Private Rehabilitation

[Cadere]

Kashyyyk
Silver Rest

​

It had been some days since Cas had returned Yenna to Kashyyyk, and brought Aristeia here too despite his reservations against her. But now, with her back, safe and on the road to recovery - everything seemed right with the galaxy. She seemed good, despite what she went through... but that was Yenna, all smiles and full of life, hardly anything could bring her down. It was one of the things he loved about her. However, as he made his way to personal quarters, he was still racked with guilt. If he'd just noticed she was gone sooner, hell, if he was a better Master and was more alert, stopping her from being captured in the first place none of this would have happened.

Recently, it felt like he was failing everyone and it was beginning to weigh down on him. So much so, he was even re-evaluating whether he should continue on as Yenna's Master, and if someone more responsible... more capable should take over her training. Negative, self-destructive thoughts plagued the young Jedi Knight as he wandered the living chamber hallways. With a sigh, he finally rounded the final corner that led down the hall where Yen's room was located.

Reaching outside Yenna's room, he stopped for a moment and his head slowly lowered. His fingers curled into fists as the Jedi worked up the nerve to face her, going over thousands of ways to go about this - to apologise to her for failing her, for being a terrible Master and more. Eventually garnering the nerve, Cas raised his fist and knocked on Yenna's door and waited for permission to enter before subsequently shielding his emotions within the Force as to not burden the young Padawan with his current inner turmoil.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

When Cas knocked, the door slid open and the little green Jedi sat on her bed, dressed in her oversized sleeping shirt with her loth-cat in her lap. "Come in!" she beckoned him with a wave of her hand and a gentle smile. She was still a bit thin and a light cough she stifled indicated that she clearly wasn't fully recovered, but she seemed to be in a much better condition already. She picked up her pet and scooted back to give him room to sit. She studied him for a few moments with glimmering eyes before a soft chuckle escaped her. "Some snacks, did you bring? Brought some, I hope you did. Quite against it, the doctors were." she spoke with a gentle voice as she scooted a little closer.

Her cat got up with a groan and waltzed over to make himself comfortable on his lap and fell asleep immediately after. "Taken care of, at least he was. Care for him, this other padawan takes, when away, I am." she commented as she smiled at the fat cat. "Though... put him on a treadmill, I might have to." she snickered.

Her gaze moved up to Cas as she got up and wrapped her tiny arms around his bicep. "To see you again, it is good, Master." she muttered before releasing the hug and sitting down again, facing him. "Missed, what did I? Anything important, I hope not." she asked him with another soft chuckle. On the surface, she seemed perfectly fine. But the golden eyes staring up at him had something else going on behind them. Cas would likely be able to feel the mixture of fear and grief swirling behind the kind and gentle smile she gave him. She wasn't being completely open with him just yet.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

The doors slid open revealing Yenna's room. Hesitantly, the Jedi Knight took a step inside her bedroom - the first thing Cas noticed was that Yen's room was the same as it was before he went to search for her, made sense in hindsight. Seeing his Padawan, healing, and with her cat brought a genuine smile to his face. "Hey, kid." he greeted her with a smile, it was always kind of inside joke to Cas whenever he called her "kid", despite having at least a hundred years on Cas, he was still both physically and mentally maturer than her. Their pairing made for an odd but unique teacher-student relationship.

Cas sat on the edge of Yen's bed, with one leg laying on it and the other firmly placed on the ground. He snickered at her question before shaking his head regretfully "Not this time, sorry. My Jedi discount card expired." Cas quipped, hoping to lift the Padawan's spirits a bit. The Kiffar's attention was brought to Yen's cat who groaned and strutted into his lap only to fall asleep there. Cas scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully, looks like he wouldn't be moving any time soon. Listening to Yenna as he rubbed the cat's head, he eventually responded "Yeah, my thigh's already asleep." he teased, referring to Frumpy's weight.

