Private Only Remember To Turn On The Light

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

A small aroma of fish wafted through the woods as Reina sat by the stream, roasting a fish over a fire as it crackled. Living off the land in this way wasn't new to Reina. She had done it before she had joined the Jedi in what felt a life time ago. In a way, it was a life time ago for her. She kept Whisperwind laying next to her as she focused on making her meal for the evening. Of course, she could have went off into a city to see if she could buy a meal but it was better to save. As many credits as she could. What for? Well, Reina wasn't sure. It was just for the feeling that she had a security net. She had tried living with her parents, and that hadn't went well. Reina was still doing her best to stay in contact with them, showing them photos of where she had visited...

This was the route she had decided to go down for herself. Reina couldn't blame anyone else for it. Not the Jedi. Not the Sith. Not the Mandalorians. Only herself. Her gaze focused on the flames of her fire, as the light flickered against her eyes. Flashes of memories flitted back and forth. Violence. Fighting. Loneliness. Shame. Abandonment. Yet for all intents and purposes, Reina shoved those memories into the back of her mind as she brought the fish up to take a bite out of it, using the more shark-like Ersansyr teeth to rip and tear, enjoying the crunch.

"Mhm. Good fish."

She muttered to herself, mouth-full of course. Why would she care about her manners when she believed herself to be annoyed? As she chewed away, Reina fell backwards onto the ground to stare up at the sky. Letting the clouds pass over her. Life going by, moment by moment, second by second. Things were always changing, but for Reina there was one constant in the life. One thing that never changed for her. Loneliness. Even as a child, raised amongst the fishermen, she felt isolated. Different. The same when she joined the Jedi. She had been too aggressive. Bloodthirsty she had been told. And then once again, the same when she tried to stay with her family. She had tried to be normal. But she couldn't be. Not anymore. And so that had lead to tonight. Another lonely night under the stars.

"...Fine by me."

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

It had been a long time since Ace felt aimless like this. Well, not aimless exactly, he knew what he was doing. What he needed to do. Reevaluate. Reflect. Recent events had forced that much on him. But drifting through the galaxy with no clear heading, nowhere he needed to be, no fight to throw himself into... it made him feel useless.

Still, he knew better than to go back now. Not like this. Not with his mind fractured between guilt and anger and everything else in between. He needed distance. Silence. A chance to see himself clearly again.

And right now? Apparently that meant being here, on some forest system not even worth naming. It seemed to be a recurring pattern for him, travelling to unremarkable planets where the war and galactic society seemed to be farthest from.

Ace would be lying if he said it wasn't effective though.

The Flickerfox was docked a few miles back and Tic was around here somewhere, likely scanning the trees or looking for trinkets to bring back. Meanwhile, the ashen-haired rebel wandered, weaving through the dense trees as he contemplated the past, himself and what kind of man he wanted to be.

He brushed his mechanical hand over the trunk of a nearby tree he passed, feeling the sensation of its rough bark pass through his prosthetic's neural interface. It was still strange, for all intents and purposes, the replacement was acceptable. More than acceptable. But the Force didn't move through it the same way. He could sense life all around him, flowing and pulsing through the forest, but his prosthetic was an interruption in that rhythm. A reminder of everything taken and remade.

Then he stopped.

Something pressed faintly against the edge of his awareness, a tremor in the current of the Force, distant but familiar. It carried a texture of solitude, of quiet grief wrapped in resolve. It reminded him of himself, and yet distinct enough to pull at him, a whisper threading through the trees.

He followed it without thinking. The closer he drew, the stronger it became. When he finally broke through the treeline, the forest opened to a narrow stream. There, beside a small campfire, sat a red=haired woman. He knew that silhouette, the posture, the stillness. Reina.

For a moment, he simply stood there, watching the crackle of fire. Then he stepped forward, slow enough that the grass barely stirred beneath his boots.

"…Didn't expect to find you out here." He said quietly.

Reina Daival​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

"You'd be surprised where you can find people. Always where you least expect them."

Reina didn't look away from the sky, even as she heard Acier coming. The last time she had seen him, she had basically been dragged off by one of her friends to duel them. A duel that had ended with both Reina and her friend having bitten each other, and Reina leaving her friend passed out. Leaving her in that hellhole instead of dragging her away. It was another decision that weighed heavily on Reina's mind, but it was also one that she was trying to ignore.

