*As Rhel re-entered the city, Kyyx raised a brow at the limp, but did not say anything further on it. Instead, she led him out of the hangar and further into the dome city. She did not slow her pace in consideration of his injury, fully expecting him to walk through the pain.

The city more closely resembled that of a military base than of an actual habitat, heated by the remarkable Chiss-inspired warrens. However, due to the largely transient nature of the population, it did offer a few accommodations with typical Chiss-like luxury.

She entered a medical facility, which was manned by a single female personnel. Kyyx found that, among Chiss culture, if you behaved as though you were acting on higher authority, your actions were generally not questioned or confronted. This continued to prove true as Kyyx took a bacta pack from a medical cabinet and departed.

In another one of the strange structures built within the walls of the dome, Kyyx made reservations for guest quarters. A turbolift took them to another floor, which opened up into the quarters themselves. In true Chiss fashion, their buildings were designed vertically, with each floor being a private room.

Once inside, Kyyx tossed Rhel the bacta.*

"Sit on the floor and apply this to your wound. It is time to begin your next study."

*Kyyx walked past him and disappeared into the refresher.*

*When she emerged from the 'fresher, she was draped in light-colored garments, and she tossed her heavier Sith robes aside. She neared Rhel and wrinkled her nose at the mess he had made of the wound, then clicked her tongue. She sat down in front of him on the floor, tucking her blue legs beneath her.*

"There are several techniques one can use in the force to accelerate the healing process, but none so effective and more beneficial to a Sith than Dark Healing. Using this ability will not only heal your wounds during a conflict, but will also drain your enemy of their force and life energy."

*Kyyx reached for his hand and placed it against her bare forearm, curling his fingers around her skin.*

"Since I am the enemy that inflicted the wound, you will use my life to heal it. Your sense in the force is already powerful. Now you must draw my presence from it, and absorb it into yourself, to your wound. It is difficult the first time, but only the first time, so I will guide you in the force, just as my master did for me. Be wary. It is addictive."

*Though her glowing eyes did not waver, they seemed to become indescribably distant. Her focus turned inward, and her energy began to flow from her center to the warm touch against her arm.*

*It was remarkable how naturally the manipulation of the energy came to him. Her lips twitched, then parted with confusion. She blinked. No, no! The flow of the force was all wrong! He was drawing from another source, from a worthless life of insignificant value, from someone who had nothing to do with this! But it was too late, the life was snuffed out before she was able to snap out of the trance and disrupt the connection.*

With a vicious snarl, Kyyx yanked her arm back and gripped Rhel's throat with the other, applying pressure to his windpipe*

"Insolent wretch! Why did you fail to follow my instruction? You have ruined the ceremony!"

*With a burst of force-induced strength, she shoved Rhel away from her before she did something she might regret later. The hem of her woven gown whipped about her ankles as she simultaneously rose to her feet and turned her back on her apprentice. She took a steadying breath, and grudgingly admitted, the feat he had accomplished was nothing short of impressive, even if he had chosen the life of a milksop.*

"...Has your doubt so overwhelmed your senses that you would deliberately disobey me? Perhaps you think yourself better suited outside of my tutelage."

*Rhel is thrown backwards by his angered master, his back striking the wall of the room. Straightening himself as he recovers his breath, he faces Laele calmly.*

You are my Master, and I have much to learn. Drawing your energies and leaving you weaker would serve neither of us. As long as I am your student, I must keep you strong and able to teach. One day when I have learned all you can teach, I will move to surpass you; this is a certainty. Until then, I will preserve you.

*She visibly winced, as though he had struck her a physical blow. Lunak'yyx'aele's voice rose with her temper.*

"That is not your place! It is for me to decide what will weaken me, and how much I can take! To behave as though I am in need of your protection is to convey the message that you consider yourself the stronger and the wiser of us. It is an insult."

*With a growl, she turned sharply towards the suite's small liquor cabinet and poured herself a generous glass of amber liquid from the crystal decanter.*

"Your actions will not be without their consequences, Rhel Oross."