Smiling as she hugged his arm, Cas patted her slender shoulder with his free arm until she eventually let go. Now was the time to catch her up to speed, although he could sense his Padawan's mixed feelings of both grief and fear despite the smile she was faking, she really was beginning to adopt his traits. Not wanting to press on the matter, he decided to humor her for now.

"Umm... not much. Sakadi joined the Silver Assembly, we lost to the Bryn on Nar Kreeta, I nearly killed myself on said-planet, I kinda got married, uhhhh what else?" he paused "Oh! I got these cool lightsaber proof vambraces." Cas said, showing Yenna his Mantellian Vambraces. He also, intentionally, left out the part where he and Cato Harth were captured by pirates and when he and Yula Perl misplaced three Younglings on their watch. Totally embarrassing. Cas paused again for a moment "How are you feeling?" the Kiffar asked, hoping to tactfully get Yen to open up. Eventually.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

With curiosity she listened as Cas gave a rundown of everything she missed in the time she was gone. Safe to say, there was quite a bit that she was jealous of. The part of him getting married was certainly the part that caught the most attention.

She looked his vambraces over with an impressed look before glancing up at him. "Snazzy, the vambraces look. But... married? To whom? And why?" she asked with a snicker. Last she heard, he was certifiably single. So hearing him say that he got married was completely new to her.

His next question caught her completely off guard. Her smile faltered for a moment as she looked down at her cat. But it quickly reappeared as she looked back up at him. "Fine, I am! Home, happy to be." she reassured him with an enthusiastic nod.

But she wasn't one to lie. She wasn't good at hiding the truth from people. The longer she stared up at him, the more her grin disappeared and tears started to well up. She gave a sniff as she looked down again and pulled her cat into a tight embrace. "Not good, Master." she muttered softly. She nuzzled her cat as she hugged him tightly with her small arms in an effort to calm herself. "Ari's trust, I betrayed. Horribly, I was treated. And..." she fell quiet as she choked up. "To him, I spoke. Darth Carnifex. Kill me... with a thought, he could." she confessed as tears rolled from her eyes. "But... always believed, I have, that... saved, anyone can be. A shred of light, in anyone, there is. But him... no light, I saw. Only darkness in his eyes, I saw. Those eyes..." she trailed off as she shut her eyes.

"And... the worst part... die, I knew I could. But... fine with it, I was. Every moment... I would die, I hoped. Your disappointment, between, and my life... fine with dying, I was." she shuddered as the tears rolled and she sobbed away. Frumpy scrammed out of her grasp and ran off with a screech as her grip tightened more and more.

She got up and stood on Cas' lap as she grabbed hold of his shirt and cried into his chest. "Sorry, I am, Master. Failed you, I have!" she balled as she held onto him in as tight a hug as she could.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas laughed awkwardly at her question about his "marriage" "It wasn't... official. It was just a part I had to play in order to get more information to find you. I'm married in spirit, I guess." he confessed with a smile. Regarding his concern for her wellbeing, she lied at first, he didn't need to sense her feelings to be able to tell - it was an obvious lie. Eventually, Yen's walls began to break and the truth would ultimately be revealed. She began hugging Frumpy and he began noticing her grip tighten as she continued to speak - his eyes shifted between her and Frumpy as she explained everything. She betrayed Aristeia? C-Carnifex? She met the Sith Emperor?! She'd been through so much...

Raising his hand slightly to intervene before she accidentally killed her cat, Frumpy managed to escape but Yenna was still devastated. The Kiffar wrapped his arms around his Padawan and buried his chin in her shoulder - his heart heavy with hearing his Padawan in such torment. "Yenna, no. You didn't fail me, you could never fail me. Remember what I always tell you? There's no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher..." Cas assured her, before tightening his hug "Yenna, I failed you... and you can't understand how sorry I am." he apologised, pain, regret and guilt all rolled up into his voice and demeanour.

