Private Bad Day

[Ara Sheridan]

Kashyyyk/Jedi Temple School​

Late Morning/Cloudy​

It was only a matter of time before Ara got in trouble with the other students. With her short temper she could only take so much teasing from the other kids before one of them got what they deserved. Learning how to read properly was already an embarrassing situation, so when one of the kids teased her about it, she didn't hesitate to beat them into a pulp.

Unfortunately, that meant expulsion and a talk between her mother and the principle. And now that her mother was offworld for a day or two, she was in a conundrum. She was going to have to wait until she got back because the Zabrak wasn't going to apologize to the little brat. At least it felt good knowing she beat a Jedi Padawan in a fist fight.

She walked through the hallways with her school bag on her back, eyes glued to the ground. She knew her mother would likely not be happy about her behavior but she also knew that she wouldn't be in too much trouble. She and Sam had made enough progress on their relationship for her to know that she and her mother had a similar mindset.

All she wanted to do now was work on her pod racer. The day was still young so she could make good progress on the cockpit's interior wiring. But in her moment of being lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize she was heading straight for someone else until she collided with the person.

She stumbled back and glared up at the person. "Watch it! You blind or something?!" she snapped at them... only realizing the bandages over their eyes afterwards. "Oh you actually are. Not my problem, grow some eyes then!" she continued to berate her as she marched past.

Though a few moments later she realized that her datapad was no longer in her pocket. She froze up and glanced back at the blind idiot, hoping they didn't notice it lying on the ground by them...

Kaia Vullen

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Ara Sheridan

Kaia had a reputation when she was a padawan. She, Des, and Zylah had gotten in all sorts of trouble. Bruises and cracked lips were commonplace when she grew up on Ossus.

Most here did not know, but someone did. Someone told someone, who asked Kaia if she could talk to a student of theirs: A zabrak named Ara. Supposedly, the girl walked this corridor every day. Kaia waited, Kaia watched, and when she saw Ara coming down the way with her head rumbling with thoughts, Kaia stepped right into her path and purposefully bumped into her hard, hoping to dislodge some thing of hers.

In an exaggerated manner, she fell back on her bum and shook her head.

"I am so sorry. Did you hurt yourself?"

Grow some eyes, that was new.

Kaia pretended to fumble around and casually picked up the datapad. With a moment's focus, she let the item speak to her, show her what had happened around it, while Ara marched off

"I think I'm lost." She offered the datapad back "I'm looking for a podracer."

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara's heart sank as the woman picked up her datapad. Now she actually had to interact with her. She decided to do what she did with just about every person in the galaxy that she didn't like. She gave a shrug to adjust her backpack, tugged at her tattered jacket and put on a harsh scowl as she approached the woman. But before she could get a word in, the blind banshee spoke first and asked about a pod racer.

There was only one in this temple.

"There's only one racer in this place and it's mine. What the kriff do you want with it? And how do you know about it?" she curtly answered as she rested her hands on her hips, staring up at the blind Jedi. She quickly reminded herself why she was talking to her and proceeded to snatch the datapad back from the stranger. What was strange to the girl was the fact that she could tell the woman didn't mean harm towards her. But as soon as she noticed it, the feeling was gone and she was back to her normal paranoid mindset.

"Listen, I don't know you and I don't give a shit. Just leave me alone. I'll fight you too if I need to. I'm already in trouble, might as well make it worth the trouble." she threatened her as she took a step closer, sizing up to the woman who was pretty much the same size as her. She gave a light shove against the woman's shoulder and turned to leave for the hangars. "Karking blind banshee." she grumbled under her breath as she looked her datapad over. She stopped walking and sighed as her fingers traced the cracks on the screen. It had spread from just the one corner to pretty much halfway over the screen. Luckily the screen still functioned and the display was fine so she didn't need to suck up her ego to ask for a new one.

After what felt like an eternity of marching and ignoring the friff out of the blind woman, she reached the racer and yanked off the dust cover. Her backpack was dropped next to the cockpit as she sank into the leather seat. With a heavy sigh she relaxed and prepped herself to work a little more on the wiring. She enjoyed working on wiring...

Kaia Vullen

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Ara Sheridan
The girl was sizing her up, making herself seem big and tough, if only on the inside. In every step of their interaction, Kaia could see it going two ways. In each step was the option of escalation and confrontation opposed as opposed with the option of passiveness, of peace. Sometimes, escalation was beneficial, but Kaia saw that if she did not allow this little outburst, the situation might escalate. That might check her attitude, but it would do nothing for her in the long run. No. It would only make it worse. So she accepted the push, letting herself be moved as easily as air. When Ara's hand connected with Kaia's shoulder, the miraluka's hand brushed over the back of the zabrak's knuckles light like a breeze, but surprisingly sure. She could have gripped the hand if she had so desired, and from there, who knows.

