Public The Doctor's In (Coruscant)

[Iris Arani]

The Jedi Temple's Halls of Healing had become a second home to Iris. Probably more of a primary home as of late. Since finally graduating the Medical University, there was no where better for the Jedi Healer turned Doctor to go. She sat behind the front desk, idly glancing through a datapad in her hand. Dressed in the more typical doctors outfit. Scrubs. She couldn't understate how comfortable those were. Nor how nice it was to be able to relax without needing to worry about her exams.

Iris continued to swipe through the pages, reading up on some more recent news. The war was over, had been for a little while, but there were problems everywhere in the Galaxy. She frowned, just a little, as she glanced from the tablet to the scarred hand holding it. Part of her felt wrong just sitting around here, not helping. And yet, there were always people who needed help here. Which was the better path? Was there a better path? It didn't matter. No, right now she just needed to focus on her patients.

Soon as one arrived. There was no such thing as a slow day in a hospital.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

Jasper had a bad habit of getting himself injured. Even as he grew more cautious, the galaxy seemed to throw everything it could at him to send him limping back to the medical wing. In this case there was less limping and more dangling, specifically of his arm. The only one that could hang, anyways. The bone had fractured just below his elbow, leaving it swaying in a matter not too dissimilar to the pendulum of a clock. But how had this even happened?

It started as most of his problems did, in the underbelly of Coruscant. Jasper, of all of his many addictions, had a particular love of supporting local cuisine. As such, on this particular occasion, he found himself in a family owned deli eating a freshly made sandwich. Of course, nothing stayed tranquil down there for long. Just outside the bar was a particularly intoxicated fellow brandishing a bat at a young Rodian couple, making loud threats for their valuables. As he went to swing, Jasper was well in the process of rushing out and leaping between the couple and their assailant to take the blow. It was the only course of action, as he had no time to draw his lightsaber. One good swing from the thug was enough to shatter the bone in his arm. Fortunately, it wasn't very long before his prosthetic arm quickly put an end to the criminal's drunk robbery spree.

So here he was, walking through the halls of healing with a dangling arm, surprisingly calm given the present scenario of his injury. It wasn't something unfamiliar to Jasper unfortunately, especially after leaping off a tall structure on Empress Teta in his padawan days and breaking both legs. Fortunately he was far less reckless than that these days, but...

He still had his moments.

Of course, there was really only one person to go to. It wasn't long before he had arrived in the doorway of his good friend, an admittedly very stupid smile on his face.

"Hey," he greeted, waving his only functioning arm. "Uh, how was uni?"

He would leave the arm unaddressed. That one seemed pretty obvious. Jasper was really more excited to see Iris after her time away. It seemed that not many of his friends had been around as of late.

 

[Iris Arani]

She didn't look up, but by the frown that had settled on her face she already knew who it was even before the door opened. Jasper. In pain. Again. An exhausted sigh escaped her as her multicolored eyes lifted to glance him over. Mostly to find his wound. His arm. Broken? She pointed briefly to one of the many beds before standing, stretching her arms overhead till her joints popped, and laughed.

"Much easier than whatever you were doing. Pick a fight with a speeder again?"

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"It was a guy with a bat actually," Jasper corrected as he walked in and sat down on the examination bed. "He was swinging at a couple and I didn't have time to draw anything. It's... probably not that bad."

A playful smile did manage to creep onto his face.

"Not as bad as the headache he'll be waking up with anyways," he shrugged.

Smiling and joking though? Iris was getting better at expression, even if it was only in smaller instances. After not having seen his close friend for a while this was a pleasant surprise. His eyes did begin to squint a little as he realized the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. His arm was, indeed, very messed up.

"Actually I'm not gonna commit to that statement," the knight backpedaled, bursting out into laughter. "I think I'm pretty messed up."

It was probably fine.

"So... how've you been? Y'know, since you've been gone and all."

 

[Iris Arani]

"Guy swings a bat at you and your choice is use your flesh, breakable arm instead of the metal, unbreakable one? Did you just want to see me or something?" She smirked, just a little, before focusing back on her actual work. The Force spoke volumes to her. The doctorate she'd been working to obtain all this time wasn't to just give her a way to help without the Force, but to help her focus better on it. Knowledge, science, they had a place alongside the mysticism of the Force.

Warmth would spread through the limb as she set about piecing the bone back together the way it should, all while pulling the pain from him and the colors around him.

"Better. .. I really needed time away from the violence. So I could remember who I was. Healing, putting people back together, that's always what I've done. And what I've wanted to do."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"That's good," he nodded as Iris began the healing process. "I'm... glad you've been able to start putting yourself back together. I may not be able to see emotions or whatever... but I still feel all that, y'know?"

