Private And All I Loved, I Loved Alone

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Surveying the books in the Jedi Temple library one last time before closing, Kass rubbed her numerous eyes with her many pseudopods. She had spent the better part of last night studying the scroll which she and Valery Noble had managed to procure from a particularly difficult holocron gatekeeper. Her hard work had yielded results, and she was eager to travel to the location indicated in the manuscript (not today, though--tomorrow, after she had gotten a full night's sleep).

The Council had approved her request to continue the investigation, but they didn't want her going alone. This had become a recurring theme throughout her time with the NJO. They were always sending someone with her. Perhaps in time they would allow her to choose her companions, but for now she was still a relative stranger in a strange land. They needed to get to know her better before they could set her loose, she supposed.

She had sent a message to the chosen one, Padawan Rowena Soh, asking her to meet her in her office after hours. Rowena was a new addition to the archives. Due to scheduling, the two of them had never encountered each other before this. Well, there was a first time for everything...

Rowena Soh​

 

[Rowena Soh]

Rowena was on her way to her appointment with the head librarian -- a woman she'd yet to meet. Needless to say, the padawan was a bit nervous. She'd already started to do work in the archives and hoped that it was satisfactory. But, perhaps it wasn't... and that was the reason for tonight's meeting.

Another quick pang of nerves hit her as she entered the archives.

The lights were dimmed down, as though all the holo-books and data went to sleep at the end of the day. Rowena went down the aisle, and felt the presence -- a much stronger presence -- here as well. "Master Cthylla?" she called as she neared the Chief Librarian's office. And how she hoped she'd not completely butchered the pronunciation.

Then, she saw...

It was the tentacles that shocked her most of all. Or was it the eyes? Or the...mouths? The creature before her was like something from a nightmare. The padawan's face grew pale, and she stammered. "I-I... erm," Rowena couldn't even scream properly she was so frightened. Then, she was struck by something else far more terrifying -- the possibility that this was Master Cthylla, and she'd just made a right git out of herself.

"I'm R-Rowena Soh," she said, breathless.

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Master Cthylla?"

"In here, dear," Kass called out from her office. "And the C in Cthylla isn't silent, by the way."

A Human girl with dark hair and eyes appeared in the doorway, coming to an abrupt stop. Kass didn't need to guess why. Ever since she transferred to the NJO from the Silvers, Kass had been well-met by most of her fellow Jedi. But for most of her life, she had dealt with negative reactions from others to her appearance. She had becoming so used to it that she didn't even register Rowena's reaction as hurtful or offensive. Rather, she applauded the young padawan's restraint. The girl didn't even scream.

"Hello," Kass greeted her cheerfully. She was behind her desk, tentacles rummaging around in the drawers and compartments as she grabbed a few last things.

"I'm R-Rowena Soh."

"Ah, yes. I'm Master Kassogtha Cthylla, the Chief Librarian." The Pylantian's blob of a body bobbed in an approximation of a curtsy. "You've been tasked with helping me track down a certain Sith Lord. He's long dead, don't worry... probably, anyway. But we need to know for sure." Her numerous eyes honed in on Rowena. "Do you think you're up to it?"

Rowena Soh​

 

[Rowena Soh]

The padawan was certainly struck by the long tentacles that opened desk drawers like they had minds of their own. Not only that, but Rowena was taken aback by Master Cthylla's voice – accented basic that had such elegance.

"Me?" Rowena blinked.

Her mouth may have dropped open a bit, too. Rowena was an average student when it came to Jedi skills. Though she read and memorized as much as she could about the saber forms and whatnot, putting it all into practice was far more difficult. It was daunting. However, Rowena could never turn down a mystery that needed solving. And she did want to prove to her new boss that she was up to the challenge.

"Yes," she answered, nodding. "Count me in."

Rowena offered Master Cthylla a smile.

"If you don't mind, what do you know so far?"

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Me?" Rowena blinked.

"You," Kass confirmed, grinning cheesily.

Rowena agreed. "Then you'll need to make preparations for the trip to Kesh. Get your things together and meet me in the hangar."

"If you don't mind, what do you know so far?"

"Oh, of course!" She chuckled as she produced a datachip. "This has all the information for your perusal, but to make a long story short: we're looking for the tomb of a Sith Warrior called Abru Skai, or Darth Vesuvia. He lived on Kesh during the time of the Old Republic. Recently a holocron and scroll made by him turned up in the archives. According to the holocron's gatekeeper, the key to unlocking the rest of Vesuvia's knowledge is finding out what became of him."

