Private Natural Colors

[Iris Arani]

The once Jedi, recently Sith, Jedi again library was.. A gloomy place. Addressing all the darkness that had been left over from the Sith Empire was a longer process, though for Iris it just meant more time to paint. She understood little about the Jedi or the Sith, only recently having arrived here to begin with. Her small, slum town felt so much smaller after she'd seen hyperspace for the first time. She'd fallen in love with the colors across the stars, and to be among them was.. A dream come true she didn't know she had.

But the grey of the corrupted library, the colors seemed so.. Muted. No matter how brightly she painted the walls, they seemed dull. It was frustrating at times. More than she'd like to admit. Paint coated her arms, her robe, hair. Face. She'd been painting for hours, trying to make the grey disappear. But it never did. The mural before her was layers and layers of paint, all so bright and full of life. But it wasn't enough. It never was enough. Iris let out a sigh as she dropped yet another spent paint can before reaching into her pack.

Only to realize the paint was gone.

"Oh poo.."

 

[Sabatha Sayle]

The buildings were exceptionally gloomy. That's why Sabatha spent most of her time outside of them. The rooms and hallways of the temple gave off a distinct... dullness. Nothing abjectly wrong, she knew about the efforts to cleanse and tame the place after years of unspeakable things, but you could always tell there was something wrong.

That was why Sabatha spent a lot of time outside.

Plants are hardy. Life can't be stopped. Whatever nastiness you unfold, whatever darkness you unleash, the grass will come back. Eventually. Eternally. Rich browns burst around Sabatha's fingers as she slid another seed in there, before patting the soil back around it. A long hour spent bent over, nestled on your knees, with dirt splattered up to your elbows but it was completely worth it.

Standing to admire her latest efforts, she realised she'd left her watering equipment back in the hall. Shrugging, she headed back inside the library to find where she'd left it... only to be met by a burst of colour. She stopped in her tracks, bright eyes taking in the gorgeous swirls of colour; the contrasts and the compliments. It was the most vibrant, most alive thing she'd seen in the library since her arrival.

"Wow..."

Then she heard the clatter of the paint can on the floor, round the corner. Peeking her head around, she saw someone else young stood there, rummaging around her bag.

"Hello," she said softly, "sorry for interrupting. Have you lost something?"

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"No, I think I've used up everything I brought with me. I was really hoping this would work too.." There was a genuine disappointment in Iris' voice as she set down her now paint covered bag. Well. She wasn't any closer to fixing the tones of grey than she was with all the cans full. The young woman just stared at the mural, seeming to forget she'd been speaking to Sabatha Sayle or that the other girl was even there.

Then blinked. She turned her head up, looking towards the blond.

"Oh, hello. Um. How are you?"