Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Our Hour of R&R

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
After her summary to the Senate and subsequent retirement from politics, Aleidis had been a busy, busy girl. She'd slept for a bit while her old mentor Boolon's herdship had taken her where she needed to be - which was on the far side of Mando space, far away from Coruscant. See, while she'd wanted to toss the Darkstaff into a Black Hole to dispose of it, she didn't trust that there weren't moles in the senate with enough power to somehow retrieve it.

So she'd done the next best thing. She'd lied, and then loaded the staff onto her shuttle, and sent the shuttle into the heart of a supernova. If the supernova couldn't incinerate the Darkstaff, it'd sure as heck incinerate anything that tried to get at it for the next couple thousand years. And so, the Galaxy was a safer place. It wasn't as though anyone could have stopped her, considering she'd been well on her way to finishing the plan when she'd sent that message.

Once the Darkstaff was dealt with, Aleidis Ijet allowed herself to rest.

----------------

Months later, the teenager reached for her morning cup of tea and found nothing. With a wince, she realized that she'd reached with the wrong hand. Again. Becoming a leftie overnight wasn't easy, when you'd spent your entire life reaching with the right. She sat quietly at a hewn wooden table in a hut with three rooms - two bedrooms and a living room-kitchen-den-dining room conglomerate that was truthfully about as big as the living room of her home as Chancellor had been. But that's how life was, on Datar - simple, primitive.

Out the window, wind rushed through a sea of dark green. On any other planet, that'd be grass outside her front step. But the village Aleidis had grown up with was situated on the canopy, with small pathways and rope-bridges connecting the homes of the perhaps twenty people who lived there. Aleidis had returned as soon as she was able to walk, at Boolon's suggestion. After losing her arm and getting blasted by lightning, she needed rest. And considering that nearly every other planet in the Galaxy had gravity which strained her body, she'd headed home to Datar. Adjusting to live without electricity had been a bit of a shock, but - hey. She'd grown up here. It wasn't TOO hard.

And Aleidis was a skilled enough physician and healer to see to her own self by that point in her recovery.

Living under her father's roof again had been... well, recuperative. Soothing, in a way. Ghostlings understood that there were more lives on more planets than their own, but very few ever left. To Jobar Ijet, his daughter was a Jedi and little more - and apparently home to stay, which he was markedly happy about. Very few souls in the Galaxy could claim to have treated Aleidis as a girl her own age for some time, so having her father remind her to clean her room every couple of days? Or try and gently nudge her towards the Chief's son? Was kind of refreshing in a way.

Feeling home swaying in the wind, Aleidis picked her tea up in the wrong hand and sipped, moving to the window to look out over the perpetually twilight forest of her people - and then up at the stars that she'd once been leader of. Perhaps, one day they might forgive her. Or understand her. But for now, she was recovering.
 
Datar had an interesting sunrise, unlike anything that Codi had see on any other world in the galaxy. The way a trillion multicolored rays of light penetrated the foliage of the planetwide forest from high altitude was just beautiful, but considering it was a planet where beauty was something of a standard, she wasn't at all surprised. It felt almost a crime to befoul such a perfect, untouched world with emissions from a tainted galaxy, but Codi really didn't care about any of that. She had exactly one thing on her mind.

For the third time in as many months, Codi Zrgaat's old, worn-out Eta-6 touched down on Datar. She'd had no luck so far, of course, but Aleidis was sure to come back there at some point. She found her way to the same clearing as she had twice before, far away from anything resembling a water source and clear (or so she hoped) of any Ghostlings or animals who might run across her ship and burn themselves on the cooling engines.

The Togruta always felt naked on Datar, due in no small part to her lack of lightsabers. She knew that she was going to need them at some point, but that simply wasn't an option any more. Exiles didn't keep their lightsabers...not even self-imposed ones. Still, Datar wasn't the most dangerous planet she'd been on, and with a few visits you started to learn the tricks and caveats on how to stay out of trouble.

'But not how to find one Ghostling on the whole planet.' Sighing, Codi picked the familiar path to Ghostling village Alei had taken her to all those months ago. It was a longshot at the best, a fool's hope that Aleidis had thought to come through somewhere so obvious. It was just as unlikely that if she had, her people would be willing to give her up. But dammit, Codi had to try. Alei was alive and Cod wouldn't stop searching until she found her.

