The Wizard and I

[Aurora Blackwood]

A malaise hung across the galaxy. A dark curtain draped across the eyes of the Force. Pain, anger, suffering, rang out through countless worlds. The galaxy had settled into an unnatural balance. The Light was all but forgotten, a legend of a past that barely existed. Darkness was the language of the Force. For 500 years the galaxy had descended into this madness. For 500 years the Sith had devoured the galaxy. The Empire’s power was unquestioned, their dominance supreme. To suggest or think otherwise could bring a fate worse than death. There was no hope, no light. Only Darkness.

Aurora Thaylen Blackwood felt the Force vibrate when she closed her eyes. Beyond the veil of Darkness shimmered a small flame of the Light, aching to touched. Even here, in the outskirts of the galaxy, far from the touch of civilization, she dared not reach for the Light. It broke her heart to shield the Force at bay, but she had no choice. To touch the Lightside for even a moment would act as a beacon for her existence. She couldn't take that risk. Not here. Not ever. Aurora only dared to wrap herself in the Force, to feel the paths of the future. A future always clouded. A future always darkened.

As a child, she had heard stories of what it once felt like to wade into the ocean of the Force. A balance brimming with Light. She had no idea what that would feel like. The Jedi were all but extinct. An Order that once numbered in the thousands now nothing more than myth. A whisper in the shadows.

The Empire ruled with absolute impunity. The Sith were innumerable and Force was a twisted dark thing. The Light had gone out and hope with it. Aurora had been a “Jedi” most of her life. All that meant was hiding and watching. Waiting for a sign that the Empire might falter. Waiting for a chance to return. For decades she watched and slowly became convinced of one truth. That chance was never coming. They preserved a way of life for no one. Before long, the last of them would truly die out. So it was, she came to this world on the edge of nowhere to seek guidance. To try and find answers in the Force, but all she felt, all she saw, was Darkness. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

She didn’t know what she was walking into. Both literally and figuratively. The water was calm, the shore serene. Small, shallow tides ebbed away from where the water broke. Her bare feet slid across the damp silt. Theodosia breathed, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. The woman was there, she saw it. What if it really was just a dream? It was dangerous what she was doing. Theodosia didn’t know who she was meeting, what they were, what they had claimed to be was true. What if it was a Jedi? What if it was one seeking help? Theodosia was unsure.


The dream happened only days ago. It had occupied her mind, those who she knew would comment. But, Theodosia kept the dream to herself. It was only just a dream. She didn’t need to bring any problems into the midst, she had enough to worry about. But, as her day would go on, the strange feeling never went away. Her brain was in a fog, she couldn’t think straight and it was impossible to get anything done. The Pantoran flexed her toes in the silt. After flipping through datapad after datapad, the environment made itself clear. So, she took a leap of faith. Never once did she dare to show herself to the Force, or its occupants. Even if that strange silhouette was benevolent, she didn’t know who else would sense them, who else would be lurking in the shadows.


And so she found herself on the beach of this world. It was stupidity, arrogance, naivety. Theodosia flexed her fingers around the stun blaster on her hip. It was nothing much, but could at least do something. Her eyes closed. As she did with the water, Theodosia Acatia dipped her toes in the Force and slowly emerged with it radiating from her body.


She inhaled. Now, where are you?

And adding in a thought, Please. Please don’t let it be anyone aimed to hurt me.

You could never know in this Galaxy nowadays.



​

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

She could have sworn there was a time her face was unmarked by worry. Years of frowning were beginning to take a toll on her features. A frown marred Aurora’s face now. This was an all too common ritual for her. Duty demanded she wait and watch. She would observe the Empire, silently waiting for a crack in the armor. There were none. Not a true splinter anyways. Oh, the center of the Sith was split. Two dark suns now demanded the orbits of their sycophants. It did not matter for the Jedi. They could not resist either source of power. Aurora knew there was internal strife between the Darkness, but never enough for a true advantage.

She watched anyways. This was what the Force required of her. It was an eternally frustrating exercise. Aurora would wade into the Force for answers. She would seek the path they would walk, and she would be greeted by nothing but confusion. A haze hanging over all paths. A great Darkness obscuring any answers. She sought for weakness and always left disappointed. Aurora was becoming more convinced she would live out her life in the shadows, always hiding, and forced to watch as the Order finally died out.

