Sibling And A Half

[Kyrinov]

Iridonia​

5 Years Before Present Day​

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An orange fist swung toward him against the clear sky. Disoriented as he was, he didn't see it coming in time to react. The impact of knuckles on his jaw combined with a deafening roar of the ring of Zabraks was enough to knock him down, wafting up a cloud of sand as he hit the packed ground beneath them. The landing knocking the wind from his lungs. Tevro rolled over onto his side, content to simply lie and breath. A giant of an orange Zabrak stood above him, speaking though the young boy could only focus enough to hear the voice, far from listening to the words he was saying. Once the crowd dispersed, and only he and his older brother, Vuxae remained, did he sit up and stand to his feet.

Though it remained a faint whisper to his ears, he heard what his brother said as they walked toward their home. "You'll get him next time, brother. You just need to train a bit more. We'll work on your defense once you heal up." Not that he wanted to fight the orange Zabrak again. He was three years Tevro's senior and built like a heavy cruiser.

He hit like one too.

But, still, Tevro was glad that he only sustained a few bruises and a bloody nose which was still running freely. They walked roughly a mile to the east, nothing but desolate, sandy desert all around them. It was hot, warmer than usual. His head pounded with the ferocity of a hammer on an anvil. It spun around and around as he stumbled along, Vuxae's arm settling around his shoulders to keep his upright. His Force Sight blurred from a lack on concentration brought on by dehydration and the brooding Tevro was currently mulling over.

'How could I have been so stupid?', he thought. Then, another thought followed almost immediately after. 'I asked for that beating, taking on someone with far more experience than I have.' And yet another, a reassurance, 'I swear that I'll get better...somehow.' By the time he finished his notions, they arrived at their front door. Vuxa brushed aside the cracked door and led him inside, sitting him down in a kitchen table and getting him a cup of water. A generous offer that he gulped down in about two seconds.

A deep voice resonated through their home. "Vuxae? Tevro? Is that you? How did the bout go?" The disembodied voice belonged to their father, a former Sith Lord whose birth name was Kegan. From the loudness of the voice, it sounded as though Kegan was in the living room. Literally one room over. They both rolled their eyes. He couldn't just come and see that it's us? Tevro answered after downing another cup. "Aye, Father, it's us. The bout went horribly for me. Nothing major, just a couple of bruises and a bloody nose. Why are you in the living room?" On any other day, their father would have met them outside, hugging them both close in massive bear hug that pressed them awfully close to his sweating chest. It was simply out of the ordinary for him to be indoors at this time of day.

The response was swift. It held the tone of a reprimand more so than that of a casual answer. "Come in here, don't be rude! We have a guest."

Oh boy, just what they needed at the moment. A guest. Someone to see what a failure he was at combat. Another person to mock him and question his relation to Vuxae or his father as they were both prominent warriors. 'Joy...", thought a young Tevro as he stood up and was led into the living room with the guiding hand of his older brother.

What, or rather who, was seen in the living room came as a complete shock to both of them. A girl, a human girl was sitting next to their father. She looked to be closer to Vuxae's age, though he couldn't be sure. What in the name of Ragnos was a human doing in their house? Who was see? Was she a diplomat? Was she Sith? Or was she just one of the few humans on Iridonia who simply happened to stumble up their farm in her travels? He watched her with a genuine interest, looking her up and down. Assessing her as he did with every being he encountered. Whoever she was, she certainly seemed to be an intriguing person.

[member="Jairdain"]

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[Jairdain]

The young woman was not a fighter, even as a sith, she was unable to do it. Being blind, Jairdain had been kept out of most physical training classes and only knew some basic moves with her lightsaber. However, that did not leave her helpless. She was a mentalist and a strong one at that. Able to bring sith lords to their knees when she was only a knight. She was no longer with the Jedi though and now allied herself with the sith.

In her turning, Krest had gifted her a plot of land on Iridonia. Here she was going to make a home. When she arrived with the notice of gift from the king of Iridonia, people took her in and helped her build her home.

One of the people that helped her Kegan had invited her to stay with him and his family while her home was constructed.

This was her first day on Iridonia and already a family had reached out to help her. Accepting the offer, at the end of the day, he had guided her to his home. After a short while of conversing on the couch, two others joined them. Standing up to show a form of being politeness, she nodded her head slightly to each of them and sat back down.

