Gold and Rust

[Eddard Thul Drast]

Eddard detested parties like this growing up.

And now?

Well now he still mostly hated them but this was seemed to be going his way. He had spoken to Allerius and he had been accepting of the message and the idea that Eddard had shared with him on the balcony. Apparently there was another Sith, also here tonight, who was both worth the time and someone who would be interested in answering the call as it were.

And she was a Twi'lek.

Well, he had to say that it made it an awful lot easier to find her than it had been to find Allerius - finding the white human male on Alderaan was like finding a needle in a haystack, that was hidden inside an nest of needles.

Spotting the red-skinned Twi'lek was easy and he strode through the crowds just as a new song was starting up. Smiling a little bit, Eddard didn't mince words.

"Can I have this dance?" he asked with a small bow of his head as he took her hand to lead her to the dance floor, "Allerius said I should speak to you. I have something I think might interest you as it did him."

He ignored the whispers from the crowd about his choice in dance partner and, so long as she didn't resist, he would begin to lead her in a classical waltz. Mechanical foot or not, he would be damned if he messed up such a simple dance after so many years learning the motions of the Alderaanian court.

Time to see if Talik Kru was worth his time.

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

Talik had nearly had an apoplexy when she actually consented to put on the gown Allerius had said she was to wear. There were bits and pieces of her sticking out everywhere! It was scandalous. It was shocking. It was...damn she looked hot, her mental rant ceasing as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Well she would certainly look the part of a nobleman's bed warmer, that much was sure. Begrudgingly she had to give him credit for choosing black for the blatant exposure of her thighs in the slit skirt were perfect to accentuate the crimson hues of her complexion. So much better than green would have done.

Diplomatic affair, command attendance no excuses, he had not been pleased by receiving the order. Unfortunately her laughter was immediately squelched when he informed her that she was to be his plus one! She was caught in the strings of her cover story bound to attendance as sure as Lord Katress himself.

So adorning his arm like a good little slave, her own lightsaber dangling from the red silk cord through which the skirt was thread...for in truth it was more like unto a loin cloth than anything, an attendant stepped forward to take her wrap revealing the scanty top from which all of her best assets were threatening to break loose. Her well toned physique was apparent from the muscles in her arm, the firmness of her abdomen, and the power in those legs that went all the way up to…

The announcing of the pair at the party silenced her litany of mental complaints and she stepped through the open doorway into the ballroom. Immediately the next couple were announced, the brightly dressed servant’s voice droning on the respective titles and claims to fame one right after the other.

Allerius had steered her about the room, no doubt taking delight in the leers both the men and women of the elite were casting her way, until she found the very first opportunity to disappear. Mingling, she would say, but what is was like was fending off one groping hand after another. Perhaps she should have suffered his presence a little longer for no one would have laid a hand on his plaything, at least without permission. She had actually received more mannerly interactions in the lowest cantina on Coruscant!

Nobility, she sneered while keeping a smile fixed to her face. She saw a man with that look in his eye crossing the floor toward her. Dreading yet another assault of groping hands she prepared to turn away and fade into the crowd, but instead the man actually asked her for a dance. Blinking slightly, she nodded her head thinking at least for a while a turn about the floor might spare her from the bulk of these unwanted attentions.

Extending her hand to his, veil-like drapes of gossamer fabric fell from her bare arms dangling from more of the red cording along the length of her arms. The man wasted no time in turning her about the dance floor, her own steps easily falling into step of his lead, before he was speaking about Allerius. His words made her stiffen in his arms, though to her credit she did not falter in the dance. Thinking the worst of Lord Katress, she asked without any expression in her voice, ”Did he indeed? And who might you be?”

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

Seemed that Talik had come dressed to impress and she knew it - she had a dancer's grace but, considering her species, he wasn't exactly surprised. Sure, it was a stereotype but stereotypes only happened when there was enough evidence to support them after all and this was certainly the case here. She was objectively attractive, exotic and danced rather well. If she were any more the stereotypical Twi'lek then she would have a leash.

