The Worst Birthday

[Andraste]

“Kriff kriff kriff kriff!”


The slew of cursing continued as a young girl repeatedly attempted to climb out of the muck she was in. There was a city she had been aiming for, but she was already horrendously low on fuel. As a result, she crash landed deep in a forest, her junk of a ship broken apart beyond repair. The girl barely managed to crawl out of the mess and took a few steps before sinking into a swamp.


“Help!! Anybody!?” She flailed her arms about, only succeeding in sinking a bit more into the strange liquid that pulled her in. She was already almost waist down and panic began to set in. Alais may have been a Jedi, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a lot to learn. She had stupidly left her saber behind in a hurry, and for all she knew, it was shattered beyond repair.


“This can’t be happening…” She cried out as she reached towards the edge of the swamp, clawing at the dirt that gave away under her fingers. She could hear jungle creatures around her, but she couldn’t sense anyone around. Her mind was in a panic and she had absolutely no focus to take in her surroundings. Instead, she was flailing around like a child and only succeeding in sinking further.


Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, thunder cracked above her as thick clouds began to circle. Alais stopped what she was doing to look up right in time for the first few drops of rain to splatter on her face. Within moments, there was a full storm raging around her, and she was soaked to the core. Through it all, she sank even further, now almost up to her chest in the muck.


Was this it? This was how she was going to die? This pathetic, meaningless way so far from anyone else? All alone? Without any hope in sight, she quietly began to sniff and rub her eyes, glancing back at her ship every so often.

Happy 16th Birthday to her...

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

A rock rolled down a dusty street, kicked by a leather booted foot. The boot, and the foot within it, belonged to Jedi Knight Evalyn Dan’ela. She wandered the streets of the small city rhythmically kicking the stone. Evalyn was a soul adrift in the Force. The war had been her life for over a decade. She did not know who she was without it. She had watched friends cut down or fall deeply into the Darkness. A memory of her lost student threatened to surface, she pushed the unbidden thought aside. Some of the older Knights had suggested she seek out another student. Their suggestions sounded eerily like constant nagging. She had come to the backwater city, on the forested planet, to avoid their helpful suggestions. Evalyn sighed. She was unprepared for the boredom.

Her eyes drifted skyward and caught on a rust bucket shaking in the air. She frowned. The precarious looking craft was sinking rapidly, there was no chance it would make the city. The forest was rushing to meet the ship. Instincts developed by the war took over. She began sprinting towards the forest, her eyes tracking the rickety thing as it fell. Soon, she lost sight of it, but she thought she knew where it might have headed. As Evalyn ran, rain began to pelt the forest. Muck, swamp, and vines, tugged at her feet. She pushed the Force through her body to plow through the forest’s irritating underbelly. The rushing Jedi Knight heard a faint cry. She turned, ran, and burst into a small clearing created by a difficult landing.

Evalyn quickly scanned the wreckage, flinging her mind into the Force. She sensed one quickened panicked heartbeat. She sprinted to the other side of the wreak where her eyes landed on the distressed face of a young girl. She did not hesitate. She immediately reached out with the Force and wrapped it around the girl like a glove. She gently pulled up to lift the child out of the muck. Evalyn tried to carefully deposit the girl on solid ground. It was more a drop than she intended. She was soaked to the core as she walked forward. Although, the intrepid pilot was in far worse shape. “Who taught you how to fly kid? You're supposed to land the ship.” She looked the girl up and down again. Thankfully, besides being filthy, she seemed otherwise unharmed.

 

[Andraste]

Alais was shamelessly sniffling and quietly crying, having submitted to her unusual and pathetic fate. She stopped struggling, though this slowed down her descent to become cruelly slow and agonizing. Minutes ticked by and her hair was matted to her body, the rain washing away her tears and snot. She was absolutely miserable, and she smelled awful from the gunk she was sinking into.

After a moment, she felt an odd sensation around her, as if an invisible hand were wrapping around her whole body. Alais couldn’t tell where this was coming from, and she initially thought it was the swamp somehow doing this. A quick glance up revealed that there was a woman across from her, standing in the rain, using the Force to yank her out.

Alais stopped fighting at once, slowly eased out of the muck. She was covered in a mixture of green and brown from the chest down, and the woman would be able to smell the stench from where she was. Alais abruptly plopped to the ground as the woman released her, and she immediately ate dirt. Even that wasn’t enough to kill her spirits on being rescued from that infernal bog.

