Private Wild Silence

[Caelan Valoren]

"It is very large and in more ways than one," he said as they walked through the trees. "The bureaucratic bloat is crippling it. I'm afraid it may not recover and continuing to rely upon it would be detrimental to my people."

He shook his head, but then decided that wasn't really an appropriate topic for their trip together.

"Though I am sad that you were so maligned by the Jedi, I'm glad you found someone who would support you on Castell and in the Diarchy. We all need people around us that care for us."

He wouldn't wish being alone on his worst enemy. There were few horrors in life worse than having no one around. People in such situations often went mad, and when they did, they became a danger to others. Even though there were people he absolutely despise, people he didn't believe deserved to be happy in life, but he still knew that despite how he felt about them, pushing them the wrong way would endanger others and that wasn't acceptable to him.

He noticed the way she scrunched her face up when he spoke about her changing him. It was actually kind of cute and he had to resist the urge to treat her in a cutesy way. Instead he smiled and nodded.

"Yes, really. I was not in the happiest marriage. Though I loved her, and she me, it was not in the way a married couple should love one another. Our marriage was arranged. Before we met, I had not had a woman look at me the way you did for a very long time. It is nice to feel wanted, to make someone feel safe."

She seemed to like the flower, which made him happy, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they walked amongst the trees. The sound of flowing water wasn't far off, but they still had time to walk and talk.

"I feel safe to let my guard down with you."

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Xian Xiao]

"I'm not going to argue about your observations. In fact, I agree with you. Even if I don't rule anything. My life on Castell wasn't easy. I lived paycheck to paycheck. Granted, my boss probably wouldn't have batted an eye if I asked for a loan or help. My clothes were second-hand, along with my furniture. I got by, though, maybe by the skin of my teeth.

"I also was a protector. You see, the government did send help on occasion. The scalpers and thieves tried to rob the supply trains and sell the goods at a high price. I think that was the Jedi in me. The part that wanted to help the helpless. Even when I wasn't one officially."

Giving him a half smile, she was glad they were talking like this. She felt like she could tell him anything about herself and he would accept it. Like she did with him, her voice faded as they reached the treeline and stepped into the cooler air of the forest.

Leaves crunched under her feet, and birds chirped in the trees. This was a part of nature she'd only experienced on Kashyyyk, when she had been a part of the Silver Jedi.

"She didn't look at you like I do?"

How did she look at him? What made it so special? Her slight bit of confidence started to waver, but his last comment slowed that loss.

"I do too, Caelan."

Drawing in a small breath, it was the truth.

Caelan Valoren

 

[Caelan Valoren]

He felt bad that she had struggled and that he had lived in comfort for most of his life. In fact, he often felt bad about that. Privileged as he was, he had not suffered in life until his parents had been killed. He often felt like he should dissolve the system of royalty upon Lazerian IV and give power fully to the people, but he was concerned if he did that, ultimately the people who were trying to kill him would find a way to take control and ruin the lives of the people he strive to care for.

She described her way of life upon Castell, and how she had served as a protector as well. He listened intently, making sure to grasp all that was said.

"Honestly, you sound more like a Jedi than some actual Jedi do," he said, shaking his head. "I've gotten in several rows with others lately because they seem more like soldiers than Jedi."

The leaved crunched beneath their feet, a few birds flitted past. He saw a lizard of some kind scamper up a tree. Didn't seem dangerous so he just watched it go while pondering how he should respond to her question and admission that she felt the same way he did. It was a difficult thing to talk about for several reasons, including the fact that his former wife was deceased.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but when you left Lazerian, my former wife appeared to me. She pointed out that you looked at me in a way that belied comfort and safety. I was blind to it. But she told me to be happy and I am. With you."

He lifted her hand up and kissed it.

"And I haven't been happy like this in a long time. I don't want it to end and I hope it never does."

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Xian Xiao]

"I knew some of those kinds when I was with the Jedi. That life never really interested me. Helping people did, though, so after the last person dropped me, I was already on Castell, so I just stayed. Until Rellik found me. And the rest is history."

