Ask Watering the Water

[Darth Tiamat]

Dromund Kaas

The last few days, Tiamat had spent considerable effort not to think about much of anything except for engineering. It wasn't difficult for her to recall where she had left off prior to Blybos, but pulling the focus to resume seemed like an uphill battle. Whatever was pumped into her while in FWA and Republic custody seemed to stick like molasses throughout her mind and body. Purging it was like shifting through every strand of hay to find the needle hidden; it was a process that took more time than she realized and even after as many times she had been doing it, she was always surprised by how much time would pass. Small steps back to what felt like normal.

She rose from the stone floor, welcoming the chill under her feet as she raised her arms above her head, stretching as fully as she could, taking a moment to feel her own presence in the space she allowed herself to have. Part of the perk of climbing in rank, she managed to gain more privacy and not need to worry about others chasing her out of the training room. With a wave of her fingers, the illuminators brightened and dimmed as she walked over to her gear, pulling out a staff carved to represent her saber. She weighed it in her palm as though it suddenly became heavier overnight; she knew there was no difference and it would not feel different in time.

Finding her opening stance, Tia begun to work through her kata. The Force followed her direction, moving in an ebb and flow like a darkened silk that wrapped around her body. She gave pause every so often to focus on her footing; her movements slowing as she carefully felt for the proper position that felt abnormal until it would feel more natural when she moved on through the drill. Soon she trusted her body to continue on its own, her mind turning inward as she went through the mental checklist of equations and algorithms that she would work on for the day. However, her thoughts would drift, reminders of Emryc's frustration with her choice to revealing the gates to the Eternal. She allowed the emotions to come, but she also allowed them to pass, returning to balance as she refocused on her physical surroundings. The process would repeat, a pendulum of moving in and out until she found comfort and acceptance, thus leading to an eventual peace. It took her a while after Tatooine to find this balance, but it seemed to work most of the time, that balance she had not found in his presence.

Her jaw tightened and she felt her footing falter; they mixed like burning oil and water as Morgan put best. She swung her arms across her chest, grasping her staff tightly to not loose it in the momentum, and rolled out her neck to bring herself back to present. Tia reset in her kata and begun again.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

He had to be in his helmet at all times here. The Eternal was likely going to move on him soon, but even they knew that doing so abruptly would incite conflict with their Council. In some ways, Emryc was untouchable at least for now. It was only a matter of time before Renfry, Tiamat or anyone else turned on him. It was simply the way of the Sith.

Which was precisely why he didn’t quite understand why he sought Tiamat out. He was risking ruffling some feathers striding through the academy here. Others whispered and stared openly as he walked past them in his trademark armor and helmet. His tall frame was easily recognizable, especially after the prison incident.

Emryc paused at the doorway, peering in and spotting her doing her kata. He said nothing for a moment, simply standing there in full armor. He wouldn’t intrude in her space or step in unless he could read that she would allow it.

The visor stared straight ahead as he formulated his thoughts. In the end, he decided he had nothing productive to say. That he was here at all would speak volumes for someone that knew him as well as Tiamat did.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She was back into the flow of her movements, allowing her mind to focus, then wander and pull it back when she felt herself drifting too far into thoughts. She started a countdown of numeric codes used for gate activation, a rhythmic pace that started to align with her movements. However, she felt her mind shift back to Emryc, their bond in the Force contracted and she pressed it aside, assuming for it to be just her wandering mind, but then it came again as though he were right there in the same room with her.

Tiamat frowned as she came out of a form, her arm wrapped around and then released as she turned, though, instead of keeping to her form, the startle of seeing Emryc present caused her to release the weapon too. The staff went flying across the room, clacking against the stone as she stood in stillness, seeing Emryc's, well Raze's form at the doorway and adorned in his full armor. Her brow narrowed as she quickly regained her composure, finding her footing and relaxing in stance as she tried to quickly run down the reasons as to why he would be here. This was not like him at all and her senses reached out, she could not drawn definite conclusion that something could possibly be wrong, but this meeting was odd nonetheless.