"There's some roasted fish off to the side if you want something to eat."

She waved her hand off towards the side of her fire, the sleeve of her robe fall loosely to her side. It was another thing she wasn't entirely used to if she was honest. Loose, flowing robes as opposed to armour or some typical clothing. As a Jedi, she had refused to wear robes and now that she had left the Order, she was finally wearing them. Of course, she had technically left the Order when she joined the Hidden Path, but she still moved around the Order on Naboo. But...that was different.

It was only after that thought that Reina looked over towards Acier, and blinked at the sight of his arm. Well. That was new. Her gaze flickered her towards her legs for a moment, then back up towards Acier in thought. She didn't have much to say in response to it. Reina didn't want people's pity when she had lost her leg. There wasn't anything anyone could say that would have made her feel better about it. And in a way, she felt like that was the same with Acier. He wasn't the kind to want someone else's pity, so she wouldn't give it to him. The only people who deserved pity in her eyes were the dead.

"Somethin' up with your arm? I can tweak it a bit if you want."

It wasn't an offer she'd give most. Acier was someone that Reina knew roughly however. And like how she had been taught Mechu-Deru all that time ago to help her with her leg, she was more than willing to help use it to do some minute adjustments to Acier's arm if he needed it. Not that she'd teach him the technique however. She wasn't much of a teacher herself. A small sigh escaped from her lips, as she turned her attention back over towards Whisperwind, taking out a cloth to start cleaning the Saya of her blade.​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace stopped a few paces from the fire, letting the quiet between them settle. He huffed a faint laugh through his nose at her answer.

"Yeah… galaxy's funny like that."

He lowered himself to sit across from her, the firelight catching on the dull metal of his prosthetic as he rested it over his knee. For a moment, he just listened to the stream's soft murmur, the pop of resin in the flames. It was almost enough to make him forget the noise of everything else.

When she gestured toward the fish, he gave a small nod. "Thanks. Been a while since I had some real food."

He took a piece, careful not to seem like he was gluttonous, though the first bite reminded him just how long it had been since he'd eaten anything that didn't come sealed in a ration pack.

Her question about his arm drew his gaze down to it. The prosthetic caught the firelight again, cold and unnatural against the warmth of the scene.

"It's functional." He said after a pause, softly declining the offer. "Does what it needs to. Just… I'm still adjusting." His fingers flexed, the servos whining faintly.

He looked across the fire at her then, and something softened in his expression. Ace then leaned back on his good arm, eyes drifting to the night sky above them.

"Figured you'd be at one of the Path's outposts. You here for R&R or something?" He asked quietly

His question wasn't a demand, but more of an invitation. An opening for her to speak if she wanted to.

Reina Daival​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

"Take as much as you need. I can eat them raw myself anyway. The benefits of having someone kark about with your genetic make up."

Reina waved her hand somewhat dismisslvely as she spoke. Acier wasn't a total stranger, so Reina had no issue with being more blunt than she'd normally be. Her eyes flickering amongst the campfire, in thought to herself. Taking a small stick to start pushing through the ashes to try and make sure there was a steady flow of oxygen to the heart of the flames.

"You'll adjust for a while. I was the same when I lost my leg. And then when I finally got used to it, it was ripped away from me. Replaced with flesh and blood once again."

She gave her leg a few soft taps with her fist, a small frown on her face. Yes, she knew she should be grateful that she had her leg back, but after she had spent so much time with her prosthesis, with it slowly feeling like an extension of her body only for it to be taken away. It was hard. She had to get used to it all over again. No more stumbling. No longer did she have a weapon attached at the end of her leg. Yet her eyebrows perked at the question that Acier had given...or well, invitation as some may say.

"...If my ex-Master is to be believed, I'm not the type the Hidden Path needs. They need heroes. Rebels ready to save the world. But according to her...I'm just a murderer waiting to happen. A killer. She'd rather think all of that than here what I have to say...so I'm leaving. To do my own thing. By myself."

