Invisible Scars

[Vaylin]

Continued from An Explorer's First Steps

Edges of Onderon Space

It had taken a few days for Vaylin to arrive within the Japrael System, and now she was regretting the choice. Shortly after parting ways with Sumiko, the Zabrak had sent a message to her master requesting a meetup. The rational behind it had been primarily because it was a half way point, given Aria tended to stick to Maena often. However, during that initial transmission Vaylin had been fine, simply revealing something pretty big had happened on Athiss and she wanted to discuss it.

Only the Zabrak had no clue just how completely flipped that would be when the two would meet.

The high that Vaylin had felt in the wake of succeeded in the Atrisian's lesson had gradually faded away. She had been alone with only her thoughts as company. It was when the first night came around that it finally hit her.

Nightmares. Flashes of memory, of her master confronting her on Dxun. Only it was not of their actual one, but rather the vision she had been thrown into.

"I should have left you to die on Dxun. You're no Sith, you're not strong. You're just a weak, scared little girl, following me around like a lost puppy,"

Doubt had begun to fester in her sleep. It was all she saw, every time she closed her eyes.

"I took you in, away from Dxun and under my wing. Gave you a bed, clothing, food. Training. And what did you do with that? Nothing!"

The second day she barely ate or drank anything. Third day was nothing different, each time losing hours of sleep to the nightmares. When the fourth eventually rolled around, Vaylin hadn't slept at all the previous night.

And now here she was, her ship hovering in place within view of Dxun. It had been the final straw, and the Zabrak almost shut down completely. Even when Aria's had finally arrived, it took moments longer than it should've for Vaylin to punch in the command and allow for their ships to dock. Somehow, Vaylin found the strength to move. They had agreed to meet up on Aria's, given her ship was larger. So the Zabrak moved to the airlock, waiting until the procedure was finished and she was able to cross over.

What Aria would find would not be the same Vaylin she had last seen. This one just looked drained of everything. Eyes bloodshot and seemed to not even be able to keep her posture as she use to. To a point that the Zabrak seemed almost feeble in nature.

When she arrived to find the Zabrak, she'd find someone with their eyes fixed to the floor. And at the slighest word or movement, would result in a flinch.

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Aria trained her apprentice with the sole basis of freedom.

Though as an individual she found herself pushed forward, too often, by pure spite and defiance, Aria Vale was a Sith and to her being Sith meant freedom. Being Sith meant the strength to do whatever you pleased, to push past what held you back whether the chains were of your creation or someone else's, to live how you wanted whatever that might mean.

She'd encouraged that premise for as long as Vaylin had been under her wing. Though she'd helped the Zabrak to hone her skills several times she placed the brunt of the other woman's training on becoming stronger independently, and though she gladly provided a home for her she made great effort to motivate Vaylin to roam the galaxy without her. As much as she gladly helped Vaylin along - one way or another, she liked the woman's company, even cared about the Zabrak's wellbeing - she was happier still when she saw the Darksider helping herself.

So when Vaylin had asked her what planets were worth visiting, Aria was all too happy to provide.

And when the woman messaged asking to meet her near Onderon, despite a measure of concern she was just as pleased.

But that concern had risen fast when Aria had moved from the cockpit to the airlock to see Vaylin near hollowed out, like she was more tired than she'd ever been in her life. That concern consumed gladness to see the Zabrak again at once.

She took a step forward—
And faltered.
She'd never seen Vaylin flinch before.

Past their initial meeting Aria and Vaylin had been decidedly close. They'd fought together, they'd trained together, they'd even partied together. Aria trusted Vaylin, and trust didn't come easy to her. And she knew Vaylin trusted her.

Had trusted her.
Now she couldn't know.

The expression lining her features was intermingled worry and hurt and uncertainty, a desire to reach out and a fear that it'd upset Vaylin, a curiosity of what had happened and a chilling sense that she wouldn't like the answer.

But she spoke all the same, softer and quieter than the Zabrak would've ever head her speak.

"Vaylin, what . . . what happened?"

[member="Vaylin"]​

 

[Vaylin]

Even though she was intentionally making a point to not look at directly at her master, Vaylin still did when she heard Aria approach. The Zabrak lifted her head up, but she immediately saw the fake Aria from Sumiko's lesson. The angered expression, the look of disappointment...

"Stop trying to run, failure!...You're nothing, not even worth licking your mother's shoes."

