For the Love of Scum.

[Kella]

ooc// Here we go! ;D This is going to be great fun. //

Sellah watched the swirling shades of hyperspace roil outside her window. It was a psychedelic sea, violets and blues, dimensions spanned... It never ceased to amaze Sellah, for she held a distinct appreciation for such things. Soon came her favorite part; soon the ship began to slow. The roiling shades became streaks of white, the streaks of white zooming stars, the zooming stars pricks of light, some more distant than others.

Sellah looked down upon the expanse of Balosar, resisting the urge to press her nose up against the glass.That would be most unbecoming of a Jedi. Her whiskers twitched silently, golden eyes bright and inquisitive, as they rarely would. The surface of the planet was red, like dried blood, though much more...
Scummy. The whole place... Most of the people too...
Sellah felt a momentary flash of pity for Balosar's residents. Compassion. There they languished, slaves to their own misery, bound by their own lawlessness, trapped by utter poverty and despair... It pained Sellah to see any trapped so. Some might blame the fate of the Balosar people on themselves... many called them criminals. But really, when one was raised in such an environment... what could be expected? It was a viscious, downward spiral, displayed clear in the world's dusty clouds, an image devoid of all hope. Silently, Sellah wondered how vulnerable other planets, other civilizations were to the same fate... perhaps, in a thousand years, Coruscant would be nothing but a waste-land. But bah, it was no concern of hers, what the future held. She left that to the counselors. However, she knew the Jedi wouldn't ever let anything happen to their beloved temple, to homey Coruscant. Sellah once again remarked upon the bloody color of the planet, which brought her mind back to the task at hand. Or at paw, more accurately; Sellah had never been fond of that idiom.
Dark Jedi.
Five of them. Leaders of a smuggling ring. Current prize; Death sticks. Hence the trip to Balosar. 'Trim the Weed at the root' were Master Eugway's words. Sellah agreed with his logic. And it was highly probably there'd be a duel involved. She'd get to test herself again.

Of course, Sellah was not going alone; Balosar was much too dangerous for a lone Jedi. Sellah, ambitious though she was, knew full well her own limits. She never would have gotten away with landing this particular mission if she'd been going alone. Rhissai'arckan, a name which Sellah had shortened to 'Rhiss', whether the Master liked it or not, was accompanying Sellah. Well, it was more like Sellah was accompanying her. Rhiss was the master, after all.

Sellah silently hoped the mission would be successful... One heard quite a bit of scuttle-butt from the Maintenance crews whenever there were Jedi masters involved. Sellah, from what she had gleaned of Rhiss, took the Master to be quite reasonable, though. Sellah had little patience for those who hesitated and paused at every turn. In Sellah's book, one ought to be capable enough to handle whatever is around the corner. If one cannot, one's hardly worth the atmosphere they breathe.

She again looked out the window; The dank, polluted airs of Balosar drew ever nearer. Another might have felt the need to announce the distance remaining. However, such details were blatantly obvious, and should, by all rights, go without being said. That's one thing that Sellah never understood; why so many people had this urge to state the obvious. It miffed her almost as much as the human affinity for lying. Sellah still carried a deep abhorrence for the act.

And so, Sellah remained in silence, for nothing of meaning found its way to the tip of her tongue. People tended to say stupid things when they were speaking just to hear themselves talk.

[Dire Wolf]

((note: anything that is written in small bold font is said in Aphithiri, Rhiss’ native tongue))

Balosar. By the Force Rhissai had a disdain for that cesspit of a planet. Only disdain though, Rhiss did not have the capacity to hate, not after what she has gone through. To make matters worse its very nature seemed to almost force the Jedi to have more than a few of its own on the planet at all times for missions and the like. Life was a sad thing for most of the Balosaran people: The poor were crushed under the foot of the various drug dealers, the Wealthy, and the criminals. All three of those groups were of course, one of the same. The level of corruption that world had attained was simply baffling, Rhiss was sure that it even made the Hutts envious.

The Jedi Master sighed slightly at these musings, none of which were constructive in the least. So what was good about the planet? Surely not everything is completely atrocious about it. The woman thought long and hard on this new thought, desperately trying to find something… anything… of value on Balosar. She could feel herself nearing the answer to this question when, as if on cue, her Wrex came sauntering in and gave his master a little lick on the face. Rhissai almost instantly peeked one of those piercing green eyes open and gazed at her Vornskr - he truly was something else. The beast of a creature was well over three feet tall at the shoulders, he had to at least 140-150 pounds (nearly as much as Rhissai herself), and the creature had to be one of the friendliest beasts that she had ever met. Not that one would guess this by looking at him of course.

“’Comon, Wrex… lets go see if we can’t find Sellah.”

The youthful faced Master spoke to Wrex in her own flowing native tongue, Aphithiri, which she generally found to be easier to speak. It was also the fact that with a little use of the Force she could generally speak to him and he could understand… or at least he gave the impression that he did. The woman stood up from her meditating position and began to walk about the smaller ship, her faithful Vornskr not a few bounds behind.

It didn’t take long for the woman to find the Selonian, who was gazing down at the planet out of a view port. Sellah seemed to be deep in thought: Almost lost in it as-a-matter-of-fact. The older Jedi (she looked to be a little over half of her chronological age) almost prowled up to the younger Selonian, but reached her hand down to stroke the raven black coat of her constant companion.

Wrex turned his bright yellow gaze up at his master as she began to pet him, he did enjoy it. After a few moments of having his fur stroked he turned his attention to this newcomer… one of the musteline creatures that his master called “Selonians.” The creature made the short walk to the side of this woman and looked up at her, straight into her eyes.

Rhiss almost giggled at her companion. Almost. She most certainly would have if she was not a Jedi and displaying any kind of emotion on her face wasn’t beat into her since the tender age of 5. It was a rare thing; an pet that looks people right in the eye… it wasn’t so much of a challenge, but more a sign of confidence and intelligence. At least that is what Rhiss thought of it as, who truly knew what was going on behind that saffron gaze of his.

“They are amazing creatures: Vornskr. They look malevolent, nasty, ill mannered – and rightfully so, if you get on the wrong side of them that is – but once you get to know them they can be among the sweetest creatures in the galaxy.”

[Kella]

Sellah, despite her musings, was never truly gone from her senses. For it was as if there was another plane of awareness, another part of her mind that never slept, never rested. Her ears were always alert, muzzle always processing the scents, whiskers always twitching to the flow of the air. Whether such things were brought to her conscious mind or not varied. However, it was the slight, small sound of footsteps and pawsteps that did manage to come to her attention, though she did nothing in response to them.
The rhythm of the paw-steps... a four-legged creature. The only one aboard the ship was the Vorkskr, and the only Vornskr belonged to Rhiss, who was almost certainly with him at the moment. Her guess was confirmed as the Master spoke.
Sellah was silent a moment, her eyes still dwelling upon Balosar. She was not a deep thinker, nor did the throes of philosophy really prove to catch her attention. Though, every so often, she came to another conclusion, a fact, a bit added to her list of things to live by. Each represented by another bit, another piece upon her bandoleer. First and foremost, of course, was the Jedi code, somewhat subject to her interpretation, a simple white pebble from her first day on Dantooine. Then there were such things as Never Surrender, a broken bit of glass, which had almost been her death, Die Fighting, a piece of Kandri's broken saber, Never Let Your Guard Down, a small, opalescent coin, dropped by the Dark Jedi who had first caught her unawares.
Sellah tucked the Master's words away, for they had pricked something in her subconscious. She knew her mind would mull over them, grind the words like stones, until the dust and dross fell away, and all that remained were the diamonds of conclusion. Perhaps. But some stones held no gem.

Sellah cocked her head a moment longer in thought. Though, she was quite done thinking by this point. She wanted to get down upon the planet. She wanted to stretch her limbs, flay her paws. Hyperspace travel was not her favorite past-time, and it never would be.
Her muscles rippled subtly under dense, short fur as she stood, adjusting the Bandoleer across her chest. The trinkets upon it caught the light, some sending strange, phantasmal shadows across the floor.

Sellah spared a bow of respect for the master. "He certainly is a fine example of his species. Well built. Will he be accompanying us?"
At that question, a small insectoid peered around Sellah's shoulder. Two bulges upon its head glistened with startlingly red eyes, contrasting deeply with the white of its back and the soft pink of his stomach. His body was a mere two feet long, quite small for his species. There was a strange bulge upon his back, which, on close inspection, would reveal itself to be a somewhat camoflagued pack. The Laigrek hissed, all eyes upon the Vorskr, still peering over Sellah's shoulder.
"Chet," Sellah quietly chided. "Kurso, Grek, Kurso."