*She tilted the glass back and drained it as quickly as the contents could cascade. She had no regrets in taking this apprentice as her own. Indeed, she favored him and admired him, and knew chaos had a funny way of creating patterns in its seeming random encounters. He had sparked a fire in her she had thought lost long ago, a burning desire for purpose, knowledge and power.

But he lacked appreciation for the importance or the uniqueness of his position. Her fingers tightened around the glass in her hand until it shattered, slicing deep red lines into her blue palm. He did not know how many force users had attempted and failed to claim her as a master, nor the reason why she would have accepted him when she had accepted no others.

What he needed was competition. She required another potential, one worthy enough to be a considerable threat to Rhel. Despite the impossible odds, Kyyx was confident in her chances of finding a second apprentice. It was as though she could sense the direction the force was pulling her towards.

She used a hand towel to pluck the shards of glass from her hand and sop up the blood. She did not turn to look at the Sith as she spoke.*

"Leave. Go find us something to eat and bring it back here, or some such thing, and try not to kill anyone else on the way. I need a minute to think in peace."

*After some time, Rhel returns carrying a bundle of assorted foodstuffs. He had been short on credits, so most had been taken by stealth or tricking of weak minded vendors. Opening the door to the room quietly, he steps inside and looks for Laele.*

I have brought the supplies.

*Her mind descended upon a moon. Spires rose from its ugly surface, the towering structures caked in centuries of grime and carbine residue. Docks hovered within the polluted atmosphere. Between the crevices of these ports, layers upon layers of cities, new built upon old, congested what little space there was on the small planetoid. The vision wove her mind's eye through the decaying urban landscape, past lines of smog-inducing traffic and between beams of half-finished structures.

She was carried to a popular hot spot, where the bouncers were attempting to physically press yet more bodies through overflowing doors. Her vision became hazy, and her brow furrowed. The sound of a turbolift distracted her. The meditation was ending. She blurred past bodies, their forms diluting into gray formless masses even as she sought them. Her mind turned the room, then turned it again. Suddenly one figure sharpened into focus. She caught a glimpse of brown and silver streaked hair, pulled back in a sleek tail. A gold wrist was yanked back, as though by force. The figure turned, and Kyyx was abruptly facing twin pools of sharp green eyes. There, that one. That's the one.

Rhel's voice filled her mind, and the vision dissolved completely, as though someone had thrown a handful of pebbles into the waters of her thoughts. Her eyes opened sharply.*

"Good."

*She rose from the center of the room and stepped to the control panel, increasing the illumination once more. She did not ask how he had managed to obtain the food. To do so would be an insult to them both. She looked over the bundle Rhel had brought and seemed to approve of the selection. She rested a hand on Rhel's shoulder.*

"We have a couple of days of hard travel ahead, so eat and sleep while you can. Real sleep, not meditation. This will be your last chance for a bed for a while."

*It was as though she had never been infuriated with him just mere minutes ago. Indeed, she almost sounded...pleasant. She grabbed a fruit from the bundle and bit into it deeply.*

*Rhel takes some basic dried rations and moves to one of the rooms simple chairs. Picking through the food, he eats slowly reflecting on what he has learned thus far, and the developments in the dynamic between himself and Laele.*

I can go without the comfort of a bed. I've often slept on the streets in my travels.

*She watched him for a moment, chewing thoughtfully. What prompted this strange red-skinned apprentice to say such things? He was very different from the Chiss, with no sense of decorum or proper etiquette. Indeed, it was as though he were completely unaware of the slights that laced his every word. She smirked. She was never a fan of the propriety of Chiss life, anyway. Finally, she gestured towards the door.*

"If that is your preference, then by all means, be my guest."

*She stood and cleaned up the remnants of the meal, straightening the room as though more by habit than by actual need, then disrobed and slid under the bedclothes of the room's luxury bed.*

"Turn out the lights before you go."