Private Brother's Virtue | Acier

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Coruscant

Equipment:
Acolyte Attire | Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Rain softened the space between them and Ace listened. The words about the Force being blind, about life taking instead of giving, something in them grated. Not because they were entirely wrong, but because of the surrender buried beneath them. Ace was cynical enough to know the galaxy wasn't fair, but he refused to believe that was the end of the equation.

His eyes tracked Kenji's hands automatically when they rose, shoulders tightening on instinct. He felt the shift in the air before he saw it; the chain, the small azure stone catching faint light. The calmness that radiated from it wasn't imagined, he could feel it. His posture didn't relax, but his attention sharpened differently now.

Then Kenji spoke of his mother. Of criticism. Of being the first to take the brunt. For a moment, Ace didn't see a projection of Metus. He saw a man shaped by absence. By pressure. By loss. A person.

But when Kenji mentioned the visit, that last one, right before she passed… Ace's gaze dipped briefly to the rain slick rooftop. Kenji said their lives were pain and sorrow, fleeting joy ripped away, Ace looked up again and their eyes met.

"I know." He said quietly.

There was no argument in it, just acceptance. Then Kenji's hand moved again, the violet crystal rolled between his fingers before flicking toward him. Ace caught sight of it and scoffed softly.

"Me and my crystal are bonded." He said, steady. "It answers me. Reacts to me like nothing else."

He didn't move to take it.

"I'm not changing it because you think it doesn't 'suit' me." Ace shook his head once. "Matter of fact, have you lost your mind? You just attacked me. Now you're trying to have a heart to heart?" His tone wasn't angry, just incredulous. "You think you can show up, tell me how you think the galaxy works, and I'm supposed to recalibrate?"

He deactivated his blade, the blue hissed out, but the tension didn't.

"That's not how it works." He said evenly. "I've lived life my way. Reached my own conclusions. Built my own beliefs."

The hilt clipped back to his belt with a quiet metallic sound.

"They're not changing because you think you know more than me." His dark eyes didn't waver. "I'm young, but I've lived things most men can't even imagine."

It wasn't arrogance, it was fact, and he was over people assuming he knew nothing and discrediting him.

Kenji Verd​

 

[Kenji Verd]

Wearing: Clothes​

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CORUSCANT​

Tagging: Acier Moonbound
Mention: Isley Verd
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The older brother's eyes came down to his pendant for a moment, his hand raised to rub his thumb against the stone as he sighed for a moment before his eyes flicked back up to Acier.

"You won't change how you think overnight, maybe these lessons will hit you when you least expect them to. The galaxy is a dark place, maybe now more than ever, we all are just making our way through as best we can."

A sigh escaped his lips as his hand dropped from the pendant, rain now fully drenching the pair as the haze of the underworld of Coruscant swirled around them, two brothers, standing alone.

"Maybe one day you will have use of it, just... think about it."

Now Kenji turned away from his brother, walking away before shaking his head, glancing back towards the younger Verd.

All of us are older than our years. These experiences seem to be drawn to our blood, and all we can do is keep pushing through."

His feet teetered on the edge of the building as he stood there for a moment, looking down into the vastness that Coruscant was as he turned towards his brother.

"If you ever need a way out of this world of lies, come find me, maybe we can figure it out together."

He gave a half-smirk before he splayed his arms out and fell backwards, disappearing from the rooftop.

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Coruscant

Equipment:
Acolyte Attire | Lightsaber | Cybernetic Arm

Rain continued to fall between them. Ace listened as Kenji spoke again, quiet this time. There were no accusations, no philosophy sharpened into a blade. But simply words left hanging in the wet air.

Ace didn't react outwardly, but Kenji's words settled, something that was noted and set aside. Lessons had a way of circling back when you least expected them.

His gaze drifted briefly to the chain in Kenji's hand when it moved again. The calm that radiated from it hadn't faded and Ace could still feel it. He still didn't reach for the crystal lying between them.

The rain thickened as Kenji turned away, the skyline swallowing his outline in shadow and neon haze. Ace watched him walk, watched the pause at the edge of the building, heard the last words carried back through the storm.

All of us are older than our years.

That part, at least, rang true. Again, Ace said nothing. His dark eyes followed Kenji to the edge of the rooftop as the older brother spread his arms and fell backwards into the endless depths of the city. For a moment there was only the sound of rain striking durasteel and the distant hum of Coruscant's underworld.

Then Kenji was gone and Ace remained where he stood. Neon lights flickered across his face as water ran down the edges of his white hair and along his collar.

His gaze dropped briefly to the violet crystal Kenji had tossed earlier, still resting where it had landed.

-END-​

Kenji Verd​