What We Fight For (Asaraa Vaashe)

[Caedyn Arenais]

Location: Kashyyyk, The Silver Rest, Primary Hangar.​

Starship: The Repertoire.​

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"].​

​

​

​

The rendezvous with his Father and Sister had not gone well, and Veiere had managed to understate just how tremendous a revelation it was that he had dropped upon the Twins with regards to the War and their Families internal struggles surrounding it all. Caedyn had picked up quite early on that there was something wrong with the way their parents were living these days, so far apart from one another, yet he had never expected the two to be on opposite sides of a War. Their Father, the Jedi. Their Mother, a Politician with deep personal ties with the leader of the Mandalorians. Both of which that were now at War with one another.

How in the hell had things fallen so far out of control that their once loving family that had stood for peace and justice in the Galaxy, were now soon to be forced to choose sides. Already it felt as though [member="Loreena Arenais"] had chosen, arguing with their Father in the defense of her history and connections made, like their Mom. Then there was Caedyn and Asaraa. He had already been actively helping around the Silver Order, his girlfriend being a Jedi Knight therein.

Caedyn hadn't wanted to admit it in front of his Sister, but his side was already obvious. He had zero ties with the Mandalorians, his life with the Je'daii had taken him far far away from everyone back during those days where Lori had been sent to live alongside the Clans.

It was safe to say that he was feeling extremely conflicted about all of it, not knowing what the right answer was in amongst the whole mess. The best thing he'd known to do after discussing what was to come ahead of them, was send [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] word that he was on his way, and needing to talk to her about everything that was happening. There hadn't been any details in the message outside of the fact that he had met with his Dad and Sister near the system of Roche.

By the time of his arrival back on Kashyyyk, she'd have well had the time and opportunity to read it, and pick up on his concern through the way he had worded himself and asking for her time, as though she wouldn't openly give it to him, being partners as they were.

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The landing pads at the Silver Rest were always hotbed of activity, shuttles and ships carrying members of the Order and their friends to the farthest reaches of hte galaxy as they did the good works the Order was known for, or just surfing amongst the stars meeting their families and living their lives. it was one of the nicer things, the ability to take of, pick out a star and reach for it. Just take off and travel, to see where you ended up and what there was to do, and knowing you always had home, always had the security behind you. Only, it didn't seem like Caedyn's latest trip had been such a pleasant one. Since he'd sent the message to her asking to meet up when he got back to Kashyyyk, well she couldn't dent that she'd been more than a little worried about it. It wasn't that she'd paced a furrow in the floor of her suite but well...the repair droids had been heading down the corridor when she'd left for the day. So instead she found herself here watching the now familiar shape of The Repertoire sinking down on it's landing gear, the metallic surface of the ship catching hte midday light as she brought one hand up to shade her eyes, the other hand reaching up to puck at her hair, nervously straightening it as her blue-eyed gaze settled on the opening door and hte ramp extending to the ground, the shadowed figure standing at the top of it. He didn't seem to be missing any limbs, or sporting any bandages, so that was a good start right? "Uhhh...hi stranger? Fancy running into you here."

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Uhhh...hi stranger? Fancy running into you here".

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"] always had her ways of greeting him with a feeling of warmth and stoking those fires in his heart that bred happiness, whatever the occasion; "I suppose I deserve that" Caedyn replied. He'd not spent much time with her lately, between trying to get them a secure place sorted aboard the Outer-Heaven, finding employment there and then this damned War that had pit their family against one another...

Walking directly into her, his arms went for her sides and Caedyn took her into his embrace sparing no time to show Asaraa just how much he'd missed her. It was a longing hold, not one of those 'moment of passion' sorta things but rather a genuine and lasting embrace that probably also spoke more of his state of mind than he'd be willing to admit. "Sorry I haven't been around a lot lately" he whispered to her, placing a kiss against her temple and soon releasing her.

"Dad's just told Lori and I about what's been going on" He began to explain himself, though for the time being keeping it short, not knowing how much Asaraa was aware of quite yet. "He's probably arrived at Roche already, but he was talking about a fight against the Mandalorians".

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Each sentient, each Jedi was different, this was perhaps one of hte basic laws of the galaxy, one of those immutable concept. Everyone had different strengths and weaknesses and Asaraa was no exception to that rule. If you needed someone to telekinetically hold back and avalanche, or face down a horde of Sith then she was your girl. Run an obstacle course, spend a week searching the Shadowlands? Absolutely no problem. Plant an illusion in someone's mind, sense how they were feeling or what they were thinking? That was perhaps a little beyond her. It wasn't like she couldn't do it, but the mental powers associated with the force they had never come so easily to her.

