This Is Who We Will Be

[Lief]

"That sounds wonderful," she retorted, to the mention of a sandwich, however she was not one for drinking, she could not remember the last time she had consumed an alcoholic beverage - had she ever? - and so with a polite smile she added, "Though, muja juice in place of the ale, please."

Her gaze shifted for a moment, first to Ar'ekk, and then to the little monkey on her shoulder, and she realized that he would be unable to eat any of what she had ordered. She remembered how Fuz used to be, she had kept a stash of dried berries and nuts in her pockets at all times for the little guy to nibble on, and more in the satchel he had curled up in and hidden inside when trying to hide from the sights of others.

"Do you happen to have any nuts? If so, could I have some on the side please."

Only then did she actually sit down across from [member='Ar'ekk'], after bowing her head respectfully to the Rodian, and allowed herself to relax. What a strange few days the pair had had, but she could sense through the rumblings of the Force that all would be righted going forward. Balance would be restored, and though her companion was moreso light of heart than her kin', she knew he had the potential in him to become exactly that... Balanced.

 

[Arekk]

"I'll have that Corellian ale and the sandwich too, please. Thanks, my dearest friend."

He released his grip from the Rodian's shoulder and gave it a slight pat, nodding. The diner was half empty and the ambient was more than enough to enjoy a night out with Jyn and the little monkey. It was weird to find tranquility within the Smuggler's Moon, a little piece of heaven hidden beneath a world of chaos and crime.

The Force was the most important "possession" that they could have. What are they without the Force? Take the greatest Jedi Knight, strip away the Force, and what remains? They rely on it, depend on it, more than they know. Watch as one tries to hold a blaster, as they try to hold a lightsaber, and you will see nothing more than a woman – or a man. A child.

Ar'ekk's eyes lingered on Jyn, a short smile broadened upon his face. Her company was soothing, his heart raced every moment their glances clashed. She was the reason he escaped the grasp of darkness and despair and would be forever grateful. If balance was to be sought after them, then they would find it.

Balance.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Patience was a virtue Jyn had long since mastered.

As hungry as she might have been, as much as her stomach might have grumbled its frustrations, she did not seem remotely rushed to get their food. Instead she reached up to fuss Kipo behind the ear and smiled toward [member='Ar'ekk']. No doubt both were just as hungry as she, but their current surroundings were rather pleasant, warm, and the company was invaluable to her.

"Tell me something about you" she said, after a few long moments of silence, propping one elbow on the table and settling her chin onto its hand, watching him in such a fashion, "Something I don't already know..."

She knew there was so much and more to learn about him, for one she had not expected to find him in a shady place such as this had the Force not led her this way. Reaching across the table with her free hand, she settled it over his and smiled.

Hopefully her question wasn't too prying.

 

[Arekk]

The lights have been dimly lit on purpose thanks to Talath to create a much more pleasant and 'romantic' for the two of them to simply enjoy as the diner wasn't entirely full at all. Thanks to this, they would be able to conversate freely and openly without any interruption whatsoever. His eyes lingered on her beautiful face, still looking in awe just like the first day they met in Coruscant.

Holding her hand with extreme care as she reached out, Ar'ekk looked up to meet with her firm glance. The idea of revealing a 'personal' secret was amusing to him and he showed that emotion with a short chuckle and shaking his head.

"Something about me? Let's see..."

He meditated on his answer for a brief second before continuing,

"I enjoy simple things. Evenings like these with the moon settling down and spent together. Guess I'm a romantic guy despite the menacing look? When I told that to my group of friends at Malachor, they'd make fun of me the entire time."

As expected, Ar'ekk was caught by surprise with the question and didn't know how to answer properly. Guess no one can weazel through that one easily.

It came out as corny too in his eyes.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn could only grin at his response.

It wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind, she had been wanting to learn some great secret from his past, something he'd never revealed before, but maybe that was asking a bit much. They had both faced quite the exhausting few days, and right now all they needed was to relax, to enjoy one another's company, and some good food.

Speaking of which, it did not take long at all for their sandwiches to arrive, alongside their drinks of choice, and Jyn graciously bowed her head in thanks.

"It smells divine" she said, to both the Rodian and [member='Ar'ekk'], her hand tightening in his in a loving fashion.

"It is so good to see you happy, Querido. When I first saw you in the Den I worried you were gone..."

Waiting for a few moments, in case the Rodian had anything to say, when they were alone again Jyn used her free hand to take a sip of her juice, before lifting one half of the sandwich up and taking a healthy bite.

She had quite the appetite tonight.