Well there was no way she was hiding a leash in this outfit he supposed.

"Not in so many words but he was rather blunt in his wording." he admitted with a very faint smile, "You dance the waltz rather well."

There was no additional 'for a twi'lek' but it was kind of implied all the same. The Waltz was a dance so often associated with the Court of Alderaan and places like that. It made sense that Eddard and Allerius would know it but Talik seemed to be naturally gifted at it as well.

Or else she had somehow had a great deal of practice.

"My name is Eddard Thul-Drast." he introduced himself as they twirled, gathering more whispers and pointing from the surrounding audience, "And I have something of a proposition for you, depending on how you respond to this next statement..."

As they were dancing he leaned in closer and whispered into her ear.

"The truth is; there is something very wrong with our Empire." he pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes, "There is something wrong with our Empire... do you know what it is?"

The content of her answer didn't matter so much as the answer's delivery and meaning mattered.

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

Play acting was slowly becoming second nature to the woman whose role in the diplomatic corps provided her a cover story for her work in Intelligence. Assigned as the assistant to the attache to the Imperial Republic’s Ambassador on Alderaan, she knew well what attending tonight’s gala would entail. Her attire had only slammed home the truth that she was Allerius’ none too subtle thumbing of his nose at a society from which he seemed curiously aloof despite how the offense of his noblesse oblige permeated their whole relationship.

The idea was to be scandalous and she was on board completely, just for the sake of showmanship. But the fact that her partner had sent this minion of nobility, his name clearly placing him in the hierarchy well above that of House Katress, could only mean he was instrumental to some plan. Smoozing; it was a filthy job but someone had to do it.

Tooling about the ballroom to the boring repetitions of some box step the elite dared call a dance hardly required focus on her part. None of the looks, whispered words, and those some didn’t care to hide, mattered for her attention was upon Eddard like a good little ornament. Naturally those who viewed her reacted as they always had and this was just part of the scenery to her now. It amused some part of her that the very stereotypical nature of her character never seemed to raise an eyebrow among these players. It vexed her considerably that she had not been able to fool Allerius. He knew all the buttons to push and unleash her rage.

Perhaps it was thoughts of her partner or the unspoken slur in Eddard’s words, but his compliment actually pierced her veneer annoying her much more than it should. So while he began what sounded like the most polite come on she had received tonight, his question became all the coaxing required for Talik to break character and exhibit some attitude.

Her right hand perched lightly upon his shoulder, lifted an index finger to slide upward along the side of his neck as she said, ”You mean other than the systematic oppression of countless species throughout the Republic I presume?” Gifting him with a smile she met his gaze with her own amber hues.

Talik’s stomach constricted, a sense of wariness washing over her and she wondered what this was; some new test of her loyalty? Or was this the reason for her command attendance? Did Allerius have his sights on catching a traitor among the upper echelon? What better bait that an alien whose complaints would be too easy to profile? Shaking her head she laughed, ”I’m afraid I have no idea what you mean, Lord Thul-Drast”

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

She had fire at least.

Eddard would have been very disappointed to learn that Talik Kru had the personality of a weak fish or something of the like. It would have been rather a let down. Instead, she seemed to have a fire inside of her that would likely point towards great passions that would fuel the Dark Side within her. It might also be something he would need to watch out for but Eddard was a paranoid man at the best of times - he kept a close eye on everyone he spoke to.

And everyone he met.

And quite a few people he had never met but might run into in the future.

Yes, paranoia was something that left him with precious little time to, say, pursue a hobby. Matching her smile with a small, faint, smirk of his own, he hummed a little bit as his yellow eyes flashed slightly, challenging, as they continued to dance. He drew her in closer as the dance required and spoke quietly.

"Other than that, yes." he agreed with a slight nod of his head, "Although the archaic term, 'Republic', doesn't exactly fit now does it? Not with people placed into positions of power based on their appeal in the Imperial Court."

