Mark of the Monster

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

How?

While that was certainly one of the more prevailent thoughts to cross her mind, it was still secondary when compared to her sense of self preservation. And her anger. Anger at being taken so off guard; anger at being thrown into such a situation. She had been safe, or so she had thought. Away from prying eyes, away from the rest of the galaxy to live her life out in solitude; to raise her daughter away from the strife and constant presence of the Empire.

And away from him.

She carried his mark in silent regret, waking each day to look into the mirror and see his handiwork. It was everpresent and a sign of his mastery so many years ago.

She thought that now she was safe, hidden away on what most considered to be a backwater world.

But he'd found her again. Why he had she could only guess. But the fact remained. He was here, in her home. To finish what he started with his 'parting gift' was the only reason she could think of.

And so she crouched, high in the stone stone rafters and hidden in shadows as she drew in silent breaths. Her retreat was only temporary as she needed to recollect herself, and the upper observatory offered the best place to hide for the moment. Far below, the marble floor stretched out, offering yet another arena to battle upon. But she had to rest, for however short a time was given to her.

She crouched lower as the sounds of his footfalls echoed through the room, and she kept still, knowing the slightest sound would give her away.

[The Man in Black]

The Man in Black entered the beast's lair, and regarded it with an eye for the aesthetic. He tipped his wide brimmed hat up so that the illumination from the vaulted glass ceiling met his sharp eyes.

There was fire and ice in this place. The sun's glow warmed on his face, but the stony reverberations of his bootheels against marble sounded like he tresspassed in a tomb.

Perhaps he did. Her tomb.

He was not so naive to believe he was alone, and she would not be so naive to believe he would be suprised by her presence. He walked about the place with a casual gait, as if inspecting the dwelling for purchase.

He paused to meet a statue of a Lupine in a duel of eyes. The stone wolf would never blink, unless the Man in Black smote its eyes into the dust they were made of.

For three days now, he had tracked her across the deserts, grasslands, and mountains of this primitive land. His lackey had found her first, and predictably failed to end her. The Man in Black was not suprised. Little suprised him about his nemesis anymore. It was what made her unique among all he had hated and destroyed.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She watched him as he stared at one of the busts that lined the walls. The observatory was lined with them, and they alternated with the pillars along the stone walls.

To her left was another buttress, and her eyes tracked back down to her most uninvited guest before moving ever so slightly. Her body tensed, and without a sound the Lupine leapt, flying through the shadows to land with the slightest of scrapes as her boots hit the stone support.

[The Man in Black]

His back was turned. No matter. He drew his shooting iron from his holster and fired over his shoulder. An unquestionably lethal shot straight at her heart.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A split second to react was all the time afforded. Unfortunately, the motion of her body as it twisted away from the incoming projectile did not allow for any further purchase atop the support.

She heard the sound of rock being hit as she dropped, her body twisting in the air like a cat. Landing solidly, her body absorbing the shock as she compressed down into a crouch, and in the same motion her fingers closed around the handle of her own slugthrower.

She stood fluidly, lifting the firearm up to site along its' barrel less than a moment before her trigger finger tightened, sending a bullet to him in return.

[The Man in Black]

The Man in Black's feet left him, and he fell. He fell out of harm's way, going flush with the marble flooring that rushed up to greet him.

Even then, he continued to fire, arms flush against his sides and wrist pivoted on his quarry. He rolled onto his back, and fired again.

Oh she was nimble, the lupine. Like the assassin before him, he expected no fruit to come of this exercise. It was only foreplay.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

His volley was expected, and s'Il sidestepped behind one of the pillars. It gave her a brief haven from the onslaught, but she knew that such safety wouldn't last; not where he was concerned, at the very least.

She could hear his shots - some burying themselves into the stone and others ricocheting off the pillar's sides. The echos reverberated through the observatory, and she took a knee.

And then, silence. The only sound to reach her ears now was her own heartbeat. Her muscles bunched, ready to spring as she readied herself for another flight. She had to lead him outside; away from her home and her child.

Finally she spoke, her head tilted to the right as she hovered dangerously just out of his line of sight.

"Your face is different, but your stench remains the same."

[The Man in Black]

The silhouette rose to his feet, brushing dust off of his longcoat.

"Only you could know your own nightmare so well."

He leveled his blaster at the hip, inspected the piece, and holstered it.

"You run. I hide. I figure its an even trade."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"An even trade would have been a peaceful life."

Her own gun was returned to its' holster, and she knelt low, ready to bolt for the farthest wall - the wall that seperated the interior with open mountain air. The glass ceiling extend and formed a wall on that end of the observatory, affording a breathtaking view of the land below.

Sadly, the beauty would not be appreciated this day...

[The Man in Black]

"Ain't no such thing. There's just life."

The pistoleer smiled beneath his moustache.

"We all got our own decisions, and don't owe them to anybody else. I chose to covet what you have; to take it away. Been aching an awful long time to do it too."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"You'll be aching a good while longer, I imagine," was all she growled through clenched teeth.

And then she moved. Her whole body surged forward and she left the safety of the pillar. Her peripheral vision registered his form, but she focused on the glass wall that was rapidly approaching.

