Umbaran Hospitality

[Sierrien]

Her eyes unfocused, then refocused on Mila as the woman spoke to her. Her poke had revealed that the woman seemed to be real, but then - did she hear tenderness in her voice? That made her feel like perhaps this wasn't real. Or perhaps Mila was just finally warming up to her. Yeah, that was a good thought, she'd focus on that one. The words, her mind snapped back to her attention. Focus on the words. Calm down and take deep breaths; take it slow. She had a bit of trouble doing that and it would take some time, but slowly her breaths evened out to a more steady and slowed pace. What had come next? She gave a light shake of her head and waited a few breaths as her mind was still trying to keep things straight. What did she remember? Well, that was a good question. Perhaps she should try out her memory and see what she remembered, but she wasn't sure what Mila meant with it. Did she mean in general, or what all in her memories did she remember? "My name is.. Lairiel.." she let out slowly, and only because that seemed to be the first thing that was always asked to check if someone had amnesia. "I'm from.. Ord Mantell." And then then came the memories of her parents.

She had lived through this so many times now that it barely even stung when she thought back on it. Or at least, it usually didn't - but this time as she played through her memories and the crash that had taken her family from her through her mind, or at least the jagged and disjointed pieces of it, she felt an odd sense of guilt wash over her. It was gone soon after, because she knew that it had not been her fault that her family died. Years of therapy, and now she again felt the survivors guilt that she had thought was behind her. "My.. Family died in a crash..." Her words were slower than normal, but it seemed to be just that she was being sure as she played through her memories. She should try thinking about something more recent. Perhaps something about this trip? And that was where she ran in to a problem. She found that most of her recent memories were all jumbled up, and her nose scrunched up as she concentrated.

"You didn't like my dress." she let out a few moments later, and then simply gave a helpless shrug. "And apparently that upset me and then I passed out? I must have looked great in it, or else I don't understand why you not liking it would make me cry and then screw with my head like this..." She still looked confused, though her breathing had pretty much evened out and she was back to speaking normally. There were random images and disjointed memories in her recent memories as well, but she couldn't make sense of them enough to figure them out or talk about them. She was used to that; at least there wasn't a crash where her entire family died this time. She was already alone.

 

[Gamov]

Lairiel's recollection of events was... jumbled to say the least. She was doing well up to a point, managing to recite her name and home planet without much difficulty. She had even managed to reign in her panic and soothe her frayed nerves with a few deep breaths. Then came the memories which she was sure would spark something in her - her family. They had been the catalyst for this whole episode, or at least they were after Mila's own clumsy meddling. She still didn't know what had come over her in that moment. The pure lust she felt at shredding the poor girl's mind like paper, it felt unnatural in ways that it had never felt before. Shaking her thoughts aside, she concentrated as Lairiel crept up on those traumatic events, fully expecting them to reignite the already short fuse on her battered psyche.

But when they came, nothing happened. Lairiel was more deliberate and delicate with her words, but there was no overwhelming grief or helpless wails of agony. Everything was surprisingly... normal. Well, except for the part whee she thought a dress had been responsible for all of this mayhem. But still. Mila narrowed her eyes curiously. Had her mind really repaired the damage that quickly that she would remember nothing of what had happened? It was astonishing considering the state she had been in only moments ago. Still, the whole thing rather served to illustrate the point which she had been trying to make from the beginning: Lairiel's mind could be a powerful weapon, but it could also be turned against her. And if this was her reaction to even light pressure... there was much work to be done yet. Mila knew now that she had her work cut out for her.

Gently biting the inside of her cheek, Mila wondered what she should tell Lairiel. The truth, obviously. But how? She had no guarantees that mentioning it wouldn't set her off again. She seemed stuck in limbo trying to decide which way to go here. "That's... not exactly true." She started slowly. "I tried to teach you a mind control technique, and it seemed to be more than you could handle. You... you tried to kill yourself." Mila wasn't really sure she should have even said that. It was bad enough she had already subjected Lairiel to the lies that she had killed her parents, how was she going to react knowing she had tried to take her own life? "You really don't remember any of it? Nothing from the past few minutes here? Do you even remember where we're going or what we're doing?"

 

[Sierrien]

Lairiel stared at Mila as she started to speak. It wasn't exactly true - so Mila did like her dress! She knew the Crusader was just trying to make a point with it. Deep inside, Mila wanted to go to the beach with Lairiel, both of them in lovely sun dresses and they could just lay there soaking up rays. She had known in her heart of hearts that it was so, and Mila had just all but confirmed it in her mind. She had already started cataloging the best beach resorts she had heard of in her mind when Mila continued speaking, going on to explain what she had actually meant. Still, there was a secretive smirk on her face as she imagined Mila in a sun dress - that died instantly, and the color drained from her face when Mila explained that she had tried to kill herself. "I.. I did what?" her voice was all at once weak and frail as she stared at the woman, once again back to being unsure if she should be back to thinking this was a dream or wondering if perhaps Mila was trying to pull her leg. She wouldn't really try to kill herself... would she?

A twinge of doubt entered her mind as Mila asked her to confirm that she didn't remember any of it. She found it strange that some kind of mind control technique would lead to her trying to kill herself, if that was really what had happened. Her eyes shifted towards her training saber on the floor next to them, transfixed by it for a few long seconds. Why was her training saber here? Flashes of memories shifted through her head, but they weren't in any order that made sense to her. First it was in her hands and she was crying, then she was pulling it towards her from her bag and then it was on the ground and she was reaching for it. Her hand slowly reached out for it again now, unless Mila tried to stop her just in case, to pull it in to her lap and stare down at it. "I'm getting.. weird flashes of memory. I think it's.. slowly coming back together. It's hard to tell without knowing what they're supposed to be in the first place." She blew out a sigh - and then Mila asked if she knew where and what they were doing.

