Ask Broken Wings

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin quietly let Laeo work through his doubts, not saying a word as he vented out the last of his frustrations. He knew the man wouldn’t give up so easily— it wasn’t anything like the Laeo he’d met. If anything, what he needed was some time to come to terms with what had happened. He hoped.

Soon Laeo calmed down a bit, and Quin couldn’t help a relieved smile from appearing on his lips when he finally revealed that his resolve had returned. It was as if the entire room had collectively released the figurative breath it had been holding. This was the Laeo he remembered. The witty one, the strong one, the one who had a feeling of purpose, whether he knew it consciously or not. His smile grew even wider when his friend called him a saint. That might have been a bit of a stretch, but he was too awash with relief to correct him.

“...Gods, Laeo, I don’t know what to say to that,” he replied with a laugh, pulling himself together again before continuing on. “Really, though. I’m just glad you’re alright. I’ve missed you.” They hadn’t spoken since Jakku, and after briefly catching his eye on Corellia right before the battle started, he’d since been wondering what Laeo had been up to. It was kind of surreal now that this was how it all ended up, and that this was the first conversation they’d had since before the Killik crisis had even started.

“The Force really does work in mysterious ways, huh?”

@Tom @LouJoVi

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

There was something about the way Quin reacted to his reaction that made Laeo smile a little. It was... strange, to appreciate someone else's happiness just for it's own sake. He'd never dare to admit to something so soft though, and when Quin asked what he could say, Laeo answered, "A thanks would be nice-- God knows the Jedi don't get enough praise." He joked, maintaining a humorous façade.

But it broke at Quin's declaration that he missed him.

"...you... you do?" He asked, seeming to be skeptical at first. He'd hardly known Quin-- they had fought together once, seen each other around Yavin a few times, but that was that. He'd assumed that if any of the Jedi even remembered him, it would be for the disgrace he'd made of himself that had led to his exile. He could still remember the look on the face of the Padawan he'd met on Bespin-- the disbelief, incredulity, even disdain. Not recognizing him was the best he could hope for, he reasoned.

But, incredibly, Quin had missed him. He'd appreciated his company enough-- however brief it had been-- to want him back. "...Why the hell would you wanna keep company with a shithead like me?" He asked, genuinely curious. "I spent most of my time with the order in the gym, meditating or beating the hell out of the other paddies in sparring matches. I didn't try to be anyone's friend-- I barely even spoke to you." He declared... and it was obvious that now, at least, he lamented that fact.

"I mean, what else have you seen of me besides, well... killing or hurting people?" he asked. Whether it was Jakku, or Corellia, or even now, all of their meetings had been defined by him hurting other people or himself. Even if he'd found a will to live after losing it, holding onto that meaning was difficult when he looked back on his own life. He was turning away from that now, turning away from the man he had been-- but Quin seemed to believe that there had been something of value in the screaming, drunken maniac that he had turned away from.

@Sicadorito @LouJoVi

 

[Quin Leonkri]

The cautious skepticism in Laeo’s voice led Quin to pause. Similar questions had come up a few times during his wait the past few weeks. It was strange hearing it voiced out loud… but he found that the answer didn’t change. He didn’t know much about Laeo’s past, nor heard much of anything else he’d done, but they had fought beside each other twice. The man could easily have turned away from either one, but he’d seen it through to the end. That much earned him Quin’s respect.

“It’s because you were there, Laeo.” Before he could ask what that could possibly mean, Quin went on. “On Jakku. On Corellia. You knew you would be walking into danger, but you went anyway. You might have hurt some people, I know I did too, but you saved others. For Ruzaan and Elidan, who knows how things would have been if you didn’t step in?”

That didn’t fully answer the question, though.

“You’ve saved lives. Maybe even my own.” Quin shrugged. “Either way, you’re someone I’d like to fight beside. I don’t know what you did in the past, but… what you’re doing now is right. In my opinion.” He took a breath before smiling briefly. “So that’s why I wanted you back.”

@Tom @LouJoVi

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

"You were there."

That was all it took.

Laeo had grown up on a world in which relationships were based around transactions, where debts and affections were often one and the same. His master had guided him away from such a detached view of things, but even now, years later, hearing Quin's words left him stunned. Laeonas owed him no money, he hadn't offered Quin anything, and his company had been all they'd ever shared. They had fought side by side, bled together, risked their lives together.