She flinched as Aria went to step forwards, the Zabrak very nearly stepped away in response. But stopped herself, because even though the emotional turmoil was clouding her thoughts, Vaylin wasn't going to be a coward. She wasn't going to turn away or run from this.

Vaylin was scared; timid, it was a side to her that Aria hadn't seen until this point. Hell, no one really had for years. The last time was when Vaylin was much younger, under the rough treatment of her mother.

A time when there were frequent days of self-doubt that spread like an infection through Vaylin. The only thing that really saved her back then was her father, who had always been her anchor to help survive those years.

But right now the Zabrak's reasoning and judgement was a muddled mess, forgetting that she had the same thing in the woman standing before her. Though Aria's soft words appeared to reach her, soothe her somewhat. Enough that the Zabrak was able to look up at her master again. Even then she paused, instantly taking in Aria's expression and just as quickly focusing solely on the hurt part.

"I-I..." Vaylin tried to speak, her voice sounded scratchy - reminiscent to Dxun. She looked down again, arms held to her sides and fists clenching tightly. The Zabrak's entire body started to tremble. Emotions that had been bottled up, kept tightly wrapped together during the journey here. Vaylin wasn't one to let them get to her, but right now, here in front of her master?

It was the hardest thing she had ever done. That much was clear when she looked up again,

"M-master...am I failure?"

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

She'd never seen Vaylin like this.

From the start the girl had been feral, a fighter - even when it wasn't directed at her or even anyone else, when the Zabrak wasn't perched on the brink of explosion, she quietly maintained spirit, fierce and unputdownable. She was fire, and it had intrigued Aria to the point where she'd risked trust - and trust had long stopped coming easily to her.

Now that flame was all but missing, a candlelight instead of a wildfire. Vaylin without the fight, Vaylin like she was waiting to burn out, to fade. Now she could barely meet Aria's eyes. It was unnatural, unfair, wrong.

Master, am I a failure?

She couldn't remember how to breathe.

"I- what?" Aria forced herself to exhale. "Wh-I - No."

A step closer, another. With every movement she feared Vaylin's recoil, but Aria had never once gone easy on the Zabrak. (It had never worked like that even whilst Aria'd been with the Jedi. Her Master had always spoken of the out there and made it the basis for mercilessness even though he was gone by the time she ventured out there, and that method had carried on over through her path down the Dark Side). It wouldn't be fair of her to start now.

"Vaylin."​

Her voice stayed quiet, but her tone had hardened, sharp and made from steel.​

"You are - a lot of things - but you are not a failure."​

​

"What happened?"​

​

| [member="Vaylin"] |​

 

[Vaylin]

Again Vaylin flinched, her legs shifting slightly, ready to move backwards as Aria closed in. But the Zabrak forced herself to stand her ground. It was an equivalent to how Vaylin had the tendency to just throw herself into a fight, no matter the risk. She still did at times, but it was work in progress - one that was being sharpened into a finer more calculating point through her training with Aria.

Such as right now, where she would usually one towards something and yet faced before her master, Vaylin wanted nothing more than to run away.

But too much had happened, even before Dxun. She had been forced to grow up, fight back against a woman that claimed to be her mother, yet didn't act like it to her children.

When Aria spoke, the Zabrak winced - fists clenching as she fought back against her urges, her fear. But she was able to get through to Vaylin, the trust was still there. That should could go to her master if something happened. Though right now it wasn't easy, especially when the woman in question was part of it all.

Vaylin looked straight into Aria's eyes, the Zabrak blinked several times - making evident that she was holding something back. She wasn't one to show certain emotions, anger, annoyance, excitement and so on, those were almost synonymous with Vaylin. Others not so much. It was like looking at a child, done something wrong and under the disapproving gaze of a parent. But at the same time there was obvious self-doubt flashing in the Zabrak's eyes.

And in part that was true, Aria wasn't just looking at Vaylin as she was right now. She was also witnessing a much younger version of Vaylin too.

Aria's words; sharp and steeled, pierced through the mess that was Vaylin's mind right now. She was able to see her master, the person who trained her, cared for her, trusted her. It was enough to break through, and Vaylin immediately lurched forwards and wrapped her arms around Aria.

Flashes of that memory, of her confrontation with the fake Aria struck her. Unleashing the beast within Vaylin, pinning her master to the ground and tearing her apart...