It had always been one of those things, one of the little that she lived with, watching the other Jedi around her reach out to the minds of others without more than a second thought had always been a small moment of envy for her, that mote under her skin that pushed her to do more, to do better. Yet even she could sense the pain pouring of Caedyn, like a tsunami barely held in check by his self control. The man in front of her wasn't the everyday Caedyn she was used to, the one who joked and laughed as easily as breathing, this was the Caedyn she'd last seen during those days spent on Commenor. The Caedyn who worried and worked at things, at all the little problems of the world and the galaxy working away at him, all the problems of his family. She could feel the worry and frustration spilling past his control, just the smallest waves topping the dam. It was just...that there was anything at all showed how worried he was. Her boyfriend had the tightest control when he wanted to, she knew he didn't like worrying her but, it was at times like this that he really did.

Without thinking about it Asaraa's arms came up, wrapping around Caedyn even as he tried to pull away, her face pressed into his chest. She was no slouch with her physical training, she very much knew her strengths but she knew if he wanted to pull away Caedyn could pull away from her, but she just wanted a moment longer with him, the physical comfort of his warmth, the comfort she could provide. Just a moment when the rest of the galaxy could hold it's breath and leave him alone.

A moment she knew couldn't last anylonger than a heartbeat or two. "It's not just your dad," a quiet muffled voice admitted from his chest, "the whole Order's been walking on eggshells. It's like everyone knows that a hammer's going to drop, it's just no-one really knows where yet."

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn couldn't help but smile into her shoulder as [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] refused to let him step away from her just yet, his head lowering so that their cheeks brushed against each other before she buried her face into his chest. His embrace of her tightened a little, reaffirming that desire and intimacy between them, despite standing in the open Hangar and with his gaze lifting to rest his head atop hers, he noticed a couple people staring at them, though thought nothing of it given the priority of the moment shared between them.

Asa knew him well by now, much of the time Caedyn chose not to voice his feelings or thoughts unless some good was going to come of it, yet lately things were feeling forced, he feeling stretched to thin with the pressures that weighed over his conscience much like the times he had scrambled to try and do something to stop the Sith from taking Commenor. "My Mom's fighting on one side, and my Dad's fighting for the Silver Jedi on the other" Caedyn told her, explaining exactly why he was so stressed, as though war in and of itself wasn't stressful enough; "Lori's probably going to want to help Mom".

It wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last time he was to be involved in something like this; yet for his family to be split in half the way they were. "I knew things were getting tense but this is ridiculous" he muttered under his breath; "I'm assuming you'll be getting involved too?" he asked, his mind seemingly racing from one thought to the next. "I can't lose you too, Asaraa".

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The girl found her arms tightening around his chest as he spoke, feeling the solid warmth of his body, the beat of his heart through his chest. The pink-haired Jedi had never really grown up with a family, she'd grown up with the Jedi. Sure there were other younglings to joke with, to tease and play with but that wasn't really the same. She hadn't felt any kind of connection to them, not truly. Years after they'd all ascended to Padawan, to knight but none of them had really stayed in touch. The younglings were scattered to the farthest corners of the galaxy, to the various orders and callings of a Jedi and she'd never really felt the need to go and hunt them down herself either.

Caedyn on the other hand, she knew for a fact that if his sister was ever in trouble, if she ever needed him he'd be there in a heartbeat. Wild bantha wouldn't be able to stop him from winging his way across the galaxy to rescue her. It was one of the things she loved about him, that fierce sense of loyalty to family. It was something she'd always been envious before, though now...seeing how torn up he was she wasn't so sure that it was the wonderfully positive thing she'd painted in her head. Not if it could cause someone this much pain, this much anguish, but hte hardest part was she knew that he was suffering through this but she couldn't help, couldn't lighten it, couldn't even understand the stress on him. "You think we might end up fighting your mother, or your sister?" The girl fell silent for a moment, still clinging to her boyfriend's chest as if she could absorb all of his hurt and pain just with her presence. She had to because, "Yeah, I'll be with the rest of the Order." Part of her wanted to assure him of the opposite, that she wouldn't be involved, that she was one person that he didn't need to worry about but the truth, and they both knew it, was that she couldn't just leave the Order to deploy without her. "Please, I've survived fighting a Sith, a Dark Jedi and being kidnapped by the sith...kinda, you think a bunch of Mando's got anything on me?" the girl leaned back, a bright smile flashing up at Caedyn, "you aren't gonna get rid of me that easily buster."