[The Man in Black]

The Man in Black was already upon her, pistol blazing fire in her wake. His blaster bolts met only shards, blown free from the window when s'Il herself opened fire on it. For a moment, she'd bought herself an opening. He refused to dive through the crystalline maelstrom.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Out into the open she went. A liberating experience in some respects, the Lupine would have enjoyed the sensation if not for the predicament she found herself in.

One of the open-aired catwalks was rapidly approaching, and she readied herself for the land. The citadel had many such catwalks lacing its' architecture, and s'Il would use them to her advantage. She landed in a roll, coming to her feet almost instantly before turning her eyes skyward, looking up to gaze at the marred and jagged opening in the once beautiful and pristine glass outcropping.

[The Man in Black]

The Jedi fled across the canyons and the crags below, and the Man in Black followed.

At her aid were speed and the innnate knowledge of the land beneath her feet. If the dark pistoleer had any illusions about a quick end to this, they evaporated.

The Man in Black walked a narrow line down a stony catwalk, trailing in his nemesis's footsteps.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She waited for him, knowing he would come. A slight breeze tickled her skin as she stood on the catwalk she'd landed upon, and she lifted a hand up to her scarred eye, tracing a finger along the line that went through her right eye.

They were out of the confines of the citadel's interior, and s'Il resolved to face him here; outside. And so she waited, watching as he made his way ever closer.

[The Man in Black]

"Where you choose to die doesn't concern me, s'Ilancy."

He caught up to her after a minute or two.

"These felinoids you live among. How will they remember you when you're gone? Will the eulogize their mysterious stranger, or pick your bones clean in the midday sun?

Have you made arrangements with death? Or do you find the fixation morbid?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I highly doubt I would be missed by most on this planet."

She stared at him, locking her eyes with his own.

"And as for death, you tried once. You failed. What makes you think you'll succeed this time?" She barked out a small laugh, indicating with her left arm the expansiveness of the world that surrounded her. "We're in my world now - you're on my playing field."

There was a slight silence, then she spoke once more, only this time her voice was quieter, with a tinge of uneasiness.

"Drop this mask. Fight me with your true face, monster."

[The Man in Black]

The gunslinger laughed boldly.

"Your destiny and mine lie on the same line. Even if I do not kill you now, nor the year after next, nor ten more upon it. Even if you die in your sleep, your life will be defined by escaping me and it's end.

If looking over your shoulder for the rest of your years costs you even one day, then I've taken from you as I wish."

The lines of the pistoleer's face deepened, multiplied, and became more severe.

"Face me as I am, then. It changes nothing for you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She watched the transformation, and errantly let anger creep into her mind. A mere shadow at first, it soon grew to engulf her thoughts. The one who had scarred her, had thrown her into perpetual hiding and running, was standing before her.

He would pay.

Her body tensed minutely, muscles bunching before she lunged at him. Bring her right arm back, she hurled herself at him, driving her left shoulder forward. The short distance between the two closed at a rapid pace, and two steps before she reached him her arm swung up, the double bladed sabre gauntlet flairing to life with an audible snap-hiss.

[Darth Decepis]

His blade met hers not a moment too soon. The phrik alloy serpent clenched in his hands opened hinged jaws, and a blood red blade leapt from the snake's gullet.

The face that stared s'Ilancy down was as different from the previous one as words could paint it. It was jaundiced and wrinkled, wearing every ounce of emotion it felt on the surface. From the recesses of the eye sockets, yellow orbs took the Jedi in, wide with expectation.

"Good! Strike at me with aggression. It's the only way you can defeat me!"

Darth Decepis, Lord of the Sith, relented to s'Il's momentum, allowing her to gain ground on him. He shrank from her blade, only to whirl around and low, to strike at her ankles.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Those eyes. Those yellow, diseased eyes. They burned through to her core, and s'Il pressed in. The orange glow cast by the sabre guantlet mingled with that of Decepis' red, casting dancing shadows on the ground even with the sun still high.

It was his words that caused her to pause however, as she realized her first mistake. The thought of killing him, of driving him from her nightmares had been too great. She had let her initial anger get the better of her, and her actions had shown it.

Her feet left the stone walkway of the catwalk as his blade passed easily through where they had just been, and the Lupine retreated back a few steps to collect herself; to try and purge her thoughts and feelings of anything he would exploit. Body turned slightly in a defensive stance, she afforded him her left shoulder, her single functioning eye unwavering from his own yellow orbs.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis turned to face her, his frame stooped and low to the ground. His lightsaber blade wavered away from him, the tip a scant few inches above the ground.

He smiled at her, a facial expression that was toxic and patronizing.

"And now you hesitate. Is something wrong?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Eyes narrowing at his response, s'Il let her body flow outward, bringing her sabres around in a fluid, arcing swing aimed at his neck.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis sprung upwards, slicing into the cobbles of the bridge as he batted the Jedi's attack away.

Now beneath her saber, he struck again, swiping diagonally and low again, bearing down on the Lupine's hip.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In a surge of motion, s'Il barrelled forward, pivoting around to bring her back against his chest and in too close of quarters for his sabre to make any contact. His scent filled her nostrils, and she let out a disgusted growl.

A trace of her previous anger seeped once again into her mind as she brought her elbow back to strike him in the side of his ribcage.

[Darth Decepis]

"Aagh!"

