From Fear Comes Courage

[Nora Grazioso]

Saleucami

You're getting daring Nora... the Knight thought to herself as she stepped off the shuttle into the quiet space port on Saleucami along with several other Spacers. Many of them stayed on the platform as they waited for the next shuttle to arrive, taking them to the odd-end points of the galaxy. However, Nora would make her way into the space port; it was small, quaint, many Ma & Pop Shops and run down bars mainly there to service travelers. Their drinks and food overpriced to make ends meet during slower seasons. The ground was soft, and the Knight attributed it to the the port itself lying on top of a flood plain, nestled in the bottom of a rocky canyon.

Through the port's center ran a small river, but with any heavy rainstorm here or up North, this place could easily flood. The girl's green eyes glanced at the building's walls, noting the various water lines that scarred it. Though compared to most ports she had visit, this one seemed to be the most clean, though it wasn't to say all the garbage and waste was frequently washed down stream by floods. The streets themselves were not paved and the Knight found herself sinking slightly with each step into the sandy soil. Nora would admit to herself that she liked it, as the landscaped reminded her of the floodplains back on her homeworld.

As much as she wanted to reminisce about her home growing up, her pounding heart kept her mind on other things. This was the furthest she had ventured from Ossus since Devaron as she worked to get closer to Nar Shaddaa. It would be a lie to say she wasn't scared, her face was branded with JEDI and the cowl and hood could only protect so much until some misfortune would occur and it would have to be removed.

The girl did her best to not focus on that though, she would deal with it when it happened. However, she would prefer if she didn't have to walk around with it. Breathing through the fabric was stifling and it made her sweat quicker, nor did it help her own nerves and pounding heart as she looked for some place just to breath. Inside the port was not optional, so she made her way to the outer edges, out of the port, away from the people before panic would set in.

Her steps were swift as she weaved between buildings, following the river upstream, keeping out of sight from natives or travelers. Nora felt some relief as the beings and the buildings became more scarce until she was surrounded by the tall flowering trees and large bulbous plants. Feeling it was safe, she swiftly pulled down her cowl and gasped for a fresh breath of air.

The Knight kept her eyes closed as her senses reached out, feeling for anyone or anything that would be near enough to cause her trouble. Nora inhaled again through her nose and opened her eyes as she breathed out, calming her nerves. Her mind scolded her for daring to go this far, but Nora couldn't stay on Ossus forever. She had found over the last several weeks that many Jedi were counting on her, for what, she wasn't entirely sure, she wasn't understanding it, but felt she needed to be ready for when the answer came. A part of her just wanted to be left alone, but that time had gone and left; everyone in the Order knew who she was. Nora wasn't sure how she felt about that.

The Jedi leaned against the base of one of the flowering tree trunks and closed her eyes once more, still feeling as her mind started to calm itself. She wasn't sure what would happened she reached Nar Shaddaa. There were so many memories there, and they weren't necessary good ones, though for a trashy world, it made sense, since personally never found anything useful in the trash. Her thoughts started to snowball leading from Councilor Winters, who wasn't so lost any longer, Jon, and Kal. Nora kicked herself mentally as she started to think about Kal, from the mission to the trial, to Canto and then finally Devaron.

Nora felt her palm fall to her torso, resting gently over where he shot her first, the memory of the pain returned as the incident replayed in her head. All those shots were meant to kill her, and as much as she wanted to say she had moved on from it, it still angered and pained the girl emotionally. The Knight breathed deeply calming herself, letting in the light and feeling its healing warmth.

She reached deeply into the Force, "Kal..." she spoke softly, but she echoed loudly through the waves of the Force.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

Kal was far away. The distant ocean world he looked out on was one of isolation where he had managed to disconnect himself from the rest of the world. His entire life had turned on end the longer he stayed with the Exiles, and while he had come to accept - and even embrace - that truth, there was need for time with his own mind.

