Ask Check Out Aisle Param

[Param Vour]

Troiken was where Param found herself most of the time now. Between training Vossari, tending her garden, and working her tea cafe, she didn't have much time to keep up with affairs around the galaxy. Though she found time every night to watch some holo-movies that Kai had turned her on to. The most recent movies were action movies. Their martial arts forms were absolutely awful, but Param had fun watching them and messaging Kai back and forth about the fights and how crazy the characters were. That was until of course, news of Thel's disappearance had reached her, and yet another apprentice fell into her lap.

Param was in the sand pit of her pagoda, clad in a black sports bra and tights. A curved, Force forged sword with a black rose shaped guard was in her hands. She was blindfolded, and her silver hair was tied into tight pony-tail. In slow, methodical but graceful arcs she swung the blade. It sang through the air. Gradually she would get faster, until she was dashing across the sand, arms a blur of attacks and mock defenses, only to slow again. It was as if she were imagining enemies all around her, despite it being a reality in the Sith Order. The sand pit was a square, with a stone planter in the middle of it that sported a grown cherry blossom tree. As Param moved from corner to corner of the pit, the pink and purple petals fluttered down.

It was a serene visage, but the turmoil within Param as she worked through the motions was anything but serene. She was working to combine the grace of echani martial arts with the brutality of Sith combat. She had to do this while the galaxy seemed to conspire against her. Now two apprentices, a fledgeling love life, and a disappeared master later, it took everything she had not to just give up and run away. At least she had Vee still.

Vee, a small red and silver BD-unit that Iko had given Param, was casually working on an unfinished on a YD-series droid while watching Param train. Once finished, it would be Param's training partner and dummy, but there was no rush to complete it. It was almost time for Vee to check on the two gardening droids that took care of the garden surrounding the pagoda, anyway. The third one Param had given to Cyu (@Xorism ) to take care of the garden they had planted on Korriban outside her family's forge. The thought of the Sith spawn that had attacked them after she had forged her sword made Param swing just a little harder.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

THEME​

Karys should have been Umbara, but he couldn't take being around the Potionsmaster anymore. Every time he looked into his eyes all he saw was Azar. All he remembered was how happy he felt just a few weeks ago. Now? All he felt was loss, pain, and a grief so deep that he couldn't hide it anymore. That was why he'd slipped away in his ship last night. That's why he reeked of Corellian whiskey. That's why he was on Troiken.

Param had always made him feel not safe, but comfortable.

And right now, he'd take comfort over safety.

Karys was still wearing the grey sweatpants and white tee he had been wearing since he started drinking. His bare feet drunkenly dragged on the pavement of the spaceport. When a security guard tried to check on him, Karys absent-mindedly tossed a handful of credit chips at him. Took another swig from the bottle and continued to stumble through the spaceport and into the streets of the city. He'd pull out his phone and send Param a message, it was articulate, sauvé, and charming. Exactly what she had come to expect from him.

Heyy
U freree tyu talk? Ned hlp.

Yup. That was perfect.

Karys smirked at the message, he was satisfied. He'd stumble through the city, completely oblivious to any ringing or texts coming in on his phone. Eventually, through dumb luck or muscle memory Karys ended up wandering towards the pagoda that Param stayed in. He'd finally made it, well almost.

Karys would stumble, trip, and fall up the path to the pagoda. When he crawled up to the entrance of her home, he'd drag himself up the stairs, losing his bottle somewhere along the ascent. However, even in his drunk state, he remembered how protective Param was over her garden. His gaze warbled as he looked out at the garden to make sure there was no crushed flowers.

"Good newss Param." He called out as he laid down on his back. "I didn't not hurt any of you flow-flow..." <plants!> He slurred as he switched from Basic to Sith and then laughed. "Are you sleeping?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param heard her EZPhone ding! but ignored it, continuing the train. The galaxy was conspiring against her, keeping her away from the one place she'd rather be more than anything. Like being snuggled up against him was her real home. Of course, her escape from the galaxy wouldn't last very long. Not more than a hour after the message had beeped on her phone, Vee beeped and whirred excitedly. There was someone coming.