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't...I never want-I had to ki-" Vaylin was incoherent for the most part and she mumbled against Aria, keeping her head tucked and buried against the woman's shirt. It was clear the Zabrak didn't want her master to see her like this, but it mattered little given it was still plainly heard as Vaylin began to sob.

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

To say that Aria was poorly equipped to help Vaylin would have been an understatement.

The Sith Knight had many strengths, but people were where she fell short. She could handle small talk, knew how to float along the surface (not that she enjoyed it) but she was honestly unaccustomed to dealing with people's strife. Force knew she had trouble enough dealing with her own.

And Vaylin herself...Aria cared for the Zabrak a great deal but she was keenly aware of how new she was to teaching. The idea of being looked to for guidance, trusted for advice; it wasn't quite distressful (not anymore, at least) but the feeling was strange at best and discomforting at worst. Perhaps against better judgement she'd found herself concerned enough for Vaylin that she truly feared being the reason for anything happening to her.

So she was more than lost when Vaylin buried herself into Aria's front. Gently, she put arms around the Zabrak and let her stay mumbling into her shirt for now, at odds with what else to do, with what else she could do that wouldn't make it worse.

She still couldn't tell what had happened - but Vaylin apologising? Aria rarely asked for apologies of the Zabrak and rarely expected them. Her mind was reaching even harder now to work out what had her so distressed but that her apprentice felt she had to apologise to her only deepened the overwhelming worry that sat in the pit of her stomach.

But she could do nothing at all without knowing what, knowing why, so she gave Vaylin a few more moments to recover before she straightened, meeting her gaze again.

"Look. Vaylin. I can help you with whatever's happened. Whatever happened." The one thing that could change that was one thing Aria knew she wouldn't do.
"But you need to tell me what happened."

| [member="Vaylin"] |​

 

[Vaylin]

The dam had broken, one that had been built up over the course of journey Vaylin had taken to get here. Left alone with nothing that could distract, to keep her mind off the events of Athiss and what had transpired. There were two significant parts that had most impact, both that equally disjointed from one another, and yet still managed to combine into the chaotic mess that was Vaylin's current state.

Thankfully the Zabrak hadn't been too fearful of her, didn't continue to shy and flinch away. A flicker of hurt in Aria's expression had broken through the uncertainty, the lingering doubt in Vaylin's mind whether her master would abandon her, cast her aside or kill her.

But the illusion's words held nothing to reality. And Vaylin had quickly fallen towards comfort rather than distance. Apologizing for something the other hadn't the faintest clue about.

When Aria shifted to look Vaylin in the eye, the Zabrak no longer flinched. She merely met her master's gaze with her own, eyes now reddened from the crying. Vaylin made no effort to wipe them away, she simply took a few breaths before finally speaking.

"I went to Athiss.." It was one of the first few planets suggested when the pair had drawn up a list. While there was no doubt Vaylin was fully immersed in the Dark Side, there was still the glaring fact she knew little to nothing about the Sith. So planets like Korriban and Athiss had been no-brainers. "I crossed paths with a woman called Sumiko, she sorta hired me on to assist her in exploring a tomb." She rambled on about meeting [member="Sumiko Tanaka"], of how they travelled through the forests and cut down several large spider-like creatures. Which was subsequently followed up by finding the tomb's entrance. "When she spilt her blood and the door opened, the presence that followed out was overwhelming, I felt as though I was going to suffocate."

Vaylin went into detail about the various tasks and puzzles they were thrown into, her initial upset state slowly shifting away to something almost akin to excitement. As though she was retelling how her past day had gone, as though it was that simple of a thing. Although, as the Zabrak got past the final hurdle they had faced, her skin grew suddenly pale, immediately reminded of everything that had happened in that last room.

"Then I...I," Vaylin shivered uncontrollably, remembering the cold chill that had settled across the entirety of her body. Limbs locked from any attempt in moving them, the spirits bony fingers lingering across her form. "A spirit tried to possess me."

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Relief crossed her features that Vaylin could get her words out - but it was utterly finite. She only had a few moments to be grateful that her apprentice wasn't so scarred as to be unable to ever talk to Aria before she realised the sensation of dread that built up with each word the Zabrak spoke - each word that built up to what had hurt her like this.

