Requiem: A Dying Candle

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth put on his best fake-smile as he waited outside of the Bar & Grill, pulling his hood up, and then forward, just enough for it's shadow to conceal his eyes from the excessive amounts of light within the establishment. He always preferred traveling at night, and even then in the shadows, as well. It always made it possible for him to find a hiding place if he ran across some unwanted traveling companions... and at any rate, especially on a planet populated with Jedi, it was in his best interest to at least make an attempt to be discreet.

His hand slid up along his cheek, feeling for any remnants of the scar that Nichos Marr had bestowed upon him, but there was none.

Excellent...

He had managed to improve his healing techniques, though it had still taken him a considerable amount of time and patience to heal such a small wound. The Dark Side had it's disadvantages, though they were truly few and far between. The wiry wings pulled taught against his back, almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye. Unless someone was particularly looking for an Ambrielian, he doubted anyone would notice them.

Stepping through the doors to the Bar & Grill, he looked through the shadows which fell upon his face. The momentary gaze of others told him that they had indeed been unable to notice anything at all strange about him. The pendant, which rested against his chest, served well to mask his presence in the Force. Perhaps they sensed anger in him, but not even a Master in the arts of the Force would be able to pinpoint that anger as having anything to do with the Force it's self. The Dark Jedi's trip to <a href=http://pub2.ezboard.com/fswvstitanicthejedicouncil.showMessage?topicID=256 6.topic>Hoth</a> might have been littered with unexpected complications, but it was worth the trouble afterall.

Jeseth hadn't been able to idenity what exactly the rare pendant he had aquired did. At least, not for the first few days; It had only taken him a handleful of rare instances to figure out why other Force users seemed to regard him as being quite invisible. Strange, how others paid you so little mind when you lacked the ability to utlizie the Force. Luckily, though, that wasn't exactly the case, and Jeseth could indeed use the Force quite well.

A few short steps later, the dark cloaked figure seated it's self at a corner booth, his eyes trained to the surface of the table, occasionally throwing a sideways glance to the rest of the patrons. Nothing seemed out of place, save a few who seemed to be staring at him in curiosity - and that was just as well, too, because they could stare at him until their eyes withered away in their sockets. The very plastic smile lingered on his face, a hint of a true grin shining through for just a moment. Modulating his speech pattern slightly through the Force, he called out in a very rough, dry, and aged voice, waving a single robbed arm at one of the help.

"You there! I want a drink. Some ale... and make it quick!"

The keeping to the shades of darkness in his booth, he waited for the girl to return to his table with the drink, pleased that the others had grown disgusted with his apparent lack of manners. That was just what he had intended: The less attention paid to him, the better.

[Avolon Bisel]

The waitress came back to Avolon, a disturbed look on her face. She told him of the "hooded guy with no class". Avolon swore he'd take care of it.

"Let me handle it."

Avolon took the glass of ale in his hand. He considered adding a special non-ingrediant, but he relised otherwise. He was in a Jedi bar.... play nice.

Avolon got a look at the guy before he reached him. Hooded, shadowed, the norm around here. Everyone seemed to prefer dark cloaks over rainbow colored jumpsuits. Avolon wasn't sure if this was better or worse, the New Republic flightsuits were tacky at best.

Avolon ran a hand through his hair as he approached the table. He layed the glass on the table.

"Anything else, kid?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

"That's all. How much do I owe 'yea?"

The old and sluggish voice shot back at him, a single black-gloved hand reaching out and clasping the mug of ale. The Dark Jedi took a small sip, so as to keep his face out of the just slightly shifting light. A long swig would have been better expected of this personality which he now crafted, but doing that would risk his hood falling away from his face as he tilted back his head. Placing down the ale, Jeseth reached into his pocket and tossed a credit chip on the able. Inside it, a considerable amount more than a drink would cost was being held. This would no doubt just serve to further any confusion already set in place by his psychology pixilated outward appearance.

"It doesn't matter... Take that and get on your way."

A soft coughing echoed off the table, and then a hacking wheeze. Whatever this old man had, Avalon could just as well assume it was highly contagious. It also might explain why he so uncharacteristicly hesitated when drinking from the mug.