As per normal, the Ghostlings were inconveniently absent when the Togruta walked into their village. She could hear them through her horns, but it wouldn't do her any good to point that out. They'd talk to her when they were good and ready. Finding herself a place to sit and meditate, Codi tried one more time to reach out and feel around for her precious firefly.
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

Codi had discovered that Ghostlings weren't the most gregarious of people. When most of the Galaxy could break you in half with but a gesture and usually wanted to drag you to planets you could barely move on to kill you with sex, you got really shy when it came to aliens. Besides, a majority of Ghostlings didn't even SPEAK Galactic Basic aside from a handful of representatives in each village.

"Kiranah dar'orzuuda, ezah." Aleidis' father greeted as he walked blearily through the main room of the hut in search of breakfast.

"Dar'zuuda, Epah." She greeted with a small smile, snickering as he ruffled her hair on his way by. "Wahta nah'poliwan?"

"Hile, Alei." Was the simple reply - casual smalltalk between them as per the usual. "Wahta nir'poliwan tokai, ezah."

And so, Jobar sat with his daughter and had a cup of tea - a pleasure he hadn't enjoyed much since his wife passed away some years ago, as he'd never really bothered to learn which herbs made that beverage. He was a hunter, not a gatherer. Aleidis opened her mouth to say something, and then sat upright - her head snapping towards the north as the Force instincts she'd more or less neglected for ages informed her of a presence. Jobar raised his eyebrows in surprise, then glanced out the window.

"T'jalei?" He inquired, mildly concerned as he reached for a well-worn spear which stayed near the door.

Aleidis stood, her simple green dress - woven from layers of soft, enduring leaves and vine fabrics - shifting around her knees. "Kitale ir'ben." She murmured quietly, before shaking her head. He wouldn't understand if she explained, so it was easier to simply do. "...Venasi alaroi, epah." Alei promised, smoothing her dress and stepping swiftly to the door.

Jobar frowned in displeasure. "Aleidis."

"Venasi alaroi!" Aleidis repeated with a small smile. "Epah, ironah t'cataren." She added, before puckering her lips in a brief, blown kiss and ducking out the door.

She supposed she shouldn't have doubted that Codi would eventually find her here - and truth be told, Aleidis felt like a heel for leaving the Togruta behind. But considering the strain that had been placed on their relationship when Codi followed her into politics, Aleidis hadn't wanted to risk losing the Togruta by asking her to follow her out of the Republic, too. Codi loved big cities, she loved parties and dancing and drinking, sparkly dresses and flashing lights and the thriving heartbeat of millions of people. Things that Coruscant had an abundance of, that would likely never be found on Datar. If Aleidis had asked, she knew Codi would have given it up to be with her - and likely would have begun to quietly resent her over time.

So Aleidis simply hadn't asked. Codi was vibrant and alive - she could find love again. Find somebody to fill the gap, certainly?

On silent feet, Aleidis crept through her village towards the center. If Codi had come all this way to find, her, Aleidis at least owed the Togruta the courtesy of explaining herself. Codi could meditate and search every tree on the planet and never find her if she didn't want to be found - Qey'Tek promised that. So when Aleidis stepped out from behind a hut and began quietly stepping towards the platform upon which the love of her young life was sitting, she'd feel to Force senses to be nothing more than any other average girl her age - with old eyes and missing an arm, to be sure.

"...Codi?" The Ghostling asked softly.
 
From the age of fifteen up to the point that Aleidis had started her career in politics, Codi had never been more than twenty feet away from Aleidis for more than twelve hours. They'd eaten together, slept together, trained together, and watched goofy holonet wushu Jedi movies together. It's not entirely clear what forms a bond in the Force, a link between two souls, but Codi had always felt linked to Alei. The fact that she hadn't felt a pain in her arm right before Aleidis disappeared hadn't drawn her attention in the least.

