Sixteen Moons Sing A Silent Tune (Thane/Katarine)

[Bethany Ryiah]

Dantooine - Kai Albi Gran Orphanage

Dantooine was a beautiful planet and one of the only places Bethany felt at home. She knew the planet held a special place in Katarines heart. This was the place James Terran grew up. James Terran... the pirate... the hero... the Jedi ... the man Kat loved more than life itself. He was the reason her adopted mother was so very sad. He'd been missing since before Bethany was even born. If you could even call it born. Nobody knew exactly how Bethany got here or why she was.. odd... to put it delicately. After the ceremony on the Ryiah homeworld under the twin moons Katarine had escaped her evil twin and taken a baby Bethany with her. They fled to the only place Katarine felt safe... this orphanage. The caretaker was an old ex Jedi Master raising children in his retirement. He was the one who raised James in absence of his parents and during the many many times that Kat herself was gone he was now raising Bethany. Or at least he was trying.

Things were never easy with Bethany. The other children were frightened of her, or at least she assumed this was the reason for all their cruelty. Bethany was very gifted in the Force but she couldn't always control it. As a result odd things happened to the child and it freaked the other children out. It freaked Bethany out too. But what freaked her out more was the knowledge that Katarine was hiding something from her. She felt Kat knew more about her fate than the Jedi Master was letting on. And those suspicions were confirmed one day when Kat returned and explained a Jedi was coming to teach Bethany. The girl had always trained with Katarine, who was so mistrustful she'd never taken the child off of her orphanage sanctuary. The little girl was suspicious. Why suddenly was a Jedi coming to train her when Kat had insisted on doing it up until now? Why risk Daxium (Kat's dark twin) finding Bethany? What as going on?
Little did the girl know that Kat had been searching for the right fit in a master. A traditional Jedi would never do and Kat knew this. She'd went through great lengths to track the man of the day down. The two had already spoken about the child and what a ... delicate... case she was. Katarine hadn't told Thane everything, since she didn't know everything yet and she was afraid he'd call her a superstitious fool if she shared her suspicions about the curse placed on the child. Still she couldn't deny the Ryiah had a religion and lore full of dark mysteries. Bethany could be the answer to an entire future in the Ryiah family or she could be the one who doomed them all. The matter was delicate and Katarine was hoping Thane was up to the task.
Bethany sat outside on an old swing hanging from a tree branch. The other orphans were playing a game up on the hill but of course they never invited her to play. She sat there, eyes lost in the ground and mind somewhere else. The air around her seemed thicker somehow, muggier than it should have on the day. Odd things with the weather often happened around Bethany, though the little girl could never control it or explain it. Just another reason the others called her freak, weirdo, and worst of all... witch. A teardrop formed in the little girls eye and ran silently down her cheek.

Inside the orphanage, Katarine was waiting for the arrival of Thane and watching Bethany from the kitchen window.

 

[Rhurek Thane]

It could have been worse, Jedi were normally called to pick up Force sensitive children on battleground planets or some double homicide parental massacre. A trip to Dantooine was like a picnic. A very grassy picnic. Thane had been discussing in private taking over a young girl's training from her adoptive mother, @[member="Katarine Ryiah"]. It took a lot of convincing seeing as he hadn't trained anyone since returning to the Jedi most recently. This time would be different. Or would it? Given the same circumstances, he'd make the same decisions over and over. But he was older and wiser now. He knew better than to allow himself into any other positions that had gotten his former padawans killed.

He stopped in front of the orphanage and stared at the front of the historic building. He let out a long sigh as he continued his way along the length of the orphanage. The dull thump of cane meeting hardwood flooring announced his arrival in the building long before he even tried to voice his intentions. Standing directly behind the Jedi Master, he spoke up, "Judging by the worrisome expression on your face, the one on the swing with the water works is the newest 'chosen one'?." Everytime in history, whenever a child was born from nothing, they always had some wicked awesome destiny linked to them. So why not dub them with a killer nickname?

