Lady of Worlds

[Jairdain]

"Alone you and I just single people and you're right, we can't be famous. We will die unknown and not be footnotes in history. That doesn't mean we can unite and work together to accomplish something."

Jairdain did not feel he spoke out of self-pity nor that he wanted any from her. She wasn't trying to placate him or talk him out of his train of thought. Her agreement with him should indicate that.

"Governments rise and fall, Commenor is just one example of that. Yours was too."

Following his movement, she turned to face Voph as he went back to his chair. She remained seated on the dock at the water's edge though. Folding her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and appeared to be looking at him. Through the Force she most certainly was, but not trying to read him or probe him in any manner. If he wanted to open to her, he would and that would take time.

"I have drawn much attention to myself with some of my actions. While in the grand scheme of things, I am just one person, to a few I am everything. You are such a person I feel, Master Voph. Right now you are alone here, but in time you will be everything to somebody."

Maybe it would be her and maybe not, it didn't make her intuition any less right. Jairdain knew he would be an important part of her life and perhaps she would be in his as well.

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Voph laughed quietly. "I am always alone." His gaze turned to stare blankly back at Jairdain. "People come...people go. Best not to get attached." Voph sank down into his chair, and sighed quietly. "I suppose that's why I took the name. Sitdrisa'yr. Pilgrim. Home is out there. Somewhere. And I may yet find it someday."

Voph's shoulders seemed to droop for a moment, as the gravity of his situation began to pull at him. But in an instant, it was gone. He supposed that with the recent happenings, and being thrust into an entirely new galaxy, Voph's exile was more than self-inflicted. But the doubt was beginning to eat him from the inside. Was it his fault he was a man without a nation? A man with no family?

He looked back at Jairdain. "Perhaps you speak truth. Maybe there is someone out there like that." He offered her a wry smile. "No idea what they would want with me. Except for my money." Voph leaned back in his chair. "Of course...they can't be worse than my wife..."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

"A person can live that way for only so long before they go insane. A few years ago, closer to ten actually, I was held captive by the man I am now connected to. He kept me locked up in solitude for close to a year. Deprived me of the Force and of any company. I did not come out of the ordeal, 'whole'."

Though it was in her past, it was probably a good thing Jairdain was hugging herself like she was. She had fallen apart mentally in those months but had recovered as much as she was going to. Those scars were still there and would always remain. Even when Lykos had died, there was still a small piece him in her mind. Buried deep within her soul. Krest too had his place there.

"Pilgrim does not mean going alone, Master Voph. Your home is where you make it. Maybe here or maybe not. The life you lead is gone and so is mine. My homeworld was destroyed and all the people there are dead. I have my life and homes sometimes on my own, but quite often with the help of friends."

He mentioned he had no idea what somebody would want with him and she shrugged slightly. She grew serious in her speech and manner. Not wanting to belittle something that she meant to be serious. That is until he mentioned his wife.

"People look for different things in others. Oh, I'm am sure there are people out there worse than your wife."

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Voph's brow furrowed as [member="Jairdain"] spoke. He knew the feeling she spoke of. Better than he'd like to admit. "Well...true solitude, certainly. Delightful in controlled doses." Voph shrugged. "But, it is possible to be surrounded by people and yet utterly alone." His head tilted to the side as he watched Jair hug her legs closer to her. For the briefest of moments, he wanted to comfort her. To tell her he knew how she felt better than most. But he let the feeling pass. It wouldn't be right.

"We would agree to disagree, though. Home is not a place. It is a people. I have spent too long traveling the galaxy to feel otherwise." He smiled gently at Jair, and stood, moving back to sit beside her. "My kind are rare. In my time...there was no home planet of our own. Simply a colony that my people had claimed for ourselves." Voph pulled his knees close, and wrapped his arms around them, mirroring Jair. "I know what it's like to be one of the last. In all my travels....across eight decades... I only ever met four other of my kind. And now...they would not have me. I am corrupted. Unfit to rejoin the Miraluka people." His gaze drifted across the water for a moment, before landing back on Jair. "Home has never been about a place. Not to me. I've lived my life among people who were not my own. Among people who would think themselves my better just by matter of birth. And I hope that one day I may find a people that would accept...not just me...but everyone. For who we are. Not what we are."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

There was something Jairdain realized about herself for the first time. She was the kind of person that wasn't meant to be alone for long periods of time. Those controlled doses Voph spoke of were reasonable. Something about what he said about being surrounded by people and still be alone made her feel that he knew this from experience.

Listening to what his opinion of what a home was, Jairdain could understand his point of view. Her physical homes were something material, what he spoke of was different. When he said the Miraluka would not have him back now, she didn't understand why until he clarified slightly.

"I think they would. People change over time, have you tried approaching any? Ok, maybe that was the wrong thing to ask, I'm sorry."

Drawing in a slight breath as what he said last made it through her thought, one of her hands reached out to him.

"I am just one person, but a start maybe. Master Voph, I accept you for who you are."

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Voph recoiled from Jair's touch. Well, perhaps not recoil, but he instinctively shied away from her touch. A sharp breath was drawn, and his arm stiffened as her hand rested upon it. He let his breath out slowly, forcing himself to relax. She meant him no harm. Voph offered [member="Jairdain"] a weak smile, trying to seem as apologetic as he could manage. Of course, he forgot she was blind same as he was. Perhaps she could still see the gesture? "...My thanks, Lady Jairdain. You are certainly more kind than most."

He drew another deep breath, looking back over the water, trying to calm his nerves. "You offer wise council, but...It is not something I can bring myself to follow." His head hung for a moment. "There is an order. Warriors, scholars, hunters...They call themselves the Luka Sene. Perhaps you are familiar with them." His head raised again as he looked back out over the water. "I used to be one. Before I fell. We were guardians of the Miraluka. We sought out the darkness and destroyed it to protect our brothers and sisters. Should one of our number fall, it is upon us to redeem them. But...should that not be an option..."

Voph let the implication hang. "I was one such case. Though I escaped with my life, the damage had been done. That was the first...and only time, I transferred my essence to a new host. The...body I now inhabit. Well...the original." He smiled slightly. "As it stands...I have been marked for death. Perhaps one day they may consider me a worthy cause again. But...for now I must content myself with walking my own path. And seeking a forgiveness I do not deserve."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

As soon as Jairdain felt Voph pull away and stiffen up, she removed her hand. What he tried to convey with his smile echoed through the Force and a sense of acceptance was returned to him. She did not fully understand why he pulled away and stiffened, she accepted it from him. There was a future planned between them and as time progressed, maybe those shields and barriers he had might get broken down. Not wanting to push herself on him, she kept the distance between at his comfort level.

Listening to what he said in answer to her question, she shook her head. His vision was greater and different than hers so he should be able to pick up on it. If he didn't, her sense of curiosity should be felt. She started to draw some parallels between his people and hers. With hers though, there was no redemption.

Nodding in understanding at his unspoken hint, memories was being present for those executions came to the surface.

"I walk my own path as well, Master Voph. You have done nothing to me to forgive, but if I could I would grant it for what you have done. Everybody has done things they regret and need forgiveness for. This includes me."

Maybe he would find it, but it wouldn't be from her.

[member="Voph"]