He smiled faintly.

"Corruption, my dear, corruption." he told her simply, "The Empire stagnates because there are leaches attached to it, draining it of blood while poisoning it. There is only one cure for leaches and that is fire - we must purify the ranks of the Imperial Republica of the corrupt, the greedy and return it to what it should be. Perhaps even better it beyond that mark."

Eddard himself didn't exactly care about how xenos were treated but he was a pragmatic man - if less oppression of xenos would serve his purpose then so be it.

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

His hand drew her in near, their steps easily mirroring one another to accommodate the slight adjustment seamlessly. They created quite the picture as he turned them about the floor, each playing out their roles in this staged drama with himself as the deft socialite and she the enraptured ornament. Talik’s eyes seemed to gleam with an inner fire but for a moment as she listened to him speak.

Eddard’s words sounded quite scripted with all the key phrasing designed to evoke a sense that here was someone to champion the concerns of the downtrodden. So condescending. To the man’s credit his delivery was perfection and he reminded her of Allerius who could twist a compliment into the sharpest barb. Every word designed to trigger her emotions, right down to the diminutive endearment ’my dear', as though he had some special sort of regard for her.

Was it an act or did he truly not see how contradictory his ideals were compared to the conditioning of his status? The unspoken ‘for a Twi’lek’ attached to his compliment over her dancing labeled him just another of the entitled elite. It was too soon for her to know if he was oblivious, as so many bigots often were, to the sickness in the Republic that permeated his own mind, or if it amused him to effect giving a damn.

Talik laughed, the tones melodic though they were, did not quite mask the ire rising within her. ”My goodness, Lord Thul-Drast. How succinctly you identify the heart of the issue”, she demurred in cloying tones. ”Have you ever considered a career in politics? So many people could benefit if more men such as yourself took a hand in serving the Republic.”, she concluded before relaxing her features into one that mirrored abject adoration. What he didn’t know, sincerity or charade, it made little difference to Talik for she had but one passion in this life.

Speaking of the man she most wished to see dead, it was not out of the realm of possibilities this whole thing was Allerius' revenge for her ditching him. ”You will have to forgive me, but my new position at the Embassy has left me little time to become aware of more than my immediate duties. I am afraid it has had me with my head down a bit, in regards to who everyone is”, she laughed slightly affecting mild nervousness over her complete recognition failure on who the frak he was. It wasn’t far from the truth.

”How is it that you and Lord Katress met? Are you...perhaps business associates?” she asked coquettishly before rushing on, ”No no, don’t tell me. It will be more exciting to guess. Hmm...” Her painted eyebrows drew together as though in serious deliberation before rising in sudden epiphany. ”Oh I have it. The two of you were suitors for the affection of the same lady’s heart. Naturally a duel of honor ensued in which the fair maid’s life tragically ended as she tried to intervene.”, she said mournfully, the features of her face shifted into sorrow and she swallowed as though struck by the angst of her fantastical narrative. ”A begrudging respect was born, but forever will a mounting rivalry and need for revenge grow between you.” It was just the sort of trash that pop culture glamorized, much like that horrid video feature that seemed to have captivated the Republic, ’My Big Fat Sith Wedding’.

If that didn’t paint her as benign then nothing would. It had been her experience the more certain people were of your ignorance the more careless they became. Whatever game he played or was party to she was in no mood to become ensnared.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

How droll.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes was actually a hard task but he managed it. Instead he merely stared at her, his eyes flashing slightly being the only signal that he was anything but happy with the situation. His eyes revealed that he was beginning to get annoyed with her but he wasn't going to lose his cool just because she seemed to be resisting the offer than he was beginning to set up for her.

Instead, Eddard decided that that was enough of all the dancing around the issue - literally and figuratively - and it was time for them to get down to the brass tax. The song ended and Eddard let her go from the cradling position and gestured towards the balcony.

"I think it's time we spoke alone."

