Over the River and through the woods

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s focus split between the small creature attacking her boot and the birds that seemed to roost on her old Master. Despite the Bith’s lack of smile, she could feel his amusement through the threads in the Force that connected them. That, and after knowing him for some time she’d become decent in reading his body language. With the handful of birds perched comfortably on the Jedi Knight, he reminded Joza of a fairy tale princess she’d heard of at some point in her youth. The thought almost made her snicker.

“He does?” The pink woman’s gaze turned back towards Leina, then down to the Ami-Su. It looked as if the beast control talismans were better than she thought. Reaching for one of the snack cakes, she broke it in half before raising one piece towards her mouth. Before she could manage to take a bite however, the playful creature scampered up her body and snatched the treat from her hand. “H-hey!” Taken off guard, Joza flailed for a moment as she felt the cold pad of the rodent’s feet though her robes. Offended, she glared at the best for getting the better of her while he simply sat in front of her, munching on his snack and seemingly unaware of her irritation. “I mean…he is sort of cute.”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"They do tend to be hungry," the Bith remarked idly on the habits of the Ami-Su.

Farmers on Voss sometimes ran into the issue of the rodents eating food stores. The Jedi had been called in to function as a sort of pied piper. Except the little creatures were merely led back into the wilderness. A creature didn't need to die merely for wanting to eat.

He was pleased to see his old learner almost her former self again. It would take some time but she would come around. There was nothing to it but to be patient. The birds seemed to be patient enough as he withdrew a handful of seed from a pocket and scattered it about with a flick of the wrist.

They took off for the seed the second it left his palm. There was a great flutter of wings as the half dozen or so birds flew to their meal. "Birds too are always hungry. Flying requires a great deal of calories, you see," he commented while he watched the avian group settle into their repast.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina was looking at Dune and then at Joza as she gave a nod of her head that they were doing well in this endeavor. See they had all of the cool things and look there were creatures following them as she worked on the talismans slowly with some energy expended within it. Leina had some more food as she wa skipping a little and her Ami-Su was squeaking with her. "I want to be the best, there ever was." She was singing more while going and leading the way into the jungle as they had their new starters and could begin the real testing for it. "Lets go and wee if we can find anything else here on the planet." SHe was curiou if they could find any of the large creatures to test it on that might have some extra will power.

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s lips pursed into a pout briefly as the cheeky little beast happily munched away, seemingly distracted by his snack. With cautious movements, she ate the other half of the snack cake that was still in her hand, wary of little thieves. The confection tasted like heaven, and seemed to instantly smooth out her mood.

When Leina announced that they would be venturing deeper into the forest, the Ami-Su gave a delighted squeak as if he’d understood, and quickly clambered up Joza’s back before resting on her head. A look of distress crossed said Zeltron’s face momentarily, as if she were torn between letting him stay and tossing him off, which would be pretty cruel. But by the Force, he was in her hair. She’d berated startled lovers for messing it up, but this beast was sort of cute so…he could stay.

Tilting her gaze back towards her Master, she observed the birds fluttering from their perch to the seed. “You coming, Woodland Princess Dune?”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune had to stifle a laugh. Joza's commentary was something new and delightful. It showed the self-confidence he'd taught had taken hold. This pleased him even more than connecting with the birds.

"I'll be right behind you,"

Leina led with Joza following and Dune just behind. It allowed for him to surreptitiously watch Joza. Her unconscious pleasure and bewilderment at the rodent's actions gave him yet more hope. The Joza he knew was still there.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

She was looking at them and well she was glad to see Joza was having a better time now while she had her Ami-su on her head with a small laugh to herself walking through the jungles of voss. The large jungle was a great place to go and work on some of the things when she pressed forward. "Come on now see you are all happy and ready for some of the bigger things out here." You never knew what you might be able to find as there were the locals who worked on many of the things. The ruins and settlement where the people lived were a large place until the jedi knight looked forward seeing in the distance. "Isn't that the tower for the mystics to go and see the future... I know where we are... maybe or we might be near that sith tower where all those people died."

 

[Joza Perl]

“Suit yourself.” Joza grunted, the majority of her focus on the little rodent who was currently nesting in her hair. She frowned when the Ami-Su pulled on a lock of red strands with a particularly tight grip. “You little…” She reached up, pinching it’s cubby cheek between her fingers lightly before pulling gently. “Stop that.”

At the mention of the Tower of Prophecy, Joza nearly stopped in her tracks. That was where she’d had her first encounter with Briga Tiin, the Sith Priestess who she would later become enslaved to. Shaking those thoughts from her head, she stopped suddenly as the little creature gave an indignant squeak. “Sorry.” She muttered, forgetting he was up there. But then the topic shifted, and she perked up. “Where people died? What tower is that?”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Joza was being disingenuous at the mention of the Tower of Prophecy. They were well along the Old Paths of Voss now. These ruins were familiar to the Bith who'd been here several times in years past. The Zeltron knew the place too even if not by name.

