First Reply In His Absence

[Braze]

TAGS: ​

(Preferably Open to Jedi )
Jedi Temple

Deep within the temple, past corridors long abandoned at this hour, in the very last chamber, the clash of durasteel against plasma howled like a storm. Sparks sprayed against the stone floor, the air thick with the scent of scorched metal and sweat. The half-Echani stood alone, his breath heavy, his movements relentless.

Braze had been at it for hours.

Four combat droids encircled him, their servos whirring, re calibrating, and adapting. They were programmed to push him beyond his limits, to find the cracks in his defenses and exploit them brutally. But Braze met each calculated assault with raw ferocity—Djem So's crushing power colliding with their strikes, Ataru's acrobatic momentum twisting through the gaps in their formation.

His twin sabers were a blur of white-hot fury, carving through the air in arcs of pure kinetic force. The left saber hooked under a droid's guard—CRACK—ripping it sideways as his right blade came down in a decisive, crushing cleave. Another droid lunged; he twisted mid-air, boots scraping against the wall for leverage before launching off in a spiraling counterattack.

He hadn't stopped for food. He hadn't stopped for water. He hadn't stopped for breath. He refused to stop at all.

A strike grazed his shoulder, searing fabric, but he barely reacted. The pain was secondary. The exhaustion clawing at his muscles? Irrelevant. He was past feeling. Past thinking. There was only the fight. Only the fire burning inside his chest, demanding more.

He was gone.

And until he was strong enough—fast enough—unstoppable enough to make sure it never happened again, he would keep going.

The droids recalibrated, their attack routines shifting. Faster. Harsher. But so did he. He fought in a brutal manner, a desperate, fierce onslaught—like no one was watching. He let visceral, strangled cries tear from his lips without thought, losing himself in the storm of fury.

But was he mastering the tempest, or letting it consume him? The last hall, the last room. Where no one could see. Where no one could stop him. Where Braze Kai'el made himself into something unbreakable, Or into something that was already breaking.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Coruscant
Tag: Braze

---

Perhaps things hadn’t changed as much as he figured they had after losing his eyes. Even now Ko was still finding the echani teen pushing themselves to a ludicrous degree. But this was a bit different. Braze was angry, furious even, and Ko couldn’t blame him. His master was gone, with no idea where Jasper, or even his remains have ended up. Leaving everyone behind in a state of limbo regarding the jedi master’s fate.

It was a feeling Ko was all too familiar with. For years Ko had refused to accept the tragic fate of his big brother. ‘Missing In Action’ MIA, three words that had given the Kel Dor so much despair and hope. Three words that forever robbed Ko of proper closure, and now he feared that Braze was going to suffer the same fate without some help.

Leaning in the entrance, Ko watched the ecahni rage against the quartet of droids. He could appreciate the visual spectacle now that he had his eyes back. But it was getting a bit painful for him to watch.

Stepping into the training room Ko remotely deactivated the droids with the wave of a hand. Although still standing they slumped forward some. “I don’t see any water bottles in here with you. Are you staying hydrated Braze?” After asking he reached towards his belt and pulled out a fresh, cold can of green tea before offering it to the young knight. “Here, this can help.” ​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze was mid-swing toward a droid when it abruptly powered down, his violet sabers slicing through empty air instead of meeting resistance. The sudden loss of his target threw off his balance slightly, forcing him to pivot sharply to avoid overextending. He landed with a roll and popped up turning on his heel. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, and sweat drenched the edges of his tunic. His small heart thundered in his own ears.

For a breath or two, all he could hear was the static hum of his sabers, the only thing still moving in the frozen battlefield of deactivated training droids. His narrowed his jade green gaze towards the entrance, catching sight of Ko leaning against the doorway, watching him with an expression that was equal parts concern and familiarity.

Braze clenched his jaw and exhaled sharply through his nose in a huff as he rolled and flourished his blades before thumbing them off. The weapons deactivated with a quiet hissed as the blades retracted, leaving only the faint residual heat in the air. He flexed his fingers around the hilts, as if debating whether to reactivate them and keep going, but Ko's voice cut through the air before he could make that decision.

“I don’t see any water bottles in here with you. Are you staying hydrated Braze?”

The half Echani boy rolled his shoulders, casting a glance at the floor as though realizing for the first time just how long he'd been at it. He had no answer for Ko's question, but the dryness in his throat told him enough.

A second later, Ko reached for his belt and pulled out a fresh, cold can of green tea, extending it toward him.

“Here, this can help.”

Braze stared at the offered drink, his jade green eyes burning with frustration. His breath was ragged, his muscles coiled so tight it felt like they might snap. For a moment, he stood frozen staring at Ko's little can. His hands flexing at his sides, his jaw locked . Then, just as quickly, the storm inside him surged, and with a sharp pivot, he lashed out.

