Never Say Never Say Never

[imported_Taja Loraan]

Taja gripped onto the windowsill (if it could be called such, as in essence it was merely a slight protrusion of rock framing a gaping hole in the wall) and gasped. The sound was caught somewhere between a choke and a giggle as she slowly steadied herself.

She was standing in one of Bast's higher towers - high and heavily dilapidated. The ceiling was, however, more or less intact, and this was enough to provide temporary shelter from Vjun's noxious rains. And if Evelyn was a good, sensible little girl, she would have noticed the darkening skies and followed Taja inside.

Not that finding her was so simple a matter; only those completely habituated with the Castle's every corridor and stairway could possibly hope to reach any given location without traipsing.

Then there were Bast's other residents. The ones you couldn't see.

The thought brought up another spasm of laughter inside Taja's throat, which she now tried to stifle; one finger rising to her lips to silence herself.

[Slayn Cloak]

Her finger was met with Slayn's hand, as he gently turned her head and kissed her. Taja was surprised to say the least, he had never been the aggressor with her, nor did she think he would've followed her.

" I take it you're not impressed by her..."

His words fell soft in her mind, casting away the voices that took such presentence.

[Evelyn]

"Ugh." Evelyn groaned in disgust. "Yuck."

She crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side as she leaned against the bricked walls. It was good that she was inside, it was going to start to rain soon. And it wasn't hard to find Taja since all she had to do was follow Slayn - even though she hated it. A sort of half-cocky, half-bored look came over her face. Unlike Eve, she liked showing what she felt.

[imported_Taja Loraan]

She draped her arms around Slayn's neck and kissed him softly on the nose. So Evelyn followed him here; the spirits would have to wait.

"You know, we'll be needing that wall fixed before it starts raining ..."

Resting her head on his chest, Taja turned to the girl. The large stones extricated earlier would be impossible to move by hand, and there were no such tools within the Castle for this kind of repair work.

"Do be a dear and go back down to mend it."

[Evelyn]

"It's better than watching you two smooch around." She groaned in disgust again.

She then turned around, and cracked her knuckles, lacing her fingers together and pulling them gently to loosen them up as she walked back downstairs. Her eyes wandering around the large castle.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

He stepped out infront of her, causing her to almost walk straight into his imposing figure. Stature much heaftier than hers, he bore down a stare upon her, an air of uncertainty surrounding the Lupine's aura.

"...Hello."

[Evelyn]

Evelyn's light brown eyes widened as she bumped into the tall man. She stepped back lightly to have a certain distance between the two of them, her eyes always locked on him. She bit her lower lip before faking a sort of smirk.

"Good evening, Lord Van Derveld."

[Slayn Cloak]

Slayn pulled Taja closer as Evelyn was turning, she could still very well see as he kissed the Dark Jedi once again, this time drawing her into a corner. While watching from the corner of his eye, he heard and saw her reaction as she was leaving the room.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

His eyes roamed momentarily to the display Taja and Slayn were putting on - evidently, it was clear that Cloak was attempting to make Evelyn jealous. Vega simply smirked, mentally noting to give Loraan a prod about it later.

"Good evening, Eve ... lyn."

The Lupine looked back towards his 'sister'.

"... Welcome to the Black Hand."

This said, he turned abruptly and stalked away. He had no other words for this creation of Slayn's.

[Evelyn]

Evelyn's serious expression returned. Before crossing her arms, she put on her orange tinted glasses, her eyes never leaving Eve's brother.

"Where is she ?"

[Torriana Marx]

[delete me :x]

[imported_Taja Loraan]

She frowned; the young Cloak couldn't keep his eyes off of Evelyn for even a minute. With a disparaging grunt she wrenched herself out of his embrace and hopped over to greet the newest arrival.

Beaming up at Vega, she gestured to the girl in such a way as if Evelyn was some prized possession.

"Isn't she just too cute?! And you, young lady, have got work to do!"

Taja then gripped her by the shoulders and steered her towards the archway after the Dark Lord.

[Evelyn]

Evelyn was being pushed away from the Dark Lord. She looked over her shoulder, still continuing to pace forward, her eyes never leaving Vega before being dragged out of his vision. She then looked back down on the floor, frowning angrily.

[Slayn Cloak]

Slayn followed after a short pause, once he could reach out to Taja, he did so; His hand grasped hers as he pushed her to a wall through the force. His body seemed to move with the blind power that pushed the dark jedi, his chest pressed against hers, it was one quick, but fluid motion. As the pair pressed against the wall, Slayn whisper in her ear.

" don't assume to much Taja, I told you I would stay."

[imported_Taja Loraan]

Slayn's body was flattened against hers so close that she could feel his cold breaths falling against her skin. Purring softly, she playfully bit his lip.

"Then stay ... "

Her irises darkened and the shadow vines wrapped around his arms, violently pulling him off her form. Taja scoffed and dusted her top, as though attempting to remove any invisible traces of Slayn left on her.

" ... away from me."

Rolling her eyes, she walked back next to Evelyn and uttered a single word, though that in itself held a lifetime's worth of truth for the two females.

"MEN."

That said, Taja ushered the girl down the staircase.

[Evelyn]

Evelyn stayed behind Taja, but before the two went down the stairs, she looked at Slayn, arching her eyebrow as an arrogant and cocky look drew on her face as expression. Her glossy lips turned into a wicked grin as she repeated Taja's word before following her, laughing evily.

"Men."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

As the two women went down the steps, they were passed by someone going the opposite way.

He said not a word, nor gave them any sign of recognition. He was on his way somewhere, and couldn't be interrupted.

That was why he was taking the ceiling.

The short form of Hob passed by so quickly, it was hard to tell if he'd even been there.

