Burning Down the House

[Muad Dib]

Sinner's Well, the resting place for the ViceLord [member="Darth Metus"], was hidden in the wastelands of Ryloth away from peering eyes and curious investigators. One didn't merely arrive at the location by chance. The towers rose into the heavens as if they were seeking to touch the heavens and the primordial gods of legends. Yet the ViceLord, to many, was a god. Born of warriors, become a warrior, a Sith Lord, a Mand'alor, died, resurrected, and now the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy with a following of Acolytes ... the man certainly for the description.

But he was just a man.

The swoop bike swept across the wastelands heading unerringly for the compound. A billowing dust cloud trailed from behind the bike marking it's progress. A few touches on the comlink built into the handles of the bike transmitted a code that would see the man pass safely through the defenses that heavily guarded the safe haven.

Slowing the bike the man steered toward the front courtyard before settling the swoop upon the sand. Rising he swung a leg over the chassis and removed the darkly tinted glasses that had previously his the glowing, blue eyes of the Mad Master. A slight grin was offered at the extravagant entry into Isley's humble abode before the man moved forward.

The great double doors opened and two guards and a man servant went to greet the approaching man. Yet the coldness in the Master's eyes warned of intervening. Considering he had the appropriate clearance codes and he was recognized from the dossiers that Isley had on confederates of interest they chose to prudently allow him unobstructed passage.

Striding across the foyer he moved to where the grand library and office would lie deep in the bowels of the sanctuary. If Isley would be found anywhere it would be there .... Or possibly one of the many bedrooms with a wench still following the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. The thought gave the man amusement who released a laugh.

Several of the servants responsible for the upkeep on Sinner's Well gave carefully hidden irritated glances at the Mad Master. Sand drifted from the leather jacket and brown trousers with every step, reminders of his journey across the desert. Though the workers assumed their predisposition was safeguarded, it was difficult to hide one's feelings from a Master in the Force. Their disgruntled nature again made the man laugh loudly.

Pushing the doors of the study open unceremoniously he entered and looked around. The exquisite design and antique decor made the man whistle in appreciation. Course most of the things in there was highly flammable which made him grin again. Moving to one of the chair he pulled his jacket off and draped it across the back before rolling the team sleeves up and moving to the liquor cabinet. Selecting a decanter he poured a generous amount into a tumbler and tasted it as he moved back to the chair.

"Mmm, good taste in spirits Isley."

Taking a seat he tossed his boots onto the ancient table and lit a deathstick while he waited.

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Muad Dib"]

Why had she been called to meet this man? I guess everyone wanted to talk to the imperial...might as well entertain them since she was...on house arrest? Guess you could call it that. Least they didn't just out her immediately into the harsh lands nor send her away...yet

Her chair hovered slowly towards where she was to meet this man, the low hum barely audible filled her ears as she looked forward, she hadn't seen much of sinners well at all not cared much to. A servant was in front of her leading the way towards the study...such a odd place for a meeting she thought, but who cared

Arriving she stopped and eyed the man over, his signature in the force was quite strong...intriguing, even more so was she couldn't judge where on the force he was....then again she tried not to strain herself much lestshe used all of her energy that went towards her healing

greeting, I shall assume your maud?

 

[Zesiro]

Even though Zesiro had been more or less caught behind enemy lines on Tatooine, her allegiance was hardly in question. A few raised eyebrows and a few questions as to why she had been there and that was about it. Her freedom was given to her and further time to recover. Eventually she would need to return to her duties, but for now she was able to spend time with her sister Anya and by herself.

When she woke up, Zesiro had continued her routine her master had trained her to do. Run through the katas of her Form and incorporate new things into it. Following the katas, she sat down to meditate. This came with ease now and a new confidence surrounded her since the last time she had been in training. The time she needed for recovery had helped with this along with her job duties.

Her main focus being on recovery, when she returned to her quarters she was told to meet Anya and somebody else in the library here. Not having spent any time there, Zesiro had no idea how to get there. Letting out a sigh, the blond had to ask and get directions from one of the various people in Sinner's Well. They were provided for her and she went to find her sister.

Of course Anya had got there before and the blond walked in just as she finished speaking to the man that had recently arrived. Not being fully trained or knowing much about how to tell if a person could use the Force, Zesiro had no clue Maud could. She knew her sister could, but not much beyond her flame abilities. Her own training had progressed, but she wasn't finished yet.

