The Dark Academy on Korriban

It was a much more quiet atmosphere in the cantina this early in the day, especially since most students were packing and preparing for the upcoming trip to Yavin. Shaisha didn't mind it that way.

Enjoying a glass of Ziostian white, she sat by the bar as she listened in peace to the music from the jukebox. It was a couple of years old, but she remembered the song fondly as some of the first music she heard when she came to live with Sylvain and his family.

She had sent a message to Jo'ren about potentially meeting up for drinks before today's tests.

She didn't have to wait to much longer. As the song came to an end there he was at the entrance to the bar. Large, purposeful, confident.

He walked over and took a seat. "Hello Shaisha. It's been a while: you look well."

Something had changed since they had last spoken. Something in his demeanour was different. There was more intensity, more poise.

"Jo'ren," her playful smile wasn't far away from her lips when he approached. "I could say the same for you..."

She took a moment to breathe in deeply, studying him carefully. "You seem more focused. Did the members of the Dark Council rub off on you yesterday?" her soft laugh came easily.

He laughed softly, big muscles moving beneath his shirt. "Well, I suppose that played a part to be sure." He took a glass of water before doing anything else.

"Wine before trials I see. How decadent.". He winked and drank an entire litre of water in one go. "Training in this dry heat always makes me thirsty. Might as well enjoy the clean water before we have to drink with purification tablets. Mmm, iodine."

She grinned. "And how very sensible of you to be drinking water. Don't worry though, I'm not here to get drunk before the trials. Merely taking a chance to enjoy the atmosphere here before we'll be stuck in a ship, and then out in the jungle, far away from any well-stocked bar."

"I assume you were in the session before mine? Who did you have the honor of standing with?" Shaisha let her eyes drop to her wine-glass as she carefully swirled the sparkling white liquid around.

He gave her a wry smile. "I'm sure the slayer of Death's Shadow could complete the ordeal that is to come even after a couple of glasses of wine."

The comment about the bar's atmosphere made him think of his conversation with Layne. "The band was on form last night. Quite the show." He paused. "Yes, I was at the first session. I stood with Darth Vengean. As did your friend Torsin, though he seemed rather distant."

Probably had a lot on his mind, I wager.

"Did he?" she shrugged and took a small sip, seeming intent on enjoying the drink slowly.

"Shame I didn't find you after the beast was slain," Shaisha teased with a mirthful chuckle, "it would've been a nice way to finish my victory."

"Compared to when I met him and he was full of questions. But then I guess it's been a tough time for him and your friend Kristal.". He took another glass of water but just sipped it this time.

Jo'ren shrugged and gave her an equally teasing smile. "Yeah it would. I'm sure you found a way to manage though."

Jo'ren had been in the library that night reading Koro's book. Nothing could have dragged him away.

"Yeah... don't envy them that position. I've lost family too, but in this life, I'm not surprised if everyone hasn't lost someone close at one point or another." The subject tensed her a little. "Like yourself? Mother, father, siblings?"

Jo'ren turned to look at her and it was a cryptic expression that covered his features like a cloak. "None that were lost in quite that way, no." Deathwright and Zash can burn.

He looked at the wine glass, and his water. "Oh fuck it." Raising his hand to the barman he ordered a beer. "And another glass of wine for the lady. Unless you want something else?"

"I won't say no to a free drink," she smirked briefly. "... Something in your mind then? You seemed lost in thought for a moment there."

"It might be what seems so different about you today. Like there's something gnawing on you." Her usual flirtatious attitude towards Jo'ren was gone, replaced by something more contemplative and relaxed.

There was a light laughter for a few moments. "It may surprise you to hear this about me Shaisha, but occasionally I do have thoughts that are worth getting lost in."

He chuckled again and accepted the frosty beer. "I'm adjusting to a new reality. It doesn't happen overnight, but the path I'm on... Well, there are certain lifestyle changes that go with it."

"Never said you don't have thoughts that aren't worth getting lost in," she chuckled in return and put her hand on his arm. "Perhaps I'm merely curious about what goes on in that head of yours, as you seem to hide yourself."

