The Mandalorian and the Jedi

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra strolled through the grounds of her temple, looking over the forest and a bit unsteady and not sure why she felt like things were going to be odd today. Something was off and she had to figure it out, but for now she patrolled her temple's grounds. It was not strange for her to be like this though, as she knew that people came to her temple from time to time and every time the Forest reverberated with the foreign feet.

It had been a long while since she had last seen a non jedi though and she hoped this feeling was one such entity, though at the same time wished to ensure it was no sith. It was a silver line in regards to her connection to the forest, she could only tell when someone had entered, but not who and only roughly what kind of person they were.

Alexandra reached up to push her hair out of her face, oil on her hands streaking across her cheek and her eyes a bit tired and heavy, the gold color to them fading a bit. She had been up for some time working on her latest project, so the recent arrivals were a bit hard for her to ignore even if she was tired.

Hopefully this would not be anything too drastic.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Alderaan.

Emboldened after speaking with the Prince and his entourage on Manda’yaim, Yasha Cadera tossed her inner caution to the breezes of Alderaan’s pleasant weather. She felt it not, encased in her beskar’kandar with its’ characteristic wolf-helm. The Ara’novor roosted further on, closer to the city with the predominant amount of her crew and diplomatic detail within it. There was a lull in the workload, time for Yasha to be one with herself.

Since Ithor and the reconnection with her soul, the universe expanded before her mind, textures and the sound of birds, the rustle of leaves caused ringlets of a further becoming. Locked away in her buy’ce, Yasha tried to breathe in the scent of the forest and being hindered, chewed on her lip.

Was there harm in a moment’s breath of fresh air? The Epicanthix craved a breeze on her cheek, the caress of a branch moved by her shoulder. She was an entity locked away, protected in the castle of her culture and its’ armoured state.

A child, who grew strong in blood and violence, whose heart yearned for things less lethal but knew not where to begin. Two gurlanin padded along through the trees around her, [member="Ambrose Cadera"] and Tuulu, both in their gigantic lupine forms. Tuulu’s tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted in the joyful air, sniffing around and bounding in circles around Yasha and her search of the forest. Ambrose growled, chuffing soft bark-like noises from his mighty, man-eating throat. Something was off. Another in the forest, or perhaps it was the sense of a concrete and visceral place.

“I just want samples of the flora. We’ll return to the ship once I’m done. They won’t mind. Just a few leaves and maybe a wildflower or two. Nobody will miss them. Then we’ll return to the ship.”

“You’re too exposed. We could be ambushed. Come back to the ship.” Ambrose’s voice radiated through his clacking jaws with the guttural sensation of a beast cracking bones between his maw. The growls and basso timbre of his voice were the most comforting sensation Yasha had growing up, it was her lullaby and the only bastion which remained after so many hells were conquered and so many came and went from her life.

“It’s Alderaan, not Kashyyk, there are no jetise to kill me… wait. I’m picking up a structure in the distance. I think I want to go see it.” Even after the horrors of her youth, there was a wonder to the young Epicanthic’s voice. “Ambrose? Do you see that!? Look at the flowers on that tree!”

Intoxicating wonder spread through her and into the air, the girl who once was Force Dead and embroiled in the culling of the Force itself from her homeland rushed toward a flowering tree and set her gauntlet-clad hand upon its’ bark. “Have you ever seen something so beautiful!? I wonder if the fruit is edible? Could you imagine if it is?! Maybe they’d grow on Mandalore!”

Ambrose padded after her, nuzzling his snout between her other hand and her side. “Careful, pup. Sweep right to left. Keep wary, the Galaxy is always dangerous.”

​

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]​

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"] had been caught by her sight a while ago now and thanks to the small wolf that patrolled the area around her temple. Her central garden, the most significant sight would still be quite a ways out of Yasha's reach for now but Alexandra needed to confront the woman before she arrived at the temple. After All, Alexandra assumed this woman did not know about the Temple being populated these days, either still following the rumors or even simply there to explore the forest.

It was this thought that pushed Alexandra to stop, turning towards the forest and closing her eyes. She stood there for a few seconds, standing and waiting as the air seemed to stir around her, shifting and curling around her. The air seemed to split for a second and she stepped toward, Alexandra's entire surroundings changing and shifting as she was brought to the point that she wished to be in.

It was tiring, always has been, to fold space like that but her loss of breath was soon masked by a smile as she looked over at the woman absorbed in the tree she had found. Her eyes watched the two before silently walking up behind them a good meter or two and leaning to the side to see what Yasha was doing at the moment, her voice only now speaking up. A youthful and cheery voice greeted the two arrivals, coming from what looked to be a twenty-two-year-old woman.

"Actually, they are edible, a bit sour though for my likings. I suggesting looking for the little blue berries that grow from the bushes. You won't find many that do not cause you to smile from the taste." Alexandra remained standing like she was, with her body leaning to the side and looking at Yasha.

"Oh, and hello there. You seem to either be lost or unaware of where you are."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Tuulu rustled off through the forest on an excursion to investigate a peculiar smell he’d come across. Little did the young gurlanin know the wolfling he chased was a Jetii familiar, bent on communicating with her Master about the guests. The gurlanin sprinted through trees after the scent, the sensations of chasing after the wolfling passing to Ambrose.

The elder sniffed the air. The forest was too calm.

One ought not to sneak up on a Mandalorian in the wild. While the threat of violence kept the vast majority of Mando’ade in their armour in perpetuatum, it was the helmets one had to be cautious about.

Standard HUD in any functional buy’ce had 360 vision.

While the Infernal groped upward to pick a particularly promising branch between her fingers, there was nothing at all behind her but the swishing tail of her beloved eleven foot long protector [member="Ambrose Cadera"].

In a fluctuation of energy, [member="Alexandra Feanor"] appeared. The energy itself was a warning, one Yasha ignored but for the infrared proximity tag directly behind her.