As the woman made a grouchy comment, Alais broke out into a huge grin, “YOU SAVED ME!” She jumped up and flung her arms around the woman, giving her a nice dose of the slimy goo she was covered in. Alais pulled back at once, “I thought I was going to die on my birthday and you saved me! Wow!” She was positively jumping with excitement, turning to the bog and glaring at it, “Not today!” She went over to kick the swamp in defiance, only to have her foot sink in. Giving a shrill cry, she quickly used both her hands to yank her foot out before scrambling back to the woman.

“Ehehe… um…. Uh… fancy seeing you here M-Master…” She hadn’t met the woman before, but she already knew she was a well seasoned Jedi. Not like Alais, who still didn’t feel like a Knight herself. She barely got the words out when the storm seemed to get worse. They needed to find cover or a way out, the latter more troubling as creatures roamed the forest

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Evalyn’s nose wrinkled. The bog smelled awful. Wait. As she took a step closer to the slime covered pilot the smell grew stronger. By the Force, it was the girl that stank. The diminutive horrendously smelly child was suddenly entirely too close. Before Evalyn had a chance to react, two skinny arms were wrapped around her. The stench rocketed up her nose as grime was left behind on her clothes. Their hug lasted only a moment, but the stain would last a lifetime. Evalyn shuddered at the thought of her dry-cleaning bill. Her lips curved into a small frown.

She was trying to focus on the young girl, but the child talked a million miles a minuet. The big grin, the excitable cadence, and fear of the swamp were oddly endearing. Evalyn just shook her head. Foolish girl. It was not until the child called her Master that she realized she was staring at a fellow Jedi. The Force wavered within muck covered girl. She did not see a lightsaber or hint of experience. Evalyn tried to remember what she had been like around that age. Surely, she had not seemed so lost.

“No, not Master.” She couldn’t possibly look that old. “Jedi Knight Evalyn Dan’ela.” She ran a hand through her rain soaked hair. It was getting dark and the storm was getting worse. The biggest predators came out to play in the twilight. “Crashing your ship into a swamp is a pretty crappy way to celebrate your birthday, kid.” Her eyes darted back and forth as a shiver began to run up her spine. They were being watched. “Where’s your lightsaber?”Evalyn didn’t see the telltale silver tube close by. “We need to find it, and shelter before we turn into dinner.” She flashed the young Jedi one smile. “And please, no more hugs.”She pointed towards the streaks of green, grey, and brown running down her sides. Her hand subconsciously hovered near her own blades.

 

[Andraste]

With how rigid their doctrines were, she immediately felt bad for crossing boundaries. Not only that, but she could see the woman was now covered in the very same muck that covered her. Alais shifted uncomfortably, using the rain to wipe off some of the goo. She chewed her lip nervously as Evalyn clarified that she wasn’t a master, “Well… you’re certainly a wiser Jedi than me so that makes you a Master in my eyes,” She beamed widely, not at all ashamed to admit her own incompetence.

She laughed sheepishly at the comment about her birthday, “Well I mean…. It’s more eventful of a birthday than I usually get at the outpost,” Her eyes were wide with fear. She couldn’t very well disparage the Order in front of a seasoned Knight! “I mean… uh… I love everything back home..” She was repeatedly digging herself into a hole, “As for my saber…” Her face was bright pink then, “I actually don’t know where it is…”

A Jedi losing her saber? She couldn’t recall the last time she had heard of anyone making such a mistake. Realizing that she was standing around like an idiot, Alais quickly shuffled back towards the debris to look for any signs of her saber. Through the rain and mud she kept searching, but she couldn’t find the hilt anywhere.

As she moved a piece of debris, she was face to face with a growling Vornksr. Of course, she had never seen one before and thought it was some sort of feral dog. Alais screamed and jumped back, the beast springing after her with jaws wide open with an endless row of jagged teeth, “AAHHH!”

Alais scrambled back towards Evalyn, picking up a stick and tossing it towards the Vornksr and beyond it. If it was a dog, it’d want to play fetch, right? With her horrible aim, the stick hit the beast square in the face, only succeeding in pissing it off more than it already was. With a might roar, the creature leapt towards both Jedi, ready to tear them to shreds.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Who was this girl? Evalyn still had no name or any idea who the stinky little mess was. The child was a Jedi and funny in an awkward sort of way. She had only known the smaller counterpart for moments but Evalyn liked her. The kid was oddly easy to like. She found herself walking down a path she had sworn to never tread again. Dormant protective instincts began to bubble. A half smile graced the Jedi Knight’s face. A part of her wanted to pat the kid on the head and tell her everything would work out. First, they had to get out of this Force forsaken forest.

