Reverie

[Gray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdfqMIuk1w

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*Four Days Prior*

The malodor had crept it's way across the planets surface, the stench drifting through and over the numerous hills and abundance of foilage that decorated Dantooine. Spawned in darkness with the intent of extinguishing it, the entity was birthed from a fixed location. It was the scent that traveled for now. Though the scent itself was not a simple side effect, for that which permiated held something far greater than smell. It presented itself as many things to one. An instigator. A warning. A threat. Ilu'phodaai. Though it wasn't for some time before it reached him. Yet it did travel, albeit a slow one.

*Three Days Prior*

Reflection. Gray had successfully brought his people to their former selves. Back to the time before Lodak, the time reminiscent of his parents. Emaciated bodies were replaced by tall standing and healthy individuals. The abodes that were once shoddy and broken down by tyranny were now restored and illustrious. The castes had been resurrected from the ground up by Gray and a handpicked few who this time around he knew he could trust. Glory. It was something his father had told him he would bring to his people once upon a time. Such a thing was not done without sacrifice. It was no doubt a lesson learned for him, but one that was valued.

In the wake of felling Lodak he was met with an ample amount of scrutiny from his tribe. While he had claimed to be of the Vartun lineage, they remained unsure. Such a transformation had taken place in Gray since he left that he no longer looked like the man they once knew. Brick by brick. So he worked endlessly to obtain the trust of those he had once abandoned. As time passed and the pieces were picked up, those who had once gazed upon him from a distance began to embrace him. Sacrifice. A beast was buried to give way to a more representable persona. Inside of that was something that remained dormant yet still kept control. The intricacies of the very thing he chose to stow away still managed to play in the shadows. It lingered.

*Two Days Prior*

Gray handpicked an Elder to be present in his stead should he have to carry out duties away from the tribe. In times past this was always a common practice. It was the leaders who represented their tribe and as such, were the ones who did the dealings.

"Quill. I have selected you for various reasons. The main thing being, you have been of our people since the time of my parents. Within that you have the most knowledge on par if not quite close to myself on how our people work. I believe you will do well to oversee things should I have to depart."

Quill nodded. The sixty-four year old man was still in shape despite his age. Quill's voice was calm and without gruff, "It would be my honor to do so. This honor does not remain in current, but extends to decades ago. Your parents as you know were two people I was extremely close to. To deny such a thing would be a betrayal to them." Quill paused before speaking again. "We'll just have to make sure we do well to keep the women away from my quarters. They have always been interested in my knowledge and with such a position I can only imagine them to become far more curious."

Gray smirked as Quill did. The banter was something Gray missed. Gray spoke to him as he rose from his seat, "Aren't you a little old for such endeavors?" Gray came to a stop in front of him, resting his hand atop Quill's left shoulder. "We'll just have to make sure we don't allow for one with more knowledge to get a hold of you. Such a strain on your heart would relieve me of a valued friend."

Both men laughed as they waltzed out of the main hall. Subtle verbal jabs and obnoxious chatter were tossed back and forth as they made their way toward the banquet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxM4EbN9lMY

*One Day Prior*

The abhorrent stench creep crawled along the dew soaked grass of Dantooine. Aurora was breaking along the horizon and Gray's eyes were scanning about. The smell burned his nostrils as if he was inhaling embers. It had finally made it's way to him and he was none to pleased. The irritant seeped through his pores and descended his airway. That which was caged began to stress against the forthcoming infestation. A thing like this could never remain contained. It was only a matter of time before something or someone managed to clip the padlock and melt the chains. Scents come from a source. If a scent could spread, so could the source. Chaos cannot escape him.

As those in the village behind him began to stir, he knew what must be done. It was a double edged sword. Preservation of himself and more over those who were waking. There are some things that people cannot avoid. In Gray's case that thing is his Faith. A moment of solace had placed a cap over a boiling being that was quickly building pressure against the lid placed atop it. The constant reverberations that ricocheted around and through his being brought about a familiar feeling that was most welcome to him. It would be accepted if investigation of this entity was to be pursued.

Cruva kash'a iaacin, zuer kash soluum veraai.


*Current Day*

The aroma managed to pass over the village in which Gray and his people reside. The day before, Gray notified his people that he had some duties to attend to both off world and elsewhere on Dantooine. Quill was of course to take position in his absence. It was not known how long he would be away but he reassured them that they would not be left behind. They understood to a degree. It was expected given how things were explained to those eager enough to question. The answer wasn't filled with lies but vague enough to let them know that a presence unwelcome had made itself known on Dantooine.