Decepis stumbled backwards under the Lupine's strength. For all of his impressive speed and power, his downfall was fraility of the flesh. He mustn't allow her the opportunity to exploit it.

With a shriek, he leapt again, saber swinging high overhead in an aim to cleave her in two.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Twisting to face him once again, s'Il brought her blades up to stop his sabre. The force of his attack caused her stagger, but she managed. Barely.

In the midst of her exertions, she gave a slight laugh.

"It seems you're a bit tender... "

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis sneered at her, but seemed to lose his leverage against her saber. A press from s'Il and he faltered, stumbling back and losing his grip on his blade, which clattered to the ground.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The sound of his sabre hitting the stone walkway triggered another spike of resentful anger, and s'Il took a small step back to gain momentum as she raised the back of her hand, disengaging the gauntlet's blades.

With a hateful snarl her body twisted, recoiling as if it were a spring and she brought the back of her hand around, intent on catching him across his face with the emitters.

[Darth Decepis]

"No! You mustn't!"

THWACK!

The shot dropped the Sith Master to the ground with ease. Bleeding from a gash on his cheek, he crawled on his back, away from s'Ilancy.

"Aagh..."

He panted heavily, the pain overwhelming him as he cupped a hand to his wounded face.

"s'Ilancy be reasonable! I am unarmed! Surely you wouldn't slay a beaten old man in cold blood?!?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Once again, the anger had taken hold. So long by herself, without the guidence and tutelage of her old master, the Lupine had done her best to preserve and practice the techniques that she had learned before his death.

But the thought of ending this man's life was something she could not turn away. It would mean true freedom, and his mark would no longer be a foreshadowing of his return but a trophy of his death.

Her slugthrower came from its' holster, and she stood over him before kneeling at his side. The barrel nestled itself into the underside of his jaw.

Her voice seemingly chilled the air around them.

"Oh I surely would."

[Darth Decepis]

He gulped heavily, eyes trailing down to the parts of the slugthrower that could be seen.

"You would abandon your Jedi teachings for a singular moment of revenge. You would become everything you swore to destroy.

Don't...don't go down the same path as I did. I beg of you. Mercy, s'Ilancy, mercy!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her eyes narrowed.

"I remember begging you for mercy - and look what you gave me in return.

"Tell me; what could I possibly have that you want so very badly."

[Darth Decepis]

"A choice."

Decepis's sallow eyes almost pleaded with her.

"Don't make that scar mean more to you than it already does. If you destroy me now, you will become that scar."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She only stared at him, her expression unchanging as she held the gun at his throat.

"You're like every other waste-scavenging raider and opportunistic low-life on this planet, begging for mercy when you had no intention of giving any yourself. I'm doing this for my own sense of fulfilled revenge; I'm doing this so that we'll be safe."

The weapon moved slowly from under his jaw, tracing up before his eyes to rest in the dead center of his forehead. The Lupine glared into his eyes, the muscles of her jaw clenching before she finally spoke.

"Time to die... "

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis's head canted to the side slightly. His expression of fear replaced by one of patronizing pity, as the sound of the slugthrower's power pack hitting the stony ground split through the silence.

He smiled condescendingly.

"Oh s'Ilancy, I am afraid you are right."

Gnarled hands rose from the ground, covering the short distance between the two.

"Time for YOU to die!!!"

A maelstrom of lightning wreathed Decepis's fingers, lashing s'Ilancy like so many cat o' nine tails.

The Dark Lord rose to his feet, much less maligned than he appeared only moments before. It seemed not an ounce of vigor had left him.

"You were right to hate me. Now you will no hatred in its most pure form, the likes no one has EVER seen!"

Screaming lightning lashed across the stony pass, a great storm on a clear Cathar day.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She landed on her back, writhing in pain as the smell of ozone burned her nostrils. The Lupine curled in on herself in the vain attempt to shut it out before rolling to her side,doing her best to cawl away. Her hand blindly reached out, palm smacking on the guard wall of the walkway as she did her best to lever herself up.

She looked to him then, watching the lightning as it radiated from him like some horrific hurricane. A tendril caught her in the shoulder, knocking her to her back once more and she let out a gasp.

But the anger was still everpresent, and she would not be denied her retribution. In desperate rage, the guantlet's blades sprang to life. Their orange glow was almost comforting to her and she held them across her body, deflecting whatever wild strike that managed to lash out at her.

[Darth Decepis]

The Dark Lord laughed, mocking her desperate defense.

"You only delay your fate!"

The lightning storm intensified, sending electricity cascading off of s'Ilancy's blade, sparking against the stones around them.

"I am Eternal, can you not see? You are not the first of your kind to fall to me, and you will not be the last!"

The barrage from Decepis was all encompassing and blinding, growing in intensity with every spoken syllable from the Sith.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Staggering to her feet from beneath the onslaught, the Lupine seemed to descend into herself, falling through the recesses of her mind for a scant few seconds. Her blade blocked what it could, sending errant strikes away in all directions. The force of his attack was numbing, and she barely caught herself from buckling beneath the pressure.

"I've fallen once already before you... "

Did he still think her as weak and unknowing as before? The Lupine lifted her head, staring at him through squinting eyes as he stood in the midst of his power's manifestations.

