Ask What's Tiamat-ter With You?

Emryc Thorne

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While he had known Tiamat to be the ultimate flake, this was strange even for her. She always cropped up by now in some shape or form, even if it was to pop out of the blue to yell at him and abruptly leave. There was also the fact that something felt off through the Force Bond he shared with her. Though she was no longer technically his apprentice, there was a connection between them that was likely permanent. Emryc had largely focused on ISC and other matters for a while. It wasn’t until he was in the hospital that he noticed her absence. He knew that no matter how much they bickered or fought, she would have been there just as he would for her. Even then, he allowed a bit of space. However, as even more time passed, he was curious enough to go investigate.

She wasn’t particularly difficult to track down, and he showed up in his very casual clothes. Tiamat was one of the few people in the galaxy that saw him dress down entirely. He was dressed in a Huttball hoodie with jeans and sneakers with a Rancors hat perched atop his head. In his left hand was a comically large bag of stale candies.

Emryc learned Tiamat had abandoned the apartment he visited last, and was likely to be found in what she called her lab. From the outside it appeared to be a warehouse of sorts. It vaguely reminded him of some of the places he used to frequent for spice drops. Exactly what kind of lab was she running these days?

The half Sephi shrugged and knocked on what looked like the front door, checking the sporty chrono on his wrist while he waited.
 

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There was alert that chimed in her office when someone was at the door, but deep in her work, Tiamat ignored it, continuing to outline with formulas. Each one created a new shape for her to work into her blueprints, looking for the exact fit until things calculated to give maximum efficiency on her engine. She only stopped when her droid rolled into the room, gently bumping into her leg and whistled in droidspeak. The woman looked down and frowned, she had thought she had closed herself off enough to keep him from finding where she had gone, or even to contact her. There was a strong pull that told her just to ignore it, and he would leave eventually, but the droid spoke something about letting him inside, clearly noticing the change in it's master's behavior lately.

Tiamat frowned and quickly saved her work as she chased the droid down the hall in an attempt to beat it to the door of her lab. Eventually she reached out with the Force, picking up the droid with an invisible grasp, the ball of its base still rolling as it grumbled in its annoyance before the woman set it down and shoo'd it away. The droid was just as stubborn as she was at times.

Just when Emryc would think no one would answer, the door opened and there stood Tiamat.

She would look thinner, though not as bad as it was the first few weeks after getting out of the cave. She was dressed oddly from what Emryc would normally see from her; now that she was mingling with more civilians, she opted for more business-like attire, a fitted, white, button down blouse and black trousers with a low heel. It just made her red hair even more pronounced as it draped loosely over her shoulders. Her face seemed more pale, sunken; and her blue eyes, well, they didn't light up as they did when she saw him. Though the blue in her eyes seemed to be obscure by her contacts she was using to record mainly her work.

Emryc seemed to tower over her as she took her eyes from the chocolate candy under his arm to his face. "Hi." she stated, her brow narrowed in a moment of confusion, as though something didn't feel right. She stepped aside to let him enter, even with the unease to entertain his company. If Emryc decided to enter, he would step into a crisp, brightly lit white hall that extended the length of the warehouse, offices lining one side, the other had alternating frosted and transparent duraglass panels to see the lab sections below. He would recognize one as the hypergate she had been building, but the others were not-so-easily identifiable. It seemed Tia was the only one here currently.



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Emryc could sense her, but no one was opening the door. In the end, he shrugged and began to walk away, deciding that she was likely too enthralled in her work to entertain guests. Her passion for her work was something he always admired, and he wouldn’t interject or think anything of it. As he began to leave, however, she opened the door.

Right away he could tell something was off. She had an almost vacant look on her face, her eyes missing that vibrant shine they had whenever she saw him. He didn’t even realize he missed it until it wasn’t there. She also appeared almost uncomfortable in his presence, and her tone when she greeted him was entirely off. Usually her greetings were excited or outright irritated, and he would have taken either of those over this.

Emryc blinked a few times, but stepped in nonetheless, walking behind her. Though she could be likened to a racoon most of the time, Tia was generally good about keeping her workspace clean. Even then, this place looked particularly immaculate and closer to how he would keep a setting.