 

[Arekk]

The response he gave was more of an awkward thing more than anything. Regardless, it wouldn't take too long until the young Jedi revealed something noteworthy about his past. He trusted Jyn with his life and that was enough to tell her some of his secrets, no matter how revealing they were.

Once the Rodian arrived with their food and drinks of choice, Ar'ekk pulled him closer and whispered something to his ear which would be faint enough thus making it difficult for the girl to hear. The alien's response was nothing but a mere short laugh and a wink, his returning the laugh back faintly. He was in a good mood after everything that had transpired to that point.

"Besides that? I might have stolen an ancient Jedi relic from a Besalisk vendor back home when I was younger and broke it. I think it held some powerful information."

Not a story to be proud of but he couldn't help but smile at that memory. There were many secrets he kept to himself, a bunch of them too gruesome and awful to tell on a nice night out like this one.

"You brought me back to life, dear. If it wasn't for you, I'd be trapped within the darkness and suffered a thousand deaths."

His plate looked tasty as ever and didn't hesitate to go for a mouthful bite, munching like a pig. When you are out in the battlefield trying to eat your rations as shots pass by your head whizzling, you'd wonder why having a proper etiquette is so important. Profusely apologizing, Ar'ekk covered his dirty mouth with a napkin which covered a playful smile underneath.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

The next confession had her roll her eyes, though the grin which presented itself upon her lips was honestly more obvious.

"Why am I not surprised?" she mused, with humour in her voice, that definitely seemed like something he would do, "Are you still so clumsy, or did you grow out of that?" Snickering to herself, but not in a mean or unkind way, Jyn shook her head and reached for her drink, taking a small sip. Part of her was genuinely curious what the relic was.

"What did it look like?" she asked, raising a brow. Had it been a holocron? Those things were notoriously difficult to craft, were effectively a Force User's life work. Their swansong.

Another bite of her sandwich soon followed. The flavours were great, and she was glad she had gone with the recommendation and not something random from the menu. There was even a selection of nuts and dried fruits on the plate which she gladly lifted up for Kipo to eat. Funny guy chittered away to himself as he munched.

[member='Arekk']

 

[Arekk]

Coiling his fingers around a cold Corellian ale and enjoying a delicious sandwich which he finished in record time, Ar'ekk returned the gesture by chuckling at her friendly 'scolding'. The young man knew she meant it in a good-spirited way and played along with the snickering, shaking his head negatively.

"It is what it is, right?" He said, laughing.

His eyes wandered in an upwards motion as he gathered his thoughts and tried to remember the shape of such relic. Although it had been a long ago this was a memory that was ingrained in his head as a special moment shared with his foster brother.

"I'm pretty sure it was cubic shaped with multiple designs etched on each face. But it was probably a knock-off, that Besalisk was known to be a swindler."

Perhaps it was a holocron that he had broken back then and even if he did, it was something that he was unaware of. The thrill of an exciting journey shared with a person he considered his own blood, the adrenaline pumping through their veins and the sensation of power gained after their stunt meant everything back then.

"What about you? Tell me something I don't know."

Hiding a coy smile behind his Corellian ale, he asked.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

"A holocron..." she uttered, not sure if she should laugh or cry at the revelation, though funnily enough her tone held no judgement, "You destroyed a holocron?" A light, unoffending chuckle left her then, as she shook her head, "Might be for the best, there are people who would kill to get their hands on such knowledge."

When the tables were turned on her, Jyn took a long sip of her drink to give herself time to think. There were so many things that she could tell him, her life had been nothing but colourful and frightening from the start, but none of it was really a secret that she could tell. Except, perhaps...

"Do you know of Atrisia?" she asked, nibbling at her sandwich before continuing, "It's a beautiful world, but it was run for the longest time by an Emperor who despised the Force. He had an Order, known as the Inquisition, who were Force Hunters. They were the only Force Sensitives allowed to freely roam the world, and they would seek out any who were sensitive and either convert them, strip them of their sensitivity, or execute them."

Leaning back in her chair, Jyn's eyes began to unfocus as she recalled that dark time in her life.

"Back when I had a Master, he joined their Order. By proxy, I was made to join also... They were oddly kind, welcoming, but I could never shake the more sinister feeling I got from them, like they were waiting for any moment that my Master was not present to end me."

She shivered, and looked down at her plate. Suddenly she wasn't feeling so hungry.

[member='Arekk']

 

[Arekk]

"Yes, a holocron." he said, concealing his laughter with his palm. The revelation was amusing for the man despite being a serious thing but she was right, such power was better not in possession of someone with bad intentions. "It was a long time ago but I still remember it vividly."