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Sorry" Caedyn exhaled into a bit of a wary chuckle, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed for how he was appearing. Guys weren't supposed to show how bad things were when they got to them like this, or at-least that's how it was for Caedyn, and so when he realized the mess he was looking, he seemed to withdraw a little and mask it all with that typical sense of humor that so often came out at the worst of times; "Suppose you're not you without some trouble trying to chase you down huh. Should be used to it by now" he smirked a little, looking down into her head of hair and kissing her as though he might assure her things would be fine.

"Even still, you won't be going out there alone. I'm not letting you get yourself into a situation without me there to pull your ass outta it" he pulled back a little, his right hand moving to gently bring her gaze up to his, his hand beneath her chin with gentle encouragement. "I'm with the Jedi too, not just because you're here but they're doing the best they can and it's the closest thing I have that resembles my last Order" he reminded her, making sure that [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] knew that Caedyn was invested in the Order of the Silver Jedi, as well.

"Mom and Dad have gotten themselves into a right mess though..." He added thoughtfully, "I guess I need to just let them get themselves out of it, if that's possible" he questioned himself rhetorically. Asa had seen how the situation with his family had been playing on his mind the last few months, though he rarely spoke about it, he also seemed to avoid talking about his parents wherever possible. At first it had just been his Father because of his time with the Dark Jedi, but then his Mother's actions having painted them all in such a bad light had also affected him and left him resentful of the mess they'd made, seemingly without thinking much of their children which Caedyn couldn't understand.

"I've got you and that's what matters" Caedyn expressed with a smile, "Good thing I've been so busy lately..." he added, as though there was something being hinted at, though he left it hanging there for Asaraa to question, something of a knowing look in his eye, and quietly glad for the distraction away from the things making him feel so miserable outside of their relationship.

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The girl drove her finger into the side of her boyfriend's ribs, a pair of crystal blue eyes staring up at him, "None of that now, neither of it." Asaraa pushed herself up onto her tiptoes she she could at least have chance of something like looking him in the face. It always came as a shock to her just how tall he was in comparison to her, it always made times like this a little awkward, still he'd just have to settle for her leaning on him for balance right now. "You don't get to close off, not now, none of that joking around about this," came the soft warning. "You're hurting, and that's ok, but you need to let me be here for it, to help you. Please?" She knew that he didn't like to show of emotion, weaknesses to others but it broke her heart to see him close off his pain like that, as if he couldn't let others see, to help him carry it.

"If you're coming to the fight, then you better not let yourself get hurt. If I end up having to visit you in the infirmary then I'm gonna be really really pissed," a smile curled up around the corner of the pink-haired Jedi's lips, a light of amusement dancing around her eyes for a moment as she smirked at Caedyn, "so no getting yourself hurt, or we'll see how painful those hospital cushions are when they're dancing a jig up and down your body." There were some advantages for being good at telekinesis, who needed more hands when she could just will the pillows to attack him instead.

The girl bit her lip for a moment as she rested her head on his shoulder, arms coming up to wind around his neck as she just stood there, "They'll be ok you know? Your parents have been through worse than this before and managed to make it out the other side, this is nothing." She hoped that she sounded more confident than she felt, she'd never seen a family close up before but Master Arenais hadn't looked happy recently and well...she hoped for Caedyn's sake that his parents would be ok. "I mean, if there weren't any rocks or issues to deal with, what kind of story would it be to tell?"

Finally ready to let go Asaraa took a step back, coking her hip to one side as she smirked, one eyebrow reaching for hte sky, "So you're saying it's a good thing that you've been neglecting me lately then? Oh, I see how it is...so basically you're saying you wanna sleep on the ship again tonight then?"

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"So you're saying it's a good thing that you've been neglecting me lately then? ​

Oh, I see how it is...so basically you're saying you wanna sleep on the ship again tonight then?"​

​

Caedyn couldn't keep himself from grinning, even though he had little doubt that [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] would follow through on that threat now that she knew that she had that kind of ammunition up her sleeve in their relationship these days; the fact however was that she had misinterpreted his hint and instead taken it as a playful jab at her made out in jest.

