Private Someone Else's Business

[Corin Trenor]

There was always a case.

It seemed as if Kai concealed certain details, maybe even lied about them. Corin felt it in the air while eyes narrowed on the suspended frame of the newly deemed criminal, left to float between the blue-lit restraints in the depths of the detention cenre. He wondered, even if briefly, if this little venture became motivated by spite. It was no secret that neither Corin or Kai were the best of friends of any sort, there was no love lost when the latter became a convicted felon sentenced to three full years. Hell, some pettier side to the Suicide Slums local almost went there to boast; their lives fell in different directions, after all, and one appeared much better than the other. In an objective sense, that is.

Kai almost dared him to do it. Challenged Corin against Iris' resolve, or so the elder of the two imagined.

He awaited Iris on the steps to the Jedi Temple, the afternoon sun cascaded over the countless stairs that lead towards the busy street, otherwise indifferent to the activities of the Jedi. Between the streams of Padawan learners in their more traditional attire, Corin stood out like somewhat of a sore thumb in the expected leathers those two Jedi watchmen of Denon often wore, leaned on. Even if she tried to veer from him, the newly made knight was on the move.

"Iris." His voice cut through the excess chatter.

"I need to speak to you about Kai." He continued once closer with a softer, more subtle volume.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

Being back on Coruscant was pretty rare for Iris. Between running around on Denon and the other stuff she always ended up getting into, it was more once in a blue moon these days. Another lesson, more refreshers on the basics. And maybe keeping her in touch with her fellow Padawans. And other friends. She blinked as she caught sight of Corin. Right, he'd been knighted. And she still forgot to actually congratulate him in person.

Given how he looked though, he wasn't here for that.

She frowned, just a little, as he mentioned Kai, and just walked past him. "People usually start with it's good to see you or such, you know." Something she learned more recently, but it wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about and maybe was a little bitter about it all.

"What do you want to know?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

"If I was here for a catch up, I would've." Corin said as he started to then follow the Padawan. "But these aren't the best of circumstances."

He was busier elsewhere. Denon, mostly. To be expected. In other sectors when there was a need for it, the war with the Sith and the increased Imperial activities never did much to afford peace and quiet for servants of the Galactic Alliance. Even if the Jedi never were, in a more official sense. He rarely found the chance to talk to members of his former classes, nor the few friends Corin made in the process.

It was a shame that Iris found herself entangled in the middle of it all now.

"I need to know what happened." He continued mid-stride, calmly. "Kai lied, and you were the only other person there."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"What a surprise. Kai lied." Oh. The bitterness in her tone even surprised her to the point she paused. Frowned. She didn't want to be resentful. Away from the others she turned to face Corin and- Oh. Look up at him. He got taller, huh. Iris crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why do you need to know? Don't you have enough on your plate?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

The corner of his twisted into a sour curve while eyes averted for all of a second.

His strides carried him almost lazily behind Iris, a slowness left in his gait to ensure their speed remained matched. Corin let his hands remained stuff away in the pockets of leathers he could finally call his own, rather than the hand-me-downs that flew from the old and unused corner of someone else's wardrobe. Still, there was clear sign of rips and tears that came from a scuffle shown.

Corin craned his gaze down towards Iris, "Kai says he killed some Sithspawn and you wanted to tell Noble, why would that be something to resort to a memory wipe for?"

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Yeah that's pretty obviously a lie. .. I'm not sure how much I can say, though. Master Noble has all the details. If you need to know, she'll know what can and can't be said." That, and she wasn't about to tell anyone else. Even though Kai Bamarri tried to erase her mind, betrayed her, he begged her not to tell anyone. Valery was the only person she would tell, and if she decided to tell others, that was her choice.

".. I take it that's all, though."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

"Tell me what happened, Iris." He said firmly, the type of sternness to his tone often reserved for the criminals of Denon. The spice-peddlers, the abusers, the liars and thieves - left to rot beneath the boot of tyranny attached to a system that never cared for them beyond their hollow words.

Had that been what Kai had become to Corin, maybe Iris too by extension? Just another liar, another cheat. Kai hid behind Iris, and Iris hid behind Noble. Corin could never take on Noble in the same way, that required a more... careful approach. But was there ever much of a case to begin with, had Corin lost his grip on reality, left to chase little more than ghosts and whispers on the wind? Maybe, best to wait and see.

"You can trust me. Just as I can trust you."

If not then, well, more unscrupulous means may need to come into play.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Would you still trust me if I told people who you are? People I trusted?"

Iris frowned deeper at this, now just narrowing her eyes. The colors around him. She didn't like them. They were far too similar to how they looked when he was interrogating criminals.

"Do you really trust me?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

He fell silent for all of a moment.

"I trust you," Corin confrmed solemnly, "I trust that if I hurt innocent people, then you could put a stop to me. You and those you choose to tell."

Corin understood the intent behind the question well enough. The other side to the coin, that it was. His thoughts on the matter stirred, like a gear in a machine that twisted and turned with each small and minor adjustment made. Like the synapses in his brain, they all fired off one after the other.

