Private Incognito Nuns

[Maeve Linahan]

Light and fire, Force and flame. As its black eyes melted from its sockets and its bones bled to smoke, the creature shrieked one more time, blood-curdling and deep, nothing like the voice of the woman it had stolen from Eloise's dreams, and then it burst to mist, scattered by the light. Between the two Jedi, the spirit was gone. Exiled back to whatever hell it'd crawled out from.

Now, the matter of the burning chapel.

A wooden beam fell from the ceiling, bursting with sparks, and blinking against the smoke left behind by the creature, Maeve croaked, "It's coming down on us! Come on!"

She took Eloise's arm and pulled her through the chapel. Other nuns lucky enough to have recovered from her and Eloise's thrashing did the same, staggering and stumbling away, the spell over them now broken. They fled out the doors and Maeve followed swiftly behind, flames licking at her feet, curtains burning around them.

Just inches away, a chandelier smashed into the pews, but it didn't stop her, and as the ceiling finally caved, Maeve narrowly charged through the doors outside, to fresh air and safety.

She took in a harsh breath, panting. They were alive.

Something like a smile came to her lips, and she turned to Eloise, glad to see the Padawan alright, glad she hadn't failed Amani in keeping her safe. She supposed this was the moment where she offered the girl apologies for underestimating her, or complimented her for resisting the Sith spirit's call, or patted her on the back for a job well done.

Instead, Maeve crumpled and collapsed from blood loss.

Eloise Dinn​

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[Eloise Dinn]

At last, the thing was dead. Eloise clambered to her feet—just in time for Maeve to grab her arm and drag her out of the crumbling chapel.

The structure caved in mere moments after their escape. Looking around at the surviving nuns, Eloise kept her hand on her weapon, taking no chances. At last her gaze shifted to Maeve. The Jedi Shadow was uncharacteristically smiling.

Maeve looked as if she might speak. The Padawan squinted in suspicion, expecting another trick. Maybe this wasn’t really Maeve, but an impostor. Her grip on her lightsaber’s hilt tightened, ready to defend herself…

… and Maeve collapsed.

For a moment Eloise hesitated, thrown off course by this turn of events. "Maeve?" she called out cautiously. Then she rushed to the Shadow’s side and shook her. “Maeve! Ah, chit…”

Retrieving medical supplies from her pack, she set to work stabilizing her condition. The nuns wisely kept their distance as “Griselda” the giantess scooped up her companion and carried her down the mountain, back to their ship.

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Like Eloise, not even Maeve could escape from the nightmares of her past.

She flitted between memories, haunted by the smiling faces of her parents and the small homestead they shared in the Chandrilan countryside, tormented by the smell of her mother's cooking and the sound of her father's laughter. These were dreams she'd long left behind, along with her family's rotting corpses. She didn't like these dreams. She didn't want them.

To remember was to hurt.

Maeve woke up with a start, jolting from the cold bed she'd been laid onto. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her eyes turned madly around the room, searching for enemies, for Sith.

But then she saw Eloise, and she calmed, her face softening.

They were back in the cabin of their ship. Somehow, Eloise had managed not only to carry her back down the mountainside, but as Maeve felt her back, the Padawan had also cleaned and bandaged up her wound. Painlessly, at that. All Maeve could feel was the sore.

She rolled her shoulders, groaning, and when she settled over the edge of the bed, her eyes wandered back to Eloise. "You're… stronger than I gave you credit for," she said, a compliment not often given in her case, especially to a Padawan. "I underestimated you."

Eloise Dinn​

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[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise lay snoring softly in a chair at Maeve's bedside. She'd dropped her off in bed under the care of a medical droid while she secured the vessel and got them into hyperspace, then returned to tend to her wounds more thoroughly. The Shadow was lucky Sister Adah's blade hadn't pierced her heart.

Then she had to treat herself. Eloise's injuries were comparatively less serious, consisting mostly of burns with varying degrees of severity. She slapped some bacta on the sores, bandaged them up, and promptly fell asleep.

"You're… stronger than I gave you credit for."

Stirring, Eloise awoke at the sound of Maeve's voice. She blinked and muttered, "Good to know."

Sitting up from her slumped position, she winced. "How are you feeling? I mean, you got stabbed, so probably not good. But your answer will determine whether or not I give you drugs for pain."

Maeve Linahan​

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"I'm fine," she said, then amended, "Good, in fact."

A small lie. There was no need to make the girl worry though, and Maeve had suffered far worse injuries in the past. A near-fatal stab wound? That was nothing.

"You've a good heart, Eloise Dinn. Amani taught you well. You have her healing touch, but also a strength and fury that would turn the insides of a Sith Lord."

It was a bit much, but it was the truth. Maeve had thought she was doing Amani the favor by taking Eloise along on this mission, but the girl was less a burden than a Knight. She was clearly no stranger to the Force, and she followed orders startlingly well. Part of her wasn't sure whether that was Amani's doing, or just how Eloise always was.

"You clearly held back during our snowball fight back on Life Day," Maeve said, rising from the bed, ignoring the sharp ache in her back. "Perhaps you should consider becoming a Shadow. You would do the role justice, from what I've seen today."

Maeve offered a weak smile. Whether or not she agreed, it made no difference. Eloise still had far to go, and if the Force was true, she would go far indeed.

Eloise Dinn​

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[Eloise Dinn]

Eloise looked slightly suspicious of Maeve's answer, but took it at face value. She had learned quickly that she couldn't help patients who didn't want to be helped.

"You've a good heart, Eloise Dinn. Amani taught you well. You have her healing touch, but also a strength and fury that would turn the insides of a Sith Lord."

Amani didn't give me this fire, she thought, but basked in the praise regardless. It wasn't often she was commended by a fellow Jedi. Even Amani seemed to struggle at times with complimenting her apprentice on a job well done. "Thank you, Dame Linahan. I couldn't have defeated that giant oily skeleton monster without your help."

"You clearly held back during our snowball fight back on Life Day. Perhaps you should consider becoming a Shadow. You would do the role justice, from what I've seen today."

"I've been considering it," she murmured with a little smirk. It faded when she saw Maeve smile again, her gaze flicking toward the scanners—only for the Shadow to stand up and move out of their range. "You sure you're okay? Not going into shock?" What other explanation could there be for Maeve Linahan grinning?

Maeve Linahan​