That one she had to think about again, but it seemed her memories were repairing themselves in chronological order. That was handy she supposed, though she would really love to make sense of the current situation. "Umbara" she let out then, with a smile. "We're going to a lightless planet and I was wearing a sun dress, but I played it off as if I didn't know..." she trailed off. Okay, she had been too quick to just spill out her memories because they were back, and now she had gone and spilled the beans that she had lied to the Crusader earlier. Hopefully Mila would let it slide due to her recent mental trauma. She let out an awkward cough. "Assassin academy we're going to investigate and.. yeah. I remember." That was something, at least. "I think I'm going to need some time to get the.. more recent memories back to normal. It's all still incredibly jumbled. I'm sorry for failing you." Wait, why had she said that last bit? She blinked, looking confused at her own words and mind again.

 

[Gamov]

Sobriety washed the cagey grin from Lairiel's face as a grim expression darkened her pale features. The realization seemed to hit her like a speeding train and she was silent for several moments, her eyes flickering to the saber on the floor almost in disbelief - like she was trying to put the pieces back together. Mila actually hoped for her own sake that she didn't, and that the fragments would remain a scattered puzzle. The Crusader held her breath, a searching gaze sweeping Lairiel's expression as she watched... and waited. Should she be ready for another outburst? Would she need to worry about Lairiel slipping right back into that delusion? More over, would she have to keep worrying about this the whole trip? She hadn't considered that at first, and the sudden realization both troubled and frustrated her. As if Lairiel's own inexperience wasn't liability enough already, now she had to worry about the girl slipping into psychosis.

"Lovely."

Mila nearly let out a sigh of relief though when it seemed Lairiel had trouble reconciling the exact details. She had vague pictures apparently, but nothing more cohesive than that. She moved past those jumbled memories just as quickly though, more readily recounting the purpose of their trip and... wait, had Lairiel just admitted to lying to her earlier? She knew about Umbara all along it seemed, she just chose to play dumb. Normally Mila would have been royally pissed that someone had had the gall to lie to her face, but for Lairiel she made an exception. It seemed her apprentice was well acquainted with the art of misdirection if she could lie to her without batting an eyelash. "You clever girl." She thought, keeping satisfied smirk to herself.

When Lairiel apologized for her failure though, Mila seemed to simply wave it off casually with a short sigh - in truth though, the girl hadn't failed her in the least. "Yes well, you survived so it wasn't a total loss. Why don't you get some rest, we still have a couple days ahead of us before we get to Umbara. We'll try the exercise again later. Hopefully with less drama." Leaving it at that, Mila seemed to slip back into the comfort of her meditation, leaving Lairiel to do as she pleased. So long as it didn't include freaking the hell out and killing them both in a fit of psychotic rage.

 

[Sierrien]

"You survived so it wasn't a total loss." With that ringing endorsement in her ears, Lairiel was definitely ready to take the Crusader up on her offer to rest. They still had quite a bit of time before Umbara, so they would get back to this later - that was simply excellent, yes. She definitely wanted to go through something that had made her try to kill herself again. 'Less darama' indeed. Mila had slipped right back in to her meditation though, so Lairiel did the wise thing and didn't interrupt it. Instead she stood, picking up her training saber and walking it to her backpack, to place it in to the side pocket it had been in before this exercise-gone-wrong they had both just participated in. She took a few moments to look at her new saber that she hadn't officially used yet, but which she had spent painstaking hours working on in the presence of Mila, all the while doing her best not to let the woman see it. She wanted it to be a surprise; she just knew that Mila was going to love it. She actually hadn't even turned it on herself yet; that was why she had brought the training saber along as well. Just in case she had screwed up somehow, though she was fairly confident she hadn't. She made sure the new one was hidden in her backpack - she hadn't told Mila that she had completed it yet, so she thought it would be safe in there.

Then she straightened and looked around the room. She felt like she needed to sleep, to try and let her brain rest and maybe it would sort everything else out on its own. It was all she could think of to try and fix it, short of another few years of therapy. Last time had not been fun. This time she had force powers and possibly even a lightsaber to lay some hurt on any therapist that tried to make her talk about her feelings. With that dark thought in mind, she stripped off her outer layers of clothing and curled up on one of the side couch-like things in the only room that the shuttle had, using the clothes she had just taken off as 'blankets'. It was a rather fitful rest that took about an hour to finally claim her, and even after she slept she seemed to be having some kind of a nightmare. She wasn't talking in her sleep, but she did make sounds that sounded sometimes angry, and sometimes scared. But they never woke her, and those too seemed to eventually pass, if Mila was keeping an eye on her at all.

It was the next morning by the time her eyes finally fluttered open again, a slow stretch given as she yawned. She was feeling refreshed and would soon be exuberant again; the worries of yesterday washed away by the night's sleep. In fact, it wasn't even on her mind at the moment so she was looking completely carefree and ready to start a new day. Finally she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before she slowly looked around the room, to see what had become of Mila. Surely she couldn't have been meditating that entire time?

 

[Gamov]

OUTER SPAAAAAAACE!!
SOMEWHERE
DAY 2

Sleep had not come easily for the Crusader. In between Lairiel's restless fits and her own disconcerting thoughts, the most she had been able to manage were a few moments here and there. Nodding off just long enough to reach the blissful verge of relaxation before abruptly forcing herself back to consciousness. She had tried using meditation to stave off exhaustion, but it only worked for so long before the very act itself became a chore which she could no longer endure. So she waited in silence, making periodic note of the time, often much to her own aggravation. Time had no meaning out here, every hour felt just as tense and inexorable as the last. And that was saying nothing for the boredom. God, the interminable boredom! Sitting in a flying death trap with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling... this must be what hell is like, she mused. Lairiel shifted again with a quiet groan, drawing Mila's wandering attentions once more back to her.