The orange blades rose then, as she drew in everything she could before dropping to one knee. It seemed as though she was on fire, and the stink of ozone rose in the air with the smoke that came from her body.

Her arm came down, driving the twin blades into the walkway until her knuckles met stone. And in that instant she pushed out with the Force. Like an angry, barked order she released it through curling lips. As if in slow motion, the Lupine watched as the wave upended loose stone and debris on the walkway as it radiated from her in all directions.

Her eyes then went to Decepis, and she watched as the shockwave approached him.

"I won't fall again!"

[Darth Decepis]

The skin around Decepis's mouth twisted into an ironic smile. He disengaged his attack, and braced against the shockwave and debris. A few nicks here and there, but no worse for wear.

The walkway, however, was another story. s'Il's desperation move had weakened the superstructure. Wisely, Decepis began to back away toward the more secure cliff outcropping on the temple side.

"I would choose my boasts more carefully, my Jedi friend."

The walkway began to buckle.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She could feel the stones shifting; breaking apart beneath the soles of her boots, and s'Il watched in growing fury as Decepis backed away. Her whole body seemed to move of its' own accord, and the Lupine pulled the blades free while in the same motion calling his own dropped sabre to her. Once more the red blade came alive, only this time in her possession as she took off in a sprint for him.

The walkway was crumbling, stones becoming dislodged and falling down towards the very distant ground. Some bounced off cliff walls while others showered other lower walkways as they descended.

Barely one step ahead of each crumbling piece of stone, s'Il threw herself forward into the air. A madness showed in her single eye, and the Lupine descending upon the Sith with both blades - intent on drawing his blood.

[Darth Decepis]

"Yes, come to me. Come to your destiny..."

As the walkway crumbled behind, trailing the advancing s'Ilancy, Decepis suddenly turned with an outstretched palm, reversing the Lupine's momentum with a force push.

Now, s'Ilancy found herself without purchase. She would land where there was no longer a bridge to land on.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was as if she'd hit a wall. Disoriented as she fell, the Lupine watched the world around her in a daze as it became nothing but a blur. Occasionally she would catch site of one of the lower walkways quickly rising up to meet her, but her body twisted back around so that she could only stare mutely at the clear sky above.

Time seemed to stand gloriously still, and for a single moment in time she felt nothing. Nothing at all.

And then she hit. The lower walkway proved to be a cruel savior, and s'Il's body absorbed the impact as best as possible. Both sabres disengaged, and the serpent hilt of Decepis' weapon dropped from her hand as she lay jarred. She could hear it as it rocked gently back and forth, the phrik alloy scraping against the stone walk.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis lay prone on the temple side of the upper walkway's ruined edge. He himself had barely escaped the catwalk's demise. He knew his enemy fared far worse.

Perhaps the fall even killed her.

No, he thought with a snort, that would be too predictable. No, she was alive. That much he could feel and be certain of. How long she remained that way, that was another matter.

He retreated back whence he came. Back into the temple. It was the only way to reach her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her body ached in more than a dozen places. She felt bruises forming. s'Il groaned as she rolled painfully to her back, and her eyes opened to slits. She stared at the sky above in a state of utter shock. A single finger twitched, but her muscles screamed in agony when she attempted to sit up.

With a moan she rolled to her side once more and reached out. Bloodied fingers closed around the serpent hilt and she brought it close to her body, almost seeking comfort in the hateful thing. Its' curved hilt was cool to the touch strangely, and she gripped it tightly as her chest rose and fell; bringing in painful breath after painful breath.

[Darth Decepis]

"That won't help you. Not anymore."

Decepis finally made his descent to the lower levels, exiting the temple and stepping out into the daylight with his enemy.

"Luck won't find you on this next descent, s'Ilancy. What chance have you against me and inevitability?"

Before the Jedi could retailiate, the Dark Lord opened a hand in the direction of the walkway she was perched on.

"Now, your destiny belongs to me. And you will be created in my image. Or, you will die."

He smiled at that prospect.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Don't you... don't you have anything better to do... than scrounge through the waste you leave in your wake... ?"

It was all she was able to get out, her body protesting in every place as she rose to her knees.

"Leave us alone - I haven't left this planet but for a handful of times."

She knelt, her shoulders sagging as she barely mustered the energy to lift her head, looking him in the eyes. "I've not sought vengeance until this day; not searched for you or made any such move to do so."

Her hand brought his sabre hilt close to her chest, clutching it with a white-knuckled grip. This time, it was her eye that held such pleading emotion.

"Just... let us be... "

[Darth Decepis]

"Us?"

It gave him pause. He searched his feelings. Strong feelings from her that boiled on the surface of her mind.

"A daughter. Of course. Now your solitude makes sense to me."

He stepped away from her, returning once more to the perch on the temple's side.

"Live to see another day. In time, both you and her shall be mine."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine struggled to stand, stumbling as her feet scraped along the stone walkway. She took a lumbering step forward.

"No."

Another unsteady step and the hand which held the serpent hilt fell to her side. She tossed it to the ground, and it clattered along the stone before rolling to a stop between the two.

"No, this stops here."