His foot struck the can hard, sending it flying from Ko's hand. The metal container crashed against the wall, rolling until it hit the base of a deactivated droid, its contents spraying and spilling in a useless puddle.

"Tea's not going to fix anything!" Braze snapped, his voice raw, cracking under the weight of everything he was holding in, everything he was holding back. His fists trembled at his sides, his chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven breaths. "He's gone! My master is gone! And no one knows where—if he's even alive! And you think—" He let out a sharp, bitter laugh, his fingers curling tighter. "You think some kriffing tea is going to make that better?! That it's going to make any of this better?!"

His words hit the training room walls and echoed back at him, taunting him with their finality. He wanted to take them back. He wanted to say more. He wanted to scream.

But instead, his shoulders sagged, and he turned away, running a trembling hand through his damp hair. He hated this feeling, he hated the helplessness, the loss of control. He wasn't built for this. He was a warrior, a Jedi, someone who acted—who fought, who did something. But now? Now there was nothing. No fight to win. No enemy to strike down. No way to change what had already been taken from him.

His voice dropped, quiet and strained, the fire dimming but not extinguished.

"Jasper was everything to me," he muttered, his throat tight. "And now he's just… gone."

The silence that followed felt suffocating. The droids stood motionless, lifeless. And no matter how hard he trained, no matter how many hours he pushed himself...

There was no training droid left to fight, no enemy to strike down, no way to take this pain and turn it into action. There just was no fixing this. And that—more than anything—was what terrified him.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Coruscant
Tag: Braze

---

Part of Ko anticipated such disrespect. Even Braze could notice the sudden change in how Ko looked if they hadn't turned away from him. The different energy the Kel Dor had. His already wrinkly skin takes an even more textured and prunish look. Veins bulge from his skin across his body and the now empty hand that was holding the can clenched firmly. His four knuckles turned white from the pressure.

Pulling his hand back and extending his fingers Ko had it violently collide with Braze. The point of impact wasn’t on the teens head, or back, but lower. The Kel Dor’s palm and broad fingers smacked against the echani’s rear with an incredible amount of force behind it. Although it was less like a slap, and more of a fast, open handed push. With enough momentum to launch the boy off their feet and slamming into the dojo’s wall.

A huff hissed through his antiox mask like steam from an engine. “The disrespect… That was a limited edition drink you just spoiled. No care about the plants that gave their leaves to the tea, no care for all the hard workers who harvest, process, and deliver it. Even to the metal workers who made the can it was in. All of that hard work and skill just to be bashed by your dirty boot.” Ko chastised, his body straightening as he stood over Braze. His imposing aura is only amplified by the uncharacteristically dark robes he wore today.

Ko sounded angry, and he was to an extent. But he was fully aware of what he was doing. Not truly immersed in his words or actions but instead what they were meant to achieve here and now. Braze was furious, and Ko knew that the pressure of that fury needed to be released now before it got out of hand. Ko, ever the responsible and considerate friend and role model within the order, was here to sacrifice himself for Braze’s wellbeing. To accept the full force of the boy’s inner rage. Because right now nobody else could. “Yeah, Master Kai’el is gone. Missing In Action. There’s nothing we can do about that, right?” Ko asked, his tone slightly mocking and challenging to the young knight.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

​

Braze hadn't expected what came next.

He turned his back on Ko with a huff, still caught up in the storm of his own emotions—until reality struck. Quite literally.

The sharp impact sent a jolt through him, and he barely had the presence of mind to throw his hands up, stopping himself from crashing face-first into the wall. The pain wasn't immediate, but it didn't take long to bloom into a fiery sting, radiating from the point of impact. For a few stunned moments, Braze simply stood there, frozen. He had never been handled like that before. The sheer audacity of it left him reeling.

As the realization of what Ko had just done sank into his mind, Braze turned slowly from the wall, fighting the instinct to reach back and rub at the throbbing spot. That would only further in-dignify himself. But kriff— that hurt.

His jade-green eyes settled into a glare, locking onto Ko with a blend of simmering anger and something else. The look he shot the older male was a strange hybrid of resentment and wounded pride, the sting of the moment compounded by Ko's sharp-edged reprimand as he spoted out his chiding tirade.

Heat rushed to his face, starting at the tip of his nose and spreading across his pale skin, painting his cheeks, ears, and the bridge of his nose with a humiliated flush. The rush of emotions left him dizzy, his blood running cold even as his heart skipped a beat. He'd never felt anything like this before—this sharp and sudden collision of shame, resentment, and something else he couldn't name. His stomach churned with it, a strange, twisting sensation that made him feel off-balance, and nauseated.