The Sith would not even know when the last Jedi joined the Force. That day seemed closer and closer. It was not her nature to give in. She had always been stubborn to a fault. So she sat and watched. The Force hummed as another presence joined hers. Aurora quickly retreated into herself, her mental walls slammed high. She pressed her Force signature into a pinprick. Her hand tightened on the blaster pistol resting by her side. She whipped around, a woman walking towards her. The pistol was raised in an instant.

“Stop.” Aurora had learned long ago there was no such thing as a coincidence. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

The woman was now ahead of her. Theodosia’s heart began to race. There was little sparkle, a glimmer of a reflection, of hope. Years ago, she was was unaware of the true Force. She knew two basic things, she wasn’t the only one, and there was an overwhelming surplus of the Dark. When the third generation colonist had to finally make her leave her family for both her safety, and hers, her grandmother protested vehemently. She said family is what will make her, Theodosia, stronger, and it’s dangerous for a Force-sensitive person. She could be taught the literary ways, study, and wait for a contact in the Force in safety. Finally, her grandmother was reluctantly agreeing with the rest of the colony.

She was seventeen, coming back from a short walk around her favorite paths on Orto Plutonia. Red stained snow was all around, new snowflakes doing nothing to make it go away. Their small, primitive homes were destroyed. Theodosia’s breath had caught in her throat. She had known what had happened. Blue bodies were scattered upon the ground. Her neighbors, her community, her parents. Tears streamed down her face, the Pantoran didn’t even realize. She felt a surge of anger and she fell to her knees. The Darkside was seducing her as she was angry and pained.

An abrupt slap to her cheek made her look up. There was nothing there. Theodosia looked around. Her grandmother, her golden eyes wide and sad, were staring at her. How did she do that? She was so far away. Her grandmother was Force-sensitive, keeping it a secret for so long. After that tragedy, when her grandmother passed, that slap was enough to remind her that Lightside, always. The contact, this dream, finally came to Theodosia when she was alone in her abode. She finally wasn’t alone.

She stopped and looked at the woman dead in the eyes. “I’m not here to harm you.” Her cerulean hand was on her blaster, just in case.


@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora’s pale eyes narrowed. She felt the familiar swirl of the Force rippel around the Pantoran. Darkness ran through that small current. A chill ran up her spine. The Darkside was a constant but that everlasting chill was unmistakable. Aurora fought to keep her face smooth. She was uncertain about this one. There was no trace of corruption on her features, no ever present sense of dread. Maybe, the girl had touched the Darkness but not been bathed in the Darkside. Troubling all the same, and she didn’t like the way her hand rested on that blaster. Aurora could not afford to take chances. Not here. Not now.


“Unlikely.” Her voice was cold and emotionless. A spike of fear started to grow in her belly. She had been so careful for so long, this could not be the end. The Order fought desperately to stay alive. The death of even one of them would change everything. “I have never believed in coincidences.” She gestured with the hand not pointing the blaster.


“Look around. What do you see?” Her eyes hardened. “Nothing. No village, no city, no town.” Aurora gripped the blaster tighter. “And yet here you are wandering through.” Her heart beat steadily in her chest. “The Empire’s know no bounds.” One deep breath. ”Their agents limitless.” Breath out.

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

“If you don’t like coincidences, boy, do I got a surprise for you,” Theodosia replied, her tongue clicked at the end. “The Force comes to the people in mysterious ways. This area,” her eyes darted to the hand pointed at the blaster, well. “--came to me in a dream, a vision, whatever you would prefer to call it. I am lost, in many ways, and so are you it seems. Is that right?” Theodosia learned to appease to others’ sympathy using her words at a young age, it was an advantage of being an only child in a new generation. She wasn’t necessarily lost, but she wanted to know why this woman was here to clue in if she was the silhouette.


“Or else why would you be here where there is nothing?” Theodosia continued. “I am not an agent of the Empire. I would rather be dead and watching this world with my ancestors.” She didn’t move within the Force, keeping it steady. She was confident that this was her. She had to be confident. What did I get myself into?


Theodosia, eyeing the woman, slowly lowered herself onto the wet ground and sat.She flicked her arm away towards the blaster. The way the Force was brimming with emotional brine all seemed so familiar. She wasn’t completely sure. Her forearms were shining with small, golden tattoos, her fingers decorated as well, playing with a rogue fiber on her tunic.


