This Protection Drives Me Insane

[Ava Solborne]

Kro Var
[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]

What can a person do against fire?

It was an afternoon. Not a calm one, not a nightmarish one. Just... an afternoon. At least in that part of the planet of shapers. People, at least most of them, enjoyed the evening, and were already preparing for the upcoming night even though it was still nowhere near sunset. The people of the planet just seemed to like preparing themselves for something.

Fire can kill all in a matter of moments.

Ava was not preparing at all. 'Cause she didn't have to. Her father did all of that for her and all that she had to do was... something. She didn't have a set of homeworks to do because she was a noble. They had slaves and other people to do these things for them. It was Ava's duty to just enjoy herself and spend some time in her life. It got boring fast, though.

And fire can destroy everything without leaving a trace behind.

The woman walked. She walked around the tribe, just looking at people and what they were doing. It was a bit strange to see what kind of craziness others did, especially when they didn't know somebody was staring at them. It sometimes made the woman giggle. Though most of the times it was just her seeing illusions again. Yeah, that was something insane about her. Even her adoptive father couldn't tell how to fix that problem.

Fire is beautiful.

Looking at a red flower growing at the ground, she felt calm again. Seeing these simple things relaxed her. They made her feel good and they brought just the amount of protection she needed. Everything red reminded her of fire, and fire was what she loved with her whole heart. She adored it, she enjoyed every little flame. Everywhere.

Because fire brings death.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Fire is beautiful. Fire brings death.


Siobhan happened to know this very well. Her dead lover and Jedi teacher, an Eldorai by the name of Adril Tythorin, had been a gifted pyromancer. By summoning sweeping blasts of flame and fireballs she had laid waste to criminals, slavers and Sith. In the end it had been this power that she had unleashed against an eldritch abomination, ultimately destroying the horror though at the cost of her own life.



Fire was as tempestuous as it was alluring. There was something appealing about its cleansing nature. It had originally been a source of disappointment to Siobhan that unlike the Eldorai she so admired, she did not possess any aptitude for the power as far as she knew. This had changed when she realised just how destructive telekinesis could be. This was the power she had striven to master over the past decade, achieving impressive heights of destruction and devastation.



But the Shapers of Kro Var, from what she knew, disdained those who used the 'invisible Force'. Instead they practiced the elementalist arts, which ironically enough was something they had in common with those amongst the Eldorai who used their Sciia, as the space elves called the Force, to manipulate earth, water, air and fire. Well, Siobhan was gifted in air manipulation, so maybe they would look upon her slightly less crossly. Especially since she was completely useless at mind tricks!


Truth be told, to an extent it was by chance that Siobhan happened to be in the Kro Var community at this point. As it happened she was stopping by after having made a trip to Gehenna. Once that planet had been a nightmarish, hellish hothouse that the cannibalistic Bando Gora called home, before being conquered and purged twice. Once by a Protectorate army under her command, then again by Firemane and their Eldorai allies. Now it was being terraformed into something that looked less like a stereotypical depiction of hell. So whilst her ship refuelled she had made a stop on the world of the Kro Var, calling on and liaising with the Protectorate authorities and taking the chance to inspect their defences. These were dark times though Kro Var was less central, it was still a border world.


Many years ago Kro Var had joined the Protectorate. The process had not been an easy one or without complications, given how strongly the Shapers guarded their independence and distrusted force-users whose use of magicks differed from their own. Fortunately the Protectorate tended to let planets run their own internal affairs within certain guidelines, so it had worked well enough. In those days Siobhan had been a mere junior officer, the Colonel in command of Omega Pyre. Younger, more rash and aggressive. Now she was...older. Wiser? That was probably up for debate, though responsibilities had tempered her. She had a wife and an adopted daughter she both loved dearly, a company of her own, many people who worked for and counted on her.


