Family Matters [Katrine]

[Josh Dragovalor]

"I could throw lessons at you. They could either hurt less or more, depending on how hard you fight against them," she had pointed out, her tone went light for the moment but she might not have been kidding. Josh should shrug his shoulders at that. "Well, playing rough's nothing new to me" He teased. "Maybe I'll show you sometime if you're interested" He then joked, shooting her a wicked grin. He didn't mean it, of course, he wouldn't dare flirt with a spoken for woman. Or was she spoken for? He honestly couldn't tell at this point. She asked what a punch buggy was and he shrugged. "Nickname for heavy speeder. Children's game called punch buggy. HoloNet might tell you better than I would" He explained quickly.

More deflecting blame followed. More dodging questions followed. More being dodgy followed. More trying to just dance around his questions with long phrases followed. Not helping her argument here. "You really think she'll never recover? You didn't know her before the darkness. She's eager, strong, capable. Even when she thinks she's a loose cannon, she's only had months in this life. People take years, she refused to let that slow her down" she asked. "No, I don't know she'll never recover" He corrected. "I think it's going to be difficult. I think it's going to be possible she doesn't. But I think she will. I have faith in her" Josh would admit in turn. "She's strong, stronger than she thinks she is. But she's damaged. Heavily damaged. Damage you guys caused. There's no dodging around that. You can tell me Gerwald did it, you can dance around my questions if you want, but that doesn't change that fact. She's in a situation that's going to be a problem to recover from."

Her note that she only had months in this life caused him to raise a brow though. She had the body of an adult, the mind of an adult... Mostly of an adult anyway. The power of an adult.

"Question. Is she physically and mentally 18?" He asked in a moment that could be considered comedy. "Just curious. But also curious about what you mean by only months into her life."

Another matter of being unfamiliar with their cultures.

She dodged the question about monogamy, and he let out a sigh. "Taking that as a yes" He spoke bluntly. Geez, these two deserved each other. "It's a term that can be applied to relationships as well, though for marriages it's common. Either way, I'm not concerned with whether you two are poly or not, I won't judge. That's cool, that's your thing, you do you. My only issue is that someone got hurt" He would clarify.

"I'm worried about Pebble. Worried about everything you're telling me. After what she told me what she did and Jart showed me she the darkness still had an incredible effect on her still but it was fueled by what happened, I knew she needed time. She needs someone in her life but right now, it's not me. And it's not Gerwald with the decision he made" She had said.

"Well... I've been trying to be her rock, so to speak" He admitted with a big, cheeky grin that lasted for several seconds before he would lower his head in shame. "That was a pun. A very bad pun. I am sorry."

"Don't call her Pebble" She said.

"Duly noted. She'll never hear any of it. Not even the drop of a pebble"

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Playing rough wasn't anything new to him. Could he show her sometimes? Her brow arched as she watched, grin attached to it. "You just said you know nothing of my culture. Not sure how well you'd do." Katrine responded, the actual meaning literally flying over her head. She was getting better at picking up some phrases but right now, her mind was too far from it to even begin to fandom what exactly what he was talking about because she was talking about spells.

A punch buggy was a heavy speeder. Children's game was called that. Katrine shrugged, she'd never heard of it. Wolves didn't quite play games that were common enough to be mentioned on the HoloNet. "Guess I'll look it up," she said, not fully interested in something that had the same name as the nickname for a heavy speeder. If Josh knew her at all, he'd notice that because if she was curious, she would have asked him instead. She didn't.

He did think Pebble would recover but that it would be different and possible she wouldn't. Josh already knew she was stronger than she thought she was. Just heavily damaged, damage you guys caused, he'd said. Still not listening to her, definitely not. Katrine was accepting her blame, he just didn't like what she saw as her blame to be what it was. "You don't have to like what I said but that is my blame. And I take responsibility for it." Was this how it was going to be? She was going to meet the most random of strangers Pebble met and she was going to get accused of the same crap over and over? She felt guilty but frankly, Josh was making her less guilty and more annoyed by the whole thing. Whether he was aware of it or not wasn't her concern.

Katrine paused suddenly as she heard the question. Was she physically and mentally 18. "Not exactly. She's over 500 years old but she was a baby when she was trapped in her state... a pebble. When she came out of it, she was a teenager. But her head is filled with all this knowledge that you could never tell." Wow, saying it out loud to a perfect strange made it sound all the more weird to her, especially when considering how everything had occurred. She lived her life when she was now though but it didn't change the fact that she had so little time in this galaxy, the way she had missed so much throughout her life, which was stolen from her.

