Tap on the wrist [Iella/Marek]

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Her arm elbow rested on her desk, fingers tapping against her lips in thought. The young woman's frame was delicately balanced in a suspension between having her heels on the desk before her, and the curve of her chair. Beyond her, automobiles zipped along the Coruscanti speedway between the clouds and city's skyscrapers.

Ossus had been a victory for The Republic, but it had revealed quite a bit about the Jedi. The Order had many qualified individuals that made the victory a success, and Kiskla herself tapped into some of her abilities that she'd never yet explored. While doing so, she'd reached out to all the Jedi on the planet that had been engaged at that moment; in doing so, she'd felt something rather disturbing.

One of the Apprentices later mentioned the incident to his master. One of the Jedi, for his own advancement, had overstepped his comrade to advance his own lust for a fight. Such a quality was not to be found in The Order. If they didn't help each other, how were they supposed to extend their support to the rest of the galaxy?
The blonde councilor was perturbed, to say the least.

One of the perks of being a councilor, was that she had a directory of the current Jedi -- usually for emergencies. It made it easier to communicate from location to location, however, when you had someone's data digits. Her heels lowered and tucked beneath her chair as she leaned into the screen that activated before her, the blue light shining over her attractive features as she scrolled through the directory.

One of the invitations would relay to the new Jedi Master and Council Member Iella. The other, would go to the Jedi that concerned her; Marek.

Each of them would be requested to meet her at the temple's veranda. She would be discreet with her intentions; if a Jedi were to see another called to a Councilor's office then rumours were likely to spread. Despite the fact that Jedi were supposed to be non-judgmental beings. Once she keyed in the messages to the new Master and Knight, respectively, she lifted her frame from her chair and closed the communication channels; making an exodus from the stuffy room into the cavernous hallways of the Coruscant Temple.

Soft steps lead her to the verdana, were blue carpets wound about; weaving a path for Jedi alike to tread as they went about their daily activities.

@Iella E`ron @Marek S'hadar

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"] | @[member="Marek S'hadar"]



There where several things that came out of the campaign on Ossus, and Iella was not addressing one of them. She came to realise that she was rusty, her efforts there although enough to sustain a fight saw her very underdone and not battle fit. This concerned her greatly as there was no doubt that there will be more battles to fight .. sooner rather then later. She had gone to the training rooms early and commenced her series of training with a droid, not ideal but better then nothing. The difference between fighting a droid and a Sith vastly different, as there is no comparison with fighting the real thing, so much more unpredictable. As she finished her session, she toweled herself off of the sweat. At this moment, a message beeped on her comlink. Throwing the towel over her shoulder she grabbed her unit and read.

Her eyes scanned over the summon and her brow knitted .. but immediately she hit the showers to refresh before meeting Master Grayson on the verdana.

Immediately as she walked out on the verdana, she could hear to sounds of Coruscant. The steady hum of the skylanes as traffic weaved it's way lay upon lay over the vast Jewel of the Galaxy. This is a sound she is now accustomed to coupled with the faint tint of metal with always pitted the air. Iella walked around .. her Jedi robes pressed neat and the folds in perfect symmetry around her body. Her long black boots sounding on the surface of the verdana .. a heraldry to her presence as they met the marbled floor before they met the blue carpet. She stopped and looked around, although she had not met Master Grayson, she knew her image from files and recognised her immediately.

As she approached she smiled a warm smile, "Greetings Master Grayson, you summon me".

 

[Marek S'hadar]

The Jedi in question sat quietly in the veranda, trying to find some form of peace that had been denied to him since he was what? Five? Things had been made worse when Shorn showed up on Ossus, a personal vendetta, one he'd held onto since he'd first met the man as a boy, was let loose. It was a chilling reminder of the places Marek had been. In the fight, he'd pushed a padawan back, yes in the heat of the moment it was so he could have Shorn to himself, but in hindsight, the boy would've been ripped limb from limb by the Sith. He'd done the kid a favor.

In the veranda, Marek sat in a relaxed position, his face and upper body covered in bandages that covered the burns which were in the process of healing along with his bruised ribs and other various injuries. He was surprised no one had decided to scold him until now, yell at him, tell him how what he'd done wasn't the Jedi way. But how could they ever understand what that moment was to him. Revenge took over when Shorn was put into play.

But no one could possibly understand that.

