Ask The Ruddy Descent

[Darth Tempest]

Things were going.. Smoothly? The Ruddy Fang bos - whose name was Darro, not that anyone asked - allowed himself to exhale a tense breath as the terms were laid out on the table. Have his guards retrieve the artifact? He could do that. Anything to appease the two murderous wizards and prevent his entrails from being pulled through his ass. He didn’t even verbalize a response to Altair, merely nodding his head rapidly in response. Darro followed through with the command without error, and promptly turned his attention to the Kel’dor once he was finished.

“Y-yes of course.” He nodded at once, flashing the Kel’dor a nervous smile. He could escort them out. Why not? It was one less reason they had to kill him on the spot - and perhaps they wouldn’t need to after they had their price and were safely out of the complex. But could he be certain of that? Darro felt the fear begin to swell within him once again, made worse by a single glance at Altair’s bloodied horns. “Can you uh.. Can you put me down please?” He asked nervously. Gods it was a bad day to go for the mini burritos.

---​

Meanwhile, a pair of Ruddy Fang gangmembers crossed the threshold of the vault. Though they didn’t glance at each other, there was equal amounts of confusion knitting both of their expressions as they glanced around the shelves tables that filled the vault. Finally, the twi’lek dude in the bunch spoke up. “..Man what the fuck is a Holocron?” He glanced over to the Firrerreo, scratching the top of his head.

“How should I know? The boss has all kinds of weird shit in here,” He grumbled a bit, glancing around the shelves. “He said it's like a little pyramid.. Red and gold or somethin’ like that.” The Firrerreo shrugged a bit.

“Why does he even want it?” The twi’lek huffed, beginning to search.

“HOW SHOULD I KNOW?”

A few minutes of searching passed before the Twi’lek finally stumbled upon the artifact. The priceless Sith relic was presently being used to hold up a stack of antique books, tucked away on a bookshelf within the vault. Even if Darro had a vague idea what it was, it was clear that his men did not. “Found it!” The twi’lek head, plucking the Holocron up and holding it in the air. “..Huh. Yeah, still no idea what it is.”

The Firrerreo snatched the artifact from the other man’s hands, rolling it in his fingers for a minute. “It’s like.. A fancy rubik’s cube or something. Paperweight,” He said confidently, casually wiping a dust off the artifact with the front of his shirt.

“Ugh, that isn’t a damn rubik’s cube - it ain’t even a cube!” The twi’lek rolled his eyes. “Let me see that. It’s got to be one of those little ornaments you see in some Core-worlder’s mansion. You know, those little Tch–..tchoky..”

“Tchotchke.” The Firrerreo finished for him, applying an equally posh accent to the word.

“Oh fuck off.”

---​

It would take a few additional minutes for the dynamic duo to emerge and reach the dungeon with the artifact. In the meantime, Vahliri finally began to stir from her unconcious state - mutteering under her breath a bit while starting to move. At once, she could feel the sharp pain in the back of her head - alongside the general ache across the rest of her body. Amber eyes fluttered open, and the half-Annfyn wasn't entirely sure how she got into a dungeon or what had happened after being trucked by some ugly-ass Orcolan. What she did notice, however, was the fact that she was hoisted up in Altair's arms.

Ignoring the gore in his horns, Vahliri instinctively snuggled a bit against the Tiefling - squeezing him a little tighter while not paying much attention to anyone else. "Not a bad way to wake up.." She muttered with a grin, gazing up at the Tiefling for a long moment. "How long was I out for?" It hasn't occured to her what had happened, and she didn't quite notice Darro yet. It only took a few moments for the smell to hit her nostrils, though. Vahliri's face immediately scrunched up, disgust tracing her features. Her head lifted - promptly turning to look at Sol with an expression that was both accusatory and utterly not surprised.

"Did you piss your damn self?"

@Sreeya @Nevermourn

 

[Altair Din]

Altair released his hold and glared coolly at Darro. Those moments where they all waited in silence were some of the most uncomfortable Darro had ever experienced. He had faced multiple Hutts and crime bosses, and nothing compared to being seconds away from being viciously gored. After a moment, he felt Vahliri stir and snuggle against him. The icy and menacing look he had on his face faltered almost at once, his tail swaying like that of an eager puppy. Of course, he put that to a halt hopefully before anyone saw.