"Hello. I am Zesiro and this is my sister Anya."

Perhaps giving away too ​much, the fact they were sisters was not something unknown, just not well known.

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

His blue eyes turned to the door of the study inquisitively moments before it opened. A woman in a chair entered. It was obvious why she was in in the chair, yet that wasn't something Muad judged nor cared to comment on. It wasn't that he was respectful, most would say far from it, but because it mattered little. The body didn't define a person lest you allowed it. And if you did it spoke volumes to who you were. No, he was curious as to what he sensed from the woman. It was almost a nonchalant rage that was smoldering within her.

Even her greeting was interesting. Cordial yet she refrained from introducing herself, which to most beings was considered rude. Before he could respond another woman entered. This one was quite different. As she introduced both herself and her sister the man mused silently.

And why is Isley having these women meet with me?

As he observed them for several moments he realized a few things. He had heard of the blonde before. Seen her file. Ole Sol was teaching her a few things and even spent a portion of the invasion collecting her. As his business partner and friend/enemy he kept a careful eye on what he was up to. Eyes flicked between the women.

Which would make this the sister that he'd read about. His senses spied a few blemishes which he was quite familiar with. Raising his arm to take another drag from the deathstick he made a point in flashing a scar caused from a burn that was etched in the back of his right hand.

Looking between the two he sighed, releasing a cloud of blue smoke.

"So you are the two that seemingly switched sides. You ever wonder why you are here? Still in Sinner's Well? It's because they aren't sure if they can trust you. Where does your loyalty lie? Where is your home?"

He nodded toward the table which housed the liquor in an invitation to partake if they so chose. Now he understood why Isley had him sitting in his study with the two, or thought he did. Was he to be judge, jury, and executioner? The CIS was going back to war with the Empire soon and maybe this was a way for Isley to rid himself of potential moles. But he wasn't that man. He had been in a similar position before. A person a people distrusted because of who he had been, what he had done, the title he had wore. But there were some that stood by him and gave him a chance. Eventually he had become a Mandalorian because of it.

"I guess the only real question that matters is, what do you want?"

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Muad Dib"]

She glanced over to her sister that had entered the room, she gave a annoyed look when she was introduced but turned forward towards the man. She didn't want to be introduced yet until she knew who the man was...but she wouldn't complain about it.

She glanced him over from behind the bandages, not ing her had a burn on the back of his hand that he seemed to...try to make painfully obvious. Glancing up to him and smirked a little before it was gone as she listened to him speak. He had a point, where did her loyalty lie? Where was her home?....What did she want....

She looked away, that fiery spirit dying a little bit, she really didn't have a purpose. Her loyalty was based on her selling info, her home was...under imperial hands and the other was deeper in imperial territory. What she wanted? She wanted

all I want is a purpose, I can't do much without my limbs. I'm scarred beyond repair....all I have is my sister, my child is all the damned way in imperial territory!

She raised her voice a bit that fire flaring up then dying down as she sat back and closed her eye as she shook her head

do you have anything strong over there?

 

[Zesiro]

Raising an eyebrow at his words, Zesiro shook her head slightly in denial.

"Only one of us technically switched sides as you put it. Myself, I was on Tatooine recovering from previous wounds before I was going to return. You see, it is my home. We had no contact before the confrontation started."

If Maud was intelligent, he would gather from her words that Tatooine was also the original home of Anya. She didn't say that though and kept it simple for now. It also partially answered one of his questions. It may have been where she was born, but her home was on Kesh and at the side of Edric. As one of his retainers, that is where she lived now. Where he was.

When he motioned to the drinks, Zesiro considered accepting the offer, but declined. Feeling the need to keep her wits about her, she didn't think it wise to cloud them with something to drink.

"You ask what we or I want. To put it simply, my and my sister's freedom. Yes, I can move around here openly with very little questioning. That's likely because of my previous duties, which I will need to return to soon. Perhaps, Anya could join me in them. Then again, she may have a different place here."

Glancing sideways with her eyes at Anya before turning her attention back to Maud, Zesiro fell silent.

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Listening to the women speak he nodded slightly. Rising from his seat he moved to the bar and slowly browsed the liquors. Finding a Rylothian vodka he selected the bottle and poured a generous portion into a crystalline tumbler. Collecting the glass he moved over to Anya holding it out to the chair ridden women while looking at Zes.

