A face to the name (Salem)

[SashaKovalev]

He knew it was stupid to let jealousy rule...or influence his actions, but he couldnt help it.

The last time he'd spoken with Feliciana, she'd mentioned her training partner, Salem.

And not that Sasha was jealous...because....well...ok, he was perhaps a bit jealous, and he wanted to know something about the guy that Fel was spending all of this time with.

He didnt imagine to have control over her life in any way, and wouldnt have cared to. In fact, they hadnt even exactly defined their relationship. It had existed so far out of confessed feelings, and an attraction that had begun the evening they had met. And this, for the most part, he was cool with. He didnt want to rush things, and as they lived across the hall from each other, and were tied enternally to each other in the order, it wasnt something he wanted to take lightly, or make any sort of mess of.

He kenw Salem lived on the opposite end of the hall. He'd passed by the door more than once before. The door with odd markings on the front of it. Not that others didnt have these things, but his were distinct.

The door was always closed, which was quite the contrast with Sasha's. He rarely shut his. Shut it only when he left for long trips, and even then, it was never locked. He had nothing personal that he left behind. The few things that mattered to him, his blaster, his blaster rifle and his lightsaber he almost always carried with him. And the only personal item he wore that meant anything to him was a ring he wore on his pinky. A platinum band that his mother had always worn while she was alive. And so he saw no reason to lock his door, and worried little that his brothers and sisters in the order would take anything, or disturb anything.

He could sense the presence of someone on the other side, though only faintly. And he paused for a moment before knocking.

He almost didnt, for he didnt want to disturb the guy. But then, they lived on the same hall and were both members of the order. It was about time that they met.

His knock was solid, though not loud or obnoxious, and outside, he waited.

[Salem Ave]

Something, or someone, gurgled, squealed and then wheezed out a strained breath on the opposite side of the door. There was the sound of hurried footsteps as someone slid in front of the door then rushed away. Following this came a tumult of bangs, clatters and scrapings, all coming to crescendo in one almighty slam of a door. After a moment’s silence, the door – with its ruins and marks of struggle – opened inwards. Still, a few seconds passed before Salem appeared, though when he did he looked partially busy.

The apprentice was brushing his hands clean with a rag, which was stained an odd shade of purple. On his brow rested a pair of what looked like welding, or perhaps doctors, goggles, designed to amplify vision. He pulled the strap off of the back of his head and tossed them off into the darkness of his room.

The darkness – for yes, it was pitch-black. No light entered the room, as the window on the back had been boarded up rather crudely. The walls had been covered black, albeit showed some traces of markings on them in deepest crimson and navy.

For the first time, raising his eyes, he looked upon Sasha: he did not recognise the face.

“Ye-sss?”

[SashaKovalev]

He raised an eyebrow at the strange noises from behind the door. There was the familiar sound of a struggle...only...it was different.

He half considered walking off, for clearly he was disturbing this Salem character..or whoever was in his room with him when the door opened inwards to darkness. Pitch black darkness. Sasha's head cocked slightly to the side in a curious gaze.

Admittedly, he peered somewhat into the darkness from where he stood. This was...odd. But he had learned not to judge others...had done his best not to judge Odin, or Inu...two of the more recent additions to the Sith Order that were...well...a bit...different from the others.

As Salem finally appeared, brushing his hands clean with an oddly stained rag, Sasha was a bit...surprised. He knew not to under estimate anyone by their looks, but this was not at all what he'd expected.

His normally serious expression broke slightly in his own amusement with himself for having had some sort of impression in his mind, for Salem was everything he had not imagined.

He shifted his weight and with a slight shrug of his shoulders, the kid with the odd violet eyes offered some sort fo explanation.

"I walk by your door everyday on the way outside. I know you've been around for a while but we havent met yet. I just thought I'd drop by and introduce myself.....but you seem....busy."

[Salem Ave]

“Lotsss of people walk by… you all think about knocking, then sss-top.”

Salem shrugged his shoulders lately. He had the appearance of a boy just coming out of his teens, though his solid black eyes told of an ageless quality. Though he may have appeared young, he evidently was far from mentally being his age.

