Private Correspondence | Kyric

[Halsia Hewitt]

Kyric
​

"You're Carnifux?" She immediately snorted, catching a bit of patty coming out of her throat. She took a moment to regain her composure. "I- ha. That's the first time I've said that out loud. Kriffing love that name."

It seemed to make sense. She was conscious enough of how the people on the other end of the screen had their own lives. She'd even assumed Carnifux had been out in the galaxy doing something weird or interesting -- but even this was a surprise, meeting a guy she happened to know on the Holonet, and him proceeding to save her life at least three times almost immediately.

She started to feel weird, like it was wrong for her to be spending this long talking to him, almost. Then he brought up one of her articles, and- the strange feeling grew, like this sort of flattery wasn't the kind of thing she should be allowed to have. And he was smart, kept up with politics? This was too much. She looked a little Zeltron, but it was hard to see in the underworld lighting.

But she could see him. He looked less Jedi now, but still she could see how much more he was, somehow.

"Thanks... I'm- I had a lot of help. From my grandfather. And my dad. I- I mean, I think it was good, too, but I don't know- and those morons at the Post ripped me a new one because they're fucking authoritarian apologists- mm. Thank you.

"My, um- my grandpa, uh, recorded you the other day. You were fighting in the Senate Plaza, with um, Haxion Brood gangsters, I think?"

 

[Kyric]

"You're Carnifux?" She immediately snorted, catching a bit of patty coming out of her throat. She took a moment to regain her composure. "I- ha. That's the first time I've said that out loud. Kriffing love that name."

Kyric laughed along with her, not even noticing the near-spray of food. "Yeah, it's a play on a username my old man used when he was a kid. He liked playin' games and stuff before things got crazy." He tugged one leg up, leaning his chest against his thigh, and placed his chin atop his knee. Memories his father shared with him came to mind, each one stripping away at the net of melancholy that nearly ensnared him. He quietly shook his head and looked back at Halsia.

The slight twinge of pink in her cheeks only became noticeable when caught in certain lights, so Kyric elected to ignore it and said nothing. It could've been from all the running for all he knew.

It isn't.

He almost commented on how long she'd been staring at him. Thankfully, Halsia managed a much more interesting train of conversation than flirtatious teasing, so he hopped on that immediately.

"Thanks... I'm- I had a lot of help. From my grandfather. And my dad. I- I mean, I think it was good, too, but I don't know- and those morons at the Post ripped me a new one because they're fucking authoritarian apologists- mm. Thank you.

"My, um- my grandpa, uh, recorded you the other day. You were fighting in the Senate Plaza, with um, Haxion Brood gangsters, I think?"

Kyric decided to engage the subject of the paper first. Talking about himself seldom felt right. "The consequences are always worth it if you stick to your guns, Hal. That's the way I see it," he met her gaze. "From what I read, you stuck to what you believed in. So, kark 'em. What you did is way more interesting than imperial brown nosing anyway."

The mention of her grandfather brightened the Jedi's demeanor further.

"Yeah, your grandfather is legendary. I wish I knew he was the one recordin', I'd of loved to answer any question he asked. He's the real deal. One of my heroes, really." Kyric remembered vividly watching the interview Halifax hosted, where his father, Ryv, openly challenged the likes of the most dangerous Sith in the galaxy. The day he realized he was the Son of the Sword.

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Halsia Hewitt ​

 

[Halsia Hewitt]

Kyric
​

"Wow. Um... I'll let him know, I'm sure he'd be happy to hear it." Again she stared at him, briefly doubting his intentions, but not for long. He exuded a sincerity that she found herself unprepared for. Why had she expected anything else?

"He, um- he didn't approach you guys because he wanted me to do it," she admitted. "He called me, like, as soon as he saw. I got stuck on the skytunnel and didn't make it in time." She gave an embarrassed laugh. "Anyways. Speeder?"

 

[Kyric]

"Wow. Um... I'll let him know, I'm sure he'd be happy to hear it."

"He, um- he didn't approach you guys because he wanted me to do it," she admitted. "He called me, like, as soon as he saw. I got stuck on the skytunnel and didn't make it in time."

Kyric caught himself drifting back to another evening similar to the one he shared with Halsia.

His father stood atop the old bar. The fourth story afforded them both an incredible view over a rundown suburb surrounded by sleek durasteel star scrapers. People wandered the streets again then. Kyric's father made it practically impossible to make trouble in their neck of the woods.

Dreams of grandeur disappeared behind feelings of contentment.

Ryv spoke to him of threads that night. Tiny little convergences of fate within the Force that bound certain people together. Kyric couldn't know what he meant. It all sounded like strange Jedi mumbo jumbo to the street rat.

