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.
​

 

[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.​

​

"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."​

​

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..."​

​

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.​

​

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'."​

​

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.​

​

"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?"
​

 

[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.
​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace looked away, almost grimacing, when Reina said she would have done the same. Aether had said the same thing when he told him, it didn't make things better. He didn't want people to agree, condone, what he did. It was wrong, immoral. When you had power like they did, you wield it responsibly, with control. You don't go around committing atrocities, falling deeper and deeper into the pit. Otherwise, how are you supposed to find your way back.

This was something Ace had learned in all of his self-reflection.

He didn't argue or try to reassure, Ace had already shown empathy through emotional mirroring. Now, all he could do was continue to hold space for her. No one, but Reina, was going to be able to help her.

So, he simply nodded "Sorry." That was all he could muster, all he could say.

Ace shifted his weight, drawing one knee up while leaning his arm against the leg still stretched comfortably in the dirt. His dark eyes flicked in her direction when she mentioned possibly being in love with a Sith. He simply blinked, not saying anything at first, then a smirk crept at the corner of his lip.

In love with a Sith. That was new.

"Wow." He said, in humorous disbelief. "A Sith, huh. Anyone I know?" He asked, sarcasm laced in his voice... although, part of him was curious.

His thoughts then drifted to Sibylla. How, despite the distance he believed he needed, to move on, his feelings for her still lingered. The memory of seeing her with Veruna, kissing him, felt like a hammer to the chest. Then, their fight on Roon, twisted his gut. And despite all that, things were getting easier but maybe not having her in his life, in any capacity, made him worse off.

A low, almost sorrowful sigh, betrayed a flicker of vulnerability. A low, humorless chuckle, escaped his lips as he shook his head.

"Well, your love life can't be any worse than mine." He confessed with a playful smirk, but his voice was rough.

Reina Daival​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

Sorry. The one thing that Reina didn't want to hear. Sorry didn't fix anything. Sorry was something that was incredibly easy to say. It didn't help deal with anything. But she tried not to let that get the better of her. Acier was just doing his best, even if it wasn't working that well. Instead she just shook her head, keeping her gaze focused ahead of herself as Acier asked who it was.

"I...Well..."

Reina was struggling. She felt as if she said the name, it would be confirming it. Confirming that Reina had feelings for them. Of course, she knew she did it. But knowing and telling someone were two completely different things. It didn't help that Reina once again thought it would end up being heartbreak for her. People like her didn't get to be happy in that way. Her gaze flickered over towards Acier, as he said it couldn't be worse than Acier's love life and she let out a solemn chuckle.

"I dunno. I mean, I'm in love with a Sith Princess. As a Jedi...Well...I don't even know if I'm a Jedi anymore. But I know I'm not on the same level as a Princess..."

She wanted to be. Reina wanted to be on that level. To be someone important. Yet she doubt that day would ever come. How would she ever be able to rise up into fame? Reina was a nobody. Always was. And in her eyes, she always would be. Of course, there was every possibility that Acier's love life was far worse than Reina's, but she didn't know what he had went through.

Anyway, there it was. Reina had basically admitted to who she had cared for. A Princess of the Sith. Of all the people she could care for, that was who she fell upon.
​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

His brow raised as he watched Reina struggle with naming who her new love interest was. It made sense, they were both aligned to the Light side, actively opposed the Empire and Sith, actually naming whoever it was would make things awkward. Complicated even.​

​

However, the ashen-haired rebel wasn't one to judge other people's decisions. If Reina truly felt happiness with a Sith, maybe this person had some redeeming qualities about them. As well as this, Ace fought the idea of the Sith, he didn't hate or condemn the individual person.​

​

When she said 'Sith Princess', the lights turned on in his head. Ace's gaze focused on Reina, not out of malice or suspicion, but recognition. The only Sith Princess that he was aware of was Quinn Varanin - who, oddly, had close ties to his own family. Something he discovered recently. Ace didn't name her, not aloud, in case he was wrong, but to also respect Reina's right to secrecy.​

​

A faint, dry snicker left his lips "Oh, the whole 'I'm not good enough for her' debacle." He said, glancing down as he shook his head.​

​

After a short pause, his expression flattened into something that might have conveyed sadness and longing. When he spoke again, his tone was softer, carrying the same emotion etched on his freckled face.​

​

"I'm in love with the Queen of Naboo." He paused, deliberating on what he just said. "I think." He added, correcting himself. "Never been in love before, let alone felt this kind of way about... anyone. It's still new to me."​

​

He smiled again, it was fake, a mask for the internal turmoil he felt that probably crashed through the Force like a rogue wave. Maybe joking about it would hurt less, make him get over it faster even, that's what he hoped for.​

​

"Then I saw her kiss someone else." He said, kicking a piece of dirt into the fire and watching it burn.​

