First Reply To Believe in One's Self

[Congen Rintenne]

Congen squeezed Rathir 's fingers against her own, enjoying the comfort of his warm hand until the Jedi Code suddenly came to mind. She had sworn to uphold its principles when she joined the Order, and attachment was something a Jedi was taught to avoid. The realization made her panic, and she quickly pulled her hand away, stumbling two steps back.

"We shouldn't be doing this," she whispered, her heart pounding at the sudden loss of warmth. Her eyes darted across the park before settling on the two Naboo guardsmen from earlier as they approached the fountain. She could already imagine their judgment, and the thought of them reporting the pair to the Temple made her stomach begin to constrict from the sudden anxiety.

"We need to move," Congen whispered, gesturing for Rathir to follow her down the gravel path toward the exit. "The guards are watching us. I don't want them telling the instructors we were doing something inappropriate." She quickened her pace toward the street, wrapping her arms around herself as they put distance between themselves and the archway. Once they were safely away, she glanced back over her shoulder at him.​

 

[Rathir]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

RATHIR
JEDI INITIATE • LIVING FORCE

LOCATION PARK, NABOO

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For a moment, Rathir's hand remained where Congen had left it.

He looked down at his empty palm, then back toward her as she moved away.

"What?"

There was barely time to make sense of the sudden reversal before Congen was gesturing toward the path. Rathir followed, more because she plainly wanted to get away from the guards than because he understood what they were escaping from. He glanced back once as they moved, seeing the two Naboo guardsmen before returning his attention to Congen.

Something inappropriate?

Rathir frowned as he followed her, considering the problem from an angle that hadn't occurred to him when he'd offered his hand. He hadn't thought of Congen that way in the moment. She had been upset, and he'd wanted to give her something steady to hold onto.

Now that she had apparently thought of it that way...

He supposed Congen was pretty.

That wasn't particularly helpful.

Rathir pushed the thought aside. Whatever he might think about her later, that wasn't what the hand-hold had meant. He hadn't been trying to flirt with her, or sneak anything past the instructors. He had wanted her to feel supported. Like she had someone connected there with her.

Once they had put some distance between themselves and the fountain, Rathir slowed.

"Were we doing anything inappropriate?" He looked back toward the park once more, still seeming unconvinced that two Jedi holding hands beside a fountain warranted the attention Congen feared. "You were upset. I was trying to help."

Right?

Rathir hesitated, searching for a way to explain something that had always seemed fairly ordinary to him.

"My clan was close. We sat together, leaned on each other, touched when somebody was upset. Holding someone's hand didn't automatically mean..." He paused, the implication making him slightly awkward now that he actually had to say it aloud. "Something romantic."

"For us, it just meant we weren't going through things by ourselves."

Rathir made no attempt to close the distance she had created again.

"I didn't mean to upset you. If you don't want me to hold your hand, that's alright." He gave a reassuring smile. "But you didn't do anything wrong."

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TAGS
Congen Rintenne ​

FIRRERREO • FORM V • JEDI INITIATE​

 

[Congen Rintenne]

Congen slowed her pace as the street opened up before them, the cool breeze of the city replacing the still air of the park. Hearing Rathir explain his clan's customs made her face burn with sudden embarrassment. She stopped near a stone bench, pulling her hands back into the sleeves of her tunic as she digested what he said.

"Oh," she mumbled, looking down at the pavement. "I... I'm sorry. I thought..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. The realization that she had completely misread his intent and scrambled away over nothing made her feel foolish. Her mind had immediately jumped to the worst possible outcome, exactly like it always did.

"I'm just used to the Temple rules being so strict," Congen said softly, her eyes meeting his for a quick second before dropping back to her boots. "The Instructors are always watching for signs of attachments per the Jedi Code. When I felt... comfortable, I just panicked." She took a slow breath, letting her hands drop from her neck to rest at her sides.
​

 

[Rathir]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

RATHIR
JEDI INITIATE • LIVING FORCE

LOCATION PARK, NABOO

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Rathir watched the embarrassment settle across Congen's face, but made no attempt to draw attention to it. If anything, the explanation seemed to ease some of the confusion from his own expression.

"You don't have to apologise."

He considered what she had said, particularly the part about feeling comfortable and immediately worrying about what that meant. Rathir could understand how the misunderstanding had happened now, even if the conclusion itself still seemed strange to him.

"You thought it meant something else." Rathir gave a small nod. "I think I understand. It's alright. Nothing has changed for me: I'm here for you, if you want."

Rathir glanced briefly toward her hands before looking back to her face. The instinct to offer that same reassurance - to be in contact - again was still there, but he kept his distance this time. Congen was in charge of that now, not him.

"I won't hold your hand again unless you want me to. And I should have said something, I didn't think about it because it's normal for me."

There was no disappointment behind it. If Congen needed a different kind of support, Rathir could manage that too.

