The Dark Academy on Korriban

"You've analyzed this quite a bit," she said with an amused tone. Sudden acknowledgement of her potential was well... sudden, and quite a bit unexpected.

"It sounds like you have chosen your path, and despite the inherent dangers that you are more than aware of you are rather comfortable with it. You, Zeno Deathwright, are unique."

"It's a mentality that was trained into me by my father, and then drilled in by my flight instructors. Aggression kills an enemy. I know the flaws of it, but I'll probably never be able to let it go. It's too exciting even though it can be costly," he replies. "In fact, it's already cost me. But we must pay for every decision. I just hated the price."

"It occurs to me that this is a problem only if you force yourself to work alone. Allow another to do the thinking for you, and you needn't worry about meeting a match that is too far above your own potential. One moment..." she paused in the middle, seeing to washing the lather from herself. Drowning out everything for a solid few seconds.

Stepping back out, she continued, "Of course, that sort of arrangement would need to be with one you could trust."

Kristal, being of a warriors mind herself, knew far better than to ask him what it costed him. If he wished to share she'd meet it with a mind that could appreciate the gravity of the situation but she wouldn't coax the words from him.

"Sometimes you make connections with people that are at odds with each other. Lord Zash was not a fan of some of my comrades," he says, with a sadness in his tone. "You've had military unit training? You understand the bonds between comrades in arms? The pain in having to step away from someone you'd have died for is hell. I still have all my Deathwrights but they're not here."

His voice picks up from that sadness. "Trust is important, I have a few here that I have a limited level of trust with, but sith being sith..." he shrugs, still letting water wash over his eyes and hair. If she was exposed he didn't see it.

"And on occasion I do think ahead. Managed to get a hold of a few heavy blasters for the pre-fight with Death's Shadow. Made a tuk'ata kill box and watched dozens of them fall under three people in a handful of seconds. But when that beast came out... instinct took over for me."

"I certainly hope that you only allow instinct to inspire your actions rather than actively hold control over them," she asks. Only having stepped out of the direct stream of water, not the shower quite yet.

"I understand. There is a moment, in the heat of battle where you have to trust. Or you have to choose not to, but that allows for more enemies than you might be able to handle. That those you fought Deaths Shadow with did not turn on you the moment your back is turned."

"Yes. It was the second time I faced off against the beast with Khalim. The first I believe I proved my loyalty and worth to him and earned his trust by standing in the monster's path while Xevine found an exit. We were not prepared for that," he says.

"That's where this came from," he says pointing out what looks like a giant shark hat tried to eat his torso, a curve of tooth shaped scars that extend from his right collarbone to his left side down to his right hip. "There's a matching one on my back."

Looking up and over to him, she took a sight of the wound and little else.

"For it to still leave a scar the wound must have been severe. Death's Shadow..." she repeated, smirked and then shook her head. "You caused the rumor of it's demise, and finished it as well then. I had thought once I might have to fight such a beast. It was... a daunting, but also exhilarating prospect."

Despite trying to see nothing else, that was basically impossible with how close the thing had come to making him less of a male. "Thats what I do. Get myself in dangerous situations and murder my way out."

The warm water felt nice and was relaxing. "But i was not the only one there."

"Given the track record I would doubt, even if you told me, that you managed to kill it alone," she said honestly.

"Is that why you do it? The Thrill." she asked, which was perhaps a bit off from her usual self. Less of the Cold, more of the actual person to person stuff.

"Hmm... it's less about the thrill of victory and more about a live off the conflict. The challenge andpushing myself in deadly situations. The violence itself," he replies.

"Why is it you do what you do? Duty? Service?"

"Service to the Empire," she said coolly.

"That is the mantra of the Deathwright family as well. Something that motivates me. But i also find the empire and the dark light to be inseparable and seek to serve it as well. I feel it speak to me in the midst of coflict, thus my drive." He grabs a cloth and begins wiping, but then shortly puts it back and goes back to his relaxation.