"You speak of technicalities. Yet you fail to understand the point of view. You were on an enemy planet when the Confederacy invaded. A planet that is your home that currently belongs to our enemy. Your sister was a member of the enemy government, having a child with one of the ranking officers during the battle. Your brother-in-law, and her husband, is a High Moff. So while you speak of innocent appearances the fact remains that the reality is that the way it is seen is less then favorable toward you."

Glowing eyes turned away from Zes and back to Anya for a moment before he moved back to his chair and took a seat. Looking at the sisters he contemplated them silently.

"Zes, you speak of wanting your and your sisters freedom, then you at least understand that the situation is precarious for you both currently."

Looking back at Anya he frowned at her words. Her spirit seemed to either before his eyes as her reading spirit seemed to smoother somewhat under a veneer of despair. Leading forward his elbows in his knees he frowned. Flames burst into existence along the study walls as the office began to burn in a controlled way.

"Your body may be broken, but it's not all about your physical body. With the force as an ally you are never broken, never beaten. Even without the force your willpower can overcome any obstacle. You want a purpose? How about revenge. You want a goal? How about claiming a home. You want a reason to fight? How about for your child. Life is fleeting and it's hard. You can either find a way to overcome your obstacles or you can fight. Say I'll not surrender, I won't break. You may shatter my body but I will not be destroyed. I will persevere."

Leaning back the flames were tamed leaving a smoking ruin to the office. Miraculously the bar was untouched.

"The body can be repaired, made better, or even made new through different avenues. But your spirit must stand strong. Find the will to fight. Find an ally who will believe in you. Find your way. There are some who will judge you, yes. But there are a few others who offer chances .... Chances that they have once received. To fight for something. To make something. To reclaim what was once theirs. The question is .... Are the two of you willing to fight for what you want, your purpose, your freedom from both the real and the imagined?"

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Zesiro"]

She took the drink bowing her head, she brought the vodka to her sip and took a long sip as she sighed and relaxed back, letting that burning sensation fill her. She looked to him when he mentioned adron and she growled a bit

ex-husband...

She said as she looked down, all this had happened so fast adron divorcing her to focus on his job, the invasion, and now she was here confined to a bloody chair. Her eyes glanced around seeing the fire around them. She nearly fell out of her chair looking around then back to the man. Her body relaxed as she looked down

revenge, a home, and my child...

She said quietly, she mulled over the words....She wanted revenge but on who? She wanted a home but where? The last was sinple...She would get her child back, nothing would stop her from doing so. She glanced up to him as she grabbed the chair and spoke

I'll not surrender...I shall not break! My body may be shattered but my spirit is forever...I will persevere

She looked into his eyes that spark causing a fire in them, she sat up and listened as she spoke

What I want first, is a new body...you say different avenues please tell me what you mean

 

[Zesiro]

Listening to Maud as he spoke, Zesiro would start to open her mouth to correct him on something. However, the chance wasn't given and Anya did it herself. It was her place to inform Maud of her relationship status anyway. Her sister had joined already knowing her husband was divorcing her. It had come as a surprise to Zesiro, but in the end it had worked out...at least for now.

"I understand loyalty is in question. Why I was there. It's obvious why Anya was there, she was part of the Empire as I was a few years ago. Then I learned I had no future there and left. For over three years I have not been with them. That's not the reason for this conversation though, is it?"

Zesiro was not the brightest lightbulb in the box, but there were times when she could display a potential for intelligence.

"What do you want?"

He had asked that of them and they answered, now it her turn to ask the same thing. As he continued he wanted to know if they were willing to fight for what they wanted and their freedom. There was a price for everything. What was his?

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

Anya's responses swirled in his mind as he considered the you woman with interest, yet Zesiro mirrored his own question back upon himself. What did he want. Frowning slightly he looked away from the women, the sisters, and upon the charred bookshelves that lined the room momentarily pausing from the conversation. But before entering into introspection upon himself he decided to focus on the ladies first.

Looking at them he slowly stood and moved to the bar to top off his own drink, a slow sip being taken to savor the flavors. Releasing a small sigh of pleasure he rolled his shoulders slightly as he looked upon Anya. The fire, the will to fight, still burned within. That was good. It was necessary.