She likely wouldn't go if she was showing her back to him so Eddard led the way, showing his back to her to show that he wasn't too suspicious of her. He was but he had long ago learned how to keep track of people without actually physically seeing them. Reaching the balcony, he would wait until she was out on the balcony with him before closing and locking the balcony door using the Force. A preventative measure to make sure none of the party-goers tried to inject themselves into their business.

If this insisted he might have to hurt them but that was a matter for another time.

"Drop the act." he told her bluntly, curtly, "You're either not a very good actor or you're attempting to annoy me, and considering the line of work you find yourself in? I believe it is the latter."

He tilted his head to one side slightly.

"I'm going to be as blunt as I possibly can - I represent a group that wants to gain power, gain control, and exercise it fairly. To keep peace and order in the Galaxy by ensuring that the Empire rules. That Imperial Peace is both achieved and sustained." he frowned slightly, "Maybe I had you pegged wrong. Maybe you are just ready to accept things the way they are."

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

The right corner of her upper lip twitched upward suddenly in mirth as she caught wind of his annoyance, though certainly in that moment his control over his emotions was greater than her own. The flash in his eyes was actually quite exciting to see, for whatever veneer he threw over his thoughts and feelings it was not impenetrable. It boded well for ruling out a handful of possibilities as to his motivations.

Released from his embrace, she was certain that he had come to some sort of conclusion of his own. ”Yes, it is time”, she replied with just a slight turn of her head so her eyes might gaze about the room. She need not have bothered for the man turned and led her in a direct path for the balcony. Only when she had joined him did she even sense his grasp upon the force, turning round to see the ornate doors draw close and click with the sound of them locking.

“And what act might that be, Lord Thul-Drast, mine or yours?” She brought the thumb and forefinger of her right hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose and close her eyes compliant to his demand. Lowering her arm to her side, she turned from the doors to face him directly. “Are you truly annoyed that I did not immediately cave to the seditious talk of a complete stranger during the course of one waltz? Or might you be trying to get a reaction and determine my worth? You could be anyone for all I know, though you do seem to know enough about me to drop the name of my partner to ease an introduction.”

“I will drop my act in exchange for you dropping yours. It’s pretty basic knowledge, easy to learn, that I was rescued from a heretic who had purchased me in a slave market, despite those being illegal.” She smiled thinly but didn’t give him pause to comment. “The man was executed and I was taken into custody. I assure you the examination and education I received were...thorough in determining the seeds of sedition hadn't taken root”, she said letting loose a bit of the hold she had on her emotions; truth for truth.

”So don’t stand there saying I am just ready to accept things the way they are, like I am the one with the moral deficit. I hear truth in that you are a group that wants to gain power, gain control, but to exercise it fairly? I'm not sure that you know what that means. What hint of truth is there in that when you are also a man who not once during our interaction deigns to grant a… a Xeno the privilege of addressing you by your first name?”, she sighed and shook her head. ”So yes, I was trying to annoy you.”

While she had been first to turn over one of her hold cards it didn’t mean she was going to show him her whole hand. Afterall, the best plays had more than one act.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

At least there was some truth there.

Eddard rolled his eyes slightly and took a step away from her when she doubted that the Venatori wanted to use the power they gained to govern fairly. And, naturally, her experience was coloured by her existence as a Xeno and her belief that as someone of the upper classes, he had no real idea about what it meant to be fair. It was a prejudice that she had doubtlessly picked up working with Allerius.

"I don't make a habit of letting almost anyone call me by my first name - you are the one who chooses to call me Lord. I've never asked you to, told you to or expected you to." he shook his head a little bit, "Perhaps you allow your prejudices to colour your perception? I am of the nobility, of the royalty, but that does not mean I am incapable of seeing right from wrong, fair and unfair. Do you know what the only difference between me fighting for a less broken system and xeno with a chip on her shoulder doing the same?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"People will listen to me. My name isn't an assurance that I am lying or insincere - that I cannot know how the Empire needs to change - it is a tool to achieve it." he gestured back at the hall, "A name doesn't define someone, nor does the class they are born into. Otherwise they're all right. If a name and the class of birth truly does determine someone's worth then that would make you nothing. Worthless."

