The night is so young (open)

[Kathrine]

Kathrine walked around her room, finally satisfied with the way it looked. A few days ago she had gotten the shipment of her belongings from her home on Bakura and she had just now finished arranging her room.

The room itself was covered in black walls with a black ceiling and floor to match. She had covered the walls in white stripes and shapes so that they would glow when her blacklights came on. Her candles glowed softly, giving off the only light in the room for now. She smiled as she went to her mirror and twirled, loving the feel of her black robes. She had made a few alterations to them so that the pants were tight, yet maneuverable. She also had a form fitting shirt covering her chest with a much looser and thinner shirt over the tight top. All of it was black, making her chestnut hair, which was in a ponytail at the moment, stand out. There was no doubt in her mind that she looked good. She had never had a problem attracting any male of any species.

The young Apprentice went over to her window and looked out into the night sky. The moon was full and glowing bright. So bright in fact that she decided to go out onto the grounds and have a little stroll through the grounds. She blew out all her candles, save one, which she extinguished before closing her door with the Force.

[Zereth Lancer]

A pair of eyes watched Kathrine as she walked out onto the Palace grounds. A figure stood on a thick branched of a nearby tree. the shadow from the branches above hid him perfectly. Zereth's glowing red eyes being the only thing that revealed he was there. He had ways of hidding glow but he did not do so now.

The red glowing points of light followed Kathrine "Out for a walk in the moonlight?" came a voice in Kathrine's mind You should be careful. sometimes dark things lurk in the shadows

Zereth fliped off the branch and landed on his feet at its base. He stood strait and looked across the small distance to Kathrine "Things like me" He said with a slight grin. He was wearing a pair of black pants and black boots. He had sleevless black shirt on that revealed his well muscles arms.

[Kathrine]

She stopped in her tracks when she heard the voice in her head, but didn't look around for the source. She had a witty response on her tounge, but before she could speak Zereth was standing a few feet in front in front of her.

Kathrine crossed her arms in front of her chest and smirked as she lazily looked at him. "The only dark thing I see of you is your clothes. Why should I bother to even give you a second thought?"

[Zereth Lancer]

"Well, If I said it was my looks that would be a lie" He said with a faint smile as he started walking toward her, his glowing eyes staring into hers "Why you should be weary of me is because I have the capacity to kill without caring even if the one to die is a man or a young girl" He stoped a few feet from her. "But there is not a reason for me to take such action."

[Kathrine]

She raised a questioning eyebrow at Zereth.

"You say that as if the one you would attack would have no way of defending themselves. But tell me, what would you do if they did, and it was greater ability than yours?"

[Zereth Lancer]

"Then I would fight to the best of my ability and if I fail, and still breathing, I would congratulate my opponent and hope to face him or her again someday" Zereth aswered truefuly.

[Kathrine]

"That is where I don't agree. I think if you attack someone then you should win no matter the cost. Losing is just not an option for me."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Well, Life is not all about winning. I used to think as you. But when I battled against another Sith and I fought until I was a bleeding wreck and then I fought more and I almost died" He paused as he recalled that strange night "Do you put such a low value on your own life to give it just to win?"

[Kathrine]

"What other purpose is there if not for winning?" She asked with a quizzical look.

[Zereth Lancer]

"I've asked myself that same question. I am still seeking the answer. Maybe when I figure it out I'll let you know."

[Kathrine]

"Well until I find it out, that is the only reason for my living. I don't plan on losing at anything," she said in a definite tone.

[Zereth Lancer]

"I appologize. I have not given you my name yet. My name is Zereth Lancer. Apprentice to Je'gan" He bowed a little and brushed a strand of his long black hair out of his eyes as he stood again.

[Kathrine]

"Ohh...him...," she said with a tone of disgust. He was the one that she had accused of trying to gang up on her. And she had been right, until they decided to leave after that. "Well...you seem to have a deal more manners than Je'gan. My name is Kathrine."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Sith Knight's voice projected with intense force into the minds of both Apprentices, moments before he himself, garbed in solid black with a long green cloak overtop, turned a corner and confronted them. Zereth, he knew, was experienced at receptive telepathy, and could take the full force of Je'gan's chosen method of speech. Kathrine, on the other hand, was an unknown quantity in that regard. For her, he toned it down. Slightly.