Pulling away, Cas held Yen in place by her shoulders and looked deeply into her golden eyes. What was he thinking? He couldn't abandon her, he had failed her and he needed to make things right, not pawn her off to some other Jedi because of his guilt complex. Yen needed him now more than ever and he needed to atone for his failure to keep her safe. "Yen look at me, none of this was your fault. You didn't fail me because there was nothing to fail for." Cas stated, shaking her lightly before continuing "In fact, you holding out, surviving all this time in the face of the Sith Emperor himself? Goes to show you did the exact opposite of fail me, do you understand?" Cas knew she wouldn't accept this outright, not yet at least, but some subconscious part of her will see the truth in his words.

"I'm the one who failed you." he said regretfully, biting his lip and averting his gaze with a mournful look "I'll make things right, okay? That's a promise. I'm so sorry." he apologised again, meeting her eyes once more before letting out a sorrowful sigh.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna kept crying into his chest as he held onto her. She sniffed and tilted her head away to release a heavy cough before she continued to sob. When he spoke, he reassured her that she did nothing wrong. How could he say that? "No, nothing wrong, you did. All my fault, this is." she sobbed as she shook her head against him.

When he pulled back and held her by her shoulders, she stared up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. He kept insisting that she did nothing wrong, that she did the exact opposite of failing him. It didn't make sense to her. She got herself captured, she caused herself to be taken by Carnifex's troops. She was the failure, not him.

But she kept quiet. She listened to him as he continued to comfort her. It was working. Hugging him back, her sobs slowly died down until she only sniffed. "My lightsaber, I lost." she admitted. "Our lives, they are. And it, I lost."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas snickered, shaking his head "It's no biggie" he said, letting go of Yen's shoulders before sitting back slightly. Smirking mischeviously, Cas glanced around the room for a few seconds before returning his gaze to Yenna "When I lost my arm, this annoying Sith Lord took my lightsaber and gave it to his apprentice. As you can probably guess, I just had to build a new lightsaber - besides, I got my old one back anywany." he explained, glancing away as he neglected to include the part where he and Nuff split his lightsaber in half in a Force tug-o-war.

Meeting her eyes once more, Cas shrugged and reached over to wipe a tear off Yen's face with his thumb "So, it isn't the end of the world. You can just build a new one, if you want you can even have my old kyber crystal." Cas offered with a smile. He went silent for a moment, face displaying deep thought before his face partially lit up again "Don't worry about that for now though, you've gotta rest, gather your strength and all that." the Kiffar shook his head playfully, throwing a light and playful punch into Yenna's arm.

Although the guilt lingered at the back of Cas' mind, simply talking to Yenna and comforting her was also helping him out and to get over his own grief. So much so that the Jedi Knight's brown eyes glanced upward as he entered deep thought once more, a smirk began to form the more he began to think. Cas' thoughts drifted to the redhead, Aristeia, she was cute... very cute but still a mystery - he knew of her Sith background but that was it really. Maybe Cas could kill two birds with one stone, Yen seemed fond of the woman and was in dire need of some distraction, and Cas wanted to know more about her.

"Your friend... Aristeia right? When did you two become buddy buddy?" he queried.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Still sniffing with tears rolling down her face, she listened to Cas' story. She had never heard from him personally how he lost his arm. He played it off as it not being a big deal, when it was a massive problem for her. He didn't see the value in a lightsaber like she did. What it meant. What it stood for. But she listened to what her Master had to say.

She looked up at him as he brushed the tears off her cheeks. He continued to reassure her and even offered to give her his old crystal which earned a faint smile from the little green Jedi. A smile that only grew as he gently punched her shoulder. She thought about his offer for a few long moments before she reached a decision. But his next question halted her from answering.

Yenna's gaze drifted away from his for a few seconds as she tried to figure out an explanation. "Ari... the daughter of Carnifex, she is. At least... one of them. On Voss, the one who captured me, she is. Fair, her treatment was. Not once, like a prisoner, I was treated. Protected me, she did. Helped me, looked out for me... good in her, there is... and I betrayed it." she admitted as her head lowered and rested against his chest. Her hands gripped his clothes tighter as she took a deep breath.