The Crusader couldn't help but wonder what the girl was like before the accident. That glimpse she had stolen from her memories, however brief it was, was still vivid enough to give her the impression that perhaps Lairiel hadn't always been like this. Maybe she had been a normal little girl once, with hopes and dreams and plans of her own. But now everything was just a fog of confusion and anxiety. Mila pitied her in that, never having the chance to live a normal life, to be trapped in her own mind by agony and grief. Suddenly she reconsidered what her definition of "hell" might be. As vexed as she was by her own fears and phobias, nothing could compare to the torment of having your own mind fractured and twisted into something that you could barely recognize. The very idea made her shudder and she had to move past it before it became the center of her attention.

Checking the time again, Mila grumbled and blew out a deep sigh as she rested her head back against the wall. She needed sleep badly, but some part of her - be it paranoia or conscience - hadn't allowed her that luxury. "Maybe just a few minutes though. That'll be enough." She tried to convince herself as she gradually closed her eyes and felt a sense relaxation wash over her. No sooner had she done that though, then a short yawn snapped her right back around. "You've got to be kidding me..." Her eyes lazily fluttered open again, swiveling back towards Lairiel as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Sleep well?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

 

[Sierrien]

Her eyes fell on the Crusader, who appeared to be... staring at her. While she was sleeping. That wasn't creepy at all. Had it been anyone else, she might have had something to say - but coming from Mila, she was alright with it. Actually she kind of preferred that the woman was watching her sleep. "I did." she answered, though it wasn't strictly honest. She had gotten a few hours of uninterrupted real rest, so she was confident in saying she was well rested. She at least thought she felt better than Mila currently looked. Had she even slept? Her form shifted on the couch she had found to sleep on, again not really caring at all about modesty as she was not very clothed at the moment, but was busy stretching so she didn't even cover herself up. Nor did she cover the second waking yawn. "You don't look like you did, though. Everything alright?" She did indeed seem to have pretty well forgotten about the previous days drama that the two of them had gotten in to, though whether that was because she was subconsciously ignoring it or she had actually forgotten would likely be a mystery.

Her hand reached out then and she tugged her backpack over to herself with the Force, pulling her sun dress out of it - and then setting it to the side. There was a slight smirk to her lips; she was teasing the Crusader with it, baiting her and seeing how she would react for those few moments when it looked like she was going to put it on. Then she pulled out a few rations tins, shifting through until she found two labelled 'breakfast' Just what was in them was likely a mystery, but her hand offered one out towards Mila. The crusader would have to decide for herself if she trusted it. If she didn't Lairiel would return one to her backpack, and then open and slowly eat the other. The best start to a day was eating breakfast, obviously. There was a smile on her face as well as she ate, apparently hungry as the whole tin was gone in a minute. She stood then and moved towards the refresher to get washed up, her backpack tugged along with the Force. She had makeup in it that she intended to put on or something, it seemed.

She paused at the door, looking back at Mila. "Hey, Mila?" she let out, and waited to get the woman's attention.. assuming she didn't already have it with her half-naked strutting across the room. "I'll be in here for a bit, so.. plenty of time to try on the dress. I noticed how you were eyeballing it..." And with that, she would try to escape quickly in to the refresher and lock the door, before Mila could enact vengeance on her for her quip about the dress.

 

[Gamov]

Apparently shame had no place in Lairiel's vocabulary as she went about her morning routine without so much as a second thought for modesty. Mila shook her head, rubbing her eyes with a free hand as she let out a tired grumble, as if dismissing her Apprentice's concerns out of hand. She hadn't slept well at all, but she wasn't up do taking the discussion about it any farther. At least Lairiel looked a fair deal better than she had some hours ago though, even if her own claim to a restful sleep did seem a little half-hearted. Color had returned to her once pale features and events from the previous day seemed to have miraculously - and perhaps a little mercifully - slipped her mind all together. Maybe Lairiel was more resilient than she thought. That or she was growing increasingly adept at masking the inner tumult of her mind. Either way, it was good to see she had regained her grip on reality. The Crusader's attentions shifted lazily again at the sound of Lairiel rifling through her back pack, and only one thought managed to slip across her exhausted mind...

"No... not the dress. Not that thing again. Anything but that."

The wry smirk that graced Lairiel's features almost made Mila groan out loud. Much to her relief, however, she didn't put the dress back on. Even if it would have been a vast improvement to Lairiel's current wardrobe - or lack thereof - the thing was still god awful and Mila want to torch it in the worst way. When she was offered a ration tin though, the Crusader just waved it off and rolled her head from side to side to work out some latent tension in her neck, stifling a yawn in the process. Her attention shifted sluggishly then, trailing Lairiel as she padded across the floor to the refresher, letting out a smart-ass quip over her shoulder about trying the dress on. Mila growled at the suggestion, having half a mind to shove the girl into the room with the Force, but before she could she had already slipped inside and locked the door.

"Weird ass girl." She muttered, her eyes drifting back to the sun dress. The thing seemed to mock her somehow. Or was that just her imagination? "Ugh..." Mila rolled her eyes and shifted herself from the floor. She had been sitting there for hours, the nerves in her legs initially feeling a little numb as she shuffled off to the cockpit to check their course. According to the navcomputer they were still well on target to reach Umbara. "Only a couple days left on this tin can." She thought, slumping into the pilot's seat with a weary sigh. God she needed sleep.

 

[Sierrien]

Lairiel managed to make it in to the refresher without being killed, so that was a plus. She spent a fair amount of time in there - about twenty minutes all told, before she opened the door and peeked out. Seeing that Mila wasn't waiting there with a lightsaber was a good first step. She stepped out and back over to her things, picking up the dress when she saw that it had been left right where she had left it. Well then; if Mila wasn't going to take the bait she would just have to do something about it. Up the dress went and then it was on her, a grin creeping over her face as she gathered up the rest of her things and put everything neatly in to her backpack. She wondered how long Mila would let her wear the dress this time; they still had a day or two until they reached Umbara she was fairly certain. She wasn't likely to need a combat outfit before they got there, so she didn't see the issue with wearing the infinitely more comfortable dress. Then again, Mila might see an issue with it.