"Good. Sometimes all we have in this galaxy is our will. Our determination. You have more then just that. You have a child, the future, and you have your sister to stand by your side. As for your physical restraints, there are a multitude of avenues. Clone transplants, artificial replacement, even potentially transferring your consciousness and spirit into a new body. The last one is not easy, and not without a cost to both the one undergoing the procedure ... And the one performing it."

The double innuendo of cost would most likely not be overlooked, especially by Zesiro who had already asked what he wanted. Setting the drink down he placed his hands behind his back and looked to Zes. She wanted her sister's freedom as well as her own. Freedom, even in it's most true form, always had shackles.

"You say you want to be free, but what is it to truly mean to be free? The only freedom I've seen in my life is death, everything else has restraints. The difference is they can be restraints placed upon us by others, or restraints we choose for ourselves. Responsibility is one such."

Moving back to the chair he sat wearily. The question posed was loaded. Unlike them he wasn't in a precarious position that had him thinking of the more immediate future. The question of what he wanted, what he desired was a deeper inquisition.

"What do I want? I could regale you with the traditional answers of power, underlings, control, knowledge. But if I'm being honest my answer would be, I don't know. I want vengeance on Ra the Undying for exiling my people from Manda'yaim. I want to be a father. I want to temper the madness within my own soul. I want to create a safe haven for others. I want to feel my enemy's bone turn to powder beneath my heel. These are some things I want, yet truly, at the moment I am content with my life."

He looked between the two women once more.

"You see, I have that which you seek. Trust, a daughter, a sibling, a place I can call my own, loyalty, even friendship. Maybe I've grown soft, maybe my life has taught me hard lessons of my own making and I look to offer a hand of friendship to those that I see a part of me in. I've been lost in spirit, broken in body, alone, cutoff. I've been defiant in loss. I had to fight tooth and nail to achieve what I have. Maybe it's time for me to offer something instead of merely taking."

[member="Zesiro"] I [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

- please ignore-

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Zesiro"]


She sat back, she had many options...cybernetics sounded...ridiculous and tedious, a clone seemed like something she could do if she could get one with the same color hair as her. The last one had her thinking what was the risk? What did it cost her and whoever transferred her

She looked to muad as she spoke

What are the risk of transferring my soul and mind to another body...I rather know them before I go any further with my decision

 

[Zesiro]

Listening to the exchange between Anya and Maud, she nodded. Anya was close to a catalyst of some sort, but Zesiro didn't know what kind. She looked maybe for immortality in asking her question about the risks, but may not know it herself. Maud proposed it in a different light, that of gaining her sister a new body. Anya didn't see the situation from outside like Zesiro did though.

When he replied to her question, she sensed honesty in him.

"You sound like a sith."

The speak of chains and her own desire for freedom made her sound like one too. It had been what she was a few years ago. Now, she wasn't so sure. As he spoke on, she looked at him a little differently. Not entirely sith then.

"What do you want from us? There's not much I can offer to you and I'm not going to speak for my sister."

Not blinking an eye at the flames around them or the destruction that happened. She looked at him and waited for his answer.

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

He lightly scratched his chin, feeling the rough stubble there, as he listened to Anya. Willing to take a great risk to become whole. Yet even once she was whole, regardless if the path she took, she would still need to heal her psyche. Grave injuries wounded more then the body. Straightening in the chair he nodded.

"The risks of transference is rarely mentioned. Why? Because those who can do it do not wish to speak of potential issues that can arise. But someone else helping includes more variables. The one who perform it is totally immersed in the force, completely defenseless during the transfer. The one being transferred is completely bare to the other one. Nothing is hidden. Because every aspect must be seen and acknowledged so the whole if the other being can be contained and moved. It creates a psychic link that allows both individuals a look into the other.

The other issues come from the body. If it's a clone, or even a generic copy, typically there is no conscious, no remnants, no memories to fight against during integration. But transferring into a body that once held a soul .... There is a battle as your being and soul moves against a resistance. See the body has muscle memory, but so too does the mind. You could inherit trace memories or personality from the soul that once inhabitated the body. The whole ordeal can be taxing and dangerous."

Letting Anya think about what he had said he turned his eyes back to Zesiro. Her statement amused him.