She was careless; letting thoughts of her daughter rise so close to the surface, a few slips of the tongue in the heat of pain, anger, and fear. And now he knew - knew why she had stayed hidden and alone as best as she could. For all of her training in the past, the Lupine's mental defenses were woefully atrophied. Years alone without guidance from those stronger - without Master Windu - she was now easy prey for someone such as Decepis.

And yet, in those years of solitude she had not been completely idle. s'Il had taken to the Cathar fighting methods easily, incorporating them with what she had learned from Master Windu. Blending Vaapad with the Cathar's fierce, lightning quick style had lent her unique, feral combat techniques.

For as weakened and injured as she was, the Lupine was not done. The twin orange blades came to life once more.

"I'm ready for you."

[Darth Decepis]

"Ready for me?"

Decepis sneered incredulously.

"Then meet your destiny!"

The serpent rattled across the ground, before leaping into the Dark Lord's grasp. The blood red blade screamed to life, just as the Sith swung low into the stone walkway before him. Like the one before, this bridge began to collapse as well.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She had sprung ahead the moment his sabre clattered across the stonework to him. She could feel the walkway buckle beneath her, and her efforts doubled. Legs pumping, her boots pounded the stones beneath as she bent low, determined to reach him no matter what.

As if in slow motion the catwalk began to crumble down, and the Lupine hurled herself forward. The Sith disappeared from view as the walkway fell, and disengaging the guantlet, s'Il threw herself at the walls of the mountainside. Her descent halted, she scaled the jagged surface easily. Like some feral beast, her determination drove her onwards and upwards; hand over hand and ever closer to the underside of the remaining walkway Decepis stood upon.

One last push sent her up and she reached one hand into the intertwining rockvines that smothered the underside of the narrow bridge. The sabres flaired to life as she clutched to the rockvines, her feet steadying her against the mountanside, and without a sound she drove the orange blades straight up into the stone beneath Decepis' feet.

[Darth Decepis]

The Lupine's blades struck a shear point in the stone, cleaving off the rock Decepis stood upon. Caught by suprise, the Dark Lord had no recourse but to try in vain to find terra firma. Failing that, he fell...

...until he reached a desperate hand out, catching s'Il by the ankle.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

One hand firmly entrenched in the rockvines, the Lupine swung crazily as the sudden addition of Decepis' weight jerked her body violently. Sadly, while her grip was solid the rockvine's roots were not as strong, and like a chain reaction the roots began tearing out.

s'Il reached her sabre arm up, clutching at what was left of the walkway before the vines gave out completely. Now with both hands gripping the catwalk's remnants, she looked down over her shoulder at the Sith.

Letting go so she once again hung by one arm, the Lupine swung down at the Sith, trying to remove his grip from her ankle.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis swatted away her strike with his own blade. He dare not end her now. If he did, they would both die.

"Climb you fool! You'll kill us both!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She clung to the walkway, glaring down at him.

"I'm not the one hanging by someone's ankle."

There was a small silence as the two hung in the air. "Disengage your blade and I'll do the same.

"Until then you'll just have to stay put;" Her voice had taken on a strangely scolding tone, as if she was rebuking a child. "I can hold on for as long as I need to."

[Darth Decepis]

"Cliiiiimb!!!"

Blue threads of electricity snaked from the Sith's grasping hand, licking and lashing against s'Il's legs.

"Do it now!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A yelp escaped her lips, and s'Il's body jerked involuntarily.

"You do that again and I'll kick you down," she hissed through clenched teeth as her arms pulled not only her weight up, but his as well. Arms trembling, the Lupine gasped out a breath while gaining more of a purchase on the ruined walkway.

She reached down with her free hand. "Give me your hand," she growled.

[Darth Decepis]

Decepis relented his attack, disengaged his saber, and reached a hand upwards to hers.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Gripping his outstretched hand, s'Il made sure her hold was solid before pulling him upwards.

The Lupine stopped then, looking down at him once more. Time seemed to grind to a halt as she locked eyes with him.

She could let go - it would be so easy...

"I could just let go of you right now," she whispered.

[Darth Decepis]

"Yes, you could."

He eagerly agreed.

"I would be dead and you would live. My life is in your hands. Feel it's weight. Take it for your own if you wish. I cannot stop you."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It seemed like an eternity that she held him there, suspended over open air and certain death should she release her hold. She could hear the rustle of fabric, the creaking of leather, their breathing; it all seemed to take over her auditory senses for a brief moment as she stared into his hateful yellow eyes.

She was torn, it was easily evident through the conflicting emotions that danced in her eye. She had acted out of angered passion, losing any control over her emotions instead of keeping her thoughts calm and collected. Yes she could pull him with her to safety, but she knew he would only turn on her again. But if she let go, her greatest fear would plummet to his death; never to haunt here again.

Her actions would be in self-defense. Not only that, but she would do it to protect any and all who he had threatened and harmed. His death would lift a great oppressive weight from the galaxy's shoulders.

And so they hung still, turmoil raging through her thoughts. The Lupine broke contact with his eyes then, glancing below in search of any outcropping jutting from the mountainside.

That should do...

Finally she spoke, repeating what he had said to her earlier. "Luck will not find you on this next descent."

And then she released her hold on the walkway...

[Darth Decepis]

"Noooooo!!!"

