Private Level With Me (Kyra Perl)

[Caedyn Arenais]

The Kattada Jedi Temple
Tag: Kyra Perl

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Some time had passed since the exchange between the Silver Jedi Concord and the Sith Empire on Yavin 4 now, Caedyn Arenais finding his way to Kattada and agreeing to help Master Coren Starchaser in his endeavor to collect, protect and redistribute the sacred knowledge of the Jedi Path from those who had come before, to those who would carry it on into the future ahead.

Unfortunately for Caedyn and his Padawan however, times had been difficult on both sides and the pair had been distanced by their individual pursuits until today where Caedyn had called on her to meet with him there within the Jedi Temple that her very own Father had helped to establish. There had been a number of deeply concerning rumors going around, and while Caedyn didn't particularly like to pay them any mind, when it came to his Padawan the Jedi Knight couldn't help but want to know how she was progressing in her training, and most especially how she was feeling within herself as an individual beyond that of the Jedi Path.

Today Caedyn walked the halls in the Jedi Robes he had crafted to signify his entrance into the Silver Jedi Order some years back now, the hood pulled back to sit upon his shoulders while his hands were hand behind him, fingers laced loosely as he gazed out through one of the windows watching the outside life and deep in thought. There had been a number of developments lately, both positive and negative that he himself had been involved in, and while he and his Padawan both had their own interests and pursuits, he didn't want their personal lives to distract from their professional and training ones. After all, he had made a commitment to her future...-And it went further than that, on a personal level. Kyra Perl was like family to him now.

 

[Kyra Perl]

He hadn't been around.

She hadn't reached out to him.

The further Kyra had fallen into the depths of her pain, the further she had retreated from those around her. Her family, her friends-- she wasn't talking, not about what mattered. Ever since the day she returned from Romi's hospital bed in Hapes, she had been operating with single-minded focus. To many, cutting off her arm after a night of drinks appeared reckless and nonsensical.

In truth it was only the former. Yula was already in the process of building her a new one. Once installed, she could do anything again.

Kyra felt so close to what she had been striving towards, there wasn't any regret towards sacrificing her once cherished limb. Currently, anyway.

In the span of a month, her demeanor had changed. She walked the halls with steady steps, her shoulders rolled back in a gesture of confidence not unlike Romi Jade wore. Kyra was determined to act the part; what was strength but a choice?

He did not know about her arm.

A spike of fear hit her gut as she turned the corner, his presence recognized despite the robes and the hood. Her steps faltered for a moment, her only hand reaching over to pull her cloak a little more securely over the void below her shoulder. It was a poor attempt to mask it, but it was done anyways. She took a steadying breath, trying to sush her stupid nerves as she approached.

"...Master," she greeted, trying to appear neutral. There was only mild success, an apprehensive glance flickered up his way.

She was so in trouble.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn didn't need to see his Padawan in order to sense the change in her. Kyra Perl had lost her arm yet that wasn't the only change he could feel in the young woman as he turned slowly to look upon his student, his jaw tightening as his eyes fell upon the missing limb, soon to meet her own apprehensive look; He could tell she was nervous, yet she had carried herself with such a sense of confidence before reaching him that the Jedi Knight had to steel himself for a moment. While the arm was a shock, he felt there was clearly more going on in the background of whatever story she had coaxed up to justify this one...His right hand rose to rub at his forehead as his gaze dropped, releasing a long and audible sigh.

"We're going to need somewhere private to talk, I see" he replied to her, a matter of fact, not yet returning her own greeting while Caedyn searched the hallway for a room presently not being used by the students in training. Caedyn knew that he was part of the problem, and owned a significant part of the blame for whatever trouble his Padawan had wound up in. His move to track Darth Prazutis back into Sith Space had clearly left Kyra without his care and guidance, subsequently landing them both in this position now where she had somehow lost an arm and he had somehow not known about it until now.

Gesturing for his Padawan to accompany him, Caedyn led her into a room meant for the purpose of meditation, although not his plan this time around, the cushions would have to make do for their catching up. A wave of his hand to the cushions on the other side of the room would encourage Kyra to find her seat while he took his own and looked across, waiting till she was settled before finally speaking up again.

