Don’t Tell Mom

[Kyra Perl]

Adjusting to Silver Rest was having its... complications. Not that that was anything new for Kyra. She had yet to stick out an academy for more than half a year before one thing or another had driven her back home and into her mother’s arms. Kyra had a perpetual problem with adjusting, and much to her chagrin, turning 16 offered very little change in her ability to handle it.

Still, she was determined to follow through with something this time, and so her and Joza had settled on Silver Rest, where a support system of family already laid in place. Kyra now recognized this sentiment more as wishful thinking than anything. At first she had pictured slumber parties, hang outs between classes, and even scourging places that were strictly off bounds. You know— like old times. But as it turned out, being in the same location did not mean she could get to see her sister all that much more. Nida was much more advanced than her and busy with her work. Not to mention Kyra swore she once saw her in the arms of a boy.

Kyra was struggling. The run in with the slavers had only further shaken her resolve. After all, if she was meant to be a padawan, she wouldn’t have been blind enough to get shot. She had told Nida as much on the day her sister had healed her.

It was only shame at facing another failure that had kept her from leaving the academy that day. A tearful plea to not tell mom had been made.

Kyra half feared her mother would be the one to pull her out this time if she knew. Joza did not like slavers. At least she had saved the wookies...

Kyra burned her free time in the silver rest gardens, her robe stripped off and laid out as a blanket under her. A weather-worn bomber jacket draped over her shoulders, the soft leather blocking out the wind that buffered down from the mountains.

She was easy to spot from far away, the sunlight reflecting off her hair like a beacon. Her head was ducked close into the pages of a book, her brows furrowed as she mulled over its contents.

 

[Romi Jade]

"Are you actually reading that book? Well aren't you the super studious one." She'd just walked up, catching the red hair and that pink skin easily from afar --- she approached, stopping some couple of feet away and swaying a bit in her stance as she shifted her weight a bit.

"Mind if I sit?" She motioned with her free hand; it was her left this time, as she'd been shot in her right not too long ago. It was almost an instinct for her to gesture, and now she'd subconsciously been doing most of it with her left hand to avoid the pain of moving her right arm too much.

Well this seemed the most appropriate scenario for them to meet in right?

She lowered herself to the ground, propping her back up against whatever was sturdy enough for her to drown her weight in -- she propped her right arm up on her knee; the bandages were visible.

"Kyra it's nice to finally see you in person...I'm Romi." A nod followed by a smirk followed her greeting, "I heard about what happened...and I'm sorry I haven't been as present for you. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were doing alright...and for us to finally talk so that it can become a regularly thing."

Jade glanced over the Zeltron, "Nice Jacket."

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra startled, snapping the book shut and shoving it down under her knee the moment a voice appeared over her, commenting on it. A guilty look quickly dissolved into confusion, the girl watching the stranger sit down before her rather cautiously.

She had been braced for a 'talk'. You know, since everything had gone down. For a moment Kyra assumed that was why this woman had come to her. Her mind raced about what she could say. The excuses she could make-- the lies she'd use to cover up what- what she had done. But as Romi sat down before her and folded her limbs into a more comfortable position, a strange sense of deja vu overtook Kyra. Did she... did she know her? Something tugged at Kyra, a sensation she couldn't place until the woman's name rolled off her tongue.

"I'm Romi."

Kyra's mouth fell open, and remained as such as Romi continued to explain her presence to her. An excited buzz hit Kyra like a shot of adrenaline. She sat up straighter, absentmindedly tucking the book further under her knee. "You-you did?" She trilled, her voice high with hope. She nearly tackled Romi then and there, as she always did with all her siblings. A bout of insecurity kept her in place, the girl fearing rejection from this shadow sibling.

She blushed, touching at the jacket. "It's- ah... it's yours," she said. Almost apologetically. "I founditinyouroldcloset. You can- you can have it back if you want!" She rattled, shrugging it off and holding it out. Like Romi, a bandage showed on her shoulder.

"I was just.... holding it for you."

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

Kyra's mouth fell open, and remained as such as Romi continued to explain her presence to her. An excited buzz hit Kyra like a shot of adrenaline. She sat up straighter, absentmindedly tucking the book further under her knee. "You-you did?" She trilled, her voice high with hope. She nearly tackled Romi then and there, as she always did with all her siblings. A bout of insecurity kept her in place, the girl fearing rejection from this shadow sibling.

"I...did?" She could feel the sudden spike in emotion; excitement. Well, she'd hope so. It wasn't off putting, but it did throw her off mid speech. "I did...Joza would absolutely kill me if she'd got wind that you or Nida were severely hurt, and I made no effort to check on you. I should've been around, I feel terrible that this is how we're meeting."