The Infernal swerved round, fists clenched and twin katar unsheathing from her gauntlets. A deep low growl filtered from Ambrose’s black snout, shivering through the air with the electric charge of a being, who despite cursing and killing it all his life, was part of the very Force he hunted. Yasha too, once Force Dead was now sensible, her soul recently reconnected through the spiritual healing of Ithorian Priests.

“Jetii ambush.” Ambrose’s claws dug in the ground between Alex and Yasha. Poised and snarling.

Katar still raised, Yasha squared herself off in preparation for the nearest attack. This forest was supposed to be abandoned, a relic of another time.

Free…

“My people like sour and spicy. Anything that makes us sweat and pucker, you know, even the food attacks our mouths…” Yasha’s voice strained through the audio processors, contorted into the brogue of the Infernal.

“Don’t trust her. She smells as one who tried to kill you and Adara. Jetiise. It could be poison.”

“What I wouldn’t give to feed them to Australis and find out.” Yasha quirked her head to the side, the wolf-helm’s twin baffles furling back into their condensed form. The woman before her seemed less likely to attack, if not for the element of causing a distraction. Yasha backed to the wide tree trunk. It was enough protection for the moment.

“I found the forest on the geolocator system. It looked abandoned, so we came. I will take my samples and leave. Ambrose, stand down and call Tuulu… how do I know if I turn around you won’t shoot me in the back?” Yasha cocked her head to the side, sheathing one of the two blades.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"]


Alexandra watched and waited, letting the two talk and even turning to look for Daeda. The little one seemed to be running some other being in circles right now and heading back to them so Alexandra didn't put too much thought into it. Instead she returned her focus to the Mandalorian and her protector. And with that focus came complete relaxation as she dropped to the ground and crossed her legs infront of her, sitting there. It was too much of a hassle to stand when the likelihood of needing to fight was little.

Which reminded her.

She quickly removed two rods from her body, one without any difference in its sides, and the other with a blade at the end of the rod, forming what was a short sword of some type. Her eyes didn't return to the Mandalorian and she placed them on the ground in full sight casually. Then with a shake of both her arms, her sabers came free from her sleeves, dropping into her hands and being deposited beside her.

Alexandra, even if she were in slacks and a long sleeved cloth shirt, always remained armed. A blaster or rifle though, that was not soemthing she hid, liking to be underestimated in people thinking that is the only weapon on her.

"As you can see, I promise you that shooting you is not an issue. A more apt worry would be being stabbed from behind... which i realize doesn't inspire letting your guard down but hey, its something." And with that, Alexandra laid back and stared up at the leaves above them, letting Yasha and her Guardian take stock of the woman.

"As for this place being abandoned, thats a bit of my work there. Some shielding to hide ships coming and going, some disruption of orbital satellites when they pass over my temple, and the forest for the five miles around my temple is connected to me. I felt you enter and have been pacing ever since. My eyes should be arriving any moment now."

It would only take a few more moments and then a snow white colored wolf, no more than a foot in height, sprinted out of the underbrush. It panted and eventually dropped down onto the ground just as Alexandra had, placing itself at her side.

"There he is. Mandalorian and Demon Dog, this is Daeda, he is sentient like your demon dog there."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Dog!?” Ambrose roared. “DOG!??”

“Is it normal for Aruetii to insult sapient beings in their greetings?” Yasha sheathed the blade inside its’ wrist holster as [member="Alexandra Feanor"] sat, then laid on the ground. Disarming in front of the Infernal and the Chieftain of Death Watch was the best action Alex could take... lest the calm forest become a battlefield with a furious giant wolf.

“It’s alright, Ambrose. Jetii have no decorum. Who cares what an Arueti thinks, I know who you are.” Yasha pressed her wolf helm to Ambrose’s snout, breathing in the same air in a familial Keldabe Kiss. The rumbling snarls slaked from his throat, dissipated to naught. Rushing through the forest, Tuulu raced past Daeda to leap to Yasha’s defence.

Tuulu growled, stalking between the Mand’alor and the Jedi Master. No order needed to be given between the gurlanins, the conversation between Alex and Yasha passed instantaneously.

“Shall I apologize for inspecting your shielded forest? We don’t have flowers like these on Mandalore. My vode would prefer an apology for the insult, arueti. Please do not sully the day by calling my family terrible names. May I ask what yours is? Who would shield a forest?” Alex’s hair brushed across her face in the breeze, the sunlight creating an imagined warmth on the mysterious woman’s skin. Reason faded from Yasha’s mind, swept behind the delight of the forest. Trust belonged nowhere in the Infernal’s experience, a flimsy thing easily destroyed. Yet a woman laid on the grass, unarmed but no less dangerous.

“Yash’ika...” Tuulu seemed to mumble, bristling visibly as the young Mand’alor did the unthinkable.

Yasha set her hand on Ambrose’s back and with a soft grunt and a wheeze of pain, sat one leg akimbo, the other tucked in on the grass facing Alex.

“What is the tree called? And the bush, with the berries? Do they have names? Proper botanical names? Do they grow in one season or many? What does it feel like to have the sun on your face?!” A flicker of discomfort. Shortness of breath in an otherwise fit young woman.

“Yash’ika, the ship.” Tuulu hovered, as Ambrose lowered to his haunches, giving Yasha his side to lean back upon.

“Tuul’ik, if you keep protecting me from Aruetise, how will I understand them? Are you that concerned over a single unarmed woman?”

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"]


Alexandra raised a brow when the being railed about being called a dog. It made Alexandra confused as she in no way meant it as an insult, and the accusation of such was a bit disappointing. To her, the creature, canine in appearance, would be accurately called a dog, sentience aside. She admittedly did not know much about the creatures, nor that they could change from their canine form, and even if she did, she would probably not have noticed they were such creatures off one look.

"Not quite and I do apologize. I had made my observation without a significant portion of information... do correct me but your companions are canine, no?" She waited and looked to the side scratching Daeda's own head and thinking on the matter.