When she turned to face Alei now, on Datar, Codi flinched. Not just from the pain of the missing arm, but from the realization that she hadn't felt it. Their bond wasn't that epic thing chronicled in the archives of the Jedi Temple. If she wasn't staring the proof directly in the face (or...lack of face?), she would've flown whoever said it the bird and continued waiting for her firefly to come back. Now, she wasn't so sure.

The Togruta stood carefully still, fighting herself not to tackle the girl to the ground and hug her until Codi's arms hurt. Some reflexes were impossible to overcome; even now, finally reunited with the only person in her life who actually mattered, Codi couldn't lose control and hurt Aleidis any more than she already had. Instead, her hands clenched into fists so tight her orange skin went white, her fangs gritting against her mouth almost enough to cut her gums.

"...You'll have to try harder than that to escape me, glowbug," she started when she finally got her jaw to relax. "Ya didn't even tell me you wanted me gone. Do you have any friggin' clue how long I've been looking for you?"
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

Glowbug.

If anyone else had begun calling her that, Alei might have hated it. As it stood, though, that little term of endearment was something unique to Codi Zrgaat, and her alone. "I wasn't trying to get rid of you." Aleidis promised, her shoulder slumping slightly. How do you tell someone that they're better off without you? How do you tell the most constant pillar of support in your life that you've seen the cracks and would rather fall yourself than result in that pillar breaking?

Still, regardless of the circumstances, it was really good to see Codi. Even if Aleidis felt she deserved a solid crack across the jaw from the Togruta for being so insensitive. The Ghostling took a small step forward and let her arm hang at her side. "I missed you a lot - just... after what happened to us when you followed me into politics? I didn't want to risk that being even worse by you following me out of the Republic." The Ghostling apologized simply, laying her cards out on the table. "I was setting you free, you know? So you didn't have to throw your life away, following me to..." She gestured vaguely across the endless canopy of Datar. "...basically nowhere. Y'know?"
 
Every passing moment left Codi with an even greater need to punch Aleidis right in her stupid mouth, then hug her and cry for hours. She couldn't do either right now, so she simply continued talking with whatever amount of eloquence she could muster. "That is the stupidest thing you've ever said." Yeah. Eloquence. "Listen to yourself. You wanted to 'protect' me by cutting me out of your life? Alei, I've been struggling for months now to protect you from your thrice-blasted need to play the martyr!"

She could feel her fingernails digging into her skin. She needed to stop that. Codi moved her arms to cross under her breasts, sighing and dropping her head. "Just think about that. I followed you. When you went to Dagobah, I followed you. When you went to Datar, I followed you. When you were hounded by assassins, I followed you. When you decided to gut yourself on the altar of pointless politics, I followed you."

It was strange seeing a Togruta cry. With eyelashes and nothing else, and skin that didn't quite have the same texture as a humans, tears streaked in strange patterns down Codi's cheeks, eventually splattering onto her black travelling robes. Her voice cracked for what had to be the first time since Dagobah. "I don't care what happens to me. I've been raped by sentient acid, attacked by assassin droids, almost killed in a dogfight that I had no business being in, and watched the order I'd devoted my life to collapse under its own stupidity; my own safety is as far from my mind as you could possibly understand." Her lekku twitched and squirmed around her arms, hugging herself even tighter while she tried to force herself to continue. "I'm not leaving you, Aleidis. I don't care how much 'danger' is involved. You're the only thing left in my stupid life that matters."

Raising her arms, Codi looked down to her empty belt. "I mean...notice something missing here?"
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

"Yeah? All of that happened because of me!" Aleidis complained, clenching her fist at her side. Seeing a Togruta cry was a strange thing - seeing Codi cry was a stranger thing altogether. Especially for Aleidis, who was of the opinion that, when it came to grace and strength, Codi was nigh-unmatched among Knights. Aleidis crying, on the other hand, was considerably more common. Especially since she'd left the Jedi order. Tears and pillow were no strangers to each other. "You were on Dagobah because you wanted to protect me - and you were MISERABLE in that apartment because of what I did to our lives!" Aleidis pointed out. "Codi, I love you, but I can't ruin your life anymore!"

