Tidal Lock

[Butler]

He watches the moon swing, arcing over the skies as it worships its fixation. But its idolatry is not returned. All of the world continues expediently beyond normal pacing. It's as if only their connection slows down the fueled adrenaline that quickens the dream. A chaotic blur surrounds us all, whizzing past through the lines of light-speed; nothing seen for what it is but what we watch here within this tunnel vision. A straight line casts, one looking to the other and the other. None of them realize the extent of their touch, linked to and from for hands in hands in youth to agelessness. One stares at him now, some lower echelon of their station. He doesn't know this face, curiously drawing to him. He sees another in the distance, one whom he can never disturb; that woman's perfection still unbent by his watch. But he stares at another now, who stares beyond. If only she could be here now. But where was here? Where had she gone? Arisa...

Lucifer shook awake, jolting violently from a deep sleep. The back of his wrist hit the panel, the metal interior of the ship greeting him good morning. Wincing, he looked around. The bed was small, too small to fit both Arisa and he. But she was not with him, only managing to be his first thought of conscience.

The sheets were twisted and tossed, a disturbing state left from his escape -trapped in the bed and locked to new tides- as he already began to forget what was his eerily foreboding dream.

Lucifer sat up, kicking his feet over the side and touching the cool metal floor. His toes kneaded and flexed sensually, fingers digging into the mattress. He took a deep breath, filling his chest full as his supple skin spasms with a twitch here and there in remembering its strength. The breath fed into a yawn and he remembered, immediately loosing the breath necessary to sustain it. His eyes widened, remembering the monstrous terror of a man, and Gabriel, some blooming tree with black fruit all with their systems reversed to feed back into the veins that connected them. And the riots, so much insanity lashing out against each other as he cut through it. He had killed to get to him. He had made the choice to face him, and him alone. But something terrible had happened, and everything changed. Or did it?

Lucifer shivered, the stress of mental awareness burdening him less so as he tried to distance himself from the thought of it. As he could, he pretended that nothing was wrong, that he had made no choice, whether right or wrong, and simply took time to be with a friend. He was gone now though, hopefully soon to return.

So Lucifer got up, clothing himself in his still marked and spattered costume of a Jedi rebel child who didn't care for robes. He walked his way towards the exit ramp, pressed the button, and lowered it; stepping out into the darkness. Here he stood, on Ryloth, on the shaded side of the grade. It was relevant, for there were really only two sides; the light, and the dark. But to him, both sides had always harbored shadows.

 

[Pdox]

Krynn

What sleep comes to a child born to misfortune? Is there such a cry of reason to sway a troubled mind to rest? Darkness substitutes comforting arms of maternal origins as only the moon light shines down upon a pale face. Eyes dragging across the ground searching for answers in a sea of questions. Though she was free, Krynn pondered the events that lead to where she settled now. Crouched upon the dirt of her home world, huddled in a heap, clutching her knees close to chest for warmth. Her thoughts clouded by doubt more like a black whirlpool. Devouring all motions that may yet bring mercy to understanding....

She saw him, still, in her silver eyes. Black as the dead sea and stronger then any shadow that lurked in the light before. His bluish blade a lingering reminder to his fury. Cutting down the chains that griped her to this world of servitude. Though for what purpose? Had Krynn traded one set of chains for another? Was she to be a tool as before?

Tears streamed down from spheres of silver self loathing. Her questions only lead to further dismay in the chilled night's air. Krynn brought a hand, clutching tightly to her tattered robe, to removed the stains that showed such weakness. That's what he called it after all. Right? Weakness. Thinking of him she whispered the title again.

"Master...."

A word all to familiar to the child, however, different now. Those who carried the weight of such self glory often held tightly to power. His was not in the form Krynn was used to. Currency was the way of the realm. It was all she knew until he educated this error as fault. A wielder of invisible strings manipulating objects and minds. And Krynn possessed this power as well it would seem. Thus his interest in her? Gabriel's interest in Krynn?

Constantly she stretched out with her mind to him. Urging the void, as she called it, to reveal where he was. Perhaps even who. A cloud of black marred her vision seating her firmly below his heel. It was frightening to know some one else existed like her. More so even how much "more" he was then her. Visions of only his body moving willingly to goals beyond her could be glimpsed. Nothing more. Only one other thing before brought fear of the unknown. Cities of the "civilized". Towns. It was they that scared her most. All the people gangling about the space. Sucking up the air till there was nothing left to breath. It was why Krynn ventured outside the holdings of the ship Gabriel housed her in. To feel some form of familiar comfort in the nothingness of the night. All that Krynn knew before was gone. Killed by the cold hands of change....

The subtle squeal of resisting metal pulled her from this solitude. Lights stretching out past her tiny figure burning her eyes. Squinting in light, pained by the distraction, allowing her pupils to adjust, to Adapt. Another word that lingered still fresh in her consciousness.

A single form of life gave subtle voice to the question of what. However not to who. Krynn brought both her tiny hands to eyes in attempt to cleanse them of impurity. All that remained was red tension within her eyes trailed by the dirty roads left by streams of murky water upon her cheeks. Finally she turned to study the being. He, if she dubbed him correctly, looked young though not as young as she. Gracing her sights with a feminine allure attractive in nature. It gave pause to say the least. Krynn was not expecting a travel companion of her Master to appear this soothing to the eye. Pleasing. Comforting.

Though she remained quite as she was before. The man cast no further corruption upon her already conflicted mind. She only starred at him for a moment then slipped into her natural way. Remaining silent she turned to face out into the night once more. Hoping he would pay no mind. Occasionally glancing upon him in the corner of her right eye. Like that of an abused animal wishing no further harm upon its flesh. A cold dry shiver withering up her spine at the grim reminder of years past. Scared hands tucking themselves into her sleeves to further mask herself from thoughts of judgment.

"Who is this man?" She thought at last. "What does he want?"

 

[Butler]

As she turned away, he noticed the movement in the dark and turned to her. It was a natural instinct, unconsciously feeling her eyes on him even for that sliver of a moment and following the lead of his eyes. But he almost couldn't see her. He even looked back front before succumbing to a double take. He squinted, stretching out his neck and opting to see through the Force to detail the outline of a little girl all balled up on the ground.

Lucifer twitched, nearly reaching for his lightsaber before freezing to his rationale. Sure, he didn't know her. And sure, he'd seen children of her size kill full grown adults. He was one of them, in fact. But she was not him. He concluded this after one look. But he was arrogant and spontaneous. So he often made all kinds of mistakes.

"Hey!" he barked sharply. He was also brash and occasionally insensitive.