"As for why I shielded the forest, it was easier this way. Imagine if the temple and its residents were blatantly able to be seen and tracked down. There are enough ruins in the forests of Alderaan, but few with the grounds repaired and maintained by their residents. Though, I will admit that my home was constructed by me for a different purpose long ago. One that I failed in, and must atone for..." She thought on that matter for a few moments before speaking once more.

"The Flowers here will be unique in some manners, as I tend to gather and cross breed different plants in order to create new specimens to study. It was that which led me to the creation of several plants and techniques I sadly do not think you would be able to replicate. The force controlling the growth of certain plants in this area of the forest."

"Your questions deserve answers, as does your companion's concern. The Trees you find around you are native to Alderaan, and lose their leaves in the fall of the planet. Unlike most plants on the planet though, I defended these trees from the Vong Shaping during the Sith Occupation, and the influence I hold that is centered at my temple has continued to preserve the original plantlife of the planet. Both the Tree and Bush have botanical names of course, as does every other plant kept in my garden and around my temple." It was the comment of the Sun that made her pause and Alexandra look at Yasha.

"As for the sun... try laying down and feeling it on your face. It feels warm, and right, something you want to continue to feel. And sadly, I must disappoint you. I'm not quite unarmed." With a smile her hand was raised, nothing in it but just held there for a moment before dropping it back down. The joke had been made, and she would let the Mandalorian take it as she would.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“You don’t spend time with Gurlanin, then.” Yasha couldn’t help the small chuff of laughter coming out of her throat. Ambrose raised his head, glaring at [member="Alexandra Feanor"]. Tuulu snuffled and clacked his jaws, trotting to sit beside Yasha and nuzzle his head under her hand. “They’re marsupials, ‘dog’ is a dig. Kind of xenophobic to those on the inside.”

The forest hummed with a life Yasha could newly feel, a buzz in the air she’d been dead to so very long. One arm cradled along her stomach, Yasha startled.

“You made them?! How did you hybridize different kinds?! Did you bypass the method of fertilization or maintain the original like-kind hybrid to hybrid?! D-“ The young woman paused, hissing out a breath with a cough. “My apologies. I’ve been working on xenobotany for some time, it’s a passion of mine. Developing stronger flora with heartier nutritional and medical properties, which will survive the Mandalorian climate on fewer resources. It’s been my dream since my guardian Ra gave me my first tutors during the war. Why I worked so hard to terraform Mandalore, if I’m honest. The ecosystem needed a push. Self-sufficiency through flora-based food development.”

Yet again the Force became part of aruetise culture. Even in botany. A gurgled sigh poured out of the Epicanthix girl, it had to be the Force.

“Wish I could have shielded Mandalore.” Yasha whispered, receiving a nuzzle from Ambrose.

“We all do, Yash’ika.”

Sun on her face... could she? Was it safe?

“The sun will hurt your eyes.” Ambrose set his nose on her shoulder, a lupine version of a gentle embrace.

“Oh. Right.” Yasha’s hand paused on the mechanism to retract her helm, letting her hand fall.

“I’ve got you, Yash’ika.” Tuulu quivered, his body morphing from his Gurlanin form to that of a humanoid male with olive skin and jet black hair. “Don’t worry, go ahead.”

The Wolf-helm retracted in feather like spines resting like a shawl on Yasha’s shoulders. A marred and wounded face greeted Alexandra, Yasha’s Epicanthix beauty diminished by still swollen scars and recent trauma. From bite marks on her chin and neck to curved scars cutting a c in her cheek to her lip, the recent battle survived was writ upon Yasha’s face. Her now humanoid protector shielded sensitive eyes from the sun, a tender arm on her back to help the injured young Mandalorian to lay back against Ambrose’s side.

Panting softly from the pain of motion, Yasha’s unwounded eye fluttered closed, the other swollen shut. The breeze stroked her face, a gentle parent Yasha never knew. Sunlight brushed her cheeks with delight. Yasha gave out a gasp, her Force-sensible spirit experiencing the forest’s life for the first time. The Mand’alor laid in fragility and vulnerability before the Jedi Master, a rare and revealed moment. Tuulu looked down at Yasha as a worshipper holding a saint, or some potential lover, the object of an unrequited affection.

The breeze... the sun and the breeze coddled and comforted a wounded but receptive being.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

"Sadly, it is my counterpart who is more familiar with animals and other species of sentient beings. I lack such knowledge so I apologize to your companions." It was the truth, Solan had always been the one who twisted genetic material to craft the creatures he was so fond of, Alexandra preferred to keep her research to plants. If it was Solan that this woman had met, she was certain the mistake would not have happened.

"I had heard about the efforts to restore Mandalore, and look forward to the completion of the project. The planet's destruction through conventional means, and then the volcanic devastation of the planet are sad periods in the history of the once vibrant and beautiful planet. I wish that I could have seen it in its earlier days, when the Mythosaurs roamed." Alexandra herself looked a bit lost in her thoughts, smiling as the sunlight filted down onto her face, red hair and pale skin lighting up like a wild fire thanks to that light.

And then, the mask came off, and with it the transformation of her companion. Alexandra watched with surprise and interest at the two things and then focused on Yasha solely. She had talked with the old man enough in the past, Strider teaching her about Mandalorian culture and beliefs to know that showing weakness was not something done easily. Alexandra stared and spoke, starting with the name that might hold some weight.

"It would seem old man Garon is not the only mandalorian I have had the pleasure of meeting face to face... nor the only mandalorian scarred from their fights..." Alexandra paused, thinking on the matter and laying back. She could feel Yasha's pain, could feel it crawling up her own spine thanks to her empathy. And now she saw the woman's appearance, fresh wounds dotting her face. She wondered if the other warriors of this woman's clan knew how much damage was inflicted on the woman.