Not visibly, he sized the figure before him up. His mind ran over the various details of his appearance and strengths in the force, as well as trying to pick up on any stray thoughts that might escape the lock he no doubt kept upon his mind.

“I’m not busy,” he finally stated. There was a long pause.

“Intrrroduce yourrrsss-elf then.”

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha nearly laughed, but didnt. In fact, his amusement was kept well in checl. He could see why so many would consider knocking, wander away. The door was almost always shut, and it hardly appeared to be inviting. But this was also what made it so intriguing. Similar to anything forbidden...it made you want it all the more.

Sasha saw, as he looked to Salem, a kid about his age. But there was something more mature about him. Sasha himself had done quite a bit of growing up early on in life. He'd had to go to school, and work on the side to try to raise enough money to care for both him and his mother. His life had not been an easy one, but he did not complain about it. He simply took it in stride, and so was a bit more mature than most kids his age. But Salem seemed...even more than that. He wasnt sure what gave him this impression, perhaps it was something in the way Salem's eyes stared at him.

"I'm Sasha." He replied as Salem bid him to actully introduce himself. He gave his nickname, for it was the only name he ever really used.

"Youre...Salem?" He questioned with a slightly raised eyebrow. It was more rhetorical, for he was more than sure that this was the one he was looking for.

His hands he stuffed into the pockets of the cloak that he wore, his six foot frame slouching slightly.

"I was talking to Feliciana the other day and said you were her training partner..." With these words something slipped slightly, his emotions not 100% in check, for this girl had quite thrown him for a loop, before they were concealed once again. It wasnt anything obvious, but if Salem had been searching, he would have felt it.

He shrugged.

"It reminded me that I ought to stop by..."

[Salem Ave]

“Sss-alem, yes. Salem Ave.”

He held out at hand, as if he was going to offer it to shake, but at the last moment lifted the other and pulled out his sleeve so that the cuffs came to hang around his wrists – instead of at his elbows, where they had been for his ‘work’.

“Sssa-sssha…”

He let the name roll off of his tongue and watched as the shadows danced about Sasha, unseen by the Knight. They licked hungrily at both of the Sith, wanting to embrace them in the darkside.

“I sparred once with Felicia, nothing morrre,” he added, offhand, almost sensing what Sasha’s main intentions were.

[SashaKovalev]

He was about to pull his hand from his pocket to shake hands, but then Salem retracted the one he'd seemed to offer. Sasha eyed him for a moment, thinking that this was a very odd fellow, indeed.

The way his name rolled off Salem's tongue sounded odd to him. Almost....evil. Or perhaps it was the habit Salem had of making everything he said sound as if it were the next thing he was nearly drooling to devour.

I sparred once with Felicia, nothing morrre At this, sasha looked away, a grin of amusement on his features. It was still there as he looked back to Salem. It was as if Salem had sensed why he had come by, yet this, he did keep well hidden.

Sasha shrugged, and a low chuckle escaped.

"Its none of my business if it was more." He replied, seemily relaxed. Certainly, he wouldnt have been happy if it had been more, but it was none of his business what Fel chose to do or not do.

"You ever go out in the city?" He asked, referring to the nearby city of Coronet as he changed the subject.

[Salem Ave]

Salem nodded very slightly. There was a distinct scent and air around Sasha that was similar to Felicia’s and from this he deduced that the two must have been close. It was fairly understandable that someone would be attracted to a girl her, as the vampyre agreed she was aesthetically pleasing, to the mortal eye. Never the less, he found no interest in her when it came to this aspect of social interaction.

“… The city? No. I sss-tay here, at the Coven or on Corrrussscant for the most part.”

His reply left no question to be answered; such was the way he conducted conversation. It was almost as if he sometimes wished discussion’s to be cut short, so made the best effort to leave people at a blank for what to say.

[SashaKovalev]

If Salem was trying to cut the conversation short, Sasha either didnt notice, or didnt care. He was generally a relatively conversational fellow, and didnt mind having to keep the conversation going.