And that was all it took for Quin to call him friend.

"...well, when you put it like that, I'm surprised you never called me friend sooner." He joked, smiling at the man who had not only helped save his life, but convinced him it was one worth living. He would never be the same-- he'd have to go the rest of his life with a part of his body stolen, the markings of a humiliating defeat torn across his face. Doubtless he was hideously deformed beneath his bandages... though, he could feel that his other eye was still present, so it was at least superficial.

"Well, as long as the Killiks and Sith are around, I'll have plenty of people to fight." He declared, before frowning. "Though, you and they've got that whole cease fire bullshit going on." he noted, before pausing. "...though, I'm not a Jedi, so I don't need to follow whatever legal bullshit The Empress and Master Voran decided on." He declared with a grin.

"I can't really do any of that like this though," he said, pointing down at his misshapen leg. "Tell the doc that I consent to whatever procedures he's gotta do to fix me." He went on.

"...and, Quin," he finished, smiling at him. "Thank you."

@Sicadorito @LouJoVi

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“I should have. I just… thought you knew already.” Seeing Laeo feeling better had lifted his own mood too, and he relaxed a little more on his chair. It was a little strange how he’d always struggled with figuring out the right things to say back in etiquette classes on Naboo, yet he’d still somehow managed to change Laeo’s mind about this. Maybe it was the genuinity in the here and now.

“That’s the spirit!” Quin would grin at Laeo when he gave his consent for the doctors to fix him up. “I will, I promise.”

The thank you that came next was somewhat unexpected, and Quin found himself staring at Laeo for about a second before his expression softened again.

“Thank you for listening. It would have turned out much differently if you didn’t.” He paused, gathering his thoughts before finishing. “Jedi or not, it’s an honor being able to call you a friend.” With that, he would smile at Laeo one more time before getting up and quietly telling the nurse outside of his decision.

@Tom @LouJoVi

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Laeonas rolled his eyes at Quin's suggestion that he had figured that fact out beforehand. "You really think I'm the type to assume someone's a friend?" He asked, before flashing another grin. His eyes would turn back down to his figure, the mission muscles and tissue, the places where he would never properly be whole again. It still hurt to know that, but it had hurt when he'd seen the scars across his body, when he woke in the night screaming as the images of Firrerre played out across his mind.

He wouldn't let this bring him down-- not when he had family, friends who wanted to see him succeed.

"Yeah," Laeo answered Quin absentmindedly, before looking up at him again. "When I'm walking again, you and I... we should talk. I just realized that there's a lot that I want to do." He declared, before smiling as Quin told him that it was an honor to be his friend. "You're way to good at flattery, Theotoke Eire'ne," He quipped back, a quiet religious exaggeration added for good measure.

"Make sure those nurses don't think I'm still going batshit, alright?" He called as Quin turned to go talk to them.

It wasn't long before the doctors and the nurses arrived. They'd decided that they were going to put him under again until the Cyberneticists were ready to operate, which he consented to.

--------

Gregorias watched from outside the operation room as the procedures began. He'd been quietly dreading what he expected to happen-- that the patient, mad with grief, would refuse the surgeries, and that while he'd be kept on life support at the hospital for the next few months, he'd eventually be thrown out once he could no longer pay his bills. That was the fate of a multitude of his patients, much to his chagrin, but there had never been a thing he could do about it.

And yet, the Jedi had managed to convince the half mad, half broken, half dead creature he'd woken up to live as a man again. When he found him and Tristodd in the waiting room, the old doctor almost seemed to be smiling-- almost.

"Operating on tha patient's begun. The surgeries should be finished in..." he looked at the datapad he carried under his shoulder, "Approximately eighteen 'ours and fourty two minutes." He declared. "Unless ya intend ta spend all yer time sittin' 'ere, Ai know a few cheap 'otels ya can stay at and a few restaurants ya can grab a bite from, Jedi." He said, before glancing and Tristodd. "Ai imagine ya don't need any." He said, not so subtly jabbing him, though the hostility seemed to have waned from earlier.

