A Small Clearing

A frigid and pristine forest world. The native Tynnans are a wealthy and well educated rodent species evolved from water mammals. They have permitted many generations of other galactic species to conduct various resource developments on their world, but the Tynnans carefully safeguard their planet’s environment, resources, and governmental autonomy.
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Julian Orspach
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A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

The ship touched down slowly and the landing ramp lowered. His eyes looked down and to the left as he instinctively threw a couple of switches and pressed a few buttons that were presumably important in the task at hand, or he was stalling. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath in as he looked out the main windshield. He didn't know what he was looking for or why he was looking because he could already feel it. He knew he was in he right spot and he knew what the day might bring. He looked down at his palms, one of the bore scars from where his nails had dug deep into his own palms only a months before,the pinkish flesh would forever remind him of that day, a good day, but a traumatic one that he would eventually have to reexamine and deal with sooner or later, but now was the time for moving forward.

His eyes moved to his copilot and scanned her for a moment, maybe they could go ack? No that wasn't really an option, besides he was happy to be here, even if there was a since of shame in his aura. What would Nomi think about his past? What would she do? She was a Guardian, just like him. Guardians were protectors, they protected the order from all sorts of dangers, notably Sith. He was a Sith not all that long ago and how could tell her that? How he could he get her to understand that it was not entirely his fault when there was still guilt in his subconscious and there probably always would be. Maybe Ashlin could explain it, but that wasn't really so much her job as it was his and on top of that he could never ask her to do anything more for him, if anything he owed her. She endured some of what he did and knew the depth of it, he was forever in her debt and he should protect her more than he should anything else, especially put her in an awkward situation with her sister.

Nomi.

A sense of warmth centered in his chest made him offer a bit of a half smile, there was a tinge of excitement mixed with everything else that was flooding his mind at the moment. He took a second to enjoy it before shutting it down and grounding himself in the moment again.

"Well we're here. Do you ever wish you could just skip something and fast forward to the better part? Granted it's the not happy parts that shape us and make us better Jedi, but sometimes I'd like to just skip to one of those every now and again. Should I just duel her? That'll be familiar."

He paused.

"A grand romantic Zeltron gesture would probably end rather poorly...and with more scars."

He looked at the scars on his biceps and chuckled a bit.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Ashlin Li
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Ashlin Li »

Ashlin’s blue-grey eyes glinted with amusement while she watched her companion’s methodical landing activities. The nervousness was radiating off of him in waves as far as her senses were concerned, and he was definitely stalling.

Eventually the craft did touch down though. The brunette woman quirked an eyebrow at the distance Julian had opted to set between themselves and the small Temple valley. Honestly, though, she didn’t mind walking.

The half-Zeltron found her eyes then. She met his expression. Did she ever want to fast forward? Well… Yeah.

“Um. Yes to the skipping.” Ashlin answered flatly.

“I’m not so sure about the dueling, but you’ll probably do that anyway. Or the rest of it. You’re going to have to figure this one out on your own… Just remember that it’s been a long time; but I think you’ll both be fine. So… You’re staying with the shuttle for now then?”
Don't let your lights go down. Don't let your fire burn out. Because somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe.

Sometimes, it's still the smallest things that matter.

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

"I saw a lake down the hill, I think I might just go over there. There is just a lot to say, you know? It'll be fine, but you know what I've done and what I've been through. The universe is bigger than just me, but our two universes were always kind of the same until they just suddenly weren't and yeah, it's been a really long time...."

Julian scratched his chin and slid out of the pilots chair, he threw a couple more switches as he stepped out of the cockpit and stretched. There was something more on his mind, but it wasn't something that anyone else could answer but him. He bit his bottom lip for a moment and took another deep breath while looking down at his side. Nomi's lightsaber hung there at his waist, it was hers and it was the sight of that lightsaber that helped spring his memory into action. He had originally wanted to give her the weapon back today, but his new one was not ready yet. It sat in parts and pieces in the back of the ship on a work bench. He had thought that maybe his time here would be the perfect place to finish it off and imbue it with the essence of his being so that the weapon was truly his. On the opposite side of his belt from Nomi's lightsaber, hung his Sith weapon, he still did not much care to look at it, but he carried it with him for the time being as possibly a backup, but he was not exactly sure that it was entirely the reason either. He wondered if he could ever use it again even if the time came. He could change out the crystal, the crystal that he had made bleed and turn to a fiery red that had taken the blood of so many people, or he could cast it aside forever. It might mean more to him if he could somehow repair the tarnished crystal back to it's natural blue again, that would be meaningful, but the hilt would be the same, still connected to death, notably one death that he did not want to think about at the moment. He shook his head and snapped back into the present lest he get completely lost in thought.

He smiled and took a few steps down the ramp and looked out over the clearing, the brisk air filled his nostrils and calmed him down as much as it possibly could, it was good that he was here. What was Nomi going to do? What was she going to say to him and how was she going to react to everything that had happened to him? What if he told her his feelings? STOP JULIAN. He centered himself for a moment and turned over to look up at the ramp and towards Ashlin.

"As much as you, she's the reason I'm standing here. If I hadn't seen her lightsaber...."

He closed his eyes and did not let his mind travel any further down the path that involved him still wearing that mask, that mask that had kept him prisoner for so many years. He pulled her lightsaber from his belt and rolled it around in his hands examining it and thinking back to the time that he first saw it, how far he had come since then. He didn't wait for Ashlin to respond and instead he took a few steps away from the shuttle and started down the hill, he spied a tree that sat overlooking the lake. He moved to the three and sat down resting his back against it's sturdy trunk and clipping the lightsaber to his belt once more. He took a deep breath in and took in the scenic beauty that surrounded him in, it was nice here, it was naturally soothing, which is exactly what he needed.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Later. 1837 hours.


Dark eyes swept across the tree line below her, looking for a silhouette or for anything pink. Not that she'd especially expected to see him from up here.

(JULIAN! Are you down there or not?!)

The Guardian woman paced down the hillside path to the pond for the third time since she’d arrived yesterday. Her nostrils flared as she took a zigzag step or few to avoid slowing pace for a steep patch, and then she grinned, twisted herself to the left and skid down a dusty bit.