"It takes one to know one, now doesn't it? Yet as I am no longer Sith, I sense you are neither. As for what you have to offer ... There is so much you have to offer. Your life, your conviction, your skill, your morality. The question could be, what wouldn't you offer. But I'm not seeking to take, at least not today. Today I'm offering a cin vhetin. The mandalorians call it a 'clean slate'. A new beginning. What came before doesn't matter, only what you do in the now and the future truly has merit.

I'm offering a cin vhetin. I'm offering a fresh start. A place you can call home. People you can trust. Someone who won't judge you, because he's done so much more and worse then you can imagine in his own past. I'm offering a chance. Now it's up to you two to decide if that is what you want."

[member="Zesiro"] I [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Zesiro"]

Anya listened to the man as she did she took small sips of that liquid fire. Relaxing back into her chair she thought I've just what he had said. There was such a great risk involved, one small mistake and she could be lost forever if she went with the route of choosing another body....the other seemed easier....make a clone or something like that...she his get down at her body. No this wasn't anya any more...she had been burned in the flames of war and she wanted to be reborn anew. She had a idea down in her head

Opening her eyes as she listened to him speak to her sister she sat up, those red eyes scanned his own as she spoke

muad, you offer a clean slate to us. I wish to start it off with asking....can you transfer me to another body? I want to put my trust into you. To see every memory of mine....to know what horrors I've seen and caused

Her eyes softened a bit, she hated remembering what she caused or what happened to her.. especially that very given day her entire life change meeting that man....vengeance...father of her child...

 

[Zesiro]

Maud answered her sister about the pros and cons of his suggestion, but Zesiro had already assumed as much. Her time with the Empire and First Order had given her many opportunities to study different skills and abilities. This was one she had heard of and read up on, but didn't put much faith in herself being able to accomplish such a skill.

When he turned to speak to her and mentioned it took a sith to know one, he then admitted to having been one much like she had in the past. Giving the slightest of nods, the corners of her mouth twitched up just slightly.

"You're correct. I no longer follow that path or have that calling. What I am, I do not know."

A small shrug came with ​the last of her words.

"A clean slate. That does interest me. If I could go back and change what happened to me, I would. So if there is nothing you are asking from me, at this time. I imagine in the future there will be a need for me. Something I can do or whatever and I'll be needed. By then though, maybe I'll have learned more, become stronger. Both in the Force and as a person. I'm weak right now."

She would stand by Anya and want to hold her hand for a moment, but withheld her touch. It was bad enough admitting she was weak, she didn't want to show it as well. Her sister was interested, she could tell that much. Zesiro was as well.

"What do you say, Anya?"

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

As he listened to the two sisters' responses he nodded slightly, deep in thought. Already his mind was going over what he had offered, the power needed, the focus, the willingness. It wasn't something that could be done lightly and certainly not something a Jedi would do, or even potentially be able to do. It was against the laws of nature. The growl from within was his brief warning before he was pulled into the other realm.

Fog rolled across the landscape obscuring landmarks or any point that could be visible to ascertain just where he was. But the Mad Master knew. The Patron, Doashim, had summoned him to this place. From the mists strode the figure of the spirit made flesh. Here in this place the Patron was as real as he was. The state of every being is to live and die. What you are offering is an abomination. You seek to alter the natural order of things. Muad straightened and approached the Patron.

"Anya yet lives. Her spirit is strong. You know this because I've felt the call from you to her. You want her as your own. Is it not natural for a person to fight against death, to fight against frailties, to fight against that which attempts to break you? She will rise like the Phoenix, and be reborn."

The Patron snarled as he approached his chosen and towered over Muad. I cannot allow this to come to pass. The danger inherent in the act could spell her Doom and your demise. We patrons are not dark nor light. We exist between. You seek to alter through darkness. I will not lose another son, another shaman to the allure of the darkside. I cannot. She is not accepted yet and you have no ties to her. Why would you risk everything of importance? Muad stepped up to the Patron unafraid of the powerful figure.

"You have seen into my soul. You know what I've been, what I've done. Everyone and everything can change. Everything has a place. They just need to find it. You showed me that. I'm not asking for your permission or your help. I'm going to do this. As to the why ... I see part of me in her, in both of them. Broken and lost and filled with rage. Confused and searching for identity. If I can save them from the mistakes I've made, from the pain I've endured, I will. And you may not have marked them yet, but where you see me, I see you. You want to claim. So I will do this."

