Private No Reason To Look Back

[Eenia Vahn]

TAG: Rann Thress
Wearing: [xXx]


At some point, eventually, Eenia would reach a place where being handed around like an unwanted foster child was too much for her. Even now, as she sat on her own outside of the Knights Obsidian headquarters, she debated not even going inside. What was the point? She had been passed along for some default sort of lessons, and why? Because her Master had defected from the CIS, and left her behind when he did it. The door that had always been open, that had bonded her and Dimitri unwaveringly was still sealed closed, and Eenia was no longer pounding on her side of it. She had reached out, again and again, and nothing had come of it. And now? Now, she was the sad little Squire that no one knew what to do with.

Knights of the Lotus could see the Light had dimmed inside of the formerly bubbly woman; even the sharp aquatic color of her eyes had dimmed to a more dull shade, and her very signature within the Force was tainted. And Nia was unmoved by this fact. She could feel the differences in herself just as much as anyone who knew her could see them, and she didn't care. Being good and bright had never gotten her anywhere but right back to where she was right now.

Abandoned and alone.

A deep, body heaving sigh deflated the blonde's body and she glanced briefly over her shoulder in the direction she should be going. Those very few she had left in her life encouraged her to get up, keep her chin up, and not let this act of abandonment taint or control her. But this went so far beyond their line of understanding. Abandonment was something that defined Eenia's very life. One person of importance after another, over and over again.

And so she did not get up. She did not head inside to where she was supposed to be right now. She would not endure the mix of sympathetic and annoyed looks that were shot her way due to her current status among the ranks. Its not as if Nia could not take care of herself now. She had been taught a lot, and had come quite a long ways from where she had started in Dimitri's tutelage - she no longer felt that she could refer to it as his 'care'. That thought made a ripple of bitterness race through her veins and she shut her eyes tightly for a moment to quell it. The last thing she needed was to lose herself out here for everyone to see.

Another heavy breath rushed past Eenia's lips and the lids came open over her eyes again. For now, she had no direction since she had no desire to walk the one behind her. So for now, she would sit and figure out her next move.

 

[Rann Thress]

E E N I A​

WEARING:
TAG: Eenia Vahn

The childhood that Rann had was never what one would consider to be “ideal” and it left him acutely aware of what it meant to be abandoned, constantly asking yourself why you weren’t good enough and what you could have or should have done differently. It hurt. It sucked. And it was pain he would spare others, if he could. Physical pain was one thing…emotional pain however…. Time didn’t heal all wounds.

It was for this reason that when he entered KO Headquarters and had received a list of available Squires, his eyes locked on one name. One that had been added, removed, added and removed again and again before now, yet here it was again. Eenia Vahn . Her masters either disappeared or left the CIS, leaving here here alone.

Rann felt for her. He held much sympathy in his heart for her and took the chance to help.

“Her,” he said, tapping Eenia’s name in the ledger. “I’ll take her.” He took it upon himself to clear her name again, for good this time, and got directions to her location.

As he approached her, he made sure to stay a respectful distance away and introduced himself.

“Eenia?” He asked as he stopped walking, “My name is Rann. I understand you’ve been left Masterless. Again.” He said, shrugging a shoulder casually. “That doesn’t sit right with me. So here I am to do something about it. If you need a Master, I need an apprentice, so you’re with me until you’ve learned everything you desire to.” He said, stepping forward and offering his robotic right hand to her,

“Whaddaya say?”
​

 

[Eenia Vahn]

TAG: Rann Thress


The sound of her name spoken from another's lips made Eenia wince as it pulled her from whatever reverie she had dove into for the time being. Her head turned, and for a moment she gave this intruder to her thoughts a long, guarded look. However it didn't last, and the hardened lines of the blonde's soft face eased and her body shifted so that she was sat better facing the speaker now. There was a brief moment where her jaw clenched, the mention of being left Master-less, but it too passed as quickly as it had formed - with a soft sigh this time.

Another person offering their hand. Another person stating that what had been done to her time and again was not right. Another person offering to make it right. Another Master.

"I mean this with the utmost respect," Nia started, and her tone reflected the words. There was no sass or sarcasm in her tone as she looked up at him from her seated position. "But what makes you any different from the others who have stood in this exact position before you?" She had a right to be guarded, to not trust those who offered their aid and guidance to her. She had only ever been burned and ultimately scorned in that department.