Pain, rage, and resentment had become the daily portion for his mind and soul, and he'd allowed the darkness to take its deeper hold. Leaving the Jedi had been painful and the betrayal he'd felt at the hands of the Order itself, but also of Evalyn had cut him deeply. He'd been turned on by those he loved. The pain had only kept growing as he found himself once more truly alone as Alais turned aside. There was nothing but the darkness to comfort him, and he had quickly found it to be quite an ocean of solace.

Things he had once loved, he had now grown to hate, and people he had once worked so closely with were now those he tried to kill. So much had happened in the time since he'd left the Order, and he wondered where his path might ultimately take him. Was his trajectory a tenable one? He'd spent the days on a small island with the supplies of his ship to keep him established. He'd all but set aside the world at large and turned his thoughts inward. He'd spent hours walking the beaches and cliffs and now, sat gazing out at the water as it lashed against the rocks.

It was as he mulled over these things that he heard the echo in the Force meant only for him. It would go unheard by the rest of the galaxy, but it actually made Kal turn behind him, half-prepared to draw his blade in defense against the Jedi Shadow. But she wasn't there. No one was there and within a moment, he realized what this was. Such distance stood between them, but why had she reached out to him? What could she have possibly wanted?

So you survived after all, he said. The words were biting and lacked any warmth he might have once had. Even since Devaron, Kal's slide into darkness had become more pronounced, and he felt no remorse any longer for what he did. @GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

She hadn't expected to reach Kal as she did and it brought a moment of surprise and awe to the Knight, but as he spoke, she was quickly reminded of the path that he was following now. His words didn't even sound like the Shadow she knew before the Trial, they bit like a cold winter's wind and she felt herself wanting to retreat, but she stayed.

"Ye-ah, I did." Nora snapped at him, "You failed-" she felt her heart starting speed up, her stomach twisting from all the words she wanted to describe him as being, but could only think of one word: failure. "You failed the Shadows, you failed the Jedi," The Knight silently thanked the Force that Kal wasn't standing next to her in the flesh, she was certain he probably would have tried to shoot her by now, "You failed your friends..."

Nora could feel the darkness vein from Kal, it didn't help her already unsteady nerves as she focused on their connection. She tried to see past Kal, to see where he stood, but there was only the black matte of what she could describe as space. "You failed to stop the darkness in Alais and instead you chose to join it." The girl spoke, nearly flinching at her own words as she prepared for the backlash, but her ego wanted one more twist of the dagger as she felt the urge to make him feel the pain he had caused her, "Your failures make you just as bad as the council, if not worse. I didn't think it was a competition to see who can be the worst in the galaxy."

The girl spat her words before she could stop herself and immediately felt regret.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

Kal was left to wonder a moment at how this was possible. He could see her as if she were here with him, but he knew better. It was a toy of the Force, and perhaps a cruel one at that. But cruel for who? Kal or Nora? There were many biting words to be had still.

And oh, she was angry, wasn't she? Kal's lip was a hair away from twisting into an evil smirk. Failure? he said, nearly amused by the word. Perhaps, but my friends aren't the ones dead in the dirt of Devaron, are they? he said cooly, reminding her of the dead she had failed at the temple. Did you even go back for their bodies? Give them a proper pyre send off or were you too afraid? he asked. He was a Jedi once upon a time, and he knew what a proper send off could mean in the Order. So many today fell with their bodies unrecovered.

Or did you leave them to rot in some crap-hole like you did with Jon, too? he asked. Perhaps more than anything else, that statement bore testament in his own mind to have far he'd come. He'd agonized over the death of Jon and the banishment of Alais. They had both been his students at one point in time, and he'd felt he failed them. Now, the memory couldn't even seem to prick a nerve, though he knew it should have.