But as Ky climbed to his feet, listening to Halsia recount the minor inconvenience that delayed her debut, he started to understand.

"Anyways. Speeder?"​

"Oh! Yeah, for sure." Kyric tapped the back of his glove twice. "Sorry 'bout that."

| En route to your location, sir. |

"My bike will be here in a moment." He spun on his heel as he reported in, noticeably excited. "Hey, Halsia. I hope this isn't too forward or nothin', but would you want to be friends? All I've really got here on Coruscant are folks who've known me my whole life. I wanna know what it's like to get to know someone who looks at me like you do."

Kyric tried very hard to appear casual about it, but his eyes were bright with wonder made only more abundant when illuminated by his speeder bike's headlight.

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Halsia Hewitt ​

 

[Halsia Hewitt]

Kyric
​

"Wow. Yeah. Sorry, I feel, like, I'm acting really weird. I just- I don't know what I was expecting. With you, I mean. I don't... know any Jedi. Trying to just, um, make sure I'm treating you normal, so, please bear with me! Cool. But yes. Friends. I've literally never had someone ask me that outright. This is weird but in a good way. So yes."

She approached the speeder. "Er- how, uh, is it, that I look at you? Do you, um, think."

 

[Kyric]

"Er- how, uh, is it, that I look at you? Do you, um, think."

"I think it's probably because of the journalism thing, but you look like yer seein' a story." Kyric climbed onto the bike, then held a hand out for Halsia to more easily navigate the small gap between it and the sidewalk. "Everyone in my life is here cause of my dad. They look at me, they see him. It's cool sometimes, yeah, but he told me I'm not supposed to be like him. Trouble is–who the heck is Kyric Karis?"

Once Halsia was properly situated, Kyric would kick off the curb and gently pull back on the clutch. He didn't gun it or anything crazy like that. In a rare show of restraint, the kiffar carefully merged into traffic and took special care of traffic laws. It wouldn't do to survive a shootout with local gangsters and crash on the ride home.

Kyric adjusted one of his mirrors to get a better view of the girl behind him. "I want to figure that out. And yer givin' me a good feelin', so why not give it a shot, huh? That's the way I see it, anyway."

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Halsia Hewitt ​

 

[Halsia Hewitt]

Kyric
​

"Cool. Cool cool cool." She'd honestly almost forgot Kyric was the son of Ryv Karis; it helped that she'd never met the Sword of the Jedi, unlike, she assumed, most of the other people in his life.

She got on the bike and held onto him as they flew off into the Coruscanti night. It was dark even as they exited the main descent-hole down to the lower levels, but the surface had that nighttime glow to it, ever the unsleeping city. Halsia took the ride mostly in silence, allowing herself to calm down. She was sure Kyric normally rode faster than this, but appreciated him slowing down for her.

A few quick directions brought them over to a neighbourhood just outside the Senate District. Halsia directed him to an apartment just barely above the surface -- a good two-hundred floors below the tippy-top of her building. The place was built up all around, but she said, "I can still get some sun if I stand there," pointing to the walkway that passed her door. It was thin and with a high duracrete barrier, but she said to park there anyways. "Most of the people in this building are seniors. Nobody's out this time of night."

She fiddled with her key card, then got herself in, light spilling out from the small condo. "Thanks for..." she wanted to say the ride, but there was a lot more to thank him for, wasn't there?

 

[Kyric]

"I can still get some sun if I stand there," pointing to the walkway that passed her door. It was thin and with a high duracrete barrier, but she said to park there anyways. "Most of the people in this building are seniors. Nobody's out this time of night."

Kyric parked where Halsia directed along the walkway and watched as she fished for her keycard. The slight tremble in her frame left the boy more than a little concerned, but she managed to find it and get herself inside well enough. He propped up his chin by his palm and quietly watched the warm interior lighting spill over her lithe frame, and out into the night.

No amount of experience ever abated the body's natural response in a survival scenario. Assuming her species was anything like the hundreds of other near-humans out there, Kyric knew firsthand what it was like to face one's mortality when least prepared for that harsh truth.

"Thanks for..."

Kyrin offered her a knowing smile, one far more reserved than the over-the-top grin he used in their first meeting. "Don't mention it, Hal. I'm just happy you made it home safe and sound. Get some rest, don't skip breakfast..." his words drifted off as he slowly moved away from the curb. "Just give me a call if you wanna do this again sometime, alright? I'll make the time." And with that, the Wayseeker pulled back on the clutch and shifted his speeder skyward, disappearing behind the neverending flow of Galactic City's skylanes.