But even with that in mind, the question was not rude. Its not as if Nia wasn't aware that she needed the training, but she was beyond tired of being treated as if she did not matter. As if she were just a means to an end, or there for someone's amusement until she was no longer amusing. It was a position she would never put herself into again, and that defense of herself started with asking the hard hitting questions.

 

[Rann Thress]

O B J E C T I V E​

WEARING:
TAG: Eenia Vahn

Rann closed his fist and pulled it back, turning it over and shrugging with a shoulder,

“Well… I don’t know what makes me different then your former masters. I don’t know them. But I do know being abandoned.” He said, crossing his arms in front of him.

“I’m not them. I’m me. I don’t think I could abandon a student even if I wanted to. My Father built this Confederacy, our order. I can’t just leave.”

He smiled softly and shrugged his shoulders again, offering his hand once more, “I don’t quit. With me, you’ll learn everything you want to and need to. So, I’m Rann Thress, and if you’ll have me, I’ll be your Master.”

He knew what it was like to be abandoned. His Father, his true father, was never in his life as a child. And his mother soon had other children she had to look after, with their own fathers who were present. Rann was left to fend for himself for years. Then when he left Onderon and joined the SIlver Jedi, his master there abandoned him. Then he traveled to Vjun, where he was taken in by another, and Then left before he could be abandoned. He wouldn’t dare put that on another. Although he believed a student should learn from many masters, he felt the student should decide when a new master was needed.
And so, for as long as she needed him, Rann Thress would be Eenia Vahn’s master.


​

 

[Eenia Vahn]

TAG: Rann Thress


The fact that he had not become offended by her question was already a progressive step forward. It could have easily been taken the wrong way, and this whole ordeal could have started off very badly. But instead, he had taken the question with grace and answered in kind. It was enough to make Eenia to take a deep, settling breath and square her shoulders a little. She took in the things that he said to her, and for a quiet moment she processed them a second time.

Another person who understood abandonment could either be a strengthening ally, or a detrimental obstacle. There was no in between the two, that was something Eenia had learned the hard way over the years.

Accepting the promise of another Master was not something she should have ever needed to do again. Yet here she was, with another offer on the table. And yet this offer came with the familiarity of understanding. It wasn't just pretty words, or someone trying to relate to her with stories and flair. Nia could see it, this man's words were honest, his story true. He had lived through the same sorts of disappointments that Eenia herself had, maybe more deeply so that she.

So, despite the risks, the blonde pushed herself to her feet so that she was stood rather than seated when she reached out to grasp the hand that had been offered to her a second time. "Eenia Vahn." Not that he didn't already know that, considering he was here. "I suppose you just garnered yourself a new pupil." And they would see if this lasted, or if it was all just open ended promises once again.

 

[Rann Thress]

Eenia Vahn

"And I suppose you've happened upon another Master," he replied with a smile.

"As far as 'progress reports' go," he said, making air quotes around progress reports, "the KO is lacking. All I knew, all I know, is you've been added and removed from the list multiple times. I need to know what your skillset is, where you're at, and what you want for your teaching. So whaddaya say we head to a training field and see what you got?"

Rann wasn't the type to throw anyone into the deep end. Not like his own masters. Growing a skill then utilizing that skill came before being told a skill then told to use that skill in a life and death situation. Seeing as Eenia has had some training from many masters, Rann was interested too see where she was with her particular skills.

 

[Eenia Vahn]

TAG: Rann Thress


The responding comment at least brought some semblance of a smile to Eenia's face. "I suppose I have." she agreed, and then lowered her hand away from his. It felt strange, to be stood at the starting line again. How many times had she been here now? Admittedly she was starting to feel too old for all of this; she should have been very much so past this point at her age. But circumstances clearly had other plans for her. For whatever reason, she kept getting tossed around, handed off. New teachers, new techniques.

And that one dreaded question...