So here she was now, walking amongst the tribe, after having conversed with one of the more open-minded Shapers. Learning about their ways had been interesting. She strongly questioned their apparent disdain of technology, but Shapers had distinguished themselves during the Battle of Naboo. Based on all appearances it was just an ordinary afternoon. Not too calm to be foreboding, not nightmarish...and free from quantum tunnelling Sith or vampyres suddenly popping up. People were going about their business and preparing for night time, though sunset was not close yet. Some of the natives shot her suspicious looks, others ignored her.


A stranger she might be, but Siobhan carried herself with a confident, almost regal air. It was in the moment when she was passing through, seemingly without a care in the world, her long leather coat dramatically billowing behind her in the wind, that her eyes fell upon the young girl who was looking down at a red flower growing from the wound. Something about the girl seemed...interesting, though Siobhan could not quite place it at this point. If Countess Kerrigan were to hazard a guess, she would conclude that the girl looked no older than eighteen...the same age as Siobhan's beloved daughter, Galina. To Siobhan at least it seemed like the young woman was enraptured by the sight of the red flower, though she obviously could not know that it was because it reminded Ava of fire. But then to Siobhan red was a beautiful colour. For one, it was the colour of her wife's...firemane. Pondering for just a moment, Siobhan decided seemingly on a whim to approach the girl.

 

[Ava Solborne]

Red is amazing. Red is blood. Red is the core of fire.

Ava smiled to the flower. For a moment, she thought the plant was alive, like it had just whispered something to her. But after blinking her eyes, all of that seemed to be gone. It may have been another piece of her insanity. It may have been illusions, hallucinations she hated so much but what she could do nothing against. It was just the way it was. They didn't have a cure for that on Kro Var.

Red is power.

The woman turned around, just to see somebody nearly staring at her. The person who looked a her seemed a bit alien to the world. She was definitely not a citizen of the tribe, not even one of the whole planet. And that caught Ava's attention. What was she doing there? Why was she looking at the initiate fire shaper? Something was odd about all of that. Not the bad kind of odd, but... just strange.

Fire is power.

Ava started to feel a bit frightened, but decided to approach the woman, seeing how the other woman would be stepping closer to her. It looked like both of them were thinking nearly the same things about each other, at least that's what Ava read from the woman's face.

The one who controls fire can control everything.

"Hi!" she said when the two were close enough to each other.

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan was neither omniscient nor even that great at Force Sense, but she sensed that the girl seemed a bit afraid, but still approached her. The former Exarch tried to appear nonthreatening, moving slowly and speaking gently when she spoke up. "Hi. Don't be afraid, dear. I'm here as a friend of your people. I'm Siobhan Kerrigan. What's your name?" she enquired softly. Siobhan was not well-versed in the social hierarchy of the Kro Var, but she surmised that the girl must be a noble or some sort of high-class citizen.



She could sense the Force emanating from the girl, though doubtless the Shapers of Kro Var would speak of it differently given their particular religious and mystical beliefs. "You have a thing for fire?" Just an educated guess. She gave the girl a smile. This writer won't claim that the smile was disarming since that would constitute an auto-hit, but it was meant to be reassuring.

 

[Ava Solborne]

It burns.

"I'm Ava," the woman replied to the alien. She took the courage to talk to the person she had never met, but she thought maybe it was just a hallucination and that the person didn't actually exist. Yes, she was a bit insane. And anxious. People met people every day, so it was not anything surprising, but when it came to talking to Ava, it was a bit strange. Lower class people didn't talk to her because they were afraid to do that. Other high class ones didn't consider herself as an equal.

Fire is all. Had we not discovered fire, we wouldn't be here.

"And yeah, I do have something with fire."

Fire was our past, is our present, will be our future.

"How did you know that?"

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Unfortunately, since Siobhan was no empath she would probably be unaware of the inner turmoil inside Ava, of the girl's struggle between seeing what was real and what was a mere hallucination. However, she did not need Force powers to pick up on the girl's anxiety, so she resolved not to make any sudden movements and keep her tone of voice gentle.



