Litin closed the distance between herself and Nieraan she noticed him stepping forwards, forcing her to readjust her aim slightly, but it didn't matter as she got within striking distance she found her own blade pushed aside by his lightsaber. The rest happened so quickly, having barely enough time to react to him moving up behind her. As a sudden pressure appeared on the small of her back she bit her lip and shortly after found herself slammed down into the ground.

Gritting her teeth as she slid across the ground as a result of her own momentum along with the force that suddenly pressed down on her back. She coughed as air escaped her for a few seconds but, she forced herself up from the ground, stumbling as she got her bearings straight once again. Her twin blades being retracted as she moved her hands into her cape behind her back, taking out one long hilt, but, not activating it yet.

"I've had worse than that." The Echani growled and straightened her back, she normally didn't use her trophies to fight, but occasionally, it was good to, spice things up. She turned her head to the side, catching sight of a construction vehicle, obviously turned off, but it was there. Smirking behind her mask she raised her arm towards it, the force flowing through her as she slowly began to pull the vehicle closer to her, the large metal construction slowly picking up speed as it moved up from the ground, starting to tumble towards the two.

Moving her hand past herself, she released her grip upon the vehicle, letting it move past her freely, just barely missing her as it crashed into the building next to them, crushing one pillar which held the unfinished building up next to her, loud, cranking noises tearing through the night as the building was strained from the removal of one of its crutches. "Woops."

[Rugs]

A corner of Nieraan’s mouth turned up in a crooked half-smile as the girl fell to the ground, pushed along by from the combined force of her momentum and his not-so-gentle nudging with the Force. He walked wide, letting the tip of his saber graze the alley floor behind him as he chuckled darkly beneath his breath.

“You’re not very good,” he said idly as the dust settled in her wake. He might have followed her, pounced on her and cut her down as she slid, were he so inclined. But Nieraan, like a predatory cat, occasionally like to toy with his prey.

And this prey had chosen him, after all. Why not show some superiority first?

The girl picked herself up, muttering than she’d had worse as if that’d do some damage to Nieraan’s pride or person. “You’ll get worse if you want,” he answered, with a simple shrug and lazy, looping flourish of his blade. “Far be it from me to keep leave you wanting…”

The girl turned her focus, through the Force, to a construction vehicle parked on site next to them. She threw it at the unfinished building next to them, rather than at the him. Nieraan raised a brow, well aware of the way the building sagged to one side after she destroyed a pillar. With the racket it made, it wouldn’t be long before some authorities came sticking their noses around to investigate. Nieraan had little intention of getting involved in that mess.

He looked back at his assailant, brow still raised. “So tell me, did someone send you after me?” Honest curiosity colored his voice, beneath an tint of open derision. The Force flowed into his body as he reached out to the girl through it. “Or are you just an idiot?”

His will hardened the air around her as he lifted a hand and made a broad sweeping motion before him. The Force congealed, as he sought to throw her sideways into the building she’d just damaged if she couldn’t stop it. Either way, he began to move, falling back from the damaged building to clear out before any rubberneckers showed up to make a mess.

If she wanted him, she’d have to follow; he’d gladly engage, but on his own terms.