Faction Wait for Sleep | Veridia (Jedi Academy)

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Veridia
Tags: DM Player-Slayer

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Now there was only her, the silence of the tower, and the fragile crane.

Seven let out an exhale, kneeling down to pick up the crane. It seemed so old... and yet it held itself together perfectly.

No answers. She had a direction but no way to get there. Maybe she had simply been asking for too much. Maybe there was supposed to be a lesson here about figuring things out for yourself. Even so, Seven couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. She felt like she was so close to an answer, only for it all to be ripped away in the end. So, with paper crane and lantern in hand, the young woman set off back down the steps of the tower and returned to the gardens.

She was exhausted. It had been days since she had gotten any proper sleep. At some point, Seven simply gave up on trying to return to her room. Sitting down in the grass was the nail in the coffin. The former assassin laid her head down in the cool soft bed of vegetation and drifted off to sleep.

Kalrath would not be waiting for her.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

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The grounds were quiet, save for the whisper of wind stirring through the temple gardens. Ty'Raj's boots crunched softly over the gravel path as he made his usual rounds, one eye scanning for disturbances more out of habit than duty. Solitude suited him, but solitude also meant responsibility; he had long ago accepted that silence often hid things others missed.

He almost missed her at first. A dark shape in the grass, just beyond the lantern glow. When he drew closer, the figure became clear...a young woman, laying in the grass.... her breathing shallow but steady.

He stopped a pace away, his scarred face hardening as instinct warred with suspicion. Too many years on battlefields had taught him that traps often wore innocent masks. He let the Force ripple outward, testing for hostility, but felt no threat....only exhaustion, faint and frayed like a candle swaying in the wind.

Ty'Raj crouched beside her, his armor creaking faintly as he knelt. One calloused hand brushed her shoulder, testing for response. With a low sigh, he muttered to himself, voice dry with wry humor.

"The Force has an odd sense of humor..."

 

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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One calloused hand brushed her shoulder, testing for response.

Seven let out a low mutter, but didn't move. Only for a moment, though, as she very quickly shot up not long after, jumping a little at the sudden sensation of someone prodding at her shoulder. Her instincts were to move away from the man, which she did so by scooting back a few inches. The former assassin's breath was labored, then stilled as she was met with the strange sight of a man sporting both Jedi-like robes and Mandalorian style armor?

Strange.

"Who... are you?" Seven muttered, rubbing at her eye.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

The old man squinted watching her scoot away. "I reckon you can call me Vex." He stated looking down at her. "Why are you sleeping in the grass instead of a bed ?" He asked simply moving to stand. "You're going to end up with night crawlers all in your hair and such. " he warned simply.

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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"You're going to end up with night crawlers all in your hair and such. "

"Night... crawlers?" Seven frowned, quickly running her fingers through her hair.

Nothing. That was good. Seven had been afforded very few luxuries when her life was dictated by the whims of Lord Kalrath. Hygiene was one of the very few simple pleasures she had. She hated being dirty.

"I'll be mindful of that," the young woman sighed. "I only came out for some fresh air. I've been... struggling to sleep."

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

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"Do you need some medication to help you rest? We have gummies for that if you want we can get you some to help you rest... we also have patches like little stickers you put on your skin to sleep." He said moving to dust off his knees before offering her a hand to help her up.

 

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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"No thank you," Seven declined.

She doubted it would help. After all, it wasn't a biological means keeping her awake. It was that curse mark on her back. The lingering dark presence that haunted her.

Her hand held the paper crane a little tighter before accepting the Jedi Master's hand.

"I will survive," she assured. "Oh, uh, right. You may call me Seven."

She should probably give her... name? Temporary name. She'd figure that out in time.

"I hope I've not caused you any trouble. I'm sure this isn't a common occurrence. My apologies."

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

"Seven? That's a lucky number. Guess that makes you 'Lucky.'" He arched a brow. He'd heard there was a new face around, and figured this must be her.
"Or maybe unlucky. You're the girl who went wandering off with that bitey purple brat, aren't you?" His tone was flat, almost casual, but his eyes were sharp.
"I've been looking for you."
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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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"Ah. I suppose I was," Seven muttered, her posture shrinking. "I... noticed the boy running off and attempted to get him to return..."

Her arm went up to rub her bare shoulder below her cloak. She was probably going to receive punishment now. Seven knew that all of this was too good to last. She doubted that she had much in the way of grace given where she came from. The lingering darkness that still clung to her.

"I will... go with you then," she exhaled in resignation.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

"Right...well, you've earned yourself extra chores for the day. That'll serve as detention well enough. Next time something like that happens, you tell one of the Guardians instead of running off after them." His tone was firm, though not unkind.

"We'll be working in one of the orchards today. Come along."

He turned to lead the way, pausing only long enough to fetch a pair of large baskets fixed to a wooden-and-leather harness. The rig resembled a backpack, sturdy and practical. Turning back, he offered one out.


"Here."

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[0-7]

Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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Extra... chores?

That was lenient. Or maybe her prior existence had just been so harsh that she expected the worst out of everything. She would accept the bag handed to her in a bit of a daze, taking it into her grey fingers. Her ears lowered a bit as the embarrassment of the entire situation really began to set in.