So he left without hesitation. Preparations on the Dantooine homefront had been taken care of. However there were other things that must be tended to before venturing further into this new investigation. Tatooine held numerous items of importance to Gray that had to be acquired. Items that were left behind months ago. Tools of the trade. These items were something that in Gray's mind, he should not have misplaced. "A moment of weakness." Those of his Faith have them, of this he is certain. So long as one is quickly able to identify that problem and rid of it, they are as they should be.

"Never again."

It was to the Starport he would travel. A long and tedious walk across the planes gave him time to mull over times past. Slow and meticulous analyzation on the events that lead him here. They were all dissected and pieced back together over and over again. As he did so, the dusk within began to stir and spread even more. A slow and steady build to prevent a debilitating rush that would render him unable. As he traversed the planet he managed to sense the general location of the source. Though he stayed well enough away from it. Now wasn't the time to give in to curiosity. It would only be a matter of time before he reached the nearest Starport.

<<TAG: Bella-Donna>>

[Daydream]

A muted chime roused the twi'lek from her ruminations. Her lekku twitched stiffly at the intrusion.   

<We've entered the Dantooine system, Miss Dream,> came a tinny voice, distorted through the shipboard comm.

"Of course," she sighed, and opened her eyes.  Slapping the comm back to silence, Belladonna returned her attention to the matched pair of blades over which she had been brooding.  She reached forward, ran a fingertip easily over one sword, following the curve of the bright metal.  The blades, hovering in the air before her, seemed to shimmer.

The twi'lek had left Coruscant with more questions than answers, but she had also taken a handful of myths to chase back into the Outer Rim.  One such myth had led her back into the Raioballo Sector on the tail of a scholar who had disappeared from the Core two decades ago.

It irked her that an answer could have been under her nose all along. 

Shortly, the landing craft descended toward one of Dantooine's local starports, and Belladonna watched the rounded swell of planet stretching past the thick transparisteel viewport.  A smirk played cruelly around her lips as she indulged in memories she had buried down there:  The little, long-ago tests at the other twi'lek's hands, spilling her own tears and blood over the ubiquitous purple flowers until her manipulations had blossomed... the Echani's return from Korriban bearing the Sith poison... histories stolen from her mentor's library under his own master's smug if distracted gaze... and years later, the grief-maddened ritual bloodbath which had plunged one small vale near the Fields of Banir into a sickly fog of darkness and decay. 

And the ruins.  The poor little Jedi who she had turned away from his path in those very ruins... an Alderaanian schemer who knew too much about the old temple grounds... the assassin, last protege of her last mentor, who had found her there... an unmarked face with blue eyes.   Curiously, she also remembered an attempt to purge the encroaching shadow which had spread over those ruins.

With that last image in her mind, the twi'lek closed her eyes and swallowed against a sudden, sharp pang of regret welling in her throat; whether it was regret over the simple indulgence in such things, or regret over the years wasted wallowing in the comfort of shadow, she was not sure.

Belladonna shook her head as she departed the craft, and inhaled deeply, dismissing her momentary reverie to consider the hunt ahead of her, and wonder at whether an element of her quest had been buried here all along.

[TAG: Gray]

[Gray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRYKyhof6b4

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As Gray neared the Starport he was met with a familiar presence. A presence that stirred a great many memory laced with malice and discontent. Gray came to a stop outside of the hub, his body just a few meters from the walling that surrounded it. The constant shuffling of feet could be heard on the other side of the barrier wall. The numerous peasants there to sell off items to passerby's and travelers hastily hurrying about. Though the shifting mass of body heat couldn't manage to cast a curtain over the sole being that rest amongst them. "My most favored serpant.", he mumbled as his left hand glanced over the band of toxinous barbs that were wrapped around his right bicep.

"Cosseting heretics"

Gray ran his tongue over his lips at the statement remembered. The arrogant smirk most familiar to the soul inside made it's way across his features. The shifting of his lips caused the chaotic markings that adorned his face to contort with the expression. Gray's head quirked at what he felt. He spoke to himself in the safety of his mind. "A fissure, hm? Chaos stirs within her on the swift wings of barbed memories soiled with regret." Gray allowed the contrition to seep through his pores as he mused further. "The solidarity she found after the ties broken cast her into an ocean abundant with whitecaps. All on her lonesome she drifted through the hectic waters, staying afloat by a makeshift raft." Gray stepped toward the starport and passed the towering walls. "Her resistance has however made her unable to hear the chaos around. It looks as if I will have to be the conch shell at her ear."

Gray could tell that she had made her way out of the spacecraft now. He slowly sifted between and about the crowd that formed a cloud between the two. Every few steps Gray would toy with Quey'tek, his aura fully visible before shifting into nothing a moment later. As he did this he drew upon her lingering emotions, storing them into his onyxian furnace. He had no care if she knew it was him or not. The Fates had obviously brought them to this point. Gray was simply indulging in what was present. If one cannot enjoy lifes little pleasures, then there is simply no point in breathing.

