Theed is Full of Surprises

[Placeholder 0123]

This was so very odd.

Who were this girls parents? Was it right to be so kind to her? If she really was descended from such a bloodline, then what was she doing unaccompanied. Graxin expected some form of security, at the very least.

He strode back to the girl, and offered the tray. His smile remained, though a hint of curiosity could be seen in his eyes. Questions were on the tip of his tongue, and his prying mind certainly wasn't helping either. "Do you have a name?" He finally asked as he went to close the doors. His head tilted back toward the girl, and an eyebrow was raised.

"It wouldn't be very polite if I just called you girl."

[member="Elora"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

With delicate fingers, she picked the food off the tray. Having been offered no cutlery did not seem to bother her, as she nimbly moved to tear the tissues of the steak apart with a certain amount of gentleness that had been unseen in her before. All her attention poured into this, and [member="Graxin Rade"] because almost nonexistent to her until he spoke.

Placing the food she was holding back on the plate, she stared at him, her eyes narrowing. His question and explanation made certain sense, she had to admit. Yet how much would it be wise to give? She did not entirely know what had happened to the galaxy in her absence, what had survived, what information was public knowledge.

Would a single name be enough to track information she did not wish anyone to have before she deemed it time? Shrugged, she concluded that it did not matter. She had but a single name, after all.

"Elora," she answered, the Darkside of the Force bubbling around her as her eyes took a new shine in them when she spoke the name. It lasted a second or two at most, but it had happened, and now she returned her attention to her food.

 

[Placeholder 0123]

Odd name. Graxin decided that he would need to at least find the girl's parents. She seemed rather young--too young to be wandering about on her own. He cautiously approached, and lowered himself down onto the couch. "It's nice to meet you, Elora." He stated quietly.

He reached into his robe; producing a small plastic bag. A number of colorless, opaque cubes tumbled about in the bag. Graxin popped it open, and downed a handful. The face his made certainly wasn't pleasant. Ration cubes never did taste very good. "So why are you out here?" He asked out of the blue.

A brow was raised, and his attention shifted down to the girl. "Just seeing the sights?"

[member="Elora"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She had nothing to say to his pleasantries. So far, meeting anyone hadn't really been any real kind of a pleasure. The only people she longed to come face to face with, truly longed for, were her parents. And as far as she knew, they were gone.

Unless...

There had been wars, and wipes, and a darkness in the Galaxy. As [member="Graxin Rade"] chewed on his cubes, her mind was mostly focused on trying to assess what the odds were that her parents had somehow made it through, if someone had made sure they would land safely on the other side.

They were, after all, the only ones in the galaxy who could properly train her as she required. And above that, they were two of the handful that could ever consider themselves to be on par with her.

Turning her attention back to Graxin, she realized what he had asked, and she tried to calculated just how much he would be willing to help. "I'm looking for my parents," she answered, figuring that presenting the claim in current-tense would shadow the fact she had only decided to actively do so but a heartbeat ago, "could you help me?"

 

[Placeholder 0123]

As much as the simple statement made sense, Graxin found himself surprised. The slip of a girl was so very odd, he had expected that she might be plundering ways to control the galaxy. The aura that emanated from her would certainly help reinforce that claim.

As such, when she spoke of her parents, he found himself breathing a sigh of relief. He chewed on one of the bland cubes thoughtfully, and cracked a small smile as he swallowed. "I wouldn't be much of a Jedi if I said no, would I?" He questioned; attention centering on the girl. "What exactly happened to them? Were you separated upon arrival?"

[member="Elora"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Much of a Jedi. What could Elora do other than shrug at the statement? She did not recall ever meeting Jedi prior to this, though the general opinion she had was the one inherited by her parents - Jedi were silly and stupid, and easily manipulated to do the bidding of the Darkside without their knowing or consent. It was a wonder none of them had been given a Darwin award.

"Sort of," she said slowly, "I made it to the other side of the Gulag Virus. I'm not entirely sure if they're around as well, or are still resting somewhere. If they are resting, we must awaken them."

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

Graxin gave her the oddest of looks. He had been disconnected from the majority of the galaxy for some time. The Outer Rim was truly his home, and it was far away from any Gulag Virus. He had heard of it in passing, of course, but never truly delved into it. Now he was wishing that he had spent more time researching. He would have to pretend he knew what she was talking about.

