AN: READ THIS: Okay. For those who did not know, I am not answering Reviews on this fic so if you have a question, either log in/sign up or go to either Spacebattles Forum or Sufficient Velocity Forum (Note, you will have to sign up for these as well) where this fic is also being posted. Also, there is a TV tropes page that I would not mind help editing with.
Chapter 14 – Sith Alchemy for Dummies
"Why did you slap me!?" Lyira shouted hysterically.
"Oh, what did you expect me to do!?" Louise replied sardonically, waving both her hands around as droplets of blood splattered to the ground, "'Hi Lyira, what wonderful weather we're having this morning. Reminds me of the day you kissed me then bolted to a completely different planet without saying a word!'"
Lyira had the decency to look a tad sheepish, "Perhaps this isn't the best place to be talking about this…"
"What? Too many ears!?" The Pinkette shouted, drawing more attention that they had before. Despite it being not nearly as populated as the markets in Tristain on Void's day. She could tell some were nervous about the two arguing Sith, "Once again, I have to travel somewhere else before I can get any information. Where shall we go then?"
"I have an apartment."
"Fine," Louise grumbled, "Khem, you can come now!"
Confused, the Pureblood asked, oblivious to the hulking mass that was stalking up to them, "Who's 'Khem'?"
"What is it, pink Sith?" Asked the Dashade upon nearing the group.
Louise watched in satisfaction as her former roommate jumped at the newcomer's voice, only for her face to twist into a mixture of shock and surprise as she realised who had once again snuck up on her, "… a Dashade…?"
"Khem, this is Lyira. Lyira, this is Khem Val. He's a Dashade who is now honour bound to me." The Pinkette informed.
"I will-" He began, only to get cut off by an annoyed Louise.
"Not in the mood." She said briskly.
"Is there something I'm missing?" Question the raven-haired girl.
Louise's reply was short and stiff, "No. Let's go."
The three left the frightened vendors to conduct their business as they stalked off to wherever Lyira's apartment hid. As they walked, Louise began unwrapping the bandage on her left hand so it would work as intended as she wrapped it around her cut right hand.
It was when they stood directly outside the apartment complex that Louise realised that they were once again living under the same roof. Not that it was too surprising as it was often used by apprentices who do not have permanent lodging. It was so famous for housing Apprentices that the building catered especially to them with its own lesser form of an imperial guard.
The building, much like everything else built by the reconstituted Empire, was made from metal with varying shades of grey. Technically, it was more than one building, made up of four large, spire-like buildings set up in a triangle with the largest in the centre of it all. Sheets of darkly tinted glass signifying the separate apartments glistened as the occasional lightning strike lit up the sky as a storm started to form from the omnipresent clouds above. And walkways, some bare, some domed in glass connected each of the three buildings to the central at varying intervals up the tall buildings, creating a spiral like pattern.
Lightning struck one of the many metal poles the tower sported, startling the Pinkette much to the amusement of Khem and Lyira whom she was still angry with. Shrugging off the comments, the trio walked into the central building and took one of the many turbolifts to about mid-way up the building before walking across a, thankfully, domed walkway. After a flight of stairs going down a floor, they eventually arrived at Lyira's apartment. Louise was just happy that they building came with a downloadable map.
"Sorry for the long walk, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to find my apartment when I first got here." Lyira piped up, standing in front of a wider-than-normal-door with 'TB-F45-4' written in High Galactic across its centre, "Well, here it is. My abode for the foreseeable future."
With a flourish of her hand, she pulled a small card from her belt before plugging it into the control panel before the door slid open revealing a wall with another door. To her right was a standard wall with an Imperial banner hanging from it, but to her left, was the actual room. Passed the small entry way that was squished between the mysterious room and the entry door, was a large square room, with two wide windows covering the walls in the corner opposite her.
It was a sparse room, with a dining table nestled in the windowed corner, and what looked to be a lounge hidden by the corner of the mysterious room. Along the entry way wall, was a small hall that gave entry to two small rooms. Beyond the hall, were two other doors.
Following Lyira into the apartment, the Pureblood began listing off the other rooms. "The Kitchen, with its own utility droid," she said, pointing to the room facing the entry, "Main and guest bedrooms," she said pointing to the two doors along the entry wall, "and the toilet and bathroom," pointing down the cramped hall.