It wasnt that silence made him uneasy, for it didnt at all. He didnt make useless conversation just for filler. It was more that he knew that some people were just quiet, or shy, and since he wasnt, he chose to talk.

"I was thinking of going into the city for a drink...you feel like going?" He offered.

[Salem Ave]

“Not forrr a drink.”

It was true that as a vampire alcohol had become repulsive to him, though this had infact been the case before his change. The substance clouded the mind and judgement of the person, and if anything Salem would drink only water, or some form of cordial if flavour was needed.

“… The walk will do me good though.”

Giving what looked like a vague nod, he stepped outside of his quarters and ushered Sasha away from the door as he slammed it shut with a loud thwap, locking it securely.

[SashaKovalev]

He was glad for the company. Despite the fact that Salem seemed a bit odd, and obviously secretive, it would be nice to have someone to talk to, even if the conversation was mostly one sided.

He watched Salem lock his door, and then they began the short walk down the corridor to the stairs.

As they walked, Sasha turned to speak with Salem.

"Do you not drink?" Sasha asked. He didnt ask in shock, or in a manner to put down the life decisions of Salem. Rather, he had on his mind that they would go to a coffeehouse, or somewhere different in the city if Salem didnt care for the atmosphere of a tavern.

[Salem Ave]

“Only blood, sss-uprisingly,”

He almost allowed a smile to appear on his lips, amused at Sasha’s question. He shook his head and brought his hands together behind his back as they walked.

“But if you prrrefer a tavern or coffee houssse… then I’m sure I can bare it forrr a little while.”

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha did allow a smile to cross his face. He even chuckled in amusement.

"I dont suppose they have bars or coffee houses that serve the kind of drink you're looking for..." He replied easily. With this, his violet eyes lit up with....mischief, perhaps.

As they continued to walk through the hallways and down towards the hangar where they would grab a speeder to take them into the city, Sasha turned to look at the new acquaintance of his.

"So what do you do, hang out in dark alleys and wait for some unsuspecting person to walk by?" He asked, not with sarcasm, but with the honest curiousity of one who wanted to know more about this sort of thing.

[Salem Ave]

“They might not serrrrve the drink, but then there would be mealsss on legs all around anyway,”

Salem allowed a real smile to curve into his lips at the thought of the feeble minds which he so regularly influenced to gain his meals for the evening.

“I don’t need to wait forrr them, they come to me. They sss-ee me and forrr some inexplicable reassson, they come to me, like moths to a flame.”

[SashaKovalev]

He considered Salem's words, and grinned.

"Must be nice..." He retorted, the tone of his voice a mixture of amusement and admiration.

Not that he had much trouble getting attention if he wanted it, but they certainly didnt flock to him the way moths did to a flame.

"Lets go to a bar, then, since it sounds like it will meet both of our...needs."

"So when did you acquire this thirst for blood?" He asked, pushing open the doors and heading down another long hallway.

[Salem Ave]

“Oh, sss-ome months ago. It really isn’t that much of a change frrrom my lifestyle prrrior to my change… I still live in the same manner, only now instead of dining upon rats I feast upon humans,”

Almost non-chalant, he shrugged his shoulders.

“It is nothing special, though the rrright meal can leave you euphoric for some time.”

[SashaKovalev]

Rats? Sasha raised an eyebrow at this.

"Were you....living on the streets before?" He asked, not quite clear on why someone would have resorted to eating rats - unless they had been.

Salem was an interesting character, and Sasha was certainly interested in knowing more about him.

[Salem Ave]

“The ssstreets?”

Salem returned the almost puzzled look he had been given by Sasha, and shook his head.

“No. I chossse to eat the vermin. I would rather eat them than the filth sss-ome dines upon.”

Even before becoming a vampyre, Salem’s nature had been eccentric, and his liking of humans virtually none existent.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha nodded slowly, accepting this bit of information. He wondered why no one had ever explained that there were much tastier - and less disgusting meals than rats that one could live on. But he said nothing in judgement.