Eddard shook his head and spoke the truth.

"And I don't think that's true."

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

Talik was a bit out of her depth for while everything about her experience was telling her the man was full of rycrit feces, his words hit all the weak points in her own.

One thing she knew about humans however, when they rolled their eyes about in their head that way it meant that everything that came before had just been discounted as nonsense. No matter what was said from that point on would be spoken to a closed mind. His stepping away from her further emphasized how he rejected the truth she shared. It was little wonder she paid just as much, if not more, attention to the way he spoke physically for her own language was much more than mere words.

Even so she waited for some real sign of his understanding, something outside the usual tired arguments, for him to open his truth for her to see. His first sentence made it clear that he would not be letting her feel his emotions, his truth nothing more than rhetoric. Though when he spoke of names and tools a smile did cross her features; she knew all about tools. Talik had no doubt he had come from Allerius, the man was making some sort of power move and she would play her part. His path would be her path until she could end him. But it wouldn’t come cheap.

”Your words are very logical and I cannot argue with their soundness. And you deliver them quite well, truly people will listen to you. I however need to feel it, and though I am standing right here within arms reach of you, it’s like you are not here at all.”, her eyes gazed toward his back. Sith were notorious for their emotions, their overwhelming passions, the medium through which they drew deep in the force. Though her control at shielding herself had improved considerably since her partnership with Allerius, it was nothing to this blank wall before her.

”You say you do not find me worthless, then surely I am worth your truth Eddard.”, she dropped the act of banality, shown him the source of her wariness leaking the emotions of her re-education for him to read. She would not be swayed to risk being tortured as a traitor to the Republic for any less from him. Truth for truth.

”I need to feel why do you do this? That is the truth I require.”, she said softly. It didn’t matter to her what his motives were, social justice, greed, pride, family grudge..those were all core world problems to her.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

She was a hard nut to crack this one.

He was being charming, he was being polite and he was even telling the truth but it seemed that none of it was working. She seemed intent on getting something out of him - some truth - that he had no idea what to tell her. Did she want to know that he didn't much care for the lives of others? He wasn't exactly secret about the fact that he wasn't going to throw himself in front of bystanders or something similar.

Far too wasteful.

Needed to feel it?

His eyebrow raised of his own accord and he looked at her strangely. Did she mean that she wished for him to expose his thoughts and feelings to her? Because his mind was his own and he refused to let anyone in. Let alone a woman he'd met less than five minutes ago. But the truth?

He supposed he could do that.

Stalking forwards, Eddard stood close to her, pushing her back with his advance until her back was against the railing. He trapped her with his presence alone, starting down into her eyes. To an outside observer it probably looked different - the tension could be mistaken for being sexual in nature but it was not. There was pure fire bubbling in his veins as Eddard locked gazes with the Twi'lek woman in front of him.

His eyes flashed.

"I do this because I am sick and tired of watching what my ancestor built be pissed away by fools, drunks and traitors. I do this because everything my family was supposed to built has been polluted and corrupted. But most of all?" he leaned in closer, so that he could whisper it right into her ear, "... I do it because I want to. I want to see traitors die and the worthy rise - it is the nature of the Galaxy and right now the greedy, the corrupt and the stupid continue to prosper."

He leaned back, the anger falling back beneath the surface fairly easily from a lot of practice.

"Did you feel that, Talik Kru?"

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

Talik watched as the man looked at her in what, puzzlement? It was to be as she figured, a closed mind with no...her thoughts halted upon noticing the raising of his eyebrow. She couldn’t interpret this strange look, was it the dawning of awareness, maybe fear to let her see what made him tick? Whatever he was feeling was still quite hidden, even as he paced across the distance forcing her to retreat lest he be standing on top of her.