The redhead extended her palm and her bokken returned to her palm as she walked over to the wall adjacent from him, eyeing him for a moment before pulling a larger staff. She felt the weight in comparison to her own and then walked up to Emryc, handing him the larger one. "C'mon, its been ages since we've done this together." she stated while stepping slowly backwards toward the center of the room.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Externally it was always difficult to tell whether he was Raze or Emryc when he was donning the armor. The two personalities were wildly different and reacted very differently to things. For now, Emryc stared in silence as Tiamat gathered the staff and handed it to him. The half Sephi grasped it before stepping into the room and closing the distance.

For a moment, he observed her before sliding a foot back and tilting slightly so she faced closer towards his right shoulder. However, he didn’t charge, deciding to let her attack first. Besides, she probably had a lot of angst to unload.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She watched him carefully as he approached; it was probably the first time in a long while that she was able to observe just how much he had grown over the last year. She remembered when they first met it was only a matter of a few inches difference, but now, the half-sephi towered over her...and she was certain a hit from him now would send her into the next year. Though this was all very strange to Tiamat. First he comes to get her out of the Republic prison, literally the first thing he did when he came back, and now here he was, coming to her again. It made her guessing if he wanted something...much like how he assumed she wanted something when she came to him as he told her as much so.

Her stance relaxed for a moment as a bewildered look came over her features as she connected her thoughts. Try as she might, she searched for his gaze behind his helmet, but was unsuccessful, shifting then into form that mirrored his own. "If you came because you ran out of cupcakes, you'll have to wait." she stated, tilting so her left shoulder would point toward him. She breathed in deeply, and exhaled a calm that seemed almost foreign to the reactive redhead. "Apparently, no one around here knows how a strawberry should taste." she clicked her tongue in disbelief.

The woman crossed her step backwards and around to step his right to ensure she kept him turning to reach her with any swing of his staff. The natural strength and power behind his own swings would certainly be a challenge, but he would know that and he would certainly know she always went to bat out of her league. While she would come around his right, Tiamat's staff swung low in a backhanded swat to the back of his knees.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The helmet visor stared back as blankly as the eyes behind it when he gazed at Tiamat.

“I came to see you,” The mechanized voice stated flatly, offering no other explanation. By then the fight had begun and he followed Tiamat’s movements around his side. His stance allowed him a quick pivot by simply adjusting his footing. He shifted his feet to slant his body towards hers as she circled around him.

The left handed staff snapped in from his left to right to catch her incoming strike. His staff was positioned vertically with the shaft pointed down and meeting her attack perpendicularly. Emryc followed it up by a quick slant as he slammed the hilt of the staff towards her sternum while the angle of his weapon held hers at bay.

“Does that surprise you?” He asked as a follow up to his comment, casually continuing dialogue during the spar.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Came to see her?

It was a bit of a shock, but that was typical, to raise her guard to defend against any surprises that could come in battle with her enemies. He followed her as she moved, catching her staff with his own to block her from striking his shins. His strength was greater than her own, and she would avoid holding it in place while he snapped his hilt into her chest. She backed off, breaking away and avoid the blow; she continued to step backwards, still circling him and trusting in her footing to carry her steady. "I come to you though."

Of course it surprised her that he would come to see her, "Then mess I things up every time." she stated as though it were fact and she felt the need to correct him and then stepped toward Emryc, her staff feinting to strike across his midsection and instead went for another low blow against his shins. She expected him to parrying of course, she wasn't necessarily trying to out maneuver him and the distraction of the sparring kept her better centered compared to if she had nothing else to divide her attention with currently.

"When people come to me...its because they want something that will benefit them." Tiamat eyed Emryc, unable to see past his visor.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc kept the staff across his torso in defense even as she backed away, though he met her circling him by keeping her in front of himself. He heard her words as she admitted to messing things up whenever she arrived to see him.