"It looks nice."
"Yeah, I am pretty sure that every other apartment looks the same, so…"
Before she could finish what she was saying, someone familiar popped out from one of the bedrooms, "Who'd you invite over?" The blue Twi'lek from Korriban asked, looking at Louise and her companion.
"You've met Vette," Lyira said, gesturing to the Twi'lek, who had, much to Louise's relief, no shock collar on her neck.
"And you must be Louise. I've got to say, you're one of the most recognisable Sith I've ever seen." Vette said cheerfully, eying Louise's pink locks, "Didn't even know they grew people with pink hair."
"It's nice to meet you too." Louise replied dryly, before noticing that the Twi'lek had lost interest in her and was now focusing on something tall behind her, "Yes, that's Khem Val, he's a Dashade."
Vette was looking at the Dashade curiously, until a spark of recognition ignited in her eyes, "Weren't you in that tomb of that dead Sith?"
"I have been told it was the tomb of Naga Sadow," Khem replied.
The blue twi'lek looked blankly at the Dashade, "… I don't speak Dasahde."
"Ignorant girl. I-"
"Don't call her ignorant, it's not her fault she doesn't speak Sith." Lyira scolded.
Before the conversation could devolve any further, Louise quickly shouted, "Could we not get into an argument about languages! I'm still angry with you."
"All I did was give you a little kiss," Lyira said meekly.
"You shoved your tongue down my throat!" The Pinkette shouted back.
"Okay, I think I will be going now…" Vette said, turning around and heading to her room. Only to stop as Khem followed her.
"I do not wish to listen to the lover's quarrel. I will go with." The Shadow Killer said, despite knowing that Vette did not understand him. Together, the two companions left their respective Sith to argue it out, only to curse when they realised that the two Sith's muffled voices could still be heard through the walls.
"It was my first kiss!" Lyira yelled, "I didn't know what I was doing."
"It was my first kiss too! Did you have any idea what you put me through!?" Louise shouted back.
"…no."
Louise growled in annoyance, "… why did you do it?"
"… isn't it obvious?" The Pureblood asked, a bit startled at the obliviousness her visitor was showing.
"No! You kissed me then left!"
"You really don't know what that kiss meant?" She pressed, looking put out.
"Of course not! Do you think I would be acting like this if I knew!?" The Pinkette ranted, tears coming to her eyes, "My best friend just ups and kisses me without a word, then leaves me for the next month! I was distraught, I had no… I had no idea…" She trailed off, feeling spent.
"I…" Lyira mumbled something under her breath, her eyes looking anywhere but at Louise.
"I can't hear you."
"I… think I like you."
"If you liked me, then why did you kiss and ditch me!" Louise replied annoyed, "Doesn't seem like something a friend would do."
"No… I mean… I love you." Lyira blurted out.
That stopped Louise in her tracks, as she stared dumbly at the Sith, "I… wh… what?"
"I love you," Lyira repeated, a little more nervously than before.
"You… love me?" Louise asked recoiling from the utter shock she felt.
"Of course, what do you think a kiss means!?" Lyira shouted back, her expression one of hurt.
"I… I didn't know…" Was Louise's stammered reply.
"How couldn't you know!" She yelled.
The Pinkette flinched back guiltily before rearing back up, "You already know that! I was the pariah on my homeworld! Who would even think to date me, the Zero!?" Louise spat, subconsciously grabbing the brand, "The boys wouldn't have anything to do with someone with my body, and the girls made me their verbal punching back!"
"You're not a Zero, at least, not to me."
"How am I even meant to go from that!? How am I even meant to react?" Louise asked.
"I don't know…"
There was a long pause as both girls looked around the room, looked anywhere but each other. Louise had no idea what to do, she cared for Lyira, she truly cared for her but there were too many things going on in the Pinkette's life; she had to train with Krillis, learn Alchemy and above all else… prepare to kill Darth Skotia, "Why does this have to be so complicated?" Louise mumbled eventually
Lyira grunted noncommittally. They delved into silence once again.
