Ask Rock Bottom

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Vayla studied her student, her teacher in a way, letting the scenario settle in his mind and heart as to what they were about to do and get into.

This was nothing profound—Jedi business, Knight or Padawan—but the boy was no mere Padawan.
He is one of my own.
And a Knight had had a few.

She lifted her gin for another sip, drinking alone this time; Quin had been sneaky with that beer but his master would not let him get away with it twice.

Queue the Togru.

The cigar was vile, but the Jedi’s nostrils did not flare.
The tequila looked golden, but the Jedi’s tongue knew it tasted like dirt.
His eyes were what the Jedi looked into, how they looked into hers, and she made sure to blink back.

A smile dances from glass to that man in the mask—but the man’s mask is made of paper compared to the woman’s.

Pleasure slave.
Vayla will remember that.

A chair slid out from the table just then, in sync with a sip of gin and a sinking git.
Vayla would remember that too, smile never fading.

A quick look at Quin offered an eye of approval and one of disapproval before looking away.

“I was saying you recover well from a fall.”
The brow arcs, offers admiration but it isn’t really there.
The man takes the bait, smiling back, unable to look away.
“Mister..?”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin looked away after Vayla glanced at him, feigning innocence as he turned back to the man. Try that again, creep.

“Ima Dumn, at your service.” He bowed, and Quin had to slap the top of a fist over his mouth to keep from laughing. Still, a snort came through his nose and he descended into a coughing fit to cover it up, which led to the man staring at him again before his attention went back to Vayla. How does he say that with a straight face?

“Thank you for your compliment, miss…?” Ima’s eyes were gazing into the knight’s, and Quin saw one of his hands moving downwards to hold hers. Ew. Who had taught this guy his manners? They had to have been messing with him, or this man hadn’t been paying attention. The Padawan fidgeted in his seat, debating whether or not he should do something when the Togruta leaned closer.

“I can show you things your slave has no idea—”

“Like… the best place to get a life?” Quin butted in. Then he realized the lack of tact in his words. “Uh, I mean, a job?” Not much better, but the Togruta seemed to take it a different way.

“Oh, looking for a job, hmm? I can… arrange one for you. For a price.” He winked at Vayla, and Quin wanted to smack him. “See, I have a close friend who’s in charge of a large company headquartered right here in Gravenell. I’m sure I could pull some strings and get you a position… if you want.”

To his surprise, that actually elicited something useful from the man. Quin decided to test his luck.

“What company?” He put on a winning smile.

“Valt Ventures, of course. But it’s nothing that concerns you, slave. My friend would never hire someone like you.” By the stars. He shrugged outwardly, but this was good information to know.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

Vayla felt her own mask begin to slip as the Togruta introduced himself.
…I’m A Dumb?
Vayla would remember that.
Maybe he has a silent ‘n’ at the end..?

Quin would get a scowling later.
Vayla looked forward, not back.
Over here, alligator.
The man was like dry wallpaper to look at.
Since you aren’t much of a man…

“Tezzie,” Vayla tasted.
Sounded like a good enough name for a Pantoran queenpin, anyway.
“Tez for short,” she shrugged a shoulder.

One hand on the glass, leaves the other hand free.
He moves toward it, thinks its hers, goes for the reach.
But she’s not that easy.

Hand slinks away, eyes like lightning look away, but they follow him, teasingly, burning through his mask as lips kiss glass.

Now it was Vayla’s turn to fail at roleplay as she nearly spat gin from between her lips.
Oh, Quin. Please don’t change…not too much?

The man winked.
Clearing her throat, the Lady Knight regains herself, for over that exterior is a lady of the night—or so one Togruta named I Am Dumb must think.

Quin had gotten the ball rolling, that was for sure, and now it was up to Vayla to keep it rolling.
Before my Padawan kicks I’m Dumb in the balls.
Though, an actor did not necessarily need to enjoy their roles to play them.

The roles had changed right there and then, but the game was the same as Master passed Student lilghtning pride from the eye.
Smooth as silk, Pad.

Then into the scoundrel’s eyes, like butterflies into flies.
“But your friend will hire someone like me.”
A smiling eye, no need to wink, just one look that makes it hard for a man to think.
The lady lifts her drink, doesn't blink.
“And someone like me needs someone like him so you’ll hire him too.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“Hmmm…” The Togruta licked his lips, then smiled at Vayla. But his brief glare towards the Padawan afterwards didn’t escape Quin. “I don’t like it but… alright. Anything for you, my sweet.” You literally just met— This man really was dumb.