"The Tower of Prophecy," he supplied quietly as he regarded his former apprentice. Something had happened to her here but he didn't know what. He couldn't say why he knew these things beyond a vague emotional sensation coming from Joza. "Many tragic things happened here."

Their eyes met as he spoke his words....

[member="Joza Perl"], [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

"Well see the jedi were here and these sith attacked or tried to it was really strange and complicated as the sith kept talking about how they were the real good guys and all jedi are corrupt. The usual thing they do to try and lure padawans and other jedi to their side but well then they started fighting and the sith continued to talk until the jedi got bored then everyone vanished and it was all really strange. Me and princes were sitting there watching it shortly after the whole incident and I had no idea what they were talking about. Jedi sleeping with sith just seems silly." Leina said it while skipping and humming with her new companion before she went towards the tower a well as some of the other place around Voss.

 

[Joza Perl]

When Leina spoke of the Sith trying to flip the tables, thinking themselves righteous and the Jedi corrupt, Joza shook her head. It was something she’d heard all too often from the adversary, and was frankly beginning to tire of it. That being said, there were definitely a few who carried the title of Jedi who acted differently, and many more in the middle of the spectrum. She considered herself a neutral Force user, primarily light but not afraid of a little darkness.

“Jedi sleeping with what?” The words flowed from her mouth like rushing water, too quickly and a bit louder than she would have liked. The Ami-Su on her head perked up and tilted its face down so that it was staring at Joza, only upside down. “That is silly. And..wrong.” And kind of hot—wait, no. Well, yeah. But she wouldn’t voice that. Not around her Master, he was akin to something of a father to her. She didn’t want to be assaulted by another spray bottle.

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune nodded in agreement with his old Master. Sith had played games of morality for millennia. He was a representative of a democratic republic which fought for the freedoms of beings. They didn't dictate to said beings as the Sith had done.

His gaze swept back to Joza. She seemed to posses some guilty knowledge from her reaction. A Bith didn't reproduce through copulation. He could understand that a Zeltron had sexual urges, however.

"Love isn't wrong, but letting it lead you down a dark path is dangerous."

His comment was intended to be more neutral. Pushing Joza now wouldn't end well. She clearly had made some mistakes. That didn't make her beyond redemption.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina looked at them and she gave a look to Joza. "No it isn't well not really but it isn't... Love can be a problem because people don't know how to control themselves. The sith play on that and seduce them to the darkside and then act hurt all the time because the jedi usually comes to their senses. It is a tricky thing and why it is usually not favored but not because it is outright bad but because you have to have ah... " She was thinking about it and had heard this speech before now what was the word. "Emotionally maturity instead of the hormone driven brain of a teenager. Which is why padawans and knights who are young should not try such a thing. It is too likely they will get distracted by shiny objects and..." Leina trailed off again as another creature was running through the trees. "Squirrel."

 

[Joza Perl]

Hearing her Master speak about love was strange, seeing as how they’d never discussed such a topic before. But there wasn’t any need for it to have come up. Joza knew that she was acting suspicious, but it was hard to maintain a cool and calm fascade around someone who was so used to reading her body language—that, and the guilt had been eating away at her steadily.

Her eyes flared in surprise as Leina spoke insightful words on Jedi and love. It was certainly tricky indeed, as Joza has discovered first hand. Teeth gnawing at her lower lip, she shook her head, more to herself as Leina’s attention drifted from the rather heavy topic at hand to another woodland creature.

“I’m sorry,” She turned towards Dune, eyes reflecting years of shame for her actions. “Before I became a Padawan, I fell for a man who later revealed himself to be a Sith.” Pausing to take a deep breath, she exhaled slowly and wondered how to phrase the next part. “Even after I found out, we still…were together. Sort of.”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

The Twi'lek was her usual perceptive self. Then she drifted off mentally into nothing. It was one of the most perplexing things Dune had ever encountered. He'd certainly seen a lot of things in his travels.

Joza finally admitted to what the Bith had suspected. Some sort of intimate interaction with the Dark Side. It was nothing if not seductive. It would draw you in with whatever you desired.

The trick was that you might not just emerge on the other side. Too many had believed that they could. Very few of them actually had. That was what Dune feared for the young woman.

"The Dark Side seduces us by feeding us with our primal desires. It's a difficult spell to break."

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina was following the squirrel when something went across her senses, a sadness and there was the feeling of regret as she turned around and saw Joza sobbing while Dune was talking to her and her eyes went wide... Then she was moving over and hearing about it when she waited for a moment with a small bow of her head. Her hand came up with the spray bottle and she wwas spraying it at Dune while speaking and wrapping an arm around Joza to send comfort to her. "No bad Dune, making Joza cry now you go to the corner in the temple and think about what you have done." She stayed there for a moment narrowing her eyes looking at him before she spoke wrapping her arm around the zeltron and holding her close. "It is okay grandpaddy... he makes everyone cry he is like a scary monster."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza held her breath, unsure of how Dune would react. Would he scold her? Strike her? Perhaps predictably, the Bith kept his head and responded calmly.

