Private An Icy Grave

[Lunara Azure]

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Wearing: This​

Tagging: Gerwald Lechner ​

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Everyone always thought of Stewjon as a cold rainswept barren wasteland, or at least Lunara did and that was the image she would expound on to anyone who happened to bring up the planet to her. It had become something of a personal nemesis to the woman, responsible for the ruination of countless dresses and other assorted clothing items. Somehow, once the mud of the planet managed to get into the folds of a cloak, or stain the leather of a boot it was almost impossible to completely get out. It was a constant source of surprise and frustration to the woman that she found herself back on the planet again and again.

She blamed the Wolf.

The truth was, if she was willing to admit it, that Stewjon during the summer was quite pretty. The flowers that bloomed filled the normally mud-covered landscape with bursts of colour that turned the normally brown and dreary environment into one that looked like it had sprung from an artists imagination. She would never admit it to Gerwald but she had come to…appreciate the planet's beauty, some of the time.

Today wasn't one of those times.

The elfin blonde hadn't spoken a word as she stormed off the ship that had brought her to the planet, didn't speak even now. There was something about the look in her eyes though, some glint of anger, of the cold implacability of a glacier that she brought with her that cleared people out of her way. Normally friendly faces raised a hand before they thought better of it, turning way as a path through the town opened ahead of her. Those with sense at least, those who had seen the woman before, who knew what she was capable of.

Sadly while the residents of the city had the sense to clear out of her way the visitors didn't. He hadn't meant anything bad, the large merchant was a little drunk celebrating his latest deal. He'd just asked the blonde to come to celebrate with him, an invitation she had no interest in accommodating.

Gerwald's first inkling that something might be wrong would be when the air in the room he was in dropped by several degrees, breath starting to mist in the air. The second sign would be the groaning body of the aforementioned merchant flying through the doors, used as a battering ram, forcing the door to splinter into shards. Framed in the doorway stood a panting blonde, while Lunara was more than capable of using the force to send someone flying according to her will her mood had required she get her hands dirty. An errant strand of loose hair hung in front of her face as she drew a deep breath, straightening up as she transferred her glare to the long-haired man.

"Wolf. I see the reports of your demise have been greatly exaggerated. Don't worry, I'll fix that.

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[Gerwald Lechner]

It was odd to hear the rumors floating about former Confederate space. Gerwald Lechner, Lord Commander, was dead. The truth was much less dramatic. The wolf simply gave his space on the transports to those who had sworn to protect. Citizens came first, even in the evacuation. Gerwald had always been resourceful, and he found another way off Naboo following the aftermath of the attack. It was not difficult to imagine where he would venture off to first given the choice.

Stewjon had always been home. Geonosis and Naboo had never been able to offer him the one thing that had been a staple growing up. The lake country and forests of Naboo did not offer the same large trees and cover that the northern woods of his home planet had given him. He was trying to enjoy the afternoon, but that was interrupted by an unnatural cold which was not normal for summer. Gerwald could see his breath, and shortly after a body flew through the door.

He looked past the mess to the blonde woman which was standing in the battered archway. Gerwald listened to her words then turned away and looked out the window. His past had found him.

“You had better… and you should know I would have given up my seat.”

The wolf turned to look her way.

“As it appeared you did as well.”

 

[Lunara Azure]

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Wearing: This​

Tagging: Gerwald Lechner ​

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"Of course you gave up your seat, you're nothing if not a self-sacrificing idiot who's determined to put everyone else above himself. It doesn't matter what that does to others, how I…how many of the knights were worried about your survival, about your fate. About all the duties that someone else had to do while you were gone."

As she spoke Lunara paced slowly across the room, the force around her still a swirling maelstrom as her shoes clacked against the rough wooden planks of the room. The blonde's hands reached up to grasp Gerwald by the collar, where the merchant had merely been larger than she was Gerwald was both larger and a trained combatant. It was unlikely she'd be able to toss him around in the same way she had. Instead she reached out to the force, adjusting the currents that swirled around them to help move him as her icy gaze met his.

"I'm not the Lord Commander, I'm not important. I didn't go running off to the middle of nowhere after we were attacked. Don't misunderstand me Wolf, I'm going to take care of those rumours by making them true. You might have survived Naboo, but I'm going to kill you."