"Partly because I felt the power and potential you have, dear. Partly because many years ago I had a teacher who was very gifted in summoning fire. Her name was Adril. She was very powerful and could summon firestorms when she was in the mood," she said softly, briefly looking upon the red flower that had so enraptured Ava a few moments ago. "She liked red as well. I take it you're one of the Shapers? I apologise if I'm being a bit brusque, as I guess you know I'm not from here."

 

[Ava Solborne]

She can't be real.

"Yes, I'm a shaper. An initiate without any real powers, but still a shaper," she spoke, her cold voice trembling, showing how much she was afraid of the meeting. What is it was indeed another hallucination? She had started seeing them quite often and most of her life was now determined by them. She no longer cared what others thought about her talking to imaginary people. People didn't care about her talking to them, so everything seemed to be fine.

What if she is real?

"Do you really think I have potential?" This sentence was spoken with no real sign of fright. She expected for a positive answer and knowing she could become a good shaper one day was more important than a random person talking to her.

Can I shape fire one day?

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


What's wrong with her? Though she was sadly oblivious to the inner turmoil inside Ava's mind, to Siobhan it seemed that the girl was uncomfortable. "I do. I can sense you have the gift, dear." she said, her voice was gentle but very firm. Unfortunately Siobhan had never been a mentalist and while she had inherited the powers of Mirien Valdier through their bond, she was still far less talented than her Force Bond sister. Likewise she was no empath like Coryth.



"Do you have anyone amongst the Shapers teaching you? I can't create fire like Adril did, my powers lie elsewhere, but I live on a world where there are many like her. Gives me a good eye for the gift, I suppose." Ava's query had been spoken with no sign of fright or fear, though Siobhan could not shake off the feeling that something was unnerving the girl, having picked up on the initial tremble in her cold voice. I wish Coryth was here, she thought to herself. She pondered for a moment what to do, then stretched out her hand. An offer for a handshake had to be nonthreatening! Or at least she thought so.

 

[Ava Solborne]

"No, I don't. This tribe is more focused on the arts of shaping earth, so there's nobody to train me here," she said. "What's the place where there are people to train me?" She really had no idea of what other planets there were around, but she thought she should ask anyways. Just to try to show herself off as a more confident person. The first impression she had given the woman was not the best, that's why she was so worried.

I am different. I'm weird.

She finally got to stretching out her hand to shake the woman's limb which had stood there for a few moments. The physical contact was a bit relaxing. First of all, it showed the gilt the woman was actually real and not a hallucination.

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan's grip was firm and confident when she shook Ava's hand, then she gave the girl's limb a soft squeeze. To her mind it seemed that Ava was a bit more relaxed now. "It's a planet called Kaeshana," she spoke the name slowly to help the girl follow. "It's a bit away from here and inhabited by a race of near-humans called the Eldorai. They're similar to us, but longer-lived and many of them have elemental powers, much like your Shapers - Adril was one of them," she explained.


Hopefully no Shaper masters would suddenly pop up and take offence at her chatting with the noble girl. It could easily be misconstrued if you were paranoid enough. Diplomatic incidents tended to be unpleasant. "The company I run along with my wife, Firemane Industries, is based there. Like Kro Var, Kaeshana is a member of the Omega Protectorate." She had a feeling that these names would not mean much to Ava, but then that would give Siobhan more stuff to talk about!


As for the name of the company, that was a terribly obvious pun on Tegaea's hair being red. Then again, since this thread is all about fire it fits!

 

[Ava Solborne]

Of course these names told the young shaper nothing. It was just as if she had been talked to in a completely different language she had no understanding of. But she showed her enthusiasm at learning new things and that was great, right? After all, when she would get away from the planet, she would actually have to learn at least the nearby planets' names.

Fire is knowledge.

"I've heard about the Protectorate. I know they are here to defend us and provide us a better life, even though most people don't like them," Ava spoke, finally starting to get a bit more chatty. The phase where Ava was afraid of Siobhan seemed to be over and they could finally have a pleasant conversation with neither of them shivering or anything like that.

'Cause fire brought us understanding.