Decepis released his hold on her ankle, and the two fell, independent of each other on their perilous descent.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Strangely enough, it had been a calculated drop on her part, and s'Il was thankful that he had let her go. It made landing for her that much easier. But her body would only be able to withstand this last fall, and she watched as the shallow outcropping she'd spotted rushed to meet her.

She landed hard, her feet hitting first and the Lupine absorbed the shock with her legs, going into a somewhat uncontrolled roll. Arms shooting out, s'Il scrabbled at the barren, rocky surface for a handhold which would stop her as she tumbled closer to the edge.

Bloody fingers closed around a rockvine just as her body careened over the edge and she swung wildly out into the open air, clinging to her newfound lifeline.

Any thoughts of how the Sith was fairing on his own descent were forgotten, and s'Il began pulling herself up. Her muscles screamed in agony as she gripped the ledge, and with the last of her energy she swung a leg up over the ledge, levering herself back up onto the outcropping.

The Lupine knelt on her hands and knees, taking in deep lungfuls of air before rocking back on her haunches and turning her closed eyes skyward.

[General Dan]

An eternity seemed to pass. Or was it no time at all?

A coolness washed over s'Il's sun-drenched body as she lay on the ledge. She lay in the shadow of a man.

"Look what the rock cat drug in. Don't rightly know whether to give you a hand or put you out of your misery."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Cracking open her undamaged eye, the Lupine expelled a pent-up breath. "Dan."

s'Il grunted as her thoughts returned to Decepis, and she rolled to the edge of the outcropping to peer over its' side. She said nothing, instead staring down at the ground far below. The Sith was nowhere to be seen.

A cough.

Finally, she turned to look up at him. "What are you doing here?"

[General Dan]

"I'd be a liar if I was askin you for a dinner and a movie I reckon."

He eased down to his knees and helped the Jedi up with a gentleness that seemed to betray his weathered features.

"You can hear those laser swords crash miles away in these canyons."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il gave a thoughtful hmph, rising to her knees with his assistance.

"I bet."

Another gaze was sent over the side of the perch they stood on, and she released an audible sigh. She felt nothing of the Sith's presence, and while her senses had decayed over her years in solitude, she knew she would have a least felt him through the force. She could never forget his feeling, that sense of malignant rot that had always radiated from him.

He's gone...

A hand went to painfully dust off the front of her bloodstained shirt, and the Lupine shook her head. "I'm surprised to see you; but glad nonetheless."

[General Dan]

Dan ventured towards the cliff edge, peering over the chasm.

"Whoever it was, must've taken one long swan dive into nowhere."

When she said she was glad to see him, Dan turned around, a look of suprise in his eyes.

"Ah hell. You must've gotten a concussion."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Lofting a brow, s'Il turned from him to look up at the remains of the walkway she and Decepis had fallen from.

"Among other things, most likely.

"So. Now that you've come to my rescue, how about getting us off this ledge."

[General Dan]

"I'm the one that's afraid of heights. First thought on my mind."

Dan draped one of the Lupine's arms over his shoulder and gently transitioned his weight so that she was supported upright.

"Got a ship on the other side of the next town and a small creature I paid three coins to fuel it."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"So resourceful, you are," she grimaced as her body protested.

The Lupine blinked, pulling in a long breath before turning her head to the opposite end of the outcropping where the ship sat patiently waiting. She cocked a brow before giving him a sidelong glance.

[General Dan]

Dan strode up to the ship, having a brief conversation with the Cathar ship-hand. His business done, he turned back to s'Il as he lowered the hatch.

"Any idea where you'll head now? Took a while for you to stop running the last time."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il sat quietly, mulling over his words as the ship pulled away from the ledge and up into the air, heading for the upper courtyards that would allow access to her home.

"I don't know. I don't even know if I'll leave the planet at all."

Of course, her reasoning was more for her daughter's stability than anything else, but she knew that Dan didn't know about Tak. Sshe wasn't sure how he'd react to her desire to stay, since he'd been the one to recommend Cathar so long ago as a safe haven.

[General Dan]

"Anybody that can do to you what this fellow's done to you must be one hell of a rough character."

He stepped up the walkway into the ship. It was an old luxury shuttle, clean but anachronistic and quaint.

"Lightning might not strike twice, but mean sons of bitches do. You ought to reconsider, s'Il."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"I'll think about it.

"Problem is I've got other things to consider before deciding to pack up and leave."

The Lupine regarded Dan in silence before going on, "... Even though it was him."

[General Dan]

"So where do we go?"

Dan sat in the captain's seat, crossing his arms.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She rolled her shoulders, every ache and bruise making itself known as she sat back with a groan. "Home, for now."

[General Dan]

"I'll take you."

It was the most jovial Dan could be about it. He had grave reservations about staying here anymore.

With that, he eased up on the controls, and the shuttle lifted skyward, and the rough & tumble world of Cathar passed beneath them.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The tone in his voice wasn't lost on her ears, and s'Il gave him a sidelong glance. With a sigh, the Lupine turned back to stare out the at the mountainside as the shuttle ascended further upwards on its' short journey to the landing pad that'd been nestled into one of the citadel's ramparts.

"If you can find me another place like Cathar, I'll go," she blurted out finally. "But I can't just leave without a stable destination."