It's true, I was unmannerly.

For which I apologize.

[Kathrine]

She jumped at the sound of someone in her head. Southstar had used that method to talk to her before, but never that loud. She opened up with the Force to scan the area and a look of disgust came on her face just before the Sith walked around the corner.

"You..."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Pleasure to meet you" Zereth said before he receaved Je'gan's message and turning his head to watch as Je'gan approuched "Ah, are you out for a stroll as well master?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

I am.

Sparkling black eyes deadened as they turned to regard Kathrine.

Yes. Me. Were you expecting my brother? Perhaps thought the little pipsqueak was going to jump out of a tree, wand blazing?

[Kathrine]

"That so called wand is just as useless as the one using it," she said with a sneer. "He wasn't as big and bad the first time and he sure won't be now."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth took a step back from the angry pair. He had no idea what they where talking about and had no intention joining their argument.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Now that he's overcome his dependency on the wand and made great strides in the combat department? Oh yes. Absolute pushover.

[Kathrine]

"Oh yay. He moved from a little stick to a bigger stick, well whoopie," she said as she twirled her finger around in the air. She then continued in a sarcastic tone with an over exaggerated Corellian accent. "Ohh whatever would I do?"

She raised her hands to her face and blinked in a mock mixture of fear and surprise.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

You could try being a worthy apprentice to Southstar, he retorted cuttingly, floding his arms tightly. You don't deserve him.

[Kathrine]

"Hmph...I think you have that little idea backwards."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan's right arm rose out to his side, forearm pointed forward. A convulsive whipping motion sent his fist - and the tendrils of Shadow, a solid black substance, corrosive to life, that were extending from it at intense speed - cycling down and then back up in an underhand throw towards Kathrine that served to further extend the snakelike extensions. The young Apprentice might have thought herself fast, but compared to Je'gan anything she did would have looked a great deal like she was standing still. The tendrils whipped up and snared around her neck, blasting her off the ground by her throat.

And the fact that the grip was made of Shadow made it even less comfortable. In point of fact, her neck felt like it was on fire and dying at the same time.

Je'gan stood there, right arm raised with wrist pointed to the sky, forearm and hand solid black, and a very dangerous look in his eyes.

"You can insult my brother - he even deserves some of it. You can insult me and probably get away with it. But you cannot and will not insult the man who took me out of the gutter and made me a Sith Knight. If that thought crosses your lips or even your mind one more time, I will curse you." His lip twisted. "Baracc can tell you about my curses, Kathrine. Go ask him. It'll be...educational"

[Kathrine]

The struggling girle clawed at her neck, but she could not remove the stuff that was now choking her. She should have apologized and begged for mercy. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She should have done a great many things other than what she did do.

"Yeah some teacher. Did he teach you only to attack people you know are weaker than you? Did he teach you only to attack those that had no way of defending themselves? As for your curses," she gasped. She used some of her energy to turn her head towards Je'gan and spit as his feet, or as close as she could get. "That's what I think of them!"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"With him I went against odds the likes of which you cannot possibly imagine," he growled, ignoring the spittle now decorating his boot. "He taught me to keep fighting no matter what I'm up against. You dishonour your Master."

No small amount of physical enhancement was necessary to keep her in the air solely by the strength of his arm - the Shadow, of course, wouldn't bend unless he willed it to. Now he increased the flow of the Force to his body and whipped his hand right and then left, taking Kathrine with it. The tendrils unwrapped themselves at the end of the arc, and Kathrine went flying - literally. Je'gan stalked towards her, Shadow coiling into an amorphous mass underneath his sleeve.

"I could make it so that you would have to obey my brother in everything," he taunted. "I've done it before, and he knows how to use that bond to the highest effectiveness. You couldn't harm him, you couldn't even touch him with malicious intent, you'd have to protect him even if it meant your life. That's what you just spit at, Kathrine, Apprentice of TSO. When you speak against me, my students, my family, and my old Master, you're assaulting a Star Destroyer-" he smirked widely "-with a tricycle."

[Zereth Lancer]

There was a blur of motion and suddenly Zereth was infront of Je'gan "Let it go Je'gan. I have known Southstar for a long time and have worked with him on many a mission and I don't think he would approve of what you are doing here" He said as he locked his glowing red eyes on Je'gan's.

