Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Darth Bellious]

"I won't ever make any such requests of you, Syl." She said firmly. There was more than one reason behind the firmness. "It's disingenuous to call it a sacrifice if there is no freedom of choice. That one thing ought to be free for any Sith. I suppose that crosses off that buzz you mention in how I understand it."

She'd witnessed the outer signs of the mental process that had led him to this point. It was implied that many things he'd once held dear had been chipped off him, and he probably felt lessened for it.

"For me, sacrifice is about transcending. A turning point that can change you, and let you go onto a new path." She paused. "The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die... Too philosophical?" There was a tinge of reassurance in her smile, for whatever reason.

[Sylvain Torsin]

“I asked the question. Knowing well who I asked and her affinity for the philosophical.” Masks made things so ambiguous sometimes but it didn’t seem as if he was being critical in his reply.

“Never been much of a transcendentalist myself. Different circumstances require different selves. Different ‘skins’ as it were. Being able to shift between them offers utility.”

He paused before continuing on a more personal note, “If I’m being honest, I’ve never been great at completely leaving anything fully behind me… ‘Transcending’ to a greater being. I rarely ‘sacrifice’ in that sense… Things linger longer than they often should.”

[Darth Bellious]

At the mention of the utility of skin-shifting, she laughed softly. With her own record in that, no other commentary was needed. Something else piqued her interest.

"Haven't you?" Her head tilted slightly, letting one lekku slip to her shoulder, sliding down. She was curious there, personally. He could probably guess the reason. By asking more precisely, however, she would put herself in a position she didn't want to be in. "Perhaps it's not just about transcending yourself, but inviting what lingers do so with you..."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“Perhaps…” He said.

“But I’m not sure I know what that means. I’ve travelled all over the galaxy. Amassed considerable, power, knowledge and control over the Force… beyond any within our generation. And yet, I never shifted to another being… That within me both uplifts and drags at me. I carry with me all that I have been and am.”

He shrugged, “That person is flawed… That person is strong… And I don’t ever foresee that changing. No matter what methodology I apply.”

[Darth Bellious]

She contemplated it, resisting various urges to challenge his assumptions. In the end, she both conceded and didn't.

"Perhaps you're truly your last self now. But maybe you haven't had the right nudge yet. Ultimately, the methodology needn't be yours..."

She looked him up and down, and smirked slightly.

"If the former were true, it wouldn't be that bad, with you so strong and flawed."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded and chuckled, “I certainly don’t cry myself to sleep over it. I’m me. There are worse things.”

[Darth Bellious]

"In fact, there are few better, few more liberating." She leaned back against the railing, the lekku moving to the back.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He snorted a chuckle that was audible through his mask.

"I'm glad you're here Moyr... Be safe. Don't be a stranger if you need something."

[Darth Bellious]

"Likewise, Syl. Don't be a stranger. I presume whatever used to divide us, greater and later scars have rendered it mostly inconsequential. I even have a song concerning that, but perhaps I'll share it on the next occasion."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Ever the tease." He said with what most assuredly be a smirk behind the mask.

"Until then." He bowed his head politely and turned to follow after where his daughter had gone several minutes before.

[Darth Bellious]

"The liberating act of being me, I suppose." She bent forth from the railing to bow slightly. "Looking forward to it, Sylvain." She managed to say before he departed.