“You do,” He agreed quite flatly as she moved for the feint. He adjusted to meet it, but caught her going instead for the shin. Emryc didn’t change up his move, planting his foot instead to tank the incoming hit. While the blow stung, it put him much closer to her. Not only was his staff now closer to her body coming in from the side opposite of her staff arm, but his helmeted head jerked towards her face.

For a moment the visor was a hair’s breadth away from her face as he purposely stopped himself before following through with the headbutt that could shatter her nose.

“And what do you have to offer that could benefit me?” The mechanized voice asked while his face was still close. However, his staff abruptly swept after he asked the question, moving to make her suddenly topple on the ground.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

He followed, ensuring she would not get behind him or onto any of his corners where he would not be able to reach her. The feint worked, but Emryc would take the hit, her staff smacking into his leg. Though when their staffs collided there seemed to be an echo, it was when it connected with flesh that the sound remained flat, and regardless who you were, the connect was going to leave a welt. However, he took the advantage it would give him and Tiamat's blue eyes widened as his visor came straight toward her face, ready to make contact. She anticipated for the pain that was going to come, but it did not as he had stopped.

Her free hand was tense, her fingers extended with the Force ready to cushion the blow, though when it did not come, she searched for some inkling of his silver eyes. He asked what she could offer in his own benefit and Tiamat didn't move, her mouth opened to speak, but his staff came from underneath. Her legs were swiped from underneath and the redhead fell backwards, landing on her tailbone with huff.

She got back up though without hesitation, finding her form again, "Depends on what you need." she stated, circling her wrist and finding her grasp on the staff, "Get past a Republic firewall? Done." she raised her weapon, "Need to navigate off route and arrive undetected in the FWA?" Tiamat grinned, "Easy." she closed the distance between the two of them as she swung her weapon horizontally with a bit more vigor, but pushed through her offense as she stepped forward again with another swing, "You need an ally on the battlefield, I will be there."

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The sting from the hit to the shin began to dissipate. Between his Teras Kasi training and the armor he wore, it wouldn’t be enough to slow him down. He had trained to mold his body into a weapon, and that meant knowing what hits he could take and which he couldn’t afford. He was pleased to see her spring right back to her feet, and the gesture was actually graceful. For all the ways she may have despised him, a lot of his lessons reflected in the way she moved.

Emryc heard her as she spoke, though he followed her every move. She came in for another attack and the half Sephi moved just as swift, meeting the hit with his own staff. He followed up with a strike with his free hand against the fingers that she used to grip the hilt. It was an abrupt and sudden maneuver intended to disarm her.

“And yet I require none of that,” He stated, “So why am I here?”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

It was always a challenge to get an upper hand anytime she sparred with Emryc, he knew her combat finesse and everything she did had some resemblance of his own strategy. It proved to be frustrating from time to time, he knew where she would go, when she would strike, when she would back off, but it made her keep thinking and trusting her own instincts. He parried her strikes, not speaking as their weapons collided and Tiamat pressed even with his attempt to disarm her.

It didn't matter how strong one was, there was still a sting that radiated through her fingers as though she had gotten them caught in a door. It was effective, but as her weapon dropped, swiftly she did also, catching her staff as she grimaced through the pain, using it to vantage her strength. She jumped back and up from her crouch, staff swinging wide to clear from danger as she regrouped and finding her form again.

He required nothing that she listed, and asked her again why he was present.

Her brow narrowed as she quickly filtered through her thoughts, "I don't like riddles." she stated flatly, her boot scratched against the floor as she turned slightly at the hip to better ground her weight. So why was he here? Tiamat frowned, "Are you leaving again?" she asked, her stance relaxed and her eyes softening. She lowered the staff, but her grip tightened until her knuckles turned white as she was suddenly flooded with the of the pain and worry she felt when he left after Denon.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc felt that slam connect, but he was genuinely impressed to see her drop and catch the weapon. It was a swift recovery that ultimately got her back into combat without missing a beat. The half Sephi was put on the defense as the staff arced in again and he shifted back to avoid the strike. Being tall had its advantages as a single step could put great distance between him and others.