"Does Strider still hover around your clans, Lady Mandalorian?" Alexandra looked over, curious about the old man who she had not seen in years.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“See, Ambrose? Not a bad explanation and apology. Well?” Yasha poked at Ambrose’s nose, smiling lopsided out of the less wounded side of her mouth. Ambrose chuffed and growled a quiet affirmative.

“Mandalore’s terraforming finished last year. We’re working on increasing botanical and animal biodiversity now. It was the primary work of my first years as Mand’alor.” Without the audio oscillators of her helmet, Yasha’s swollen lip caused her heavily accented Panathan voice to hush upon the forest.

A brief smile dressed her face as she heard [member="Alexandra Feanor"] mention [member="Strider Garon"].

“Strider is my greatest and most loyal warrior. He gave me my first opportunity to kill, you know. I was 12, and I avenged my mother and brother’s death... my tomahawk gouged their faces... terrible faces. They killed my family, every one of them who served her. I never did such things for power... kept us safe... rebuilt and rearmed... I stared in the face of the Dark Emperor... freed us...” Shifting to better ease the pain streaking her body, Yasha slurred and grunted. Amber eyes glazed, the peace and comfort of the forest shuttering eyelids heavier than beskar. Her protectors moved with an eager rapidity to ease what pain they could, still guarding her eyes from the sun.

“Your scars prove your survival against him. They will be worn proudly. I only wish your buy’ce took better evidence of his... rest ad’ika. Hush now, and rest.” Ambrose rumbled, nuzzling his snout on her shoulder. The creature doted on the Infernal with an obvious affection, licking her wounded cheek. While Mandalorians were rightfully known as vicious and strong warriors across the universe, the Aliit, Family, was the reason. In the Aliit one found reason, strength and succour.

“But.. she can tell me more ab-about the trees...” Might and mercy in the palms of their hands. Yasha’s recent solitary war rested ill upon her, a festering collective of experiences both physical and mental which stole her energy and her physical fortitude for a time. Cuddled in her protector’s furred side, comforted by a foreign sun and cool breeze, Yasha’s breathing regulated. Tuulu continued to stroke the back of his fingers against her hairline, soothing the Infernal to sleep.

“The Clans take too much.” Ambrose rumbled in his telepathically augmented voice. A dealer of more death than famine on a dying world, the affection displayed was rare. An uncanny gift of Alderaan’s forest and Alexandra’s initial disarmament. “Share notice of her wounds and I will search you out and eat your bones, Jetii.”

Clacking, growling jaws made threat of his protective nature.

“Garon returned for our Infernal. She was young and needed council. He alone was trusted enough to call upon to rescue her mere days ago. He and now you are all who hold witness of her wounds. She was brave as an army, biting back. When the Alderaani Prince gave mention of a forest, it saved her from recovering under a militant lens... there are those who would condemn her for ridding Mandalore of the Sith’s noose. None can know what it cost.“

Yasha’s face began to quiver, as if a thin veil of the decrepit dark desires to confront her peace in slumber. Ambrose ducked his mighty head down to nuzzle her cheek, settling the woman he knew first as an orphan-child stealing food from the Death Watch war camp.

“More Bacta?” Tuulu whispered.

“The Bacta did nothing. Her wounds smell odd. Like the Jetii.”

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

"Strider was an old wolf when I met him, the skeleton of a man has got to be one tenacious plague upon the enemies of Mandalore... and now your enemies as well." Alexandra smiled remembering the man and thinking back on the time she had spent helping the Mandalorians. She has had a long number of decades and wondered if the old wolf was still as lively as when she hung around clan garon.

The thoughts made her grin when the emperor was mentioned, knowing that if she walked away with only these as injuries, that she was taught well by the old man. Few could face a master of the darkside without the force as an aid, especially a master as capable and overwhelming as Carnifex.

"As your companion stated, your haastal are marks of pride concerning your fight. Marks of a parjai, and the defeat of Carnifex, otherwise you would be dead otherwise... such badges of ijaa should be seen and shown without fear." Alexandra paused, having spoken a few words in Mando'a as she slipped back into the past, not catching her tongue before they slipped. She had not thought to ever use the words again but they slipped from her tongue like second nature.

It was then that the trees were spoken of again, followed by her companion's warning and promise... it was no threat, because she knew that if she did as he warned against, she would find him on her doorstep.

"And none will... none will ever see her face like this and if I might be so bold, I think I know how I might repay you three for this meeting. For it is me that needs to repay such a visit, and what you smell is not jetii, it is darjetii... sith. Their magic is corruptive and tainted, complicating medicinal practices that are based in science and biology. It is rather infuriating for doctors to treat such wounds, and sometimes impossible... but for one such as I and those of my craft it is much simpler..." Alexandra paused and thought on the matter.

"I extend an offer, Mandalor, to allow me two gifts. The first is the chance to provide you with some healing arts that I have learned and studied, in the presence of a tree that stands higher than any other in this forest, whos bark glows with white light and with a thicker canopy than you will ever find. And should you be happy with my work, I wish the second gift, to be able to fight for and work with your clans once more, after the last decade of solitude from your people during its more... hostile age."

Alexandra started to sit up, but rather than stand, she leaned forward on both knees and bowed her head, showing complete humility to the Mandalor within this secluded forest.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“Strider is still a tenacious plague on our enemies. I serve Mandalore, Alexandra. My enemies are theirs, and I will only serve as long as they desire it of me.” Yasha’s voice continued warbling from fatigue, her eyes shut in a restless sleep.

While Yasha dwindled on the bridge of unconsciousness, [member="Ambrose Cadera"] and Tuulu listened and watched [member="Alexandra Feanor"] with the concentration of hungry predators. Tuulu reached down, until his lips touched Yasha’s ear, whispering words of wakefulness into her.

“There were beasts… cannibals created by horror and dar’jetii magics. They caused some of these wounds.” Yasha grimaced, hissing as a failed attempt at sitting up had Tuulu cradle her back.