She moved in to the cockpit then, coming to stand behind the chair that Mila had slumped in to, placing her arms on to the top of it as she leaned in to it, eyes moving towards the nav computer to confirm just how far out from Umbara they were. Just about two days, it looked like. So she had been right in her initial estimation of the approximate time that had passed. Her eyes shifted to look down at Mila then and she offered what was to her a winning smile and to Mila likely spelled doom. "Two more days alone together. Isn't it wonderful?" She seemed to be back to her rather bubbly self that had emerged as she had gotten closer to Mila, the previous days antics well and truly forgotten. "So how are we going to spend that time?" She was pretty sure Mila would want to sleep - wait, had she just woken the crusader up? If she had, she hadn't even noticed. Shame on Mila for not sleeping for the past however many hours while she herself was passed out. That clearly would have been the best time to sleep.

"I brought a portable Sabacc if you wanted to lose everything you own to me. Or.. you know. Whatever else you wanted to do." A cocky grin appeared on her face then; it was clear that she highly estimated her own skills at the game. Or perhaps she was just fairly certain that there was exactly no chance that Mila was going to want to play Sabacc with her. Either way, the cocky grin was probably not a safe bet, so she hid it as best she could. "Or we could train? Training is good. And important." Her head nodded as she looked as serious as she could. No need for Mila to get angry, Lairiel was clearly ready to train. Yep.

 

[Gamov]

Staring blankly into the swirling blue light of hyperspace, Mila found herself transfixed as light from a million distant start seemed to stretch on into infinity, bending and dancing around her in hypnotic patterns until even that faded into the obscurity of her sleep deprived mind. She blinked lazily, drawing a hand down her weary features and pressing a sharp sigh out. She glanced over her shoulder towards the refresher, wondering if she had time to catch a quick nap before Lairiel came back out. No probably not, but she was so very exhausted. A sudden burst of energy surged through her and Mila forced her eyes open again, trying against all her better judgement to stay alert. Yeah right, lot of good that was doing her. Even if she could stay awake her senses would be so dulled that it would hardly make a difference. Another fleeting look towards the refresher and still no sign of Lairiel. She had time. Or was she forcing herself to make time? Probably the latter, but at this point it didn't really matter.

Settling a little deeper into her seat, Mila crossed her arms and propped her boots up on the console. Her eyelids grew heavier with every second, and it wasn't long before she finally found the blissful embrace of sleep.

----​

The gentle click of the lock on the refresher door snapped her out of a shallow sleep. How long had she been out? It felt longer than a few minutes. Mila cleared her throat and blinked a few times, checking the time on her TranspariPad: almost 20 minutes. Not bad. She could function on that. Rubbing the palms of her hands into her eyes, the Crusader shifted in her seat, planting her boots on the floor with an audible thump. "Lairiel?" She worked her name out through a strained yawn as she moved to get up from her seat. She didn't make it far though before a gentle weight pressed down on the headrest, followed not too long after by Lairiel's voice. Startled, Mila whipped her attention around to see the Arkanian flash her a wide grin, but she also noticed she had taken to wearing that awful dress again. A light sneer curled the edge of her lip as Lairiel plunked down in the seat next to her. Mila immediately regretted not having taken advantage of her earlier chance to shred the dress. But she was still too exhausted to offer much protest. If the she wanted to wear it, fine, whatever. Mila could always burn it later when the got to Umbara.

A few moments of silence passed and Mila turned her attention to the ship's controls again, double checking to make sure everything was working as it should be. Lairiel's words were barely filtering through her still loge brain, but she perked up a bit when she heard the word Sabacc. Turning a curious eye to her apprentice, Mila thought at first to flat out reject the offer. She had never played Sabacc, even if she was familiar with it, it just wasn't her style. But maybe... it had a use here. A new idea quickly formulated in mind. Sabacc was as much a game of deception and misdirection as it was luck, Maybe this would be a safer alternative to teaching Lairiel how to ply her mental techniques - as straight up invading her mind had gone so well last time.

"I think I could find a way to do both at once." She said, possibilities still tumbling through her mind, somewhat incoherent but slowly forming a more cohesive picture. "Why don't you set everything up while I freshen up a bit." Mila pushed herself up from her seat and made her way to the refresher. She really felt like she could use a hot shower to help her clear her head, but somehow she rather doubted this thing had space enough for one. Still, a girl could hope.

 

[Sierrien]

She saw a bit of a sneer, but Mila hadn't even mentioned her dress this time. She would call that a win. As she sat and spoke, she got the feeling that Mila wasn't really listening to her. Or at least she had thought the woman wasn't, until she turned back and.. apparently actually wanted to play Sabacc. That made Lairiel blink at her in surprise - and then stare at her suspiciously. Mila wanted to play Sabacc, and was somehow going to turn that in to training. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to like how this turned out. Something like her spending the time to set up the sabacc travel game and then Mila would just use the Force to flick cards at her and make her dodge or something. But.. Well, Mila had told her to set it up and then gone off to freshen up herself, so Lairiel shrugged and gave a nod to Mila's back. Not that the woman could see it, but.. oh well. Of course, if she actually heard a shower going she would be hard pressed not to go over and peek... though not really. She would go from alive to 'unidentifiable pile of blood and gore' in short order if she actually did that, but it was a fun thought nonetheless for the hormonal teenager.

She went to her backpack and dug her clothing out, pulling out the portable sabacc game that thankfully didn't take up much space. She stuffed her clothing back in before moving to the side of the shuttle. She flicked a few switches that made a table rise out of the floor, and then two somewhat comfortable chairs on either side before she moved to the table. First the main game console was placed on the middle of the table, then she opened the side and dropped out the cards. A few quick shuffles were put in to the cards before she set them on to the game console; a quick scrambling code shifted up through the cards and set off their internal scrambling codes. It was an anti-cheat mechanism, though it was obviously still a game that it was possible to cheat at. In fact, Lairiel had become something of an expert at the game solely because she had learned how to use the Force to change the odds in her favor.