“What’s your name?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

For seventy years she had lived under the thumb of the Empire. A Jedi nearly all her life she had been forced to stay hidden, never truly able to explore the full mysteries of the Force. The growth of the Order and those who still followed the Light was stunted. Aurora knew hope dwelled in a new generation. She simply could not bring herself to answer the call. What strength she still possessed was waning, her faith flickering in the night. Maybe this wasn’t a coincidence but a true workings of the Force. How could she know? When the future was so clouded.

Her eye stayed on the girl. The child spoke as if she was the elder, the one who truly understood the Force. Aurora was a tightly pulled bowstring. Her balance in the Force honed over decades. No emotions bubbled in her chest, she was poised for whatever may come. That didn’t stop a small smile curving her lips as the girl spoke. If only the child knew just how deeply Aurora understood the workings of the Force. “You may believe the Force guided you here.” She sensed no lies in the girl, but a skilled Force user could hide the deceit in their words. “You may be lost, but I am not.” Not lost in anyway she would share with a stranger. “This place offers peace one cannot find often in the galaxy.” She frowned slightly. “You have disturbed that peace.”

Aurora could sense the Force pooling around the girl. She was Force sensitive, there was no denying that simple fact. It felt raw and untrained. A talent waiting to be harnessed. Perhaps she had misjudged the situation. Had she truly become so untrusting? No. She had to be cautious. They could not risk exposure. Her eyes never left the girl as she sunk to the ground and Aurora’s blaster never moved. There were far too many emotions humming within the Force. Always a bad sign. “Tell me, what did you see that guided you here?” Aurora would not be sharing her name until she was certain the girl was what she appeared to be. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia continued to fiddle with the fibers. It was incredibly reckless for her to do this. She’s barely spoken to other people, let alone those who are Force Sensitive. Even if this woman did mean her no harm, a Sith agent could be hiding. Disturbed that peace? What a rude woman.

“I saw a silhouette. Nothing more.” She looked up at the woman. “But I know, felt, that it was something of significance.” She took a deep breath. “Maybe more of significance to one of us than the other.” Theodosia was of course talking about herself. Her grandmother wanted her to find others sensitive to the Force. The Jedi were long and gone, exterminated long ago. But, maybe a friend even would satisfy her ancestor’s wishes.

Her golden eyes scanned the dark and silent landscape behind them, her head looking over her shoulder. A breeze chilled her skin. She looked back to the woman, but didn’t meet her gaze. “My name is Theodosia.” It was just a name. Oh was she being naive. She couldn’t manipulate the Force when it came to other living things, only solid and abiotics. Oh, and with her mind. The Force seemed to swirl around her mind, giving her different intuitions and sometimes even beings.

Then, something out of the corner of her eye twitched. Her breath caught in her throat. “We may need to leave. Do you think?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Oh yes, the girl was undeniably Force sensitive. Aurora was slowly becoming convinced the child was untrained but earnest. That did not mean she was not dangerous. There was a reason the Order had once focused their training on young children. Adults came saddled with baggage you could never predict. Baggage that weighed on their soul and pulled at their minds. Baggage that could lead to Darkness. The Order had made these foolish mistakes before they fell. Not every Force sensitive should, or could, be trained. Their foolishness had nearly destroyed the Jedi and it had allowed the rise of the Empire.

No. Aurora was nearly certainly this was not a trap, that the girl was not a powerful Force user capable of perpetuating this ruse. She still needed to tread carefully. The vision sounded like an apparition of the Force. Some misunderstood guidance. The Force worked in truly mysterious ways, it could take a lifetime to understand the subtle signs. Even then, there were terrible dangers in misinterpreting those signs. With one final sigh she holstered the blaster. “I’m Aurora.” If the girl tried anything Aurora still had her lightsaber safely tucked away. The small silver tube with a blade the color of the rising sun hadn’t seen the light of day in a very long time.

Her eyes were drawn to the edges of the shadows as the girl suggested leaving. The night did bring out the worst creatures. “It would be wise to leave.” Several growls started to rise from the night. “Soon.” Instinctively Aurora turned towards the noise. Three large Kath hounds emerged from the night. She resisted the urge to reach for the Force. “Now.” She started to back away slowly. “Follow me.” The Kath hounds eyed them both. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia’s eyes went wide when the hounds emerged, the shadows melting around them. Her breath went shallow, an exhale of fear ran down her spine. Drool from the hounds’ snouts pooled out of their mouths. What were they? She’s seen some dangerous creatures before, but not so large. They were obviously carnivorous, but were they aware of sentient society? Did they want to eat her or fight her? Or both?

