This Is Not Who You Are...

[Lief]

The Hawk's Den​

Nar Shaddaa Prominade​

​

Through the spectral sands of time and space it had traveled, toppling toward her without warning, without any sign of stopping. Pulsating, radiating, intensifying, on and on and on, building up momentum, picking up more grief, more uncertainty, more doubt... Until it struck her right in the chest, and left her momentarily paralyzed.

She could not move, she could not breathe, she could not think. For several long moments she was fixed in place, while the world continued to move around her; she could feel the gaze of an individual boring into her, sense the confusion and the concern, yet her vision had tunneled and her mind would not work long enough to remind her who it was. And then it broke.

Washing over her like a tide, this whole symphony engulfed her. Her form dropped, buckling to the ground below with back bent, hands splayed flat against the grass. It was as though a weight was pressing against her shoulders, forcing her to lean in such a fashion.

The flames and embers she fought so hard to contain flared up along her skin, turning it ashen, molten, and the pain which accompanied it left her writhing in place. Oddly enough the greenery around them did not catch light, just her flesh. A hand settled to her head, words whispered on the breeze were carried away before they reached her hearing, and then finally Jyn allowed herself a moment of complete weakness.

A whimper, then a sob, broke free from her, all the while that soothing, comforting hand stroked through her hair, wiped still-falling tears from her cheeks, and held her there. The ringing in her ears began to subside then, the volcanic state of her skin seeming to retreat, and her breathing began to slow and she fought for control. Still the hand did not stop, not even when all that she did was lay there in numbness.

"I..." Her tongue felt heavy, mouth dry, and after a small exhale of breath she pushed on, "Sense a great disturbance..." Whoever it was that held her did not press or pry, simply drawing a few stray strands of hair from her eyes, humming quietly to provide some noise in an otherwise pin drop silent setting. "Ar'ekk..." Apparently that one word was all that was needed.

The arms around her seemed to stiffen, though not to bring discomfort, and for the longest time there was nothing. No perpetual stroking of the hair, no whispered words or humming. It was as though the world had once again paused in its rotations, and time stood still. How long it continued for she could not be certain, but finally a shallow intake of breath could be heard, and the hand resumed its ruminations through her hair.

"He is lost," the voice finally spoke up, recognizable immediately. Young Asha leaned down, red hair tumbling toward Jyn's face as she sought out her gaze with her own. For a long moment her expression was almost ponderous, before Asha simply smiled. "But he is not so far gone that he cannot be returned." The girl's form shifted back then, as she made to help Jyn rise up from her crumpled state on the ground.

Before her the Smuggler's Moon sprawled out in its incoherent, mind-boggling show of glaring lights and blaring music. A bass-heavy beat pulsated from various speakers around the Promenade, loud enough that she felt certain her heart was being forced to work at its pace. Her hands felt clammy, the sides of her throat oppressive, as though hands wrapped against them, and no matter how many times she inhaled she couldn't quite breathe enough.

Breathe, and ignore it. Control yourself. This is all superficial, none of it will hurt you.

A slight hum set over her ears then, blocking out much of the noise though she felt it still within her body, the vibrations rocking her very core. One step, then another, brought her closer to her quarry, and her eyes drifted between the various establishments of illicit activity and hedonistic tendencies, from red lights to hazy doorways, until they set upon one building in particular:

THE HAWK'S DEN

Down one set of stairs, which curved toward the center of the atrium, past three... no four budding businesses, then she stepped through the threshold and frowned. All around her men and women sat behind machines, or stood around tables, eyes fixated on numbers, and colours, and flashing lights, hands clutching at credit chips. The sense of the place was one of pure elation and frustration, it was a powerful mixture which threatened to undo all of her careful planning, all of the control she had forced over herself.

She could feel the eyes of several men - and, surprisingly, some women, too - trailing over her form from the corner of the room, and did her best to ignore them. One whistled toward her, another beckoned her over, but she pressed on, further into the labyrinth of consumerism and debt.

"I wager a night with this lucky lady..." she overheard a gentleman at one of the tables proclaim, and she could not help but glance his way. A twi'lek sat within his lap, arms wrapped around him and a look of pure ecstasy on her expression. It did not look or feel natural, and part of her wanted to storm over there and cause a scene... Instead she quelled all of those desires. She had something to tend to first, and then... Then maybe she could help out those who likewise found themselves in precarious situations.

