ꜱᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴇᴅɪ
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ᴍᴀꜱᴜᴅᴏ ᴇꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇ
The directions Daisy had sent him led away from the busier parts of Atrisia.
Jand followed them without much difficulty, leaving the denser settlements behind as the route carried him through quieter country. Atrisia had retained considerably more of its natural landscape than some Core worlds he had visited. Dense growth crowded parts of the route, broken now and again by distant mountains or glimpses of water through the trees.
The Masudo estate appeared gradually through it.
He slowed as more of the estate came into view.
It was larger than he had expected, with broad, dark-roofed buildings set among carefully maintained gardens. The architecture was distinctly Atrisian, though modern additions had been worked through it without disturbing the older character of the place. Warm light showed through wide windows beneath the sweeping roofs. Stone paths crossed the grounds between trimmed trees, rock gardens and water descending through the property in a series of small falls.
For all its size, there was nothing particularly ostentatious about it. The estate simply looked old, expensive and well cared for, the sort of place that had belonged to a family for long enough that nobody needed to prove it.
Jand continued toward the perimeter, his attention lingering on the grounds.
He had known Daisy for years and knew remarkably little about this part of her life.
There had always been something else happening. Deployments, investigations, the Maw, Sith space afterward. Someone somewhere required help, and for a long time Jand had rarely questioned whether answering that need should come first.
He had begun to question it lately.
There were considerably fewer Jedi left to return to now. Familiar faces had scattered. Some had chosen other paths, while others had simply drifted far enough away that years passed before Jand properly noticed how much time had gone with them.
Daisy had disappeared from his life once before.
The memory came easily as he neared the estate. Months without seeing her, followed by questions around the Temple that produced little of use. Eventually Sedri, after Jand decided that not knowing where she had gone was no longer something he was willing to accept. He had known almost nothing about what was waiting for him there. Only that something was wrong, and that Daisy had withdrawn far enough from everyone around her that he wanted to make sure she was all right himself.
Whatever else had been unclear to him then, her absence had not been - it mattered.
Perhaps that should have told him more than it did, but he had been younger then, headstrong and focused on doing what he believed a Jedi should.
Jand's mouth shifted faintly at the thought as the outer privacy fence came into view.
This time there had been no searching. He had sent Daisy a message - one of many over the years, admittedly - but this time had asked if he could see her. She had answered with directions to the Masudo estate.
Her home.
He did not try to decide what that meant beyond the obvious. She knew he was coming and had told him where to find her. That was enough.
The fence itself matched the darker materials used throughout the estate, substantial without giving the impression of fortification. Low lights marked its length among the surrounding greenery, and at its centre stood a broad gate beneath a traditional roof.
A set of chimes hung there.
Jand stopped in front of them.
He had dressed simply for the visit, without armour or most of the equipment he usually carried away from the Temple. His lightsaber remained at his belt, though by now leaving it aboard his ship would probably have felt more conspicuous than bringing it.
There was no assignment waiting beyond the gate and nothing he needed from Daisy.
He had wanted to see her, and after enough years spent assuming there would always be more time, that had finally seemed reason enough to come.
Jand reached up and rang the chimes...