Whereas Deathwright went back to his soaking, the shower by Kristal turned off and within the stall she saw to drying herself a bit as she responded, "I am not surprised, we are of Imperial families after all."

Leaving some of her thoughts on his other half of the comment to herself. Given present company.

When the shower shut off he spoke up once more. "Hey Serasi, you're not heading out are you? You should grab a stool and enjoy the water. Yavin might not have this little luxury. Stay and chat."

"I had been planning on it," she said, finishing the wrap around her torso. "As delightful as our chat has been, and the shower. I would much rather get myself dressed."

And far, far, far, away from Anya Veers.

"Aww, don't be a spoilsport. We're just getting t know each other," he says. "A bit of soldierly bonding never hurt anyone."

Coming around the corner she smirked, leaning against the corner of a stall. Reaching up she carefully pulled down the towel on the right side of her torso a little. Revealing a bit just below her shoulder. Showing the oddly healed, twisted skin that was underneath. Before it only barely showed above her towel making it hard to see.

"I got this here, from a Fallen Jedi. They nearly killed me but in the end they were the ones who died." Covering it back up she made sure the towel kept tight. "Now we've both learned plenty of each other. You've shown me yours, and now you've seen mine. Enough soldierly bonding to keep you warm through the night?"

The woman was clearly not one for showing off skin or doing the sexy talk so Zeno's eyes only took in the scar then averted back under the water.

"That's a nice scar. Well earned, no doubt, since you're still standing," he replies with a smirk.

"But Veers isn't talking too much and I like conversation with my relaxation," he says. "It gets lonely when all you do is count seconds. You ever spend 48 hours in the middle of nowhere in the void with nothing but an air supply? That's why most Deathwrights you come across like to talk. It's standard practice to help one come to terms with death. They don't tell you about it until they shove you out an airlock and hyperspace away."

"I am afraid I am not much better at conversation," she admits. In fact, that she was still standing there was a bit of an oddity. Most times she likely would have just said her piece and walked out anyway.

"I think you undersell yourself. Well, perhaps not. Perhaps what you need is a conversation partner like yourself. One that speaks directly and hates all the beating around the bushes," he says flatly.

"That is something I really cannot stand. Talking to you is a breath of fresh air for me. No double talk, no implications, no suggestions. You say how it is and give your honest opinion."

"Someone who will take you at your word because they know you're honest and you can't stand wasting time playing games."

Perhaps there was some actual merit to this Zeno Deathwright after all. Despite his display at the training grounds days ago. At least, that was what was on Kristal's mind as she listened to him speak.

"How unfortunate that such conversation rarely can be sustained in an environment like this one. Wrong person wanders by for a listen and your list of enemies triples."

"That list triples, because too many are too soft to accept the truth," he says with a shrug, the water still washing over his eyes. "Nobody wants to hear about their own problems that they are blind to. I welcome criticism but despise insult. If the truth can teach me to become stronger then I welcome it. I only wish more people would understand the value of that."

"It is a shame how many prefer comfort over bettering themselves and the Empire as a whole. If we had fewer creatures of comfort... well, we might very well be in a much different Empire." she said, adjusting herself where she stood as the corner started to dig into her shoulder a bit.

"If I had something of merit to say about your person I would test that statement of yours. Unfortunately, I currently do not have anything worthy of the test."

"You certainly do," he says. "Because I recognize it and you saw it. Perhaps you do not consider it a constructive criticism but I know it all too well. I am too quick to respond with the blade over insults. That was something else that was ingrained into me by my father. I am sure there are others, but even I recognize that. My love of conflict draws that out in me. My pride is precious to me, but I do myself a disservice by not reacting in a more controlled manner."

There was a smile, and she shook her head. Might as well add to it with her own appraisal, "You also make yourself far too prone to insults by jumping into power positions without a proper base. The toss away words of an overseer doesn't inspire respect in anyones authority. It doesn't create it. That was where your folly was on that day. No one, not even that overseer respected the position you appointed yourself to. It was a waste of their efforts and then yours. You simply elected yourself for it."