We Meet Again (DragonsFlame/Farn)

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia's face turned to one of confusion. She looked across at Josh, who seemed equally confused.

"I'm fine as far as I know. I mean, there were no chronos on Raxus Prime but it's been a long time since Coruscant." She shrugged. "Honestly, it doesn't matter. I could have been out in deep space for a week and it still would have felt like forever. It kind of has that effect on you, you know?" Tallia didn't care what Josh thought. She easily blew it off in their conversation, but she remembered every waking minute she had spent in that hell hole. A simple hour spent in Raxus Prime's trash pits would be a memorable experience, but Tallia had been there for months.

"It hasn't been easy recovering from everything I've gone through, and some things don't heal." She brushed her hand against the scar on her cheek. It was only one of the many that now covered her body. Sith torture tended to ruin good skin.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Joshua was still confused by what had been said, but perhaps they were both still a little disoriented by the whirlwind of events that had happened on this day. It was probably best they just dropped it. He would shrug, and nod, seeming alright with that answer, as he didn't pursue it further.

"I apologize then, Miss Farn" He would respond with a small, comforting smile. "I remember being a worrywart all that time ago too. I suppose not everything has changed, aye?" He would add with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood just a bit. The more that things change, the more things stayed the same, it seemed.

"Well, onto other questions... What have you been up to since I've last seen you?" He would inquire, tilting his head. He was sure Tallia would want to know where the hell he'd been as well. Or maybe not. She seemed... Different, in many ways. He wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to bring it up.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia sat quietly for a moment. It wasn't a matter of her not knowing what to tell Josh, she just didn't know where to start her tale. Her face scrunched as she thought.

"I can't remember the last time we met, but I know it was before the attack on Coruscant. That's when I was captured by the Sith." Her face turned grim as she began to tell her story. "That's the reason I just disappeared. I'm sure the Jedi just added me to the death toll and moved on. No one ever came looking for me." Her head tilted down and her eyes were down cast.

"I tried to resist as long as I could, but they.. broke me." there was hurt in Tallia's voice as she spoke. She hadn't talked about this to anyone.

"After they were done toying with me, they just left me for dead. Sometimes, I wish they would have had the decency to just finish me off." She choked on the last few words. It wasn't easy getting this off her chest.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh listened to her story, and the moment she mentioned that it was during the attack on Coruscant, he went dead quiet. He stared at her, and for the first time since she'd seen him today, his eyes widened... His hands balled into fists, one still holding his glass that he'd ordered prior, and they started to shake violently. His gaze turned soft, but his body language did not. The more she detailed what had happened, the more upset he seemed to get. And it wasn't even what had happened to her that brought him the most pain. No...

"I... I...."

He stammered, trying to find the words. He didn't know what to say. "I... I was there, at the attack, I could have..."

No, no no...!

He'd gone there to complete Grandmaster Dista's final request to him before he left the Order when the attack started. He'd fought through the Sith best he could, salvaged the stuff exclusive to Coruscant's archives, and then fought his way out and got off the planet, to transmit them to Ruusan's temple before leaving for good.

The care he'd once held for Tallia returned then and there as the reality of what had happened dawned on him. The glass was no match for his strength from how tight his grip had gotten, and it would shatter, sharp pieces piercing the skin on his hands. The patrons looked over at him due to the sound and he would get up out of his seat suddenly.

"I... I .... I'll be back, I... I need to go for a walk... I need some air..." He managed to get out as he would walk away suddenly, sliding some credits toward the bar to pay for the glass before he walked out. He wasn't sure if Tallia would follow or not, he'd left so suddenly. He didn't know if he wanted her to. One thing was certain though by the way he had reacted.... The Jedi Master was blaming himself.

All that training to remain calm and not let anything get to him faded away as he walked through the streets, trying to find somewhere where he could just.... He didn't know. He picked the pieces of glass that had pierced his skin out of his hand as he walked, until he managed to find an alley, unaware of whether or not he was being followed. Once he was out of sight of anyone as far as he knew, he just... Let loose.