"Are you alright?!" he demanded imposingly. He had also never dealt with anyone younger than himself. And the only successful relationship he had with a female started with a duel. He'd managed to insult or offend all the others.

Lucifer marched over towards the strange little girl, forgetting about all that burdened him, and sought to investigate as a Jedi might. He'd not yet realized the connection to Gabriel here, or perhaps hadn't remembered. He just woke up after all. Here, on this strange planet and without his own baby sitter, Lucifer was ...abrasively welcoming.

 

[Pdox]

Krynn

"Hey!"

The voice shook Krynn's knees free from grasp. Sudden jolts of fear compelling her to move at once as her body rocked with startled motion. Obviously the new face took notice to her presence. Tiny thinking, it was, to believe someone would simply ignore her loitering about the ships exterior. Her face looks out into the night. Hands planted firmly on the ground beside her body better to steady herself. Eyes yet wide with a twist of fear and wonder. Was this one like him? Like her? Fleeting thoughts as his voice disrupted the stillness once more,

"Are you alright?!"

Footsteps pounded her ear drums loud and thunderous. The heightened moment stirring senses never experienced quite like this before. It was as though she could see invisible ripples branching out. Beating an equally invisible barrier upon her skin. This is what truly frightened her. Her gaze shot around to look upon him. Squinting at the light that faded his face from view. Her hands came up quickly wiping desperately the remnants that yet lingered from falling tears. Lucifer's pace seemed aggressive as well as direct. Closing the gap between them. Krynn knew this man from before however could not yet remember where.

Scrambling to her feet she attempted to move back. Tripping in her hurried flight upon her tattered robes to knees. Her eyes looked back to the corners to where they were seated. Body turning over to stand on elbows looking up at the aggressor. His face finally revealed itself with clarity along with where she knew him from. Her own dreams. Just like Gabriel....

Krynn did not know what compelled her to do what happened next. Perhaps acceptance of fate. If not that then perhaps a sense of simply stand up for her own now. Seeing another remove one shackle allows for knowledge on how to remove another after all.

The girl adopted eyes of anger. Narrowed upon the advancing Lucifer while fists balled at her waist. Her body leaned forward ablaze with a wild fire heating her beneath that pale white skin. However despite this, the girl was clearly afraid. A trembling lip gave voice to what wasn't said with shaken breath within chest. Tears bordering Silver eyes of fire. Skinned out from her previous fall. The blood upon knees seeped through robes as the child Stood Defiant.

A meek, but brave, high-pitched voice gave way in attempt to remain strong, "Stop!"

 

[Butler]

Lucifer froze, hand held hovering from what was the reach of curiosity now lit a softer shade of innocent caution. And while both flexed hands had made it out in time for a merciful plea, his beauty truly dripped from newly painted strokes of porcelain that glistened across his cheeks in the night. With pale blue eyes encircled by white surprise, Lucifer seemingly willed his glamor and glory on call. His own lip hung below the show of two perfectly etched white bottom teeth, the logic lost to this twist in his tale.

"Um," he began, much gentler than before, as though he were another person entirely.

"Sure," he whispered encouragingly.

"...It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you," he added warmly.

Lucifer gulped down his tension, not wanting to frighten the little girl; as if he hadn't already. He even felt as though she had snapped for nothing. But such was the psyche of one so ego-centric. But he did feel powerless, somehow. Despite the fact that he was unconsciously employing a 'hungry puppy-dog begging at the door' face, he felt the need to make things right; to over control the situation and force comfort into the girl.

So he smiled brightly, finally succumbing to the urge to finger a lock of white hair back over his ear as he slowly began to lower into a kneel. The twinkle in her eyes was frightening as he studied them, seeing something he recognized as a specific kind of fear. Not everyone knew its intimate touch. Yet even he could not put his finger on it yet, seeing only that he felt something deeper there that he knew himself. He managed to sneak a glance at her knees, coming across their stains by accident and trying to pay as little attention to them as possible. It was her face that drew him in anyway. She was similar to him in ways both physical and on a deeper level. It was eerie, this current that passed between their silent stare now. And suddenly, something just ...snapped.

A pit began to swell in his throat. He couldn't keep it down. His white cheeks began to rose just beneath his eyes. His lips began to quiver, as hers had. And his breath began to stutter. It was as if all that he had been through, what she could not have possibly known about, was plastered across her image; a poster child stamped with all the sentimental blood of a throttling guilt and sadness that pinched the blood-flow from his left arm. And then, his eyes began to water.

She had dismantled him by his own machinations in but a moment. Had it been because of her or because of him, it did not matter. The weight behind the damn had cracked. And he was lost to the moment of repression resurfaced, a dynamo without the knowledge of its purpose; be it for positive ends or negative. He boomed to both ends of the spectrum at all times. He was the sinner, in God's clothing.

 

[Pdox]

Krynn

Her form was as tall, like before, even with his halted advance. Eyes trained on the one who changed himself so quickly when she gave reason to pause. His hands sat idle, perhaps in confusion? How high did he think himself to be stopped by a child appearing the poor beggar? Most Krynn knew to be pompous and self protruding. Demeanor's manufactured to bolster a sense of dominance. Perhaps she put him off guard never having one so young speak in such a fashion. Though he very well may not yet be of wealth at all and simply wished to stand by to better understand why "she yet lingered".

"Um, Sure."

Agreement? It put her off her balance to be listened too. However Krynn remained tall and unrelenting all the same. Blood stung her pours as it streamed like water drops down her pale skin. Eyes watered further by the pain. Though she refused to satisfy their plea to be coddled.

"...It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you," Voice given guise of warm welcome.

Krynn scoffed slightly at the invitation. Words heard before yet held little respect when put to test. Her eyes flowed upon his face taking in his features. Was he real? She thought. The porcelain shaped cheeks seemed synthetic and out of place. Pleasing to the sights while eyes of blue sought heavy attention. Was this how others viewed her? Beautiful? A word in life she knew to hate. Bringing with it only conflicted pain upon her mind. Memories of Man coveting her while woman grew to levels of disgust as she passed them by.

A pushed smile enlarged upon his face. Bringing with it movement as he passed from heal to knee pushing strands of white behind one ear. His blue eyes starred deep into her's which caught her full attention. Feeling uneasy as this man studied her further. Like so many other eyes before. Only he did not look upon her with the same "hidden desire" as they. It was...Familiar?

Krynn felt her body lax as if trust swayed her mind to ease. Though she did not actually trust him. Peering into his Sapphire spheres of blue she felt captured by something dark. As if a swirling vortex wrapped her in its wild hold. They both fell to discomfort....

