I Pledge Myself To Your Teachings

[Jamie Pyne]

Moments later Jamie saw Keira plunge into the water several feet away from her. Tiny air bubbles surrounded the older girl's body as they were pushed out and away while she got her bearings. From behind the rebreather a smile made its' way to Jamie's face. With a twist of her body she faced the opposite direction and began to swim more towards the center of the lake, the sand beneath growing further and further away the closer she got to the center. A thought as to how deep the lake got formed in her mind. The more she swam the harder it became to discern where exactly the bottom was, until it fell entirely out of sight.

The water itself was cool, but not cold or in the least bit unbearable. Jamie found it refreshing, a small reminder of the lakes back home, even if there were no underwater cities full of gungans to be found here. Breaching the surface she gave a few shakes of her head, loosing the water free of curly golden strands of hair. Beneath the water her legs slowly kicked back and forth to keep afloat. Once Keira made it to the top as well she pulled the rebreather to speak for a minute.

"So I've been meaning to ask, and this seems to be a pretty good time now. So what's the story with your family? Brothers? Sisters? Do you ever see them?"

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Family had always been a tricky subject for her to navigate. Inevitably the subject of her parents' murder always came to light, and while it was easier for her to mention it offhand than it had ever been before, it was still something of a sensitive topic. The Ticons had never really been the best at understanding the meaning of family, besides. They were drifters; always had been and always would be. Because it was easier to ghost through life without making any real connections, or so the mentality had seemed to be. But Keira had detached from that quite some time ago, for the most part, though she was still a wanderer at heart. Nothing about that would change.

"The 'story' isn't exactly a happy one." No point in sugarcoating it. She brushed a few strands of wet hair out of her face before continuing, "Parents were killed when I was twelve. Everyone pretty much cut ties at that point, but I've reconnected with a lot of them over the years. I've got an older and younger sister, and a younger brother. Lot of cousins, but I never hear from them. None of us are really good at keeping in touch. We're all too busy doing our own thing to pay much attention. Probably not the greatest mindset to have, considering we're the last any of us have got as far as immediate family goes. But we make it work. Always have." She really wasn't good at putting things lightly.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Spoiler

Sorry this took forever! Work has been killing me!

"Oh my!" Her hand raised to cover her mouth as she listened to Keira's story. It was heartbreaking to hear. Losing both parents at such a young age was an unimaginable thing to Jamie. Had that have happened to her, she wasn't exactly sure where she would have ended up. Perhaps with a family friend or a distant relative, one she likely hadn't ever met. "That's awful about your parents! I'm so sorry." Despite the fact that it had happened so long ago Jamie felt obligated to console Keira, giving her a small hug while keeping afloat. "But at least you have siblings, even if you don't see one another often."

Perhaps if Keira was going to help with her training, she could help in some small way bring some semblance of a normal life to her. The least she could do was try. "Are they like you? Force sensitive I mean." There was curiosity in her, not just to know for the sake of knowing, but as a measure of understanding if Force sensitivity was generally something that was passed along, or if it was an entirely random thing that only certain individuals in a family acquired. Perhaps the Force itself in a way chose those who could feel its' presence.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"It's not as bad as it sounds, really." At that Keira couldn't help but inwardly cringe, knowing it was a cliche statement to make that didn't exactly communicate what she had been trying to get across. "I just mean, it's not like we were really a normal family. My dad was a crime lord, and controlled the majority of the Corellian underworld back when I was young. Illegality wasn't exactly strange to me, nor was violence on a small scale. I knew what sort of business my parents were into, and how dangerous it was. It wasn't as if I was anticipating their deaths, but it wasn't an unthinkable scenario like it is with most kids. I think we all saw it coming, one way or another."

Her smile was small but genuine, and she seemed to refocus on the present, "You don't have to apologize. It wasn't anything to do with you. Hell, you probably weren't even born yet. Don't worry about it, really. It's fine." Mention of her siblings brought her once again to the present, helping her shake off the past. "My younger brother is. Nikola. I don't think it matters all that much to him, though. He acknowledges it, but I think that's where it ends." Unlike her, where she had cultivated her own power with the help of others. "None of the rest of them are. But then, I think two Force sensitive Ticons are about all this galaxy could handle."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Keira's life was a completely flip-side of Jamie's own. Everything, absolutely everything was different. Where Jamie knew little besides the security of a regular routine and daily activities, a family, and education, Keira's life was a constantly fluctuating chaos of some form or another. Despite having siblings they weren't quite close. That was something Jamie had always wished she had. Someone to grow up with, be it a brother or a sister. Someone to share things with, to confide in, to laugh and cry with. In that aspect she was more alone than Keira. Even if they weren't close, they were still siblings regardless.

Perhaps it was best to leave the past where it was.

"So let me ask you this then. What is it you'd like for yourself in the long run? What's most important to you?" Jamie had her family, her home. That was enough for her. She wanted to understand the Force, to use it to protect the ones she cared for, which also by extension included Keira now as well. Of course there was little if anything she could do that the older girl couldn't, but the sentiment was still the same. She was as good as family to Jamie now.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Personal wants and needs were something every soldier learned to put behind them, or at the very least set aside. When one operated as part of a larger military or organization, they learned to function as a part of a whole rather than an individual. The same went for Mandalorians on a much larger scale, as they prioritized both the clan and the entirety of their people above all else. And when one added her own family into the mix, there came about an individual who didn't often put her own considerations first. Surprising to some, given the roles she had played in the past, but she had the capacity to be far more selfless than a criminal background would suggest. It was almost funny, what came about once she had learned to care about others again, including herself.

"My family and those closest to me are held in the highest regard. I want what's best for them, above all else. I want them to have a better future than what I do, so that they don't have to follow down the same path and make the same mistakes. I want them to be better." There was something in her eyes that communicated that Jaime was included in that category as well, a fact that would never likely change. Continuing to tread water, Keira let the silence hang between them for a few moments. "What of yourself?"

[member="Jamie Pyne"]