Private Disaster Relief

[Iris Arani]

"It's not bad. Just.. Overwhelming." Yeah, that was the best way to describe it. But Amani Serys was sure she could handle it, and Iris wasn't going to talk her down. Especially if this helped the Mirialan relearn her connection to the Force. Once Amani said she was ready, Iris nodded. And reached out. Through the colors, finding Amani's own, matching their shades together. Slowly, but surely, the feeling of Iris's mind would touch on Amani's.

The moment it was allowed in, the meld began. At first, muted. But the longer it went on, the more the two minds became one, the clearer Iris's world of colors would become. Even with their eyes closed, they could see everything. The Force, stained colors of red, blues, and greens. Emotion from people around them, each other, changed the colors to their moods. Life had it's own, a bright indescribable shade. Beautiful, but all consuming. There was no off button for it as Iris learned. A constant perception that closing her eyes wouldn't let her escape.

Blinding.

<Are you okay?> Her 'voice' came out through the meld. Echoing into her, their, mind. <I can stop if it's too much.>

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani readied herself for whatever was to come. And though she kept her focus, as the moments passed with no immediate sign, she nearly came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t working. But just before that concentration could be broken, sensations both new and old began to wash over.

She gasped as the spectrum of colors flooded her perception, encompassing anything and everything around them. Familiar, yet different. The Force. As if she’d been seeing life in a blur, and only now was it returned to full, overwhelming clarity. She had barely even comprehended Iris’s question, responding only with awe, “I-is this how you always see it?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"As far back as I can remember, yeah." Relief was instant. In the meld, what they felt was shared between them. Iris felt what Amani Serys felt. And vis versa. Relief that the Mirialan wasn't overwhelmed. That's what mattered most, at least at first. With her not overwhelmed, the next part of it all came into view. The part that they did this for.

"Think back, to when you made that bubble. Like this I'll be able to see what you saw and felt, then.. I think I can help you remember?"

 

[Amani Serys]

“It’s… beautiful.” The high of a lost sense returned began to subside, at least enough for her to maintain focus, “And a lot.” She admitted.

“Okay, okay,” Another deep breath, and Amani brought forth that recent memory once again. People in trouble. Running out of time. No time to waste. Panic? Then resolve. She had to do something, so she did.

The Force began to hum louder, becoming an extension of herself in that moment, like a phantom instinct. And once they were saved, it began to dissipate all over again. “...What now? Is it… is it working?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

​

"It is, isn't it?" A lot. It was hard for Iris to really understand. This was her whole life. But through these melds, through literally seeing through another's eyes, she was able to understand some. Maybe she would be able to figure it out, one day. But, the memory. Panic, determination, focus. The Force. Iris closed her eyes, letting the memory be her own in their shared mind. But where Amani Serys felt the Force, Iris showed it in color.

Light was the only way to describe the color. Something pure, bright, when the Mirialan pulled on the Force. A feeling, a color.

".. Focus on that. The feeling. The colors. The Force hasn't left you more.. Something in you is blocking it."

 

[Amani Serys]

"Focus…" She reached out again, the desire to help gave way to action. The Force's pull swelled, and Amani let herself wallow in the sensations of that moment. Yet progress seemed static.

Something in her was blocking it. Her thoughts began to wander to that instead.

"No-" Colors shifted, giving way to darker hues of fear and uncertainty. Concentration waned, Amani teetered on the proverbial edge that threatened to sever the meld, "I don't know what to do!"

The loathing, the panic, acted like a dam they had yet to break through.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Fear and uncertainty was a terrible feedback loop in a meld like this. Panic filled their shared mind, bringing Iris to feel her own panic begin to rise. But, she was determined. She took a breath, calmed herself, tried to calm Amani Serys through their shared mind. To be that beacon of light as darkness started to creep in. "You don't need to do anything. Stay calm, breath. It's okay."

She forced a smile, trying not to let the fear in Amani become her own.

"You're okay."

 

[Amani Serys]

Just as the confluence of sensations crescendoed to a point of no return, Iris's words seemed to resonate, muting the overwhelming memories and emotions. There was a calm in the storm, and Amani fell back into a state of zen. With no small effort by Iris's anchoring, and Amani's own desire to not mess it up for the both of them, repressed doubts and concerns were pushed to the wayside, finally clearing the path to their goal.

"I'm okay. We're okay." She repeated, a nervous laugh escaping by virtue of their recovery.

Once more, that same state of mind played over: a desire to help, to atone, to do something good. The Force sang, now in harmony through their meld. They had found the connection they were looking for.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris let out a sigh of relief as Amani Serys seemed to finally let her panic go. Their panic. It was getting harder to separate the two for the Padawan, but at least it passed. And.. The Force sang. She smiled, turning her gaze towards the brighter colors around them.

"There."

 

[Amani Serys]

The flow of the Force was persistent, if flickering. But for now at least, Amani was able to tap once more into that connection. It was both familiar and strange, like returning sight to someone who lost it long ago.

"I wasn't sure that would actually work. You weren't kidding when you said you got pretty good at it."

