[member="Linori Pryde"]
Graxin had spent more time than he would have liked figuring out the odds and ends of the Mephirium. The ship was large, luxurious, and durable, but by the force was it confusing. He'd scoped the place out, and decided to pay a certain individual a visit. Clad in his usual black sweatshirt, Graxin wrapped his left hand on the door. The right wasn't exactly in the best of shapes.
Linori pauses the video playing on her reader and stares at the wall. It sometimes bothered her how well she could see with her sight, though growing up it should have felt normal. Surprisingly, she felt the Sith's presence before he even touched the door, and with some vote of confidence, tossed a stray shoe at the wall."You can come in, I guess."
Graxin clicked the command key and the door slid upward. He entered carefully, and closed the door behind him. he didn't want to talk about what had happened on Ventooine. That could wait for a later date. "Hey." He said simply; looking more like a tired university student than the Emperor's son. "We need to talk."
"Why?" Linori turns her attention back to her datapad and leans back on her cot. The bed worked well enough, but it was nothing compared to the comforts she had back on Naboo. She didn't want to think about Ventooine, nor the fact their ship was full of saber-wielding warriors. She could handle Corvetta. Corvetta was nice, though Linori still felt intimidated when it came to this girl talk thing.
Graxin reached up to scratch the back of his neck. It was a sign of his unease. The Miraluka made him uncomfortable, and she really shouldn't have. It was the guilt that had been gnawing up him since Naboo. He never saw the people he killed again. He could forget about them. He had ruined Linori's life, and she lived with him. He had to see her everyday. This, coupled with Kelios's Jedi preachings had brought him to one conclusion. "When we're done with this, Krag will have to free my siblings. There's nothing else he could reward me with....after that, I'll go to Naboo, and turn myself in for the murder. You can even have the ship."
Linori glances at him, her eyeless gaze burrowing bullet holes through his body. She chose not to respond for a heavy amount of time, confused by his offer. She purses her lips and looks back down at her tablet. Linori plays the video and continues watching, the sound on the clip muted. "Why?"
Well, this really wasn't going well. For once, Graxin found himself struggling for words. He shifted his feet about and wrung his hands with apparent anxiety. Finally he spoke. "Because you're not a slave, and your situation with me is a mirror of how I am with Vulcanus....and it was...wrong to do this to you." That was new. The former apprentice cast his gaze down to the floor. He showed no remorse for the man he killed, he had none, but he saw no other decision with Linori. "And I figure you miss your family."
She obviously didn't seem to keen on conversation, but rarely did she ever. Linori did invite him in regardless. "You should be more concerned about your family, kindly sir. What makes you think you'll be able to secure them?"
"So...you don't want to go back?" Graxin asked, clearly puzzled. Linori was....odd. Difficult to understand, and her motives never ceased to confuse him. The Miraluka never really smiled at him either. "I've served Krag since I was a child. I've done everything he's asked, completed every assignment as he instructed. It's all been to get them free, and I know I'll have done enough when we find the Architects." The former Apprentice strolled over toward her bed, and slumped down onto his backside a foot or so away from it. "And maybe after that I'll take them to the library or something."
"He's the Emperor,"Linori responds, a bit of caution in her voice. She suddenly was afraid to overstep her bounds as he spoke, his somewhat-innocence confusing her. Her brow furrows at the video and then she flips it off. The miraluka maneuvers so she sits on the edge of the bed and rests her hands in her lap."I know how long you've served him, and I know I don't know a lot about your relationship with Krag, but he has a reputation. Reports and documents I know, and at least I have that much knowledge of the Emperor, and even of you." Linori folds her arms over her chest and leans forward."Do you intend to kill him?"
Did he? Graxin hugged his legs up to his chest and settled his scruffy chin on his knees. His amber gaze drifted up to Linori. She seemed to be opening up, to a point. "Everyone keeps asking me that." He mumbled so quiet it was almost a whisper. The son of Krag seemed open about the topic; perhaps out of guilt, perhaps out of a desire to simply get it out. "But I don't know if I want to, or if I can. He beat me, tore my leg in half, lied to me, but he raised me....and I'm not sure I'm strong enough to kill him. Not alone, anyway."
"I told you earlier that just because you weren't related by blood, didn't mean he wasn't your father, at least to you." Linori tenses and sits back on her bed. Here was the damned son of the emperor, a few feet in front of her, curled up and talking about his personal troubles. Had she gotten on the wrong ship? "If you really want to kill him and save your family, you will,"the miraluka states firmly, gesturing with her hand."But you're killing family to save family."
"I suppose." That last sentence made Graxin uneasy. Kelios wanted to imprison Krag and try to redeem him. Ferus wanted him dead. Corvetta wanted justice. Linori however, saw it for the moral struggle that it was. He ran his right hand over his forehead; the skin warped and scanned from a severe burn. "Why were you so okay with leaving?" He asked suddenly, head tilting up to look at her. "Besides the obvious. You don't seem particularly eager to return either."
Linori pauses and shifts on the bed. She seemed to consider actually answering him for once, the force about her being fluctuating. "How do you know Krag won't kill your family?" Nope. She dodged his questions as she normally did, and it tended to be hard to tell if she were lying considering the wraps about her face. How helpful.
For a moment, Graxin had thought he might be reaching a breakthrough. His hopes were dashed when she spoke of Krag once more. "Why would he? I've been his most useful informant since the first Empire fell. He's trained me himself in the arts of the shapers...I don't see why he would touch them. Then he'd lose me." He paused, mouth open like he had more words to say. The words died in his throat, replaced with a revelation. "Unless he wants a loyal second...he might execute them to drive me to the Dark Side, or whatever he calls it....though that seems a bit silly."
"You said it yourself you like history,"she whispers, as though afraid the others on the ship could hear her. Linori narrows her gaze at the wall and tenses on the cot. She felt as though she hadn't had decent night sleep because she could -feel- them on the other side of the ship, despite the walls being made of steel and other metals. She takes a deep breath and looks to Graxin."Think about what has happened in the past hundreds, no, thousands of years. Do you think yourself invincible like all the others who have come before you wielding a lightsaber, sir? You've already killed for the Emperor, all for the sake of saving your family. But now the same man that is keeping them prisoner you call Father." She was being very real, but she sounded more like one of her professors than a friend."I'd say the Dark Side doesn't sound so far off."
"I've never considered myself invincible. The Priests made sure." He mumbled. He subtly reached out with the force, seeking desperately to make some sort of connection with the woman. It wasn't voluntary, not at all, but his desire for some kind of comfort had him doing things he couldn't fully control yet. "Yes. You're right." He added quietly. He sat up straight, and gave Linori a once over. She looked very uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"
"I can control this...sight to where I don't have to see them past the walls,"Linori mutters after a moment of awkward silence,"but how come I can feel them?" She seemed honestly perplexed, as though she had never mentioned the subject aloud. "It feels as though they're honestly sitting here with us."