“Happy Hallowe’en,” He said, his tone about as cheerful as it got with its normal deadpan. Emryc held up the bag for her, “For you. It’s exactly a year old,” He said with a grin, extending the bag to her.

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Tia slowed down her pace when he spoke, greeting her and showing what he had brought in his visit. She looked at the bag and then to Emryc, and no emotion came. Wasn't she supposed to be frustrated with him? She liked visitors though, why didn't she feel the happiness? Her brow narrowed in her confusion that twisted through her mind, but she took the candy, a corner of her lip flickered with an attempt to smile, "Still good, can you believe people just throw it out after like a month?" she sighed and opened the bag, removing a piece of chocolate with peanut butter filling.

She paused just before her office to look down at the lab, "You like it?" she asked him, "I'm calling it Asteria Industries." Tia explained, taking a bite of the candy. She had stood many times since it was under construction looking over the terminals and her assistants and yet she found it still hard to believe where she had come from. "I've had to be careful, Kuat and Sienar are already snooping, but let them try, I'm excited to have something that others want." though she didn't feel that excitement; ever since she returned from the cave in the outer regions, the mask had dampen any emotions she felt. Though at times it was tolerable not to feel, it was moments like this one with Emryc when she felt there should have been something. She finished the piece of candy, chewing as slowly as she was filtering through her thoughts.

She nodded to the adjacent room and walked into the office, a name labelled the door: Anat Asteria. She steered clear of the desk, clearly covered in her work as was a quarter of the office. However, there was an area that remained untouched, clearly meant for entertaining: couch, chairs, decanters of various liquor and glasses on the table between them. Tiamat took a seat on a chair and immediately started to dig through the candy bag, "So what do you need, Mr. Thorne?" she asked.



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Emryc visibly grimaced at her disbelief that people threw it away after a month. He wasn’t a fan of candies of any kinds. He avoided most sweets save for the cupcakes Tia made. The half Sephi listened to her describe her lab, noting the lack of excitement in her tone. Normally this kind of thing livened her up and he had to sit through her ramblings and excitement. In many ways, he secretly liked it, especially with the way her eyes glinted when she described her work.

“Asteria?” He asked as he watched her shovel more of the stale candy into her mouth with disgust, “What’s that from?” It wasn’t a name he had heard before, and he knew his history. The half Sephi looked around, impressed at the setup, “You’ve kept it nice and clean,” He couldn’t help the tone of surprise.

When Tia referred to him as Mr. Thorne, his eyebrows shot way up. Emryc blinked a few times, clearly caught off guard. He knew something was very off about her, but he wasn’t the type to pry and be nosy. His demeanor, otherwise, was quite casual as he stood by her. His hands were in his pockets, and he was in his frumpy clothes, though always wearing his brand name cologne. He walked over and plopped down to sit across from her.

“Nothing, Ms. Durand,” He quipped back, “Just came to waste time with you and bring you some shitty candy,” Emryc grinned at her, "There's also this....forest or something. Supposedly haunted. Maybe," He shrugged, "I was going to go investigate. Probably not as fun alone."

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She opened her mouth to explain where she had gotten Asteria, but stopped. The fog of memories trickled through her thoughts, recalling the look of disinterest Emryc held anytime she begun to explain something. Especially if it involved something not related to him or his encyclopedia of history, it made her wonder why she even bothered at times. So instead, she didn't answer, letting him continue in his surprise at her habits: nice and clean, how would he know, for some reason, it was hard to remember if he ever saw her lab prior. Her brow narrowed, head tilting slightly as she tried to recall, but him calling her Ms. Durand, that didn't sound right either. None of this felt right if there was anything for her to feel.

She popped another piece of candy in her mouth, studying Emryc carefully; to waste time with her? Now this was getting extra bizarre, but there was a part of her that liked it. She did like spending time with him, but when was the last time she did that and not have it end in disaster. Why did he come back?