Finally, he stood up straight again, the smile still on his face as he spoke. “Give me a few minutes and you’ll have your job, Tez. The boy, too. Is that your heartbeat I hear?” He smiled at Vayla, but it was actually Quin tapping impatiently on his chair, waiting for him to leave. He stopped the minute I’m Dumb brought it up.

“My heart beats for you too, Tez. I’ll see you in a bit.” What. In. The. Actual. Kriff. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the secondhand embarrassment he felt for Ima. “Is this Sars? I have a favor to ask…” The minute he walked into another room, Quin buried his face in one of his hands.

“I wish I could unsee and unhear all of that,” he mumbled before bringing himself back to the mission. “At least we got jobs.” That would give them clearance to enter the building and do the investigating they needed. But there was one more thing at hand.

“Are you alright, though?” He looked at Master Mirror, concern in his eyes. “He was… gross. I probably would have kicked him if he talked to me like that. I’m not as good of an actor, I guess.” He grinned a bit at that. “I can still do it if you want me to.”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music IC [Recurring]

The mask is slipping.
The Jedi nearly choked on her gin again.
My…my heartbeat!?

It was all a lady could do to keep from giggling.
Thank you again, Quin.

The boy’s tapping did well to distract his master from laughing at the man.

“I’ll be here,” Vayla promised as her husband to be parted ways.
Waiting for you…O Deary...
But the mask slips, the lady pulls it off, throws it away, washes the taste away as she sips.

“It’s all in the eyes, Pad.”
It really is.
“The eyes can lie more than the lips can but, behind them, you remain true to yourself.”

The Knight caught herself staring into the distance, past black tablecloth and purple strobe light, deep street music cruising between her ears as they dive, as eyes watch a giant viewscreen showcasing the kind of pristine street speeders that made kids dream at night.

“...That’s what being a shadow is all about…”
It was Master Mirror’s turn to mumble.

Now?
No. Not yet. Not here. Not now.

“Quin,” Vayla studied her apprentice at that same table after finishing with the Togruta.

“There is something I have to tell you. I don’t want to do it here. I don’t want to do it in a corporate headquarters, either.”

The Master sighs, suddenly unsure of herself, if this is the right thing, but she trusts her instincts and trusts Quin, no matter what the future might bring, and she remembers they're in a city.

“You pick the place. I’ll pick the time.”
Master Mirror smiled.
It might be for the last time…

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

It’s all in the eyes. Looking into Vayla’s, he saw her gazing at something past him, and he wondered what it was. Then she said something about shadows, but he thought it better not to press it.

“Master?” Her tone was different now, and he listened carefully to what she said next. It sounded important, and he found himself growing curious at what it was she was waiting to tell him.

“Alright. Uh… how about a quiet spot back on Yavin?” He didn’t know exactly where, but he figured that if it was big news, it would be better said where there wouldn’t be prying eyes or ears. The woods of Yavin was the best he could think of. There, they were with friends.

Before he could question her any further though, Ima Dumn returned with a slight smile on his face.

“Ah, Tez. I’ve got you and the boy your jobs! You’ll receive your cards at the office building of Valt Ventures.” His eyes were fixed hungrily on Vayla’s, and Quin clenched his hands into fists beneath the table. It really was all in the eyes.

“Now… I believe you owe me something.” He extended a hand to the knight, the smile on his face unwavering. Quin looked at Master Mirror. Can I pleeease kick him?

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music IC

“You don’t want any of this.”

Vayla leveled a hand from chin to breast.
Normally a gesture that would leave most men perplexed but this one is more alligator than man, one might jest.

“I don’t want any of this.”

“You want to go home and rethink the way you treat women.”

“I want to go home and rethink the way I treat women.”

No kickin’, Quin.

She can’t help but smile.
That boy, like a son—if a shadow could afford one.
They look at each other, eye to eye, but he’s clueless all the while.

“I’d like Yavin, Pad.”
Master sighs, tempting herself just a tad.

“Alas, I don’t think I’ll be leaving this city…anytime soon…”
The words are like dry leaves, just fly by in a breeze, barely audible, like Pantora beyond Sevenmoon.