She knew the answer, obviously. But still. He was feeling off. Ashlin felt off. The galaxy was way off. Nomi felt an annoying lack of confidence in what to expect from this whole thing. She rolled her shoulders and Pushed off of a larger tree trunk for the nostalgia of it, propelling herself forward until her feet hit the ground and she jogged down to the smaller stand of trees by the waterline. And to Julian of course. Her gaze snapped to meet the half Zeltron's the instant he came into view. FINALLY. She would have barreled up to him and caught his arm before he’d even finished standing up, but she caught herself in an abrupt stop at the last second. She put her hands on her hips and stared at the man.

“Found you.”

Dark eyes swept over the Knight in front of her. They stood close enough to eye level. They both around thirty. Good; he hadn’t been in any random crysosleep anyway. He was broader, stronger, taller. So was she. His clothes and footgear were more ‘Jedi’ than the spare grey and black set she’d borrowed from the Mando ship, but hers worked fine. His hair hadn't changed all that much. Neither had hers. Nomi Joi Jonan was tall and well built, with copper coloring like her father’s. Her hair was long from the looks of it, twisted into a glossy black braid and coiled into a low bun at the nape of her neck. He looked more than fit to her eye, but there were scars and stories on him. She had plenty of her own, but not like those.

‘Listen. In… the universe’s biggest understatement — Julian has had a TERRIBLE time of it while we were away, and you should never blame him for anything. He needed a blade, and yours was there, just as if you’ve made it for that exact purpose. And it is good for him to be reminded of his friends.’ She played her sister’s words back over in her mind in frustration at the vagueness.

Nomi’s eyes scanned across the lightsaber hilts Julian wore over each hip. She'd dual-worn since childhood. Comfortably balanced over each of her hips were was the well maintained durasteel hilt of her oldest weapon, and the still marginally odd-to-her weight of some Sentinel-make lightsaber that had been in her possession for all of twenty minutes. But Julian hadn't carried two. She wasn’t convinced that it suited him or that he liked it. True to Ashlin's scant explanation, Julian wore her best lightsaber. Nomi's pulled her eyes away from the hilt she hadn't seen in a decade and darted back to Julian’s face, and then she continued looking over her friend. It suited him fine. The other hilt he wore... Was his making? Nomi stared at it, then back to Julian's arms, then back to his face. She breathed out sharply in frustration.

“Julian Orspach! I MISSED YOU! So much! Now tell me what's wrong, why we're standing in the woods, and how we fix it.”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

Wind whipped through the young Padawan's hair as they stood on the plains to Dantooine. His purple eyes flashed as he stood over the corpse of the man who had just tried to kill him. Why had he done it, he told him to stop! He looked down at the man and up to his Master whom had just returned from their ship, the attacker had come out of nowhere and Julian had not sensed his presence, it was instantaneous and so was his reaction. A snap hiss, his blue blade had sprung to life and he screamed out a warning for the man to stop to no avail, a flash reaction and the smell of burning flesh filled the air

"Why didn't he stop? I tried to make him stop! I had to...."


"Peace my young apprentice. I saw it, you had no choice. This was your first and unfortunately, it won't be your last. You are a Guardian Julian, as you grow older this will happen more and more and that is simply the nature of your role as a Jedi. It's hard, but never stop feeling it, remember the feeling, but don't let it hold you back. You must do what you can to not take a life, but you must also never hesitate, this man meant to do you harm for one reason or another, you defended yourself. I will finish up setting up base here, I want you to burry him with honor over there, I will help you with the heavy lifting, never forget to treat the dead with honor, good or bad they are souls as well and even your enemy deserves your respect."

The eleven year old nodded and clipped his lightsaber back to his belt. He walked over towards a nice spot by a pond, and started digging...
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

His eyes shot open as the sound of her mental voice kicked open the door of his mind and forced it's way to the front of it taking center stage. The immediate sound startled him and he felt and adrenaline surge and his hand almost reached for his...her lightsaber. Then in the half fraction of a second before he realized where he was, he stood up and turn to face her.

"Found you"

His emotions surged and the black pupils of his purple eyes widened to the point where they threatened to overtake his entire eye. There she was standing before him, she looked good, really good. As his his gaze met her he heard an echo of his past self in his head crying out for her while in the midst of his torture.

[[<<Nomi.....hear me.>>]]

He guarded the thought from her now, she did not need the guilt, she did not need those emotions and thoughts in her head threatening to overwhelm her the way they sometimes did to him. She did not deserve, that she was too good for that, maybe he shouldn't even tell her at all. He took a deep breath in as a knot in his stomach tightened. He wanted to cry, he wanted to smile, he wanted to die, he wanted to laugh, he wanted to scream, he wanted embrace her, he wanted her to hate him, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted for this moment to last forever, he wanted it all to end.


“Julian Orspach! I MISSED YOU! So much! Now tell me what's wrong, why we're standing in the woods, and how we fix it.”

She was standing so close to him, he could take a step forward and in a moment he would be in the warm embrace of a long lost dear friend, but stopped himself as he remembered the feeling of Qareth's warm embrace against him and then his rejection of her. What if Nomi rejected him in the same way? Qareth....he mentally sighed thinking about her. He remembered her kiss when they were just teens living in the moment, stuck in a Temple that was always under threat of siege. Then much later, was her lifeless body laying there in the cold unforgiving streets and him standing over her dressed in all black and a soulless mask with his red blade glowing....He shook his head and snapped himself back into the moment and tried to smile a bit at Nomi, the same smile that she would have remembered from decades ago.

"I missed you too...but I mean I wasn't exactly hiding from you, I wanted to see you...just not the others for a bit."

He smirked at her not knowing which Jedi were there, he hadn't been around a lot of the Jedi since he had gotten away from the Crusader, some but not a lot. He still felt a certain amount of shame for what he had done even if it was not entirely his fault or his idea. It was a hard thing to shake and while he initially thought he could just make it go away, it was quite apparent that it was going to take some time to fully come to terms with it and fully be whole again.

"I...mean it's complicated Nomi, I...."

Words failed the Guardian Knight and he felt himself reaching for Kaini's lightsaber and he pulled it from his belt, it released with a sharp metallic sound. His blood ran cold as he felt the cold dark metal of the hilt press against his palm. He could not get it out of his hand fast enough, so he tossed it towards Nomi for her examine, maybe then she could start to make a guess or two and he might not have to say it outright, but then again he assumed that the words would have to be uttered at some point.

Look at that I guess. It's as good as place as any to start....

