First Reply Trouble in Lake Country

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I think you knowing me is better for me than it is for you."

Katarine was right though: his past was what made him who he was. But Gatz couldn't help but wonder if he'd be better off without it. It wasn't that he envied Master Ryiah, because who would want to struggle with amnesia? It just that... he had a lot of memories he'd rather forget. Some he might even be better off forgetting. And yeah, maybe that was like running away from his problems, but it also sounded like bliss.

Unfortunately, his memories weren't going anywhere.

"You know now that I think of it I'm not even sure I know my birth year. The doctors guessed at Theed General but who knows. I'm sure if I had a past to tell you it wouldn't be nearly as cool as being frozen in time sounds."

"But you were a Jedi, right? Couldn't the Jedi Archives have information about you? I know that's not the same as recovering your memory, but surely you could at least discover your birth year. Maybe even your age!"

She really didn't look that much older than him. Then again, maybe that joke about sharing her secret to pharmaceutical companies wasn't a joke.

But then she was asking about Lake Country, and how often he'd come as a kid. And the truth was... Gatz really didn't remember how often he'd been here.

"We came here a few times, but not regularly." Gatz admitted, "travel isn't cheap, after all. Even for a man who owns his own freighter."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Lake Country
Tags: Gatz Derrevar

"But you were a Jedi, right? Couldn't the Jedi Archives have information about you? I know that's not the same as recovering your memory, but surely you could at least discover your birth year. Maybe even your age!"

Katarine had not considered this. She didn't think she was one of the great Jedi of the galaxy so why would anybody write about her? Maybe there was something in the Temple however. She made a mental note to check when she got back. As a Jedi investigator she did not spend a lot of time at the Temple. Most of her life was undercover but that didn't mean she couldn't swing by for some light reading.

"We came here a few times, but not regularly."

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Katarine nodded. She imagined most people who visited the lake country were a little more wealthy. They said even Princess Amadala had a place out here at one time, but maybe school trips or something would allow less well off families to see it. She was not sure.

"I'm sure you miss your parents. I probably miss mine. I don't know." She chuckled. "Tell me about them." ​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Weapons:
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Tell me about them."

"You... want to know about them?"

Gatz blinked at her, dumbfounded. No one had ever cared to let him talk before. Not about his parents, and not about how he missed them. Everyone had just expected him to shut up, and speedrun through his grief. And he'd gotten so used to that, that... he didn't even know how to talk about them. Or where to start. Or why anyone would care.

He shook his head.

"Sorry," He sighed, "It's just... no one has ever asked me that before. Not even Valery."

His parents weren't a topic anyone gave a shit about. His grief was expected to be bottled up. Truth was, Gatz had quietly accepted that he'd never get to talk to someone the way he needed to.

"My father was a freighter pilot," Gatz started, "he flew for a dozen different companies over my lifetime. It took him away from home a lot, and so... I don't have as many memories of him as I'd like. But he was a quiet, humble man. Not anything like me. And he loved speeder races. We didn't have money for much, growing up, but Dad always found a way to take me to the race track, when he was home."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Location: Naboo Lake Country
Objective: Await the Raiders
Tags: Gatz Derrevar


Katarine could feel a flicker of pain in the young man and she frowned. It was hard sometimes to find time to process grief and loss, especially when the galaxy needed you. She imagined it was even harder in the galaxy now because Jedi were allowed to form attachments. Where many saw that as a danger Katarine had always thought the love for others is what kept a Jedi going. She had always thought to never hide your heart and those were words she believed in even now.

"Your dad sounds like a great man. I'm sure he enjoyed that time you spent at the race track. Did you have any siblings or was it just you and him?"

She hopped she wasn't pushing too much. Some people may not want to talk about their past after all.

"Did your mom ever go to the races too?"

​

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

Ship: The Red Night
Equipment: Outfit | Lightsaber
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I'm an only child," Gatz answered, "so it was usually just him and me. Mom came out, sometimes, before she got sick. Occasionally my uncle would get roped in too, but he tried to wrangle his way out of it every time he could."

Gatz decided to lay back on the grass, hands clasped behind his head like a makeshift pillow. The stars were out in full force, a clear night in Lake Country. It was almost a shame that they were waiting for a bunch of raiders to show up. Well, actually, it was a shame, full stop. Raiders pillaging farms was typically a shameful thing.

But Gatz wished they didn't have to spend such a beautiful night worrying over something like that. It'd be nice to just be able to... talk to a friend, without the threat of danger looming overhead.

"They're all gone now," Gatz explained, "I buried each and every one of them. I'm all that's left."

He'd had months to get used to that. But time still hadn't made it any easier. It had only compounded how alone he felt, and how much he missed them.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

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Tags: Gatz Derrevar

Kat laid back in the grass next to Gatz, her head near his so they could talk and her deep green eyes looking up at the stars. It was peaceful to just contemplate the universe and talk with a friend. She wished it could last but the galaxy had a way of ruining these moments. As Gatz talked she could hear the pain in his words, and she guessed that he had buried his parents recently. That had to be hard. Kat herself could not remember her parents but she could remember grief. True she did not know who she was grieving but she knew the way it clenched your insides and weighed you down. It pressed in on you and made it difficult to breath. Each day would get harder and harder because you felt like you were growing away from those you missed.

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard when someone you love is gone. You feel like you are growing away from them. Each day you wish you could tell them about your life but you just can't. You want to believe they are safe in the Force but the not knowing, it just eats at you."

She signed and knew she was probably saying nothing new to him. "If you ever want to talk, or just remember them I'd be happy to listen. It's nice to hear someones memories."

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