Private A Tale of Two Nomads

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Ord Mantell - Ord Mantell City

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Acier raised a brow in utter confusion. Thalen suggested that Ace form his own Order, and he seemed serious about it too. His freckled face scrunched in rejection. Then he stopped, Ace watched as Thalen's expressionless face, twisted into a smile. It almost looked... genuine. That, or his poker-face was getting better.

He realized Thalen was joking, and a smile grew on his own face.

A light chuckle escaped Ace "Sure. Do as I say not as I do, right?" he lightly jabbed. Noting Thalen's own solitary lifestyle.

The young man watched as Thalen took a sip of his drink. He seemed cocksure that he wouldn't be impressed by the taste. Ace's arms folded over his chest as he waited with anticipation. Smile growing upon hearing his review of the Scarif Slush. It was lacking in enthusiasm, but from what he knew of Thalen in their short time together... it may as well have been a raving review.

Snickering to himself, Ace took a swig of his own. Relishing in its taste, he released a satisfied sigh before placing the glass back on the table. His eyes met Thalen.

"You talk about finding like-minded people, but you're roaming the galaxy on your own." he stated.

Ace thought to himself for a few moments, maybe Thalen wanted to find people who thought the way he did. People who believed that nothing really mattered in the grand scheme of things, that everyone was being puppeteered by the Force. It was a hard pill to swallow for most, even for him. Finding people who actually felt the way he did, maybe it was a rare occurance.

Ace continued "I mean... if your solitude's a choice. I get it. It's easier, right? If you have no one to care about, can't be used against you."

Looking down at his glass, he swirled it around in his hand slightly before taking another sip.

"But I guess you make sense. If you did find people that see you, that really get you. It'd be kinda nice."

He let his words hang for a moment, before flashing Thalen a grin. Ace lightly tapped the rim of his glass with his fingertip, then he raised it slightly toward Thalen.

"To unexpected conversations and "a step-above-water" beveridges."

Thalen Dhorain​

 

[Thalen Dhorain]

Tags: Acier Moonbound

"I can't find like-minded people like myself, because I simply do not see myself as a person."

It was a simple statement, with no emotion behind it. It was simply as if Thalen believed that to be the truth. Because for him, that was the truth. He couldn't find anyone lke him, because there was no person that was. Yet it was something that he had found acceptance in as he sipped away at the drink once more.

"I do have people I care for however. I have my family. My siblings. Even if they don't see me as family. That doesn't mean I care any less for them."

Thalen shrugged his shoulders at that. If there was something in the Galaxy that did upset him, it was the thought of his siblings believing he had wanted the special treatment he had gotten from the elders of the family. If he could give their attention, then he would have. Yet they only seemed to have eyes for Thalen. And he had accepted that. It was the Will of his family and the Will of the Force.

"I...don't need like-minded people. I am...content with my life. My advice is for you Acier. I want you to find your place in the Galaxy. I know my place in it."

Even now, Thalen was relatively peaceful in the way he spoke. Laid back and calm, as if there wasn't anything wrong with what he was saying. Taking yet another sip from the Scariff Slush before he held the glass out, to tap it against Acier's for the toast. It had been a while since he had been able to do something like this.

"To step-above-water beverages."

A grin flickered on Thalen's face for another moment before he placed the glass down in front of him and started to look around the cantina, mostly to take all of the details in.

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Ord Mantell - Ord Mantell City

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

"I simply do not see myself as a person."

Ace blinked at the statement. He didn't say anything right away. Just studied Thalen with that unreadable look of his, like he was staring at a puzzle that didn't want to be solved. The man sat in front of him was truly unlike any other he'd met before. He wasn't sure whether this was a positive or negative thing though.

He took another sip, then leaned back in the booth, stretching one leg out under the table and letting the silence hang for a few moments. Not uncomfortable, at least not for him.

"I don't know, Thalen. I don't buy what you're selling." he argued "I can feel the Force too and, I dunno..." it was as if he struggled to find the words "I feel like this isn't all you were meant to do."

He paused, swirling the last of his slush around the glass. Ace reflected on Thalen's earlier statement. About not seeing himself as a person, for some reason it really stuck with him.

"Y'know… I think I used to feel like that too." he said at last. "Not a person. Just... noise in the background. Someone no one cared about unless I was in the way. I figured if the galaxy didn't see me, I'd just stop seeing myself too."

