Ask Like A Bear In A Trap

[Xukas Mangle]

Pain. Every muscle in his body ached. Tense, overworked. Like he had just spent days at the gym, without break. This was the first thing Xukas noticed when he finally began to stir. Then, the weight of something on his wrists, rough against fur. His ear, stinging, though roaming fingers would find it curiously healed, for the most part. He recalls that Togruta biting into the membrane with all the fury of cornered prey.

Realization blossoms within the lupine's mind as eyes finally flutter open to reveal the molten hues glowing dim against the cell's bright light. Where... was he? He doesn't try to get up, realizes that he's laying in a bed, draped in it's sheets. His lightsaber was gone. His armored robes were gone. Agitation flickers through his mind like fire as he curls his lip with an annoyed groan. It doesn't take much to realize what had happened. Somehow, someway, that Jedi had beaten him. How? The last thing he remembered was preparing enough voltage in the force to fry the man.

He doesn't even remember the padawan.

Finally, he sits up, sniffs as he peers around the room. Enclosed. The glow of a ray shield is dazzling. The weights on his wrists? They looked to be some sort of stun cuffs.

The first thing he does is look for any sign of weakness in the surrounding walls. His eyes roam, and find nothing. The second thing he does is examine what little furniture the cell had for food, because Xukas had no idea how long he had been out, but he did know that he was practically famished. The Sith tries to stand, finds that his muscles ache far too much for the effort to be worth it, and promptly sits back down on the mattress as an ear flicks with annoyance. This was certainly not how he intended to end his mission.

Was he even on Shili anymore? How long had he been asleep? How would he escape? So many questions now raced through his mind, so many uncertainties that filled his gut with anxiety. This shouldn't have happened. He should have been faster. Stronger. He should have won that fight.

But he hadn't.

Xukas had failed.

"Horvutah med kodaav." He groans, dropping his head into his clawed hands.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

Lucifrey had nearly dozed off when the personal translator mask hanging halfway off her face gave her the Galactic Basic version of what the Shistavanen had said. "Ah!" She exhaustedly exclaimed as she stretched her arms up and her legs out from the chair she'd been waiting in. A big yawn escaped the petite Padawan before she pulled the rest of the mask across her chin and stuck the other earbud in her pointy ear. Then she lightly cleared her throat, and the device around the bottom of her face echoed the sound in a slightly distorted and lower tone.

"Drem sul!" Luci's blue eyes closed and arched up, while one hand went behind her hips and the other waved along with her tail. Then she'd give a polite bow at her shoulders before putting her hand behind her back to casually hold them together. She tried to keep her speech as respectful as possible while she addressed the prisoner she'd shot in the back. "Zu'u hind hi ni hahdrim zu'u tinvaak wah hi ahst hin Shistavanen."

The tired half-Tiefling then turned to a tray that had a dish with a metal cover over it to keep the meal she'd prepared warm. Any fear she'd had when the two first meant seemed to be gone for now. Instead she jauntily scooped up the covered plate and set it into a secure cubby in the wall so it could be sent to the other side. The seal shut on her side, keeping her relatively safe while the meaty meal became available for the Shistavanen to take from his side. "Het osos kip, fod hi laan."

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

The exclamation immediately grabs his attention. Eyes and ears snap toward the source, a girl that he recognizes with a piercing glare. She had been at the battle. Not the Knight that he had been mauling, though. He tilts his head, thoughtful, still trying to piece all of the puzzle pieces together.

Then, she began to speak, some strange, modulated translator voice emanating from her mask. He peers at her, uncertain of his own feelings in regards to hearing his own language in the voice of one who was not Shistavanen. It sounded weird, robotic, lacking the growling tone that Xukas was used to from his own people. He supposed he didn't mind it when she asked, but ultimately, it was unnecessary.

He tilts his head at her again, but the wolf remains quiet, watchful as she turns to reach for a tray. Ears shoot up upon his head and he forces himself to his feet, ignoring the ache of his muscles with the newfound promise of food. It takes him a moment to even notice the cubby, but when it opens, the creak of it is evident. Xukas claims the tray and promptly returns to the bed to sit, plucking the cover away from the dish to peer into the carnivorous delight that awaited him.