It caused Nia to sigh very slowly through her nose, but she managed to not roll her eyes. "My skillset is healing." she told him, simple and clear, without a hitch. "And I do it well." it was not arrogance; Healing was something she did damn near flawlessly. "Defensive tactics are my strong suit, barriers, shields, and so on. I have a strong tie to the Force, I learn Force based things quickly." Again she sighed and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "However, physicality is where I'm lacking. Granted, I can use a saber now and at least protect myself, but by no means am I a prodigy with a blade..."

 

[Rann Thress]

Eenia Vahn

Rann couldn't help but smile when Eenia so confidently clarified her skill at healing. Cockiness? Arrogance? No. Belief. She knew she did it well. That suited Rann just fine. He wasn't a healer, but he was aggressive. Seeing as her skills tended to be more defensive in nature, more classical Jedi. Rann could work with that.

"Well, hopefully you'll never be in a position where your skills with a blade matter more than your skills with the Force. But at any rate I'll make sure to try to help you develop a style that suits you." He said, crossing his arms and studying her quietly as his mind went into tactics mode, imagining how best to combine her force abilities with her more defensive nature.

"Yeah. I have some ideas. Nothing too strenuous, but hopefully you'll be able to hold off an attacker indefinitely." His primary focus right now was keeping her alive. She was never going to be a blademaster, at least not without much dedicated training, but hopefully, together, they would forge Eenia Vahn into an even more impressive Knight of her own.

Rann stepped to the side and gestured for them to leave together and speaking as he did, "Compared to you our skillsets couldn't be more different," he said with a smile, "You're defensive, I'm aggressive. I like to use the Force on objects to confuse, distract, and overwhelm. But... I think it's a good thing we're not similar. A defensive master can't teach a defensive student how to defend against aggressive attackers...but an aggressive master can help develop those skills because you're training for the real thing."

He put his hands behind his back, continuing to smile, "I'm hopeful."

 

[Eenia Vahn]

TAG: Rann Thress


The fact that he was optimistic was at least promising. While others who had promised to train her before had shared equal enthusiasm, it hadn't quite been like this. A genuine sensation, rather than some form of morbid curiosity, or some other draw to her. It made Eenia nod her head as she listened, hearing him as he said these things to her. Strategy already, despite the fact that he'd never so much as seen her use the Force or pick up a blade. It was odd to have someone carry that kind of blind faith in her word, but not unwelcomed.

"I'm not afraid of an aggressive approach." she assured him. In real life, opponents coming at her would not be dainty. They would not hesitate or hold back just because she was not aggressive first or reactively. So learning to deal with such things while training was ideal. Nia was a lot of things, but a fool was not one of them.

There was quiet from the blonde for a long moment, her expression thoughtful and curious as she seemed to ponder things to herself for a time. And when she finally decided to speak aloud, her gaze shifted back to him and her brow pulled together tightly. "Are there others?" she questioned him, and then seemed to realize that wasn't really a completed question. "Under your tutelage, I mean. Do you train others?" she clarified, and then waited both patient and curiously for an answer.

 

[Rann Thress]

Eenia Vahn

He nodded at her when she asked if there were others.

"One, yes." he answered, thinking about Asha’bell’anar . She was...more than just a student of course. But she was still under his tutelage.

"If you're worried about being ignored in favor of another student, don't be." He said, trying to reassure her if that was her worry, he maintained a smile, "I would like the two of you to meet sooner or later." He stopped, squinted, then smiled again "Well I suppose you'll have to at some point. It'd be pretty amazing if you were able to go your entire apprenticeship without meeting eachother."
He motioned for her to follow him and continued walking hoping, of course, that she would follow. "I do think I'm going to settle on two. My master, well.. my several masters had multiple apprentices and at some point it just feels.... feels like you're in a class. You know? You need some time with your teacher. Otherwise... your teacher is just..." He furrowed his brows, looking for the right words as he spoke, "Just...just some...person." he finished, sighing with a shrug. "I think that bond is important. It's something that I never really had. But it's something I want for my students. For you. To feel as if you have someone in your corner. And also with eachother. To feel as if you're not alone."

He turned his head to look at her, and held his hands out infront of them, interlocking the fingers, "One big happy family."

Perhaps he was a sentimentalist, perhaps he wanted to make up for the family unit that he had never really had. Or perhaps he just wanted to try to put good into the world wherever he could. For Rann it didn't matter, his message was clear. He would not allow himself to fail those who had put their faith in him.