"It's okay, Lou… it-"
"It does matter, Lyira." Louise said, cutting the green-eyed girl off with an embrace, "I care about you, but too many things are going on at the moment. Could we go back to being friends? Come back to this later?"
"When is later?" the Pureblood asked dejectedly.
"I don't know…"
The silence returned as the two continued to hug in the main room of the apartment, but they both knew it could not last. Louise soon broke off the hug, telling Lyira she needed to go. Once she collected Khem, they left the room. With heavy steps, she and Khem searched for their apartment 'TC-F27-3'. Once they did find it, they entered and got settled in. The entire apartment was similar in make to Lyira's, though it seemed inverted in some way.
Before she could get anything done, however, the tell-tale sound of a door sliding open alerted her to another being's presence in her apartment. Her hand shot to her lightsaber just in case it was an assassin or something of that sort, but it was not meant to be; walking out of the kitchen was a simple droid. Humanoid in appearance, but the extra set of arms showed that it was more of a 'hands on' droid with a very boxy and pragmatic design, "Greetings master," the droid spoke in an androgynous voice, "I am 3E-55Y, this apartment's personal housekeeping droid."
Louise stared at the droid for a moment before making a small 'oh' sound.
"Is there anything you require me to do?" The droid asked, "Unpack your belongings, prepare a meal? Just ask and I will accomplish the task to the best of my abilities."
"No, thank you," Louise replied tiredly.
"I will wait in standby mode in the kitchen. If you need me, do not hesitate to call." And with that, the droid wobbled back into the kitchens.
Shrugging at the oddity, Louise turned to Khem, "I'll be in my room. You're free to do what you need."
Not waiting for her to response, she turned and headed into the bedroom closest to the windowed walls. It was much smaller than the one on Korriban, but Louise could see the reasoning why it was like that. What the room lost with its cramped conditions, it more than made up with the view; the entire left wall was a large window that gave the Pinkette an uninterrupted view of Kaas city. Not only that, but there was an actual wardrobe which she promptly filled with her clothes and personal items.
Louise spent the remaining day moping around her new room, shifting from laying on her bed to watching the skycars drift by in the window. She felt lost, confused and horrible.
The next day, Louise woke still feeling the same melancholy she felt the day before. Not only that, but her sleep had been restless. She felt absolutely terrible for what she had said and done to Lyira. The image of the Pureblood's hurt face sent pangs of guilt corseting through her body. Khem had been no help, not that she even tried to ask the giant. But Louise knew that she could not just mope around all day, so, she pulled out her datapad and looked into the information about the Darth who would be teaching her Alchemy.
Darth Paracelsus. A well-known Sith Lord who has spent his entire life dedicated to uncovering the secrets of Alchemy, even going so far as to alchemically enhance his own being. He was not one to play the power games of other Sith, so he did not have much of a power base, other than those who respected him. According to the information, Zash sent her, he would be found at the Alchemist Hub.
The Alchemist Hub as a large complex dedicated to the study of Alchemy in all its forms, and so, it was kept quite a bit away from Kaas City, off in the jungles of Dromund Kaas. Louis supposed it was understandable, considering some of the creatures that alchemy spawned.
So, that was why Louise was currently existing sky car an hour away from Kaas City, the Alchemist Hub towering above her in all its glory. The Hub was a pyramidal building built with four spires in each corner. Atop these spires, and the pyramid itself, were statues of famous alchemists such as Sorzus Syn and Karness Muur. The outside of it was coated in stone bricks reminding her of Korriban tombs, but it still had its own unique feel.
Deciding not to spend the rest of her time outside, especially as it looked to start raining, the pinkette followed a dark and dreary path leading to the building proper. Once inside, the theme of the building flipped completely around. Instead of continuing the same stony tomb designs on the outside, silver walls and dark ivory floors filled her vision with bright white lights brightening the room. In the centre of the, admiralty small, room was a scraggly old man who looked as if he had better days. He seated at a clean desk with a personal terminal and a little flower pot sitting on his desk.
Getting closer to the front desk, the ageing man snapped to attention, "We don't get many visitors up this way. Do happen to have an appointment?"
"Um, I think so. I have a meeting with Darth Paracelsus."
"Just a moment." He said, beginning to type away at the terminal.