Graxin hadn't expected that. He let his legs drop down and reached up to tap his temple. "It's your force sensitivity." He stated simply. " I had the same issue when i started my training. If you'll let me, I can try and help you with it."
"There's no off button?" Linori makes a face and glances over at her datapad as though it were supposed to contain all the answers. Unfortunately for her, the computers only went so far."How could you help?"
"There is, but then you'd be blind." Graxin's smile faltered for a moment. What he spoke of was severing her connection to the force, and being a Miraluka...well, that just wouldn't work out. "It's a simple technique. Meditation helps, though you don't really seem like the type for it." Graxin pushed up to his feet, and looked down at her. "Your force sensitivity is raw and untrained. Most of us here are sensitive ourselves, so I can see how you have the issue. You have to accept that they're around, and see them like anything else. Just signatures. Let me teach you the basics of how to really use the force, and they'll simmer down. I promise."
Linori shifts uncomfortably in her seat. As usual, she pulls her reader back up and starts shuffling through random articles. Fidgeting was an often occurrence for her, and by now Graxin would have caught on pretty fast. Whenever the miraluka seemed to need a moment to think, the datapad would come out. It was either that or she didn’t want to talk at all. “Let me teach you,” Graxin continued, her grip on the tablet tightening. She didn’t seem to really pay too much attention afterwards, her gaze taught and set downwards. It was a tempting offer. She had often read how hard and arduous it was to master the force and it’s ways, though she never considered doing so herself. What reason did she have? Linori had lived a life practically void of the destructive battles and wars of the factions. Her concern had been data logs and lectures, research and informational organization. The miraluka furrows her gaze and looks to the side, the video on her reader flickering.
Figure it out on your own.
Her father’s voice was sudden and stern, just how she remembered it. The memory pressed up against her temple, the pressure building to the point Linori had to cradle her head for just a moment. “No,”she whispers after a moment, quickly returning a hand to her datapad to make it look as though she’d been working the entire period of awkward silence between the pair. “There should be a way I can teach myself, it can’t be that difficult.”
Graxin pursed his lips in silent confusion at her response. He hadn't expected that for an answer. Then again, Graxin couldn't blame her either. He had taught himself without the assistance of any master. Then again, he had also been self-reliant the majority of his short life. He wasn't sure if the same could be said for the Miraluka girl. "Alright." He submitted, holding his hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Go for it. It's difficult, but do-able. I'll still help if you find you want me to, however."
Linori glances up curiously. She couldn't help but ask. "Did you teach yourself?"
Graxin tilted his head down from his standing position. He took in a long deep breath, and hesitated from answering until the silence could be mistaken for him being rude. "Partly. I had holocrons to help, and I ended up hurting myself in the process quite a few times." He stopped there. No need to go into details about the wounds he had recieved.
Linori stares. She had practically forgotten he'd had access to the holocrons in the past, and on the inside, she felt incredibly jealous. The miraluka rubs at her cheek and sits back on her cot. Was it really that difficult to master? Had what she read been true? Linori exhales slowly and looks towards Graxin with her eyeless stare."Did it take long?"
"A year or two, but I was on Mytus and I hadn't ever dealt with the force before. You've lived with it your whole life, so it shouldn't be too hard." Graxin admitted. He reached up to run a hand through his unkempt hair, and met that disorienting hidden stare. "If you really don't want me to help, that's fine. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Great. Now Linori looked like a real villain here despite standing in front of the would-be murderer. She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, looking back towards the door where he'd come in. She didn't even know where to start when it came to training her sights or her feelings when it came to force-related things. It had been so natural considering she'd had to rely on force sight since birth, and now it'd become more of a hassle than a helpful entity."How long?" Linori mutters vaguely.
"We could probably get the basics down now, honestly. At least with blocking people out. You just have to focus on one thing when there are that many presences....right now, you're focused on me, correct? Are the others bothering you as much?" Graxin raised a brow, and set his weight back against the wall. Linori really did need to be able to defend herself if she was staying aboard....and he wanted her safe.
Linori pauses to think. She stares at the wall for a good moment, a confused look on her face."I don't know. I suppose?" She gestures towards him, the tone of her voice taking on an annoyed measure. This was going to be a long night."I feel you more prominently. Its like being in a stuffy room constantly. The others I..do not feel them like I did earlier, but there's a weight here,"she motions towards her chest and makes a face,"as though they are still present."
"Well, there's focusing, and the other is going to sound a bit cheesy but..." Graxin would settle once more at the foot of her bed, legs crossed, hands splayed out on his knees. He gazed up at her, and exhaled deeply. "Jedi practice meditation to help with this sort of thing. It helps you get used to it, and it stops bothering you..like...feeling animals in the wild. Forests are all alive and growing. Just like people. I like to look at people like they're just trees...and their force signature doesn't bother me as much." He paused, and awaited her response. Linori was a smart girl. He didn't think it would be particularly difficult for her to grasp.
"Afraid I haven't really looked into meditation. Its about clearing your mind and whatnot, right, kindly sir?" Linori seemed dubious it would work. It sounded like such a simple solution for what seemed to be a complex issue.
"Yeah." He said simply. Graxin was a very conflicted individual Meditation helped with that. It was primarily a Jedi talent, but he didn't really identify with the Sith, so he'd had no trouble learning it. He gave her a soft smile, and nodded. "I'd tell you to close your eyes but that's a bit redundant. You have to completely open yourself to the force. Leave your physical shell for the moment, and let it take you where it wants you to go." He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "It's worth the try, I promise you."
Linori takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. The urge to smack him over the head for the eyes comment boiled deep inside, but she knew that wouldn't really get her anywhere. She lowers her gaze and rests her hands in her lap, data pad coming to a rest to her side. She still felt everyone, especially Graxin's presence. From across the ship there was Darth Ferus, and even more present was the lion man. Corvetta she could feel as the smallest presence, but she were there too.
Graxin cracked a small grin as Linori seemed to be listening. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "Now, forget about everyone on the ship. Even me." He tilted his head back, and did his best to center himself. He lacked Kelios's internal peace, but he could find something akin to serenity when he tried. "Focus on the force. Not as the tool you use to see, but as something more. Something that influences all the little nuances of the galaxy."