A step forward, attempting to press the much larger man up against the wall. The scene might have been comedic if it wasn't for the look in the woman's eyes, the cold anger that could flay the skin off anyone who stood in her way.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was? I didn't know if you'd survived the battle or not. You couldn't even leave me a message telling me you were ok. Instead you scurried away to hide here. Did you even think about me, about what I was going through? I tore that planet apart looking for your body wolf…one more person who had died on my watch. I can't…you don't do that to me…ever."

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[Gerwald Lechner]

“Worried about me? You are likely the only one who has missed me. I am certain by now that Voph… or Kyyrk… whatever it is he wants to be called by these days has already convinced the rest of them of my incompetence by now…”

Was it a fair response, likely not, but he did have to admit that remaining on Stewjon had spared him the headache that was the passive aggressive behavior which had removed any respect Gerwald carried for the man.

“...and yes I did come to Stewjon because the Confederacy left. They all left with their tails tucked between their legs to do what? I though they swore an oath when they added those worlds, one like mine, to their charter to protect them? Did you expect that I was going to just follow them blindly into the abyss when the people of my home needed help?”

Gerwald was being a bit rude, and he knew it. Lunara was not the first to come to him and tell him that he had duties away from Stewjon. The question was would she see that it was not as cut and dry as she wanted to make it. Gerwald’s duties required many things. Often they required sacrifices to be made.

“The Confederacy made a promise to my people, and I was going to see them stabilized before following. I informed Metus and I am here with his blessing. If he did not inform anyone of that conversation then I suppose that should tell me something as well.”

He sighed as he stood up and was immediately met by the ice queen’s attempt to push him back into the wall. Gerwald was not foolish enough to stop her from venting her anger. There was no other word for it. She was angry, and her reasons for it were obvious. Gerwald had hurt her. She had lost a husband, a loss that Gerwald could sympathize with, and he had not reached out to her.

The wolf gently took her hands and moved them back down to her side.

“I am sorry, Lunara. I should have told you what I was doing, and where I was. I did not mean to scare you. I have always been someone that acts… I do what I think is right. Being here… for now… that’s right.”

Lunara Azure​

 

[Lunara Azure]

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Wearing: This​

Tagging: Gerwald Lechner ​

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"It feels right, I get that, do you ever think that I wouldn't get that, understand where you're coming from. Why do you think I'm still here, with the Ascendancy, the Confederacy, whatever you want to call it."

The blonde let the man reach out for her hand as she claimed a seat, using the force to spin a chair around to face the man, settling into it as she reached down with her free hand to brush down her dress. The sheer energy of the force that had boiled off the woman on the journey to the building had prevented the snow from settling onto her dress, prevented the dirt that normally ruined her dresses on the planet had failed to find purchase on the fabric. She took the moment it took to turn around and straighten out her dress to gather her thoughts and draw in a deep breath.

"So you think the Confederacy, the Ascendancy, whatever they call it now failed you? That they're backing away because the people don't want them anymore? You felt that they abandoned you and your people?"

Lunara leaned forward, icy blue eyes flicking up to catch Gerwald's gaze before shaking her head.

"At least they didn't turn on you, letting those you care about die because they were too scared to step up and do anything. Did they watch as your family were cut down and slaughtered? They did their best and in the end, the people of the area decided that it wasn't enough. That they weren't worth spending the time to defend after all the work they'd done. Yeah, they might have slunk away with their tails between their legs, that doesn't mean you should sulk here."

A delicate hand waved in the man's direction, dismissing the objection she knew was coming. As much as she loved Gerwald she wasn't going to sugarcoat things for him, he was here sulking. The blonde took a deep breath, her voice softening as her fingers curled around his.

"I know it hasn't been the easiest time, that you want to protect your people. If that's what feels right then that's what we'll do. But, those are your people too, they're lost and afraid and need to see a familiar face as well. So, yeah, they may have cut and run, but nothing they did is so bad that it can't be walked back from."

Blue eyes flicked down to the stare at their entwined hands for a moment before she lifted her gaze to him. Her voice was quiet now, barely above a whisper.

"You might be angry, you might be upset but you still have a home, back here and over there, you have people who care about you. People who don't want you to just vanish, or to blindly follow. I can't go back home, I've got no one left there, I burnt a world out of anger but I understand wanting to protect your own more than you could suspect. If you want to look after your people, you just had to say the word. If I don't have a home anymore, I can at least help make sure yours is taken care of, but I can't do anything if you cut me out. If you're gone, not here then I'm useless."