 

[KitKat]

Katarine smiled, her back still turned to Thane. Unlike many people in this galaxy Katarine found a personality like his delightful and welcome. She turned around, the kind smile still on her face as it usually was. Katarine was one of those people who was so nice it was sickening at times.
"Thank you for coming. Well yes that is her... though chosen one doesn't quit roll off the tongue now does it?" She grinned though there was still worry in her eye. She supposed she was acting as the child's mother, at least in the way that she made sure it ate, bathed, and rested. Kat wasn't very motherly though so perhaps maybe big sister Kat was the better expression? She still wasn't sure. This was all very new to her and she hadn't had the privilege of nine months to get settled with the idea of being responsible for some little girl.

 

[Rhurek Thane]

"Fit's her far better than other names I'm sure she's been given by her peers. Kids are mean. If I had a dollar everytime a kid was polite to me, I'd have....well, a dollar." He said aloud to himself. He had a knack for addressing his own comments and metaphors, you just had to get over it. The Jedi smiled at him, and it wasn't the fake smile he typically received from his Jedi peers, it was the real deal. She was genuine, a rare gem found in a galaxy scattered with blackened coal. But behind her kind facial expessions, there was a deep caring for the child, whether it was a mother's love or a the kind of love a techie would give his new datapd was yet to be determined.

"So how does this go down, do I just sign her out and take her, or do I have to play dress up first?" He asked a bit uncaring. It's not that he wasn't, he was just void of any bedside manner. Events in his past turned him into what he was today, but that info he was sure she would try to pry from him eventually. Everyone always did. The key word here being try. "Or do you have any questions for me before I meet the kitten?" It was the first time he had used his nickname for the child, and he gave an amused smirk to the young Jedi. She was smart, and he was sure she'd make the connection.

 

[KitKat]

Katarine laughed and smiled at the nickname. Thane was charming to her where he might be brash to other people. She liked it.

"Very clever. Well I guess you can start by introducing yourself to her. ". She motioned for him to follow her. They left the kitchen and went through a back door that lead to the old tree where the girl was swinging.

"If she DOES want to play dress up you are an autumn. Remember that. ". She winked and motioned for him to go on without her. The first interaction between master and padawan would set the stage and Kat didn't want to interfere.

 

[Rhurek Thane]

Thane simply stared out at the young girl sitting alone on the swing. The Kat Master had tried to shoo him, but her gathered his thoughts first, and finally made his move to approach the girl. His coat flapped a little in the light breeze as a ball from the other kids came rolling toward him. He stopped it with his foot. The girl chasing it tried to grab it just as it hit his running shoe. She looked up at him slowly, clearly not expecting him to be there. Thane responded to her stare, "Can I be your imaginary friend?" The startled girl just took the ball and ran away screaming. He just smirked and continued toward the swing.

He and his cane finally made it up the short hill and crossed the small patch of grass to get to the lone occupant on the swing. "Hello there. I'm Dr. Thane. I'm a Jedi. But the little ones call me Uncle Rhurek." He said as he approached her and knelt down in front of her, laying his cane down on the ground next to him. "You know, the eyes can mislead, a smile can lie, but the shoes always tell the truth. For instance, I see your shoes and I see casual brown shoes, slightly scuffed but not enough wear meaning that you rarely get involved in the other chilrens games. They are fancy enough telling me that you care what the other children think. They are a soft leather also telling me that you also care about being your own comfort just as much as you care about fitting in." Thane let that sink in. He was talking about more than just shoes here. "Now tell me what you see when you look at my shoes." He asked her.

((He is wearing your typical Nike type running shoes, mostly white and navy blue, with a neon green emblem and markings along the sides and bottoms))

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

Bethany was just sitting around looking at the ground when this talk man with a cane walked over to her. He knelt down and her curious eyes, hazel at the moment, watched him in the way only a timid little girl can. He started describing her shoes and she looked at them while he spoke. She had picked them out herself when she and Kat went to the market to buy her some new clothes. Kat and the orphanage caretaker always tried to get the children a pair of shoes every year. Bethany was the only one who didn't wear hers out but children's still out grew things quickly even if they didn't use them.