"And now look?! You've full on quit the Jedi Order because of me!" Aleidis howled, gesturing to Codi's belt. "You've thrown everything away to chase a stupid, crippled failure halfway across Republic space to some backwater planet, because you're do d-damned stubborn to realize how much better off you'd be if you left her to rot!" The Ghostling was, since the first time in awhile, having a full-on emotional meltdown. A luxury she'd at times sorely needed, but then, Aleidis' emotions always ran hot under a veneer of tranquility. Like everything she did, she rarely felt anything less than a hundred percent.
 
In a startling departure from her earlier demeanor, and in rather unsettling contrast to her little sobbing fit, Codi gave a weak chuckle. "That's me. Stubborn old Codi. Too wrapped up in my own fool ideas to abandon a friend in need." She took a few steps forward, towards Aleidis, her voice a bit more even as she moved. "Too hard-headed to leave a girl as fractured and scared as I am to shatter under pressure she should never have been forced to take in the first place."

When she was just close enough, the Togruta leaned forward to place her forehead almost against Alei's, not touching but close enough to share her body heat. "You're not some evil dictator, firefly. I don't know why you keep telling yourself this. If you had really been doing all of these things just to hurt me, or 'us' if that's how you want to put it, why would I still be here?" She stood up and waved her arms around to indicate the forest-planet around her. "Why would I have followed you halfway across the galaxy?"

Shaking her head, the taller girl held out her arms to motion for a hug. She was careful not to make contact herself; not even now, when emotions were running high, would she hurt her glowbug. "C'mere, gimpy. We can be failures together, but I'm not going to give up on you just because you're too d-damned stubborn to realize that not everything that affects us is your choice." She smirked when she did the stutter, sticking her tongue out from between her fangs. Face of tragedy, and Codi Zrgaat was still cracking wise.
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

"Duh-Don't call me gimpy." Aleidis mumbled bleakly as Codi closed the gap and provided comfort the best way she knew how - by being a pillar of strength when Aleidis needed it the most, consoling her with presence alone. And sometimes that meant making fun of Aleidis' sometimes-dramatic way of looking at the world. Aleidis had realized long ago that no matter how much she called the shots and directed things, without Codi she was a roof with no walls - doomed to fall, and certainly unable to keep out the rain and dark.

Choking back a sob, Aleidis flung herself foward and wrapped her arm tightly around Codi's neck, pulling herself up for as tight a hug as she could muster. "I missed you so much!" The Ghostling wept, burying her face in Codi's neck. Often were the times when Aleidis had thanked her lucky stars to have nearly collided with the Togruta in the halls of the Jedi temple on that one slow morning - a combination of one girl being late to class and the second being lazy and skipping her gardening had resulted in a friendship that'd defined them both - to the point where Aleidis didn't want to imagine her life without Codi in it.

"I'm suh-sorry Codi, I am so, so sorry. I'm sorry for the Republic, and the Jedi, and for how thoughtless I was..." Aleidis gushed, sniffling wet tears into the orange skin of Codi's neck - the familiar smell of the Togruta and weight of her lek was comforting in it's own right. "...I just love you so much and I know I don't always show it in the best ways but you're my whole world!"
 
"Yeah, that's right. Snot on my shirt. That's what friends are for," Codi snickered back at Alei as she squirmed her head-tails over the girl's shoulders, running down her back. Weird though it might have been, her lekku were probably the only part of her body that was light enough to hold Aleidis without bruising her terribly. She wanted to hug the poor, fragile girl tight and just sob with her, but that would've wound up in quite a few more tears than either one of them could take. "I missed you too, Alei."

She'd had her time to cry. Now she needed to support a pile of Ghostling. Dammit, Codi would give anything to hug her right now, but brain-tail hugs would have to do. "You don't have to worry about any of that stuff any more. It's done, we're still here. Nothing is going to stop us, Aleidis." Codi pulled her head back just enough to plant a careful kiss on the fragile girl's head, right on the thick of her hair. "The Republic can implode on itself and the Jedi can fall, and none of that will break us apart. I'm here for you until I'm broken and bleeding and can't move another inch."