Defiantly he looked at Doashim for several moments before he turned to walk away. As the mists surrounded him and enveloped his body he felt the words echo within. Do well my son.

Blinking away the mist he was back in the study with the two women. Sitting back he sighed. Looking to Anya he nodded.

"Yes. I can do it. The risk is great, but it is worth it if you so decide. And the trust will go both ways. I'll see aspects of you, and because we will be connected, you will see aspects of me. Madness."

Moving from the seat he dropped to a knee and looked up at Anya in the chair.

"You see yourself as broken. I see you as a woman who is more then the sum of her missing parts. Your body isn't who you are. It's your spirit. And you are more powerful then you yet know. But you will ad'ika."

Rising he moved to stand in front of Zesiro, a small smile on his face.

"Just as your sister, your perception of yourself is not clear. You see weakness, I see strength. You are no longer a Sith, and the lack of a title has added to your loss of identity. But titles, positions, authority, even family ... None of these are who you are. They are aspects of you, but they do not define you. Only you can do that."

Moving back to the chair he tossed the drink back and swallowed before setting the empty glass down. Looking at the two sisters he arched an eyebrow.

"Ready to start a new path?"

[member="Zesiro"] I [member="Anya Malvern"]

 

[Anya Malvern]

[member="Muad Dib"] [member="Zesiro"]

She sat back, her body hurt still however this vodka was taking the edge of the pain away. She watched as he and her sister spoke before he suddenly went....still? Like as if he was in another world he seemed to stare. She closed her own eyes for a few minutes until she heard him speak as they opened to looked into his

you will see what little of my madness remains that's I've tamed...

She watched him as she saw him get down on one knee, she listened and the last word caught her ears. She heard it before, she reached out to him with her good arm and placed a hand on his shoulder her eyes from behind the bandages searching for the words to say as she moved her hand speechless...

She looked away unsure, could she call him that? He was about to delve into her mind...see everything she had experienced...every last horror and hell...down to now. She looked to her vodka she downed it and put the glass down as she attempted to stand using the chair for support. A show of strength as she stared into his eyes panting from the effort

of course...father, I'm ready to begin anew

 

[Zesiro]

An almost dazed look came over Maud as he sat there. As if his mind was somewhere else. Returning to himself, she raised a brow at it, but said nothing. If he choose to reveal what happened, he would. Not her place or time to ask.

When he came back from wherever his mind had gone, he addressed her sister first, but Zesiro was getting used to that. Maybe it had been that way when they were little. That time of her life was still a blue to her and nothing was for sure.

What he did surprised her though and she stood at Anya's side as he knelt in front of her. He stood up after speaking to Anya and moved in front of her. What he said was true, but that was a problem for her.

"It's not so much the lack of a title, but a path. I have no focus or real purpose until I met up with Edric again. Then I got called to war, got beat up there and well, now here I am. Beat up again."

Mostly recovered, but had been doing that when the war on Tatooine had started. When Anya said father to him, Zesiro turned her head and looked her sister very curiously and shook it slightly.

[member="Anya Malvern"] [member="Muad Dib"]

 

[Muad Dib]

He reached out, holding Anya as a mirror of her hold on him. Her defiant fire was something very few truly had. Looking at Zesiro he nodded slightly. He understood her, understood them both. Loss and uncertainty could break the strongest beings in the Galaxy, yet these two, while bent by circumstances, defied the things that sought to break them.

"Failure is life's training. Most see setbacks and allow them to destroy who they are. Few, very few, can learn from them and grow beyond what they thought capable. I'm offering something. Someone who has been where you have been. Someone who learned how to rise and move forward alone. What I'm offering is what I never had. Someone to stand with you. Someone who won't turn away."

Looking between the two women he nodded slightly before saying the words.

"Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad, Anya, Zesiro, ner aliit."
(Translation)

Spoiler

"I know your name as my child, Anya, Zesiro, my family."

The simple phrase carried weight. Importance. It was an adoption into his family, his clan. His way of answering the kindred spirits he felt in the women, a way to ensure that they would not have to face the darkness of the Galaxy and their own souls alone.

"You may be unsure of your path, of your place. But you do not need to face this alone. Either of you."

[member="Zesiro"] I [member="Anya Malvern"]