A Simple Twist of Fate

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead was feeling everything way too acutely.

She wanted to blame the Sith for that; but really the Sith had only been giving her more days to live so far, which made no bloody sense.

What fuckery was at play?

Her eyes closed for a moment before she forced them to reopen. That simple action was almost enough to make her collapse.

Yet the brunette was still standing before her. Part of her had been expecting she'd have vanished once again.

The last thing she saw was the Sith waving her hand; then everything turned to dark.

***

If Sinead dreamed, she recalled none of her slumber's adventures.

As she stirred towards consciousness again, she was taken aback even before blinking her eyes open.

She was sleeping in a might comfy bed, even comfier than her bunk back on her ship.

She pursed her lips, her hand wandering across the furs, eliciting a satisfied sigh from her.

She slowly rolled onto her back, unburying her face from the pillow.

Then, it hit her.

The life-threatening mess at the imperial outpost, the crazy ass rescue from the Sith, then... Then she must have done something for her to pass out. Really, it likely had taken but a flicker of the woman's power because she had been damn beat by that point.

She forced herself to sit up and look around, taking in all the details of the bedroom. Red and black made her happy, even though it as a silly reaction, she chastised herself.

She saw the glass of water on the nightstand, confusing her even more.

"You confuse the shit out of me, but thanks, Sith. Again."

It had been but a whisper, as she drank all the water, before gently setting the glass back where it had been.

She reluctantly sat at the edge of the bed, and realized that her outwear jacket and boots had been removed and were within eyesight.

The bit of gear she had had with her, some ration bars, lights, and a couple of tools, had been discarded when she had run away from the imperials, as well as her blaster. The only thing was the knife that had been in her boot, which now laid over her jacket. She was relieved to see she still had the knife. It was a traditional Zelosian one she had acquired upon entering puberty per the rules of her maternal family. As much as she had been outcast soon enough after that, she still loved the knife.

The blonde wasn't sure what would come next, now that she must be deep into the Sith's sanctuary.

She considered putting everything back on; but if the Sith had had to kill her, she would have done already. Instead, she padded barefoot towards the exit of the room, not minding the coolness of the stone under her feet, although she pulled on the long sleeves of her black tunic as she wandered into the hallway.

She guessed her hostess would catch her quickly enough; but she didn't want to go snooping around, a rarity for the thief really."

"Hello?"

[Dalethria]

The walls were unnaturally smooth and wore no adornings as Sinead padded through to the next chamber that served as the main living area of Dalethria's home. Candles illuminated stone crafted furniture, similar to what was in the bedroom, padded with mix matched cushions and pillows, with white and black furs covering the floor. Atop a table were several glowrods and an intricately carved pyramid, which radiated familiar dark power that Sinead would recognize as the force that crippled her inside the keep. Here it was contained and managed but there was no mistaking the mark it left on her mind.

Her nose tickled as the thick acrid smell reached this far into the caverns. Though there was no indication that any of the deadly water was near here.

Then Sinead felt a familiar pull, an aura of strength that she had relied on during the escape. It was the same pull that alerted her hostess the moment before the girl was lured into consciousness.

"You're strong enough to stand and move. Good."

Dalethria was on the opposite side of the chamber with several alcoves beside her storing jars and small boxes. Larger crates with the Imperial logo were neatly stacked against the wall.

Candlelight only partly illuminated her face, similar to the blaster bolt flash inside the keep, except the black armor was gone. Now the Sith wore a red velvet gown trimmed with silver that hugged her waist with a thin gold sash, a black amulet rested against her chest - the stone long and oval, with a red jewel fixed center, and her feet were as bare as Sinead's.

Blue eyes assessed the little wanderer, noting the bruising that was already forming on girl's temple, how she tugged at sleeves to fight the chill of stone. She noted that Sinead had not dressed and decided to explore. Clearly Dalethria's choice in bringing her here had blossomed curiosity that she had no real answer for.

The girl would have died without her intervention and if she brought her back to the ship, Dalethria was certain the girl would choose another suicidal mission out of desperation. Saving her once from capture was enough.

But what was she to do with her now?

"You're cold."

It was stated merely as observation to stall a conversation she didn't want to have with the girl. Tareis' words of an untrained mind resonated keenly as she went between meditations and checking on the little wanderer as she slept.