"I'm trying not to jump to conclusions here, you'll have to excuse me if I seem a little caught off guard but...-You're missing an arm" he pointed out, his expression mixed in both concern and frustration, not knowing quite how to summarize his feelings in the moment. "I'm also trying not to overreact so...-Would you mind explaining everything. And I mean Everything" he asked, a question in the form of an instruction.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra took a deeeeeep breath in, the motion catching into a shaky draw as she followed him into the meditation space and quietly found a seat. His words made her wince, her missing limb twinging in pain as if on cue. She wasn't use to it, not by a long shot. It still hurt, it still caused many problems. But it hurt less than the crushed mess that was there before it. A lost limb was a whole lot smaller of a problem than a dud one. She tried not to linger on it, mapping out how to get her sister back was overwhelming enough as it was.

She had not practiced this explanation.

She flailed for words, not looking up at him. ... From the beginning then, she guessed.

She bit at her lip, a speck of blood welling up over the dead skin she pulled back.

"Well... you disappeared. At Yarvin. ... ... ... And the sith got to Nida... turned her... somehow." She struggled to swallow, her throat pinched so tight it hurt. Against her will, hot tears bubbled up, her chest burning in the pain that still destroyed her world. There was no one she was closer to than her older sister. Kyra loved deeply, and that had always shone in the adoration that had bubbled forward whenever the elder Perl was around.

Now that adoration was replaced by grief, so pure it saturated the room, her aura darkening.

"ShestabbedThirdas.Wenearlydrowned...Ilosther."

Her mind went numb, the turn of events still leaving her largely shocked and without a response. Her body shook under the strain of her grief. The overwhelming uncertainty of the future of her family burned holes through her, holes she tried to fill with training. She was barely holding it together, a fact which only he was shown. She took another breath in, trying to change that.

"Romi is in a coma. Has been for two months. She's my sister, you know. But now instead of helping me get Nida back, she might die too." she stated, matter of fact. The emotions bled from her tone, the girl clearly checking back behind that wall that had gotten her through it all so far. "So I am going to get her back. I'm going to get Nida and avenge Romi and end the sith. But I need two working arms to do it. So I cut it off. ... Yula is making a new one. It will be ready shortly."

Continued the matter of fact statements. He would be horrified of course. They all were. Her shoulders tensed.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Word by word, Caedyn listened and remained frozen still, not wanting to move in case it might somehow set off the emotion swirling within him. He had disappeared on Yavin, ignorant of the events that had started there and led to Kyra's being engulfed in turmoil ever since. His jaw seemed to be locked tight, willing his silence to remain as his mind tried to process the revelation that his Padawan tried to express and explain.

"Nida, Thirdas...-And Romi" Caedyn uttered the names under a heated breath, his gaze faltering from Kyra Perl momentarily as he sought to keep a handle on himself, keeping himself in check. What Kyra had told him was nothing short of a mess, and nothing the likes of what he had expected to hear, least of all wanted.

To hear that Nida Heavenshield had somehow been turned to the Darkside left a sour taste in his mouth, Caedyn recalling the battle of Yurb where Kyra's Sister had been with them fighting so hard to protect the Lervon from the Bryn'adul. Much like his Padawan, Nida had been a gentle soul, a compassionate young woman who fought for the best interests of others...

" Romi Jade is among the strongest of us, she was trained by my Father who she witnessed turn to the Darkside of the Force...-And come back from it" Caedyn responded, looking back to meet his Padawan's gaze speaking with several underlying truths in the one sentence.

"You know that I was raised and trained by the Je'daii, and that we were taught to know both sides of the Force" he continued, "The light and the dark, and between them, balance. Without one side, there can be no other...-Yet neither one is definitive, and no one person is without hope while the Force is with them" Caedyn told her; Although whether Kyra would understand what he meant, time would likely help in that endeavor.

Reaching out to Kyra, Caedyn sought to encourage a calm over her using his own presence and feelings to influence hers as they had done many times in training; While she had been through one trauma after another, frenzied emotions would do her no good with whatever plans she had in mind for the immediate future.

The news of Romi's health was troubling, despite the fact that they had never spent any personal time together. Romi carried on the legacy of Veiere's teachings more so than Caedyn himself did. His father's spirit was with her in every breath and feat she achieved as a Jedi, and to hear that she was in a coma was disheartening.

"Where is Thirdas now, and how much does your Father know?".

