boxofmisfits | Plucked From the Clutches of Death

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Plucked From the Clutches of Death

Ever since coming to the future, following the Force's whims had been something Altair had done less and less. He could still sense it, of course. Shutting himself off completely would be unacceptable to him, as it had always been his companion of sorts and while it would probably lead to less shenanigans, he could not close his eyes and cover his ears. He could hear the whispers, feel the threads of it weaving through the galaxy and it was beautiful. When he meditated whispers became a distant song, and threads became beckoning guides that wanted to lead him to far off places.

In the past, he would have let himself get swept along as time allowed, always certain that someone would be there to pick up any momentary slack. In this time, while he had faith in Thrawn's people and Thrawn himself, he couldn't justify taking the time to rush off whenever some new thread weaved itself into the galaxy's tapestry. There were no other Sith who would pick up his slack, and he had promised to assist Thrawn with his goal, after all. Tempting as it was to let himself drift in the river of fate to let it carry him to new and strange places, give him new and strange riches, he wouldn't, and couldn't.

At least that had been the case until a particularly insistent call in the Force had become too much to ignore.

It wasn't dangerous, was what he had said to Thrawn, upon seeking permission to leave for a time. Not dangerous. Not like the fleet, not like the Silencers, and Iokath. It just was. That nebulous concept had been what was most difficult to explain, really. But whether or not Thrawn understood didn't matter, because he had, at least, seen his seriousness and respected it.

Altair wondered what he'd think now.

The Force had led him to an ancient temple- Altair still wasn't certain if it was Sith or Jedi in origin- and that temple had led him to a strange place. Branching paths and moments in time. For a while he had wandered- admittedly he'd sought a way back to his own time. It would have broken his promise, which he hated doing, but still. A part of him would always miss his people.

He hadn't found it though.

But he had found many strange artifacts. Plucked them from moments in time whenever the Force felt like it was urging him to do so. Whether that was some kleptomaniac instinct or actually the Force though, he wasn't sure. Maybe both.

Through one such window into the past, he'd come across someone in a situation that wouldn't end well. Plucking items out of these moments was one thing- would maybe end in a bruised ego or two somewhere far in the past- but people? Still, it was the only glimpse that was truly an open door to be reached through. The Force was quiet, not urging him one way or another, despite its strong presence in the silence between moments and its somewhat subtle insistence that he claim artifacts before. In the end though, when given the opportunity to save someone, he had.

The idea of simply leaving someone to die when all he had to do to save them was reach out his hand pained him. He couldn't do it.

And so, outside of the temple in the dark and quiet night, he sat with the two people he'd rescued by the fire they'd built for light and warmth while they waited for morning to come so they could head for the ship he'd borrowed with the promise that he'd bring it back in one piece, without fear of anything that might be lurking in the blackness of the forest the temple was surrounded by.

It had been day when Altair had entered the temple and found his way into that strange place, and while he felt no more hunger than usual, Altair could somehow tell that this was not the first night that had passed since he first arrived. He assumed it had been a few days, at least.

He wondered how he was going to explain this one though.

A Chiss and a Jedi who- while remaining nearby- was perhaps expectedly standoffish in the presence of a Sith. Out of the two of them, Altair figured he'd have most luck talking to the Chiss, though they'd all exchanged relatively few words even now. Shock, Altair assumed.

Seemed the most likely explanation, and also understandable. Expecting death only to be yanked through the veil of death and time to safety was probably a lot to deal with for people who weren't used to it.

"You don't have to worry, you know. I have allies who will be able to help you. Wherever you may want to go, I'm certain it can be arranged."

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The Force had been blissfully quiet since Altair's last outing, beyond its usual little tugs and whispers. Life went by rather like normal- people respectfully slinking around him in wide circles whenever he stalked the halls, working on overseeing the upgrades on the Doombringer, poking at his relics- and training with the people who had- if not overcome their fear of him- at least learned to overlook it. He had left Thrawn alone for the most part- leaving him to chats with his brother, and the Jedi who he occasionally sensed off in the distance.

Training was his activity of choice on this particular day, with a small group of Stormtroopers.

One man swung at him, fist swiping by his hood as he moved his head out of the trajectory of his punch, spinning around to grab him by the forearm, using the momentum in conjunction with the Force to yank him off his feet and slam him into the ground hard enough to make the sound echo throughout the room, and in that same move he dodged another opponent who had decided to try and get the drop on him, sweeping his leg to trip his second opponent up, and in an unnaturally fluid motion he shoved a hand into his armored chest hard enough to send him flying across the room.