By now they had reached the hangar bay. Sasha led the way to one of the speeders.

"So do you like it?" He asked.

"This whole...being a vampire thing?" He had read much about them over the years, mostly folklore, or so he'd believed until rather recently. And while it was a bit...intriguing, it wasnt the kind of life Sasha would have wanted to lead.

[Salem Ave]

“It hasss it’s good moments,”

He gave a faint nod as they approached what appeared to be Sasha’s ship.

“Though the bad seem to outweigh them. It is not at all different from being human infact, in theorrry. I am a parrrasite, I leech off of the life of others in a selfish quest to indulge myself; as do humans.”

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha considered this as they climbed in and began the journey to the city of Coronet.

"Was it something you always wanted?" He asked as they cruised along. He was a relatively safe driver, though at times, perhaps due to his age, prone to reckless behavior.

[Salem Ave]

Flying made him queasy, but he masked this well: Salem shrugged.

“Not parrrticularly. I have alwaysss had a natural curiousssity about vampyres, due to my own likeness to them. It wasss not that I went out looking to become what, but simply that was the resssult of my questioning one particular vampyre.”

[SashaKovalev]

He was full of questions. He typically was.

"Is it true, what all those stories say - about you being immortal?" He asked.

He might not have finished his last year of general schooling, but he was an intelligent kid who had more than done his own share of reading and studying to make up for it. It was amazing how much reading could be done by the bedside of a sick mother.

[Salem Ave]

“I honessstly don’t know… I guess I’ll just have to wait and sss-ee,” he replied with a fanged half-smile.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha chuckled.

"Wouldnt you think you'd want to know something like that ahead of time?" He asked, more rhetorically than anything else.

"So what do you think of the order?" He was a conversational kind of kid, and the question wasnt asked with any sort of preconceived notions in mind as to what the answer should have been.

Everyone had different impressions, and as far as he was concerned, they were entitled to them.

[Salem Ave]

“I doesssn’t botherrr me. If I live forrrever, then I do. If not, no loss.”

Pausing, he shrugged.

“The Orrrder? It’s sss-erves its purpose as I serve it.”

He was more inclined to loyalty to Jeseth, though he was firmly tied to the Sith also.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha was silent for a few moments in thought. Thoughts that he quite deliberately kept to himself. He supposed it was something inherent in being a sith. The darkness of it all, the everybuilding lust for power that they all had, that made the order sound so much like a stepping stone for so many of them.

He knew now of the banished one, one who had torn the order apart from the inside, and lately, his experiences with Inu had also made him think of these things. There was the one tie that kept them all together - the desire for power. Beyond that, he was realizing, slowly, that for some - most maybe - it was little more than that.

His ties to the order were because of Lady Vader. Because of Lord Dyzm. Because of the things he had learned by coming to TSO. He had believed, when he had first come, that those in the order were to be family. And while he would have fought to the death for any of the members, occasionally, he had wondered if others would do the same.

As they entered the city, Sasha flew perhaps a bit more carefully, respectful of the relationship the order had with the people here, and in no hurry to be the cause of any disturbances.

The speeder set down, and a moment later, the two of them stepped out.

"You always this talkative?" Sasha asked, his voice clearly sarcastic, though carrying no sort of anger or challenge. Merely...observation.

He grabbed the blaster he had placed under the seat for the trip and shoved it into place on his hip beside his lightsaber. He doubted he would need it, but one could never be too careful.

[Salem Ave]

The vampyre needed no check to know his saber was in place; the weapon crafted by Jeseth Cloak was one which he could sense, as though it had a life force of its own. He stepped down with Sasha from the ship and felt the rush of vivacity encompass him. Signatures and auras teemed around them, pulsing and throbbing as they strained to remain a significant thing in the huge universe. Without knowing he was doing it, Salem sent out his own imprint, one darker than the others and infact tangibly cold.

“Which feeding hole,” he remarked, “will we be patrrroning?”