It was what she did best. Being by herself. It was proven day in, day out. She did her best work alone.
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[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Acier blinked, reacting to Reina's casual comment about having her genetic makeup tampered with. For a moment, he looked at her, then returned his attention to the cooked fish in his hand.

It dawned on him, he didn't really know much... if anything, about her. But still, Ace listened without interrupting, firelight tracing gold across his freckled face.

He took another bite of the fish, slow and deliberate, as if the act itself grounded him. Her words lingered, heavy but familiar. She'd left the Path. That drew a low, thoughtful hum from his throat.

Murderer waiting to happen.
A Killer.

The words echoed in his mind, striking too close to home. He'd worn those same labels, wrestled with them long enough to wonder if they'd ever wash off.

"I..." He started off, almost hesitant to continue "I understand. It's hard, looking at yourself one way... then wondering if you can be more.."

His gaze dropped, expression pensive. A faint smirk tugged at his lips, followed by a quiet, humorless laugh through his nose.

"It's good you're walking your own path." He said, voice soft but sure. "And it's good you see yourself as more than a killer. If people don't want to hear you… yeah, hitting the road's the best thing."

He flicked the last of the fishbone into the fire, watching it hiss in the flames. "At least you're trying to figure out your shit." He added, picking some bone out of his teeth.

Then, he leaned back again, glancing over at her. For a moment, he wondered if he and Reina were that much different from each other. Hard around the edges, but only because they'd been carrying so much baggage.

"Fish isn't bad. You catch it yourself? And..." Ace's brow raised, pondering on whether to even ask "... What's this about you eating fish raw?"

Turns out curiosity won out.

Reina Daival​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

"Who said I saw myself as more than a killer? I'm becoming a mercenary. Taking what jobs I can. With no Master to order me around. No-one to claim responsibility for my actions than myself."

Even as Reina spoke, she didn't seem particularly...shook up about it all. As if the emotions related to the decision had already been struggled with. That was the part for Reina however. Was she a killer or not? She had killed. She would more than likely kill in the future. But she did not kill innocents. At least that was what she wanted to believe. But Colette had Reina questioning everything about herself.

"...Hey. Potentially heavy question for you. What do you think is the better choice to make in life. Kill a criminal who could potentially ruin a lot of lives in the future...or spare them, for the possible chance you could redeem them?"

It had came out of nowhere. But Reina needed to know that she wasn't wrong in her own belief. She had been justifying herself for years. And Colette had made the need for justification so much worse for Reina. She didn't know what path she was walking down anymore. She couldn't see the Light, or the Darkness that awaited her at the end of the tunnel.

"...That lot of fish? I caught using my fishing rod. Wanted something cooked."

She jabbed her thumb over towards her fishing rod set up against one of the trees. And then came the second part of the question as Reina let out a long sigh, shuffling slightly to look away from Acier to stare out at the water.

"...I was experimented on. Whilst everyone was fighting to save Coruscant, I was kidnapped and trapped in a Sith's lab. Unable to escape. I had lost track of time. All I really remember was...floating in a vat of liquid. When Valery, Eve and Colette rescued me...I was an Ersansyr. Fancy word for a mermaid or Siren."

Reina waved her hand dismissively once more, though her voice had grown colder. Her hand lazily waving towards the gills that her neck had. Would Colette have still saved Reina now if she had been captured? There wasn't much point speculating on it...

"...The Sith who did this to me used to be a Padawan. Not long before I joined. Now...She's some Dark Lady of the Sith...and I'm just me. Everest is a Knight. And I'm just...Me. I can't keep a Master. Instead...I'm some sithspawn monster. Cursed to have a beautiful voice. Cursed to be a species that wants to be seen. Cursed to exist."

By this point, Reina's voice was starting to break. Why was she telling Acier all of this? Why was she opening up? Perhaps because Acier was the only person she could. She was afraid of others judging her. For them to look down at her.