The tone of her voice and Sellah's bearing seemed to indicate to Grek that there was no danger, but he wasn't about to trust something with fangs. Grek fidgeted uncertainly, shifting his sharp legs, half his eyes warily on Rhiss, half blazing toward the Vornskr.

"He's not very fond of anything bigger than he is," Sellah explained, though not apologetically. Grek protected her; he was a splendid companion. She reached up and stroked the Laigrek's neck, to which he responded by making a low humming-clicking noise, somewhat like a purring cat. He was a fickle creature, Grek. Prone to distractability. At least, when Sellah was dealing with him. Anybody else would find themselves missing a finger before they could even offer him a treat.

Sellah then returned to awaiting the answer of the question she'd previously asked; if the Vornskr would be coming along. She silently hoped the answer was 'yes', for he would definitely be a fine one to have in the slums of Balosar. However, tame Vornskrs were a tenfold rarer than wild ones, and they weren't just noticeable; they were conspicuous. Then again, it was likely many of the Balosar would not know a Vornskr when they saw one, and so the threat might be decreased. Still, it was a close enough call that Sellah could make no assumptions as to his attendance.

[Dire Wolf]

((sorry... my muse has pretty much sunk lately... of course this evil thing called “studying” hasn't helped any. v_v Also, feel free to expand our position beyond my post.))

Wrex looked up at the little Laigrek with inquisitive eyes as it hissed at him, he had seen many things, but had never seen anything quite like an albino Laigrek. The Vorn slowly stalked around Sellah, giving her a wide bert of course, with his eyes fixed on the little white creature. After a few seconds of stalking Wrex found himself in a much better position to view Grek, so he promptly sat down and tilted his head at the Laigrek.

“That he is, and yes... he will be accompanying us. It will make it worlds easier for us to find this “Dark Jedi Cult.” Speaking of which... I was told that you had experience with the cult, but little more than that. Could you explain?”

The normally stoic woman gave a slight smile as Sellah explained her pet's actions, though her tone was far from apologetic. The creature was probably comparable to a small breed of kath hound: Loyal, protective, and having no clue just how small it really is. Though she found that Laigrek can, on occasion, be very ferocious... especially when they are protecting something.

The woman could feel minor shifts in direction as the ship began to steer towards the cesspit that was Balosar. Within minutes the two Jedi were told to take their seats as the entry into a planets atmosphere tended to be a bit... jolting. After the ship settled onto one of the more destitute landing pads (the Jedi tended to go cheap. On everything.) Rhiss unbuckled herself from the chair and walked to the landing ramp of the ship. Her senses were bombarded by rancid air the very second that the massive door slid down to the deck, to be honest the woman was surprised that the oxygen was considered “breathable.”

The woman shot out a quick (and almost angelic) sounding phrase in Aphithiri, and not soon after her massive Vornskr came bounding to her side. After a “good boy” and a scratch behind his ears she walked down the ramp of the ship and looked back, waiting for the Knight to follow her...

[Kella]

ooc// No worries, I totally know what you mean. :P Of the ups and downs, the downs are the most remarkable, especially when spurred by approaching final exams. What fun. //

Sellah was silent a moment, as she pondered how to answer Rhiss's rather pointed question. Usually, Sellah was decent at reading a person's intent; though she couldn't tell whether Rhiss was simply curious, or whether she was fishing for information. That's how it always was with Jedi; that's how it was with Sellah herself. An interesting bunch, they were, but she was getting side-tracked.

Grek glared at Wret.

"I don't know for certain," she started as the ship neared the landing pad, (modest and cheap; just as Sellah preferred it), "Though this particular bunch seems to be showing the same M.O. as a cult I know. I've had a handful of run-ins with that particular cult." Her voice was relaxed, conversational. "The first of which resulted in the death of my Master, Kandri. The second nearly resulted in the death of my next Master, Trillian." Sellah's voice rose with the slightest hue of pride. She had faith in both her masters. Kandri, surely now one with the force, what with her kind and motherly ways. And Trillian, peaceful old Trillian, most likely back at the temple examining another lightsaber crystal. Sellah never did understand why he showed such a fascination with the things, but he seemed captivated by them. Something about being the window to a Jedi's soul. At least he'd seemed pleased when he'd examined her Durnindfire, so she could take that as a positive sign.

"Like I said," She continued as the Ship shuddered to a halt on the landing pad, "I don't know for certain if the cults are one and the same. This whole thing will be much easier if they aren't."

And, on that note, Sellah stepped out into the Balosar atmosphere. For all her training, for all her meditation, for all her practice at showing no emotion, nothing could have prepared her for that stench. She thought she'd been ready. She had been wrong.

When one is a Selonian, one has a very sensitive olfactory system. The scent of a flower carried on the kiss of the wind, the musk of old friends long past a place. One comes to appreciate the subtle nuances of scent, the unique trade-marks that set apart each species, and then each individual. For a Selonian, the nose is a delicate, yet extremely useful organ.

Which is why Sellah could detect every layer, every scrap, every shred of stench as that wave of air hit her. Filth, waste, sweat, Bantha dung, sweaty Gammorean. All horrid, putrid, over-powering scents in their own right. Yet none, nay, not one, could hold a light to the most grating of them all; the reek of 'shrooms. Those vile fungi, processed and sold as Death Sticks. They were aptly named. Sellah could feel the airborne remnants of some addict's last binge raking across her nostrils, the reek of Ixetel Cilonia and alcohol. They were most certainly nearby a tavern, she could tell that much.

Sellah's muzzle wrinkled in sheer and utter disgust, her nose crinkling shut as her whiskers splayed, baring a set of shining white fangs. Quickly, she gained control of herself and once more stonied her expression, though she did not relax the muscles sealing her muzzle shut. Normally, they were for swimming unhindered... but they would do to seal her off from the reek of Pollution. They cut her off from everything else too, of course, and she loathed loosing her sense of smell. Perhaps she would work to it gradually.

Sellah felt another pang of compassion for the residents of Balosar. Though she wasn't the most Force-oriented Jedi, she could still feel the way it seemed to skitter, lost, about Balosar, for those consumed by the death sticks became further and further from its gentle touch. Sellah remarked the way the pollution and hopelessness drove many to addiction, the way the addiction fueled the hopelessness, the pollution, the way the next generation was born to a fate still worse than the first... she silently wondered how long such a place could go on, how long it could last. But that was of little consequence, no, what mattered was the task at paw.

"This way," Sellah said; she had all but memorized the map on the bothersome Hyperspace journey over. "Their hang-out is supposedly above the Hawk-Bat's Claw. A tavern of less than reputable status..." Sellah narrowed her eyes as she slowly turned on the spot looking all around. "Yes... yes, this way." She nodded with confidence and set off down the street. Grek sat proudly on her shoulder, glaring at various, and rare passers-by. The streets of Balosar were a less than hospitable place to be.

An angry-looking Balosar passed by, ignoring Grek's low hiss. Sellah found herself tempted to finger the saber now fastened to her bandoleer... but she decided against it. A saber might attract attention in these parts, but there wasn't any better place she could hide it, and she wasn't about to hand it over to Rhiss for safe-keeping. She could manage without it... manage, but that sort of arrangement was not encouraged. And so it remained with her.

Sellah's pace slowed as she looked up and saw a sloppily painted wooden sign, silhouetted against the dank, red sky.
Hawk ats C aw.
Several of the letters were work away, the remaining ones barely visible, but Sellah was fairly certain they were where they intended to be.
"Any last words," she asked, "before we go mingle ourselves with the Scum of society?"

[Kella]

ooc// Bumpity. ^^ //

[Dire Wolf]

Rhiss' brow furrowed slightly at the mention of the death of the Selonian woman's masters. The Aphithiri woman's thoughts instantly shot back to the death of her master... she remembered the sadness. The sadness that she still felt from time to time, despite the fact that she was supposed to be “above” such emotions. She simply couldn't imagine how hard it would be to not only lose one master, but two. Rhiss patted white fang once or twice, the Qixoni gem that resided in its pommel once resided in Illuma's own lightsaber. Her master's final gift... her dieing gift.

“My apologies for your masters, Sellah, and I agree. This whole ordeal would be much simpler if these cults were unrelated. But if they are, I ask you to not try and take revenge on them... take it from a woman who has seen both sides of the Force because of the instinct of retribution.”