Removing the blindfold, Param walked over to the workbench that Vee was standing on to work on the training droid. She tossed the blindfold on the bench, lifted her free hand and called her sword's scabbard to it. A flick of the blade for good measure later, Param eased the sword into the scabbard until it clicked into place.

Just as she had stepped into the double wide door frame of the pagoda, a stumbling drunk fell before her. Not just any stumbling drunk, a man she knew and respected whom she'd never seen drunk before. He slurred out something about not hurting her flow, and asked if she was sleeping. Param shook her head, resting her sword on the wall before going to help Karys up. "It's the afternoon, Karys. How are you this drunk already!?"

Despite his massive size compared to her, Param managed to half drag, half walk him to the kitchen where she sat him down in a chair. Out side a gardening droid had found the bottle and disposed of it. Param rested her hands on her hips, her face laced with disappointment. Swear covered her from head to toe in a sheen layer. "Great, the galaxy really fucking hates me right now."

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

THEME​

Karys drunkenly grinned as Param came into view. She was upside down though. How did that happen? He then remembered that he always complemented Param when they saw one another. It was tradition. His fuzzy and discordant mind started thinking of something witty and charming to use.

"Nice tits." He gave her a thumbs up for good measure.

Yep. That was perfect.

Param would help pull Karys to his feet and ensure he staggered into a chair within the pagoda. The question she had asked while doing this only registered once he sat down. Karys crossed his arms on the table and dropped his face into them with a harsh thud. Her question had reminded him of why he started drinking. Azar. His drunken mind tried to process everything that had happened in the last week but simply couldn't.

Instead, he was overwhelmed by emotion. It was a rising tide of sorrow that he couldn't fully contain. He believed he was quiet while his back heaved and shuddered in time with his silent sobs. But that wasn't the case. His cries came out as pained wails that were impossible to stifle or hide. A show of anguish he would have never let slip around in any other situation.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param rolled her eyes at his comment. She had half a mind to punch him in the gut for it, but decided it was better to sit him down. He was the second drunk to come to her with one comment or another. And they were both technically Acolytes. The galaxy really must have been conspiring against her. Unlike the previous man- one she had inherited as an apprentice when Thel disappeared- Karys began sobbing the moment his head was on the table. At least he'd be spared from the sand fleas.

"Vee, go grab a blanket for him," she said, turning to the little BD-unit that had just trot through the kitchen door. It beeped, and hurried off, only to return dragging a blanket behind him. Param grabbed the blanket and draped it over Karys shoulders. She then set about brewing him some tea, leaving it just out of reach in case he had any spasms or decided punching things was the way to go. She would have to advize against the latter, even if he was drunk and anguished.

She would let him sob himself to sleep. Any comfort outside of giving him a warm place to be would be lost on him now anyway. He would wake up in the morning, most likely with a hangover. Thankfully the tea she had made him was laced with some marcan that her original apprentice, Vossari had planted in the garden. It wouldn't completely dull his senses, but it would soothe the headache and lighten his mood.

The rest of the day for her was back to training, using the sword and sheath as a weaponized duo in a blur of movements, practicing how to deflect blaster bolts with her hands accurately. She wasn't quite there yet, especially with the blaster bolts, but she was making progress.

The next morning when Karys would awake from whatever slumber and dream he would have, She would be in the kitchen making breakfast. Toast with butter and jams on the side, and various vegetables from the garden chopped and mixed into a gizka egg omellete. She'd be wearing a black crop hoodie, and a pair of grey sweat pants with a black sash-belt tied around her hips.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys wouldn't even notice the blanket draped over his shoulders initially. But he would sob himself into an unrestful sleep. He would dream of Azar. He would dream of the sounds of his breath-y laugh. The taste of his lips. The feeling of Azar's silky hair laying against his chest. A thousand tiny moments that would rapidly melt before his eyes, fading into an abyss that he could never recover them from.

And from the depths of that abyss, something gazed back. Something beckoned for him to embrace his suffering and the bliss of emptiness. Even in his drunken state, Karys felt his hair stand on end. Fear stink oozed from his every pore.

And then he woke up with a gasp.

