Sirvani Zsahra

Sirvani caught a glimpse of Alora roaming the halls and called out to her. "Alora!" When the woman adjusted her stride to enter the room (hope you don't mind), Emily ran up to her. "'Lora! 'Lora! Look at my pretty dress!" Sirvani let her eyes twinkle at her friend, amused by Emily's overexcited reation, but pleased by it nonetheless. "How was your trip?"

Sirvani had quickly dispersed the packages, sending the bridesmaids dresses to Jaina and Alora's rooms, and setting the other in a spare room in case Darla made it here before the wedding. If not, she could bring it along to the Casino. Then she took her wedding dress to her ship. Stowing it away carefully so that it wouldn't be damaged or crushed, she shut a panel over it to protect it on the trip. Exiting the ship again, she grabbed the last dress and headed back upstairs. She found Emily in her room, reading a holobook. "Emily, look what I have for you to wear in Mommy and Daddy's wedding," Sirvani said. Emily clapped her hands, the book forgotten. "Let me see!" Sirvani unwrapped the dress and held it up. It had a red bodice with puffed sleeves and a lacy red skirt. The connection between the bodice and the skirt was lined with miniature cloth roses. Emily was excited. She ran around the room, then asked to hold the pretty dress. "Actually, you can try it on," Sirvani replied. "I need to make sure it fits." Emily looked like a little doll, dressed up in her party finest. The dress fit perfectly, and the thin crown of cloth roses that went with it looked lovely in her shining hair. Sirvani gave her the little basket, and told her that her job would be to go ahead of them, throwing the rose petals on the ground. Emily was enchanted, and suddenly was full of questions. Sirvani laughed, answering as many as she could.

She smiled. "Indeed, it can." She stood and dressed herself, chatting with John about some of the things she had ordered for the wedding while on Coruscant. While she didn't mention it, she also had bought his ring, and had much fun choosing one for him. Just then, a message came up for them that a large number of packages had arrived. Sirvani grinned, then went down to open them. It was all of the stuff she had ordered for the wedding. She sent several of the packages directly to the Golden Link Casino, while the dresses she kept with her.

She smiled as she saw him prop himself up. "How do you feel?" she asked, then offered him something to eat. She came and sat next to him on the bed. "I've thought about what you said last night...and well, I guess I'm thinking we should stop putting this wedding off. All the preparations are made, and the two weeks have gone. If you really are being haunted by visions of the past and future, I can see no better activity for you to particpate in than one that combines these two."

"Mmmm," was her satisfied and equally exhausted agreement. She rolled over and stroked his hair. "Sleep, my love." She placed her head on his chest, and soon, she was off in the land of dreams... *** "You're almost there...you're almost me..." Sirvani's eyes opened slowly an hour later, the last line from her dream fading. She looked over at John, who was, it appeared, sleeping deeply for once, thankfully. Not wanting to wake him, she slipped out of bed and stretched, then put on a thin silk robe and had a tray of assorted fruit and pastries delivered. She was hungry, but wanted breakfast foods, even though it was late afternoon on Raxus Prime. She sat, munching on a peice of fruit, thinking about her dream, and what had been said earlier.

Sirvani smiled...a true smile that showed the endless happiness that threatened to overwhelm her. All those years ago, she had thought it was random chance that she had gotten paired with this man as her Sith master. But now, looking back, she knew better. The Force had been guiding her, shaping her destiny to bring John into her life. As they reached their destination--a familiar bed--Sirvani's lekku began to shudder in anticipation. She kissed him deeply, and thanked the Force that it had allowed such joy to come into her life. As they experienced the rapture of each other's loving arms, she remembered their first encounter, and how she had been almost frightened and intimidated by him. He knew what she was thinking, and their bond deepened as their passion increased.

Sirvani listened carefully to all that he was saying. "It does seem to be a heavy burden indeed. But...can't you learn to, well, ignore some of them? I mean, what good does it do you to be constantly bombarded by images of the past and the future?" She shook her head. "Life is about the present. Take each moment as it comes, and live it out to the fullest. Yeah, sometimes it would be helpful to have a different times' perspective on things. But other times, it can prevent you from living your life day by day." As his words comforted her, she added, "Until you can learn to do that, then it looks like we have some trying times ahead. But know that any time you need to talk about it, or just to be comforted, I'm here. We've been through much together, and we can handle this as well." She let a small smile cross her face as he took her hands and led her back into the room. "I love you, John Skywalker, and no matter what happens in the future, I always will."