"...I tried to end it before I was kidnapped. To make my life into my own hands. It didn't work."
​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Reina's thoughts seemed to spill out, like a dam that had burst. He recognized that too, or, recognized she'd been holding on to things for too long. So long that they'd trickle out involuntarily. His dark eyes settled on her, softening.​

​

When she had asked him the question: whether it was better to kill to prevent more death, or trust in redemption, he didn't answer. Not right away. It wasn't something you had a quick answer for.​

​

His lips parted for a moment, as if to say something, then closed. His gaze lowered, they always did when he entered deep thought.​

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"I don't know." He answered finally, plainly. "It isn't simple. Depends on the moment, your instincts, who you're dealing with." He continued, glancing back up at Reina "If it was Solipsis? I'd kill him without a second's thought. But... if it was some small-time crook who'd just dealt a bad hand in life? Who am I to stop from having that chance."​

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He leaned forward, lifting his knees and resting his arms on top of them. "Where I grew up? I had to do some questionable things to survive. If someone knocked me off the board early, well..."​

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He didn't elaborate. Talking about all the 'good' he'd done in the recent months was too gratuitous. It was looking like Reina had a lot of stuff she hadn't dealt with, a lot weighing on her. But, it helped to talk about it.​

​

For a moment Ace remembered Taris, how Sibylla had helped him work through his own grief over his mother's death and Clan Vethrisa.​

​

Ace simply listened attentively as Reina confessed to being kidnapped by the Sith, experimented on, being turned into something else. And then, finally, she admitted to attempting to end things.​

​

Again, he didn't say anything. Couldn't. What could you say to something like that. He wasn't good with words, or making people feel better, he wasn't like Sibylla. Not in the slightest.​

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But maybe... maybe he could use his own experiences to help.​

​

"I know those feelings. For a long time, I thought I was... destined to destroy. Born for it. Or, maybe, I had the same darkness as my father." He confessed, glancing away "It's something I still struggle with, but... a wise woman once told me 'Monsters do not question what they've become'."​

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Then, a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips - the memory of the bridge on Taris stirring in his mind. Finally, his gaze met Reina's again, his tone filled with resolve.​

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"Bad things have happened to us, yeah. It can push us toward darkness, but it can also be the beginning of something else if we choose."​

​

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

Good. Acier thought like she did. Just because she thought certain people deserved death for the potential harm they could cause doesn't mean she believed everyone did. Of course, the lines got more blurry the lower down the pedestal you looked. She might have saw those slavers she killed as irredeemable, but what if they had been trying to just feed their families? She shook that head, trying not to focus on that thought.

"I still feel like I'm doing questionable things. If I believe monsters, people who could hurt innocents, should die...Does that not include myself? Am I not a monster? I could hurt innocents, as easily as I could hurt people who are guilty. My thoughts hurt me all the time. I miss the days where I didn't have to think about morality...I was compared to a Sith once. That both me and her prey on the weak...It turned out to be a misunderstanding...but that comparison...is still hurts."

All Reina had wanted to do was protect the weak. The people who needed defense from the dark. But perhaps her presence only further helped to cast darkness and shade over the innocent people. Perhaps it would be better if she stopped trying to help people. She did no good. She helped no-one. On Atrisia, she had slaughtered so many troops trying to protect the civilians. And whilst Atrisia was ultimately saved...The people were still scarred. By what they had seen. What they had saw Reina do. Her hand moved towards her mouth for a moment, continuing to stare out at the water.

"...And before you say I'm not a monster, I am. To the people I've fought. The people I've killed. I tore someone's throat out on Atrisia. With my teeth. I didn't even realise what I had done until afterwards. I had just picked him off the ground and...I won't forget it. It plagues me. My dreams. I'm nothing better than an animal."

It was piling up. More and more reasons as to why she was struggling with her place in the Galaxy. Who she was meant to be. With a story like she had given, she would have sounded much better fitting amongst the dogs of the Sith, as opposed to the nobleness of the Jedi. But it was also like Acier had said. A Sith wouldn't question if they were a monster or evil.

"...I always thought I could be like a Lighthouse in the darkness. Shining light around my surroundings. Only now have I realised that...a Lighthouse itself is surrounded by Darkness. It has no other light apart from its own. And against overwhelming darkness that threatens to block out that Light...Who keeps the Light shining?"
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[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace could do nothing but listen again, allowing her the red-haired woman to say what she needed to say. He would grant her that space. Sometimes it was all one needed. But he knew, she was damning herself, like he did.

