Private Day 102

[Jem Fossk]

Dagon Kaze
Spintir | Dawn Temple
Day 102

Jem sat on the courtyard's cliff edge, her legs swinging as they dangled into the chilly mountain air.

Morning meditation, done. Breakfast with Valery, done. Walk with the Warden, done. They were even letting her start to train again. The burn of her muscles felt good. Things hadn't gotten gotten easy but they had become manageable. A new normal had finally been brokered inside the chaos of the last year. The high noon sun warmed her back. It was probably her favorite part of an otherwise uneventful day.

"Finally!" She looked up from her book, her complexion perking with a burst of gold at Dagon's arrival. "Did you bring Spacios?" She looked around his back for a sign of Yula's favorite off-brand cereal. She had gotten Jem addicted to them too.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Dawn Temple,
Spintir

This was it.

This was the day.

The day Jem finally, fully stepped back into the Light.

Almost poetically, the last vestiges of winter had lifted and spring drew its long-held breath with the blooming of the snowdrops. The Force like a soothing breeze flowed across the temple and beyond, breathing life into the very fabric of the world. The sun glowered nearing its zenith, its rays warmly caressing the myriad small creatures shuffling around the courtyard.

The end of the war was nowhere near to be seen and yet the burden on his shoulders felt lighter. Dagon Kaze wondered whether it had been so or had he grown stronger. This process -- this path rather -- had not been solely reserved for Jem. They had walked this journey physically separate but spiritually bound. And like the snowdrops in spring, they had bloomed.

"Uhhh.... not really, eheh." he brushed the back of his head with a sheepish smile spreading over his face before raising a finger. "But--" the Knight slid the backpack down on the floor and unzipped its contents. "--one second--" his hand shuffled through the bag, "--man, these bags, I swear-- ope, there it is... I think?" he raised an eyebrow uncertainly before pulling a brand new New Jedi leather jacket. "There it is." he grinned at Jem before his lips curved into that usual punctilious glare of an investigator, "Yeah, you're gonna need some of your muscle back before you wear it though."

Jem Fossk ​

 

[Jem Fossk]

Jems eyes widened.

"W-wow," she breathed, tongue tied. For Dagon this moment was a long time coming, but Jem hadn't dared to hope... or consider that this could be her future again.

She wanted nothing more than to jump up and take that jacket. She wanted it and everything it stood for to be hers again. The very fact that it was Dagon who stood here offering it to her-- her chest rose and fell with rapid, overwhelmed breaths; proud, relieved, nervous. She wanted this, but there was piece of her, small but present, that lacked the confidence Dagon had.

She closed the book and stood, afraid that if she moved too fast this dream would break.

"But I-- I can still feel it." And she always would. Being a jedi did not mean you would never encounter the dark. Being a jedi meant seeing it, and every day choosing the light instead. Dagon understood this choice and soon she would too.

She was ready.

She reached out and ran her fingers along the supple leather, scared of failing everything it represented... but resolving to try anyway. She pulled it to her and breathed in its scent.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"We all do -- every day for the rest of our lives." he calmly said but without expanding into a lecture. The hesitation and fear that made her quiver on her first day here had subsided, noticeably. There was an understanding, an acceptance even, of the burden that she would carry as every Jedi did. And even more so. The scars of her past would mold her but they would not dictate her future.

That was all in her hands.

Steel was forged in fire. And only from the flames she had marched through could she rise up to becoming who she was meant to be.

A Jedi.

"Yeah, I know - it might stink a bit of Yula's perfume. She tried it to get a good measure, see if it'd fit you." he shrugged innocently. "C'mon try it on already. Maybe even take a picture of it before you go and ruin it." he grinned.

Jem Fossk ​

 

[Jem Fossk]

Jem didn't mind the smell.

Somehow it felt like an embrace as she slipped into it. It cut out the harsh mountain wind and warmed to the sun almost instantly. It felt good. She stretched in it. It fit good too. Her tentative smile wavered before she exploded into a burst of glee. It was almost easy to forgot the heavy density of her kind, until she careened into him for a hug.

"Thank you." The two simple words were ladened with the emotions of the last 6 months. What happened was never going to go away, but she could shoulder it now.

Because of him.

She pulled back and wiped moisture from her face, still grinning wildly. "Does this mean I get to come back with you? I can help again. Like, really help this time."

As opposed to going rouge and messing up everyone's lives. She could almost joke about it now.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

He embraced her in his arms, squeezing her close and truly realizing there and then how much he had longed for this moment; a moment that at their greatest time of darkness seemed nothing more than an illusion, a false hope to be inevitably extinguished and stamped out.

"... I can help again. Like, really help this time."

"I know." The soft smile widened into a grin, gleaming eyes enveloping the girl who lived. "I trust you will." the tone of jubilation in his voice carried hints of relief. As if he had breathed away the agony and suffering of the last couple of months. As if the dark clouds above were dispersing and the sunrays piercing through could finally warm them both again.

"Now, go -- get your stuff before Val shows up and finds a job for us." he wearily murmured in jest at the thought.
​

Jem Fossk

 

[Jem Fossk]

Eep.

Jem jerked away, full of life as she gave a single nod of understanding, careening back towards the door. It would take some time for them to truly fall back into rhythm with each other, but on this matter they were one in the same.

Say no more.

She shot him another grin before breaking for her room for her things.

Jem was coming home.