Linori rests one hand in the other, her breathing deepening. She seems to go into a trance-like state, trying not so hard to push the presences from her forcibly, but to allow them to retract on their own. It sounded crazy, part of her even thought if silly like some of the jedi scrolls she had read in the past. It all seemed like a fantasy, but here she was, attempting to do the same as thousands before her. Linori nods slowly, listening to further instruction.
Graxin was teaching, and yet, that thought never crossed his mind. He breathed in deep, and exhaled slowly. "The force is a river that flows through you. It's in all things, from your toes to a star. Everything can be influenced. You can choose to live in harmony with it, or bend it to your will. Open yourself to it. Let that river flow through you instead of trying to swim across it." The words were...oddly wise. Graxin rarely showed that side of him, but it was there, and Linori had somehow coaxed it out of him.
The pair sat in silence for what seemed a good while, the only sound coming from the occasional passerby or the hum of the engine. She seemed oddly in-tune with herself and the area about her, her gaze remaining stoic, surprisingly so for someone with no eyes. They seemed to meditate in harmony and unison, his words bringing peace to her actions and to her inner qualms. It was perhaps a few minutes into this teaching session he'd hear her begin to snore.
Graxin furrowed his brow as he heard the faintest of sound. A soft, quiet...yes, snoring. He opened one amber orb, and stared at Linori. A soft sigh escaped the Knight, and he took the moment to compose himself. Were they making progress? He hoped so.... "Linori?" He asked quietly in hopes of waking her.
Linori continues to sleep peacefully. The ease at which she could easily fall into this deep stupor was quite impressive, though he'd witnessed it once before. She breathes slowly and leans precariously to one side, still holding the same position as before. Her shoulders were stooped and she leaned forward, teetering on the edge of her bed.
Graxin fought the urge to groan. Lovely. He pushed up to his feet, and dusted off his pants. Dirty foor. "It's a start." He mumbled, setting his hands gently on her shoulders lest she topple to the floor. The Knight would then slowly ease her down to the bed.
Linori seemed to reflexively tense as he touched her, though remained in her trance. She seemed to relax once again as her head hit her pillow and her body then went slack. He'd been right, though. It was a start, though he wouldn't quite be able to tell the results until the miraluka awoke.
Graxin gazed down at the girl for just a moment as she slept. She seemed rather peaceful, and that was the intention. Perhaps they could be friends later. Perhaps she would get around to discussing galactic history with him. Perhaps they wo--no. That was a bit too far. The Knight backed over to the corner of the room opposite her bed, and settled back into his previous stance. He would wait.
Linori dreamed of darkness. She hadn’t experienced such a suffocating gloom back on Naboo. These night terrors had presented themselves shortly before she had left her previous home and never before. Many of them were simply vague pictures and colors, obscure faces that almost seemed normal to her miralukan sights. But there were the rare nights when these shapes and masses formed paintings. The detail of each would burn into her head and plague her thoughts each morning after. She often wondered if this was what actual people looked like; the demons she talked to each day, or if the faces that presented themselves in detail were all part of her imagination. Often, she preferred the vague dreams to these detailed horrors, seeing as whatever happened ended confusing her regardless.
A piercing screech echoed throughout her dreaming realm. It sounded like an error on a space module, the computer problems that usually issued loud eardrum-rendering sounds until they were resolved or when a cruiser was about to crash. But the sound didn’t originate from anything mechanical, but rather a woman. She wore silver robes that hugged her body like a sleeve. The stranger’s white hair was cropped short, though a small braid dangled over one shoulder. She’d be considered beautiful if it weren’t for the look of horror and the scream that erupted from her lips. It was unending, and Linori desperately wished she had an off button.
The woman’s deep brown eyes were set on a man directly in front of her. He stood over the woman, his monstrous body hulk-like compared to her tiny frame. She groveled at his feet as though praying to a god, fingertips clutching at his boots. Despite the leviathan of a beast that looked ready to crush her underfoot, he remained still and stoic. It was only then Linori realized the woman was on fire. She burned, though the flesh remained on her skin as though she had an eternal punishment to endure from this nameless god. It seemed to go on for days. The woman never paused to take a breath, so the sound rang in Linori’s head all the same. The burning embers fell from her robes and sizzled against the female’s skin, only causing her to wail louder.
The monster lifted a hand, and then the screaming suddenly stopped. A glowing sword akin to that of a lightsaber stuck out of his chest. The dream took on an eery silence, the ear-piercing scream replaced instead with the hum of the orange saber. The woman on the ground stared up at the monstrous man, up at the lightsaber that had either saved or sentenced her life. Black blood oozed from the monster’s mouth, coating the murderer’s weapon. It was only then that the murderer himself was stabbed in a similar fashion.
The only person who was a painted picture was the white-haired woman, in all her grace and beauty, who remained dirty on the floor. The monster and the man may as well had been shadows, for she could see their faces no better. It was only then she realized there was a chain of shadows all lining up behind the pair, each with a sword planted firmly in the other’s back. This conga line of stabbings and death went on as far as the eye could see. The colors of the sabers changed every other shadow until Linori realized it created a circle back to her trance-like self. When she spun to see where it ended, a seething pain shot up her spine, and she awoke.
Linori had never sweat the bed before. Her limbs were coated, robes damp. She must had been out for hours, and she expected the others to be asleep as well. The miraluka tried to think, thoughts reeling. Who was awake? Where were they? What time was it? Did it matter? A panic arose in the woman, her hands clawing at her back where she had felt the life drain from her, but there was nothing there.
It was only then she realized she had been screaming ever since waking up.
Graxin shook from his trance. He himself had fallen asleep from the deep meditation. The Knight sprung to his feet and the leatherbound hilt he was becoming known for was in his hand. His amber eyes narrowed in the darkness of the room and scanned about for a danger, but he saw none. Slowly, Graxin began to relax. He clipped the blade back to his belt, and exhaled. "Are you okay Lin?" He asked softly. The concern was evident in his tone.
Linori takes a deep breath, her shout abruptly coming to an end. Holy frak, Graxin was still in her room. She only had time to worry about it for a minute, seeing as she was in the midst of a panic fest. 'Calm down, calm down!' she thought sternly, though her thoughts seemed to be reeling too fast. She tried to explain, though the words spilled from her mouth in a jumbled mess. Her eyes catch the glint of his lightsaber, and she presses her back to the wall, sitting up on her bed. Linori points sternly in his direction. "You put that away!" she demands, just as he lowered the blade back to his belt. "I don't want to see that thing, kindly -sir-."
Graxin held his hands up high in surrender. He offered her a concerned smile, and leaned down to be eye level --heheh--with the Miraluka. "I thought someone had come in to cause trouble. Reflex." He mumlbed apologetically. Hopefully, none of the others had heard her screaming. "What's wrong Linori?" He asked carefully. "Bad dream?"