The miraluka tumbled back against the wall, then straightened up. Her lips drew into a smile that cut deep dimples in her cheeks.

"Nice meeting you too."

She let the child go for the time being.

Holding her hand out, the staff she had dropped when first bumping into Ara rose up into her hand, giving Kaia something to lean her hands and chin on.

"Much anger." "Like a suit of armour."

She looked at the wall next to her, smile going a little crooked as if she smiled at the wall itself. Once Ara she knew she was out of Ara's sight, she set to following her.

Seeing through walls as if they were glass, was useful in pursuit. Especially so when she wanted to arrive at the same destination from a different angle. So while Ara took her usual way, Kaia took a shortcut. She rounded a corner, towards a dead end, opened a window, jumped out of said window and in another. The jump was done in a single leap, like a frog jumping effortlessly into water. She could see Ara through the walls, the same amalgamation of colours swirling inside the translucent shell of her physicality. So she cut another corner and through a door which may or may not have been locked before she thumped it with her lucky stick.

"Sorry to bother you." she told the podracer as she approached it cautiously with a small curtsy.

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara zipped open her backpack and pulled out her lunchbox for a quick snack before she got to work on the wiring. Halfway through a slice of a tasty toasted cheese and ham sandwich, she heard a very familiar and annoying voice speak up. The delicious sandwich was ruined, its taste falling into a state of dirt and even the red paint on her pod now looked stupid. Her entire demeanor soured all over again and an infuriated groan escaped the girl as she threw herself into her seat. "I doubt you are." she muttered with a scowl as she glanced at the woman.

She dropped the slice into her lunchbox and set it aside before looking around to work on the wiring a bit more. In truth, she just wanted to give the woman a cold shoulder and work on her pet project. But there was no shaking the feeling that the woman was watching her, even without eyes somehow. This woman had to be one of those freaks that didn't even have eyes. After a few seconds of angrily shoving panels aside and simply not doing anything meaningful she looked up at the woman. "Okay, I can take a hint!" she shouted as she jumped out of the cockpit and stood facing the woman. "You were looking for the pod, here it is. You probably can't even see it but here it is." she jabbed at her before walking around to retrieve a toolbox beside one of the engines. "If you're gonna be stalking me all day at least make yourself useful and come here." she ordered her as she sat down in the seat and opened the box.

She held up a wire stripper and a box filled with connectors, fuses and other pieces needed and waited for her to approach. "Just hold out your hands. On your left is a wire stripper, on your right is other stuff. Just hold them out if I ask." she explained with annoyance, waiting for her to take the stuff. "What the hell do you want, anyway? You keep stalking me and asking for a knife in the gut so just tell me why you're doing this. Or are you just that bored that you wanna keep me out of my work?" she asked her with venom in her voice. She stared at the woman for a moment longer as another thought popped into her head. "Wait... are you working with the school or something? Did they send you to try and 'council' me or whatever?" she continued, shifting in her seat to face the woman. If it was indeed the latter... she might be in a lot more trouble. Last time she checked, shoving around someone who worked with the school was never a good thing.

Kaia Vullen

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Ara Sheridan

It was funny to Kaia that Ara assumed she was the one she apologised to, it made her smile thinking of all she could not see. While the girl was busy verbally abusing her, Kaia simply ran a hand over the back of the podracer. She could hear Ara still, but while running her hand over the chassis of the pod, she collected little snippets of memories. Most were the same, just tinkering, repairing, fixing, building and working on it. Endlessly she was working on it. Kaia could see the care she put into the machine, the attention to detail she afforded every last piece of it. They were like raindrops collecting on a surface, and she traced from one to the next, picking up little moments.

Some were happy, some were sad. Perhaps more sad than happy when she put them all together.

When Ara asked her to come, Kaia stepped over and held her hands out expectantly.

Handed the box and the wire stripper. She could see them, put appreciated the explanation. After all, most who thought she was truly blind never bothered explaining things to her. Even here, some never thought to, some just did not want to go through the discomfort of acknowledging someone else's blindness. It wasn't their fault, they were unaware, their wisdom was not quite ripe yet. Ara wasn't ripe yet either, but sometimes a little ripening was necessary lest she spoiled.

The venom in Ara's voice was just that: Something spoiling.

"Or something." She said plainly, head cocking to the side and drifting to the side as she followed the colour of a memory floating away.

