Private Get Out of My Face

[Varys Amun]

Everything was terrible. Varys didn't know why she even bothered trying to visit. She wasn't a Kryze, not really. She had Amun blood running through her veins through and through. She could never maintain the self-righteous I'm-so-much-better-than-you attitude her adoptive mother had. No, she was fiery, emotional, irrational, and now she was storming out without even going back to smooth things over.

One part of Varys told herself she needed to relax and stay a few more hours to sort things out at home. But her pride was wounded. She was angry and resentful, annoyed at the Jetii for intruding and hurt by being hung out to dry by Jenn Kryze . Moreover, it had unearthed the insecurity that always itched beneath Varys' surface: that she didn't really belong at the Clangrounds.

So there she stood, the clangrounds' outer wooden partition behind her. The sun had just set, and the jungle air was warm and damp. It was the end of the wet season, so rubber mats had been placed on the ground outside the entrance to walk on. Beneath them, the clay soil had turned to slick mud. It made Varys wonder why they had chosen to live here. It made the bare plains of Dantooine look like a holiday destination. Even the frozen wastes of Kestri were more welcoming than this.

Varys' dark mood was not helped by the fact there was only a single transport out of the highlands, to the spaceport that would take her away from Onderon. Usually, she would make Karrys fly her out, but Varys knew she wouldn't be able to look the pilot in the eye. Instead, she stood in line, trying not to pull her hair out in frustration.

Worse, a couple of the Mando'ade waiting wouldn't stop staring at her. Usually she was used to that, but something about it was especially off-putting today. Seemingly, word of her argument with Jenn had spread fast. After an eternity, the large rear doors of the aged shuttle opened with a groan, and Varys sighed with relief. She couldn't wait to get the first flight away, and fall asleep under one of those thin, complimentary blankets.

"Ah. Chit." Varys breathed.

It was only once she had taken her place at the edge of the crowded bench seat that Varys realised her mistake. Varys was not the only visitor desperate to get away from the ceremony. The transport would not only be half-strangers and distant kin, Rayia Si was walking up the gangway. Immediately, Varys lowered her head, unsure if the young Jedi had seen her. It didn't matter though, because there was only a single vacant seat. Right next to Varys.

It was going to be a very long flight.

Rayia Si ​

 

[Rayia Si]

Varys Amun

---

For her part, Rayia had left the celebrations on Onderon with a similarly bad taste in her mouth and consolatory scraps of meat to grumpily chew on. When Jonyna had first mentioned meeting Jenn and her family to her, Rayia had been skeptical. Not because of any prior knowledge or any negative preconceptions, but because family had hurt her once before. And so it seemed, it would again.

Rayia hadn’t exactly relished the events that had transpired. She hadn’t intended to throw herself in front of Varys’ javelin on purpose. But she had fought for Onderon and been rewarded with vitriol and hostility. ‘The worst part is, I still don’t know why. At least on Weik, I knew the reason…,’ Rayia thought to herself, trailing off as she stalked through the crowd of people mingling about the city streets.

Rayia hadn’t expected anything different from so isolated a location, but being able to sense the vibrations of motion, scent, and sounds from each individual in her periphery made for a lot of noise. Her tail was practically alive with how it bristled with each tremor. Worse still, all those bodies crammed in one space made for a lot of heat and humidity. The Felacatians of Weik were made for an arid heat. ‘I can practically feel my fur frizzing. It’s going to take me hours to comb it out,’ Rayia despaired mentally. Little did she know, that was about to be the least of her discomforts on this flight.

Rayia nearly choked as she walked up the gangplank and saw that the only seat was next to Varys. ‘Hello irony, my name is Rayia…’

“We are taking off. Please find your seats,” announced a speaker near Rayia’s left ear with a crackle of static. With limbs like lead, Rayia staggered forwards and took the available seat. She shirked away from Varys, drawing her bloodied cloak around herself. Maybe they could spend the trip in an excruciatingly stretched silence like the one now?

No. No. As the seconds ticked by, Rayia couldn't bear it any longer. “So… Where are you going now?” Rayia asked. She was surprised that Varys was leaving so soon. She would have expected her to remain with the rest of her tribe, so to speak.

 

[Varys Amun]

“So… Where are you going now?”

Rayia's voice was barely audible above the whine of the engines coming to life. Varys stared straight ahead for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. Normally, in situations like these, she would just snap or cuss, do her best to scare off the person who was throwing her off balance, or run away herself, like she had done from the ceremony at the Clangrounds. But there was no running away here, and Varys knew reacting with her usual unpleasant attitude would make the flight unbearable for the both of them.

The ship rose into the air, she gripped the underside of her seat, bracing against the sudden lurch of its acceleration, climbing into Onderon's upper atmosphere.

"Alakatha." Varys said eventually, turning her helmeted head slightly to look at Rayia. "I have to meet... Someone, in Sith space, but you can't cross the border from the Alliance side, so, I will go around."

Varys was not looking forward to the journey, but the various hops from system to system, stretching her limited credits as far as they would go would at least be a welcome distraction from the disaster that had been her visit to Onderon. Varys was beginning to think that the wandering she was doing under the Pillar of Sacrifice was affecting her. She was tired and irritable all the time. Days spent without uttering a single word had made her awkward and tight-lipped around strangers, not to mention the near-misses she had already had with ugly characters and criminals. Varys was an adult by every measure that mattered to the Mandoa'ade, but even she could recognise her youth and inexperience was getting her into trouble.

Still, Varys had a path to walk, and she would not stray from it out of fear.

"What about you?" Varys asked, leaning her head back against the headrest. "The Coruscant Temple or something?" She snorted derisively, then immediately felt a pang of shame. Why was she like this?

Across from her, a Mandalorian Varys had never seen before with a striking spiked helm stood up suddenly. There wasn't much room to move around on the cramped shuttle, so every head turned to look at the one who stood. But the figure ignored them. Whoever they were, their attention was on Varys and the young Jedi sitting next to her.

"Aru'e. Ori chaaj'yc gar trattok'or."

Varys blinked, looking over at Rayia to see if she understood the threatening words. The voice was modulated and feminine, familiar to Varys despite the distortion, though she couldn't place it. Varys unclipped her harness and moved to stand from her seat, but the Mandalorian woman pushed Varys backward with a firm hand. The other passengers didn't move.

"Ni gotal'ur bic staabi."

Varys growled and shoved the woman backward, but all the did was laugh. She felt the shuttle shudder and slow. Gruff, jeering laughter filled the cabin, and the other passengers, the Mandalorians who had looked at Varys so strangely outside the Clangrounds, one by one they stood, drawing blasters and blades.

"Rayia." Varys hissed. "This is not Clan Kryze. Get ready to defend yourself."