The Doctor asked about his own shoes as if this was some fun new game they were playing. Bethany stared at them. They looked comfortable and built to take impact when moving around. This was cinfusing to her but she would come back to his limp latter. They were also stylish in a way with the colors but clearly they weren't what was in this season. She could say he wasn't someone who followed the crowed but that was already obvious to her. If he did there would be no way he would train a problem freak of a case like her. Instead her eyes traveled the ground next to him and a small smile touched her lips. "I don't think you really need that cane all the time Doctor Thane."

 

[Rhurek Thane]

Thane stared away for a moment not really focusing on anything as his mind wandered. He thought about her answer. How silly. A typical child's answer, of course he needed his cane all the time. His hand reached instinctively for the wound on his right thigh, and instantly felt the scarring the dead tissue, the lack of tissue, and the nick to the bone left behind. He was in pain. He was always in pain. Without his cane, he could barely take a few steps without falling over from the intensity of the pain wrought on by the lightsaber wound left behind as a reminder of his failed past.

He came back to a second later, and began to reply, "You're just going to force me to call you....a...." He trailed off. Of course. The Force. Before his self exile, he had used the Force on occasion to alleviate the pain. He reached out of his pocket a red lollipop and handed it to the girl, and then lifted his right hand to give her a high five as he gave her a smile. "Smart kid."

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

Bethany grinned and gave him a high five. The little girl was relishing in the game. It had been a long time since she had someone to play with. Kat was like a mom or more like a big sis but she was away on Jedi business a lot and the other children only paid any attention to Bethany when they teased her. She took the candy with a wide smile. In the back of her mouth there was a hole where a tooth had fallen out. "Thank you."

She unwrapped the candy and put the wrapper in her pocket while she watched him shyly. As with all children she had a billion questions but she had learned adults got tired of a kid that asked questions all day. Especially if she was bored and had nothing else to do. She stayed quiet for a few more seconds but her attention started to wander and finally the questions started.

"Do you have a lightsaber?" Her eyes were wide. It was a symbol of Jedi and so far she hadnt ever seen one. Kat said hers was off limits. Bethany didn't know why but she suspected it had something to do with the crystals inside.

 

[Rhurek Thane]

Sitting down on the grass next to her, he produced another lollipop and stuck it in his mouth as he picked up his cane and pressed on a point behind the handle that released the handle from the cane portion. The handle of his cane revealed itself to be his lightsaber. The cane portion was interlaced with a cortosis weave as well. It was also decorated at the end with flames, but that was more for vain reasons. He held up the lightsaber handle so the girl could see it with ease, but did not hand it to her. "You see with your eyes, not with your lusts. Besides, if I let you try it, then I'd have to let everyone try it. Blame political correctness." He reattached three handle to the cane a it became one again.

"So you never told me your name." He let the unasked question linger as he popped the sucker back into his mouth. "Also, as a fair warning, I have already nicknamed you Kitten, so it really doesn't matter how you answer."

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

Bethany's eyes went wide when she seen that his cane was in fact his lightsaber. She watched all the way down to the flames, her mouth visibly hanging open. When he talked about political correctness she smiled. "You're funny." A slight breeze picked up, swirling the dust around them. The little girl was still watching his cane. "Do all Jedi have hidden lightsabers like that?"
When he asked her name she pushed her hair behind her ear and spoke as if she was introducing herself and trying to be sophisticated like all the adults were. "I'm Bethany. You can call me Kitten though. I love kittens. One had a litter under the back steps. I named one of them Onyx but Kai Albi Gran wouldn't let me keep him."