"Ai know ya've still taken interest in the patient, so tha both of ya are free ta meet him once he's conscious, which, following tha anesthesia wearing off, should be... twenty six hours and fifteen minutes from now." He said. There were places in the galaxy where procedures like these could be completed in a quarter of the time, but this was not one of those places.

"And uh, Jedi... thank ya, fer 'elpin' tha patient." He finished. Gregorias wasn't the sentimental type, but he appreciated what Quinn had done, and had expressed it as openly as he could muster.

With that, he turned on his heels, and that would be the last they'd see of the old doctor.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin wouldn’t say anything more as Laeo finished, and he would flash the man a quick smile before heading out the door. He felt much better than when he’d come in, and he actually felt better about what was to come. He didn’t know what Laeo had to tell him, but he was glad that his friend was looking to the future now instead of the past.

In the waiting room, he would bring Tristodd up to date about what had happened, minus some of the gorier details from before. Though he still wasn’t sure of what relation the man had to Laeo, he felt like he should know. That was when the doctor came over to thank him for what he did.

“I’m glad that I was able to help, sir. We’ll— I’ll be back in twenty six hours, then.” He would smile at him before the doctor walked off, and Quin turned back to Tristodd.

“Have you found more about his family? Someone who might want to come and visit?” he asked.

@LouJoVi @Tom

 

[Tristodd Brentioch]

Tristodd was still digesting what he had discovered when Leonkri arrived at the waiting room. The man seemed to be happier than before, making the Brentaalan conclude that everything went well with Laeonas. Due to the possibility of them being relatives, he felt relieved.

“If it wasn't for you, I believe that the doctors would have much trouble in calming him down.” he said, before smiling at the other man. “I’ll ask the hospital to contact you if something happens. Can you leave your personal information with the attendants? This will make things easier for them to find you.”

When Leonkri asked if he had found more about Laeonas’ family, Tristodd showed no emotion that could denounce his discovery. After working so many years with Sibyl, the young man had also learned how to hide his true emotions and reactions. “Yes, I believe that I have a clue about them. I only need to talk with him about it after he wakes up.”

The Brentaalan would only wait for Leonkri to leave and go talk with the doctors. He had already arranged Laeonas’ transfer to Chandrilla, where he would be closer to who Tristodd was nearly sure was the man’s mother. The hospital was reluctant with it, but nothing that pulling some favors and offering some funding wasn’t able to convince the more corrupt individuals. And since it was a Brentaalan institution, there was too many of it. He hated doing it, but at the moment appealing to such ways was an evil necessary.

While Laeonas was still down, Tristodd continued doing his work as a member of the ISCRA. Only much time later, a doctor would arrive to call him to see the other man. “Excuse, Mr. Tannaras. My name is Tristodd Brentioch and I’m here to help you.” he would say, while entering the room.

Now that they were close, the young Brentioch could see that the other was very similar to Saura. “I’m working as part of the ISCRA and we need confirmation about your family. Could you say the name of a relative that we could contact?”

@Tom @Sicadorito

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

It was... odd.

His fingers trailed over the silicate mesh, trailing along where it met his own skin. It was a seamless transition, and he struggled to tell based off touch alone where his flesh ended and the prosthesis replaced it. He could see just beneath the shining black exterior, electrum lines thin as threads cascading around, serving as both wiring and as veins. He hadn't known what to expect when he went under, but this? This was...

“Excuse me, Mr. Tannaras. My name is Tristodd Brentioch and I’m here to help you.”

Laeonas' train of though was interrupted, and he quickly turned to face the man who'd called his name. The former Jedi was wearing a long pair of trousers the nurses had given him, and was bare from the waist up. Usually he'd have scrambled to cover himself up, but the scars lining his body felt like they mattered much less, now that there was a greater, more noticeable wound cutting across his body-- one he wasn't sure if he ought to hide or not.

His concern was instead fixed on this one, wearing clothes that made even the nicest in his wardrobe look like cheap rags. They were far from the least impressive feature he wore however, which was his name. Brentioch, ancient and mighty. One couldn't walk more than two blocks through Cormond before arriving on a street named after some ancient lord of their house. Ancient, proud, powerful, wealthy beyond all measure...

...and one of them was working in an underfunded hospital.

