Private Echoes of the Irretrievable

[Ariadni]

Unknown Planet • Vystian Abbey
Aileni Ifor Xeraic

Fire.​

Raging, burning, flickering fire reflected the depths of my gaze. Fierce, jagged ribbons of it writhed towards the night sky, piercing the darkness with forked tongues of crimson and gold. It was hungry, eating my home with a relentless appetite that could never be sated. Stone by stone, beam by beam, room by room. I could hardly remember the mad dash I had taken to escape the mortuary in the depths of the cellars. I didn't want to think about the bodies I had passed on the way. Whether they were unfortunate strangers or my sisters who I had grown, worshiped, and lived with for as long as my memory could recount.

What I did remember was the commotion that had started it all. Even down there where I could hardly ever hear the sounds of life being lived above my head, I could hear that. The unmistakable sound of blasters, the chest rumbling explosions that had rocked dust and debris from the ceiling. The sound of death.

Not as I knew it. Not the quiet, peaceful death that I worked with every day in the cold, expressionless faces of the people who passed through our house. The violent kind. The bloody, gory, messy, merciless kind. The kind that would be seared into my mind for the rest of my days.

I sank to my knees at the edge of the forest that lay just on our borders. Rain, mud, and worse soaked through my crisp, white robes, but I wasn't aware. Nor did I care.

Even out here, drenched in the earthy petrichor, the air carried the sharp, metallic scent of fresh blood. Like copper coins warmed in a clenched fist. It should have been familiar to me. I'd spent my life learning and living in rooms that made that scent home, but this time it made me sick to my stomach. It roiled in my belly like rancid meat, threatening me with the sour taste of bile in the back of my throat. This blood was too familiar. It came from the people I loved, people who raised me, people I thought would never abandon me.

I couldn't comprehend it. What did we have that was worth this? We kept no gold. We had no credits. Anything that was donated to us went straight back to the people who came to us for help. We were peaceful. Healers. Silently offering both aid and reverence to anyone who needed it with no cost or recompense required.

What had we done to deserve such a fate? We knew of suffering, we knew of loss, we knew of the chaos that the galaxy imparted on the unfortunate, but we had never witnessed it. Never been wrapped up in the politics that caused it. So why?

Fury did not even begin to describe the emotion I felt, but it did not come out that way. Hot, angry tears spilled from eyes, down my cheeks, mixing with the deluge that poured unbound from the skies above. Yet no matter how hard it rained, it still couldn't quench the fires that had been set. They blazed on, every roar and crackle only stoking the coal of fury buried somewhere deep in my soul, yet I could do nothing but stare at it. As my fists clenched and my nails bit into my palms hard enough to break skin, I could do nothing.

I heard no shouts, saw no shadows trying to escape, no signs of life anywhere save for the sounds of my own ragged breaths. I was alone, and I was watching my life turn to ashes before my eyes.

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Unknown World, Vystian Abbey
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

"T-11, where was that signal coming from again?" Aileni called out from his pilot seat.

The astromech beeped some information and highlighted the planet on the navigation map. Aileni didn't really know the planet from what the map information gave, but there was some sort of signal. Distress signal or an attack one, Aileni couldn't tell from the corrupted information that he had. All Aileni knew was that he had to go investigate. The Shadow Padawan was aiming to really demonstrate how well his training had come over the years. Flicking some switches in the cockpit, Aileni set the navicomputer for the unknown planet.

Aileni's starfighter pulled out of hyperspace after a short time and the ship descended to the planet side. All the piloting classes and simulations over the years had been important work and it was a smooth but fast landing from Aileni. He could see the smoke and knew the temple was in ruins. "Stay with the ship T-11." Opening the cockpit, Aileni jumped out of the ship and grabbed his bow. Gripping his practice saber, Aileni still hadn't gotten around to forging his own Lightsaber. It was something that he knew was a firm step in his Jedi path but one that he needed a Master to really achieve. The practice saber was placed on his hip, the bow was his main weapon and Aileni needed to be prepared for any lingering opponents.

Activating the energy bow, Aileni held it prepared to draw an arrow if he heard or spotted anything that could be seen as dangerous. The temple was in ruins, fires were still raging in areas and there was death sprawled all around him. Outrage and bubbling feelings of righteous vengeance boiled within Aileni, roars of a primal voice echoed in his mind. And his fingers itched to fight. However, Aileni maintained his patience and breathed slowly through his emotions. It was not the time to feel this right now.