“Laudable though your idea is…how about this?”
Datapad at Pad, Master tap-taps.
“And that, my friend, is a garden. If we can’t go to the trees...let's bring the trees to us!"

A Jedi smiles, it’s for real, and another Jedi would see it all the while.
Master would look at Padawan and wonder.
If he was my son…if I gave all this up and had one…would the shadow go, be forced under?
Or would the light of the Jedi go out, loud but like thunder?

Vayla tried to make sense of nonsense, asking questions in the dark as the pair of Jedi braved a jungle away from a jungle.
The Gravenell Botanical Garden was just so, with the kind of flora to rival all the species of the galaxy; red and blue and green and purple in a jumble.

Flowerheads as long as a Wookiee's arms, trees as thick as a Herglic’s legs, violets so blue and roses so red.
Running through the center, beneath a bridge of carved curled stone, tickled the sound of leaves but really the sound of a sleeping sea in the form of a stream.

Water sang to the Pantoran, reminded her of dreams long forgotten, strolling along the garden ground wondering where it all went wrong.
Quin would ask her if she would not first answer, she knew, but suddenly the Master had questions of her Padawan.

“Before I begin, Quin…”
Eyes into eyes, smiling—unblinking.
“...Is there anything you’d like to first tell me?”
A master senses something is wrong.
Padawan, what might you be keeping?

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

If Master Mirror wanted to interrupt their mission to tell him something, whatever it was must have been important. He didn’t know whether to be scared or excited as he followed her to the gardens, though unfortunately, this time there wasn’t a tea stand to help out with his nerves.

He would wait for her to speak first, but to his surprise, she asked him to. He looked at Vayla, then at the ground, wondering what had prompted her question when he realized he did have a lot to tell her. And to ask her. He wasn’t trying to hide anything, but he hadn’t thought this was the best time to bring it up.

“Actually… I did. A question.” He put his hands in his pockets as he glanced back at the knight. “There was this whole thing on Thila, and I was wondering… what are your thoughts on the Sith?” Just a few weeks ago, he’d had mixed feelings about them. But after the incident on Thila, seeing what they were capable of, he’d gone right back to where he’d started— his view that they were monsters, abominations of the Force, and a blight on the galaxy. He wouldn’t go as far as to say they should all be wiped out, but he would never look at one the same way again.

“Is there even such thing as a good one? Or do they do everything just to make themselves look better?” He’d met a few that weren’t as horrible as the ones on Thila, but Kayden and whoever that woman was had seriously made him doubt that the Sith were anything but monsters. Would he be a fool to believe otherwise? What if something like that happened again? Even the ones he thought were his friends might try to kill him in the end if that were the case.

But first, he wanted to hear what Master Mirror had to say.

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Eyes into eyes.
Could not look away even if they try.
In the boy’s, she could detect no lies.
A battle, though, as bright as starlight.

This was the first time that Quin Leonkri had spoken of Thila.
Whatever a ‘whole thing’ was, well, it would show in the fire.

Thoughts on the Sith?
Eyes blink and drink.
Where do I begin?

It did not take a Jedi Knight to see a dim light.
Something had happened to him, to her Quin.
Much was to be heard then, from both of them.

“The Sith…”
Bites her lip.
“Are passion.”

Eyes into distance.
Glimpse existence.

Garden grazers.
Poets, painters.
Between trees.
Grasses, acres.
Floral dreams.
No raiders...

“Raw, unchecked and unchallenged...”
Souls on cobblestones; young and old.
“Unbridled and enslaved and entitled.”
The shrug: a Jedi’s and woman’s in one.
"Good, bad, ugly... Sith are Sith, I think."

…Eyes…into…eyes…
No blink on Jedi’s!

By a bench, beside a hedge…
In an alcove, privacy’s best…

“Tell me what happened, Quin.”
No Jedi Mind Trick against him.
Hand on shoulder; caring grip.
Rests her own topic on a bed.
“Tell me everything, my friend.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Passion. It was a simple word, but it summed up everything he’d seen so far. Raw passion, and raw power, from Sola to the one on Corellia to Kayden. Quin felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked to see that it was Master Mirror’s. She wanted to know about Thila, and at first he felt a strange reluctance to tell her. Somehow, that factory had encompassed his best, as well as his worst. Would she see him differently after this?