 

[Kyra Perl]

As always, the girl fell obediently into his influence, the darkness of her aura swirling to a neutral calm. Her spined curved, her posture slouching into more of the unconfident he knew all too well. It was hard to be someone else around him. He knew her so well. Too well, actually. She almost felt foolish for it, but how else would she gather the strength to save her sister?

She felt directionless, without answers. She clung onto the one thing she had. Where was Thirdas?

"He's heading toward Ossus, I think. I'm going after him-- I don't care what my father says! He'd do the same!" A strike of stubbornness hit her, fueled by the irrational anger that a man that wasn't there in her life didn't get to have a say in things like this.

Same with wayward Masters.

She took a deep breath in, stealing herself for the words that would need more courage than not. "I'm leaving the order," came the explosion of words, her gaze barely reaching him. She braced herself for his response, aware that he would protest it. But what other choice did she have?

"When I have my arm I'm leaving Silver Rest. I can't leave her to that. And you-you can't stop me." Her chin rose, determination in the eyes that finally met his own. She had never run head long into any danger with him before. Not once. Until now.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn's head lifted a little as she challenged his authority, claiming that he couldn't stop her from leaving; An interesting choice of words given the fact that he could very well do so given his control and ability to wield the Force itself, yet he wouldn't do so. Kyra Perl was not going to stand down from the desire to see her Sister saved, and in that aspect he could not fault her...-However, her leaving the Order was out of the question.

"No, you are not" Caedyn responded sternly, eyeing his Padawan; "You are my Padawan and if you hope to save your Sister and bring her back to the light then you will need all the help you can get and that includes completing your training" he informed her, his tone of voice leaving no room for question.

"If you believe I'm going to let you walk off into this mess without my help, you're deluded" he continued, shaking his head with a bitter laugh. His left hand soon gesturing to the girl, "That training that you're carrying is a representation of a legacy. It carries the teachings of my Master, who mentored me. It carries my teachings, and one day you will pass on this legacy to a Padawan of your own. It is a cycle of responsibility, duty and integrity that you have earned through your perseverance and adherence to the Jedi Path".

"Attempting to redeem someone from the Darkside and to bring them back into the Light is no easy feat, however it is the responsibility of a Jedi Knight. Your Father helped my own when Veiere fell to the Darkside, he carries a great deal of experience in this regard and could also help us if you allowed it. Regardless...-You will not be dismissed from the Order and you will continue to learn from me" Caedyn held assets such as the Vagabond Heavy Cruiser that could offer significant help in her objective, as well as experience that Kyra did not yet possess. This fight to save her Sister would no doubt be a struggle and a turning point in her career as a prospective Jedi Knight, yet her decisions could either make or break her future service if guided by her emotions or otherwise led through wisdom and self discipline.

"You have my permission to leave the Silver Rest, but only under the understanding that you will not go this alone. You will do all that you can to bring your Sister back, and you will do so as a Jedi".

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra bristled, one set of words sparking a fury of emotions that not even his calming aura could subdue.

"You are wrong," she snapped, her tone bitter and cold, barely containing the self-hatred the stirred deep within. "I am a horrible jedi-- a failure of jedi. I can't do anything! I can't do tapas, I can't fight now, I can barely meditate. I lost my arm-- to rubble! Rubble! Not a fight, not sith-- an inanimate piece of metal! Falling from the sky! I am stupid," she spat, her words slow and heaedt. "A stupid little girl that needs help to do anything!

"What jedi can't keep track of their own saber? What jedi can't tie their shoes?" Tears welled over her lash line, her voice rough with the pain of the realities she had spoken. Not a bit of it was a lie or exaggeration, the girl taking her weakness and laying them all out before them.

There was a reason why she was here. There was a reason why she hadn't been able to save Nida, why she lost an arm-- why Acaadi had been tortured by sith.

The cultist was right. He had been right all along. She wasn't cut out for this. There were better things out there she could do.

And it started with saving Nida.

Her pain twisted through the air, poignant and heavy. It threatening to drag her under, into a place past reason. And how could it not? More than one person around her lately had taken a fall into the dark. What was an empath to do, but follow? He had left her alone for too long. Without her pillars, she suffered.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Do you think you're the first Jedi to lose their arm?" Caedyn retorted, his words blunt and without being sugar-coated; "Being a Jedi isn't easy Kyra, it was never meant to be. We make sacrifices in this life so that others might not have to and yes we lose our loved ones along the way, but your Sister isn't lost yet. She can still be brought back to the light, yet only a Jedi can achieve this..." he explained.