Streams of tears fell upon the ground from her eyes. Mastering her body seemed useless or beyond her when their eyes met. Body arching forward slightly fully trapped within an invisible link. This man clearly felt something as well though perhaps not as the same. His own eyes flustered with watery pain marred in sorrow. The child ached yet held long enough until youthful symptoms fell her prey at last. Tall defiant act broken as her face contorted. Eyes still yet fixed upon his own unable to force away. Her tiny hands gripped her head in vein attempt to brace the moment at bay. Krynn coughed gasps of air with coupled cries as images, not her own, flowed through him into her vision. Intense fear took everything from her when realization of what was happening speared her mind. These images were of him....and he was like her....

It was too much as Krynn crumbled to bloodied knees in refined anguish. "Stop it!....please!" She begged. Would he understand though?

"Please-....Please Lucifer! Stop!"

The plea grew ever more desperate as the images seemed endless. Thoughts not her own spilling over the brim. How did she know his name? It was like the pod races she "viewed" before. Predicting the outcome with complete accuracy. Though much more intense yet also different. Sobs finally fall from Krynn as breath falls from chest. Constant. She cries aloud for it to end yet it seemed no such relief would arrive.

"Your hurting me Lucifer! please-."

 

[Butler]

Fear gripped his eyes, widening with surprise and searching through the dark and unknown that pleaded back to him now. His search for understanding became more and more frantic, her admission and obvious terror to his somehow affecting her; it was damaging her. And she knew his name. But he couldn't come to realize how they had become connected, how they were already so. His hands hovered, wanting to grab her and make her see that it was all okay; that he wasn't here to hurt her and that whatever she was experiencing was just some residual nightmare that she wouldn't let go of. But it was more. It was him.

His tears soaked into his cheeks, drying as he tried to stop it; everything. There wasn't anything he could do to help her. It was maddening. So out of desperation, he did something that was truly against his nature and better judgment.

He hugged her.

His arms had almost violently snatched her into his fearful embrace, his ear pressing to her chest, but aimed at locking her tight in an embrace she might have never known. It was one even he had not yet shared with Arisa, the first woman to give him the attention of a man's desires. He'd not even shared such a moment with his own mother. Yet not a thought entered his mind now, not to evil nor good. It was instinct that gripped him. And in so intending did his embrace feed only the will to calm. He could only hope that this little girl would see his heart in the way Arisa or Gabriel did.

"It's alright! It's alright." He held her, unwilling to let her go and unsure of how much worse this might make things. He'd never known a girl of this age. He was by far the worst person to undertake the task of calming such an individual. But he was never one to shy nor hesitate. Whether a bull rancor or a little child, he'd grab onto it and do his very best.

"I've stopped. It's over." He had no idea what he was talking about, whether he'd stopped or if there was even something for him to stop. But clearly he instigated something in her. Though he wasn't keen on taking responsibility nor investing in mistakes.

"You know me. I'm not going to hurt you any more. I promise." A quick wit, using what he had heard her say to his advantage. Yet he meant well, if only to tap into that part of her he couldn't see. Whatever she saw, that he didn't, he couldn't let this explode. Here, in a strange place, waiting on his friend after some great ordeal. He wouldn't be the 'bad guy'. He'd worked too hard to preserve his ever glowing image. Perhaps she could hear him. He only hoped she could.

 

[Pdox]

Krynn

Eyes watered like the endless flow of a cave spring. Seeping through the cracks in her wall of fingers clawing as if to beg herself to finally fall silent. This intense swell of emotions wrapped her in a cold embrace stirring memories from her own past. Abuses long healed by scared flesh, numbed nerves, and youthful mind. Now it was all she could see apart from the new visions of the man who caused this event in the first place. The tiny muscles in her cheeks contorts in attempt to close eyes or even part gaze from his own. Krynn felt trapped inside. A whole new meaning to her term; "Slave". Inside she cursed his name, this attractive man, this Lucifer. Boiling hate rushing through the veins that brought life to her mind. A black sensation flooding in like a poison. The child cleared her eyes of the visions for a moment narrowing silver orbs upon him. Only to realize in her pain this new face felt something strong as well....

His own facial expression screamed of its own discomfort. That same look when Krynn first met Gabriel....Fear.

Something in her now understood this was her own doing. Feeble in will to govern her own power creating a victim of them both. This time it was a plea of a different sort she wished to confine in him,

"I'm sorry!" The words kept to her own prison. Tongue unable to fall to command as it relented only to the pain she felt. Echoing screams of dire agony into the night. It was at this point when the darkness defiling her inner self wrapped her fully. Eyes glazing over in white for what was a fleeting feeling of retreat. Krynn saw her naked self marred in a ghostly veil propel into the atmosphere of Ryloth beyond its moons and further still. The pain numbed creating an emptiness indescribable in its description. Voice that had given rise to her fear fell dead as stars and clouds past her by within the void of space, finally resting on a world she never knew. Creations erected not from time but of mortal achievements from long ago. Krynn stood amongst them all in awe. That was until a great shadow enveloped her...

Eyes drew up ever so slowly only to gaze at terror itself. Fragments of fire dancing through the atmosphere marring the sky in orange. The faces of so many damned captured in her eyes crying out screams insurmountable. Vein attempts at a final plea at existance by the dead or dying. A chill coursed over her skin forcing attention to more planetary concern. Turning with flush expressions lingering at the horror unfolding before her.

Krynn cringed as the searing light of a crimson blade ran through her. Body turning to mist disconnected from assault not meant for her but another. Finally it dawned on her what hell clung to this place. Blood of thousands staining her spirit as they waged a violent struggle around a single structure older then anything imagined in tales of fantasy. A desperate battle for control. Panic set in and finally Krynn was allowed her voice as she closed her eyes at last with fear choking her breath. Cupping her body in a sudden darkness diminishing the vision to nothing. Granting light to eyes once more only to take in the scent of Lucifer holding her tightly.

"It's alright! It's alright." His voice seemingly shook as he pleaded with her. Krynn did not move for a moment afraid the visions may yet return.

"I've stopped. It's over." "He what? It was him who halted this living nightmare? That wasn't so....It couldn't be so....but could it?" Krynn shook in his grasp weakly struggling with her arms to be free. Little effect someone so young and seized with trauma. Curling at last in his arms allowing the tears to continue unblemished.

"You know me. I'm not going to hurt you any more. I promise."

Images softly clouded her eyes once more at a more emotional man that held her close. Conflicted inside yet still very much humble at heart. Krynn looked up as the curvy figure of a silver haired, blue eyed, woman stood idle behind them. A deep connection of this person radiated from his being dissipating as quickly as it coalesced. The emotions this man felt held a deep meaning to him and it showed Krynn in the form of this phantom. Bits and pieces of each other traded within them, it would seem. Though she truly did not fully understand it. A tiny right hand gripped at his neck holding herself close to him. The other reaching around the opposing arm just beneath it. Eyes pursing shut in a moment of sanctuary. A calm not felt before sweeping over her.