Louise did not mind the wait and began occupying herself with examining the room. It did not take long before something odd caught her eye, that being the plant inside the flower pot… it had teeth. It was then that she noticed that there was a small shimmering static light surrounding the entire pot and plant. A plant with teeth encased in a force shield. And now it's moving...
"Yes," the aged man said, bringing the attention of the Pinkette away from the plant which was currently trying to bite through the force shield, "It was a 'gift' from one of the Darth's who worked here. Apparently, I offered excellent service in my old job." He continued, sounding the least bit pleased at the show of affection he had been given, "Now, before we continue, I need a confirmation of identity."
"Okay."
"Name?" He asked.
"Louise." She answered.
"Age and date of birth?" He asked.
"…Eighteen." She answered again, but unlike her previous answer, she felt a minor wave of disappointment wash over. Her birthday had been a few months ago, and she had missed it. The entire event had passed her mind, not that it was ever a priority to begin with, especially considering it fell two months after... the event in Ludo Kressh's tomb.
While Louise was mulling over her lost birthday opportunity, the receptionist was staring at her with a dull expression, "… date of birth?"
Pulled from her musings, she said, "Which one? My birthdate in the galactic standard calendar or my homeworlds?"
"Galactic standard would be fine." He replied in a bored tone.
"Second of the ninth." She answered, watching as he turned back to the terminal, typing away until he had finished whatever he was doing.
"Okay, Apprentice Louise," he said, "I've sent you the directions. Darth Paracelsus is waiting for you."
A digital chime sounded from her datapad, rang his words true. Pulling the pad from her hip, she scrolled through until she found the directions sent. With a distracted 'thank you' she set off down into the bowels of the Alchemist Hub to find Darth Paracelsus.
Down two tubolifts, up a flight of stairs, one wrong turn and another tubolift later, and the Pinkette had finally found Paracelsus office, who's door slunk open showing a room that reflected much of the same interior design the rest of the Hub. The room was spacious, with a desk off in a corner, and quite a few display cases and holocron's taking up the rest of the room. The display cases held quite a wide variety of things from organs to dissected creatures to skeletons and, strangely enough, weapons and armour. It gave the office a cluttered atmosphere like she had walked into an, admittedly bright, ancient shop filled with mystical wears.
Darth Paracelsus, himself, was seated at his desk… snoring. Upon noticing the sleeping Darth, she had already turned around, ready to hightail it out of the entire complex, lest she suffer his wrath. But before she could, a voice spoke drowsily up, "Don't leave on my account."
Louise's blood froze at the masculine voice. Slowly, she turned the speaker. There Darth Paracelsus was, at his desk a sleepy expression marring his features. Sickly pale with light, almost platinum, blond long hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and a square beard around his chin stretching to his sideburns. He was a middle-aged man, in his forties if Louise was to guess, dressed in a long dark grey robe. He was… sagely, like one of those wizened old men that would help the hero in fantasy books. But the one off putting thing about him, was his crimson eyes. So unlike every other Sith she had seen, and so unnerving.
"If I were to hazard a guess, I would say you are Louise?" He said questioningly as he pushing himself up from his desk and moved closer to the Pinkette.
"Yes, my lord," she replied, bowing in his presence.
"So you must be that new apprentice of Lord Zash." The Dark Lord commented, "Well, this is the first time I have ever seen an apprentice who would dye their hair bring pink… and contacts for that matter."
Louise sighed internally. I guess I am going to have to get used to this. "It's natural, my Lord. Both are."
"Really? How odd." Paracelsus said, an expression of interest replacing his tired look, "Well, you are not here to have your appearance scrutinised… Lord Zash informs me that you want to learn the art of Sith Alchemy? People usually come to learn Alchemy -much like anything else- for a reason. What is yours?" The Sith Lord asked.
Louise took a breath then said resolutely, "I wanted to learn how to create a Sith Familiar."
"A Sith Familiar? Quite obscure… and rare for that matter." Said the Sith, "What's your reasoning for creating one?" He pushed
Louise sighed, before telling him, "On my homeworld, when those with the Force reach a certain age, they partake in a ritual to bind a creature -cat, bird, frog or any other beast- as a familiar. I was... taken... before I could bind anything." She paused thoughtfully, "I spent so many nights researching, looking at the history of the ritual, the animals that could be bound, the complex nature of it... and it all amounted to nothing."