He sighed and grabbed the back of his neck as he felt the blood start to flow to his cheeks in embarrassment. He should have just kissed her, that would have been easier. That would have gotten a reaction. She would have kneed him...probably in the groin, because...well because Nomi, but then they'd be back to dueling again, that was their language anyway, that was what was natural to them or at least it had been all those years ago.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Nomi's fingers curled, but she remained still and continued her concerted effort to calmly—patiently—bear with this until Julian communicated whatever he was trying to tell her. She was a grown woman and a Jedi. She was perfectly capable of... She felt a muscle tic in the right side of her jaw. Whatever he was traumatized and struggling with himself about, he was being as bad as Ashlin about it! He was hesitating! He kept guarding himself and switching awkwardly from one topic to another, then pausing because he said it was complicated. Even his stance was stiff! He'd teeter on the edge of moving, but then he kept stopping himself. She kept her expression neutral, watching in concern while he flinched and slipped off a cliff into some guarded thought, then recover... then try to reassure her with that dear impish grin. It was unconvincing. She exhaled sharply through her nose.

He tossed her the battle-scarred lightsaber hilt from his belt.

'Look at that I guess. It's as good as place as any to start....'

She caught it without glancing away from him, reflexively settling the scraped gunmetal grip into her hand even as her senses flared to life at just how blackened the weapon was. It wasn't Jedi.

Nomi’s stare left Julian's. Her eyes darted across the rest of his features. His face had gone a shade pinker and he'd pressed a hand against the back of his neck. She rolled an imaginary cramp out of her shoulders before it could set in, turned to the side, and moved a few strides away from the path and away from Julian. She uncurled her grasp and looked down at the Darksider's weapon across her palm. Why?

The lightsaber was well made. Heavy, but the balance was on point. Half an inch thicker than she would have liked. There were layers over layers of external damage to it. Bare metal scrapes and gashes scored into the paint and never repaired. Even with all the scrapes, there weren't many prints from oils in the metal. Used heavily, but rarely with barehanded grip against the metal.

Her sister's quiet, then almost fiercely protective words continued repeating in her mind again from half an hour ago. 'In the universe’s biggest understatement — Julian has had a TERRIBLE time of it while we were away. You should never blame him for anything.'

Nomi snorted. Her nostrils flared again now at the thought, and she remembered to breathe in. 'Of course not. He’s Julian.'

She eyed a metallic burn that scraped into the main handgrip, shifting her hold on the hilt and trying to visualize a close-quarter motion that recreated it. That wouldn't have been good for the hand. Nomi's gaze flicked back to Julian in her mind's eye, without physically turning back towards him. He wasn't missing any fingers.

The thing was joyless. Sith, obviously. But there wasn't any passion put into it. No signature touches. No subtle runes. Nothing aesthetic in the seams. Just functional brutality. The activation plate spacing was odd, and the maker had set the beam length and intensity adjustors into a slide mechanism rather than the knob... Nomi shifted her grip again and tried the space. Her fingers were long enough, but this one was meant with the gloves in mind. No wonder he needed a blade... if this is what he'd been carrying.

'Ashlin! Julian Orspach is perfectly capable to make his own.'

He was! He was perfectly capable. She tested the hilt in a reverse grip, and stopped before she'd finished the motion. It wasn't meant for that. Nomi shifted the thing closer to a Juyo hold. Kinetically... that was better. She held the lightsaber up against the image of the flushed pink Guardian in her mind's eye. Her jaw twitched again.

She flicked the weapon on long enough for the Snap-Hiss and the inevitable bloody red glow. Energy seared through the crystal like something torturing it. She felt the hum of the thing in her palm. The Jedi Guardian stiffened and clenched her grip tighter around the hilt before she launched into any of the rash reactions her muscles demanded, like hurliing the damned thing into the lake, or turning it off and ripping the hilt casing and circuitry to shreds until she could rescue the heart of it and maybe start to repair the crystal. That was Julian's! He'd chosen it. He'd prepared it. He'd meditated over it. He'd set it into a blade and poured his essence in the Force into it with more grief and fiercer protectiveness than she'd ever felt from him as a child, but the crystal was his and he'd shaped it; she would know it anywhere. He'd worn it, he'd wielded it, he'd had his life saved by it, he'd shared it, he'd trained and fought and bled and needed to kill with it, and, then—he'd been furious at it? Enraged and bitter. Confused. Hateful. Julian ripped it from its setting and—tortured—the light and Guardian blue and all his work out of it into a defiled shatterpoint that was set back into this ugly black murder weapon and—used—heavily—to—

She thumbed the activation plate and put the blade out of its misery. Nomi breathed out. She looked at the brutal Sith thing clenched in her hand. She thought about the embarrassed and scarred Jedi Knight behind her. Julian was flushed and holding the back of his neck, but she could see right now that he was Good. Not that she'd doubted him—it was Julian.

She moved a hand toward her belt. Nomi calmly removed the hilt that her sister had given her half an hour ago, and replaced it with the murder weapon. She wasn't done with that yet, but it was just a lightsaber. Julian first. She rolled her neck and gave herself exactly three seconds to kick any concerns out of her mind.

Nomi breathed in. She stepped back to the half-Zeltron Jedi. Wanting free hands, she passed him the unfamiliar lightsaber hilt that Ashlin had given her. She assumed he'd put it on his belt, but he could drop it on the ground for all she cared. She'd deal with it soon enough. The scars all over Julian weren't lost to her, nevermind that lightsaber and the Force-forsaken shamefulness he and Ashlin kept hesitating about. She'd already been informed by everyone else that the galaxy was imploding. She'd lost her Master, family, and half the Order... But they were both here, grown, healthy, Guardian. He looked good. She'd start there.

“Take whoever's that was. I doubt we're done with yours yet. But we froze; then that got weird. I waited way too long to make sure you're even alive. I need to try that again. Don't hate me. Or do — I'll deal with it. Julian this looks like it was hell. I am SO glad you're alive! I MISSED YOU!