The woman turned back to her Vornskr and squatted down enough for her face to be even with the creature's nose. As if on cue the midnight black animal walked over, his sharp claws clicking on the slate grey deck, and nuzzled into his master's face. She responded in kind by stroking her hands along his back, then bringing them up to scratch at his neck. After a few moments of watching Wrex lean into her fingers and scratch at the deck with his hind leg cutely she stood up and gave him a little pat on the head.

The Jedi Master muttered something in her native tongue, a “heel” command, and proceeded to walk out into the putrid air of Balosar with her companion. Her nose was near instantly assaulted by the most putrid and pungent odor that she'd ever smelt... it was even worse then the wonderful medley of burnt flesh and ignited thermite. Both smells of which she'd smelt a lot of during her limited time on Aphithir. Her mind was once again thrust back into the past, those times when she was the sole reason as to why her clan won battles. That sounded conceited, but it was true: Most of the time her mastery of Battle Meditation brought the Clan of the Phoenix through impossible odds.

The woman looked over at the night as her muzzle wrinkled and her teeth bared, presumably at the environment. Rhiss would have done the same if she had a superior olfactory nerve, luckily she did not... but that didn't lessen the fact that the pollution of the cesspool labeled “Balosar” was unbelievably putrid. Emerald green eyes shifted down to the raven black vornskr, whose facial expressions were akin to the sentient woman who walked beside her, and smiled slightly.

A cloud of the Force slowly drifted towards Wrex's mind and simply hung there for a few moments, this cloud was not malevolent... quite the opposite: it was intended to help the poor creature. She gingerly locked down on the area of his brain that interpreted smell, not enough to completely cut off the sense mind you... just enough so the poor thing wasn't overwhelmed by his environment. Rhiss shifted her attention back to Sellah as she spoke, the black haired woman had read all that she could on the cult, and their hangout, but sometimes it was just helpful to be reminded of things.

“Indeed, with hope they will have at least taken care of their front, though that is doubtful.”

She strode down the streets of Balosar with her Selonian companion on one side and the massive Vornskr on the other. Few of the less than respectable people were brave enough to even look at the three, plus Grek, let alone approach or stay on the same side of the street as them. It wasn't long until they neared a wooden sign that hung from the door of a rather disreputable looking dive, the dark wood and shoddy font on the sign made it hard for Rhissai to read. Once she neared the crest it was quite obvious that this was the place that she and her companion where looking for.

Her gaze shifted from the sign and to the larger Selonian woman beside her as she spoke, a quick snort forced itself out of the woman's nose. “Last words? Heh... oh the jokes that are running through my mind,” she smiled at the thought. Unfortunately she didn't feel it was the right time to crack a joke, calling attention to themselves so close to the opposition was not a wise decision. She shrugged off the thought, a little joke may serve to ease the tension. Though, it has been said that Rhissai's sense of humor is dry at best.

“Lets see if we can't keep our sobriety intact. A drunken Jedi Master, while a comical thought, is not a pleasant thing.”

Her hand hovered down to the little box that would open up the door once activated, and the door slid open with a distinct pneumatic “hiss”. The shift in air pressure on the inside of the building caused a rush of putrid, even by Balosaran standards, wind that seemed to assault her very skin. The scent was so powerful that she nearly gagged. Nearly. She had enough of this madness. The woman simply stopped breathing all together, relying on the Force to make a suitable replacement for the blood to carry to her brain. The woman could keep up this technique for days, as most Jedi could, and they would be off of Balosar by then.

She slowly shifted her gaze about the room, searching for any persons of interest. Drug dealers, dark looking characters, maybe even a few junkies... she didn't care, so long as it was someone that could point out a dealer. Then the dealer could tell them where he got his stock, and that would probably be the cultist compound. Hopefully the cult wasn't large...

… hopefully.

[Kella]

The mention of revenge made Sellah's whiskers twitch ever so slightly. As if she needed to be told. Sellah had confronted her own desire for revenge long, long ago. She'd fought that battle. And one. For now, at least. Whenever the thoughts returned, she threw them away with fierce determination. Perhaps it was not the method encouraged by the Jedi Council, but Sellah knew herself better than they did, at any rate.

Sellah watched in silence as the Master attended to her companion. The slightest hint of a smile tugged at her muzzle. Jealous, Grek pinched Sellah lightly on the ear. She spared him a half-hearted scowl, then relented, stroking the little gremlin as he sat upon her shoulder. He certainly was a spirited fellow.

~

Sellah found Rhissai's comment amusing. The Selonian had little patience for imagination, but she could still picture the situation. Amusing was definitely the right word.

With her sense of smell disabled, the first thing that struck Sellah about the Cantina was the noise. Not just the drone of conversation. No, laughing and yelling and screeching. The ching of glasses on tables like death-knolls. Chairs growling as they scraped the floor. Some whining scream Sellah could only guess was supposed to be music. Why people enjoyed this place, or any Cantina, for that matter, was completely and utterly beyond Sellah. Sellah longed for simple silence, but it was her nature to endure.

Experimentally, Sellah flared her nostrils only slightly. Perhaps she'd be able to--

That idea was instantly thrust out the proverbial window as Sellah reeled. Oh Kell this place reeked! Sniffing out a dealer was not going to work. And so, Sellah settled for using her eyes and ears. She stood a good deal taller than most of the patrons, which gave her a unique perspective upon things.

She watched for the tell-tale signs. When one spends as much time tracking people as Sellah does, one learns... patterns.

Sliding glances, twitchy fingers, drooped shoulders. A junkie looking for a dealer.

Dull glaze, laughter just too loud, a slur to the tone. Drunkard.

Eyes only for the floor, twitching temple. Waiting for an appointment.

Sellah continued to hastily profile a good deal of the dive in this manner, willing herself to be patient as many patrons revealed themselves to be junkies and drunkards. Balosar almost made Sellah miss the Coruscant slums. Almost.

Finally, Sellah found what she was looking for. The eyes didn't twitch across the room, they scanned, precise as radar. His every muscle was under complete control, which is to say, they were entirely relaxed, save for the barely perceptible smirk. A long overcoat draped across his lounging form, and his hands were tucked away in its pockets. He practically screamed Dealer. Which was pretty much the point.

Sellah leaned closer to Rhissai, to make her conversation-level tone audible above the cacophony.

"Right hand wall, third booth from the corner." Sellah was certain Rhissai would understand. She looked at the master, then spoke again, tone wry. "Interested in purchasing a few Death Sticks?"

[Dire Wolf]

(( okay, I took the fun of... erm... having fun with the drug dealer... you get to have all the fun at next opportunity, okay? *puppy-dog-eyes* xD ))

Rhissai looked at her companion as she reeled, presumably from the terribly rancid smell of the cantina. A pang of pity hit the Jedi Master as she kept a silent gaze on Sellah, most of the time having a superior sense of smell was beyond advantageous... except when one was on a planet such as Balosar. Then it only became a terrible curse. Luckily, Rhissai had taken to just not breathing at all, it was wonderful... though it felt strange. The Force sustaining her body instead of the rancid oxygen of the planet felt almost tingly, like she had ants below her skin and in her blood.

She had just started to look around the room when her large companion leaned in and spoke. At first she only replied with a quirk of a brow and a slight smirk, both showing that she understood full well what the knight was suggesting. Walk up, show interest in purchasing some of his “stock,” then ascertain the location, or at least identity, of who supplies him. If worse comes to worse she could simply dip into his consciousness and gingerly take the information that she needed. Though she doubted that it would come to that.

“Actually, I am... and stay here, two cloaked figures... one being a giant furry creature and the other being a tall bright green eyed woman... are two very unlikely companions. Especially when one is delved into the paranoia of being a drug dealer.”

With that said, Rhissai delved her hands in her cloak and brought them together as much as she could considering the cloth, then began to walk over to the dealer with her shoulders drooped and back hunched over. Her long cloak, which now looked more like a trench coat with a hood, covered her jedi-like attire and the lightsaber that clung to her belt almost completely. She added in a few seemingly involuntary jitters in her form and shifty-eyes to add to the dramatic effect. Rhiss caught the quick sweep of the man's eyes about her form once she drew near, he wasn't just looking at her with the “professional” mindset... no doubt he would ask for a different method of payment.

“Do you have any stock for s-sale? I'd like to buy some...”

“I do, how much?”

“Just a few k-kilos...”

“Right, 1500... and a trip out to the back.”

He said, motioning towards the rear of the door. No doubt it led to some back alley where he would either give her the “merchandise,” then proceed to either walk away or do unspeakable things to her. Which is why she gave a little sigh, grabbed at the right part of her coat through her pocket, and waved her hand about his face, then hid the motion with the scratch at her shoulder. She bludgeoned her mind against his, considerably weaker, consciousness.