Gray studied her as he waltzed through the flow of bodies. The obese, fat, and thin made for an ever constant swirl that more than contributed to the game he was playing. The beings within the galaxy that carried out the simplist of tasks were useful for such things and nothing more. No worth other than use. It was with such that Gray tolerated them. Yet the simple minded payed him no mind as he moved to the far right this round. His aura firing off a vibrant plume before dissipating. Golden eyes settled on her face as he rounded through the crowd. Though he took his time to slowly work through the bland and normal faces. Gray wanted the tension to contribute to her already troubled conscious.

As Gray skirted around to come alongside her, he came to a stop. Gray made himself comfortable against the landing gear that was pressing against the surface beneath. A casual and somewhat charming expression became apparant on his face as he looked to her. His gravely voice escaping with an underlying calm that carried it to her. "You've no idea how much I've missed having your blade at my back." Gray ran his tongue over his lips before offering her something of a smile. Though this one would be reminiscent of the wolf eying the sheep. The wolf was hungry.

<<TAG:Bella-Donna>>

[Daydream]

The flare of coiling dark Force energy that signed the man's name to his presence was unmistakeable, but even as quickly as the twi'lek perceived and recognized it, the aura vanished.

Belladonna frowned, mundane senses scanning the bustling starport crowd of settlers, miners, and merchants, finding nothing in the sea of mostly-human settlers, miners and merchants. When the familiar aura flared back to vibrancy, she caught the scantest sense of smug satisfaction as a thing apart from her, and a hint of pulling on the emotional tension that had welled within her before she forced it into abeyance.  

It was Gray, of course.  Scholar, former Consular, alchemist, fulcrum, rival of a sort... the temporary truces occasionally reached between them had never lasted long; the suspicions and scheming, however, always seemed to endure.  She was certain Gray knew, no, intended that she would recognize his presence, and she felt he was playing off that, jax-and-rat.

A plume of twisted darkness seemed to pulse in the crowd to her left, then vanished in a skillful display of Qey'tek.  

The twi'lek turned with slow deliberation to appraise the man who had appeared beside her to lean against the landing gear.  Bluegreens took in the Dantari with a pointed stare:  His hair was no longer caught in the neat ponytail she remembered the once-Consular favoring, but dreads adorned with bone and crystal ornaments, and chaotic lines of darkened flesh marked out the results of ritual scarification cut across his skin.  While the symbols were not wholly familiar, the technique used to raise such precise lines of scar tissue was.   She entertained a moment of curiousity about the significance.

"You've no idea how much I've missed having your blade at my back," he was saying in his calm rasp, licking his lips into a rather hungry smile.

"Be a dear and turn around," Belladonna responded in a low voice, tracing a circle in the air with a brightly-laquered talon, "and I could remedy your nostalgia right now."  

She laughed lightly to defuse the implied threat; her heart was not in it.  Easing away from the press of the crowd, the diminutive black-garbed twi'lek paced a wide circle around the landing gear and the man standing there, her head canted upward to regard him even as she very clearly kept a cautious distance between them.

"What is this, then? My former Historian has seemingly gone... native," she observed with unusual placidity.  

[Tag: Gray]

[Gray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKYyW_3VwpQ

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"Be a dear and turn around," the small statured Twi'lek chimed, "and I could remedy your nostaliga right now.". A baleful finger nail went full circle as if to tell the male to do so. Gray's smile faded into a curious smirk as his head canted to the right. Before he could spin around and offer a witty remark, her own was removed of any possible seriousness by the subtle laughter given. Gray stood stone still as she paced. Golden eyes peered into blue-greens as she came to a stop before him. "What is this, then? My former historian has seemingly gone native."

Gray gave her a small nod as he pressed himself off the landing gear that held him upright. He folded his hands ontop of each other in the small of his back. A scant smile was offered before began to make his way around her now, circling like a vulture. "Change seems to be the name of the game, Bella. Though I'm afraid I know far more of you than you have ever known of myself due to a ... third party." The Twi'lek gave him something of a wary look, the tension in the air thick like raptor jesus' nostril breathing. Gray paused for a moment just over her right shoulder. Golden eyes suspended above her tchin as his face brushed against it, nostrils inhaling ever so softly to take in the scent.

Gray resumed his haunting, his figure slowly shifting around the shorter one it orbits. "I've changed for the better, Bella. Yet you have lost ample enough of that which you came to know so very well. Some misplaced semblence of regret in past times slowly chipping away at the brick."A slight prod was given. Though he did this not out of malice, but to dig. Lekku coiled ever so slightly at the intrusion on her mind before she spoke, "What do you believe I have lost, Gray? Time, patience...hm? The desire to stay locked in time, unchanging? Everyone has regrets, Gray, mine involve...senseless waste."