Evalyn started to look for the lost saber as the young Jedi babbled about. She half listened as she flipped a rock here, a branch there. Her eyes rested on the sucking swamp. She frowned. Oh no, she was not about to go swimming in the muck to recover the saber. Her clothes would be forever ruined. She took a hesitant step forward when an ear-splitting cry rang through the forest. Fear burst into the Force. In half a second, her emerald lightsaber was ignited in her hand. Her eyes snapped to the growling Vornskr. Kriff. Thankfully, the lost little Jedi quickly scrambled behind her. Unfortunately, she also threw a stick at the snarling beast that was most certainly not a shaggy dog.

Evalyn’s eyes met the creature. Her growl matched the Vornskr’s. Without hesitation, she placed herself between the beast and younger Jedi. Her lightsaber shimmered in her right hand, her left hand extended to shield the girl. “Stay behind me. Find your lightsaber or pick up a stick.” She did not want to scare the child but where there was one Vornsky there would be more. Her eyes shifted across the bog, searching for the creature’s friend. She started to back up slowly. Maybe, just maybe, they could get out of this.

 

[Andraste]

Alais was positively useless in the situation. She balked at the thought of having to use a…stick?! Looking around frantically for the saber yielded nothing. Instead, she walked around till she found a sturdy piece of wood that could potentially be used as a weapon. Plus, it had some of the swampy goo on the end and that looked like it could definitely do more harm than good.

Meanwhile, the beast was circling around Evalyn like prey, drawn to the Force energy that whirled within her. Drool dripped from the Vornskr’s mouth, and its ears perked up at the woman’s growl. The beast momentarily tilted its head inquisitively before growling again to reveal its teeth. The front of the torso lowered to the ground to designate that it was preparing to jump.

The creature moved as if to leap head on, but purposely rushed towards Evalyn’s left hand to attack. It was obvious this was no mindless beast, and it made a calculated attack away from the heat of the lightsaber. Meanwhile, its toxic tail lashed out towards the Jedi’s legs from underneath.

Alais raised the stick, prepared to aid Evalyn, when she heard a growl from behind her. She glanced back to spot yet another Vornskr quietly stalking towards them. The young Jedi began to panic, “Um Master Dan'ela um… we have another problem!” She was borderline hysterical, turning around just as the second beast leapt towards her. She gave it a giant thwack on the head, but it was hardly enough to do anything. Instead, the beast clamped its jaws around the stick and Alais was now wrestling with it as it began to gnaw away at her ‘weapon’, "IT'S DROOLING ON ME!"

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Her attention was split. Evalyn’s eyes were trained on the slobbering beast before her. Her senses were extended wide as she tried to stay alert for any of the creature’s buddies. Finally, she wouldn’t forget the young girl. Evalyn could feel the child just behind her left hip, a jittery blur in her peripheral vision. She was immersed in the Force as she tried desperately to be three places at once. Memories of Vash danced deep in her mind. She did not have the energy to shove them down. Evalyn did not know the young Jedi but she would keep her safe.

As the Vornskr charged she quickly built the Force in her left hand. It was a rushed working of the Light, not very powerful, but she hoped it would be enough. She unleashed the push when the creature was darting towards her left hand, ensuring her fingers were not in range of its gnashing teeth. Her use of the Force had the desired effect as it pushed the Vornskr backwards far enough that its tail found only air, and the beast was pushed towards the edge of the clearing. She knew she would have to fight the creature, but she need time to think. Evalyn was afforded precious little opportunity.

Her newest friend was on the wrong end of a tug of war with a Vornskr. Her eyes darted to the one she had just pushed away, it had begun to circle again. Evalyn sighed. She approached from the young Jedi’s left side, rushing towards the beast flank. Her lightsaber hilt reversed in her hand. She started her slash low and cut up, slicing into the soft underbelly of the Vornskr. It cried in anguish but relinquished the stick, falling into the swamp motionless. She quickly spun to face the first Vornskr. She grimaced. Great, he had a friend. She put herself between the young girl and the creatures again.

“We have to get out of here.” She remembered an old lesson from her days ensconced in the temples. “But they can track the Force. Can you hide your Force signature? How fast can you run?” The longer they stayed the more would appear. Evalyn was a competent swordsman but by no means a master. She forced levity into her voice. “Happy birthday by the way, best party I have ever been to.” Her right hand drifted towards her second saber.