"Her holoprojector, I stole. Hold back, I could not. Then I pranked Carnifex. A picture of a wookiee and a rancor, I sent. How he found me, that is. A horrible friend, I am." she finished with another heavy sob as she slumped down and aat on his leg.

She slowly looked up to him with pleading eyes as she gently shook his jacket. "Master... your crystal, I want to use. But... deserve it, I do not. A lightsaber, I do not deserve. Carry a symbol of our duty, how can I, if I failed?" she confessed. She looked away again for a moment. "Snacks, can we get?" she asked with a faint voice.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas knew his words didn't completely get through to Yenna, but he didn't expect any less. After all, his Padawan was just like him, she would have to find it within herself to move on from her perceived failures and better herself. For that was what everyone had to do, but at least he could give her the nudge she needed on the path of coming to terms with everything. The Jedi patted her back as she rested her head on his chest.

"The daughter of Carnifex?" he said quietly, maybe pursuing something with her wasn't the best idea after all. Yenna continued on, and Cas felt his body tense when she revealed that Aristeia was the one who had kidnapped her, the Kiffar's hand formed into a fist as it rested on the Padawan's back. "Why?" he asked with gritted teeth, what was the reason for Carnifex's daughter to kidnap Yen. The questions cycloned in his head as he thought of the possible reasons as well as re-evaluating how he wanted to help her initially. Yen may see some good in her, and she may have treated her well but it didn't take away the fact that Carnifex's spawn took her away from him, someone he cared about deeply. The Jedi's emotions began to run rampant, so much so that it was hard to hide how he was feeling within the Force.

"Yen..." Cas uttered softly, shoving down his anger at the daughter of Carnifex - right now, she didn't deserve to be addressed by her name in his mind. "Why would you antagonise him? In your position?" he asked, yes, if he were in her shoes he would have done something similar but that's not what he taught her. As his Padawan she was supposed to be better than him, not just in skill, but as a Jedi in and of itself.

The subject was eventually brought back to Yen's lightsabers and Cas' crystal. Lips parting slightly, he let out a quiet and soft sigh "You didn't fail, Yen." the Kiffar didn't want to repeat the same song and dance again and so he would just leave it there for now. Having her take her mind off all of this may do her well and so, at the proposition of snacks he nodded before getting out of Yenna's bed. Before she could get up, he turned to look over his shoulder "Don't even think about getting up, you still need to rest. I'll get the snacks, what do you want?" he asked with a smirk.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Understandably Cas seemed rather ticked off by her immaturity. But at the end of the day, she had no good reason... that was what bothered her. "Master... no reason, I have. Funny, I thought it would be. Once I told you... make you laugh, it would. Predicted what would happen, I would never have. Cheer you up, I wanted to." she admitted with regret in her voice as she held onto him.

Thankfully he didn't press the matter. He got up from her bed and asked what she wanted. Her gaze lingered on her lap for a long moment until she finally looked up at him. "Jellies. Like... jelly babies, please. Or snakes." she asked softly as she gave a small smile. "And Master... thank you." she continued.

Once he left, she got up from her bed and once again scooped up her cat into her arms. She paced around her room as she caressed her cat, deep in thought. It lasted for a good few moments until her eyes met with a few components on her desk. Her little collection from her bad habit. Lightsaber parts, jewelery, credits... all items that she swiped around the temple. She set her cat aside and hopped onto her desk to look over the items that nobody thankfully seemed to have touched. In all fairness, it looked like it all belonged to her. Hidden in plain sight.

She stared at the parts in silence until Cas returned. "Master... help me, could you?" she asked him as she turned to face him. "Build one, I want to." she spoke as she picked up an emitter from a youngling's lightsaber.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

He smiled and nodded, pleased she heeded his advice and remained in bed. With that, Cas made his way out of her room and with a wave of his hand, the door slid open and he exited through it. The moment the doors shut behind, the Kiffar took a moment to let out a deep exhale not realising that Yenna's room was filled with a lamentable atmosphe and being out of the room made Cas fill 10x lighter. Running a hand through his hair, Cas' head turned in the direction of the nearest vending machine, raising and then promptly lowering his shoulders he made his way to the vending machine.