"Only the Light can challenge the Darkness, only the Jedi can redeem a Sith for we know these hardships, yet we don't allow them to remove us of our compassion, our integrity" Caedyn continued, while removing his Lightsaber from his utility belt and holding it out in front of him in offer to his Padawan.

"The Lightsaber is an extension of yourself. You have lost an arm, yet you are planning on replacing it. So shall we do with your weapon. Take mine, and ignite it. Don't ask why, don't think on it, just do as I ask please" he instructed her. The Lightsaber itself had been specially crafted by Caedyn through the works of the Force and his skill as an Artisan trained under the Je'daii Order. There were special properties to this weapon that empowered those who practiced the Lightside of the Force, radiating with a presence that resembled Caedyn's own and over time would come to be attuned to Kyra through practice and experience.

This was a weapon that only a Jedi could activate. Someone pure of heart and mind, and of the Light of the Force. Someone like Kyra Perl .

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra quaked, both mind and body against the fine line she walked. Her pain was tangible. Her struggle with her own demons was real. Still, that did not change the merit of the person inside her-- suffering, but pure of heart. When she pressed the saber, it activated.

Was Nida's saber red? The thought slammed into her unbidden, contorting her expression.

The blue light reflected against her eyes, her lips pressing and tugging against the emotions she tried to contain. She looked up at the vibrant, dancing plasma, not following the direction of the lesson he was trying to impart with her. The heat broke a flash of pain through her, a whispered reminder of that night in her room. She cringed, lowering it from her.

"Anyone can hold one. It does not make them deserving. It does not make me a jedi," she told him dully, her gaze containing her pain as she looked his way.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"That's true, anyone can hold a Lightsaber" Caedyn agreed, though he had more to say; "Yet none can handle such a weapon with the finese, the grace of a Jedi and especially the one you're holding now" he gestured to her and the Hilt that he had offered to her.

"That particular Lightsaber was mine, imbued with the Light of the Force and I built it in the Silver Rest when I became a Jedi myself. It carries the heart and soul of who we are and the path we walk..." The Lightsaber was no mere piece of metal but carried a presence of it's own, having been bathed in Caedyn's Force Signature during years of use. It's aura was a calming and tranquil presence that would gradually spread through the hilt to the one whom held it in hand.

"What has happened to your Sister is unfortunate, but your actions and how you choose to respond to the situation can mean the difference between struggle, and tragedy. If you go rushing after her with unbridled emotion and blind pursuit, you will not be of any good to her..." Caedyn informed Kyra Perl , his concern that her emotions would lead her into making critical mistakes that could cost either her life or that of her Sisters and friends involved.

"Hold onto your training. Meet this strife with your knowledge and experience in hand, as a Jedi...-It is your best hope in redeeming your Sisters faith and bringing her back to the Light" he added in conclusion, once again gesturing to the Lightsaber she held, "That belongs to you now, a Jedi's weapon....-Because that is who you are. A Jedi".

 

[Kyra Perl]

Silent tears streamed down Kyra's face, the girl silent as she stared at the blade. Emotions stirred, poignant and hair raising as her mind rushed to figure out what they meant to her. His faith in her brought goosebumps across her flesh, tingles of honor reaching her as she realized he had gifted her his saber.

His saber.

The levity of the action would have been enough to dissolve her into emotions on a normal day, but the lesson behind the gift struck her silent. Could she do this? Uphold his teachings? Be the jedi he foresaw she could be? There was so much out there she was not good at. She had so much learning to do. Guilt flashed through her as she held his saber in her hand, reminding her of the lessons she had slacked off in.

She should have been a better jedi back then

Could she really do so now??

The saber seemed to think so.

She took a deep breath in, one thought clicking into place as its heat bore down on her. If only a jedi could redeem a sith, then she would not truly be one until she brought Nida home.

Was it wise to pivot your future on the path of another? No. But he would feel the shift in her as the choice was made. Her back straightened, a sense of identity and direction clicking into place. Kyra Perl, wanna be jedi, had a purpose. The saber snapped closed. She tossed herself into his arms in one of those abrupt hugs.