Every time Aileni thought he might have found a survivor, bitter disappointment came over the Jedi. He couldn't find anyone that endured this senseless attack, the blaster fire and explosive attacks. This was definitely a raid of some kind but for what purpose, Aileni couldn't figure out. It felt just barbaric in a way.

Then the sounds of crying, a broken heart. Aileni shifted through the temple and located a young woman, not too different from his own age. "Are you hurt?" His deep voice echoed out as he lowered the bow from the defensive stance that he held it in. His eyes scanned around the surrounding area to ensure things were safe and there wasn't a trap to attack him.

 

[Ariadni]

Unknown Planet • Vystian Abbey
Aileni Ifor Xeraic​

The crying had become mechanical by the time I heard the voice. It cut through the cackle of burning stone. For one horrible heartbeat, I thought they had come back for me.

I jerked upright too fast, my vision swimming. My hand closed around the scorched edge of a fallen pillar, because there was nothing else left to hold onto. Smoke clawed at my lungs. The Abbey around me was unrecognisable now. Sacred halls split open, icons blackened, sisters lying dead where they had fallen. I could still hear them in my head. The thunder of boots, the hiss of flamers. The screams.

My first instinct was to run, but my legs were jelly. All the energy I had was drained. Nothing worked the way it was supposed to. I slipped on the mud beneath my feet, and only just managed to stay standing. I could fight, though I doubted I would do much damage. I could plead, but there was nothing about this baseless destruction that led me to believe they knew what the word mercy meant. I could offer something in return for my life. But what did I have left to give?

My gaze finally found him through the haze. At first I searched for armour, for helmets, for the gleam of a blaster aimed at my face. But I found nothing of the sort. Instead, it was a young man, bow lowered, watching the ruins with the same stunned horror I felt. Not advancing. Not aiming. Asking.

Are you hurt?

The question landed strangely in my mind, as though it had to travel through layers of ash before reaching me. If he meant to kill me, he wouldn’t ask. The attackers hadn’t asked. They had simply taken. Logic arrived slowly. Painfully. Like thawing numb fingers. Like light trying to break through storm clouds. Predators did not ask permission. They did not lower their weapons.

I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth and tried to steady my breathing.

“You…” It trembled anyway. “You’re not with them?” It wasn’t really a question. I could see it now in the way he stood. Cautious, but not cruel.

My knees were threatening to give out again, so I let them. I sank back into the mud against the ruined pillar, clutching the charred fabric of my robes in my fists.

“I’m alive” I whispered, though the word sounded distant and uncertain even to me. “I think.”

I couldn't claim I wasn't injured. Adrenaline had been coursing through my veins in such a potent concentration that I doubted I would have noticed if I was missing all four of my limbs entirely. There were certainly parts of me that were hurt, but those parts could not be healed by any bacta or force I knew of. At the moment, I struggled to even imagine time could help.

A broken, almost deranged laugh escaped me. Turning into another sob half way past my lips before I could even think to stop it. I hated how small I sounded. How insignificant I was. How empty I felt.

“They burned it,” I choked out, the words leaving me in a rush. Brittle and breathless. I looked past him instinctively, eyes snagging on bodies I recognised. Sisters, novices, friends… each one tearing something fresh open inside me.

“They burned it all. Everything. The archives, the reliquary, the wards, the morgue. Everyone…” My throat closed around the last word. “I don’t know if there’s anyone else left alive.” It was a harrowing thought.

One my mind naturally pushed back in favour of survival.

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Unknown World, Vystian Abbey
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

Shifting the bow to his back, holding his hands to show he meant no harm to the other person, Aileni just took things slowly. This was clearly her home and the events here were deeply traumatic for the woman. It was understandable to be nervous and cautious of a stranger. Hearing her confess to being alive, Aileni nodded his head, "alive is good. Alive is really good." He took a step closer, offering a hand. "If you are okay with me doing so, I would like to check for injuries?" It wasn't ideal with the fires burning and the smoke but Aileni didn't want to grab the woman and worsen an injury, potentially doing irreversible harm towards her.