"The school knows I'm here, but they don't hire me."

Her head snapped back in the general vicinity of Ara.

"Now, I don't know why they asked me to come see you. You obviously have everything figured out." her head bobbed to the side. "Nothing but kind and cordial."

Every word she said was uttered with the light, breezy ease of someone seemingly oblivious to their own sarcasm.

"You must have a lot of friends."

Like whipping someone without even looking.

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara told herself to relax a little. If she kept making trouble with the school person or whatever she was, then there could be much bigger troubles. "Strippers please." she said flatly as the woman gave her explanation. Once she had the wire strippers, she started to clean some wires and messed with the layout. She retrieved some cable ties and other goodies and laid it on the floor for easy access as she managed the cables. "Kark off with the sarcasm, that's my thing." she grumbled at the mention of being 'kind and cordial'. "I don't even know what 'cordial' means so do me a favour and don't make me look like an idiot." she told her with a harsh scowl, dropping the strippers on the ground.

"Box, please." she asked and took the box of items from the woman. The connectors were wired in place and the fuze box was installed in an easy-to-reach place next to the steering controls. She stopped working when the woman mentioned her friends, freezing up for a moment as several emotions ran through her. She didn't have friends. She didn't need friends. But from what she learned from Matt and her mom, friends were something everyone needed. "I got friends. I don't need anyone else in my life." she stubbornly stated as she stopped working and looked up to the woman. "Listen, if this is about that kid that kept bitching about me beating him up, I'm not gonna say sorry. He wanted to joke about my reading, he got what was coming to him." she spoke up in hopes that the woman would just leave her alone. "I'm trying to do good in school, I don't need people teasing me because I didn't grow up with a silver spoon up my ass." she continued in a defensive tone, rummaging through the toolbox once more. In her rush she accidentally kicked her stripper and cable ties out of the pod, earning a sigh from Ara.

"What's your name, anyway? You've been stalking me around so you probably know who I am. Who are you?" she asked her, hoping to find out who she was dealing with.

Kaia Vullen

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Ara Sheridan


She handed her the strippers, but didn't pick them up when they were dropped on the ground, but she kept a mental note of them.

"There are maybe three others who have seen this room in the last four weeks, counting me and one person I don't think you know." "Or so she told me."

That meant, not many friends.

Kaia nodded to herself when Ara explained the situation concerning the other student that had been beaten up. "I am not here on his behalf." Her smile picked up again, Zylah would probably have done something similar if she had been picked on by someone like that. No, the recipient of the beating was of little consequence. Kaia wasn't there to punish, not quite. She needed to understand. And now she handed over the toolbox. "Though a silver spoon would explain a lot." That part she muttered to herself.

"I have a question." she stated, just before the strippers hit the floor. Taking a step to the side, as if she had lost balance just from standing around, she turned the other shoulder toward Ara. "If you're building a podracer, where are you going to race it?" "It's not like there's a track nearby." And the locals were more fond of wrestling than racing, in her experience.

When the cable stripper fell out, Kaia's stick swiftly intercepted it. With one beat, she stopped it from falling, with a second she held it in her hand. It was all over in a flash, almost as if she had picked it up from the pod itself. It turned between her fingers, rolling from one to the other like a two-legged spider traversing a web.

"Well you haven't really met me yet, have you?" She rolled the wire stripper back into her hand, the legs now pointing toward Ara. "I certainly haven't met you."

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara relaxed a bit when she mentioned not being there because of the kid. At least she was somewhat in the clear. But now she was left wondering why the kriff this lady was here bothering her...

As her strippers dropped, they were in the woman's hands in an instant. Ara stared at her with wide eyes as she played with it and asked a question that finally invoked an emotion from the girl that wasn't utter garbage. Her shocked expression turned into a daring smile as she gazed up at the woman. "Hell no, this planet's garbage for racing. Though I can see how the trees can make for interesting obstacles." she quipped as she smirked at the woman. "No, I'm aiming for the big leagues. There's races happening regularly on Malastare, it's pretty much where the racing started. But I wanna get into the big one. You ever heard of Boonta Eve? It's the biggest one yet and it's held on Tatooine. I wanna win that one and I know for a fact that I can do it. I just need to perform on Malastare then I'm set." she explained with excitement and confidence in her voice. "If you wanna bother me with something important for a change, I can tell you all about the sport." she continued.

Her mood dropped instantly once more at the woman's snarky comment. But she did have a point. They never met each other before this and she never even saw her before their encounter in the hallway. Slowly she reached out and grasped the strippers, dropping it back on the ground by her feet. She then reached out and held her hand for the woman to shake. "Ara Sheridan. And you are?" she introduced herself cautiously. "Now we met. Can you tell me what your beef with me is now? Or did you come to make fun of the fact that I'm not the most popular kid around here?" she asked her as she looked her over.