She moved to sit then, leaving the cards and the game ready to be played and not touching either any further. She was sitting so that she could see the door open when Mila came out of the Refresher, her hands shifting up to clasp behind her head as she simply relaxed for now. She didn't really need a nap, but more relaxation was never a bad thing when you didn't get a great night of sleep. As she sat there she wondered just how Mila would use the game as a training tool; she also wondered if she could actually get Mila to bet things and then win them off her. And if that would be smart of rather foolish to do. Probably the latter. She was fairly certain that there was no chance that Mila would actually give her anything she 'won' off the crusader, even if they were actually playing for credits or belongings. Then again, there was always strip sabacc... Though even this particular hormonal teenager wasn't quite suicidal enough to bring that up.

When she heard the door opening she would quickly shift her posture, hands coming around to fold in to her lap as she sat up straight and tried to look like she was a good student, simply waiting patiently for her teacher to arrive and impart wisdom. There was even a sweet smile on her face, which combined with her lovely sun dress would likely make her look fairly far on the 'sickly sweet' side of things.

 

[Gamov]

Half stumbling into the refresher, Mila slipped out of her jacket, tossing it aside as she turned the water on in the shower before turning to the sink, pausing as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. Propping herself up on the edge of the basin, she stared blankly at her own haggard expression. Her eyes looked as dull and lethargic as she felt, dark circles shadowing a bloodshot gaze that tinged her usually vibrant hazel eyes an unflattering reddish hue. She looked like death warmed over, and was starting to feel even worse now thanks to a slow building ache beginning to throb in her temples. This trip seemed to be taking a lot out of her, more than it should actually; she had been feeling a bit more stressed than usual lately though. Between recent whispers of secession among certain circles in the Order and her responsibilities as a mentor, her attention had been more divided than she would have liked.

Letting out an aggravated huff, Mila banished the thoughts from her mind as her eyes drifted to the waiting shower, and the promises of relaxation it held. Hopefully that would help her clear her head. Removing the last of her garments, Mila stepped into the tepid embrace of the steam, breathing deeply and letting it fill her lungs while the water cascaded over her body, wrapping her in a cocoon of soothing warmth. With a hushed moan, she relaxed and let the heat seep into her tired muscles, easing the tension out of her neck and shoulders.

----​

She had lingered in the shower a little longer than she probably should have, but those few moments of solitude had done wonders for her frazzled mind. Her anxieties still lingered of course, there wasn't much she could do about those no matter how hard she tried. But at least they were more distant now. Mila finished making herself presentable, slipping her undershirt back on before grabbing her jacket and folding it over her arm. She hesitated briefly as she turned for the door though, her thoughts stalling on Lairiel for a moment. No doubt she had done something incredibly embarrassing in the short time she'd been out of her sight - basically anything other than what she had told her to do. There was probably a decent possibility of her walking out there to find the girl sprawled out on the floor half naked or something, probably with a weird little grin plastered across her face. Which got her to thinking: just what was Lairiel trying to prove with her antics? Were they just games to her, or was she really trying to drive at something more with them?

Mila's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to make heads or tails out of it, but she brushed the thoughts aside just as quickly. Whatever Lairiel's intentions were, she didn't have time to figure them out. They were only a day or so out from their destination by now, and they both needed to focus whatever energy they could preparing for the road ahead. Sliding the lock on the door, Mila stepped back into the small common room, her eyes making a quick sweep in search of her apprentice. Much to her surprise, she found her sitting patiently at the table, hands folded neatly in her lap. Of course she was still wearing that dress, and her saccharine smile didn't help matters much either. Sitting there like that though, the Crusader couldn't help that Lairiel reminded her of her sister for a moment - with all of that effervescent perkiness positively oozing out of her.

Mila ground her teeth slightly at the thought. "Sarita." The name half seethed in her mind like a sliver under her skin before she set it aside and made her way over to the table, settling in across from Lairiel. "Alright, this should be fairly simple. I hope." She said, resisting the reflex to roll her eyes as she was keenly reminded of their last attempt at this. "We both understand how this game works, you probably more than I. But as with any game, deception lies at the heart of every strategy. We're going to play a few hands, but I want you to cheat. I want you to use the Force to read my thoughts and see my hand without ever giving me a physical tell. If you find it possible, I even want you to attempt to manipulate my thoughts into believing what you want me to believe." She'd let Lairiel process the rules for a moment and make any preparations she felt necessary before continuing. "This may seem daunting, but if you focus and concentrate, you will find success. Are you ready?"

 

[Sierrien]

Mila was gone almost long enough for Lairiel to actually be considering wandering in to the refresher herself. You know, just to make sure the woman hadn't somehow fallen asleep in the shower or slipped and knocked herself unconscious in it. Certainly she would have no ulterior motives, that was certain. She had just convinced herself that Mila had been in there go much too long for it to be normal when the shower shut off. Well, there was another good idea wasted, so she would simply be sitting there calmly when Mila finally came out.

Mila sat across from herself and was immediately right down to business, first dating that she hoped it would be simple. Wait, hoped what would be simple? Okay, that statement had kind of lost her, but then te Crusader went on to explain what they were going to do. Play a few rounds, but Mila wanted her to cheat. Her right eyebrow raised slightly as Mila described just how she was supposed to cheat - well, this wouldn't be too difficult for her, as most of that was how she normally played the game anyways. In fact, the only thing that would be different for her would be actually trying to read Mila's mind and then even tricking her in to thinking things that weren't true. Well - those would make for an interesting twist.