[Taja Loraan]

The Sith hopeful nonchalantly drummed her fingers on the cold surface of the bar counter, her mind sealed from all thoughts other than those that perpetually haunted her soul. If it was something uncharacteristic about her current manner that one sought … they would find nothing. The contemplative composure displayed by her at most times was indeed amplified greatly when in the presence of none other than herself and her own demons. And so, Taja had inadvertently driven away any who may have wished to approach. Not that she would have noticed anyway, her mind thoroughly engaged in gazing emptily through the space before her. Taja’s expression lacked all emotion, appearing rather dead, eyes glazed and distant. Shrouded by a veil of shadows visible only to the bearer, twisting and writhing in their agony. She was, quite literally, lost in her own little world. Besides, such a frame of mind dispelled any doubts of antagonism others may have originally viewed her to express towards them.

Taja’s head jerked back suddenly in surprise, though she remained impassive otherwise. She had come to this place, once again, for no purpose other than idle observation – she was, after all, a student. Having discovered nothing different than what she already had knowledge of, Taja had become engrossed in apathetic wonder as she so frequently was, the usual clamor caused by the bar’s patrons consequently streaming together into one single thought which she had learned to block from her conscious.

Until, of course, what sounded to be a crude, elderly and ailing man disrupted her quiet philosophy in the seclusion of her own psyche. Glancing around once, Taja’s glacial eyes rapidly passed over the one to whom this voice belonged, cloaked in dark robes similar to her own. However, she didn’t think anything of it. Dismissing him as merely another loud and obstinate traveler, she reverted back to her state of indifference. It wasn’t in her place to care.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth waited there, but in anticipation of what, he really did not know. He hadn't expected to find anything here - at least, not anything he hadn't already been expecting to find. Life had become, he feared, just another routine that he could not escape. Back on Naboo, he had lost all senses, and for what?

Love.

He betrayed his siblings, those who had trained him, invested in him, and furthered his purposed... All of that, for love. Closing his eyes, and recollecting small bits and pieces of a life he knew he once had, Jeseth began to lose himself. He knew that if none had noticed his careful masquerade by now, then he would probably go unnoticed for the remainder of the night. There was no use in further his act... So long as he continued to remain hunched over, with his hood carefully draped about his face, he would appear to be just another twisted old man. None would pay him any mind. He felt fortunate that the galaxy was so eager to watch the old and the weak die. It seemed that now the younger ones preferred to turn their heads in the face of such suffering as aging.

That girl…

The Dark Jedi fixed his eyes on Taja, her face seeming somewhat scarcely familiar to him. He recalled seeing her somewhere in the past, perhaps several months ago, but everything besides her face had twisted into an obscure and unidentifiable blur. Where had he seen her before? He knew her to be a user of the Shining Dark, but that was all. His mind recollected nothing else of her.

Come here, child!

The old man’s voice echoed throughout her consciousness, causing her to turn her gaze towards him. He gave off no presence within the Force that she could sense, but somehow, he had spoken to her. A telepath, perhaps?

Jeseth examined the room once more, his eyes sweeping across it quickly, and then turned his shadowed face back to Taja, as if waiting in anticipation of something else.

[Taja Loraan]

Taja’s shadows slightly parted their tangled web shielding her mind from intruding thoughts – and, on the inverse, also preventing any “unnecessary” emotions from showing – to allow the stranger’s mental command to enter before again coiling together into their ethereal tendrils of cold. She was called, and so it was her duty to be courteous and act accordingly.

Strange, though. Nodding respectfully in acknowledgement as Taja rose from her seat, there was an undeniable, lingering question of why. Though she tried to restrain these strayed thoughts, what could his motives be for summoning her under such circumstances? She could sense in him nothing very significant. From what she had gathered, he was but a dying old man. Then again, Taja was still quite inexperienced in judging those she had encountered since joining the Sith Empire. Deception was at play much of the time … she was one to know. Besides, if he was so ordinary, just how had he managed to contact her via the language of the mind?