Honestly, anything looked delicious when you were as hungry as he was. Before he eats, though, his glowing eyes stray back to the girl on the other side of the ray-shielded doorway.

"Thanks." Xukas offers dryly, and in perfect Basic, too. "I do not remember how I was defeated." The Shistavanen adds that in the hopes that the horned girl would enlighten him. Finally, Xukas begins to devour the meal that now rested upon the lap, and he's hardly slow about it either. He practically inhales the food, like a man who had been starved for days, rather than asleep for one.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

A distorted sigh of relief came from Luci as she sat back down facing the Shistavanen, taking his remarkable Basic as a sign she should continue the conversation in the same language. She then removed half of her translator mask, letting it hang loosely against her left shoulder while the earbud of the same side remained in her ear so she could still understand anything else her captive might let slip in his native tongue again.

"You're welcome!" The pleasant Padawan replied with a soft smile and closed eyes before opening them again to see if the Shistavanen seemed content with the meal she made for him. It was probably better than anything else he was going to be getting for awhile at least.

"Well..." Luci put an index finger to the side of her chin and diverted her gaze in thought. "You were biting my master..." Her lips pushed to the side while she recalled more of the event in vivid detail, doing her best to ignore the fear she'd felt when their encounter began.

"...Wellll, you were both biting each other really." She tried not let out a small giggle as she pointed to the oddly cute missing chunk of the Shistavanen's mangled ear. "Aaand I had a clear shot, so I took it and stunned you before you two ended up hurting each other more."

A brief shrug came from the blue-horned half-Tiefling. "By the way, I'm Luci-" She paused instead of saying her full name, figuring it better not to give this likely Sith her full name for the time being. "What may I call you?"

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

Gah. Why was she so... bubbly? She smiled at him, as if they weren't enemies that he had fully intended to kill. Shouldn't she be afraid of him? Xukas supposes, with a bit of shame, that he was probably a lot less frightening in a cage. Even as she describes what had happened during the fight, she doesn't seem to lose that bright personality of hers.

He didn't expect to hear that she was the one that had ended it all, though. The wolf curls his lip, silently curses at himself. Even the smallest rabbit could blind a hunter with it's claws. It was a story told time and time again, a story that Xukas never should have forgotten. It seemed his time with the Sith had made him grow too confident. Xukas returns to his meal with a sigh as the horned girl introduces herself.

"Xukas." He rumbles to the padawan in a tone of cold irritation. "What will happen to me now, Qahnaarin?" And the thought is a genuinely anxious one that slithers through his head. He'd rather not spend the rest of his life in a small cage. Sooner or later, I will escape, the wolf soothes himself as he finishes the meal with a final bite, setting the tray on the bed beside him.

At least he wasn't starving anymore.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

A prideful smirk curled up on Luci's lips as the Shistavanen's title for her was translated over the hanging mask. "Kuh--" She stopped herself to adjust her pronunciation. "Qwuhnuh-arren?" She realized she'd messed it up and tried again. "Qahna-arin." She was a little closer at least. "Someone who has vanquished a mighty foe?" The smiley smirk curled even more as she double-checked the meaning of the word with Xucas.

"I'm not sure what will happen to you. I guess the Council or the Grandmaster will have to come up with a decision, and you'll just have to wait here in the meantime." Luci tapered off into a light yawn while she stretched her arms up and behind her head, then back down again after a couple seconds. Her smile shifted away and slanted to the side while she contemplated Xucas's question.

"It's also going to come down to how well you behave in here. But I wonder what you think we should do with you. I don't think the Order would be wise to release you right away, but I also don't think we should just execute you or anything like that..." Her ears sagged back while the cross-like tip of her thin blue tail gently rested in her palms. The half-Annfyn's expression and sentiment were clearly honest and sincere.

"You seem kinda cool to me, though I don't know what your past was like or the things you've done so... what do I know?" She let out a shrug like she wasn't sure, and like she didn't really mind either.

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

He stares at her with glowing eyes, silent as she digests the title. The wolf has no interest in feeding her ego anymore than he already had, but he could have respect for the cunning, regardless. To deny her victory, regardless of his own feelings toward it, would be dishonorable.