"Thank you, Master" she whispered tightly. For the saber. For the support. For believing in her. "I will come back." The words his the air, the vow forged by a surge of the force between them.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

When Kyra Perl threw herself into Caedyn and tightly embraced him, the Jedi Knight let out a soft chuckle and returned the hug finding a sense of relief coming over him in knowing that he had dodged something of a metaphorical slug and helped to convince her to stay the path.

Kyra wasn't as young and impulsive as she had been when Caedyn had first taken her under his wing, she had come into herself as a senior student of the Order of the Silver Jedi and had earned his confidence through experience and personal growth; They had found their share of up's and down's but that was all to be expected when training and living alongside one's student, taking on the burden and the risks that was theirs as Jedi...

"If I can offer you some further advice before you go rushing off..." Caedyn replied following her vow to return, "Acknowledge and accept the past, but don't hold on to those times that have caused you to doubt yourself. Every minute you spend looking over your shoulder is a potential moment lost in the present and will only make your journey ahead that much more difficult" he said softly, not in a lecturing tone but rather a guiding, gentle voice as he let her go to stand on her own ground once more.

"Keep your attention on the present, the here and now" He elaborated for her sake, "Whether things could have been done better is no longer relevant to the present, what has happened before you has been done, and our only choice is to look forward in order to shape the future and avoid further strife".

A moment of silence fell between the two, Caedyn clearly not having finished his advice, however taking a moment to find the appropriate words in how to justify his decision to let her go forth, knowing what dangers lay ahead. "Also, take a moment to acknowledge the fact that you're departing with my favor. Some years ago, I would never have allowed this...-But you are not that same girl I first met at the Assembly's behest. You've come a long way...-You've earned my confidence", his approval wasn't something he was giving her freely.

"I expect regular updates on the situation, Padawan" he added with a wary smirk.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra rubbed at her good arm with her metal one, brushing off goosebumps and staring at her toes. She had solemnly tried to absorb every word, a sign of respect she had never shown to him those first weeks and months. Things were different now. She really wanted to hear it from him.

He got a sniffle and a nod at his final words. "I swear it. I'll only go dark when I have to. And... maybe you could... leave some responsibilities and...................... help. Sometimes." Came the tight, hopeful words. She knew he wouldn't be able to come. For so many reasons, his answer would have to be no. She didn't put him in the position of having to say it.

But there was lingering resentment over the time he had left her own her own, tending to his own vendettas.

A tit for a tat, she guessed.

She hoped things would find a new normal between them again. The loneliness she had been feeling felt slightly resolved, but it did not change that fact that it was time for her to pack up and go.

Guess she really wasn't gonna be alone out there either. But come on, did Jawline really count as pleasant company. She stood, a bit of heated tears hitting her lash line. She always hated goodbyes.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Going 'dark' is not an option Padawan" Caedyn responded quickly, and seriously; "Just because I have been trained in the knowledge and practice of the Dark Side of the Force, does not mean that I will condone your deference to it's use. We have not explored that aspect of Force Use within your training and as a Jedi, it is not a path that I had intended for you to walk down" Kyra Perl 's emotions were far too influential for Caedyn to be willing to encourage and condone such risks. While his training came from the way of the Je'daii, the Order of the Silver Jedi did not typically educate their students in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force simply due to the risks of losing them to it's corruptible influence.

"You're my highest priority too, Kyra" Caedyn continued, his brows furrowing at the beckoning to leave his other responsibilities in order to assist her in her plans to rescue and redeem her Sister, Nida Heavenshield . Thus far, Kyra had decided to pursue this path and while completely understandable from Caedyn's perspective, she had deemed it fit to neglect his possible involvement until today, where he had finally come to learn the events that had followed the skirmish on Yavin IV.

"I understand why you're doing this" He assured her, partly thinking upon his move to track the Sith Lord, Darth Prazutis as he returned into Sith Space from Yavin's moon; Caedyn had held his own motives and justification for his actions which had subsequently aided in leaving him in the dark where Kyra's recent exploits had been concerned...-However, he had excluded her from the confrontation due to the expectation that Prazutis would have been too strong of an opponent for Caedyn, let alone the Jedi Padawan. A dry reality that one had to accept, there's always a bigger fish so to speak.