"I know, I have seen. Right now, you are my priority." Aileni stated as he slowly stepped closer to her. "My name is Aileni. I am a Jedi." He mentioned, hoping that it would help to woman in this situation. His eyes started to scan over her figure, checking her for injuries. Even with the ash attempting to obscure some of his vision, nothing seemed obvious in terms of life threatening injuries. The young Shadow had some skills in Force Healing since it was a powerful ability to use in the field. At least that had been the reasoning for it when Aileni first began lessons in it.

Pulling his hood back, his pointed ears twitched as he listened out to the noises more. Aileni wasn't sure if there would be any attackers around, it seemed that this woman was still cautious about that being the case. Lifting his hand, Aileni used the Force to quell some of the fires around them, the air blowing the smoke out of the room so that she could breathe easier. "We need to leave before this building collapses, do you have somewhere else you wish to go or call home besides here?" Aileni asked as he didn't want to just bring her straight back to Naboo if this woman felt more comfortable elsewhere in the galaxy.

 

[Ariadni]

Unknown Planet • Vystian Abbey
Aileni Ifor Xeraic​

The tangled knot of anxiety in my chest unwound just a little at the sight of his bow disappearing behind his back. He moved with slow purpose, and it helped to settle me a little. I was certain now he was no threat to me but the strings of panic and feral survival still moved me like a marionette bound to a fate masterminded by another’s hand.

Being alive was not good.

I almost shook my head in disagreement. Being alive was unfair. Alive was an empty, hollow feeling filled with dread and despair. My sisters lay dead in the ruins of our Abbey and here I stood. Relatively unhurt, heart still beating. Feeling the immense pain of loss that should have been shared between many and not dumped on one fragile pair of shoulders.

The crunch of debris under his foot made me startle, though I was no longer afraid of him. He introduced himself. I recalled somewhere that it was polite to offer your own name back in return.

“Ariadni.” It sounded odd to me now.

That name belonged to someone else far more fortunate than I was. It belonged to someone who had family, a home, work that made her proud. Someone who found joy in the little things, who grasped every opportunity to learn. Who laughed freely, lived brightly, and loved without restraint. Not this girl, sitting on a mud soaked floor in a charred dress with sorrow and anger hanging over her head like swollen rain clouds.

In another reality I would have been fascinated by the pointed ears sticking out from underneath his jet black hair. At this moment though, I barely registered them. There was ash and soot and worse clouding my vision, but even without it I wouldn't have truly seen them. He spoke of leaving, and I knew it was the wise thing to do, but it seemed like the worst idea right now.

They had already left me, how could I even think of leaving them?

My lower lip wobbled pitifully at his next question. The reality of my situation settled like an unshiftable weight in my chest, dragging me down into a bottomless pit I knew I would never escape. I knew he was being kind, but his question cut so deep it would leave behind a scar that would never truly heal.

“I have nowhere else to go.”

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Unknown World, Vystian Abbey
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

Ariadni.

Another time and he might have asked if there was meaning behind the name. That it was a beautiful name. Now was not the time for it though, instead he stepped closer, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "Alive is good. Alive means that the memories of these people is not gone. How they laughed, they cried, they lives. You still carry those memories." His piercing emerald eyes looking at her. He swallowed, thinking on the fact that it is never easy to be so lost. "It will never be easy but they still live, in you, Ariadni."

Understanding that there was nowhere else for this woman to go. "My Order. It is on Naboo, I can take you there and you can rest, heal and figure what you wish to do next from there." It was a simple offer since he wasn't sure how settled that Ariadni would feel away from all this and dealing with a very different way of life. Things within the Jedi Order space was a little more tension filled, heading towards a war.

"Take my hand, and let's get you away from here." Aileni mentioned as he offered his hand to be the crutch, "lean on me as much as you need to." Aileni knew that while there might be no dangerous physical injuries, there could be a lot of emotional ones that prevented Ariadni from feeling like she could continue to move forward. Aileni made sure to only move at the speed that Ariadni wanted to move at. Revealing a gentler, kinder side to him that Aileni did not reveal all too often now.

 

[Ariadni]

Unknown Planet • Vystian Abbey
Aileni Ifor Xeraic​

He held his hand out to me, and I flinched again.