So perhaps I'm a failure at killing you this time, but I didn't honestly expect a Jedi to miss something so simple as a blaster bolt, he made a tsk-tsk and shook his head. So, speaking of the Shadows, how's that going, he asked, motioning to her face and the etching it now bore. I don't suppose even your single usefulness to the Jedi is applicable anymore, he mocked the fact that she had been so marred. Every word was pure acid and he felt none of the regret she did. There was unbelievable hatred that had welled up in him over the past weeks, and he had quickly discovered the feeling of relief he felt when he allowed it to flow into others. This monster in the driver's seat felt so much more at ease than any of the turmoil he had felt. @GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

That regret lasted for exactly fifteen seconds before he returned to speak, his lip curling into a smirk and Nora felt her body tense. His words angered her further, her cheeks turning a light shade of red as he first spoke of Devaron. There was a phantom pain in her abdomen and chest and she resisted the urge to touch them and instead her fingers curled into her palm, digging her nails into her flesh. She wasn't ready for this, he knew exactly what to say that would strike her nerves.

He continued and Nora flinched at Jon's name, the pain of his death surfaced to her thoughts and she felt her chin drop just slightly. She remembered what Evalyn said when she encountered Kal after the Trial. This wasn't the Jedi Master the Knight knew, or at least she hoped, there always sat the possibility that this was how he always was and she never knew him well enough to decipher. Regardless, he didn't stop, the retorts fell from his tongue so easily and Nora absorbed each word he said.

The girl glanced up as she saw his hand wave, gesturing the branding of JEDI on her face. She wanted to tell him he shouldn't be talking with his stupid lightsaber scar across his face, but Nora knew deep down she would trade him if she had the chance. Tears had welled in her eyes and she felt one escape before she could stop it; the pain of his words burned through her anger and it filled with guilt and sadness. He wasn't wrong, she had made numerous mistakes, she was scared, and yet so many Jedi were looking to her for answers. She didn't understand any of it, she didn't have the answers they wanted.

She gritted her teeth, "You're not Kal." but glanced away, breathing in deeply, believing this was some dirty trick. However, nothing told her otherwise and as much as she wanted to alter her reality to believe it, she knew who she was speaking to, the Force had led her to him.

"You're a Jedi Master, you're better than this. How can you just throw it all away?" she asked him, not expecting him to answer, "You had a voice that could be heard and you wasted that chance on some teen who couldn't keep her temper in check!" Nora snapped back, but this time prepared herself for his counter.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

Kal could feel the anger in her rising and growing with every word. She spat back words at him, but he just rolled his eyes. Am I not? he retorted, but they both knew the answer to that.

There was a flash of anger in him at Nora's final comment, but he kept his composure. He would have run her through for it right then and there if they were in person, but they weren't. Perhaps that was what needed to be amended. Am I someone who needs to be destroyed? he asked flatly. Then come get me on Dac, he said. It shouldn't have been too long of a trek for her, but he wouldn't wait around for her to gather allies. It wasn't like the Jedi could easily mobilize a quick reaction force to come for him any faster than the Exiles could mobilize a force to come get her. It would be a single conversation - or fight - one to one.

We're done here. I won't wait forever. Make your decision for your "cause," he said, waving his hand through the air and giving her a backlash of hatred into her mind that would sever their connection and he paused to wait. His own anger was burning again, but he took a deep breath of ocean air, letting it flow back down until all that was left was the quiet, determined remorselessness. And so he waited. @GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

He gave her a location, asking her if he was someone who needed to be destroyed, she knew what the invitation meant and her growing anger wished for her to accept, she could feel that sliver of darkness imbedded in her soul beckon those thoughts. Nora opened her mouth to speak has he mocked her, but the swift snap of his hate brought her back to Saleucami.

She opened her eyes, feeling slightly disoriented but quickly recalled where she was, "Dac..." Nora whispered. The girl's eyes narrowed as begun to think of the quickest route to get there, what she would say when she saw him face to face, would she draw her saber, would he draw his...those were all the questions that begun to flood her mind. It was un-Jedi of her, but she wanted him to regret what he said, she wanted to feel the pain that he has caused, and she felt she would be the only one to do so. No doubt the Knight was scared, she feared what else he was capable of doing, but he was right, she had to make the decision for the Jedi cause.