"You need only ask, and I will be there".

 

[Kyra Perl]

"What-- No-- I-"

She sputtered between his words. She let him finished speaking, a flustered heat hitting her checks. "I meant dark like communication!" She flailed, not taking the assumptions she'd follow her sister's footsteps well. "You know, like, when I'm undercover or something! It's sith space, I can't just be me!"

"I'mnotgoingtogodark. I'mbetterthanthat," she asserted with a mumble, the assumption that she simply wouldn't fall a sign that she was still young yet.

He had said some warm-hearted things, but it had all gotten lost in her indignation.

"What? You think I would go ahead and try to do something you didn't think I was ready for? I would never!" Day 1 training session. Concussion. Just saying.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn merely blinked back at her, listening as she explained herself and proved that he had clearly misinterpreted her meaning. He suddenly, embarrassingly, gave a short laugh in expense of himself and shook his head, remaining quiet at first as he didn't have the words to make up for the foolhardy mistake.

"Right you are, I'm sorry Kyra" He apologized, raising a hand in submission as if to surrender himself; "I jumped to conclusions...-Although you can't blame me for being concerned about you" he said softly, giving her a wary smile before casting his gaze off elsewhere in a moment of anxiety for the given situation developing between them.

Kyra Perl was about to embark on a very serious and incredibly dangerous journey that would see her head into Sith Territory just as he had himself. This mission, while motivated by personal connections, would be a turning point in her role as a Jedi and would likely be a milestone in her training and accomplishments providing that she was successful in returning. With or without her Sister.

 

[Kyra Perl]

"... I'm sorry," Kyra mumbled, their awkward silence building for ten painful seconds before she broke it. "Guess I'm just a lil sensitive. Timeofthemonthandall.Youknowhowitis." She explained, her words stringing together in a soft grumble. She did not look up at him as she said it, but of course the nature of Kyra's honesty shouldn't be surprising in the end.

She never held back. What were filters, anyway?

"I'll be okay," she reassured weakly. Truth was, she wasn't exactly sure about that. She sure hoped she'd come back alive and successful, Nida in toe, but Yurb had taught her one crucial lesson-- life wasn't guaranteed. And Nida? She was gonna put in every last breath till she got her. Like Romi would do.

She might die.

She was oddly okay with it.

Her throat tightened, tears bubbling forward as she teetered in place. If only there was a button to put it all back to normal. ...But there wasn't. She hesitated.

"Hey, wanna get lunch first?" She offered, her voice small. Sith space was far and, well... she shouldn't go on an empty stomach. Her stomach trilled. Was she really doing this then?

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn chuckled, shaking his head and gave her a dismissive wave as if to pass the exchange off and suggest it wasn't anything to worry about; "I'm not sure what you're apologizing for but not a worry" he smiled a little more genuinely this time, able to put the misunderstanding behind them. No sense in holding onto petty misunderstandings with a Galaxy the likes of theirs around them.

"Yeah lunch sounds good actually" Caedyn agreed, moving to her side and gesturing Kyra on further to lead the way. "It feels like it's been a while since we last shared a meal and a chat in the ol' Cafeteria. Used to be a bit more of a regular thing back in your earlier days training with me huh" he noted with rather light and fond tone, reflecting back on their first year.

"I'll certainly appreciate spending some more time with you before you head off" Caedyn said as he glanced back to his Padawan, his mind moving to consider what possible dangers she could face while trying to catch up with Nida and bring her back to Silver Space. Were she to ask him, Caedyn would gladly have left with her, however this was an undertaking that he believed Kyra Perl had to do for herself as much so as for her Sister. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't assist her, but it felt important for Kyra to retain an element of control and leadership within the task ahead and he worried that his presence might distract from that.

 

[Kyra Perl]

With all out on the table, Kyra felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The sense of direction she had bore before stepping before her master returned to her, amplified as she walked away with his blessing.

She was going to do this. She could do this. Her thoughts were so focused on herself, the teen nearly didn't consider the man before her. Yet as they walked down the hall, their familiar sense of awkward formality filling her, she was left to realize how much she had missed him. It had been a while.

Like. Fivever.

"Where have you been?" The padawan finally murmured to their master, her voice tight with a nub of pain as they stepped into the dining facility.