She couldn't and didn't know what to imagine, but her mind immediately went to the worst and every second that delayed learning what had happened only fed that idea. Vaylin had gone to Athiss; it was one of the first that had occurred to Aria to suggest when the two had sat down to consider what planets she ought to visit. She had met a woman named Sumiko; the name was unfamiliar but Aria instantly filed it away in her mind, satisfied she wouldn't forget it. They'd gone through forests, cut down spiderlike creatures; more and more that seemed, if not easy, still hardly so damaging as to justify the circumstances.

Vaylin told of the calm before the storm. If only Aria could be calm.

But she was patient, because she knew Vaylin needed to tell this story in its full. She nodded, made the appropriate sounds of agreement or exclamation, asked questions when the Zabrak skipped over something by mistake and left a spot blank in the picture Aria was painting in her mind. If nothing else, it was a layer of comfort over the distressed anticipation to see the younger woman's mood go from misery to something just shy of excitement-

until it wasn't.

Aria was rarely an empathic creature but when she truly cared for someone she'd share their joy and she'd share their pain - and here she shared Vaylin's pain all too well. The Zabrak shifted again, cold and fearful, and it hit Aria like a wave unbidden.

"Feth," she said quietly, "that's . . . that's bad. I'm sorry. But - it failed, the spirit failed? You fought it off?"

| [member="Vaylin"] |​

 

[Vaylin]

Vaylin nodded rapidly in response.

"Yeah, I was able to fight him off with Sumiko's help." The Zabrak shivered again. Now that she wasn't hugging Aria, Vaylin wrapped her own arms around herself. She looked as though she was about ready to just curl up into a ball in an attempt to try and stay warm from some invisible chill. Vaylin might've overcome the spirit, but the experience had left a scar that wasn't going to heal any time soon.

"He had separated us, with Sumiko fighting him physically while he managed to lock me into my own mind." She remembered the pain she had felt, collapsing to her knees screaming. "I was back on Dxun before I was abandoned. And somehow..." Vaylin paused, the words lost to her for a moment. "I think he was able to pull my old master's soul into my mind. What he said...how he reacted, it didn't seem like it was an illusion. But then again, I could've just not seen through the trick..."

"We fought, but I wasn't nearly strong enough to best him. And I-" The Zabrak looked down at the floor, shaking her head in disappointment. "I listened when the spirit offered power, I accepted it, and all it really did was allow him easier access when it came to try and possess me." For a moment Vaylin clenched her fists in anger.

Though it was directed at herself.

"I was able to best him, but before I could kill I was intercepted by the other Jedi that had been with me that day. Wait no-" She lifted her head up, looking at Aria before her eyes wandered off in thought. "No, there was only one Padawan other than me, two Knights and my master. One of the Knights didn't show up in my mind...Jacob was his name. I know he wasn't dead, I felt his presence elsewhere on Dxun part way through my fourth year there. Although something happened, and he left some months before you found me."

Vaylin lingered on that for a short while, until she seemed to snap out of it.

"Right sorry, um...Eventually Sumiko was able to reach into my mind, helped me fight against the spirit enough so I could wake up. Apparently the SIth had constructed physical anchors to hold pieces of his soul, it kept his spirit from being eradicated. Sumiko managed to destroy half, and I got the rest. But that was when the spirit tried to possess me in a last ditch effort." She shuddered again, this time remembering the pain she had felt. "I had been injured before then, had a spike lodged in my arm." Vaylin paused, pointing to just under her left shoulder. "I was able to manipulate it, twist it around to inflict pain on myself. It empowered me as I fought back against the spirit, until he was pushed out enough that Sumiko could use her sword to absorb him."

Vaylin stopped there, making it was clear she had finished with what she had to say, although it was equally as apparent that wasn't the end of it.

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Vaylin kept on talking - and though she paused several times as she searched for the words, she didn't once need Aria's help to keep going. Not healed; not at all healed. Athiss had left scars on her mind. But the surface of her mental state was composed, bound together thinly. Aria had a feeling Vaylin could keep on putting pieces back together. She had a feeling that when she was done, this Vaylin would be a good deal stronger. She could almost relax then, almost be content to know that she was fine, that she would recover.

Almost, but not quite.

She was no expert when it came to mentalism. Matsu had limitless wisdom to offer in the field, but the mind was not Aria's realm in the way it was hers. She'd studied the field only for the sake of defence, and knew only enough not to be useless against mental attacks. But she knew enough to say with absolute certainty that what had happened to Vaylin would be fething unpleasant.

For a moment, she could only mouth a quiet "chit".

She cleared her throat, a small sound.