[Sinead DeBeynac]

As she stepped inside the large chamber, a dull echo of what happened before she passed out throbbed in her mind; but eventually subsided as an afterthought. Yet it was still there, a lingering whisper at the back of her mind. It was hard to explain; and thus she put her focus to the room itself.

She had to admit that the simplicity was cozy, even though she had never thought she would use such a word for a Sith's lair on goddamn Vjun.

Then she felt it sharply, and hissed at the pyramid on the table. She frowned at it; but didn't take a step forward. She had stolen and seen a lot of things in her life, but that? That thing was a whole different level of crazy.

She didn't step back though, too stubborn and refreshed to do so.

The fain smell of acid surprised her; but it also made her realize that there was a level of humidity in the underground lair that felt better than when closer to any acidic pool. She felt her skin come alive again at the realization. Sure thing, it was cold, but it made her body feel more comfortable. Dryness was the worst; and while she didn't like being "over-watered" so to speak, she preferred humidity.

She suddenly realized that the Sith was nearby, the tug of that weird spectral vine tugging at her again. She looked into its origin's direction and saw her. Barefoot and wearing a gown was a stark contrast to how she had seen her all armored up earlier. It both seemed natural and totally out of place. At the same time, that summed up so much of what had happened since she had crash landed on Vjun.

She nodded to the brunette's words.

"Yes," she replied to the observation about her current state.

It would have been stupid to deny it. She bet that she was just a damn open book to that woman anyway.

"I'll put boots on soon; but the humid cold is good for me, at least for a short while."

She was more resistant in winter than summer. Pure Zelosians were more like tropical plants; but her human DNA made her more likely to handle the winter better.

[Dalethria]

"Then you don't have to be on the surface so soon."

Dalethria noted this as she was uncertain what Sinead would need given her biology. There were signs of hybridization inside the girl's mind that were not human. The Zelosian knife confirmed her suspicions when she stripped Sinead of her jacket and boots.

She broke eye contact when she turned to retrieve an opaque jar off the shelf in the alcove.

"You need to eat. To maintain your strength."

Bare feet padded along the floor, sinking into warm furs, to bring the Sith before the girl. She removed the lid and offered the jar of raw sugar trying with great difficult to contain the conflict that warred inside her.

In over 500 years of her unnaturally long life, Dalethria had never taken an apprentice. Yet this damnable creature standing before her had caused a cascade within the dark forces - creating too many coincidences for the Sith Master to ignore. Stirred too many conflicting feelings that challenged her self-imposed isolation once her cousin had disappeared and Tagge had relocated to another planet. The Sith Tankreyd was a powerful ally but the girl's spirit called to her own.

She didn't need, nor desired an apprentice, to share her knowledge with.

Yet here she was, willingly offering sustenance and a warm bed ...

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead couldn't hide how surprised she was by the Sith's words. Why should she linger in the brunette's sanctuary? It wasn't that she minded it; but she still couldn't fathom why the woman kept her alive and now around as well. Maybe she should be wary it was some kind of sick game; but truly she didn't think it was the case.

Right when she thought that, she felt something stinging her; except it wasn't physical. It was another of these weird impression kind of deal. She gave a look at the pyramidal device, eying it suspiciously, before returning her attention to the brunette.

Now the Sith was willing to feed her? She was really confused.

She moved forward just a bit so her bare feet also rested on the furs covering the stone floor.

"Thank you," she simply replied.

She didn't want to sit down or show no manners. She could be well-behaved when she wanted to.

She stared at the inside of the jar that revealed raw sugar, and she couldn't help chuckling.

"I'll be mindful; but if I end singing really badly, I won't hold it against you if you knock me out."

She retrieved the jar in her own hands, knowing that too much sugar would make her high; but in moderation it would actually help, especially since it had been a couple of days since she had been exposed to daylight.

"Do you have an utensil I can use? I don't want to make a mess on your furs."

It was genuine concern, as weird as it might seem coming from her.

She also had a million questions in her mind, starting with the one the Sith had never answered; but food came first.

