Private One More Light

[Liorra]

Somewhere outside Keldabe where the gravel roads met with the red dust of devastation. Where the wind sings alone, carrying with it whispers of yesterday and there in the echoes of those who have gone. Liorra sat atop a dilapidated building, her loth-cat on her lap, and the droid beside her. She faced the horizon where the remains of a lake are open like the scars on her body from Dxun. The vacant expression on her face did not hide the emptiness in her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped and her hand brushed gently over her cat's head. The glow of the Mandalorian sun as it burned in the depths of the void beyond her grasp, illuminated the sky above. She didn't and couldn't hear the footsteps that approached her, she felt though the way the building shifted when the weight of boots were pressed upon it.

Lio didn't turn her head, she instead kept her focus on the horizon. Her brown hair held back by a tie, but her amber eyes had been glazed over. Her mind was elsewhere, clutching to promises that had since been broken. She was numb, perhaps the best way to describe her state of mind. It wasn't just the loss, but the bitterness she had been holding onto. The way her jaw clenched, her teeth ground against one another. The way her nostrils flared as she wanted to keep her emotions inside. She blinked the tears away and pulled her cat up to her chest. The heat of the sun's glow began to fade as the pull of the moon worked its way into the sky as Mandalore rotated. Lio was fighting with the intrusive thoughts, deep in her thoughts, she didn't react immediately to the presence of others.

Mia Monroe | Valery Noble ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia was out of her depth, she had said as much to Valery before they approached Liorra . There was no way for Mia to bring Liorra back from the brink, not when she herself walked in the dark. For Mia, it was different, her darkness had taken root an hundred years ago, it didn't rule her like it had then, it was simply a part of her, and while she could probably teach Liorra how to better channel it, somehow she felt...wrong doing so.

It was the same reason that she had avoided teaching Elise any of her darker skills. Both girls were dear to her and the path of the dark side had consequences she wanted neither of them to suffer. She exchanged a glance with Valery Noble before moving to the girl's free side crouching down, a comforting hand stroking the girls head. "Lio'ika, mhi ne'waadas at jorhaa'ir."

She could see the unfallen tears in her eyes, and resisted the urge to pick her up and hug her close. "Master Noble is here to speak with both of us, ad'ika." she said softly switching to basic for the benefit of the jedi.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery frowned once she saw Lio sitting atop the rock. Even with the comfort of her cat, it was easy to tell that she had a lot of weight resting on her heart. Mia had said as much, and told her in honesty that she needed some help to try and lift the young woman back up from the darker pit she was falling into. It was a request, given her history with Lio, that Valery had no trouble helping out with.

As soon as they reached Lio, Valery walked over to the other side and briefly glanced at Mia to acknowledge what she said. A softer smile then turned to Lio, and if permitted, Valery placed a more comforting hand on Lio's shoulder.

"Hey, I've heard a little about what happened," she began, her voice soft and almost motherly. "I'd like to talk to you about it and do my best to help."

Liorra Mia Monroe ​

 

[Liorra]

Liorra was broken from her trance the moment Mia placed her hand atop of her head. She narrowed her gaze slightly on Mia's eyes, the girl's amber eyes were somewhat stern in their expression. She shifted her attention to the Jedi Master and then looked down at the cracks in the lake bed. "Meh gar mirdir bic malyasa'yr gaa'tayl." A softer expression met the Jedi Master, the other woman rested herself opposite of Mia. "Alright," her voice plain as she took in a breath and shifted the cat in her arms.

"Yeah, it's been ... a time," explained Lio, "I uh..." She scoffed and shook her head, "so weird," the girl struggled with the words while she in her own mind fought with herself. "On Monastery everything was simple, there were my moms, the Monastery Jedi Enclave, the Order of the Sacred Lotus, and all the little towns." She picked at the edges of where the building met the rock scraping off lose bits of paint. She looked over at Mia and then Valery then back to the strips of weathered paint. "My ma, Shia, she... she taught me everything about being a Mandalorian, when she was home at least." And not off with the Enclave helping Clan Kryze there, a clan she never really felt part of. "Mom taught me everything about being a Jedi, and said I'd be a Padawan, and go through my trials to be a Knight. Earn my lightsaber," Lio's lips shifted upward a moment and she sighed.

That hadn't happened, after being with her godmother Romi Jade the young girl was meant to be Jax Thio's padawan but when that didn't happen she made her way to Mandalore. "Someone said I was too experienced to be a Padawan," she flicked another strip of paint off. Looking up off into the distance watching the sun fade away. "But without proper training I could fall into the darkside, and Mandalore was on place for a Jedi." But it was the place for a foundling, hand atop of her loth-cat's head. She gave Starlight a little scratch behind the ears. "And then Dxun happened..."