He turned his head to the remaining two opponents who were sizing the situation up from a distance, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of one, evading an admittedly skillful swipe, and then another- before catching him by the throat and lifting him off the ground with an ease that shouldn't be possible for one so small- with a spin he threw him at the Stormtrooper who was only just picking himself up off the floor, sending them both toppling to the ground again.

His attention turned then to his final opponent- Balkin, admittedly his favorite- and he rolled his shoulders idly, before jumping back into motion- dodging a few quick punches, though his final opponent did manage to get a kick in, and though it nearly knocked him off balance that only made him utter a sound that almost sounded like amusement. Getting back in close in another blink of the eye, he delivered a few quick kicks and punches of his own- skillfully blocked for the most part, until Altair saw his opening and took it- sending the fourth of the day's students sailing through the air and into the wall with enough force to hurt, but not seriously damage.

As much as Altair would like to go another round though, he had become aware that they were no longer alone.

"That's enough for today," He said, moving over to Balkin to offer him a hand to help him get back onto his feet, while calling to the others, "Hollinger, Erantes, Rigel. I suggest you get more pointers from Commander Balkin again, as he was the only one who managed to keep me out of his mind for long enough to get some surprise attacks in at all for each match. Go get yourselves patched up, then get some meditation in- I sensed more than just a little bewilderment, and that is something you all must learn to resist when faced with a Force user. We'll be sparring again soon and I expect to see some improvement then."

He got a few yes, sirs and a yes, Lord Nox from Balkin, turning to their guest as the men picked themselves up to go do as they had been told.

"Thrass," He greeted, calmly, with a polite nod of his head- he wondered to himself if Thrawn had told Thrass about his species, or even that he had a name besides Nox, or if that was something he had left for him to divulge when he felt like he wanted to- "Found your bearings enough to be out exploring already?"

Everything that happened was a lot for Thrass to take in. Saved from sudden death, flung into the future, reunited with his brother. It was decades into the future, his younger brother was now older than him, and so much had happened in the galaxy. His brother exiled, only to find himself a high-ranking position within a xenophobic Empire, and used his resources to create this Empire of the Hand. Not to mention this Nuso Esva character he found himself at war with.

To say nothing of what the Jedi, Lorana, was going through. Thrawn told her about the Clone Wars, and how the Jedi had been nearly wiped out at the war's end. Thrawn had passed along Nox's offer to her, and she'd said she needed to think about it for a while.

Thrass himself had considered returning to the Ascendancy, but ultimately decided to stay with Thrawn. His brother had offered him a comfortable position within the Empire of the Hand, as one of his advisors.

Thrawn had also passed along Lord Nox's offer of conversation. He had also revealed some very interesting information about the Sith. Thus, Thrass chose to seek him out. Some of the crew spoke Sy Bisti, and were able to direct him to the training room.

Thrass got there in time to see the rather short Sith fling Stormtroopers nearly twice his size around. It must have been that Force thing he heard about. He waited patiently for the Stormtroopers to clear out, before he approached Nox.

"Yes. The layout of this ship is quite different from a Chiss dreadnought, but Thrawn provided me with a map. I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"You weren't," Altair said, though he was aware of the fact that the curtness of his words suggested otherwise. Really though, they had been just about done for the day, so the only thing that had been cut short was that Altair would normally have meditated with them to guide them through fortifying their minds. But he trusted Balkin to be able to give good pointers, anyway, as the man was proving himself to be a good student who was already starting to incorporate his own techniques to use against someone who could predict the flow of battle in the way that a Force user could.

"I've never been aboard a Chiss dreadnought, so I'll have to take your word for it."

He had seen them under construction in the past, during his mission to Copero. And he'd been aboard a Chiss shuttle before. But not a dreadnought.

"Have you decided what you're going to do from now on? I imagine it's come up during your talks with your brother."

It would be rather sad, if Thrass chose to leave, Altair thought. Of course with Thrass being alive it would not be a final goodbye, but he hoped for Thrawn's sake, that Thrass would choose to stay at his side, much as Altair understood a desire to return to one's people too. After all, he imagined that to be a choice he might one day come to have to make himself.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, of course. I won't pry."