Krynn's lips felt dry and discomforted, however she felt the need to have words. To confirm this was real. Much had been taken from her in the past and even cruelty offered things such as this before then coldly scratched it away for entertainment.

Meekly she spoke only a question, "Promise...?"

Was she honestly trusting this outsider?

 

[Butler]

The hairs prickled to her touch at the back of his neck, hope tickling into his mind. He felt her maelstrom subsiding to cooler waters. His right arm felt the touch of her other hand as well, inspiring his hand to sooth her with a soft warm pressure into her back. He began to breath easier, sighing gratitude to somebody secretly through his nostrils. She had been hurt, she was innocent in his eyes, and he felt only the tip of her turmoil as it ceased churning in his arms. Ear to chest, he could hear her heartbeat and the secrets it locked away so tight. Somehow it seemed as though he could hear the malfunction in her aching heart, the way it fell off beat. He had no idea what she'd been through, but recognized it. But he wondered if she had made decisions like those in his own past. Were they her own, as his had been his own, or were they forced upon her. He was inclined to think the later, being such a young girl. And yet, something twisted in his perspective of the universe. Every time his mind tricked him with sight of 'perfection', he reconsidered its shadows; seeing all things as darker in nature than even they knew of themselves. But it had been forced upon him as well hadn't it? Perhaps.

Finally she asked him to convince her, an opportunity he jumped on instantly. He pulled away from her, assuring hands sliding to her arms, so that he might stare all his caring confidence into her eyes. For he believed it himself.

"I promise you." There was nothing he was more sure of, every promise he had made becoming more and more convincing to himself as he spoke them. In fact it was a word he threw around often in the halls of Jedi tenets and in the face of pivotal plots, yet here it was somehow more impactful to someone else rather than himself. No one ever knelt down to him and promised him it would all be okay.

Sitting there upon one knee and looking into her eyes, each begging the other for something real, Lucifer managed a lighter countenance with a genuine brightness into his half smile. It was as if purpose finally touched his heart. He'd always wanted to be perfect, but this was something greater; more focused. Greater than angelic benevolence, he could feel the impact of his love. He didn't yet wonder how one so unloved all his life could create such a selfless emotion, though the prick of the thought tapped against his spine for later. Perhaps it was the turn of events come late, Arisa and Gabriel showing him what was important in his life.

"...Come'ere," he whispered after a long pause. He bent to the side, double checking with a glance if she would even let him pick her up. If she made no objection, Lucifer would swoop her up into his arms; one under her knees and the other around her back. Not even a hint of anything other than innocent caring exuded from him now.

Standing up, he'd take her back to the ship. He'd take her to the lowered ramp and sit down with her there. He'd set her down upon the ramp and then join her so that they might watch the night sky together. Perhaps the cool metal of the ship might ease them both as they try and take solace in simple company. To which his next thought would be to introduce himself. Though, she already knew his name. Well that sort of threw a wrench in his icebreaker.

"Huh," he would sigh. "There's something about the dark, isn't there?"

 

[Pdox]

Krynn

Serenity...Commonly a more poetic play of words however for this moment it would surpass exception. The man known to the child as Lucifer conveyed a memorizing trance of peace without the gaze of his eyes. Tender touch lifted loitering thoughts of Mal treatment. Coupled only by piercing comfort offered with falling words. Ringing through out her being. Endlessly like the ever expanding ripple of a drop to a calm surface of water. Skin tingling as if an unknown 'force' tickled the nerves that hid beneath. Krynn at last felt long absent Solace....

Pleading words of sultry grasped at truth. "Is this real?" It must have been so for he drew back from her body looking down upon her. Fragile body flinching at the action with lingering fear. However calmed as eyes drew to the heavens. Two identical moons gazed through her own. Immediately she turned away looking to his chest. Tears yet fresh, spilling over the brim with added contempt over dreaded fear. How she must have looked to him now. Like a rat revealed to a 'civilized' crowd? Disgust only for her publicized weakness.

Again she attempted....

Bringing pale chin skyward calling forth commitment to action. Holding fast in desire to show she was not afraid.

"I promise you." Orbs of silver shooting wide. For Krynn felt no such hidden agenda within his tone. No cringing thought to molest emotions for self delight. This man was genuine as far as someone so young could reason...

Light from the ramp focused her sights upon a bright smile within the darkness. No drama of lies with whitened teeth to veil ulterior motives. All signs of body and mind held to the verdict that no harm would befall her this night. Shyly she gave in to submission. Becoming lax in body though nervous in mind. Even a beaten animal remains scarred after having healed. Eyes relaying in message how she felt. Trust was admitted though not fully as a continued stare argued with his own gaze. Gentle tone offered in rebuttal.

"...Come'ere,"

Body gave to wince in motion as he pivoted, gracing skin, with widened embrace. Tiny arms falling to lap as cradled figure levitated above the ground. An arm bracing Krynn's back as the other supported bloodied knees. A pain long absorbed by the moment. Lucifer could not know the gift he offered now if faithful to word of promise. Taking them to a new destination the forsaken child offered trusting tribute. Falling head lightly to breast nestling into his warmth. Beating heart offered only soothing tone while eyes fluttered. A single hand grasping at his clothed chest. Unyielding in desperate grasp. "Please be real..." She thought...

Taking to the ground once more her body felt the frigged sting of metallic design. Eyes barely open to the night while seated beside Lucifer. Hand still attached to him gripping more to offered promise then physical bond. Repositioning head to comfort them both as she leaned into his side. Allowing peace to flood over her now, willingly.

"Huh," he states; exhaling a sigh. "There's something about the dark, isn't there?"

Krynn's head nods lightly in agreement. The darkness of the night air called to her in a way only describable to a single word....Dissolving.

"It hides the monsters so they won't know." The voice was ripe with innocents. Drenched in a youthful tone light in weight though heavy in allure. Words fumbled with lacking experience though articulated though forced discipline.

"That way they won't see me....I can be like them. I can be scarey too..." Krynn bit her lower lip. Unsure if she should continue to convey truth with words. The hand lessened in grip though lingered still. Thoughts were brought to light already. To continue would only question his motives further and bring remnant doubt to rest.

"....and they won't scare me."

Perhaps the explanation held little understanding to the outside source. Though to Krynn it held deep meaning...