Gray's tongue rolled against his right cheek, "Well, now you've become quite close in comparison to the relics and past histories we both strive to acquire. Your true self lost to the sands of time."Enough had been said by him on the topic. Gray now stood before her again, though a bit more close than he once was. He felt the proximity between the two augmented the semi-heated conversation. By the time Gray had fixated his eyes on her features she had her retort prepared, "What makes you think you know anything of my true self Gray?" The darians eyes burned into his own, his statements obviously enough to cause even the smallest of stirs. He'd seen greater within her.

Gray nodded his head to the right, still unmoving infront of her. "We know enough of each other to have seen that which lingers, Bella. The more you fight, the more painful the waking. Though, we both share a common... liking, for pain." Though she said nothing, the only form of repsonse presented itself in a familiar smirk. Gray gave her a once over from head to toe. Upon looking at her face for the third time in mere minutes, he walked toward the loading ramp with a neutral expression.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbm36ACTPDo

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"It would seem as if you have come here for something."  The dantari looked up the ramp as best he could without paying any mind to her possibly becoming annoyed with his actions. Upon sating his curiosity he looked back to her. "Regret. Regret is something that remains when one is unable to repair things that have happened. Unable to build upon them. Corrections that would lead astray only add more faults in the foundation." Gray blinked at her before looking in the direction of the entrance to the Starport. "Ilu'phodaai has made itself present here, Bella. Regret would come for me if I were not to extinguish the filth that has claimed a portion of my planets soil." Gray ran his tongue over his lips and made his way near her again, though this time he kept a respectable amount of space between.

"I must make way to Tatooine. The things I require are held there." As he examined her from a distance the incessant desire to bring her to darkness clawed at him like a sand panther against a tree trunk. "I've an item there that you may be interested in, should you have time to spare from your endeavor. A holocron yet unlocked that may pique your interest." Gray this time remained in place, waiting for her reply.
 
<<TAG:Bella-Donna>>

[Daydream]

Bella had stifled her irritation.  Gray's deliberately close circling around her, the suggestion that he knew more of her than she knew of him {and how}, his declaration that she had lost something, the deft prodding at her psyche:  They were all actions and words well-calculated to rouse her ire, even cause her to lash out, simply from habit.

The twi'lek refused to permit that.  Instead, she released a mild sigh and purged her irritation with the exhalation, even permitting a smirk at the Dantari's mention of pain.  However, her twisted mirth quickly faded into a guarded expression at the mention of Ilu'phodaai.

::What does he know about it,:: she wondered, bluegreens flickering over his attire.  Belladonna assumed that with his appearance and the little nod about having 'gone native', Gray had established himself here on Dantooine, perhaps even taken on some authority with the tribes.  ::A new threat... a person or a thing? Or... something to do with the cave at the ruins? Is it Ilu'kaar?:: Curiousity flared. Some things never changed.

"I must make my way to Tatooine," Gray was explaining, motionless, examining her much as she was examining him. "The things I require are held there ... a holocron yet unlocked that may pique your interest."

Indeed, some things never changed. The chance at some new bit of knowledge, or some yet-untold perspective on history to be brought into the light... With her curiousity and excitement betrayed by the twitching tips of her lekku, she stepped forward toward Gray.  The Dantari's head canted toward the twi'lek as she approached, and a devious smirk played around his lips.

"A holocron yet unlocked? Are you offering me the chance to try my hand at it?" she asked in a low voice.

"Either that," the Dantari responded, "or attempt to trap you within it -- although if I were to do that, I would not be able to sate my still lingering curiosity."

"Consider my interest piqued, Gray," Belladonna stated archly.  A slight tightening of the flesh about her eyes hinted at determination that if anyone would be trapped in such a device, it wouldn't be her. "I can spare a few spans from my own search here.  Tatooine, then: Do you wish for me to travel with you, or will you send me the coordinates?"

"Spare a few spans, hm? Such hastening only results in the overlooking of hints," Gray answered, and the man licked his lips again. "We will travel together, yes. On your ship, no doubt.

"Hopefully you can fly better than you drive," the Dantari added acidly.

Belladonna halted as she eased past him on the boarding ramp, bluegreens staring boldly up into sungold eyes. "My flying is not that bad," she lied. "But as you say. I'll let my pilot know you've a nervous stomach and he needs to be gentle." 

She paused again, examining the display of a small data device affixed to her left bracer. "...It looks like I have a package waiting for me in Bestine, so I'll direct Samist to land us there." The twi'lek reached with her right hand to touch Gray's sleeve, canting her head toward the shuttle that would take them up to the Luminous Night II, and then, to Tatooine.