Josh was taking her answer as yes? "Huh?" Which part exactly? He explained though that the term apparently applied to a relationship as well even though it was common for marriages. Josh wasn't going to judge that she wasn't monogamous, he wouldn't judge. His issue was that someone got hurt. "I'm not concerned if you'd be judgemental. You're already very judgemental as it is. You're also kinda rude, coming onto my planet, attacking me without knowing the whole story. you also listen to only parts that interest you and think I'm dodging answers because you don't like what I'm telling you." Honestly, why would she care if he was being judgemental about whom she loved. She loved her sister and she got a far worse stab into the gut than Gerwald could have given her. "I do like that you're loyal to Pebble, that's good." she continued. Everyone needed a plus, that was his.

He was trying to be her rock. Katrine's facial features didn't budge, she didn't get it. Even after Josh had said it was a pun, a bad one at that, she didn't show a reaction. He also said he would reveal he knew about her nickname. Katrine was just about to say well when he said not even the drop of a pebble. Nothing. "You have to stop," she pointed out. "She'd get angry even before if anyone else tried to use it." Seriously. She was doing him a favor in this instance.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"You just said you know nothing of my culture. Not sure how well you'd do."

"Guess I'll look it up,"

Her disinterest was fairly clear, he noted. But that was what it was. She said she took responsibility for what she had done. And do what with it? Keep letting her spiral and burn while she sat there doing nothing but grind and thrust on the man Scherezade loved?

"Not exactly. She's over 500 years old but she was a baby when she was trapped in her state... a pebble. When she came out of it, she was a teenager. But her head is filled with all this knowledge that you could never tell."

Interesting. More than 500 years old, with knowledge of Force knows how many years. But with the body and in a sense, the mind, of a young adult at the most. "Explains a lot" He answered quietly. But he became even more quiet at the next remarks.

"I'm not concerned if you'd be judgemental. You're already very judgemental as it is. You're also kinda rude, coming onto my planet, attacking me without knowing the whole story. you also listen to only parts that interest you and think I'm dodging answers because you don't like what I'm telling you."

The mischief in his eyes, the smile, the free-spirit of his demeanour, it all disappeared the more she went on. It was clear to him that the way he'd been handling things... Casual, open, telling jokes and being himself and saying what was on his mind... That wasn't going to do anything more than cause a problem. His expression changed, his stance changed... His eyes changed. What before was wide-eyed, light and curious became dulled, serious, stern... In a way it was almost a mirror to the changes to Pebble. With a bit less angst. At least for now. In a sense, Josh had put his barriers back up again and moved to a more business-like mode, more that of a Jedi Master. It was evident in his voice as he would respectfully lower his head and speak calmly, quietly.

"My apologies" He spoke in almost a whisper. He could admit that offending wasn't his intention either way, even if he wasn't happy with her for dodging questions and deflecting blame a bit too much to believable. He wanted to know if there was a way to help Scherezade... And her, if needed. But a terrifying realization hit him in that moment. It was marked by his pupils shrinking, and his face starting to go white. He couldn't stop the feeling of horrible, horrible pain from radiating from him in the Force, even if he did his best to hide it after a few moments. He knew she'd see. He knew she'd sense it. But he didn't know what to think now. It was the realization that one day down the road... Most likely, Scherezade when she was proper into the fold as a Sith... She would ditch him. If not be ordered to take advantage of their friendship and try to kill him.

Damn.

He wouldn't be able to keep his composure, would he? Still, he tried. He'd been worried for some time about her and this situation, but it never hit him until this moment the likely severity. And it terrified him.

"I understand if you do not trust me, but I'd like to know more about what caused Scherezade to become as she is now. Was she always a Sith?" He would ask, trying to keep the same calm, business-like demeanour he'd adopted to better keep his cool and make this work without his quips and jokes angering her. "Witches are generally neutral, and frown upon their kind becoming Sith by what I have heard. And yet, despite what she is now... She doesn't come off like any Sith I've ever seen or heard of" Josh would admit. The tactical mind was in play again. Give a little to get a little. So here was what he would give... "You can tell me all you like about how Sith can develop a consciousness... But no Sith that is deeply involved has what she has... She has something they do not. Something that makes her unique. Something that makes her special... Something that set her apart from the Sith to me immediately... And that's her heart.

And after recent events, I fear that she's only a step or two from losing it. That's why I need to know what I can."

It was a realization that hurt him more than he ever thought it would. He knew he should see it coming, with her being a Sith, but...