[Kathrine]

The girl had landed against a wall and knocked her head. For a second everything blacked out, but then it all came back and kept blurring in and out. She saw Je'gan walking towards her. He heard his threats, but before she could make any kind of response Zereth jumped in front of him, asking him to stop. It was the first thing anyone had done for her since she had arrived, and should have been thankful. Instead, "And who asked you to jump in? I think I was doing just fine myself!"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan slowed to a halt before Zereth, sparing Kathrine a venomous glance. She needed to learn a lesson, that much was obvious - but perhaps that had been delivered. Partially, at least.

He clapped a hand to Zereth's shoulder and looked again in Kathrine's direction. "You both stood up to me. Zereth, you did so with fact and with enough power to back it up. Kathrine, you did it with poor control over your anger and a lack of foresight that boggles the imagination. Fortunately for you, Kathrine, Zereth is probably correct. He's just saved you a well-earned beating. But you will learn your place, young one." Chronological age - in which they were separate by only a bare handful of years - was not what he was talking about, and he hoped she got that.

He faced his former student again, removed his hand, and took a measured step back.

"And Zereth...there's a note on the wall of the commons area. I think you should take a look at it."

[Zereth Lancer]

Zereth was suprised by Kathrine's lack of gratitude for what he just did. Few people would try to stop Je'gan and even fewer would walk away without injury. looked over his shoulder at the young woman. His glowing eyes watched her for a moment before he returned his attention to Je'gan "I will go see it as soon as I have a free moment" He said and took a few steps backwards so that he wasnt infront of Je'gan anymore but close enough to jump in again if need me.

[Kathrine]

"I'll learn as much as I wish," she mumbled as he back away a few steps and turned his attention to Zereth for a moment.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

For the first time, Je'gan considered that Zereth could quite possibly stop him should he continue his chastisement of Kathrine. The feeling, at first uncomfortable, soon blossomed into pride.

"Let's just say," he said slowly to the ninja, "that you'll need to build yourself a lightsaber, and soon."

Sparing Kathrine nothing further, he turned and walked away, back into the night's shadows.

I'm proud of you, Zereth Lancer...

[Zereth Lancer]

"I have already been gathering the needed parts for it" Zereth said before Je'gan started walking away and then he heard his master's words in his head. A smile touched his lips. He found it strange how the words of a man he had hated so much could mean so much to him. He stood there silently before looking at Kathrine but said nothing.

[Kathrine]

She shot Zereth a nasty look. "What are you looking at?"

[Zereth Lancer]

"I was just pondering things" Zereth said "Is there actualy a reason why you dislike Southstar so? Or do you just say such things to anger Je'gan?"

[Kathrine]

Kathrine got to her feet and brush her pants off She hand a hand through her hair to smooth it out. "Honestly I'm not fond of Southstar much, but he did see it fit to train me so I'll give him some leverage, but Je'gan...I'll rock his world for the kicks."

[Zereth Lancer]

"There seem to be many people who do not like Je'gan" Zereth said to the young woman. He went over a quick list in his head of all the people he knew that disliked Je'gan, His name was among them. "A few have even gone as far as planning to kill hin. I believe I am the only one who has actauly tried to kill him in battle. He is far too skilled to be easily taken down in battle. I got close...but not close enough."

[Kathrine]

"Well who knows what the future will hold? Now if you don't mind I have to be getting back to my room. I have a long day tomorrow," she said as she turned to go to her room. When she turned around she caught a glimpse of a person's body out of the corner of her eye. She turned quickly staring at a young man, just behind Zereth. She blinked and when she opened her eyes he was gone. "Wha...who was that?"

[Zereth Lancer]

"Wha...who was that?"

Zereth spun around. No one was there but He had felt a presence behind him. He stared into the shadows but soon turned back to Kathrine "Who ever it was is gone now."

[Kathrine]

She shook her head and took one last glance. He was right, no one was there. "Fine...I need to get going now."

[Zereth Lancer]

"Then I bid they goodbye and good night" Zereth said before turning around and heading back into the shadows under the tree. The shadow seemed to reach out to him and wrap him in its darkness.