"I'm ready when you are then." She had apparently thought better than to ask what kind of stakes they would be playing for; better to just use it as the training Mila meant it to be. She reached out and dealt them both a hand, shuffling her own in to her hand then with a clearly well-practiced move. The kind of practice Mila probably wished Lairiel would out in to the things the Crusader actually wanted to teach her. She kept the smile on her face as she immediately started to use te Force to cheat, with the ways she knew how first - which Mila hadn't even specifically mentioned.

She used it first to feel out which card she should draw, and then she paused as she stared across at Mila. Well, no time like the present, though she had never been very good at it. She would still try, just trying to read the woman's surface thoughts as she looked at her cards; if it worked well she should know what was in her hand. The other part - well, she wasn't sure how to use that to her advantage. Unless she... Hmm. It was worth a try. She used the Force again as she spoke, making a suggestion and the Force was supposed to make it sound quite attractive to Mila, as if it was an idea she would love to do. She tried to make it part of the game by making Mila think she could beat Lairiel in a game of Sabacc.

"Makes it a lot more interesting, and therefore both of us more vested if we actually put something on the line. What do you think; credits or clothing?" Well, so much for her keeping that to herself, but with the force and her general skill level at the game - well, it was one of the few things she was truly good at. She might as well try to use it to her advantage. Besides, with her draw she had a pretty good hand, and she could make a discard based on what she had seen in mila's hand so she wouldn't be able to use it. That was assuming she had been successful in reading the woman's thoughts correctly, at least.

 

[Gamov]

Lairiel dealt the cards with all the skill of a trained dealer at a casino; obviously she was very familiar with this. How many games must she have played before this, Mila wondered. Fanning her own cards in her hand, the Crusader suddenly realized that she had no idea what she was looking at. She couldn't tell one way or the other if her hand was good or bad, but actually playing the game wasn't exactly the purpose behind all this. At least not for her. Lairiel might actually compete to win, and that was fine - so long as she did as she was told. Shifting in her seat, Mila crossed her legs and settled her posture as she met her Apprentice's gaze. Then came an imperceptible twinge at the edge of her senses as Lairiel made her first move. Mila kept up her impassive facade as her eyes shifted back to her own cards. "Mistress of Air and Darkness" She mused, "how fitting."

Mila rapped her fingernails against the edge of the table as she felt Lairiel dig just a little deeper. She resisted, of course - it wasn't going to be that easy. But she did give up a few harmless thoughts and emotions to sate her student's appetite; namely the fleeting sensation of affection. For who or what though wouldn't be overly clear, but it would be obvious that whatever was on her mind held some particular sentimental value. Mila pursed her lips in the next instant, letting out a short huff as if to appear unsettled by something in her own cards. Her attention broke slightly then as Lairiel finally spoke, suggesting some higher stakes for their game. That wasn't overly surprising, to be honest it was more surprising that it had taken this long for the subject to come up. Still, Mila seemed receptive to the idea, raising an eyebrow as Lairiel posed her wagers: credits or clothes.

"Of course clothes. What is with this girl?" Mila hesitated to sigh and roll her eyes, stopped only as something more interesting coalesced in the recesses of her thoughts. With perhaps the first smile Lairiel had ever been offered by the Crusader, Mila accepted those terms. "Strip Sabacc? Hmm... why not." She almost appeared to make the decision out of hand with little actual contemplation. Whether or not that was due to Lairiel's attempts to manipulate her thoughts towards that choice, or her own free will, however, would remain a bit of a mystery. Then, in a brazen move, Mila slid her own lightsaber onto the table. "We'll start there." She said, settling back in her seat with a wry smirk.

 

[Sierrien]

She watched Mila for tells - though the sigh seemed perhaps a little obvious, especially when it went against her initial assessment of Mila's hand through the Force. She had gotten the sense that Mila liked her hand. Unless she had simply been thinking about something else at the time. It was hard to tell. But then Mila surprised her outright by agreeing to strip Sabacc. She blinked, her 'poker face' all but ruined for a few moments. Hold on, they were actually going to play strip sabacc? The woman even pulled her lightsaber off her belt and slid it on to the table as the stakes for the first round. She swallowed nervously as she remained sitting in her chair, staring across at the woman and trying to gauge if she was serious or not right now. She knew she was against an avid Sabacc player whom she had just told specifically to cheat, right? "..Well then. I'll ante this dress you love so much." She didn't pull it off, though her hand did indicate it - as usually you only removed it when you actually lost. Usually you also ante'd smaller pieces first, but she nothing if not bold.

Her hand shifted out then to immediately palm out over the game console; it was a fairly bold move in ending the game so early. It depended on her own opening hand being slightly better than Mila's, as it skipped the turn and let Mila have one more before laying down. But with her own opening hand being decent and the strong play with the Force she had made, it usually led to an easy first hand win as long as she hadn't been dealt trash. And as she was actually feeling fairly good about her hand as a starting hand and the play she had already made - well, it was looking pretty good for her. She set her cards face down on to the table, where she couldn't do anything more with them. They would flip over when Mila laid her own down. She had a respectable negative 17 in her hand; there were quite a few hands that would beat it but usually those wouldn't come until later in the game, unless Mila had also been dealt a good hand.

She leaned slowly back as she stared across at Mila, and tried to put more of the 'cheating' in to play instead of just good strategy. She was trying to use the Force to give the impression that she had panicked and made a quick play without thinking it through since the stakes had suddenly been put in place. It wasn't true at all, but she also made her eyes go just a bit wider than usual as if there was actually fear in her mind, taking control of her actions. Because if she lost, she'd lose her biggest article of clothing and if she won all she got was.. well, not clothing. Inwardly she grinned though; this was going to be fun. As long as Mila didn't have something up her own sleeve.