The animal part of me, the part that had clawed and bitten its way out of the temple, still balked at reaching for a stranger. But his hand never wavered. It remained where it was, patient. Steady. Waiting. If I took it... that would be it.

Behind me, the temple crackled as another beam gave way. The fire breathed hotter against my back, carrying with it the scent of burning cedar, parchment, incense... of home. Every heartbeat stole another piece of Vystia from the world. Soon there would be nothing left but ash and memory.

If I stayed, I would vanish with it.

I didn't know where Naboo was. I didn't know if it was a city, a world, or simply another name I would have to learn. It hardly mattered. It wasn't home. Home no longer existed.

Slowly, I reached for him.

My fingers settled over his, the rasp of dry, cracked skin against his like brittle parchment. Such a small sound, yet it echoed through me like the toll of a funeral bell. The choice was made. Whatever life had belonged to Ariadni of Vystia ended the moment our hands met. The grief would come for me later. It had to. For now I folded it away with everything else my mind refused to touch. There would be time to mourn once survival no longer demanded every piece of me.

He pulled me gently to my feet. Pain arrived all at once.

Cuts. Bruises. Burns. Scrapes. My ribs screamed as I drew breath, sharp enough that I couldn't tell whether one was merely bruised or cracked. I remembered falling as I fled the collapsing temple, remembered stone giving way beneath my feet and burning beams crashing around me. One had caught me across the shoulders before I managed to wrench myself free.

Whatever pride I still possessed lasted only a single step. My knees buckled, and I collapsed against him. He didn't so much as stumble. Solid. Unmoving. Like the mountains that had once watched over Vystia. The only thing in my world that wasn't crumbling into ash.

So I let him carry as much of my weight as he needed to while we walked. Each step was slow, my feet dragging through mud and soot, but he never hurried me. He simply matched my pace, leading me away from the only home I had ever known.

“I’m sorry…”

The words escaped before I’d even understood why I said them. I wasn't sure if I was apologising to him, or to them, but I was sorry.

Sorry for leaning on him. Sorry for surviving. Sorry for leaving.

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Unknown World, Vystian Abbey
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

As Ariadni leaned on Aileni, he gave some of the energy he had in the Force to soothe the worst of her injuries. While he was not a skilled or proficient healer, Aileni knew how to do some field medical healing. He had always viewed it as a practical skill to have, something in his back pocket should something happen to him during a mission. It would not solve every injury that Ariadni had but ensure that she was not in constant pain, he could not endure seeing the woman in both physical and the obvious emotional pain that she was dealing with. Grabbing his comms, "T-11, prep the ship, we have a guest and heading back to Naboo."

Looking over to Ariadni, hearing her say sorry, there was a sympathetic smile on his lips. "You don't need to be sorry, you are far stronger than you realise, Ariadni. I'll help you figure out who did this and help you ensure they face the justice that they deserve." His voice low, a soft whisper but with a strong conviction. The sense of justice bordered on vengeance. Aileni did not carry Ariadni, not unless she asked or demonstrated a desire for him to. He just made sure she was steady and could keep walking forward.

"There isn't a lot of room on the ship, unfortunately. Haven't invested in a big ship yet." Aileni confessed, a soft chuckle as he hoped it would not be too tight a squeeze on the starfighter, realising he might really need to look into a ship that had a couple of rooms, or just more space in general. Especially if he was going to be on long missions and working undercover. "It shouldn't be a long trip though so hopefully we aren't squeezed in for too long." The ramp of the starfighter descended as Aileni and Ariadni approached.

He guided the woman inside and sat her in the secondary pilot seat directly behind his own. Squeezing past to his own seat. The Jedi Shadow took a final look at the temple, the embers still burning, while he did not fully understand the sensation of seeing one's home completely destroyed. Aileni knew that something like this fundamentally changed the course of a person's life. Changed how they were. There was a sadness within him since he was only ever going to know the Ariadni who had survived this, not knowing who she had been to this temple, to the people who lived in this temple.

"I'm sorry too." He quietly stated to Ariadni before starting the engines of the starfighter.

 

[Ariadni]

Unknown Planet • Vystian Abbey
Aileni Ifor Xeraic​

I felt a wave of warm, comforting energy wash over me. Gentle. Subtle. Soft. Like the tide kissing a quiet shore.