[SashaKovalev]

He half wished they had gone to another planet. Since his return from Balmorra, he'd felt more anger inside him than he'd ever felt before. He'd always thought that finding his father would bring him relief. Instead, it had ignited something else within him. A hatred for those who were the cause of it all. The reason he was without a father. And he wanted to lash out at everyone and everything in an attempt to calm it.

But here, he would have to control those urges. A drink, or two, perhaps, would make this easier.

He didnt smoke often. Only occasionally when drinking, or he had something on his mind.

As they walked, he pulled one from a pocket, and lit it, blowing the smoke away from Salem as they walked.

"I dont know, theres a place down on the right called Wood's Hole. Its down in a basement of some sort. More of a winding old wine cellar. Dim lighting, the music's ok..." He looked to Salem and shrugged.

"Unless you've got a suggestion...?"

"

[Salem Ave]

“The only taverrrn I have everrr visssted is Lestat’s Pub, and we’re a fair few million light-years from it, so whatever suggestions you have will have to do.”

He canted his head as Sasha puffed tobacco of some kind, and felt repulsed. He was not one to condemn or judge others of his Order on their habits, but he found things such as sucking on some form of weed disgusting. Alcohol, smoking, drugs; all of it, rancid. Equally he imagined they found his eating rodents, sucking on blood and general demeanour to be unusual, so they were unusual.

“Lead on.”

[SashaKovalev]

And lead on, he did. Through the crowded streets, full of life, young and old. Bold neon lights littered the street with their haphazard glow, other more classy establishments receded into the older depths of the cities buildings, soft candlelight and glass lanterns.

The place Sasha took Salem to was a quieter place than the others along the way. It was perhaps a bit off the beaten path, and not somewhere visitors would likely have known of. It was research well done on the part of the young knight, for here they were among locals.

Before they entered, he snuffed out the cancer stick he'd been dragging upon, and tossed it in a wastebasket. And then down the stairs they went, into the deep, dark depths of the tavern.

Sasha nodded to the barkeep. He'd been here on more than one occasion, though mostly alone. It was where he came when he wanted to be away from life as a sith. Not that he hated this life, but sometimes he just needed to be where no one else was a force user.

He didnt tell Salem any of this, and he wasnt worried about brining him here, for he wasnt all that worried that he would find this sith brother of his here all that often - if ever again.

They took a seat in a room further back into the establishment. They earned a few curious gazes, and then moments later those who had been staring turned back to their drinks.

"So where are you from, anyway?" He asked as they waited for a server to come to take their orders.

[Salem Ave]

“I don’t know.”

As he sat, he uttered the three words and cast a glance about. The atmosphere was as he expected; souls who considered themselves tortured reciting witticisms and poetry to one another whilst sipping up coffee and low alcohol – supposedly healthy – drinks. Silently, he damned them all.

“.. I grrrew up on a planet named Vance, or rather in one building there, but I do not know my place of origin. And you?”

[SashaKovalev]

(ooc: *grins* Wasnt thinking low alcohol healthy kind of place...more...the local dive. Sasha isnt exactly the low fat latte kind of guy. More the budweiser type... ;) )

Growing up in one building sounded miserable to him, and a part of him was thankful for the outer rim rather boring imperial controlled planet he'd grown up on.

He shrugged.

"An imperial controlled planet in the outer rim." He replied. Originally, he'd been born in the unknown regions, but much of this was new information to him, and not something he was prepared to discuss with anyone just yet.

"No where special." He added, a faint expression sadness flickering across his features.

It seemed that most who came to the sith order were missing something - Sasha was no exception, and Salem it seemed wasnt either.

He looked to the waitress as she arrived. They didnt bother with droids here, for it wasnt busy enough most of the time. Sometimes he wondered how the place was able to stay open.
He ordered an ale, and waited for Salem to either order or wave her off. And when he had. she paused, giving him perhaps a second glance, her eyelids fluttering before she turned and left for their drinks.

Sasha rested his elbows on the table in front of them and ran a hand through his hair as a sigh escaped.

"I dont mean to bring up a sore subject if it is...but....you spent your whole life up till now in one building?"