She grabbed one of his arms and threw her weight into hugging him hard.
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

It did not take her long after the cold gun metal hilt pressed against her palm for her to understand what it was, the reaction was almost instant, the weapon was so blackened that it appeared to cause an instant visceral reaction in her. It had been many years but knowing Nomi he was almost half surprised that she did not chuck it with force into the lake. As she examined the blade he could feel her senses flare, every detail of the lightsaber permeated her being and as result he stood there anxiously wishing this particular moment away, she was going to hate him forever for what he had done and that was bad but it just might be okay with him and he was not at all sure that he did not deserve some level of hatred for what he had done. How could he ever look at Qareth's father again? If he was still alive....he silently hoped that he was not for a brief second before realizing the selfish implications of the thought and pushing it out of his mind. Silently he asked the force for forgiveness for that selfish thought that had permeated the forefront of his conscious mind if only for a second.

She continued to study the hilt of the dark lightsaber, and his eyes watched her with dread and admittedly a morbid fascination about whether or not she recognized the simplicity of the craftsmanship and it's raw functional yet durable construction. He was not proud of the heart of the weapon, nor was he proud of what that weapon had done, but it was just an object minus the crystal anyway. He wondered how much she knew, it was painfully obvious that the wielder of this weapon had become an elite duelist and regardless of the dark implications of what that exactly meant he did wonder if she knew, not that that he felt like gloating about how being a Sith had made him a lethal duelist, that was nothing to be proud of and he wasn't. In fact it scared him, it scared him knowing what his body and mind were capable of even if his heart was not in full control of them.

There was a snap hiss and his purple eyes and locked onto the blood red blade. He stared at it reflecting back at him, the ominous humming made his stomach tighten to the point where he felt that he might gag at any moment. The sinister and evil blade glowed that tainted and unforgettable red, what it had done in detail was a mystery to Nomi, but surely she knew the essence of it even if the raw details were not nearly as important. His eyes had not taken in the sight of that blade since they were hidden behind his helmet, almost out of pure instinct his hand came up and he wanted to to rip the wicked weapon out of her hand but before he could she had extinguished it and put the crystal out of it's misery for the moment.

He felt tears forming in his eyes, but he pushed them away not allowing himself to cry in front of her, he wouldn't not after all these years. He was Julian Orspach, Jedi Guardian and he was going to be a rock, showing how much he had been broken would only be shoving his problems onto her and she did not deserve that, this was their reunion this was the day he had longed for for more than half of his life at this point. She was here now, standing in front of him and yes, he loved her but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, he was just happy that she was there, that dear friend that could get him through anything and likely vice versa was finally in the same place he was.

She had put the saber on her belt. WHY?!? He did NOT want that, that saber was his burden, it was embodiment of everything he had done and whether or not he was in control and knew what he was doing at the time was absolutely irrelevant. It's presence at his hip caused him to think and to contemplate the fragility of all that he was, after all he was just a Jedi and being just a Jedi meant that he was just a person, and as a person he was susceptible to failure just like everyone else. The lightsaber was visual evidence of that failure and a constant reminder to him to be the best Jedi he could be by being the constant thorn in his side causing him enough pain to keep him humble when he felt arrogant, to keep him grounded when he felt he could fly, to keep him as just a humble Jedi and servant of the force.

He wanted to rip it off her belt and take it for himself, but then she spoke. He listened and a sigh of relief escaped his body as she called timeout and started over again, exclaiming that she had in fact missed him was glad he was live. The timeout was a thing that dated back to when they were just younglings, often when one of them would make a mistake in a duel, they would take a couple steps back and start again. Her calling timeout was acknowledging that she knew he had been a Sith and it was not that she did not care, but she cared more that it was in the past and that he was more or less well now, that brought joy to his soul and in an instant she had grabbed his arm and hugged him hard. He wrapped both of his arms around her and pressed his face into her left shoulder as the tears were flowing now, despite all of his will power.

"I missed you so much and I am so happy you are alive too Nomi! I....it wasn't my idea, I didn't choose any of it Nomi, I swear to you I would never choose it."
Last edited by Julian Orspach on Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

“I know you didn’t,” Nomi answered as sensibly and immediately as she could; never mind that this thing made no sense. She stared past Julian’s shoulder at the lake, then scrunched her eyes shut and grasped at the Force for any idea of what to do here.

She squeezed her friend’s torso in a tight a bear hug. Her shoulder was damp from tears soaking through her shirt. She moved a hand to his head as if that might help, and then choked back something between an alarmed laugh and a swear when her fingertips brushed over more scars under his mop of hair.

“Hells, Julian. I should’ve.. What do we need?!… Are we talking about it?”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

He regained his composure a bit as she squeezed him tightly and put her hand on his head. He nodded gently and lifted his face from her shoulder and clicked his jaw calming himself a bit as he took a deep breath in and looked at her. She was taller than him? Hell, that was funny, he cracked a half chuckle at the thought, he was never the tallest Jedi but he wasn't particularly short either and it wasn't as if she towered over him, maybe two inches.

He broke the hug and patted her on the back as he did it, not pulling away without reason or anything, he appreciated the warmth that it gave him and in truth the tears came more from the fact that he was so easily forgiven. It was a wonderfully reassuring thought but at the same time he was unsure if he truly deserved the level of grace that he was receiving.

"We can, but we don't have to Nomi. Your sister says I should talk all about it as part of the healing and all that non Guardian stuff....I mean I'm more or less okay now though. Better that you're here honestly, I wanted to see you alone because well we're friends and I don't know how many Jedi are there probably not many and I'm probably being a kriffing baby, but I just couldn't look all of them and then you in the eye at once. I mean that makes sense right? I was a Sith and I did Sith things and I'm ashamed of it and I know how Master Winterhold, my Dad, and your sister reacted and that was fine and all except....they saw me as a Sith too. The only reason I'm here is because something told Ashlin that the Sith in the armour and mask might be someone she worth saving. I'd still be a Sith doing terrible Sith things working for he most evil man this galaxy has ever seen if it wasn't for her."

He thought for a second and allowed himself a single vindictive thought.

"What do we need? To kill the son of a bitch Johnathon Lynd so that this happens to exactly no one else. He paused. That is what I really want to do, but I assume thats probably not what I should be doing because I want to so bad...maybe something else? I don't know Nomi, I still have anger issues sometimes, probably because he pushed me past eleven, that's how he did it. He melted my mind and kept me alive when I should have died, he wouldn't allow me to die. Until I knew nothing of who I was, nothing of who I'd been, nothing of you or anyone, the only thing I knew was hatred and that's how he made me a Sith."

