Private No Rest for the Wicked

[Dagon Kaze]

From dry humor to the elephant in the room at a blink of an eye.

Dagon's smirk dwindled when Aeris shot straight at the source of his inner distress. The same disturbance he remained determined to shackle within; a flagellant exercise he stubbornly refused to cease. "I don't doubt the Force, Aeris." he replied, looked sideways, then reluctantly, almost as a whisper, "Only my decisions."

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"Ahhh," Came the knowing exhale. "Then, why do you not let the force guide your actions?"

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Lack of training? Lack of confidence? Demons seeking to seize it?

He did not have a straight answer, nor did he much desire to divulge it if he had.

"It's not that easy." Dagon muttered, squinting his eyes thoughtfully before climbing out of the chasm of conflict. He forced himself to take a sip of the caf, welcoming its bitter taste, then changing swiftly the topic, "Before I leave for Teta, I need to follow a lead on Coruscant. Might be connected, might be not. Anything out of the ordinary here surface recently?"

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"But it is that easy." Aeris gave the man a nod. "Trust in the force that you are on the right path and it will be shown for you. What you do, what you say and where you need to be, you can find all of that if you just let it guide you."

Deep breath, he knew all of this. Surely?

"There is always rports on Coruscant. Even more so than Teta. Nothing that I can remember right now, but I can try to dig around once I get back to the archives if you want."

 

[Dagon Kaze]

I wish it was that easy.

Perhaps Dagon should've listened more, focused on the books he so much enjoyed, stayed in the library days and nights in and out. Perhaps he should've not ran to war so recklessly, as he was warned not to, perhaps he should've been more patient. Perhaps then it would've been easier to find his center of being.

Perhaps.

Perhaps he should've deafened the wails of agony and the cries of help of a galaxy suffering under the butcher's knife of the Sith. Perhaps he should've drowned in the rivers of blood as they drowned the preacher's daises or suffocated under an infinite pile of skulls and bones.

Perhaps.

The wrathful thought flashed in his mind, gone as fast as it had arrived - in a heartbeat.

"That'll help a lot, thanks." Dagon nodded, the momentous sign of conflict nowhere to be seen. He began to raise from his seat, the lopsided smirk beginning to glow once more, "I will walk you back, have a little stroll. With how much you've been in the Archives, you've probably forgotten how Coruscant looks like."

"Or smells."

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

There it was, again. Aeris wanted to make note of it and raise the point but decided against it. Instead she merely let in a deep breath, sighed and chuckled at the insinuation she would lose her way back to the temple.

“Right, because I would lose my way from here and up to the bright shining force beacon in the distance.” Aeris deadpanned and looked at Dagon. “I’m alright, friend. But I won’t say no to the company.”

She rose from her seat. If the man presumed to jab at her time in the archives then, well...

“And much like I need to get back to my books, I imagine you have a certain Viers Connory to return to, hmm?” Oh yes, there it was. A mischievous grin, something almost entirely different from anything that Dagon would have seen on Aeris before. It curled from corner to corner of her lips with a deep grin. “Kisses and ventilation shafts too, I believe?”

 

[Dagon Kaze]

There was a light breeze in the air, mostly from the constant passing speeders in the airlanes above, and millions of people pacing about each to their own destination. It was a normal day on Coruscant.

A good day, even. Dagon felt on top of the world of sarcasm, the king himself; until Aeris sucker punched him into an endless fall from grace and in a spiral of incomprehensible embarrassment.

"I--uh, I, I, that-that wasn't like, it's not-" he spurted out, his hand instinctively coming at the back of his head looking for answers. "-it's not like that; she was helping me out with the porg infestation! You know that!" an unexpected chuckle coming out of his mouth. It felt like his feet were standing on a grilling pan.

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

A warm chuckle rumbled in Aeris throat as she looked at just how red Dagon got.

"I know." She grinned. "I was the one who approved us to hire the pest exterminator to begin with."

"You just seem so ashamed of it that I can't help but laugh."

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"Ehh, I'm not ashamed, well not exactly- she's a pretty girl and all that." Dagon explained, the crimson fading away back to his normal color. Relationships, affection and all that were...different in this time and age for Jedi Orders. Some Jedi frowned upon it, some didn't but generally there was no written law against it. One of the few converging points between the New and the Silvers. "Rather worried from the talk, you know? Not for me as much as for Viers. People talk. Jedi included. We're not immune to the small gossip here and there."

While Coruscant and by extension the New Jedi Order was completely different, Dagon recalled the impact of gossip on Ruusan on at least a few individuals.

He chuckled lightly, "I'm glad you're laughing, though, I don't think I've ever seen you do anything but scowl at how unorganized everyone leaves the archives behind." he paused, then, "You haven't heard it from me but Viera keeps saying how you need to go out more."

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Dagon Kaze

“Ah yes, the talk.” Aeris shook her head. “I learned long ago to pay the talk no mind. It has a way of always being there no matter how hard you try to push it away.”