“I thought you had something important to tell me, master. Thila can wait.” But the longer he looked, the more certain she seemed to want to know, and he finally let up. I hope she understands.

He told her everything, from him and Lemon’s original goal of shutting down the factory to 3PO to that medical bay where he fought that horrible man who called himself human to the woman who’d shocked Lemon to how they finally got out in the end thanks to their pilot. Lemon. How was she doing? Had she recovered? He hadn’t seen her or heard from her since. Except for once in a dream, where she was in a dark room by a broken bed asking his help, saying his name…

“The whole time, I felt so… angry. Afraid that something might happen— not even to me, but to Lemon. If the Sith had— had actually succeeded in doing what they wanted to her, I don’t know if I would be here today,” he confessed, meeting Master Mirror’s gaze.

“That’s why I asked.”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Poor Padawan.
Hearts—wants.
This can’t wait.
So—open gate.

He told her everything.
She heard everything.
Thila, that one planet.
The one town upon it.
Empty—beneath factory.
Carcass in the one street.
Powerless—purple light…
Fade from bright—Night.
To her, a boy might cry…
Kids…and their lemons.
Vayla could only grin…
“It’s okay, Quin…”

Words could curve.
Not enough—weren’t.
Apprentice had to learn.
Emotions had to burn.
He will not turn…

Vayla looks away.
Spies that creek.
Brothing brook.
Will not fade…

Fought a Sith to boot.
No, not one—two…
Mirror is proud of him.
And Master’s got you!

A Knight could go on and on.
Garden bright, starlit night…
Shadows over the pond…

Could talk to Quin.
Talk to him.
That kid.
Apprentice.
About Sith.
Not yet…

“Tell me about her…”
Smiles a Jedi!
“About…Lemon.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Master Mirror smiled, and Quin gave a small one back. He was more than glad that she understood. Who knew what he needed most was someone to vent to? It felt good that it was off his chest, and now he could breathe easy.

“Lemon’s… one of a kind. She knows what she wants, and she’ll keep at it.” He remembered the wedding, the title, and their escape from the factory… “Saying she’s strong is an understatement. She was able to get back up even after one of those Sith shocked her with lightning.” Admiration came into his voice at that. “She’s always so positive, too. Sees hope even when it looks like there isn’t any.” She’d definitely helped in that medical wing.

“Oh, and she likes coffee. And cappuccinos. A lot.” He said that in such a serious tone that it surprised even himself. But then, out of nowhere, a random thought popped into his mind. What if Lemon’s master asked about him? What would she say? What was her master even like? He’d have to ask her next time they met… but he didn’t know when that would be. Her last words to him hadn’t been promising, and the thought of not seeing her again was enough to instantly dampen his mood. But hopefully, whoever it was, they would approve of him.

“She’s the friend anyone would want to have.”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

As Quin spoke away…
He had a mirror’s gaze.
Look at him…O Quin.
Listening—ear to him.
Dripping with passion.
But a young Jedi’s kind.
A flame may not fade…
But his light was bright.
Despite that dark night.
There may be pain.
May not go away.
We live anyway.

That’s what Jedi did.
Separated them from Sith.
Quin spoke—gave his vision.
Talked of time bygone—of kids.
The structure…of the future…therein.

Leh’Min’Ayd, that young lady, was a teenager like Quin.
Like him, she sounded like any young girl might sound.
Like I did, once upon a time…square…circle so round…

Master Mirror blinks, eyes into eyes.
Remembers the fruit of her youth.
Remembers the light of life.
Remembers Master too.

“Hope.”
Smiles.
Eyes.
“There is always hope.”
Friend talks to friend.
Leh’Min’Ayd.
Vayla.
Quin.

“In here…”
Hand on her head.
“And in here…”
Hand on his heart.
“You may yet see your friend again.”
Wherever you are…Leh’Min’Ayd…
“Whatever the case, no matter the cost, you must keep on the march.”
He’s not her son—the shadow has only the sun—but she holds his arm.
“Keep on the watch, Padawan Leonkri. The heart is a gift—but treacherous.”

Knight Mirana, they called her, the Jedi that were hers.
Her people, her kin, in kindred spirits like spirited children.
They were the light, against the dark, those Jedi from the sky!
She was their shadow; she brought the fire by burning the light!