He took a deep breath. He had meant to just give a little and hope that she would supply some information, but that realization had completely rocked him. His business mind had faded a bit by accident, but this entire thing was firing up his anxiety. He knew full well that what he may be about to say would likely give more information than he meant, but... Perhaps he did need to ask for information now. He didn't know what else to do. How else to help her.

But he would not reveal Scherezade's feelings. Instead, if needed, he would offer up his own.

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Katrine gave a nod to Josh's comment on Pebble's age. That was pretty much it. She knew a lot but felt like she was behind even though it had only been months despite her appearance.

Her words had caused a visible reaction, his whole stature and expression changing. He grew serious, all the way to his eyes. Katrine watched, sensing something else. Something harder... was it pain? She was barely reading it off of the surface even without prying but it was enough to have her head tilt the same way it did when she was in her Lupine form. She wanted to ask but at the moment, she felt like she would invading into something. He was already invading into her personal head and heart space, she wasn't sure if she wanted to take it further.

An apology came. Katrine just nodded.

He understood she didn't trust him but he wanted to know more, wanted to know if Pebble was always a Sith. "I think so. It's never been a subject we've discussed long. I think she comes from a family of Sith so it came naturally to be one. Though the spirits called her the same night. She was a Witch-practicing Sith since then," Katrine offered up before Josh continued, talking about Witches being generally neutral and frowning upon their kind becoming Sith. She shook her head though she let him finish. "That's not entirely true. Allyan Witches banish Witches that become Nightsisters. They don't like their own falling to the dark in general. Sith included." It was far more to do with Nightsisters than it did with Sith.

As for Pebble, he thought she had a heart which set her apart from other Sith because he didn't think Sith could develop a consciousness. But he also thought that she could lose her heart after what happened. "Consciousness or not, there are Sith that have hearts. You expect them to carry the weight of the galaxy? They won't. They'd rather burn it. But they can still very much love and protect their loved ones no matter what you think of them." Josh could believe whatever he wanted about Pebble, Katrine knew she was like that. She'd poison the water for the fun of it, she'd skin creatures for the fun of it. She had the capacity to love though despite the chaos she was gifted in creating. And being a Sith along with it wasn't wrong.

Would she lose her heart though? She sighed and looked ahead towards the Temple. "I don't know. The darkness, whatever her grandmother did to her left a heavy weight on her. When she woke from it, she attacked me. I was already the enemy before she found out. She couldn't see that there was a light strong enough to conquer the darkness that weighs her. It even did before. She can't seem to see that every night ends with the break of dawn." She remembered what Pebble said about Gerwald, how he had helped her fight the darkness, let her sleep. She had never told her any of it but she did know that now. "You may blame me all you want but whatever prison her grandmother created for her when she was an infant is always present in her mind. And almost dying, being in that coma made it far worse."

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Katrine thought it just came naturally to her, with her upbringing. He disagreed. If she was born into this sort of thing, if it was her destiny... She would not be as she was now. It wouldn't have taken until she was hurt as she was for her to start going down the path she was starting to go down. There had to be more. That seemed too simple and clean given her situation. He knew that she could do some bad things. He'd seen her kill those security guards in a drunken stupor, and do so brutally, without a second thought. At first he thought she was doing it for him, but... Now he wasn't so sure. Perhaps she just enjoyed it? He didn't know. He'd need to talk to her.

She did give a little more though, noting that regardless of her background, it seemed that her grandmother had done a lot of damage to her. Cursed her with some kind of darkness. He wasn't sure what she meant, Scherezade had gone on about a darkness pulling her in and keeping her in there and telling her things, but he wasn't sure what she meant by it. That too, he'd need to try to ask more about. But she hated questions. It was a slippery slope. He let out a sigh. Perhaps it was time to explain... As much as he knew she was likely continuing to withhold and dodge, if there was any chance he would get anything out of this to help Scherezade... Well, he'd take it. Even if that meant having to tell his own feelings on the matter.

"I guess... To explain... Despite the fact that I know she's killed people, despite the fact she's involved with the Sith and the Confederacy... She just doesn't have that same ability to do what her comrades, if you can even call them that by how they treat her... She doesn't seem to have that same malicious, manipulative nature as the rest of the Sith... She has a heart. Not just a small tinge of empathy that might cause her to spare a person... She has a heart. She knows what it's like to be hurt, to be destroyed, and her heart beats strong, and with it I feel she isn't all in yet with this path. But... There was a man, at an event she and I attended.

She was drunk, got into an incident, he berated her, he treated her like trash, and she obeyed him."

He dared not tell her the cause of that situation that she had explained to him in private. That was private, that was personal. This had not been in public like the incident itself was, that had been between them and them only. He would not betray Scherezade.