A tree with glowing bark, in the middle of the forest? Alexandra painted a tantalizing image for the young Mando’ad. But Force healing? Since Ithor, unexplained phenomenon struck the Infernal, given meaning only by the horrors and conflict of the Dark as taught by Carnifex.

Her only experiences thus far were neither novel in the healing arts, nor were they peaceful. This Jetii would kneel for a Mandalorian? Alexandra would set herself low to prove trust? Was this the action of many of her ilk, or an exemption to the rules that bound them all to their religious piety? Pulling herself to her feet through strength of will, the Infernal leaned on Tuulu, who transformed back into his gurlanin lupine form and set his bulk against her side.

“I would see this place… know aside from recent events in Ithor, I have never been touched by one such as you, I spent my childhood hunting down and curing Force Users who refused to leave Mandalore… now I had no choice but to open what was broken. Events… encouraged an expansion of my ideals… yet I am wary. Lead on, and we shall see about working together... although I would demand one thing from you, and one alone in all dealings.

That we be equals, both.”

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Cadera"]

Alexandra listened to the woman speak, her eyes resting and with a smile and a nod she stood, raising herself to her feet and with a bit of trust on her own part, Alexandra let her weapons float back to her sides and connect themselves to the place they were normally at. She did not bother with physically reaching for them for now but her eyes turned on the direction of her temple as she pointed in the same place.

"We can walk to there if you wish, though I do have another method of travelling to the place in particular you might prefer. If you do wish to walk though, I am happy to take that path, the forest tends to enjoy it when I walk through it and spread a little bit of my energy to it." She smiled, as if acting like this portion of the forest were alive an conscious, that it was fed by her and the way she spoke it sounded like she believed that herself.

After all, Alexandra had protected this forest for decades, and had helped spare it from the vongforming that had occured on the planet's surface. In addition to that she had spent decades connecting to this place and as if responding to her very presence, the leaves created a symphony when a gust of wind traveled throguh the area. Alexandra crossed her hands behind her and smiled at the two companions to the mandalor, starting to walk north.

"Let me know your decision, im going to start walking and can open my little gateway if you choose that method."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“The forest enjoys it?” Yasha quirked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at the woman’s comment. The forest spoke to her? “Maybe she’s crazy, Ambrose…”

“Could have told you that much before now, Yash’ika.” The gigantic gurlanin growled, licking at Yasha’s face. “Don’t trust the jetii. If you falter, I will carry you.”

The gurlanin duo no longer cared that [member="Alexandra Feanor"] armed herself, nor that she walked in close proximity to their Infernal one. Alexandra was part of the forest, and would do them no harm… if they remained wary.

Yasha merely smirked out of the good side of her mouth.

“Alexandra, I live encased in armour, a prison of protection to ease the minds of my keepers. This is the first time I’ve been capable of walking in a forest with the breeze on my face, since I was a child. It’s a curious thing, wind on faces. Fragrances of trees and flora. They keep me contained from such things… and I would not banish the luxury of knowing this forest for anything.” And so the Infernal walked beside a Blessed Master, inspecting trees and the forest Alexandra called home. The leaves moved, enchanting a young woman, whose life had so few enchanting moments between the death and the dark. Yasha craved more steps in the forest.

She craved the ability to sit and watch a tree bud, then bloom. There were no vast decades for the Infernal. Nothing but a child encased, surrendered to the will of despots too early, and taken to war too soon. The creature limping beside Alexandra saw much of depravity and so little of grace, that walking in the forest was akin to a brief moment in paradisiacal lands.

The forest itself sang to the young wounded thing, heralding an inner knowing the girl’d never been cognizant to having. She reached for trees and plants, which held melodies Yasha didn’t understand, brushing against the idea that others were right and she held gifts in the palms of her hand.

As they continued on, Yasha’s wounded right leg did falter. She tripped and reached out, caught by [member="Ambrose Cadera"]’s shoulders. “Easy, I have you. The binding must be coming loose from the broken bone.”

“… I don’t want to miss the forest. Not a second of it. Not a minute.” She clung to her protector’s side. Where others would succumb, Yasha clenched her jaw and kept pushing forward, desiring above all the delight of a breeze, before the Mandalorians needed their Infernal behind her beskar mask.

“How did you come to such a place? I’ve never seen any which felt like this. You must never want to leave.” The whistfulness of youth slid into her voice as Yasha stumbled again. Again caught. "I could use a break, or..."

“Mand’alor does not crawl. Mand'alor does not receive magical reprieve. Mand’alor stands and fights always. This is your next fight, Yash’ika. You will walk to the tree.” Ambrose’s growling voice echoed across the glade, and the duty of one too young to bear it steadied Yasha’s spine.

She stood tall, and put one foot before the other, no mask to hide the dread and agony on her face.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Australis Cadera"]


"Your armor can only protect you for so long. For example, that prison of yours would make my counterpart and good friend extremely dangerous, needing only to extend his influence into your confines and slowly heat the air around your body inside of there... I would not place so much stock on armors that while they help, are not entirely invincible." She looked over her shoulder at the woman, studying her but sighing in the end.

"But, you already know that, your very position right now shows such and I know you are familiar with how dangerous the force can be. Your armor while important for both who you are and to defend you is just a shell and everyone must shed that shell once in a while if they intend to be happy." Her feet padded softly over the ground, barely making any sound at all and if it had not been for her voice.

Alexandra heard the next set of questions and for a short while, she had no idea what to say in response. The forest had been her home for so long that such a thing seemed unnatural to put into words. It was where she had been for decades and it was where she was safest and strongest thanks to her tree and to her connection to the life here.

"I came here after I left the Sith when I was young. I was lost and needed somewhere to hide and the waterfall nearby was something... special. I can't describe it, the force is the best answer I have for why I was drawn here, a poor answer for someone who cannot feel its influence. But like your armor, this place is my shell. I am at my strongest here and when I am away I am very much frail and weakened. Here is where I belong, but I must show my weakness if I am to overcome it and become stronger, that is why I do not stay."