Something in the kindness behind it had me choking back a sob. Nothing about it spoke of mastery, but even in its novice form it was achingly familiar. It carried the same tenderness as the work my family had devoted their lives to. For one impossible heartbeat, I could almost imagine I was home again.

It dulled the pain. Not all of it, but enough. Enough that I straightened my spine. Enough that my grip on his forearm loosened. Enough that I found the strength to place one foot in front of the other without feeling as though every step might be my last.

He spoke, and for a moment I thought he was speaking to me. Then I realised his words were meant for the little disk he'd lifted to his mouth. It crackled and hissed as though someone far away were trapped inside it. My brow furrowed. Curiosity tried to push its way through the haze that grief and exhaustion had wrapped around my mind, but it wasn't strong enough yet. It sank beneath the weight of everything else, and I let it go. There would be time to wonder later. Right now, surviving still demanded all of me.

When he looked back at me, I caught the sympathetic smile resting on his face. I couldn't return it. A smile now would have felt like a lie, a poor imitation of the woman I had been only hours before. Instead, I lowered my gaze and gave the smallest nod.

I didn't know what justice looked like. I wasn't even certain I wanted to. But knowing I wouldn't have to discover the answer alone made the galaxy seem just a little less impossibly vast.

His apology about the size of his ship earned something that surprised even me. A laugh. Small. Dry. More breath than sound. "I don't even know what a ship with room looks like," I murmured. "So I don't think I'll be judging yours."

The thought of somewhere cramped was strangely comforting. A place small enough to disappear inside myself. A place where no one would expect anything from me except to breathe.

The ground beneath my feet changed without warning.

The sucking mud gave way to solid metal, and the sudden certainty of it startled me enough that I faltered. Water dripped from the hem of my robes, each step leaving dark footprints behind as he guided me into the vessel. I didn't have the strength to look around. I simply trusted him to lead me where I needed to go.

The breath escaped me as I sank into the seat beside his. Comfortable. Not comfortable enough for sleep, though. Sleep belonged to another lifetime. I drew my knees against my chest and folded around them, resting my forehead against the worn fabric of my robes until the pressure settled into the ache behind my eyes.

Then came his voice. "I'm sorry too."

The words hung in the silence between us. For a long while, I said nothing. Then, barely louder than a whisper, I answered without lifting my head. "...Thank you."

I wasn't thanking him for the apology. I was thanking him for staying.

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Unknown World, Vystian Abbey
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

Aileni flicked switches and the ship ascended into the skies, leaving the atmosphere and heading into the vast emptiness that was space. Stars littered everywhere for them to see. Aileni was tapping around as he punched in the route through Hyperspace to Naboo. He allowed the silence to linger after Ariadni thanked him. He wasn't sure what to say and didn't want to fill the air with useless and unhelpful words, sentiments and plateaus. T-11 helped with sorting the route as Aileni engaged the Hyperdrive. Driving them forward to Naboo.

Attempting to subtly look back, Aileni saw the curled up position that Ariadni took on the passenger seat. "Someday I will have to show you a ship with rooms so you can tease me about how I forced you to squeeze into this one." Aileni mentioned with an attempt at humour, there was not going to be long till Naboo but he was also offering a silent promise that Aileni would not be leaving Ariadni any time soon. His presence would be there for as long as she needed him to be and he would be involved as much as she desired Aileni to be.

"Naboo is what I call a fancy world. Very dramatic and over the top, but I come from a very different life." Aileni gave a short explanation, he didn't think she would want to be lectured too much on the differences between Naboo and Dathomir, and he wasn't sure how aware Ariadni would be of his homeworld and the dangers that living there entailed.

Pulling back on the Hyperdrive, the ship pulled out of Hyperspace and Naboo sprung into view. It looked green and lush, vibrant world as he set course for the Jedi Temple. Tweaking a few adjustments to ensure that they had a smooth descent towards the surface of the planet. "Temple will have some healers, they can treat your injuries better than I did. Then we can figure out what you wish to do next." Aileni mentioned, while he wasn't wanting to rush Ariadni, he was hoping that she would appreciate the fact that he was being open on what was likely to be happening next and that she still had a voice in her future.

 

[Ariadni]

On Route to Naboo
Aileni Ifor Xeraic​

The stars stretched themselves into impossible lines of light.