 

[Andraste]

Alais thought she was a goner as she plopped to the ground and had the beast’s foul breath directly in her face. She finally mustered enough Force energy to blast the thing back, and it was shoved right into Evalyn’s saber as it cut through the beast’s belly. Alais winced at the sight, feeling suddenly sad to see a creature killed like this. Despite the beast wanting to kill her, she had always been against killing.

“THEY CAN TRACK THE FORCE?!” She was pulled out of her philosophical line of thought as Evalyn brought her back to reality. Alais quickly jumped to her feet, the first Vornskr rounding in on Evalyn. Despite being a hunter, she noticed the beast was more cautious after seeing Evalyn mutilate its friend.

“Uhhh.. I can either concentrate on masking my signature or run quickly but not both at the same time,” She looked at Evalyn helplessly as the woman sarcastically wished her a happy birthday, "Hey, let's remember that you gatecrashed this party!" Alais rounded slightly around the older Jedi, raising her hand to blast the Vornskr back, “On three! One…two…SHIT!” She blasted a Force push as the Vornskr sprang before she could count to three. With Evalyn’s help, they would be able to send the beast toppling clear back and slamming into the Vornskrs behind it.

“RUN!” Alais turned and hightailed it from there, almost slipping and tripping a few times. She ducked below low branches and jumped over fallen logs. She could barely see through the storm, thorny bushes raking against her skin and cutting her up as she beelined it towards what she thought was the edge of the forest.

After a moment of running fruitlessly, she stopped to catch her breath, “I think we lost them…” Alais glanced up to see the beasts rushing towards them. She could see there were even more of them now, “Oh…no…” She looked around in a panic, spotting a tree that had plenty of branches to aid in climbing. Without hesitating, she quickly began to climb, “This might be our only option for now! We can’t outrun them!” She kept hauling herself up, her small frame easily scaling up the tree as she found a thick branch to sit on.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

The intrepid pair was facing a rather gruesome death. Jedi Knights torn to bits by hungry Vornskr was hardly an inspiring tale. Evalyn was soaked, covered in grime, and wondering just exactly how they were going to escape their furry companions. Oddly, it was the best she had felt in years. She smirked. Terrible odds looked good on her. Her smirked turned into a full smile when the young Jedi returned her retort. Evalyn readied the Force to blast the Vornskr back. She patiently waited for the former rust bucket pilot to say three. Of course, the Vornskr had other ideas.

Three was replaced with “Damn it!” The Force burst from her hand again, slamming the first Vornskr backward into the second. Evalyn was soon running side by side with her newest friend. The mismatched Jedi sprinted through the forest. Vines and branches whipped her face, muck sucked at her boots. Her long legs swiftly covered the ground. She was a mess by the time they skidded to a stop. No matter how fast they ran, they would never outrun the Vornskr. The young Jedi had the right of it, get to where she assumed the Vornskr would not get them. The trees.

Evalyn turned and counted four Vornskr rumbling through the forest. She looked back at the girl.“Higher!” She pointed at the trees where two Vornskr easily bounded on the think branches, their claws gripping into the bark. One was headed strait for the younger Jedi. Evalyn yanked the second tree bound Vornskr from his perch. The creature fell to the ground with a sequel. The four other beasts were baring down of them. Evalyn gritted hear teeth. Her second emerald blade sprung to life in her hand. The last tree running Vornskr was leaping towards the young Jedi. Evalyn silently prayed the girl could deal with the threat quickly. She would jump into the trees once that beast was dealt with. Until then, she would have to hold her ground.

 

[Andraste]

Alais was in a very uncomfortable situation. She had no problem climbing up trees, but she was still very terrified of heights. Once she climbed, she had no intention of actually looking down or dealing with the height problem anytime soon. With one of those infernal beasts climbing up towards the tree and Evalyn stuck on the ground, she was thrown into full panic. Alais looked down, saw rows of teeth and the drop below, and had to keep from bursting into tears.

“Hold on Master Dan’ela!” Alais didn’t dare try to fiddle with her makeshift weapon (the stick she yanked back from the Vornskr's jaws) when she was already having trouble holding on. She slammed her foot down on the Vornskr’s nose, resulting in an angry yelp that only motivated it to move faster up. Alais tried to kick it again but almost lost her grip entirely. She held onto a branch, wedging her legs against the tree. She drew her stick out and jammed it downwards, sending it straight through the beast’s eye. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and yet she still winced at having killed it so brutally, the pointed edge driving right into its skull.

