Birds of a Feather

[Hotel]

The tall Rilan strode through the tunnels, intent on reaching some destination that even she wasn't sure of. All she knew was some presence or sixth sense was leading her way. She had left the strange Nohgri back with the hounds as she left to follow this strange sensation. Folding her wings into her robe, she slid her sabers into her sleeves as she walked through the tunnels, as if she belonged there.

The deeper she went into the Subterrel mines, the bigger the tunnels seem to become, until she walked into one larger then any she had come across so far. It was a deep underground cavern, the walls covered with some kind of crystal. It was big enough for her to even fight while in the air. This. This seemed to be the place calling for her. Her muscles relaxed and she slackened her posture, just slightly, as she lowered herself to the ground to sit.

Taking her meditative position, she began to calm, and closed her eyes. Something had called her here, singled her out from the others. She wasn't sure why, but she would stay until she found out. The sounds of fighting echoed through the tunnels, but she payed no heed to it. None of it pertained to her. So silently and patiently, she waited.

And her patience was rewarded. It wasn't long before she began to sense the presence of another nearing her. Was this what she had been waiting for. Is this why she came? She outstretched her hand in the direction she sensed the other was coming from, her eyes focusing on that opening to the cavern, determined.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

The hum and buzz of Talon as it swept through the darkness of the Subterrel mines was a comfort to her, a familiar sound as it battered against the sith initiates that had been foolish enough to cross her path. Talau had wrapped her presence in the force tightly about herself, molded it down to next to nothing and then darkened it so it would be easily hidden among the many echoes through the force that the sith and their hounds created. Like this she was undetectable…especially to the relatively untrained force users that had stumbled across her. Without the ability to see her aura, the darkly clad woman was little more than another shadow among the shadows as she followed the ceaseless whisperings of the force and the threads of it that wove their way through the vast tunnel systems.

Some time ago she had excused herself from the two masters and padawan that she had been accompanying to follow the pull upon her mind. Something was waiting for her in a different direction, down a different path, than the way the masters were going. She was a big girl…old enough and skilled enough to care for herself even among these new foes and the masters seemed to know that well enough to allow her to go on her own instead of following like concerned parents. It made the travel easier as well…she was free to move as she pleased, to run ahead or creep through the shadows as she saw fit without having to wait for others that slowed her down. While she hadn’t minded the company, she found that she just worked better on her own in times like this. It was another reason why the sith she had run across hadn’t noticed her…she saw them long before they saw her.

The first two had fallen unconscious before they knew what was happening, her ability in telepathy allowing her to gain access to their minds and force them into unconsciousness long before they realized she was even around. By the time the third had realized what was going on Talau was moving, coming up on him in a burst of speed, that purple saber blazing to life only moments before she was on him. All in all the sith wasn’t such a horrible opponent…once he recovered his wits anyway. He seemed fairly competent in saber abilities, his Ataru form one that she knew all too well. While she may not have been a master at the form, she’d trained in it and fought others who were far better at it than he was…it was almost pathetic really. The simple movements of her own Makashi form keeping her dancing just out of reach, blocking, or parrying the over emphasized attacks of her opponent. It didn’t help him any that the space and time he was giving her with those overly acrobatic attacks allowed the younger woman to coil her mind about his and slowly start squeezing, putting pressure on it and allowing cracks to open in his barriers to allow her in and begin to slow him and…eventually…lock down his movements altogether.

It had caused her presence to radiate out more than before, the multitasking requiring her attention to be focused on him rather than shielding herself from being sensed, but in the end, as his head was severed, it really mattered very little. His two unconscious companions were similarly dealt with…their deaths swift and painless as she offered a short prayer to the Winds and the Force to accept them back and be remolded as something better. Deactivating her humming purple blade, she moved on…a new, stronger, presence out there beyond her…waiting. Previously gold and silver threaded eyes made room for the curious green and wary yellow-orange of her emotions to work their way into her eyes as well. Her silent movements through the caves were only hinted at by the soft and gentle tinkle of the silver beads in her hair hitting each other every little while as she ducked below a stalactite or moved carefully around some unseen obstruction that the force warned her of.

That concealment had been brought around her presence once more as she moved, dimming the light of her spirit through the force to near nothingness. It was unfortunate the same couldn’t be said for the swirling purple, green, blue and silver of her aura as she stepped into the large cavern that Shandari sat meditating in. Even if the woman’s aura hadn’t been so violent in her eyes, the young Rilan woman would have known this one was a sith from the very feel of her…it wasn’t as if she were being overly careful with her signature, after all. The question was…why had she been called here? What was it about THIS sith that the force needed her to see or experience?

[Hotel]

The moment the other woman entered the cavern, lightning flew from Shandari's fingers, aimed for the roof of the tunnel that the Jedi had just came through. She did not want her to leave before she understood just why they were brought together. The Rilan woman slowly stood, her black eyes focused on the girl in front of her. Her voice would begin to ring in her head. "So you are what has brought me here." Her face remained behind an emotionless mask, revealing nothing as she looked her over, slowly walking towards her, hand still outstretched to loose another bolt of lightning the moment she so much as saw the girl twitch. "Do not move if you know what is good for you. Why did you call me here?" Once more the voice would echo within the woman's head, her lips unmoving.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

The lightning that shocked through the air above her head and to the rocks and stalactites above the entrance did little to startle the young knight, even as the opening was sealed once more. This sith was like an open book…without that concealment to protect her intentions they radiated out though the force like blaring alarms and neon signs. Talau almost chuckled to herself as she pulled her signature in further, folding it and compressing it until it were nothing more than a grain of sand among the many grains of the force…neigh untraceable. Shoal and Toth both had been insistent upon her learning to contain and hide her signature, and thus her intents and actions, through the force…and drilled as much as she was between the two of them it was little wonder she was so good at it. It was one thing that made her such a competent Shadow for the Order. Even as those words filtered through into her mind and Talau saw those dark wings “materialize” out of the darkness like living shadows, she knew…this was why she was here.

Another Rilan.

That was how the woman was able to speak to her, into her mind, even without the aid of the force to sense her mind. The threat meant little to nothing to the younger woman, and she simply blinked quietly at the sith, probing her, the force around her, testing the boundaries of that other mind without openly touching it or alerting the woman of her actions. The question only earned a slight raise of one eyebrow and more silence as Talau swiftly took stock of the area, her senses turning from the woman to the “room” around them. By looks alone it was obvious the woman was older than she, and the presence radiated a sort of power that a master might have and so Talau had begun looking for her alternatives. Finally, she spoke…if only to allow more time to familiarize herself with the area.

I didn’t ‘call’ you anywhere…I am simply going about my business. I do not know you and so I have no reason to ‘call’ you…perhaps you should be questioning the force and not me?

Those eyes remained a motley mixture of colors as she watched the woman move closer, wondering why she chose to speak through telepathy rather than openly, and why she might be in her true form.