I lifted my head just enough to watch them blur together beyond the cockpit canopy, mesmerised despite everything. I had never imagined the sky could move like that. Back home, the heavens had always remained exactly where they belonged. Patient. Constant. Eternal. Now they rushed past as though the galaxy itself had decided it was in a hurry.

For a little while, I forgot to think. Forgot to grieve. Forgot everything except the impossible beauty beyond the glass. His voice eventually found me again, and I responded with the smallest laugh that escaped through my nose before I could stop it.

“I think…” I murmured, still watching the stars. “I think I’d like that.”

A ship with rooms. It sounded wonderfully absurd. “I don’t think I’ll tease you though.” The words came quietly. “You got me out.” That seemed infinitely more important than how cramped the journey happened to be, though I was none the wiser.

He spoke of Naboo, calling it dramatic. I tried to picture what that meant. The only cities I’d ever known had been built from pale stone and weathered timber. Tucked between forests that had stood for longer than anyone could remember. We had no great monuments. No towering skylines. Just gardens, prayer halls, and the quiet comfort of familiarity.

I wondered what a world could possibly look like if someone described it as dramatic.

The silence settled comfortably between us again. When he finally announced our arrival, I lifted my head. Green. That was the first thing I noticed. So much green. Forest stretched across the landscape like great oceans of emerald, interrupted only by bright lakes that caught the sunlight in dazzling flashes. It looked impossibly alive. Beautiful.

My chest tightened. Not because I disliked it. Because my planet had once looked alive too. I lowered my gaze before the comparison could take root.

At the mention of healers, my fingers instinctively found one another, rubbing absent circles across my own knuckles. Healers. The word carried more weight than I expected. “I…” My voice caught for only a moment before finding itself again. “I’d like to help them.”

It sounded ridiculous the moment I said it. I looked down at the burns across my hands. Imagined the fresh bandages that would soon be wrapped around scraped palms that had spent hours clawing at broken stone. “Eventually,”

Not today. Not tomorrow. Not even in a week. “I think I’d like to heal again.” The confession lingered in the quiet cabin. It was the first thing I’d said about my future since my world had fallen. And somehow?

Saying it out loud made it feel just a little more possible.​

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Shirayan Temple, Naboo
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

Aileni chuckled softly and nodded his head, "a small relief then. Though I wouldn't mind if you did tease me, poking fun amongst friends is always something that I believe to be healthy." He mentioned but there was understanding to his tone, this had been a traumatic moment in Ariadni's life, poking fun at the one who had been the only one offering safety and comfort might be too much.

Landing the ship in the hangar, T-11 reported to Aileni that the healers had been alerted and were heading to the hangar to meeting them. Aileni wanted to make sure that Ariadni didn't harm herself further or exert herself more than needed. Shutting the engines off and letting the ship rest, Aileni heard that Ariadni wanted to work with the healers. He internally chuckled since it was another Jedi that he was friends with who was wishing to focus on being a healer. He was curious if he was attracting healers to him, perhaps looking someone who was injury prone.

"The healers are on their way here, they should have a stretcher for you to rest on. Save exerting yourself further." Aileni mentioned. "Becoming a Jedi Healer, that's one of the most noble avenues that a Jedi can go down." The praise and admiration clear in his tone, "I am sure that they would welcome your presence and offer great training for you to take part of." Aileni mentioned. While he hadn't the best luck, he knew that the path he took was far more dangerous, far darker so it was always going to be harder for him to find a Master willing to take him on.

Shifting from the pilot seat, Aileni opened the ramp and helped Ariadni out of the ship, letting her inhale the slightly cool, crisp air. The temple located high on a mountain ensured that no matter how warm the climate was elsewhere, things would always be cooler in the temple. "I am really glad to hear that you wish to stay around here for a time. Will be nice to know you better and hear of things you enjoy to do." Aileni gave a warm smile to Ariadni.

 

[Ariadni]

Aileni Ifor Xeraic

The ship settled with a gentle shudder beneath us. For a long moment, I simply listened. No collapsing beams. No screaming. No crackling fire. Only the quiet ticking of cooling machinery and the distant sounds of people going about their lives.

It was peaceful.

The thought felt almost foreign.