Linori takes a shaky breath. She opened her mouth to speak, then pauses. It was Graxin, Son of Krag. Murderer and Sith. She tenses, staring at his general form through her wraps."Yes,"she mutters after a few moments, clutching at her bed.
Graxin wasn't exactly sure what to do. He stared at her deftly in the darkness of the room, and slowly reached over to set a hand on her shoulder. It was what Corvetta had done to try and comfort him. "Well, you're safe here. Do you uh....want to talk about it?"
"No, not with yo--"she speaks, pausing abruptly. It suddenly occurred to her that she couldn't feel anyone, despite being able to see Graxin directly in front of her. Was it because they were asleep? Did it even -work- like that? She couldn't tell, and part of her was fearful to ask. Despite having possibly blocked the bunch of force-users from her mind, it was likely Graxin was quite able to feel her presence, not powerful, just thriving."It was just a dream,"she muses quickly, trying to wave it off. It was true. It was just a...dream.
"Oh." Graxin murmured. He caught the first bit, and it cut more than he really would have expected. He had at least thought they were starting to make some kind of progress. He exhaled softly, and raised a brow as his consciousness brushed against hers. Linori was a lot more active than usual right now. "And it terrified you. I can sense it....are you sure you don't want to talk about it?
Linori clenches her teeth visibly and looks to the side. She seemed extremely uneased as he rested his hand on her shoulder. True, there had been progress made, but it didn't change much. No, not at all, really. Despite it all, her razzled mind thought it wise to speak up, just this once."A line of people stabbing one another in the back." The miraluka put simply. She was still trying to organize everything she and seen and figure out what it meant. It hurt to think.
Graxin let his grip falter. His hand slipped down to rest on the bedside, and his lips pursed in thought. A line of people stabbing eachother....it could mean so many things. Murder? Rituals? Betrayal? "Do you have like this a lot?" He asked honestly, leaning back to give the girl some space. "Odd like these?"
"Everyone has dreams, they aren't supposed to make sense,"she comments dryly, still trying to slow her breathing. She yearned for a cold shower, or a damned good drink of water. Linori looks up and tilts her head to the side, studying Graxin's form."You have them, don't you?"
: "Yes, but you're force sensitive." Graxin stated quietly. He kept his gaze fixated on her, his voice as kind as he could possibly convey. "Some of us can...see things. Possibilities. Things that might happen in the future. They're never certain, but they can give a general idea on them." Graxin leaned back on his haunches and pursed his lips. "They're called seers."
"Does being force sensitive make that much of a difference?" Linori questions curiously. She thought back to her dream, to the woman on fire and the monstrosity who seemed to warrant her burning. It could have meant anything, but she saw no specific faces, so what good would -that- do if it truly were a vision?
The miraluka sits straight and claws for her datapad. She types in a few bits of information and starts perusing the written word, still tense. To Graxin, it probably seemed as though her insides were a ball of bundled of nerves, fear fluctuating around her for the first time since he'd met her. Or -maybe- killed her boss.
"Sometimes, yes." Graxin said simply. He sat in silence for a long moment, and closed his eyes. It wasn't something he was masterful in. Hell, he had only tried it twice. Graxin reached out to her, and tried to project some form of calmness. A sense of...assuredness? Protection, yes, that was it. That she was safe.
She accepted the wave of calmness that wafted over her. She breathes slowly and seems to visibly relax. The pulls up a hologram of a generic lightsaber, colorless and flickering in the light. "They all had this."
Graxin opened one eye and stared at the hologram. His heart dropped. "Sith then. Perhaps you're a Seer." He mused aloud. The Knight paused for a long moment, and fixed his gaze back on Linori. "I don't scare you, do I?"
Graxin's gaze lingered on the Miraluka as she pushed past him. His actions? It made sense. "I'm...trying to be a better person." He mumble, turning to lean back against her bed. "I don't want to scare you in anyway." He added. Some people might take that the wrong way. Graxin was just being honest. He looked at the world through a shrouded piece of glass. Good and bad were just starting to become clear.
"I don't care," Linori states quite firmly. She tugs a simple brown robe from her pack on the floor, though the color honestly didn't matter to her. Perhaps a part of her felt bad for saying it so bluntly, but it was...true. She takes a deep breath and moves to take off her eye wraps, pausing when she realized Graxin were still present. Linori quickly keeps them tight over her face and rests a hand on her hip, clutching her the spare robe in her hand."Kindly sir, I believe the least of my worries is you, at least concerning those present on this ship. You promised me information and...I suppose some..training, which is beneficial to me. That is why I am here, at least it is now."
That stung. Graxin supposed he had been trying to open up, though Linori really wasn't the best choice. He would see that in hindsight. The Knight pushed up to his feet, and made sure he hadn't left anything lying about. "Right." He said simply, hands shoved in his pockets. "I'll be in the cockpit if you need me." He added shortly. The calming sensation he was giving off stopped almost instantly, and it was rather clear he had overstayed his welcome.
Linori looked like a jerk. She was a jerk, but as someone who knew of Graxin through what he had done rather than his true self, it was unlikely she very well cared. Despite it all, he had helped her take a step in the right direction when it came to her force sight and things related. She drapes the robe over her arm and stands by her door, the lock unhinging and opening. The miraluka lowers her gaze and furrows her unseen brow."Thank you for the assistance,"she murmurs. It was the least she could do, but it wasn't much.
Graxin stopped at the door. He tilted his head toward her, and his tone softened. "Aye." He said simply. "Let me know if you need anymore help." The Knight shoved his hands into his pockets, and slid out the door. His words could just barely be heard. "I'm here to talk if you need it."
"Of course sir,"Linori responds in a rather void tone. The doors would slide shut quickly afterwards and the miraluka would press her back to them. She breathes deeply, then exhales slow. That had gone well, and at this point she doubted he'd want to assist her further. Linori didn't even know if she wanted the teachings at this point, especially from a Sith. Frak, she didn't know if she wanted instruction at all, from anyone for the matter. She leans forward and unties the back of her wraps, the cloth falling to her lap. Her fingertips run over the eyeless parts of her face, the skin taught and soft where eyes ought to be. Her thoughts returned to the odd dream, to the shadowed figures, and at last to the strange woman. She had questions, questions that no one could answer but herself.
Linori hefts herself to her feet and looks down at the brown robe, thumbs caressing the fabric. She considered sleep again considering how late it still felt and how far they had to travel, but once again, she could feel them; the other occupants of the Mephirium. Their presence filled the empty space of her room, hanging in the air like a thick, humid blanket. Sleep could wait, she thought bitterly as she began to change. There was work to be done.