It took about ten minutes for Cas to get there, get the jellies, snakes and some stuff for him before returning to Yenna's room. Entering through, the Jedi's eyes were lowered, looking at the snacks he'd brought to be specific "Surprise, I managed to get you both jellies and snakes but hands off the jawbreakers, they're mi--" Cas' eyes then raised and locked onto the parts, the lightsaber parts, his Padawan was holding.

Raising an eyebrow, his arms lowered to his sides "Uhhh... you just happened to have those parts on you?" he asked supiciously but rhetorically. Knowing of Yenna's kleptomaniac tendencies Cas guessed how she got those parts. "I'll be honest, wasn't expecting you to wanna build a new lightsaber that fast but I'm pleasantly surprised." he shrugged. The Kiffar approached Yenna's bed and gave her her snacks before opening his and placing the jawbreaker in his mouth, his cheek taking the shape of the spherical candy.

"Hold on..." Cas reached into his pocket, sucking on the jawbreaker as he did so, it took a few seconds of rummaging before the Jedi Knight pulled out his old cyan kyber crystal. Extending his arm, he uncurled his fingers and revealed the broken crystal in his palm "Cool, huh? It's broke in half but it should still work." he continued slurping for a few seconds before continuing "I'll be honest, I think this color's way cooler. No idea why my second crystal turned yellow on me but... it is what is is." the Kiffar shrugged.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

A guilty smile appeared on her face as Cas commented on the abundance of parts she had lying around. With a shrug she set the emitter down and accepted the packet of sweets he got for her. She wasted no time in stuffing a few into her mouth. "Prove to myself, I want to. A beacon of who we are, our lightsabers are." she explained after swallowing her sweets. Cas had a point. She changed her mind very quickly. But she had something she needed to prove to herself.

Cas quickly helped her out and handed her his old kyber crystal... or what was left of it. Slowly she reached out and accepted the broken crystal, looking it over with wide eyes. Her gaze shifted up to look at her master as he commented on the shift in his lightsaber colour. Ever since she met him, she knew him with the yellow crystal. But looking at his old crystal now, it made the gears in her head turn. "Master, worried about you, I am." she muttered as she looked back down at the broken crystal. "Simply shift, your colour does not." she spoke as she looked up at him. She quickly decided to leave the topic alone for now as she picked up a piece of crystal and studied it.

"Theoretically, two lightsabers, we can make." she commented as she set the pieces down and looked around her desk. "But only one emitter, I have..." a smirk appeared on her face as she looked at Cas again. "While I go get one, be my spotter, you want to?" she suggested with a mischievous tone as she looked at him.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas scratched the back of his head "Not sure Master Sakadi would be of the same opinion." he chuckled while suckling on the jawbreaker. The Kiffar raised an eyebrow at her concern, truly, he hadn't considered that it was "worrying" that his newest crystal turned yellow. However, Cas surmised that maybe the shift in his aura may have been a result of the trauma he had suffered on Lothal a few years back, and the trauma hadn't necessarily subsided during the time he went to retrieve his current kyber crystal.

When his sea of thoughts had come to a standstill, the Jedi Knight waved off Yenna's concerns "Pff, worried about what? It just means I'm one of a kind." When the little green Padawan had the audacity to suggest he look out for her while she swiped another emitter. Cas' face immediately dropped into a frown and he folded his arms, adopting a stern presence "No." he said coldly, glaring at her with his brown eyes "We either do this the right way or not at all." Cas really needed to do something about her kleptomaniac tendencies. While he understood she wasn't in the best place right now, Cas, in good conscience, couldn't enable Yenna's bad tendencies.