Heh

Sigh

She blushed, touching at the jacket. "It's- ah... it's yours," she said. Almost apologetically. "I founditinyouroldcloset. You can- you can have it back if you want!" She rattled, shrugging it off and holding it out. Like Romi, a bandage showed on her shoulder. "I was just.... holding it for you."

She lurched forward in a burst of laughter, "My old closet." She glanced over at her, grinning "Keep it, look after it for me. It looks better on you anyway." She noticed her bandage, motioning towards it with a nod "How's your wound healing?"

"Though, I guess the better question would be, how're you feeling about it?"

These things can be traumatizing for students, and the pain...

"I've been shot twice...recently actually when the Silver Rest was attacked. So it looks like we've got more things in common."

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

A swath of emotions run through the girl's face as she listened, her heart clearly worn on her sleeve. It seemed only fitting, that someone like Romi would only come back for her because it would upset her mother if she didn't. A little sting of bitter pain cut at her throat, the girl only recovering once Romi's laughter echoed out around her. The woman's relaxed nature was infectious, and Kyra was quickly distracted from her insecurities as she warmed up to her.

Kyra managed a grateful smile, pulling the jacket tenderly back onto her lap and stroking its soft length. She liked this jacket. It was one of the only belongings she had managed to take over with her. 'Jedi are without attachments, blah blah blah. Didn't they know a girl needed her shoe collection? Her shoulders had just started to relax when Romi pointed to her bandages.

Her growing smile froze in place, trepidation shooting through her core like a jolt of adrenaline. Guess that answered that question.

The girl had never been so quiet in her life, but unlike with Nida or Acaadi or their teachers, Kyra felt no pressure to act cheerful around Romi. It wasn't like the woman knew what was normal and what was not. Kyra wrapped her arms around herself, deflecting the question.

"I heard about that," she told her softly. "What you did- how you fought. It was incredible." It was clear that that stories that got back to Kyra were all the good ones. And embellished, as action packed stories could be. She eyed Romi's bandages, and she wished she wasn't so easily bolstered by the comment of them having their wounds in common. But she was. When she looked back to Romi her eyes had become as wide as saucers, adoration swimming there.

"You saved, like, everyone. You're a hero."

It would be abundantly obvious that Joza's 'your siblings look up to you' guilt trip had been utterly true. Yula didn't count. She stuck sabers in people's butts.

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

She then realized that what she said probably came across wrong...

Ugh

This bonding thing is hard.

The girl had never been so quiet in her life, but unlike with Nida or Acaadi or their teachers, Kyra felt no pressure to act cheerful around Romi. It wasn't like the woman knew what was normal and what was not. Kyra wrapped her arms around herself, deflecting the question.

She surrendered, and her hands flung up in innocence. "I get it. Sorry, I shouldn't have pressed the issue." For her, these sort of things were just topics for her banter. Veiere always prodded her for talking about such things as if they were achievements to be proud of, but -- well if he'd had his way she'd be less rambunctious and would be responsible enough to step into the roles he'd always groomed her for.

She was getting there, and connecting with her family was more important to her now than it had been before...since she couldn't really have her own.

"I heard about that," she told her softly. "What you did- how you fought. It was incredible." It was clear that that stories that got back to Kyra were all the good ones. And embellished, as action packed stories could be.

"You saved, like, everyone. You're a hero."

"I-I'm not--I'm really only a small piece of a larger story. We all fought hard that day, to keep this place standing." She shied away, before glancing back over, "People always leave out the ugly stuff when they tell those stories."

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Yeah, tell me about it," Kyra murmured, her tone thick.

She curled her legs up into herself for a moment, her arms wrapping around them in a hugs. Whenever she had thought about this moment-- properly getting to meet her sister, you know, with all her adult teeth in and boobs grown into and stuff-- this was never how it went down in her head. She was suppose to be confident. Self-assured. Cool. Capable...

She kept think she was going to grow into these qualities one day, but here she was... sixteen. Shot. And awkward as fuck in front of her idol. It was a bit of a wake up call. Course, what hadn't been the last month....

Tears bit at the corner of her eyes. She blinked them fiercely back and made her legs uncurl. The next part wasn't gonna be easy. She took a deep breath to build herself up to it, her fingers tearing up at the grass.

"I killed people but no one talks about it. They just keep saying I saved people, but I had to get really angry to do it. But I can't say that because it's not what they'll want to hear-- all the ugly stuff--" She tore up a fist full of grass, not looking up, her expression contorting.

"Imademistakes." She admitted through a very tight voice, emotion pinching her throat harder with each word.