“Fight.”
Fist pushes chest.
Playfully—in jest.
“Day and night.”

Day and night, a Knight could seek pardon to sleep in this garden.
A feeling then, a familiar thing, both warm and cold...softly harden.

I sense your presence.
I know you're here.
Where you linger.

“Without the Order, Quin, indeed…without…order…”
In the hour, in the minute, light flies toward her, the Jedi!
She closes her eyes, listens to the whispers of the ocean…
Watches in bliss those ribbons rain above a street in the mist.
Wishes for Yavin, then for Pantora, snowing—I could show Quin.
"There is only the gaping pit of chaos...waiting to swallow us..."

The Jedi’s eyes are open.
There’s a garden, no ocean.
Eyes to the right—a young man.
Quin Leonkri—and the party camp.

The pair of Jedi, Padawan, Knight, were alone in orchard’s alcove.
Leaves as orange as oranges, a Jedi thinks, earthen things—thirsty.
“Maybe I will meet your friend someday…cappuccinos and coffee.”
Beneath the artificial sunlight, bright but fictional, between the leaves.
There where the shadow breathes, between the trees, trying to sleep.

“Now we should address another matter.”
Dark. Light. Order. Chaos. Wrong. Right.
Eyes into eyes.
“Quin…the man we are chasing…”
No smile, no grin, eyes so electric!
“That man is…my former…master.”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“I will.” Quin nodded to Vayla. Her words were comforting, more so than she probably knew, and he appreciated that. Things might not always have been perfect, but hope was ever-present. That was what the Jedi embodied— or at least what he hoped that they would.

“Chaos, yet harmony,” he said with a smile, but it seemed Vayla’s tone had changed. She stared right into his eyes too, and he couldn’t help shifting his gaze a little to avoid her piercing one. The moment the truth came out, though, his eyes immediately fixed on hers.

“No way.” She had to be kidding. There was no way that someone so vile could have trained a knight like Master Mirror. She’d said it herself in that letter she’d sent to him. Knights, Padawans, they were all mirrors of each other, and Vayla was nothing like the man they were after. Maybe they just look alike. But he didn’t see the knight as someone who would joke about something like this.

“...How?” A deep frown creased his forehead as he met Vayla’s eyes. “How is that possible? If— if that’s true, how did he not recognize you?”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC

...The Force...
...Flows around...
...It is...life's source...
...Yes...it reaches out...

There is…the sound of terminals…
Right there beside those footsteps.
Voices, men and women, boys, girls.
In the garden, in the grave, life…death.

A piano plays.
In Vayla’s head.
Music like a gaze.
Eyes in eyes again.
Silly thing, my brain.

In this city of Gravenell.
On this moon, Sevenmoon.
Eyes and ears must now tell.
A woman hears a familiar tune.
Twin tendril flames…from a ship.
It’s not hers…didn’t own it, it’s his.
The Coming, yes, is what he calls it.
And he is here…Master…I can hear...
A Jedi is a shadow—of this she knows.
I am a Jedi Knight! So…I shall not…fear!

“Remember, Quin…”
How he was listening.
Eyes into eyes—Jedi’s.
And the ears into ears.
“...Back…in that prison…
I did not actually meet him.”
She…remembers that time.
“I…had a lead on…activity…
Of the death…the electricity…
And it turned out to be his doing.
I learned he was there via a friend.”

But Vayla did not go into detail on who.
What mattered right now was what to do.
“He can cloak his signature just like most...
But an apprentice can sense his presence....
Before I could expose him, Sars Valt got him.
The face of the man he freed…well it's not his.
Surgical replacement. Faked it. A clever cover…
As for me, I'm not sure but maybe he sensed me."

The apprentice would not put it past her own master...
He taught her well, helped her, caught her when she fell.
“He was a good man at first. But…but the dark side, Quin.
Even the best and bravest Jedi, the strongest…can give in...
My master took me with him often and on this one mission
That is…” Trails off, looks away, into the distance, can’t finish.

Eyelids fall like curtains, but no tears in the eyes of this Jedi.
She’s not sad, neither is she uncertain, but clears her mind.
“...That is where I lost him…” Breathes in and opens eyes.
“The man who came back had…had different lessons...”
More than that, an apprentice remembers…Your lies…
She senses his presence, close but far, light—dark...