“You don't want to take me into the back alley, and you want to tell me who and where your supplier is.”

“Yes, I do... and no, I don't. What do you think you are? Some kind of Jedi or something?”

Rhissai mentally groaned as she delved her hand back into the pocket. She had tried the gentler of the two paths, and it failed. Now was the time to steal the information right out from under his nose, literally. A pained look flashed across her face as Rhissai nodded, she knew what he wanted from her... and she play acted like he was going to get it. The Dealer stood up and headed out of back door, his “customer” right behind him. She flashed a glance back to her companion and snaked a tendril of thought over to her mind, “I have things under control, will be back in a few.”

Once the two were into the back alley he turned around and slammed her into the wall. A fake expression of fear flashed across the woman's face as he brushed her cheek with a curled index finger. He purred some rather... choice... words into her ear, telling her just how she would buy those drugs from him. Naturally, that wouldn't happen. She wouldn't let it. So she let him think that he was in control for a few moments before making her move.

The same hand that disappeared into her pocket but a moment before shot out and pressed its palm into his forehead. She preferred to use contact as a means for stealing information, mostly because it was far too easy to slip up and scramble his brain without it. It was a tricky business, going into the complexities of one's thoughts and memories and trying to take a certain object out, without harming the subject. In truth, it wasn't that risky to take memories without physical contact... but it was far easier to use touch. And safer. She wouldn't forgive herself if she slipped up and killed him.

A tendril of her mind slowly slithered through his consciousness, it locked down all of his motor functions... all of them. His legs crumpled like a house of holo-cards under the weight of his body as he slumped over and fell into the earth. She followed him and continued to sift through his memories in his mind, still in the squatting position. Rhissai carefully moved through his mind, taking care to not disturb any of his memories, until she found it: the morsel of information that she needed.

She wrapped the tendril around his mind until she found the partition that was incharge of sleep, it only took the lightests of touch to force the man into a deep slumber. It was one that he would not awaken from for a fairly long time, she was sure of that. The woman then withdrew the extension out of his mind and back into her own as she stood up, turned around, and headed back towards her companion. Once there, she leaned in close and spoke softly, both through voice and telepathy to ensure that Sellah heard her words.

“The hideout is in the docks, the front is another cantina under the guise of “the crimson dragon.” From what I could gather fom his thoughts... that is where most of them are hiding.”

[Kella]

ooc// xD mahvelous! Simply mahvelous... *chortles* I almost feel sorry for the poor dealer. X) //

Sellah made no verbal response to Rhissai, but her consent was apparent. She was subtle in the way she observed Rhiss work her magic, leaning her shoulder back against a shadowed wall to better observe the dive. Rhiss's acting skills certainly impressed the Selonian. Sellah never really had been very... animated.

And then Rhissai was gone, slipped from the shadows. Sellah had a particularly... uncomfortable feeling concerning the dealer and his intentions, but she was more than content in the knowledge that Rhiss could take care of herself.

As she observed the patronage, looking for anything peculiar to pique her interest, Sellah came to a realization which really should have occured to her much sooner. She simply stopped breathing. Now, when one is a Selonian, one is quite well adapted for semi-aquatic life, seeing as the oceans on the planet are quite plentiful. A single breath would sustain her a full seven minutes. It was a mode of more efficiently removing the oxygen from the air in the lungs. For Sellah to hold her breath now was no more uncomfortable than holding her breath underwater, as she came to find. In fact, not breathing at all made it much more easy to bear smell-deprivation.

And then Sellah remembered something she'd once studied briefly, the ability of a Jedi to sustain themselves with the Force, as opposed to the air. Sellah, not really one for the more delicate facets of the force, had neglected to study it as much as she probably should have. Bother. As Sellah began to feel the muscular tingle that signaled her body was going into conservation-mode, she resolved to try it.

Which was of little use, for Sellah was startled not a moment later by a gruff voice.

"Buuuy you... a drink?" The voice was heavily slurred, and the Human swayed on his feet. He looked like he was attempting to put on a coy expression. It didn't help.

"Excuse me?" Speaking used precious air, and Sellah would be forced to inhale another breath of acrid air that much sooner. It didn't really put her in the best of moods. The man didn't seem to notice Grek hissing at him noisily.

"May I... buy you a drink?" The man hiccuped and smiled dully, leaning against the wall next to Sellah.

Sellah looked around for an escape. "Why would you want to do that?" Her tone was frank.

While Sellah was flaying her whiskers uncomfortably (the unshakable Jedi Knight was obviously rattled), another human approached. To her relief, he seemed slightly more sober. Slightly.

"I'm sorry, please excuse my friend. I know he's being rude."

"I ain't bein' rude. I jus know a pretty lady when Ah see one. An this 'un has fangs." He hiccuped happily. "Rawr."

Sellah was obviously not amused.

"So sorry," the second one said again, uncomfortably ducking the glare of Grek's many crimson eyes., "C'mon, Gerald," He muttered, yanking the other man away, who looked quite disappointed.

Sellah, who had, out of habit, adopted a strictly neutral expression, leaned back against the wall, a good deal more wary of the several drunkards. Humans could be so very strange! What little sense they made! And no consistency in the lot, not a bit.

Still musing this thought, Sellah slowly began to relax and continue her observations. The predominance of the pub was most definitely native Balosar. The planet didn't exactly draw many tourists. There were a few humans, such as the two she'd encountered, who were likely here on business. If the smuggling of Death Sticks even deserved the title 'business'.

Grek quickly picked up on Sellah's miffed state of mind, and he began to warily glance around the Cantina. It was his low hissing that alerted her to Rhissai's return. She nodded at the master's words, filing away a perfect record. Out of all Sellah's flaws, memory was definitely not one of them. It's was the reason she could surpass some of her more intelligent peers in tracking and investigation. No detail escaped her mind, and Sellah often made connections others did not.

However, at the moment, she was still feeling quite irked, and she knew Rhissai would be inquiring of her mood sooner or later. Sellah resolved to save her the breath and make it sooner.

"Some man offered to buy me a drink! Is that normal?"

[Dire Wolf]

((haha, you made me lawl... rawr. *sighs* I'm so sorry for this shoddy-short post... I don't know why, I just can't channel everyone's favorite telepath lately.))

Rhissai walked over to Sellah with a little sigh, she was about to say something to the effect of “lets get going” when the Selonian related the events of their separation to her. A small smirk pursed one side of the woman's lips and she tilted her head ever so slightly. She looked around the room for another Selonian, or some other musteline species that may have approached her. Once she could find none, the woman shifted her gaze back to the Selonian who stood before her.

“In a bar like this? Yes. Though I am somewhat jealous, now. A man approached you, but not me...hmmph.”

Let it never be said that Rhissai never joked around, or tried to joke around, with other people. After a brief moment of smirking at the woman she shook her head ever so slightly. They could joke around after this Dark Jedi business was taken care of. She deigned it necessary to not speak of her intentions aloud for all to hear, so the woman sent yet another thought to Sellah via the telepathic link that was still open. “Shall we go to dismantle this small time Dark Jedi cult, then?.”

A small smile broke out across her face as she continued out of the rancid bar and into the slightly less rancid air of Balosar. Not that the Aphithri woman noticed, it was awful hard to notice such things when one simply doesn't breathe and relies on the Force to sustain their lungs. Rhissai silently thanked the Force for her master's teachings on the area of Control, and by extension the art of Breath Control. She had gotten skilled enough in the art that she could actually hold her breath for an hour, sometimes more... though she had heard of masters who could contain themselves longer.

It didn't take much time for the woman to reach the space docks, it was more or less where they came from, and after that it took a slight expansion of her awareness to find the place called “The Crimson Dragon.” Once found, she walked over towards the dilapidated building and waited for her partner. It would do her no good to rush in blindly without any form of backup after all.

[Kella]

ooc// No worries. :P I toootally know how it goes. xD //


Sellah was about to inquire as to the purpose of Rhiss's comment, for it just seemed to confuse her further. However, Rhiss subtly shook her head, and Sellah fell back on her usual course of action; silence. It was probably just another strange custom... Sellah disregarded it as such, quickly moving on. Such was her habit of thoughts. Only the most important things were worthy of mulling, and Sellah deemed this instance unworthy.

Sellah followed Rhiss and stepped out into the streets of Balosar. The air was stagnant; even outdoors it didn't move. There was no merciful breeze. However, Sellah braced herself and emptied her lungs, filling them again. The stench raked across her nose, but Sellah was beginning to be able to filter out individual scents... 'Shroom Reek, Smog Reek, and Fecal Reek. Joyful.