He sighed "Come on, Yen. You're a Jedi, we represent hope and peace in the galaxy. You really think Master Luke Skywalker or Master Yoda stole from people for kicks?" Cas lectured his Padawan with a disappointed tone "I'm all for having fun, believe me. It's just that this isn't it." the Jedi Knight would let his student sit with this for a few moments, allowing his words to hopefully cement themselves into her mind before switching topics "Come on, let's go to the Architect Droid I'm sure he can find you another emitter." summoning her to follow as he made his way to her dorm room door.

During the stroll to the Architect Droid, Cas relaxed his hands behind his head and suckled on his jawbreaker in relative silence. The Kiffar hadn't spoken to Yenna yet as he was still disappointed at what had transpired prior until, eventually, "So, you reckon cyan's your color?" he asked, repositioning the jawbreaker in his mouth so he could speak properly "I'd reckon the cyan'd clash with the green skin." glancing at her, smirking slightly "Was that racist?"

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yen expected Cas to reject her offer, though she didn't expect him to react so strongly about it. When he started to scold her, her heart sank along with her smile. Soon her gaze lowered to the floor as she carefully slipped a jelly into her mouth. She had nothing to say. No comments or jokes. "Sorry, Master." she muttered softly as she continued to avoid eye contact with him.

He went on to suggest visiting the Architect Droid and she wordlessly hopped onto his shoulder with her packet of sweets in hand. "Sorry, I really am, Master." she muttered faintly as she continued to eat her sweets. For a good part of the trip she was quiet,merely holding onto him for balance and eating her jellies. Cas finally spoke to her again, commenting on the crystal colour she was now sitting with. He smiled at her and tried to joke, but she didn't respond as happily. "Be racist, how can it?" she muttered as she dropped her empty packet into a dustbin. "Complain, how can we, if, the will of the Force, it is?" she asked softly as she glanced at him.

"Compatible with your crystal, if I am, then no position to complain, I am in." she finished as she rested an arm over his head and hugged him softly. After being chewed out like that, she was right back to where she was earlier.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Yenna was visibly upset following her scolding, while Cas felt a little bad for doing so, it was a lesson she'd need to learn sooner rather than later. Although, he was self-aware enough to realise that, maybe, in her current condition that now wasn't the best time to do so. She didn't respond well to his joke... understandably of course, so instead of trying to cheer her up the Kiffar opted to stay quiet for the time being.

After a few more minutes, the two would finally arrive and entered the Temple's work area - filled with tools, parts and more required to aid a Jedi. It was quite a sight to be honest. Standing at one of the shelves, re-arranging some of the equipment was the Architect Droid "Hey." Cas greeted the droid with a friendly wave. Rotating its head to meet Cas and Yenna, the droid spoke out "Master Tynen, Padawan Yenna. How may I be of service?" glancing around the room for a second, his eyes met the Architect's photo receptors "Yen lost her lightsabers a while back, we've been meaning to build more for her. We just need an emitter." the Architect, without saying anything, wandered over to one of the shelves and pulled open a drawer of different emitter types.

Turning to face the Knight and Padawan once more, it gestured its arm over to the open drawer "Padawan Yenna may select her own emitter." the Architect informed the two before returning to his routine. Casting a glance over to the small alien on his shoulder "Well? Go nuts." Cas encouraged the young-ish Padawan. Looking toward the work station not for away from them, Cas would make his way over there and wait while Yen went to go and select her emitter.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Cas remained quiet. On one end, she was glad. He didn't chew her out further or bury her under another lesson... but on the other end, she was sad. She wanted him to make another joke, to hear him reassure her that it was all fine and to laugh at another joke or quip.

But he remained quiet. And that felt wrong.

Eventually they reached the assembly room and Cas quickly got them sorted out. The droid opened a drawer and Cas encouraged her to get the part. Yenna hopped onto the drawer and looked the parts over. Hesitantly she glanced over to Cas and then to the parts again. They all looked the same. But she knew from the first time she built hers that they weren't the same at all. Each part was unique in its own way despite them looking the same.