All the way up to the room, she tried not to let her worry bother her. But she failed. As soon as they arrived, she locked the door shut behind them and turned to John. "First off...I'm concerned for you. What's wrong? You sleep all night, and wake up exhausted. You barely eat, and are always lost in thought. Was it the surgery? Or is it this whole Jedi business?" She took a pleading tone, one that she only used with him. "Please...you can confide in me. Let me help you carry this burden, whatever it is. You used to be so vibrant and alive. I'm concerned as to what could have caused this transformation...and if it is your desire for greater knowledge of the Force, well..." she hesitated, "maybe this isn't the best idea after all--to seek out this knowledge. In my experience, the accumulation of knowledge was always a vibrant, exciting, adventurous time." She paused. This too, had to be brought up. She was determined to be completely honest with him, not matter how much it might hurt. "Or maybe it's this whole wedding business. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm not able to please you anymore. I..." she struggled with the words, "you know I could never hurt you. If you are having second thoughts, please, tell me, and we'll either work it out, or call the whole thing off." It hurt her deeply to say the words, and she actually let the feeling show on her features. She was desperately in love with him, and even the inkling that his love might have faded cut her to the quick. But she waited, having fallen silent, to see how he might respond. If his words were those of pain, she would accept them, as a Sith. But if not...hope yet stirred within her...

Concerned as she was for her very-soon-to-be-husband, Sirvani missed Emily's enthusiastic response to John's question. John... she spoke directly over their bond. We need to have that talk...now. She turned to the surrounding company. "Well, we have rooms arranged for all of you. Feel free to make yourselves comfortable. Alora and Andon have been here before, so you know where things are. Emily, why don't you show Uncle Andon and Aunt Jaina where they are going to stay?" The little girl had not been present at the time, but Sirvani planted the image in her mind with the Force, and realizing this, Emily cheerfully began to set about her task. Sirvani then gently helped John up, took his arm, and headed him in the direction of their room.

"Of course, you know you're always welcome here," Sirvani replied to Alora's question. She then fell silent, wondering what the story was behind Alora and Andon's previous meeting. Knowing Alora, though, she could figure out the generalities of what it contained. As John came into the room, she immediately went to his side. He looked terrible, haggard and exhausted. She could tell he was bothered by something, especially when he tried to sit in a 'large comfortable chair' when hangers don't usually contain them. As it happened, he was about to fall butt-first onto the floor when Sirvani grabbed a crate and put it under him. He barely noticed. She frowned, worry for him causing creases on her brow. That talk that they had been putting off needed to happen soon. She didn't have time to comment, though, for Emily was answering her father's question. "It was great Daddy! I got to fly the ship!! I was soooo good! Auntie Jai let me sit in her lap whenever I wanted to, and Uncle Andon played games with me!"

"It's going to be at the Golden Link Casino. They were willing enough to let John rent out the place when they saw the credits, even despite his past history with the place," she replied. "As for when...the only answer I have is as soon as possible. Where do you need to go?" She smiled as she felt Andon, Jaina, and Emily land at the temple. "Actually, I guess one thing has changed around here," she said. "Come with me. I want to introduce you to someone." She lead the way to the hanger. "Andon and Jaina Colos, meet Alora Darkknell. Alora, Andon and Jaina." She turned to Emily, then glanced at her friend. "Alora, this is who I wanted you to meet. Emily, say hello to Alora. She's one of my oldest friends from before you were born." Emily, being the friendly person she was, waltzed right up to her. "Hello, Alora. You're Mommy's friend?" She wrinkled her brow and turned to Sirvani. "Mommy, she smells different than Auntie Jaina or Uncle Andon." By this point, Sirvani had learned to interepret the word "smell" as Emily's way of describing the person in question's Force-signature. "Yes, Emily, she is a Sith, whereas Andon and Jaina are Jedi. Do you remember what I told you about Jedi and Sith?" Emily nodded, then turned back to Alora. "Are you going to stay and play with us, Alora?"

"Oh, you know," Sirvani replied. "Nothing has really changed in the galaxy. You haven't missed much." She smiled at the woman. "Yes, I did bring you back. Mostly at the request of Draken Shadowlord. But I must admit, the reasons were also selfish. You see...I need a bridesmaid for my wedding in a few days, and, well, you are the one I'd like to ask to fill that role." She waited to see the woman's response. She remembered that Alora was the first person to know that she was engaged, and it was one of the first conversations she had with the seductress. It would mean a lot to the Twi'lek to have her friend in that honored position in the bridal party. "Besides," she added, "I have really pretty bridesmaid dresses picked out."

