Love Lies (D10, LE, Haunted Halls)

[Lord Tenebrous]

Jo'ren had sent a message saying something about wanting to show her his lightsaber, and while she assumed it meant that he had built a new one, it also could've been a rather cheesy hint that he had something else in mind.

So naturally she invited him over to her place, and brought out the bloodwine she had kept in storage for special occassions.

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

Naturally he had meant either one of those things, or maybe both, it was hard to tell. Or was it? Maybe.

In any case there he was, knocking on her door. Not quite enough to leave a dent, bit there was certainly some enthusiasm.

[Lord Tenebrous]

And soon enough the door opened for him too, Shaisha walking towards it with two glasses in hand. "Saved up some of that bloodwine you brought over last time. Tonight seemed like a good time to indulge a bit?" she smiled warmly, passing one full glass to him.

"What sort of crystal was it that you claimed from the fight, if I may ask?" After all, talking shop about lightsabers actually was rather interesting.

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"You're a beautiful woman Shaisha Vreysk. And I'm not just saying that because you're wrote me a letter.". He took the glass and gave her an amused smile.

"Hey, if we can't celebrate now when can we?" Raising the glad he clinked it against hers. "The former Emperor's. So, it's unique, right?"

[Lord Tenebrous]

She laughed and brought the glass to her own lips. "Are you saying I write the best love letters?"

The glasses clinked together and she took a hearty sip. "Must be. And its got a new saber to live in now? Kind of fitting that it goes to one of those who faced him in combat and lived to tell the tale."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Best ones I get anyway." He chuckled and drank.

"Honestly? Pure luck that I ended up with it. Fucker exploded my favourite saber." He looked pretty pissed bit it passed. "What's done is done. Thanks for the gift."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"My pleasure, Jo'ren," her bloodwine stained lips pressed together in a smile, "we look out for eachother, after all, and well... you have those secret projects of yours that probably take a lot of your funds."

"Whereas my project list is rather light at the moment, now that he is gone."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"My projects are pretty expensive it's true. Should start paying for themselves soon though." Once the artisan revealed what its masterwork actually was...

He looked at her with a serious expression. "So was he in your head the whole time? Or was it more like dropping in for a visit and some light mind control?"

[Lord Tenebrous]

She cut a brief grimace at the topic. "More like the latter. My mind was my own most of the time, thankfully. Though I'd hardly call it light mind control... most of the time I had no recollection of it happening; that was something I was following up on Nar Shaddaa, trying to piece together memories that were not mine yet still kind of were."

The memories made her shudder unpleasantly.

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey. He's gone now. You're free."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Yeah... I know," she took a deep breath, followed by a deep gulp of bloodwine, and then a long exhale of relief to dispel those thoughts.

"So, you said you wanted to show me your lightsaber? Now I would almost be disappointed if you didn't have an actual lightsaber to show me..."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Almost?" He laughed warmly, glad that she was ready to be relaxed again.

"Fine. I've got an actual lightsaber to show you." He reached for the new weapon and held it out towards her in the palm of his hand. Unlike his original lightsaber this was a thing of precision. The craftsmanship was impressive, much care had been taken in its construction. The grip was perfectly designed for his hand, which would make it difficult for another being to use it effectively. It was also only a single blade.

"What do you think?"

[Lord Tenebrous]

The hilt was turned over as she gave it a scrutinizing glance. Her lessons from Lord Savas on the subject of lightsaber construction during the days at the Academy had given her an interest in the personal designs that people chose for their weapons.

"... Not a double-bladed saber this time, I notice," she mused, smiling slightly. "Decided to try something else, or is this part of a new step on your path?"

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

He watched her appraising his handiwork and smiled at the question.

"With a double-blade it's almost too easy. Maybe that's an odd thing to say but..." He shrugged. "So partly it's a new step. Also this crystal is much more powerful than the last. I'd need a second crystal like this one to really make a double-blade worthwhile."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Too easy," she chuckled warmly, returning the weapon back to him. "Personally could never make heads or tails of those double-bladed myself."

"But I can see how it might be difficult to find an equally powerful crystal, yes... maybe something worth an adventure if you wanted to?"

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"The trick is not to cut your own arms and legs off with 'em. Heh." He took the new weapon and spun it on his palm.

"I'm always game for an adventure Shai. Something tells me that crystals like this aren't just found lying around. The force left me with this one. I'm happy with that. For now anyway."

[Lord Tenebrous]

She smirked. "Adventure is always fun, but no need to rush into things if there are other matters on your plate."

Her glass now empty, she moved the bottle over for refills. "Things are probably going to be different going forward. Or rather, I hope they'll be. With the Council disbanded, and the new reformations coming in, much of what I wanted to accomplish on the Council is already happening at a much larger scale and faster. Vengean must be rather pleased with the outcome, I wager?"

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"Yeah. His war is coming. He doesn't have to squabble with the council to get things done. Lots of funding for the military. What's not to like?"

He accepted a refill and swirled the liquid before tasting it. "So what are you going to do now? Plenty of positions available for someone with your skills. But what do you want?"

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Certainly don't need a paperwork-fuelling job, that's for sure... was willing to do it with the way things were, to try to change the Empire from the Council's side, but that's not needed now."

Her lips pursed in thought as she filled their glasses. Picking it up she too gave the contents a whirl. "Jun-Tsu asks if I would go where she cannot since she'll be busy with a lot of things that come with being the Empress Dowager. Since I actually like the sound of seeking adventure and dangers, it's likely I'll take her up on it." She paused, taking in the scents of the wine before drinking a mouthful.

"Maybe I'll even consider settling down a little. Not fully," Shaisha added firmly, "but, well, guess I'm feeling less stressed out about relationships and such than I was a few years ago."

[Lord Jo'ren Rath]

"She asked me to be a General. I don't dislike the idea, but I've got shit to do. Galactic Adventures Division sounds like it could be fun though..."

He took another gulp and then deadpanned: "So. Who you planning on settling down with?"