 

[Gamov]

She knew agreeing to Lairiel's outlandish terms would throw her for a loop. And if her stupefied daze were any indication, then the gambit had paid off. Just to ensure her message was driven home though, Mila quirked an eyebrow and offered a casual shrug as if to challenge her apprentice to put her money where her mouth was. And in a brash move that was rather quickly becoming "classic Lairiel" fashion, the girl didn't disappoint with her own wager; offering up the only article of clothing protecting her modesty. Mila kept up her stoic facade as Lairiel stretched a hand towards the console to end the game. Risky strategy, she figured, but worth it if she was confident enough in her own hand. The Crusader paused briefly then as Lairiel laid her cards out on the table, revealing a -17 which was edged out only slightly by her own -18. By all rights Mila had won this hand.

She gauged the surprise in Lairiel's reaction with a scrutinizing gaze, sensing faint pangs of fear and panic racing behind her wide eyed expression. Perhaps these emotions had been motivation enough for her to throw caution to the wind, yet Mila was rather skeptical such was the case. More likely Lairiel merely wished her to think she had acted hastily, when in truth someone with her talent wouldn't concede quite so easily without the prospect of a "sure thing" fixed firmly in front of them. Clearing her throat, Mila looked her own cards over again; she could just crush Lairiel right here and now. But where would the fun be in that? Pursing her lips into a lop-sided scowl, the Crusader feigned hesitation as she discarded a card from her hand and laid them out on the table. Their cards flipped simultaneously then, only to reveal Mila's now losing hand of -10.

A measure of shock bled into her expression as she appeared to clench her jaw in frustration, eyes darting towards Lairiel. Mila tapped a fingernail against the table in irritation, giving off the sense that she was both annoyed and more than a little upset with her misfortune. It may have appeared as though she were ready to snap her lgihtsaber up and leap across the table to carve a hole in Lairiel's face. But Mila dissolved the tension with a soft shake of her head, almost as if to chastise herself, before letting out a short sigh. With an equal measure of both apprehension and resignation, the Crusader slipped her shirt off, feeling incredibly awkward in the process. But there was a lesson she aimed to teach in all of this beyond petty victory - though she wagered Lairiel would hardly be paying much attention beyond this point.

"That won't happen again." She hissed, fixing her apprentice with a lingering gaze that would brook no arguments."Deal." Mila palmed her cards across the table to be reshuffled and dealt out again. IF Lairiel still had the mental faculties about her to focus, that was.

 

[Sierrien]

She wasn't sure if her gambit was going to pay off. With the way Mila was hesitating, she was believing that at the least she had made the crusader nervous about what to play. She watched as Mila cleared her throat, then scowled and discarded before laying out a hand that was seven worse than her own. Well, that was certainly reason to be scowling. The look that came next, though, chilled her blood. She was fairly certain that Mila was just going to attack her, maybe choke her with the Force - though she wasn't sure why she had that thought - or grab up her lightsaber and leap across the table to attack her. She swallowed nervously as she shifted in her chair, doing her best to look small and totally not worth attacking. And evidently it worked as all of her dreams suddenly came true. The crusader shook her head and let out a sigh, the tension bleeding out of the room...

And then Mila's shirt came off, and Lairiel found herself staring across at the woman in her bra. And she was quite literally staring, her eyes going a little wide - the woman had actually just taken her shirt off. In front of her. Due to a game of strip sabacc. All of those years she had spent learning the ins and outs of this game were officially worth it. Mila said something to her, which included cards being passed across the table to her. She had no idea what the woman had said. She was focused on more important things. For a few seconds at least, before she coughed and her hands slowly reached up towards the cards. Her eyes weren't moving, but she was good enough to shuffle without looking. She even did the fancy bridge shuffle, and then the often unseen one-handed bridge.

She tried to shift her focus on to the cards as she dealt them out again, but it was hard. Even when she reminded herself that she could possibly get more clothing off of the sexy woman sitting across from her if she focused on the game... well, it was still hard. Still she managed to pull enough of her attention away from staring to see that she had started off with a bad hand. She didn't mind so much at the moment, but that certainly meant that she should probably go for the slow play this time. She shifted in her seat, clearing her throat and bringing a hand up to wipe away the drool that had been slipping down from her open mouth, before 'stealing' another look towards the other woman in her bra and looking back to her cards. "Your Ante, I'll match your bet this time..." she let out, as she shifted in her seat. What was she supposed to be doing? Right, cheating. She reached out with the Force this time, trying to get a feel for what Mila was thinking.

This time, however, she was less looking for what Mila was thinking about her hand and more trying to figure out how the crusader was feeling about being shirtless in front of Lairiel. And how she felt about Lairiel rather openly staring. Well, subtlety wasn't really her strong suit. At least not in things that involved beautiful women. Mila had likely deciphered that already. Her abilities in the game were certainly hampered by her attention being split; it would be much more a game of simple luck now, on her end.

 

[Gamov]

Giving Lairiel the shirt off her back - literally - had the exact effect Mila had suspected it would. And the girl's slack jawed stare told the whole story, as did the rivulet of drool dribbling down her chin. The Crusader's brow furrowed slightly as she crossed her arms, making an attempt to cover herself beneath the uncomfortable stare of Lairiel's lecherous gaze. It was strange, to say the least, being ogled by her apprentice. Even stranger still that she would so readily surrender her own modesty over something as silly as a card game. What was she thinking? Mila's thoughts drifted and she shook her head to focus again as Lairiel reshuffled the cards, somehow managing to balance her attentions enough to get the job done rather deftly without ever shifting her eyes. Which was more than a little irritating, to be honest.

She had half a mind to reach over the table and slap Lairiel across the face to knock some sense back into her, the idea only falling short when she was dealt another hand. Glancing at her new cards, Mila drew in a deep breath and let out a gentle "hmm", her eyes shifting back to Lairiel as she claimed to meet her wager this time. Made sense, she thought. But what to wager? The Crusader, comparatively, had plenty of clothing left on her to safely go for a few more hands before risking too much. But Lairiel had... considerably less. It would take what, one maybe two solid hands to earn every scrap of clothing she had on. Leaning back in her seat slightly, Mila crossed her legs, meeting Lairiel's eyes with her own sharp gaze as she peered into the girl's thoughts; though it would hardly take the Force to tell what was on her mind. Her desires were practically scrawled across her face like a neon sign. It took Mila a second to work up the courage to just have the thought, much less verbalize it, but after swallowing her pride, she managed to speak.