Graxin had spent more time than he would have liked figuring out the odds and ends of the Mephirium. The ship was large, luxurious, and durable, but by the force was it confusing. He'd scoped the place out, and decided to pay a certain individual a visit. Clad in his usual black sweatshirt, Graxin wrapped his left hand on the door. The right wasn't exactly in the best of shapes.
Linori pauses the video playing on her reader and stares at the wall. It sometimes bothered her how well she could see with her sight, though growing up it should have felt normal. Surprisingly, she felt the Sith's presence before he even touched the door, and with some vote of confidence, tossed a stray shoe at the wall."You can come in, I guess."
Graxin clicked the command key and the door slid upward. He entered carefully, and closed the door behind him. he didn't want to talk about what had happened on Ventooine. That could wait for a later date. "Hey." He said simply; looking more like a tired university student than the Emperor's son. "We need to talk."
"Why?" Linori turns her attention back to her datapad and leans back on her cot. The bed worked well enough, but it was nothing compared to the comforts she had back on Naboo. She didn't want to think about Ventooine, nor the fact their ship was full of saber-wielding warriors. She could handle Corvetta. Corvetta was nice, though Linori still felt intimidated when it came to this girl talk thing.
Graxin reached up to scratch the back of his neck. It was a sign of his unease. The Miraluka made him uncomfortable, and she really shouldn't have. It was the guilt that had been gnawing up him since Naboo. He never saw the people he killed again. He could forget about them. He had ruined Linori's life, and she lived with him. He had to see her everyday. This, coupled with Kelios's Jedi preachings had brought him to one conclusion. "When we're done with this, Krag will have to free my siblings. There's nothing else he could reward me with....after that, I'll go to Naboo, and turn myself in for the murder. You can even have the ship."
Linori glances at him, her eyeless gaze burrowing bullet holes through his body. She chose not to respond for a heavy amount of time, confused by his offer. She purses her lips and looks back down at her tablet. Linori plays the video and continues watching, the sound on the clip muted. "Why?"
Well, this really wasn't going well. For once, Graxin found himself struggling for words. He shifted his feet about and wrung his hands with apparent anxiety. Finally he spoke. "Because you're not a slave, and your situation with me is a mirror of how I am with Vulcanus....and it was...wrong to do this to you." That was new. The former apprentice cast his gaze down to the floor. He showed no remorse for the man he killed, he had none, but he saw no other decision with Linori. "And I figure you miss your family."
She obviously didn't seem to keen on conversation, but rarely did she ever. Linori did invite him in regardless. "You should be more concerned about your family, kindly sir. What makes you think you'll be able to secure them?"
"So...you don't want to go back?" Graxin asked, clearly puzzled. Linori was....odd. Difficult to understand, and her motives never ceased to confuse him. The Miraluka never really smiled at him either. "I've served Krag since I was a child. I've done everything he's asked, completed every assignment as he instructed. It's all been to get them free, and I know I'll have done enough when we find the Architects." The former Apprentice strolled over toward her bed, and slumped down onto his backside a foot or so away from it. "And maybe after that I'll take them to the library or something."
"He's the Emperor,"Linori responds, a bit of caution in her voice. She suddenly was afraid to overstep her bounds as he spoke, his somewhat-innocence confusing her. Her brow furrows at the video and then she flips it off. The miraluka maneuvers so she sits on the edge of the bed and rests her hands in her lap."I know how long you've served him, and I know I don't know a lot about your relationship with Krag, but he has a reputation. Reports and documents I know, and at least I have that much knowledge of the Emperor, and even of you." Linori folds her arms over her chest and leans forward."Do you intend to kill him?"
Did he? Graxin hugged his legs up to his chest and settled his scruffy chin on his knees. His amber gaze drifted up to Linori. She seemed to be opening up, to a point. "Everyone keeps asking me that." He mumbled so quiet it was almost a whisper. The son of Krag seemed open about the topic; perhaps out of guilt, perhaps out of a desire to simply get it out. "But I don't know if I want to, or if I can. He beat me, tore my leg in half, lied to me, but he raised me....and I'm not sure I'm strong enough to kill him. Not alone, anyway."
"I told you earlier that just because you weren't related by blood, didn't mean he wasn't your father, at least to you." Linori tenses and sits back on her bed. Here was the damned son of the emperor, a few feet in front of her, curled up and talking about his personal troubles. Had she gotten on the wrong ship? "If you really want to kill him and save your family, you will,"the miraluka states firmly, gesturing with her hand."But you're killing family to save family."
"I suppose." That last sentence made Graxin uneasy. Kelios wanted to imprison Krag and try to redeem him. Ferus wanted him dead. Corvetta wanted justice. Linori however, saw it for the moral struggle that it was. He ran his right hand over his forehead; the skin warped and scanned from a severe burn. "Why were you so okay with leaving?" He asked suddenly, head tilting up to look at her. "Besides the obvious. You don't seem particularly eager to return either."
Linori pauses and shifts on the bed. She seemed to consider actually answering him for once, the force about her being fluctuating. "How do you know Krag won't kill your family?" Nope. She dodged his questions as she normally did, and it tended to be hard to tell if she were lying considering the wraps about her face. How helpful.
For a moment, Graxin had thought he might be reaching a breakthrough. His hopes were dashed when she spoke of Krag once more. "Why would he? I've been his most useful informant since the first Empire fell. He's trained me himself in the arts of the shapers...I don't see why he would touch them. Then he'd lose me." He paused, mouth open like he had more words to say. The words died in his throat, replaced with a revelation. "Unless he wants a loyal second...he might execute them to drive me to the Dark Side, or whatever he calls it....though that seems a bit silly."
"You said it yourself you like history,"she whispers, as though afraid the others on the ship could hear her. Linori narrows her gaze at the wall and tenses on the cot. She felt as though she hadn't had decent night sleep because she could -feel- them on the other side of the ship, despite the walls being made of steel and other metals. She takes a deep breath and looks to Graxin."Think about what has happened in the past hundreds, no, thousands of years. Do you think yourself invincible like all the others who have come before you wielding a lightsaber, sir? You've already killed for the Emperor, all for the sake of saving your family. But now the same man that is keeping them prisoner you call Father." She was being very real, but she sounded more like one of her professors than a friend."I'd say the Dark Side doesn't sound so far off."
"I've never considered myself invincible. The Priests made sure." He mumbled. He subtly reached out with the force, seeking desperately to make some sort of connection with the woman. It wasn't voluntary, not at all, but his desire for some kind of comfort had him doing things he couldn't fully control yet. "Yes. You're right." He added quietly. He sat up straight, and gave Linori a once over. She looked very uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"
"I can control this...sight to where I don't have to see them past the walls,"Linori mutters after a moment of awkward silence,"but how come I can feel them?" She seemed honestly perplexed, as though she had never mentioned the subject aloud. "It feels as though they're honestly sitting here with us."