 

[Butler]

At long last, she had bestowed him with some form of trust; temporary it may have been, but it was a giant leap in a direction Lucifer had nearly lost to hope. Some satisfaction relaxed the side of his face as he carried her over, feeling a sense of joyous accomplishment when she rested her head against him. He had never truly invested himself in someone like this, never attempted to accomplish good in someone else; and cared so much. He didn't even know her. It seemed, while he was good at many things, he was in fact great at freeing people from their mental burdens; this including himself. Yet this too was only temporary.

He was surprised to see her retain her hold of him after setting her down, yet it felt natural. It didn't bother him as much as he thought it might, releasing the need to analyze why in this moment of ease. For there were few he enjoyed touching, and even fewer he allowed to touch him. Yet in some connection of what their lives had been, the different hells they'd been through in their youth, he harbored only an openness that was uncharacteristic of 'Lucifer the Padawan'.

He felt her head nod upon his chest, looking down to her; content to expect no reply. But, to his surprise, she opened up.

Her first words dug a pit into his chest. They suggested knowing too many monsters in her time. One was enough to send any normal child over the edge. But more? It was not right. And worse yet, Lucifer had once been one of those monsters. He'd become one to escape the faceless monster that haunted his childhood, the disease that had laid claim to his life. He'd seen terrible things, other monsters who recognized him for what he had become; even so young. And yet, he willingly destroyed them as the only way he knew to fight back, to reclaim his essence and live against all odds. But something always told him it was wrong. He always regretted what he had done, which only dripped a burning acid along the blade's edge inside his gut now as he considered his role next to this young thing. Fear consumed his thoughts as he wondered what she might think of him if she knew him, the real Lucifer. But he wasn't like that really, was he?

But she admitted it about herself, letting slip the very thing that worried Lucifer about himself. I can be scary too, he echoed in his mind. He knew all too well what she meant and why. It was himself mirrored back in her form, years rewound in the spin of a female's perspective. He understood her, eager energy beaming through his eyes yet within the constraints of reason.

He turned his head fully towards her and smiled. She couldn't see him the way she was leaning into him, his head over hers. So he turned away, hiding his smirk. Oh how this eased his spirit. Gabriel was different. He understood more than Lucifer, crafted Lucifer into what he knew the young Padawan should be and would be. But this little girl knew what Lucifer was beneath that, without even knowing it herself.

"And no one will have seen what I've done..." he breathed coolly, the expulsion of those words fully liberating beyond any that he had experienced.

Calmly he remained, letting her hand return its full weight upon him that she might know him and feel safe in some unique way. That these two scary youths could sit together in the dark and finally relax, not having to put on their masks of scars. Sure his was a perspective of one a bit older than her, worried also about what those in the light would think to judge him by in addition to worrying about the monsters in the dark. But she would find the same troubles as she aged. Or perhaps not. Perhaps he could be that for her. He could smooth the wrinkles in the sheets that she might dream of rolling hills and cool shallow waters, defying the night and its terrors together. He never knew what it felt like to have a sibling.

And as he looked out, pretending not to be waiting for her to look up at him because of his agreeing statement, Lucifer lightly smiled to the stars as they smiled down on him. And while he watched them twinkle and glisten, he began to wonder which was his.

So he shifted only enough to reach into his back pocket, only to realize the datapad was in his front side pocket, and he pulled it out without much movement in refrain of disturbing his new friend's lean against him. He held up the datapad to the sky, unlocking the screen and opening a file to do some quick research. Without a word, he warmly breathed in with a soothing lift of the chest and breathed out as the air slid up through his throat and out his lips. He hummed a smile as he confirmed the possibility of finding his homeworld. It was so far away, and he didn't really care to ever go back there. It was more a chance to tell someone, finally, who he had been on the inside; because where he came from was that dark spot on his lungs that would never go away. And pointing it out was an admission of that spot when none knew of its existence based off of his pure and glamorous exterior.

"Hmm." His head faltered over hers unintentionally. "There I am. Aargau. It's a banking planet." He sighed easily. "Lot of monsters there too." He concluded with a pause, not expecting her to understand why he felt the need to point out the planet. But there was so much more to it than just that.

"But they don't know. They don't know my name." Now he was just talking to himself, ridiculing the stars and lording over them for their failure to end his life. Whoever was that faceless monster who put him in unloving womb as a child and muddied cesspit for living had failed, no amount of disdain capable of spitting back in the face of injustice.

"But you do, don't you." He waited, a pause bridging his decision to turn his head back down towards her tenderly. Recalling her speaking his name, he still had not worked it out. She obviously was connected to the Force. That much he knew. But how and to what extent, he had never thought to learn enough to understand her now. The giftings of young sensatives were never a subject of his interest until now. He wondered, figuring out her affinity and in which direction her needle pointed on the spectrum. It didn't matter, only that he enjoyed her and whoever she was.

 

[Pdox]

KRYNN

"And no one will have seen what I've done..."

The words drifted over Krynn as her eyes began to flutter. Though something beneath started to connect them both. A silent bond built solely from understanding. Though she did not fully know the impact bestowed upon Lucifer. It held them closer as if their meeting was preordained. That missing piece within their souls crying out, "Someone free me. Free me from myself." The simple act of knowing what it was that haunted each other forming the key.

After many years living in fear the girl finally sat freely without a single thought to a hidden dagger. With another man. A stranger at that...

A new rush of safety fell lightly upon her like a cold chill. Traveling up her spine to force a shutter. Leaning ever closer into his warmth by instinct. Her sights veiled to darkness as her heavy breath now slowed. A pleasing drift of comfort laxing her tiny frame. Stomach swaying like the wake of the sea to and fro gently. Lucifer moves with care not to move her far from desired form retrieving something unseen. Her eyes remaining closed unable to see the device he held now.

"Hmm." Her eyes slowly revealed themselves to the night. Narrowing gaze upon the new light that disturbed the darkness. "There I am. Aargau. It's a banking planet."

banking.....a word that held grievous meaning to her. Krynn rustled slightly in his side tightening grip to cloth once more pulling head to hand.

"I hate money..." she fumbled quietly out loud. It was the object that many of her said "monsters" held close at heart. "Lot of monsters there too."

His statement came to her in a way she never thought possible. Pointing out the existence of "monster" on this world in relation to her fear. He quietly agreed with her on a unforeseen level. Grip lessened after words. Comfort setting in once more. The man knew how to calm her well.

"But they don't know. They don't know my name." The name of a slave was of no consequence here on Ryloth. The only blessing bestowed upon her freely after release.

"But you do, don't you." ....name? Her name...The silver spheres held within her gaze lifted to his face in question. No one ever cared to know. Other then Gabriel perhaps. More so it was asked and not commanded of her. To answer would be her own choice. A liberty never before afforded. Eyes watered at this revelation wavering her eyes in the dim light. Biting teeth to lips in halted breath. At last the gates let loose words released on outward breath....