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[Gerwald Lechner]

“I am not sulking here,” Gerwald bit back with a near growl.

Lunara knew him better than that. Gerwald did not return to Stewjon to sulk. If anything he allowed his loyalty to a people that never gave him anything in return to keep him from following those that had become his family. Still, the planet had been his home for longer than the Confederacy had been, and the wolf could not leave them unattended for. His absence would see them devolve into what they had been before the CIS saved them from themselves, but he could delay that descent by helping them rebuild.

There was no time for any more retort as the icy woman continued her lecture. It was well deserved on the part of the wolf. He had not followed the rest, and in doing so he had abandoned her to whatever thoughts filled her mind about his demise. In truth, part of the beast liked the anonymity. He liked the fact the rest of the Confederacy did not know whether he was alive or dead, for now. Perhaps his absence would show those calling for his removal how much stability he actually brought to the order.

Every detractor, every one that had sought to challenge Gerwald were gone. Without their voices what would emerge when he did return? That was a question for a later time. For now, Gerwald would have to deal with the reckoning Lunara’s words brought with them.

“You’re not useless,” Gerwald whispered.

He stood, and began to walk out of the hall knowing Lunara would follow. His feet took the familiar path to his family home which was just on the edge of the forest outside of the village. Lunara had seen it on occasion. He hoped she knew where they were going.

“You burned down a world… My urges created the Agents of Chaos for crying out loud. Look at you. You have served as an advisor to Srina Talon, invited into the inner circles of the Confederacy’s elite. On more than one occasion you have kept me on course where I would rather have wandered. You always have a place here, helping me rebuild, but for the first time in my life I cannot promise anything. I may stay, I may go.”

The wolf sighed as he reached for the ring the two of them were all too familiar with.

“The days where I promise anything…”

Gerwald grew quiet for a few more steps as his house came into view. He did not know exactly how to finish what he was saying. The pain of not being able to keep his word was more than he could carry at the moment. Helping his people, those who he had been raised among, that was the only promise he could keep. That was the promise he would focus on for now.

“I can set up a room for you, if you wish,” he asked as his hand rest on the door.

Lunara Azure​

 

[Lunara Azure]

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Wearing: This​

Tagging: Gerwald Lechner ​

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"That's just words, hot air, a castle of glass you build in the air. Here one minute and gone the next. This whole thing, this mission that we're on to save the galaxy from itself is nothing but that, a firework. Think of all the people in the past, masters of the force, of politics and technology, of history. Titans who bestrode the galaxy and held knowledge and power that we can only dream of, who built empires and institutions they thought would stand the test of time. Who built edifices that have vanished into the mists and have been forgotten. That's all that is."



The elfin blonde stood, following her friend as her blue eyes flicked around the town, a delicate hand reaching up to wave at it, taking in everything their eyes could see.



"Even this, all this is passing, fleeting. I could reach out a hand and command the crops to grow, to build a house or kill a monster that's terrorizing them and they'd laud me and praise me…then next week they'd have forgotten me. In a year, a decade there may be a legend told about it, but that's not me. What have I really done? Destoryed my home, the government I tried to advise and support fell, the man who I supported ran away and left me alone again. I might be the most powerful individual on the planet but…I can't hold anything in my hand and keep it."



The house came into view but Lunara wasn't looking at it, couldn't see it as a single hand grasped at the back of Gerwald's shirt, her head bowed to rest against his back as tears fell silently from her cheeks to stain his shirt.



"I don't care if it's here or somewhere else. I don't need you to promise to save the galaxy or to right every wrong and injustice that you see. Or to do anything but be here, I just…can't do it alone. Go, stay it doesn't matter as long as you don't leave me behind."



Lunara was tough, she was cold and devoid of emotion, at least that was the mask she was determined to show the world. Now, right now though…that mask had shattered, the truth laid bare. Her fingers clenched the bck of his shirt more tightly.



"If everything else around me is made of glass and smoke then I've only got one real thing to hold onto."



"Just…don't be glass and smoke too."

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[Gerwald Lechner]

He listened to her words as they walked toward his home, or the one he allowed people to see. There was only one who came from outside his family which had seen the cabin his siblings used to share in the woods, and she had been missing, likely whisked away to her homeworld for a purpose she would explain later. Gerwald did not want to argue with the blonde. Part of him knew she spoke the truth, and for the first time in a long time, the wolf listened to the more tempered part of his nature.