"Actually, I've decided the Ship's not quite going to cut it any more..." He informed her, going further to make the most out of the opportunity she had given him to really toy with her a bit; "In fact, I'm not certain we should be sharing your quarters here anymore..." He did his best take at playing the serious boyfriend, as though he were about to drop a bombshell on her.

"You see, I've had a lot of time to think lately..." He continued, "Not having been around here much and all. It's given me a sort of sense of clarity in deciding what kind of things I want in life" his eyes landed upon Asaraa's and he added with a little more, genuine, sincerity "-and who I want to share it with" his right hand fell away from her, to instead tug at the datapad clipped to the back of his belt, and parting from Asaraa then to activate the device and hand it over to her.

Upon the screen of the device, Asaraa would be seeing the image of a start-of-the-art Residence situated upon something known as Outer-Heaven, the binding contract and information regarding the layout and ownership of said property, under not only Caedyn's name, but her's as well. As he watched her, looking to guage her reaction to what she was reading and almost apprehensive in how she might turn on him upon the realization that this was a property they now owned, Caedyn chuckled quietly under his breath as he took the initiative to say ever so softly "Surprise?".

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

It wasn't easy to leave Asaraa speechless, many had tried in the past and all had failed. Yet somehow Caedyn had managed to find a way to leave the young Jedi gaping like a fish as her eyes darted back and forth between the datapad and Caedyn. It was honestly disconcerting, she always had something to say, something all of her masters had found out, often at their own peril in the case of Josh Dragonsflame. Yet for the longest moment she just stood there, eyes open wide, staring unbelieving at the datapad before a soft, almost strangled voice managed to croak past her lips. "You brought a house? YOU BROUGHT A HOUSE?!" All of a sudden the girl's voice was back at full volume as she almost screamed. People didn't just do that, sure people brought houses all the time but...they talked about it before hand, they...they...well they didn't just spring the purchase on someone else like this. Who did that?!

At the same time...she couldn't deny that it was a nice,, no an amazing, gesture. Crystal blue eyes fell back to the datapad as the girl reached out a finger, it was actually trembling, to swipe at the brochure, images cascading over the screen, showing off the rooms, the decor and layout available to them...theirs, this was theirs. Disbelief warred with elation, chasing one another across her face, round and round, one and then another. "It's gorgeous...but you...when...how...where?" She wasn't exactly able to speak in full sentences right now, honestly Asaraa was surprised that she was able to speak at all. The girl threw her arms around Caedyn's neck, her lips finding his, "Thank you, it's amazing!" He certainly wasn't going to have to sleep on his ship tonight.

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

And there it was, buried among all the turmoil of their lives and the service they tried to provide for a Galaxy that found it so difficult to appreciate, that look in her eyes and the way her words almost trembled as her heart raced faster than her mind could decide which emotion to feel the most; Caedyn could only grin ever wider as he watched the girl he loved fight within herself at the given revelation. Yes, buried beneath everything else, there was the brightest burning star in the Galaxy and the warmth in his life, [member="Asaraa Vaashe"], Caedyn's center of the Galaxy.

She threw herself at him before Caedyn could even get an answer out, though the kiss spoke volumes between them both. Smiling as she broke the touch in order to thank him, Caedyn's arms kept her close whilst he now had the spotlight, so to speak. "It's on a Space-Station, actually. It's at the back of the brochure, tap the link that says Outer-Heaven" he grinned, wanting first for Asaraa to look it over before getting to the part about him taking on work for the Security Agency employed with the safe-keeping and law & order of the entire Station. It wasn't a bad place to work either given his talents in the Force, being the young guy he was, for the most part he'd been able to talk himself out of a fight when he'd been forced to. Though he also hadn't been working there too long, what with his studies and all under the Order.

"It's kinda...-Already paid for and all that too, so you don't gotta worry about anything if it's too much...?".