The Knight reached for her staff off her back and inhaled deeply, "Breathe..." her inner voice reminded her, "Trust in the Force..." the words echoed and she closed her eyes, taking a moment to feel, "Breathe..." she heard her Master's voice and instinctively she followed. Her mind started the clear and the light of the Force poured back into her, calming the Knight. Nora looked at the staff in her palms and sheathed it; she had played this game several times before and each time she lost. It wasn't just in her journeys, but also in the games of holo-chess she would play with Liam; rushing straight into battle or moving the most valuable pieces first, her losses were always great.

Opening her eyes, her racing heart had slowed, her breath steady as she felt ready, "I am ready..." whispered the girl, her words trailing as she felt a shift in the Force.

@Malon @Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

When she arrived at Dac, she would merely find that Kal had left behind a comlink for her and the very same pistol he had used to shoot her with a simple note.

Until we meet again.

 

[Rhea]

Taleucema was a difficult place to hunt a Jedi. Rhea had heard an echo go out into the galaxy, which was then answered by a similar echo—though one infinitely darker. Responding, she arrived on Saleucami: a volcanic world in the far Outer Rim. As she neared the source, whispers filled her mind, along with distant places and images. She saw water. The water of a distant world. She felt the challenge... the lingering resentment. She allowed these things to wash over her until she understood them on some level. Only then did she reveal herself from behind her target.

The target—the source of the echo—as it would happen, was the young Jedi Knight from Devaron. And the one from Canto Bight. The one Alais had marked. Rhea could not help but scoff at the Force's sense of humor. First, she had been drawn to the girl Vin, whom Alais had forsaken—now to the girl to whom she had marked. But Rhea had decided not to nitpick too much. She had been searching for a Jedi. The Force had provided.

"And what it is that you are ready for?" she asked, revealing herself. Pacing forward, into the light, Rhea examined the scar on the girl's face before continuing. "Have the Jedi Shadows become so careless that they so readily expose themselves within the currents of the Force? Or have they become so arrogant as not to care at all?"

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

And what it is that you are ready for?

The Jedi Knight nearly jumped out of her own skin when the figure appeared, so many questions rushed through her mind, but instead the girl grabbed for her staff, holding it with two hands in front of her, ready to defend or to strike. The white haired woman continued to speak and Nora took a couple steps backwards, uneasy by the shift in the Force and now this 80 something year old was asking her about the carelessness of the Jedi Shadows. Who the kriff was this lady?

Nora noticed her looking at the scars on her face, clearly the girl couldn't deny she was a Jedi, a shadow though? How did she assume that? The questions stirred relentlessly and the girl breathed in, feeling her muscles calm and the questions quiet for a moment, long enough for her reach into the Force, trying to pick up a clue of what was to come next.

"I'm not a shadow-" she stated, feeling a ping of resentment to that statement, but quickly followed up, "I'm just a girl with a staff and a lot of unanswered questions." Nora stated, her green eyes narrowed, That sounded cool and tough? Right? her conscious questioned, but didn't dwell on it, she would judge later to how this feathery crone would react to it.

"Who are you?" Nora asked, satisfied with her first question asked and hoped for a just as satisfying of an answer.

@Malon

 

[Rhea]

"Who am I?" Rhea seemed amused by the question. The girl and she had crossed paths many times and yet Nora did not recognize her for who she was. "I am a shadow. But not of the kind you have become familiar with. Who I am is of little consequence. I have come to you with vital information for the Jedi Order—information regarding a traitor in its midsts, and one who is quickly increasing in power."

The girl was confused. How did Rhea know what she knew—especially when Nora herself knew so little? This was the true secret of Rhea's power. Oh, sure, she was strong in the dark side and she could fight with a lightsaber. But the greatest of Force-wielders needed neither to best their opponents. All they needed was to weaponize knowledge and embrace deceit. That was true power.

"But you have no reason to trust me." This too was a game. To acknowledge the lack of trust between them was to invite it. All she needed now was the hook. The thing that would irrevocably seize Nora's attention and hold it in place for the remainder of their encounter. "After all, I am the mentor of the one who gave you that scar. So, allow me to offer you a solution: You said you have questions. Ask... and I will do my best to answer."