"Shitty candy made of the same ingredients of overpriced candy... I'm no fool." she mumbled listening to describe wanting to go to some haunted forest. Puzzlement crossed her face, "Ok, but," she paused and glanced away, thinking as she tried to figure out what was going on. "I'm confused Emryc..." she started, filtering through her memory as she looked for some clue as to if she missed some cue from him. A wave of his cologne made it to where she was sitting; it was like a spark that suddenly cleared the fog and for a brief moment there was a glint in Tia's eyes that Emryc would recognize.

"Haunted forests don't exist, only in movies." she finally scoffed, but fidgeted, thinking of the last spooky forest movie she saw. "Right? Only in movies?" she frowned, then she remembered the cave and what happened to her, "Maybe I should go with you."



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Emryc was repeatedly caught off guard by her, but it didn’t manifest too overtly. It presented in the form of very faint microexpressions on his face - subtle twitches of his muscles, the way his eyes looked and other hints only she would know from the years of knowing him. Of course, her fuzzy and tampered memories would also linger. The half Sephi had no clue what happened to her. To him it was as if Tia fell asleep for a long time and just woke up perpetually confused by everything. He didn’t miss that she ignored his question, but he assumed that was simply from her picking up the habit from him.

He also didn’t miss the faint glint in her eye, though he had no idea it had been his cologne to trigger it. Her sudden concern about the forest drew out a grin, “Oh yeah, only in movies,” He stated flatly, “But the interesting thing about this one is that supposedly if you look deep enough you can find Old Gus’s farm,” Emryc stared at her, “You’ve heard that story right?” He allowed a bit of pause for the inevitable blank expression. He cleared his throat, leaning forwarded a little.

“So it goes that Old Gus lived on a farm with his family. Kept mostly to themselves and didn’t trouble anyone. Old Gus was a really kind and gentle man and got along with all the townsfolk. One day, the stableboy came running down to the town screaming. Turns out the house had all the family members slashed up in their beds. Old Gus was nowhere to be found. But here’s the thing,” Emryc leaned in even closer, “The house was locked from the inside and they never found signs of anyone getting in or out of the house. They never found Old Gus. No one knows what happened.”

Emryc grinned at her, “Legend goes if you go into that house, you can hear what Old Gus heard right before he did it. But only if you go in late at night. And sometimes,” He paused for a moment, “Just sometimes. You can see Old Gus’s wife walking around in her old nightgown at the top of the stairs.”

He finally leaned back in his seat, checking his chrono, “Well,” He said matter of factly as he rose to stand, “Best be on our way.”

---​

The town that was attached to the forest was teeming with activity. Hallowe’en was a special time of year and there were festivals all around. This town in particular went all out. Emryc regretted this idea almost at once as he saw how many people were eating food with their hands at the various stalls. There was a giant cotton candy stand and he grimaced at the sight, not comprehending why anyone would ever want to touch that ungodly mess.

The half Sephi was thankfully not as recognizable in his hoodie, hat and jeans. It was almost evening time before the forest tours, but they had some time to mill about before then. Emryc stopped by a stall to grab himself a fruit smoothie, forking over a few Crowns. People all around them were dressed in costumes.

Emryc did a double take as he saw someone wearing a Sephi ear headband and a cheap suit while pretending to be him. The half Sephi blinked a few times, staring in genuine disbelief as the man strolled past them.

“I am a man of the people!” The man yelled as he walked past people. Emryc shook his head at the sight, sipping from his smoothie.

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So he was serious about actually going to this haunted forest place with psycho Gus and his murdered family, so for Tiamat, this meant it was really hard not to think about it. Luckily she had a change of clothes to bring with her, because she wasn't about to explore some spooky forest in her business clothes and ruin her shoes. There was a level of comfort knowing that Emryc was dressed as frumpy as her: leggings, hoodie, jacket, and her hair tied back in a ponytail. However, there was no comforting thoughts as she seemed to pop into the cockpit with a new question, chewing on some old candy, about every three minutes regarding Gus and his murdered family, and some aspect to what happened, who was involved, her research quickly done with a holonet search, and her own paranoid questioning.