[General Dan]

"You've known me more than a few cycles, and there aren't many star systems I haven't laid my head to sleep in. Don't rightly know what's got you so attached to this particular one."

They came up to the rampart that was s'Il's destination, doing a lazy loop over it before settling down.

"You stay here, you might get killed. You leave, and you might die inside. Something's here that's got your eye a'sparkling."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il only let out a grumpy hmph.

She felt the landing struts hit the small tarmac, and was already unclipping her crashstraps as the shuttle went through its' post-flight shutdown.

"Maybe I just like the weather here."

[General Dan]

"Searing hot with a chance of dust?"

Dan followed after her.

"Awful spry for a battered lady. You're either playing womp rat or I'm more right than you care to admit."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The doorway she stepped through led from the landing rampart to the portion of the citadel that she had made her home.

Full of trinkets and other rarities from Cathar, it had a somewhat exotic air. Beautifully handwoven rugs stretched over the aged marble flooring, and s'Il led the way to the sitting room. One of the natives greeted her, rising from the chair beside a dormant fireplace. A few words were exchanged, s'Il smoothly transitioning from Basic to the Cathar language before the Cathar nodded a farewell.

Her empty holster was unbuckled, and she unhinged the sabre gauntlet, setting both on an endtable. Turning to Dan, the Lupine stared at him for a few moments before pointing to a hallway that led to the bedrooms.

"Second door on the left. Look in there and tell me what you see."

[General Dan]

He followed as he was told, and paused at the threshold of the room. A moment of silence passed, as his face creased in a thoughtful manner.

"Well that sure changes everything, kid."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Still standing in the den, s'Il only nodded. "That's why I can't just up and leave."

She sat down then, occupying the chair that the Cathar had previously vacated. Her body seemed to groan of its' own accord, and she leaned back, closing her eyes.

[General Dan]

"I take it that having her visit her daddy isn't much of an option."

s'Il wasn't what a man might consider to be housewife material. The concept of a nuclear family wasn't one that her or her profession in these times could understand.

She reclined against the seat, fatigue settling upon her. Dan traced the walls of the room, pausing at windows occasionally.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She cracked her good eye open. "Not really, no."

Her body relaxed in the confines of the chair she sat in, and s'Il let herself settle comfortably - or at least as comfortably as her aching muscles would allow.

The Lupine watched as Dan allowed his eyes to wander about the den.

"I can't just uproot her," she leaned forward then, resting elbows on knees. "This is her home. "

[General Dan]

"Home's where you lay your head. When I was that age, I was pilfering trash heaps on Mos Eisley for food and shade. Maybe that got the rolling stone itch in me, but I don't owe that or any other place a thing for the memories."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"She's in a different environment than you are. Just because you raided dumpsters on Tatooine doesn't mean she has to.

"I want her to be able to live as stable a life as possible; something that I never had."

[General Dan]

"You got strangers coming to your little heap of paradise, and they mean you and the kid ill. If I've got to be the bearer of bad omens, then I will.

She ain't gonna get that life either. I think you know that too. You're mighty noble for being stubborn, but what you want's gonna have to be bought in blood before this is over."

He pulled a stim case from his jacket, paused, and thought better of it. Not around the kid, wherever she was.

"Whichever way you swing on this, you've got my gun. I'm a ways shy on my obligation to you, and I intend to pay it in my own way."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il waved him off. "Nerfrot. You're not obligated to me at all; why you think that is beyond me. If anything, it's the other way around.

"As for these 'strangers', it was just one.

"And now he is dead. Honestly, he's really the only one who would ever have a vested interest in this place, and that's only because I'm here.

"None of that matters anymore now though. There's no way he could have survived that fall."

[General Dan]

"Guess you're right. You've got nothing to worry about, then."

He turned back to her, crossing his arms. She could poker face him with her Jedi powers, but the very fact they were here and having this conversation was enough to show what he said was not the case.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Lofting a brow, she was about to respond when her eyes were drawn behind Dan.

Apparently their voices had carried, and now a small face, framed by a shock of blonde hair, peaked out the doorway.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

There was someone with Dama - a stranger.

His voice and Dama's had woken her from her slumber, and the little girl now peeked w=around the doorframe, nervous at the man's presence. Dama spotted her though, and the child found herself staring first at Dama, then again up to the strange man's back.

[General Dan]

Dan followed s'Il's eyes, and turned to face the little girl.

He smiled, and waited for the Lupine to make the first move.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il let her features ease into a gentle - if not tired - smile. One hand reaching out to beckon her daughter over, she spoke softly, abandoning Basic for the Cathar dialect.

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

At Dama's beckon, the girl cautiously stepped outside the door of her bedrook before walking carefully through the hall and into the den. With childlike caution, she passed by the stanger to climb up into her mother's lap. Dama's arms went around her then, and she leaned her head on Dama's chest, staring sidelong at the stranger.

Angling her head, she whispered something into Dama's ear - though not using Basic. The fact of the matter was that she knew no Basic whatsoever; Cathar's language was what was spoken almost exclusively in Lok's home, and the child had learned only that.

[General Dan]

"Sound's like she's taken to the local."

Dan commented, to himself mostly.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A quick mild scolding at Tak's words were followed by a sigh. She addressed Dan once more.

"When there's no real need to know Basic, it becomes a rather unimportant issue."