Sellah allowed Rhissai to drift away from her in the crowd; after all, they couldn't look too purposeful. That would be conspicuous. And conspicuous actions got one noticed, and word traveled quicker than feet... no need for the chickens to fly the coop. Sellah relied more than ever on her eyes and ears, compensating for scent-deprivation. Her nose couldn't alert her to spots which required investigating, and so her eyes had to stay sharp. She listened for suspicious sounds, and though her hearing was better than a human's, it wasn't nearly as developed as her olfactory system. The asphalt was hot beneath her paws as she walked, and Sellah turned her Golden eyes on each passerby. One seemed the hold the aura of a Dealer, another seemed to be on some sort of mission. But nearly everyone on Balosar had one feature in common-- they looked lost. Sellah heaved a mental sigh and continued on her way, locking in on the sound of Rhissai's footsteps and following in the general direction.

There it was. A pitiful sign hailed it as "The Crimson Dragon." A snarling face glared from the sign, more grimy than intimidating. What paint remained on the front was peeling, as if it would give anything to flee from the building. A barely perceptible flow of smoke curled out from under the base of the door, heavy fumes trailing out like Dragon's breath. Disgust was an emotion Sellah rarely had to deal with, but she found it exceedingly more difficult to handle here on Balosar.

Sellah's step brought her into the shadows near Rhissai, shadows which clung to her, as if they'd loathe to let go. Sellah's muzzle twitched, whiskers flaying, an expression which revealed her readiness to proceed.

Even as she tried to avoid it, the despair of Balosar clung as thick as the smog, penetrating deep into the flow of the force. Sellah's mood wasn't much improved. Despair birthed Despair birthed Despair... it was a wicked, corrupted cycle. Though, Sellah doubted there was much she could do about it, save what she was doing now; working one step at a time to rid the Galaxy from darkness. To free it. Some things made more difference than others... but to the task, she was dedicated. A rare revelation crossed her mind. Perhaps the worst kind of slavery was the grip of despair. For at least in physical slavery, hope can be found, but when a lack of hope defines the chains... Sellah wondered if one could ever be freed.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai looked over her raven haired companion as his hackles began to rise and a deep, threatening growl rumbled out of his throat. Had she not known that the creature would never hurt her under any circumstance, even the one where she is hurting him, she would have been somewhat worried. But she was not. Rhiss had heard the almost feral sounding growl before, and Wrex's throat usually created it when there were ill mannered Force Users about. Her hand slowly moved down to pet the midnight fur on her Vornskr's head as she looked up at the Selonian woman. The woman may have said nothing, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes about the situation, and the nature of the beings within the building.

The woman looked down at her pet and gave a warm smile before speaking to him in her native tongue. He could not understand her words, but her meaning via the tone of her words would be obvious even to him. Each word rolled into the next one beautifully, and the changes in her tone were ever so slight. The language could best be described as heavenly... when she wanted it to be. If she was angry, or felt the need to intimidate, she could shift the tone (and words) to something much more guttural and sinister. Luckily, though, she wanted the tone to be the former, and not the latter.

<<Wrex, stay. There is no use in you going inside only to be hurt or killed by a being with a lightsaber. We will be back out shortly.>>

She gave a quick glance to Sellah and opened to door to the building. What did she see? Was it a circle of shadowed figures standing around a pentagram chanting something in an indecipherable tongue? Was it a large group of dark-robed fellows standing a few meters back from the door with their crimson sabers unleashed? It was neither. All that she saw was a cantina, while it may have been a much nicer establishment than the Hawk Bat's Claw, it was still most certainly not the kind of place that she'd enjoy. Needless to say, Rhissai was still fairly happy with her decision to hold off on breathing until she managed to get herself off of Balosar.

Despite the fact that there appeared to be a vast multitude of people drinking, laughing, slurring words, and all in all just having fun Rhiss could still sense something... off... about the place. A certain dark aura lingered about the air, it curled around her form and just begged her to allow it into her soul. Surely Sellah could feel it too... the aura was so thick that it she could probably cut it with a knife. The green eyed woman turned then her attention to the Selonian and snaked a telepathic thought towards her. “It seems that the information that I recovered from the drug dealer was not incorrect. Based off on my extra-sensory... senses.”

[Kella]

Even as Sellah nodded to Rhissai, she could feel it. Feel it like a hound biting at her heels. But it was not just a hound, it was a serpent, quietly hissing in her ear, seducing her with whispers of power and lures of the dark side...

Sellah's reaction was vehement. She was so opposite of the dark side, so fully devoted to never letting it take her, that the full force of her passion lashed out against it. The tendrils of darkness shrunk back, curling around the edges of the mental blast-shield she'd thrown in their way. The darkness would not take her today, and it never would. It could tempt her, she knew she was vulnerable, but in this lay her strength. The determination of a Selonian is night on impossible to counter.

Sellah surveyed the Cantina, noting that it seemed only slightly more orderly than the last. Fewer addicts, fewer drunkards, a calmer atmosphere. Yet, Sellah could feel a twisting in her gut, and she didn't ignore her instincts. Perhaps it threw the illusion of reputability, but this made the lure all the more dangerous, for the Darkness could remain unseen all the longer...

But Sellah did not muse over this long, for her interest lay in the physical, and not the philosophical. Sellah's eyes danced from face to face, but nothing stood out. Perhaps the man in the corner, sipping slowly and watching, or the one at the Pazaak table, nervously counting credits. Or even the bartender, sliding drinks across the polished counter. Each could be ally, each could be friend, and none betrayed much of their intentions. This was a serious mission indeed.

Grek found it prudent to give each and every patron a death-glare. and with his many eyes, he could usually manage more than one at a time. Sellah raised a hand to stroke his belly, and though he calmed somewhat, Sellah knew the little laigrek was still on-edge. As well he should be.

Here, the Force was so tainted that not even it could lend her an instinctual direction. And so she turned golden eyes upon Rhiss, expression questioning. Even if Rhissai had not been a telepath, the question would have been clear. Now what?


ooc// I do apologize for the fact that the above is a very reactive post, and not very pro-active. Sellah's not one to go marching off and begin the investigation, and I don't think this kind of trouble would be likely to find them first. Or maybe it would be... *ponders* I'm not sure. Hence the reactive post. X) //

[Dire Wolf]

Brightly colored green crystals set inside the woman's head scrutinized every single being in the room, almost as if they were trying to bore a hole into their bodies and view the innards of their soul. The Jedi master could almost do just that, only her mind would do the boring... and it would be far from damaging. Rhissai found that she could slip into most people's mind with relative ease, most of the time they didn't even know that she was skimming their surface thoughts. There were only a few exceptions to the statement, most of which where force users or those conditioned against incorporeal invasions of the mind. There were more than a few such beings in the room.

Just then a tendril of thought latched onto the mental shield that she'd brought up and sent a few malevolent intentions and thoughts her way, along with a very stern warning. “Turn back now, Jedi. You have no business here,” she nearly laughed as the thought made its way past her mental filters and into her mind. Almost. Actually thinking to the woman was probably one of the biggest mistakes that the man made, as she could easily collapse her thoughts around the connection and use it to locate the man and systematically shut the man's mind down. Which is just what she did.

She curled one of her own thoughts down the captured connection that led straight to the inner sanctum of the man's mind. Rhissai could easily have crushed the man's very identity with the spiritual flick of her finger, but did not. Instead she slowly entombed him with a plethora of ethereal vines, cutting his brain off from all voluntary actions. It wasn't long until he realized the magnitude of his mistake, and attempted to struggle against the iron grip of Rhissai's mind, but there was little he could do aside from make her work slightly harder. A quick dip into the sleep center of the Dark Jedi's mind sent the man into a coma that would last a few days. It would be more than long enough for his little trip back to the Jedi Temple.

Rhissai then proceeded to sift through the Dark Jedi's memory, taking care not to allow any of his malevolent emotions to flitter into her mind, and discovered the identities of each member of the Dark Jedi cult. There were four, including him, and each one was in the room. None of them took kindly to their master suddenly crumpling to the ground as if his mind simply winked off. It did, of course, and they knew it. They sensed it. They could feel the presence of Rhissai within the mind of their comrade.... and it made them angry.