"It has, yes. I will admit, I considered returning home, and retaking my place within Chiss society." He was an important person within the Mitth family, and had certain rights and privileges. "Except, home wouldn't feel the same without Thrawn. Thus, I've chosen to stay with him, and serve on his council." Thrawn said he would still get to keep his title, and would be treated as a syndic by the Chiss of the Hand. It amused him that Thrawn was also considered a syndic now.

"Even if I did return, I would have to explain to the family where I have been, and why I have not aged a day since I disappeared." If the Ascendancy had chosen to exile Thrawn, then Thrass would be exiled with him. It was actually rather impressive what Thrawn had done with this Empire of the Hand.

"I see. I'm glad."

Altair hadn't been able to sense Thrawn's emotions, whenever the subject of the loss he'd suffered had come up, and he didn't think he was particularly good at reading his expressions either, but he'd been able to tell how heavily it weighed on him. Had been able to tell that it was a very deep sorrow.

So Altair really was glad that Thrass had chosen to stay, so that that loss wasn't one Thrawn would have to feel again, even if it wouldn't be permanent. Thrawn was exiled, after all. Had Thrass gone back to his people, then it likely wouldn't be easy for them to see each other as often as they might want to.

"He had told me that he'd lost someone in the past, and I could tell that he still carried a lot of pain with him because of it. So I really am glad you're staying. You'll be a welcome asset on the council as well."

Thrawn had, technically, given Altair a seat on the Council too, which Altair had initially accepted when he had made the decision to join Thrawn in the first place. But given the continued fear from others, Altair didn't feel like his presence was welcome there. So he preferred being utilized as a weapon with which to strike down enemies, rather than an advisor. There was a lot less doubt about his intentions that way. Though Altair had managed to earn the trust of a few of Thrawn's people, he knew that there were many still who heard the word Sith and decided to shake in their boots on principle.

"I suppose that means we'll be working together too in one way or another, so you may feel free to rely on me should the need arise."

"I could tell. He blamed himself for what happened to me, and I can imagine how hard it was for him when I simply never came home after Lorana and I took Outbound Flight." He'd allowed himself moment of smugness when Thrawn told him that Chaf'orm'bintrano was still an Aristocra. According to his brother, the ship had never been found, and Thrass wasn't sure if he'd be able to relocate the planet they had crashed it on. Hopefully the survivors and their descendants had built a life for themselves.

Thrass had met some of Thrawn's high-ranking officers, including Parck and Dagon. Both of them hadn't known what to make of him, but had welcomed him on board upon finding out who he was to Thrawn.

"I have a feeling that my work will be mainly administrative," Thrass wasn't a warrior like Thrawn or Altair. "But, I can see that my brother still has no head for politics, which is where you and I will be useful." Which implied that Thrawn had told Thrass that Lord Nox had experience in politics. "And I may need your guidance should I encounter anything related to the Sith or Jedi, or the Force in general."

"Strength means nothing without wisdom to guide it. And sometimes wisdom means having to get into the nitty-gritty details of administrative work," Altair said, with a soft huff of laughter, that admittedly sounded a bit odd filtered through his mask. Still. Thrawn and their cause needed more than just warriors. And he was pretty sure that Thrawn felt more at ease knowing his brother would be safe.

"And of course. I did just say that you may rely on me, after all."

He'd have to be very careful how he phrased things, when they came up, of course. He knew that as a Sith, he was rather blasé when it came to how the nature of the Sith, the Jedi, and the Force wasn't always pretty, and that things that he saw as normal, would likely be horrifying to someone who didn't share his experiences.

"I imagine such matters will fall onto me more often than you, though. And you may just pass it off to me, too, should you feel the need to. I enjoy being busy and could more or less always do with a bit more work."

He didn't like having too much free time. Gave him way too much time to think.

Thrass could see why Altair and Thrawn got along, though his brother had said it took them a while to get to this point. "Perhaps. Thrawn says that you're basically his expert in the Force," Mainly because he was the only Force sensitive ally Thrawn had. Hopefully not his only one for much longer, should the girl decide to stay.

"Thrawn told me some interesting things about you."

"Easy to be his expert in all things related to the Force when I am the only Force sensitive at his side," Altair commented, with a tone that suggested that he was smiling just a little. It was an easy train of thought to guess that Thrass was having, too, even if he couldn't get a read on his thoughts or expression.

If the Jedi decided to stay though, then that would work to their advantage too. Altair was a powerful Force user, but his world view and his view of the Force was ultimately that of a Sith and not that of the Jedi. Having someone who could offer a different perspective would serve them well- fill in gaps in Altair's own knowledge.

