A Voice In The Wilderness

[Stephanie Swail]

Sarkany
Paxe System

--

How long had it been? A couple of weeks...about that? She couldn't remember.

From being split up at Bakura, Stephanie had seen Kyra with that brute Connor, the man who hurt her. He better not have hurt her again. There was only one place Stephanie knew about where Kyra would go away from the Je'daii after running into "him".

Her little two man transport touched down beside a large clear lake on Sarkany, an un-inhabited world Kyra and Connor had found and wanted to establish a retreat on. Using the directions Kyra had given, Stephanie landed by the largest lake, surrounded by overhanging trees and populated by fish and birds and clear clouds.

It was a paradise, and she could see what Kyra saw in it.

Walking into the sun with her tan boots and trousers and brown sleeveless vest, Stephanie had her hair down and inhaled gently. The air filled her lungs and the Force wrapped around her. She'd have to bring [member="Cath Lorr"] here one day. Kyra would like her. She'd be proud Stephanie had found another honest and true Jedi to stand with them.

First, however, she had to find her friend.

"KYRA!"

Her voice echoed and a flock of birds flapped out of the tree above her.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QU1nvuxaMA​

​

Before her water birds ducked and dived within the whispering stream. Overhead the feathery natives took flight from their roosts, sending countless leaves cascading down toward her. All around her a world was painted into life, most of its inhabitants foreign to her even after all this time. Some of them she had learned the names of, but could not recall them in this moment. There was too much to think about, too many things taking her focus away. This whole place felt tarnished now, as though a ghost lingered overhead waiting to be laid to rest.

Just across the way, on the other side of the stream, a tiny hut lay. It was made from the native wood, with empty spaces in place of windows, and a door which hung lopsided on its hinges. The whole thing was lopsided, truth be told.

But that didn't matter; it had been theirs.

Her breath caught in her throat for a moment as she stared at the ramshackled structure. For one brief second she could see him there, stood in the doorway with that stupid smirk of his, watching as she tried and failed at catching the water birds. He'd shake his head and laugh, encourage her even though he knew she was a lost cause where such things were concerned.

Where was he now? Force knew. On the other side of the Galaxy, locked into whatever stupid cause he had thought up. Hypocrite to the last.

Kyra punched the ground at her side. This wasn't just his place. It wasn't just theirs. It was hers too. She could enjoy time here, recharge and think in peace, without his damn memory lording over her.

She had been through so much since their farewell. She had wanted him by her side at each turn, when the ship crashed on that backwater planet, when the pirates stole her away, when the stowaway hitched a ride on her ship. All she had wanted was to call for him, for him to show up as he always did before...

Her head fell into her hands. Get over it, girl. You can't sit in misery for all eternity. You knew this was coming, from the day he left the Silvers you knew it. You tried your best, but some people can't be helped. He'll come around, one day... I hope.

[member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

With careful footing, one boot over the other, Stephanie traversed the various sizes of boulders and rocks than ran up the bank and jutted from the large lake now and then as she went against the gently current.

If anyone was to inhibit a planet, they would do so near fresh running water, and Kyra Sol would be no different. It was just a case of where she was , and with Stephanie’s luck she’d be going in totally the opposite direction.

"KYRA SOL!"

She shouted again and again, after every other step.

A random bird flapped out of the trees, and a nearby bush shook as a small beast fled from the shouting humanoid.

Jumping on the grassy bank, and with a frustrated sigh, the Hapan began to walk. She looked this way and that across the bank opposite and behind her and up front. Trees began to over-hang provided welcome shade from the warmth of the sun. Purple mountains peeked at her from the distance tipping the blue sky above them.

Stephanie stopped and knelt, closing her eyes.

Focusing on what she had been told about the Force and her…peculiar connection…to Kyra, her face dropped a little and she felt it. The sadness and anger, and emptiness, of her friend. A sad little whimper escaped her lips.

"Kyra, where are you, I’m here," she whispered, hand pressed to the ground. "Where are you?"

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

There was a very slight shift in the air, a tremor through the ground, that roused her from her momentary depression. Lifting her head she stared out past the hut toward the trees which towered overhead, through the veil they cast on the lowlands, in search of whatever it was that she happened to be sensing. Familiarity spread through the clearing, rippled across the stream, and had her breath catch within her throat.

For a moment, one tiny moment, she sensed him as clear as day. She rose to stand, taking one step into the flowing water, before the sensation lifted and she was once again alone.

Her heart beat heavily against her chest, before she sucked in a breath and calmed herself. This place was playing tricks on her mind. It was, indeed, tarnished.

The ground quivered once more, only this time it ran up her leg and into her core. She felt a whisper in the back of her mind, a voice she knew as well as his, and her worries were washed away.

"Steph?"

Turning full circle she searched in vain for her friend. Was she here, on Sark'?

"STEPH!"

[member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Stephanie's head snapped up as the voice traveled almost down the lake. She slowly stood and smiled. Then, she broke into a run to where the growing aura of Kyra Sol was coming from.

Jumping over small logs, hopping over stones and even taking a wooden bridge to the other side of the flowing, bubbly blue water, Stephanie ducked over-hanging vines and trees, brushing them out of the way as she didn't think where to run - she was just following her heart.

Running through a patch of bracken and into a clearing, Stephanie saw her on the other side looking the other way. Stopping only for a second, the Padawan jogged to her friend.

"Next time you vanish," she panted, "please tell me where you're going, ok?"

Kyra turned and met her friend face-to-face, and Stephanie felt that tug inside again; a swell of relief and a mixture of fear, sadness and joy. She smiled warmly, and walked straight towards the girl who saved her life and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Found you."

[member="Kyra Sol"]