With just the tip of her fingernail, she brushed a stray strand of hair out of Alei's eyes. "I know you're stronger than me, but that won't stop me from protecting you however I can. You're the only thing that matters to me, lil' glowbug." Codi's tear-stained cheeks dimpled into a little grin. "So don't think you can try to run away from me again."
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

"Loud'n clear." Aleidis said with a weepy, weary smile as her hair was brushed aside. There were two people she trusted enough not to shy away from when they reached out - Codi was one of them. Like a passing summer storm, her miserable sobs had swept out of her life as swiftly as they'd dropped in, and she felt considerably better for it. Leaning up as best she could when she was already on her tip-toes, Aleidis pressed a (typically) light kiss to Codi's lips before settling back down. "I love you so much." The Ghostling added for good measure, wiping her cheeks off with the back of her hand.

Or, at least, she started to and then realized that hand was gone. Her left picked up the slack, but she had to stop hugging to use it.

It was kind of pathetically appropriate that the first time she'd seen Codi up and out of bed without wincing or cringing since Dagobah, Aleidis had lost her arm and gotten blasted nearly to the point of death. She was still recovering, but Alei's own healing skill was expediting the process somewhat. Glancing over her shoulder - feeling eyes on her - the Ghostling flushed, sniffled, then wiped her eyes again. "My dad's been wanting to meet you for awhile." She admitted. "Would you like to come over? I've got plenty of room for us both. You... you could stay, too, if you wanted." Aleidis added the last bit for good measure. As eager as she was to share a bed with Codi again and stave off the nightmares with the Togruta's warm presence, she didn't want to assume that Codi was ready to or want to assume that Codi was ready to or even wanted to live with her again.

Especially not at her dad's house.
 
Damn that arm. Why hadn't she picked up a cybernetic replacement yet? It wasn't like galactic medicine hadn't reached the point where they could install a delicate arm into a more delicate being's stump. But then, knowing Aleidis, she probably had some kind of personal vendetta against getting a replacement. Like it would make her something less than herself, or some kind of nonsense like that. Codi wouldn't press the point...yet.

"I'd love to come meet your dad," she replied with a smirk. "I've been dreading the whole 'meet the parents' thing for months now, so I might as well get it over with while I'm drugged up on enough adrenaline to make me forget where I am." Her little fangs peeked through her lips as she stepped back a couple of inches and lifted her lekku off of Alei's shoulders, trying to keep from any undue pressure.

She was still thinking over the whole thing where she might stay with a bunch of primitives on a planet with no Tarisian ale or blaring "Bespin Backlash" records. She'd do it in a heartbeat if Aleidis made a proper invitation, but Codi wouldn't deny that she was a city girl at heart. Plus, it'd be hard to convince the Ghostling to get a prosthetic arm if they were stuck on a backwater with no electricity.
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
A couple of weeks passed, but they were wonderful ones in Alei's opinion. Codi was here and still loved her, her father was initially skeptical but accepted the Togruta's presence in his daughter's life and bed. And then Codi was treated to a couple weeks of what Aleidis considered the sharpest jokes, the keenest wit the Galaxy had to offer. Jobar Ijet made an effort to make Codi feel welcome under his roof, despite having only a rudimentary grasp of Galactic Basic. Aleidis was more than happy to translate the deluge of puns and groaners between giggle fits.

Life was simple. Every day, Aleidis felt more and more like herself. Not the Chancellor, not the Jedi who must be perfect - just Aleidis. And that was something she wouldn't trade worlds for. In fact, it was something she'd traded worlds and worlds and worlds to obtain. She could be honestly happy, openly affectionate, playfully passionate and unashamedly seventeen years old. Given a choice, she would have been happy to spend years there, on Datar. Living the simple life, recovering, doing her best to remember what it was to have nobody's life hanging on her every decision. Sure, Codi was still a city girl at heart and was bored out of her skull without the Holonet or her blaring music, but she'd learn to love Datar, right?

Right?

But fate, as always, had other things in store for the young Ghostling. Jobar Ijet had left the girls on a seasonal hunting trip - he'd not be back for weeks, and hopefully with enough meat to get the village through the cold season. Aleidis was up early, as was her custom; tending the flowers and herbs growing at her window, while the tree her home was built onto rustled and groaned in the wind.
 