Karys' head pulsed with a dull ache. His body protested at every move. His stomach tried to expel alcohol that had been sitting in his gut for hours. He rushed from the table to the refresher and began the process of getting it all up. He hugged the toilet and wretched for several minutes. Several times he felt he was done only for the feeling to reignite when he stood to his feet. He regretted everything. Eventually he stumbled back into the dining area but only after washing his mouth with water and splashing it on his face.

He still looked like shit.

Waxy skin, sweaty brow, and dark circles around his eyes. All dead giveaways of a hangover.

"Good morning Param." He stated in a flat despondent tone. "When and how did I get here?" He asked. "And did I do anything to embarrass myself?"

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param silently turned, offloading an omelette into the plate on his side of the table. She grabbed a small bowl of spices and placed it next to the plate. The last time she was hung over, the last thing she wanted was spicy food; Karys was a pureblood from Ziost though, and could have been different. Without a word, she motioned for him to sit down. Her smile was sweet and warm, her eyes betraying no malice or sinister intentions, but Karys would know it was not a request.

Once he was seated she'd slide the plate with the omelette and spices in front of him, along with the marcan laced tea and silverware he would need to eat everything. Despite her lounging appearance, her movements were graceful. As if each one was calculated, yet was fluid. Param took her place on the opposite end of the table from Karys, cutting into her own omelette that had grown slightly cold in the making of his.

"Good morning, Karys," she said quietly. In his currently muddled mind he may have found her tone passive-aggressive, but it was really just that she didn't want to make more noise that would over stimulate him and make his head hurt worse. She knew how hang overs could be. "You dragged yourself up my steps yesterday afternoon. It was a wonder you didn't step on anything in the garden." She flashed him a smile, but her eyes definitely were saying you-would-be-in-a-very-different-position-if-you-had.

"Aside from that, nothing embarrassing, no," she said, taking a bite of her breakfast. "You did say I had nice tits though. That was nice. I sat you down at the table, and you went right to sleep." She left out the part where he sobbed himself to sleep. The Sith were warriors, she'd come to know that. Nothing good or enjoyable to would come from telling Karys she had witnessed him at his weakest, and no one in the galaxy would know of that moment but her unless they ripped it from her mind.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys watched as she finished gathering their breakfast and brought it to the table. He smiled as he watched her approach, she was graceful, more so than she had been on Cotellier not that long ago. His brow furrowed as he remembered the girl he'd met only a few months ago, she didn't have this confidence. Her transformation was something to behold.

She smiled as she gestured for him to sit across from her. It was a genuine, sweet smile, not something he was used to with the Sith. However, it was disarming and caused his guard to drop despite the ache of his hangover that rippled through his body and head. He smirked back as he sat down across from her.

"How the tables have turned." He teased, wincing slightly at his body aches. "Normally I'm the one cooking for you." He smirked at his own observation.

Karys would silently add some of the spices to the omelet she served to him. He'd eat quietly as she answered his questions. He'd occasionally nod or grunt as she spoke. He only truly paused eating and looked up at Param when she mentioned her garden being undamaged. He was beyond happy to hear that. The other time was when she told him what he had "complimented her" with. That made him choke on his omelet. His eyes, flickered down swiftly, purely as a reaction to what she had told him, the red of his cheeks deepened.

"I mean," He began, a teasing smile slowly spreading across his face. "I wasn't wrong though." He laughed a little bit at that.

After he finished the omelet, Karys would gingerly wipe his lips with a napkin. Sit a little straighter in his seat and begin to sip the tea she had given him. There was a taste that he couldn't quite identify in it but it soothed his stomach as it hit it. Then it dawned on Karys, Param was being nice to him for no reason, she had taken care of him. Why?

"Param," Karys began, his voice both confused but genuine. "Thank you."

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

"So I've been told," she agreed. It certainly wasn't the first time Param had been told she had a nice body. She had learned that quite well on her outing with Alice that had scored her the devaronian brothers that were now working in the The Garden Spot. It was easier to disarm someone when you could get them thinking about something other than keeping their cool. Something the bar tender on their recent mission had found out the hard way. "I appreciate it finally coming from a friend, though, all the same."