Graxin hadn't expected that. He let his legs drop down and reached up to tap his temple. "It's your force sensitivity." He stated simply. " I had the same issue when i started my training. If you'll let me, I can try and help you with it."
"There's no off button?" Linori makes a face and glances over at her datapad as though it were supposed to contain all the answers. Unfortunately for her, the computers only went so far."How could you help?"
"There is, but then you'd be blind." Graxin's smile faltered for a moment. What he spoke of was severing her connection to the force, and being a Miraluka...well, that just wouldn't work out. "It's a simple technique. Meditation helps, though you don't really seem like the type for it." Graxin pushed up to his feet, and looked down at her. "Your force sensitivity is raw and untrained. Most of us here are sensitive ourselves, so I can see how you have the issue. You have to accept that they're around, and see them like anything else. Just signatures. Let me teach you the basics of how to really use the force, and they'll simmer down. I promise."
Linori shifts uncomfortably in her seat. As usual, she pulls her reader back up and starts shuffling through random articles. Fidgeting was an often occurrence for her, and by now Graxin would have caught on pretty fast. Whenever the miraluka seemed to need a moment to think, the datapad would come out. It was either that or she didn’t want to talk at all. “Let me teach you,” Graxin continued, her grip on the tablet tightening. She didn’t seem to really pay too much attention afterwards, her gaze taught and set downwards. It was a tempting offer. She had often read how hard and arduous it was to master the force and it’s ways, though she never considered doing so herself. What reason did she have? Linori had lived a life practically void of the destructive battles and wars of the factions. Her concern had been data logs and lectures, research and informational organization. The miraluka furrows her gaze and looks to the side, the video on her reader flickering.
Figure it out on your own.
Her father’s voice was sudden and stern, just how she remembered it. The memory pressed up against her temple, the pressure building to the point Linori had to cradle her head for just a moment. “No,”she whispers after a moment, quickly returning a hand to her datapad to make it look as though she’d been working the entire period of awkward silence between the pair. “There should be a way I can teach myself, it can’t be that difficult.”
Graxin pursed his lips in silent confusion at her response. He hadn't expected that for an answer. Then again, Graxin couldn't blame her either. He had taught himself without the assistance of any master. Then again, he had also been self-reliant the majority of his short life. He wasn't sure if the same could be said for the Miraluka girl. "Alright." He submitted, holding his hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Go for it. It's difficult, but do-able. I'll still help if you find you want me to, however."
Linori glances up curiously. She couldn't help but ask. "Did you teach yourself?"
Graxin tilted his head down from his standing position. He took in a long deep breath, and hesitated from answering until the silence could be mistaken for him being rude. "Partly. I had holocrons to help, and I ended up hurting myself in the process quite a few times." He stopped there. No need to go into details about the wounds he had recieved.
Linori stares. She had practically forgotten he'd had access to the holocrons in the past, and on the inside, she felt incredibly jealous. The miraluka rubs at her cheek and sits back on her cot. Was it really that difficult to master? Had what she read been true? Linori exhales slowly and looks towards Graxin with her eyeless stare."Did it take long?"
"A year or two, but I was on Mytus and I hadn't ever dealt with the force before. You've lived with it your whole life, so it shouldn't be too hard." Graxin admitted. He reached up to run a hand through his unkempt hair, and met that disorienting hidden stare. "If you really don't want me to help, that's fine. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Great. Now Linori looked like a real villain here despite standing in front of the would-be murderer. She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, looking back towards the door where he'd come in. She didn't even know where to start when it came to training her sights or her feelings when it came to force-related things. It had been so natural considering she'd had to rely on force sight since birth, and now it'd become more of a hassle than a helpful entity."How long?" Linori mutters vaguely.
"We could probably get the basics down now, honestly. At least with blocking people out. You just have to focus on one thing when there are that many presences....right now, you're focused on me, correct? Are the others bothering you as much?" Graxin raised a brow, and set his weight back against the wall. Linori really did need to be able to defend herself if she was staying aboard....and he wanted her safe.
Linori pauses to think. She stares at the wall for a good moment, a confused look on her face."I don't know. I suppose?" She gestures towards him, the tone of her voice taking on an annoyed measure. This was going to be a long night."I feel you more prominently. Its like being in a stuffy room constantly. The others I..do not feel them like I did earlier, but there's a weight here,"she motions towards her chest and makes a face,"as though they are still present."
"Well, there's focusing, and the other is going to sound a bit cheesy but..." Graxin would settle once more at the foot of her bed, legs crossed, hands splayed out on his knees. He gazed up at her, and exhaled deeply. "Jedi practice meditation to help with this sort of thing. It helps you get used to it, and it stops bothering you..like...feeling animals in the wild. Forests are all alive and growing. Just like people. I like to look at people like they're just trees...and their force signature doesn't bother me as much." He paused, and awaited her response. Linori was a smart girl. He didn't think it would be particularly difficult for her to grasp.
"Afraid I haven't really looked into meditation. Its about clearing your mind and whatnot, right, kindly sir?" Linori seemed dubious it would work. It sounded like such a simple solution for what seemed to be a complex issue.
"Yeah." He said simply. Graxin was a very conflicted individual Meditation helped with that. It was primarily a Jedi talent, but he didn't really identify with the Sith, so he'd had no trouble learning it. He gave her a soft smile, and nodded. "I'd tell you to close your eyes but that's a bit redundant. You have to completely open yourself to the force. Leave your physical shell for the moment, and let it take you where it wants you to go." He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "It's worth the try, I promise you."
Linori takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. The urge to smack him over the head for the eyes comment boiled deep inside, but she knew that wouldn't really get her anywhere. She lowers her gaze and rests her hands in her lap, data pad coming to a rest to her side. She still felt everyone, especially Graxin's presence. From across the ship there was Darth Ferus, and even more present was the lion man. Corvetta she could feel as the smallest presence, but she were there too.
Graxin cracked a small grin as Linori seemed to be listening. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "Now, forget about everyone on the ship. Even me." He tilted his head back, and did his best to center himself. He lacked Kelios's internal peace, but he could find something akin to serenity when he tried. "Focus on the force. Not as the tool you use to see, but as something more. Something that influences all the little nuances of the galaxy."