Morning dawned early over the wastes of Raxus Prime. Sirvani woke early, her movement waking John as well. She smiled at him. "I sense Alora had returned to us," she told him. "I should go speak with her. Then let's sit down and iron out the final details of the wedding." She got up and dressed, choosing a simple V-necked black robe with a sash, and choosing to go barefoot. She grabbed two juja fruits on her way out, munching one as she headed down to the cloning area. Not surprisingly, she found her old friend lying down, resigned to a long, confused wait. "Alora," she greeted the woman. "Glad that you could join us again. Welcome back to Raxus Prime and the land of the living. How are you feeling?"

OOC: *sticks tongue out at double post* IC: Sirvani's unique Nubian craft arrived at the place it's inhabitants called home before their guests arrived. The Sith Masters had spent the trip in relative silence, thinking about recent events, and only making random comments here and there. As they exited, a contingent of their Nohgri slaves greeted them formally, and informed John of the current state of affairs in the temple. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and the Ewoks had been dormant in the opposite hemisphere. The first thing Sirvani did was head to cloning chambers. She quickly found the data regarding Alora, and set the machine to clone her. Then, she headed to the room she shared with her soon-to-be-husband, and went to the 'fresher, taking a long, hot shower to rinse the crud and dirt of the city (and it's inhabitants) off of her.

Sirvani grinned at the elated girl, but suddenly, her grin subsided. She felt confusion, doubt, and wondering, and over all of them, John's distinct presence. She reached out to him, brushing his mind in an affectionate gesture, but it did little to soothe him. Suddenly, she had had it. She was a Sith Master in her own right...and while it was important to raise their little girl, it was also important for her to stand beside the man she loved more than anyone in the galaxy. And she could do both, by the Emperor's black bones, or she wasn't deserving of any kind of rank or priviledge. She scooped up her daughter, putting a smile back on her face. "Wanna go on a trip, Emily?" She opened the door of the suite and summoned the Nohgri nursemaid. "Come," she instructed. She grabbed her lightsaber and a few things for Emily--particularly clean diapers and bottles--and headed to her distinctive ship. She talked to Emily the whole way down to the hanger, and the whole time she was warming up the ship. The Nohgri took a place in the back, silent as a shadow, but ready to perform her duties if necessary. Sirvani had a thought to have the Nohgri become Emily's personal bodyguard as well, and filed the thought away until a better time. A few minutes later, the nurse took Emily to the back, and Sirvani lifted the ship off the ground and into Raxus Prime's polluted, vile atmosphere. A few mintues after that, the coordinates 0.0.0 were entered into the nav computer, and the ship entered hyperspace towards the galaxy's city-planet.

Sirvani grinned. "Good job, Em!" she praised. She was aware now that Emily's world had just opened up to her...and she could feel her elation in the Force. Sirvani crouched down, and extended her arms to the girl. "Come here," she invited. "Walk over here." She marvelled at the girl's intelligence and willingness to try. Life for her was so simple...tackle one obstacle at a time. The universe, the Sith Master mused, would be a lot simpler if everyone could take a lesson from the young.

Sirvani laughed as well, then watched as Emily stood for the first time on her own. "What a big girl you are, Emily!" she cooed at the girl. She stood herself and reached for Emily's hands. "Let's walk." Together, they walked around the room, Sirvani supporting Emily as the baby stepped.

Sirvani raised an eyebrow, astonished by the girl's perception. "Yes, just like the ship that came here. That was Uncle Andon. Daddy's on Coruscant right now." Her lekku twitched as she reached out with the Force to John. Part of him was always with her, and it was easy to tell that he was finding fulfillment in his quest--whatever it may be. She could tell he was melancholy and regretful, but satisfied that he had taken the right course of action.

Sirvani laughed. "Pretty, huh?" she asked, tickling the girl again. "You think that's pretty?" She lifted the child up and spun her around, a smile still on her face. She then tossed her up into the air and caught her again. Sirvani had never known her parents, and it was probably just as well that she hadn't, but she was determined to do her best with Emily, and provide her a happy, safe environment. "If you keep up this happy disposition, Emily, you're going to turn out to be a Jedi," she commented.

OOC: IC: Sirvani sighed as Emily began to bawl. She picked the girl up, and was suddenly aware of a nasty smell. She wrinkled her nose. "Alright, alright, let's change you." She performed the messy, smelly duty fairly quickly. "You really are your father's daughter, aren't you?" she asked, and set Emily back down. Emily proceeded to send one of her toys flying across the room with the Force, then bringing it back again. Sirvani laughed. "Yes, definately daddy's little girl." An idea struck her, brought up by something she remembered John saying. She suddenly jumped up to the ceiling, propelled by the Force, flipped, then landed next to her daughter, and tickled her. "There is more to the Force than moving things around, Emily."