Param shook her head at his thanks. "There's no need to thank me, Karys. I said you're always welcome here," she said, her lips curling into a playful smile. "Maybe next time you plan a visit, be a little more sober? As much as charming as the cruder side of you is, you're a little large for me to carry."

She took a few more bites of her food, washing it down with a sip of her regular non-spiked tea. "So, care to talk about why you showed up so drunk in the afternoon? I can't imagine it was out of celebration."

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys smiled while he was sipping the tea Param had provided to him when she quipped at his reply. He half choked, half laughed at what she say about his opinion of her tits. But when she replied to his thanks, Karys cocked an eyebrow ridge. She didn't understand why he was thanking her. He smirked and gave a light chuckle as Param playfully teased him for his drunken commentary. Then he would explain why he had thanked her.

"You misunderstand." He told her. "Most Sith would have taken advantage of this situation to use as leverage." He explained. "You chose to take care of me instead. That isn't normal...so thank you."

At her question, the good mood left Karys' face. His mind was thrown back to Azar and how this new arrangement had impacted whatever was budding between them. He broke his gaze from Param, it was easy to see the pain that built within him, tormenting him with happier memories.

"I made a choice, one that will have grave consequences for me." He vaguely explained. "And that choice seems to have been for nothing." He continued. "But I will still have to eventually pay the price for that choice." His gaze would return to Param then. "I am hurting and terrified is why I showed up in that state Param."

The emotion in his voice was real, it was authentic. The fear, the suffering, the hurt was so clearly on display but the source was kept carefully hidden. While Karys wanted to speak about what had happened, he didn't want anything to ever be tracked back to Azar. He simply wouldn't and couldn't allow that.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Not like most Sith. It was a phrase that she held close to her heart for a while now. Ever since the words came from that fanged grin. She had striven to not be like the others, and she had largely been successful. There were moments when it was hard, but she refused to cave to the cannibalism of the Sith Order. Always having to watch your back was exhausting. There was no other way to live in the Sith though. She simply answered him with a smile.

Param kept the smile even when pain began to visibly take hold of Karys. She had seen that look too many times before. It was a look that had stared back at her in the mirror while she questioned why she couldn't be happy. Why the one person that made her feel some semblance of normal was afraid of her. It took time, as all things did, but she healed from that pain; at least when the sparks of it don't ignite on particularly hard days. Every day was a number to her, counting down to when she could be happy again.

When his gaze met hers, he would find the warm inviting smile of someone that knew their pain all too well. "It's hard not to hurt and be terrified in the Order," she said, keeping his gaze. "We're always looking over our shoulders, hiding things, using what others do and say against them. We're an Order of deception and chaos." She paused for a moment, taking a sip of tea. "So if you made a choice that made you happy, even for a little bit, then it was worth it." Her smile deepened by her eyes dropped to her tea. It was clear she was thinking about her own experience. "A day of happiness is worth a thousand years of suffering in the Order."

It wasn't just a philosophy, it was a warning. Walk the path of love and freedom, and eventually the Sith will make you pay for it. It's what it did time and time again. Param would eventually have to pay for her sins against the Order, and Karys would too. At least that suffering they could share.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys’ eyebrow ridges furrowed as Param spoke their Order in a manner that didn’t make sense. Hurt and terrified? In the Order? Her words made no sense, he wasn’t afraid because of the Order. He wasn’t hurt because of it, well not directly, either. Was she?

“Param.” Karys replied in an uneasy voice. “Our duty as Sith means we must let our passions burn brightly.” He explained, trying to caution her away from the ledge he felt she was on. “Bu-” He paused as her eyes dropped to her tea and her smile widened.

He would pause for a long while there, watching her smile and body language. He knew that posture, that smile, the glimmer in her eyes. It had been him just a few weeks before. He thought back to Cotellier and how she had changed, became more confident.

Things slowly clicked into place.

“Are you in lo-” He caught himself and cleared his throat. “Are you passionate for someone?” He corrected himself.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param's expression faded into a dead pan as her silver gaze rose to meet his. She would ignore his question about her love life. He was one of the closest things to a friend she allowed herself to have as someone in the Sith Order, and it would be a disaster to turn him into a liability by answering him. Instead, she would focus on this new word he brought to the table. Duty.