"Krynn..."
Immediately she closed mouth looking down to the ramp. How silly to be worried he may judge her name simple, small, or distasteful. Many other beings held so much more then her to names.

 

[Butler]

"Krynn," he echoed as he pondered the soft sound to the sky.

Looking up, he softly smiled. It felt soothing to say. Even as he spoke it, it had curled his lips into the gentle smile he wore now as if that's what it was designed for. Now, knowing her name, he was overcome with an inflated purpose; as though he felt responsible for this girl. And it filled his chest with a powerful compassion. Yet in the flicker of that realization, the twisted memory of what he had done reminded him of his compassion and what it had inspired him to do for Gabriel. Luckily, it was only just a moment. He just as easily returned to that serenity, so long as she remained latched onto him so. He was skilled at forgetting. And this, this was what he wanted deep down.

"Sweeter than nectar Velanie," he reflected to them both, eyes wandering amidst the stars.

"Have you ever heard of the Velanie flower, Krynn?" he asked deliberately, turning his head back down towards her.

There was no need for her to have known of the variant, fully aware of her youth and obvious state. He merely played at conversation, words being one of his greatest tools in this life. The simple act of engaging her was enough for him to enjoy. Her answers mattered little, only that she answered at all to fulfill him for the merrier in her company. When left with a void in his life, albeit temporary in this instance, it was only natural to seek out another to take its place. Though in his mind nothing could tear him away from returning to Arisa's arms and her ...unique form of love.

"One day I'll give you one," he pursed with satisfaction in the claim, feeling joy in the self-confirmed opinion that she deserved one.

 

[Pdox]

KRYNN


"Krynn," He spoke gently upon the hallowed whispers of Darkened sky.

The small girl felt chills course her spine at the very utter of name. Normal tone held despair with intent to her summons. Angered by failure or perhaps simply attention calling her too command. Never before had an outsider spoke her name in a tone such as this. As though it held some meaning or comforting purpose. Head remaining stationary, she brought her eyes up for a moment as if to question him silently. Only to retreat downward once more. Reflecting on his own name now. Krynn pondered how she came by it. Far-sight generally foretold outcomes and not information on a personal level. Then again she never tried before....Then again she never met anyone like him or Gabriel before....

"Sweeter than nectar Velanie," Lucifer commented to the night's stars. It forced her only to ball up beside him. Looking at bloodied knees gracing them with a free hand for a moment. Compliments some how made her uncomfortable. Curling naked toes just to simply feel something different within her body.

"Have you ever heard of the Velanie flower, Krynn?" Name beckoned her gaze to his own. Meeting eyes within eyes. Her own still a bit moist waving as if gate ways to the sea itself. Finally the child shook her head to affirm lack of knowledge. Though the designation of "flower" was understood. "Velanie" was alien like him.

Many such times servants placed Flowers within a vase or urn to extend fresh color in a darkened corner. Though children were strongly encouraged not to disturb the monument. Less misfortune befall discovery from the whips of their masters hand.

"One day I'll give you one,"

Krynn's tiny fingers curl tighter around his clothes. A feeling of great confusion drowning her sorrow. Never before had a promise of such fallen to her. Of course lies meant to urge proper behavior with reward were no stranger to her. However this was new. A flower simply for her. The described symbol of beauty for a child slave. What had she done to deserve this. The pair had only just met and now he gave promise of gift?

Her face contorts slightly while biting lower lip. White teeth showing within windowed corners of lips. Eyes rippling with renewed tears birthed of fresh emotion. Krynn wished to say no. For it was too much to take in. This kindness of his. As if to bathe her clean of past sins struck by foreign hands.

In this pouring dismay she manage only one word.....Fumbling with weeping voice bubbled from wounded heart......"Why....?" She paused only to damn up her coming confliction. "Why would you do that, for me?"

Hand releasing clothes with spoken words. Body leaning away from his own slightly as if poised to flee should this prove a trap....

 

[Toska]

A cool breeze slid past Gabriel's cheeks, billowing his hair and robes into the oily darkness behind him. Night had long since fallen over Ryloth, drawing a black veil over the otherwise colorful world. Around him, heat simmered on the rocks, at odds with the rapidly cooling air. He basked in it, splotches of crusted blood matted to his robes, a circle of death lying at his feet. Head titled to the sky, he breathed deeply, dispelling the filth from his lungs. A cringe fell over his lips, utter revulsion assailing him in reminiscence. The stump on his left shoulder ached, throbbing from where a man had grabbed him; his eyes fell to a mangled pile of rags and flesh splattered across a nearby boulder. A stray lekku stood erect from the mess, tip curling back as its last bits of moisture fled.

Perhaps he went too far. His heart continued to race, pumping thick, syrupy blood through his arteries, drumming dully against his recent injuries. Slowly, his mouth opened into a rictus, the constant pain laying siege to his sanity. His shoulder and eye beat asynchronously; every second shook him with a new wave of pain. No, he decided. He did not go far enough. Death was too merciful an end. These creatures, so confident in their numbers, in the prime of their youth, inflicted this pain upon him. They pounced upon seeing his injuries, lips smacking greedily in light of this easy mark. Yes; death was far too merciful of him.

Clutching the plastic framework covering what remained of his eye, Gabriel steadied himself. A breath escaped his lips; he inhaled another, a soothing, repetitive motion that stilled his heart. The throbbing dulled, and his shoulders sunk, a listless half-smile crossing his lips. He turned from the scene, robes fluttering behind him, a tinge of regret staining his mind; his return to the ship was taking longer than he intended. The hours squandered in pursuit of idle violence caused him to forfeit any hope of personally introducing his dew-eyed apprentices.

He heaved a sigh. It would be impossible now. What a shame. He rather enjoyed the notion of introducing them. He could imagine Lucifer's reaction, the bubble of surprise colored with jealousy. Sympathy upon hearing Krynn's past, a paternal urge blossoming in his chest. Yes, Lucifer's reaction promised to be quite entertaining. He had wished to facilitate that reaction personally, to further break Lucifer's preconceptions. These thoughts carried him across the darkened wasteland, dotted with the occasional luminescent crystalline structure.

Regret tasted bitter indeed. He could not help but feel stifled by it. What could it be, he wondered. Where was its source? A name, no; two. A face, a voice, a chorus... Naomi, Casimir, mother. Caleb, Thaed, father.