The dead Vornskr slumped to the ground with a thud, temporarily distracting the others, “Come on!” She shouted down at the older woman to join her up in the tree. She only had a moment to scramble up before the others tried to climb. From the looks of it, the remaining Vornskr weren’t as adept at climbing. They circled around the bottom of the tree, growling up at the Jedi.

“So… now what?” The immediate danger was gone, but they were still stuck up in a tree in the middle of a storm. Alais was freezing cold, her teeth chattering and her body soaked to the bones. She paused for a moment to sneeze, realizing that she would very well be getting sick at the end of all this.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Evalyn’s feet were shoulder width apart, her boots squelching in the mud. For a horrifying moment she wondered if she would lose her footing. Thankfully, she was on flat ground and not a dangerous incline. Her safety was very short lived. The Vornskr arrived faster than she hoped. They were all snarling teeth and matted fur. Hunger shined behind their beady eyes. The Vornskr were not unintelligent wild beasts. They could feel the heat radiating from her Lightsabers. Evalyn tried to keep an eye on all of them as she swung her saber’s back and forth. If she could just keep them at bay long enough then maybe, just maybe, she could get into the tree. A Vornskr jumped and she ducked. It went skidding towards its packmate.

Evalyn reset her feet, staring at the creatures. Suddenly, a thud rang out as a treebound Vornskr smacked into the ground. It nearly hit her. She heard the voice from above and did not hesitate. While the Vornskr were momentarily distracted, Evalyn jumped. The Force propelled her skyward. She soared into the branches of the tree, climbing alongside side the younger Jedi. A dozen splinters and aching legs later they were high in the tree, the Vornskr far below. They were safe. For now. Evalyn looked at the young girl and smiled. Oh, she was tired, wet, and miserable, but they were alive.

“Well, I still don’t know your name. We might start there.” She let out a small laugh. “The Vornskr might get tired eventually, but they are known to be relentless hunters.” She tried to remember her lessons from Temples. She had never paid terribly close attention during zoology. “The rain.” She waved her hand around. “This storm concerns me more, we can’t stay out in it much longer.” The longer they were in the cold, wet, rain, the weaker they would become.

 

[Andraste]

Alais heaved a sigh of relief as the older woman managed to scramble up. Thankfully, she wasn’t completely a screw up for getting someone else killed. For a moment, she thought for sure she would be mauled by the Vornskr. Alais was caught off guard by the smile, especially as she could only return the most terrified and miserable expression ever, “I’m… so sorry for dragging you into this,” She sighed as she twisted the water from her soaked hair, “You probably would have been better off if you never came out here to investigate..”

She recalled the woman’s query about her name and managed a small smile then, “I’m Alais Drast. I was recently promoted to being a Jedi Knight..and…” She sighed, “I already lost my saber. I don’t even know if I can return to the temple,” She sneezed before she could continue, wiping her face, “And we have to stay up here! Look at those teeth!” Alais pointed frantically down below there where the remaining vornskr were eagerly circling below them and baring their fangs. They attempted to climb, but they kept slipping down.

Alais hugged herself as best as she could, teeth chattering from the cold rain, “I’m sorry if I’m a burden but…could I possibly come with you after we get out of this? I really have no way off the planet,” She tried her best to appear as helpless as possible, putting on her best pouty face and sad eyes.

Unfortunately, nature had other ideas as lightnight struck a nearby tree. The sudden crack resulted in a spark of fire that caused the Vornskr to yelp in surprise and terror. The animals quickly rushed away in the opposite direction, smoke rising as the tree began to sway and prepare to snap in half. Alais glanced back at Evalyn, “Let’s run now!”

She didn’t wait to see what the woman was doing, preparing to make her way down. However, as soon as she looked down she felt queasy. Out of terror Alais pasted herself back against the trunk of the tree. She was horrendously afraid of heights, “I.. you go on ahead. I’ll um… stand watch…or something…” Alais was trying to give a poor explanation for staying behind rather than admitting to her embarrassing fear of heights in a life-threatening situation like this.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Evalyn wanted to reach over and hug Alais. Attachments were frowned upon, but emotions were part of life. There were Jedi who banished all relationships and all earthly feelings. She had tried that for a time. It was an utter failure. Before Vash died she had been close with Jedi she fought alongside. She had never violated the Code, but they had been her friends. She mourned when they died. Vash had been something different. Her first true student. The closest thing to a son she would ever have. His death had nearly broken her. That was when she had decided to shut out all others. Sadly, it was simply not who she was.