Trees are so green—glowing flowers—pretty things.
Ears peak to the sound of that one rushing stream.
In garden, on Yavin or Pantora, snowfall’s dream.
“He believed that the Jedi were getting…weak.”
Sometimes that Knight would not disagree...
“That we are were afraid to fight the night.”
She remembers the pain and his hate.
“There was one lesson in particular.”
Her eyes into his and his into hers.
“Rage…” Said Vay. Eyes so bright!
“Rage against the dying light.”

@Sicadorito

 

[The Storyteller]

Spoiler: Music OOC

It’s…such a strange thing…
A familiar…kinda feeling…
Moves this way…oh yeah…
Then that way…kinda dance.

What’s a feeling to do?
Kinda just…has to move.
Moves this way…that way.
This way, that way, this way!

Moves through those city streets!
But there’s no sky! Just the ceiling!
The something slinks beneath lights.
It can sense…and see…but no eyes.
Finds a door, doorway, and a garden.
Heavy breath, heart’s not disheartened.

The thing is in the air but it cannot be seen.
It moves quick! Flies and glides! With wings!
It has no limbs! Has no eyes! And has no feet!
But how it floats! How it goes! Yes, that feeling!
It moves with purpose, has its point—searching!

…And it finds him…
…Yes…it leans in…
…Eyes into eyes…
…Ears into ears…
…Eyes of a Jedi…
…He…he hears…

A boy hears a girl!
Hears her voice curl!
Hears her words swirl!

It’s a whisper.
And…it’s her!
He hears her.
She sees him.
Voice into ear.
“Lin…I'm here."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin shivered. How easily could one lose a master, a friend, like Vayla did? The dark side was enticing. It offered power, easy, quick, raw power… for a price. He’d tapped into it on Corellia, on Thila, and it was exhilarating. But it scared him nonetheless, how effortless it had been to switch to it, the instant gratification it offered when one’s problems could be solved with so simple a solution. It scared him how readily he’d used it, might use it again if he was in a tight spot.

Most of all, it scared him how Vayla’s master likely started out the same way.

“Rage against the dying light,” he repeated. “Sounds… harsh.” But as he said it, he heard something else, the faintest whisper into his ear of a familiar voice. Lin?

“Lemon!” Quin’s eyes flew wide open and he looked around, trying to find her. It was her voice, he was sure of it! Then he looked back at Vayla, wondering if she’d heard the same thing. Or had it all been in his head? Was it just because he’d been reminded of his friend when they’d brought her up? He knew he missed her. He missed her a little too much, and he wished that she were here. When he looked and saw no one, somehow that was even worse than having to part ways with her last time.

“I…” He looked at Master Mirror, who was probably wondering what he was thinking randomly yelling her name out like that in a moment like this. “Sorry. I thought I heard her.”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Rage against the dying light…
…The dying light…
The dying light…
…The dying light.

A Knight remembers those times.
As Quin drifts away—in his eyes.
She looks away—into her mind.

Remembers…a Jedi’s fight…
Master…you lost your light.

Leh'Min?
Quin has Vayla’s eyes.
His are gray, hers are blue.
But eyes into eyes.
Look at you.

He was just a kid.
But not just a kid.
A teenage Padawan.
A free age to belong.

Leh’Min’Ayd…

A girl and a woman had yet to meet.
A Togruta girl—and with a purple face.
Whom Vayla hoped to one day greet.

“I’m sorry, Pad.”
A smile at that.
“I did not hear her. But you did. In here.”
Master Mirror places hand on his head.
Upon his chest. “So she must be near.”

Courage, not fear.
Emotion, yet peace.

“Passion, yet serenity.”
She did not pretend to see.
His, Quin Leonkri’s, feelings.
However far...however deep.
Into my eyes, child. Trust in me!

Then…eyes into eyes…a Jedi’s mind.
Vayla Mirana…thinks…may yet realize.
Shadows in lights. Truths behind lies…

Of Leh’Min’Ayd, Quin Leonkri had described.
A girl had made little mention of her past life.
She was a teenager, like Quin, a young Jedi.
Who could fight, proven…anger…and light…

And a woman senses his presence again!
But it’s not his, it’s not Quin’s, not her friend!
It’s his, the old man’s, a Human, her master!
Her former friend, father, teacher of a Mirror!