[Salem Ave]

“It’sss not a sorrre subject. I enjoyed my childhood.”

He watched the waitress walk away, as she cast him another glance to look into the solid black pools of his eyes. He offered a momentary smile and she thought no more of him.

“I grrrew up in a school for the gifted… and was placed their due to my appearance and intelligence, along with my affinity with the Force.”

[SashaKovalev]

This was vastly different from Sasha's experience. He had gone to a local school with all the other kids, dropping out a year before he was to finish to work full time to be able to pay for his mother's medical bills. It wasnt something he regretted, it was just something that had had to be done at the time. And there had been no room for self pity. He had made up for this in the years since, studying on his own and learning all that he could.

The thought of a school for the gifted was something relatively new to him.

"What was it like?" He asked, sincerely curious to know.

[Salem Ave]

“Sss-tudents were selected by the faculty specifically because of their special skills. Most were of unusssual races. We were segregated into houses, four of them in total, and then inssstructed in advanced subjects which werrre based not only on the normal academic lessons but in things such as magic also.”

He gave a soft shrug, “An underrr current of sin wasss present amongst the sss-tudents, and this is how I found out about the Sith, thrrrough their chanting and cult meetings.”

[SashaKovalev]

His left hand moved to play idly with a ring he wore on the pinkie finger of his right hand. It was the only thing he wore like this, for he was not one who had much care for material things.

His expression was thoughtful.

"Were the students competitive with each other because everyone sought to be the most gifted, or was there a sense of camraderie?" He asked.

At that moment, the waitress arrived with the ale that he had ordered. She paused for a few moments and looked again to Salem.

Sasha raised an eyebrow, slightly amused by this. He leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms over his chest, and observed.

[Salem Ave]

Almost protectively, he pulled his cloak more firmly around his body and tugged up the collar to cover up to just below his chin. Allowing himself to slouch into his familiar hunch, he watched the waitress with a keen gaze, eyes flitting back for brief moments to Sasha.

“We werrre driven to be competitive, sss-o that we would excel. There were regular deaths of sss-tudents who failed exams; thankfully I surrrvived most tests, though at a cost… of course.”

[SashaKovalev]

The waitress blushed as soon as she realized that she had been staring. She giggled self consciously, and with a last longing look in Salem's direction, she finally went back to her work. But she didnt fail to come by as often as possible to see if Salem or Sasha needed anything else, and always, her eyes lingered on the vampire.

Sasha found this curious, for in all the times he'd been here, he'd never seen her give a second glance to any of the patrons. She was always courteous, more often than not calling them honey or sweetheart, but that was the extent of it.

Salem had caught her eye.

Sasha found what Salem had to tell him of school interesting, but changed the subject for a moment.

"Is this what you were talking of earlier...?" He asked, nodding subtly towards the waitress once she'd turned her back on them. salem had said earlier that they - his victims...came to him.

[Salem Ave]

Slowly, he nodded. It was true that the waitress was deeply interested in him, though in her mind she would have no reason to back up this sudden curiosity. No doubt some rationale was made that his appearance was eccentric, and his black eyes and talon-like hands were the drawing point, but subconsciously, it was more than this.

“Sss-he’ll follow when we leave,” he murmured.

[SashaKovalev]

His violet eyes looked over at the waitress, studying her for a moment. And then he looked away, his eyes taking in the others in the tavern before he looked back to Salem.

"And when she follows, what will you do?" He asked, unsure of whether it was morbid curiousity, the way one would look when they saw a fatal speeder accident, or whether it was an odd protective instinct toward this woman he didnt know - but who had always served him his drinks here.

[Salem Ave]

“It depend-sss on how long she follows us.”

He leant back in his chair and brought one hand up to his chin.

“Mossst of them give up… they arrren’t worth the trouble. But the few who sss-tay, they make the best.”

By ‘the best’, he was referring to meals.

[SashaKovalev]

He nodded, uncrossing his arms from his chest as he reached for his pint of ale. His elbows came to rest on the oak table and he wiped some of the beads of water from the edge of his glass before lifting it to his lips.