Xukas lets the moment pass before Luci answers his question.

She didn't know what would happen to him. He supposed that was to be expected, but it is disappointing, nonetheless. She seems to think that the Order would be unwise to release him, but that he shouldn't be executed. Xukas isn't entirely sure he agrees with that sentiment. Execution seems preferable to his present scenario. But at the very least, he supposes that he'll have a chance to bolt before the Grandmaster decides he wasn't worth anyone's time.

For the time being, he would behave as expected. Throwing a tantrum would be far from beneficial. As for why he seemed cool to young Luci, well, that was beyond Xukas. He took a chunk out of her partner's shoulder, and here she was chatting with him as he were a friend.

"My past is unremarkable." Xukas answers simply, as if to make it clear that he at least, on that front, had no intentions of cooperating. "And your Jedi masters surely intend to keep me in a small cage for the rest of my life." Grim and dry thinking, but Xukas believed it.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

"Unremarkable?" Luci retorted with a slight scoff. The sleepless Padawan stood from the chair and felt another wave of exhaustion hit her. "That red lightsaber you had says otherwise." She took a step toward the captive. Expression a bit more serious now, but still more chill than stern.

"Don't misunderstand me, Xucas. I know enough to realize that it's likely you were at one time, and likely still are, a Sith." She took another step toward the barrier that protected her from him, boosting her confidence enough to even talk to him.

"The guards thought we were gonna have to keep you stunned, but you've proven you can actually be..." Luci shrugged and felt her emotions shift on their own again, this time becoming something more sullen. "...I dunno. Decent? Decent enough not to throw a fit at least."

The heavy drain of the sleepless night could easily be seen on her face, along with the way her arms sagged and her tail lazily drooped behind her. It didn't help that she'd tried to assist in Healing both Zak's shoulder and Xucas's thigh without getting any rest before or after that either.

Eagerly hoping to pick the Sith wolfie's brain more, Luci continued to push past the overwhelming urge to pass out, and danced her intensely curious gaze between Xucas's eerie eyes. "Why be apart of that evil cult anyway?"

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

Closer she walks, and now her voice contracts a serious tone. Xukas wonders about her wintry expression, the shift that seemed so sudden. Had his words really prodded at her so sharply? The wolf is not the type to be amused by such things, but nor does he feel any amount of concern. He wonders how confident she would be if he were not in this cage. Would she still speak so boldly? Xukas doubts it. Yet once again, he is surprised to hear her so willingly describe him as decent. As if throwing a tantrum would gain him anything.

Was it decency if he would have just as easily killed her out there, had he not been so foolish as to underestimate her in battle? The Jedi were strange, and their minds unknowing to the wolf. He supposes he's thankful that he hasn't been put into some muzzle, though. If being decent, by their standards, kept him out of such devices, then he saw little reason to stop. Thus far, he had been healed, and fed, and otherwise treated fine.

"I am Sith, yes." That, he will answer, because the canine is certain that it must be obvious. He had been quite close to frying her master with a hateful outburst of lightning, a weapon that few beyond his order could harness. Another question drips from the exhausted padawan's lips, and he tilts his head to stare shamelessly. "Evil? Is it evil to want for order in the Galaxy? The Empire provides this, but worlds and governments resist. Vahzah los vokul? What does it mean to be evil, as you think it?" The wolf offers a question of his own.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

"Well..." Luci pondered for a moment, showing Xucas that she was actually pretty intrigued and invested in their new topic with the way she continued.

"I wouldn't say wanting for order in the Galaxy is evil. But glassing planets and slaughtering millions of innocence for petty grudges is probably pretty evil. I mean glassing a planet for the most part would be evil unless the threat outweighed the destruction, like needing to purge a planet overrun by an infestation of aggressive monsters or something, but that's a whole different situation." Her azure gaze narrowed in on the Shistavanen as she reflected on the biased opinion she'd had on her mind for a long time, one that could only be given so much context from her fellow Jedi.