For a moment he looked along the street, then back in the direction of the park they had left behind.

"We can stay out here if you want." Rathir paused, thinking through the other possibilities. "Or I can walk back to the Temple with you. Or if there's somebody there you trust and you want to talk to them, I can come with you?"

His expression softened slightly, he offered a smile.

"You don't have to decide straight away."

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TAGS
Congen Rintenne ​

FIRRERREO • FORM V • JEDI INITIATE​

 

[Congen Rintenne]

Congen looked at Rathir , her face still warm from how fast her heart had been beating. His calm reaction made her panic feel ridiculous but in a reassuring way. She touched her belt pouch, feeling the solid metal of her hydro-spanner inside.

"You don't need to apologize either," she said, her voice being just loud enough to be heard over the passing speeders. "You were just trying to help. I'm just... jumpy." She glanced down the street toward the grand stone archways that led to the Temple grounds, then back at Rathir. Going straight back inside to sit alone in a quiet room sounded miserable, especially with her head spinning.

But standing out in the open wasn't helping her nerves either. "Walking back is fine," she murmured, taking a small step down the path so he knew she wanted him to come along. "We don't have to hurry." She tucked her hands into her sleeves as they started moving down the walkway together​

 

[Rathir]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

RATHIR
JEDI INITIATE • LIVING FORCE

LOCATION PARK, NABOO

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Rathir gave a small nod when Congen admitted she was jumpy.

"I guessed." A faint smile touched his expression. "And I wasn't apologising for trying to help. I just didn't want to make you feel like that."

There was no challenge in it, only a quiet certainty. He understood the misunderstanding now, and he would respect her choice in seeking comfort. It didn't mean he thought offering it had been wrong.

When she chose the walk back, Rathir glanced toward the Temple archways before falling into step beside her. He grinned.

"Good. I wasn't in a hurry to go back either."

That part was true enough. Rathir liked being around people, and Congen was an interesting person. The fact that she had chosen his company after everything they'd just talked through only made the decision easier.

For a little while he just walked quietly, watching as speeders passed beyond the path, the lights shifting across the stone as the Temple grounds gradually drew closer. It was quite calm, really, which felt good. Rathir hoped it would help Congen find a place of calmness as well.

After a minute or so, Rathir glanced toward the tools at her belt.

"You said you found the parts for your lightsaber in a freighter yard." His curiosity returned, quieter than the burst of enthusiasm she'd seen earlier. "Did you work on ships before you became a Jedi?"

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TAGS
Congen Rintenne ​

FIRRERREO • FORM V • JEDI INITIATE​

 

[Congen Rintenne]

Congen opened her mouth to answer, her face flushing with embarrassment as she realized she had overthought Rathir words again. She really needed to start listening to what people actually said instead of letting her panic twist everything into something worse.

Trying so hard to be the perfect, rule-following Jedi was turning her brain to mush, or at least that was the excuse she was going to use. Before she could say anything, something hard slammed into the side of her head. The world spun as Congen crashed onto the street, her shoulder taking most of the impact against the cold pavement.

Her vision blurred, and pain throbbed behind her ear as she looked down to find the shattered remains of a heavy terracotta planter scattered beside a puddle of dirt. She cursed, pressing a hand against her aching temple. She had been so focused on her embarrassment that she completely missed the danger through the Force. Then shouting erupted down the street.

A crowd of citizens moved into the avenue, waving crude signs and screaming as they pushed forward. "Failure!" a man at the front shouted, his face red with anger as he hurled a half-eaten meiloorun fruit that splattered against the wall nearby. "You're useless! Where is the bacta?!"

"You hoarded it all for yourselves!" a woman yelled, throwing a rusted metal bracket that skipped across the street just inches from Congen's boots. "People are dying while you hide in your Temple! Worthless!" Another stone bounced off the pavement near her knee, making Congen flinch as she pushed herself onto her heels. Her heart pounded against her ribs while the angry mob closed in around them.​

 

[Rathir]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

RATHIR
JEDI INITIATE • LIVING FORCE

LOCATION PARK, NABOO

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The crash of terracotta against the pavement snapped Rathir's attention toward Congen. For half a second he simply stared as she went down, before everything around him seemed to sharpen.

His pupils widened until the vivid blue of his eyes narrowed around them, a nictitating membrane flicking across his vision almost too quickly to notice. The shouting separated into individual voices, footsteps and movement becoming easier to place amongst the noise. Every raised hand suddenly mattered.

Another object came through the crowd and Rathir moved across Congen's position before he had really thought about it, one hand coming up as the stone changed direction in the air and struck the pavement several metres away instead.

"Can you stand?"

He didn't wait for an answer before turning his attention back toward the people closing around them. Both hands came up, palms outward, while Rathir stepped backwards with the crowd's advance.

"Stay back."

