Private I Can Explain

[Wrenarias]

Almost immediately, anger flared in Wrenarias' chest, but she did her best to keep the expression from manifesting on her face. Unfortunately for her, she was rather terrible at it. Her lavender eyes narrowed at Cedric, flashing in irritation at something he'd said to her. She tilted her head ever so slightly to the left, her lekku rustling softly against her shirt from the movement.

The Jedi Master meant well. She didn't need him to voice his disapproval to sense it the emotion behind it. He wanted to deter Wren from heading down a path that she wasn't prepared for. She understood that much; but it only emphasized all the more how different the two of them were.

He spoke of scarring her soul with execution, but he failed to address how broken hers already was. Every aspect of her life was a struggle in some form or another. Taking a life was not new to her, she'd killed far more people than she cared to admit -- most of whom had done nothing wrong but fight for the opposing side of some conflict she had no investment in. No one ever tried to pretend that killing in war took a toll on those that fought them. Kill or be killed, they said. It's you or them. Take that compound... That was enough of an excuse to slay another sentient being... so why lecture her now, when she'd finally put an end to someone who deserved it.

Duval had deserved so much worse than what she'd given him.

The familiar sense of isolation settled over the twi'lek. Her eyes dropped back down to her glass of wine and she took another, longer sip from the dark liquid. It tasted bitter in her mouth.

"Scars don't scare me anymore, Cedric. I'll be fine." She said softly, managing a faint smile.

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It always amazed Cedric how quickly the mood in a room could change. One moment they were jovial, the next and there was nothing but tension. It was thick enough that Cedric could have ran a knife through it. He realized he'd misspoken in some sense, though he didn't understand well enough to apologize. he could only push forward.

"I know you will," he met her gaze, his own unwavering. "I just don't want you to fall into the same trap that I did." Story time. "I've not told you much of my past Wren. I was crowned king of Ession when I was nine years old in the midst of a war. My training was nothing but war," his brow furrowed as he looked away, a hand running over his bare scalp. An old nervous habit.

"The Sith surrounded us, and we had no allies. I was sent to gain military experience on the front when I was eleven. I killed my first man three days later," he reached up, making a crushing motion with his hand. "Some Sith soldier. I crushed his windpipe with the Force. It bothered me at the time, but my advisers told me it was what the man deserved. What he'd earned himself with his sin."

He sighed. "And I took that justification against any man that dared to speak out against my home. At first it felt good: I was righteous, meeting out the punishment of the heavens upon the heathens. I was the hero," a pause, "And then I wasn't. I became a tyrant. Thieves were to be executed for their crimes. Criminals put down summarily so that they couldn't cause any further harm to the galaxy. My realm was secure, and I was standing in an ocean of blood spilled on my orders."

Cedric's nose scrunched up in distaste. "I cast aside the Jedi path, convinced that the Jedi were too weak to deal with the true evils of the galaxy. I continued my crusades: I was judge, jury, and executioner." Another pause. "My justifications stopped making sense when I was alone. When I really thought about what I was doing, I didn't feel good. I felt..." he struggled for the right word. "Wrong. Broken. I still carry every person I've killed with me. It never goes away."

"Then I met him. It was my breaking point. He was a murderer, killed a couple people for the paper in their wallets. I hunted him down, found him in his home. I was preparing to remove his head when his daughter came into the room. Her crying gave me pause, and her begging moved something in me that had been ignored for years. I reached into the man's mind, witnessed life as he experienced it, and I understood. He had a good heart, did the best he could to provide, but jobs were hard to come by, and bills were stacking up. His daughter needed clothes, and he decided to act."

A pregnant silence filled the air before Cedric concluded.

"I came to understand that even those we regard as truly evil are only that way because of the circumstances they find themselves in. Even the most vile of people can be shown a better path, taught to help rather than harm, we only need to reach out a hand they've never been offered. I don't tell you this to say what you did was wrong, only you know whether or not it was, but in the future there might be the chance to help, and sometimes that chance might come from someone you truly hate. All I ask is that you take that chance."

Wrenarias

 

[Wrenarias]

While she understood that Cedric was attempting to make a connection, to frame himself in such a way that she could relate to... the words fell on deaf ears. The twi'lek watched the Jedi master, or King, or whatever title was best fitting for the man, and took a deep breath. She needed to keep her emotions in check. An outburst would only cause more trouble than what she was already in.

It felt similar to lying.

But for her, an Empath, it was off-putting to hear that Cedric could only understand the nuances of poverty, and the misery it brought, after looking into a man's mind.

The difference between them was that Cedric had taken it upon himself to enact a system of cruel justice, ruling with an iron fist while killing criminals and their ilk. Wren, on the other, was acting out against a system that failed the less fortunate while allowing the ultra wealthy to do whatever they pleased. Both were forms of justice... but in far different contexts.

Could he even understand Wren's thoughts? He didn't know her, she realized.

No, he'd just found a broken woman in some ruins and thought to bring her back to his palace to train her. Like a lost kath hound pup.

Her eyes wandered over to the strange green creature he'd given her to raise, seeing a stark similarity between the two of them. There was a sharp lance of pain and loneliness that burst through her chest. Had she traded a collar for shackles?

The emerald pup lifted her head and crawled up into her lap with a soft huff.

She dropped her gaze to the small anari in her lap, idly running her fingers over the creature's back. "I understand." Her words were softly spoken, nodding once.

Instinctively, she was guarded and kept a wall firmly placed around her thoughts, worried that the Jedi might try to pry.

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