Private Cities Burn, We don't give a Damn

[Colette]

A deep sigh burst past Colette's lips as she stared out over the rotten cityscape of Coruscant and down at the countless people that she pitied. These folks lived like trapped animals, stuck in a cage of someone else's making and forced to live a life of servitude until they died because that's what the slave masters wanted, and it certainly didn't seem as if the children of these slaves were any better off either.

The rich fed on each other and the rest had to eat whatever excretions they left behind in their wake. Of course some of the blindest slaves were quite happy to do so even if all that seemed to trickle-down was the responsibility of choosing whoever had to ask their masters for more.

Coruscant had been loathsome from the start and Colette wasn't about to give it a free pass just because it was the supposed beating heart of a galaxy and one of the seats of her Order. If anything she gave the Order a big middle finger over it at every opportunity that she could, because if the beating heart of the galaxy was this devoid of nature she truly feared for what the rest of the planets would strive to become and what became of the people that lived on them.

No, to say that Colette despised this planet would be an understatement. She hated it and she would happily see it burnt to the ground if she had the means to do it herself, but given her newfound spot on the roster as a Jedi Knight it had become increasingly more unbecoming of her to voice these opinions. So instead she merely stood here, in the library, thinking them really loudly inside the confines of her mind as she tried not to let the hopeless desperation tug at her too much.

Perhaps that was why she sought out others who she felt might share this view with her. Everest Vale was her mother's newest apprentice and from the sound of it someone who shared in Colette's view on life in general. Although she didn't expect much from a quick meeting like this, it was as good of a reason to reach out as any other.

Colette had sent a brief seven-letter message: Hey, wanna meet in the archives?

It had been the first message she ever sent Everest but hopefully not the last. The response had been positive, and now she waited.

Everest Vale

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve was ecstatic. Not only had she been making decent progress with fashioning her brand new flute out of uneti wood, but she had been spontaneously invited by one of Master Noble's recently knighted apprentices, Colette. Eve had been eager to meet her for a while, as she had heard all sorts of things from her Master about her, and seeing her from afar at her knighting ceremony had only made her more intrigued. Alas, she had gotten far too carried away with how beautiful New Cov was compared to Coruscant, that she ended up climbing as many trees as she could before the shuttle called her back, and she had missed her chance to socialise with anyone really, let alone Colette herself.

Then again, she wasn't good in crowds. She would've gotten overwhelmed quick amidst so many new faces, and probably just end up saying nothing whatsoever. No, a low-key one-on-one would suit her much better, and a tiny squeal escaped her when she saw the message pop up on her datapad. So she made her way down to the Archives, a spring in her step, considering all the fascinating topics they could talk about; nature, knighthood, nature, life in the Order, nature...

But as she arrived, a sudden onset of nerves struck her, as she realised this was someone who had succeeded in Padawanship under Master Noble, and Eve in comparison was just starting such a journey. She had so much to prove still. It was an intimidating thought that she dwelled on a moment as she made her way in.

"Hi," she said shyly, her excitement suddenly reeled in by the heavy quiet of the Archives. She had a lot more she wanted to say, but wasn't sure it would come so easily after all.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

"Oh, hey." Colette turned around to give Eve a quick nod before she started to look out the window again. "Sorry, I was just in the middle of some thoughts."

She stared for a moment longer, her eyes darting between the cars that flowed like rivers between metal mountains. The corner of her lips contorted into yet another frown and she took that as her cue that it was time to look away again.

Besides, she had a conversation to hold.

"I'd have loved to meet somewhere else, but this world is what it is."

…

"I hear you're also not too fond of it."

 

[Everest Vale]

The Knight emanated a certain casual confidence and stoicism that Eve couldn't help but notice. She held herself like a student of Grandmaster Noble should, and it made her feel both a sense of gentle awe, and a sudden sense of pressure of what she would have to live up to. She shook it off and set herself down on chair beside Colette and gave her a soft smile. She looked out the window with her, reflecting on that vast city sprawl where one could get lost and never come back.

"Yeah." Her voice was calm, but solemn, matching the mood. A silence fell between them a while, as the muffled sound of distant speeders outside melded with the whispered chatter, datapad hum and thumbed paper sounds of the Archives behind them. Eve had made herself comfortable at the Temple, settled in well enough, and was enjoying her life a lot there. Nevertheless, Coruscant wasn't home. It was as far from home as she could imagine.