[Tag: Gray, Anishor {no order}]

[Gray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dW1MtBwNEI

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As the woman nodded toward the shuttle, Gray made his way up the loading ramp and inside. He made himself comfortable in the chair nearest the view outside. Gloved hands were folded and placed in his lap as the transport made it's way into the sky and broke atmosphere. As the two sailed through the cosmos, he leaned toward her and whispered, "By the way, Bella. If I was looking for gentle touch, I would not have approached you in the starport." A complacent smirk painted his features as he settled back into the chair that held him. A faint smile was offered before she put forth her reply, "Manners. You were looking for something less civilized... more harsh and painful? I can refer you to a professional." A sigh of annoyance escaped his lips. She had a distinct knack for stirring such things within him.

By now his eyes were closed while the shuttle bound upward. Though this did not stop him from leaving her with one last statement before they neared their auxiliary destination. "I was referring to your comment about the pilot needing to be gentle. Let us not allow our shared... affinity, for such things as pain and harsness to play on minds. At least, not yet." His words were caustic but retained a fair amount of "manners", as she put it. It wouldn't be long before they were close enough to dock with the ship that awaited their arrival.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3z_4bka2fc

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The shuttle passed through the magnetic containment field of the Luminous Night II and settled onto the shining surface beneath it. The ramp lowered with a hiss and met the sheen below with a subtle clank of metal. Golden eyes were seen through the darkness at the top of the ramp before Gray stepped down it, the Twi’lek once seated next to him not far behind. The two made their way to and through the door that separated proximity to space and the quiet hum of the spaceship interior. Gray was quick to notice the lavish dwelling, something he wasn’t entirely too fond of. Yet he was pleased to find it was kept simple and void of gaudy materialism. Bella pressed a lacquered nail onto the comm unit that was fixed into the wall beside them. Samist was given orders to make way to Bestine, Tatooine. With a nod of confirmation she turned to face Gray.

Oceanic eyes looked up to him as she told him to, ”This way, there is a lounge area on the other side of the ship. Try not to get lost, hm? I know this is rather different from a cave.”  A smirk tugged at her lips before she turned to walk down the hall behind her. The sulfuric orbs that rest in Gray’s skull burned into the back of her head. ”It looks like manners were lost in transit, as well as your creativity.” As they paced through the corridor Gray caught wind of something familiar. It wasn’t so much a presence as it was objects. The whitewash was felt close enough to him, but something on his person did well enough to keep it away. Though as soon as it was felt, it disappeared. Gray could only speculate that it was in fact the blades once kept in the office. A smirk skittered across his face. Memories of his last time within those walls washed over him. Though as they reached the area described before, it was rid of.

The open room about was relatively close to the living quarters. Curiosity took hold of him as deep yellow eyes scanned over the vicinity.  Satisfied with his initial once-over, Gray took a seat a moment after she had done so. The pilot chimed in over the comm system to notify them of the incoming light speed jump. Gray paid him little mind, his respectable demeanor not enough to garner any annoyance. As the shift was felt, Gray looked over to Bella. The Twi’lek was studying him through curious eyes, as if trying to figure out something. Gray in response perked a brow, a slight cant of the head given.

”Now there’s a look I’ve not received from you in some time. How very refreshing.” Gray smirked at that. He lofted both of his hands up to remove the deep red gauntlets that protect his forearm and hands. Further extent of his scarifaction is revealed as the items are placed onto the table between them. This was done with intention, though it may not be readily apparent to her. Gray was certain she was curious of many things. The change in his appearance was simply one of many. He leaned forward onto the table and interlaced tattooed fingers together. Waiting.

<<TAG:Bella-Donna, Anishor((No order))>>

[Anishor]

Anishor sat in the cockpit of his Nova Courier,The Wroshyr Wrangler, in orbit over Tatooine; he had all the supplies he had come to pick up and was preparing to jump back to Zephyr base.  The several Spec-Ops units and agents under his command needed supplies for missions – explosives, power cells for blasters, raw materials to repair armor, and a list of other things that made life in the Alliance hard because you didn’t have access to the Imperial supply chain.  Anishor had been using his own funds recently for outfitting his ‘troops’.  He had been lucky enough to make a few good deals during the clone wars, including meeting that Verpine mastermind account of his whom always made sure Anishor had a large deal of credits.  Anishor had saved his life before the clone wars and had pledged his own version of a life debt, making sure Anishor would never want for credits, and never have to worry about managing the money, being both brilliant slicer and accountant genus made it well easy for the Verpine to make good on his pledge.