Rage…
Rage against…
…The dying light…

In a garden.
In Gravenell.
On Sevenmoon.
Not morning.
Neither is it noon.

Fireflies…
In the night.
Bright…

“Quin…your friend…Leh’Min…”
Padawan Leonkri. Master Mirror.
“What is the name of her master?”

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin smiled just faintly as Vayla’s hand went to his chest. He wanted Lemon to be here… but he knew she wasn’t. I’m just going crazy. He couldn’t help a small sigh from escaping his lips, but at Master Mirror’s next question, he looked up.

“I… don’t know. She never told me,” he confessed, running one hand through his hair. That was one thing he’d never asked, and she’d never shared. As curious as he’d been, it just hadn’t come up.

“All I know is that she was trained in a cave. You know any Jedi who do that?” It was the most information he could think of. Maybe it was uncommon enough that Vayla would be able to identify someone, but it could also be a standard training thing he didn’t know about, as he was only a Padawan. Then the curiosity that came with being a learner came up again.

“Why do you ask? Are you looking to share training techniques or something? You know, you’re a great teacher, master. I thought of what you taught me on Thila and…” But something in Vayla’s eyes made it clear that he wasn’t hitting the mark. “What is it?”

@Die Shize

 

[Vayla Mirana]

Spoiler: Music OOC

…Rage…
…A…cave…
Leh’Min’Ayd!

And she sees it!
She is no genius!
But a lady’s brilliant!
In the Force, is gifted!

Like the Jedi before her, of course.
But this woman has…other doors.
Vayla Mirana is that woman’s name.
She endures—and she knows pain.

She knows hate.
She knows rage.
Was trained to flay.
Emotions from face.

Her master did so train.
A girl…a girl in a cave…
It was not Leh’Min’Ayd…
Vayla—shorthand: Vay!

The Jedi Code…
…Here we go…

Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.

Recited the words before!
Words—words are at war!
A Sith would indeed decree!
But a Jedi must make peace!

A woman values him.
Cherishes her Quin.
Of their connection?
Words…lost within.
Whispers in wind.

Though they are in a garden…
It is like the peak of a mountain.
Atop of which is fire, bright, burns.
A woman has learned words curve.
But an inferno can’t burn the garden!
A shadow from the sun—of the earth!

Darkness can kiss!
But it is not a gift!
It just twists, that dark side!
Like a dagger, yes, a knife!
A Jedi must hold the light!
A Shadow must go fight!
For…the sake…of life…
Those flames so bright.

Though disagree, do some…
…Even a Jedi…can love…
Vayla Mirana has loved.
Quin—her kind of son…
Her precious Padawan…
If Quin has love for Leh’Min?
The light side…it must win!

Yet…maybe not in the way kids might want.
Quin and his Lemon—hearts may feel lost.
A woman knows fact: others more important.
Even here in Gravenell, yet…this isn’t the end!

Eyes…into eyes…
Jedi’s into Jedi’s.
Pad’s in Knight’s!

Quin Leonkri calls his master a great teacher.
You don’t know me, Pad! Dark—it bleeds her!

The Jedi had to condition themselves to fight back!
Rage!—Rage against the dying light! He taught that!

Vayla was a girl then…but more of a young woman.
She did not forget; was old enough to think and run.

When a Jedi Knight steps into the dark—no light!
He comes back with new heart and outlook on life.
Vayla had a master, a great teacher—then he died.
Not yet… He may yet be redeemed… I must still try!

“Quin… Leonkri…”
It helps to speak.

The eyes of a bright shadow!
Vayla Mirana—a Jedi Shadow!
Where the dark is, she must go!
To blind it, bright dark fire; alone!

Eyes into eyes!
Her eyes are lightning!
Beautiful and blinding!
She’s a woman!
She is a Jedi!

“I can’t be certain…
It’s just a feeling…
An…emotion…
But I believe…
My master…
May also be…
Her teacher…
…Leh’Min’s…”

If a girl is here, a girl remembers a boy.
Leh’Min was here for her friend Quin.
If friends indeed, would not yet leave!
...Unless…she’s a slave…here for him...
Not for Quin, but a man, a Jedi Knight.

“His name…is Cyrus…Cyrus...Orion.”

It was a name that would mean little and less.
At the time, just another Knight, not the best.
Politician and diplomat, vanished into night.
But...not dead…not yet…no…you are...alive…

@Sicadorito