The Curse Which Binds Us

[Lief]

Azar City​

Aurum​

​

News of Asha's disappearance had reached her, and yet she felt helplessly held back by the Council's decision to send individuals less attached to the case to Nar Shaddaa in order to investigate. Visibly on edge, and unable to sleep, Jyn had slipped from the bed she shared with [member='Arekk'] as softly as she could so as not to awaken him and ventured out into the quiet white City they called home.

As ever Kipo was quick to follow. The fat monkey had clambered up her body, all the way to her shoulder, and there he sat with one hand on her cheek, the bond between them revealing her anxious state of mind.

The City was beautiful at this time of day. The sun was barely risen, a few rays breaking through the jungle which encroached upon the city perimeter, and though there were still areas of it which needed attention she was able to appreciate just how far they had come since first landing here, how much destruction had been reversed at their hands.

At this hour the streets were mostly empty. One or two Togorians had risen to open up shop, but given the small population for a City this size the likelihood of her running into another person was slim to none.

It gave her time to walk and be with her thoughts, to worry freely without someone seeing the curse take shape if it chose to. Most did not take kindly to the sight of her flames.

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade gasped as she leaned against an alley wall. Two white, small pills were in her hand, ready to do their worse. She swallows them and curled in a fetal position behind a dumpster. Her clothing was filthy, mud and traces of blood on her once black and dark purple long sleeve and pants.

It was her cape that took the whose hit though. It was torn and might as well been rag on a string. The hood was the only part not in pieces, and it was over Jade's trembling head. Jade whimpered softly as the pills took effect, cutting off her force sight. She was glad she could still feel the force, but there was an issue....

It hurt too much. Her pills kept the worse of the force sickness at bay.

At a price.....

 

[Lief]

Though she was lost within her own grief, Jyn was not wholly blind to what was happening around her.

Her body began to prickle, worse than it usually would if she was dealing with just one set of emotions, and as she moved further down the street it only worsened. There was a source close by, she realized, an unhinged individual who could not keep their own emotions at bay, similar to the way that Jyn had been when the Curse had first found her.

Forcing herself to clear her own mind, she inhaled through her nose and followed after the turbulent presence. Though Asha remained firmly embedded in her mind, though the drive to find her and worry over her remained, she was not so foolish as to put all of her stock in that one thing. No, if somebody needed her right this second, somebody she could get to, then it was her duty to find them.

At the entrance to a small alleyway Jyn halted. She turned her head and glanced toward a bundle of clothes leaned up against one of the walls. Swift as she could muster the Epicanthix was at the woman's side, one hand tipping up her chin to get a better look at her while the other provided some sort of support.

"Are you okay?" she asked, feeling the uncontrolled emotions and trying her best to avoid succumbing to them, "Tell me what happened, I can help."

She had no other option than to help.

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade barely heard the vioce , it seemed to flutter past almost deaf ears.

Another interested in her? What did they want now?


It was asking if it could help?! Hah! Like anyone cared!

Help was all she wanted... Help to bear the pain.... Help to find her place....... Help....... To find a home.......

Tears slowly flowed down the rogue's cheeks as pain hit her once more. The pills wore out too fast........... She needed more... ...... A flash of force sight revealed the woman whom had spoken to her...


"Help. ...."

Jade fell to her knees and laid on the cold ground, gasping and crying. She gave up, she couldn't do this anymore......

 

[Lief]

The emotions were becoming worse with each passing second, and Jyn became more aware of what was happening.

She had experienced the very same when the Curse took over, an inability to focus, to feel anything other than the agony of a myriad of emotions. Could it be that she had found someone who had the same issue she did?

Without much thought she turned her head and shouted into the street beyond the alleyway. A Togorian, who had just exited his home on his way to work, was quick to come running, and upon seeing the woman slumped against the floor he lifted her up into his arms and looked at Jyn.

"What happened, Master Je'daii?" he inquired, knowing full well who she was.

"I found her this way," was all Jyn could respond, before she began to walk and guide the Togorian away, "Could you bring her to the Academy? I'll have her looked over immediately."

Together with the Togorian, Jyn made her way through the streets and back the way she had come. If this woman was experiencing what she had, then a crash course in balance, movement meditation, and emotional control would be in order.

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade yelped as someone caught her.... A Togorian. She struggled slightly before allowing herself to go limp.