Within moments the snap-hiss report of a lightsaber met her ears, and another not long after. The noise instantly caused the patrons of people to rush towards the door in giant mob, fearing for their own safety above all else. Rhissai herself narrowly dodged the crush of scared sentients as they stampeded their way towards the door. Emerald eyes darted around until they saw a mixture of hues that consisted of electic yellow and deep blue.

Her bright green eyes narrowed as the wielder of the twin miniature suns came into view. She was a hooded figure that was distorted up by a midnight black cloak, one that held the same hue as Rhissai's hair, and her face was covered by a raven colored half mask. The inner robes of the woman contained a tacti-cool mixture of blood red, pitch black, and bright golden hues. How this woman escaped the gaze of both Rhissai and Sellah was a mystery to the woman... not that any of it mattered.

The other two Dark Jedi didn't seem to particularly care about her, and so Rhiss paid them little heed. Her mind began to order her stimulant glands to pour a cocktail of super-adrenaline, testosterone, and other powerful naturally (for her) produced stimulants into her blood stream. The rush of her heart nearly over took the woman's senses as it begged her to move, to act, to make it work harder.

It begged her to fight.

Rhissai refused to give in to the urge to battle this dark woman, though she knew that a duel was coming. It was only a matter of time until the battle began, and when it did Rhissai would ensure that she was the defender, and not the malevolent soul that opposed her. Her fingers slowly wrapped around the hilt of White Fang and pulled it off of its clip. The Aphithiri woman's body hunched over slightly as her arms positioned the lightsaber so that its hilt would be positioned at her left hip and the tip of the blade would pass over her right shoulder. She rolled her weight backwards in preparation to defend against the onslaught of the Jar'kai user, and prepared herself mentally for the battle to come. There was only one thing left.

A scintillating argent burned to life in the room with the all-too-familiar snap-hiss...

((ooc// < still taking your style kind of. :-p Anyways, Rhiss took on two DJs (if you count the little mental pwnage as taking one on xD) so I guess I will leave you to the other two. I figure we should span our own little duels out a couple posts *shrug* unless you don't want to. I don't mind either way.))

[Kella]

ooc// Why rush through a battle scene of epicness? xD //

The reflection of the red saber was like blood in Sellah's eyes as she looked upon the Dark Jedi. Her gaze was cold, her stance deadly still as she looked upon the man. Hate, anger, and revenge attacked her. But not from the outside, like the choking darkness had. From the inside, from under her skin, from behind her walls. However, they were monsters she had long fought, battles she had long won. Perhaps, one day, her inner demons would get the best of her. But not this day, not this fight, and she drove them down once again.

And even as the light of the red saber flashed in Sellah's eyes, the tavern emptied quick as the plague. Sellah planted her feet and steeled her stance, and the crowd parted around her. And then they were gone, and the tavern was silent. Save, it seemed, for the quiet squeak of cloth against glass. Sellah did not need her eyes to know that the sound belonged to the bartender, leaning lazily against the counter, still cleaning glasses. He was unperturbed, it seemed, and Sellah wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing...

However, her attention was soon taken by more important and immediate things. There appeared a Dark Jedi, her garb hate-black, the underside of her cloak mottled with blood-stained gold. Sellah listened as Rhiss ignited her own saber, then faced off with the woman. Sellah had a feeling that the two would be well-matched. Which left the other two for Sellah.

It was him. The broken piece of crimson glass. The memory of him had been tucked into that shattered piece, and so it was that shard that Sellah thought of as she looked upon his face. The man that had killed Kandri, and twice come close to killing Sellah herself. Sellah instantly became cautious of her own actions; revenge would be tempting. Oh so tempting.

His companion was unfamiliar, however, and Sellah turned her eyes upon the Zeltron woman, noting well the woman's twin violet blades.

And then the time for thinking was over. Sellah drew her lightsaber and ignited it; the forest green's glow battled against the violet-red palor. She shrugged the cloak from her shoulders, somewhat bothered by the absence of that familiar saber-smell. As much as she desired it, Sellah would not be the first to attack. This was a prudent measure, and one Sellah complied with only grudgingly. She tilted her saber into a defensive stance, every muscle tensed accordingly.

"This is not a battle you want to fight," Sellah warned simply.

"I remember you..." The man said. His voice was deep and intimidating, but with a silky edge. Just as Sellah remembered it. "You were the little Padawan, the one with the Bothan." It was clear to Sellah's eye that he was uncomfortable; perhaps he remembered his partner's missing hand. Still, he seemed determined to taunt her. "And then you ended up with that foolish Miraluka? Barely worth a skrag; the both of them. So easily defeated... just like you'll be. For when you learn from a barve, there's only so much you can learn. Still, they've dont a good job of brainwashing you."

The words were intended to anger, but Sellah put little value on words. She spoke in actions. If the Dark Jedi meant to be fierce, let him show it in the way he fought.

Seeming to understand that the insult would get him no where, the man twirled his saber once. Then, like a striking viper, he shot forward, bowling a chair to the ground. She recognized clearly the refined Djem So.

And then came the wide, diagonal blow, expected by Sellah. She threw herself down on all-fours, lightsaber extended to the front as his red blade skimmed by her shoulder. Sellah shot forward and lashed at his feet, but he had recovered, and he danced out of reach. Sellah bounded forward once, still low to the ground, and brought a low upward sweep. He was quick to parry her attack, and Sellah anticipated the immediate counter-attack, twisting her body so the kick was merely a glancing blow. It send her under a table, however, and she raced out the other side, just to remember she wasn't battling the man alone. A violet saber flashed in the periphery of her vision, and she threw her torso backwards, spine flat against the table-top. The saber spun by mere inches above, thrown by the Zeltron. Then, suddenly, she could hear rather than see the red saber as it came down toward her head, and Sellah lifted her blade to parry. She used the angle as a leverage point, twisting herself around so the Dark Jedi was across the table from her. She flicked her saber away from his, leaping up onto the table to gain the higher ground. Sellah leapt into the air, twisting mid-flight and landing behind the man, saber flashing. She brought it down towards his neck, but he kicked backwards with a sudden hook that caught Sellah across the abdomen, knocking her to the ground, as her saber clattered away.

"Foolish little Padawan," Chided the Man, "Didn't they teach you to never, never drop your saber? Tsk."

Claws aren't the best at holding onto sabers. However, they have many other uses...

The two Dark Jedi were approaching now, one on each side, and Sellah twisted, still on all-fours, to look up at them.

"You'll not win a third time," Chided the man. "Simply give up, and we might spare your friend here. You wouldn't want to be responsible for another master's death, would you?"

Sellah said nothing; she would not give him the satisfaction of a retort. And so the two Dark Jedi continued to advance, drawing closer to Sellah, the Zeltron once more in possession of both her blades. Sellah's eyes narrowed as she focused, slowly crawling back toward the wall behind her. She had to time this just right...

Now!

Sellah rocketed forward, low along the ground, and a violet blade coursed toward her, a low sweep. Sellah leapt over the hurtle, slashing at the Zeltron's saber-arm with her hind feet, claws digging into flesh, yet Sellah heard no cry of pain. Her front paws hit the ground again and Sellah bounded forward, sudden movement taking her between the two Dark Jedi. She stayed low to the floor until she was two yards behind them, at which point she leapt up onto another table. She closed her eyes for only a moment, feeling the Force as an extension of herself, grasping her lightsaber and yanking it toward her. She ignited it as soon as she felt the weight against her paws, and golden eyes flashed open again; re-evaluating the situation. The man was quickly approaching her, ready for another attack, no doubt, while the violet blade made for her chest once more, spinning in the air. Shien took over as Sellah lifted her blade, feeling the Force flow through her as she anticipated the violet blade's movement...

Ha!

Sellah's blade caught the center of the violet one. The blades collided, and Sellah held hers fast and fearless as the violet blade whipped around, column of energy stopping mere inches from Sellah's whiskers as the emitter of the violet saber caught upon Sellah's forest green. The violet column died as the saber was destroyed.

She hardly looked around as she leapt toward the ceiling. Sellah clenched her jaw as a raking pain blossomed on her right ankle; the Man had managed to slash her as she leapt. Even so, Sellah did not bow to the pain, and so she clung to a lighting fixture on the ceiling. Her position would buy her precious moments to check upon Rhiss's progress, and she scanned the room.