“He didn’t seduce me. We fell in love.” She ground out, gritting her teeth. “I still have feelings for him.” What they had wasn’t perfect, but he’d been there for her numerous times. “Even on Balmorra, he helped rescue me.” She wasn’t sure if Dune was made aware of the circumstances, but she doubted it.

Suddenly, Leina was upon him, unleashing the wrath of the spray bottle. Joza eye’s widened even more as Leina wrapped a comforting arm around her. Wait, why was she doing this? Wasn’t falling in love with a Sith like, a cardinal sin or something. “I fell to the dark side for a while. I hurt people.” She interjected, trying to impress upon them what she had done.

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"For the love of the Light!" Dune shouted as Leina went at him with a spray bottle.

"Leina, stop it!"

He managed to bat away the bottle having turned his head away. She eventually relented with a dirty look towards him. He grimaced at her before he turned back to Joza. He wasn't a karking house pet!

"Love isn't part of the Dark Side. Lust is, insatiable desires are. You have to learn to differentiate."

That she had touched the darker aspects of the Force didn't surprise him. That she'd hurt people in such a way made him feel disappointment. It was an unexpected thing at that level. He'd assumed himself above such an emotional response.

He remembered that a Zeltron could acutely sense the feelings. Dune ruthlessly quashed the emotions because they helped nothing. It was still his apprentice and his friend. She needed guidance as opposed to criticism.

"What happened?," he asked gently.

[member="Joza Perl"], [member="Leina Snowfire"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

Leina was looking at Joza and Dune as she gave a nod and was leading the way to a place to sit down. She looked at the Ami-Su that was with them as she smiled. "Hey now it is alright, the good and important thing about the jedi is we don't judge each other. At least not all of us." She knew that some of them did but she was working on a few of the thoughts while showing Joza a snack cake she could share with her pet as well as Leina with her own. The lekku she had twitching before she kept a small arm on Joza to listen and comfort her. "You can tell us, I know the dangers of falling for people. I once loved a leviathan but he proved to dark for us to keep on Voss and eventually he had to be taken to Corbos to be with his own kind."

 

[Joza Perl]

Lust. Insatiable desire.

If that wasn’t part of being a blue-blooded Zeltron, then Joza didn’t know what made you a part of the species. There’d always been a struggle between her blood and her head.

She felt Dune’s wave of disappointment, fleeting as it was. Her heart sank, and she sighed in admission. Taking the snack cake from Leina, she broke it in half before deciding that she wasn’t hungry, and fed it to the Ami-Su perched on her head instead.

“It’s a long story. Haytham—the Sith—and I met before I became a Jedi. We fell for eachother, and met several times after that. But soon after you Knighted me, things went sour between us. He revealed his allegiance to the Sith Triumvirate, and I revealed that I’d been unfaithful. He beat me. I left, we inevitably found our way back to each other again. I should have ended it then.” Pausing, she reached up to pat the Ami-Su. His fur was soft, and helped to soothe her frazzled nerves a bit.

“A while after that, I was kidnapped by a Zygerrian and sold into slavery. I was bought by a Sith Inquisitor, Darth Ax’no. Beforehand, she’d…seduced me in the Tower of Prophecy.” Joza glanced over at Leina, as if to indicate that the rumors were true. “She tortured me, as Sith do, and I started to fall even further. I don’t know how, but the Sanctum got word and stormed Balmorra. Haytham was there too, and he eventually got me off planet. After that, I spent some time wandering around, angry and disgusted. I came across Silver Padawan Sorel Crieff, and attacked her.”

“And then…the Sanctum invaded Ruusan. I was planetside. Haytham and his Master, Darth Orcus tried to sway me to their side. I almost did it. But I’d always though that Haytham and I respected eachother’s paths. He never tried to turn me. We fought, and he shot me with the Hapan Gun of Command, turning me to the dark side. He thought I would fight alongside him, but it just made me angrier at him. I…tried to kill him. I stole the air from his lungs. And when a friend intervened on my behalf, I tried to kill him too.”

Her hands clenched at the Ami-Su’s fur, and the little beast looked up at her, cocking it’s head to the side. “That's just the highlight reel. So you see, I’ve karked up quite a lot.”

[member="Leina Snowfire"] [member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune took in the events and considered for several long moments. Much had happened but things were much clearer. "This Sith, Haytham, you were involved before you knew. It became complicated and you began to see the truth."

He continued.

"The Tower of Prophecy, this Darth Ax'no, she practiced Dark arts on you. The Tower could be used as a conduit."

"The Gun of Command," he nodded "Yes, that explains your actions."

He looked into her green eyes, moist with tears.

"What you did was under the influence of Dark Side sorcery. You were enthralled and couldn't stop yourself. Such heinous artifacts exist and have existed as long as there have been Dark Jedi, later Sith."

"As I said, they specialize in such reprehensible acts."

He stepped forward and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. He did something then that he seldom ever had. He embraced her....