The tiefling gently set her down on her feet, glancing at her. Vahliri had bits of bloody guts in her hair, but he wasn’t about to use this as the moment to point it out. His gaze flicked quickly over to Sol to give him a silent warning to also shut up, but it was a toss up whether the Kel Dor would actually listen. The two of them were like oil and water, after all.

“We’re waiting for the holocron since our good buddy here is havin’ it brought to us,” He jutted his chin towards Darro. The boss looked more nervous than ever now that the prisoner they had planned on tormenting was suddenly awake. He cleared his throat and pointedly stared in the opposite direction pretending to be a part of the wall decor. Vahliri had been asleep the entire time so she didn’t quite know his role in this and what he had almost done.

After a bit longer, the goons from the lower levels finally showed up. They cast a curious glance at Darro, but awkwardly held out the holocron. Altair motioned for them to hand it to Sol - this had been his mission after all. Darro heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to face the trio with a smile.

“Well, now that you have what you came for, there’s no reason for-”

“That dude right there,” Altair pointed to Darro as he spoke, “Ordered three of his men to drag you out while you were unconscious to pull some bullshit,” Venom dripped from his tone as he spoke, “It’s why I decorated my… rack-” He flashed a wink at Sol, “-with their guts....and also why you got some of it on your hair.”

Darro’s face turned pale.

Altair said nothing more, leaving Vahliri to do as she pleased with him. He instead turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the way they came, pulling out his bag of spice again to take another hit. The mission was completed and he gave no fucks anymore.

@Altaris @Nevermourn

 

[Sol Kenuk]

Well, there went his good mood. Vahliri began to stir, and really, it was a mixed bag of feelings that swirled through the Kel'dor. On one hand, they'd soon have the holocron that he'd searched so long for. On the other, well, Vahliri was awake now. He pointedly looks away from all of her... cuddling with Altair. Really, the Tiefling was a grown ass man that could choose his own partners. That doesn't mean that it didn't leave a bitter taste in the Kel'dor's mouth, though. In truth, if it were anyone but Vahliri, Sol might not have felt so agitated, but she had shown him nothing but hostility for the entire mission, and now Altair was letting her cuddle against him like some teddy bear.

Ew.

At least Sol has the boss to stare at, his icy gaze none too kind to the man who had actually pissed himself. He didn't even want to deal with Vahliri in that moment, much less give her any sort of reply. Thankfully, Altair seems to fill her in on the fact that they were all just standing around in the dark, damp, rat filled dungeon because they had finally found the holocron that they had all come for.

Thankfully, the trio didn't have to wait for too long. A few of the gang members creep through the shadows and right toward the three Sith, and what did they have within their hands? Sol can sense it easily enough, well before he sees it. The holocron. If Sol were a bit younger, he might have leaped straight into the air and applauded. Instead of that, though, he reaches out with arching talons and swipes the artifact from criminal hands, all too pleased to finally feel the chill of it within his palms. He grips it rather tightly, because the last thing the Sith needed was some fumble like a clumsy quarterback on a football field. None of them wanted to dig through sewage to go after the damn thing if he dropped it, after all.

Eyes now alight with fire, Sol turns his vision upon Altair as he finally speaks once again, cutting off poor Darro and quickly enlightening Vahliri about what had just transpired. Honestly, the Kel'dor couldn't possible care le- did Altair just wink? At me? That was definitely at me, Sol thinks. Altair seemed to be setting Vahliri up for a murder, but at that point Sol was only really focused on Altair's very obvious wink, and the mention of his rack. Well, good mood restored. Everyone could go home now. Well, except poor little Darro, he was in quite the pickle, wasn't he? But that's wasn't the Kel'dor's problem. He's more than happy to leave the boss to Vahliri's wrath as Sol swaggers off after Altair like an excited puppy.

Despite all the chaos of the mission, Sol could still proudly call it a success, and in more than one way.

@Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Darth Tempest]

Snuggled up in his arms, Vahliri didn’t miss the tender shift in Altair’s expression - nor the way his tail swished about excitedly. Almost at once, the Tiefling - and Sol, if he was watching the scene - would witness the half-Annfyn’s fluted ears twitched and swiveled around of their own accord, involuntary movements that were leagues different from the previous signs of irritation. It wasn’t until Altair started to put her down that Vahliri’s attention broke - grimaces ever-so-slightly as she stood on her own two feet. Her body still ached all over, and there was the briefest moment of unsteadiness before she found her footing.

Yet unaware of the gore in her hair, Vahliri glanced back at Altair - amber eyes lingering while he explained the situation, only to flick onto Darro. “Good. Sounds like we can finally leave.” Vahliri didn’t miss the way that Darro pointedly didn’t want to look at her, and it only caused the half-Annfyn’s gaze to linger suspiciously. Minutes passed, and the Holocron was finally brought into the room - handed off to Altair by a Twi’lek who looked most irritated at having been bothered to retrieve it. They left without a second thought, and Vahliri was prepared to do the same. Up until Altair broke the silence to address her, revealing what Darro had attempted to do.

In almost slow motion, Vahliri turned to stare down the pale crime boss - amber eyes narrowed upon him with silent, glacial fury. There was no screaming. No outburst. No off-the-handle rage. But Altair and Sol would immediately feel the shift around them - the way the air grew stiff as the rage surged through the half-Annfyn. She didn’t need any other details to fill in the blanks, and the additional revelation that gore had gotten into her hair only amplified her fury. She said not a word to Darro - for they both knew what came next without a single thing spoken. “I won’t be long.” Vahliri said back to Altair and Sol, her voice frigid as a glacier. Gone was the warmth she had shown to Altair or even the snark directed at Sol. There was nothing but malice and unyielding anger.

Within moments, they were alone within that room - and Darro immediately attempted to drop to his knees at her feet. “P-please, we can work something ou—“

But he didn’t drop to his knees. The Force flowed forth and seized the filth before he could lower to the ground, his body completely frozen in time. “Shhh.” Vahliri muttered quietly, her voice barely audible. One could’ve heard a pin drop within that room, and the half-Annfyn took her time. A flick of her wrist pinned Darro against an adjacent wall - his back pressed against it and hoisted a few inches off the ground. He couldn’t say a word or move more than a few millimeters - but he could feel everything. For what came next, Vahliri wanted him to feel for every moment.

Without a word, Vahliri drew the curved hilt of her lightsaber - igniting the crimson blade with a characteristic snap-hiss. Instead of immediately hacking into the crime boss, Vahliri slowly drug her blade across the ground at her feet - tracing a trench of molten slag in her wake. With almost lazy, casual speed - the half-Annfyn drew the tip of her saber from the floor to the base of the wall where Darro was pinned - ascending slowly from there. At an agonizingly slow pace, Vahliri drew her blade upwards - the trajectory bringing the sizzling plasma right between the crime bosses legs. Unable to scream or run or warn anyone else, he would watch as the blade slowly worked its way up the wall. It was an inevitability he couldn’t escape. It was the cruel twist of fate that would claim him.

With sick satisfaction, Vahliri leaned in - watching every little twitch in the musculature of Darro’s face - as her blade made first contact. At snails pace, the half-Annfyn carved her blade clean through the crime boss's manhood and continued upwards - through his pelvis and into the middle of his stomach - just shy of severing his spinal cord and providing him the mercy or paralysis. Through internal organs and flesh she carved - all while Darro was kept from making a single sound.

Agonizing moments passed, and Vahliri finally returned the crimson saber to her belt - opting to finish Darro off without it. While the crime boss was frozen in place, the half-Annfyn merely snapped her wrist towards him - conjuring a mere scorch of pyrokinesis onto the front of his jacket. The fires were quick to catch across the flammable surface of the crime bosses clothing, spreading to consume every inch of him. It was difficult to say when the man lost consciousness - likely from the pain he endured - but it was only then that Vahliri released her grip, allowing his body to slump into the ground. If he wasn’t dead already, the flames would do the rest - leaving nothing but Darro’s charred remains. Flames that began to catch onto nearby furniture and and spread through the room.

Without another word, Vahliri turned on a heel - striding from the dungeon and back into the direction of Altair and Sol. They would both be able to see and smell the smoke that emanated from the room, even if she made no attempt to elaborate.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”