Private The Report Card

[Joza Perl]

In all her travels, Joza had yet to visit Commenor. But she had little interest in seeing what Chasin City had to offer, not while her daughters lay disfigured in the Jedi Temple. They were young and strong, their attending physician had told her, they would bounce back. But Kyra’s arm would never be the same, and Nida’s right eye had to be removed due to the nature of her injuries.

I should have been there. Joza had been hesitant to allow any of her children to pursue the path of the Jedi, knowing what trials would be lying ahead for them. Her own arm had been lost during her years as a Jedi Knight, taken by a grotesque Sith, but that was of little comfort now. She wanted her children to have a better life than she had, to be free of undue injury and the terrors of the galaxy.

The Perl children, she had concluded, were not content with sitting by idly. It was a source of pride for her as much as it was one of anguish. Does that make me a bad mother?

With Kyra and Nida settled, Joza turned her attention to the man who’d taken Kyra under his wing: Jedi Knight Caedyn Arenais. He was a native of Commenor, and his surname felt familiar, but not familiar enough for her to place it.

Perching herself on a bench, Joza smoothed out the bodice of her skirt. She’d asked for him to meet her in the courtyard. It was time for a parent-teacher conference.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

It had been a long week.

After the battle for Yurb, one might think that the silence and confinement of the Academy walls would offer some sense of comfort, yet for Caedyn it only encouraged his thoughts, his questions during the lull of activity as he waited for his Padawan's injuries to heal and they be allowed to be back out in the field doing some good once again.

What he hadn't expected however was to hear from Kyra and Nida's Mother, Joza Perl . So far, Caedyn had only met...-Or rather, known Kyra's Father Coren Starchaser. Joza, like Caedyn himself had been an active member of the Outer Planets Alliance, and possibly still was. When he had returned to Kashyyyk however for the purpose of mentoring over Kyra, he'd lost the ability to keep tabs on those within the Outer Rim as well has he had done before.

Meeting the parents of a Padawan wasn't typical, despite how it might seem from the outside. Most students were disconnected from their families, whether that was of their doing or of their parents agreement to allow them the life and progression of the Jedi Path. Caedyn had been surprised when Kyra had discovered who her father was. A longstanding friend of Veiere's, Caedyn's own Father.

Now it seemed it was time that he met the other half.

"Joza Perl?" Caedyn asked, standing within the entrance to the room. Apparently she had been interrogating the medical staff for news of her daughters; Caedyn couldn't blame her. "I'm Caedyn Arenais... we spoke briefly" he introduced himself.

It wasn't particularly easy to find the words when standing before a Mother, whose children you had led into a Warzone...

 

[Joza Perl]

She stood when Caedyn Arenais approached her, blatantly looking the man before her up and down with a critical eye. So this was Master Arenais, the Jedi who’d taken her youngest under his wing. It was surprising, as Joza half-thought that Kyra Perl ‘s attitude would have her expunged from the academy by now. It was a relief that she hadn’t been. Kyra needed this, she needed a guiding hand to shape her Force-given potential and wily temperament. Despite wanting her daughter to succeed, Joza was too well acquainted with the cost of being a Jedi.

“Master Arenais.” She extended her hand in greeting with a diplomatic smile. After the initial pleasantries, the pair took their seats on the bench.

“It’s good to finally put a face to the name. Kyra talks an awful lot about you, and I’ve been meaning to touch base for quite some time now.” Fetching a pocket mirror from her purse, she peered into it and patted just beneath one of her eyes with the pad of her ring finger, checking to ensure that her concealer and eyeliner were intact. No matter the circumstance, Miss Perl rarely made an appearance looking anything less than polished.

Satisfied, she snapped the mirror closed and turned her attention towards Caedyn.

“What were you thinking, leading my daughters into that hell?”

Her polite expression never faltered.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

“What were you thinking, leading my daughters into that hell?”.

There was no change in the woman's demeanor leading into the question, it came without a hint or sign that their exchange would so quickly delve into such a tense subject; And yet Caedyn wasn't overly surprised. Perhaps a little intrigued as to Joza Perl 's ability to carry a mask of her exterior in such a way, yet otherwise she had every right as a Mother to be asking such a thing.

"Ms. Perl, before I answer that, please know that I understand where you're coming from...-However your Daughter is a Padawan within the Order. In most typical circumstances, our students don't have such close connections with their families for this reason".

Caedyn Arenais wasn't that droid-like stone wall void of emotion that many expected of the Jedi, instead he spoke with a soft voice and met her gaze with one of empathy. He knew what it was to care for the girl like she was family, although he had never made mention of this to Kyra herself for the sake of trying to stay true to that balance of professionalism as a Jedi Knight. A proven struggle of his lately, to not allow the relationship between Master and Apprentice to cloud his judgement or negatively affect his decisions and actions in the field.

"In her being sent to train and live under the Order, I'm sure you must of had some idea as to what was involved. Kyra's told me that you, yourself have some experience in this field?" It wasn't meant as a provocative question, though he wouldn't have been surprised if it did put the woman on the defensive. From what he understood, children didn't place themselves within the Order and with her apparent prior experience then she must surely have had some expectations of what was to come.

"As to what I was thinking..." He paused a moment, his back straightening some as he glanced off to look across the hall for a moment in reflection; Accountability and Honesty were values that he praised, and so within the moment of apprehension something seemed to give.

"I struggled to justify leading my Padawan into a battlefield knowing that we could make a difference in the lives of others who would surely have perished without our being there. As for Nida, it was Kyra that found her among the others on Yurb and from that point on I did my best to protect them both".