"No matter what you promised Kai, he hurt you. He told a lie to cover his tracks, his misdoings, and upholding that lie does no one any good. Not Kai, not yourself, and not those that may be hurt because of it. I get it. It's important to you. The right thing to do though, Iris, is to tell the truth. Let me help, that's all I'm after."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

That made more sense than she liked. Whatever annoyance she had faded to conflict. Confusion. Kai was one of her oldest friends. Taught her how to fight. How to see through the colors. How to even talk to people. A lot of who she was was based off of what he showed her. But he did hurt her. Crossed a line she shouldn't of. It showed on her face just how frustrated she was with this all.

"He checked in on a droid taking care of a baby.. Whatever Kai used to be. Sithspawn. I wanted to tell Master Noble to get them relocated at least, cause they were already affecting the people who lived in the apartment and he freaked out. That's all."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

His features contorted with some sense of confusion. Corin tilted reflexively with a furrowed brow and taut mouth.

"Then what, Iris? The Sithspawn, what happened to it?" He asked with measured concern, as if dancing on a knife's edge to get the information he needed. Wanted, that was closer to the truth. No one needed this.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't know. I ran to Master Noble and she took care of it, to my knowledge anyway." Now she just looked uncomfortable. Iris frowned deeper, hugging her arms to her chest. "Is that all?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

He nodded in acceptance, rather than confirmation.

"Just one more thing. This apartment, where was it?"

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's not there anymore, Corin. I already checked. I had to, to make sure the people there weren't ruined by it's presence." Even as she spoke though she was already sending some of the information on the location his way. Pulled out her datapad to do just that.

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

He watched and waited.

Corin found downturned eyes settle onto the datapad held in her hands, "Send me what you have on it, if you can."

The idea of it was odd. Kai, too. It all was. Corin never much pried into people when not needed, even if somewhat curious from time to time. A Sithspawn, as far as Corin had been made aware in all those lessons, was a Sith crafted monster. Kai seemed an exception. Seemed. It returned to an unexact conclusion now that he, or it, was deemed a criminal. If Kai protected it, maybe there was a good cause to it. Maybe something more sinister. Regardless, Corin was content to figure it out.

"Leave it with me, I'll find out where it went." He said in some effort to reassure Iris, who may as well of wished to wash her hands of the situation altogether. It was with pursed lips he nodded once, twice, three times. Then turned.

Only to turn back over his shoulder, "For what it's worth, I am sorry. And thank you."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's not your job to handle it. You've got more than enough on your plate. Why are you even bothering?" That's probably the part that didn't make sense to her. Was it because of Kai? Because of it being one of the Padawans of his generation?

"Master Noble and I can handle it. Are handling it."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

It was an uncertain expression that formed across his features. His eyes fell to the stairs beneath them, with the continued twist of pursed lips. Corin was silent for a moment, then a moment more until he returned his attention onto Iris. He smiled, almost sadly with a hint of confusion within it, and saw to the shrug of his firm shoulders.

"Just... that itch." The vigilante answer as best he could, albeit poorly. "It's what I do."

On Denon, on Coruscant. Anywhere. He found a case and pursued it like a bloodhound, an endless tide of persistance. It's all he ever knew, and maybe all Corin ever would continue to know. He stepped away in quiet thought, aware that the finest investigator in the Jedi Order trained him to become much the same. "Besides," he smirked with the same distant call of sadness, "I'll do it better."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Well, stop handling it. I didn't ask for your help. And I doubt the council did or you wouldn't of come to me. I told you you don't have to do everything by yourself." Just seeing that sadness was enough to annoy her to no end. Why did he seem sad of all things?

"Tell me what's going on with you? You're even more distant. And it's pissing me off."

Corin Trenor

 

[Corin Trenor]

His face scrunched into a ball, clearly shocked and offended by the sudden remark. He recoiled from it, too. Corin was distant, that much was true, but the days of consistent togetherness with his fellow Padawans was no more than a memory now. He was alone before it, and alone now after it. He told himself he preferred it like that, whether it was true or not remained up for debate. Corin never liked to pry too much into his own mind, most of all.

"Listen, I'm trying to help how I know how." He dismissed with the wave down of a hand, "I'm not a Padawan anymore. I don't have the luxury of easy contact with everyone I used to know, okay? I'm not being distant, I'm just..." Corin trailed as he seemed to search for an answer with averted eyes and sharp inhale, "I'm just doing what I can."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Yeah well it seems a lot of people wanna help, but not a single person has even bothered to ask me how I'm doing. I can see the visitor logs. All the people who went to go see Kai but never see me. I'm actually just angry, at that. And now you're here, trying to solve a problem that isn't even yours to solve. I mean, you're supposed to be my friend, right? Why can't people just ask how I am?"

And now she was bubbling out her frustration before she could put a damper on it.

"You all suck, you know?"

Corin Trenor