"This planet— It's..." She hung on her thoughts a while, searching desperately for the right word. But it wouldn't come.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

"Dead?" Colette asked rather bluntly and shrugged as she turned around to face Eve. "Lifeless? A bloated corpse?"

The knight took a seat next to her mother's apprentice with a soft sigh before she looked back at the hellscape beyond the window again. Each passing car was like a maggot that writhed in the open wounds of a murder victim. Each departing spacecraft a moment's salvation from the horror that was the sterile, man-made nature of a world that had no nature to speak of.

"Every time I come here, I'm reminded of how much beauty is out there in the galaxy." She continued. "And how none of it truly reaches this place."

Another sigh burst from her nose and Colette shook her head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to call you here just to hear me whine about…" She motioned in a circle towards the window. "All that."

"You're new to the family! I wanted to get to know you before Valery fully, truly takes you under her wing." Her head bobbed from side to side. "Or well, any more under her wing, I guess."

 

[Everest Vale]

Colette spoke all the words she couldn't manage to say herself, whether it was due to her own timidness, or simply her inability to speak ill of something, even a lifeless planet such as Coruscant. The conversation made her yearn for home. The hills, the forests, the hot springs... How she missed it all every single day. Her brow furrowed.

But Colette brought the conversation forward, pulling them away from the melancholy. Her face seemed to lighten immediately, and Eve in turn found a smile come to her.
"Thank you," she said quietly, a sense of shyness setting in. Being called part of a family made a gentle blush to come to her cheeks, and a soft swelling in her heart. Growing up, she only had her mother. She had missed the happy family shuttle, at least since she was six. But as she started to meet others in Master Noble's circle, she was starting to feel something she had always struggled with. She felt a growing sense of belonging.

"Um— I saw you at your knighting on New Cov... Congratulations." Her wishes were heartfelt and earnest, but still came out with a sense of timidity. Nevertheless, she smiled.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

A quick exhale, a disbelieving chuckle parted Colette's lips as Everest congratulated her for becoming a knight.

"Thank you." Colette said and nodded in appreciation. "It… Doesn't really feel like I've done anything as a Knight yet that makes it… Necessary? I'm still doing what Padawans do, but with more authority."

Being a knight didn't feel like an achievement given who she was and who her adopted mother was, much less so when considering that Colette had only been around for a year or two, or three at this point. To her it wasn't much of a thing that needed to be congratulated, but she had also gotten used to people saying it was just something you did. An empty compliment in a sense. A… Platitude? They had used some other big and fancy word for it that Colette hadn't really understood.

"I heard about you too." Colette shrugged and looked back out the window again. "Outdoorsy. Quiet. Perhaps a little awkward at times."

"I recognize that. Figured, you might also know what it feels like to be alone like that. Even when others are around."

 

[Everest Vale]

Colette spoke plainly, direct, and it took Eve by surprise from just how accurately her few words seemed to validate her own experience. It was as if she understood her like a good friend already and, though blushing a little, Eve couldn't help but let a soft, solemn smile come to her.

"Yeah," she said finally, more relaxed than she normally would be for a first meeting. Her thoughts started to dwell a little on life on Coruscant in the Order, and how she had always felt like she was perhaps a step behind everyone else, all of whom seemed to have an instinctive adaptability to this place, which she appeared to be missing.

"It's like... everyone here just seems to be so at home on this planet. But... since coming here, I've felt kind of..." She mulled a little on the word before choosing to admit it to herself. "...disconnected."

She hadn't really had the chance to admit this to anyone since coming. Letters to her mother could only do so much — it just wasn't the same when she had to write it down — and she didn't know of anyone else who was experiencing the same thing she was. Until now.

"I miss my home. I miss trees and wind and hot springs. When I went to New Cov for your knighting... I was so happy." Her voice became a little sullen suddenly as she thought on it all. The thought did cross her mind once or twice to transfer to the New Cov temple, but that would've made it difficult to remain Master Noble's Padawan. So, she consciously bit the bullet and decided to stay. At least, the gardens and the Room of a Thousand Fountains could offer her some kind of solace in the wake of this cityscape nightmare that attacked relentlessly from all sides.

"I've... not really been able to talk to anyone about this before..." Nor was she expecting to. Yet here they were.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

"Where I'm from we never stayed in one place for long. We always… Moved, we always had a destination in mind." Colette frowned. "People here don't have anywhere to go other than to work and home again."

The mere idea of it caused Colette to shiver in disgust for a moment. The idea of believing the galaxy would ever run out of wonders to discover and enjoy was just wrong on so many levels. There were always new insects to find and mountains to climb, vistas to see and experiences to be had.