He was prepared for another attack when he caught her shift in demeanor. Their connection meant he could feel the pulses in emotions. Emryc stood poised as a statue, towering across her. The visor gazed towards her in silence as he thought through the words. It was difficult to read him regardless of armor and the gaze beneath it was just as blank.

He noticed the change in how she stood, how her knuckles turned white from tightly gripping the staff and how her gaze shifted slightly. The staff in his hand abruptly arced towards her, the point of it sliding under her chin to tilt her face up towards his visor. He held the staff there. It was a moment before the cold, mechanized voice spoke.

“Why does that matter?”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She didn't move as weapon came to rest under her chin, feeling a subtle pressure that would tilt her head back just slightly to raise her by the chin. The redhead didn't speak and remained unmoving as Emryc kept his hidden gaze on Tiamat. The visor offered very little insight to what the half-sephi was thinking, but she knew there was not much assistance in his gaze underneath. She was ready to speak when he asked a simple question and Tiamat remained still, but her thoughts went wild with the reasons as to why it all mattered.

It was much like stardust as she had once described before to Morgan; just chaos of thoughts and emotions and the underlying anger of how he could not feel the same as she could. Did he not understand? How could one not understand? Why would it not matter?

As much as she tried to say it didn't matter regardless of the reason, it always mattered, possibly with even more conviction because she tried to push it away instead of accepting what she was feeling or even thinking.

Stardust.

But she's navigated before, not necessarily in the realm in which she currently stood, but physically, it was possible...just complicated. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, "The answer is quite possibly the same as to why you are here." Tiamat stated still not certain that was entirely true. Even it was not, then she guessed she'd entertain further as to why he had come and she would have been right, to have been a fool, but she hoped that was not the case.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was caught off guard by her answer, and it reflected in the way the staff slightly faltered from her chin. However, it was impossible to tell beyond that where his thoughts were. While they both had their minds closed to one another from the holocron's teachings, Emryc still had a disciplined command of his emotions. While hers sometimes bled through their connection, nothing ever slipped from him.

The helmeted head tilted just a bit.

“Yes.”

The tone was flat, and the staff moved abruptly. It came down in a sudden arc coming in diagonally to sweep her off her feet yet again. If successful, he would casually spin the staff in his hand while circling around her.

“And no.”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

There was a subtle lightening under her chin as her response seemed to be far from her typical, though with her reactive nature, it wouldn't take much to teetering over and away from anything civil. She watched him closely, still after years she was unable to read anything from him. His helmet tilted as he responded, agreeing and her brow narrowed in skepticism. It wasn't that simple, was it? Regardless, the simple reinforcement of her observation brought a beam of relief from the redhead, it was not often she gotten those from Emryc.

The staff moved away from her chin and she stepped wide backwards with her staff raised, more for balance as it became useless in any defense as Emryc's staff came for her feet in a sweep. Tiamat fell backwards, hitting her tailbone for a second time as she heard Emryc now disagree, leaving his response a possible yes and now. Her scowl returned accompanied with annoyance as she watched him circle her. Of course it wasn't that simple.

Tiamat tilted her head back before throwing her forehead in her palm with a huff as she collected herself while a growing ache grew in her sit bones, her mind still crowded with stardust. A deep breath, she blew it out and back up she stood, watching him circle her while his staff spun in one hand. Her brow narrowed as thoughts floated by, past lessons leading to a current curiosity.

"If you leave again, can it be for a shorter time?" she asked him raising her staff as she looked to sync with his steps and follow him in his circle, "Now that you can see...which means you can look at a calendar and a chrono and not be away for so long?" she said while mirror his staff spin.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc was silent at her response and subsequent attempt at a joke. Her tone never shifted, which meant there were daggers behind the commentary. The half Sephi continued to casually walk in a half circle, the staff expertly spinning in his hand as if it were a mere extension of him. He had trained in these forms for as long as he could remember, having been raised as a soldier. The station may have tried to deprive him of humanity, but it certainly crafted him into the perfect weapon.