[Dalethria]

Following Sinead's line of sight, Dalethria's lips thinned with consideration on what to reveal as the girl offered thanks and explanation as to what sugar could do to her. The Sith was well aware of the girl's biology but sugar was the only food source on hand that could provide nourishment. The salt she collected would help preserve meats when she needed to restock. Unlike her guest, Dalethria's body did not require as much sustenance. If Sinead stayed ...

She shook that thought away and depending on her mood, may take the girl up on her offer to knock her out if she became too rambunctious. Beating the girl senseless and forcing her to leave was what she wanted, unlike being a concerned hostess that was offering insight into what was happening to the little wanderer.

"The device is a tool. But also contains significant dark energy."

The request for a utensil was fulfilled when Dalethria floated a spoon to Sinead, hovering for her to take.

"You are in no danger from it as I have command over the holocron."

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead couldn't go as long without sustenance as pure blood Zelosians; but if exposed to enough daylight, she could last much longer than normal humans. Given the underground situation though, sugar would do. She would just have to be careful about her consumption. As much as it could be fun to get high on it every once in a while; the current circumstances made her unwilling to get tipsy.

She nodded to what the Sith said about the device. The mention of dark energy made her purse her lips at once, remembering the sudden overwhelm of energy and pain that tore her mind to shreds when she was trying to sneak into the imperial hangar. That was when all hell had broken loose really.

The blonde nodded to what the Sith said about having command over it.

Holding the jar in one hand, she retrieved the spoon, looking unfazed at grabbing it from floating in the air, then began to eat. At this point a floating spoon really was casual compared to the rest.

"Thank you."

After a couple of mouthfuls, she couldn't help asking the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since the Sith explained what the device was.

"Did you... do something to it? Or opened it shortly before you rescued me?"

She had no idea how this thing, the holocron, worked; but she knew what she had sensed, even when her mind had been that close to collapse.

[Dalethria]

The girl held no fear in watching Dalethria unleash a fraction of her power in rescuing her from the Imperials, only bleeding through during the long drop out of the keep and to the ground, which she could not hold against her since it was unnatural to believe such feats existed. Everything else didn't phase the girl and the Sith wondered how long Sinead knew she were different.

No one learning they could sense the Force for the first time plucked spoons out of the air as if it were the norm.

She cursed how the girl drew her in as she wanted to know more. To share more.

"Yes."

She confirmed and finally blinked as the words came with hesitancy.

"Not too long after I unlocked it, I ... sensed your capture. Your ... anguish."

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead still didn't think she was any fancy Force potential bearer. Sure thing, that darn holocron seemed to have an impact on her; but she wouldn't be surprised if it was just because she looked like a good plaything because she wasn't trained, contrary to the Sith Master.

The sugar felt good. She was eating slowly so she could assess her changing state; but she already felt her strength replenishing, beside the good rest she had had in that comfy bed.

She nodded in silence to the Sith's confirmation to her inkling about the holocron.

The blonde didn't really know how to explain it.

"I don't know why; but just as I sensed you right before I crash landed like a dumbass, I felt that thing once I was already inside the imperial hangar."

She felt frustrated and confused; but she was hoping maybe she could make sense of this whole mess.

"It threw me off kilter. I didn't get irrational; but I messed up because of the crushing pain."

[Dalethria]

Dalethria inclined her head.

"The activation of a Sith's holocron triggers a rippling effect of energy that other Force Users can sense. Your mind is untrained and thus were overwhelmed with its power."

She was impressed that the little wanderer had succeeded in entering the base all the way to the hangar. The girl was not inept at all, giving a little bite to the promise that the Sith would find out how well she could survive. Being human and Zelosian afforded a unique body chemistry that had made the girl hardy - she had survived a week on Vjun before the desperate decision to enter an Imperial building.

"Both of your species have precedent for Force Sensitivity. A full blooded Zelosian had even become a Dark Lord of the Sith."

She steeled herself for what she said next.

"His name was Darth Rivan and he was able to siphon the energy off from living creatures."

Dalethria was intimate with the lord's history as his quest for immortality mirrored her own, but that was not the lesson she was imparting right now.

"The fear you felt ... the desire to survive ... it called to me. And when I rescued you, you unconsciously latched onto my presence, taking my energy to sustain yourself, Little Wanderer."

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead was surprised that the Sith actually answered her questions and chose to reveal some stuff to her. That hadn't been something she had expected at all. Of course, she hadn't expected the brunette to let her live, less rescue her later, in the first place.