"Am... I to do this for the entire day then?"

Even if it was lenient, the thought of being seen by everyone during her punishment and how others would think of her going forward was an unpleasant thought.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

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Next, he handed her a long pole tipped with a wire basket.

"At least until it's time to break for lunch," he assured her. "You'll eat, and then we'll work another three hours or so."

With that, he led her out toward the groves. Small ribbons, bright markers tied to branches, fluttered along the paths they passed red, green, yellow, until at last he stopped before one marked by a soft blue strip of cloth.

"Here we are." He planted his pole beside him for a moment. "Just collect the apples you think are ready. Take your time."

Then, setting to work, he lifted his own pole, angled the basket around a ripe fruit, and with a twist pulled it free. He moved to gently drop the apple in to his back pack basket.

 

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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Seven let out a sigh as she took the pole into her hand. She really hoped this wasn't the sort of thing that she'd have to get used to. In her paranoia about breaking rules that seemed to be all she had accomplished so far.

Then again, what value was she providing to this place in general? Maybe this was for the better.

No, she couldn't just rationalize everything happening to her like that. This was a one off, and after that Seven would never be in trouble again. The way she had to think about this issue made her feel like a child, constantly dreading the thought of a parent breathing down her neck. Not that she really understood what that was even supposed to be like. Seven didn't really have a family, did she.

She watched Ty'Raj begin to work and quickly scanned his technique. Her mind was sharp, and she very quickly replicated the motions to perfection.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

Vex watched her curiously, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"There you go… easy, right?" he asked.

The orchard seemed to breathe around them. A soft breeze threaded through the branches, carrying the gentle rustle of leaves and the faint thump of apples dropping into the grass. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in dappled patterns, warm and still.

Vex stooped to collect two fallen apples, brushing one clean against his sleeve before offering it to her.
"Best part of collecting them is you get to snack on the finest ones," he said with an easy smile.

His gaze lingered on her a moment longer before he tilted his head, tone light but edged with curiosity.
"So… did you stumble across anything exciting beyond the wall on your little escapade~?"

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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"So… did you stumble across anything exciting beyond the wall on your little escapade~?"

Seven hesitated for a moment. She continued to work in silence with meticulous precious before finally speaking. Her words were hesitate, like she didn't want to dig her hole deeper.

"I found a tree..." she explained. "It was... powerful. Drew me in like a moth to a flame. I couldn't fight it. The fruit it bore... it pulled me into a trance. It was otherworldly."

She shuddered. How easily she had given into the sensation was scary to her.

"I didn't know anything could feel like that."

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

Vex listened closely as she spoke, his curiosity filling in the details she left unsaid, painting images in his mind of what it must have been like.

"What kind of fruit was it? I do hope you didn't just take a bite of something foreign without knowing whether it was poisonous…" he mused, tone thoughtful as he twisted another apple free from the branch above.

"From the way you describe it, it almost sounds like a psychoactive fruit… or perhaps something that's been growing in the heart of a nexus," he remarked lightly, his words drifting as easily as the breeze through the trees. He glanced at her, more serious now.
"Be careful with what you choose to eat if you don't know what it is."

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Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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"From the way you describe it, it almost sounds like a psychoactive fruit… or perhaps something that's been growing in the heart of a nexus,"

"It was not psychoactive," she insisted. "It was the Force. Raw energy... my mind was just not prepared for such an encounter. I'm still very weak. To that end I believe it was a product of the Nexus."

Seven would become apologetic in her expression, however. Even she could recognize how foolish it was. After all, she wasn't foolish. She was a survivor.

It just... drew her in. It wasn't logical, yet it had.

"I will refrain from doing so in the future," she insisted. "I'm... still unsure if I was fond of the experience anyways..."

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

"It sounds like an experience to remember, at the very least. You and I can go out there later, and you can show me which tree it was. I'll mark it on our maps and put up a notice so no other curious students stumble across it by mistake," he said simply as he continued his work. The task at hand was tedious and monotonous, but honest and straightforward. It didn't take long for them to fill their baskets.

Once both baskets were full, he led her to the kitchens of the great temple. Outside, a small dock and wash station waited, their next step. After washing his hands, he set aside the heavier trappings of his attire to better suit the labor. Patiently, he showed her how to rinse the fruit, dry them off, and set them neatly into crates and baskets, ready either for storage or to be turned into small pies later.

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[0-7]

Veridia
Tags: Ty'Raj Vex

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Seven didn't once complain. In fact, she took the sudden assignment of chores with stride. Every motion shown to her by Ty'Raj was meticulously recreated down to the minute detail. Between her sharp mind and cybernetic enhancements she was predisposed to retaining little details. It's what helped her survive.

For better or worse.

"How... many mistakes do you believe I can make?" Seven finally asked. "Given that I am an outsider... I'm not suggesting that I wish to cause trouble, but... I am admittedly weary of the grace I will be afforded if I were to make mistakes again."

It was probably better to just rip the bandage off on that one.

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

He turned a curious look toward her. “What do you mean by… ‘mistakes’?” he asked, sensing she might have thought of it very differently. He preferred she explain in her own words before he answered. “Do you mean something small, like overlooking a bruised apple, or…?”
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