"I... hello, yes." He said, the realization snapping him out of the silent haze he was in upon seeing the man. It seemed as if the young aristocrat was studying him, paying close attention to his hair, his eyes. The color was something he got from his father's side, but the wide open shape was a feature he'd gotten from his mother. His hair, which had been partially shaved, bore her color as well-- raven.

"Confirmation? About my family?" He asked, blinking a few times. What did this one need information on his family for? "I... well, there are a few people." He said, beginning to think up some names. He always did in situations like these-- hell, his last name was one he'd given to himself, nothing anyone would recognize on a legal document. But they had his name-- knew he was claiming to belong to an absurdly wealthy and prestigious noble household.

And with that fact, he smirked.

"Well, you could begin by contacting my father, the Lord Andronikas Tannaras. He might have trouble recognizing me though, both on account of my injuries, and because he's a deadbeat jerkoff who hasn't seen me since my mom started showing." He said, a cheeky, sickly sweet grin spread across his lips. It was a planetary crime to claim nobilitas without proper documentation, but he doubted the pampered string bean before him would have the stones to actually try and arrest him for such an incendiary statement.

@LouJoVi @Sicadorito

 

[Tristodd Brentioch]

Tristodd raised an eyebrow when Laeonnas answered his question. Sometime ago, the young Brentioch could have accused the man of being a liar. After all, anyone could say that was the bastard child of a noble, but proving it was something totally different.

However, he was sure that the man in front of him was part of the Tannaras family. Laeonnas not only looked like his uncle Andronikas when he was young, but also his grandfather. Besides having the same aquamarine eyes of the family, a color that wasn’t much common among the nobility, even less among the simple people.

“I have heard people call my uncle of different bad things, but jerkoff is new.” he said, without much enthusiasm. When you are part of the nobility, you learn to pay attention at the whispering of those around you. “My grandfather seemed to have been even worse than his son though.”

He paused briefly to fill the hospital’s file about Laeonas, most of it with false information. Tristodd didn’t want Brentaal to discover about his bastard cousin, only after Andronikas learned about it they should decide if it should be done. While he did it, the Brentioch felt uncomfortable. All that secrecy and lies were repulsive, even if necessary. He wondered why his society needed to be this way, caring so much for appearances.

“I presume that your mother is Saura, right?” he asked, while staring at the other man. It would be obvious because of their similar appearance, but Tristodd only wanted a verbal confirmation. “If she is, I need to inform you that she wouldn’t be able to visit you. Saura isn’t in Brentaal anymore, she is working in Chandrila.” he wasn’t going to give details about she helping take care of his newborn nephew after Anna died in childbirth. She could tell him when they eventually meet.

“From now, your medical care is being paid by Claudias Tannaras. By his instructions, you are going to be moved to Chandrila in the next few days. You’ll stay safe with your mother here.” he said, before turning to walk toward the door. What he said wasn’t a proposal, it was an order. “I advise you to remain in silence about your heritage, for your own sake. Our family isn’t a good one, cousin. For them, skeletons in the closet should remain in it, whatever is the cost.” he looked at Laeonas one last time. Then he left the room, while thinking about when he had become so cold-blooded like Sibyl.

@Tom @Sicadorito

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Despite the seething contempt he held for all of Brentaal's aristocratic class, Laeo had never actually come face to face with one before-- and Tristodd certainly didn't live up to expectations. Sure, the Brentioch's clothes were nice, and he sounded more like your average Coruscanti opera goer than a real Brentaalan-- but that was it. He wasn't dressed flamboyantly, he spoke cordially and without contempt, and he was working for the ISCRA.

His attitude was almost as shocking as reaction. Laeo had expected shock, followed by insults and denial about his paternity. Instead Tristodd rolled off Laeo's insults like a professional, and when he spoke of Laeo's father, he called him uncle.

Laeo blinked once, than, twice.

Tristodd started typing, seemingly unphased as Laeo stared at him, wide eyed and bewildered. "I... who are you calling uncle?" He asked, before pausing. Narrowing his eyes, Laeo began searching. The Brentioch wasn't tall, but he wasn't short. The bastard held up his hand, regarding both their complexions. Though Laeo was more pale than usual, he could remember every feature of his own, and he cross referenced each and every one with the aristocrat.