"And I'm sure you and the rest of the Sith could justify that the kind of blatantly murderous behavior we've seen at Firrerreo and Kashyyyk are for some greater good." She twisted her expression. "Like... What the kriff? Are you serious? Does anyone actually believe that? I guess the rest of the Galaxy seems fine with it." She shrugged, the look of disbelief clear on her face.

"What happens when the whole Galaxy turns red? What happens when a bunch of wild psychos who think stabbing their loved ones in the back for some twisted sense of gaining more power through the Force -" She paused to emphasize her limited and spiteful perspective of how she believed most Sith behaved. "- are the ones deciding what order is? The Galaxy would burn itself as you all turn on each other for your skewed ideals. Surely you must realize there is no future for order if your tyrannical Empire took over. There wouldn't be a future for anyone. That, and so many more examples like it, are what I would call evil."

The half-Tiefling's shimmering eyes narrowed into an expressive glare, the honest and sincere desire to understand this unique being before her mixing across her face with her distaste of the Sith Empire. "And what do you think is evil?"

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

Ears twitch as the wolf listens, a looming predator upon the mattress that he sat upon. With eyes that glowed and a damp canine nose that glistened, he was silent as the padawan makes her response. She seems thoughtful, as if his question had been food for the mind, a difficult topic to debate indeed. Luci speaks of glassings, of decimated worlds that burned in the hellfire of the Empire's Dreadnoughts. Petty grudges as reasoning for slaughter, this he would concede to. But war had consequences, and if governments continued to resist, then it seemed that there was only one way to force their submission.

Luci seems to catch on to his thinking. She doesn't understand how the Sith can justify such things, can't imagine how anyone could actually believe the justifications behind such acts. She goes on about betrayal, about blood and tyranny. These are things Xukas did not believe would persevere long into the next age. Once the Empire had control over the galaxy, order would be promptly established. Politicians had their habits of treason, but they, too, would be sorted out. Luci made her disagreement to the Sith's beliefs quite clear.

"I will concede. Petty grudges are no good means for slaughter. I have none." Xukas knows what vengeance tastes like, knows it like blood upon his tongue. But he would not burn a planet over such things. "War is brutal. To you, the means do not justify the ends, yes? This is a fallacy, but regardless, I do not agree. It is easier to conquer a galaxy that knows it wiser to submit, than one that continues to fight and die. To me, glassing a world is a warning. It is to silence resistance in a show of power." Kashyyyk hadn't worked as intended, but ultimately, the message had been sent. "More lives will be lost from continuing this war, than the glassing of a world." Xukas is disappointed that the destruction of Kashyyyk hadn't been warning enough for everyone else. Still, they fought on.

"Ah, but I call your belief a fallacy without explanation. Unslaad krosis. Tell me, if the means do not justify the ends, then will you protest against your masters, should they decide to end my life? Or, is it different, then? Do the means justify the ends, because I am Sith? Because I am... evil? Hmm. But then, that is what I think of the Jedi. Who is right, then? If, in my belief, the means do justify the ends, and in your belief, only the Jedi's means justify the ends." Xukas counters with rumbling vocals.

"I believe that The Empire will bring Order to the galaxy. Those who would stab one another in the back will die, or succeed. Regardless of personal squabbles, the Empire will rule as it should. Tyrannical to you. It is order, to me. Clearly defined rules with no room for chaos. Harsh consequences leave little room for criminal uprising, including rebellion." Two minds with wildly different beliefs. The Empire could be cruel, but Xukas is certain that the end result will benefit everyone.

"Evil, to me, is different. It is anarchy and chaos. It is suffering and death, caused by rebels and terrorists who would sooner sacrifice a billion lives than submit to order. I do not see ambition or a want for power as evil, though yes, it can lead to wicked things. Sacrifices will always be made to insure that only the strongest have the right to the galaxy's throne. A weak leader causes more problems than not." Xukas knew she would not like what he had said, knew that Luci would disagree. But then, he supposes, evil was relative. She had her view, and he had his. Ultimately, Xukas was the one in a cage, at the mercy of her order.

So in the end, the wolf supposes that none of it matters. It was their views that would decide his fate. His meant nothing.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

"Terrorists?" Luci winced. "Is that what you think of us?" The youthful Padawan pulled back her biased perspective on things. It was through a more objective and neutral stance that she began to realize things could've seemed that way. Xucas offered her far more than she expected from a Sith, and as much as she wanted to she couldn't quite disagree with all of his points.