When Tiamat finally saw the festivities regarding this story and for Hallowe'en, she felt a bit better about Emryc's story and managed to convince herself it was just fake (or else why would people be hanging around?). She glanced at Emryc, seeing the look in his face that told her that he was really uncomfortable as people were eating all sorts of junk food with their fingers and not a handwash station in sight. The redhead bought herself some hot apple cider and some sort of fried cake on a stick, "You're missing out..." she trailed off watching the costumed Emryc walk by and Tia snickered, "I bet you could have gotten away as dressing as President Emryc and they would still think you were not the real one. I should have brought a costume, its been ages since I dressed up for Hallowe'en." she explained, seeing the line for the forest tour and suddenly feeling her nerves shake.

"Why do they wait until the sun goes down?" she asked, frowning, "Maybe some of us want to check it out while its still light out." she complained, not wanting to admit she was unable to convince herself that the story of Gus was fake.



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Emryc scoffed at Tiamat’s idea of him dressing him as himself, “No way. Being me is exhausting,” He stated flatly, staring at the other man that was posing as him. There were some people even stopping him to take pictures. The half Sephi shook his head. The man wasn’t even that tall! And he wasn’t even in shape. Emryc grumbled under his breath before turning to look at Tia again and immediately regretting it. She appeared to have procured a cake type thing on a stick. Not only did it look disgustingly sweet, but there were crumbs falling off it as she ate it. Emryc took a step back, putting a dramatic bit of distance between himself and any potential blast radius the food had.

As Tiamat mentioned a costume, Emryc grinned, “Well you certainly pull off a nurse costume. Perhaps a Ranger one next,” He stared vacantly for a moment, imagining a tight Ranger uniform and handcuffs. Naturally that image was immediately ruined by the sound of Tiamat loudly slurping from her cider and making an absolute mess with the cake. Emryc shook his head and sipped from his smoothie.

“Weren’t you listening?” He asked icily, “If we find the house, we’ll only hear the Old Gus voices at night. And I fully intend to find that house,” Emryc began to walk after that, heading towards where crowds were lining up to explore the forest. It was a massive forest, and everybody would split up inevitably.

As they walked, there were musicians playing and people dancing around. Emryc watched it as he walked, sipping from the smoothie. He glanced over at Tiamat, silently wondering if she would join in. Historically she had always been up for social dances, his mind drifting back to Tatooine.

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Hot, sweet, and crunchy goodness...Tiamat hummed to herself as she ate the cake, never minding Emryc's dramatic six foot slide away as though she were carrying a plague. Lucky for him, the fried cake on a stick was gone within three bites, just leaving her to sip on the hot cider. She glanced at him in confusion and yet some amusement when he mentioned the nurse costume, "In your dreams I'd ever wear that." she scoffed and took another sip, shaking her head as they approached the line.

Her face contorted into a pout seeing all the people waiting to start the search in the forest. He emphasized they had to go at night to hear the voices of Gus and his family. Tiamat's frown pouted harder as she brought the cup to her lips and mumbled something about him finding a cardboard cut out and a radio playing spooky noises.

As the sun continued to set, the air became cooler and lights illuminated the stands and gathering areas, her attention turned to the musicians and locales who gathered to dance. She couldn't remember the last she danced, in fact, it was hard to remember even the times she did. Undoubtedly, she loved it, picking up on a beat and suddenly appeared a Zabraki local who offered to dance with her. Clearly this meant if she started dancing, then it would delay her from going into the forest, so Tia accepted, "Let's go!" she said as she handed off her cider to Emryc. If he would take the cup, it was clearly sticky from the cake.



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Emryc stared at all the dancing as they passed by it. Dancing was definitely a hobby he enjoyed for years now. It didn’t matter what kind, he liked to move. For all his stoic ways, this was something he always participated in. He drank from the smoothie, tapping his foot to the beat of the music. Clearly Tiamat was also excited about this, getting asked to dance by some Zabrak guy. Emryc was too busy sizing up said guy and absentmindedly took the proffered cider cup.

And then he felt the sticky goo on the cup.

“TIA GOD DAMN IT!” He practically shrieked, left standing while holding the disgusting cup. He was too environmentally conscious to throw the cup just anywhere as much as he wanted nothing more. He was suddenly reminded of when he accidentally drank Tia’s disgusting backwash caf when he wasn’t paying attention. The woman always had a penchant for torturing him in the worst ways possible.