At least, on planets that still allowed life to flourish as it was meant to.

"You know that you're not actually bound to any specific temple, right?" Colette asked and raised her brow at Everest. "It's really just a formality. I spend most of my time on Selvaris and Valery had no issue with that."

"You can even be on New Cov if you want. We have a-"

Colette stopped herself for a moment. The archives were a very public space, easily eavesdropped in. She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in towards Everest.

"Valery has a good reason to go there. Often."

That reason being her children, her home, her husband, and the life they built in their home there. If Everest had not seen it yet, she was sure to in the coming weeks. There was not a single doubt in her mind about that.

 

[Everest Vale]

The way Colette spoke was so unlike her own manner. She spoke with a ruthless honesty that seemed to cut through straight to the heart of the matter. Eve could understand her feelings, but hadn't managed to articulate her thoughts in the same way as the Knight did, with such fire and passion. It sent a shock through her, but she could understand fully what she was talking about, even if she didn't have the will to vocalise it in the same way. She nodded.

"Oh— Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?"

Just by looking at Colette, Eve could see the spirit of nature in her. There was a certain sense of freedom in her eyes that she, too, could understand and feel. Being raised in the countryside had its perks.

Then what she said next genuinely surprised her. She could be stationed elsewhere? Eve genuinely didn't realise this, and the discovery caused a small, embarrassed gasp to escape her. New Cov. It would be wonderful to see it again, and stay there for an extended time. The thought suddenly made a shiver of excitement to crawl up her.

"I would love to go back again," she told her. "Maybe... you'd like to come with me next time?"

She didn't really know New Cov, only that it had trees. Lots and lots of trees. That alone was appealing. But the idea of venturing out into the wilds of the planet with someone like Colette, who seemed to be at home at a place like that too, gave her a sense of anticipation.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

"I… Prefer not to say, sorry." Colette admitted and rubbed her hand at the back of her neck. "It's a small world, barely on the map, and I don't want the war to find it." She sighed. "The less who know, the safer it is."

Colette watched as Everest eventually cheered up and she followed the excitement up with a:

"Sure!" She shrugged. "I know a few good spots around the place, and if Valery doesn't show you the waterfall then I will."

"Make sure to ask her, it's one of the most serene places, and it's strangely safe from the wildlife. Most of the time."

 

[Everest Vale]

Eve gave a silent nod of acknowledgement to her. She could understand. Home was a precious thing. Alas, she could hide the identity of her own homeworld so easily. Her Echani features would betray any attempts should she ever try. Yet Eshan was a world she was nevertheless proud to be from, even if she didn't feel like a 'real' Echani most of the time.

Colette continued. Ah, waterfalls. Eve's eyes glistened at the thought, lost in the romance of her fantasy. She hummed from the gentle excitement that was brewing in her.

"I'd love to go soon." She turned her head towards the window again, that stark contrast to her rich imagination choking any sense of natural wonder and freedom. Maybe she had spent quite enough time here.

Colette​

 

[Colette]

Everest Vale

A thoughtful frown spread across Colette's lips, curled them into a little upside down smile before they curled back into a smile once more.

"What about Selvaris?" She asked and looked over at Everest. "I feel like New Cov is Valery's to show you, but nothing would stop us from going to Selvaris."

It was one of the smaller enclaves. A very nature-oriented place, very much one of Colette's favorite little hideaways.

"Actually, let's go right now." She said and excitedly shot up out of her chair and reached out for Everest's hand. "I'm a knight, I can excuse any classes or such you have to attend. Official… Jedi business stuff, and all that."

"Come on. Just you, me, the wide open forests and miles of unexplored ground."

 

[Everest Vale]

An excitement sparked up along Eve's spine as the suggestion came, and with such proactive enthusiasm. Before she could do anything about it, a wide grin had found its way across her face, enamoured at the idea.

"S-Selvaris?" She had heard of it, but didn't know anything about it. But based on what she was saying, it seemed... perfect. "N-Now?" She gasped dramatically, but genuinely.

'Open forests and miles of unexplored ground.'

The thought turned over again and again in her mind, and she became lost in the daydream.

Only, it was more than that. It was a very real offer waiting for her.

Right now.

Before she could afford any further thought on the matter, she had blurted out her answer, stirring some of the students in the archive from their studious stupors.

"Okay! Let's go!"

A giddy giggle escaped her.

This was going to be great.

* * *​