As he was entering the coordinates a ship jumped in system right in front of his sensors, a younger Anishor would have cursed.  But that was not who Anishor was anymore.  He was the Nagbecca-An, the embodiment of what it meant to be living One with the Great Tree and protector of his people.  His combat form was years away from finishing but he had both time and patience, and in its current state it had protected many well enough.  He chuckled before running the ship’s transponder through the Alliance Holonet.  Anishor let out a deep sigh, a mix of hope and memory of a stinging loss, So you’ve come back, I wonder what you seek, I wonder which path it is you walk now, let us hope that you feel the presence of the Great Tree, like you did in your moment of triumph before Atrox returned crushed that dream. .

Anishor opened a directed communication channel to the ship, his ship’s computer was run by N-51, a droid that was more an Artificial Intelligence than a droid, for he was linked to more than one chassis and in more than just droids, but he was loyal and occasionally amusing.   N-51 would translate his statements, albeit sometimes more colorfully than intended.  “Luminous Night II, This is the Wroshyr Wrangler, you are in my way for a hyperspace jump, clear the lane, or perhaps you could come over for a drink.  It has been a while since was have spoken.” Anishor said in Shyriiwook over the comm. 

N-51 translated, “Luminous Night II, This is the Wroshyr Wrangler, you are in my way for a hyperspace jump, clear the lane or I will blow you up imagining you are a group of ugly lizards, then I will salvage your ships and corpses and make a pretty hand bag for carrying my lizard killing knives, or perhaps you could come over so I can shed all over you, then engage in mating, ensuring your inability to walk for a few days.  It has been a while since I have killed any stupid lizards.”

Anishor muted his comm before calmly instructing N-51 to translate him properly or he would edit his main directive and chassis into being a twi’lek love droid.

[Daydream]

”Now there’s a look I’ve not received from you in some time," Gray had smirked in response to the curiousity evident on the twi'lek's features. "How very refreshing.”

"Refreshing, Gray?" Belladonna watched the Dantari remove his gauntlets with deliberate, efficient gestures.  Curious bluegreen eyes followed the scarified lines of ink down to Gray's fingertips. "When did I last look upon you so, hm? Or is it -- perhaps you have grown unaccustomed to being examined?... or perhaps you have earned yourself a collection of followers who do not dare to look too closely at their master?"  She smiled, raised her eyes to the man's face, considering the symbolism of his gesture. ::His gloves are off, or perhaps the gauntlet is thrown...::

"The ink styling you wear is strikingly familiar, I must say," she suggested in a low voice, and her smile faded.  Bella looked away with a twitch of her lekku, and set a holomessage to replay its little projection on the table before her.  "Little enough is familiar, now."

As the miniature projection displayed a jittery bothan reciting a nervous and almost-muted message, Belladonna rose to her feet  with a soft hiss of black skirts and moved to procure a drink from a nearby glassteel cabinet.  "I'd offer you a drink, Gray, save that I can't imagine you'd accept one from my hand."  She raised an ornately shaped bottle and poured the dark vintage into a glass, gestured toward the holoprojector.  "I hope you won't be too inconvenienced by my need to take care of some things before you show me this holocron you mentioned."

<Miss Dream,> intoned Samist's voice over the comm.  <We'll be entering the Tatoo System momentarily. I've forwarded a message to Bestine that you'll be arriving shortly.>

"Very good," Belladonna acknowledged, and returned to watching Gray from her position near the cabinet.  "Gray, would you consider accompanying me there for old times' sake, when we land?"

The twi'lek smirked, remembering one altercation between them that had erupted into violence right in her office at Bestine.

<Ms. Dream, we've just received the following transmission from a Nova Courier in system.> interrupted the pilot Samist.

<Luminous Night II, this is the Wroshyr Wrangler, you are in my way for a hyperspace jump, clear the lane or I will blow you up imagining you are a group of ugly lizards, then I will salvage your ships and corpses and make a pretty hand bag for carrying my lizard killing knives, or perhaps you could come over so I can shed all over you, then engage in mating, ensuring your inability to walk for a few days.  It has been a while since I have killed any stupid lizards.>

<...Man, that droid must be cracked,> rambled Samist over the comm.  <Dream must know whoever the pilot is, though. I oughta start doing stuff like that, start going all, oooh, requesting permission to land, meatbag, or I will -- oh, shit, I'm transmitting. Sorry, ma'am.>

"Idiot," snapped Belladonna, levelling an accusatory stare on the shipboard comm.  "Wroshyr Wrangler," she mouthed disbelievingly.  "...Anishor's.  Samist, please transmit a polite excuse and invitation, allow a brief measure for answer, and then clear the lane. We do have business to tend to on the planet."

"Ilu'kaar is probably the last sentient you want to deal with, hm, Gray?" the twi'lek smiled cryptically. "It must be bad enough dealing with the proximity of his blades, so near... assuming you can still feel them burning and blinding.  I don't think he'll take me up on the offer to come aboard for a drink, though.  He doesn't trust my drinks, either. Still... one should observe some formalties."