I watched him move about the cockpit, speaking with T-11 in words I still only half understood, before my attention drifted beyond the canopy.

The Jedi Temple stood proudly against the mountainside, its pale stone catching the afternoon light. It seemed to grow naturally from the rock itself, as though the mountain had decided one day to bloom into towers instead of trees. Beautiful. Different. Safe. I hoped, one day, that it might feel like home.

At the mention of the healers, my hands instinctively folded together on my lap.

“I’d like that.” The words came quietly, but with more certainty than I’d managed since leaving Vystia. “I don’t know what tomorrow looks like just yet.” Or the day after.

“I think,” I paused for a moment, searching for the thought before it slipped away. “I think helping people always made the world feel smaller.” Less frightening. Less lonely. “I’d like to feel that again.”

His praise brought unexpected warmth to my cheeks, and I lowered my gaze almost instinctively. “I have a lot to learn still.” It felt strange admitting that. Back home, I had been one of the people others sought for guidance. The thought of so much knowledge still left to learn should have frightened me, but instead it was oddly comforting.

There was potential in being a student again.

The ramp lowered with a quiet hiss, carrying cool mountain air into the little ship. I breathed it in deeply as he helped me carefully to my feet. My ribs protested immediately, reminding me that bravery and healing rarely travelled at the same pace.

The crisp air outside carried scents I’d never known before. Pine. Cold stone. Something sweet drifting on the breeze from gardens I could not yet see. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting myself simply exist within it. When I opened them again, a small group of healers were already making their way across the hanger towards us.

My new life, I supposed. Or at least its beginning.

His smile found me again, as warm as it had been when we’d first met amongst ashes. “I’d like that too.” The answer came easier than expected. “I don’t think I know what I enjoy anymore.” There was no self-pity in the admission. Only honesty.

“But,” A tiny, fragile smile tugged gently at the corner of my mouth. “Perhaps we can find out together.”

The healers reached us then, their practiced hands already preparing the stretcher. I hesitated only long enough to look back at him one last time. “Thank you, Aileni.” This time, there was no apology hidden being the gratitude.

Only hope. Fragile. Quiet. But hope nonetheless.​

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Shirayan Temple, Naboo
Outfit: Armoured Jedi
Equipment: Dathomir Energy bow, practice saber
Tag: Ariadni

Aileni looked to Ariadni when she mentioned that she didn't know how tomorrow was going to look, "that's okay. I doubt that any of us truly know what the future will hold, so never assume you have to know that." He mentioned, Aileni never knew if he was going to survive one mission or another so he was very aware that clinging onto dreams and desires of a tomorrow was futile. He focused on the moment, where he was alive and where things could be done.

"Then we shall ensure that you can do that again. I want to make sure that your comfort is a priority." Aileni mentioned as he shrugged when Ariadni admitted that she had a lot to learn, "some Masters would argue that we are all constantly learning, that one does not leave the learning stage in life. Merely adds to it. So, there's that if it helps." There was a chuckle since he was not sure it was exactly the most helpful of statements but it was something he had been told so it was something he figured he would share. Just to see how Ariadni handled it.

As the healers arrived, one asked Aileni what happened and what was going on. The Padawan gave a brief run down of the situation as he had seen things. Making sure not to hide any details, he knew it was far too crucial to Ariadni's recovery to attempt to be vague to obtuse about things. When he mentioned the little healing he did, one of the healers raised an eyebrow at Aileni and he held up his hands in innocence. "I was just doing what I could and only know a little healing from the classes I studied here, so your fault for showing me."

"More concerned that you might have caused some further harm in the process of healing by covering up severity of issues. But we shall have to wait and see." The healer spoke in a chastising tone to AIleni. Clearly not impressed that he was attempting to do things on his own, "we remember the botched job you did on yourself not too long ago. So, hopefully it won't be anything like that!"

Aileni couldn't argue there, he had not been in a good spot and nearly died from what some healers were telling him. Symptom of rushing off and doing missions without oversight or support during the mission.

He smiled to Ariadni and nodded his head, "I would really like that. Finding out together." Aileni confessed in a soft voice.

"See you soon, Ariadni, well as soon as they allow me to." Aileni grinned in a goofy manner, to keep the moment light and make sure that she knew that he was not going to be disappearing on her any time soon.