@[member="Iella E`ron"] | @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla was relieved that Iella had been the first to show, considering the message she was delivering to the master was far more lighthearted than the one to the Knight. Iella's signature was familiar to one she had detected on Ossus, one she had assisted in fuelling.
"Master E`ron," Kiskla greeted pleasantly, taking the time to observe how the new master reacted to her title "I did. I wanted to congratulate you on your participation on Ossus and your recent promotion." The compliment hung suspended in the air as the two women fell in step, Kiskla managed to observe that she was slightly taller than the other blonde master -- although that wasn't something she was unused to.

Confrontation was another thing she wasn't unused to. Kiskla was a key member of the royal family on Kiffu, a Sheyf in fact, and often had to set people straight in the political arena. Her most recent example of this being Daxton Bane when he attempted to connive a scheme of personal redemption rather than for his faction's benefit. Still, it was with slight trepidation that she approached this situation of speaking to a fellow Jedi who had bravely fought on Ossus; but he had caught the council's attention with his self-serving attitude. Which was a shame, because he had been a prime candidate for a Master position within The Order.

"If you wouldn't mind, Master, there's another Jedi to join us this afternoon. Knight S'hadar." She glanced at the blonde female, running her fingers through her own pale locks with a sigh "He's on the council's radar for his actions on Ossus; pushing aside a fellow Jedi in order to get involved in a fight. As far as the Padawan was concerned, it wasn't as an act of protection. I've got to get more information, however, and a summoning in front of the council just didn't seem appropriate." She pinched between her eyes, recalling the last summoning. Painful.

Speak of the devil.

A lone figure differentiated himself from the others. There were Jedi walking about, whether or not they had places to be, but this one was sitting. At least he'd made this physical reply to her summon. Like Iella, Kiskla had not met Marek in person and was going off his database file to confirm that his was the person.

"Knight S'hadar," the blonde spoke, "Thank you for meeting me today. Would you like to walk, or…" she shifted the focus of her question "How are your injuries?"

@Iella E`ron | @Marek S'hadar

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"] @[member="Marek S'hadar"]


Walking along side Master Grayson, Iella only held a brief smile on her face as she was addressed by her new title. It was only brief considering how Iella views the responsibility of it, she believes there is more to begin a Master then simply force powers. There is a duty of care to the members of the Order and the Council, a way that one holds ones self when taking on this title. A Master is constantly a teacher and a learner .. the journey to achieve and acquire knowledge a road that has on end, but one in which they all walk to gain strengths for the betterment of the Galaxy.

"Thankyou Master Grayson, I hope I can prove worthy of my position. I also must thankyou for your efforts on Ossus .. without your timely intervention that gave all the extra energy to continue to fight we might have lost more that day, I certainly benefited from it", she replied with sincerity ..

Iella turned to face Master Grayson now as she continued to speak, she too had concerns about the events on Ossus regarding Knight S'hadar. "I was on the field that day .. no far from it. In fact I was about to engage the Sith as well. However, I did not witness the events with Padawan Meta, but have been informed of them since. I strongly suspect there was no malice in this .. but the actions are still questionable, as you know full well, the heat of the moment can take hold .. but that is precisely the issue I have, a Jedi should not allow this to happen, in so doing they open themselves to dangers by letting the emotion fuel them".

She walked on along side the Master, letting a small sigh release from her lips, "My first duty as Master was to deliberate on the vote for Knight S'hadar's nominations for Master, and I said no, purely and simply because of the concerns with both have, I know it raised some eyebrows but as my responsibility to the Order is now considerable, I had to do what I thought was the right course of action. Being a Jedi is hard, being a Master is harder .. and from time to time, we have to make decisions that will seem harsh, but at the forefront of this is the welfare of the Jedi Order".

Iella's head turned to greet Knight S'hadar, "Greetings Knight S'hadar, or if you still suffering with your injuries, maybe we could find rotunda in the Temple Gardens?", she offered with a smile.

 

[Marek S'hadar]

"I've suffered far worse master Grayson." Marek replied honestly, his voice muffled by the bandages over his mouth. His eyes were sullen and sunken, sleep deprived orbs gazed upon the two blondes before him. It was obvious to anyone with a brain that Marek was far from okay, and not just physically, his eyes alone told a story of tragedy after tragedy. But Knight S'hadar wasn't here to cry on anyone's shoulder, his burdens were his own. "I presume this is about Ossus?" He asked, sitting down on a bench so that the two females now had the height advantage over him.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed in exhaustion as his gaze shifted to the ground. Ossus had been a painful reminder that a part of him, no matter how deeply buried, would be Darth Iram, Lord of Rage. He let out a light chuckle at the thought, the title had sounded more reasonable when he was younger. And angrier, but still.