"I know, I know... it's not cowardice to have saved my own tail, but it doesn't make it any less... well, less of a failure on my end." It had been Lio and some Jedi she had never met before up against dar'jetii she knew less about. "Guy dented in my beskar'gam, you know how hard you have to hit to dent it?" She shrugged her shoulders and looked back at the dry lake bed.

Valery Noble | Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Caught between two worlds. Mia blew a sigh out of her nose. There was no place for Jedi among mandalorians. Was it possible for a jedi to convert? Absolutely. Was it also possible for a mandalorian to defect and stand wuthbthe Jedi? Yes.

Could they be one and the same?

Mia didn't think so. But she was not about to voice as much. "I do, and I look forward to the day I get to dent his skull as recompense." She replied, glancing at Valery with an apologetic shrug.

"Are you upset that you failed on Dxun, or at your struggle to honour both your mother's heritage?"

Liorra Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery merely shrugged in response to Mia and kept her gaze otherwise focused on Lio. The question Mia asked was the same one she had — was this more about her split heritage, or what happened on Dxun? She supposed it was a mix of the two, but the latter was something far easier to address. She just needed time and experience, and there would always be new opportunities to prove yourself.

But where? Among the Jedi or the Mandalorians?

"It's not an easy position to be in. History has proven that Jedi and Mandalorians have their... differences." Her eyes shifted to Mia but not with any hostility in them. "We've worked together and we're currently doing that as well, but we've been at war numerous times, too."

Valery let out a soft sigh and squeezed Lio's shoulder once more, "We want to help you figure out where you feel at home the most." Much like Mia, Valery didn't believe in being both at the same time, but she wasn't going to push anything. It had to be Lio's own decision.

Liorra Mia Monroe ​

 

[Liorra]

"I wanted to be a Jedi, like my mother before me," confessed Lio as she wiped the tears away, "but it hurts when no one considers me to be a Jedi. That the person who was to be my master never meets with me." Such a dream, and promise was perhaps not hers to have, Lio looked up at Valery and scoffed, "you would not know what it is like to be ignored, to be told you are not worthy of such a righteous goal, do you?" There was a bitterness in her words, "Master Thio never arrived, and I sat there waiting for something that was never going to happen."

Anger rose to the surface again, and it was met with grief. The grief of a path that was not hers to take, that she was forced to choose between one mother or the other. It felt like she was betraying everything her Jedi upbringing had taught her. The same upbringing that was mirrored in the sparring sessions with Shia. The two women there, the Mandalorian and the Jedi were the representations of a life Lio was slowly coming to realize would not be possible. The death of a dream, the decay of the hope that once lingered in her once sunshine-bright amber eyes.

It wasn't just Dxun, Dxun had only just exacerbated an open wound that been left to fester. "I could never truly be one of you, could I?" It was an accusation more than it was a statement, "as always the New Jedi Order says there is only one way to be a talyc jetii." The dullness in her eyes slowly eroded into a burning glow the fire of her amber gaze spoke toward the accusations. "I came to Mandalore because you Jedi refused me, I came to a place that welcomed me."

"Do either of you know what it is like to grieve a lie?" She rose to her feet and took a step back from them. "So tell me, how do I reconcile this?" Her hands over her heart, hot tears falling, "how do I reconcile the lie and the truth? I was raised to walk the paths of the Jetii and the Vod." She gestured wildly. "Bic cuyir va celye ibac Ni cuyir va dinuir a otahyr, ibac an Ni ganar cuyir jehaat be Jetii. La ka'ludiy at ni, Ni cuyir bu'pahya at cuyir a Jetii Babatir emuurir kaysh. Ni cuyir naas emuurir kaysh, Ni cuyir shi ut'reeyah srusala ba'slanar at kyorar ti udes be ner vod."

"Empty promises, that is all the Jedi offer." And then Lio looked directly at Mia with the same accusatory glance, and then her gaze fell to the ground, and quietly she uttered, "sometimes I wish I hadn't been born." The same intrusive thoughts came right back around, and feeling ashamed of herself Lio turned to leave.

Valery Noble | Mia Monroe ​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Mia stayed quiet letting her vent, relieved to see it all spill out of her, to finally reach the core of the issue. To see her speaking about it, instead of throwing herself into reckless situations in an attempt to prove herself. As she stood, the loth cat jumped to Mia's shoulder, the former Mand'alor lifted her hand absently to scratch under its chin. It was a lot for anyone to process, let alone a sixteen year old girl.

She rose smoothly, as Lio turned to leave, closing the gap and catching Liorra's arm, pulling her into a hug. "The path you are trying to walk is not an easy one...differences is putting it mildly, mandalorians have been used for centuries to do what the Jedi cannot. Or we have been used by the Sith to eliminate them. We do not blend, we simply tolerate one another. I can name...maybe two people in my memory that were able to blend our cultures, and yet even then..." she trailed off not wanting to dishearten her further.