And then, Aeris seemed to be shocked. Her eyes closed, her brows furrowed, and her head turned to face Dagon before her eyes opened once more.

“I… Scowl?” She asked with a rapid blink in her eyes. “I mean, there hasn’t been much to laugh at recently, but I hardly scowl, do I?” Her hand rubbed at her neck. “Viera likes to talk a lot, that’s probably just it.” She chuckled and let the hand fall by her side. “I just like to take my job seriously, by the book - if you will. Even if it doesn’t seem like something all that important, those books need to be kept in proper condition if we want them to last any longer than we ourselves will.”

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Books.

Safekeeping knowledge, protecting wisdom. Once those duties had been his dreams as a youngster in the New Jedi Order. It all changed when they marched to war, blue blades raised in defiance against the looming shadow. Had he outgrown his dreams? They feel as a fool's errand now, a glimpse of naivety. Was it so? The turmoil was locked deep inside and on the surface he refused to acknowledge it. His cause was just. Right.

"That you should." a ghost of his past self emerged for a moment before vanishing as quickly. "Viera does like to talk a lot but, y'know, she might be right." he shrugged lightly, "You spend too much time there - you'll end up forgetting what's the outside world like." there was no judgement in his tone, only a friendly observation.

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Not only would the library cause one to forget what the outside was like, but computer screens made your eyes turn square and having too much time to kill made you blind if it happened too much. Aeris shook her head.

"No, I still get out of the archives. We still run a few tasks off-world with the few younglings and padawan that remain. They're always going to need someone to give them a good foundation that extends beyond what my books and datacrons can show them." It was true when the others said that Aeris was one of those more involved with the very young ones. Took a special form of patience, not to mention availability. "... You know, you keep mentioning that I should get out more, Padawan Kaze."

Eyes squinted, part-discerning, part-actually-trying-to-figure-the-man-out. "Actually, no... It's not just you, is it? Who else is in on this?"

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"I don't know what you're talking about." eyes up in the sky.

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"Hm. Yes, you do." Aeris chuckled.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

"Nope." lips pursed.

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"Mhm."

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Dagon drew out a long sigh, conceding, "Fiiine. I'll admit a few of us have, uh, well - let's just say we'd be happy to see you outside of the archives more." his smirk turned to a soft smile, "Be glad to see you elsewhere than there and the infirmary."

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

For a moment, that scowl that Dagon had mentioned seemed nowhere to be found. A happy, toothy smile spread upon Aeris' lips as she glanced at Dagon. It always felt good to be needed, of course. Why they would choose Aeris of all people was beyond her, but she had clearly done something to earn it.

"Well," She began. "I would like that."

"Although, I might have a bit of a difficulty letting work go. Like you said."

"... I mean, the evil we try to keep at bay won't sleep. And lately there has just been so much of it, some even from us ourselves, and don't even get me started on that one." Her attention set on the temple up ahead. "We have some... Points to improve, and I just want to prove to others that recent misconceptions have been incorrect."

"I don't like words, I don't like to try and convince others what can only be proven by action."

And there she was, yet again talking about her job.

Dagon Kaze

 

[Dagon Kaze]

Aeris was like a pendulum. As soon as she swung into a more carefree disposition, she'd immediately oscillate back to her serious responsibilities. Dagon followed suit as soon as the temple became visible up ahead.

"I agree." somewhat. Certainly there were rough edges to smoothen but he did believe a lot of the recent events had been blown out of proportion. Talking figures laying down judgements from positions of comfort. Preconceptions miring fair trials. The New Jedi carried a burden alone, he believed. This inaction drew him, and many other youngsters like him, into the war. They ventured as heroes only to return as villains.

But if such were the tribulations of a servant of Light, then so be it.

Silence lingered for a minute between them, only the bustling noise of Galactic City buzzing in their ears like bees. Finally, the padawan spoke, faint coarse tones in his voice: "...but I don't think we'll ever find respite. There'll always be juries and judges. Always someone pointing fingers." he winced, "...and I think I am growing accustomed to it." his jaw tightened, "Because I know we are doing the right thing."

Yet, his trip to the dark side aboard the Prosperity over Ziost always seemed to claw at his resolve.

Aeris Lashiec

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Dagon Kaze

“Oh, so now you already know we’re doing the right thing?” Aeris deadpanned at Dagon. “Because just ten minutes ago you didn’t seem quite as sure.”

She stopped, turned to look at Dagon, put her hand on his shoulder. “Look, Dagon. It’s not about being accustomed to it, or respite. It’s about what you can learn from it. People are losing faith in us, and we need to give them something that can prove their fears wrong. That we are peacekeepers and guardians.”

“Just make sure that you don’t mistake the galaxy for a boulder you can put on your shoulders while you are at it. Many others have fallen for it, don’t let it happen to you as well. Not again.”