She paused, turning her eyes on the woman walking with her.

"Just as you are showing and conquering your own weakness right now. Your armor, while strong, is nothing without the person inside of it. Jedi have a trial before they become knights and masters, its something called the trial of flesh. While such is not normally literal, or so extreme as my own or what you are going through right now, it is meant to provide the student with an understanding of how mortal they are and how to stand against such weakness. Think of this like a trial of flesh Mandalor, your own personal journey."

She did give a look at the creature who stood next to the Mandalor, sighing at its dismissal of the Force as an aid.

"As for 'magical reprieve', the force is no more of a reprieve than your armor. I wear it just as you wear a piece of metal on your chest." That was all she said from there on, letting them chew over the words she had spoken as she got closer to her home.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“An aruetii would advise the doffing of one’s armour. It is my duty to lead the Mando’ade as an example. I will not be accused like some long dead Duchess by being caught outside one of our religious rites or caught unprepared for battle. Beskar’gam is sacred. I will not yield to a comfortable life. Regardless of the cost on my body.”

“Mando’ade have been killed for less, Yasha. Hold to your convictions. Do not let an aruetii’s kindness confuse you.” Ambrose rumbled, clacking his jaws. There was a magic to Alexandra previously unknown to Yasha. A confidence or delightful presence buoyed by the forest. Tales of once-sithly inclinations pressed upon Yasha’s mind.

“My happiness is irrelevant. My mind and body belong to the Vode, until they or Manda release me from my duty... perhaps one day they will allow me that before my end. I can only live in the hope that there will be enough time left.” Could Alex too have once been a creature of the dark? The forest sung around her, whispering in strange languages Yasha never before heard. Yasha blinked as the curious songs continued on.

Barks of laughter broke the calm of the forest. The gurlanins chuffed and snuffled, bashing against Yasha’s sides in glee. The Infernal seemed momentarily too occupied with a tree to notice.

“This? It would be fantastic if the universe realized I’ve given more than my pound of flesh. My verd’goten was conquering a planet. I stood before Ember Rekali and negotiated Dathomir’s freedom for information. He made me linger in the Netherworld for seven years in recompense. Have you been there, to the chaotic hell, Alex? I spent thirteen years where the only thing which saved me was the armour on my skin. The tenacity of combat. The ability to hide as a child.” Her footsteps grew heavy, lungs belaboured in their injured state. “I thank you for your kind words, Jetii. If this is one more trial of my flesh I will pay it. My people would expect no less, but a good deal more... it’s funny... the way you speak, it reminds me of the only other Aruetii I spoke to regularly... one I shall speak to no more.”

Did [member="Alexandra Feanor"] realize how similar she sounded to Darth Carnifex? Was the Force as she said, a reprieve or layer of armour?

“You make it sound like a burden and freedom at the same time. A tool of some sort? Could it...” Yasha went to ask, yet felt the growl of Ambrose rumble through the air.

“Yasha!”

“Ambrose, I need to know more than Zambrano taught me... before this.” Yasha snapped, motioning to her face.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Yasha Australis Cadera"]

"You misunderstand, I do not suggest you become still in your body's abilities, but rather to enhance them. Your armor, while sacred and important, a mark of who you are, can be stripped away and reduced, and when that is done, how capable are you without it? Are you able to face down your opponents without that armor?" She looked at Yasha's face, studying the woman'e eyes and checking for the fire behind them.

"What I suggest is you learn to fight and learn to survive without the armor, just as I have learned to live and fight without the Force. If you threw me to the wilds of Myrkr, sending your hunters and your warriors my way, I would be afraid to inform you that they would have a very hard time dealing with me. But that is the point, and why I do not rely on the force to protect me, but rather to rely on my abilities as my first line of defense. You should do that too, if you already do not. If you already do, then you should continue to learn. One who stop's learning, is one who has surrendered to stagnation and death." She breathed in and walked for a few minutes more.

The forest was quiet today, but that was because of the presence of her three guests and their mark on the forest. They were foreign beings and things that the Forest did not trust, things that made the beings and life of the forest cautious and distant towards. Alexandra smiled and let her hand trace along the trunks of trees, the leaves of bushes and ferns as she walked and her eyes close as the forest led her through.

"You know, you sound like a Jedi speaking like that. One of the elder orders, but still, a jedi none the less. A Jedi promises their life to the Force and to the Order itself, sacrificing happiness and personal lives to serve those of the Order and those of the Galaxy. I think you and your companions would find such similarities very amusing when taken under a microscope and examined. Perhaps the Mandalorian way of life is not too different from a Jedi's, only the focus on their devotion changing?" She looked over her should, waiting for their response before continuing, this time touching on the comment regarding Zambrano and the Netherworld.

"As for the Netherworld... and my speaking like Zambrano, I can explain that quite readily. You see, I was there in the final fight against Akala, and later I was cast into the Netherworld when I had died. That dimension is one that claims all when they die and delivers them to the place in which they belong, the summation of their lives materialized. It strips the force from those with it, and then judges them so that they may reside in the place they belong. For me... it will be the field of blades most likely, cursed to live a life similar to my own and fighting for all eternity. I have not achieved, nor will I, the life required for a happy ending to my existence." She padded along and thought on the matter.

"But I do know that world and know why I remind you of Zambrano. It would be because I was raised under his household as a Sith. I was a Sith for fourty years, following his teachings and studying his words, but in the end, and just as you did I opposed such things. And for the last dozen years I have regained my very being, becoming who I am and seeing that his teachings, while corrupted, are not untrue. The Force is both a burden, and a blessing. But it is no tool to wield without understanding like a beskad. The Force lives, and it connects every living being, even those cut from it. It flows like water, yet connects us all like a web and its presence can shape who we are." She paused, thinking about how best to show her but knowing that would have to wait.