There were differences-- the cleft on Tristodd's jaw, his distinctly skinnier frame, the softer features. But none of that seemed as important as his eyes. They were a distinct color, a swirl of green, grey, hazel and blue. They were different from Laeo's-- unlike anything he'd ever seen. They were unlike his, but his were unlike any-- just like Tristodd's. He took a moment to process this, and as the realization began to dawn, his cousin assaulted him with another revelation.

“I presume that your mother is Saura, right?”

He stumbled when he heard that, falling into a nearbye chair, lightheaded. "Your mother's name," His voice screamed, "HE KNOWS YOUR MOTHER'S NAME!"

"Who tha FUCK are you?!" Laeo suddenly shouted, springing back to his feet and crossing the room, the datapad flying out of Tristodd's hand and into his thanks to the force. He wasn't letting the aristocrat record anything else. "How-- how do you know my--" He began to stammer, voice trembling. His mother had spent years preparing him for when the law or the nobles learned who and what he was.

None of them had prepared him for what happened if they knew who she was.

"You need to silence him." He thought, staring down at the younger aristocrat. "He knows who your mother is. He probably knows where she is. He knows who you are, and he knows your family-- he says he is your family." His thoughts rambled. "Your family, who abandoned you. Your family, who threatened your mother. Your family, who left you to struggle in squalor."

It would be a simple thing. Even with much of his strength gone and his body pumped full of drugs, knocking out an unarmed pophroi was no challenge.

But he didn't strike. Even as his instincts screamed at him, as fear coursed through him, Laeo couldn't. He'd gone through so much, hurt to many people. He'd given into fear and anger before, and it never paid off. He'd been lucky to have a chance at life after such a horrific injury-- he wouldn't open it up by hurting or killing someone claiming to be his blood.

Slowly, Laeo stepped back, tablet still clutched to his chest. Though he had questions, he wasn't ready to get chatty or to let anything slip, so he let Tristodd speak. When Tristodd told him his mother had gone to Chandrila, Laeo stumbled again, falling back into the same chair he'd knocked into before. "He's lying," He thought. "She'd sooner die than leave Brentaal, sooner burn than leave without you."

And yet, there wasn't a hint in Tristodd's voice that he was lying. He spoke about his mother's moving like it was fact. What he was saying was true.

It didn't get any loss shocking as the man continued. When Tristodd spoke about a Claudias Tannaras, the Brentaalan stared, mouth agape. His family already knew, and were sending him offworld to join his mother. How many years had he and his mother spent terrified at the thought of their discovery? Being dragged before a judge and summarily charged with slander and perjury, getting thrown in some cell or slapped with fines that his great great grandchildren would still be paying off on their deathbeds.

Instead, this was... exile? He didn't know what to call it. From how Tristodd was describing it, he and his mother would be safe, maybe even comfortable. When the aristocrat called him cousin, Laeo drew in a sharp breathe.

He remained silent. He stared at the floor for what felt like an hour, though it was only a minute. When he looked up, he seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"...when mae ma presented me ta mae da," He began, voice trembling, his accent thickening, "'E.... 'e called 'er a whore. Said Ai was nothin' but a bastard. Filth, waste." The Brentaalan went on. His mother had reiterated the story to him time and time again, teeth clenched, seething with hatred. In Laeo, however, the anger had been stripped away, and Tristodd would see everything. The pain, the decades of neglect, the sleepless nights Laeo had spent thinking about a father who'd hated him from the moment he drew breathe.

"'E said Ai wasn't 'is. Mae ma opened mae eye, showed him. Who else looks laike this, she kept askin' 'im." He choked on his words than, pressing his eyes closed together. "'E said 'e never wanted ta 'ear from us ever again. Said if mae ma ever tried claimin' Ai was 'is, 'e'd find us and make 'er wish Ai'd never been born." He went on, before looking up at Tristodd.

"Thought if Ai ever met any of ya, ya'd all say tha same," He said, and than, a laugh, almost reflexive, escaped his lips, "But all ya want's ta toss me offworld and ferget Ai exist." He said, before laughing again. "Th'at's funny, right? Ai mean, I spend mae 'ole life wantin' ta get off this rock-- all Ai 'ad ta do was call off mae twinky cousin Brentioch." He said, laughing again, laughing as tears streamed down his cheeks, laughing until they turned to uncontrollable sobbing.