Emryc quickly shuffled away towards the nearest dumpster, cursing up a storm as he did so. He tossed the cup, his finished smoothie and went to a food stall. He rudely cut in front of others, shoving people out of the way to grab wet wipes and thoroughly clean his hands. It was only then that he relaxed, making his way back over to the dancing in a sour mood.

The half Sephi moodily stood at the edge of all the dancing, crossing his arms over his chest as the others celebrated around him.

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There was a loud shriek from the crowd and Tia thought it was just part of the spooky festivities (oblivious it was Emryc's dramatic reaction since he never flinched), though the thought of psycho Gus trickled into her conscious mind. She nearly started to drift away from the Zabrak before he pulled her back, encouraging her to continue since she was dancing very well. The woman grinned, falling into step as she speed up with the music; some others who were learning occasionally bumped into her, but it didn't deter the redhead as the Zabrak took her hand and spun her, releasing her into a new partner.

A young human pulled her to him and flashed her a rather charming smile that would delight any girl including Tiamat. She continued with the music, dance was her peace, but there was something that did not bring her comfort; an urge, the darkness that watched as she fell within her serenity. Though it would be quite clear it did not like it.

Although Tia continued, switching partners, twirling, laughing, a burning sensation tickled in her chest. She made it to the edge of the dance floor where Emryc was pouting, ready to offer him a turn as she extended her hand and paused. Her eyes widened, seeming fearful of something; but what Emryc couldn't see, Tiamat felt as the phantom handprint burned deep into her chest, a reminder of what it wanted, what it had in flesh. Tia walked right past Emryc, never minding the direction as she headed to the forest, away from the festival, she just wanted the pain to stop.



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Emryc stood at the edge of the dance circle grumpily, still thinking about the sticky mess that was the cup. However, the music began to lighten his mood, watching the crowd and the way they moved. His gaze fell on Tiamat a while later, and she began to make her way over to him. His features softened despite his earlier annoyance, preparing to take her hand and dance with her as he had countless times before.

And then her face shifted. She looked as if she was in pain. As if she was terrified. Emryc was left blinking in stunned silence as she drifted back into the crowd and through it. With his height, he could see her move past them and towards the forest.

Emryc jogged right after her, moving past the crowd and towards where they were alone. None of the groups officially entered the forest yet. He ran after her as they entered past the tree line, going into the forest that was growing darker by the minute.

“Tiamat!” He finally called out after her. If she slowed down, he would jog to catch up to her, “What happened?” Emryc asked her, “Did one of those fuckers try anything?” His tone was suddenly frosty as he looked over his shoulder towards where the dancing crowds were. That Zabrak was getting a little handsy earlier. Rage began to build, but he waited for now, glancing back at Tiamat.

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She heard her name being called but it sounded so distant. Her mind and heart were conflicted as though she opened a spout and released what had been hidden from her by the Eternal's spirits. She suddenly remembered how things really were for just a brief moment; the trust and love she held for him, and the kindness he showed in return. She knew it was the pain that always drove her away, but she also knew Emryc relieved that pain. The hand continued to burn into her chest as she slowed her pace allowing for Emryc to catch up, concern in his tone, the echo of laughter she could hear light years away as she tried to regain tranquility... if she could even call it that now.

The redhead rubbed her chest with her palm as though her own touch would ease the pain, but hearing the change in Emryc's tone, she reached out with her free hand to grasp his arm. Her touch was ice, "Emryc, no." she whispered and sighed with relief, already feeling the pain ease, "Its okay, I just..." she looked up into his silver eyes, noting the gold and her brow narrowed, trying to figure out if she had seen it before. Her gaze flickered to the lines.

"I'll be okay," Tia looked back at Emryc, her grasp loosening after becoming suddenly aware to how hard she was gripping him, "It looks like they're starting soon. Are...are you sure you want to go into the forest?" she asked him, the nervousness in her tone returned, "What if...if it is true with Gus?" Tiamat leaned in, whispering, "What if he is still in there?"