"When we reach my tree, and the garden itself. I can show you, assuming you will still be open to my healing of your wounds."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“I’ll take this armour off and show you how well I can fight without it, Aruetii.” Yasha snapped, staggering back into a defensive stance. The gurlanins instantly bristled. Ambrose bore down with his massive canines bared.

“Is she trying to insult us further?” Tuulu growled, scampering between [member="Alexandra Feanor"] and Yasha. “Calling the Infernal Jetiise-like… it’s sick.”

“Open your nose, Tuulu. Sniff her again. The woman’s a Master or I’m a pup. Masters are used to disseminating knowledge like old Alor’e around the hunting fires.” Ambrose kept by Yasha’s side, his snout nodding for the younger Gurlanin to take a deeper sniff of the air around the Jedi Master. Tuulu’s ears pricked down in adolescent loss of pride. He padded achingly slow closer to Alex and sniffed, the air stinging his nostrils. “Aruetiise always try and explain themselves. Liken us to them. Listen deeper, pup. There’s always levels to these beasts.”

Yasha put her hand on Ambrose’s shoulders, giving the elder gurlanin a scratch. “It is not the Vode’s place to think as I do, Alex. I am Mand’alor out of duty, not ambition. Ra gave me the mission of watching over his Vode. I was supposed to have time to live a good life then, once his mission was over, but Manda called him too quickly. The Vode live as they do. But I can never have that freedom. Not while I do my duty to a long dead old man. My protectors would never let me live it down.” Reaching into Ambrose’s fur, Yasha sighed and clucked her tongue to comfort him.

“I know the Field of Blades well. I spent many years in constant battle there, watching Rekali feast off the souls of dar’jetiise. He took my mother and brother’s soul in, when I left the Netherworld. There’s a cabin, not far. It’s on a calm lake. Manda is not part of the Netherworld, nor do all Mandalorians go to the Chaos when we die. The faithful go to Manda. It is not part of the Chaos.” [member="Ginnie Dib"] and her riduur knew Manda, for Ginnie was part of that collective consciousness in her eternity. While Ginnie was pulled away from it, she emerged from Mandalore reborn, and reaffirmed what Yasha had to believe.

The Manda was truth, and separate from this mystic succour of the Force. Whether Dead to the Force, or rife with it, all vode who followed the Mandalorian ways, and allowed the old gods to reign in their lives joined the collective oversoul. All, not part.

It had to be.

“Forty years! How can you be that old!? I’m only twenty-five!” Alex having experience with Darth Carnifex was an unexpected boon. It seemed to relax her, to give Yasha more space to speak with one who understood.

“All my life, I’d known Darth Carnifex as a vicious, but kindly patron. He was the reason Mama and I kept fighting for a way out of the Netherworld, when I was a child. She saw him escape and knew it could be done. He discovered me at the Undying’s side, and I recognized him. Something in the Soul, that although I was Force Dead, I could feel. He offered aide, a listening ear and fatherly gaze when mine were gone. Anything I asked of him was given to me. When I challenged him, when I fought for Mandalorian independence, and went to take this Mantle, he capitulated. Knelt at my feet and said, ‘thy will be done’. All I knew of the Jetiise was the Republic’s massacre at Roche. I was shot at, thrown about, ridiculed. We have only known Jetiise to be duplicitous, dishonest supplicants to a false deity. They claim peace, but fire willingly on civilians. They claim the moral high ground, but destroy hospitals, murder our people. Those who destroyed Mandalore with their volcanic bomb claimed themselves as Jedi, slaughtering millions.

When I was bearing my daughter, the Jetiise, knowing full well what my Mandalorians were there to do, prevented them from rescuing me. Jetiise are the reason my first husband is dead. They are the reason my daughter perished four days after a premature birth, because I was too wounded to push.

It wasn’t the Jetiise, who saved Adara’s life. It was Kaine Australis… and Kaine Zambrano. You are the first Jedi I have met, who hasn’t immediately attempted my death, Alexandra Feanor. The very first one.

And Carnifex was one who acted in patience. He withheld justice for his son’s murder in my hall. After multiple attacks from my People, me spitting in his face when he asked for my aide, he continuously turned the other cheek. How could the man who rescued my daughter from harm on a whisper in the Galaxy, because a child was scared… who refused to harm us, who welcomed me constantly as an equal, when all others refused to see me at all… how could he be this vast evil?” The formative moment in Yasha Cadera’s life, was not the betrayal of parents, or death of her family. It was neither the meeting of lovers, or the births of her children Adara and Reyn. It was staring into the eyes of the Dark Lord, and realizing absolutely that nothing she could say or do would shift his lethal intent. The powerlessness of that moment lingered in her spine. Settled in the heels of her feet like spurs to keep her moving.

“His atrocities became known to me. I travelled to Ithor, and under the supervision of their holy priesthood, my soul was made whole again.”

Yasha leaned against a tree, catching her breath as she stared outward. “I felt the Dark for the first time on Er’kit. It hit me so hard I couldn’t breathe, this swelling ocean of black… so I beat in his face and it didn’t stop. His brain matter clung to my beskar’gam and it barely slowed him. The Force was a raging ocean beset by tectonic plagues, overcoming the borders of land to sweep all consciousness down into its’ brine. I would not feel that again for any world.”

Pushing off against the tree trunk, Yasha nodded to keep moving. Forward, one foot at a time.

“If your way is different, I would experience it for myself and come to my own judgement. I would take your healing… any chance it’s close?” Yasha gave a sly smirk, stumbling forward.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

"The Jedi have created and caused my crimes and atrocities, not only in recent years but in the far histories of the past." She paused for a moment but continued to speak, humored by the rush to fight and willing to address the little challenge to see just how well Yasha could fight without the armor. But for now, she needed to address the more serious bit that she spoke of.