"Are we going there?" she suddenly realised. For what other reason would have Siobhan talked about Kaeshana if she wouldn't have wanted Ava to come and see the planet.

Understanding of survival.

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


A thin smile crossed Siobhan's lips in response to Ava's words about the Protectorate. "Yeah, pretty much. That was their mission. I was one of the founding members. My wife and I ruled the Protectorate for a while," she said. Even though people tend to forget that, she thought with a trace of bitterness, though she did not say that.


However, the girl seemed more relaxed and she counted that as a win. "Are we going there?"


But Ava's next words took her by surprise. Siobhan had not been on a recruitment drive, at least not until the young Shaper Initiate brought it up. Not consciously at least. But at the same time the girl seemed...intriguing, though in ways Siobhan could not quite place. And as it happened Firemane was always on the lookout for more talent to hire. "You want to come with me? I'm sure I could find a place with you in my company if you want. We have several people of power there who can teach you things beyond fire. But would your parents be alright with you leaving?" she asked softly. Unfortunately, Siobhan could not know that cruel fate had befallen poor Ava's parents.

 

[Ava Solborne]

Parents.

"Ugh..." Ava remembered her father -- adoptive father. "I don't know what my father would say. I know he wants the best for me, but I am not sure he would tolerate me leaving the planet. Or going to a planet which quite a lot looks like a rival to us." She had started talking a lot and she noticed that. She had to stop doing that because if might have been a trap. And the chance that it was nothing more than a hallucination still existed. Ava remembered one time she had swum in an imaginary sea. It had just felt so realistic.

... But I'm a free human being.

"However... I think I can come. Not maybe straight to Kaeshana, but I would like to see the Protectorate first." A complete change of plans, and an expected one. Why would she change her opinion about this whole situation so fast? Nobody knew. Maybe exploring a bit could bring her closer to the secret about her parents' deaths.

My father can't hold me back anymore.

She felt like she had to leave. Leave the planet, leave everything behind. At least for a while.

It's time to change my destiny.

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan was a bit taken aback by the sudden and complete shift in plans, but made a good effort not to let it show. "Parents always want what's best for their children. It gets awkward when you need to spread your wings and leave the nest to find out what's best for you," she said. "Saying this as someone who's a mother as well."



Does that mean you'll let [member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"] spread her wings one day and leave the nest? Ugh, do you really have to pester me now, I thought I'd finally a thread without an annoying voice in my head.


Vaguely 4th wall breaking commentary aside, she gave Ava an encouraging nod. "If you can come with me, that's cool. I do travel a lot in Protectorate space, for business and other reasons. If someone is concerned, we can say you're an assistant to me - no worries, I don't expect you to do any paperwork for me! I do not have the gift of fire so I can't directly show you anything there, but I've some theoretical knowledge on it and I'm very skilled in air manipulation."

 

[Ava Solborne]

"I feel like that's something I'd like to do. Travel around a bit, do some things I've been wanting to..." Ava spoke. She started to feel too fine around Siobhan that it was getting a bit strange. Only moments ago she was too scared to talk to the woman, now she was already ready to go with her to the huge galaxy. It felt too weird now that she thought about it.

Everything I do is weird.

But Ava felt like going with her. She felt some strange trust around her -- she just had to be one she would love to travel around the Protectorate with, no matter what. She wouldn't stay with her forever, but if she had any knowledge of element manipulation, that could come in handy. She was supposed to start learning air shaping some day, after all, so starting with the basics would have been a good idea.

Air and fire... so different, yet depending on each other.

"It feels really weird to say that, but I think I would love to come with you."

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan gave Ava a nod and a hopefully encouraging smile. "That's great, dear. I'll look after you. It's funny, you're the same age as my daughter. Perhaps you two can meet some day," she said brightly. This one wonders what kind of mischief and trouble [member="Galina Kerrigan-Alcori"], the redheaded wild girl who was awfully good with bows and arrows, and the pyromancer could get into!