 

[Rhurek Thane]

"Only the coolest, most awesomest ones." He responded about any other Jedi having a lightsaber like his. "It's stylish, yet functionable. Hence, the flames." He indicated toward the decals at the end of the black cane.

He listened to Kitten describe the caretaker and the incident with her short lived pet. "Well, between you and me, Old Gran sounds like a stick in the mud. She probably eats worms too." He said in a small attempt to lighten the mood. He leaned in slightly, pointed at Old Gran with one hand and cupped his mouth with the other and mumbled to her, "It's probably true!"

After a few moments he finally asked her, "Why do you want to be a Jedi, and what are you expecting to get out of it?" Time was better than any for some interview Q's & A's.

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

Bethany giggled as he made fun of the orphanage caretaker. She wasn't used to adults being so non serious. Katarine seemed serious all the time these days and the caretaker... well yea.

She was tracing circles in the dirt with her foot when he asked about being a Jedi. She shrugged and started making stars instead. "Katarine is a Jedi. She said I have power to connect with the Force... but she said there are two sides of the Force. The Jedi practice the lightside and the Sith practice the darkside."

She went quiet for a little while, still tracing shapes in the sand. "I don't want to be a monster like the rest of the Ryiah were and they were dark. I figure the Jedi are my only hope in preventing that."

 

[Rhurek Thane]

"Yup. that's about what they taught us in Jedi school." He said in reference to Katarine's difference between the lightside and the darkside of the Force. "And we're not only going to practice the Force, we are going to become users of it." He mentioned confidently.

If Thane was anything, he was forward and direct. No one could ever say he held back his feelings on subjects that concerned him. "The Jedi don't control your destiny, you do. Every choice and every action you make will ultimately guide you toward the woman you will become. The Jedi, Katarine, myself, we are only guides to help you reach your goals. If it matters that much to you, you will always have a right to choose on whom you'd like to become one day." He gave her a slight, reassuring smile, his blue eyes not batting a inch. Every word he said, he not only preached it, but he had lived it.

"Alright," Thane said as he carefully stood from his seated position on the hard lumpy ground he so unwisely sat down on. "Last thing, I'm just going to need for you to go back over to those bullies that were teasing you and apologize to them." He asked her, waiting for the onslaught of questions or defiances she might portray today.

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

His talk about her being responsible for her own destiny were words she wanted to hear, but somehow the little girl couldn't quit believe them. She could feel the darkness inside her and sometimes she couldn't control it. If what he said were true then maybe she could learn to control it. She certainly hoped what he said was true but she wasn't brave enough to make any bets on her fate just yet.

Her eyes widened in alarm at his next sentence. "Umm I don't think they WANT me to go over there. I'm sure they like it better this way. " She looked over at the kids playing with cautious eyes. The last time she'd tried to play with them she'd ended up shocking one of the boys when they were playing tag. The same little boy seen her watching him and stuck out his tongue to her and made a very rude hand gesture she was certain Gran would tan his hide for.

Those hazel eyes seemed darker as she narrowed them in his direction. "I like it better this way."

 

[Rhurek Thane]

"Very brave of you to say 'no' to me, but also very stupid. While I give you brownie points for standing up to me, especially at such a young age, you are still going over there. Trust me, there will be plenty of parental moments of bliss as you go through your rebellious teenage years that I'm sure we'll just look back at and laugh, but this isn't one of those times." He said sternly. Thane could be playful and your best friend one moment, and the biggest jerk you've ever wanted to punch in the face the next. Thing was, if he couldn't get her to listen and do what he said now, chances were their mentor/student relationship would be a rocky one from the start.

"Come on, I'll go with you....help you." He said resigning to the unsure look on her face. "I'll lead, and I fully expect for you to follow." Gathering up his cane, he began to limp over to where the other children were playing. The little girl whom he ran into when he first arrived had run to hide behind some others. As he made his way to the center of the gathering, he nodded toward the kid who had given Kitten the rude hand gesture. "Hey kid, you like that finger?" When he nodded yes, Thane continued, "Wanna keep it?" When he received another nervous yes, he continued again, "Then keep it to yourself, unless you want it broken off and shoved up your...." He heard a few gasps from the adolescent group. "Nose." He ended it. "For an alternate ending to that phrase, please refer to Gran, I'm sure she'd be williing to share." He smirked to himself, pleased at the outcome so far.

