Exodus Crash: A New Dawn | [ CIS, Allies & Natives ]

[Nylea Apollodor]

Quietly Nylea moved over to sit down next to Tellu when she was motioned to do so, glad to have the opportunity to rest her feet for at least a little while. She sat there in silence at first, looking at the ground in front of her but the moment Tellu said it was not okay she felt a wave of tears battering down the wall she had erected to keep them at bay and it posed little resistance. All the emotion that had been bottled up now spilled out all at once and the echani let out an ugly cry as she buried her face in her hands. "Why," she asked the galaxy and the Force itself inbetween heavy sobbing, despite knowing the answer was apathy. "Why them?"

And even though she was in so much pain, it felt wrong to sit here and do nothing to help those who needed it. There were too many of them already, what was her own grief compared to that? She tried her hardest to calm down her sobbing so she could listen to Tellu, though words felt hollow and meaningless no matter who spoke them. With her sleeve Nylea wiped her face clean of her tears, though they were still forming and it wasn't too long before two more tearstreaks began rolling down her cheeks.

"I..." the younger of the two said with a sob, "Lonely. I f-feel alone, despite every- everyone around me." Every little thing that had meant anything to her in her precious innocent years had been wiped away. Her entire family was dead and they were never even going to get a proper goodbye. Not a single one of them. "I am not ready to be without my family. This is too much."

[member="Tellu Talon"] | [member="Nora Lithos"]​

 

[Ria Misrani]

"I don't know."

Her voice sounded about as uneasy and unsure as she looked, tired, ragged and haphazardly feeling for something positive. "Nor do I think we will ever quite know, or possibly understand what the motivation behind this atrocity was." She went on to say and put an arm around Nylea reassuringly. The older Echani pulled the younger into a familial embrace, allowing the younger to cry, to sob, weep - mourn. Grieve. Something they had not been afforded before this moment. Nylea's cries matched many of their people's cry, echoing the heartache that could be felt the moment you set foot on the world. The massacre of their people would not be so easily forgotten, nor would it be forgiven. The Mandalorians under the Infernal's yoke had become terrorists, extremists that had been met with a firm hand by the Confederacy.

It still did not take away the pain, if anything - it only added salt onto the open wound. "You are never alone, Nylea."

A pause.

Tellu's mother may not be so keen on accepting a new child so quickly, not after losing her own. None of them could really, none but perhaps Tellu who had experience grief before, who knew, "and know that what you feel in this moment, will not last forever." She soothed Nylea with the circular motion of her hand against the younger Echani's back. Much in the same way she would have soothed Iuuna. "I understand how hard it is to lose family, and to lose them like this..." Tellu's voice broke even more as if it were possible - a crack of ice. Sliding away from the massive formation and pulling into the ocean, this was the Viceroy of Monastery as she continued. "But understand that our families are never truly gone, for if we keep them in our hearts if we keep their memories... they will always be with us."

"When you look up into the night sky, when you gaze upon the stars - when you gaze down to the waters that reflect their light."

A moment for breath, a moment to exhale and collect herself.

"So too will your family gaze upon you from the stars, so too will you see them - through your own reflection."

"While death is hard, while the parting of our loved ones can seem difficult almost impossible to bear. Know that this is all part of life, for life is part of death, death is part of life. The memories of our loved ones, their smiles, their laughter - remain with us, for they are us, we are them." They were all connected, and with Echani this was never truer. At least Tellu felt this was true, "they live with us, through us, through our thoughts, our words and most importantly our actions."

Tellu moved her arm away from Nylea and tucked a hand underneath the younger woman's chin. "You honor your family by living, Nylea. Your family continue to live on through you, through your reflection, they are with you with each step you take and with each breath you make." Tellu's grief and troubled voice became warm, confident and hopeful. She had not noticed how the crowd had gathered, how the Echani sat to listen to her speak. How in this time, her mother, father, and sister had come to find her. It was Aeris, her mother who made her way through the crowd toward Tellu and knelt down to the two women.

"I see your pain," she said to Nylea, "and I know that I cannot replace your mother or your father, just as you cannot replace my Valina - but should you accept this. Know that you have a place with me, with my family, among the Talons." There were tears in Aeris's eyes, they rolled freely down her cheeks. She was proud of Tellu and could see just what a wonderful person she had become, and she could see that Nylea was in need of a family. "I am Aeris Talon of House Vail, and I would welcome you into my home."

[member="Nylea Talon"] | [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Cyprine Talon"]

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

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Nylea's eyes were closed. She couldn't bear to see any more of the world around her in fear of the darkness that slowly crept closer. A rush of panic shot through her as she felt it, for it was that same darkness that had once turned her into a monster, one who did the very things she had dedicated her life to atoning for. She had felt it once before since then and that time those around her had kept her safe from it- now, she felt alone and defenseless against it. The shadows had not reached her yet, their approach was a slow one, but they felt simply too inevitable.

But one simple gesture, that arm she felt around her, drove the darkness away. Where words could not break the walls that separated her own mind from reality, but through that one simple act Nylea could finally understand that she really was not alone and the crying slowly came to a halt. Her face remained buried in her hands while she tried to get her breathing under control, though that task seemed too difficult still at that moment. Yet still, words could find some semblance of meaning as Nylea was told she was never alone. A voice in her head still told her she didn't deserve to have anyone to rely on, but at that moment her grief was too strong to allow that voice to overpower it and she was able to give her own feelings their place.

"Thank you."

Two simple words, uttered inbetween irregular breaths. Despite all the immense pain and grief Tellu had to endure herself, she was still there for the younger echani. It was a strength she admired greatly. While it seemed all was lost, that which she said carried the underlying message that there was still a tomorrow, even if the pain of loss persisted. She herself was still here and with her she carried the memories of those who were no longer here, but never truly gone. In times like these, it was all too easy to forget that beyond death, there was the Force and Nylea needed that reminder now more than ever. Perhaps she couldn't feel them at that very moment, but they were there and would always be watching. Until she met them again, their memories would keep them in her heart. All Nylea could hope was that she could make them proud. "I will not let their memory die."

The woman's face slowly lifted up from her hands while Aeris made her way towards Nylea and Tellu and she smiled softly in greeting, wiping the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt in the meantime. What Aeris told her didn't fully register with Nylea at first, though- the crowd that had gathered was a bit flustering to her but at the same time, it felt like the warm embrace she needed. It took a few moments for her to fully realize what it was Tellu's mother meant and when it did settle in, a somewhat shocked look was sent Tellu's way before Nylea looked back at Aeris with gratefulness in her eyes.

"I- I would be honored."

[member="Tellu Talon"]​