"She didn't lie to you, your buir didn't lie, she just...she presented you with a dream." She placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Liorra Valery Noble

 

[Liorra]

Lio didn't resist and she didn't fight, she simply hugged Mia and held on tightly.

The teenager just let go of all the emotions she had been holding inside. The way she cried was nothing like Lio had done before, it was the grief of a dream. The death of what had been hoped and imagined, and the inevitable choice that was before her. Lio stayed there for awhile and then slowly pushed herself away and said to Mia, ""Ni narir va copaanir at gaanader par Ni aalar bic malyasa'yr cuyir a sarcina at kaysh. Gaanader solus buir jaon ashi, val cuyir bintar saryr be ni, Ni cuyir bintar Jetii bal Mando."

It was as if the choice had been made for her and it wasn't a feeling that Lio enjoyed. Deep in her heart though, the teenager vowed to find a way to walk both paths, even if it meant one would lag behind. The teenager was kicking herself for what had been said out of anger. She shouldn't have been so quick to judge the entire order on the actions of one Jedi, after all, the Master Jedi had come all this way. Taking a moment Lio addressed Valery, "I shouldn't be so quick to judge the entire order, or lash out at you, no one should be the target of the anger or rage of another."

Shifting her attention back toward Mia, "O' ures a jetii'kad, ra haa'taylir srubu'aou'anr adol, Ni mirdir Ni malyasa'yr narir meg Ni liser at kemir jupayr be bintar, par vam Resol'nare vam Jetii Dadita sirbur ibac Ni ganar at gaanader. Shi ibac Ni shekemir etie miit."

The girl translated what she said for the Jedi. "Neither the Resol'nare nor the Jedi Code require that I choose one over the other, and even though, I don't have a lightsaber and that I won't see any of the trials." Lio's brow furrowed, as she wiped the tears from her eyes, still mourning the dream that would never come to fruition. She tore her gaze away from the Jedi Master and looked up to Mia. "I-" she hesitated, still feeling as though she would be betraying her mother, Mishel if she chose the path of the Mandalorian over the Jedi.

Mia Monroe | Valery Noble ​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Much like Mia, Valery remained quiet and didn't respond with body language to Lio's venting either. When emotions ran high, it wasn't uncommon for people to lash out more than they themselves would have liked. It showed, because after Mia did try to calm her down, Lio was quick to apologize. Valery offered a smile in return, and if allowed, placed her hand back on Lio's shoulder just to let her know that it was okay.

Valery wasn't upset, angry or disappointed.

She was here to help.

"You really want to make this work, hm?" Valery tried to finish the girl's sentence and waited curiously for her answer. "I can't and won't speak for the Resol'nare, but you're right about the Jedi Code. It merely suggests some core beliefs for the Jedi, but they aren't necessarily exclusive to just Jedi."

"The difficulty is in our history and culture. A long time ago, the Mandalorians were turned against the Republic and Jedi by the Sith, and nearly wiped out as a result. Ever since, the tension has been high, and in more recent history, there has been a lot of conflict, too."

"But... we're not all enemies." Valery looked up at Mia, but also thought about her friend Jenn Kryze. "I don't know if it can be done for certain, but I can promise you to be there for you when you need me, or need a Jedi. As I am now."

Liorra Mia Monroe ​

 

[Liorra]

The answer was obvious, and Lio need only look between the Master Jedi and the Al'Verde for that to come across. Lio listened to the Master Jedi intently, whilst the Mandalorian winds kicked up through the wastes. It was definitely a more supportive message than before, or at least in Lio's perception Valery spoke in a way that felt more uplifting. She like the two women before her was uncertain if one could walk the path of the Mandalorian and of the Jedi together. It was said best that you picked one and stuck with it, stay in the middle and you'll get struck. Given that Lio had already been struck down, quite physically on Dxun. She gathered that if that was just the beginning then she was going to stand back up and fight. Looking past Valery Noble and to Mia Monroe the young woman gave them a solemn nod.

"For so long I have trained only with a training saber, but I've wielded my beskad, the kad and other Mandalorian weapons as soon as I was able to hold them." Her Mandalorian weapons always felt like a natural extension of who she was. "My mother, Mishel has trained me to wield a lightsaber but I have yet to forge my own." A more civilized weapon some Jedi might say, but it was also a key part of being a Jedi. Just as the beskar'gam and the beskad were parts of being Mandalorian. The norms and values associated with either item spoke to the cultures, and spoke in a way that communicated strength. "With your permission, Master Jedi. I'd like to begin the process of forging my own lightsaber."

And then to Mia. "Al'verde, although I have passed my verd'goten, I'd like to request permission to begin forging my own beskar'gam. You see the one I wear is one my mother Shia forged for me. I have parts of her old armor, and our Kryze ancestors that I wish to forge into my own." It would allow Lio to make it her own.