His purple eyes hid so much more behind them, it was longing to get out and push past the barrier, but he did not want to burden her with his pain. She was his best friend and also in his mind his soulmate. He thought about that for a moment as well, should he bring that up in this moment? It was a lot for her and that and everything else....might be too much. She was standing there though and every part of his Zeltron DNA told him to tell her, he wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but that was too cruel, not now. There were so many things that he had remembered since he rediscovered himself and with eaach new memory came the pain of regret and it would be wrong to add this to the list of things he would later regret doing. His mind was racing like a ship stuck in hyperdrive it had been since he left that awful place, but it had slowed some.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

She nodded slightly when Julian shifted to arms-length away. Straightening her stance, she met his eyes and made a point of listening and hearing him out. For the most part. Her eyes scanned across the half Zeltron. Not that she'd figured out what anyone would have wanted with Julian. Or why?

Nomi tensed her shoulders and watched her friend through his mention of shame and Sithness... And torture, when he should have been dead... An Eleven? The Jedi grasped for the textbook categories she hadn’t bothered with in decades. Past an eleven..?! Making him evil — and Sith — until her sister found him. Ashlin? Which was great; Ashlin was very good at the mind stuff. But... Nomi's fingers curled over the scarred black weapon on her hip until she cut the motion and dropped her hand to her side.

“Okay... Jedi: There are three of us, Julian. We lost hull integrity almost four years ago. It would’ve killed us, but Master Aer—My Master Aero, severed the ship. He stabilized it… He died. I lost Zhi. Ashlin. My dad. Your dad. Jachai. Tess. Erril... Master saved a bunch of their lives, I think. But I don’t have them. I lost almost everyone we were keeping safe! I can't tell you how glad I am Ashlin's okay. Or you, obviously even if it was different, or your dad, or the... Ash said It was thirty of their pods you found? But it's bad. She mentioned the psycho chancellor, yeah... Luka's brother?”

She stared at Julian. He looked fine. He wasn't, obviously. Or he hadn't been — the marks just on his arms were impressive enough, sure. But, he looked fine. Like Julian. He looked fit. Jedi. Like who he was supposed to be. There was nothing corrupted about him. Nothing maimed she saw. From the looks of it he was healthy; he could fight... He'd been fighting as a Sith, which still made no sense! It wasn't his idea, but—

“—The psycho Sith is on the list,” she told him abruptly. “Him ruining our people isn't an option. Even if I don't get what happened—and I do not get it, Julian. Mind Tricking you into being evil makes no sense! …Wiping your mind doesn’t either. But whatever it was, you’re here and you belong here. If they’re not blaming you, why would I?”

Memory of the darkened crystal throbbed in her hand. Nomi’s eyes narrowed. She swiped her palm against her clothes and stared levelly at the man.

“You do want me to think about it.” Her jaw tensed. “Want is the wrong word, but that I need to. Is that it?”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

His muscles tensed as Nomi spoke, there were thoughts that entered his mind as she acknowledged what he had said and went on describing anything and everything that had happened. Even if it was the short version, it cut him to his core when he had heard that her master was killed. He knew more than anything what that felt like and the empty feeling it left inside, it might as well have been a parent. Then she had mentioned she lost Zhi...he took a deep breath in and avoided gasping, the nerdy kid been like a brother to him as well, a bit of a know it all, but a brother nevertheless. Nomi had been especially close to Zhi and how she carried on with the knowledge that he might in fact be dead was astounding.

"Thirty one...actually...but one was already destroyed when we found it."

He paused for a moment, realizing what those words actually meant. The body mind and soul of a Jedi, perhaps a friend of his or hers, perhaps Zhi or Keto had been lost forever in that pod. He let out a breath and wanted more than anything to throw his arms around her like she had done to him, but somehow he felt it wouldn't be as well received as when she had done it to him. Then there was literally everything else she said, well not so much everything else but one thing in particular. The mind trick. He had NOT BEEN MIND TRICKED. He was too mentally tough for that and how dare she even assume....relax Julian....she wasn't assuming that, she's broken too....she was just trying to piece it together in a way that made sense because it just did NOT make sense at all.

"I don't want you to have to think about it, I don't want to think about it or anyone I care about to have to think about it. I....I did try to die, it'd been better than being a Sith and doing what I did. I know....it's confusing as hell, and I know you believe me, but just know that I did everything I could to not let it happen, up until I know longer knew who I was."

He pulled his tunic down a bit near the base of his neck,showing a small glimpse of the scars on the upper part of his chest.

"Luka's brother yeah.....technically my uncle, apparently I'm technically the son of a Sith...it's always about blood lines with those sickos..."
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

WHO WAS THE DEAD ONE?!?

Nomi nearly shouted the question at him, but she cut off the yell somewhere between her brain and her throat when realization clicked that Julian didn’t know more. Some of them would be dead. She could only imagine how many. That didn’t mean she felt ready to talk offhandedly about it.

She crossed her arms over her torso and… just… glared in silence at the telltale marks across the half-Zeltron’s collarbone and upper chest when he tugged the neck of his shirt down and made her keep thinking about it. She knew enough about injuries, but reading interrogation scar history like some kind of medical detective wasn't her thing. Bad stuff happened. That patch of skin had been—Raw? Something with a pattern. He looked healthy now, but he obviously hadn’t been. Nomi flexed her fingers and redirected her tension away from her hands when she realized she’d been leaving fingerprints where she clasped her upper arms. Not that those showed under her shirt or anything.

Julian was clarifying about mind wipes and Sith psycho relatives. Perfect. This was turning into something insane from the history books. Why did Force-users keep ending up in spirals like this?! Why Julian.

He desperately wanted her to know he’d tried to die. That he’d lost himself—even though he was right here! He was Julian now. Her Julian. He seemed pretty close to her Julian anyway.

She breathed in through her nose and dropped her arms again. Her wrist brushed against his lightsaber on her hip. She moved her arm over it protectively, like a nasty black puzzle piece she’d fight with later. Nomi sighed. She started talking again.

“Got it. You fought hard, Julian. We can talk about it or not. Ashlin said talk, so whatever. I’m here. We can do whatever healing thing we need to do. But I believe you, so it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. We have psychos to deal with and Jedi to find. We need to find Zhi. What else is first?”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

"Ashlin always says talk. Sometimes she's right...sometimes she's not."