It wasn't any kind of force empathy either. Just empathy. Iris was one of his best friends, probably the closest thing he had to a sister. The war hadn't been kind to her. A day didn't go by during her absence where Jasper wasn't subconsciously concerned. It was typical for him, but not always in a healthy way. All the concerns for others constantly swirled around in his mind, all while he ignored his own.

Maybe they all needed a bit of metaphorical reconstruction.

"I've been... holding up," Jasper frowned. "Sort of, anyways. I've been going through family records. They... had a home on Sacorria I didn't know about. It got transferred to my possession when my... creator died. It's a real small place, but it's more than I ever expected to find. Between that and the council my brain has been all kinds of scattered."

A grin returned to his face. He'd at least try to be a little more positive.

"Turns out I was the last Kai'el in the galaxy it could legally transfer to, so I guess that makes me just as special as before I knew all that."

Of course that was ignoring the sad truth that whatever family he did have was dead. His creator, Jastile, had been the last of a dying bloodline.

 

[Iris Arani]

"I know. It took me a while to figure out which colors were what, though."

She smiled just a little more sheepishly at that. There was a class on that. Many classes. And therapy, not that she was going to talk about it. There was still a lot she didn't understand, but she was working on it. Beside manner was an important tool for all doctors, as she learned early, early on in her internship. Very important. Inwardly she cringed at how uncaring she seemed to have been.

".. Oh. That's uh, pretty sad, though." An expert at bedside manner indeed.

"You just uh, like getting broken up on Coruscant instead of being at home or something..?"

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

".. Oh. That's uh, pretty sad, though."

"I know that," Jasper remarked with a frown. A sigh escaped from him. "Guess picking up on dark humor is still something you gotta work on... It's really a strange situation. I was alone throughout my entire childhood, no family to speak of. I thought I'd be able to take everything in stride then. It's not like anything has changed, right?"

The knight's posture slouched a little as the gave it thought. There was so much more context to his life as a child now. Nothing really shifted about his experience in the long term. He had still grown up alone and found a new group of people to call his family.

"I feel bad," he admitted. "I always felt so bitter about my creator leaving me behind, but there's never really been anything out there for me."

It had already been destroyed. Iris did raise another question though, which rose a chuckle out of him.

"I can't be on the Jedi council and lounge in my home all day, can I?" the knight asked coyly. "Besides, Coruscant is still my home, to some extent at least. I left a part of myself down there. I couldn't leave the undercity behind fully, not when I don't know what other Jedi cares enough to go down there and help them."

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris chuckled softly as she continued her work. Shook her head. Humor was still something she was trying to figure out, that much was true. Not that she'd outright confirm it to him. Really, she was mulling over her own little bit of wisdom. Which she had no problem suddenly saying to cut him off.

"Block with the metal arm and fail to knock them out with your real fist, and more people are in danger." She paused her healing to watch him. Then smiled.

"You have a habit of putting others before yourself to the degree you'll take whatever pain comes your way if it means sparing someone the same. Even when you probably know better."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"I only had enough time to jump, not turn to take the blow with my arm," Jasper frowned. "I try to approach everything I can with as much thought as possible, but sometimes things happen too fast. You know I can't leave people behind..."

He let out a sigh. Even if Iris was right, Jasper had a responsibility to insure the safety of those who couldn't defend themselves. He understood the value of keeping himself alive well, especially after being a reckless padawan, but he was still himself. Jasper Kai'el didn't leave people to die. If not acting meant that a couple could be lying down beneath his feet with their heads split open bleeding out, he simply had to do something.

"I get what you're saying," he assured, "But... it can't always be that way."

 

[Iris Arani]

"I'm not saying what you did was wrong, you just.. Need to train yourself to react better, I guess. You and I both know there were at least three different ways you could've handled that that wouldn't have gotten you hurt."

Iris paused for a moment, her expression softening. Saddening, really.

"Jedi are too prone to self sacrifice."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"I... have limits, Iris," Jasper sighed. "My senses aren't that fast, even when I push my connection to the force to it's limits. I don't have the same options you do. Sometimes that means I need to take a hit."

It didn't make him feel any better about himself. All it did was make him feel worse. He had no time to draw a weapon, use a force push, even turn to block with his other arm. Any other Jedi would have walked away without a scratch. What did that make him? It may have been reckless, but he couldn't do nothing, even with no time for safer options.

He couldn't.

"Jedi are too prone to self sacrifice."