She gently patted Ava on the shoulder. "I guess you've got some belongings you'd like to take with you, right? And that we need to tell your father about you leaving. Take what time you need, there's no rush." Presumably simply taking the girl with her without tell anyone would look...bad.

 

[Ava Solborne]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

"Perhaps," Ava replied to Siobhan's wonder that she and the woman's child could meet some day. "I will go home to pack my things and talk to my father about it. Give me an hour or so, then I should be back." She felt like it would take more than an hour, though, because she knew her dad. He wouldn't want to let go of her. He would want her to stay on the planet -- or even better, in the tribe -- and never leave him. But he had to finally understand that Ava is not his and that she must start living her own life one day.

Earth and fire. Both so brutal and strong...

And so the girl started moving towards her home. And then thought... what if the woman was not there anymore when she would come back? What if the hallucination would be over when she has packed her things? Her father had always tried to protect herself from these imaginations. She was about to leave the home, leave from the protection her father had granted her.

Yet fire's more elegant. It's a form of art.

"Where should we meet when I'm done?"

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan handed the girl a card which among other things contained her contact details and the place where they'd meet. "Meet me at this landing pad, outside town. That's where my ship is parked. I'll be there waiting for you," she said softly, though with strong emphasis when she said that she'd really be there.



Unfortunately Siobhan had still not noticed Ava's problems with separating reality from hallucinations. She had however picked up on the uncertainty the girl felt, though she probably interpreted among more mundane lines. After all, as far as she knew the girl had never left her homeworld and now she was about to go off with someone who was a complete stranger to her and alien to her culture. Anyone would get nervous and uncertain in such a situation, from her perspective at least.



The girl was...a bit odd, but still Siobhan found herself liking her. She hoped that she could live up to the promise of watching over her. Of course, Ava could probably not be considered a child anymore and in any case was not her daughter, but she would be exploring a whole new world. Force, you've got such a massive mummy complex since you adopted Galina, the perpetually annoying inner voice spoke up.

 

[Ava Solborne]

Ava took the card and then started walking away. So many thoughts filled her brain. What would she be seeing? How does the outer space look like? What is the Protectorate really? ... What would her father tell her? What would he really feel inside when Ava came to her with such a message?

It's an art my father doesn't understand.

As soon as she opened the door to the larger than typical building, she called for her father, "Dad, I've got an announcement!" Her voice was a lot more relaxed than it had been when talking to Siobhan. Of course, talking to a complete strange was a lot more difficult than talking to somebody you've known for many many years.

He thinks earth is the only proper art.

"What is it?" he asked when he got to the entrance. "I'm leaving home."

He doesn't want to hear about much else.

And after an hour, the young fire shaper was at the landing pad, at the exact same place what was on the card. The talks with her father were something she would rather not remember anymore. He had nearly thrown her out. It was illogical. Why would he throw her out if he wanted the best for her daughter? What was the point of doing that when Ava was already leaving?

[ [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] ]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Ava Solborne"]


Siobhan was waiting for Ava at the landing pad when the young fire shaper arrived. As promised, her ship was there. The vessel in question could be described as a very shiny yacht, the sort you expected capitalists and nobles to use. Though it was neither the largest nor the most luxurious, it had all the amenities the Countess could ask for.


Two Firemane mercenaries stood on guard and acted as sentinels. Both of them were Eldorai females and endowed with a physique that could best be described as amazonian. Whilst there was no bad blood between Siobhan and the Shapers of Kro Var, it was always best to have some guards around.


The Countess gave Ava a smile when she saw the girl. She could imagine that the conversation with her father had been...tense, to say the least. To be honest, Siobhan would have also not taken it well if her daughter had suddenly declared that she wanted to Kaeshana and travel across the stars with a woman who was a complete stranger, so it would be hypocritical of her to cast judgement. "Hey, are you ok?" she asked softly. If Ava did not want to talk about how her chat with her father had went, Siobhan would not push. "Glad you made it. We're ready to take off. Have you ever left your homeworld before?"