"Karys are you aware that Thel has disappeared?" she asked. Her tone made it clear that she was not about to entertain questions beyond the Sith. "His apprentice brought a holo-recording. Simply vanished. Somehow a Sith Master... one of the strongest people in our Order... walked away from this duty." It wasn't her intent to sound venomous, but her voice and eyes had certainly hardened. "His lightsaber, along with the deed to the mining operations on this planet, are upstairs in my room."

"I am now training two Acolytes, one I chose and one I inherited from Thel. I am doing my duty as a Sith, Karys," Param continued. This was not a friend-to-friend conversation anymore. It was a stressed Sith-Champion educating an Acolyte of what the Order had become. "At every turn of my journey- since I was taken by a Sith that fancied himself a god at five, to becoming a Champion and choosing an apprentice of my own- the Sith have looked at my passions and tried to kill them."

"Cyu brought me to Korriban once. Another Acolyte crushed a flower she had planted- a flower I gave her- all to prove that the strongest will survive and rule," she explained, her eyes never leaving his but her expression never leaving a dead pan. She'd picked up a knife subconsciously from the table, and spun it absent mindedly through her fingers with a grace only an echani could have. It was like the knife drew a flower of deadly cuts in the air without any effort at all. Karys would not only find the message in the air flower and her eyes; she didnt' need the Force to effectively end people- and she could turn every ounce of emotion off while doing so. "Thel had me beat the apprentice I now train myself because he didn't have a lightsaber. He used the Force to inflict pain on me just to tell me to never betray him, and then again because I couldn't lift a speeder on the first try. Trael decided it would be a good idea to take a former slave girl he fancied to a fucking slave auction- a Sith Champion needing help to get a signature from an Acolyte. And don't get me started on the yacht massacre."

Param wouldn't get into her growing feelings that the Sith are purposefully taught anger and hatred, the most temporary of emotions, because he keeps them weaker. Can't kill your masters if your masters never let you explore your passions.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

If Param tried to intimidate Karys, she failed. But her deadpan monologue revealed much to him. Namely, Thel and by proxy, Param were involved in the only mining that happened on this planet. Spice mining. She had butchered a slave auction with another Sith named Trael. And then what he had to do on Cotellier.

Karys’ eyes took on a golden hue and narrowed.

“You lecture me about the cruelties of the Sith. How they snuffed your hope. How we are bloodthirsty monsters. How much blood soaks your hands Param? How many died from overdose on your drugs? How many thousands died on Zygerria because of your inability to get over your fucking past.” Karys spat. “You push a massacre caused by two idiots in my face? As if you’re innocent?” He hissed. “Their bucket of blood is nothing compared to your oceans.” He continued. “The only difference between us is I don’t pretend to have a moral high ground. I embrace what I am.” He said venom pouring into each syllable. “Your Sith Param, quit bitching and grow a fucking spine.”

Even as he uttered the words, Karys’ hand slowly edged closer to the hilt at his side. He wasn’t sure if this would end in bloodshed or not, but he wouldn’t be caught off guard. Karys knew one thing, it was time for Param’s wake up call.

“You’re no better than the rest of us.”

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param gently placed the knife down as he began his tirade. She stood, grabbing her plate, and gently scraping what was left on it into the trash before putting the plate into the sink. Breakfast didn't seem as appetizing now, not with anger filling the room. Of course, Karys wasn't wrong, well, except for pretending to have a moral high ground. Param knew that being a Sith was bad, she also knew selling spice was bad, morally speaking.

"No Karys. You are Sith. I'm just a echani girl playing in your culture's backyard," she said bluntly. There was no skirting around the fact that the very thing Karys embraced was a shadow of it's former self. Even he had said that when he had first made her dinner. She would ignore his comments of her oceans of blood, and her lack of a spine. If that's what he thought of her, then he could have someone else help him on the missions he went on. He'd made a decision that terrified him and he got drunk and wandered here. She made a decision that terrified her and she leaned in the opposite direction to protect it. Which one had the spine?