"Well, I suppose the old saying "nothing ventured, nothing gained" applies here." She said, rapping her nails against the table. "Let's go for broke. I win, you lose that ridiculous dress. You win..." The next words seemed to catch uncomfortably in her throat for a second before she finally spit them out, "and I'll give give up my last shred of dignity." Mila indicated her intentions as she traced a thumb along the strap on her bra.

"On one condition though--" she wasn't going to just give Lairiel what she wanted. Her apprentice was going to have to work for her prize. "you can only have it if you can take it." So there it was, her wager, her terms and the hook all laid out plain as day. It would be interesting to see if her apprentice had the courage to seize her desires, or if she was just another weakling who could do little more than dream.

 

[Sierrien]

Perhaps a game of luck wasn't what this was after all. She heard Mila speaking, and given that it seemed to be about the wager - not to mention that Mila said something about venturing something, which meant she just might be about to offer something big. She nodded to the wager of her dress - which was the same as she had bet the last round, and it had earned her a shirt. And remained the most glorious victory she'd ever had in sabacc. She shifted slightly as Mila actually seemed to falter - and then let out an audible gasp at the bet. She was wagering her bra? As in, if she lost it was going to come off? Her jaw dropped open, then closed quickly when the woman went on to say there was a condition. She was actually listening now - for obvious reasons - though her brain was just a little bit slow at the moment due to focus on other things and it took her a few moments to figure out what Mila meant by that. So if she won, she would get Mila's bra.. but only if she could take it. Wait, like, take it with her own hands? Okay, she was liking this game more and more. "Terms accepted." she let out quickly, almost like she was afraid that Mila might take it back if she didn't act immediately. And she couldn't have that.

Her focus suddenly shifted again - this time firmly back to her cards. Oh yes, her head was right back in to the strategy of it, for all the wrong reasons. Or the right reasons, if you asked her about it. Mila just might be amazed at how quickly she focused on the game, and a hundred different strategies went through her mind in the next few moments. She was Arkanian, and this was one of the few things she was actually good at showing that in. She also focused intently with the Force, feeling out the right plays as she went and also trying her level best to use it to get insight in to what Mila's cards were like, and how she was feeling about the game as well. It seemed Mila had found the right way to motivate her, at the least. She knew she would have to think about just how she could take it from Mila, but for now she pushed that aside and focused on the game. She wouldn't end it quickly this time, instead playing for the perfect hand. With the Force, it was almost impossible for her to bust by going over the set amount.

Unless Mila managed to get there first or ended the game prematurely, she would end the hand when she had the perfect 23 that all Sabacc players sought - which enabled her to simply say 'Sabacc' and place it down, instead of pressing the button. Mila would get that turn to try and get the same of course. And that was only if Mila gave her the time to do it, as perfect hands were a thing that took a bit of time - likely 4 to 6 turns, in all, as she had again started with a halfway decent hand - this time a 12. It was positive, which was always good. And through it all her focus didn't waver at all. First things first - win the hand.

 

[Gamov]

Her wager certainly seemed to get Lairiel's attention, much to her expectations again. If nothing else she was developing a fairly predictable pattern of behavior that made guessing her thoughts that much easier. Satisfied that her apprentice had accepted the terms of her wager, Mila spared a cursory glance towards her cards, her attention still drawn to Lairiel as she seemed to concentrate on her task with a near laser focus. Why couldn't she motivate the girl to be this dedicated to other studies? Did she really have to promise her skin to get any results? If that was the case, then she stood to learn a very harsh lesson very soon. This moment here was merely a fluke, so she hoped Lairiel was enjoying it and making the most of it. Because it wasn't happening again. If anything, this whole game had only proven that her apprentice held certain proclivities which could be easily turned against her by an opponent with the mind to do so. Looking back to the cards in hand, Mila scrunched her nose slightly, really unsure if she had been dealt a decent hand this round. Her prior luck hadn't been all that inspiring, so when she saw that she had been dealt a positive 5 for this round, her disposition had improved little.

Subtly shifting her focus, the Crusader's eyes hardly moved from her cards as she tried to get a read on Lairiel's hand. Which wasn't too terribly difficult really. Her focus on the game was astonishing, and the one thought that kept flashing through her surface thoughts was "10". It could have been a ruse, a false number the girl dreamed up to throw Mila off her game; which was entirely likely. Still, if there was but a modicum of truth to Lairiel's thoughts, then she was playing from behind and needed to catch up quickly if she had any hopes of saving face and preserving her dignity. With a carefully timed move, Mila palmed another card from the deck and found herself moderately satisfied with the result. Thanks to her draw, she was a bit closer - up to a positive 8 now - but still not close enough to win. If Lairiel did indeed have the winning hand, then this round was as good as done... and so was her modesty.

"So, where did you pick this game up? You've clearly been at it for a while. Who taught you?" Small talk was a fairly rudimentary way of attempting to break your opponent's concentration, but Mila needed to reestablish a sense of "normal" to work through her own self-conscious anxieties. Being half naked in front of Lairiel was uncomfortable in more ways than she cared to admit. "Was it a family member? Or weren't you old enough to remember that before they died?" Even she had to admit that was a pretty cruel move, dredging up old memories like that. "Or maybe you learned it from some backwater piece of street trash in whatever gutter you were abandoned in? Hmm?" The sting behind her words was engineered to throw Lairiel off her game; though whether or not it would break her focus was another story all together. She had proven to be fairly resourceful thus far.