"I know," he agreed. "It's... not always right. 'There is no death, only the Force' makes it really easy for people to throw it all away without a second thought. I... I promise I'm not doing things to get myself killed. Not after Exegol. I'm no good to anyone dead. I'm just..."

Jasper hung his head. Shame washed over him.

"I'm not as strong as everyone else. As strong as you."

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris frowned.

"That's what I.. .. Sorry."

Crap. This wasn't what she meant to do, make him feel bad. But she did. Again. What he said next just made her frown deepen. She went back to healing his arm, though might've forgotten to numb the pain for a second with her own busy thoughts.

"I'm not stronger than you. Just different."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to make everything all... depressing. I know we're different, and that it doesn't make you stronger than me. I..."

He was losing his words. Jasper didn't want to make things worse. He hated when that happened, but he also just didn't know what else to say. Expectations of him were so high these days and he didn't know how to tell people that there were some things he simply wasn't good at, no matter how much effort he put in to improve himself.

"There's some things I can't do," Jasper stated. "And it's not just cause I don't want to think about anything and run in blindly. I'd really be dead if that was true. I just can't tell you I'm gonna work harder and fix it all. Everyone has a hurdle they can't make it over."

The knight sighed, a faint smile coming to his face.

"Jeez," he chuckled. "I thought I liked being optimistic."

 

[Iris Arani]

"There's more you can do than you give yourself credit for, you know. You're not abandoned from the Force. Just.. Not as bright, I guess." That probably sounded more like an insult than she wanted it to. She lowered her hands, mostly because she was actually finished with tending to his wounds, before reaching up to pat his shoulder.

"We all have our own hurdles, you're right. But we all have our own way to shine. You just need to find yours, yeah?"

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"...Yeah," Jasper finally nodded. "I'll... figure it out. Yeah."

Eventually. Jasper didn't expect this to happen any time soon, but he had his hopes. The knight didn't expect it to be anything amazing, but he was at least optimistic that he'd find something. He just needed time. That didn't mean it wasn't draining. This was just one of the many moments where waiting for this was tiring.

"Thanks," he finally stated. "Uh, for the patch-up and the talk. I... haven't really had anyone I can talk to like that around as of late. I've... really missed you."

His face grew serious again. Jasper may been able to let out his concerns, but there was still something wrong with her.

"I figure you still have stuff to work out too," the knight reasoned. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me, right?"

 

[Iris Arani]

"Psychology wasn't my major, but I did take a couple classes."

That or comedy, as it was apparent she was trying to make it a joke by the slight smile on her face. Both, technically. Then the question came. Her expression faltered for a moment before she turned away, reached into a nearby pack, and pulled out a neatly bundled package. A cylinder wrapped in the softest cloth she could find.

"It's nothing bad, not like before. I just.. Can't hold my lightsaber anymore."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"That's... understandable given everything," he nodded. "The war got... rough."

He understood very well what Iris was going through. She had taken lives. Jasper had as well. They were both just processing it very differently. While the Sentinel of Harmony had managed to come to terms with it all, his sister-in-arms was clearly struggling to make her peace and take up arms.

"I don't think I could ever give any advice to help with that," Jasper admitted, "But... I'm sure there's masters who've had experiences like that, y'know? Maybe hearing from other people will help you process better. If nothing else, you could always carry something different in the meantime. I've seen some people do crazy things with just a stick. I don't know, I'm not a very good therapist"

He was trying at least.

 

[Iris Arani]

"I know. I'm.. Handling it. In my own way. And if I need to fight I am a doctor. You know how many ways I can disable a person with just the right application of the Force?" It wasn't meant to sound like a threat, but it certainly sounded like a threat. Iris just chuckled as she settled a bit more into a seat she called over to herself, closed her eyes. Yeah, there was a lot to figure out for her.

"But! Is there anything else you need? I am still on the clock, you know." Now she was teasing. Smirking, even, before tucking away the bundle in her pack again.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Iris Arani

​

"Right," Jasper chuckled, jumping to his feet. "I think I'm good."

The knight took a moment to assess his arm. It was sore, but he could move it now. That was certainly an improvement. He'd need to give it a day or two to rest, but he'd be out in the field soon enough. Jasper expected nothing less. Iris was good at what she did.

"I'll let you get back to work," he continued. "We should hang out whenever you're off the clock. I feel like it's been a while since we've done that. Maybe I could convince Ara or Silas to join us..."

That was the hope anyways. They all weren't around as much lately. Chances are getting their generation together for something would be a difficult task.

But he liked to be optimistic.