Meta was a padawan with a history of problems, one that he'd shared with the council. Marek wasn't planning on doing any sharing today. If they wanted his past Iella could ask Syn and Kiskla could ask Josh...but he knew he'd probably end up telling them. His eyes began to dart from the masters to the floor, uncertainty filling them.

Then Iella asked if he wanted to go to the gardens. "No, this is fine." He replied bluntly, his eyes shooting up towards her then back down at the floor. While yes, it was a bad move, in the end Meta would've been butchered by Shorn with ease. The man fought off not only himself, but Diana Moridina as well. The boy, augmented or not, was hopeless to stop Shorn.

@[member="Iella E`ron"] | @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

He'd suffered worse? She supposed he had, considered most of his physical structure was now man-made rather than the alternative flesh. His trepidation was visual, as well as tangible through metaphysical extension; perhaps two masters felt like double teaming him.

Kiskla was a curious creature. Some days, she was abrasive and confrontational, others, depending on the situation, appealed to her serene side. @[member="Marek S'hadar"] was treading on the fence between her venemous assurance, and her duty to view him as an appellant. As he was constantly growing, as was she.

"And why would you assume that?" He was right, of course. But to assume something about that, usually inferred a sense of guilt or responsibility; "Are you aware of the council's concern about your actions -- and why?"

@[member="Iella E`ron"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"] @[member="Marek S'hadar"]



Iella stood waiting for Knight S'hadar to answer the questions as they are the same as her's. He knew exactly why he was summon here, which .. for Iella .. was the first step. However, she did not wish to use stand over tactics, as it might look to someone in this position, she considers them counter productive in these cases. The issues that concerned her and the Council are ones that can be rectified with the person wishes and seek aid.

She moved to the bench Marek sat upon and sat herself a little way up from him. Her body slightly turned in his direction to see him and his reactions. Using the force to sense the situation .. to gather emotions and reactions to aid her mind on this.

 

[Marek S'hadar]

"He was going to get himself killed." He lied rather skillfully. It had never been about Meta's safety, not initially, towards the end of his battle he'd realized maybe it was a good thing. If he was anything, it was a good liar, but he knew good and well even the best could been seen through by Jedi masters. He sighed, this wasn't the right thing to do, the Jedi thing to do. He was supposed to be one of the good guys now.


Regret ran through him, he'd let Shorn win, he'd let the dark side win. "Before we continue, and you tell me how what I did was selfish and reckless, I'd hope you understand my situation." He stated, his gaze shifting over Iella. "I've gone just as far down the path as your Sithspawn 'friend', maybe farther. Ask him about it sometime." Marek sighed, referencing Syn calmly. Though as his thoughts trailed to Shorn, anger took the place of regret. "He is mine to kill." He growled, before once again feeling a surge of regret.

"I'm sorry, it's-I have to...I have t-I'm sorry, you just wouldn't understand Masters." He stuttered, trying to justify himself but failing to find the words to do so.

@[member="Iella E`ron"] | @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="Marek S'hadar"] @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]


"Never assume we don't understand", Iella said softly, almost in a whisper. She too, had tasted the need for revenge and faced it, the difference was that she .. at the time ... realised that if she had killed the man, the dark side would have won, and that was never going to happen.

"Marek .. " she began dropping the formalities of rank and titles. "If you had pushed Meta with only the want of saving his life in your heart then we would not be here having this conversation. No... by your own admission now, you had a different desire on the battle fields on Ossus. Yes .. your actions where selfish and reckless, not only to Meta but to yourself as well, and all the Jedi on the field that day. I don't need to tell you revenge eats at your very soul, you know that well enough. However, if you do give to it, if you continue to seek this revenge then Shorn has already got the victory".

She looked at him in the eye now, she is not there for .. "The pain of why you want revenge will never leave you, that much I do know too, and I am not going to sit here and tell you that time will heal you, because quite frankly . . . It will not. What time does however, is help us cope with the pain better, as time passes it lessens. I actually urge you never to forget, but in so doing turn this want into your strength to do good and be better then Shorn. That is how I cope with mine", she said more quietly now.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

@[member="Marek S'hadar"] | @[member="Iella E`ron"]
"You would't call someone ignorant, a master would you Marek?" Kiskla suggested, maintaing her standing position. It wasn't imposing or overpowering, she just preferred to stand in this instance. If he was suggesting that the two masters, who had each overcome their own internal tumult, were dumb to his position, he was in for a rude awakening.

He had been a Sith, a full fledged Sith but he had seen the light. He had made a powerful comeback and deserved to eternally give up what had held him back for so long.