"My name is Jairdain Ismet and your father invited me to stay with you while my house was built."

She felt the shock and surprise from the two boys that walked in through the door. A human on Iridonia wasn't uncommon, but to be female and alone in the harsh environment might be. Not yet accustomed to what she needed to do to live here, she would live with this family for a while, be one of them essentially and learn from them. Once her house was built, she would go live there.

"I hope you don't mind..."

Even though she was sith, it was a very light hold on her. There was still good in her.

[member="Tevro"]

 

[Kyrinov]

'Did she just say stay? With them?', was the boy's first thought.

He glanced at his father then at Vuxae, who seemed welcoming to the option. It seemed he was alone in his disagreement, though he didn't express this as it would likely be met with a small verbal reprimand here then a full blown lecture once she was out of earshot. He let out a small sigh, red eyes searching her once more. Perhaps she was a friend of his father's and if she was, she was trustworthy. Plus, if he trusted her enough to allow her to stay around his family, he must have confidence that all of them would be safe with the newest addition to their home.

He nodded his agreement, giving a small smile to the girl - Jairdain - and went to take a seat before remembering what a mess he probably looked with blue/black bruises all over his ribs, chest, and face. He got up again after excusing himself to the bathroom. He put on some of his mom's red and black powder-like makeup to hide the brusises until he and Vuxae could properly tend to them with their father. Tevro came back to the living room and sat down on the left side of Kegan.

"I'm Tevro,", he announced. "How did you come to our house? Do you know our father somehow? Or are you a traveler?"

He cocked his head to one side slightly and shuddered a little. There was Light in her, even he could feel it. What the world was a Jedi doing here, if she even was a Jedi. He figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Are you a Jedi?"

His father's eyes widen and he looked down at Tevro with piercing eyes that blazed with a glimmer of anger for the briefest of moments.

"Tevro! Don't be impolite! If she is a Jedi, she still needs a place to live while she waits on her house to be built."

Now that shocked the young Zabrak. His father? Caring about a girl who might well be a Jedi? What in the name of Ragnos was going on here?

 

[Jairdain]

Sensing the reluctance from Tevro, Jairdain could understand. In the end, he appeared to accept his father's choice to have her stay here. She had accepted the offer for a place to stay and from this family she would learn how to live on Iridonia. Their language and customs as well as maybe how to cook and grow things here. The combat wouldn't be something she would learn, but that wasn't something she focused on.

Now as they sat here in the living room of the house, Jairdain knew they were Zabrak. Normally though, she assumed a sentient was human until the time ever came she learned they weren't. What she did not know of Tevro is they shared the fact they were both physically blind.

After a few moments, Tevro moved in to sit with them and introduced himself. However as quickly as he came, he excused himself to go wash up after whatever he had been doing. Before he left he asked how she come to be there. After he returned he asked if she was a Jedi. That promptly got him reprimanded by his father, but she raised a hand to indicate it was a valid question. Waiting until he returned to answer him though, the conversation continued in the living room while he was gone. An answer was provided when he came back. Her tone was straight forward and open though.

"There is a plot of land that was gifted to me by the king here. While a home is being built for me, I need a place to stay. Your father offered to take me in during its construction. I met you father in the market when I was arranging for the building materials and the hiring of people to help build the house."

When he asked if she was a Jedi, she shook her head before answering.

"I am no longer Jedi, but I was. Why do you ask?"

[member="Tevro"]

 

[Kyrinov]

The boy nodded in reply to her answer, deeming it to be satisfactory in his mind.

There was suspicion hinted in his voice still. "I asked because we're Sith. Well, I'm not Sith yet. I will be soon though." He gave a small, amused smile after saying this soon-to-be fact.

He plopped back down on the couch once more, one cushion from his father. His red eyes roamed over Jairdain, scanning her as he leaned back, becoming a part of the couch as he relaxed for the first time that entire day. His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "How long do you expect the construction to take?"

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Being blind, Jairdain assumed this whole family had sight. Since nobody had commented about either of them being blind, this was something she did not know yet about Tevro.