"Here Kitty, Kitty..." Taunted the man below...


ooc// Hm, I've written better... Somewhat confined, epic-wise... Hm. *prods muses* Anyway, your turn. ;D //

[Dire Wolf]

((ooc// >_> I had to split this one up into two posts. Yeah. I got carried away in the car//))

The scintillating silver sun cast an eerie glow across the Jedi Master's face as she gazed out at her adversary. She could feel the woman't dark aura snake out like a thousand dark tendrils to try and squelch out Rhissai's own bright aura. This woman was actually trying to crush the light with darkness... foolish. The aphithiri woman unmasked her own aura, allowing herself to be a beacon of benevolent light in a sea of pitch-black malevolence. Her light quickly cut out the darkness like a flaming sword through butter, forcing it to crawl back into the chasm of her soul.

A scowl played across the woman's masked face as she charged forwards towards Rhissai, sabers not in any particular position of note. This meant one of two things, both worried Rhiss to no end. First: the woman knew enough of the lightsaber forms to not use a particular one, and more or less use them all in a massive unpredictable clusterflock... which was a nightmare for a Soresu user. Second: the Dark Jedi used juyo. The form was extremely unpredicatable and relied on athletic, yet erratic attacks to overwhelm the adversary. Rhissai had always desired to learn the form, but had never gotten around to it... she vowed to get around to it when she got back.

The Dark Jedi swung her yellow saber in a quick horizontal swipe into the Jedi's right side, one that Rhiss blocked with only the slightest movement of her argent saber, and followed up with another lightning fast swipe at her left with the blue saber. Again, Rhissai blocked the blow far too easily. It seemed to go like this swing after swing, and the woman was beginning to grow frusterated... but this was common when fighting a master of the defensive arts.

The black-clad woman pulled back slightly, but only to get the distance she needed to lung-jump forwards in two massively powerful swings, one at her legs and the other at her neck. Both would take Rhiss two hands to block, and she could not block two powerful strikes like that simultaneously with one lightsaber. Checkmate. Or was it? Rhissai jumped backwards in a backflip, her foot missing the electric yellow wrath of the woman's lightsaber by mere micrometers.

Her neck only narrowly missed the ocean blue fury of the woman's other lightsaber as her body quickly became parrallel with the ground. Her the tip of her foot crashed into the bottom of the woman's jaw. Rhissai swung White Fang towards the deep blue blade just for good measure as her body continued to swing upwards until it arched around and her feet were planted against the ground once more. Normally Rhissai would have pressed the attack on the woman, who was reeling backwards, but she saw something.... or, to be more precise, she sensed something well up within the woman. Something that told her that it wouldn't be wise to charge.

The Dark Master gathered up all of her dark energy, her hate, her loathing, her anger, and subtly changed them into pure energy in her hand. Not a moment later the Dark Jedi threw out her hand, each finger pointing towardss Rhissai. The Jedi had seen this far too many times, and knew what was coming... so she almost instinctively twitched her lightsaber into a defensive position. Half of a heartbeat later lances of lightning arced out of the Dark Woman's fingers and crashed into White Fang. Rhiss smirked as her emerald green gaze met with the woman's, there just wasn't any way for her defenses to be breached.

But then, overconfidence was the bane of any Jedi...

[Kella]

ooc// laptops are epic. ;D And your muse seems to be hanging in pretty well so far! xD Perhaps you will find even more inspiration in the rolling plains of Wisconsin... X) //

The lighting fixture swayed precariously, and Sellah dug her claws deep into the soft metal. Fiery blue light reflected from her eyes as lighting coursed through the air; Sellah could feel the charge, even though the dueling Jedi were on the far side of the room. Sellah knew Rhiss to be a master of Soresu, and the Selonian was now satisfied that the Master would have no trouble holding her own.

"Too scared to come down and fight?"

The taunt reminded Sellah that she had other business to attend to. Very pressing business. Like the lightsaber now arcing toward her.

Instinct pulsed faster than thought, and Sellah leapt aside, dodging the Man's high swipe. The lighting fixture groaned under the pressure, protesting to the weight. And then the cable snapped. Sellah twisted her body, leaping from the mangled bit of metal as it fell. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and Sellah's push-off sent the detached light careening toward the Dark Jedi. It was entirely unexpected, and caught the man full across the chest. This bought Sellah precious seconds as she dropped to the ground, lithe body absorbing the shock.

On the ground to her left, three tables away was the man. And then on her right, a very angry, very ticked-looking Zeltron. Apparently, she didn't take kindly to having her lightsabers destroyed. Sellah knew not what form the Zeltron would revert to with her single blade, but she was going to find out.

Sellah leaped forward, to the right, front paws connecting with the edge of a table. Her pack paws followed, and planted, and just as the Zeltron was about to swing her saber, Sellah pushed off, cutting sharply to the left. This time, she swung herself around mid-air so she could push of again immediately. And this she did, once more cutting in front of the Zeltron, who swung and consequentially missed. Her balance was thrown, and Sellah took advantage of this. She planted her feet once more, cut back toward the left. This time she arrowed her angle directly at the woman, movement blindingly fast. Sellah tucked her head, and felt the cold ripple course through her muscles as she connected with the Dark Jedi...

Now, you've probably never been hit by 160 pounds of pure-muscle Selonian, traveling faster than a speeder. However, it would suffice to say that it hurts. A lot.

Sellah heard the Zeltron's delicate bones snap underneath the pressure, and a fresh scream of agony bit into the still Cantina air. The woman's form crumpled as her lightsaber skittered away, robbed of her legs by the fissure which had spread deep through the bone of her hip. She would not be able to fight, but Sellah knew she might overcome the pain and resume combat with her own twisted brand of the force. However, her continued agonized moanings indicated to Sellah that she might have the minutes she needed...

By this time, the Man had made a full recovery, more than happy to pluck his fallen partner's blade from the ground as he charged. Sellah ignited her own saber in response to the red and violet that now flashed toward her. So he was a Jar'Kai user as well. This day just kept getting better and better...

Sellah stood her ground, unmoving as he charged. She called the force to flow through her body, willed it to fill her veins and permeate her muscles. She could feel the resurgence of strength, and the sudden, distinct feeling that she was not alone in this fight. She watched as Violet met Red, sabers crossing as he charged. Sellah knew this maneuver; he would draw the blades apart, catching her head and trimming it like a blade of grass falls before garden shears. Excepting, of course, that Sellah was no blade of grass.

Just when it seemed like the charge would be inescapable, Sellah launched herself upward into the air, twisting around and dropping on the other side, having turned so that she was still facing the man. His charge still carried him forward, his momentum was still directed in the other direction. He had not been expecting Sellah's quick movement; he had been arrogant, he had assumed his attack was inescapable. Such was the folly of the dark side.

Now was Sellah's weakest moment. She was not vulnerable to blade, no, nor to lighting or surprise. She was not vulnerable to any attack from the enemy. In fact, she was at her strongest. Her vulnerability lay within. Here, as she stared at the undefended, open back of the man who had killed his master. The man who had tortured Kandri, that kind old Bothan. The man whose face had once haunted so many of her nightmares. This was her chance, her change at revenge. She could give into the hate that lurked in the shadows. A single swipe would separate head from shoulders. Or, perhaps it would be more fitting to slice him at the waist, for death would be slow and agonizing. Better yet, Stab him through the stomach and listen as his pitiful moans rolled into the air.

These thoughts horrified Sellah. That lust for revenge, rearing again. Sellah beat it back down, forced it away. She removed these emotions from her mind, severed them. The darkness wailed, but Sellah's mind was more than willing to obey. She threw away all significance this man held. He was no more than a Dark Jedi to her. And she would treat him as such.

However, her moment of internal conflict had cost Sellah precious seconds, and in her hesitation, her quarry turned once more to face her.

"You will not win," Sellah said. Her voice was calm, though let none ever say it was gentle. "Surrender now, or I will kill you."

The man smiled smugly. "Look here, the little pet is making death threats. Someone needs to put you on a leash. You're just as dense as that master of yours."

It was the highest compliment Sellah could be paid.

"Then your choice is made." Sellah said simply, with no regret. And then she charged.

[Dire Wolf]

The Dark Jedi's hand shot out towards Rhissai, and the "ohh kriffing bantha poo-doo" expression near instantly played across the woman's soft features. An incredibly powerful telekinetic wave rocketed towards the Jedi Master's feet, pushing them backwards and forcing her body to tumble downwards. Luckily, Rhiss managed to keep her lightsaber facing the Dark Jedi as it still blocked the playful dance of deadly lighting that curled into her lightsaber, otherwise she would have been shocked and seared open by her own weapon.

It wasn't long before the Dark Master capitalized on this new turn of events and threw her lightsaber at Rhissai, following it up with a charge in the attempt to issue a "coup de grace," or final blow if you will. The Jedi Master curled her knees into her body and planted the tips of her feet into the ground, then launched off just below the lightsaber that swirled off towards. She angled White Fang up slightly just as she passed below the whurring blue lightsaber, searing a perfect line in the middle of the device's hilt.