Her footsteps took her toward a bar in the corner, and the first sign of staff she had been met with that weren't dealers of sorts. I mean, technically bartenders are dealers... But this one did not look particularly busy. "What can I get you?" the bartender inquired, "You look like a Thundercloud kind of girl, to me."

For a moment she could only stare at him and blink, before she caught herself and shook her head slowly. "I... Uh..." A small exhale of air was enough to steady her nerves. "I'm here for Hawk," she stated, perhaps a little too simply from the disconcerting glower the man gave her. "Take a seat" he instructed, voice far more tense than it had previously been, "You'll be wanting water, no doubt." To that she gave just the meekest of nods, before perching on the edge of one of the bar stools.

The man disappeared for a moment, and she wondered if she hadn't made some sort of mistake. Asha had seen him here, but what if he wasn't the owner of the establishment, even if everything she had seen had pointed to as much? She felt a knot beginning to form in her stomach, and wished the tender had gotten her that Thundercloud after all.

 

[Arekk]

NAR SHADDAA​

The Hawk's Den, The Promenade​

Sitting inside a private room just one level above the bar and resting in complete darkness stood Ar'ekk, freeing his mind of any thoughts whatsoever. The extreme stress he had been going for a few weeks now had finally managed to draw its final touch and felt overwhelmed by everything still pending to be taken care of, that's why delegating orders to the people closest to him would be the decision for the evening.

The Hawk's Den continued to house several local and famous celebrities, offering a plethora of games such as famous Sabacc, Pazaak and others for everyone's enjoyment. Its interior was beautifully decorated thanks to many designers hired to make the casino resemble more of a palace and joyful to the eye. However, the inevitable obnoxious and rude patrons that the Smuggler's Moon had would quickly make things change but that's something that came with the territory and besides that they paid in a generous manner. Who was he to make a complaint, right?

Suddenly, a strange feeling invaded his entire body. A familiar presence could be sensed through the Force. He felt worried, troubled and anxious in that moment, no desire to leave the comfort of his room that was guarded by two Nikto guards armed with heavy blasters outside. Anyone who wished to visit the young warrior would have to speak with one of the hostesses that roamed around the casino attending to the clientele's needs.

One of them, in fact, approached Jyn and made their usual inquiries: "Welcome to The Hawk's Den. There's anything I could for you this evening?"

Too many things continued to flow through his head and wouldn't dare to leave the comfort of his own room to confront this feeling.

It's been too long.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

As she sat there, waiting on the bartender's return, she noticed that a woman was headed her way. She groaned somewhat, though kept the noise internal, and flashed a very light smile toward her. It wasn't her fault Jyn had been sat there for what felt like hours, lying in wait for the Hawk.

"Yes, actually... I am here to see the Owner of this fine Establishment" she informed the woman, raising one slender brow. She could feel him... Feel a swirl of emotion, and without warning she rose from her seat and brushed past the woman, moving through the Casino in search of the source.

"Miss... Excuse me, Miss, you can't go back there..."

Ignoring the woman's objections, Jyn took to one of the back hallways, and found herself before a set of stairs.

"Oh, he won't mind," she assured the woman, with a small wave of her hand, not slowing what so ever. Up the stairs she jogged, until she reached the landing beyond. Her eyes drifted across the skinny room, before they fell upon a set of guards. That had to be the room, no? Who else would have cause for such security?

She approached them, as the hostess reached the top of the stairs, looking confused and not at all sure of what to do.

"Is he in there?" She asked, and before they could respond, she raised her voice, "Ar'ekk?"

@Ar'ekk

 

[Arekk]

That voice.

It could only be one person and that was Jyn. What she was doing here, on the Smuggler's Moon? A dangerous place like this only brought pain and suffering. He couldn't find an answer to that question and continued to sit inside the room in complete darkness with what seemed to be a glass half empty being strongly held by his cybernetic arm. The hissing made by his mask's breathing regulator was the only thing that would be heard once the door opened for the young lady.

The two Nikto guards stepped aside after apparently being told to move away from the entrance and allowed Jyn to continue forward. The door was like any other and once it was opened, she'd have to squint hard to see anything inside the pitch black room, specially since Ar'ekk was giving his back to the door itself while sitting in what seemed a throne-esque wooden chair with red touches.

He didn't say anything but through the Force she would be able to tell the many emotions flowing through him, just like in their early encounters but this time more powerful. Painful as well.