"His tone changed, he acted like he wanted to help her... But it was too quick. It didn't seem real, genuine... It felt like the same fake empathy that I've seen many Sith use to manipulate and get what they want."

This was no secret, the incident. It had been in public, it hadn't taken long for news of the source of the Force Scream to get around.

"I feel like this one will take advantage of her being vulnerable, and weaponize her. I feel like he will bring her fully into the fold... And she will lose her heart. She will lose what makes her special."

Josh took a deep breath, not able to meet her eyes anymore. He didn't know why he was saying this, he didn't know why he was going into detail. She had done nothing but make him doubt her honesty. But who else could he ask? Who else could he get information from? And he knew full well that odds were, this chick might even be in league with the guy too... Report everything back, like a good little puppet. He was prepared for that, of course. He didn't let the possibility slide.

"I know it's possible she can come back from that path, you said it yourself that some Sith can... But with the damage done to her, I... I don't know. I don't know how to, but I want to help her get away from that path. I don't want to see her be used and weaponized by people who even she's told me herself do nothing but treat her like trash, treat her like she doesn't belong. I just... I want her to be happy. I have not once seen her smile, and for one reason or another, that hurts me. I want to see her smile. That and...

The truth is... Part of this concern is me being selfish. She's tried to push me away in some respect. She even told me not to care for her. But I can't help it. I want to help her.

And I'm afraid to lose her."

He was afraid to lose her.

There it was. That was it. Right there. He cared about her. He didn't want to lose her. He knew odds are he was making a mistake. But...

"And I feel like if she does go all in, if she does lose her heart... I'll never see her again. Not as the Scherezade I know. But as someone who's become the very thing she hates. And I feel like she will either take leave of me... Or be ordered to use our friendship to kill me. And odds are? You won't be safe either. I... I don't want to be forced to hurt her. I don't. I want her to be free, I want her to be happy, to smile, to laugh, to..."

His tone had begun rising more and more as he went on, as his emotions began to flare. Those he'd spoken to had been right... He had been letting his feelings rule him. And now they'd led him to a situation he didn't know how to handle. When he was back on the Dragon... It was time to re-evaluate.

"I want her to be happy again. But I don't know if she ever will be if this path continues. That's why I want to know what's going on. I want to know if I can help her. If I try to talk to her now, she'll just... Think this is some preachy Jedi conversion poodoo.

But... This isn't about the Jedi. This is personal."

He knew deep down that if Scherezade were to go this way, and there was nothing he could do... He may need to wipe his memories of her. If not both of theirs of one another. To protect them both. From each other.

That was not something he wanted to do.

"I don't expect you to want to help me, and that's fine. I was prepared from the beginning for the idea that I'd probably have to save Scherezade myself. But whether it's out of some kind of remaining love for your sister... Or even just for your own safety. If she weaponizes that pain as he has said he would have her do... He may use your death as a stepping stone. That, or she weaponizes her pain, follows it and it's anger, and decides to attack you herself. If for fear of that, or out of love, you have anything... ANYTHING that might help, or anything that might resonate with her, might help her find her way... Please, by the Force, tell me. Help. Me.

I don't want to lose her."

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

He knew Pebble had killed people, the fact she's involved with the Sith and the Confederacy, Josh had also added before he went back to what he was saying. She didn't have the same malicious, manipulative nature as other Sith. And then there was a man at an event the two attended. Pebble was drunk, got into an incident and he berated her, treated her like trash and Pebble obeyed. Katrine's eyes narrowed as she looked back at him. "Drunk? What incident? Who was this man?" She immediately threw out her question. "By the way, she isn't involved with Sith. She identifies herself a Sith but from the day I found her, she's been practicing Witchcraft. I trained with her in both witchcraft and Force Powers." The Sith Pebble associated with were Sith that were inside the Confederacy. It wasn't that much of an involvement either.

Josh was talking about the man, about how his tone changed and he acted about how he wanted to help her. It didn't seem genuine. Katrine listened, eyebrows narrowed, trying to understand who he was talking about. Josh was convinced this guy would take advantage of her being vulnerable and weaponize her. "Who is this?" Katrine repeated her question.

Katrine didn't get involved with state politics, Mandragora wasn't part of that. If it involved religious aspects in any way or the Force, then it would have been right up her alley but this incident, she hadn't heard anything about it.