The Jedi Knight stood there and watched Nomi's reactions for a long moment, every movement she made resonated with him. She was uncomfortable and that was...or something. She looked uncomfortable talking about it or maybe she was just fighting the desire to fly off and kill someone who most certainly had it coming. Force that would feel good, hunting down Johnathon putting his head on a pike or something. That most certainly was not the most Jedi thought that he had had that day, but it was a satisfying thought. Jedi could certainly take a moment and fantasize about revenge, it was actually following through with it that was frowned upon, but thinking about it for a brief second? He was just a Jedi and Human-Zeltron hybrid, so emotions ran high and deep.

He took a breath in through his nose again. "We have psychos to deal with and Jedi to find."

That was the understatement of the century, he almost wanted to chuckle for a moment but he kept his head and didn't react to the statement.The conversation was a bit too heavy for him to crack a joke or at least react to what she said like it was a joke. What else was there to do? He thought about this for a moment images of Zhi flashed before his mind, he hadn't seen him since Nomi and he did miss him as well, obviously not in the same way he missed Nomi but he was concerned for him. In truth he had no idea where most of the Jedi were, including Zhi, he was relatively sure Johnathon did have an idea, but it wasn't like he could just call him up either, not that he would trust anything that monster said to him ever again.He sighed audibly and his purple eyes found the ground for a moment.

"The way I see it there are like two or three things we should probably do."

His eyes shifted back up to meet hers. She was truly beautiful, but that was just the cherry on top, it wasn't her physical appearance he had fallen in love with as a young man, it was her soul. Standing here without even being intrusive her presence felt the same, her heart was pure and focused, the heart of a Guardian, one that he certainly felt paired well with his own. They had had different life experiences up until this point, but at their core he felt that neither of them were all that different. He took a deep breath in and brushed a hand through his purple hair quickly, but not nervously.

"So first thing, I vote we find the Jedi, including Zhi if not specififcally Zhi first. After that, there are a number of options, up to and including killing Sith psychos as you so delicately put it. I mean, this might sound Sithy in and of itself, but I am totally down for killing Johnathon, anytime, any place. Then there is maybe one more thing and I don't know how you feel, but I know how I do."

He paused for a moment, a half hesitation knowing that what he said next might indeed piss her off a bit or at least catch her way off guard. His eyes locked onto hers as he took a fraction of second to remind himself that he was not only a Jedi, but a Zeltron and this sort of thing was supposed to be second nature.

"We could get married."

And there it was. The words left his mouth and flew into the air and hopefully worked their magic, meanwhile the Zeltron body chemistry was waging war with his own will power. He had to actively supress his body's natural urge to release pheromones when he essentially expressed his love for her, even if he did not outright say it. He did basically just ask for her hand in marriage, even if it was rather blunt and not very romantic at all. He did doubt that Nomi would go for a grand romantic gesture in the first place. He felt that if he dropped to one knee, offered her a dozen Nabooian roses and the finest ring in the galaxy, he might very well be eating the roses and digging the stone from the ring out of his face...Nomi wasn't sappy and he most certainly knew that.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Nomi’s right eyebrow ticked up. She crossed her arms and stared at the half-Zeltron Jedi. Julian was clearly making an effort to keep his attitude relaxed, while he'd nonchalantly proposed an... option? The Guardian woman might have laughed at the absurdity in some younger year, but she was older and a bit more tactful than that now. Her nostrils flared in a well-controlled exhale. Nomi eyed the tautness in Julian's hands, the way his eyes were locked on her whenever she glanced back at his face, and gauged whatever the internal war he was clearly fighting was. The woman rolled her neck and looked straight back at him.

“Mmn. Okay. So you had me in agreement with the first three or four priorities. That last one. I’d say they broke your head, but... for—”
She gave in and stepped closer to chop a hit at his shoulder more for the nostalgia sake for both of them than anything else, not bothering to hide her exasperation or frustrated smile.

—For the Force's sake Julian Orspach! What am I supposed to do with that?! You are my favorite and No we could not. Really? We have several steps to focus on like finding my brother and killing your.. Uncle? Your whatever he is.”

She snorted. “We were practically still kids and Zhi said you were going to do something like that. Now I can't tell if you're brining it up because it's a.. thing you want, or if you've got something else in mind. The last thing I want is start us off wrong. The other last thing I want to do is marry anybody. I don't need to get into another stupid fight and crack anyone's skull about it though. Keep talking.”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

He was not going to lie to himself he had half expected those words and this reaction which in his mind was a testament as to exactly why they were made for each other in the first place, but there was certainly no bringing that up right now. He felt the sting in his shoulder, it was sharp but for a fully trained Jedi Knight it was really nothing. Nevertheless acknowledging it was part of the game, he rolled his shoulder back and chuckled a bit, a smile appearing on his face as he blinked at her. Zhi said what? That pencil necked little nerd, of course he did! He chuckled to himself of the absurdity of the situation and just how right Zhi had been and he may had not even known it, but Julian's romantic feelings for Nomi had already started to develop before she disappeared. As a Zeltron or at least half of one adolescence started a bit earlier in him then most of his full human peers.

He smirked at Nomi bringing himself back into the moment.

"I mean they did break my head."

He chuckled.

"What are you supposed to do with that? I mean you could say yes, because yeah....it is actually something I would like, but of course you're free to not want it. I've known that for awhile and Zhi yeah...of course he did...but Nomi, when I was being....tortured, my greatest fear wasn't what was going to happen to me, it wasn't death, it wasn't the pain, which sucked, it was the thought of never seeing you again. I also don't want to start us off bad either....but yeah Ashlin says talk about things and not hold them in....so there it is... "

He looked down to his right, his eyes moving and a wry and slightly mischievous smile appeared on his face, one that she would undoubtedly recognize.

"I sort of figured that a dozen Nabooian roses and a grand Zeltron romantic gesture would result in a knee to the groin and or me having to deal with digesting my teeth...again lets not start off bad...you punch hard if I remember right..."
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

The emotions running through Nomi’s mind flickered somewhere between extremes. She felt homesickness and relief that Julian could chuckle about any of it after whatever he’d been through. But then he had the audacity to smile like that and bring her back into it! She felt guilt and another intense pang of grief that he’d been alone. She would have gotten to him if she could help it! Where had Qareth been, or even Rave, or… Pax or…. Why was he abandoned so long? That shouldn’t have happened. She swallowed and focused back on the present, and a small muscle in the left side of her jaw twitched when Julian glanced away with that exasperating bit of a smile. Had someone told him about that day with Jarik? That had been a decade ago! Nomi’s eyes sparkled a bit as she resisted the impulse to cross her arms.