He said this was a family of Sith and he would soon be joining their number. She gave a simple nod of acceptance before giving him a strong focus on in the Force. It wasn't so much her doing it though, she was a visionary and one came across her at the moment she looked at him with the Force.

"Your plan to be sith is an accomplishment for sure, but something is going to come along and you're going to stray away from them. At least for a time."

Coming out of the trance, she felt his humor through the Force and gave a smile at him. He was a few years younger than her, she could feel it through the Force. His untapped and untrained ability waiting to be honed. ​

"I am also sith."

Maybe more of a broken one with the light in her fighting, but right now, she was with the sith and attempted to follow that code. After he sat down, she could almost feel his gaze on her. It was similar to what he would have felt when she looked at him. When he focused on meeting her eyes, it was something she did not notice since her vision must have been different than his. Asking how long the construction would take, she shrugged and would turn her attention to his father.

"How long does it normally take a build a house here?"

[member="Tevro"]

 

[Kyrinov]

He shifted in his seat a bit, feeling something, someone, look into the Force then focus their attention solely on him. Invisible eyes searching him, inspecting him to find some "hidden" variable about or within him. He assumed it was Jairdain. Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, Who, What, Where? Up, Down, In, Out, Up, Down, In, Out, Up, Down, In, Out, Up, Down, In, Out. On and on went the pattern of its endless search fueled by an insatiable curiosity. At times, the "connection" faded and it seemed to subside before returning tenfold, grasping a hold of his mind and spirit to complete whatever task it sought to finish. Here, There, Swift, Pace, Here, There, Swift, Pace. It - she - darted around. At first, he mentally resisted her presence probing him. Pace. She slowed and then finally subsided for good this time, it seemed.

He sat back in the couch cushion, eyebrows furrowed in concern as she delivered the news that he would stray from the Sith, however brief a time that would be. How could ever do such a thing? Betray the very organization, the title, he aspires to become a part of and gain the privilege to truly call himself Sith. At first, he thought it improbable. Then, he remembered that it was still likely, slight as the chance may be.

"You're Sith too? Nice. Any tips or advice for me going into this... profession in the next few years?"

Kegan looked up for his trance-like thinking state, likely planning on her arrangements and watching over all of the people within his household. "Construction...A house such as yours should last about six months, seven to eight if the heat becomes a sever risk or reaches the Cat Five Level." His father paused a moment then offered a reassurance to both of them. "You'll feel welcome here, Jairdain. I'm sure that my lovely wife and boys will be quite helpful and kind towards you. It'll be like you're part of the family." The elder Zabrak smiled. "You know, you and Tevro share the same condition. You are both blind. Tevro here often uses Force Sight to see, as I'm sure he is doing now."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Her delivery was lost on her and what she had meant almost nothing to her. Still new to having this skill, Jairdain had yet to remember what she saw in her visions. Feeling the disbelief from Tevro caused her give him an odd look. Shaking her head, she listened to his question and then at the answer his dad provided for her.

"Get out."

She quickly blinked and gave herself a mental smack. That Jedi in her reared its head and Jairdain had to have a small mental fight with herself and get that light stamped into submission.

"I didn't mean that. What I would suggest is finding your calling. Figure out what you're good at and practice that until you master it and then move on. Keep learning and never give up."

His father had said he was also blind and she wondered what his vision was like.

"The Force is almost all I use. My hearing is also good, but not like the Force."

[member="Tevro"]

 

[Kyrinov]

Tevro nodded as she gave him an answer. Though, he wondered what made her yell the words "Get Out". Was there something she wasn't telling him? Something she was hiding? Something all of them, his dad, Vuxae, and now Jairdain, were keeping from him? Were they trying to spare him of trying to convince him to choose a different alignment than they themselves chose however long ago?

So many questions, so few answers.

Find what he was good at. Take that activity or power. Stay where you are. Master it. Move on. Complete your goals. Never give up.

It was simple yet it resonated within him. It seems he just found the beginning of his personal maxims.

He did, however, pull out of thought and lighten up when he heard that Jairdain was blind too. Great! He wasn't alone in this! Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! He smiled at Jairdain. "I use the Force too! My sensory gatherings are great. I can hear and feel just as much as I can see through the Force, and perhaps more."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

The dream of being a consular still hung on Jairdain and even if she wasn't Jedi, that field could still be used here. So when he asked for advice, she gave Tevro the best she could think of on the spot. That advice could apply to anybody and it was something solid to take a grasp of.