Josh was sure she could come back from that path and Katrine still wasn't too sure if he meant the path that the man could lead her to or if he meant Sith in general. He wanted to help to get her away from that path, he'd used the phrase again. He wanted her to be happy, when not once had he seen her smile. And he claimed he was selfish in it because she'd tried to push him away, told him not to care for her but he wanted to help her. Because he was afraid to lose her. Katrine blinked. "Is she yours to lose?" She suddenly threw out without much thought. Pebble was her sister and she lost her. How was she Josh's that he could lose her?

He expected the absolute worst if Pebble lost her heart. That she would take leave of him or ordered to use their friendship to him. And Katrine herself wouldn't be safe either. "She would only go after me if she did have parts of her heart still there," she pointed out and paused as her own words. Was that true? Would she care if she went so dark as Josh suspected? Or would she care to cut the last of the ties left to her humanity? Let the past die, her protector kept reminding her recently. Cut the ties to keep your humanity, Doashim roared suddenly into her ear, startling her suddenly as she looked at him. He wasn't wrong. This was killing her. It wasn't bad enough yet that she had nearly lost Gerwald to lose Pebble when she hadn't even imagined it possible, broken by the words her sister had told her and yet she continued to be the bad guy with a complete stranger who didn't even know her but came to attack her with half-truths he knew.

Josh's words brought her back though as he continued, wanting her to be happy again. He believed Pebble would just think he was throwing preachy Jedi conversation poodoo but it was personal. "How is it personal?" Katrine asked immediately. Can't you see? Lylek wondered from the other side of her, making her look at him. "See what?" She wondered but the spirit stayed quiet rather than answer her.

He was still pushing her. He didn't expect her to want to help him, she heard him say. He was prepared to have to say Scherezade himself, and again. Out of some kind of remaining love for your sister. Katrine inhaled a deep breath as she stared at him. Or even just for her own safety. He was doing that thing again where he was getting on her nerves. He may use your death as a stepping stone... or decides to attack you herself. She continued to stare at him. Josh still wasn't paying attention, was he? Nope, still running his own thing, assuming she was all out of love for Pebble, assuming she'd act out of some sort of fear. "You're a blind Jedi still. Or is that a personal trait that you were born with?" She snapped at him. "I love her. I love her so much. Do you think I'd entertain this conversation for a split second if I didn't?" Her lips pursed as she exhaled a breath. "Winged Goddess, give me patience." Doashim is right. The weight is bothersome to us. We allowed her to leave, you need to as well. Jart chipped in from her shoulder.

"Jedi dude, get it through your thick head. She doesn't want me around. I can't help you. All I have is going through this everytime a random stranger decides he knows anything about the situation, Pebble or me." Once. So far it had been once. This one time but it just made her believe this could have just been the beginning. "You want me to solve this for you, the spirits want me to give Pebble exactly what she wants and release her from my heart." Honestly, she wasn't sure what the answer was to this. "Okay, so either you understood things wrong or she's seeing things wrong with the alcohol. And I'm still telling you, the answer is in the darkness. Whoever he, he can fuel into it but he won't ever be the first problem. The darkness made her believe she had two people when she went into it and then she had none. Jart read it in her mind. I tried to tell her when she left that it wasn't true. She could always come back when she was ready. I don't know if she let herself hear me or not. But I can't do more than that right now."

Why Josh seemed to think she could solve his problems which weren't his, to begin with, was beyond her. Sever, Lylek muttered. So far, all three were in agreement on this. Katrine was the only one still fighting it. And Josh, he was saying he didn't want to lose her. "And again. How could you lose her? I lost my sister. What do you have to lose in this?"

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Drunk? What incident? Who was this man?" she asked as she would go on to explain she wasn't part of a Sith sect, but worked under the Sith mantra in the CIS. Sith was Sith, so he just shrugged his shoulders. She asked who the man was again, and he let out a sigh.

"I don't know his name. Sith Lord, CIS. Wrinkly face, constantly furrows his brows" Josh would speak. "I've been calling him Darth Wrinkles all this time. But... I still can't stand what he did to Scherezade" He would admit. "He treated her like his belonging. Like she belonged to him, like she was a thing that he could control and bend and manipulate to whatever he wanted. He berated her for getting into it with someone" He explained, still not telling her that it had been with Katrine's mother. That was too personal on Scherezade's side to reveal. It was something that was hurting her. Loyalty dictated he couldn't tell Katrine about that. "Called her names, called her an embarrassment, treated her like trash. Then he just switched tact, and it was like I could see the lightbulb come on. He told her... That he would teach her to take her pain and turn it into strength. Ding ding, red flag. I know a thing or two about how they do it" He spoke, before he gave a bittersweet smile. "I was never the purest, by the books Jedi in the world."