"The Exile and purge of the Dark Jedi on Tython, banishing them and their ways, breeding the predecessors of the Sith as we know them today and bringing upon this galaxy the cycle of hate and violence that even Jedi are but puppets to. The Massacre of Korriban, where the Sith Species was wiped from the face of the galaxy for a few hundred years, destroying all mention of the species. The Crusades and fallen Jedi of Ulic Qel Droma, Exar Kun, and Lucien Draay. The Jedi master Revan, his student Malak, and his friend Metra Surik who reduced Malachor to a shattered rock, killing both your people and their own soldiers. All of this before the Great War with Vitiate, or the Army of Light, or the Pius Diem crusades."

"And then, we move onto the Ruusan Reformation, where Jedi became heartless in their actions, pragmatic in their decisions. Where they stole children from families and consripted them to force them into their dogma. They took the lives that had been given, halted their chance to have a normal life and instead brainwashed those children into willing servants of the Order and soon to the Republic as a whole. A decision that eventually culminated into the Galaxy's single greatest war, orchaestrated by Palpatine and drawing your own people into the crossfire under Maul."

"And since then, the Jedi have invited challengers and war every decade, continuing this cycle and in the last two decades creating more genocides than in the last thousand years together. Jedi, as a whole, are not paragons of peace and justice. They are every bit human as yourself and stumble along their way. The teachings of the Jedi are likewise in no way uniform, those of which that I follow coming from beings like Qui Gon Jinn and a man named Jolee Bindo. That is why I am not like those you have met thus far Yasha..." She was silent for a few minutes now, walking through the trees but obviously trying to formulate what she wanted to say next.

"But, If I could change the past, you would never have met Darth Carnifex, I would have been there to help you just as I wish I could help all those that are around me. For as long as you have been out of the netherworld, I have been waiting for my purpose to be given to me, to see what I have to gain after so many years serving Carnifex myself. I was fifty-three years old when I died, and for the last three years I have spent my time trying to find who I am in this galaxy. A healer perhaps, for those like yourself who require it? Or a teacher and guide for lost souls seeking something more in their life. Or a student of the light, following my master's wishes and learning from it as much as I can. Or maybe just a simple librarian and historian, catalogueing the history of the galaxy and archiving it for those that follow."

"Beings like Carnifex are simply demons though, beings without thought past power and manipulation to breed a legacy that only intends to cause pain and suffering to others. His brood has brought nothing but pain to the people they bring 'order' too. They will not be happy until the galaxy is in their grasp and every living being serves them in some way or another. It is good you shook his shackles away, and that you have seen the reality of who he is. But I fear you will come to see that he is not so forgiving as to allow you to exist without returning to ensure you pay your pound of flesh monthly."

Only then did she stop with the topic, walking along and thinking on the matter but eventually dismissing it so that she could smile at the Mandalor's companions. The light in her eyes and the smile was soft and kind, filled with a joy and peace that was meant to relax the beings.

"As for my age, and my words from before. It was no insult. The chance to see your Mandalor fight me would be exhilirating and a promise of a good time indeed. Keep in mind that I am born Echani, and you promise something I would enjoy greatly... as for how close we are, five more minutes till we reach the compound, then you can experience how the force truly feels when free of the corruption you are familiar with."

 

[Yasha Cadera]

“As have the Mandalorians, if I’m honest.” Yasha mentioned, leaning against Ambrose to listen to the history of Jetiise and Dar’jetiise. So much difficulty on odd frames of mystical reference. It seemed the two sides were as needy of the other and dichotic as Carnifex suggested. Both craved the conflict of the other. Both were never satisfied without a bullseye to strike.

“I’m Epicanthix, not human… but I understood your reference.” Yasha smirked again, pushing through the forest hopefully to the compound of which [member="Alexandra Feanor"] spoke. The silence they entered was filled with strange pondering. Jetiise could not agree, Sith pushed for extinction and the Galaxy was again caught betwixt them.

“Some would consider it best that both Jedi and Sith be culled. The misery your respective lots curse the Galaxy with isn’t fair. It doesn’t belong to all of us. For so few to rock the Galaxy in continuum over doctrinal differentiations and a desire for constant conflict is to betray the many for an oligarchical tyranny. I see why Ra was so bent on destroying your lot in the first place.” Yasha watched the redheaded woman continue on, pressing forward amidst the burn in her ribcage and pain in her leg. “Why is the Force worth it? Why is this cycle of death worth so many lives in the Galaxy you influence?”

The Infernal’s breathing laboured as she continue forth. She leaned on Ambrose, until the gurlanin transformed into a seven foot tall monster of a man, who slung his arm under the young woman’s shoulders.

“I have you, pup.” Ambrose whispered, taking more and more of Yasha’s weight upon himself. A life without the Dark Lord’s shadow in it? Yasha’s face contorted. Her nose stung, eyes growing hot.

Was that all he was? A demon in tailored clothing, who sought to manipulate and destroy? Had all his kindness been false, a mirage to comfort a lonely child whose only desperation was to not be thrown away? All the years of a listening ear, of advice and patience came to a radical focus. The days he pushed her toward his sons bristled inside her belly with a nauseous twinge. Must this ‘Force’ take everything from her? Must it poison even that? Leave her with nothing but the empty memories of being a woman used and scorned?

The tree root struck her foot and Yasha’s grunt splayed to the air faster than she fell. Caught by Ambrose, the elder gurlanin clicked his tongue and pulled her into his arms. No. The Force did not leave her with nothing, for not all was in its’ purview.

Ambrose would be by her side in perpetuetum. [member="Kaine Australis"] promised the same. “I know what his desires are, Alex. And he’s not getting them. He cannot have my children. Any of them. All of them. My babies are mine, and Kain’ik’s. I’ll kill every last being in the Sith Empire before he takes my kids.”

A mother’s growl echoed from wounded lips.

“My step-mother was Echani… Carnifex cut her in two for hurting my daughter. How curious a thing, to be offered a sensation as evidence toward condemning someone else’s crimes.”