"Did he?" Altair asked, tilting his head. Altair had said that Thrawn could tell Thrass whatever he wished, of course, but he did wonder what he'd said, exactly.

"Enlighten me," He said, in his oddly accented Cheunh, indicating that Thrass should also switch over to a language that would ensure their conversation stayed private.

Thrass got the hint and switched to Cheunh. Had Thrawn not said anything, he never would have guessed the truth, just from the way Nox spoke the language. "He told me your real name, for one thing." Altair Kallig. Such a non-Chiss name, that it too would have left Thrass without a clue as to what he was. "And what you look like under that armor. It was quite surprising."

Apparently the only others who knew were a couple of doctors and a medical droid, and Thrawn said that they knew how to keep their mouths shut.

"I do not know why you insist on claiming to be of another species, but Thrawn was insistent that I play along."

"It's a very long story. And not a particularly happy one, so I won't go into the details."

Out of all the Chiss Altair had ever met, there was only one he'd never been afraid of. Even now, he couldn't deny that some part of him was still somewhat nervous around Thrawn and Thrass both. His fear has subsided quite a bit- enough to be relatively comfortable around them- but it was still there. And the reason was a long and uncomfortable story.

Even if Altair believed that things had changed- the Force being unheard of in Chiss in this time, rather than merely extremely rare- his fear was something that was difficult to put aside, even if logically he knew he wasn't a frightened child with no way to defend himself any more.

Only having Thrawn and Thrass and a pair of very frightened doctor and a droid know among the people who worked for Thrawn felt... Safer. Not entirely safe. But at least safer.

"I'm enough of a mixed breed that I hardly count as a proper member of your species, anyway. Regardless, if we are in private and you feel like talking to someone who at least looks somewhat like Chiss, I'd be willing to remove my mask. I'm aware that the mask makes it difficult to really get a read on me."

"I certainly wouldn't have believed it had Thrawn not told me so." Thrass had all manner of theories, including Altair being the son of exiled Chiss, or being kidnapped as a child to become a Sith's apprentice. Thrawn had told him that the truth was far stranger, but that was for Altair to reveal.

"I'll also admit that I'm curious as to what you look like under that mask."

"Shall we fetch some tea and have a chat in my room then?"

They might as well, rather than remain standing in the empty training room. And Altair supposed he didn't mind having one more person he was willing to let into the room he'd been given, though he was rather the private sort who preferred to have at least one zone of privacy where no one else was allowed to go.

But he imagined that when he began staying more aboard the Doombringer he would have more than enough space to call his own, and more than enough space that was private enough to have chats somewhere other than his personal quarters.

"I have something meant for your brother, anyway. So if you could bring that with you when you leave and give it to him when you see him next, I'd be thankful."

Altair assumed that Thrass would see Thrawn sooner than he would, anyway.

"I can do that, certainly." Thrawn trusted Altair, and thus so did Thrass. Whatever he wanted Thrass to give his brother, it wasn't anything bad, surely. "Hopefully I can have proper quarters set up soon, so I won't have to stay in the guest quarters while on board." Thrawn had also sent a message to the commander at the fortress, informing him that Thrass was to be given a nice room there too.

"I'm certain you will soon."

Altair doubted Thrawn would let his brother remain in guest quarters for very long, before moving him into somewhere a bit more permanent, and certainly more comfortable. Altair knew that if he got his brother back, he would do all that was in his power to make sure he was comfortable, and had a place to call his own, and people to support him. Thrawn wasn't as outwardly emotional as he was, but he knew he wasn't as cold as he seemed on first glance. Certainly not when it came to his brother.

Altair had seen his sorrow, after all, and his joy when Altair had come with Thrass in tow.

He gestured for Thrass to follow him, so they could fetch tea before going to his quarters, "Have you been speaking with the Jedi girl in all of this? I've been made aware that she's thinking about the offer I made her, but I am also concerned for her wellbeing. She must be feeling very lost."

Thrass had Thrawn to come back to, had someone he could lean on for the adjustment period. But the Jedi Order the girl had known was gone. There was nothing really that she knew that she could go back to. And though Altair would appreciate if she did join them in their goal, he was also genuinely concerned for her. He knew what it felt like, after all, to find oneself in the future, and finding that all one had believed in was gone.

"I would go and ask her myself, but I don't want to spook her. I'm certain she's already had nightmares about someone like me crawling out from beneath her bed at night."