He made no move for his lightsaber. The Force came instead, used in short, controlled pushes whenever somebody pressed too close. Enough to steal momentum, force someone back a step or redirect another thrown object without sending anyone sprawling across the street.

Rathir knew what they were shouting about. Thyferra, the damaged bacta production, shortages spreading beyond the system and supplies being rationed as demand climbed. He had spent enough time going through reports at the Temple to understand why people were frightened and angry. He just hadn't expected to find that anger closing around him in the middle of a Naboo street.

"I know what's happening with the bacta," Rathir called over the noise. "But this isn't going to--"

A hand caught hold of his robe near the shoulder.

Rathir reacted immediately, clamping one hand around the protester's forearm while the other caught higher against their clothing. Firrerreo strength did the rest. He twisted, pulled the person bodily away from him and flung them clear across the open paving, far enough to break the grip without following after them.

The space lasted barely a second before several more people filled it.

Rathir shoved one back with both hands and turned toward another reaching in from his side, only for someone to catch him from behind. Another pair of hands closed around his arm before he could wrench free. He could overpower one of them easily enough; with bodies pressing in from several directions, there was nowhere to put that strength.

He planted his feet and fought to remain upright without striking anyone outright. A shoulder drove into his ribs, somebody seized the back of his robes, and another impact caught him across the side of the head before his balance finally gave way.

Rathir hit the pavement hard beneath the weight of several people. One arm came up over his head as the first blow landed, a boot catching him along the ribs before he could turn, followed by another strike somewhere across his shoulder.

His fingers found the lightsaber at his belt and tightened around the hilt.

Civilians.

Rathir let go.

He curled an arm across his head instead and tried to force himself back onto one knee beneath the press of bodies, his other hand searching for enough leverage to shove somebody away. He called out through a bloodied mouth:

"Congen!"

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TAGS
Congen Rintenne ​

FIRRERREO • FORM V • JEDI INITIATE​

 

[Congen Rintenne]

Congen flinched at the sound of his voice, every instinct telling her to curl into a ball or hide under the nearest ledge until the noise stopped. Her head throbbed where the planter had hit her, while the anger of the crowd pressed against her mind. For a moment, she expected Rathir to run for the safety of the Temple gates and leave her behind to deal with the mess her own hesitation had caused.

Then she looked up through her blurred vision and saw him trapped beneath a tangle of angry bodies, taking the boots and fists meant for both of them. The fear inside her suddenly gave way to a burst of adrenaline. Congen pushed herself off the pavement, ignoring the shaking in her knees and the dizziness clouding her vision.

She stumbled toward Rathir, grabbed two rioters by their collars, and kicked hard into the knees of the men holding him down. One cried out and dropped to the ground, while Congen shoved the other away with both hands. "Get off him!" she said, her voice filled with desperation. More protesters rushed into the opening, but Congen reacted before they could close in.

She threw her hand out in a sloppy arc, reaching through the Force to grab the loose gravel, broken terracotta, and small stones scattered across the street and swept them forward in a wave. The debris snapped against boots and trousers, making the front of the mob stumble back while they cursed and covered their faces.

It wasn't enough to seriously hurt anyone, but it bought her the few seconds she needed. Congen grabbed Rathir by the shoulder of his tunic and strained to pull him off the cold stone, her small frame shaking as she tried to get him back on his feet. ​

 

[Rathir]

THE HIGH REPUBLIC

RATHIR
JEDI INITIATE • LIVING FORCE

LOCATION PARK, NABOO

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Congen's pull gave Rathir enough leverage to get one foot beneath him.

He came up awkwardly, one hand catching briefly against her shoulder before he found his balance. His ribs protested immediately and warm blood ran from the corner of his mouth, but his attention stayed on Congen for a moment rather than the crowd.

She had come back for him.

Despite the planter, despite everything she had told him about wanting to run when things went wrong, Congen had walked straight into the middle of it and dragged people off him.

Rathir managed a breath that almost became a laugh as he winced. "You definitely hit back."

Then there wasn't time for anything more.

The warning hit hard enough to wipe the expression from Rathir's face. His pupils widened as his head snapped toward the crowd.

A blaster was coming up.

It was aimed at him.

Rathir moved--

--and stopped.

There was someone directly behind him.

He twisted instead, angling his chest away while keeping himself between the weapon and the civilian.

The blaster fired.

Red light filled his vision as the bolt struck high into the left side of his torso. The impact tore Rathir away from Congen and threw him hard onto the paving stones.

For a moment, the crowd seemed to break with him.

Someone screamed. Several people recoiled from the flash, those nearest the shot stumbling over one another in their rush to get away. Others simply froze, the anger draining from their faces as the reality of what had just happened caught up with them. A handful were already running, disappearing back through the park before anyone could stop them.

The shouting fractured into panic.

Rathir barely heard any of it.

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TAGS
Congen Rintenne ​

FIRRERREO • FORM V • JEDI INITIATE​