[imported_Taja Loraan]

The Dwarf was rushed to reach whatever destination he had planned this evening, and it was only for his dark, ominous aura slamming into Taja's psyche that she was made aware of his presence. Hob's very essence radiated in the air around him; Evelyn would undoubtedly have felt him too.

"And that, my sweet, is what we like to call Hobgoblin."

Taja pointed to the side.

"The walls at Bast are known for being a nuisance. Ignore them."

She tapped the stone with her knuckles to make sure they took note of her comment. Her statement probably sounded ridiculous to Evelyn right now, but its meaning would be cleared soon enough.

As they continued down the stairs, she turned to walk sideways to look at the girl trailing behind her.

"So tell me about this ... Eve."

[Evelyn]

"Eve ?"

Evelyn cocked her head to the side, trying to think, but the shadow that passed had caught her attention. Nonetheless, her eyes fell back on Taja, as she crossed her arms.

"Well ..."

Eve. What was Eve ? Eve was everything she ever despised and hated with all of her heart. But how to put that into words ?

"Eve was weak. Though she was a Sith, she had compassion and pity. Her emotions got the best of her. Falling in love, pouring her heart out singing, she .... She was too weak to contain me. I was too good for her."

Evelyn's light brown eyes fell back to the floor.

"And Slayn had feelings for her." She muttered the last word discreetly with a face expressing disgust. "Eww."

[imported_Taja Loraan]

"Which makes no difference, I should hope."

Taja suddenly paused and gripped the bannisters. Leaning forward, she peered down into the inky darkness where the end of the spiralling staircase should have been visible. They were still a long way from the ground level.

"We already know that you can manipulate the Force to some degree. What I would like to see is how far this knowledge extends."

She swung her legs over the railing and released her hold, dropping down into the black haze; the jump was calculated to land her on a platform a few floors down, with the Force aiding to slow her descent. As her feet planted firmly on the ground, she raised her head and, hands cupped around mouth, called out to Evelyn.

"This way!"

The girl had successfully warded off against the barrage of stones earlier through similar means, so Taja was confident that she would be able to do the same now.

[Evelyn]

Eve Siren was a genetically engineered killing machine, created with human blood, but enhanced with feline DNA. Jumping and landing was no problems for her - So it shouldn't be for Evelyn either. Plus, with her Force abilities, it was much more easier. The girl then swung her legs over the railing, but looking down before releasing. She then released it slowly, a red-ish sort of energy field covering her body as she slid down the side of the bricked walls at high speed.

A few meters from the ground, she gave a strong kick on the wall, was projected to the gate, gave another kick there, making a dent in the bars and landed on the ground easily.

"Then what ?"

[imported_Taja Loraan]

She flinched as Evelyn made a very obvious indentation in the wrought iron gates; the girl certainly had a detrimental streak. As she regained her stance, Taja signaled with a hand over her shoulder for the Apprentice to resume the walk.

"Now you get to clean up your mess," she answered eventually. Stopping just outside the main entrance, Taja looked up to scan the skies; the clouds were already heavy with rain. As they approached the section of the wall that had been destroyed earlier, she pivoted on her heel and waved a finger in the face of the newly christened Dark Jedi, almost in warning.

"Remember: no hands allowed!"

Then, glancing dubiously at the scattered boulders (which could cause quite some damage if mishandled), she added as an afterthought, "And try not to break anything else while you're at it."

[Evelyn]

Evelyn frowned at the last rule. "Ruining my fun."

She then sat down on the largest boulder and began lifting up her fingers. Being already part Eve, and part of Slayn's force abilities, it wasn't that hard to 'clean up her mess'. She tilted her head from side to side, singing a song under her breath as she placed the boulders, one over the other, like a puzzle.

"Tell me a bit about yourself, you know pretty much everything about me."

[imported_Taja Loraan]

"I know pretty much everything about you?"

Taja quirked a brow and, squatting down beside the wall, lifted a small pebble. She threw it lightly up into the air. As it descended, she clutched it tightly within her palm and looked up at Evelyn.

"Hardly. But as for myself ... like you, I was born only recently. Created from the psychosis of another. But unlike you, my other half is still alive."

To add emphasis, she tapped the side of her head with a finger.

"Here."

[Evelyn]

"I see."

Continuing to put pieces on pieces with her right fingers, Evelyn lifted her left hand and closed it into a fist, as if she was holding the wall so it won't fall apart. Then with her right hand, she created a heat shield around the wall, making it melt, one pieces to another.

"And this other half, why is she 'there' ?"

[imported_Taja Loraan]

"Because otherwise, you would be dead by now."

The hollow canines folded back against the roof of her mouth uncurled to their full length as Taja widened her jaws to prove this point. With a slight smile, the fangs retracted and she looked toward the newly repaired wall. She gave a brisk nod and rose to stand beside Evelyn.

"Good."

The girl had much potential but seemed to be somewhat preoccupied with certain events pertaining to her past. Taja for one understood full well just how much of a hindrance these demons could be if not exorcised.

"You came here to realize just who and what you are ... To find your truth. But this definition does not come without a price. What obstacle lies in your path that you wish to overcome first?"

[Eve Siren]

[...]

[Evelyn]

The memory of Eve." She said after a moment of silence.

She tilted her head to the side, still sitting on a huge rock.

"I don't care about the price."

[imported_Taja Loraan]

Taja nodded again curtly and swiveled around in the direction of the gates. "Get some rest. I'll come for you in the morning," she said and was about to head back toward the castle when another thought struck her.

"Any unoccupied room you happen to find is yours for the taking."

She smiled and winked before walking away from the Apprentice. The sentence had a double meaning, as all the chambers were 'occupied', so to speak, by the disembodied denizens of Bast. But that was a lesson Evelyn would learn another day; their purpose here was finished.