Ar'ekk's breath grew stronger by the minute as soon as she stepped closer, almost suffocating for his own good.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She did not usually resort to such a thing, but she knew she had to get through that door. He was in there, she could feel him, and it was very rare she was wrong about such things... So she flashed her lightsaber at the guards, keeping it where it lay on her belt, her eyes boring into them.

It didn't take long for them to step aside, and as the door swung open she entered into a room cast in darkness.

Eyes were not a necessity when you were following one with such strong emotions, however. Her skin threatened to prickle, but she did as she had been taught and brushed off his emotions as they came to her, acknowledging them only long enough to make note of how he was feeling.

Not so great, apparently.

She rounded on him, tugging on the chair he sat in with the Force until it swiveled around to face her. That damn mask was all she could see in the poor lighting, and she glowered at it. One hand reached out in an attempt to remove it, all the while she shook her head. Somewhere along the way her expression had turned saddened.

"What have you been doing, querido?"

Her voice was soft, with just a hint of disappointment, and if she is successful in removing the mask she leans in and settles a kiss atop his head. The worry and concern she had been building up since leaving Aurum seemed to wash away as she looked upon him, saw him mostly in one piece. Alive.

That was all that mattered.

She shifted one hand to his cheek, turning his face toward her so she could look him straight in the eye.

"Do you not know how worried I have been?"

@Ar'ekk

 

[Arekk]

The man that Jyn once met years ago seemed to have faded away in the blink of an eye. His eyes lacked the hazel color they once had and in exchange they turned yellow with tints of red like those of a Sith corrupted by the dark side yet not similar enough. The tone of his skin also seemed to have been affected but it wasn't too distinctive to the common eye, hard to assimilate.

Ar'ekk sat in the chair in complete silence in an attempt to avoid her hurtful presence. He didn't deserve her compassion. This is who he had become and there was no turning back from what had been done until that point. Live the present and forget the past, that was his primary motto when it came to dealing with things nowadays. The young man had everything someone could ask for and that included power and ambition. Greed.

He allowed Jyn to remove the mask that covered his face, as it always did, and as the kiss landed the top of his head his eyes closed instantly. A soothing feeling that he thought would never been able to sense once again. Total relief, that's what it was. Somewhere deep in his heart and mind was that rightful person she once met.

Their glances clashed and Ar'ekk wouldn't dare to say a word to her. It ached excruciatingly, she had no idea how much.

It's been too long...

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Those eyes...

She seemed to physically recoil to the sight of them, glowering in a corrupted state. Her breath caught in her throat, and a genuine, sincerely somber state washed over her. The hand against his cheek trembled, but she kept it there regardless. She could feel the way he relaxed to her touch, sensed that little piece of himself beginning to return.

Yet for the most part, he was lost. Her heart broke.

"Please..." she breathed, voice tense with concern, "Talk to me, Ar'ekk... What happened?"

She knelt to his height, leaning in to press her forehead against his, breaking their locked gaze in order to do so. Along her exposed skin, small flickers of flames seemed to make themselves known, the colour of it turning ashen run through with magma trails.

"I'm here, and I'm not going to leave you alone like this..."

[member='Ar'ekk']

 

[Arekk]

His corrupted eyes shifted colors as the struggle between the dark and the light continued to fight through him. Jyn's presence had a drastic impact on Ar'ekk as his emotions became less repressed and allowed to come out freely unlike when he's alone and not focusing on most things. Her hand ran through his cheek and he reacted by moving away in the opposite direction, clearly affected by the whole situation.

Jyn had come all the way from Aurum to make sure he was alright. To find out what had happened to the good person she once met. That had to mean something, it was a valuable action. He knew that.

"Life happened, Jyn. This is my place now." He said back with a rough tone, almost cold. Whatever he continued to say sounded robotic, something wasn't right. It just didn't feel natural.

Wetting his lips, Ar'ekk stood up from his chair and walked towards the fireplace already lit up, the room being warm enough to be toroughly enjoyable. And then...

Silence. Again.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She seemed stunned when he pulled away from her touch, and simply remained knelt there as he spat out his words and rose from the chair, until their backs were to one another and only silence lay between them.

Those tiny pinpricks seemed to spread in that instance, a searing pain she could no longer control which set her world alight and left her exhausted. There was no attempt to stop it this time, no holding back, no forcing it away, she simply bowed her head and waited as the heat from her body met that from the fireplace, and threatened to overwhelm her.