She felt her own fear spark into the Force. There was a fight-or-flight trigger, but the young pantoran quickly weighed her options. Run with the acquaintance she had just made, trying to fight them off,or run her own way. The latter two seemed the worst, she would inevitably lose the contact she had just made and worse, maybe her life. She didn’t know how the creatures ahead of her fought, attacked, or if there are more. She had a little blaster pistol. That was it.

Her hand reached for her blaster, but slowly. Her eyes darted across the scape facing the hounds. Finally, she stood up apprehensively and backed away along with Aurora. Theodosia, truthfully, had no idea where she was. She knew the planet and the general coordinates she must be, but the intuition of the Force guided her from where she had landed. “Where can we even go?” She hissed quietly towards Aurora, feeling the anxiety prickle to her nerves.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Fear burst in the Force. Aurora kept her eyes focused on the Kath hounds. She could feel the girl’s fear swimming around them. She had faced worse in her years alone. The hounds were dangerous but only if truly provoked. They were beasts just like any other. Still, there was a malevolence that gathered around the creatures. Hunger. That made them far more dangerous. Aurora spared a glance for the young Pantoran. There was only one place they could go, although she loathed to reveal that truth. “I don’t sleep in the woods.”

She continued to slowly step backwards. The Kath hounds eyes did not leave them for a moment. She could see their muscles tensing. She was left with few choices. The blaster they each carried would do very little but irritate the beasts. Besides, she was an awful shot. If she was going to take the child to her home on this planet, there was no point in hiding her skill. Aurora made the only choice she could. She reached out with the Force. Her strength wrapped around the minds of the Kath hounds. She had always had a way with the creatures of the galaxy. This was no different. She pushed on their minds. Peace. Serenity. Calm. They were hungry but would find no food here. Aurora felt her suggestion sink into the mind of the hounds. “Come on.”

As the hounds began to slink back into the shadows Aurora turned and marched towards the hillside. She had a small abode dug into the side of the hill for when she visited. It was one of several little shelters she kept in the outer rim. The Jedi never stayed in one place for long. She didn’t look back until the she was at the door and beconning the child inside. “Let’s go. I’m not as terrible as I appear.”. She tried to smile softly. It was hard when you kept away from the galaxy to try and be normal. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

“I would hope you wouldn’t sleep in the woods,” Theodosia responded, her sweet voice with a playful tartness. She did however feel very small right now, not being able to tear her eyes away from the hounds. The Force was begging her to reach in, to grasp onto it, and yet she could not. She felt herself shaking. Why did she come so far away? Theodosia rarely traveled from her small, rural home. After Orto Plutonia, she felt a sense of adventure, but anxiety got the best of her and she landed on Pantora. After that, she used the credits that had been left by the colonists to buy herself a quaint farm. She’s been making her living from then, being too preoccupied with work to truly let the Force in. Theodosia knew that her grandmother was rolling over in her grave.


Now, where was she? On some Outer Rim planet, she went on some fancy whim that the Force sent her? The Pantoran was having her doubts. She was in awe that she had found the woman, but good stars, what was she thinking? Her mind was reeling to and fro from “I should have never left Pantora” and “Let’s see what happens next.”

Then, the Kath hounds backed up, into the shadows in which they had came. She turned to Aurora, the woman focusing. Theodosia felt stupid, and something finally clicked. The woman was obviously not a beginner in the workings of the Force like Theodosia had initially thought. The amount of training was still unknown, but this wasn’t lifting rocks. This was manipulation, only a true..no..there wasn’t anyway. They were gone. Lost in her thoughts, she absent mindedly trusted this woman and followed her in.

“You never seemed terrible,” Theodosia stated bluntly, trying to sound reassuring, her fingers drumming on her sides as she was still processing what has had, is, and will happen. Her eyes fixed in space.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora snorted a laugh as she walked into the small hill hut. “The locals would disagree.” She did her very best to keep folks from asking too many questions and getting too close. Her reputation wasn’t exactly pristine. Oh, she was one of the locals but no one’s favorite. Certainly not a member of a lost religion clinging to life. Aurora made certain Jedi was the last thing on anyone’s mind who met her.


She settled into one of the less than glamorous chairs scattered around the room. Aurora could feel the Force prodding her. It was something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. The Morellian Jedi had trained students in the past. It was impossible to ignore the pull of the Light for seventy years, but decades had passed since her last student. Most were lost to the winds of fate.