"But before you do, my friend here would like to say something." He moved aside and held his arm out beckoning for Kitten to step forward and address her peers. "I've already warmed them up for you." He mumbled to her as she drew closer.

 

[KitKat]

(Pretend I am Bethany since my phone is being weird and won't let me switch. )



Bethany frowned, her lips turning down in a pout. She hadnt meant it in a breaking the rules way. She just didn't want to be made fun of anymore. He must have read the apprehension in her face because he offered to go with her. She followed him, and hovered behind him while he talked. She was caught somewhere between laugher and nervousness where all the other children looked frightened. He pushed her in front of them and she shuffled nervously.

"Umm sorry..." She froze, her eyes wide with horror. She whispered "What am I sorry for?" Her face went very pink as she stood stone still, not really knowing what to say to the people who made her life hell. The few drops on the grass rose a few inches into the air and made floating puddles around her shoes. She didn't seem to notice. She stood there with a Nexu caught in the headlights look of terror. "Umm I'm sorry and ..."

 

[Rhurek Thane]

((You're in luck, just so happens I'm a pro at pretending.))

What Kitten didn't know was that this want even about an apology. He was a jerk to countless people and never apologized to one. No, this stunt was about so much more. He was testing her obedience, her determination or resolve, her ability to think on her feet, and how well she handled awkward situations. Normally, he would never ask her to do something that he wouldn't do himself, but let's face it, neither Thane nor Kitten were normal. Every situation they found themselves in turned abnormal.

Thane found himself distracted long enough by the drops of condensation forming around her feet to make her awkward situation even more awkwarder by dead silence. Finally, he brought his attention back to the girl who was literally glaring SOS signals at him. He could feel the uneasiness of the children around and the explosive uneasiness radiating from the girl. His eyes slowly closed as his chin tilted up and a calming aura began to form over the small area. He knew Kitten, being so attuned to the Force, would be able to feel it if not even see it through the Force, that was after she calmed down. The longer it went on, the stronger it got. It was one of Thane's special tricks, or Force powers most others called them. His blue eyes cracked through his slowly opening eyelids as he gazed over the most content group of children he ever laid eyes on. He looked over to Bethany, "Just relax, you're doing fine. Trust me, if you harbor bitterness in your heart for too long, it'll slowly eat away at you. They will never forgive you, but you can forgive them, and that is the first step to recovery, and a valuable life lesson I might add." He motioned for her to try again.

 

[Bethany Ryiah]

The calming sensation started suddenly and the water pooling at her feet dispersed and fell back into the grass, soaking her socks. She glanced down in what would have been shock, but she was so calm she merely shrugged.

"Umm well I wanted to say I was sorry that we got off to a rough start... and... maybe... we could be friends... if you want.." The kids, although calm, looked like that might be the last thing they wanted. They watched her, thinking and then the kid that was holding the ball shrugged. Bethany smiled.

 

[Rhurek Thane]

Thane listened to the young girl make up her insincere apology, nodding while she spoke. "Well, it won't win you any Nobel Peace prizes, but it'll do." As the calming cloud lifted, the kids looked around as if confused as to what had happened. Before any of them could leave any lasting harmful scars, Thane ushered Bethany back to the main office where Katarine was awaiting them. Before they got there, he asked, "That soothing, calming effect, it's one of the many things you will learn under my tutelage, if that is something that would interest you. So how do you feel?" He was curious, but he wouldn't be surprised if she felt no different. Emotional scars have been tested against the never ending onslaught of time, and very few ever get washed away. Instead, Thane hoped that the girl would use them to strengthen herself, to thinken her skin.