"If glassing a planet is just a warning, then what's the actual punishment? Blowing up a whole planet like the Death Star did to Alderaan? Hunting Jedi across the stars? Burning the Galaxy bit by bit until just a handful of fearful peasants remain for your glorious Empire? Your vision of order is chaos."

Luci stared daggers at Xucas for a moment, processing the rest of the Sith's debate until she stumbled on the issue of her and the rest of the Jedi being associated with terrorism. "It's not..." She began while letting her gaze lower and expression dim once again. "It's not like all of us agree with some of the things the Order and Resistance have done... But what do you expect us to do? Just sit around and let the Empire raze the Galaxy?"

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

The wolf snorts. Of course that was what he thought.

"Staging rebellions. Sowing discord within Imperial communities. Your resistance causes harm to the people it claims to help. Your Jedi are war-mongers." That notched ear flicks with annoyance. Some points he could concede to, but not all. Her Order wrapped itself within a shroud of holy definition, of righteous excuse, but ultimately, they were just as willing to fight as the Sith. "You are soldiers. If you do not want this, do not act like it." But the Shistavanen could concede that the Jedi had a right to defend worlds, all were expected to respond to violence with a fight of their own. The Jedi were far from just defenders though, especially with the rebels inciting additional bloodshed.

"You keep saying that my vision of order is chaos. I will say this in reply. I do not believe as you do. I do not believe that the Empire would raze the galaxy, or brutalize the peasants. You view the Empire as cruel and unjust. I live in it. The Empire is not the monster you paint it to be." Always the imperious soldier, the loyal dog. Xukas despised such comments, but they were fitting nonetheless. Even as the padawan glares, he meets her gaze with a cold and un-phased vision of fire. "Ah, but I am Sith, so my opinion means nothing, yes? But you have listened thus far. Perhaps you are a different face of your order, Qahnaarin."

She admits that not all in the order agree with the actions of the rebels. Xukas wonders then why they don't simply do something about it. If they did not want to be thought of as terrorists and soldiers, then they would be right to distance themselves from such titles.

"But, I will say this. You say the Sith will hunt the Jedi across the stars. Paaz. Fair. Old grudges are foolish. For thousands of years the Sith and the Jedi have fought. Perhaps it would be wise that this ends. You want to be monks and scholars, yes? Then put down your weapons. The galaxy will take care of itself. Is preventing the Empire's rule truly worth the lives lost on both sides, in the end?" Xukas questions with a rumbling baritone. He doesn't think the Jedi will ever truly stop being warriors. They seemed to seek out battle as much as the Sith. They seemed just as eager to fight for a galaxy who saw through their lies, who wanted them to stop fighting, just as much as the Empire.

"If the Sith continue to pursue this grudge, then it is clear then that they are wrong for it. Kod nir. Honor-less prey." Slaughtering monks and scholars would certainly be well over the line. Xukas doesn't think the Empire would cross that, though. The Sith Order, however, they had brutal history. The wolf knows this, and yet he still can't help but think that they have changed. That they were better, now. Although, that was perhaps hardly fair from a man who thought planetary glassings were a necessary part of warfare.

@AdventCore

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

There was a long pause from Luci as she let the captive Sith's words sink in. Again he hit her with a level of logic and cunning she'd been unprepared to hear. "Maybe you're right..." She sincerely began again with a small sigh.

"Maybe we should just sit back for awhile. See if the Empire is capable of sharing the Galaxy, of being reasonable. Maybe one day you can earn your place as the rightful rulers, so long as it actually made sense. If there was actually a possibility of them succeeding and maintaining peace by uniting the Galaxy, even under their banner."

She brought her gaze back to Xucas's and shifted her lips to the side. "I've always felt the Jedi were raised on a belief of redemption. Rey Skywalker began the new Order with a new hope in mind for the future of the Jedi, but you're right, we've become a militant force and are in constant conflict with the Sith, blowing up their children and escalating things beyond reason. A handful of us can't stop them... If Jedi weren't on faction planets, if they abandoned the war and the fight against the Sith, do you think the Empire would really leave them alone and let them live in peace?"