"Hmm… I can see your reasoning, but I must ask: why not bind a creature here? I mean, there are several ways we could acquire you something to bind as a familiar." He explained, "It would be much cheaper than creating a Sith Familiar. I surely wouldn't mind learning this ritual, myself."
"I would if I could, but I am afraid it would be for nought. When I was taken, I was in the process of binding a creature... it failed spectacularly," Said the Pinkette, "I also don't have the right items to bind, and I doubt we would find them anywhere in the galaxy. So, I decided that creating a Sith Familiar would be a good replacement."
"Well, I am always happy to see another eager to learn my art." He said, "Nevertheless, the biological side of alchemy is much more difficult than, say… creating a Sith Sword or a translation amulet. As such, you will be starting there."
"I am willing to learn anything that can help reach my goal." She replied humbly.
"Good, good. As of right now, you will be learning theory, for the most part." Paracelsus continued, walking back over to his desk before pulling out a small box from one of the draws, "In this box, you will find a few different datacards. Do not give them to anyone." Paracelsus said, handing the box to her, "In these, you will find a rundown on several aspects of Alchemy. It will give you the basic information on the different sciences that are involved and the basics of how Alchemy works. We will not be doing any practicals until you have learned everything in these cards. Not only that, but I have also given you my personal holocron. Don't lose it." he warned.
"Thank you." She said, bowing again, the box held tightly to her chest.
"Come back once you've finished researching them. I will begin teaching you the blacksmith's trade, once that is done, we'll begin your training proper." He informed.
"Blacksmith's trade?" Louise asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Darth Paracelsus sighed, "Blacksmithing, while may be an old and archaic in this era, is physically and mentally demanding," He lectured passionately, "You need focus and discipline to forge armour, or a sword, more so if you want to craft something small or something with a lot of detail. This is also a test to see if you have the temperament to use alchemy; that being, patients and an attention to detail. Now, hurry along and get started" With that, he turned around and headed back to his desk. Louise took that as a sign to leave, and leave she did.
As she walked, the box still clutched close to her chest, the realisation that she would be learning how to create a Sith Familiar bore down on her. Finally, after an entire year, she was close to creating the one thing that had been plaguing her for over two years of her life. A feeling of giddiness overwhelmed her as she began to pick up speed, wanting to get to the apartment and begin researching as fast as possible.
It had been a week since Louise had come to Dromund Kaas, and Lyira had not seen the Pinkette besides their confrontation on day one. Honestly, she felt hurt by that act, thinking that petite Apprentice had simply become too estranged to the idea that her friend loved her in such a way.
It's not my fault I love her! Lyira fumed. During the first few weeks, the Pureblood was content with the companionship Louise provided, but over time it changed; she loved it when the Pinkette would talk adamantly about Sith Sorcery -something the Sith had no skill for- or her determination to learn how to properly fight with her fists. Lousie would stare into the face of adversity, and adversity would flinch back.
But the Pinkette was not always this strong willed girl. During the nights, Lyira would wake up to the sounds of tossing and turning, desperate calls in an alien language. And Lyira would always come down from the top bunk, and sooth her. Whispers of comfort and a caress of the cheek would end some nightmares. Others, worse ones, would require more. Her scared expressions, ones she hid from the galaxy, would mould back to serenity.
How could Louise not have known that someone loved her?
But that all changed when the Dashade -Khem Val, if she recalled- showed up at her door unexpectedly.
Apparently, the day after getting to Kaas City she met up with a Darth Paracelsus who gave her instructions to begin learning Alchemy and soon became consumed by her work. Every day and every night, the Pinkette would just be researching, only taking time to go and freshen up, eat and to go to the loo.
So, here Lyira was, standing outside of her crush's apartment with the Dashade Shadow Killer behind her. Using the code Khem had given her, she opened the door and walked into the main room. It was quite easy to spot the Pinkette as she was collapsed over the dining table with several texts -some Louise's own if the flowy script and alien language was anything to go by- and a holocron which was currently glaring down at the passed-out apprentice.