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris smiled brightly at that. She'd helped someone. Actually helped someone. With her world of colors. The joy that brought was easily shared through the meld as her features just.. Lit up. "I'm good at the meld, sure. Actually helping you wasn't something I thought I could do. Not like this at least. .. I'm glad I did." Iris turned that smile back to Amani Serys before looking around the room.

"Do you want me to keep the meld going?"

 

[Amani Serys]

“Well, thank you, really. This isn’t something I was sure I’d experience again.”

Amani let it linger a moment longer. It was a strangely satisfying mindset to be in; Not just the return of the Force, but the perfect synthesis of two minds was unlike any previous experience she had bore witness to.

“Whenever you’re ready, we can end it,” She answered with a content sigh.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris nodded once before letting the meld fade. And leaned back to let out a sigh. It was easier for her to start a meld with someone these days, but it was still exhausting. That, and pulling people from the mud. She fell back, sprawled out to stare at the top of the tent. Still smiling bright. This worked. She helped someone. It was nice to help someone. He gaze shifted back to Amani Serys , though she stayed laying back.

"What do you plan to do now?"

 

[Amani Serys]

As the meld faded, Amani gave a big stretch and loosened up. She pondered her options for a moment, then, simply shrugged, "Y'know… I'm not really sure." In truth, Amani rarely did know, but for the first time in a while, that open-ended answer didn't feel purposeless.

"It's a big galaxy. Still a lot of work to do. I'll figure something out." She looked back at Iris, matching her smile, "What about you?"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Try and find my friend that was taken by the Sith before they break." That was the blunt way to put it, but Iris wasn't one to beat around a bush when asked a direct question. She pushed herself up, hugging her knees to her chest. Resting her chin atop them. Smiling, still, despite the horrible implications of what she just said.

"Did you like being a Jedi? When you were?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Echoes of Amani’s own past reverberated through what Iris had said. With one sentence, she had become significantly invested in her story. She leaned in a little closer, quietly taken aback by the response, and even more so by the question that followed.

“Well… yeah. I grew up hearing stories about Jedi, and for a long time it was all I wanted to do. It didn’t always live up to my dreams, but I still felt like I was making a difference. Now…”

She mulled over her memories in silence, an internal debate brewing over her own feelings.

“You want my honest opinion? I feel like I was too swept up in the legend. I-I don’t think the Jedi are bad, but… they’re not very good at learning from the past, you know? And I wasn’t much different."

It was a complicated history. And for most of her life, Amani was largely ignorant to the minutiae. Part of her felt that she was being too harsh in recompense, but the other half was still conflicted from years of a now worn-down worldview. “It works for some people. If I went back now, I don’t know that it would for me.”

After taking a breath to reconcile with her own admissions, Amani brought their conversation back to Iris’s first comment, “You said your friend was taken?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I think it takes someone to help them learn for them to. My master was like that for a while. Very set in her ways. When someone fell to the Dark, they needed to be killed before they could kill anyone else." Iris hummed softly, her gaze going back to stare at the colors around them. Fear, joy, pain, all manner of emotions were here in the rescue camp. It's what it meant to be alive, feeling all these emotions.

"But I showed her another way."

Then the topic went back to Domxite. The faint smile thinned to a frown. Then a grimace.

".. Yeah."

 

[Amani Serys]

The story about her master only furthered her confidence in Iris. "Well, from what I've seen, I'm not too worried about you," She smiled, "You're on the right track."

The trouble with Sith though, gave way to concern. "Just be careful. This thing with your friend? It sounds… familiar to what ended me up like this." Desperate times, desperate measures. Not always a pretty combination. She at least wanted to know the same mistakes weren't being repeated.

"What happened?"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I was careless. Thought I could fight on my own. Well, with Domxite by my side I guess I wasn't alone, but.. They're only a gem. They don't have a body. The girl I fought, we were on top of a train and I let Domxite go. She picked them up before I could, and in haste I tried to get them back. Then I was thrown. From the train." She frowned further still, the less mangled hand gripping the other.

"This is how I ended up. And.. Domxite was gone. .. I'm not sure how I'm going to get them back."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani listened patiently, then sat in silence as she mulled over what she had said. Her eyes fell to the girl’s hand; Iris had her own fair share of scars.

“When I was a padawan, I watched one of my Jedi masters… the uh, Grandmaster, actually… get kidnapped for the Sith Empire. I blamed myself for the whole ordeal, and after a while I got… desperate.” She tugged at her collar, pausing uncomfortably to clear her throat, “I convinced myself I needed to get stronger. To right my wrongs. I convinced myself… the dark side was my only choice.”

Amani pulled at her collar again, but this time lowered it far enough to reveal a portion of her scar: a spider web of lightning-like burns that reached up to her collar, presumably emanated from her heart and spreading across more of her chest. “It’s not all it’s made out to be.” The most harrowing thing about the story? From a purely consequentialist view, using the dark side actually did solve the problem. But Amani didn’t dare give Iris that idea.

“The point I’m trying to make is… Don’t do something stupid. And definitely don’t try to go it alone. Take it from someone with an experience in stubbornness. Do you have others you can rely on? Friends?”

Iris Arani​