There was a silence between them when her grip tightened against the back of his shirt. It was enough to make the massive giant come to a complete stand still. Few had the power to render the beast tame. Most of them through skill or brute force. Lunara was powerful, but it was the desperation in her voice that commanded him to stay.

Gerwald knew it all too well.

He reached for the ring around his neck, knowing the pain of her loss. The words, glass and smoke, evoked a sensation the wolf hated.

Duty.

The Lord Commander had lost much, more than any should have to. Lunara understood that better than most. Even his Echani Exarch did not understand the depths of what Gerwald had felt even with the loss of her unborn child. All of them were broken in their own way, but where all of them had been robbed, Gerwald’s losses were because of duty. It was a word he loathed above any other, and yet he found himself bound to it.

It was not his duty as Lord Commander that caused him to turn and face the woman, but rather that of a friend. They could have been more had Gerwald been able to let the infernal ring go, but that was another burden he bore from a sense of duty so intimate he could not bring himself to move on.

His eyes settled on the icy orbs looking up to him. They pleaded with him to accept her, to not turn her away. Gerwald had no intention of sending her where she came from, but it was not lodging she was looking for. He could see it as he bore into her gaze. She needed what he needed.

Stability.

Both needed something to hold onto that they could trust was real. Gerwald was not sure how real he was, but they were both familiar. If they were going to get through the trauma both of them were dealing with in very different ways, they would need each other at least.

The wolf nodded as he took her hands into his. They were soft, warmer than he expected from someone who had mastered the cold. A breath escaped his lungs, almost a sigh. Friendly lips graced her forehead as a brother might calm his sister.

“Our world does not often allow us the blessing of friendship, or those we can be close to. I will not be glass and smoke so long as you are not simply a vapor on the wind.”

Gerwald pushed his door open the rest of the way.

“Hungry?”

Lunara Azure​

 

[Lunara Azure]

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Wearing: This​

Tagging: Gerwald Lechner ​

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Lunara didn't cry. She didn't think she had any tears left in her, any vestiges of emotion to warm the cold ice that encased her heart. Fate had conspired to steal those warm vestiges of feeling away from her, a never-ending series of disasters that seemed to follow her like a cloak of destruction trailing in her wake. Every place she called home, everyone she drew close to inevitably fell to the cruel prank the galaxy seemed intent on playing on her. She'd cried every tear she had, an ocean wrung out of her, screaming into the void, begging for an end to the misery, for some answer a reason for her suffering.

Only silence answered her.

The universe, the force, whatever will drove fate, wasn't that kind. It spun people on and on, dancing like marionettes for its own amusement. Rich, poor, powerful or weak, it mattered not. People built civilization to buffer themselves against the winds of fate, to provide themselves with a place of safety against chaos, a place to belong. Lunara had tried that, had sought out the safety of civilization, of laws and comradeship.

It had failed.

As the Confederacy fell around her, the home she'd found for herself had crumbled once again, leaving her adrift without an anchor. Without that moral compass to align herself to she'd found herself drifting from mission to mission, yet when she looked around all she saw were strangers. Eager faces fighting their own battles, but strangers, warriors to whom she had no connection. She felt lost, abandoned.

The blonde had thought that she had no more tears left to cry. She was wrong.

She felt the touch of the man's lips against her forehead, warm in a way that very little else in the galaxy was. A crack in the armour she presented to the world, a small opening for the emotions she'd thought lost to well up through. A single tear at first, then another and another as silent sobs wracked her body, fingers tightening around his, begging the world for this not to be a dream, or at least once she didn't have to wake up from. She was just so tired of being alone.

It might have been the natural order of things, it might have been the way that the universe wanted them to be. Alone, singular voices screaming into the uncaring void but she couldn't do it anymore. She knew that Gerwald was bound by chains of duty, by his own fate and decisions. She didn't care anymore. She needed a rock, one thing to hold onto, and then she would no longer scream. Just one mote of stability in an otherwise cruel world and she could make the universe bend to her will, to stop the play of fate.

Fingers tightened into his shirt, hed bowed as the blonde pressed her forehead against the warmth of his chest, letting her mask down, letting her emotions dance across her eyes, raw and un protected.

It didn't last long. It lasted an eternity.

The sobs receded into sniffles, the shaking in her frame slowing as she reached up to scrub the back of her arm across her eyes, leaving wet tracks in the cloth of her jacket as she blinked red-rimmed eyes and glanced up at her friend.

"I could maybe eat something."

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