”Why are you here.” Her eyes settled on Theodosia. ”I’ve walked that path a thousand times and no one has ever stumbled upon me.” Her fingers cracked as stretched. “Kriff, I’ve been coming here longer than you’ve drawn breath...but here you are. Intruding on my peace.” Aurora waggled her fingers. “There must be a reason. I don’t know many who would choose to banish themselves this far from civilization.” She gestured for the girl to speak. “We have to wait out the hounds and I hate awkward silence.” She had almost forgotten what it was like to be personable. There was time Aurora had fit that description. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia was certainly less than advanced with communicating with others. For seventeen years of her life, she really only spoke with Pantorans. The fact that anyone else didn’t have blue skin still excited her. She seemed to have a staring problem. The woman was finally showing her personality, so Theodosia let her bars down. She was often quite naive and weary at the same time, it was strange being secluded then having to move from your home planet after your family was murdered.


She knew she herself was a strange character, but this Force user takes the cake. Theodosia interacted with her trading associates and neighboring families in her small community, and she was a child of the only generation in her colony. Luckily, this woman was older in which the Pantoran was used to. She was known for being helpful and sweet, but never talked about her history unless prodded. All she knew was to keep her Force sensitivity to herself. The colony was dead and gone, would it be shameful if she talked about it? She often wondered.


“I told you why I was here,” she responded, softly, with her eyes fixed on the woman. A chair was available but she didn’t take a step towards one. “I do not prefer civilization, I would rather stray away from it. But, yes, I would not have intruded on your peace if I--the Force, did not show me this dream.” The Pantoran did feel uncomfortable, reading emotions was not her forte.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora’s head cocked to the side. Why was the child staring? Weird ones, she always got the weird ones. She might have lost faith in the galaxy, but she had never lost faith in the Force. The Force had a way of pushing when you didn’t know you needed it. It sought balance. The Light was balance but Darkness ruled with absolution. She had only questions. Maybe the child was the Force’s answer. There was truly only one way to find out.

At the end of the child’s sentence a snort escaped Aurora. “Oh, the Force showed you a dream?” Her head bobbled to other side. “Dreams are tricky little beasts.” Aurora leaned slightly forward, her hands clasped together between her knees. “How do we know what’s our imagination and what’s a gift from the Force?” Her pale eyes narrowed. “Truly gifted men and women, seers, can take years to understand the difference.”

Her tongue darted out. “It is no easy thing to read dreams, the future is every shifting. There is no one path and all paths are clouded.” Aurora leaned back again. Her fingers intertwining underneath her chin. “What was your dream? Hmmm? Why were you sent?” The girl might have been telling the truth. It was hard to know. Aurora had once had skill in peering into the future. She had given up that path long ago. The Darkness made everything difficult to read, it was pointless. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

What a bitch.

She had a very strong intuition about that dream. No dreams ever felt like that or spoke to her with such vividity. Lucid dreams were a norm for anyone else, but Theodosia knew why this dream should have stood out. And nobody was going to tell her otherwise.

Theodosia met the woman’s gaze and blinked, rolled her eyes, and spoke.

“I saw that shore and I saw a silhouette, believing it is you. If it is not, I guess we will find out,” her teeth snapping on the t. Theodosia didn’t know what she was doing and she knew it, but having this woman begin to point fingers irked her to her very core. “What would you like me to say? I am here to kill you and feed you to the Darkside. My secrets are shown.

“But if you insist on living your miserable life with your skepticism, I will gladly leave and find the next lady on this planet.” Theodosias eyes flashed. Anger, frustration, and sadness all raked through her arteries, and brought it back to her heart with her veins. That lady probably didn’t exist if this one wasn’t her, and Theodosia would have to begin from square one. At the moment, she was fine with that. This wasn’t her pride getting the best of her, this was her spine staying in its place like it should. She huffed, and turned to go out the door, hounds be damned.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Anger. Her face was carefully neutral. Pain. The child may not have been an agent of the Empire but there was a path to Darkness in her future. There was life where that anger and pain consumed her, a life where the Darkside claimed her soul. A small frown formed at the edge of Aurora’s lips. She hesitated for a moment.

“You will not find what you’re looking for past these walls.” She cleared her throat. “Unless what you’re looking for is to eaten by Kath hounds.” She was alive because of her skepticism. The Order still beat in her chest because of her caution. Aurora shook her head slowly. Theodosia was barely a sixth of her age, how could she expect the child to understand. Youth had a terrible habit of thinking bravery and courage meant charging into action while announcing yourself to world.

