Ask Lonely at the Top

[Varyn Atrix]

Per my new OP template, thread is death enabled​

Everything had changed in the past few days, and unlike so many of the Sith and former-Sith, Varyn was actually happy about it. He'd kept most of his opinions and feelings under wraps, simply going with the flow of whatever unfolded in the hopes of not ending up on some ISB hit list, but at the end of the day, he knew that would pass. The dust would eventually settle.

For the moment, though, he was still under suspicion, it seemed. He'd boarded La Bailarina specifically with the intent to visit his friend and drew numerous unfriendly looks from the officers aboard, but somehow it was all very familiar. Varyn had always been an isolated person, and that wouldn't likely change under the new regime. Still, he was determined not to lose one of the few friends he had left.

He made his way up to the captain's cabin and was immediately confronted by the sentries out front, radioing silently inside to let the new Warmaster know of Varyn's arrival. A few moments later, he was allowed to enter and the door hissed open.

Varyn stepped inside and held up his hand, holding a bag up into the air in it. Inside were several cans of beer and several cans of soda. As it turned out, Varyn's liver injuries on Yavin now precluded him - much to his chagrin - from drinking alcohol, but Mr. Two-Livers didn't have that problem.

I come bearing gifts, he said. He honestly had no idea how he would be received given the recent events, but he hoped they were still friends despite everything. If not... well, then this would probably be a shorter visit than he hoped.

A celebratory gift to congratulate you, Warmaster, he said. He knew Altair had been working himself into the ground because he knew him well enough to know that that was how much he cared about what he was doing and those under him, and Varyn also knew he needed to rest and blow off steam. In truth, he just wanted to make sure Altair didn't feel alone.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was getting tired of working all the time. Usually, he was the idiot that zoned out or barely passed his classes. However, after some stern lectures from his family and some meds to manage his ADHD, he soon found his path. He was focused on advancing as an Imperial, and he actively stepped away from the strictly Dark Side path that many of his brethren dabbled in. He began to return to his Matukai roots, which never extensively used the Dark Side.

Throughout all his big moves, Varyn had been there with him. Altair had long since forgiven him for not mentioning his past as a Shadow. Varyn proved himself by helping infiltrate Yavin and almost dying in a fight against his old comrades. And now Varyn stood by him when Altair felt alone. His true friends were becoming evident day by day, and as he suspected, they were rare. The rest prioritized their own power in the Dark Side. They didn't care about the preservation of the Empire.

Altair was in the middle of yawning when Varyn walked in. The exhaustion was clear on his face. He eyed the bag curiously, knowing it had to go through extensive screenings to get here. The tiefling grinned in response, “Good to see you in one piece. At this point, I feel like you’re held together by spite,” He said as he took out a beer. Altair looked at the soda, “Why’d you bring childrens’ fruit juice?” He asked with disgust before remembering Varyn’s condition.

The tiefling cracked open a soda and handed it to Varyn, touching his own can against it before taking a sip, “Cheers,” He said as he looked at the other man, “I..didn’t expect you to stay on this side of things,” Altair said quietly, “I know…how you feel about Vahliri.”

Altair knew his actions drove a massive wedge not just between him and others, but also for those that stuck with him. They sacrificed all the same and then some.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Heh-heh, that's a little too close to home, he said with a smile and a point toward Altair as the Tiefling mentioned that he was held together by spite. Yes, it was pretty much just a stubborn refusal to die at this point and a borderline suicidal attraction to danger that actually, frankly spoke to some underlying psychological issues.

Best to ignore those things.

He took the open can as Altair asked why he was drinking it. He gave the most unamused face to the Tiefling and pointed to his liver. Remember? Several weeks in the hospital. Almost dying, he said, his face almost scrunching up in a displeased look as he thought back about those awful memories.

He tapped his can against Altairs and took a big gulp, the mention of Vahliri causing a more serious expression to fall over Varyn's face. He still had feelings for Vahliri, but there were realities that he simply couldn't look past anymore.

I left everything to help create a vision of the Empire like what you're creating, he said, his tone now far more somber. He had betrayed the Jedi and still felt guilt over it most days, but he told himself it would be worth it to see this through. That his actions might be able to be justified.

I wasn't going to abandon that for and Order I didn't believe in and a... woman who didn't love me, he finally said before taking another big drink of his soda to put his mind off of it.

But you two were friends, too. You knew her even longer than me. Not to mention others, and now everyone's looking to you. It's gotta be a lot. How are you holding up? he asked.