“Ashlin has an awful lot to say about this. Are you sure you shouldn’t be marrying her?”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

He merely chuckled, his purple eyes lighting up, his pupils slightly larger than normal. He kicked the ground with the toe of his boot and then planted his foot down firmly. Of course Nomi would say that, she of all people would make the dumbest and most sarcastic suggestion imaginable.

"Ashlin has a lot to say about everything and her own ideas on everything, but no. You're more fun and I'm telling you this because I want to, maybe I was just trying to be awkward."

His eyes narrowed a bit and he looked down and then back to her.

"That was a good deflection though, what form are you using now? Still big on trakatta?
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Nomi's gaze flicked down towards his footing, and then back to his stare with a quirked eyebrow. She stretched her shoulders.

"I was being perfectly serious. Also... Your Dun Möch has come a long way. Nice try."
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

Julian rolled his eyes practically to the back of his head as he stood there thinking about the suggestion of marrying Ashlin. That was a hard no. It's not that Ashlin was not a good person or someone he could conceivably wind up with, in fact it did make sense and as usual Nomi wasn't exactly wrong, she just had a way of putting things that made her sound sarcastic and wrong. The thing about Ashlin and Julian however was that they both knew entirely too much about each other for a relationship to ever work and what was worse, she felt more like a sister to him than anything which in theory should make Nomi feel that way as well but it did not.

"Of course you were..."

His right hand moved ever so subtly and a slider switch slowly moved near the pommel of Nomi's lightsaber that he had clipped to his belt. Was he flirting with her? Was she flirting with him? He grinned once more and gave her a bit of a stare, not a dark stare as he had banished the darkness from his aura, but if you looked at him long enough you could see the traces of where the darkness would have been in his smile.

"Sith are good at Don Moch...."
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Nomi smiled at his mood, the banter, and the memories. Her features and posture shifted back to a controlled one as she brought hand toward her hip and made a minor adjustment to the durasteel hilt she'd worn on her belt for most of twenty years. Her palm passed back over the second weapon that was currently on her person, and she closed her hand around it with a much more intentional expression than the first time she'd touched it. She took it from her belt and pointed the emitter downward, briefly turning the red thing on until she'd located the setting she wanted and adjusted it. It was Julian's. Whether she hated it or not; clinically even her hand could feel the thought processes that had gone into making it. Her eyes flicked toward him with a measuring expression, and then back down to the red beam and scraped black hilt. She turned it off and set it back on her belt. Her own hilt—the simpler one on her person; not the one he wore at his side—sped the comfortably short distance into her palm.

"Are you good?"

The blade in her hand sprang to life in a snap of purple.
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

He watched her for a moment, his wry grin not fading even for a second. She may not have directly reacted to his potentially flirtatious comments, but messing with a lightsaber was reaction enough. His purple eyes looked down as he realized she was pulling Kaini's lightsaber from her belt. The red blade sprang to life and the humming sound did cut through him, but he showed no reaction as the red blade was reflected in his purple eyes giving the reflection a nice magenta hue which if he could have seen it for himself, he might have found the visual anomaly an oddly fitting representation of himself. She extinguished the blade and he did nothing, but privately he was somewhat happy that she did, but at the end of the day if he had to face his old weapon then he would do so with poise and restraint, that's what it was to be a Jedi.

Her lightsaber, the one that helped bring him back from the edge of destruction flew into his right hand and held it with the emitter facing up at a slight angle to the ground unlike the way she held the purple one.

"Always."

He said confidently, but without a hint of arrogance in his voice as he settled himself with the calming and warming nature of the Force. His purple eyes narrowed on her as the blue blade snapped instantly to life in his hand, the humming of both blades permeating the otherwise still air.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

The woman's eyes flicked with pride and a level of appreciation to the nearly instantaneous blue blade that snapped from the weapon in his hand. It was tuned perfectly. Energy and the crisp clearness of perceptions hummed alive in her veins. Her nostrils flared a little. There were a thousand ways they could have started, some of them more sensible and strategic; but there wasn't any need for that as far as she was concerned. It wasn't a contest. The right side of her mouth quirked up. Nevermind that; of course it was a contest. But there was no tension or fear about any outcomes in her mind. It was time to meet each other where they were now.

“Good.”

Her right hand flew up to meet her left in a solid two-handed grip on her hilt. The distance between them snapped closed again, Nomi launching forward. She threw herself with weight and speed into a first-contact strike at his head and upper body—mindful of his blade itself, mindful of his—Soresu?—while she twisted her body, and hit and hit again with a sheer force barrage of Djem So strikes more than capable of pushing an opponent backwards, or at least keeping them too busy blocking to effectively counter—Though, she wouldn't have called Julian's Soresu a counter—He was very, very good at the defensive form! She might have pulled back or snapped into a new tactic, but—He’d gotten fast—as fast as she had!—the world around them may as well have been molasses. Julian kept up with her while she pressed a storm of speed and strength at him—They blocked each other’s pre-shadows before they even—He redirected every—Force!—Was he even…? What?!—Nomi breathed sharply, dark eyes flashing in impressed protest at how easy this was for him. She grinned, twisting to her right and—
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

To say that he was enjoying this would not have been much of a stretch, however to say that he was visibly enjoying it would bea a complete falsehood. Of course Julian enjoyed being in her presence more than just about anything in the universe and of course he enjoyed sparring, but when it came right down to it the half-Zeltron Jedi Knight was all business in this matter. He and Nomi both had been born with swords in their hands, the first third or so of their life it was training and for the most part they were together, everything was safe...ish, and more importantly everything was fun. There were of course broken bones, bruises, blood spilled, but nothing that one of the healers couldn't fix...or make them suffer through to ensure they learned their lesson. Then one day everything changed for both of them. He had heard some stories from Ashlin, but what Nomi went through was entirely unclear to him, he knew there were rough times, he knew she was alone in space. What was clear to him is the life he had led, the constant youthful sparring had paid off, many times he had found himself in a position in which his skill with a blade saved his life and the lives of others. The constant blue and regrettably red hum of the lightsaber had been defining in his life, moments of pride, pain, honor and regret were marked by the ancient weapon he carried.