He took a healthy slug of it before setting it down again.

"Do they die?" He asked, his gaze flickering over to the waitress, then back to Salem.

[Salem Ave]

“Not norrrmally.”

His preference was to drain them of what was needed, but then if what he needed would kill them, then so be it.

“… Do you have sss-ome fondness of her?”

[SashaKovalev]

He shook his head, and reached once more for his ale.

"Beyond the fact that she gets whatever I order to me in a reasonable amount of time.....no" He replied, then took a drink.

He shrugged, his gaze flickering to the waitress once again, then back to Salem.

"If she chooses to follow..." He leaned back in his chair.

"Then so be it."

There was silence for a moment, before Sasha spoke again.

"If you could go back and have it different, would you?" He asked, referring to Salem becoming a vampire in the first place.

[Salem Ave]

His reasoning was plausible, and Salem nodded, glad that Sasha hadn’t developed ties with the bar tender, as well as Feliciana. In response to his question about becoming a vampyre, he smirked.

“I’ve neverrrr thought about it. In becoming one I wasss accepted into a group of people much like myself, so I can sss-ee no reason why I would wish to change my decision.”

[SashaKovalev]

As Salem nodded in response to Sasha’s comment, the young Sith picked up on, though just barely, some sort of sense of approval, mixed with….Feliciana…? It was too faint for him to be sure.

Briefly, his thoughts flickered to her. They hadnt had much time to spend together lately. This he knew, was partially his fault. He had been traveling not only for the order, but personal reasons. And then he shoved these thoughts aside. Later, he would find her.

Instead, he turned his attentions to the vampyre’s smirk.

I’ve neverrrr thought about it. In becoming one I wasss accepted into a group of people much like myself, so I can sss-ee no reason why I would wish to change my decision.

With this, Sasha nodded in understanding. This was why he had joined the order. And like Salem with being a vampire, there was no reason right now, why he would wish to change his decision either.

He took another drink from his ale, finishing it off. One by one, over the course of the evening patrons had filtered in and out of the quiet, dimly little, little known about tavern.

Now, Salem and Sasha were the only two who remained, save for a man at the bar, older and heavy from ale, who sat talking with the bar keep as if they were the best of friends.

The waitress went idly from table to table, clearing glasses and wiping away spillage from drinks.

As she passed their table, she stopped to take Sasha’s glass. She gave him a self-conscious look, as if she felt he judged her actions, before she looked to Salem, her head tilting slightly, and her lips parting in what she likely thought was a seductive gaze.

“Its last call….” She told him, though it was clear from her voice she wished for once in her life that the evening at work could last a bit longer.

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can get you….?”

[Salem Ave]

“Perrrhaps…”

Salem shifted in his chair as he looked up towards the waitress.

“… Would you grrrace us with your presence this evening, on a walk, miss?”

[SashaKovalev]

The waitress looked as if she would have been more than content to sit on Salem’s lap and cuddle up against him for the rest of the night. Sasha watched her as she interacted with Salem. He noticed how her knees buckled slightly at the offer of a walk. He could feel, as he chose to do, the urgent pounding of her heart in anticipation.

His hand rubbed his chin in a mixture of thought and mild amusement.

The waitress’s eyes fluttered to a clock on the wall. Only fifteen minutes and her shift was up. Normally she’d help out with the closing of the tavern, but she was sure Tony, the barkeep could do without her tonight. She’d come in early tomorrow to make up for it.

“There’s nothing I’d like more….” She replied.

Sasha nearly rolled his eyes. He could pretty easily think of a few things she would have liked more, and they all related to Salem. He considered how naïve some people could be.

“Let me just go pretty up.” She added with a wink, and then headed off to the bar to speak with Tony, an odd spring in her step that hadnt been there before.

“You want me to leave the two of you alone?” Sasha asked, wry amusement in his tone.

[Salem Ave]

“Are you sure you don’t want to watch Sasha?”

For the first time, a sly grin appeared on his lips, as he quirked a questioning eyebrow. He had no intent of wooing the girl or seducing her into some sexual degrading act. He was simply hungry.