Her eyes widened, reflecting her naivety as her passion for their topic began to shimmer through. "I wish it could be that easy, Xucas. That if we laid down our arms and turned away we could find a new way to help the Galaxy without the constant threat of finding your bloodred lightsabers in our backs... That the people would be in good hands and their worlds would go unscathed. Do you think the rest of the Jedi and Sith would be able to accept that possibility?"

@Nevermourn

 

[Xukas Mangle]

The padawan seemed to... agree with him. Agree with his points of view. It is surprising, in truth. He wouldn't have expected a Jedi to see reason. The question arises, though. Did he really think there would be peace with the Empire in control? The Empire itself would likely not want the Jedi within it's borders, but so long as the Jedi did not meddle in Imperial affairs, what reason would the Empire have to attack them? Xukas sees things with logic. Perhaps some Sith did not, but he thinks that it is possible, thinks that the Sith have changed enough that they wouldn't hunt the Jedi to the ends of the universe, if they did not feel the need to.

"It would be a big leap." Xukas admits. "But why not try? Where is the harm there? Tell your Jedi to stand down, to extend the flag of peace. If the Sith lunge to stab your kind in the back, I will not bite my tongue and deny the needless brutality." Xukas will admit he was wrong, but the wolf is confident that there can be peace. But then, that was the future. Convincing the Jedi to drop their weapons and allow the Empire it's reign would be no simple task. In other words, Xukas was still in danger. His shimmering eyes are intense as they gaze upon the padawan, shrouded by the haze of the shield that glowed between them.

"Will you release me, Qahnaarin?"

@AdventCore @Apollyon

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

The weight of his words sink in once again.

For a moment.

Then a devilish smirk crept up across the girl's lips. "Oh you want me to just release you, huh?" She skittered over to the cell's control panel. Her devious expression deepened more and more as her head eerily swiveled towards her captive.

"Well, I dunno..." Her index finger slowly pulled back and forth over a button that didn't actually lower the barrier, she just wanted to tease the Shistavanen and see if he was capable of making the same kinds of faces she'd seen dogs make when they got the same treatment.

"You gonna be a good boy?" Her eyebrows hopped up and down, her long thin smile curling in an almost impossible manner. She of course had no intention of releasing Xucas.

@Nevermourn @Apollyon

 

[Xukas Mangle]

She smirks at him, and the wolf knows his persuasion had failed. It probably would have been expected that he'd use the civility as a potential opportunity. His eyes watch her coldly as she teases him, taunted him with freedom. Xukas isn't making any cute faces though, isn't amused by the mocking display. He huffs, coils his lethal claws into the sheets of his bed.

"Funny for you, perhaps. I will await my execution as expected." With that, he settles against the mattress, rolls so that his back is toward her, and lets out a rough breath of hopeless acceptance. The Sith might as well go back to sleep, he didn't really feel like conversing with the padawan anymore. Xukas didn't want to die. He supposes that he should count himself as one of the lucky ones, though. At the very least, her Order would not torture him.

@AdventCore @Apollyon

 

[Lucifrey Sol]

Luci's demeanor cracked and dropped once she realized she'd offended Xucas. "Ah. Sorry about that..." Her tone was honest and sincere. She pulled away from the control panel and stepped back. "I guess some of you actually have feelings after all."

Her somber eyes gazed around his cell. "This isn't the kind of place I'd want to be stuck either. But at least you're alive for now, yeah?" She turned and began to walk away, hoping that she could break through the Sith and reach the Shistavanen with one last parting note.

"They might let you live, you know. If you can let go of your cult, and prove you're not bad..." Then she lowered her head. She didn't really care whether the Empire was actually a cult or not. To her, anything the Sith established or assimilated into their ways was still little more than the product of their ancient cult.

Even Xucas, who she hoped would be easier to retrain. But as she saw things, he was much more of a person to her than he was an animal or some pet to be collared and kept on a leash.

Bright pink bangs covered her eyes and upper face. One step after the next she continued towards the door, not expecting Xucas to return any further comments.

@Nevermourn @Apollyon