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As soon as he arrived, he could tell something was horribly wrong. Pain coursed through Tiamat, and he felt hints of it through their bond. The Kravos teachings set up walls within his mind, but a bond as strong as the one the two of them had often circumvented such barriers. The half Sephi actually winced from the impact, exhaling softly as he was hit with a sudden tidal wave of jabs to his psyche. He was pulled back to the present only from Tiamat gripping his arm.

Yellow tinted silvers stared widely for a moment at her as she recovered. However, even then he didn’t press or probe for answers. It was something that clearly caused her agony and digging deeper could make it worse. Tiamat had always known to bring up anything she wanted with him without him ever forcing it from her.

The half Sephi’s face slowly eased back into the normal stoic as he remained in Tiamat’s grip calmly until she extracted herself when she was ready. The sudden shift back to the murder house caught him off guard. And he had a sinking feeling from the familiarity he saw before him. It was exactly the kind of abrupt and jarring shift he used to get when Raze was first born. It was exactly how he acted when he switched between Emryc and Raze and both sides hadn’t learned to coexist yet. His heart sank at what he saw, his eyes briefly betraying pain. Had he failed her in the end? The psychological torment he had gone through was not one he would ever wish upon her. It brought a sick feeling to the pit of his stomach, but he said nothing about it. He knew she would skirt around the topic and deflect, just as he used to.

He quickly shook out of his line of thinking, focusing back on the present. Emryc quirked a brow as she whispered in a bit of a panic. He reached over and gently patted her on the shoulder, his face entirely sympathetic, “It’s all right, Tiamat,” He said very sincerely, “I can respect your wishes of being complete porgshit,” His face remained entirely serious, “Let’s go back.”

With that, he turned and began to walk out of the forest.

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He was quiet, but Tia was certain she had scared him; she had not seen Emryc act as he did in a long time but she didn't want him to worry about her. She in fact did not want anyone to worry if she was okay, she always took care of it, regardless. Tia held his hand on her shoulder for a moment longer until his face returned to that seriousness she recognized all too well. For a moment it seemed like he would accept that she was okay and there was nothing to worry about when it came to herself. However, that was far from the truth as he called her out and started back to the lines.

Tia's jaw fell agape and she stuttered as she searched for her words to disagree quickly and firmly, but she had no success. Instead it turned into a pout, her brow furrowed and she quickly caught up with Emryc, "Hey!" she protested, but she couldn't muster much of an argument as she glanced up at him, catching the corner of his eye. The redhead folded her arms, eyes falling to the ground as her thoughts fought to determine if it was worth saying anything more to him.

Her hands slid into her pockets, "I'm fine." she whispered, though it was not clear if she was telling Emryc or herself.

Many people had gathered at the starting point and the festival's host for the search of Gus' home stood in front, microphone at hand to call attention to himself. Tia was uncertain how so many people found this fun, she glanced up at Emryc again, the pout returned as the host announced the rules.

"All right folks! Just three rules... one! There is no illuminators or flashlights allowed. Two! Go in pairs! And lastly, rule three, have fun!"

Tiamat's face contorted in disapproval, "There should be more rules, this place is health risk!" she complained to Emryc.



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Emryc kept a straight face as he kept walking, practically hearing Tiamat make befuddled and exasperated noises. As he expected, she joined him eventually, blurting out that she was fine. He knew well enough that deep inside this was the kind of thing she enjoyed. In truth, he did too, which he didn’t know before he discovered how entertaining it was to see her terrified over nonsense things.

His focus was turned on the announcements, largely because they infuriated him.

“No flashlights?” He practically hissed in the chorus of the complaints Tiamat started. Emryc’s eyesight was not exactly the best, and this held especially true in darkness. He would be squinting like an idiot in no time and default to Force Sight. For all the wealth he had accumulated, it was sheer laziness that kept him from getting corrective surgery at this point.

Emryc began to walk alongside Tiamat in the dark. He was silent for a while but suddenly blinked a few times, “What do you mean health risks?” He asked abruptly, “Do we have to touch anything?” She knew him well enough to be able to tell the slight variations in his inflection when concern was bleeding into his monotone.