As she finished saying that, she looked at him with a smile. Maybe one of those looks Anavi had not given him.

"I didn't get into any rows with the Jedi. So that's a bonus, I guess."

Shrugging slightly, she listened with an open mind. Additionally, despite her limited training, she was aware of Force entities. When he said his wife had appeared to him, she didn't argue or say he was mistaken. What he said brought the butterflies back, and the smile returned.

"You have no reason to lie to me, and I have no reason to take something you say the wrong way."

As long as things remained that way, she felt they had a promising future. Where had that come from? Watching as he kissed the back of her hand and said what he did, it was clear he was having the same thoughts. He stole any words she was going to say, and she was silent for several moments.

"Me either."

Looking at him, a root in the ground caught her foot, and she started stumbling forward. The bag she was carrying went flying, but her grip on Caelan remained.

Caelan Valoren

 

[Caelan Valoren]

She knew them because they were everywhere. Every order of Jedi that he read about was full of people that had refused to follow the code while simultaneously saying that they did follow it. They were, in fact, the reason that wars persisted in the galaxy, that the Sith were always bolstering their numbers. When Jedi caused people to be hurt, to be lost, by waging never-ending war.

He despised it.

"You don't get into fights with Jedi because you're a good person and have no reason to."

When she smiled it made him happy. To make someone smile was a great and glorious thing, something he often sought to do when he was trying to help others. He did everything in his power to make those around him happy.

And she didn't take what he said as something bad, that he had gone ahead with her at the insistence of his late wife. Well, maybe not really. He had still made the decision himself, and he was glad for it. Everything about her he loved, and everything about being with her he loved. Most especially the feeling of her hand within his.

She agreed with his sentiment. Then she tripped, dropped her bag, and pulled him down with her. Using his training in martial combat, he slipped his hand from hers, and moved it around her. He wasn't stopping their fall, but as he moved he spun her and made it so she landed atop him rather than upon the hard ground beneath her. If it kept her from hurting herself, then that was enough for him.

"You alright?" he asked, looking up at her. "Not hurt?"

Though he wanted to make sure she was alright, he found himself staring at her, relishing the feeling of her body against his.

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Xian Xiao]

"Huh. I never thought of that. Thank you. I also try to avoid fighting with people. Usually."

Closing her mouth, she kept the smile, though she seemed to feel the happiness from Caelan. She wasn't sure, though, and kept it to herself. Stumbling over the answer and what she was thinking, she fell silent as their eyes met. It was then that she tripped and began to fall.

With a slight whump sound, she landed on top of Caelan and did a mental assessment of herself. Only after about 30 seconds, which felt like a lifetime, did she realise where she was lying. His question also brought her out of the daze the fall had put her in.

Her cheeks colored, but she didn't move.

"I'm fine. Are you?"

Meeting his gaze, her breath caught, and her pulse rose a little.

Caelan Valoren

 

[Caelan Valoren]

The discomfort he felt in his back from the back he was wearing didn’t seem that bad when factoring in how it felt to have Xian so close. Even though he knew they should probably just get up and get back to moving, he decided to linger for a moment. His hand moved up to brush a few leaves out of her hair where they’d ended up as a result of getting kicked up from the ground. Not that she looked terrible with them in her hair. Gave her a sort of woodsy druid quality, kind of like one of the lightside witches. But, he didn’t think she’d want them lingering there, unlike the flower from before.

“I’m fine,” he said when she asked if he was alright. “Just glad you’re alright.”

Truthful. He wasn’t hurt in any lasting way. Uncomfortable from the backpack perhaps, but otherwise fine.

Instead, he leaned forward, and if she let him, kissed her once more. Just a brief kiss, but it really felt right to him at that moment. There’d be time for longer ones when they were at their campsite and everything was set up, if she wished. He just wanted her to know it was alright and that he was glad she was alright.

Once the kiss broke, he would gently move to help her to stand, and then do the same himself, dusting off the seat of his pants and then looking around for her pack. Spotting it, he went over to grab it for her.

“Lots of tree roots in the forest so we’ll have to be more careful unless we find a game trail we can follow.”

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​