She could feel the stone railing, its coldness pressed above the small of her back, and her hands rose instinctively to the ready to push him away. Moving on instinct alone, she was trapped; but all she felt was expectation and the certainty it had been the right call to make. Her lips parted but only to taste the air filled with the fire that seethed beneath the surface of those yellow eyes; eyes whose gaze she had called down upon herself.

With a flash of that fire rising to his eyes, he spoke, and this time she could feel each word filling the narrow space between them with his truth backing up every syllable he uttered. But he wasn’t done, and she would never know why he went on; if it were to intimidate, chastise, strike fear into her, or just a failure to stop. Whatever little doubt remained drained from her as he dropped the final act. The emotion that washed off him was so overwhelming she actually mouthed the words as he whispered them, ’I do it because I want to...‘. The muscles in her neck strained from the stress of doing that much while he held her captive to his will.

Even as he moved, leaning away to stand before her, that tide of pure rage was withdrawn until there was no sign of it but the lingering residue. This too swiftly dissipated as she drew breath, trembling. The right corner of her lip curled upward into the faintest of grins, as though she had not control yet enough to do so properly.

The woman had not been toying with him, but the veneer of nobility came in many layers and she wasn’t about to wade through them all to reach the truth. His motives were his own business, it mattered not to her, but for sure she knew them to be real. Two snippets that made up the myriad of one’s persona. It was enough to move forward and see where Allerius was leading them.

”Yes, Eddard Thul-Drast; I felt that”, she swallowed after delivering the reply. ”It is fortunate then that I am not greedy, corrupt, or stupid; I may be of some use to you yet.” Her expression was not cheeky or gloating over some petty score she had settled by provoking him, but she didn’t bother to hide that she was pleased either. ”Perhaps it is time to safely escort me back to Allerius? I am sure he wonders how our meeting has progressed”, she suggested. She knew she was lucky to have gotten that much.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

She trembled.

It did something to her that made her seem rather... alluring. If all twi'lek women trembled when they felt your presence, felt the weight of your convictions weigh upon them, then he supposed he could see some of the attraction that people across the Galaxy held for them. For a second he felt a spike of it as well - not for the woman he supposed. No, more for the fact that it made him feel powerful to have such a woman shudder just for feeling his truth.

He imagined men across the Galaxy loved to see the reactions of twi'leks if they were all so expressive. Doubtlessly egos were stroked and inflated - a good time had by all.

Eddard reached out with his left hand.

It would be obvious to her as to what he was doing but he wouldn't stop unless she stopped him. Maintaining a scolding eye contact, Eddard grasped her chin lightly with his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head up so that she could look up into his eyes. Again, he was certain it looked almost sensual to an outside observer and the same tension as before hung thick in the air.

"The decision to join the Venatori must be yours alone." he declared, his voice clear but somehow feeling... heavy or weighted by significance, "When you walk with us, you walk with us because you decide it. No one else - because through our work you will change."

His thumb moved ever so slightly against her skin.

"What was iron will be made steel - through pressure and pain. I will take you and I will shape you through trial and torment to be better than you are." he promised her, his eyes shining with a deep well of resolve, "... so answer me for yourself."

He removed his hand from her chin but by this point he doubted he needed to tilt her head for her to maintain the eye contact. It was almost locked in now.

"Are you ready to begin?"

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

’What cheek’, she thought as Eddard reached out to position her face more to his liking. What he didn’t realize was that to Talik, he was the Xeno; they all were. Whereas before the touch of his truth had been exhilarating, the obvious power he felt within himself from her very real reaction… she knew well this look upon a man, the way complete confidence seemed to cause them to become larger than life... it was not unlike how it felt each time she grasped hold of the force and she could not help but be effected. And yet the feel of his grasp upon her face was revolting.