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Darth Tiamat

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Tiamat was festering in her thoughts about psycho Gus and his dead family and how Emryc convinced her to wander a forest that was probably harboring the souls of others who were murdered by the possession but no one was talking about it. She glanced up when Emryc asked her about the health risks, he sounded concerned about having to touch anything. Though that should have been the least of his worries, "What if one of the dead touch you? Like their bodies would be decaying." she wiggled her fingers together as though it were to symbolizing skin rippling apart. "That's a health hazard, think of the bacteria, and what if someone gets hurt? Are they going to pay for my hospital bill?" Tiamat felt exasperated.

"And no flashlights? Its not even a full moon, its so hard to see." she sighed, knowing very well she could use the Force to guide her sight, but that was an effort and she felt it would risk drawing on the Eternal's spirits to her consciousness.

There was a sudden snap of a twig behind them and Tiamat froze in place, a hand quickly grasping Emryc's arm to hold him in place and keep him from leaving her to investigate. "What was that?!" her voice dropped to a worried whisper as the bugs even seemed to stop their buzzing "Emryc, what do your elf eyes see?!" she stepped closer to him.



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Emryc Thorne

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“The dead wouldn’t touch me on account of being dead,” He muttered icily. He remained silent about her other concerns around the hospital bill. Was there even a hospital nearby? This entire area was sketch and backwater. If someone got hurt out here, they were more or less on their own or facing some backwards medical services.

His ears swiveled slightly at the snap of the twig and he began to turn. However, he paused when Tiamat grabbed his arm. Her question was counterproductive to what she was doing in preventing him from going to investigate. Emryc was about to answer when she made the elf eyes comment. He turned back to glare at her.

“If I had a crown for every time I heard that one,” He hissed, entirely unamused. While he was certainly a fan of the Holomovie series, he didn’t appreciate how often that quip came up for Sephi or other long eared species. He had been spared it for many years simply by being scary, but of course Tia had to make the quip.

“And I don’t see anything but your ginger ass,” He grumbled. He turned back around and began to walk deeper into the forest. Since Tia had a hold on him, he simply dragged her along, a very moody expression on his face from his own poor eyesight. Both his hands were stuffed into his hoodie pockets.

They kept walking and then Emryc suddenly paused. It was his turn to be uncomfortable, his ears swiveling again, “Do you hear that?” He asked, blinking a few times, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Complete silence. No forest should be completely silent,” Emryc looked around, not spotting anyone else that left in groups. They were completely alone.

There was a chill to the air and a fog that made visibility scarce. They were also surrounded by dead trees, branches ominously gnarled and curved beneath a blood red sky.

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Darth Tiamat

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Tiamat scoffed when he mentioned having a crown for the many times he had heard that question. His face was literally plastered on every piece of currency, so in Tiamat-conomics it would mean he owned the currency. Perhaps he if he had something in a different currency it would be worth his time to have it. His glare was welcoming, a familiar look that she could only return now with a stupid grin, "Yeah, but my ginger ass looks great." she hummed, feeling a bit more enthusiastic about their adventure until dampening chill seeped from the deepest parts of her mind. Her smiled faded, but she still remained close to his side as they ventured further into the forest.

She was starting to think this was an odd attraction; if it were tourists, or even locals visiting, it seemed hazardous to not have some sort of guide to perimeter the forest. Tia frowned in her thoughts and glanced up at Emryc when he took to a sudden pause, nearly causing Tia to fall forward over her feet. He asked what she heard, and her brow narrowed, finding it incredible difficulty to hear anything until it clicked when Emryc pointed it out. She noted the trees, the moon, the silence, even with her senses aided by the Force, there was an eeriness that put the redhead on alert.

Her mind begun to filter through horror stories she had seen, her imagination running rampant, until a few ideas seemed to make the most sense, "Ok, hear me out...what if this thing was an entire ruse to be some large sacrifice to whatever is causing that." she pointed to the blood red moon, her voice falling to just a whisper, "What if...there isn't a Gus and his house...we should get a refund for our credits."

Tiamat turned around to look at the path behind them, the fog became too hard to see their footsteps in the dirt, and the trees, seemed to have twisted an contorted into new forms since the two of them passed them along their path.



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