“I do as I please,” The mechanized voice finally answered. He abruptly pivoted and brought the left handed staff from his own right to left in a horizontal arc across her torso. He expected her to parry or engage and was fully prepared to follow up.

“You have always had the ability to seek me out,” He stated flatly, “You simply chose not to.”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

No kidding...

He did what he wanted and she just happened to do whatever she wanted to do also. So she guessed they were never too different on that aspect of personality. He moved swiftly, the swoosh of the staff broke through the air as it came across her center; instinct kicked in as she snapped her staff to met his, stopping him from making contact with her body, but she would push off his staff. Staying locked for too long would lead to her being overwhelmed by his natural strength.

"You're right, I did choose not to."

Tiamat circled him to keep him turning and remaining just out of reach, "I did not know your state, I was not going to risk leading the Eternal to you." she recalled her meeting with the Eternal and stepped in for another offensive, swinging her staff in a downward angle before thrusting sharply into his stomach, "However, you're back..." Tiamat's voice dwindled as her thoughts started to turn in her mind, "So it doesn't matter." she stated her sharpness returned.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc felt her push off his staff, and he adjusted it to a defensive posture, expecting a follow up attack. He considered her words, not responding immediately. He reacted to her follow up attack towards his stomach, whirling his staff down in a clockwise arc with the intention of having it slam into the side of her left leg.

“And we arrive right back to what I’ve already stated,” He said dryly, referring to when he had already questioned why it mattered. Just as Tiamat thought he was unclear, she was no different. Emryc didn’t launch a follow up attack right then, withdrawing his staff back and planting the tip of it against the floor next to his boot.

“Are you like this with everyone or just me?” He asked flatly. It was a question that plagued him for years. He finally bothered to ask it outright. Was she this complicated with Renfry, Morgan and everyone else?

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She saw his staff from the corner of her eye come down to make contact with her leg as she had left her side exposed. The redhead tensed against the smack as she attempted to bring her staff down in a narrow save, but was not quick enough. She inhaled, feeling the sting and quickly put some distance between her and him when he pointedly stated how they came back to what he already said. Her brow narrowed.

"Well sometimes I just like to convince myself it doesn't matter when it really does." she huffed and watched him plant his staff into the floor. Her blue eyes flickered from the weapon to his visor, another exhale escaping as he continued. This question though took her a bit by surprise.

"What?" she blinked finding the question quite out of the ordinary. She was starting to miss the Emryc that just said nothing and let her just keep spewing her thoughts until she agreed with herself. Her gaze broke from him as she was trying to think honestly about his question. Her mouth opened as she was going to respond, but paused and her head tilted.

I get along fine with everyone." she said unable to think of spats between her and others like Morgan, Renfry, and Vizim. Even droids she had no issue. "Perhaps just you..." she suddenly felt uneasy as she looked at her staff and the small dents of years of practice that ticked along the mock blade.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc heard her backtrack and relay that it did matter. The confusion would be visible on his face if not for the helmet. He simply stood there as she backpedaled away from his attack. She was just as baffled by his question which he found to be rather obvious and simple. As she finally informed him that it was just him, it confirmed his suspicions.

The half Sephi didn’t understand it. He hardly spoke when in her presence, had never outright said or done anything negative, and yet there was always all this complication. Emryc idly tapped the staff against the ground, tilting his helmet away to stare at a side wall for a moment. She would know that posture to recognize that the gears were turning and he was thinking.

“Perhaps you should consider fucking one of them,” He stated flatly after a moment, tilting his head back to look at her. That certainly sounded like a way to ease the problem, right? Emryc was convinced that was the extent of her ‘feelings’ for him.

@GABA