Linori rests one hand in the other, her breathing deepening. She seems to go into a trance-like state, trying not so hard to push the presences from her forcibly, but to allow them to retract on their own. It sounded crazy, part of her even thought if silly like some of the jedi scrolls she had read in the past. It all seemed like a fantasy, but here she was, attempting to do the same as thousands before her. Linori nods slowly, listening to further instruction.
Graxin was teaching, and yet, that thought never crossed his mind. He breathed in deep, and exhaled slowly. "The force is a river that flows through you. It's in all things, from your toes to a star. Everything can be influenced. You can choose to live in harmony with it, or bend it to your will. Open yourself to it. Let that river flow through you instead of trying to swim across it." The words were...oddly wise. Graxin rarely showed that side of him, but it was there, and Linori had somehow coaxed it out of him.
The pair sat in silence for what seemed a good while, the only sound coming from the occasional passerby or the hum of the engine. She seemed oddly in-tune with herself and the area about her, her gaze remaining stoic, surprisingly so for someone with no eyes. They seemed to meditate in harmony and unison, his words bringing peace to her actions and to her inner qualms. It was perhaps a few minutes into this teaching session he'd hear her begin to snore.
Graxin furrowed his brow as he heard the faintest of sound. A soft, quiet...yes, snoring. He opened one amber orb, and stared at Linori. A soft sigh escaped the Knight, and he took the moment to compose himself. Were they making progress? He hoped so.... "Linori?" He asked quietly in hopes of waking her.
Linori continues to sleep peacefully. The ease at which she could easily fall into this deep stupor was quite impressive, though he'd witnessed it once before. She breathes slowly and leans precariously to one side, still holding the same position as before. Her shoulders were stooped and she leaned forward, teetering on the edge of her bed.
Graxin fought the urge to groan. Lovely. He pushed up to his feet, and dusted off his pants. Dirty foor. "It's a start." He mumbled, setting his hands gently on her shoulders lest she topple to the floor. The Knight would then slowly ease her down to the bed.
Linori seemed to reflexively tense as he touched her, though remained in her trance. She seemed to relax once again as her head hit her pillow and her body then went slack. He'd been right, though. It was a start, though he wouldn't quite be able to tell the results until the miraluka awoke.
Graxin gazed down at the girl for just a moment as she slept. She seemed rather peaceful, and that was the intention. Perhaps they could be friends later. Perhaps she would get around to discussing galactic history with him. Perhaps they wo--no. That was a bit too far. The Knight backed over to the corner of the room opposite her bed, and settled back into his previous stance. He would wait.
Linori dreamed of darkness. She hadn’t experienced such a suffocating gloom back on Naboo. These night terrors had presented themselves shortly before she had left her previous home and never before. Many of them were simply vague pictures and colors, obscure faces that almost seemed normal to her miralukan sights. But there were the rare nights when these shapes and masses formed paintings. The detail of each would burn into her head and plague her thoughts each morning after. She often wondered if this was what actual people looked like; the demons she talked to each day, or if the faces that presented themselves in detail were all part of her imagination. Often, she preferred the vague dreams to these detailed horrors, seeing as whatever happened ended confusing her regardless.
A piercing screech echoed throughout her dreaming realm. It sounded like an error on a space module, the computer problems that usually issued loud eardrum-rendering sounds until they were resolved or when a cruiser was about to crash. But the sound didn’t originate from anything mechanical, but rather a woman. She wore silver robes that hugged her body like a sleeve. The stranger’s white hair was cropped short, though a small braid dangled over one shoulder. She’d be considered beautiful if it weren’t for the look of horror and the scream that erupted from her lips. It was unending, and Linori desperately wished she had an off button.
The woman’s deep brown eyes were set on a man directly in front of her. He stood over the woman, his monstrous body hulk-like compared to her tiny frame. She groveled at his feet as though praying to a god, fingertips clutching at his boots. Despite the leviathan of a beast that looked ready to crush her underfoot, he remained still and stoic. It was only then Linori realized the woman was on fire. She burned, though the flesh remained on her skin as though she had an eternal punishment to endure from this nameless god. It seemed to go on for days. The woman never paused to take a breath, so the sound rang in Linori’s head all the same. The burning embers fell from her robes and sizzled against the female’s skin, only causing her to wail louder.
The monster lifted a hand, and then the screaming suddenly stopped. A glowing sword akin to that of a lightsaber stuck out of his chest. The dream took on an eery silence, the ear-piercing scream replaced instead with the hum of the orange saber. The woman on the ground stared up at the monstrous man, up at the lightsaber that had either saved or sentenced her life. Black blood oozed from the monster’s mouth, coating the murderer’s weapon. It was only then that the murderer himself was stabbed in a similar fashion.
The only person who was a painted picture was the white-haired woman, in all her grace and beauty, who remained dirty on the floor. The monster and the man may as well had been shadows, for she could see their faces no better. It was only then she realized there was a chain of shadows all lining up behind the pair, each with a sword planted firmly in the other’s back. This conga line of stabbings and death went on as far as the eye could see. The colors of the sabers changed every other shadow until Linori realized it created a circle back to her trance-like self. When she spun to see where it ended, a seething pain shot up her spine, and she awoke.
Linori had never sweat the bed before. Her limbs were coated, robes damp. She must had been out for hours, and she expected the others to be asleep as well. The miraluka tried to think, thoughts reeling. Who was awake? Where were they? What time was it? Did it matter? A panic arose in the woman, her hands clawing at her back where she had felt the life drain from her, but there was nothing there.
It was only then she realized she had been screaming ever since waking up.
Graxin shook from his trance. He himself had fallen asleep from the deep meditation. The Knight sprung to his feet and the leatherbound hilt he was becoming known for was in his hand. His amber eyes narrowed in the darkness of the room and scanned about for a danger, but he saw none. Slowly, Graxin began to relax. He clipped the blade back to his belt, and exhaled. "Are you okay Lin?" He asked softly. The concern was evident in his tone.
Linori takes a deep breath, her shout abruptly coming to an end. Holy frak, Graxin was still in her room. She only had time to worry about it for a minute, seeing as she was in the midst of a panic fest. 'Calm down, calm down!' she thought sternly, though her thoughts seemed to be reeling too fast. She tried to explain, though the words spilled from her mouth in a jumbled mess. Her eyes catch the glint of his lightsaber, and she presses her back to the wall, sitting up on her bed. Linori points sternly in his direction. "You put that away!" she demands, just as he lowered the blade back to his belt. "I don't want to see that thing, kindly -sir-."
Graxin held his hands up high in surrender. He offered her a concerned smile, and leaned down to be eye level --heheh--with the Miraluka. "I thought someone had come in to cause trouble. Reflex." He mumlbed apologetically. Hopefully, none of the others had heard her screaming. "What's wrong Linori?" He asked carefully. "Bad dream?"
