A Meeting Among the Dead

[Ashe Senari]

Ashe was back on Eshan for the first time in years. Her presence on the planet was kept quiet and she ignored and avoided her family at all costs. She was only here for one reason: too see his grave. In her hand she clutches a rolled up drawing. She had recreated one of the first scenes of her and Yusan that she had ever drawn. It was an image of the two of them locked in an intense sparring match. She fought back tears as she found the stone that marked his grave. She wanted to vomit at the site of it. The idea that he was gone forever made her physically ill. She felt tears rolls down her cheeks as she stood before it. She unrolled the drawing and placed it on the ground at the based of the tombstone. She placed a few heavy-ish stones on two of the corner to keep the drawing in place until the wind and the weather ruined it. She had been so mad when she found out the Mad Queen has killed him that she had punched a hole in the wall of his living room. She now lived in his old home alone. It looked nothing like it did before when he had lived there. Empty bottles of liqour covered the floor, but that was a story for another time.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"You know, that is a very poor way to hold a picture of that quality to a grave." He walked over with his hands crossed behind him, his eyes bearing down on her face as he moved up and beside her with his breath in his throat short and soft. "Brother? Father? Friend?" He looked at the woman he stood against and touched her with his empathy, draining some of the sad feelings away from her if he could.

 

[Ashe Senari]

"I loved him... He... He died before I could tell him... The woman he loved... The mother of his children killed him," Ashe choked on the words as she said them. She felt like part of her had died along with him. She wanted to scream, or hit something, but there was nothing around to punch, save the man speaking to her, but she didn't think he'd appreciate that. She glanced at the drawing again and sighed. "It's not the best way to keep it there, but it's the only one I've got." [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"Well, thats a shame then, its a beautiful drawing." Kharen stood there and looked at it before he soon found himself sitting down and reading the name on the grave. "Yusan Fenn, the senator guy?" He looked up at her and patted the ground for her to sit next to him as he spoke. "If you could, would you tell him that you loved him, even if it meant you would never see him again?"

 

[Ashe Senari]

"I would," she replied, taking a seat next to him. She slung her bag off her shoulder and dug around inside it. She pulled out a half empty bottle of really strong liquor and took a sip of it. She sighed again as she stared at the stone, tears still streaking her face. She hated this feeling of emptiness his death left her with. If only she had done a better job of helping him get over her, maybe then he'd still be alive. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry," She whispered, beginning to sob again. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

He sighed and wrapped an arm around her as he could feel everything she did, damn his empathy sometimes as it nearly brought him to tears of his own. "Hey, calm down Dove, no need to cry over such things. Everything will be better in the end, just see." He smiled at her and looked down at her face as his grin grew. "So cheer up, the day is always brighter."

 

[Ashe Senari]

She took another long drink of her liquor and tried to smile. "Ashelotte.... My... My name is Ashelotte, though most people just call me Ashe," she replied, not knowing what else to say. Her tears finally stopped as she had no more left to spill. She felt as if all of her energy had been drained. Her will to go on was just shot. She looked over at him, seeing his smile made her feel a little bit better, but it didn't erase the emptiness inside that Yusan's death had left. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"Im going to just call you dove, consider it a nickname between new friends, ehh?" He smiled at her and leaned against her as his eyes drew towards the sky, arm still around her. "Did you plan to sit vigil for him tonight then? Or were you simply watching over his grave to make sure nothing happened to it?" He looked at her now, his eyes focusing slightly as he tried to sense her feelings.

 

[Ashe Senari]

"A bit of both I guess... They didn't want to bury him here... Something about him being a traitor... But... Well never argue with a living weapon... It doesn't end well," she laughed a bit at the statement. It was a hollow, dead sounding laugh,but at least it was a laugh. She took another swig of her liquor and stared up at the sky. Yusan's grave rested on a hill and the sun was setting off in the distance. It was kind of cold and she didn't have a jacket with her, but the Echani didn't care. At least being cold meant she was feeling something. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

He noticed her shivering and sighed before smiling again and removing his cloak, pulling it around her instead of himself. "Don't go catching a cold there Dove, no need for me to be seen with a sick person, people might think i gave it to you." He looked at the grave again and leaned forward, his eyes running over the stones around it. "Anyone else around here you know of?"