“We don’t know each other.” A simple truth. “I doubt you are an agent of the Empire but how can you say the same for me? Visions in the Force are not always to be trusted.” Aurora’s eyes tilted towards the ceiling. “The Empire’s influence knows little bounds, even here their presence can be felt.” She met Theodosia’s eyes. “They would covet you. A young Force sensitive burying a well of anger, pain, and sadness.” Her forehead wrinkled.

“Maybe that is not what you want. Maybe I can help you avoid them as I have for so long.” Aurora had a choice to make. “But I will not help you while that pain remains in your belly.” She shook her head again. “That anger you feel, that sadness. That is your path to the heart of the Empire and I will have no part of it.” She gestured back at the seat across from her. “There is another way, but you must leave those emotions behind.” No doubt a difficult choice. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia paused. Her mouth turned into an ugly frown as she felt her eyes water,her throat dry. She couldn’t tell if it was tears of anger because the woman was right, or because the woman was wrong. “I do not need you to tell me --you are not my mentor--- what I did wrong,” words were sent scathing across. She took a deep breath. All of it hurt. The memoirs of her family, the result of her being so distant from the Force...her grandmother would be so disappointed. Everyone in her family would be. Tears streamed down her face, bringing embarrassment on top of her many other emotions. What did this woman know? But, there was a voice telling Theodosia that Aurora was right. The ultimate guilt and shame upon her if she joined the Empire..the Darkside..she could never forgive herself.

“How is there another way?” Her voice was so shrill, the hounds in the distance probably perked up. All her frustration kept spewing out of her mouth. “I have been so alone for years of my life, even when the colony was still alive, I was still the only one. Now, I am living in this little hut and I am terrified of what I could bring to the families around me if any word of it got out. And I was so stupid, could have died, could have done exactly what I was afraid of. Now, apparently I am even more alone than I thought and obviously, dreams do not mean anything.”

Her blue skin was flushed, and the golden tattoos had a sheen from sweat. Her eyes were swollen and her head began to hurt. She stared at her hands, feeling dizzy. Looking up at Aurora, she spoke softly.

“I am sorry about that outburst..carry on?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Agonizing pain ripped through the Force. Heat threatened to overwhelm her. Aurora fought the urge to flinch. She stared unblinking at Theodosia. Flashes whirled through her mind. Death. Loneliness. An ache to belong. Aurora feared what she felt. The child was no clean slate, no clay to mold. This was a Sith waiting to be uncovered. A knife to the heart hovering inches above her chest. Aurora saw her end in those watery eyes. This could not be the path. This could not be why the Force had shoved them together. An old reflex tingled in the back of her mind. An image of a familiar silver tube springing into her hand unfolded in her mind. One strike and it would all be over.

Theodosia regained her calm but Aurora’s uncertainty grew. “You have not been listening.” She raised a hand. “Dreams do mean something if you know what to look for. If you know what to do.” Aurora shook her head slowly. “But you are right. I am not your teacher.” She put her hands on her knees and stood. Her hands ran through her blonde hair. “You need one but it won’t be me.” Her turned her eyes back to the girl. “I can’t teach what you have no desire to control. I won’t.” She pointed her finger again, drawing an eight in the air.

“Those emotions you let hammer forth, they will destroy you.” Aurora frowned. “I can help you to master your emotions. I can help you avoid fate but you must want it, and right now I am uncertain you do.” The Order would be reforged but only with those strong enough to withstand the heat. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

The young woman was taken aback by the woman. She met Aurora’s gaze, nothing was shown or revealed. Are emotions not normal for this woman?

She was young and naive, but Theodosia knew personal growth was probably the better choice. Theodosia didn’t understand why she would have to control herself, what would happen if she didn’t? Theodosia would never hurt someone, that wasn’t who the Pantoran was. Could she? She had never felt so small than in this moment.

“And what if I was willing to control them?” The Pantoran asked, raising her eyes once more. She had felt the rage boiling over before, it had scared her. Did she truly have to manage her emotions? What if that changed who she truly was? So many questions swirled around. “I do not want to become so stoic...like you.” She almost shrugged thoughtfully as an after-the-fact motion. Confusion sparkled around her brain like it was on fire.

“But help me,” she took a deep breath. Aurora obviously knew so much more, and some guidance is what she needed. Friends are what she sought, and maybe they could be made. Her eyes stared at the Morellian. “Please? Please?”

@Valen Pelora