A garbage can was sent flying into the nearby wall from a force push as the blonde let out a yell. A fist left a dent in the wall next to him, he was angry... Not just angry at the Sith... But at himself. He'd been there. On Coruscant. During the battle. He was no longer a member of the Republic's Jedi Order, but if he'd stayed, if he hadn't left as soon as he could because of his differences with the Jedi and Republic...

He could have stopped them...

He'd left. He'd left. Like a coward. He had no idea Tallia was in the battle, or what was happening. But if he'd stayed, he would have.. All this pain she went through was because he hadn't been there to stop them, in his eyes...

He'd failed her. They broke her because he abandoned her. For so long he'd wondered where Tallia had gone. Turns out she was on the same planet where he was before he had left for good... And he could have saved her.

His frustrations boiled over. It had been a very long time since the Jedi Master had felt anger. Anguish. Pain. The tears streamed down his face as everything dawned on him. His hand was bleeding, but he didn't care. He needed to vent it out just this once. But his worst fears had come true... He'd failed someone he cared about, and they'd suffered because he wasn't there. In his eyes... It was all on him.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia was stunned as Josh abruptly stormed out of the bar. She knew her story wasn't a plesant one, but she hadn't meant for him to be so affected by it.

"Josh!" She called after him, spinning around in her booth, but he was already out the door. She opened slightly to the force and could feel his pain.

"Damnit! I can't leave him out there like that." She decided, though for a brief moment she considered just leaving. This wasn't any fun for her either, but she'd trained to bury her emotions as best as possible, so she wasn't as prone to outbursts. But Josh was a friend, or at least had been. She knew she couldn't take friends for granted.

Tallia hurried out of the bar, following Josh's trail of anger. She brushed past some Biths arguing loudly in their odd buzzing language and stuck her head into an alley. She could see Josh standing in the darkess and slipped back around the corner. She decided it would probably be best for him to cool down before she talked to him again.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

It was incredibly rare for Master DragonsFlame to have any sort of outburst. Sure, he'd shown his emotions to Tallia before, during a mourning period, but only in a time of great loss for him, never something like this. The entire thing had just been a serious shock for him, and the guilt in knowing that if he'd been his usual stubborn self and said "kark it" to his mission instead of helping the Jedi, instead of helping Tallia... Well things had a chance of being different, that had come down on him hard. He didn't show anger too much either. Both things he had trained against for a very, very long time. When he was training to assume his role as Grandmaster, he'd even learned to hide his own emotions, be stoic and emotionless, to deal with everything with a cool head. It was his duty, as much as he disliked the idea of hiding himself. He'd remained this calm during the entire mission with Tallia, and to a degree in the bar up until that very moment that had set him off.

Luckily, that training wasn't entirely wasted. Before long, the Jedi Master had managed to cool down. It was something that had completely peeved off Circe Savan to no end. The man couldn't be angry for long. Even with himself, as he was here. She had tried so hard to make him embrace that anger, but the moment she managed it, it only lasted long enough for him to beat the pants off the Sith Lord before he was calm again. The young man finally wiped the tears away and looked down at his hands. He took a deep breath, allowing the wounds to heal with Force Heal. He looked at the large dent he'd made in the wall and raised an eyebrow. Yeesh, he'd been upset, aye? He was still kicking himself for what had happened, but... Of course, it was possible, hell, likely that even if he had stayed, it wasn't guaranteed that he would have found Tallia. And even then, it would have been too late most likely. Still, he couldn't help but feel regret for not being there when he should have been, in his eyes.

With a calm mind once again, the Jedi Master would walk back out of the alley... Only for his eyes to instantly meet Tallia's the moment he passed the corner. He stopped, staring at her for a long, awkward moment. He realized then that she'd seen him. That calm, almost emotionless facade had ended. He let out a sigh, the jig was up huh?

"I probably look like a bloody idiot, going off like that, like a child. Don't I?" He would manage to half-joke with a small smile, scratching his head. "I.... I'm really sorry Tallia" He spoke softly as he took a breath. "Not just for walking out like that, not just for what you saw. But for what you've been through since I last saw you" He said, biting his lip. "And for not being there"

He probably owed her a bloody explanation.

[member="Tallia Farn"]