Rowena Soh​

 

[Rowena Soh]

Rowena reached out and took the datachip.

"Right," she said, offering Master Cthylla a swift nod. There was a flutter of excitement when she thought about the research contained on the chip. She had a night of reading to look forward to now. "Thank you, master," she said, bowing slightly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then!"

***​

The next day, Rowena made her way to the hangar to meet Kassogtha. Her eyes were a sleepy shade of red, from a long night spent awake. Even if she had wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to sleep. Excitement had given way to anxiety, though, she'd managed to quell it all by pouring herself a few cups of tea and busying herself with research.

Not only had she studied up on the information provided on the datachip, but she'd managed to learn that Master Cthylla was indeed Pylantian. It was a race she'd failed to study up until now. But the padawan was now fascinated -- she had even looked through a Pylantian cook book!

"Good afternoon, Master Cthylla," she said, offering a smile. "I'm ready to go to Kesh."

Kassogtha Cthylla ​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass was waiting for Rowena in the hangar, although she wasn’t alone. From a distance she could be seen interacting with a man, her tentacles wrapped around him in an intimate embrace. Once the Padawan arrived, she quickly pulled away from him and addressed Rowena.

“Excellent. This is Master Oukranos Cthylla, my husband.” She introduced them to each other. “This is Padawan Rowena Soh. How are your flying skills, dear? Oukranos has offered to be our pilot.”

Rowena Soh​

 

[Rowena Soh]

The padawan froze when she spotted the Chief Librarian wrapped -- or wrapping, perhaps -- in an embrace. Her mouth dropped open and a bright red blush flared across her cheeks. "Oh my goodness," she whispered. Of course she'd be the one to interrupt such a tender moment. Well, perhaps tender wasn't quite the word...

She cleared her throat and attempted to compose herself.

"It's nice to meet you, Oukranos," she said, still feeling quite sheepish. But she was thankful the master's husband had offered to fly. "That would be great, actually. I'm not a great pilot." Again, book reading and actual skills didn't seem to line up with flying. She boarded the transport turned a glance to Kassogtha. "I read over your account of the sith holocron," she started. "Quite fascinating, I must say. I don't know very much about sith sorcery yet. Or, well, you know... not that I want to do it." Rowena wrinkled her brow and sighed. "Do you know much about it?"

As Jedi, she figured they ought to study it in order to understand it. But... was there a careful line to thread? Rowena wasn't sure.

Kassogtha Cthylla​

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Tender was an apt term for any interaction between this couple. Oukranos seemed a bit dazed by Rowena’s arrival, gazing at the Padawan like a sheepish teenager caught kissing a girl in the school halls by a teacher. He quickly recovered, cleared his throat and smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you, too.”

In response to her gratitude at his offer to pilot, he gave her an acknowledging nod and headed for the cockpit. He evidently wasn’t the most conversational sort, preferring to let Kass do the talking.

“He’s no Skywalker, but he’s better at flying than I am,” Kass remarked fondly. “I get too nervous.”

While they strapped in for takeoff, Rowena mentioned that she had read Kass’ report, a claim supported by her sleep-deprived eyes. Her phrasing was slightly awkward, and Kass got a vague sense that she was conflicted about the subject, but she wasn’t sure which aspect of it was causing the uncertainty.

"Do you know much about it?"

“I’ve read a little about it—probably not much more than you, to be honest,” Kass replied. “Sorcery is one of those subjects which has always been less understood by the Jedi. Too many view it as hokey superstition. A few tentative attempts have been made to teach the students, most recently by Master Kahlil Noble , but it remains underutilized. Probably because of its association with the Sith.” Kass gestured vaguely with a tentacle as the ship began to rise up into Coruscant’s atmosphere. “I think it’s a shame. We ought to be teaching our students a wide variety of skills and techniques. Hiding knowledge or deeming it forbidden only makes it more tempting. And maybe if we offered more options, less students would struggle to meet narrow expectations and wind up falling by the wayside…”

She was clearly passionate in her opinions. But there was a hint of sadness and disappointment in her tone too, as if this was something which affected her on a level more personal than that of an anti-censorship librarian.

Rowena Soh​