@LouJoVi @Sicadorito

 

[Tristodd Brentioch]

Before Tristodd could leave, he heard Laeonas shouting. He turned in time to see the other man walking toward him, fury burning at his eyes. Then, the young Brentioch felt his Datapad leaving his hands and flying toward his cousin. He was surprised with the fact that the other man was also a Force sensitive. They had that in common.

However, Tristodd remained still and with an unimpressed face. While Sibyl had considered him as an idiot, the young Brentioch had learned many things with her. Including the importance of not showing his emotions to other people, it could be considered weakness. With how aggressive Laeonas was at the moment, being weak was the last thing that he should be.

“I’m Tristodd Brentioch, youngest son of Caledan Brentioch and Livilla Tannaras. My mother is the sister of Andronikas Tannaras.” he said in a calm and cold voice. All the fear that the man in front of him could try to attack him was hidden deep inside himself. “Your mother saved my life and that of our uncle some time ago. I consider her a friend.” if Laeonas wanted more details, he could ask Saura.

“Saura also helped me with something else. She is still helping, to be honest.” he still couldn’t believe that the woman had agreed with Anna’s last wish and was now helping take care of his nephew. Not only that, but the fact that Izaya and Amaya were now living there too and she didn’t complain about it impressed him. At least the droids that Jobin helped him buy were giving her time to relax.

When Laeonas started to talk with a thick accent, Tristodd fought against the urge of groaning. It was already bad when Saura used to do it and now he would need to deal with her son too. However, he was able to understand enough of what the other man was saying to realize how his uncle was a piece of shit. “If it makes you happy, my father thinks that I’m worthless. The Brentaalan nobility seem to be terrible parents.” he hoped to be different from them and not act this way with Amaya and Izaya.

He walked toward Laeonas and picked the Datapad from him. “I’ll start working for you to be transferred from the hospital still this week. I suppose that you can say that to your friend.” he said, before turning to walk out of the room. “By the way, you should avoid using the Force. Since Governor Lassiter banished the Jedi and Sith from Brentaal, some people aren't so pleased with the presence. Your friend is only being allowed because he carried you there.” with this last warning, Tristodd walked out of the room. He had much to do.

@Tom @Sicadorito

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Cousin.

To be face to face with anyone sharing his father's blood, under these circumstances... no, he could've never prepared for this. He understood now why the force had allowed him to come back from the brink. A meeting like this was an inevitability, and the wills had decided that it would happen now.

And he was utterly unprepared.

"My mother-- she saved your life?" The bastard reiterated, recoiling as if he'd just been splashed in the face with some water. "I mean... I don't understand, how do you even-- me and my mother spent the past thirty fucking years avoiding you people, and the first thing she does when running into you'is save yer laife?!" He went over the situation aloud, voice finally cracking towards the end.

"...is she yer goddamned servant? An aid? What tha kark could she be 'elpin' ya with on tha reg?! What, ya squirt out a bastard ya paid for 'er to sit on?! Definitely an expert on th'at!" Laeo asked, spitting the last words angrily. Nothing Tristodd had done warranted his reaction, and that just made him angrier. Decades of stewing hatred and fear for the family that had rejected him was boiling to the surface, and the first one he met was treating him decently.

That frustration, paradoxically, allowed his nerves to cool. He'd spent too much time reflecting, had sacrificed to much, to remain an emotionally turbulent child who threw tantrums when he faced hardships. Taking a deep breathe, he let out a sigh, turning to face his cousin a second time.

"I... fuck, I'm sorry, that was awful." The man apologized. "This is just... Gods, a couple days ago I wanted to off myself, and now some pophroi comes in, tells me he's my cousin, and that he's trying to help me?" Laeo elaborated, trying to speak in as clear a tone as he could manage. "Gods, if I got a paternity test done, I'd be the worst scandal your family's had to deal with in a century," Laeo went on. "We always assumed you'd try and suppress my existing if I ever came out-- what's the word... try and obfuscate?"