The two just wanted to help..... But how much would they bother?

By the force.... Everything hurt............. Jade tried to pull herself together, but nothing stilled.....

She decided to focus on breathing, ignoring the sounds and force sight colors that started to get far away.

 

[Lief]

It did not take them very long at all to reach the Academy, and Jyn led the Togorian through the main foyer and into the medical bay.

The room was not particularly large, nor well stocked, after all Azar City had an actual hospital, but it was more than adequate for whatever was happening to this woman. Clearing off one of the gurneys, she looked across to the Togorian and gestured for him to set her down.

"Gently does it," she said, "I'm going to need to check for wounds, will you pass me that scanner?"

From the tray at his side, the Togorian passed over the strange medical tool and watched in fascination as Jyn ran it over the woman's body, not actually touching her it hovered about an inch from her clothing as it scanned for any wounds or obvious sickness.

But aside from a little malnutrition it did not register much more than the odd minuscule laceration, the likes of which most people had from their every day lives.

The more she looked into this, the more familiar it was seeming.

She lay the scanner down to one side, and glanced down over the woman now laying on the gurney.

Through the Force Jyn reached out, both of her hands settled upon the woman's temples as she focused her attentions on the more mental aspects of the Force. She was already feeling a whole swathe of uncontrolled emotions, but she had to know if there was more to it.

"If she tries to fight, carefully hold her down. There's something very wrong here..."

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade gasped as something... Or someone touched her mind. Her force flared a d attempted a weak attack on the other mind. Force sickness made everything plunge into a black spin.

She tired to struggled once, but when completely limp. She couldn't fight..... She was too weak...

The force seemed to twist her body and heart till she nearly screamed in pain and fear. Jade tried not to make a sound, but all she manage to do was bite her tongue.


"Stop..... Hurts......" She gasped out.

 

[Lief]

"It's okay," the Ranger soothed, running one hand over the woman's forehead before settling it back to her temple, "I understand what you're going through."

While this woman's curse wasn't anywhere near as visually volatile as her own, Jyn could sense the condition and knew the ailments mimicked her own. The inability to focus, the overstimulation when it came to emotions, and corruption, even the Light seemed to reject the woman who lay before her.

"I need you to focus," she said, "I'll help, but you need to work with me, okay? Focus, friend, you're safe, I promise you that you're safe."

Unlike Sargon she wasn't exactly able to simply transport this woman to Myrkr where the Force would have no effect upon her, Jyn had too many duties to tend to here to make such a trip, which meant doing this the hard way.

"Breathe for me, try to clear your mind of distractions. It isn't easy, I know that... But believe me when I say I've been where you are. There is a way out, but you have to breathe, you have to try..."

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade mentally gripped at her voice, aching for the soothing melody. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to sink back into the inky black.

The women's voice was like a gentle current in the ocean of turmoil.

 

[Lief]

Given its tremulous state, the woman's mind wasn't too difficult to inject herself into.

Throughout all of this, Jyn had begun to release calming waves of the Force into their surroundings, aimed specifically at the woman on the medical gurney though the Togorian would also feel the benefits of it. Naturally it would assist in getting Jade's mind a little clearer, in easing off the effects of her sickness, and hopefully would enable her to have a conversation with Jyn in the meantime.

"What happened to cause this?" Jyn asked, as she focused on the woman's mental state, creating almost a cocoon around her to keep out any other external influences from emotions or the Force, "I have a feeling it's the Force, and if that's the case then you need to learn to control it, to find a balance within it, sooner rather than later. I can help, but you have to want it for it to be effective."

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

"In not sure... I've always had trouble with the force..... Born with a force type disease as I was told. When I became blind, the incident made whatever stability I had snap..... Many years ago.... " Jade murmured as her body went limp in a relaxed state. " I'm so tired.... Can't focus... Fuzzy."

 

[Lief]

Having been given the information she required, Jyn could only nod her head.

She realized that this woman was likely going to continue to feel pain unless there was a way to stop it, much in the same way she had until being brought to Myrkr, and as such she had a decision to make. With a heavy sigh she reached to one side and took up a small syringe.

"I'm going to let you rest now, and when you're awake we'll work on making you better..."