She nodded, still taking a few more slow spoonfuls of sugar. Hell she didn't even think she was Force sensitive in the first place; and she had never expected to get that fact bloody confirmed in such a crazy and deadly way.

No kidding her mind had been overwhelmed.

She eventually stopped eating, kept the spoon in her mouth while she used both hands to close the jar again, before returning it to the Sith.

Taking the utensil in her hand again, she looked at the brunette.

"Where do you want me to put it?"

She then canted her head to the side at the mention of a Zelosian Sith. He must have been Mister popular given how wary the superstitious Zelosians were. Nobody talked about the Force. Everyone who didn't conform was considered a witch or a bad seed who was cursed.

She frowned at the mention of the life siphon thing. That was something else. She believed the brunette though.

Did she really do that to the Sith?

"But... You're so powerful. I don't know anything about hierarchy or power scale, but I bet.. I know... You're up there."

She couldn't explain the certitude but it was there.

She had managed not to be riled up at the nickname again, which meant how much the whole thing was baffling her.

[Dalethria]

Dalethria accepted the jar with a small observable arch of her brow as Sinead held the spoon with her mouth. The lack of manners should have annoyed her but the image provoked approval, as if this was who the girl was. Practical and silly.

She shifted the jar onto one hand and offered the other to take the spoon while answering the question.

"You are correct. But even so, at times, a Sith Master can be taken unawares."

The Sith's eyes burrowed into Sinead's as she slowly closed the distance between them.

"And you, Little Wanderer, have."

Power pulsated between them, but this time Dalethria could barricade her psyche as she continued debating if this was a path she was willing to embrace. During her meditations Dalethria had come to realize that she allowed the girl to drain some strength from her because of the exhilaration that had come with it. It was not only the darkness that pumped through her veins that gave the Sith Master a rush. No, it was the girl's inadvertent use of her untapped potential that made her 500 year old spirit ache.

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact she had siphoned some of the Sith's power. Hell that explained bits and pieces she recalled from the jump and how she had been able to push through because of the brunette's proximity. It still was beyond anything she had ever imagined. Maybe some people dreamed themselves some hero with Force powers; but really, she wasn't among them. She wanted to be free above all else, continued to make her ship her home, get some thrills and good cash from robbing people.

Sure thing, she loved reading and learning. The craving had started when she had been banished from where she had spent her childhood, too young to be thrown on her own; but stubborn enough that she'd make it work. She had wanted to open her mind to other things than the stale and fearful teachings of her mother's people.

And she had noticed how the Sith seemed the kind to expand her own knowledge, which was something Sinead knew how to appreciate. Granted, unlocking a darn holocron was a whole other feat than her personal reading; but there was a distant similarity.

She didn't backpedal as the brunette closed the distance between them, though she bet her heart skipped a beat or two.

She wanted to ask the Sith if she had already dissected her brain by the time she had come up with that nickname; but it was fairly off-topic.

"Since you know about my mother's people, well.... I was called cursed when I was a kid. They said I was a sorceress. I just thought I was a free thinker."

She bit her lip but willed herself not to move and to keep looking at the Sith. In a weird way, the power pulsating between them grounded her, made her bolder.

"I got banished when I was barely a teen; but I never thought that this whole Force potential was thing with me."

She wasn't even sure what to do with it, frankly. She wasn't falsely modest either. She just had thought that the Zelosians were bloody paranoid.

[Dalethria]

The girl's spirit remained strong, and unyielding as Dalethria gave no sign that she were to remove herself from Sinead's space. She felt it, the girl's exhilaration and appreciation. The hints of wanting more. Her mind was thirsty for knowledge but not the accompanying power that most beings craved. The girl was an enigma. The trials of her childhood had made Sinead wild and unfocused. But there was potential for something greater.

"You are no curse."

She pointed out with a succinct firm tone.

"You are Sinead DeBeynac. And the Force is yours to command. If you want to learn."

The pull towards the girl was intoxicating. There was barely a foot between them and still Dalethria desired to be closer. It was with great effort that she moved away to return the jar back to its shelf and set the spoon next to it. This girl was going to be her undoing whether she stayed or not. Dalethria knew that if the little wanderer remained on Vjun or departed, her life was forever altered.