"Where would they be then. [member="Elora"]?" He asked, saying her name with an air of familiarity that might make others uncomfortable. "If they are resting?"

He pushed up from his seat, and crossed over to the small hovel that served as a bedroom. If the girl was proposing some sort of adventure, then h would have to agree. He could not leave a child without its parents--not the way his own had abandoned him to the Dark Lord.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Where would they be?

The child held no answers to such questions. Well, no, that was not entirely correct. There were several places they could be at, but none that she could reveal to a Jedi. His mere arrival in her ancestral homeplanets would spell his death out, which was fine and well if they were there, but would leave her without a protector if they were not, and she still had use for him. Especially when he so willingly removed food off of his plate, and gave it to her.

"I cannot know for certain," she said eventually, "I am not trained enough in the Force to be able to point them down."

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

It was beyond clear now. The force had brought this girl to Graxin to help find her parents. Her lack of training--as expected for her age, was expected. Despite himself, the answer to her words popped into his kind without any meditation.

His mouth opened to speak, and words fought to articulate. He quickly stuffed another set of clothes in the small backpack he had set out in the other room. With a small sigh, he stood up and entered the main room once more.

"I have to take a trip to Ossus in a day or two. After that, I can help you find them. I'm no Master, but the force has put us together for some reason. I can do my best to train you, if that is what you want?"

His body went rigid. He was barely a Jedi Knight, and he was already offering to train this child--unofficially at that. It was a bold move, but the force had brought her here. He was not one to deny its will.

[member="Elora"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Train her. The idea was charming. She had planted it in his mind, of course, but now when the actual offer came from his lips, she held herself back for a moment. Could she really do this? Was she indeed strong enough to permit him to train her without herself getting soiled by the ways of the Jedi? In some ways, the mere idea was exciting. But the terror of being defiled by their ways was equally as harsh.

But if she climbed out of it, victorious...

The corners of her lips curled into the tiniest of smiles - the first one to have appeared on her face since arriving on this terrible planet.

"That is what I want," she nodded, the eagerness almost showing, "and I want to come to Ossus with you."

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

If Graxin was truly being manipulated, then he did not know it. His heart held too much compassion; his faith in people too much. It would serve him an ill fate in the future, but for now, it would help to further whatever [member="Elora"] planned.

The galaxy was so very dark. People helping other people simply for the sake of it was far too uncommon. It helped Graxin pay his debt to the galaxy, and it simply made him feel like a good person. At least, he hoped that warm feeling his chest meant that much.

"Okay, but we'll have to be a bit quiet about it. The Council might try to assign you a master." He pulled his pack into the main room, and fixated the girl with a kindly grin. "...and I have the best food in the Order. I have obligations, of course, but I'll do my best to help you."

The Knight fell silent for a moment, and his grin faltered. It wasn't negativity that settled, simply a calm certainty that seemed to emanate from him.

"When I was Sith, I thought the force was a tool to be bent to my will. Now, I see it as something to guide me to greater things. I ask of it to help me, I don't abuse it. It's...sort of like a pet." He paused to think. "If you injure it so that it will obey you, eventually it will grow to hate you. It will corrupt you, and one day, you'll forget to put it on its leash, and then you're at it's mercy."

He settled down on the floor; legs crossed. "How do you view it, I'm curious?"

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

So the Jedi Coucil was on Ossus. Elora nodded at the statement. If they truly wished to assign her someone who was better than [member="Graxin Rade"] , she would have no real objections. The only question was weather or not that mysterious Master would be as pliable to her hands like Graxin was. At her current level of control over the Force, it would be silly to let a Jedi gain actual control over.

But when the Jedi turned the conversation back to the Force, the child rolled her eyes and got up from the couch.

"A pet?!" she scolded him, "do you call the air you breathe a pet as well? The water your body needs? The blood that flows through your veins? If they are pets, then you are one bloody terrible pet owner. They are not pets, they are part of you, just as the Force is part of me. I do not ask it for anything, I use it for what I need, and the better I know, the better use I shall be able to make of it, just like an athlete makes better use of his lungs when he performs his sports."

She gave a grump, and rolled her eyes in a melodramatic manner. "If the Jedi's teachings are so stupid maybe we are just wasting our time here."

 

[Placeholder 0123]

Even a child thought it neccesary to scold Graxin. His patience, though often little, seemed limitless this evening. He gave [member="Elora"] something akin to a disapproving gaze, and exhaled a deep sigh.