"But you're paying my medical bills, keeping my secret-- and you've been... helping my mother." Laeo finished, lingering on that last part. His mother was offworld, presumably safe, and obviously no longer working odd jobs at the port. If all of that were true, Tristodd-- his cousin-- had done more for her in the short time he'd known her than in the 12 years Laeo had spent wandering the galaxy. It was profoundly selfless, and he couldn't understand it.

"I mean... why? What do you even get out of it?! Why not just go on pretending I'm not real?"

@LouJoVi

 

[Tristodd Brentioch]

Tristodd was opening the door of the room when Laeonas started to talk again. He didn’t understand why the other was angry, but hearing his cousin saying such comments about his own mother was enough to make the young Brentioch pissed. Saura could have a somewhat annoying accent and constantly curse, but she was a good woman.

“You should have more respect for her. Saura is a good and brave woman, many would kill to have a mother like her.” indeed, he would have given up his name if it could allow him to have some maternal love. Living in poverty would be preferable than being ignored by his parents. “Our uncle and I wouldn't be around if she didn’t save our lives.”

The young Brentioch stared at Laeonas, when the man asked why he was helping. Tristodd thought that his reasons were obvious. “Because you are part of my family and I’m not going to ignore that fact. Unlike other nobles, I see people born out of the wedding as any other individual.”

“If I was like that, I would have let my nephew die rather than adopt him.” he said, not giving Laeonas any details about this story. “Don’t ask, this isn’t the place to talk about it. You’ll eventually meet him, Saura is helping me take care of the boy. Now if you excuse me, I need to talk with three families. They lost relatives in Corellia.”

After saying that, Tristodd finally left the room. Now he needed to finish his work at the hospital and wait for Laeonas transference. If he ended finding Leonkri around the place, the young Brentioch contemplated if he should warn him about his cousin’s transference to Chandrila.

@Sicadorito @Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

"I-- I wasn't talking down about HER! I was talking down about--" He protested, flushing red, before clamming up. Tristodd's reading of what he had said wasn't invalid, and incredibly enough, his cousin seemed to genuinely respect her. "Gods, you KNOW what I meant! Your kind-- you just fuck around, doing whatever you want! You don't CARE about the consequences, don't care how many people get HURT, how many people you step on--"

No. No, he wasn't doing this. This noble-- his cousin-- whatever he was, he was not the archetypical, careless aristocrat Laeo had constructed in his head, and Laeo wasn't going to throw a tantrum. This one respected his mother, and she had apparently judged his life worthy of saving. If he had helped her in the ways he'd said, he deserved Laeonas' respect instead of decades of familial-based outrage.

When he was finished apologizing and asking why Tristodd was helping him, Laeo would remain stunned for a few seconds. "You... you don't care that I'm a bastard? At all?" He asked incredulously. Bastard was a title he'd been branded with for as long as he could remember, and everyone who reminded him poured as much scorn and contempt into it as they could. People didn't just not care that he, or anyone else, was a bastard-- they always cared, and they always hated.

"Really? You're a pophroi, and you don't care about bastardy? You don't care about marriage? That's EVERYTHING to you people! Aren't the Votradii and Favii still feuding over that divorce 400 years ago?! What about the time that Vuultin girl was caught cheating? It was all they talked about on the holo for a year!" He exclaimed. From his perspective, it seemed marriages were all the nobility cared about-- every tabloid or news article from planetary sources revolved around speculation about which young nobles would marry who, or what they'd name their first child.

"I mean, it's just... it's just fucking unbelievable, yknow? A thousand elitist, self obsessed nobles who hate anyone who isn't like them, and I wind up meeting the one who can ignore all that-- and he's my cousin." Laeo went on, actually smiling as he said it. The force had decided to give him a second shot at life, and had delivered to him an opportunity that he wouldn't dream of refusing.

His cousin's comment about an unknown nephew's possible death brought an abrupt end to the bastard's speculation, along with the knowledge that his mother was caring for him. He'd been entirely sarcastic when he suggested his mother was employed to care for another bastard-- that she actually was left him stupefied. Tristodd dropped all that information as casually as he mentioned that he had three broken families to attend to, and than his cousin was gone.

Laeo watched as he left, unsure of what would come next, anticipation and fear crashing together like speeders caught in an accident.

@LouJoVi

 

[Quin Leonkri]

When he ran into Tristodd in the hallway on the way to Laeo’s room, Quin would give the man a nod, though he was a bit surprised. It had been a long wait, yet he was still here. Then he remembered how Tristodd had been searching for family members— maybe he’d found someone.