Kaia Vullen

 

[Kaia Vullen]

"Kaia Vullen."

Kaia took her hand, but didn't shake it. She just held her fingers for a moment, then politely let go.

"I think you misunderstand my purpose here." Kaia scratched an itch on her chin as her lips thinned. Talking to people who only saw the surface of things was more difficult than she remembered. "From the beginning you have presumed I am here to punish you, or remind you of something unpleasant." "Except when you talk about your pod racer and what you want to do with it, that's interesting."

Kaia's head turned slowly to the side as if she watched something float by, then quickly snapped back toward Ara, as if looking into her eyes.

"How you treat others is like a mirror; it reflects how you view yourself." "I am not here to tell you that you are bad at anything, but to figure out why it is you keep telling the world it is awful- And as I wonder- why you think you think you are so awful."

Jumping up on one of the crates on the side, she leaned her elbows on her knees. Her persence had changed, as if the floating strangeness had finally found a focus, and that focus was directed at Ara.

"Why do you think you told me to grow some eyes?"

Ara Sheridan

 

[Ara Sheridan]

The woman took her hand but didn't shake it which was rather odd for Ara. Probably a Jedi thing. Regardless, she let go as soon as she got her name and sat back in her pod's seat. The woman continued to speak and Ara's frown quickly turned into curiousity. To add to her curiousity, Kaia kept glancing around as if she was looking at something. "What are you..." she started to mutter, but fell silent when the woman continued to speak.

Her words were starting to get to the young Zabrak. She glanced away in embarrassment and fiddled with some things in the cockpit, though she couldn't help but listen to her words. "I don't think that..." she grumbled as she sat back and folded her arms. Her gaze snapped up at the woman as she jumped onto a crate and stared right at her as if she had eyes. When the words left her mouth, it caught her entirely off-guard. She stared at her as her tattooed face quickly turned a deep shade of red. Her voice cracked as she tried to think of a smart comment but nothing came to mind. She lightly shook her head as she sat entirely speechless. Finally something came to her and her deep scowl returned. "Kark you, lady." she stated flatly as she reached for a set of fuses on the ground. However before her fingers could touch the box, it snapped into her hand seemingly like magic. The girl didn't notice anything as she pulled some fuses from the box and started to work some more for a few moments. "I told you to get some eyes 'cause you clearly can't see where the kriff you were walking!" she hissed defensively.

"Not only did you ruin my day even further, you cracked my datapad's screen even more than it is. I should make you pay for a new screen." she continued with anger flowing off her. She finally tossed her tools and the fuse box on the ground and turned to face the Jedi. "Fine! You wanna know why I'm like this? I'll tell you!" she stated as she stood up and faced the crouching Jedi fully with folded arms. "My parents threw me away when I was born! My dad didn't want me and my mom either. Sure, she's making up for that now, I get that! But it doesn't change the fact that I had to grow up in a cruddy bar in Underworld! Joe only cared about me because I made his life in the bar easier and I know for a fact his girl wanted me out. I had to fend for myself. I had to learn how to make money for myself because Joe wasn't paying me shit! I had to contend with kriffed up scumbags thinking I was an easy target, I needed to fight to keep myself safe. The only reason I'm here is because Joe's business dried up and he couldn't afford me anymore. And do you even know how it feels to look for your mom after she threw you away and has a reputation all over Underworld and even on some Hutt worlds? It sucks!" she poured out to the woman with anger, tears starting to form in her eyes.

She gave a sniff and glanced away for a moment. "I'm here right now because I fought to be here. I boosted speeders, stole shit and pickpocketed a ton of people so I can get enough credits to get out of that garbage heap! And now I'm in a school with karking Jedi brats who think they're better than me because they got some funky space powers and grew up with a spoon up their asses. You wanna know why I work on this pod? It's my dream! It's what's given me and my mom a chance to be a family again and its the only thing in this karking galaxy that makes me happy! Because, news flash, the galaxy sucks! Look at you! If I didn't have eyes, I'd hate it even more than I already do!" she finally finished, out of breath and with the traces of a few tears on her cheeks.

She quickly wiped it away and turned to drop back into her pod. "You don't know me. You don't know what I went through. So get off your high taun-taun and start thinking about others for once." she continued with a cold, low voice. The hypocrisy of her statement lost on her. She took a deep breath in and slowly let out a shaky sigh to try and relax.

Kaia Vullen