​

The words hung in the air for a moment, and Ace still evaded Reina's gaze - he didn't want to feel more vulnerable than he already did. So, he simply stared into the embers burning before them, the flames' golden hue illuminating the scar on his left cheek.​

​

"If yours is messier than that? I'm sorry." He added, plastering a synthetic chuckle behind it.​

​

While this had been said to add an air of levity to their situation, and was in no means a serious 'one-up', Ace still felt the ache linger in his chest.​

​

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

Reina had once lived under the idea that all Sith were blights on the Galaxy. The same opinion had been one she held towards the Mandalorians as well. The big bad boogey men that had to be slain to save the Galaxy. Yet the more and more she experienced things, the more she realised that belief was wrong. From an outsider perspective, it was still somewhat accurate. It was the same excuse Colette had used against Reina, about how hurting people made you the bad guy in their books...but it was an excuse Reina wouldn't accept. Following that belief, you might as well not do anything out of fear of being the bad guy to someone. Reina was no longer concerned about being seen as "the good guy."

"Hey, hey. It's not that I'm not just good enough for her. I ain't really good enough for anyone. I never have been. Which...y'know. Is fine. It's life. What else should I expect?"

She shrugged her shoulders, trying not to focus on the feeling of inadequacy. What made Reina special? What made her different to other people? Nothing. She was just like the crowd. A long time ago, that would have been what she wanted. To feel like she was just everyone else. Instead of feeling abandoned, or like some kind of monster. But it was starting to become reoccuring for Reina that she wanted to feel like someone special. Someone that people could look up to and respect...or for people to look up to and fear, yet she didn't want to focus on that too much.

Instead she turned her attention over towards Acier as he spoke. Listening to him talk about how he thought he was in love with the Queen of Naboo. Who that was? Reina had no clue. She didn't even properly realise that Naboo had a Monarchy. She wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed now after all. But she did her best to listen,, not making any effort to try and actually look at Acier.

"...I don't know what love is really. I think this is how it feels. But I've never experienced. I've never had anyone "love" me...in the way they want to be with me. I've had it platonically...but that's different."

In fact, that was partly the problem for Reina, as she stared off towards the stream once more. She hadn't realised that Acier wasn't serious about trying to one up Reina, which meant that she responded anyway.

"...The first person I thought I loved...I found out quite quickly they had been engaged. Roughly around the same time I found out I cared for them. They're my best friend."

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace's brow raised when Reina mentioned 'not being good enough' for anyone. Slowly, but playfully, the young rebel rolled his eyes before letting them settle on her again.

"Your self worth." He said, barely smirking. "It needs work."

Again, he wouldn't preach. Ace didn't know her well enough for that, nor did he think it would help someone like Reina. But simply making the main issue known, maybe it'd give Reina some food for reflection later down the line.

Reina eventually confessed she didn't know what love was, the romantic kind at least. He didn't answer. Or, more accurately, he couldn't. In his silence, his eyes lowered to the dirt, studying all its granules in excruciating detail.

Ace was in the exact same camp as the fiery-haired woman. Love was an anomaly to him. Complicated. Messy. Even as chaotic as they could get at times, fighting was much more straightforward than love and feelings were.

Yet, whenever he'd heard loved describe... it was almost the exact same feelings he felt toward Sibylla.

His eyes lifted, back on to Reina, when she brought up that she'd believed to be in love with her best friend. Only to find out she was engaged. Ace's expression shifted into something that might have displayed awkwardness, or maybe pity, it wasn't clear.

"That's... rough." He said. "Yeah, your love life is definitely worse than mine."

For a moment he was silent, then he broke it with a dry chuckle - but this time there was no insincerity behind it. Then he simply laid down on his back, watching the stars overhead, listening to the fire crackle.

"Sometimes I think... 'are people like us capable of love'? Not if we're worthy of it, but... can we?" He said aloud, to himself mostly "We're both survivors. Life had to twist us up inside to make us that way. I just wonder if... my brain's been so fundamentally altered to work differently than a normal person's, am I even wired for love?"

He shifted a little in his position, thinking about his mother again. How his love for her twisted into violent rage that resulted in the genocide of an entire coven. Or, how he reacted when he realized Sibylla would never see him the way he did her. And then, a worse notion breached his thoughts. If something were to ever happen to her, or Aether... despite all Ace's desire for self-restraint, would he just relapse and raze the galaxy to ashes?

"Healthy love, at least." He added, correcting himself.

Familiar beeps and trills reached his ears, distant but slowly becoming clearer. He didn't get up, he simply turned his head to see a flicker of blue light approaching. It was Tic, likely having grown bored of scanning trees and his search for trinkets. A real, genuine smile curved his lips as he watched the BD-unit.

Tic stopped in front of Ace bouncing excitedly, and chirping as if he missed his friend. Ace reached over, scratching the top of Tic's headcasing.