Her silver eyes caught the slight movements. The gentle slide of his hand toward his lightsaber. It pained her to find it completely unsurprising. They always had to watch what they say. Always had to watch over their shoulders. It was the way the Sith were, the way they'd always be.

"I'm not better than any one, Karys," she said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "I don't even pretend to be. I'm a piece of shit, that does real shitty things. I kill, rig elections, sell spice. You're completely right." She pushed herself off the counter and began walking out of the kitchen. "If the Dark Lord orders you to kill someone you're passionate about, the very person that gives you strength and meaning, all for a test of loyalty. What then?"

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

When Param turned and went to dump her food into the trash, she’d find it wouldn’t slide from her plate. As angry as he was, Karys wouldn’t let her simply trash food. He was pissed, he was hungover, and he was confused but he still considered her a friend. A word that was complex and weird within the Sith Order. He tugged the plate gently back towards the table with his mind.

He wasn’t letting Param walk away from this conversation.

When and if Param turned around, she’d find Karys’ gaze to still be golden. His face still twisted in a mix of emotions. But his hand was no longer reaching towards the hilt at his side, both hands sat on the table instead. He sighed as he rubbed his forehead, the echoes of a headache still troubling him. He took a moment to organize his thoughts while she spoke.

“Param, I’m beginning to think you see everything in right and wrong. Black and white.” He explained. “There is no right or wrong Param, there is only the pursuit of power and your climb to victory.” He continued. “Everything you have here, everything you built here is a testimony to Sith teachings.” He continued. “Those that massacred people on that yacht, they were fools. But those individuals do not represent the Order as a whole. Nor does the idiot who took you to Zygerria.” He explained. “But individuals like them are the pawns on the board Param, they exist to be sacrificed. For every three of them, exist another of me. A Sith who brings planets to their knees without the need for slaughter. So, do you throw me in with the dregs?” He asked, his voice steadily grew calmer. “When tested on Zygerria Param, you reacted out of instinct, I watched the security cam footage. You massacred those that reminded you of your own suffering. You embraced that side of yourself, you allowed yourself to be who you are fully.” He continued. “You are Sith Param, you just fight against it and I don’t understand why.” He concluded.

When Param asked her final question, Karys simply sighed.

“If she sought to test my loyalty, it means she viewed me as a threat.” He replied flatly. “She showed her hand and her weakness. I would leave her side, lie about accomplishing the task and then…” He explained. “…I would ambush her and kill her or die in the attempt. That is our way Param.” He continued. “Conflict breeds strength. The Echani fight to know one another, the Sith fight to grow themselves. They aren’t that different.” He explained.

“You evaded my earlier question though Param but answered it all the same. You are passionate about someone. That’s what plagues you isn’t it?” Karys asked after a long pause.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Param folded her arms across her chest, stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. She listened to his case. Param knew the galaxy wasn't black and white, right or wrong. What Karys saw as her fighting being a Sith was really her becoming more refined, wiser even. The way she loved to kill simply because she thought it would bring her strength, evaporated when she found that it didn't. Killing to get what she wanted, gone the moment Kai had shown her there was a galaxy outside of the darkness. The slaughter of the auction house was a momument of growth in her that it didn't matter what someone's past was, only their future. Karys perception of Param, viewing her as weak, was warped.

His words of the Dark Lord told her one thing: he'd never encountered her. The memories of Umbara when a Sith Master emerged, only to say a sentence be be purged by the Dark Lord came to mind. The way the Dark Lord commanded everyone in the hall. There was no hesitation in any of the Sith present; no moments of thought. Then her mind turned to fantasy, and Karys was standing before someone he held dear, being forced to strike them down or turn on a Dark Lord that could end him with a thought. No Karys, it wouldn't be a mission to kill your beloved, it would be a face-to-face event for the entire Order to watch. Just a huttball match to see which Sith made the team.

She would leave him to his delusions. There was no reason to stop him from thinking the way that he did, or to change his outlook. This was his culture; if he wanted to embrace the chaotic stupidity of it all, that was up to him to decide. Param closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. For the sake of the memory of someone she thought was a friend, she would give him this one answer he seaked. She would break her rule to never think about him in the presence of other Sith.