Andraste. His lips curled. The words burned in his throat, the taint heavy on his lips, but he refused to acknowledge it. That name, that simple collection of syllables, struck a chord within him. Her face haunted his mind, a hollow smile and bloodshot eyes. Worn flesh, pale and ragged, prematurely touched by age. He had only seen her once since her return from self-imposed exile, and could never bring himself to seek audience with her. He feared the hatred coursing through him, tempered and molded into a sharp rage. She had always elicited some emotion from him; love in their adolescence, anguish upon her betrayal, and now hatred.

He still loved that innocent girl from his past. Their romance was sweet, twisted into the mold of the Sith. He remembered their first meeting, eyes touching across Korriban's wicked sands, drawn together in an act of murder. A smile, the loveliest of sins, the most innocent of evils. Eyes like stars fade with the coming dawn...

Disgust washed over him. The tidal basin filled, drowning him beneath anathema tides. But he pressed forth, the occasional throb in his arm refocusing his mind, gifting him clarity that he had never imagined; sleepless lucidity, where reality's danced in the air. He drew nearer to the ship, felt Lucifer's mind ebbing on the edge of his consciousness; heard Krynn's voice croon. He made his quiet ascent, climbing the ramp into his ship, drifting towards their warmth.

Footfalls reverberated in the halls, and he reached their sanctum. His gaze fell over them.

"Krynn. Lucifer," he said, something akin to sadness lurking in his voice. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

 

[Butler]

Lucifer's neck pinched, a bit taken aback by her innocent and even ignorant question. It was then that he realized just how dark her life had been, or at least caught his first glimpse; whether she meant for him to or not. Being the man that he was, Lucifer could not help but see too clearly what she was and her outline in the void; that tragic and suffering place. He always focused on the shadows of a surface. For some reason they popped out to his perspective quicker and easier than the lighter sides. Well, he knew the reasons, though he was as adept at forgetting them as he was at recognizing malicious coloring. But worst of all, he knew what she had been through. He had seen it, he had experienced it empathetically through second hand. He had stood in a room while the Krynn of his youth was smeared into a mess of dirt no longer resembling her true self, while all he cared to do was ensure the act's execution. How could he be who he was now? He sometimes wondered. Perhaps he was too skilled for his own sake, too talented in these arts that he had become spoiled even in his darker days; that transitioning to the Jedi was the only other thing left for him after reaching the top echelons of criminal hands. It might have been a short ladder to climb for where he's from, but he executed his ascension with a beautifully precise prejudice. Now all he could do was question his humanity. But he had always known there was more to such a word, that he was more.

He shook his head, denying his internal conflict and mourning her pain both as though he were directly responsible. It was not right. And it hit him. He wasn't doing anything, even like he used to. While, granted, he would never go back to the way he was, he was mortified to suddenly comprehend the lack of propulsion and ambition he once demonstrated. Cutting away his degenerative disease seemed a double-edged incision, freeing him from fear while gifting him with languor; only to realize a new fear of ineptitude and the dangers of more prominent seekers.

No longer. He would enact his persecution towards imperfections actively, starting now.

"Because every-thing..." he trailed, eyes completely washing his skin white with suspenseful expectation as his sockets sagged in recounting fear of that day and every memory that defined a more honest Lucifer and the man he had shown worship.

Lucifer, frozen by ...uncertain conflictions, inched his eyes towards that subtle sensation. He was beginning to tap into it, to dip his fingers a bit deeper; every dabble all the more addictively dangerous.

And low, he had come.

"Gabriel," he gulped, selfishly assuming guilt for the chronology of names associated with the question. He assumed Gabriel was asking only him, as though he had been lazy; linking previous thought processes with the judgment that dripped behind closed lips that watched them.

"I didn't realize we were hiring a new crewman," he deflected as he stood. Lucifer never responded well to authority. But fear, even in his own inception, always gripped his attention.

"How, are...?" Finishing that question was just uncomfortable. He had lived through disease and had previously expected to degenerate to the point of physical deformity, so he could slightly relate to his mentor. But it felt odd to think of the man that way, as Lucifer had never had a mentor before; the word itself sounding frivolous and flamboyantly pointed.

Lucifer folded an arm over arm, his hand wrapping around the left forearm uncomfortably. It wasn't exactly that he felt on the wrong side of Gabriel's watch, but rather Gabriel forced Lucifer to face things he'd rather forget; as he was so content and practiced at doing. Gabriel didn't scare Lucifer so much as he brewed fear up from Lucifer's bowels.

 

[Pdox]

KRYNN

Subtle though he was, Lucifer, was marked by the look of mild surprise. Head tilting upon the innocent child's question. Her body shifted backwards slightly in reply. Mistrust taking hold of body once more. Eyes narrowed to his figure Krynn was waiting for the moment when he would strike her down. Perhaps take invitation of her innocents then sell her for further desires obtained in electronic exchange. No such thing came to pass. Only words meant to execute underlying fear following head affirming reply of "no".

"Because every-thing..." Tender tone fades in captured attention acquired elsewhere.

Being so close to him now with lingering connection clinging to fragile mind still yet. Krynn felt the rippling emotion he felt. It reflected her own fear to a larger degree. A vision hovered upon the edge of reckoning only to be seized in searing pain. Tiny hand reaching to temple in action as teeth ground with squinted eyes. The girl knew this all to well. A Darkness that enveloped her in tendrils of black. Calling her name weeks ago through the stars. Most would wake with swet saturating their brow only to denounce the encounter a dream. Though this child did action practical to the norm. Instead something deep beneath the surface reached out answering the call. Beckoning the darkness closer....

That was when she met him.....

"Gabriel," Lucifer stated banishing calm down his throat.

Immediately Krynn bounced from her position, ready to flee before, to feet. Collecting herself in front of her Master with silence. Eyes narrowed on the ground. Instinct, acquired through discipline, demanded obedient respect. To which her reply was passed within her bow. Cupping hands together before herself. Before submission the blood caught her nose. Not her own now crusted upon clothed knees. Mouth open with slight concern looking up slightly as if ready to render aid of some sort upon command.

"I didn't realize we were hiring a new crewman,"

Eyes dart to Lucifer then the ground once more. Feeling comfort upon its gripping decay. Dirt was something slaves studied regularly. Holding blood with reminder of failure when broken down atop its browned shell.

Lucifer attempted incite to Gabreil's condition perhaps. Addressing him more openly then Krynn could or was ever able too at present. Standing before the man now with crossed arms within the night. Krynn's body shuffled distance between them all waiting to fallow her Master inside the ship then await task. Years of service accounting proper form in stance, paces away from the higher echelon, and of course tone should she reply. Eyes were the portal to rebellion. Therefore they were to be shackled upon the planets shell. Forever removed from thoughts of resistance.