@[member="Codi Zrgaat"] | @[member="Aleidis Ijet"]

Datar

The political fallout had been astronomical from an auction, something so simple that it still gave him pause. Attacking a neutral world had simply brought the treaty of Ithor down on it's knees, along with the fact that the Supreme Chancellor had suddenly just disappeared after the conflict. What had started as a simple "cease-and-desist" order from the Republic, had turned into the biggest source of political drama in months. Confederate diplomats had been treated quite harshly, Jedi Masters were leading an assault on the Black Sun's Vigo against the Orders of the Council for being there, and against the Chancellor's no fire order. It had been a clustercuss, with two Jedi on the Council already there to try and "win" back what had been stolen from the Order while spying on the proceedings. Not much had been gathered at the auction house, and Wraith was still in possession of the Tionne Holocron on the Olra'en. Much had been lost on that day, with only one noticeably good thing coming from all that death and destruction.

Velok was gone, and the DarkStaff was missing along with the former Chancellor.

While officially, he was hunting for the former. He was really on Datar for the latter, and no amount of trying to convince himself other wise could change that fact. It's why he had sought out Boolon Murr, why he had been looking for a Jedi who was missing rather than work on the restructuring of the Order he had started. If there was nothing personal about this mission, he would have sent someone else, but the truth was he only trusted himself to handle this. Dragon'sFlame could handle the Order for a few days, and Kiskla Grayson hadn't minded the distance even as they had just reunited. She had accepted the fact that while he wanted to see her, there was something else he had to do. Darron had failed working with many before in the past, and this one he simply wouldn't let join that list.

Aleidis had saved him in his darkest hour after Roche, he would return the favor.

Boo's information had been excellent, and many a Ghostling had greeted him. Wraith stuck out like a sore thumb, dressed as his usual fashion was on missions. Taking care to not touch anyone besides a polite hand shake, he had explained who he was looking for. The entire village had been quite kind to point him in the general direction of the Ijet homestead, and he noticed how they shielded themselves from the slight chill in the air. Despite his slow steps, the light gravity pretty much forced him in a hurried pace. Most of his training was commenced in a room where he could adjust the actual gravity to make it much heavier, and push him further. It was what helped him become faster, on this world he could have simply jumped across the village in a single bound. Not the time or place Darron, Aleidis needs you. That was the mantra he repeated as he drew closer to the home, and he made sure to press out with his sphere of responsibility before knocking.

KNOCK,KNOCK!

He rapped on the door twice, before adjusting the satchel that he was wearing. As was their custom, he had brought their usual, though he was curious as to who was in there with her.
 
When it came to the Force, Codi's sense weren't exactly honed to the perfect, flawless extent that many of her contemporaries could boast, but it was astounding how little attunement one needed to sense a Jedi Master walking through a village of terrified, fragile children. When she felt a presence that was both powerful and very much not her precious Aleidis, Codi watched it carefully. When she heard the knock at the door, she made a point to beat Alei there.

The Togruta opened it cautiously, giving their visitor a quick glance up and down. She thought she recognized him. Some member of the Council, or something. The Council wouldn't be there for her, but Aleidis. It was no secret between them that both girls missed the Jedi Order....but Force forbid that Aleidis be convinced to return after a time like that.

Sighing, Codi snorted a bit and pulled back from barring the doorway. "S'for you, firefly." She took a stand against the wall and crossed her arms with a grunt. "Got my eye on you, pretty boy. Don't care how big and bad you are. Try anything funny and I'll punt you out of here so hard you'll think you're playing Huttball with a Mandalorian."
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Darron Wraith"] l @[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

Aleidis sighed and adjusted the simple green dress she'd been wearing, standing from her bed. She turned side to side to guage her reflection - and her handiwork. The hole in the dress, on the right side, had been neatly sewn over to cover the place where her arm would have gone. You know, if she still had one.

Aleidis had recognized Darron Wraith the minute he'd settled onto the planet, even if he hadn't sensed her. She was hiding in Quy'tek, and she'd always leaned more towards intuiting ripples than making waves. Darron was a man who made waves. His presence could - and had - changed the pacing and tone of an entire battle. To say that his stroll through a quiet Ghostling village was like a looming thundercloud was fairly appropriate, and his slightly troubled mind only made that sensation all the more palpable. "He's a friend, Codi." Aleidis promised her protective partner with a tiny smile as she stepped out of one of the three rooms in the hut, into the main one to face her company.