As Evalyn listened to Alais she knew this was only the beginning of their journey. She did not speak until the young girl had run out of words. When the lightning cracked and the Vornskr scattered, she stood. Her back was sore. Her neck ached. She would be stiff for a week. Evalyn quickly stretched to banish the lingering tension from her limbs. It was high time they got the hell out of this forest. Unfortunately, young Alais seemed reticent to take the plunge. She could sense the uncertainty swirling around the girl. Evalyn could not put her finger on it but she could certainly hazard a guess. They were very high up. She turned to look Alais. Her face betrayed nothing.

“You know….” She paused for a moment, looking at the ground. “I have never loved heights. Even us big strong Jedi Knights are afraid of some things.” Evalyn pointed at the ground. “But we are stronger together, when we have each other.” She reached out and gave her hand to Alais. “We can jump together. It would make me feel much better.” Evalyn took one deep breath and reached for the Force. “Gather the Force, grab my hand, and let’s jump.” She waited for the girl to take her hand and they would jump together.

 

[Andraste]

Alais was fully expecting to argue her case for why she couldn’t jump down, but the proposal Evalyn presented threw her off guard. Evalyn admitting that even she didn’t like heights was shocking for her. Did that mean she wasn’t a complete fail for being a Knight too afraid to get down a tree? As Evalyn offered her hand, Alais couldn’t help but beam brightly. She suddenly felt significantly bolder as she grasped her hand, glancing down and taking in a deep breath.

“Strong together…” She repeated the words, finding an odd sense of comfort in them. Amidst the cold, Evalyn’s hand felt warm and she felt an odd sense of peace. Even as she glanced down at the height below, there was something reassuring about Evalyn’s presence that helped push the fears away, “I’m ready,” She nodded as she called the Force to herself. She looked back at her again with a grin, nodding.

With that, she sprang off the branch she was on, rapidly calling to the Force to calm and slow her descent. She realized Evalyn was doing the same and was with her the entire way. Her grip on the woman tightened as she felt little pangs of fear crop up. In the end, she placed her faith in Evalyn through it all and it led her true. The two women landed with a splash in the wet mush below.

Alais rose up to her full height, glancing up at the tree, “Wow! I did….we did it!” She looked at Evalyn, completely ecstatic. She released the woman’s hand and raised her arms to give her another hug. Remembering the goop she had already covered her with, Alais paused halfway with a sheepish grin on her face, “Th-Thank you. I couldn’t have done that without you.”

She felt a lot better now and there was a skip to her step as she followed Evalyn out of the forest, “Is there anything you’re afraid of?” She asked in wonder, still impressed by how calm she had been during the jump.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

The two Jedi grasped hands and jumped. Evalyn felt Alais’ quick heartbeat as they sank towards the ground. The Force guided them safely to the mucking forest floor, softening their landing as it had a thousand times before. It was a comfortably familiar feeling. Yes, stronger together. She smiled at the young Jedi. Beamed. The girl was thrilled which made her feel the same. Evalyn saw the hesitation when Alais went to hug her. She rolled her eyes. Oh what the hell, she was already a mess anyways.

Evalyn pulled the young girl close with one arm and gave her a gross grimy hug. “We did. Together.” She began to walk slowly out of the forest. Evalyn felt more herself than she had in years. Closer to the Force and Code. Yet, she knew the dangers. The Order was splintered. The Exiles were not gone, and the galaxy deeply disliked Force users. It was not safe. At any moment either of them could be snatched from life. Her lips formed into a line. It was a chance she was willing to take, again. Alais needed guidance. The Order needed good compassionate Jedi. She thought the young girl hopping beside her could be just that. Evalyn could show her the way.

She was shaken from her thoughts by being asked her fears. The girl would not get them that easily. She turned and looked at younger Knight. “I have fears. Anyone who tells you they don’t have fears is either lying to you or to themselves.” She could see the edge of the forest up ahead. “I lost many friends during the war, I am afraid what might happen if the Exiles return in force.” Evalyn gave Alais a small smile. “We can’t let our fears define us or control us. Part of being a Jedi is facing those fears, even when we are terribly afraid. Our greatest strength is our unity.” She prayed they found that unity again one day. The pair was nearly out of the forest.