Or perhaps Taja was just being paranoid. If this was the case, then she could only fulfill her ideologies of honor and be civil towards the dying.

Her head lowered, the Sith quickly strode over to where Jeseth was sat. Upon reaching him, she took a low bow. She was aware of how peculiar it may seem to the casual onlooker, for he had employed no means of verbal communication.

“Yes, sir?”

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth's hand came up to his face and carefully pulled the hood aside, just enough so she could catch a quick glimpse of him. Perhaps she could not have probably recalled his visage anyway - When they had last met, he had but glared at her, and even then he resembled more of a cadaver than he did anything living.

"Goodevening."

Whispered the quiet and calmly mannered voice, signaling her to sit as Jeseth's face was consumed in the shadows once more.

"I believe we've met. I was curious as to your presence here, and a traveler such as myself seeks good company where he can find it. Especially when found in a place like this..."

[Taja Loraan]

Her face remained unflinching as recognition dawned. If there was a trait Taja possessed worthy of any mention, it was her mind. She never forgot a face.

So she had been right after all - this was certainly not your usual bar customer. Taja distinctly recalled him from when she had gone in pursuit of her Master Dalethria to seek continued training, consequently leading her to the lair of the Dark Jedi on the planet Vjun. Although he had not interacted with her in any way other than by means of a cold stare, Jeseth’s mannerism then quite starkly contrasted his behavior at the moment. Then again, one is not the best judge of character when being attacked.

Glancing at him inquisitively for a short second before again directing her gaze into nothingness, her voice was cold and monotonous. The norm. “You are of The Black Hand, I presume?”

Taja shifted in her seat. “A jovial environment such as this serves me no purpose other than for furthering my studies, sir. I am but an observer with ample time for idle thought.” She smiled, rather for the sake of necessity than sentiment.

[Jeseth Cloak]

The Dark Jedi nodded in response to her question, just watching her from his corner as he spoke. "Interesting. I too am here in order to further my research, though it seems our studies are in different areas. Care to share something of what you've learned? I rarely meet others with a passion for knowledge. It seems the numbers dwindle..."

[Taja Loraan]

"Which is why so few manage to see the error in their ways, be they users of the Force or not."

Taja turned to face away from the Dark Jedi, staring absently past the counter and into the far wall.

"What I have learnt? Nothing that I have not already seen or personally experienced in my time, sir. My studies are based on exploring how man conducts himself under a variety of circumstances. I desire to learn of how he interacts with his fellow citizens and foreigners alike - in short, human nature in general. Those opting to employ the Light Side of the Force are quite an ... interesting ... group to examine in this way, in all the diversity of their principles and actions alike."

She recollected Jeseth having possessed a pair of wings, lacking any plumage, when she last saw him outside of Bast Castle. There were no signs of these now. Just as well to maintain the dark, 'normal' uniformity of the bar, nobody wanted to attract any unwanted attention.

"In what area are your studies, sir, if you don't mind my asking?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

"History... mostly. It reveals a considerable amount concerning human nature and behavior, as well as the behavior of other species. Things which I've become fortunate in knowing..."

He looked at her for a moment and considered things.

"Perhaps you'd like to see some of this research?"

[Taja Loraan]

"If it is of no trouble to your own self ... then that would be a most interesting experience for a student such as myself, sir."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth had finished but merely half of his drink, but it was more than enough... His eyes were already distant in thought and study... of what? He smirked and rose form his place, his hood still carefully masking him from view.

"Come, young learner. I shall indulge your desire to seek out the unknown..."

The robbed figure stepped forward towards the door, glancing back at the bar one last time and cackling in an old frail voice. Others might have found it disgusting, but he had indeed found it quite humorous that his entire visit had gone unnoticed. Into the Lion's Den, and out again. Jeseth continued a path back to the ship which he had commandeered not long ago and hoped that Taja would be close behind.

[Taja Loraan]

Her face displaying no emotions to symbolize the wonder she felt, Taja stood, nodding politely when Jeseth did turn to look behind. She was no stranger to encountering situations that were unfamiliar to her but though she rarely expressed any senses of wonder, they were indeed present. Head held low, she followed silently on his heels.