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

A traitor?

The Knight's eyes narrowed as the woman supported Nora's suspicion as not to trust a word she was saying. Even more so as she revealed herself to be the mentor of Alais and the red flags and alarms went off in her head. The Force shifted and instinctively she had separated her saber from the staff, the familiar click and the snap-hiss of her blade happened quicker than her ears could hear. The blue hue of her blade glowed and hummed as she gripped her saber tightly, her other hand still holding onto the staff portion as the Knight prepared herself for the fight.

"Why should I trust anything you say, crusty witch." Nora replied, her senses reaching out, preparing to either defend or attack, "You're a servant of the dark side, your game is deception, and the gain is for yourself." The Knight took a step closer to the woman, "Your spy in our Order sounds like they're more of a threat to you than to us."

Nora waited for the woman's reply. She was uncertain why the dark sider would come to a Jedi to reveal this and didn't understand why she didn't take care of it herself. The woman seemed capable...experienced, ugly, but then again, someone who was dressed as a goose, she may had been in a different frame of mind, maybe senile. There were some weirdos in this galaxy that she wished her Master warned her about.

@Malon

 

[Rhea]

Rhea made no effort to defend herself—she did not draw a lightsaber or begin to gather the Force to her. It was a gamble, but she had no intention of fighting the scarred girl. Instead, she rebuked the girl: "And so what if I am? A servant of the dark side on the one side and a servant of the light on the other. Regardless of shade, we are slaves to the same Master—and, last I checked, I was not the one raising a lightsaber to an unarmed opponent."

There was a time when Rhea would have rolled her eyes at the platitudes coming out of Nora's mouth. It was as though the Jedi Council had a script that every Jedi went by when encountering one of their dark cousins. She needed to find a way to navigate passed the girl's defenses to get to the heart of the matter. Alphonse could not be permitted to get away with his treachery—what he had done to Leviticus.

"Ah, so you reveal your ignorance." Rhea sounded utterly done, but she went along with the explanation anyways. "This traitor is no spy of mine—though he consorts with Exiles and names them friends. His attempts to understand the dark side are more dangerous to your Order than you could possibly imagine. Left unchecked, he might begin to influence other Jedi. You and I both know what the consequences of that will be." She paused. "My reasons for wanting him dealt with are my own and will remain so. But, as a show of good faith, I will give you his name and location: Alphonse Carraway on Vrogas Vas."

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

Nora rolled her eyes at the witch's philosophical shades of the Force comment, she wasn't interested in debate and the girl wasn't stupid, she wasn't going to not assume she was unarmed; she had a clear gasp of the Force and her pretentious demeanor told the Jedi Knight more than the witch realized.

The woman continued though, her tone flat as she explained the traitor's behaviors. Nora couldn't wrap her mind around any worse consequences for the Order, she believed they had already dipped low, but she did understood the dangers of a persuasive voice. Many in the Order were unable to separate their personal attachments from their duty.

The name echoed in her thoughts as it left the lips of the dark woman. Nora gritted her teeth as she felt the betrayal run through her veins; the most disappointing part of it, was it didn't surprise the Knight. She had heard the rumors, she approached him and felt the tumoil and she thought he had been triumphant in his personal struggle, but it sounded like it was all for show. With what she knew so far, Nora had a hard time to discredit the witch.

"I know that name. I know that location." The Knight reluctantly admitted. It made sense as much as she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He came from criminals, the Hutts and the alike. They only looked out for themselves, how they can benefit from the situation, get in good, get favors later. This had no place in the Order.

"So why not kill him yourself if you're so displeased with him?" Nora asked.

@Malon

 

[Rhea]

"Because he is a mild inconvenience to me and a cancer to you—or are so quick to forget what happened the last time members of the Order turned a blind eye to the darkness growing in one of their own?" Rhea's voice was sharp and accusatory. She did not need to gesture to the woman's scar, or mention the deaths of Master Vao, Saeros (whose own feathers she wore), or the other Jedi who died upon Devaron.