Closing her eyes, she reached out with her small hand and took a deep breath. One of these parts was meant for her and she trusted the Force to point it out to her. After a few seconds she was worried that she was over thinking it... but then a part snapped into her palm. Her fingers wrapped around it and she opened her eyes. She was handed the right part for her. A small smile etched onto her lips as she glanced at Cas. "Got it." she muttered. With a somersault through the air she gently landed on his shoulder and held out the part for him to see. "Go back, we can." she spoke as she glanced at the droid. "Thank you." she spoke up with a slight bow.

Once they were back in the halls, she cleared her throat. "About my husband, told you, have I?" she asked him softly. "Still young, I was. But how the galaxy worked, I knew by then. And, to old age, when I lost him... broken, I was. Lost, I felt. Like that again, I feel now." she admitted as she sat on his shoulder.

"Not myself, I was. And when the drinking started... of myself, even more I lost. There again, I am. Like myself, I do not feel. Optimistic, happy and supportive, I am supposed to be. But to be like that, I feel unable." she continued as she stared ahead of them into the empty hall. "Lose faith in me, Master, please do not. Nothing else, I have. To lose a brother now too... unthinkable to me, it is." she finished in a whisper as she leaned against his head to hug him.

They finally reached her room again and she got to work almost immediately. With determination she figured out the design and sat down to focus on the parts. This was a test. To prove to herself and to her master that she still deserved to be a Jedi.

Slowly the parts started to float and snap into each other. Piece by piece two new lightsabers started to form. Finally the crystals swirled around them, humming through the force as they hovered over the chambers and dropped in. When the lightsabers closed up she opened her eyes and reached out to them.

"One with the Force, I am. With me, the Force is." she muttered as she looked them over. They looked pretty much identical to her old ones. But the heart of them was different. Looking at Cas for support , she took a deep breath and rested her thumbs on the ignition switches. In a sense the crystals mirrored her. Certainly broken... but still strong in the Froce. Not forgotten just yet.

Wjen the blades came to life, she let out a sharp breath as a smile formed. The light cyan blades lit up the room... and the slight distortion they had to them was an interesting aspect. "Well... look, how do they?" she asked him with a nervous smile.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas continued waiting, only to raise an eyebrow once Yenna returned. He'd assumed she'd want to construct her new lightsaber here on the workbench. It didn't matter in the end, it was her choice, and so Cas simply shrugged and allowed the small Padawan to use his body as a vehicle. Once Yenna had gotten her own thanks out of the way, Cas nodded and smiled at the Architect droid "See you round, bud." before exiting the workshop and into the halls. The Kiffar had planned to stay silent for the journey back, not wanting to say something to upset Yenna again - seeing as his inherent tendency to say whatever was on his mind was more of a negative than a positive.

Surprisingly, Yenna broke the silence by clearing her throat. Successfully garnering her Master's attention, Cas glanced at the green alien on his shoulder only to immediately widen his brown eyes at her revelation. "What?" he blurted in an, understandably, shocked tone before letting her continue. "Aren't you like fourteen? Sixteen? In your species' years?" frankly, Cas had many more questions but had a feeling this wasn't the best time. She continued, and he listened. Well, now he had an answer, to her drinking problems... to pretty much most of her bad habits - because of the loss of her loved ones. It was... understandable. Once she concluded, he remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea..." Cas said softly before continuing "I haven't lost faith in you. I never have. It's because I see something in you, Yen. The makings of a great Jedi. With all your years... and all the years you have left? Not to mention everything you've been through, and you still manage to stay a good person. That speaks volumes." Cas stated in a stern voice "So, you aren't going to lose me. Unless I die fighting off an army of Sith in an effort to save the galaxy from some epic threat." he chuckled, clearly joking in his last sentence as he lightly flicked her forehead.

Back in her room, Cas moved over to Yenna's bed and sat there as he allowed his Padawan to get to work. In the meantime, he watched proudly as she managed to overcome enough of her self doubt to construct herself new lightsabers. Frumpy, swaggered over to Cas and sat in his lap silently demanding rubs which... the Kiffar complied. When Yenna looked over to him for support, he simply smiled and gave her a thumbs up with his free hand. He believed in her - she was his apprentice after all.

