Peace of Nature for Peace of Mind

[Veino Garn]

[member="Aerin Summers"]

Veino stopped for a break, setting down his pack with a sigh of relief. He glanced back down the mountainside. He'd covered quite a distance since sunrise when he had left to reach the peak. He calculated the amount left. Looked like there were just over half left. Good time so far. He'd be back in fighting condition soon enough, assuming he stuck to the training regime he had made for himself.
He'd headed up the mountain for the exercise and some thinking that wasn't thinking that was involved with fully being himself and following his heart as Alexandra had mentioned. He was getting itchy feet again. Surely, somewhere out there, there was injustice to be fought and innocents defended. Maybe he'd set out again once he got that Art of Movement under control, and maybe healing. But this was not to involve thinking. He took a drink form his canteen, watching clouds race across the sky, and settled down on a rock, leaning back to absorb the sunlight.
Today would be a good day. He could feel it. He just had to see what would happen.

 

[Slot 11]

Aerin trekked further into the wilderness of Alderaan. After the.... incident, in the small village she had been staying in, Aerin had to leave. She was terrified that she would hurt people. Growing up among the Jedi, she had always been told that to murder innocents was to be evil. In her eyes, though she had no control over it, she was a monster. Aerin held the strap of her backpack, walking faster. All she wanted was for things to be normal. She wanted to walk into a town or a city and know that she wouldn't kill or harm. She wanted to feel safe again. She wanted to look in the mirror and see herself, not the twisted woman inside her. She brushed tears off of her cheeks. This was how it had to be. She couldn't afford to be normal. Not anymore.

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino took another deep breath, and lowered his emotional walls. Serenity, but no. He frowned. Fear. Unusual fear. Strong as well. He couldn't quite place it. Tragic fear? Unearned fear? He couldn't tell. It wasn't a large distance away, by the feel of it. He sent out a calming ripple in the Force, on the off chance it might affect the being, and hefted his pack up again. He started heading off trail in the same direction, trying to find the being. It was why he left home so long ago, to help those whom he could help.

[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Aerin walked faster and further. She tried to block out Jen talking to her. "Look at yourself. So weak. A laughing stock of the Jedi." Jen said to her in a mocking tone. Aerin ignored her. "Oh, the tough little Jedi has nothing to say? Aw, that's too bad. But then again, I guess not talking is a good thing. Gives you more time to think about killing those kids..."

Aerin stopped mid-stride. She sucked in a breath. "That wasn't me, Jen. That was you. Or did you forget?"

Jen laughed. "Last time I checked, sweetie, I was trapped in your body. I still am. So really, it was both of us. Or did you forget?"
"I didn't kill children."
"Say that as many times as you like, but the fact still remains. You did."
"No..."
"Can't you feel it? Their tiny spirits leaving their bodies. Their blood covering your hands. Their mangled corpses. Their pitiful, innocent screams..."
"S-stop. Shut up!"
"...The fear in their eyes as your blade struck them down, one after the other. They trusted you, you know. They saw your lightsaber. They thought a Jedi had come to save the day. You were a hero in their eyes...."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Aerin screamed at the top of her lungs. The hysteria returned to her, sending her into a spasm of shudders. She fell to her hands and knees. Tears began streaming down her face. She did remember. She remembered each of their faces, so young, so innocent...

"I hate you..." She wimpered.

Jen smirked. "I know..."
Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Screams cut through the air. Veino froze, and then picked up his pace, jogging in the direction of the sound, and the emotions growing in strength. He had a feeling things had gotten worse. He slowed, cautious now, and listening and watching. He paused. A young woman was down on her hands and knees, weeping. Veino stopped, stunned by the surge of emotion, swirls of hatred and guilt and hysteria. He lowered himself down to kneel not far from her, and brought his walls up, relived to be able to breathe again. He shifted slowly towards her,
"What's wrong? Are you injured?" He didn't sense danger anywhere, but it could be hiding somewhere where he couldn't detect it. Or cloaked, potentially.
[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Aerin barely heard the man who had showed up beside them. Jen, however, heard him quite clearly. "Aw, look at that, Aerin dear. Your pathetic squealing has attracted unwanted company. It would be sad to add to your guilt, wouldn't it?" Jen smiled cruelly. She forced Aerin to stand. Turning to the man, Jen gave him the same smile. Aerin's eyes glowed bright red. "How convenient of you to come by at this most untimely moment. If you haven't already realized it, that was not a smart decision." Before Jen could do anything, Aerin blinked a few times, forcing her back in. Her eyes returned to their sea blue color. "Y-you have to run," She said desperately to him, "I don't know how long I can hold her back. She'll kill you if you stay!"

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino raised an eyebrow at the unexpected response. He raised his hands slowly, "Easy now. People have tried to kill me before, and they've not gotten lucky yet. Let me help you." He didn't have any idea what was going on, but that wasn't going to stop him from helping. "Who is the she you mentioned?"

[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Aerin shook her head furiously. "Please! You have to go! Don't get any closer! She'll hurt you!" She begged. She backed away from the man, holding her hands out in front of her. "You can't help me! No one can..."

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino stopped and stood where he was, mind racing. This called for conflict resolution, not Force abilities. "All right then. I'll step back." He did, still watching carefully though. "Nobody is beyond help. And if I can't help you, I'll find someone who can. Please," He was pleading now, "Don't suffer alone." The Dark Side was clearly present in this situation, but he wasn't really sure how.

[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Aerin's voice altered, and she laughed cruelly. Her eyes glowed red once more as Jen came back. "How adorable Jedi nobility is! Offering aid to strangers who clearly want nothing to do with you. You should have listened to the girl while you still had the chance. You will find that I am not as merciful as her." Jen ignited Aerin's lightsaber and flew at him so fast that he'd barely have time to blink.

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Jedi again? Why did everyone assume he was a Jedi? No time to worry about that now, though, since she was flying at him. He yanked his saber from his belt and activated it, using the Force to propel himself backwards to avoid the initial onslaught enough to get into the Soresu stance, ready to deflect any more attacks. "Who are you, that speaks with another's mouth and uses another's body?"

[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Jen cackled. "I am one whom the eye does not see! Of course, Aerin's eyes were special. She could see, even when she didn't want to. She didn't mean to let me in. But alas, here I am." Then, she used the Force to lift herself from the ground. Her hands raised on either side of her. Thousands of differently sized rocks lifted with them. With a menacing scream, Jen hurled all of the rocks in the man's direction. They flew at him as hard and fast as bullets.

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino flung himself away, using the Force to dodge the storm of rocks. He had never had anyone use that against him before. Usually he was the one doing that. He started to lift the fragments of rock to return the throw, but stopped. This wasn't the woman doing this. This was someone else. He couldn't injure her. He started thinking. Nothing he knew could really help. "Why did you do that? What purpose could she possibly serve?"
[member="Aerin Summers"]

 

[Slot 11]

Jen smirked. "She is my vessel. I live through her, and she through me. And I did that...Well, because I wanted to!" As she said this, She began bombarding the man with Force pushes.

Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino flew backwards, curling up in a ball and using the Force to soften his impact as he hit a tree. He slid down to the ground, world swaying slightly. This wasn't working any more. He had to stop her without killing her. So much for lightsaber combat then. He'd need something different. He reached a hand out towards a nearby fallen log and and threw it back, spinning end over end, but ready to yank it aside if it looked potentially lethal.

@Aerin Sumers