She could easily see why her parents had agreed so readily to send their frail little girl off to join the jedi. Something about those robes and sabers in the primitive wooden environs of a Ghostling home made every breath just a little more awe-inspiring. Aleidis stood beside the Togruta for the comfort and security Codi imparted. "Good morning, Master Wraith." The teenager greeted politely.

Was he here to bring her back? Maybe. Admonish her for quitting the battlefield? Doubtful - he would have sent someone else for such a negative message. Perhaps Je'Gan had sent him to ask about the Darkstaff and Velok's Tsil, knowing that the more sensitive Darron would have better luck than his own direct methods. Either way, it was a mystery. Knowing Darron, he'd take the most direct path.
 
@[member="Aleidis Ijet"] | @[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

The Togruta's comments caught Wraith off guard, but there was no ill intent in his words when he replied. In fact, he had to fight back a small chuckle, this woman was clearly close to the Ghostling he was seeking. "I promise, I have not come under any ill intent to Aleidis. I'm merely here to check on the former Chancellor and make sure one of my closest friends is okay." Adjusting the satchel with his left hand, he stuck out his gloved hand to the Togruta to try and greet her. "I'm Darron Wraith, Jedi Master. What's your name ma'am? I've never met you before, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize another trained Force user." That ghost of a smile he could muster managed to summon itself, but it soon actually morphed into something closer to what he had worn before he had become a Jedi Knight. Before he had lost most of everything that had meant something to him.

Much like the woman before him who had revealed herself had.

Whatever gesture he was about to attempt to be polite to Codi? He was going to have to assume that was her name based off what the Jedi Master had said. Darron fought between wanting to run up and hug her, anything to let her know he was happy to see her. Yet, his restrained side reeled that in. On the outside, he'd just appear frozen in place but his muscles where dying to move. "Thank the Force you are okay, everyone was so worried about you after you dissapeared following the events at the auction on Contruum." What he didn't say was that by "everyone" he meant "himself." Or that he had been on the ground trying to handle the clustercuss that had erupted due to the Jedi under her command not listening. Or how said Jedi had gone against the Council on that issue. Or even the political fallout that had happened, or the ongoing mess. That could all wait, he just wanted to see her.

"I brought tea, per our custom. I have enough for three," he said with a smile at the woman he assumed was Codi. "If you don't want me here, or if I'm disrupting any plans I'll leave. I just needed to make sure you were okay and physically well for....well my own well being."
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Darron Wraith"]

"Master Wraith, this is Codi Zrgaat - she's been my closest companion since we were both Padawans." Aleidis explained, realizing that he couldn't have known her - when he'd re-joined the order, she'd been laid up from Dagobah. He couldn't have know that the girls had been nigh-inseperable for over two years now. Aleidis put a hand on Codi's shoulder to try and reassure her sometimes temperamental companion. "She's a Knight." Alei added for context - even if Codi had turned in her sabers in protest, she was as much a Jedi at heart as Aleidis was.

"And... I suppose I'm alright." Aleidis allowed, though she didn't sound terribly convincing as she sat down at the large wooden table in the center of the main room of the hut, her hand on the table. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the Republic tried to impeach me before so much as calling or looking for me, but I guess I deserved that after Contruum." The teenager sighed. "I'm not sorry to see the end of my political career, though. I hate feeling that even though I stopped Velok, I somehow wound up losing overall. That leaves a bitter, bitter taste in my mouth." The Ghostling complained, frowning down at the table. "But it was for the greater good, so long as those dumbbells don't try to make a war of it."

Aleidis spat 'dumbbells' as though it were a particularly vitriolic curse word. Given how she rarely ever insulted someone, it likely was.
 
@[member="Aleidis Ijet"] | @[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

"Pleasure to meet you Codi Zrgaat, I'm sorry I never met you until now." Darron bowed slightly to the pair as Aleidis went over to the table. While she spoke of all the things on her mind, he simply pulled out the green thermos. Looking around, he found an extra cup and gave himself that one while giving the two women before him the matching ones. He was their guest after all, and would treat them with the respect they deserved for letting him into their home. His heart was heavy for the Ghosting, and he could feel her emotions rolling off with each syllable that left her mouth. Wraith stayed silent, simply pouring the tea into each of the three glasses before sitting down himself on the other end of the hardwood table opposite of the pair of women before him.