"Yes," she said curtly. "They are my passion, my strength..." she paused. "... my happiness." Param turned her silver gaze to Karys. There was no malice in her voice or eyes. She wanted to say more, but there were no words. How if she found out which Sith had caused him pain she'd have their head mounted on a pike in the garden. How Kai was the only person that got to see the real her. None of it mattered. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys watched Param as she stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. Karys never pressed to look into her mind, he never tried to read her thoughts or emotions. He was consistent with that, even now he kept himself in check. Param listened in utter silence, her silver gaze wasn’t gentle anymore, it was distant now. Her expression wasn’t the one of light happiness he’d grown accustomed to, it was blank and neutral.

But when she spoke, Karys’ gaze dropped from hers.

He understood her words on a deeper level than she could possibly understand. The earth moving passion he felt towards Azar. The strength he drew from that conviction. The suffering he felt as the man he desired more than anything chose tradition over him. He let out an unsteady sigh, the anger born from his own suffering left with it.

Karys stared at his empty plate for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few minutes. He thought on what she said and contrasted it to his own experience. All of the emotions he felt were so plainly written on his face when he finally looked back to Param. His eyes having finally returned to crimson.

He gave her a single curt nod.

“Whoever this being is.” Karys began cautiously. “You have to be willing to do more than kill for them…” He continued. “…you have to be willing to die for them.” He cautioned with a small grimace. “You’re my…” Karys paused there. “…you’re my friend Param and I will protect your secret.” He reassured her.

The words felt wrong even as they left his lips. Friends weren’t something many Sith made, they were attachments. They could create hesitation, they could guide away from the pathway to power. Even as he made his oath, Karys knew that one day he might have to kill Param or die fighting her. It was a fate he hoped to never face and one he knew that he might have to embrace but for now, he simply chose to be her friend.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Param Vour]

Friend. A word she would have used before his lecture. A term she'd offer to any Sith offering the same until she learned the truth of the Order. Cyu had taught her the line between pleasure and pain was blurred at best. Karys had taught her that even friends among the Order would turn on each other given the opportunity. It was a game of strategy and power. If there was no honor among thieves, there was certainly no true friends among Sith.

"You can try," Param said. There was no way he could protect her secret completely, just like there was no way she could tell Kai that the Sith would never hurt him again. In a galaxy of assets and liabilities, Karys had just become a liability for her. Any Sith strong enough to tap into an Acolyte's mind would have all they needed to start a witch hunt to bring her down. On instinct, her mind shut any thoughts of Kai down, locking them back in the vault she kept just for her. Just for when there were no Sith around.

And how could she tell if there was? Karys had shown her that the Sith possessed potions that could change every aspect of how a person looked. Bob and Evan working the tea shop right now could be Sith and she wouldn't even know it. No, her walls were tight around her now compared to when she was an Acolyte herself. Now it was time to add spikes and weapons to the walls.

"Feel free to take a few boxes of tea with you," she said, turning her gaze away from Karys and to the cherry blossom tree in the center of her training hall. "I have a lot of work to do, Karys. So if you're feeling better I think it's best if you go. Whatever it is your terrified of, I'm sure you'll find the strength and passion to overcome it."

Param didn't waste more words on the matter. She stepped out into the training hall, snapping her fingers once to call Vee to follow her as she made her way up the stairs.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Karys felt Param completely shut herself off to him. He felt the ice in her reply to his promise. It didn’t take the Force to realize her demeanor had shifted towards him. Their friendship had been damaged, Karys wasn’t sure by how much or if he could repair it. But for now it was fractured at best, shattered at worst.

When Param pointed to the boxes of tea and dismissed him, Karys felt sick.

He would leave the tea, unwilling to take from her without payment of some sort. As Param walked away she’d hear Karys gathering his things before he’d call out to her. It was a confession that would even out her secret with part of his own.

“I hope I can, for him.”

She now knew a fraction of his weakness too. He trusted her to protect his exposed neck in the same she had done with him. Despite her frosty demeanor towards him, Karys somehow knew she wouldn’t betray him. She was likely the only person that wouldn’t betray him.

Or so he hoped.

/endthread