"Hey, buddy. Reina, Tic. Tic, Reina."

Tic turned to face Reina, tilting his head a little before beeping a happy greeting at her.

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

"I need something to feel worthy about. It's hard to have any value...when you're abandoned at birth. Abandoned by your found family. Abandoned by your master. It begins to feel as if you're the problem. That you're the issue. Something inside of you is broken. And you don't quite know how to fix it. The ways you try are "wrong." Or they're ripped away from you. Alcohol. Anger. Fighting. Take all of those away, and what truly am I? A sad pathetic woman with nothing to her name."

Perhaps this was far more deeper than Reina was used to discussing. But it was best for her to get it out now, lest she never speak of it again. Her gazestill firmly focused ahead of herself. There were tears welling up within her eyes that she was holding back. Reina wasn't sure who she was anymore. She was not Jedi. She was not a fishermen. She wasn't even a human anymore. The Ersansyr had believed she had found her place amongst the Jedi, but even now she realised it was never where she was meant to be. So where? Where would she be able to call a home?

Yet then Acier spoke towards the idea of if the two of them could even feel healthy love. Reina's gaze turning to look up towards the sky. A scowl forming on her face as she thought about it, resting her hands against the ground, digging them into the mud as a small degree of frustration started to bubble.

"I felt like I could. Once. When I was raised by the fishing crew that had saved me. Then I was sent off because droids were stealing all the good fishing jobs. That was when I decided to close my heart off to the Galaxy. I was taken away from the family that had raised me...because people would rather make a quick and easy credit, than to pay for living and breathing hardwork. They'd rather pay for a damned bucket of bolts-..."

She was stopped mid rant as Tic showed up. Ironic time perhaps, considering how Reina was about to go into a full damned rant about how much she hated droids and robotics. Her eyes flicked over towards Tic, giving the droid a hard gaze as she had to fight the urge to wave it away. To slap her hand out towards it. The...Thing was Acier's friend, or companion for lack of a better term. Something that not even Reina had. Her path was alone. Loneliness was who she was. But Acier had something with him at least...Instead she turned her gaze back towards the stream, as the Ersansyr dug her fingers into the mud.

"You've not had a choice in who you've became Acier. Even if you are afraid of becoming some blight on the Galaxy...There are people who love that kind of person. You are built for it. I'm not. I'm a no-one. A generic face amongst the crowd. Destined to be forgotten."

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Ace remained lied down, listening to Reina. This was it, the culmination of what she'd been circling around earlier, now it was all coming out at once. His eyes counted the stars as he processed everything she said.

She wasn't seeking reassurance, she was trying to prove to herself that she deserved to feel unworthy, like she wasn't enough. It was becoming more and more clear to Ace. Her anger, cynicism, bitterness toward systems or mentors. It stemmed from her not feeling worthy. He understood because he recognized it in himself. It wasn't self-hate, it was existential worthlessness. Both of them had it, but borne of different circumstances.

Then, his jaw tightened when she said he didn't have a choice in who he'd become. Framing it as if it was a good thing. His chest felt warm, that Verd fire stirring within him. She truly had no idea.

"Grass is greener, Reina." He said, tone stone cold.

'There are people who love that kind of person' - as if that made it better? The stupid prophecy that had cast a shadow over his entire life had ripped him away from his mother, robbed him of a chance of a real childhood. Then there was the Verd lineage, it had drawn his father away from his mother, severing any chance of a normal family. And now? He constantly wrestles with the inner darkness he'd inherited from him.

Ace proceeded to sit up again, leaning on both hands as he looked at her. His expression betrayed the slight irritation he was trying to hide.

"So, what?" He argued. "You really want all those expectations? All that pressure? You're not a 'no-one'. You can be whatever you want to be without the baggage. You can be Reina the Jedi, Reina the fisherman, Reina the mercenary. The entire galaxy's at your fingertips."

He shook his head, rising to his feet, clearly fueled by passion now - her earlier comment having touched a nerve. Ace pointed his mechanical finger at her, he knew this wasn't the right thing to do, not what she needed to hear but he couldn't stop.

"You know what your problem is? The self-pitying thing that you do. Yeah, a lot of bad things have happened to you." He spat, his usual flat tone laced with fire. "But you're not the only one. A lot of people don't got what you have. The power to redefine who you are. You-- He cut himself off, lowering his hand.

"I used to think like you. Used to wish I mattered, that I meant something. Turned out my entire life is the way it is because I was meant to be something." Turning away slightly, he rested his hands on his hips and sighed in frustration "Believe me, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

His head hung low and his shoulders loosened, the fire within him dying down to a smoulder. Then he growled in frustration, more at himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. He pinched the bridge of his nose hard, grimacing.