He didn't say anything, not for a while, but then he broke the silence with a long sigh. A sigh of resignation at what he was about to do.

"Reina…" He said softly, shifting forward a little. "I'm going to tell you something… something not a lot of people know." He paused, steadying his breath before continuing. "'Cause I think you need to hear it."

For a moment, Ace looked down at his hands, then up at her. His eyes were honest, flat.

"My father… is Darth Metus. Isley Verd." The words were dropped like stones like stones. "And there's some ancient Dathomiri prophecy about me. Says I'm supposed to bring the galaxy to ruin. So, yeah. I come from the dark. Shadow. Call it what you want."

He hated talking about his past, let alone in this manner. But, Reina needed to understand. For a moment he let the silence hang, his jaw ticked as he recalled the events on Dathomir. Finding the strength to talk about it was always like there were stones in his heart.

"My mother was killed in front of me not too long ago." He said, finally. His tone was flat, but Reina would sense his grief through the Force. "I… I killed everyone involved. No mercy. No remorse at the time."

Ace paused again, swallowing. For a moment, he looked away, finding his words, figuring out what to say next. Then, he looked back at her.

"For a long time I wrestled with it... what I did, what it meant about me." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck with his organic hand. "Nothing erases that. Nothing will. I get that. I'm not pretending otherwise."

Leaning back on his palms again, his eyes rose, watching and admiring the stars above. When he next spoke, his tone was soft again, earnest.

"But I've been trying. Learning. Working through it. All I can do is try to be better. It's all anyone can do, including you."

Eyes still locked on the stars, Ace shook his head slightly. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel better. I'm telling you because I've been where you are, feeling like a monster. I still do, sometimes." His dark gaze fell on her again. "We can't just sit around and fester in our self-doubt forever."

He didn't say anything after that, picking up and rolling a piece of dirt in his fingers. Then he flicked the dirt into the fire.

"If you want, I'll sit with you. Not to fix you. Just… to be here. Times like this? Having people around helps."

Reina Daival​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

Reina listened. She listened as much as she could to Acier's own story. She knew it was meant to his way of trying to sympathise with Reina. Perhaps unfortunately for his story, Reina had no clue who this Darth Meat Us was. And in Reina's eyes, the Galaxy had already been brought to ruin. If that was connected to Acier, she was not sure herself. Yet she doubted it. He was not the reason the weak suffered whilst the strong thrived. He was not the reason people like her existed. Her gaze stayed affixed ahead of herself however, as she finally spoke up herself.

"I'd have done the same as you Acier. Worse even. If people harmed my family. The people I love. And I wouldn't regret it."

That was the difference for Reina. The people she had hurt, the ones she regretted was because they hadn't hurt people she knew, or cared about. They were strangers. Strangers who lives had been ripped away by her. But when it came to people who hurt the people she loved? They weren't strangers. They were her enemies.

"I get where you're trying to come from...Don't get me wrong...but you're someone. You might not feel like it, but people know you. Most of them know you aren't a monster. Not even my own Master knew who I was. She thought I was a monster. A killer. Someone I trusted. Someone who had saved my life. They gave up on me. And she'll say I have forced her hand. That I made her do it, because I pushed her away."

That was the part that hurt the most. The part that Reina struggled with. Abandonment. Loneliness. Blaming herself for it. It just made Reina...angry. She wanted to have figured out how to use that anger. To help it push her forward, but instead she was taught that it was wrong to hold onto it. Even though it was what she was used to it. And in exchange for giving up her anger, the only thing that filled its place was despair. Fear. Weakness. Emotions that were far worse than anger.

She didn't reply. Not straight away to Acier's response. Instead she had focused in on something he had said. Not to fix her. Just to be here for her. Reina slowly but surely pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin atop them, letting Acier stay for now...Though a small smirk crept on her face, as she looked over towards Acier.

"...Plus you think you're bad, because you're related to some Darth? I think...I'm in love with a Sith. I-I...don't see them as a Sith...but it is a part of them...I can't deny."

Perhaps it was a sudden change of topic out of nowhere...but it moved the conversation to what Reina thought would be a more enjoyable topic of conversation. Little did she know that Acier's love life wasn't going well itself.
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