[Teagan s'Ilancy]

Crystal blue eyes still focussed on the stranger, and out of habit Tak wrapped her finger's into Dama's hair. She said nothing in response to the scolding, but as if to reiterate her previous whispered words, she spoke once more; loud enough so that the stranger could hear her.

"I'ria khama."

[General Dan]

As seasoned of a spacefarer as Dan was, he'd never settled onto the wilds of Cathar long enough to pick up the tongue. It had a flow to it that was similar to Cizeri, but without the extra melodics.

"Would you ladies like a little privacy?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il couldn't help but smile just a bit, as she dismissed Dan's words. Her voice held a tone of amusement. "No, she was just commenting on how old you look."

[General Dan]

His smile broadened.

"Not a day over thirty."

Settling down on a seat opposite her, he kicked his legs up onto an ottoman.

"So, where were we? Our dastardly villain is dead, and you're roughed up but no worse for wear. So why are we having this conversation if you don't at least suspect I'm right?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Because I would be able to feel him if he was still alive. You don't forget something that rancid after it touches your mind."

[General Dan]

"You let him get this close. You're either slipping, or he's more sly than you give him credit."

He shook his head, looking down at the floor.

"I don't presume to know you wizards. I've never put on airs to. You've got your own ways. But you're also people. Flesh and blood like me. You got the same mortality as I do. As she does."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Eyes downcast at his last words, s'Il seemed to clutch her daughter just a little tighter. She said nothing, letting silence reign between herself and Dan.

Decepis had to be dead - she couldn't feel him; he had to have died from the fall.

"Kha'khamasi ss'yon," she cursed tiredly. "... where would we go... ?"

[General Dan]

"Can't make that decision for you. Suffice to say, it's a big galaxy. What made Cathar catch your eye the first go around? "

He met her eyes, attempting to divine something from them.

"I'd offer to take you and the little lady on passage aboard Lucky Strike, but I'm afraid I've hit a patch of sour luck. Room and board on my freighter is liable to attract an uncomfortable amount of Imperial hassles.

Being a businessman with some amount of credential, however, I can charter you a small freighter from here to clear across the other side of the Outer Rim, if that's what you'd like."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"If I'm to go to the other side of the Outer Rim, then I'd rather do it with someone I trust. And since you can't do it, there's really only one other person who I would travel with."

The Lupine leaned forward then, easing her daughter from her lap to stand on the intricately woven carpet. "I'll send a message to Sanis Prent tomorrow."

[General Dan]

Dan paused, clearly not anticipating her saying that.

"You know Sanis Prent?"

He wasn't exactly a big name. Hell, if his name was even on the wall at all, the paint was still wet. This was a curious common thread to exist.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il nodded, whispering a few words to her daughter and pointing back towards the hallway. After the little girl had skipped off, the Lupine turned her eyes to Dan once more.

"I do. He stops by every four months or so."

[General Dan]

Dan began thinking inwardly what would drive a man like Prent this far out of Huttese territory, unless he had an angle on moving some product or another. Up until recently, Prent had been local flavor around Nar Shadaa, and his ship didn't have many ports of call.


"That's an angel of him. Notice any of your felinoid friends picking up any nasty habits?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il shook her head. "He doesn't do that here. I asked him not to, and he honors my request."

Giving Dan a peculiar stare, she blinked. "He brings me news of the galaxy; brings my daughter trinkets from offworld and spends a few days on planet... " she paused, then after a slight pause added as an afterthought, "... she thinks the world of him."

[General Dan]

"So what's in it for him?"

Dan raised an eyebrow.

"When I first met him, he stole my speeder."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Rising slowly to her feet, s'Il began making her way to the entrance leading into a small kitchen.

"A more or less safe port of call. He sells odds and ends, and stocks up on some of the local peyote."

[General Dan]

Dan took it in with a "hmm", and shrugged it off.

"Well, since we've got the same name on our tongues, I guess its a shoe-in. You do the talking. I'll pay for the fuel. Sounds like you're a bit cozier to him than I am anyway."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Cozy? With Prent?"

The Lupine seemingly chuckled out the words as she disappeared into the kitchen area. Her voice continued, albeit a little louder so her voice would carry between the two rooms.

"I wouldn't call it that. Besides - the way you say it leads me to believe you're not too keen on the prospect."

[General Dan]

"Don't get me wrong, he's the best guy I can think of for this job, and when on the job, he's stand-up. I just prefer to be out of arm's reach with the fella. He's got more ambition than he has common sense."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The sound of a cupboard opening and closing, followed by the clink of a glass hitting a tiled countertop could be heard, followed by the sounds of ice being dropped into the cup.

A minute later s'Il returned to the den, drink in hand. She held it out for Dan.

"Like you, he's never let me down, no matter what the situation was."

[General Dan]

"Thanks."

Dan accepted the drink, tilting it back as he regarded his long-time friend.

"Like I said, I got no doubts about his competence. He'll get you through to safer stars, toot-sweet."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She canted her head to the side. "I suppose expediency is important, then."

Skirting the chair he sat in, s'Il headed for the hallway, her room at the very end. "I'm going to clean up and rest." She stopped, looking at him over her shoulder. "I trust you remember where the guest room is... ?"