SWTOR: The Davire Legacy

[2015] Main Chapters: Part 7

It hadn't taken long for rumors to spread about Seyje and Vemrin's supposed alliance. Some believed they had teamed up and were planning to both become Baras' apprentices. Some acolytes claimed they were just faking it, and that Seyje had forced Vemrin into her personal servitude. Still others said they were rivals plotting against each other. The truth, however, was much complicated.

In public, they acted as rivals. In secret, they were indeed allies. In fact, the two of them had grown close within the couple weeks Seyje had been training Vemrin advanced combat skills. However, she made it painfully clear early on that in order to disband any suspicions of weakness, they had to remain hostile towards each other when their fellow acolytes were around.

Therefore, due to their public rivalry, the Academy's acolytes had split into two groups: the Scyths, those who supported Seyje, and the Vipers, those who supported Vemrin. Each group wore their own symbol, hidden beneath the armor of the left wrist to avoid punishment from the Overseers. The Scyths wore crossed blades, and the Vipers wore parallel fangs. Though it was as dangerous as gang rivalry, it was the first exciting thing that had happened on Korriban in a while, so the two of them were being watched constantly. The lack of alone time set some serious strains on their relationship.

With a stroke of luck, they discovered an abandoned landing pad on the outskirts of the Academy that provided the getaway time to talk. They sat together on the sandy ground far away from any snooping eyes or ears. It was a relief to finally have some peace and quiet, but they had little time to enjoy it.

"Vemrin, I...I don't know if I can keep doing this," Seyje sighed deeply, dragging her hand through her hair as she leaned back against the rocks. "It's exhausting."

He nodded in agreement, and she could sense her same weariness echoing from him. "Tell me about it. If I have to deal with one more "Viper bite" incident, I'm going to kill somebody," he growled. He was referring to the Vipers' tactic of hiding behind corners and jabbing out at any Scyths that happened to walk by. A couple acolytes had needed new chest pieces from the holes created by the training sabers.

"Relax, it's not like anyone's gotten hurt," she said calmly. "Yet," he remarked sharply. "Some of my boys are taking this rivalry very seriously." Seyje frowned at the harsh tone. "How seriously?" "Enough that there's going to be blood next time there's a fight," he said coldly, his voice lashing out at the empty air.

She groaned, burying her face in her knees. "Stupid ignorant bantha-heads. What is wrong with them?" The frustration building up inside of her was threatening to burst, and she had to fight hard to keep it buried. No...not here. Not in front of Vemrin. He was unaware of the cursed blood in her veins, and she did not plan for him to ever find out.

Vemrin looked over at her curiously. There was an unusual edge to her frustration that he hadn't sensed before. It was probably due to the high level of stress their charade required. He unleashed all his anger on the dummies in the training room, and Tremel had scolded him more than once about how much he was costing the Academy.

Seyje, however, did not have such an outlet available since she was too busy either training the new arrivals or breaking up gang fights. A thought crossed his mind, and Vemrin quickly reached out with the Force to make sure they were alone.

There was suddenly a hand on her shoulder. Seyje looked up with alarm to see Vemrin gazing at her with a crooked grin she hadn't seen before. It looked so out of place on his features; she was so used to seeing him scowl at her.

"What?" she asked, unable to hide her amusement. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just nice to know I'm not the only one sick of playing these games." Seyje chuckled, lightly shoving his arm. "You wouldn't have said that your first day here," she pointed out. "Probably not," he agreed, "but I've learned a lot since I met you."