That was how Sith were seen, after all. Not unwarranted in these days, but still. Altair didn't like being seen as the monster beneath the bed very much. He hoped to be able to prove that he wasn't some nightmare creature, and that he genuinely did want to help her however he could.

"I have, yes," Thrass replied, following Altair. "She's still feeling overwhelmed, knowing that most of her fellow Jedi are dead. She says that it's likely that more force sensitives have been born since her time, and that surely there have to be others who escaped the massacre, but she also feels that she has nothing to go home to anymore."

Her friends were likely dead, as were the Jedi masters, and there was no Jedi Order for her to return to.

"She only really has stories of the Sith to go off of, but you're certainly nothing like the stories she's heard. I can vouch for you, and let her know that you have no intention of turning her to the dark side." He paused. "She watched her master fall to the dark side."

"Don't. Whether to accept or not is her choice. I have made the offer. She must be the one to decide, without any outside influence."

Thrass vouching for him would go a long way, Altair imagined. But if he did, then if Altair ever did something to lose her faith, her trust in Thrass would also be weakened. Altair didn't think the two were close, exactly, but out of everyone in the galaxy, he imagined that Thrass would be the one she felt as though she could, if not rely on, at least talk to.

And Altair didn't want her to lose that when she'd lost everything else.

"Besides, she's seen very little of me. Who's to say I'm not exactly like how she imagines a Sith to be based on the stories she's heard. I might have no intention of turning her to the dark, but for me, the dark side is my shelter from all the galaxy may see fit to throw at me"

He wasn't a walking stereotype. But he carried the name and carried his titles with a not insignificant amount of pride. And while he wasn't entirely dark- rejected some parts of his heritage- he wasn't entirely light either, nor did he have any intention to be, when walking the line served him so well.

"That's a difficult thing for a young Jedi to experience though. I can sort of understand how she feels- my master tried to kill me, came as a total surprise to me at the time- but... Not exactly. With Sith, you always go into things expecting a certain amount of betrayal. It's different for Jedi. They rely on their masters in ways that Sith do not."

"Very well. I won't say a thing about you to her." It seemed that Thrass still had a thing or two to learn when it came to the politics between Sith and Jedi. He wondered if that was how Thrawn felt when it came to politics in general.

"Thrawn told me that there were at least two Sith in that Empire, Sideous and Vader, but they're both dead now." From what his brother had told him, Thrass was glad that he never got to meet them. They sounded awful, much as Thrawn respected Darth Vader. "Thrawn believes that it was the Emperor's hubris that ultimately killed him." Obviously Thrawn wasn't there, and he only knew what he did thanks to holonet reports, but Thrawn said that he'd tried to warn Palpatine about his plans to lure the rebels into a trap, only for the Emperor to not heed his words.

"Good."

He could probably explain himself in a way that wasn't so harsh. But he did have an image to uphold, and if he explained that this was for the Jedi's sake, then that image would probably crumble very quickly. And he didn't want it to.

Not yet, anyway.

"Yes. Good riddance to them. Idiots. Weaklings. Lunatics."

Altair had many words for the both, and absolutely none of them were nice. Several were profane, so he chose not to voice them.

"Pride without ever having done a thing to be proud of. An Empire left to rot under weak direction, letting the people suffer their incompetence. Useless. What good does ruling through fear does? What can an Emperor obsessed with power alone truly do, besides become a stain upon history?"

He hadn't met either of them. He only knew of them. He could still tell though. Still knew. Altair would never claim them as true successors to the Sith he had once known. He'd known failed acolytes on Korriban more clever, more worthy. Those two though? He saw them on equal line with Tenebrae. Or maybe even on equal line with Ravage. Only good for getting wiped off the face of the galaxy and forgotten. Had things been different, had his arrival been different, then Altair would have loved to splatter them both from one end of Coruscant to the other, strung their entrails up like he'd done to certain enemies before, and likely would again.

But he was happy now to serve at Thrawn's side, now. Thrawn was no Sith, but he had vision. A vision Altair could admire, and throw his support behind.

"I won't rant too much. I will say that that's not the Empire I am from though. And those are not the sort of Sith that I've known."

Thrass was taken aback for a moment at the choice words Altair had for these other Sith. "Indeed. Ruling is a privilege and responsibility, and it should be one's duty to look after their people." Thrass was just a syndic, but before he vanished the Speaker had been grooming him to replace her, even claiming that he could make Patriarch one day. So he knew a thing or two about ruling. Thrawn had assured him that the Mitth were still a ruling family, even to this day, which brought some comfort.