By giving his sandwich another handful bite, Ar'ekk listened to Jyn as it was her turn to reveal a well kept secret. Wiping his mouth with a napkin had never proven so difficult, the man nodded as the story progressed. His eyes widening as the surprises were brought up of such a painful story, his hand reaching for hers gently to provide comfort.

"I'm sorry."

Looking up to her as he once did for the first time, the young Jedi provided the girl with a warm smile with the hope of making her feel better. If there was something he hated was seeing Jyn sad and hurt. Kipo, the baby fat monkey, oo'd as her mood changed throughout the story and carefully hugged her head and patted her cheeks in an attempt to make things more cheerful.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

"Don't be" she said, without hesitation, "That was a long time ago, now. The Inquisition is no more, I have not seen any of them, nor my Master, in a long time."

Why had she chosen that specific topic to talk about? Jyn could not say, it did not inherently make sense to her, and yet it was the only true secret she had, the only thing that she had not said to another soul outside of those present.

Aside from, she supposed, the Arthos incident. That which had led her to her presently cursed state. But that was hardly tabletop conversation, and so she pushed it to the back of her mind before it could arise. Soothed by the tender touch of Kipo at her cheek.

Reaching across the table she took his hand in her own and gave him a smile. "I have come a long way since then, I inspired exasperation through my reluctance to utilize the Force. If only [member='Tirdarius'] could see me now, what would he think of such a change?"

[member='Arekk']

 

[Arekk]

"I'm happy with the way you are, Jyn. Don't let anything change that." he replied, nodding, "The present we're living is much better than we anticipated and the future is promising too."

Not wanting to extend the conversation any further and keep poking on feelings from the past, Ar'ekk diverted the topic to something else. Still caressing her hand and watching Kipo nibble the little nuts that Jyn had given him, the young man looked around the diner. If there were any clients left inside the diner they've probably disappeared because there was nobody except for Talath who, of course, was watching them from the counter.

The two of them had the best table in the establishment right next to a big window that allowed you to see outside with perfect clarity, people of all kinds walking on and about in a set path of their own. Time had passed rapidly and minutes turned into hours, the night had fallen upon them and the rain began to pour down gently for the time being, the neon lights from the advertisements scattered throughout the Smuggler's Moon reflected against the wet pavement.

"I don't think I can eat anymore."

He laughed, pointing at his empty plate.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

The conversation was thankfully diverted, and the pair sat in blissful silence for a while, picking at their food, watching the night roll on by, and enjoying their company for what it was.

It wasn't until a group of somewhat more rowdier teenagers moved into the establishment that Jyn realized how late it was getting. Her plate was not as empty as Ar'ekk's but she felt full all the same, any more and she knew she'd feel uncomfortable.

"Do you want to walk through the markets?" she asked, trying to keep the humour from her tone when one of the teens said something utterly ridiculous to the others. She looked at Ar'ekk and rolled her eyes, had they been that silly in their teenage years?

Placing the remaining nuts and dried fruits into her pocket for Kipo, she made to stand up but waited incase he had something else in mind. Incase he wasn't quite ready to leave yet.

But this was their last night on Nar Shaddaa for the foreseeable future, and honestly anything they did would be fine with her.

[member='Arekk']

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk instantly pulled himself up from the table and digged his hand within his jacket to retrieve a bunch of small credit chips. They were small enough to be convenient for carrying on one's person and would be good enough to pay that evening's tab. Talath was trying to make the rowdy teenagers calm down so they wouldn't scare off the clientele and once his eyes stopped being fixated on them he would turn back to the young couple, walking up to them to speak with them.

"Leaving now, huh? It's starting to rain outside, very heavy too. You take care, eh?"

The Jedi placed his cybernetic hand on Talath's shoulder and squeezed it tight, smiling. He had forged a very bonding friendship with the Rodian who had taken him under his wing during his first day in the Smuggler's Moon. The whole encounter reeked more of a goodbye than a see you soon.

"Here, take this. It will be good enough for your family and the business, I know you will do wonders with it. You need that more than I do."

He replied as he slapped a bunch of ant sized credit chips on the alien's open palm, enough to realize they were a fortune despite how tiny they were. A good day's work that would pay off, definitely.

"Take care, kid. And you, my dear? He's lucky to have you, trust me. I wish you the best."

Smiling profusely, the half masked man couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Jyn and shake his head in a funnily manner.

This was their last time in Nar Shaddaa, hopefully forever...

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn allowed the two of them to make their farewells without too much interruption. Her arm was looped through Ar'ekks, and Kipo was back upon her shoulder perched happily. She settled her head against his arm and smiled at the Rodian. He seemed genuinely nice, a true friend to her Querido, and she could not help but feel a small twinge of guilt at dragging him away from this world he had made his own.