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

"You already paid for it too? But," Asaraa's hand came up, gesturing at the datapad. at the images slowly rotating there, "that must have cost a fortune!" A suite on a space station couldn't be cheap, and this wasn't a suite that Caedyn was showing her wasn't just a suite, this was a full on house that he had...brought. "How?" She'd always known that he was richer than her, but she'd never imagined that the difference between them was quite this large. One arm wrapped around Caedyn's waist as the other hand came up, flipping through the pictures on the brochure. "So...when can we move in?" A smile curled up the corner of her lips as she waved a hand as the datapad, shutting it off as she tilted her head to the side curiously, "So...I guess this means that we need to go shopping right? Cause I'm pretty sure that we're not allowed to abscond with furniture from the rest although." She tapped a finder against her lips in thought. "You know, if we did it really late at night, and we're really careful. We could probably steal some stuff and get out of here before anyone knows, and there is a really nice table in the Assembly meeting room that I've always wanted to own." A playful grin touched Asaraa's lips as she turned a smirk onto Caedyn, "unless you're going to tell me that you've managed to get all the furniture picked out? Because I hate to tell you, but whatever you've chosen....we're probably gonna need to revisit it."

There was a playful grin on her face, as she twisted around to grab his other hand, "Thank you, this is amazing." It was a place, somewhere far away from the horrors of war, from the rest. Asaraa loved the Jedi, she loved the friends and family that she'd gained here and believed in what they were fighting for, believed that the Jedi stood as the last bastion of light in the galaxy. It was just...sometimes it didn't seem to stop, didn't seem to ever give them a chance to catch their breath, to stop and find a way to relax and recuperate. As important as it was to be that beacon, something that was hard enough by itself. Caedyn helped, just being with him, in his presence was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders just seeing him smile...but this...a place away from the rest of the galaxy, where they could go and forget about it, if just for a little while. "Thank you."

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Well..." Caedyn wondered how he could explain the whole thing, having organized payments for their new residence upon the Space-Station, as well as his having been away a lot more than usual for them; "Everything with Mom and Dad kind of went to crap, and Loreena's in real tight with the Mandalorian's so I decided it might be better to figure out something that's gonna work for you and I" he spoke a little uncertainly, his voice laden with wary thoughts for their future and his own life separate from the path that his family were walking down.

"I've been over there getting the place ready before I was planning on springing it on you" He chuckled awkwardly whilst holding [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] in his arms still, his gaze dropping to hers a little sheepishly, feeling a little out of his depth in the way he'd just dropped this massive news on her. "I've also been working in the security sector there on the Station as a means of paying it off over time. It probably helped that my family name is one of the two founding contributors..." He gave something of a half-hearted shrug. So it wasn't all completely of his own doing but he wasn't having his family pay his way for him, the name just offered an opportunity whilst Caedyn had been working so hard at making it on his own.

"I guess I wanted a place for us to be able to run to when everything here got to be too much" he gestured to the interior of the Silver Rest around them both. The Silver Jedi were as honorable an organization as any Jedi Order out there, but everyone needed a place of their own to break away to for some well-earned rest and relaxation, he and Asaraa especially for how much they seemed to take upon themselves.

"The place is pretty modern, the facilities on the Station are very reliable so it's not somewhere we have to go to regularly in order to keep it maintained or anything. We can just head there whenever it suits us. I wasn't planning on stealing you away from the Silvers..." He explained, hoping that she wouldn't get the wrong idea and think that he was trying to pull her away from Kashyyyk.

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Asaraa's lips curled up into a smile as she leaned back ever so slightly, freeing a hand from wrapping around Caedyn to gesture behind her, a sweeping gesture that took in the temple behind them, the grounds teeming with the Jedi and the others who let them travel through the galaxy. "I mean, I love the Jedi here but...it's not really a home, it's a hub, a community but it's not like you can do more than personalize your rooms a little. Just try to paint your room and see what happens when they find out." The girl grinned at Caedyn, as she shook her head, her long hair waving out behind her like a cloak. "It's just...if you'd told me we could have worked security together or something, paid it off together." The pink-haired Jedi tilted her head to the side, blue eyes settling on his face again, "It's not dangerous work is it?" THe girl's voice was soft, a note of worry threaded through her voice, white teeth working at the soft flesh of her lower lip.

She knew that Caedyn was more than capable of taking care of himself, that he was a strong fighter but all it took was a bad day, an unlucky second for even the strongest fighter to stumble and fall along the way and she couldn't help herself but worry about that. Asaraa's eves fell back to the brouchure, at the images beaming up at them. "So...when can we go and visit?"

Asaraa loved the Silver Jedi Order and her family, friends and life on Kashyyyk but...the chance to have a life of her own. A space of their own where no-one else could intrude or mess with them...that was somethign she hadn't realised she'd wanted, hadn't realised she'd needed until Caedyn had brought it up. "Can we go now?"

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]