Either way, since he would have to leave soon to return to his regular Jedi duties, he wanted to stop by one more time before he did.

He knocked on the door before he entered, but he could still see the turmoil in Laeo’s eyes as he did.

“You look much better today,” he commented with a small smile. “I just wanted to, uh, say goodbye before I go.” He looked at Laeo to see how he would react. He didn’t want to ask about what was bothering him in case it made him upset, but he hoped to leave on a positive note.

"How'd everything go?"

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

With Tristodd's departure, Laeo was left with a brief respite to collect and process all that had happened. The force radiated around him as it always had-- though over his years of exile, meditation and study, he had found it's currents easier to read with every passing day. It didn't do him any good as he found a place to sit, slipping into a hospital shirt that fit him a bit too loosely.

Where did he go from here? If things went the way Tristodd seemed to imply, he'd be reunited with his mother, and they'd both be provided with the basics for survival and a pleasant place to live. It was... Gods, it sounded like it was what he'd always hoped for. Maybe there wasn't a palace (and a requisite army of pretty manservants that his mother always joked about) but there was safety, security... peace.

His thoughts were interrupted as Quin made his way into the room, prompting a smile from his friend. It was an odd thing, thinking like that, but after all the padawan had done, there wasn't a better description. "What, I don't look like I crawled from a grave anymore?" He joked, glancing at himself in the mirror. "I think you might be right; a bit of eyeshadow and concealer, and I might just be able to go clubbing later."

When Quin spoke up about leaving, the Brentaalan's lips curled down a little. "Ah, yeah. I guess duty calls." He muttered. Quin had greater responsibilities than to babysit a broken exile, he realized, but for the first time in a long time, Laeo actually felt like he'd miss someone else's absence.

"It was... pretty complicated." Laeo confessed, answering Quin's question rather poorly, all things considered. There was so much to be said-- his heritage, his position, where he'd be moving. Laeonas had hardly figured it out himself, and he wasn't equipped to elaborate to Quin at all, and even though they were friends, was this the kind of secret you just casually shared?

Besides, if the secret was broken, Quin would know exactly who Laeo was and what was going on-- he, and everyone with a moderate interest in the politics of his homeworld.

"I'll explain everything, whenever we meet again." He concluded. Laeonas had no clue how long that would be-- a month, a year, ten? Who would he be when he faced his friend again? He was such a different man from the one he'd been when they first met. Change was inevitable, but the way he changed was up to him.

"...thanks. For everything." Laeo added without warning. "You're... I wouldn't be standing here because of you, and, honestly looking back at things, you weren't doing the galaxy much of a favor dragging me here." The man declared, glancing down for a moment. "But I've got a chance to make what you did mean something. I don't... I don't really know what that means yet, but I'll figure something out that makes you proud. Maybe."

He looked down at his side, where the rubber "skin" running over where flesh had once been. His other scars had all been made in service to the future he wanted-- a future revolving around himself, and his own gratification. He wasn't about to abandon his own self interest-- that was a leap that he, quite frankly, could never make-- but he could be better. He'd lost a part of himself in order to save others, and that was proof enough of that he could change-- that he had changed.

"Thank you... and may the force be with you, Quin."

@Sicadorito @LouJoVi

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin nodded at Laeo’s response. Though he had to admit he was curious, he wouldn’t pry. Especially not so soon. He’d been so worried about him the day before that simply seeing a smile on his face when he walked in was more than enough to satisfy him.

The message of thanks that followed took Quin by surprise, though. Laeo wanted to make him proud? He wasn’t only just a Padawan, he was younger than Laeo too. If anything, it should have been the other way around. Quin wouldn’t play it off like it was nothing though— deep down he knew what would have happened if he hadn’t dragged him out of there. Still, no matter how many times his friend would thank him, he would never get used to it.

His gaze softening, Quin would smile back at the man. Even though he wasn’t officially a part of the Order any longer, it appeared that the Jedi were still a part of him. It was where they’d met, after all, and though he didn’t know when the next time they would meet would be, he was glad that that part of him wasn’t gone.

“And with you, Laeo.”

@Tom