"Is she yours to lose?" She suddenly threw out which caught him off-guard and he had to ponder it a moment. "No" He spoke. "She's not my belonging. She isn't his belonging. She's hers and herself. And much of my fear is that it won't stay that way. As for what I fear to lose... I fear to lose someone I consider a friend, someone I care about, someone I want to help."

It was very possible that deep down he had unconsciously disobeyed one of Scherezade's direct orders. But he wouldn't know that. Not right now.

"You're a blind Jedi still. Or is that a personal trait that you were born with?" She snapped at him. "I love her. I love her so much. Do you think I'd entertain this conversation for a split second if I didn't?"

He shook his head. "If I didn't think you did, I wouldn't waste my time" He spoke softly, keeping that short and sweet.

"Jedi dude, get it through your thick head. She doesn't want me around. I can't help you. All I have is going through this everytime a random stranger decides he knows anything about the situation, Pebble or me."

"You want me to solve this for you, the spirits want me to give Pebble exactly what she wants and release her from my heart."

"Okay, so either you understood things wrong or she's seeing things wrong with the alcohol. And I'm still telling you, the answer is in the darkness. Whoever he, he can fuel into it but he won't ever be the first problem. The darkness made her believe she had two people when she went into it and then she had none. Jart read it in her mind. I tried to tell her when she left that it wasn't true. She could always come back when she was ready. I don't know if she let herself hear me or not. But I can't do more than that right now."

He listened calmly this time around. Or as best as he could. Much of him wanted to yell at her, much of him wanted to tell her off. But in all the smoke and mirrors, he was finally able to find some sort of focus. It wasn't what he was looking for, but he was able to find mental clarity through focusing on what was most important here, and that was his goal to help Scherezade. It wasn't the solution... But it was a start. At the end of it, he took a deep breath.

"You keep telling me that I don't understand" He spoke softly. "But that's the thing. I agree with you. I don't" He admitted. "And no, I don't expect you to physically do anything. You think I'd let you go near her when she'd probably harm you? I understand we're not exactly on the same page, but I don't wish harm upon you. I wouldn't do that to you. Never. But... I get that I'm not seeing the whole thing. She's broken, she's been drunk much of the time I've known her. I expected to have to do this on my own because I mean, I didn't exactly expect to find you.

All I can ask, for help... Is to help me understand. Help me understand what happened, help me understand Scherezade further. All I want is anything that might help me help her. If I understand... Maybe I can find something in there. I'm willing to go to what lengths I can for Scherezade. But I need a lead."

He did listen when she talked about the darkness though. That it was a problem along with this dude. He'd heard Scherezade talk about the darkness taking her many times, but he'd thought she meant metaphorically. Here, they were acting like it was some literal darkness.

"Speaking of understanding... This whole darkness thing. I feel like I may have been reading this all wrong. Is there some literal darkness that has been claiming her and telling her things? I always thought she was referring to the dark side itself, but... Now, I'm not so sure."

"And again. How could you lose her? I lost my sister. What do you have to lose in this?"

"A friend."

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Sith Lord, CIS, Wrinkly face, constantly furrows his brows. Not her Uncle Isley. Josh called him Darth Wrinkles. Treated Pebble like she was his belonged, like something he could control, bend and manipulate. Berated her for getting into it with someone. "I have no idea who you're talking about. Definitely not my Uncle." Turned out Katrine knew that many Sith Lords in the Confederacy after all. Darth Wrinkles called Pebble names called her an embarrassment, treated her like trash. Katrine's face wore a frown, lips pursing together as she grew angry. Darth Wrinkles changed tact then, told Pebble he could teach her to take her pain and turn it into strength. Josh called that a red flag.

"I don't know who it is but Pebble's not an embarrassment, I hope you told her that. Despite what she thinks of herself, what she's thought of herself, she's done nothing but help the Confederacy since she became part of it. Her methods might seem unconventional to others but her originality was refreshing and effective." Katrine couldn't tell her that, maybe Josh could tell her. Hopefully in a way that she wouldn't realize it was Kat that told him.

His comment about not being the purest Jedi made her tilt her head again. "Is there such a thing as the purest, by the books Jedi?" Probably not, they all had flaws. Even Jedi had them. The thought normally didn't register in her mind, not until she'd come to see just how bad they could be.

Katrine's question was met with a simple no. Pebble was not his to lose. She nodded. Pebble belonged to herself. Josh still said he feared losing someone he considered a friend, cared about; someone he wanted to help. "Problem is, Josh, Pebble needs to figure out how to help herself. You can't help her if she keeps thinking she can't be helped." It occurred to her, aligned with what she knew about her and what Jart told her. if she was so convinced she couldn't be helped, she wouldn't let him or anyone else help her.