"Oh, finally!" the holocron's gatekeeper, a sagely old man, cried, upon noticing the other occupants in the room, "I applaud her drive, but this is just too much…!"
Lyira ignored the holocron's ramblings, using the Force to close it as she moved closer to Louise. Dark bags could be seen plain as day under her eyes, as she drooled on the table. She twitched in a way the Pureblood would have considered adorable, but at this point, she was more worried than anything.
"Louise?" she cooed, trying to gently wake the Pinkette, "Louise, wake up?" Lyira began trying to shake the girl awake, soliciting a cute moan from Louise as she tried to reposition herself to a more comfortable position.
"I will get a cup of cold water." The Dashade spoke up, already making a move towards the kitchen.
Lyira snapped around, glaring at Khem, "You will do no such thing!" she hissed, before turning back to Louise. How am I going to wake you up… She stood in thought for a moment, before an idea popped into mind. Well, if it's good enough for Rayne, its good enough for me. Carefully, she drifted her hand closer to the girl's nose, before pinching it shut. Now we wait.
It did not take too long for the effects to make themselves known, as in a few seconds the Pinkette began flailing around, gasping for air. That was when Lyira let the poor girl go. Louise then spent the next minute recovering, glaring at the raven-haired intruder, "Lyira!? What was that for?" she breathed.
"I've heard you've been neglecting your heath," Lyira said simply, ignoring the girl's glare.
"I have not! I've just been researching." She denied.
Lyira gave the Pinkette an unimpressed look before asking, "Khem, what has she been eating?"
"Cheap nutrients packets." The Dashade supplied, "She commands the droid to get them."
The Pureblood's green eyes bore into Louise's pink, "And you say you're not neglecting yourself."
"They're nutrients packs, they have the nutrition I need," Louise replied petulantly.
"No, they are for emergencies." Lyira replied coolly, "One a day to stay alive, and five a day to be healthy. And how many have you been eating a day?"
"… two."
"That's it!" She shouted, "You, miss, need to get a proper sleep-"
"I was until you woke me up!" Zash's apprentice whined.
"No, a proper sleep… in your bed. And before that, a good healthy meal," Lyira ordered, "Tomorrow, we will be going out for the day."
"But I need to study!" She cried, "I can't just go out for no reason."
"Then we'll have a reason," The Sith Pureblood replied, "Those clothes look a bit tight on you, we could get you some new ones."
"It's not my fault they're shrinking."
"Umm… they're not shrinking… your growing." Lyira explained somewhat awkwardly.
There was a clear pause as Louise's sleep addled brain processed what had been said. Lyira could almost see the gears working until the Pinkette understood and when she did, the response was surprising, if not amusing, "What!?" She shouted, jumping up from her seat, looking at Lyira with expectant eyes.
"Calm down," Lyira replied, recoiling from the sudden reaction.
"I'm growing?" she asked, an odd expression crossing her features.
"How could you not tell?" By Chaos, how could you not tell!
"You try having the body of a thirteen-year-old for four years!" Louise shouted back, but from what she could hear, there was no malice or aggression in those words, just barely hidden excitement, "Just wait, I need to check something."
Louise, with surprising energy, rushed from the main room into the bathroom where a few seconds passed before a shout was heard clearly from said room, "J'ai des seins! Comment n'ai-je pas remarqué!"
The next second Louise -sans upper clothing- came running out of the bathroom with an expression of pure ecstasy, "J'ai des seins!" She shouted, jumping up and down, showing off exactly what had grown in all its jiggly glory, "J'ai des seins!"
Lyira could feel heat come to her cheeks as Louise speed towards the green-eyed Sith, picking her up in a tight hug with surprising strength as she continued to shout in gibberish. Pressing her mounds into the Purebloods abdomen.
In the background Khem, with his head hanging in his hands, left to his bedroom muttering something about Tulak Hord.
Just as suddenly as she was picked up, she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, but do to her training, she stuck the landing. Louise cared for none of that as she continued jumping like an excited child.
"Louise!" she called, trying to calm the girl- Well, I can't exact ally call her that anymore- woman down, "Louise!" she shouted again, grabbing the Pinkette by the shoulders, stopping her from moving, "Calm down, Louise. It's just a natural part of life."
"I know!" She replied giddily.