The radiant violence echoed through the void to Krynn's vision. Feeling the death that enveloped this man. Eyes trailing up in awe.....The child wished this power for herself. No more chains, no more sadness, no more fear.

 

[Toska]

Gabriel's gaze fell upon Lucifer's arm. He drew across the boundaries scribbled along the younger man's palm, a pang of envy flooding his chest. It dispersed momentarily, bowing beneath the weight of his control. Desire settled behind a veil of shadowy aloofness, under a cold, gray eye. He reprimanded himself; he lost his arm by virtue of his own stupidity. He fell prey to his own hubris, he had no right to lust after his loss.

"The pain has passed," he said. The lie came easily to his lips. Blood welled just beneath the skin, pulsing against the fabrics of his existence, threatening to scatter him across the stars. It churned in him, yet a smile came easily to his lips. Laying there, twisted and broken, it cast itself towards Lucifer, reeling against the guilt lurking in his eyes. Gabriel met it in full. He knew well how heavily inaction weighed upon the mind, how rationality bent knee before it. So he smiled, shrugging away his discomfort in favor of his apprentice's conscience. He smiled, ceding way for pride.

"I'll live." Turning to Krynn, silence took hold of him. Her presence waned before him, shrinking in on itself as her eyes skittered along the ground. Gabriel's smile fell. "Raise your eyes," he said, softly. His hand snaked out, beyond any semblance of control, snatching the girl's chin, lifting it towards his own. He crouched, leveling his gaze with hers.

"Never avert your eyes." He wondered what spurred his actions. "You have nothing to fear," -- barely a whisper -- "so raise your chin. You've earned the right." He glanced towards Lucifer. Releasing the girl's chin, he stood, patting her head gently.

"Equality is yours," he said. "Yours to keep, yours to lose. Time is a precious thing. You posses it for a while, but you will eventually fade. Only your legacy will succeed you." He shifted his glance between the two of them. They were his legacy, now. His to protect; his to lose.

 

[Butler]

Lucifer's head dropped with relief to Gabriel's lie. At least he felt less guilty somehow. Perhaps if Gabriel felt less pain, he too could forget about the damage done and move on as Lucifer wished it. Something in his gut spoiled, however, informing his hopes ill. Gabriel wouldn't forget. If only it were that easy.

Yet his eyes lifted, thinking the command directed at him when he found it was Krynn whom Gabriel first addressed. He wanted to go to her, to hold her shoulders close and comfort her; unknown to him why he felt so compelled to protect and shelter her. But Gabriel's advance rejected any willingness Lucifer might have had, locking his feet deep into cowardice or obedience; unknown which. The man's words were honest in sound, coming from that same person that Lucifer met at one Jedi's side. But now, they hummed with a warped undertone that Lucifer could not place. It only inspired a greater wonder, a proper fear of power and the desire to know it intimately. Qualifying it with reasons relating to his injury were sufficient to Lucifer now. But he could not deny the suspense holding his breath now.

He choked, windpipes seized by Gabriel's clutches with his next words as they pointed down into his heart. And his eyes locked with Gabriel's under command. By some strange connection, as Lucifer believed it to be, Gabriel could see him through and through. It had little to do with the Force. Instead, it was him, Gabriel's soul and his that were joined now. And yet, Lucifer leaned heavily upon his toes, pulled by his desire to gain the man's approval and pride. Lucifer wobbled with empathy, wishing Gabriel did not feel as though he was fading. Understanding Gabriel's words to hint at his own dark dealings and decisions, Lucifer longed to help and to demonstrate the love he had which so few were aloud to know. Until today, there was but one he had shown himself to. Now there were three.

"Teach me!" he demanded with a step forward.

His left hand flexed out behind, subtly and unconsciously reaching to safeguard Krynn and hide her as he highlighted himself as her shield. But Krynn was not his deepest desire. His reason, spawned by Gabriel himself, was deep inside him forever. And it crept up his throat as he pleaded to be of use, to be risen and reborn.

"If you..." he quickly remembered Gabriel's injury, second guessing his demand with thought to Gabriel's physical limitations.

"I..." he stammered, looking down to his own arm. But he couldn't, there wasn't a way, was there? He'd give anything to lift Gabriel back up to that man he met in the Palace; so metallic he was, so perpetual.

"Let your legacy in me," he proclaimed firmly, confidently, grasping air into curling right fingertips, "that it would flow, through me, into greater than power has ever known."

Lucifer had returned, a flicker of what lurked inside. Brought about, he was, by the death and the plague that strained on his youthful skin; tearing off the fabrication that is humanity and revealing the monster of perfection's potential. And he burned for its return, wafting that warmth he had forgotten in his shelter within the Jedi; breathing the heat what would fuel the fires of his word. For they would be burned into him, and he would not be capable of escaping. Never again.

 

[Pdox]

KRYNN

Shackled to her disdain the girl harbored her eyes within the safety of the grounds embrace. That was until over shadowed presence fell attention upon her capturing the wounded soul with one command. To raise her eyes to him. Pupils grew wide while the whites widened further as if punishment loomed though such ill forged thoughts were squashed upon Gabriel's touch. Firmly it forced her to extended wounded trust. Krynn could not understand if this was love or something dark that held such kindness for her. The whispered departing phrase speared her very being....You've earned the right

What divine right gave her such a bounty? To gaze upon a god in such a way. Given command to never pervert eyes away with respect. Krynn felt no equal to this man though he seemed to place some measure upon her regardless. While Gabriel stood to give gentle pet to head. Her eyes could not help but to look upon Lucifer once more for a moment in question. "Was he too sincere?"

A feeling of belonging flooded her mind. Raking tingling slots of pain equal in amount to the strands of hair that dawned her brow.

It was refreshing to feel something this unique. Freeing actually. Eyes teared yet never allowed a drop to fall. It was too precious. Realization fell to her of belonging. A true home filled with uncertainty though warm in its own right. Eyes training now on her Master listening to things set far from her understanding. Lucifer seemed fired by this with his own flare of outbursts. Krynn thought to join though was anchored down still yet. However to surprise she still held though silver spheres erect to Gabriel. Somewhere there was a connection made. Whether it was when she 'accidentally' reached out to him in the void. Or simply joined in the act of her freedom. It was forged and hidden away from sight though very much felt now.

A vow etched its self withing her crimson blood. So great it compelled lips to follow in march of its flow. "I will not fail you-..."

Krynn didn't even realize the words softly spilled from her mouth. Attention set on Gabriel. Whatever darkness she felt was gone now. Even if light wasn't present she could see clearly for once in her miserable existence a path set before her. One willingly chosen with a sibling to guide her. Eyes settling on Lucifer one more time. This would be the family she never had.....