Linori takes a shaky breath. She opened her mouth to speak, then pauses. It was Graxin, Son of Krag. Murderer and Sith. She tenses, staring at his general form through her wraps."Yes,"she mutters after a few moments, clutching at her bed.
Graxin wasn't exactly sure what to do. He stared at her deftly in the darkness of the room, and slowly reached over to set a hand on her shoulder. It was what Corvetta had done to try and comfort him. "Well, you're safe here. Do you uh....want to talk about it?"
"No, not with yo--"she speaks, pausing abruptly. It suddenly occurred to her that she couldn't feel anyone, despite being able to see Graxin directly in front of her. Was it because they were asleep? Did it even -work- like that? She couldn't tell, and part of her was fearful to ask. Despite having possibly blocked the bunch of force-users from her mind, it was likely Graxin was quite able to feel her presence, not powerful, just thriving."It was just a dream,"she muses quickly, trying to wave it off. It was true. It was just a...dream.
"Oh." Graxin murmured. He caught the first bit, and it cut more than he really would have expected. He had at least thought they were starting to make some kind of progress. He exhaled softly, and raised a brow as his consciousness brushed against hers. Linori was a lot more active than usual right now. "And it terrified you. I can sense it....are you sure you don't want to talk about it?
Linori clenches her teeth visibly and looks to the side. She seemed extremely uneased as he rested his hand on her shoulder. True, there had been progress made, but it didn't change much. No, not at all, really. Despite it all, her razzled mind thought it wise to speak up, just this once."A line of people stabbing one another in the back." The miraluka put simply. She was still trying to organize everything she and seen and figure out what it meant. It hurt to think.
Graxin let his grip falter. His hand slipped down to rest on the bedside, and his lips pursed in thought. A line of people stabbing eachother....it could mean so many things. Murder? Rituals? Betrayal? "Do you have like this a lot?" He asked honestly, leaning back to give the girl some space. "Odd like these?"
"Everyone has dreams, they aren't supposed to make sense,"she comments dryly, still trying to slow her breathing. She yearned for a cold shower, or a damned good drink of water. Linori looks up and tilts her head to the side, studying Graxin's form."You have them, don't you?"
: "Yes, but you're force sensitive." Graxin stated quietly. He kept his gaze fixated on her, his voice as kind as he could possibly convey. "Some of us can...see things. Possibilities. Things that might happen in the future. They're never certain, but they can give a general idea on them." Graxin leaned back on his haunches and pursed his lips. "They're called seers."
"Does being force sensitive make that much of a difference?" Linori questions curiously. She thought back to her dream, to the woman on fire and the monstrosity who seemed to warrant her burning. It could have meant anything, but she saw no specific faces, so what good would -that- do if it truly were a vision?
The miraluka sits straight and claws for her datapad. She types in a few bits of information and starts perusing the written word, still tense. To Graxin, it probably seemed as though her insides were a ball of bundled of nerves, fear fluctuating around her for the first time since he'd met her. Or -maybe- killed her boss.
"Sometimes, yes." Graxin said simply. He sat in silence for a long moment, and closed his eyes. It wasn't something he was masterful in. Hell, he had only tried it twice. Graxin reached out to her, and tried to project some form of calmness. A sense of...assuredness? Protection, yes, that was it. That she was safe.
She accepted the wave of calmness that wafted over her. She breathes slowly and seems to visibly relax. The pulls up a hologram of a generic lightsaber, colorless and flickering in the light. "They all had this."
Graxin opened one eye and stared at the hologram. His heart dropped. "Sith then. Perhaps you're a Seer." He mused aloud. The Knight paused for a long moment, and fixed his gaze back on Linori. "I don't scare you, do I?"
Graxin's gaze lingered on the Miraluka as she pushed past him. His actions? It made sense. "I'm...trying to be a better person." He mumble, turning to lean back against her bed. "I don't want to scare you in anyway." He added. Some people might take that the wrong way. Graxin was just being honest. He looked at the world through a shrouded piece of glass. Good and bad were just starting to become clear.
"I don't care," Linori states quite firmly. She tugs a simple brown robe from her pack on the floor, though the color honestly didn't matter to her. Perhaps a part of her felt bad for saying it so bluntly, but it was...true. She takes a deep breath and moves to take off her eye wraps, pausing when she realized Graxin were still present. Linori quickly keeps them tight over her face and rests a hand on her hip, clutching her the spare robe in her hand."Kindly sir, I believe the least of my worries is you, at least concerning those present on this ship. You promised me information and...I suppose some..training, which is beneficial to me. That is why I am here, at least it is now."
That stung. Graxin supposed he had been trying to open up, though Linori really wasn't the best choice. He would see that in hindsight. The Knight pushed up to his feet, and made sure he hadn't left anything lying about. "Right." He said simply, hands shoved in his pockets. "I'll be in the cockpit if you need me." He added shortly. The calming sensation he was giving off stopped almost instantly, and it was rather clear he had overstayed his welcome.
Linori looked like a jerk. She was a jerk, but as someone who knew of Graxin through what he had done rather than his true self, it was unlikely she very well cared. Despite it all, he had helped her take a step in the right direction when it came to her force sight and things related. She drapes the robe over her arm and stands by her door, the lock unhinging and opening. The miraluka lowers her gaze and furrows her unseen brow."Thank you for the assistance,"she murmurs. It was the least she could do, but it wasn't much.
Graxin stopped at the door. He tilted his head toward her, and his tone softened. "Aye." He said simply. "Let me know if you need anymore help." The Knight shoved his hands into his pockets, and slid out the door. His words could just barely be heard. "I'm here to talk if you need it."
"Of course sir,"Linori responds in a rather void tone. The doors would slide shut quickly afterwards and the miraluka would press her back to them. She breathes deeply, then exhales slow. That had gone well, and at this point she doubted he'd want to assist her further. Linori didn't even know if she wanted the teachings at this point, especially from a Sith. Frak, she didn't know if she wanted instruction at all, from anyone for the matter. She leans forward and unties the back of her wraps, the cloth falling to her lap. Her fingertips run over the eyeless parts of her face, the skin taught and soft where eyes ought to be. Her thoughts returned to the odd dream, to the shadowed figures, and at last to the strange woman. She had questions, questions that no one could answer but herself.
Linori hefts herself to her feet and looks down at the brown robe, thumbs caressing the fabric. She considered sleep again considering how late it still felt and how far they had to travel, but once again, she could feel them; the other occupants of the Mephirium. Their presence filled the empty space of her room, hanging in the air like a thick, humid blanket. Sleep could wait, she thought bitterly as she began to change. There was work to be done.