"Everyone has a different way of viewing things. The world isn't yours alone." He stated simply. "I might think your ideas on such things are ridiculous, and I know full well you carry some semblance of the Bogan, but I am trying to understand that instead of dismissing it as a lesser view, or a lesser way of living."

Graxin's soft smile returned once more. The sharp amber in his eyes faded as he squeezed them shut. "Whether that matters to you is, of course, entirely up to you."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"I don't care what your opinion is," Elora shot back, her fists clenched. The man was being so... So... Rude! It was one thing to argue philosophies of the Force with her. She'd already made her personal peace with the knowledge that not everyone was made as she was. But to think his opinions would change her mind in any way was just stepping out of line.

But, there was something she did not know. There was no shame in admitting that. After all, questions would yield answers, and answers would yield more knowledge, and that in turn, would make her better. More powerful. Teach her what she needed to know. "What's a Bogan?"

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

What's a Bogan?

It was an honest question that deserved an honest question. What exactly was the best way to word it? Graxin remained silent for a long moment. His smile faded, and his gaze settled on @Elora.

"Bogan is the true name of the Dark Side, in a sense. I believe the Miraluka first used the term. The Ashla is the Light Side." He began. "I prefer saying Bogan. It's the technical name, and dark and light are a bit restrictive."

His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Elora listened to the explanation, but made no move or acknowledgement of it. After all, she supposed, it was just a useless little word. There was no meaning to it, nothing important. Except for one thing.

"You will not call me that," she said, her tone leaving no room to question the statement, "I am Elora."

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

[Placeholder 0123]

Graxin raised an eyebrow at the girl. She was going to be a handful, he could already tell. Perhaps even more than he could handle--if so, the Council could take her. He would not undertake something that he couldn't handle.

"[member="Elora"] then. I will not call you anything else." He reassured. "We can leave in the morning...though, what do you know of the force already? Not philosophically, but abilities. I don't want to drone on about something you already know."

Graxin looked at her questioningly as the sun drifted low below the mountains. The last embers of twilight faded, and the darkness of night overtook the streets. The Knight gave it a passing glance. "And if you want anymore food, I'm stocked up."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

What could she do with the Force? Now there was a tricky question. There were many things, of course, but none of them were specifically trained. her Guardian had wished her to remain untrained so that she would not manage to break free on her own. And her parents had not taught her anything because really, who trained someone who could barely walk and still required diapers?

It was a hard place to be in. Admitting on one hand she knew less than she let off, but on the other hand not wanting to let him know all she did because then he would easily be able to compile a simple yet effective stragedy against her.

Which was why Elora had to go for basics. It was an ability she'd possessed even in the womb, for good and for bad, tormenting those who had been around her mother in general, and her mother specifically. Without flinching, she rode on the telepathic link between her and [member="Graxin Rade"] , a link she had previously to exploit. But there- she could feel it.

And now, Elora screamed in that link, as loud as she could muster.

It was a nice sunny day in Theed, and the house was pleasantly silent.

 

[Placeholder 0123]

[member="Elora"]

What in Corellia's Nine Hells was that? Graxin put his hands up to his ears in hopes of shutting out the noise. The effort did nothing other than make him look rather silly. It was only then that it occurred to him that the sound was coming from Elora. The girl seemed to just be sitting there, relatively calm.

He simply blinked at her. Telepathy was not his strong suit, but he understood. "There's something you can do that I cannot." He stated with obvious surprise.

Two fingers rose and motioned for her to stop. The screaming was not necessarily painful, but it certainly annoyed. "Telepathy is a special skill all it's own. You can do the basics then? Lifting small objects with telekinesis and the like?"

He tilted his head partway to the right. He could only assume she had a larger grasp on the force than he had initially thought. He waited.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

A childish giggle came from the girl as [member="Graxin Rade"] admitted he could not do what she'd just done. The giggle was physical, separate from the screaming. When he motioned for her to stop, she actually did, a smug smile on her young face.

But then came the subject of other things, and Elora's sour scowl returned. No, she had no clue ow to lift objects with the Force. There were no objects to play with in the womb, no actual objects inside of the coma she'd been placed in for centuries. In short, nope.

How to let him know that without appearing weak, though?

"And the like," she replied with a single nod, hoping that words would be a placement for deeds at least in this case.

[member="Graxin Rade"]