She closed her eyes, back still facing the girl.

"But your ambition is to leave."

Dalethria stood tall, shoulders squared as she turned around to confront the little wanderer.

"I will procure the parts you need to repair your ship."

It was because she wanted uninterrupted time training with Tareis. That was how she justified the offer ...

"Then you will be free to leave and live your life as you see fit."

... even though she wanted her little wanderer to stay.

[Sinead DeBeynac]

The Sith's curt observation about her being no curse was among the most validating things Sinead had heard in her life. The irony wasn't lost on her for she knew that she was likely still a parasite to the brunette who had other pursuits than catering to her needs or wants.

The latter though... Sinead wasn't so certain about them. She had just been obsessing on leaving this rock; but she felt drawn to the Sith now, probably just because of that stupid holocron.

But she hadn't stolen strength from the device. Of course, she had no idea if that was even an option; but truth remained that she had gained focus, survivability because she had instinctively latched onto the brunette's essence.

Did she want to learn? As crazy as it sounded, there was that magic word "learn" and her immediate mental reaction was affirmative, though she remained silent.

As untrained and messy as her mind could be, her potential still raw, she still felt the current between the Sith and her. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. It was frightening; but not because of those dark side tales she had heard. No, it was frightening because for the first time her "ambition" might deviate from a simple "let's make enough buck to turn the Feuille d'Automne into a home."

She couldn't take her eyes off of the Sith as she eventually walked away from her.

It didn't diminish the potency of the power dancing around and between them.

She stared in shock at the Sith when she offered to help procure the parts for her ship. And something hurt in her at the thought of leaving, and it puzzled her even more.

"Is there something I can do thank you for the parts? This is very generous of you," she replied bluntly but appreciatively.

She sank her hands into her pants pockets and looked to the floor, feeling horribly exposed as she spoke next.

"Fixing my ship is a big deal, because I love her but..."

She bit her lip and her shoulders tensed a little bit.

"I'd like to learn; but I also... I still think that you have much better pursuits than having me sticking around asking questions and stuff."

[Dalethria]

It was there and quite potent. Disappointment. Sinead was debating her past life and what opportunities lay ahead of her. Dalethria was giving her options but failed at offering the final piece that would sway the girl to stay. Dalethria knew she was stay if she presented herself as master. Her spirit was encouraging the Sith to broach the subject because the girl's spirit was intoxicating. She had never felt a rush of need to claim someone. The Sith that trained her, perhaps. He had opened her mind to limitless possibilities and then the power became her obsession. To become immortal. To surpass all other Siths and find the answer to eternal life were all had failed before.

Then this damnable girl crashed landed on Vjun.

She was delectable entity that made her crave more - not to abuse and tease like the Tagge woman. All other beings were just flesh to discard after killing them. Except Sinead. Even if unconsciously she was unaware of how deep their connection went, Dalethria let the girl go because she listened to the Force. She would not kill the girl until she discerned any truth behind the warnings and honestly presumed Vjun would kill her. The girl was resourceful, resilient, and gave her a most pleasurable rush when their spirits entwined through the Force.

Oh the things she could ask as payment.

"I desire nothing for compensation."

Lies.

Though the girl's raw emotion forced a shiver from her that Dalethria was barely able to conceal. She tightened the grip on her hands to remain still. Sinead's honesty was surprising. Though she had always been honest with her. Not once had Dalethria heard an uttered lie and she had presumed that it was because the girl didn't want to die trying to trick the Sith.

She felt the truth ran deeper.

"You want to learn."

Then after a moments pause she reluctantly added to her statement.

"From me."

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead was the kind of person who could do things on a whim, trusting her intuition, even when others told her she was plain insane, or a goddamn idiot. She had walked to the beat of her own drum for so long, leaving nothing and no one behind, just carving a life for herself aboard her ship.

The notion that there was a whole other world was both jaw-dropping and mesmerizing. She hated having to rely on other people, having learned way too young that most if not all would just bail on her even if she tried her damnest best. She hated to conform. It wasn't just out of sheer silly rebellion; but most spaces she had been in were just no match for her.

The Sith had got it right. She was a wanderer. The possibility of staying somewhere, even for a significant while instead of life, had never really been in her cards since she had been outcast as a kid.