There was a clash, Nomi pushed forward, she was fast, but he felt faster....but it was too close to tell. A slash to the head, a redirect. Djem So versus Soresu an interesting and boring fight if it wasn't for the speed of both of them. They were both anticipating the moves of the other and Julian for several moments stuck entirely to Soresu and waited patiently. Her Djem So was mastered, but so was his Soresu. They fought on longer than either of them would have liked but they were both so adept at predicting the other until....Julian reached into his Sith Master's book and flowed seamlessly into a Makashi strike contacting Nomi on her saber wielding wrist. Had it been a live weapon both of her hands would have been gone in the fast and smooth strike. Soresu and Makashi paired well together like a fine red Corellian wine and an expertly cooked nerf steak. The opponent would never see the Makashi coming after the constant deflection of strikes and with Makashi being such an elegant form it blended into Soresu and the opponent would likely see it as another absorb or deflection.

Julian backed away and extinguished his, his face deadly serious, He dipped his head to her in respect, there was no mocking tone, no Dun Moch or anything that cheapened the moment and picked at her.

"You got quicker."
"I'm just a Jedi."

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Nomi Jonan
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Nomi Jonan »

Ow! The perfect blue beam touched her wrist and Julian won.

The world felt like it existed in real time around them again as the two Jedi immediately stopped moving. Julian moved back to the unspoken edge of their circle, and his weapon snapped off.

Nomi shifted her weight back to ground her footing. The athletic woman stood otherwise at a perfect standstill with the familiar hum of her weapon in her hands. She regarded the position of both her hands on the hilt, and the thick telltale burn blooming low on her left wrist where the skin was already raising up into a shocked red welt. With the containment fields of their weapons adjusted such as they were, contact with skin or objects left only a sharp burn from the nearly impenetrable blade. Her wrist would bruise under the welt from the impact speed soon enough, but none of that was of any concern to Nomi... She was much more interested in the angle.

‘Cho mai translates as ‘to cut off the weapon hand.’ Because this strike instantly ends an opponent's ability to use a weapon but does not kill, cho mai is always a preferred move in combat. The precision of cutting off only a hand is considered the mark of a superior lightsaber master.’
―The Marks of Contact, Battlemaster Cin Drallig, ~30 BBY.


The saber burn struck across her wrist in a line that would have followed through to her other hand. By necessity of positioning, the slice across her right forearm would have been a hand's width higher up her arm — but neat, and still well below the elbow. Looking at the physics, she didn't think it would have been possible to accomplish the same motion more than a few centimeters closer to her wrists. Nomi compared her mental image of the wound to the faded brown scar encircling her mother's wrist, and then she discarded the thought. That one was dealt after combat; it wasn't relevant. The Sith cut to Arty that resulted in his metal arm was closer, but reflected the haste she expected from such a strike. Master Silme's missing limb near the elbow was similar - an efficient disarming wound against a competent opponent. The neat scar lower on Jachai's mother's wrist... that last one was closest. Whoever dealt it had been highly precise, and Nomi realized that she wished she knew the story - but it was still only a single limb.

None of this took Nomi more than a moment. She finished Julian's strike in her mind, acknowledging without much surprise by now that the Guardian blue blade would have missed her torso entirely. It was effective, respectful, and he'd executed it perfectly. She deactivated the lightsaber hilt in her hand and straightened her shoulders as she stood up normally. Her dark eyes shifted to look at Julian's face. He dipped his head to her. She inclined hers in return.

“Yes, but it's not as startling as you. Julian... Can we do it again?”
It's a new world. It's a new start. It's alive with the beating of young hearts.
It's a new day. It's a new plan.
It's waiting for me—

— Here I am!

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Julian Orspach
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Re: A Small Clearing

Post by Julian Orspach »

Purple eyes watched as she examined her wrist and spoke, he saw the burn of course and his heart nearly stopped as he stood there. He wasn't hiding but he wasn't completely forthcoming either. The evidence was right there in front of him, he had won and he had done it decisively. He never decisively won against Nomi before. Twenty years or not, his wins against Nomi were normally marginally, occasionally calculated, but never once had they been decisive until today. He stood there understanding exactly what this meant, a knot in his stomach began to tighten as he realized what could have been....

__________

Qareth took a defensive stance in front of the children and Kaini's voice boomed across from her as the Sith Troopers stood at the ready.

::STAND DOWN JEDI! BY ORDER OF THE CHANCELLOR THESE ARE WANTED CRIMINALS!::

"They're children! They've done nothing wrong and I will protect them until my last breath."

As the red and blue blades clashed for several minutes just as the two blades had clashed between Nomi and him moments ago....

The smell of ozone and burning flesh filled his nostrils as Julian's blade impaled her just below the sternum at an upward angle. Her eyes fluttered and her blue blade was extinguished, falling to the ground beside, her. Kaini held her there for a long moment as she struggled for breath, the soulless eyes of his mask stared into hers, he saw her lips move the words "I'm sorry" came out, clearly directed at the cornered children, but Julian felt nothing as he extinguished his lightsaber and let her fall to the ground, a second before she breathed her last breath, he kicked her in the face.


::You should be, you have sealed their fate.::

__________

The Jedi Knight grit his teeth, his eyes laser focused on the wound that he had just dealt Nomi. Of course she was speaking and he heard what she had to say to him, but it might as well have been if he was under water, or worse...he was behind the mask again. Everything was muffled as he realized that she had just invited him to duel her again. He shook his arms a bit and turned his neck to the side cracking it, thinking back on what had just happened, and Qareth as well. Nomi could have been Qareth, but Nomi was better than Qareth, so it had never once occurred to Julian that he could have killed Nomi as Kaini until this very moment in time. Everything that he had done as Kaini sickened him, but this was a downright revolting thought, he could have killed Nomi, and not that Nomi was an easy opponent, she was GOOD. Among the best he had ever seen and that was the problem, he had beaten her and hadn't broke a sweat. She most certainly did not make it easy for him, but it wasn't particularly hard either.

A rematch was out of the question, there was too much going on right now in his mind as he grasped with what exactly he was capable of as Kaini. Could he have overthrown Johnathon, if he did then what? Would he have become the ruthless Sith Dictator in charge and never seen the light again? His mind circled itself ad infanatum until he finally took a deep breath and gave her half of a smile.

"What startled you? And....can we do it later maybe? I'm really tired...."

He said half heartedly.
"I'm just a Jedi."

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