demonicbeauty | Deer Country Inbox

[Oh wonderful. More Anakin drama.

Ariadne's been trying so hard to put the whole incident behind her, but it keeps getting scratched up.]

He...he's been a bit difficult lately.

...why?

Just confirming a pattern of behavior that seems to be growing worse. The farther he falls into the Dark Side, the more unstable he becomes.

[And if Maul is the one saying someone is unstable, they've got a one way ticket on a train about to fall off a steep cliff.]

If it becomes any more intolerable, be sure to tell me. I fear if he goes completely insane he may start mistaking you for his wife and take....extreme measures.

Yes, well.

[She hesitates, but only slightly. To be honest, she's never been entirely clear about how the Jedi...work. They're not supposed to form attachments, and yet Anakin has taken a mate.

It doesn't make sense, which she can only conclude to mean that Anakin is breaking the rules.

And it seems his choice is...known.]

I wouldn't say he's mistaken me for her in a while. But he has been a bit too protective lately. He tried to forbid me from seeing one of my friends.

[Maul shakes his head, the disapproval clear on his face.]

That's not being protective of you. That's being possessive. Would you like me to remind him you're not a possession he owns and can control?

You're the third person to ask me that.

[Ariadne shakes her head.]

I appreciate the effort, Maul. Really, I do. But I'm not the kind of person who likes to let other people fight my battles.

[Not that she expected this to turn into a battle. This is getting way more out of hand than she realized.]

Can you...explain what the "Dark Side" means, exactly? I've heard Obi-Wan talk about it, but it doesn't make sense to me.

You shouldn't also take on an opponent much stronger than you are. Skywalker has the Force on his side and few could stop him if he decides to do anything rash. If you do feel in physical danger from him, call me right away. Only Obi-Wan or I really have enough experience and power to stop him if he loses his way completely.

[The question comes as a bit of a surprise. Maul was used to people simply writing him off as soon as the words "Dark Side" leave his mouth, so to have someone curious about his personal dogma was different.]

The two sides, Light and Dark, are not equivalent to good and evil, though many think it is that simple. It is all about balance. The Light cannot exist without the Dark and so the two sides strive to be in harmony without ever fully reaching it. What I was taught is that the Sith believe the Force is to be used for their own desires and wants while the Jedi believe the Force should be used to help others and never for their own personal use. I believe Obi-Wan would refer to it as being selfish versus being selfless though I disagree with that interpretation as well. The Sith follow our passions. By giving into our emotions instead of disconnecting from them like the Jedi do, we believe we can find things like the power we crave, the Force freeing us from bonds that otherwise might tie us down. The Dark Side gives me strength. I can feel it all around me at all times and it helps to center me when I lose my way, allowing my anger and hate to flow through me and give me power and energy to achieve my goals. Does that make sense at all?

[Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant. But then again, she's not a big fan of the Jedi notion of shunning attachments either.

Surely, there must be some kind of middle ground?

Still, that's beside the point right now.]

And you think that switching over to this "Dark Side" is going to drive Anakin insane?

For one not used to it like I already am, the power you receive feels like a bolt of lightning being shot straight into your body. It's a heady feeling and can make a person drunk with the power. Absolute power makes it easy for a person to become corrupt.

[One had only to look at Darth Sidious to see where it could all lead at the extreme end of things.]

[She nods a little bit. Ariadne is intimately familiar with absolute power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Which is a problem if you're powerless.]

That's no good at all.

[Absently, she rakes her fingers through her hair.]

I have a funny feeling that if he does snap, his first target might be the Winchester boys.

I believe I spoke with one of them though he didn't give me his name. They seem to think they can handle him.

[All the way to believing they could take his lightsaber and wield it correctly, something Maul wasn't going to believe until he actually saw it happen.]

I believe they are cocky, arrogant, and far too overconfident for non-Force users. I don't know who they think they're going up against but I don't think they can subdue him if Skywalker goes after them, let alone kill him if the need arises. They'll look like fish after skinning when he's done with them.

[Thanks for that visual, Maul. Ariadne cringes, just slightly.]

They...have a tendency to do that.

Which is what worries me. They're my friends and I don't want them getting hurt.

I was that way once. You know what it led me to? Getting cut in half by Obi-Wan. I doubt either of them will survive something like that if it comes to it.

You know them better than I. Would they be open to an alliance with me?

[Maul's willing to work with whoever he has to if it comes to taking down Anakin.]

[She hesitates there. Under normal circumstances, she would say no immediately. Sam, at least, seems to be too much of a paladin.

But he isn't himself lately, is he?]

Difficult to say. Dean refuses to cooperate with almost anyone but...Sam...

[Sam is just weird right now.]

You'd have to talk to him.

I will. Most independent people are foolish but not to the point where they'll risk dying instead of temporarily allying themselves with another.

[Maul pauses.]

Keep yourself safe. If the worst happens, don't hesitate to contact me. If I can't kill him I can at least drive him off if he tries to hurt you or-- [He pauses, thinking of what the flower rats in Deerington had done.] --tries to keep you against your will or anything such as that.

[Simply, yet sincerely:]

Thank you, Maul.

[She bows her head.]

[He tilts his horned head forward in a sort of acknowledgment.]

I do what I can.

[Maul not might be very good at being a good person but he's the best one to call if someone needs to be killed. His talents will serve him well here if he has to go after Anakin.]

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