There were too many conflicting emotions and wants at war in her heart and mind.

She nevertheless quirked a brow when the brunette said she required no compensation. Something tugged along the power dancing around them, turning the air between them both overwhelming and invigorating.

She nodded to the Sith's remark about how she wanted to learn; but suddenly looked back at her, meeting those eyes that pierced straight into her raw and passionate soul.

"Yes, on all accounts."

She took a long and difficult breath after admitting it. It was weird because while she wasn't comfortable confessing what was on her mind; it was somewhat made easier because she knew that the Sith could just crush or read her mind with the greatest ease.

"There's something here," she said gesturing between them.

"Something I don't know what the hell to make of; but at the same time... Neither of us was planning or wanting this. You have things that interest you..."

She pointed towards the holocron.

"And I'm a wild flower that crash landed and mostly knows how to wander."

[Dalethria]

Something inside her latched onto the girl the moment she verbally admitted her desires, spirits weaving together to seal a contract. The same presence that engulfed her being, seized her by surprise with the invigorating power that flowed between them. She blinked, sensing it done and there was no turning back. The Force had fated their meeting and despite Dalethria's reluctance, actions influenced outcomes. Sinead was desperate and reckless and Dalethria would rescue her on instinct, on need.

Never had she felt a need so pervasive that it distracted her from the only goal she had. She inwardly cringed and wondered if this girl would be her doom after all. Death waiting for her years later to smite her and bring everything full circle. That fear shook her to the core, the manifestation of one blink before she looked away.

She looked back after Sinead spoke up again of what was here between them and couldn't deny she wanted the girl near. It went against everything she believed - being a single entity taking life to extend her own, to master the Force in ways to find true immortality. Yet the little wanderer siphoning off her own power created unparalleled yearning.

Everyone else had died by her hand. Everyone else was a means for more power or a corrupt sense of loyalty due to blood.

But Sinead ... this girl that had no reason to be honest, bared her soul, and never once believed she would be allowed to live. Dalethria has spared her life and saved it. Why if not for this?

Without a word, Dalethria walked passed Sinead to enter her quarters, clutching the amulet around her neck for strength. Eyes honed in on the obsidian box that rested on a shelf above the nightstand. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, the contents kept as memories. Now it was needed to create new ones.

She reached up to take it, lowering it as if the slightest tremor would cause it to drop and once she held a firm grip on the bottom, fingers gently pushed aside some of the dust before blowing the rest off. Her reflection gazed back at her which forced a hard swallow, a moment's reflective pause to agree with this path. Eyes closed, she caressed the smooth stone with fingertips as she remembered the day she had become an apprentice.

With sharp intake of breath, she looked up, determined. This would be different. Her master had corrupted Aria k'Vik into dark servitude. Sinead was willingly asking and there was no denying their bond. Dalethria had not shaped events to bring the girl to her, had only spoken truths of the reality of survival on Vjun, and never used her powers to sway Sinead to act rashly and need her help. Both of them acted alone, but the Force brought them together. She couldn't deny the signs, nor the longing she had for the girl.

Underneath all the claims of power she craved, Dalethria never took an apprentice because she didn't want to become like her master. A brute that broke a young girl's mind and made her believe that everything she had done was by choice - when he manipulated everything and she was but a puppet to carry out his whims.

For all the suffering she had orchestrated through the centuries, Dalethria would not manipulate Sinead.

When she returned, she immediately approached the girl and stood as close as she had before when offered the jar of sugar. She pulled the lid back towards her to reveal an amulet identical to the one that Dalethria wore that was nestled on black felt, but the jewel was grey. It was the sibling to the one Dalethria wore around her neck.

"My former master, Darth Mhian, had given this to me not long after we met."

Dalethria watched her little wanderer to see if she understood the significance.

"And now, it is your turn to wear it."

Slender fingers reached for the silver chain and reverently pulled it free. The long oval amulet dangled between them, candlelight flickering in the facets of the gem as Dalethria closed the box to set it aside and took hold of the chain by both hands, widening it expectantly.

"The only one after me to wear it."

It was an addition that she felt was necessary. Sinead was special - her first apprentice.