"I'm proud of you." Aria didn't believe in flattery; the words were what they were. Beneath confusion and distress, she was proud that the Zabrak had fought off the spirit, with or without help. "That won't have been easy. Hell, that had to have been awful. I'm proud."

She was quiet again there. She knew Vaylin wasn't finished.

[member="Vaylin"]​

 

[Vaylin]

The Zabrak's head had been dipped down after she finished speaking, partially to catch her breath and also to recollect herself before she continued explaining. But her attention snapped up in the wake of Aria's words.

A smile; the first to be seen since she had stepped onto her master's ship, appeared on her face.

Over the course of her time being taught by Aria, the Zabrak had come to learn of the woman's stance on flattery. That and the fact praise wasn't going to be thrown about like candy. It meant that in Vaylin's mind, there was no shadow of doubt her master was proud of her; despite everything.

It gave her confidence that what remained to be said, wouldn't go as bad as she previously worried about.

Although some of that doubt did still linger within her.

"Thank you, Master." It was hard to imagine that Vaylin would find herself here, and the fact Aria would be teaching someone who had initially tried to kill her. "Oh! Before I forget, prior to us leaving the tomb we decided to raid the last room to see what treasures there were. I got this." Vaylin reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the Oculus, holding it out if Aria desired to examine it.

"After that we went to Sumiko's ship to get patched up; I had a spike in my arm, and she had her fair share of injuries too. Then...uh." That was when the beginnings of a blush began to form on the Zabrak's cheeks. She averted her eyes, but it wasn't out of shame or doubt this time. Vaylin was immediately reminded of being thrown into unknown territory.

The compliments on her looks, the kiss. The hunger.

"She uh...taught me some things." The Zabrak managed to look Aria in the eye again, but her cheeks were now about as red as a certain Zeltron's hair. But it did also served as a transition to the next matter Vaylin was to explain, something she wasn't entirely sure on when it came to her master. While Aria had always highly valued independence, the matter of letting others teach her wasn't something they had openly discussed.

"After the events involving the spirit, Sumiko had offered to teach me how to mentally defend myself..."

Vaylin paused, using the moment to take a deep breath before she would continue.

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

[member="Vaylin"]

She half-grinned there.

"Really, Aria works fine."

But she let the Zabrak continue, because she was sure this story had plenty still left to go. Even if it worried her to imagine what. An eyebrow lifted as Vaylin took something from her jacket pocket; she reached for the Oculus when the other woman held it out, turning it over between her fingers curiously. "Do you know what it does?"

The story kept going and then - Vaylin was looking away. Vaylin was blushing, furious red painted on her cheeks. Aria put the pieces together quickly enough, and this time her lips split into a full-sized grin.

"Oh, I'm sure she taught you plenty,” she smirked, eyes an almost proud sort of teasing.

But more still; she was sure this set of teachings wasn't what had left Vaylin so miserable. (Nobody could possibly be that bad).

She was faintly surprised at the Zabrak admitting she'd learned from Sumiko, but hardly displeased. Aria believed as much in freedom as in improvement; changing, morphing, adapting; shedding your weaker self, stepping into strength. At the end of the day, she had become Vaylin’s teacher through circumstance rather than some immense capacity to share her wisdom. If others could offer the Zabrak more knowledge than Aria could alone, she was all too happy for it to occur.

So, a nod. “That's- good. Did it...work?”

She was sure she knew the answer.

 

[Vaylin]

Vaylin smirked slightly at Aria's correction.

It had been some time after Chiloon Rift where it became somewhat of a game between the two. Trying to discern each time whether Vaylin was intentionally teasing Aria with calling her 'Master', or if the Zabrak was just obvious to in that moment.

In this instance? It was more of the latter, only realizing it after Aria had spoken.

But it had also helped lessen the negative emotions that were still lingering within the Zabrak. And that carried over as she went on to explain the item she had retrieved on Athiss.

"Well I haven't been able to test it out yet, it's called the Oculus." Vaylin watched as Aria examined it. "I discussed it with Sumiko, and she summarized it helps the user defend against mentalism, and to pierce through illusions. But supposedly such artifacts generally have drawbacks. Obscured vision in one eye, and given a Sith made it, it's presumed pain is also involved." Once she was finished looking at it, the Zabrak took the Oculus back and tucked it away.

The tale continued on, and once again a reaction from Aria resulted in one from Vaylin. This time the Zabrak gave the other woman a half-hearted glare, to her full blown grin. But good things came to an end at some point, and while Vaylin was glad her assumption about seeking training elsewhere was well received.