If he didn't think she cared, he wouldn't waste his time talking to her. She didn't say anything to that. Jart was still tapping at her shoulder, trying to get her attention, making her look up at him. "Stop." She told him. The spirit stopped then.

Josh agreed with her, he didn't understand. He wouldn't let her go near Pebble right now when she'd probably harm her. He didn't wish harm to her. Pebble was broken, drunk most of the time he knew her. He was willing to go to what lengths he could. Katrine nodded. but when he spoke again, he wondered about the darkness, admitting he hadn't understood it. Was there a literal darkness claiming her and telling her things? He'd assumed she was referring to the darkside.

"I don't understand it fully myself. Like I know that there realms. There is ours, the physical realm, and there is the spirit realm which is resided by the dead. Sometimes, they move on but sometimes, they remain here. It's the middle ground between here and there," she first explained what she knew for sure. Katrine could always see beyond the physical realm, making her know exactly what she was speaking. As for Pebble's darkness... "I'm not sure how real it is, her darkness. It's a place where she was before she was free from the pebble and it's the place where she went when she was recovering from the attack. I'm not sure it's a place like the realms but something possibly created by her grandmother to keep her. Even when she slept before, she went there. Like night terrors, I guess," Katrine recalled what Pebble had said about Gerwald, drawing her own conclusions from it about the darkness.

There was, however, one thing undeniable in how real that darkness was, for Pebble if not for anyone else. "We could argue just how real that darkness is or not but when she woke up from her coma, she was holding a sword. It appeared in her hand. It came from that place." It was as corporal as her own sword but it had come from an entirely different place. If she had any doubt in the place Pebble was before, she no longer doubted. "I don't know what else the darkness tell her but it kept telling her on a loop she would have no one when she came out of the darkness. Like it wants her to be alone and it used me and Gerwald to make itself stronger."

Problem was that Katrine's darkness was completely different. It came from the spirit realm, from her ancestor. She was the darkness destroying what Katrine was, corrupting her and breaking her very soul. Perhaps Pebble's darkness was doing the exact same thing but it came from a different source and its methods were different. "I don't know how her darkness should be fought. It's completely different. Different source, different methods. But I'm sure its intent is similar to my own. It's trying to sever her from the people that love her, leave her alone so it could take her." It was exactly what it was doing.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"No chit I told her that. Not like she would sodding listen to me" Josh would grumble irritably, shaking his head in turn. She seemed to believe that Scherezade had been an asset to the Confederacy. That wasn't what she thought. That wasn't what Wrinkles seemed to think, not until he could make a weapon out of her. Control her. That was what it was. Control.

"Is there such a thing as the purest, by the books Jedi?"

"Perhaps not" He spoke. "But there are ones who haven't had brushes with darkness like I have. The care I have held for people has caused me to plunge in before... And it's quite possible I may again. Hopefully not" He answered truthfully, even if he spoke in riddles. He knew better this time. Not that he could plunge in again anyway... That road had closed to him permanently. The trauma had locked the possibility of ever using the dark side full time from his mind. It would require a heavy memory wipe, cutting hundreds of different strings, cutting every tie to the reason, cutting everything that he had been for years, to get rid of it. It would do too much damage regardless. This was the way that Josh was... And it was the way that he was stuck. Closed off from the darkness... But always bearing the scars that it had inflicted on him. Forevermore.

He listened to her explanation of this "darkness", what it told her, how it changed her. About how her grandmother had cast some kind of spell on her, but one way or another, she had been pulled into a realm of darkness of sorts... And it still held sway over her. But there was one bit that Josh noted immediately. And Josh didn't hold back in his response. He hoped she would understand. He had always been very matter of fact... He could not change it. "It knew" He spoke softly, looking her dead in the eyes. "It knew what was going on in the outside world. It knew already what you two had done. That's the most likely scenario. To her, to lose Gerwald as a lover would be like to lose him completely. To have you be a part of that in any matter, would be like losing you as well. The darkness had been with her for what to her felt like years... It may have even been years, we don't know what time was like in there. How fast or how slow it travelled. It knew how she thought, it knew what was important to her, and it knew how she would react. It found out truths, and it fed them to her. To feed her anger, to drag her into the dark with it. It told her that she would awake without you two, and she did.

It knew exactly what to tell her to bring out more of what it was. Darkness."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Or at least, that's my theory."

He had all the information he would likely be able to get out of this. Perhaps it was time to leave. But one thing she said caught his interest and he quirked a brow.