She accepted the new glass of wine by finishing off her first.

"Like the sands of Korriban, you are more than you appear to be. I noticed as much when we first met."

Jo'ren sipped some beer as she spoke and placed a hand on top of the one she touched him with for a moment. It was quite warm considering he had been touching a cold beer glass.

"I'm a Rath. We're complicated, and not." The smile was cryptic once more. "Go on then. Ask me something. You're curious. I can't promise I'll answer, but if you've got a burning question, take your best shot."

"You know me, I'm always curious," she said, enjoying the sensation of his touch.

"... So who did you lose recently that made you change your expression so?" her voice was softer and a bit more quiet, indicating that she was willing to let this conversation be a private one.

He drank a little more. "Do you have any friends Shaisha? I don't mean allies, and I don't mean people you can stand to spend time around. Friends. People you can trust, for whatever reason. Whose company you enjoy for the sake of their company, not an ulterior motive?"

She took a small sip herself before giving a nod. "I would say that, yes. Not sure where I stand on it these days, but yes, I would say I have at least one."

His head tilted at the answer. "Now imagine that person being horrifically murdered. So horrific it tears a hole in fucking universe. For who knows what."

He sipped some beer and shook his head. "Wasted potential." He looked back at her, face calm. "That's what I lost. A friend. I didn't have many to spare."

"... I'm sorry to hear that," her hand turned to hold his. It was a small gesture, but she felt it conveyed more her sympathies than any words. "I won't ask how that happened."

Her golden eyes looked up at the much larger Sith. "If you find yourself alone, I can be a friend too, Jo'ren. More than just a flirt, or an occassional rough playmate."

He looked at her for a long moment before replying. "Rath's don't really get lonely. Not as such. We are occasionally moved to find companionship, but it's not quite the same. At least I don't think it is. But that's a kind thing to say, and I think we could become friends, yes."

He took another mouthful of the cold beer. "There's time for that, in the future. Right now I have a path to walk, and it can't be shared. Maybe once I'm out the other side we'll find the time for friendship. Don't get me wrong, I like you. But so far on the friends count I have one horrific murder victim and one... Well... That one's just fucking weird.". He frowned and drank some more, keeping his hand on hers.

"I'll keep that in mind for when the time comes then... but if you need a helping hand, don't hesitate to ask me." Shaisha's smile was genuine, but she knew not to press the matter. For now, she just let him know that the option was on the table in case he went in over his head.

Like she had done.

"Oh? Don't tell me you've become cozy with the mad old hermit Spindral out in the wastes?" she asked with a light-hearted chuckle before leaning her head against his shoulder.

He didn't shy away from the touch, large muscles being quite comfortable for her head. He laughed a little.

"No, never did meet that guy. Heard about him but I guess my travels are in a different direction. So a crazy old hermit is your friend huh? Cool.". He raised the mug of beer. "Here's to crazy friends."

"To crazy friends," her wine glass was raised and touched against his beer mug.

"Not that I would call him a friend, but he saved my life and has given me answers... which has of course only led to more questions, but that's life I guess. Feels like every time I go out searching, I run into him."

"Huh, that's interesting. He saved your life? Care to tell that story?". He raised an eyebrow, it was intriguing.

Her expression turned thoughtful as she considered how much to tell, and she bought herself some time by taking another sip of the wine.

"I've been following some... visions, of something far into the wastes. I wasn't sure what I would find, but I thought that if I found it, whatever it was, it would give me some answers. I went out there last night, and well, I did find something."

Shaisha's eyes lowered for a moment as she thought back to the event. "I was suddenly in a lush green rain forest, rather than the dry desert wastes. There, I met native sith of Korriban and I spoke and shared water with their leader. Not long after, the leader of another tribe came to defeat her and enslave the tribe I met. The invader won their match and offered me a place at her side... and made a snide remark about my heigh," she sniffed, clearly displeased with that part. "I cut her with my lightsaber. She sent a tree in my face."

"Can't say my lightsaber training covered dodging trees being thrown at you. Knocked me right out, and when I woke up, I found old man Spindral. The green place was gone as if it had never been there. Turns out I found an echo of the past."