When she was finished, Cas placed Frumpy somewhere else on Yenna's bed before standing up and walking over to her. Folding his arms, he smirked and watched in anticipation as she prepared to breathe life into her new blades. When the cyan beam erupted from her emitters, creating a colored hue on her face Cas couldn't help but smile more. "Great. Way better than your old ones." he teased, snickering, Cas glanced to the floor before locking eyes with Yenna once more "Y'know... I'd carried that crystal around since I was eighteen. Wondering what the hell I was gonna do with it, wondering why I even kept it around other than for sentimental reasons. Guess I'd been holding onto it for you all this time. Heh, the Force works in mysterious ways huh?"

Taking out his own lightsaber hilt, he flicked it in the air before catching it "What say you about taking your new lightsabers for a field test?" glancing toward the window, and out to the Training Grounds.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Understandably, Cas was completely shocked about the news. She said nothing about his estimation of her age, not wanting to dwell on those past memories. Though his reassurance meant everything to her. She chuckled softly at his little quip, though she could only hope and pray that his joke remained just that.

In her room, she beamed as he praised her work. "Look good, they certainly do." she admitted wuth a shrug. He confessed to her why he kept the broken crystal all this time, earning a gentle smile as she extinguished her new blades. "What's best for us, the Force knows." she muttered as she smiled at him. Then came the fun part.

A test for her new blades.

"Deal. Losing to your own crystal, embarrassing it will be." she teased as she hopped onto his shoulder, using the Force to slide open her window. "Master... before we go." she spoke up, hopping off his shoulder and onto her bed. She tapped the spot next to her and waited for him to sit.

Once he sat down, she climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck in as strong a hug as she could muster. Safe to say, it wasn't exactly powerful. "Thank you. To me, what this means... what you mean... no idea, you have." she muttered as she held onto him. Pulling back, she held onto his collar as she gazed up at him. Luckily for him, the smell of alcohol was no longer on her breath. "One day, be there for you, I hope I can be."

She finally let go and jumped onto the window sill, waiting for him to join her. However once they were underway, she started to snicker like a school kid. "Of your full name, I just thought. Know it, does master Sakadi?" she asked through her childish giggles.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas let out a condescending chuckle following Yenna's statement "Oh ho ho, big words coming from such a small package." he retorted. Apparently his cockiness had rubbed off on her too, them's the conditions of mentoring a Padawan - they take on your best and worst traits. Once she was on his shoulder, he made his way to her window and was halfway out - sat on the windowsill with one leg upon it and the other hovering across the floor in Yen's bedroom. There was one more thing she wanted to get off her chest apparently.

Wandering over to her bed, he sat on top of it and looked down at her. Pulling him into another hug, Cas reciprocated with one hand while the other relaxed on the bed behind him, holding up his upper body weight. "Hey, it's okay. This is what life is all about right? Being there for each other." when Yenna addressed wanting to be there for him one day, he smiled, "I don't doubt that you will be." he assured her.

Watching her leap to the windowsill, he pushed himself off the bed and tred over. At the mention of his full name, Cas immediately frowned "I don't know how you found that out--" ever since fleeing from home, the Kiffar had made a conscious effort that his full name, Cassalius, was unknown to anyone outside his family and had been going by his nickname 'Cas' ever since. How Yenna came across that information was beyond him. "--But if you do tell her, I'll tell everyone you wet the bed until you were ninety." Cas half-joked, whether the fact that she did wet the bed until she was ninety was true didn't matter. The Younglings at Silver Rest would believe in anything, not only that they were their own form of telecommunication. Telephone, telecom, teleyoungling. Once word got out, everyone would know.

It was harsh, but it was a lighthearted form of mutually assured destruction that hopefully kept Yen from telling Sakadi at bay...

/END THREAD​

Yenna