"Well, go get something to eat with your new-found energy, then pop into bed." Lyira said, looking the Pinkette in her cheerful eyes, "Tomorrow, we'll get some new outfits for you. Okay?"
"Okay!"
"I'll leave you to it." Lyira said, turning around and heading to the entryway door, only to stop for a moment, "Tell Khem he's invited as well!" she called, garnering another cheery 'okay!'. And with that, the Sith Pureblood left back to her apartment, filing away what she had seen for later. She looks so much more attractive with a mature figure.
The next day, Louise woke feeling the most refreshed and excited she had ever felt in a while. Today she would be going shopping with Lyira. Of course, with that excitement came a flush of embarrassment from her actions the day before. After the Pureblood left, and she had calmed down, the Pinkette was horrified to realise what she had just done and what state of dress she had been in. The simple fact she did it in front of Khem made the entire thing worse.
So, when Lyira and Vette dropped by, the Pinkette began babbling an apology, requiring the Pureblood to try and quell her friend. Once they got that out of the way, they all set off to the market district. One Louise had only visited once, and that was on her first day on Dromund Kaas. The district was one of the largest congregation of non-Imperials around, some from the Chiss Ascendancy, one of the few allies the Empire had. But it was also filled with off-worlders such as bounty hunters or smugglers, and Imperials not fit for the military, whether that be because of age, disability or their skills were suited elsewhere.
When they arrived, sometime after noon, they found the place fairly crowded as people swarmed from stall to building to canteen and back, buying and selling items of interest. Quickly, they assimilated into the crowd with Lyira leading the way.
They passed quite a few vendors selling their wares that ranged from datapad to translators, to weapons and armour until they reached a large building that catered to apparel. According to Lyira, they could get most of the thing she needed here, like new underwear, sleepwear, boots, shoes, gloves, casual outfits and even the black over-robes many Sith sported, but proper robes needed to be tailored for the wearer.
There, Louise picked up a few pairs of boots and elbow-length gloves, some much-needed underwear, a black negligée ("Finally, some sleepwear!"), a loose workout robe, three black over-robes and finally some casual wear. All in all, it put a noticeable dent in her credits -with over a quarter spent- but in her mind, it was all needed. Of course, all outfits were just that bit bigger then she was just in case she grew again. Something the Pinkette was waiting for with baited breath.
However, Louise was not the only one being spoiled. As an apology for the day before, and to make him stop grumbling, she got him a large cloak and a few pairs of pants to replace his aged loincloth. They quickly stopped by her apartment, just to put away the several pieces of clothing and get changed into her casual wear -a synthcloth shirt and pants- and over-robe.
As they left back out into the city, Lyira began telling her about getting an outfit tailored and what getting an outfit tailored required. To Louise, however, it just sounded like a routine tailoring, one she had been a part of a few times during her time as the daughter of a Duchess, but she let the Pureblood continue talking. Though, the Pinkette was not just listening to her friend speak, she was also trying to mentally compile an outfit: from what she knew, Sith apparel was an important part of the Sith's identity.
Unlike the Jedi who's only defining feature was usually their lightsaber, one could usually tell Sith apart from what they wear. One would not mistake someone like Darth Revan -though a heretic he may be- with Darth Malgus. Nor would she mistake the handsome Kahn, for wizened Paracelsus. Each Sith had an identity that was their own, and their outfits -and saber- reflected that. Of course, some Sith had similar outfits, such as the Overseers, and quite a few of the lesser lords and apprentices.
Eventually, they arrived at the tailor's; one of the closer shop-orientated buildings to the Citadel and her apartment. Inside they were greeted by a hardened elderly woman with a skeletal cybernetic right arm, "New apprentices?" She asked, scrutinising the foursome from behind a front desk covered in a few bits and bobs, a register and a terminal.
Lyira answered her question, "No, just this one," she said, gesturing to Louise who felt her skin crawl as the woman's eyes started raking across her body.
"Just a moment," she replied with a gesture, before turning to a little machine on her desk, "Anyone free, we have an apprentice." Spoke the woman into the contraption, pressing a button as she did. After, she turned back to the gathered group, "Just a second."