"My brother felt that the CDF could be doing more to help the rest of the galaxy. While I admired his compassion, I felt that he wanted too much, and that his goals were unrealistic. It seems that he has found a balance, however, and found a way to help others without stretching himself out too far." Obviously he could commit as many preemptive strikes as he wanted now, for starters.

"I'm familiar with the Ascendancy's stance on stepping onto the galactic stage."

That was about all he'd say on the matter. His voice was carefully neutral though, betraying no real emotion, not positive nor negative. The Ascendancy as it existed in this time was unfamiliar to him. But the Chiss seemed to have remained more or less the same as it had been in his day. Clever, but ultimately concerned with themselves before others. It was a choice he didn't particularly respect, but also couldn't resent.

He did respect Thrawn though. Even though it was probably difficult to tell.

"It is a difficult balance. But he appears to have found it, yes."

And Altair stood ready and willing to help.

"Had he not been so compassionate, I would not be following him as I am. Your brother is a good person, and I admire him too."

Though he'd never say that to his face so directly. And if he wasn't still wearing his mask, he wouldn't say it now either. But he did want to say voice it.

"I do think he still pushes himself a little too hard though. He often looks quite tired. I've already managed to talk him into tagging along on a vacation though."

It would likely be postponed now, and Altair supposed he was okay with Thrass coming along too, but still. Some time off would do Thrawn some good.

"If only the Ruling families thought as you do." Thrass regretted that he wasn't there to defend Thrawn and possibly even keep him from being exiled. Apparently Ar'alani and some of the family had argued on his behalf, at least.

Still, Thrawn had gathered himself quite a following. Every single person on this ship followed him out of genuine loyalty, and everyone here would die for the Grand Admiral. From what he had gathered, Thrawn also had a few aliens who were loyal to him, after he had saved their worlds. If there was one thing he excelled at, it was inspiring his troops and gaining their trust and loyalty.

"You actually talked him into taking time off and relaxing? Consider me shocked and impressed. I swear, even I had trouble convincing him to take shore leave." While finding and stopping Nuso Esva was important, Thrawn wasn't good to anybody if he never gave himself a break.

"I have an effective bribe. Some time off can only do him good. You should tag along too, when the time comes."

To Thrawn, Altair had joked that it would be almost like a date. But that had only been a joke, after all. Truth was that Thrawn would be more likely now to relax if Thrass came along too. They could catch up without the hustle and bustle of the ship around them, and Altair could wander off on an adventure to find inspiration for his art. Altair had said that he preferred having travel companions, but. He was fine flying solo, too, really.

Was used to it by now.

With the exception of Thrawn and the people who had agreed to train with him, he was even used to being alone aboard this ship- something punctuated by the way that most people passing them slinked by. Not moving in wide arcs or vacating the premises as they had done when he first arrived, but definitely keeping their distance- even if he could sense their curiosity about Thrass, though it didn't quite overshadow their unease about him.

"... Don't tell your brother that I said I admire him, by the way. I don't think he'd ever let me live that down."

That was a joke.

"I might, if you think that I won't get in the way."

It had been a while since Thrass had taken a vacation, and perhaps he could use some time away after that near-death experience. He was also interested to see the state of the galaxy in the current time, especially when he never really ventured outside of his home system before now.

"Oh, I won't tell him. Not when I probably don't have to." He said it with a slight smirk.

"Of course not? What do you think you'd get in the way of?" Altair asked, tilting his head slightly. With the mask on, his expression couldn't be seen, but his body language definitely hinted at him being a tad puzzled, "I just bribed him to come along because I don't like traveling alone and getting him to take some time off is important, is all. He'll be able to relax more if you're there too."

They'd be traveling to the destination together, at least, which tended to be the part Altair hated the most when he was on his own. And while Thrawn and Thrass caught up with each other, Altair could run off on his solo adventure to get inspired to create more art. He was more or less always inspired to create, but an artist needed new sights and new experiences every now and then to take their art to new heights.

"... What do you mean by that?"

Altair didn't really think he treated Thrawn any differently than others he happened to be on good terms with. Certainly not enough for admiration to come across, other than when he occasionally pointed out Thrawn's good qualities. Especially considering his expressions were hidden away more often than not.

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