It's completely different. Different source, different methods. But I'm sure its intent is similar to my own. It's trying to sever her from the people that love her, leave her alone so it could take her."

"I'm not sure what you mean" He spoke "It's intent is similar to your own?"

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

He'd told Pebble the exact same thing but she didn't listen. "She's stubborn," Katrine voiced, more reminding herself than telling him. She was stubborn but somehow with her sister, she knew how to let it go, knowing some arguments were pointless. It wasn't something everyone got from Katrine.

Perhaps there wasn't such a thing as the purest, by the books Jedi, Josh entertained the possibility with her though he also talked of the darkness he'd plunged into the darkness because of the care he held for others, which could happen again. Katrine's expression serious. It was being abandoned by someone who was always meant to protect her that had been the last step, the last straw which had allowed for her darkness. In the end, it was always her love, one way or another, that got her either where she needed to go or go her in trouble. "Hopefully not," she told him just as she told herself. "Darkness spurred from love is pretty strong."

With Katrine explaining the darkness that had caught Pebble and refused to let go, Josh talked about it knowing what was happening on the outside. That was the thing though. She knew before she went into the darkness. Gerwald had admitted as much before Pebble had woke. "Actually, she knew. When she told Gerwald she loved him, he said he was drawn to me. She talked about it when she woke too, wanting to remind him of their time together," Katrine explained. There was an inkling in her mind already of it being a possibility and Katrine had told her about Avarisa. "Her fear was clear, that he wouldn't be with her when her feelings for him kept safe from her fears. So the darkness took hold of what she feared the most and made it ten times worse." Josh had called his words a theory, hers were probably too. The only things Katrine knew for sure was what Pebble said she'd seen and what Jart shared with her that the darkness continued telling Pebble after she had left. "Probably a theory too but I know she knew and I know she kept using those same words when she woke so a knowledge of it was still there." That was one of the things she still wasn't over with. He'd told Pebble about her, he hadn't told her about Pebble until she was lying on that bed, fighting for her life. It was why she had been so angry, why she had refused to change for over a week, why she refused to talk to Gerwald in that time.

Her mention of her own darkness had Josh confused. She nodded. "I have a connection to the spirits, I have my whole life. My ancestor used it to latch onto me from the spirit realm, spend my whole life trying to corrupt me. She only succeeded when my Mother abandoned me. When I truly had no one. She sought to kill the love inside me though, in the end, that had been her undoing. It just feels like this darkness her grandmother created for Pebble is doing the same thing to her but she's already been taken from so many that do love her, missed so much that after this betrayal and what Pebble already thought of herself before, it made it easier for it to control her." Part of that was theory, part of that was understanding through her own past.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Preaching to the choir on that one" he spoke. Scherezade? Stubborn? Nooooo, no way.

"Darkness spurred from love is pretty strong."

"Mmm" He spoke when she spoke of love and darkness. It was sound advice, actually. He needed to watch out for that. "It's not a sacrifice I could make again if I wanted to. My mind's closed to the darkness. It couldn't embrace it even if I wanted it. There's just too much pain, too much trauma. Perhaps that's for the best."

"Actually, she knew. When she told Gerwald she loved him, he said he was drawn to me. She talked about it when she woke too, wanting to remind him of their time together,"

"Her fear was clear, that he wouldn't be with her when her feelings for him kept safe from her fears. So the darkness took hold of what she feared the most and made it ten times worse."

"Probably a theory too but I know she knew and I know she kept using those same words when she woke so a knowledge of it was still there."

"I have a connection to the spirits, I have my whole life. My ancestor used it to latch onto me from the spirit realm, spend my whole life trying to corrupt me. She only succeeded when my Mother abandoned me. When I truly had no one. She sought to kill the love inside me though, in the end, that had been her undoing. It just feels like this darkness her grandmother created for Pebble is doing the same thing to her but she's already been taken from so many that do love her, missed so much that after this betrayal and what Pebble already thought of herself before, it made it easier for it to control her."

"Oi vey" Josh would remark, shaking his head. It was a lot to take in, indeed. All these things about darkness realms and spirit realms and their evil grandmother and ancestor and mother abandonment and the death of love and... Woof. "Okay, okay. So you're telling me that she had the equivalent to what may have been a year in there, considering it may be a pocket dimension with different time from ours... Where she knew that you and Gerwald were probably a thing, had a "year" to stew over it and be told things, and then came out and it was confirmed to be true. That's what I'm hearing. Am I on the credits here?" Josh would ask as he moved his hands around while he spoke, just clarifying to see if he had this whole story right.

"You lot never do things simple, do you?"

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]