In the last moment, before any cry of pain could escape her lips, she took back the reins. Though her skin remained ashen, though rivers of lava ran where veins ought to have, she forced it back into a state of limbo, held still in time.

"You don't get to do this" she finally said, voice breaking, "You don't get to stand by and let your life turn to chit, querido..." Jyn had tried that once, and look where it had gotten her. Down a darkened path, with a zabrak she had been forced to kill, and a curse which lingered even now. Even after so many years.

"I won't let you do this. I won't let you forsake all you stood for."

Despite the fact that her legs shook, and almost refused to hold her upright, she stood to her feet and turned to face him, though all she saw was his back. Her expression turned stern, steely, her hands balling into fists. A few stray tears began to fall then, though her lips turned into a scowl as opposed to a sorrow-filled frown.

"You are better than this, Force Damnit! Look at me!"

Two large strides closed the gap between them, before she took a hold of his shoulder and tried to force him to turn toward her, to face her.

@Ar'ekk

 

[Arekk]

His body shifted rapidly as Jyn took a tight grip of his shoulder and turned to meet eyes once again. The tears going down her cheeks were promptly wiped away by his dominant hand, his robotic voice turned into whispers as the duo conversated.

"I stood for something and look at the consequences. Look what they make you give."

The ideals he once believed in managed to dissipate over the years, losing track of everything taught by his former Jedi Masters. Deviated from the good path and walked down the one he so much feared. What would their family think of him now? Unwantedly he became the very thing that he swore to destroy during his teenage days. So much pain inflicted. Hurtful memories.

"There's no going back, Jyn."

Ar'ekk took a moment before concluding his statement.

"I'm sorry."

Was everything lost to that point?

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

For half a second she leaned into the brief touch he provided her, when he wiped away the stray tears. How long had it been since she had given in to her emotions? Since she had truly felt agony such as this? She had been so good... She had fought so hard to contain this curse, and now look at her. Was it all for naught?

She swallowed back further tears before they could fall, and tried her best to hold her head up high.

"I don't care about the damn Jedi, querido... They are wrong, they lost their way and in doing so they dragged you down with them. You do not need to follow their orders, Ar'ekk, but that also doesn't mean you get to just walk away from everything. There are people out there, people you swore to protect..."

She knew that her words weren't getting through to him, she knew it in her heart of hearts, and that only broke her composure further.

"Then don't go back, go forward" she breathed, "Go anywhere but here. Come with me, please... Away from the wars, and the strife. You can make a difference, without falling prey to this chaotic pit the Galaxy has succumbed to. Please."

One hand reached out, to grasp his wrist, her eyes seeking his out with an unshielded intensity.

"Come with me, Querido... This? This is not who you are. You know who you are."

[member='Ar'ekk']

 

[Arekk]

He tried to contain himself of unleashing in a vicious anger against everything that sorrounding him except Jyn. A sudden urge of chaos tried to invade both mind and body but managed to hold down that temptation. She tried to bring Ar'ekk back down the good road once again and was honest about the approach, as she always did.

"This is my way of going forward. I have not become a bad person, Jyn. We're not bringers of doom." He said, trying to explain in a futile attempt of justifying his intentions with everything done so far. It was worthless, to say the least.

Their eyes told more than a thousand stories as they clashed glances continously and it became more difficult for him to listen to her pleas.

"I cannot leave everything behind. These men are my brothers-in-arms, we've built something we never thought was possible."

Perhaps there was a way to convince the young Jedi warrior but it'd be very difficult to convince him. Yet, if you tried hard enough it could work out.

There was still a chance.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

So that was it?

"Was it all for nothing, then?" she breathed, voice barely above a whisper, before taking a step back from him. "Everything you faced, all of the hardship, everything your Master taught you, everything we experienced. Does that all fall by the road side now? Because what? You had a taste of power?"

She practically spat that last word at him. Power was a core principle of her Order, but not this sense of the word. Never like this.

"Look at yourself! Look in a mirror. Your eyes... You're becoming that which you fought against, Ar'ekk. It doesn't have to be black or white, you don't have to fight for good or for bad. You don't have to wither away here, jaded. You are choosing the easy route, and for that you're nothing more than a coward."

One more step back, before she turned from him toward the closed door. Nothing but darkness lay before her, now that the fire was at her back. Her skin broke free from its ashen state, returning to its normal form, as she inhaled a breath and pushed it all away. Every ounce of remorse, of anger, of disappointment, of heartbreak.

