The Dark Academy on Korriban

(Expecting)

After breakfast and cramming, Shaisha thought it best to take a relaxing moment in the refresher before the orientation began. Sure, she'd probably need to go back in here after they were done for the day, but there was just something about starting the day with a refreshing moment.

She took a few moments to look herself over in the mirror. Ugh, I probably gain a few pounds back at that party. Damn them for making such tasty sleen-rolls.

Khalim wanders into the refresher this morning without any of his customary finery. Based on the unamused expression on his face, it's pretty clear that he's just woken up, and really isn't a morning person. While stifling a yawn, he half-heartedly waves to the other sith in the room, and moves over to one of the stalls to take a shower.

Showered yesterday after that damn walk, and I'm still finding dust in places I didn't think dust could get...

"'morning," the other Sith says in what probably seemed like an annoyingly chipper voice for someone who wasn't a morning person. Shaisha looked at Khalim's frame from the reflection in the mirror in front of her, smiling to herself.

"Stayed too long in the cantina?"

The sound of the shower turning on is the response to the excessively-chipper welcome.

"Nah. I didn't even get to drink because of that damn slave. Two sips in and CRASH! SMASH! HURRR-ME NO LIKE PEOPLE!"

"Yeah," Shaisha rolled her eyes and took the stall next to Khalim's. "Some people just feel the need to wreck a party, even when they were invited. Ungrateful monkey-lizard."

"If it weren't for the Academy rules, would be nice to do something about it, no?"

As the steam begins to waft from the shower, he replies, "I suspect given enough time we won't need to do anything. She'll kill herself, or someone not bound by the rules of the academy will. Or she'll just fall into a pit in a tomb."

"Probably right about that."

A satisified sigh as the warmth of the shower begins to cleanse away the filth.

"As for falling into a pit in a tomb, wouldn't surprise me if a few of the acolytes did that in the coming days. Already it seems like many are eager to go out there and look for weapons and relics of old... you planning on doing a little bit of spelunking yourself?"

"I suspect that anyone seeking to prove their worth or perhaps have an advantage of some previously unknown knowledge in their head when they venture out as true Sith would be doing so. So yes, I expect I will be doing some exploration."

The next line is a bit muffled, probably as he scrubs his face.

"And what of yourself?"

"Me?"

She flipped the wet hair from her face.

"Of course. Need to fill the hours with something exciting when we're not being tested and scrutinized, you know. There's a limit to how much time one can spend time in the museum or the training grounds without losing their minds."

"Well then, I suspect I'll see you out there at some point."

There's a bit of sound from his shower sounding like the water is hitting something much closer. Possibly rinsing his face.

After a few moments, he continues, "Museums are so...stuffy and boring. They show what's already been discovered. It's far more interesting to instead consider what is -yet- to be discovered. What our ancestors left behind for us."

"We probably will. Unless we go together, of course," there was a hint of teasing in the voice.

"Hm, museums are fine and all, but yes, boring. No excitement in going through them, unless someone decided to open up some sort of live-interactive tomb exhibition... huh, why haven't anyone done that yet."

He suggests with a hint of humor (a rare thing) in his voice, "because it would cost too much to clean up all the blood all the time?"

"I trust you've made the appropriate preparations for any journey you plan to take into the wastes?"

"More or less. Lacking in a real weapon though, as all I got is a shiny knife," another sigh, "still, I consider myself somewhat capable of navigating around trouble. Most of the time."

"Pity we can't just pick up a weapon and take it with us into the wastes."

"Equipment is something that I am more than capable of assisting with, assuming it is worth my while..."

The intonation seems to imply: ...so what can you offer in return?

Sith Empire ain't no charity, after all.

"My, I can certainly make it so," she purrs, for a moment indicating that there could certainly be more on the table.

"So for a student like yourself who is already so well off, and doing well in the tests... hmm... usually there would be favours, connections, allies, or a certain skillset?"

"Each has their particular benefit. After all, being well off and doing well in testing only goes so far if you have nobody with whom to use your talent or watching your back."

He turns the shower off and pulls the towel hanging on the door into his stall to begin drying off.

"Thus, whether it is simply in forging future alliances for after graduation, or more direct assistance for each other leading up to graduation, I'm sure something can be worked out. You seem to have a number of friends, after all, and I'm quite new to the Academy and thus haven't had the opportunity to make as many as of yet."

"What can I say, I have a winning personality," even out of sight, it sounded like she flashed a wide grin.

"If you're looking to go into the Valley of the Dark Lords... or even further into the Deep Wastes, I have two close confidantes I would trust to travel with. There is some strength in numbers if taking on something as dangerous as what can be found out there."

"Well, perhaps sometime I will meet your close friends as well. You're quite right about strength in numbers...however, the trick is making sure that the numbers aren't too many to where the reward is excessively diluted."

His voice takes a bit of a smiling sound then, "perhaps you'll see what I can offer later today during the tests, and I'll be certain to be keeping an eye on you as well."

"Oh, but I'm already keeping a close eye on you, Khalim," she chuckled sweetly. "So far, I like what I see."

The sound of water was stopped, and she too reached for her towel.

"And these exams aren't all. They won't test all of our skills, I bet."

"I'm certain they won't. But they will still give a good indicator of how useful someone is with what they already know."

He steps out of the shower stall with his towel wrapped around his waist and moves to the sink to clean his teeth.

"After all, if someone fails miserably and shows they have no particular worth, why would one try to forge an alliance with them?"

Stepping out of the shower herself with the towel loosely wrapped around her, she takes a moment to appriciate the view of her fellow Sith. Not that she makes an effort to hide it.

"So what, apart from resources, would you consider your strongest area of expertise?"

He glimpses aside at the fellow sith, and if he is at all appreciative of the view, he is far too disciplined to show it.

"I have received instruction in the use of a lightsaber, and have my family's ancestral hilt. I also have received training in control of the Force, and the discipline and will that such entails."

He smiles then, "I'm also rather hard to deceive, which is likely to be quite a useful trait considering our classmates."

"Are you now?" she smiled deviously. Hm, suppressing his feelings much perhaps?

"I might have to test that out some day. I like to consider myself being good at such things... well, maybe I just had very easy targets to practise on, who knows."

He glimpses at her eyes, with a bit of challenge, "You're welcome to try, though a lifetime of listening to the pitiful pleas of lesser races and their excuses on why they should be allowed to live has rather inured me to lies."

He considers, "Ah, I am also quite good at getting people to do what I want. Though I suspect many of us are, or we wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Tch, I'm of a pure line of Sith, not some inferior species," she lifted her chin haughtily, looking up at the larger man.

"I suspect we're both rather used to persuading and pushing those lesser beings around. It's in our blood, to be the leaders and dominators."