There was still one final bit of the story.

"Yes and no." She took a deep breath. "In order to strengthen my mental defences, Sumiko attacked my mind. She put me through several trials to bolster it...but at one point." Vaylin paused, fists clenched again and it almost looked like she was about to slip back into the state she had been earlier. However, Vaylin took a deep breath and calmed herself, eyes fixed on Aria's. "I was forced to fight and kill you."

And that was understating it. It was clearly seen in Vaylin's eyes, she remembered how her hand shifted into claws, how she had mauled the illusion. Not real, but it had still left the Zabrak shaken.

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

She was quite certain she would never grow used to being called master.

Aria wasn't used to being a teacher by a long shot. The idea of being a role model was all sorts of terrifying. But she wasn't used to being anything other than Aria. Because no matter how she changed, how she improved, transformed, it was always her. She would never shed her identity for the sake of recreation. Aria would never die to make way for some new beast. She was Aria, and anything else would never feel quite right.

Not, of course, that she expected Vaylin to change her mind in that aspect.

Thoughts were pushed away as it dawned on her that here came what had shaken Vaylin so badly. Her worry returned; strengthening mental defenses...she attacked her mind...trials...

"Oh."

Not for the first time, Aria was completely and utterly at a loss.

What did one do when their apprentice said they'd been made to kill your illusion? Should she be angry? Sad? Worried? What did she tell Vaylin? It's alright surely wouldn't cut it - but Aria was alive, and Vaylin was stronger now. What else was there to say?

Aria was not good at being upset.
She was worse still at handling others being upset.
And especially not Vaylin.

For a few moments, silence.

Then she slowly constructed her words.

"I- I'm not angry," she started, "Or upset." And truly, she wasn't. Not overjoyed, perhaps, but Vaylin's murder attempts had never gone amiss within reality and inside an illusion it seemed too distant to bear weight. She would've been more disappointed if Vaylin had told her she'd run from the illusion of Aria, knelt and begged for mercy when she caught up. A great many things were less punishable than weakness.

"But..."
but you are.
And I don't have a fething clue how to fix that.
"Is there something...I can do?"

[member="Vaylin"]​

 

[Vaylin]

"I don't think there is anything."

Silence fell after that, Vaylin's eyes shifting between the floor and Aria. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as she collected herself.

The Zabrak was glad her master wasn't upset or anger at her or about the situation, although it didn't pass her attention that she wasn't exactly happy it happened. There was something to be said about learning your apprentice had gone about killing you, even an illusion. But Aria was the type to see the difference between it, that Vaylin's actions against the fake wasn't a representative of reality.

It had shaken Vaylin to the core, the second half that accompanied her experience with nearly being possessed.

She had overcome and succeeded through Sumiko's trials, no matter what the Atrisian's intentions had been at the time.

"But this, right now? It's what I needed after spending days cooped up and curling in on myself during the journey here."

Vaylin was reminded of her childhood, where her mother would force her children to learn how to fight. There was no unity amongst siblings, each pitted against one another. Even the twins. The Zabrak only had her father as any real support, and even then he couldn't do a whole lot.

Despite all that and the utter hatred she had for her mother, Vaylin recognized and understood the lessons from those years.

"The rest of this, what it did to me in the aftermath..." Her eyes were still fixed on Aria, but a look of determination filled them. "It's on me to overcome it."

[member="Aria Vale"]​

 

[NightSister]

Internally, Aria winced. Amber eyes flickered away from Vaylin, layered with a film of caution, suddenly fixated on the wall. It was a very interesting wall. Completely absent of a Vaylin she didn't know how to respond to.

Force, she wished she could know what to do. Aria had never been good with people, but enough years being forced into interactions had honed her ability to predict, to anticipate, to know how to react. But not like this. Never like this.
If Vaylin had come to her covered in battle wounds, she'd have known what to do. If Vaylin had come to her with her mind torn apart by someone wanting information, she'd have known what to do. This was different. This was about Vaylin and Aria.

So instead, she was lost. She didn't reply.

But Vaylin kept talking, and all the sudden Aria looked back at her, eyebrows lifted.
Surprised. Pleased.
Proud.

Aria smiled, and this time it reached her eyes.

"For what it's worth," she said quietly as she got to her feet, "I know that you will."

[member="Vaylin"]​