"I admired you. That day you found me in the Undercity of Coruscant... You brought me back from the edge, and here we are years later... Only you won't afford yourself the same opportunity. Forget the battle of Light and Dark, there are people out there, real people, who need you."

She dropped her head slightly, as she halted just short of the door. "I need you, Querido..."

[member='Ar'ekk']

 

[Arekk]

His hand turned into a fist that then slammed the wall nearest to him in a fit of contained and opressed rage, leaving a big hole against the concrete after doing so. Breathing heavily, he turned back to Jyn and took a few steps forward before talking.

"I have never forgotten what I've gone through. What we have gone through. But after everything, I think I deserve a little retribution."

It's like he didn't believe what just came out of his mouth. What was he saying? How did this happen to himself? Nearing self-destruction.

Ar'ekk noticed that she had gotten closer to the door and once it opened, it'd be the end for both. She would leave forever without looking back and him? It would already be too late to save himself from everything that built up until that point.

"Never I have denied a helping hand to those who asked me, specially in a scummy planet like this one. If there's something I don't regret is putting this dirty money, that you call, into work for innocent people that really needed it."

The young warrior took a moment before continuing, clearly affected by the whole situation. He reached for his mask and put it in its rightful place, the breathing regulator performing its iconic hissing sound.

"You've found a place you can call home with the Jed'aii in Aurum. But me? I'm lost. There's no other place I can go because I'm shattered inside. What I've built so far? I'm not proud of but at least it keeps me busy so I don't have to remember all the horrible things that once happened to me.

That is only temporary yet the pain is forever."

And so it is.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

For a moment she stared at the door.

A sharp inhale of breath presented itself, from her nose, and then an even sharper exhale.

Force give me strength. I am the revealing fire of light...

And then she turned to him. One step, two step, three, she closed the space between them in an instance, her gaze boring into his as he replaced the mask to his face. That damn mask. She had convinced him for a time that it was unnecessary, but clearly such days were over. As was the time for words. No more words, no more beating about the bush.

She reached out a hand, and in that instance the Force would work its way over his body; his senses would begin to deaden first, if he did not find a way to counteract it, before the very muscles in his body began to seize up, locking in place, and preventing him from moving.

The important functions, of course, were allowed to resume, breathing, the beating of his heart, but his limbs? They would feel like concrete. His senses muffled. Throughout all of this she kept her hand outstretched, her mind clear of the frustrations she had been feeling just moments before. Never do such things in anger, that was one of her personal tenets.

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow this to continue. I offered you salvation, on multiple occasions. You say you are lost, that you are not proud of where you are, of what you are doing... Yet you will not make a move to change that. I do not care if you run a casino, Querido. I do care if all you do is rot away in this room, focusing on your suffering. No more."

[member='Ar'ekk']

 

[Arekk]

For a moment, time seemed to have stopped completely yet he quickly realized it was himself who was stuck. She had put him in stasis through the Force and he could feel every part of his body stiffening to the effects of this power, only his basic functions properly being allowed to be used by him. It felt like a damn curse, powerless thanks to a simple yet pretty effective maneuver performed by Jyn.

"Pretty funny, Jyn. This isn't what I had in mind when you walked through that door a few minutes ago. Even if you manage to get me out of this room safely, you think the people outside will let you go with a simple warning? The place will go into lockdown and all escape routes blocked off. They'll kill you before anything happens to me."

And that was the simple truth, serve colder than ever to her friend. She was still a friend despite the extreme change that Ar'ekk had gone through the years and even then, he wouldn't dare to let anyone hurt her in any capacity whatsoever.

"I don't think I can forget everything I've done so far, living a merry life away in Aurum. It's just not going to happen and you know that, Jyn."

He tried to move his fingers and reach for his lightsaber hilt that rested on top of a nearby table, using the Force. She would be able to notice right away. It was a futile attempt, regardless of the outcome.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She couldn't do it.

She could not commit to what she had tried to carry out, the stasis began to waver before it dropped entirely, as did Jyn. She sank to her knees, with a heavy sigh, and simply shook her head.

"I felt a change in you" she whispered, a slight tremor to her voice, "It felt like you had died. I cannot explain to you how much that tore at me, the thought of losing you... Even when I came here today, I still didn't expect to see you. No matter how much Asha assured me you were alive, I couldn't shake that feeling. Imagine then my surprise to see you alive and well..."