As if taking a cue from her, Tevro's father spoke up proudly and rested a hand on his shoulder. She could see the motions through the Force and smiled slightly seeing the action.

"Tevro here is about to start going through his Res Selenoren. You're new here so wouldn't know of it, but it's essentially his trial that takes place for all to be considered an adult here."

Trials were something she was familiar with having been through several of them in her life. At that point his wife and mother of the boys came in and said their dinner was done.

Over the next couple of months both Jairdain and Tevro decided to go through these trials together. If they both passed, they would be considered adults by the terms of his tribe and be marked with jato that indicated which clan they are a part of. As the time passed, it would be clear for Jairdain those markings would not be able to be given to her since she wasn't able to devote days on end to the procedure. However, Tevro would receive his with great pride.

[member="Tevro"]

 

[Kyrinov]

Iridionia​

Family Home​

2 Months Later​

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The teenage Zabrak stood across from Jairdain, both with wooden staffs in hand. He shifted his feet deeper to set them on a more compacted layer of the hundreds of thousands of veering grains. His hands held the staff loosely, the piece of timber positioned so that his right side, his non-dominant side, was unprotected. It was usually odd to fight this way. Why would any fighter leave a weakness so readily exposed while his strongest side remained under close guard. The answer? It was simply easier to be able switch his guard to the opposite side if he started on his dominant side. The staff was a mere three inches from his body as he sprung up onto the balls of his feet.

In the past month or so, he allowed Jairdain to have the first move and he eased up in terms of performance and overall speed. He forced himself to slow his movements down, knowing that she'd need to be slowly progress into their rather aggressive forms of close quarter combat. That restriction ended in that moment, he decided. He wouldn't hold back too much, but he wouldn't fight her as he would Vuxae simply for the fact that she wasn't at their level quite yet. He bounced from foot to foot then centered his gravity, balancing his weight on both feet. If she couldn't learn to keep up at this pace he would set for her, she may not pass the Res Selenoren at all.

He examined her as she settled into a simple battle stance which signified her readiness. His eyes darted around and his pitch black pupils contracted as he let out a four deep, ragged breaths. They'd been training since sunrise with only three breaks for water and the occasional stretch necessary between sparring bouts. It was almost sunset now. The sky darkened as the sun's warmth receded sluggishly behind the canyons in the distance, a cool wind blowing against his sweating back which threatened to upheave his balance. His arms ached from the constant exertion, but he was used to it by now, that delicious stinging pain that arched through his muscles with every minute move he made. The boy wondered if Jairdain was accustomed to such a feeling.

As their shadows lengthen and they both take another moment to steady themselves, Tevro lets out a final breath of humid air as he surges forward, advancing towards the woman at an alarming rate. His feet push off of the mesh-like layer of sand and propel him forward, effortlessly cycling to cover the five meter distance between the pair. 'Let's see how she handles speed and ferocity.' He thought as he descended upon her waiting figure. The stick positioned now to where his left hand slid up the length to bring it crashing down from the right side in a diagonal slash which would hurt like hell if it connected on her shoulder. If it missed, he could bring up his right hand and curve it into a leg swipe or follow the movement through and back up in a sort of uppercut.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

It might be considered cheating, but Jairdain used her Force training to her advantage. If she had been zabrak it might have been frowned on. As a human going through these tests and trials, the standards were only slightly less. She would place a simple barrier around herself only. When that barrier broke, the fight was over as a sign of first blood.

Her fighting had improved certainly and that barrier lasted longer and longer as she learned. Tevro was a superior fighter though having trained for as long as he could remember. Jairdain was different and had been kept out of most combat classes, instead she had focused on mentalism. Even with the sith, her combat training was limited.

In the two months they had shared the same home, she had started to pick up on the language. Taunting him playfully like his older brother would, Jairdain readied herself for his attack. What training she did have was with a simple lightsaber, so her wooden staff was the size of one and that is all she used against his longer one.

Bringing her staff up, she effortlessly blocked the slash at her shoulder and slid her staff down what would be his blade in the attempt to hit his hand holding and disarm him right away.

[member="Tevro"]