He lowered his gaze. It was actually ironic in a sense. Thalen didn't consider himself a person, he was resigned to go through the motions based on his understanding of the Force and the universe. But... he was actually hyper-conscious, hyper-aware of the world around him.

Ace looked up again, one brow lifted slightly. "You say you're not a person, but I think you're more awake than half the galaxy. You just don't want to be seen."

He tapped the rim of his glass again, and offered Thalen a genuine smile. "Thanks though. For what you said. About wanting me to find my place. I don't know where that is yet. But..." he shrugged.

Another pause. His fingers lingered near the glass, but he didn't drink. He just stared at the shimmer of blue at the bottom. Thalen had a tendency to say things that caused Acier to seriously reflect and consider. His voice was quieter now.

"...Why wouldn't they see you that way?"

Ace's eyes flicked up toward Thalen once more, softer this time. Not prying, but... curious. Maybe even concerned.

"You care about them. So why wouldn't they see you as family?"

Ace leaned forward slightly, propping an elbow on the table and resting his chin against his knuckles. It wasn't a challenge. It was the kind of question you only asked if you genuinely wanted to understand someone.

Thalen Dhorain
​

 

[Thalen Dhorain]

Tags: Acier Moonbound

"I do what my family deems necessary. I am what they, and the Force needs me to be. I've been sent out into the Galaxy to act as a...Witness. For what? I don't know. But I do not need to know. At some points, the Force might need me to act as a tool. A hammer. A scalpel. Whatever it requires."

He could understand where Acier was coming from. Acier appeared to be someone who cared. Perhaps the man somewhat saw himself in Thalen. Yet Thalen couldn't help but smile, giving a small shake of his head afterwards.

"It is not that I don't want to be seen. I don't need to be. If I truly did not want to be seen, I would not be having this conversation with you. You may have seen yourself as the silence in the background Acier, but I see myself as the background. Always there, observing. With only those aware enough taking notice of me."

Thalen then blinked at Acier's next question. It had caught him off guard. How would it be best for him to explain this...Thalen held his chin between his index finger and thumb for a moment as he tilted his head, a small befuddled look coming across his face as he was trying to figure out the words to explain his family and it's chaos.

"My family...works on a merit system in a way. The more you impress our elders, the more likely you are to be looked at. To have...rewards given to you. Of course it means...my family aren't entirely affectionate with each other. Most of them are willing to betray each other to look better in the eyes of our Elders. I suppose you could compare it partly to what a fledgling Sith might go through to impress their masters."

Even as his tone of voice kept at the steady calm beat as normal, Thalen's eye grew darker for a moment, staring off into the distance as he thought upon his family.

"I was lucky. I am not the only Force Sensitive of my family...but I am the only one the Elders have focused on. The others have to earn their training. Work for it. I was given it on a silver platter. A platter I did not want. And...this special attention caused plenty of my family to resent me. For good reason I should say."

He did blame himself for the special "affection" he got from his elders, even if he hadn't entirely done anything wrong himself.

"I was given the best room. The best security. I will admit, I am...well off. Compared to most. Most people would kill to be in my position. But...for some reason, I can not give it up. My elders insist that I have a role to play. And so I shall play it. They are the ones who gave me my eye after all."

Thalen tapped at said crystal eye for a moment before he went silent. Taking his glass and sipping the last few remains from it before staring into the empty glass, his eyes not budging from it for a moment.

"My siblings do not care for me, because they do not see me as a person. They hate me. They see me as...an unwanted Jewel in the eyes of my Elders. And...so that is what I see myself as. A Jewel. A Tool. A Witness. But never a person. For...it is wrong to hate a person. But there is nothing wrong with hating an object."

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Ord Mantell - Ord Mantell City

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Acier listened. The more Thalen spoke, the more clear the picture became. His upbringing was toxic, and devoid of the love and affection a child should receive. Ace wasn't raised in a traditional manner either, lacking in care himself, but - something in him knew it wasn't right. Just like Thalen's.

Yes, he may have received comfort and favoritism - but it merely isolated him from the rest of his family. And these 'Elders'? he didn't receive their attention because they cared, but because he was a future asset. A tool. Thalen's view of himself, as 'not a person'. Ace understood now.

The man opposite Ace was skilled at appearing neutral on the surface - but within him, he carried pain. Buried so deep that he may not have even been aware of it. Not only did he view himself as a tool because of the way he was treated, but to justify it. It was clear Thalen cared for his sbilings, so much so he was willing to twist his perspective on his own autonomy in some odd way to alleviate any blame toward them.

