Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Riss]

Kat had needed some time alone for herself, and her Jedi heart to mend. Leaving Riss for a moment to stand around with her thoughts in the hanger. Stood below the Rimma she'd set up makeshift targets facing the Rimma itself. Standing about 20 paces away she faces this make-believe person and would draw, place her finger on the trigger, and pu- it'd stop short with the safety on.

[Zeno Thul]

Zeno, passing by, rubs his eyes. He is definitely hiking back to his bunk, looking tired and dragging his feet a bit. "You doing ok?"

His voice was friendly, but definitely has a weariness to it.

[Riss]

Riss pauses, quirking a brow in a momentary confusion. Sliding her blaster into it's holster. Answering first with a simple nod, a touch of a smile "Yea, thanks for asking, Zeno. Yourself?" she asks, her hand still on her blaster half prepared to pull it for another draw.

[Zeno Thul]

"I'm functioning. Just having a relatively bad day. Never good to lose a friend and Sylvain is gone," he says with a shrug. "While I was screwing around in the attack, so feeling a bit guilty."

[Riss]

"I won't be able to say much," she says, pausing where she is in that freeze hold. "Don't have a very high opinion of Sith. Never will. But.. losing a friend is hard," she says, sliding her hand away from her blaster and turning to face him fully. That open stance of a support without form. Zeno didn't quite seem like a hugger.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but you can't pin blame on yourself after the fact- it was chaos, ain't fair to do it. Zakuul did that, only ones to blame."

[Zeno Thul]

"I know, and it will pass in time. It was not the result of any action I took, but I still need to empirically prove to myself there wasn't anything I could do before I can let it go."

"And I'm not sure you would get along with him, but in many ways he was my opposite. I live in the light while embracing the dark. He lived in the dark while trusting in the light. If he'd been born in the Republic he would have been a Jedi Master, possibly on the council. But he got handed a harder path that I don't envy."

She really didn't have any idea about how wrong she was about being a hugger. But he tended to remain as professional as he could stand around her given family histories. People don't usually like hugs from the monster that killed members of your family, even if they were more friendly at this juncture.

[Riss]

"Couldn't have been too good of a man of he stayed in the Empire, and rose to be.. wasn't he the minister?" she asks, but seems to confirm it for herself with the shake of her head. "Nevermind.. don't get me started," she says, and steps back to facing the target that has no shots fired at it.

"Have you been trained with a blaster? Or do you only use your fancy swords?" she asks, glancing down at the lightsaber Zeno no doubt wore.

[Zeno Thul]

He suspected that she'd never give in to the idea that Syl was not a bad person, being stubborn as she is. Which is a bit funny to Zeno because if he were to cut down anyone on this base that he didn't know, he wouldn't even think twice about it... while he suspected Syl did everything in his power to minimize deaths on both sides in his position as minister. Sometimes you just can't tell the bad guys from the good guys based on what they wear.

"I haven't been trained specifically, but those that specialize in Ataru like me tend to be adept with them. And I'm less good with target shooting, but if I can sense my opponent's intentions I can fire where they will be even if they don't know they'll be there yet. So no, but yes," he says waving his hand a bit.

"Also, unlike some of the folks here, I haven't focused enough on some of my saber techniques so I am not accurate enough to send a blaster bolt back at someone shooting at me. So I can't shoot that way either." He added air quotes around the word shoot.

"Why? Up for a little competition?" he asks.

[Riss]

"Huh?" she glances between Zeno and the mock target. "Oh- no no, not looking for a competition. Not even shooting at the thing, don't wanna spook anyone after earlier," she says, placing her hand on her blaster again.

"I was just thinking back to how my dad taught me a bit when I was younger. 'A noble lady needs to know how to protect herself," she says in a voice not all her own. "But really I only ever self taught some stuff later, and most of that was for show. Always kinda imagined myself as a bit of a gunslinger, mm?" she says, chuckling. "Never developed the skills for it though."

[Zeno Thul]

"I'd agree with him, but I also think there are more ways to protect yourself than with a weapon. A wise person surrounds themselves with people that are willing to fight for them if they can't do so themselves. So I'd say you have quite effectively learned to protect yourself," he says with a nod.

"Because people that learn to fight the way I have may be good at it, but we also make more enemies. Sometimes having an ability to kill with relative ease comes back to bite you in the ass. I'd say I'm lucky that you learned the way you did or I'd possibly have been killed by you or another Lanar looking for revenge. But you chose a path of building something capable of protecting you and your family instead. Wisdom."

[Riss]

"Now you're just flirting with me," she says with her patented cocky grin. Pulling out a draw on the target dummy she pretends to fire before skillfully flipping the blast back into it's holster. She's.. impossibly at ease and fast on that draw, blink and you'll miss it.

"Hate to burst your bubble a little though, Zeno," she says, directing them both over to a place to better sit and talk. "But my way of fighting doesn't save you any enemies. Just makes them a little different, mm? Got plenty of folk who would probably prefer I was dead myself. One smuggler in particular-" she chuckles, shaking her head. "But I've used my weapon for bad things too."

[Zeno Thul]

"Living tends to make enemies, since people disagree with how others live and want to control it. So we all have enemies even if we don't know it," he says with an agreeing nod and a chuckle. "I want that ship, but the current owner disagrees? Instant enemy."

"I think the difference between us is that you are smart enough to make your enemies just want to steal or get one over on you more often than outright murder. But if someone wants to take from me? I'll straight up kill them, so it pays for my enemies to come at me with deadly intent from the get go. You may actually end up with more enemies actually, but if mine aren't trying to kill me then they're probably going to die. Just a difference in mindsets, but we both give folks reason to come at us in the end I guess."