"Emotions are a powerful thing, especially when for so long you've been moulded by them. That can be understood." She paused, reflecting on what I'ella had said just moments before. "But you're in a position to mould those emotions now." Master E`ron had summed up what she had wanted to say quite nicely, but Marek still irritated her.

"Your lust for revenge holds no place in your advancement." She stated frankly with an impassive shrug of her slender shoulders. "In fact, if it's going to interfere with your actions, it could be the very thing restraining you."

 

[Marek S'hadar]

"I did not accuse anyone of ignorance, Master Grayson." He replied, looking down towards the ground once more. The two masters had been through their own struggles as well, but he also was sure they had not suffered as he had. He still wasn't sure what they wanted exactly. We're they here to scold? If so he'd had plenty of that from Cale, his twin had scolded him at his bedside for karks sake. God forbid what would happen once Devin got word.

"I may never become a master, or I may in time, but revenge is something I have fought to reject since I came to the order, prior to that, vengeance had been my life's goal since I was a boy, happens when you watch your mother get butchered." He sighed, sure the twi'lek wasn't his biological mom, but she was who raised him. It was her death that molded him.

Marek knew that he had to fix things somehow, it was just a matter of doing it at this point in time. "What would you have me do masters?" He questioned humbly, dropping the defensive edge in his tone finally.

@[member="Kiskla Grayson"]
@[member="Iella E`ron"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

@[member="Marek S'hadar"] @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]


So many things Iella could comment on here, but she, at least, is not here to chastise, but hoped to offer Marek an alternative to his anger and vengeance. "Marek .. you have already began. You have come here, admitted what both myself and Master Grayson had doubts about, concerns I know you know are justified. You will Master one day, but you must rid yourself of these feelings of revenge. Otherwise you are correct, you will never become Master. Like I said before .. Shorn will have won already, if you allow that to happen", she sighed for a moment, considering his comment about his mother.

"Marek, unfortunately I understand more then you know", she paused to consider her words. "When I was a small girl, on Corellia, a man entered our family home and shot my parents .. on hearing the noise .. my sister and I went to see what happened, my sister was the first to see our parents dead on the kitchen floor, I only saw their feet. She grabbed me and ran me back to the room in which we where playing in. She put in a small cupboard to try and protect me, but she had no time to save herself. The man found her, and shot her through the heart at point blank range .. I witnessed this through a small crack between the door and the cupboard frame, the man did not find me, maybe he ran out of time, but I lived. I was to scared to come out of that cupboard, but eventually I did. I ran for the jungle near our home and stayed there for days. My want for revenge grew from that day. Over the years I searched for him, followed leads I had .. mostly leading to nothing. Then when I came to Coruscant as a Padawan, I discovered he was there too. One night I left the Temple, to find him, to kill him. I left my saber behind as I did not want to corrupt the blade with murder, yes I have murder in my heart that night. I found him and confronted him, I was moments away from murder, when I felt the bite of the darkside, it was that .. in that moment, that I realised that what I was about to do, was wrong. It simply was not me to do this. I knew also that my parents would not wish me to do it, and my sister, would have never forgiven me, for it. The fall to the darkside felt so easy, it was the easy option, and so I chose the harder one, I chose to left go. I did not forgive the man, that was impossible, but I learned from it, I learned that I am better then him and I did not let him win that day or the darkside", she had only told one other this but the situation called for Marek to understand that others too, have faced similar.

"What I wish for you to do, is let go", she simply said. "That is easy to say, and hard to do, I know that as well. But allows to try and help you do so, in what ever way we can... but you need to want to do it, that is the first step". That was about all Iella could say at this point.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Every Jedi's story was similar; most had lost their parents due to a death they were unable to understand. This is what separated them from other warriors, usually, was their ability to cope and move on. It was an elite level of emotion that took years of practice, and understanding.
Master @[member="Iella E`ron"] evidenced this with her story to the Jedi Knight. Kiskla wasn't one to share secrets or stories so openly, so she refrained from divulging her own history unless @[member="Marek S'hadar"] was unconvinced, but his demeanor suggested otherwise. He wanted retribution, but gifuring out how was always the difficult part.

"And not just want to." Kiskla commented, remaining steadfast with her position as she folded her arms across her chest "But to want it more than anything else. Focus on that, rather than your want for revenge and your advancement will have a more focused guidance. You know too, of course, that myself, Master E`ron and all the other Jedi are at your disposal for assistance. Oneself is the greatest adversary you can face." She grew solemn and she nodded slowly, confirming her own statement.

"Can you do that?"