[Sinead DeBeynac]

Sinead was a loud mouth who could speak her mind and get in trouble for it; but she had often eluded the truth when it mattered, keeping stuff to herself. The idea of commitment terrified her, and she had never felt like she belonged anywhere or with anyone. Hell, she had had options to become part of crews over the years; but she had always flown solo, refusing to rely on others more than for contacts and stuff.

And here she was, confessing to the most power being she had ever met that she was willing to be apprenticed to her, to stay on a bloody rock with acidic rains, when instead she could have just agreed to get parts and get the hell away from Vjun.

And yet, it all made sense.

She felt the pull again as she admitted the crazy truth to her savior who could have been her butcher more than once. There was something intoxicating about the power pulsating between them. It felt all over the place and yet burning her skin all into her soul. It was oppressing as much as it made her yearn for more.

It'd be easy to say it was just lust; but that would be reductive and so pale in comparison to the magnitude this whole thing was. Sure thing, Sinead had to admit she found the Sith hot. She couldn't imagine any being who has the smallest sexual urges not to find the brunette breath-taking; but it went above and beyond such things.

Sinead didn't have the words nor did she know if one day she would; but there was something at play between them, something potent.

She felt frozen in place as she fixated the brunette; but the other woman suddenly walked past her. For what felt like eternity, she stared at the void left by the Sith in the room.

Her untrained sensations let her know the woman hadn't scampered off that far; but it didn't make Sinead feel any less anguish.

Her mind, the foreign sensations, and the sudden absence of the woman whose essence she had latched out onto without thinking, made her feel like everything was spiraling down.

Unsure of how it happened, she had pivoted on her heels and was facing the Sith as she eventually returned, holding an ancient box. Sinead could tell the carvings marked a past epoch with its dusty but delicate work.

Everything came to a halt the moment the Sith revealed the content of the box.

Body, mind, and soul stopped at once. There was no more spinning; but the solemn realization of the truthful desire she had expressed.

She had noticed the amulet the Sith wore when she had rested her eyes upon her when entering the living area a while ago.

There was no turning back; nor she desired to do so.

This was a path she had never dreamed of; but it was the only one she could fathom to follow now.

With no hesitation and genuine respect, she bowed her head to the Sith, to let her fasten the chain around her neck.

While she remained in her obedient stance, she couldn't help ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue.

"How should I call you?"

She doubted that "scary Sith Lady" was going to cut it permanently...

[Dalethria]

There was no hesitation in accepting the gift Dalethria bestowed as Sinead respectfully lowered her head. Her little wanderer's thirst for knowledge had overrode the need to run, to find someplace new, to carry on with a journey that left little satisfaction, only empty desire.

Though Sinead was no longer her little wanderer. Sinead was her apprentice. That truth made the Sith's hands briefly tremor with delight as she slipped the chain over Sinead's head, relieved that the girl would be unawares of that gesture, though it was futile. Their bond began to forge the moment Sinead entered the system, forged with promise when Dalethria brought her here, and now the amulet dangling off the girl's neck was a promise. Not one made with deceit and padded with layers upon layers of lies that made her into a doe eyed apprentice. These amulets forced a bond with Mhian. Hers happened naturally with Sinead and this would only amplify what already existed.

She couldn't temper the slight gasp that escaped when the full might of the amulets power were activated. Having worn only the apprentice amulet, the rush of power coursing through her body was significant. The master amulet controlled both and her mind was inundated with untapped potential that was hers to command. Most importantly, she felt Sinead. All of her. The cold of the floor against her feet, the beating of her heart, the rush of perfect devotion and desire for her, immediate thoughts opened to Sinead. Unlike Mhian who had hid his intentions, Dalethria was an opened book in these scant seconds.

And then it backed off, the amulets quieting through the Force as they understood who was in control. Dalethria will be able to protect them with but a thought, accentuating Sinead's abilities and using an indomitable will to crush the spirits of her enemies or subjugate her own student.

That would never happen.

Dalethria gently tucked two fingers under Sinead's chin and pressed, lifting her head so there eyes would meet. Her chest heaved, breathing deeply with decision.

"You may call me Dalethria."

The girl was her apprentice but having Sinead call her master felt so trite. They were not ordinary beings requiring ancient rules of etiquette, they were already more to the other than either had wanted, or expected.