It was only made bearable by its lack of overt sexuality. Unlike the touches of those who drank and made their petty ploys on the other side of the balcony doors, his gaze did not sicken her soul. This was not a secret she wished to share so her performance was without rival. Let him think her enamoured if even only briefly, drunk upon his truth, and anticipating more.

However, their eyes would stare into one another with a focus that left no room for lies. The impact upon the woman was real as he presented her with something she had never given up; free will. Through one life altering catastrophe after another, Talik had not disappeared but was very much the same woman she had always been. Her spirit endured. While his thumb slid back and forth upon her jaw laying before her the future of what her choice would mean, her lips had cause to part before swallowing down her rising passion. If he thought this carnal desire, so be it.

Talik turned her back on him letting her hands rest upon the ledge, though she did not overly dramatize her response with a long delay. She looked no more than a woman gathering her sanguinity after the flush of lust. While her choice had been made before he posed the question, the need to recover her composure was real.

“I will follow your path”, she said to the open darkness of the city, the curve of her back was straight and poised. Her words would continue, her voice growing in stability from its first shaky tones, “but you will not take me anywhere, Eddard Thul-Drast”. Her lekku trailing to the small of her back seemingly swayed in unison from the negating shake of her head; but if he understand the language of her kind then he would see them making the sign for truth. Turning to look over her shoulder, her gaze was filled with a strength all its own, its presence was not challenging but undeniably there, “You can only lead.” Releasing the stone railing, she extended to him her left hand, palm facing down, as though he had but to offer his arm for it to find purchase.

@Nefieslab

 

[Eddard Thul Drast]

She understood.

That was more than what could be said for most people and he appreciated it in his recruits. The Venatori was going to do well he could just feel it - with people who knew what they were doing, people who were more than happy to advance and better themselves? Well the Venatori would flourish.

And as they grew, the Empire would begin to rise again and it would be glorious. But that was something for the future and right now? Well right now they were likely to end up being missed from the party.

Him likely more than her but that was the nature of these things wasn't it?

He took her hand in his own.

"Then lead I shall." he confirmed to her, nodding once, "But for now I must leave."

He smiled faintly.

"I shall be in touch. In the mean time? Try not to kill Allerius."

He would like to have them both actually survive to become members after all. Nodding to her simply, he released her hand and walked away, leaving the party entirely.

Let them miss him.

Spoiler: OOC

Feel free to end it with your next post

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Talik Kru]

As her fingers slid into his hand, she kept her eyes upon his before nodding in understanding. His words concerning Allerius confused her but caused her to chuckle for the accuracy in them. Eddar had gleaned much as to the root her anger when she had shown him her truth and she made no attempt at dissembling. ”I would not worry about the safety of Lord Katress. I am sure he has quite a few good years of service to the Republic left in him”, she quipped without hint of rancor.

Released from the clasp of his hand, she didn’t make a move to leave the balcony but stood watching him depart. Turning back to the city night, she leaned against the stone railing content for a moment to dwell within her own thoughts.

The encounter forced her to reconsider her initial impressions, his truth of the drive behind his mysterious motives potent enough to get through her general impression of the nobility. It had been a huge obstacle to surmount but it only served to increase the general turmoil in her life that was Allerius.

Here again was evidence, at least as much as her mind could ever seem to grasp the machinations that drove the Assassin, of Allerius’ intent to see her grow in strength. He was the man who killed her Master, Sobrosh Res. The man who held the threat of naming her a heretic over her head for her silence. The man who was steering her toward sedition. And yet…

She wet her lips and turned toward the open doors through which Eddard had departed and began seeking through the guests for Allerius. He was a man of masks, was all she could say with any certainty, but one day he would run out of faces behind which to hide. It took her quite a long time to realize the dirty SOB had ditched her, and taken the shuttle with him. Sighing audibly, she took to the roof tops running and leaping through the urban obstacle course letting the stench of society wash away in the sweat pouring from her form.

Upon arriving back at Chez Katress, she was more than ready to have a discussion with the Master of the House.

[ end thread ]

@Nefieslab