Rhissai rolled to a halt just as the two halfs of the bisected pommel hit the ground with the pitter-patter of metal on tile. She slowly stood up into her previous position of Soresu, only this time she held White Fang's hilt at her right hip and angled it so its silver blade hovered in the air just off of her left shoulder. She had proved to be a particularly frusterating opponent for the Dark Jedi Master... and she aimed to keep it that way.

The Dark Jedi charged forward yet again, her electric yellow lightsaber held above her head, in hopes of battering through Rhissai's defenses and finally ending the insufferable woman. The raven haired woman instinctively dropped to a knee and wrapped her other hand around the bottom half of White Fang's slightly longer-than-average hilt just as the Dark Master swung brought her yellow line of plasma down. The screetch of the two saber's as their magnetic fields fought against each other for domination ripped at the woman's ears. Neither of the two woman gave an inch of ground as they tested each other's might. Until Rhissai used her legs to stand up towards the woman.

The average human (or in this case aphithiri) body's strongest muscles were in the legs, for they were used not only to move almost constantly, but had to hold up every last ounce of weight that the body retained. So, with this in mind, Rhissai not-so-slowly forced the Dark Jedi's lightsaber back into her body. But the woman wouldn't allow herself to lose so easily to a loathesome Jedi, so she quickly broke the saber lock and whipped her body backwards, spinning around and ending the little maneuver by pointing the tip of her lightsaber at the raven haired master.

In a surprising turn of events, the Jedi Master charged the Dark Jedi, her lightsaber held high above her head. A smirk crossed the Dark Jedi's masked face as she prepared to jink to the side and cleave the now seemingly foolhardy woman in two. Now, Rhissai was not so foolish as to actually charge into a woman whose prowess in lightsaber combat far exceeds her own... she had something else planned.

Just before the Jedi got within lightsaber striking distance she moved an open palm towards the Dark Jedi, casting out a powerful telekinetic push that threw the evil woman off balance. The woman whirled White Fang around so that the contained fury of its gray sun pointed towards the deck rather than up to the heavens. She smirked in satisfaction as she saw the woman still recovering from the Force Push that she threw at her, jumped up, and plunged her searing-hot lightsaber deep into the little pocket just behind the woman's collar bone. The Dark Jedi almost instantly crumpled to the ground, a lifeless husk.

After a few moments White Fang's silver blade slowly crept back into its hilt. Rhissai clipped the katana-style lightsaber to her belt and slowly kneeled down next to the fallen Master. For that is what she was, a Master of the blade. Her mistake was allowing herself to be consumed by the darkness, Otherwise the raven haired woman could see herself being this woman's friend. She put her hand on the dead woman's chest and slowly whispered.

"May your soul find the peace in the Force that you never could in life."

[Kella]

To say that Sellah had been holding back was an understatement. Fighting multiple opponents, she had to be careful, cautious. She could not leave her flank unguarded, she had to be aware of strikes from the Force. However, now that she was up against a single opponent, Sellah could unleash the full fury of Ataru.

She leapt and spun, she feinted and twirled. Her muscles hummed with adrenaline, and she ignored their cries of agony at the abuse. To the left, then to the right again, she was a blur of fur and saber. Sellah forced the man onto the defensive. As soon as he parried one blow, Sellah delivered another, twisting, ducking, dodging, and using her surprising flexibility to attack from angles few other Jedi found possible.

Sellah's breathing began to come heavy, as did the Dark Jedi's. She watched the perspiration gather on his brow, ostensible evidence to the strain he was undergoing. His smirk had fled long ago, to be replaced by a look of complete concentration. This was not the Selonian he had dueled so very long ago. She had changed, she had grown, and her skill with the blade matched his own.

What gave Sellah the advantage, however, was something the Dark Jedi could never hope to possess. Passion. And not the passions of the Dark side, lust, hate, fear. The passions of the Force as they were meant to be, love, honor, determination. Every ounce of her effort Sellah poured into her strikes, her feints and her jumps.

Once more, the two duelists locked blades. Sparks flew and Sellah's saber roared aggressively, angled to lock with both the Red and Violet blades. Then, quick as a flash, Sellah shifted all her weight to her tail, balanced for only a moment, But a moment was all she needed, and strong legs lashed out, catching the Man across the thigh. She stumbled backward, slipping from the saber lock. Sellah rocked forward back onto her feet, using the force to drive her saber forward as his grip faltered.

And there was her Golden opportunity. Sellah flicked her blade backwards, releasing the force on the Master's. The defensive stance in which he held his sabers loosened and faltered. Sellah twisted her body at an awkward angle, a single swipe from her saber taking both the man's hands. His sabers clattered to the floor, the red one grazing Sellah's thigh on the way down. She winced at the pain, watching to make sure the sabers deactivated when they hit the ground. And sure enough the Clit-clang of hilt to ground was accompanied by a surrendering hiss.

However, the burning in her leg could not rival that of the man's, and his face twisted into an expression of torture as he fell to his knees. No scream escaped his chest, but the pain rolled off him. He looked down at where his hands had once been, expression one of shock. And then he looked up at Sellah.

"Y... you have bested me?" It sounded as if he could not believe his own defeat. She could see the fear in his eyes. Fear that had always been there, simply... ignored. "P... Perhaps the D... the Dark side was not as... as strong as I had thought. Y... you have done your master well. Sh... She would be proud... and don't tell me you Jedi are above pride. I... know better..."

Sellah's whiskers flayed as she listened. Perhaps this one could be redeemed after all.

"The Jedi will welcome you if you choose to return."

The man shook his head, expression still contorted with pain. "Only in death can I fi... find peace. Only in death..." The man seemed to be fading fast, though his wound should not have been lethal. "Ki... Kill me quickly... for death shall soon take me..."

"If it is as you choose." Sellah did as he asked. She hardly had to nick the Spinal cord, and death was instantaneous. And painless.

Still, it bothered Sellah that he had seemed to be fading so fast. She had inflicted a great deal of damage during their duel, yet aside from a graze to his side, nothing should have been lethal... yet she had felt his spirit ebbing away even before she'd cut the cord.

Snap, Hisss!

Sellah whirled around, just in time to see the sneering face of the Zeltron. She was standing. And walking. Confusion...

And then, Sellah heard the woman speak for the first time. This manner chilled her to the bone, for the woman's words echoed in the subconscious, were mirrored in Sellah's mind...

"Demet'k was weak. You defeated him because he was insignificant and powerless. He was tricked into thinking the light had power, and so his death is the death of a fool. The light will never conquer the dark."

It was all Sellah could do to fight off the mental onslaught, for the woman's words seemed to become fact, simply because they were spoken.

"And now you will die. Because you are weak."

Sellah was rooted in place. She couldn't move, couldn't think...

Ahh!

Sound of a ringing blade was all it took to jolt Sellah from her stupor. She raised her own blade, still ignited, to parry the blow. However, the next saber was soon to follow, and Sellah leapt backwards, dancing away.

Now that she was fighting again, the blood returned its flow to Sellah's brain, and she could think. The Zeltron must have drained the life from the man-- Demet'k she had called him-- and healed her own wound, killing him in the process. Sellah had spared him agony, as she had known, but she had also cut short the Zeltron's supply of energy. That was good....

Or was it? Seeing as the Woman seemed to be coping just fine. Sellah settled into a defensive pattern of Shien, and pressed out with her awareness... she felt the third Dark Jedi's presence disappear, and Sellah knew Rhissai had been victorious. No doubt she would hear the Zeltron's double-speak... Sellah was almost certain Rhiss would come to her aid, though this was not something she could depend upon.

Sellah phased from Shein to Djem So, turning a parry into an offensive push. She then leapt into the air, striving for a better angle, but a wave of the force caught her across the chest and she fell to the floor.

Whump!

Sellah's face contorted as fire raced along her body, but pain was inconsequential... it was meaningless... there was only the Force... only the Force... But Sellah was weary, her concentration frayed, and the comfort the Force could lend was only minor.

Well then. She was just going to have to take care of this herself, wasn't she? Sellah hauled herself back to her feet, facing off against the woman once more. Sellah charged, throwing the last of her strength into Ataru. It would be very, very nice if Rhissai were to jump in, Sellah thought as her muscles trembled at another saber block. Very, very nice.


ooc// And I was actually planning on wrapping this part of the fight up... xD heh. Little miss Zeltron thought otherwise, it seems... //