Her head bowed, and a small shiver ran along her spine. There was nothing she could do, she realized. And the sensation she had felt was not leaving her, not even now, not even with him in her sights.

"I'm sorry that I failed you, Querido. I... I have loved you. I had promised to the Force that I would keep you safe, and I failed. And now..?" She swallowed for a moment, she could feel her skin begin to prickle and burn all over again. "You're going down a path I cannot follow. It isn't about forgetting, or forgiving, or moving on, Querido... But one mistake, one slip in the road, does not spell the end of everything."

For a moment there she seemed to slump even further, her shoulders slouching and her eyes slowly closing as she fought to keep control of her emotions. Fought to stop the flames from consuming her.

"I will... I will always be here, for you, if you change your mind. But I can see that I cannot bring about that change."

@Ar'ekk

 

[Arekk]

He was free from the stasis yet not from this agonizing pain that the situation brought for both of them. She made it all the way through Nar Shaddaa to find Ar'ekk and bring him back home but he wouldn't change his mind until he saw Jyn on her knees, defeated.

Something clicked inside his head like a magic trick, a voice from beyond that guided him. "What is this?" He thought to himself, trying to find an answer for this question. Go with her... before you regret this, the voice said.

"Even if you managed to get me out of here... What difference would it make for a person like me? Look at what I have become, Jyn."

Ar'ekk kneeled next to Jyn and gently reached over for her chin, lifting it up. He never liked to see Jyn with her head down as if she was defeated because he knew she was a warrior and would never give up even in the worst of times. The mask's breathing regulator became obnoxious with its sound so he decided to remove it from his face.

"I'd never forgive myself if everything we've gone through together disappeared in one swift stroke."

He said as they clashed glances, both on their knees. Letting go off her chin, the young warrior expected some sort of reaction from her. It didn't matter if it was anger, hate, sadness but he needed to see if she had to get something off her chest.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Something he said struck a chord within her, and she shook her head ever so slightly.

"Do you not realize, that everyone falters at some point or another? Do you think that I have this curse for no reason, Querido? That I choose to burn? No. It came from suffering, it came from darkness, and yet despite all that... I am here. I am standing tall, more sure of myself than I have ever been, but if you had seen me when these flames first consumed me you would have left me for dead. There is always a way to change your path, your fate, but not if you don't try."

She swallowed back her uncertainty for a moment, as the memory of Arthos came to mind, and a shudder spread over her form.

"I had to kill in order to change my position, in order to set myself upon this path, it was kill or be killed. I don't want it to have to come to such a drastic decision for you, Querido."

He reached for her then, tipping her chin up and removing his mask so that the two of them could look upon one another. She didn't want to give up, that was the opposite of what she sought, but she wasn't going to sit here and force him into a position he did not want to be in. How many times had such happened to her? It was not until she made her own choice, truly made her own choice, that she found the path of balance and moderation, of trust in the Force and in herself.

"I don't want it all to disappear," she whispered, voice breaking, and when he released her chin she kept her head held up, to look upon him. "But I also don't want you to resent me in the end, for pushing you. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, I'm not telling you to completely forsake this life you've made for yourself here, or the people, but to give up on everything else? You have to at least try..."

[member='Ar'ekk']

 

[Arekk]

Every single piece started to be put together and he started to understand where she was heading to in this conversation. Blinded by his own thoughts, Ar'ekk refused to listen initially but now he could see through Jyn's noble intentions.

"I am not going to give up on everything else, that's a promise I made long time ago. Living this comfortable makes you feel miserable and you can see the results. Although, now that I begin to see through what you're saying can't help but understand everything."

Ar'ekk would never understand the pain she had to go through over the course of time but certainly could accept the advice offered because it carried weight and meaning for anyone that took it. A change of scenery and breathing a new air would be hard to adjust but perhaps it was a necessary thing to be carried out.

"You've come too far and risked so much for me that I feel I don't deserve this from you. What we would do if I were to walk out of here alongside you?"

Something was missing inside his mind that would convince him to leave. There was a certain fact: If Jyn walked out of that door alone, it'd be the last time they would see each other and the young warrior wouldn't dare to let her go. That would fade away the last shimmer of light in his life forever.

They sat on the floor just looking at each other, trying to find the right answers for so many questions. It was just too difficult for both.

[member="Jyn Sol"]