Instead of speaking, he simply took a sip. "It's not often that doing the right thing feels exactly right afterwards. No matter how noble the action, there is always a price Aleidis." It wasn't the comforting thing to say, but he didn't need to lie to her right now. As much as he wanted to treat her like a child due to her age, she had already proven she was an adult several times over. With her becoming the youngest Jedi Master in centuries, then the Supreme Chancellor, and then finally killing Velok...well if she hadn't earned then she never would. "You're just going to have to be patient and let the galaxy catch up to the truth, right now they are still focused on the trial of Selena Halcyon and the fact that the Empire is now led by Dranok Lussk. Everyone seems to be wanting to take down Omega Pyre from the whispers we are hearing from the intelligence community, and the Order is distancing itself from the Republic's aggressive stance. We will always aide the Republic, but we aren't going to jump into aggressive actions on their part. We are their shield, not their sword."

Darron took a small sip of his tea, then set it down. "So, what have you two been up to? I'll eventually ask the questions that need to be asked, but I'm much more worried about you. The darkstaff's whereabouts and the events on that bridge can wait."
 

Aleidis Zrgaat

Young soul from an older generation.
@[member="Darron Wraith"] l @[member="Codi Zrgaat"]

"The Darkstaff is gone." Aleidis promised with a frown. "I don't know why the pieces were left laying around to begin with, but I pitched it into a supernova. If the heart of a dying star can't incinerate that thing, it'll incinerate anyone who tries to get to it for the next few millenia." The Ghostling sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Which is honestly what should have been done with the parts we had a long, long time ago."

"...aside from that? I've been recovering. Trying to adjust to being left-handed." Aleidis explained with a sad, bitter smile as she gestured to the place where her arm used to be. "It's not going so well. My balance is off, my reflexes are screwy. If I'm to be honest, I hate it. Utterly hate it." The Ghostling finally admitted, closing her eyes - her tea untouched. "I hate that I was slow and unskilled and fragile, and that Velok nearly killed me for it. I hate that I just... gave up and passed out when the Republic needed me, and then ran and hid here." The Ghostling sighed and looked down, then rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Jedi aren't supposed to hate. Hate leads to the dark side, to anger and worse. But I'm not a Jedi, technically. Not anymore. Most of all, I feel hollow. Empty."

"But that's not even all that bad! I mean, ever since I became a Knight, I've been striving and struggling to prove myself and to be perfect. For the Jedi, for the Republic, for you and Je'Gan - even Codi. So that everyone's faith in me wouldn't be wasted, you know?" The girl explained. "But now, it's like... I've failed. I screwed up, people died because of me. I got fired from the job I left the Order for, got my arm blown off, and I'm pretty sure I can't show my face in Coruscant again. But I'm not even upset about that. Heck, it.... sometimes, it feels okay, you know?" The teenager struggled to explain. "I don't have to pretend to be like, some big deal genius hotshot or super-capable diplomat anymore. I don't have to think about millions of people dying if I go left instead of right, or smile the wrong way, and from Datar, I can't hear people making a joke out of my every move." Aleidis said with a not-entirely-healthy ghost of a smile. "I can just... be me. I've got my dad, and I've got Codi, and I don't hafta be a Jedi or a Chancellor or lead anybody anywhere."

"The biggest consequence I've had to endure in the past, like... month, is my father getting exasperated if I don't keep my room clean. Do you know how liberating that is?" Aleidis gushed. "I can kiss my girlfriend and not be afraid of what the press thinks, and I can sleep in and nobody gets offended and tries to start a war or extort tax money for it! I feel like one of those fish that live on the bottom of the ocean - they've lived for so long under so much pressure, that when you bring them up to the surface, they just... explode. Poof! Just like that!" Alei demonstrated by making an expanding motion with her hand that was somewhat lessened by the fact that she only had one. "All the pressure is gone, now! All that's left is me, and the people who are most important to me. I haven't felt so... so pure... in years."
 

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