The facts were, all of this was completey unfair. Wrong. Acier's expression hardened and his eyes peered into Thalen's eyes.

"Don't condone it, Thalen." he said, voice stern "You are a person. Fact. Your siblings hate you for something you never got a say in. Don't minimize yourself just to justify their behavior."

His eyes stayed on Thalen, jaws tightening - not out of anger, but because of the cruelty of it all.

"You say the Force has a Will. Maybe you're right. But what if the Force's Will for you is to write your own story. Be your own person."

Ace paused, finally taking his eyes off of Thalen. He glanced to his left, not really looking at anything. It was his tell whenever he was deep in thought, processing.

"You don't gotta prove you're a person to anyone, Thalen. Least of all to people who only looked at you like you were some kind of prized object. That's not family. That's a power structure."

His tone softened toward the end, as did his expression. Ace then proceeded to sit back, giving the space to let his words settle. He wasn't going to change Thalen's mind in an evening, not when they'd just met. But maybe, maybe he could give him something to think about.

Thalen Dhorain
​

 

[Thalen Dhorain]

Tags: Acier Moonbound

Thalen was silent. He didn't say anything in response to Acier's words. Not yet at least as he mused over the words. It was things he had thought himself of course. Though normally whenever he had those thoughts, there had always been some kind of punishment awaiting him. It was as if his Elders knew what he was thinking, what he was saying without them even being there. It had became easier for him to just...stop thinking that way. To stay neutral in all things, his beliefs, his allegiances, his words. As long as he stayed in the middle, he could be...content. Eventually, Thalen spoke. Yet like always, his voice was neutral. Little to no emotion was interlaced with his words as he let his gaze just stared ahead of himself, yet not truly seeing anything.

"I am lucky Acier. Lucky to not be born in poverty. In suffering. Instead I was born into riches. Into comfort. Yet why? The Force will not tell me. My family will not tell me. Why am I deserving of such a boon, when I have done nothing to deserve it? Unless the answer is that...I was not born into any of it. I was made into. No-one can fault a tool for the situation where it's used. You do not complain about a hammer used by a Billionaire."

It was partly to justify the way Thalen lived. If he saw himself as a tool...then he didn't have to resent himself for being someone who had been given everything, even when he didn't want it. Of course, he would never admit that. If ever asked about it, Thalen would act as if he didn't resent himself. It was what he always hid behind his smile. Resentment. Anger. Pain. All hidden with a polite but cold smile.

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Ord Mantell - Ord Mantell City

Equipment:
Standard Outfit | Lightsaber | Modified DL-27

Thalen deflected, or... minimized. Acier wasn't all too sure, but it was a defense mechanism he recognized. Because it was something he did himself.

Acier's gaze lowered again, this time not in thought but in something that almost looked like grief. Not for himself, but for Thalen. A thoughtful silence between them lingered. Then Ace leaned forward slightly, one elbow propped on the table, eyes on his glass. Sighing, he finally spoke.

"You're right, you didn't deserve to be born into wealth and comfort. Just like I didn't deserve to be left at an orphanage. It happens. It's life - the Force, whatever. We aren't born with the same tools, but what matters is what we do with what we're given."

Ace didn't really know where he was going with this. Not at first. But as the words came, things became more clear to him.

"You say you're a tool to be used by others. But it's Bantha crap. You're not some lifeless object that got forged by circumstance. The fact that you had the autonomy to even see yourself as a tool is proof that you are a person."

Even now, Ace could sense it, that ocean within him. The Force. His instincts. That quiet pull that guided him even when he didn't know where it was leading.

He didn't want to keep preaching at him, Thalen was well in his right to think and feel the way he did. At the end of it all, they were still just strangers. Acier shrugged and averted his gaze, voice steadying.

"But... you do you, man. If you truly feel this way. That's your right."

A silence stretched between them again, not tense, at least not on Acier's end. Jjust still. Ace sighed, realizing how late it was starting to get. Needing to work to live was starting to get tiresome.

"Damn... didn't realize the time. I've got work in the morning. Real exciting stuff."

He slid out of the booth. A small smile tugged at his lips, tired but genuine. He turned to Thalen one last time.

"Thanks for the drink. And the conversation. Hope the Force shows you more than just what other people want from you."

He gave a nod, part farewell, part something unspoken. Then made his way toward the exit, his silhouette framed briefly by the soft glow of the cantina lights before slipping out into the night.

Thalen Dhorain
​