 

[Ashe Senari]

"There's a small plot around here somewhere containing members of my mother's family, but I never really visit it often. My father is also buried there... I haven't been to his grave in awhile. In all honesty, I loathe being on this planet." Ashe replied, pulling the cloak a bit tighter around herself. She capped her bottle of liquor but left it sitting in the grass in front of her. She had a feeling she'd want it later.

"Thank you, for the cloak by the way," Ashe mumbled softly, staring up at the setting sun once again. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"No problem dove, i got my own ways of keeping myself warm if i have too... how come you hate this place?" He looked at her again, knowing he was likely over stepping his place but her words interested him far too much to simply drop. That was his fault, curiosity beyond measure, if there was a chance he could learn something about any thing his thoughts would delve.

 

[Ashe Senari]

"My mother mostly. She was a General in the military, and so I was supposed to follow in her footsteps. She started training me when I turned five. I was never allowed to have a normal life. It was always training, training, and more training. No friends, no quality time with family... I didn't even get to say good-bye my sister when she was sent off to train with the Jedi. My social skills are honestly quite lacking because of it. That's probably why I developed this habit," Ashe explained, gesturing to the now two thirds empty bottle of hard liquor resting on the ground near her foot. She had no idea why she was so willing to talk to this strange man. It was probably a mix of the alcohol, and the lack of will to care anymore now that Yusan was gone. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"So... how did he catch your heart then if you had no time?" He looked at the stone again, reading the name again as he waited for her to continue her story, listening as intently as if he had been hanging on the words like they tasted of honey.

 

[Ashe Senari]

"My mother loved showing me off to other important figures. When he was still the Senator for Eshan my mother encouraged him to come spar with me on occassion. I always one unless he used the Force to help him. After I left Eshan I ran into him again on Onderon... He gave me a place to stay and well... It just kinda happened," Ashe explained as she grabbed her drink again, twisting the cap off violently and taking several long sips from it. She twisted the cap back on and laid it on the ground once again. It was a good thing she stuffed an extra bottle into her bag, her current one didn't look like it would be lasting long. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"You should really stop doing that Dove, that stuff will kill you if you continue." He smiled and drew the bottle to his hand, reading it and cocking a brow at her before setting it back down, acting like he had never even used the force for a second. "Nice brand."

 

[Ashe Senari]

"Yeah... I'm not sure I'd care if I died at this point," she mumbled. The sun had finally sank below the horizon and the stars were beginning to come out. She flopped back onto the grass, laying there and looking up at the sky. She felt numb ever since the news had reached her. They hadn't even actually recovered his body. The placing of a grave for him here was more of a formality. If his body were ever retrieved it would of course be placed here, but for now she was keeping watch over an empty grave. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

He looked at her and decided to lay back beside her as he watched the stars. "Do you know the constellations of Eshan?" He smiled and looked beside himself at her, with eyes a bit brighter as the night rolled in, his hands crossed behind his head and his body collapsing into a relaxed state as he waited for her answer.

 

[Ashe Senari]

"No, if it wasn't a battle skill, tactics, or some level of political crap I didn't learn it," Ashe replied as she continued to stare up at the sky. She wanted to hit something, being on Eshan made her angry on the best of days, being here because she was keeping watch over Yusan's grave made her absolutely livid. She growled slightly as she laid there. Kharen's presence was a bit calming for her, but she was still highly upset. [member="Kharen Promethien"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Ashe Senari"]

"Want me to teach you them then?" He smiled as he looked at her, grinning wider and wider as he ran his hand under his chin. "Ok lets see, thats the Line, oh and that one is the T, and must i never forget the jumbled pile of lights in the cellar." He pointed around at random spots, no seriousness in his voice at all.