But then something did come to mind. Flashes in the Force as she approached the girl had showed a water world and a familiar presence in the Force... Kal Vox, the one that had originally been responsible for Rhea finding Alphonse in the first place. Kal, who was also present at Devaron, and whom Nora likely felt a bit of resentment towards. Rhea decided to see just how much resentment existed and how far she could take it.

"This one consorts with them, you know," she all but whispered. "The girl and the man who killed your beloved Jedi Council member. Oh, yes, he's quite familiar with those two." And then a really wicked thought came to mind, so she lied: "I would hate to think he was responsible for revealing the location of Devaron to them."

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

"Oh, I remember it quite clearly..." Nora grumbled through her teeth as she sharply spoke of the Order's debacle of the Trial. The dark woman continued to speak, Nora was still on edge, her blade still pointed to her, but she didn't seem bothered by it. Her brow narrowed as she hinted at who these new friends were Alphonse hanged out with.

Devaron was still a trigger for the Knight and it was overly effective in making the girl flinch towards the woman as she heavily suggested that Alphonse was responsible for the attack on the listening post's temple. She found it hard to believe that it would be Alphonse that lead them to there. However, it did get the Knight to think and she was quiet for a moment as her mind started to connect questions and undefined answers.

Nora then took a step backwards and the saber retracted back into the hilt of her weapon.

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't." the knowledge that he had been befriending traitors and murders of the Order was already damning enough. Nora knew she would have to put her personal feelings aside; the man had befriended her, condemned those who gave her the scars and yet to receive this information, the best word she could describe it as disgust.

"You sure he's not a pawn to all of this?" Nora questioned, she knew it didn't deter from the fact that he was a danger, "I'm sure you know of Kal Vox." Nora started, she could safely assume the dark woman did, if she was Alais' mentor, Kal would have been there, "He knows Alphonse, he's the one who lead him to the Order; Al didn't stop him or Alais when they ran, in fact, I heard he held open the door for them. And now you say Al is still engaging with them?" The Knight lifted her chin slightly and her eyebrow quirked.

"I'm sure Master Vox should be the threat you need to be watching." The girl paused, watching the old bird carefully.

 

[Rhea]

"Kal Vox is many things; but manipulative? No. He hasn't event he faintest control over his own emotions to be effectively manipulative." Rhea did not hide her own disgust for the Shadow. Perhaps seeing that she felt similarly towards Kal would make her cause more sympathetic to Nora—or perhaps not. The girl was a loose cannon... like Alais, in some ways, though she lacked the murderous qualities the Exile woman possessed. "But you are right in assuming that he is also a threat—one I have no intention of letting out of my sight."

She thought back on past conversations. With Leviticus, with Alphonse, with Alais... She thought of them as she submerged herself in the eddies of the Force. In her mind, her plans were a tangled web that were still in the process of unraveling. Alphonse, of course, was a strand of that web—though he had always been somewhat of a wild card given his flexible loyalties and uncertain ambitions. Alais was the center of the web: the lynchpin of its success. But Leviticus... he was the strands that grounded the whole web to the tree. Without him, there was no web. He had been the beginning of it all... the foundation upon which everything had been built.

Over the past year, he had become almost a son to her; she who cared for so little in the galaxy and even hated the Force itself had come to care for an exile who had been burned by the Order much as she had. She realized, now, that this act against Alphonse was not merely an act of revenge for betrayal... No. Some part of her felt a sense of motherly protectiveness towards the younger man. It was the only thing that explained how she had rushed to his aid when the dark side monster had attacked his sanctuary. Or how she had recruited stronger members to his group in the hopes of making him stronger in turn. Or even the sense of... pride she had felt when he had completed his objective and finished the temple.