Sirvani continued to read and play with Emily. Her mind wandered, feeling a familiar pull from the Force. She hadn't had an apprentice in a while...maybe it was time for a new one. She stretched out with her senses, and felt the Sith engaged in some kind of blood-lust-hunt. She rolled her eyes. That usually meant battle. While the feeling drove her to join them, she knew she had a duty to Emily right now, and that if she disappeared while John was off galavanting across the galaxy, it wouldn't be good for their daughter. She pulled back out of the Force sense, and tried to quiet the part of her mind that was urging her to leave.

((Legal double-post)) A clean, relaxed Sirvani came out of the fresher, dressed, and headed over to Emily's room. She dismissed the Nohgri nursemaid, and picked up the girl. "You're getting so big," she said. She placed the girl on the floor and sat down next to her. Emily crawled into her mother's lap, and Sirvani picked up a book that was sitting nearby. She began to read it aloud, turning the pages slowly to allow Emily to look at the pictures. It was the classic nursery tale of the Little Lost Bantha Cub, and by Emily's excited garble and motions, the human girl was throughly enjoying it.

After destroying 20 more droids and four humanoid opponents, Sirvani collapsed on the floor. She was utterly exhausted and drained, but at the same time, the feeling was glorious. She had pushed herself to the limits of her strength, and then some. For a while, she was content to just lay there, her eyes closed, her mind quiet. She was immersed in the Force, and could feel the strands pulling at her in different directions. Randomly, a memory flickered though her mind. It was of the vision she had faced on Ilum...the vision of the two halves of her self. She had had to choose that day, and had embraced both. Idly, she wondered how much of each would come true. She had a daughter now, like the light vision, although she wasn't pregnant. She had grown more powerful, like in the dark vision, although she wasn't the Dark Lord. A smile flitted across her face. She was perfectly fine with who she was at the moment, although every chance she had to improve herself was one she took--case in point with Form VII. That brought her mind back to the present, and she felt a presence land on the planet. It was very familiar...it felt like John, but not. She smiled. Andon Colos. The Jedi was always welcome here. She could feel something else, though...something precious to Andon, but elusive. She raised her eyebrows. Standing slowly, she stretched out to make sure she wasn't going to be too sore the next morning, then made her way to the hanger. She was covered in sweat and grime, but she didn't mind. As she approached, his presence was growing more and more dim. When she reached the hanger, it was therefore not much of a surprise to find an empty A-Wing. She sent a Force probe out over the ship, sensing feelings of love, happiness, and want lingering in Andon's presence. It looks like he got himself a girl, Sirvani thought with a grin. He feels just like John after... "Mistress, there was no one in the ship when it landed," one of the Nohgri mewled, coming up to her and bowing low. "Thank you," she said, dismissing him. She examined the ship more closely, and found the message that had been left there. It's words made her smile. Andon was like a brother to John, which made him her brother-in-law; she was glad for the 'relation', and so it was good to hear from him. She grabbed a datapad and downloaded the message onto it, then left the hanger. She headed back up to her room, plopped the datapad on the bed, and went into the 'fresher for a long, hot shower that would wash away the sweat, kinks, and knarls from her lithe, red body.

She felt John leave, but didn't think anything of it. She was far too busy...fighting. The Twi'lek slipped, spun, and slashed. Form VII was difficult, but she was getting better and better at it. She approached the holo-droid with the traditional open-armed ready posture that was signature of the form, then suddenly, swung around wide and blocked the droid's electrostaff. She drew on the Force, pulling at it's dark energies, channeling it through her to fuel her attacks. That was the strength of the form. The ability to channel the dark side's power, but not be controlled by it. In the case of a Jedi, it was considered dangerous, requiring a great amount of control. But for a Sith, it was in reality the ideal form, if one could master it. Sirvani was neither Jedi nor Sith, though she bore the title of Sith Master. Too much had happened to her...too much of the 'lighter' emotions had coursed through her veins...and she found it ironic that most of them were caused by, or at least instigated by, her own master. She quickly blocked another swing, then flipped the blade up and struck quickly, bisecting the droid. It vanished, and Sirvani paused to catch her breath as another trotted out.

As Emily happily chomped on the gummy ring, Sirvani smiled. She gave John a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned. "I'm all ansy...I need a workout. I'll be in the gym...if you have stuff to do, you can leave Emily with me, and I'll have one of the Nohgri look after her while I'm down there." She headed down to the practice room and unhooked her lightsaber. She activated a hologram sequence, then began to battle it, focusing on Form VII and it's unique style and characteristics.