Despite himself, he reached back, fingers grazing the tender spot where the pain still lingered. He gritted his teeth as he did it, hating the need to soothe the sting.

He was torn between swallowing his pride and apologizing or letting his anger take control, reasserting his perceived dominance over Ko.

In the end, humiliation won out—and with it, the fire of his anger, burning away any chance of restraint.

Had it been anything else—anything less—he might have swallowed his pride. Might have shrunk back, smoothed things over, surrendered to the simpering urge to make peace.

But that wasn't what happened.

Because if he let himself hesitate, let himself feel the full weight of the moment… he knew exactly what would come next.

He would fold. He would go small and mousey, fumbling through some pathetic apology just to make it all go away.

He even looked like he was on the verge of allowing tears to pass his eyes.

“Yeah, Master Kai’el is gone. Missing In Action. There’s nothing we can do about that, right?”

That was the last proverbial push as he dropped his sabers to the floor and charged Ko.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Coruscant
Tag: Braze

---

Ko himself let out a sigh, upset with himself for provoking the echani knight. But part of him just knew that this was how it had to be done. Echani were fighters, it was how they communicated, they spoke with their fists rather than words. Ko was willing to speak Braze’s language, his natural language. Even if it may have pained him to do so. Ridiculing his friend while they were struggling felt wrong.

The Kel Dor braced himself after Braze dropped his weapons. Readying himself as the teen’s body rushed into him. However, it would feel like trying to tackle a brick wall, or a mighty tree trunk. Ko had hardened his body from soft to solid. Looking down at Braze his goggles gave off a eerie white glare.

Lowering his arms he wrapped them around Braze’s toros and hoisted them up. Holding the teen upside down before falling back onto the dojo floor with him. Performing a harsh suplex. Afterwhich Ko quickly got back to his feet with a fast kick up. “Come on Braze… Show me why Master Kai’el knighted you like he did. Show me that your master didn’t make a mistake.” Ko said harshly, standing over Braze. That was rotten and awful. Ko knew full well that Braze earned his rank and that Jasper wasn’t reckless when knighting his apprentice. But Ko wanted to bring Braze’s insecurities to light. To bring them out and hopefully free the echani from these doubts. ​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze was usually precise—poetic even—with a flowing grace that made every movement deliberate. But not now. Now, he was wild, brutal, and raw. There was no finesse, only aggression. His strike was guttural, born from a place deeper than thought, a visceral reaction rather than a calculated maneuver.

He crashed into the hardened Keldor like a brick wall, the impact jarring him to his core. The world spun—flipped violently upside down—before he slammed onto the ground with a force that rattled his bones. The breath was ripped from his lungs, and for a moment, he could do nothing but gasp, coughing against the pain. Tears streaked down his face, hot and unchecked, as he lay beneath the blinding lights of the training room.

He choked on a breath, rolling over with a desperate wheeze, his body shuddering as he fought for air. His hands curled against the floor, fingers clawing for stability. And then—his gaze snapped up his glare settling on Ko.

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

he shouted, voice ragged with fury.
Something dark coiled with in his chest.

His vision tunneled, rage searing through the helplessness, and without thinking, he moved. This time, he didn’t rely on sheer power of his own fragile form, this time, he called on the Force itself. He was faster than before, his body propelled by raw emotion, by fury, by the bitter need to prove himself.

With a burst of energy, he lunged, pouring his anger into a forward Force jump that accompanied the speed. His entire being screamed with the need to strike, to push, to overpower, to dominate. He reached out, sending a powerful Force push aimed to hurl Ko into the wall just as his hands moved to collide with him.—or at the very least, bring him crashing to the ground.

Braze wasn’t a strength fighter. He knew that. But right now, logic didn’t matter. He wanted to be strong. He needed to be stronger. And in this moment, nothing else mattered but forcing Ko down.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Coruscant
Tag: Braze

---

Standing over the young echani Ko could recognize them giving in to their anger and frustration. The typical precision and dexterity he’d come to expect from Braze was tossed out the window. Instead now they chose to meet Ko strength for strength. A mistake given that had always been a clear advantage he had over Braze.

What Ko had said was awful and rotten. Something he wished he’d take back before he even uttered those words. When the force push came it blasted Ko back. Putting up his defenses once more through The Force as his body broke through the wall, leaving behind a hole. Shocking a training Jedi in the other training room who had been practicing some full body mobility exercise.

Standing back up Ko patted off the dust from his dark navy robes. As he did so the other jedi scampered out of the room to get some help. Ko stepped back to the hole in the wall. Extending his hand sharply to blow apart more of the wall for him to step through before closing it back up behind him through a bit of an earth shaping.