[SashaKovalev]

He rolled his eyes and chuckled, his violet eyes following the waitress as she went to the bar to speak with Tony, then ran to the ladies room.

And then he looked back to Salem.

"I'll admit I'm curious." He stated.

[Salem Ave]

The waitress had been cleaning up the last dregs of her shift and had finally gotten changed. She wore, as many of the women did, very little. It was a black dress cut jut below her hips with a dipping v-neck that slopped down into ample cleavage. Salem watched her approach, and leant forwards, rising to his feet.

“My frrrriend will be joining usss,” he remarked as the woman oozed lust towards the vampyre.

Her reaction was unusual, and she turned away from the two to giggle to a group of other girls like her who all began whispering things about the two ‘boys’. Looking back at her companions for the evening, she held out one arm. Promptly Salem linked it with his, and motioned for Sasha to take the other.

“Sasha, you know thisss place better than I. Take us somewherrre… fitting.”

[SashaKovalev]

As the waitress approached, scantily clad, violet eyes wandered briefly before he lost interest. A woman like Feliciana made others seem hardly worth the trouble.

Idly, he reached out to read the thoughts of the waitress as Salem let her know that Sasha would be joining them. A slight chuckle escaped as he learned that she truly would do anything for Salem. She was more than just infatuated. She was obsessed.

And then, at Salem's suggestion, Sasha led the way out of the tavern, and into the quiet streets of the alley in which the tavern was located.

He avoided heading down Treasure Ship row, for it was too busy there. Instead he led them through the back alleys towards the warf. The capital city of Corellia, Coronet was located on a coastal front along the Golden Beaches, and the warf was the perfect place to go to sit under the stars and listen to the quiet pounding of the waves on the soft sand.

Or better yet, beneath the pier itself, where more privacy was afforded, and one could relax in the sand, or run barefoot under the moon, the waves lapping at their toes.

As he led the way, he listened idly to the conversation. The waitress was telling Salem how glad she was he had come by tonight. How all of her friends were out at another bar, and she was supposed to meet them, but there was nowhere she would rather be than here with him.

[Salem Ave]

They strode together, Sasha falling a little behind on occasion, for what seemed like an hour before they found the pier. To keep the woman amused they traversed the board walk and crossed by some of the closed stalls, admiring their quaint decorum and chuckling at the sight of two young lovers perched on the end of a causeway, deeply engrossed in one another’s lips.

Eventually, however, they came to the steps that ran down onto the sands. They were a little rickety, and as the waitress moved down first she would grab onto Salem’s arm for comfort and to steady her. As they padded across the seaweed strewn stretch, out of sight of the two youths and the prying eyes of voyeurs passing by, they came upon a little retreat. It was a niche beneath the pier, where boats had once been kept when it had been in use, though now the vessels were caked with rust and out of use.

The vampyre lead his prey to sit atop a block of stone, smoothing down his cloak on the surface for the waitress to sit upon. She gladly did so and smiled as Sasha sat down on her other side.

“It’sss a beautiful night, isssn’t it?”

[SashaKovalev]

It was for quite some time that they walked, and as they walked alnog the pier, catching sight of two young lovers perched on the end of a causeway, deeply engrossed in one another’s lips, it was nearly impossible not to feel somewhat like a third wheel. Between the other couple, and this woman who was infatuated with Salem, his thoughts wandered constantly to Feliciana.

Eventually, they made their way beneath the pier and took a seat on a block of stone. Sasha hid a small smile of amusement as Salem acted as the gentleman, smoothing down his cloak for the waitress to sit upon.

He took a seat on the other side of her, leaning back against the hull of a boat that abutted the rock.

It’sss a beautiful night, isssn’t it?

The waitress nodded, glancing back and forth between the two sith.

“I don’t think there’s been a more beautiful one.” She agreed, licking her lips in a rather seductive manner.

“You know…I don’t even know your names….” She added as she smoothed out her skirt. Idly, her hand went to her throat to play with the gem that hung delicately from the necklace she wore.