"Sorry." His tone was softer now, genuinely remorseful "I shouldn't have said you were--" Ace stopped himself again, shaking his head "But I'm not completely wrong. You being a 'no-one' is a blessing, because... then you can be whoever you want. Damn what anyone says."

Reina Daival ​

 

[Reina Daival]

Tag: Acier Moonbound
Location: Random Forest Planet

"Yes."

It was a simple word. A simple answer. Her gaze not moving from ahead of herself. Even as Ace moved up, clearly feeling some kind of response to what Reina said, her gaze did not move. Only a single tear ran down her face. Acier said that Reina could be whatever she had wanted. Without the baggage. But that wasn't true. She'd never be able to be Raini Pekerish, beloved daughter. That had been torn away from her when she had been lost at sea. She couldn't be Reina Daival, fisherwoman. That had been torn away when she had been pushed away by the people she considered family. She couldn't even be Padawan Daival, when her master had decided to give up on her. That she was a lost cause to help.

"...I hate grass, you know? It's too muddy. Too much dirt. It stains you. So much. Always so hard to wash away."

If Acier had expected Reina to act with aggression or irritation herself, he'd be sorely surprised. For...she didn't see the point in it. Anger was what had put her here in the first place. Frustration was what had pushed everyone away from her. Her own frustration, or theirs. It didn't matter. She wanted the pressure. The push. The drive to be someone. When you had so many choices ahead of yourself as Reina did...You were paralyzed. Which road was the right one to go down? Which was the path you should choose? Acier's points made sense. They were logical. But Reina felt anything but logical in this moment.

"Do a lot of people get their identity ripped away from them? Control of their life? Yes, I can redefine who I am. But what if I never wanted to? What if I was perfectly happy with who I used to be. But I kept changing. Again. And again. Against my Will. Until I am completely unrecognisable to who I used to be."

And even still, her gaze did not break. It was as if she was looking past her surroundings, to something in the future. Something she could only dream of, especially with the wistful smile that was on her face. Even as another tear gently ran down her face. She had clearly upset Acier. It hadn't been her intention. That was part of what she hated about how she had changed however. She had became more empathetic. Cared how others felt. Yet hadn't changed the way she spoke. She missed the days, where she cared for no-one other than herself. But she was too far changed to go back to that now. Her heart could not freeze anymore.

"You said it's a blessing. That I'm a no-one. That I can be whoever I want to be."

Reina's own rage. Her own fire. It had quietly went out. Not so much in some glorious explosion of heat, warmth and light. But in a small pitiful putter. Acier was right. Reina pitied herself far too much. She expected herself to be greater than she was, even though she wasn't. She had always thought she'd be content with the little things in life...but she had sorely realised how wrong that was. How wrong she was.

"...But what if I don't know what I want to be."

​

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Some Forest Planet

Equipment:
Field Gear | Lightsaber | Tic | Cybernetic Arm

Reina's lack of reaction to his outburst only made him feel worse. If she had fired back, cursed him out, it would've made him feel less guilty. Her composure only served to remind him how, despite all of his self-reflection and meditation, his emotions still ran hot.​

​

He stayed stood, turned away from Reina as she continued: asking him if it was common for people to have their identities stripped. Rhetorical, of course. Part of him wanted to answer yes, maybe not to the extremes Reina had been through - but everyday someone out their lost something. A piece of themselves, autonomy of their lives, someone they cared about.​

​

For the first seventeen years of his life, it was all Ace had ever known. All everyone who lived in the Vergeworks knew. But, he stayed silent, he listened. Now wasn't the time to argue her point. Again, it was all about Reina needing to be heard, to be able to get it all off of her chest without resistance.​

​

What if I was perfectly happy with who I used to be. But I kept changing. Again. And again. Against my Will

​

Ace bit his tongue once more when she said this. He wanted to tell her that, again, a lot of people felt this way too. Content with their status in life, only more often than not, to lose that to some external force outside their control. He wanted to tell her that the galaxy didn't care about what we wanted, and that we just needed to adapt to what was thrown at us.​

​

But maybe that was the survivor in him talking. The trauma. The little boy on Bonadan who had no control over anything, and simply had to just react to the chaos around him in order to stay alive. It wasn't the way to live and Reina was right to feel how she felt.​

​

When she confessed she may not know who she wanted to be, only then did he finally turn to her. Even Tic, tilting his head again, let out a sorrowful trill as if he empathized with her.​

​

For a moment, he didn't say anything. Silently, he just closed the distance between them and sat down next to her. Close enough to show her she wasn't alone, but far enough to where he wasn't in her personal space. Then, he finally spoke:​

​

"You don't need to know. Not right now." He lifted his knees again, resting his arms over them. "But taking the steps to find out is better than staying still forever. Not knowing." Then he turned to her, the corner of his lip curving faintly. "We all have to take that leap of faith, Reina."​

​

Reina Daival ​