<Wroshyr Wrangler, this is Samist for Luminous Night II, respectfully declining your invitation. We have a guest and delicate cargo to tend, however, should you have the liberty, we can accommodate you for discussion and drinks in our lounge. Please respond.>

[TAG: Gray, Anishor]

[Gray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm_0kGmJHH0

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He listened to her as she commented on his prior statement. As the gauntlets were removed and his scarifaction revealed, she made another statement. This time aimed at the unveiling of his markings. Perceptive, brilliantly gold eyes studied her a brief moment before offering a reply, ”My last incursion  with a group of people left a taste more bitter than the strongest of toxins on my tongue. I have however found one loyal and worthy enough to learn that which I know.” Gray leveled a pointed stare at her, as to tell her that which was just said should be enough to sate her curiosity for now. Gray then turned his palms upward, examining them before looking back to Bella. ”Your comment on my markings holds some merit, but not much I’m afraid. They are different than those you were once familiar to. More chaotic and bounding.” Gray paused between his statement, his tongue running over his lips. Palms were now placed facedown onto the table, as if to say he folds. ”So much that they span beyond what you can readily see.” His eyes flickered over to the holomessage that was being played.

 The curious Twi’lek made a final statement before making her way to the liquor cabinet near them with brisk pacing. Gray told himself that such repetition on her behalf with the apparent change would only serve him well. ”Just keep in mind that the bearers of these markings are different individuals, hm?” Bella then did as Bella would, offering Gray a drink. As was expected, her offer was every bit as laced as the drink in her hand. Gray studied the holorecorder and offered nothing more than a shake of his head in response to her offer along with the simple statement of, ”I’ve enough toxin running through me right now.” The blue projector cast an illuminating gaze against his pale face as the nervous looking Bothan continued to relay the message.

At this point Gray’s ink laced hands were pressed against one another. Bound by interlocked fingers. The ping pong of messages wasn’t lengthy enough to reveal a vast amount of information, but short enough to rise suspicion within Gray. Though as soon as he heard the species of the individual who left the item, his lips coiled into a disgusted sneer. The scarifaction on his face contorted with the gesture, the message nearing the end of it’s play. Her voice was heard again as the blue hue that filled the room put itself into hiding. “I hope you won’t be too inconvenienced by my need to take care of some things before you show me this holocron you mentioned.”  Gray looked over to her as the sneer on his face began to fade, ”Royalty will do him no good on that planet. Nor will his species do any good with me.”

As the pilot rang in over head to notify them of their arrival to the Tatoo System, she presented Gray with another question. No doubt they were sharing the same memories at this point, as well as their familiar smirks. Gray offered her nothing more than a polite nod, no words to be spoken. Before they could carry on any further, they were brought to a halt by Samist who broadcasted a vocal transmission through the ships comm system.

Gray leaned back as best he could in the chair as he listened. The smirk of satisfaction shifted into one of amusement as he took in what was being said. At the same time he couldn’t help but notice a strange fixation on “lizards”, which could only be interpreted as being Doshans. There were no ysalamiri on board. It amused him anyway, and so a chuckle managed to escaped his lips. However, the transmission served better as a segway. Samist could be heard overhead having a conversation with himself. With the entertained smirk still on his face, Gray looked to the Twi’lek who was now annoyed and calling Samist names. Gray informed her, ”I like him. Marvelous choice.” Upon ordering Samist to respond in kind, she did an about face to return her attention to Gray. ”You would like him.” Gray nodded his head to the right, ”At least you won’t have two of us around at all times.”

The news of it being Ilu’kaar didn’t cause much stir with Gray. Combat aboard the vessel would more than likely not be tolerated by it’s owner. If it did, Gray would have no problem destroying it with the lot of them inside. They would end up packed like sardines. Though she prodded at him about Ilu’kaar, the blades, and their sting. An accessory tolerance had been built through practice, though he was not close enough to full protection as he had liked. Gray looked Bella over before replying, ”You will find that Ilu’kaar and myself are not as volatile a pairing as he is with Atrox. Though that could very well change in his absence.” Sunfire eyes settled on her face as he spoke again, ”Formalities. Change does indeed seem to be the name of the game.”

Fingertips rapped against the table before him, his torso now leaning forward. He inhaled through his nose and rose to standing. Despite her statement he was well aware of Ilu’kaar’s curious nature and willingness to “purge” him, as he puts it. So it was for now that Gray rest against the table behind him, waiting to see what would come of the situation.

<<TAG: Bella, Anishor((No order))>>

[Daydream]

[Reserved for intervening actions]

[Daydream]

While she had not visited or worked in this sector for months, the caramel-hued twi'lek was still a familiar sight about the Bestine Museum, and so the stormtroopers stationed to either side of the entry acknowledged her with the barest nod.  Confident that no trap awaited springing there, she returned the nod with a hint of self-indulgent amusement, recalling how years ago they had saluted rather than merely nodding.   