“Make me…” Ko challenged

Knowing that Braze was focused so much on trying to overpower Ko he figured that they were lacking in defense. So the Kel Dor grabbed the echani with a large invisible hand to hoist him up into the air before crashing them back down onto the dojo floor.`​

 

[Ko Vuto]

Accidently Double Post

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze was slammed to the ground harshly, the impact rattling through his body like a shockwave. The breath was ripped from his lungs, leaving him gasping, choking on the air he couldn't quite pull in fast enough. Pain flared through him, sharp and unforgiving, sinking its claws deep into his ribs and spine. He coughed, his body convulsing with the effort, and tears stung at his eyes—hot, unbidden, and absolutely humiliating. He felt miserable. Worse than miserable.

But instead of lashing out again, he just stayed on the floor, curling in on himself as the fight bled out of him. His hands moved up to cover his face, fingers pressing against the burning heat of his skin. He finally, for the first time in all of this, admitted he was hurting. Maybe not in words, maybe just in the way his body shook, the way his breaths hitched unevenly, the way he struggled, but failed, to keep from crying.

He couldn't stay like this. Pride wouldn't let him.

With a sharp inhale, he forced himself up onto his hands and knees, his arms trembling as he pushed against the cold floor. Every inch of him protested, muscles burning from exertion and impact alike. He grit his teeth, trying to steady himself, to get back on his feet, to prove—to himself, to Ko, to anyone watching—that he wasn't weak.

But his limbs were shaking too hard. The second he tried to shift his weight, his arms buckled, and he collapsed back down with a thud.

The frustration hit him harder than the impact. A deep, hollow thing that coiled around his chest like a vice. But this time, it didn't burn with rage. It didn't roar with defiance.

It just sank.

He felt weak. Useless. Exactly what he had been trying to train out of himself. What had all of this been for, then? If he couldn't even stand, if he couldn't stop this feeling from swallowing him whole?

For a long, stretched moment, he said nothing at all. Just breathed, hard and shallow, through the sting of his tears. Hoping that Ko wouldn't see them.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Coruscant
Tag: Braze

---

Towering over the fallen echani Ko looked down at him. Seeing the struggle and tormented strength within Braze. With considerable weight the older knight lowered himself. Falling to one knee. “You’re not weak Braze, you’re only off balance right now. Even the mightiest castle will crumble on top of a poor foundation.” Ko said, trying to offer Braze some solace.

If the echani was perceptive enough they could see small gentle streams of water flowing from his goggles and down his antiox mask. Only now was it beginning to show. His goggles had been gradually filling up and now were overflowing with tears. This was the first time he’d been allowed to cry in years. Since losing his eyes there had been no way for his body to express his grief.

“You’re holding yourself accountable for things outside of your control. You’ve been reminded of your limits. One Jedi is only capable of so much.” If that wasn’t true, there wouldn’t be much need for an entire order. It was a struggle he’s had to come to terms with as well. From the guilt he’s felt since the conflict against the Sith had gotten more violent with each battle and the time it took away from him.

Ko couldn’t be there for every conflict that takes a sector to its core. Couldn’t be there for the knighting ceremonies of his own friends. Not without feeling like he was being irresponsible. A jedi can only be at one place at any given time.

“It wasn’t right for me to say those things. I was wrong to even suggest them, and I’m sorry. You need to allow yourself to come to terms with your feelings and insecurities.” Ko only wanted to give Braze a push in that direction. Even if it ended up being more of a forceful shove. Knelt over Braze Ko extended his hand to the young knight to help him up onto his feet.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze let out a sputtering cough, dragging in a shaky breath as he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to fight off the sting. It was as if lying there motionless had given exhaustion the chance to catch up with him—his body finally registering the toll it had taken. He writhed, rocking slightly from side to side on his back, struggling against the pull of pain both physical and emotional.

Sullenly, he pulled his hands away, his gaze lifting to Ko through tear-blurred eyes. He shivered involuntarily, rolling onto his side before forcing himself upright with slow, unsteady movements. His arms wrapped around his middle, his body curling inward as he knelt, head bowed. More tears fell freely, trailing down his cheeks as his choked sobs faded into quiet sniffles. A fresh wave of sorrow welled up inside him, radiating outward from his chest like an ache too deep to name.

"I just… hurt… so much," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper, thin and fragile, like he was afraid saying it out loud might make it worse.

And then—suddenly, completely—the tension that had coiled so tightly around him unraveled. It slipped away like a loosened knot, leaving his body slack, his limbs heavy. A strange numbness settled over him, dull and unfamiliar.

Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was the bitter pill of acceptance. Or maybe it was just the weight of Ko's words sinking in. But Braze had become listless and motionless save for the quiet subdued and guarded crying.