Alphonse had put all of that in jeopardy. And Rhea simply could not let that stand. "But obvious threats are more easily dealt with than those that can put the knife in your back. Moreso if such threats have ambition. Ask yourself, does Kal Vox not allow himself to be led around by the nose by Alais Drast? And, if so, which is the more threatening: the leashed dog or the one who has begun to hunt on his own ambition?"

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

The Jedi listened carefully and reconnected her staff back to her hilt. "No question there." Nora replied when she had finished speaking. The risk to let someone like Alphonse roam freely in the Jedi would be disastrous. It would only take one slip up, to say something, to lead someone to be the demise of the Order. Though it still left the girl confused, if it were a cancer to the Order, why not let it to continue to grow, why was this witch telling her this? Nora suspected it was to breed further distrust, but in this case, the evidence was there to support it.

"You're clearly not a friend of the Jedi Order, you really didn't answer my question," she started, the Knight was getting tired of having so many questions, but not any answers. It seemed to be the latest trend for the girl, "If he's like a cancer to the Order, why do you want me, a Jedi to know? Why are you helping the Jedi and not just let him lead us into chaos..." well continued chaos... she wanted to say, but didn't, feeling the Order didn't need help looking terrible.

Nora also wanted to ask why her, of all the Jedi in the galaxy, why did the Force direct this woman to her. She was beginning to wonder if the Force had some sick twisted sense of humor.

 

[Rhea]

"You misunderstand me." Rhea said when the girl was done. "I am not like the savage brutes that roam this galaxy, wishing for nothing more than the Jedi Order's collapse—and the deaths of all within it. Defeated, perhaps. I merely wish them to see that they — and their teachings — are wrong. That one can not simply understand the Force by adhering to the Jedi Code." She paused, as if thinking about something, then added. "To best an enemy in combat is one thing. To defeat them without striking a single blow... that is my hope. Alas, it is a hope held by myself alone" Her gaze lingered on Nora's scar "as you have undoubtably noticed."

Her thoughts lingered on Alphonse for a moment and Nora's other question. And she thought of Leviticus again. It was a strange thing, to bear her emotions before a Jedi. She had come to believe that she had no emotions left in her at all save hatred and resentment. Yet, here was love blossoming within her now. The love that a teacher feels for her student, a mother for her child. And the anger that came afterwards was of the parental sort—aimed at one who was trying to pry her beloved away.

"And, as for Alphonse, ask yourself this," Rhea went on. "Is there anyone whom you would allow the galaxy to die in order to preserve? Someone whom you must protect at every cost? It must be troubling for you — who has been taught that we Exiles are nothing but murderers and monsters — to hear that we have the capacity to love. Yet it is truth. He threatens such a person, and if the Jedi choose to do nothing about it then I will break him." She paused and erased the thick emotions in her voice before speaking again, this time more plainly. "This route is simply more convenient at the moment."

@GABA Ren

 

[Nora Grazioso]

Nora didn't say anything when the woman spoke, she continued to listen, finding a sincerity in the witches words. It struck the Jedi as odd, but she was correct, in all the exiles she had faced, many wished for destruction, but the woman before her allowed her vulnerability show, just long enough to explain her reasoning, looking to satisfy the Jedi's curiosity. Though it wasn't to say Nora had more questions, and she was becoming annoyed with her own thoughts; pushing them away, she focused, trying to picture herself in the dark woman's shoes.

Love was a dangerous topic in the Order, but Nora understood. She had those who'd she give everything to protect, or at least she thought, but tried not to dwell on it too much remembering someone was waiting for her.

"I will take care of it then." Nora said, her voice flat, the Shadow in her growing hungry for a hunt. She pushed the growing questions from her mind, she didn't feel for revenge even though she was met with betrayal; she wanted justice and the dark woman wanted to protect. Nora didn't press any more information about who this woman wanted to protect, the less information she had, the less she had to attach herself to, and the easier it would be to overcome. There was certainly a grey area to all of this that Nora didn't feel like pondering on too much. Though for certain, this was not going to return to the council by her lips. They would question her where she had gotten this information and the source, clearly wouldn't be approved.

"Anything else?" she asked the dark woman.