And just a second it was. Soon, a bald man dressed in an odd but expensive looking garb, entered the room before taking the Pinkette further into the building, telling her that he was the artisan that would make her ideas come to life before pulling her into a small room with a large viewscreen, a lounge, a raised dais off in one of the corners and a few other bits and bobs.
After telling her to stand on the dais, he began measuring her, from her arms to her legs, to head, waist, hips and so on. She was quite happy to hear that she had surpassed the five-foot mark in terms of height. Once the measurements were taken and recorded, she was seated on the lounge where he broached the subject of Sith apparel.
Thus began a lengthy discussion about the variety of Sith apparel she could choose from; the lengthy dress' like ones, the skin-tight leotards, to bulky armour and so on. Of course, Louise already had a vague idea of what she wanted, and began telling the man on her preferences. She told him of the priestess robes of the Church on her homeworld, and asked if they could do something similar to that. With a drawing pad in hand, the artisan began drawing what she described
Of course, she was going to change up a few things such as the colour scheme and cut, but she still wanted that as the basic template. The artisan was just happy that Louise had an idea of what she wanted.
From there, they looked at many different outfits Sith have donned over the years that shared a similar design to her own. They mixed and matched, adding and subtracting things at Louise's command, and eventually, Louise was left with a design she was pleased with;
The long loose sleeves were made tighter to cater to her recently acquired Imperial vambraces. The headdress was removed completely, to make up for their loss, dark loose pants were added. And the neckline was changed to a 'V' neck. The other major change was the cut of the lower half; the priestesses garb already had two slits up the side, reaching to the knees, this was changed so it was moved closer to the front of the dress -creating a front tail reminiscent of the breechcloths that some Sith had- and the slits were elongated to just below the hips. The back flap was changed so it ended calf length at the front, and ankle at the back.
As for the colour scheme and theme. White was changed to black, purples to a crimson red, and gold to a deep royal purple.
The final product, a rough but still amazing outfit, was something Louise felt proud of. A reflection of her identity as a Sith, her origins, and, if she really was a Void mage, a reflection of her power.
"It's a simple design," he said, "good for an apprentice to build off of. I have seen many apprentices try and emulate legendary Sith with complex designs, but they usually fall flat. Then they get angry… and break things," he paused, Scrutinising the image he had drawn, "Now, would you like it to be made from a more leisure fabric, or a more pragmatic and tough fabric?"
"How much will this influence the cost?"
"Well, that depends on what fabric you want. Tough fabric can be both cheap and expensive, as well as leisure fabrics. I think it would be best if you gave us a price range on how much you are willing to spend on these garbs. If I were to estimate the cost for three of these made in synthcloth, a base fabric, I would say… around… two hundred credits?"
Louise controlled her expression. It was quite a high price compared to how much the other pieces of clothing she had bought today, but she could afford it, and so she told him, "I can afford that, though I wouldn't mind a bit more protection, but not at the loss of comfort."
"That we can do. I'll pass on the designs to the synthweavers. We'll try to get it to you by the end of the week. Just make sure you have the credits on hand."
"Thank you for your time."
"You to, my lord."
Louise left the room, reuniting with her companions. They spend the remainder of the day wandering around, stopping at the nearby canteen for some food before leaving back to their apartments.
The next morning, Louise, dressed in her workout apparel, travelled to the bowels of the apartment complex, where all the training rooms were kept, which there were a lot of, each catering to specific needs. She could see several apprentices and their masters or instructors teaching them a variety of things, from martial combat to Force based combat. Soon, she arrived at the designated meeting place; a large training room that was mostly clad in shadows for some reason the Pinkette could not comprehend.
"So," a voice called out from the shadows, drawing her attention, "You have finally deemed your advanced training worthy enough to start?"
The night before, she had remembered that, yes, she did have other obligations other than Alchemy and socialising, such as her advanced training with Krillis. So, as fast as she could, Louise contacted the cyborg and organised a time to begin their training, "I apologise, Lord Krillis." Louise said, bowing low in slight shame.
"I have no use for your apologies," He rebuked, "Lord Zash expects you to be well versed in what I am teaching you. Due to your tardiness, I must work you extra hard to get you up to date." The menacing grin that twisted onto Krillis' face cause the Pinkette to audibly gulp.