Bringing the needle of the syringe to the woman's arm, she hesitated for a moment. The sedative found within would allow her to rest freely, without the risk of feeling pain through it or being driven insane by nightmarish dreams.

Hopefully the woman would not resist in any way before she could be stuck with it.

At the same time she looked to the Togorian who had been accompanying her.

"Find me Master Sicmus... Let him know that we need to get our hands on a Ysalamir..."

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade barely winced as the needle was pushed into her. The sedative hit her like a rushing flood. Jade did nothinto fight it, letting it bring her to silence.

Now she could rest.... Rest.....

Such a luxurious thing.

Rest without pain was even rarer still.... Yet....

It found her tonight.

 

[Lief]

[Apologies, I've been having laptop issues]

How long had passed since the woman had first been drugged was hard to tell.

Jyn knew that a couple of days at least had passed. The Togorian had been rewarded for his hard work, a Ysalamir had been ... procured ... and now, alongside various healers including the Temple Master of Mahara Kesh, Shor Vo, the process of awakening [member='Jade the Rogue'] had begun.

Everybody in the room was at a disadvantage. The Force was not something any of them were able to touch upon, due to the presence of the lizard, and for Jyn that meant an inability to sense the emotions of others. A blessing, with regards to her curse, but also an oddity. It felt strange to not have to fight off what everybody else was feeling for a chance. Her mind felt empty, lonely.

But it was worth it if it meant the woman before her was able to awaken with a clear mind.

No light or dark battling it out, no Force to torment her. Just serenity.

"How are you feeling?" Jyn asked, when she saw the woman's eyes begin to flicker.

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Sound gently pierced through the blackness, sounds she didn't recognise. Jade barely remembered other sounds and flashed or force sight showing a person or some machine.

A quextion from a familiar voice eased her back into the world. She felt eased, relaxed.... The turmoil in mind was gone....

Everything was still fuzzy and she was still tired, but at least the force in her no longer fought.

Jade felt her force sight turn on once more, showing the woman whom found her in the alley...... When was that?

"No more pain or dizziness..... Where am I?! " Jade panicked abit, not remembering the journey.

 

[Lief]

"You're okay, you're safe," she told her, settling into one of the chairs at the side of [member='Jade the Rogue']'s hospital bed, "We brought you to a medical facility. You're still on Aurum. Do you remember how you ended up in the alleyway?"

Reaching over, Jyn offered the woman a gentle hand to the shoulder, reassuring in nature, and smiled meekly. It was much easier to be around this woman when she wasn't fighting with the Force, it was too much of a reminder, and too much emotion, for her to handle. Yet she had managed all the same.

The presence of the Ysalamir made it so Jyn could not read her emotions, but she was able to read h er expression and that was something.

"What's your name, sweetie?"

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

"Jade, thought every force user heard of me..... Since they always seemed to be nowhere. No offence." Jade stiffened at the woman's touch, but allowed herself to relax. "I'm older than I look, dearie. I just stopped counting. " she chuckled abit. For several minutes, she listened to the noise around her.

Once she spoke, her voice was back to its usual raspy hiss/ whisper. "I barely remember the alley. I remember taking the pills and sensing you, that's it."

 

[Lief]

"Jade; I'm Jyn. It's nice to meet you, though perhaps it would have been better under different circumstances. Regardless, so long as our friend here -" she gestured to the Force Nullifying Lizard who was in a sizable cage to one side of the room - "remains, you will not feel the effects of the Force in any way. Our job in the meantime is to help you get it under control."

Jyn pulled up a stool on wheels to the side of Jade's bed, and smiled.

"You and I are not too dissimilar. The curse you feel, the influence of the Force over you, is something I too have struggled with. I promise you it can get better, you just have to work for it. Are you up for that challenge, Jade?"

It was around that time that one of the Je'daii Journeyers entered the room with a tray of food. Said tray was placed on the table beside the bed, and just as quickly the student vanished back into the hallway beyond the room.

"Feel free to eat, you must be hungry. You slept for a few days."

[member="Jade The Rogue"]

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade could see the lizard through her force sight. "Might need something like the little guy. She searched the woman as she spoke. There was a similar thread of force light in the woman, now called Jyn.

The smaller of food on the nearby table was something Jade could not resist. Carefully, she reached out and grabbed a bite of food. " To be honest, if I can get this force sickness to go away, I'm game for almost anything."