::It was the company you kept then. They were probably afraid the big, bad Inquisitor would find them at fault for the theft... although the poor fools probably didn't even know how valuable their objet d'art was, let alone that it was a relic holding a clue to a most dangerous weapon:: she realized, and chuckled aloud.

Gray stepped alongside her, having no difficulty in keeping up with her quick but significantly shorter stride.  While the stormtroopers watched him closely through their tinted visors, armoured digits itching toward the worn triggers on their blasters, the Dantari {no doubt unfamiliar to the guards} clearly was not paying much mind to the their presence.  He had already assessed the ease with which he would be able to dispatch them if they turned hostile; Gray was more concerned with any possible anomalies that lay inside the Museum.

As they stepped into the Museum, a jittery young Bothan burst down the staircase, introducing himself as Jer'gan, offering a greeting, and chattering about the wager he and the other museum workers had placed {whether ORHI was in existence and taking communications:  the Bothan had obviously had a lot of credits riding on this}.  The Bothan directed them to be seated and scampered off downstairs to go retrieve the package.  Annoyed, Gray rolled his eyes at the bantering Bothan, finding his movements and speech to be every bit as spastic as a spiced-up Rodian.

"...remarkably enthusiastic little bugger for being assigned to a dusty little museum in one of the farthest corners of the galaxy, " Belladonna muttered under her breath.  She glanced around the structure, scanning for anything out of place which might signify trouble, and reaquainting herself with the comfortable old paintings, odd sculptures, collections of bones, trinkets, and cultural detritus some people found valuable.

Despite his annoyance, Gray found himself looking over the exhibits as well, his hands placed behind his back; if his brain could salivate, it most definitely would be here. "I find myself hungry for the items held here," he admitted.

"I detest this city," the twi'lek grumbled. "It's everything that jewelled Coruscant is not.  Why the hell would Zechs choose this place?"

Gray's armour-encased fingertips tapped against his forearms as he continued to scan the museum.  "This is, no doubt, a diamond in the rough."  He paused to eye the twi'lek sidelong, and offered her a smirk.   "Zechs, is it? Well, he is human -- that robs him of all credit, does it not?" 

"He would have more credit as a Zabrak or a Dantari, perhaps?" she asked rather acerbically.  Belladonna wondered whether the Dantari male had ended up calling one Zabrak brother, and if in doing so, had inherited the latter's memories and inclinations; she did not recall Gray being particularly smug over humans before her departure.

Before Gray could respond, the Bothan returned holding a small wooden box, latched but not locked with a brass closure.  A note sealed with red wax and embossed with the shape of a flame burning in a sun lay atop the box.   

"Thank you, Jer'gan," the twi'lek smiled at the little Bothan, carefully taking both the note and the box.  "And please thank the Curator for holding onto this for me until I could retrieve it.   I have some business to finish on Dantooine, but I expect to be resuming affiliate status with your facility here once that is concluded." 

Gray perked an inquisitive brow at that remark, but did not press, simply remaining silent as Bella offered a little bow of her head toward the Bothan. Rather than examining the contents of the note and the box within the museum, she turned away, and they made their way to a cafe located in a shaded, tiled plaza.

Seated in the shadow cast by a heavy sunshade with a glass of rapidly melting ice at hand, Belladonna broke the brittle seal on the note and turned bluegreens to the somewhat familiar hand in which it was written.   

Twin Sun eyes darkening with an expression of disgust, Gray watched.  While the Dantari saw by other means than the mundane, this did not keep him from being able to decipher the words; trained eyes that viewed through a gift made out the outlines of written letters, just as they could all text placed upon parchment.   The two items, box and note, presented themselves with an air of elegance to his senses; at the same time it was completely undermined to Gray by his finding it befouled, ripe with what he interpreted as foolish desire.  Gray succumbed to amusement; "Most precious," he intoned.

The twi'lek shook her head slightly, rereading some of the more perplexing phrases in the hopes of understanding what they signified.  ". . . 'I seek you out because you have been walking a path that I now tread, though for different reasons . . . returning to you that which is not rightfully mine . . .  I have no further need or desire for it.'  -- I don't understand. I wonder what path he thinks I tread, and why."

Expressionless, she turned her attention to the box.  Teasing the brass catch with the slightest nudge of her will, she deftly eased the box open.  Inside lay two small glassteel vials: one sealed and filled with a viscous red liquid, the second unsealed containing only a few drops of the crimson fluid.

Sungold eyes fixed upon the one vial that had been used, and Gray's amusement shifted to curiousity.

Belladonna laughed.  "My own poison."