"All the best to you and yours, too; it was lovely to meet you."

With that, the pair of them ventured back out into the nightlife of Nar Shaddaa. Thankfully the plan was to explore the market, which meant they weren't subject to the dreary weather on offer.

Her gaze scanned the closest stalls and stands, curious as to all the oddities on show. There was something she really did want to look into, more so than anything, and so she tipped her head up to look at [member='Arekk'].

"Know of any stalls selling books?" she inquired, with a teeny little grin.

 

[Arekk]

The market was big and full of wares and oddities to offer for their clientele that came mostly off-world, ranging from potions to black market items that certain 'special' individuals would need. Ar'ekk knew the entire market by memory, having spent most of his time just walking around the different shops and checking what they had in stock to sell.

"Books? You're going to love this place, come on."

His voice sounded excited, like a little child unable to wait to show you something he had done. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders and walking along, the young Jedi directed the trio towards a massive book shop on the east side of the market, a large window allowing you to see within the shop where thousands of books were almost maniacally organized from A-to-Z.

The shopkeeper was an elder human woman with purple hair, a very curious accent and extravagant demeanor.

"Through here. This shop is incredible, go right inside."

Carefully opening the wooden door, Ar'ekk and Jyn entered the book shop and waited to be greeted by the woman.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

Surprisingly enough it seemed as though her request had been met with absolute excitement.

She had not expected [member='Arekk'] to seem as enthused as he was, but then again it was as though he was showing her a secret, something she had not yet been made privy to, and so she found the whole thing very contagious and grinned as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and swept her down the street.

At first glance she could hardly believe it was a bookstore at all. It was larger than any such place she had been to before, most of the time they tended to be tiny little stores nestled into the corner of a street but not this one. The windows alone held so much wonder that she was quick to follow his suggestion to head on inside.

Once there, she audibly gasped.

"There are so many books," she breathed, having a hard time taking it all in, "I didn't even know so many existed..."

That was, of course, an exaggeration. With as many planets known to the Galaxy, as many writers, cultures, things to be explored, she doubted this was even a drop in the ocean. Yet to her? It was heavenly.

 

[Arekk]

"I've got something for you."

Once they've made their way inside the bookstore and had greeted the woman by the desk, Ar'ekk tugged Jyn along gently towards a room that was secretly concealed behind a silky smooth curtain with decals of ancient animals from an unknown planet. Within the room was a small shelf that contained a small book that seemed a milennia old, with cracks and tears here and there provoked by the passage of time.

A warm fireplace guarded this ancient time-worn diary which belonged to a woman from the Jed'aii Order. Her name was visible to an extent but some of the letters were missing unfortunately due to the tearing of the paper. Time had taken its toll against this personal treatise.

"They say it belonged to a Je'daii Ranger by the name of Lanoree. Others say it's from a force-sensitive individual that came from the toxic jungle of Caamas."

Moving his arm away from her shoulders and gently touching her shoulder, Ar'ekk motivated his soulmate to take a step forward. He knew she would be happy.

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

She could only stand and stare in awe at what lay beyond the curtain he so lovingly pulled her behind.

A name, one she had caught glimpses of in archaic texts which had been unearthed at Kaleth and shared across the Holonet, lay over the cover of a diary so well preserved despite millennia having passed since its creation, and even though it was incomplete, even though time had left it faded, that name fell from her lips all the same.

"Lanoree Brock... Can it be?"

Stepping from the shadow of his arm, she neared the ancient tome and gasped. It was more than she could have ever expected to see, her mind whirred with all the possibilities of what lay inside and yet she dared not touch it. Not yet, at least.

"I must find a way to restore it..." Her inner scholar was already assessing the damage, she had restored several of the Silent Archives' older tomes since becoming the Temple's Steward, yet none so bad as this, "Make a copy to ensure that what lays within is preserved... How did you? Where did this come from?"

She turned then to look upon him, her eyes brimming with tears at this unexpected delight.

"I don't know how to ever thank you enough..."

[member='Arekk']

 

[Arekk]

He stood behind Jyn as she slowly walked over to inspect the book and the scholar within her took over, assessing the damage and whatnot. Intricates of a profession he didn't understand yet knew such property needed the utmost care and had to be handled with carefulness, just like if he was to find ancient Jedi texts of some sorts.

The tears running down her cheeks made him shiver and his heart lightened up when her extreme happiness was unveiled. Raising his hand to touch her face in the softest of manners and wiping the little tears running down, Ar'ekk lovingly kissed Jyn.

Actions spoke louder than words.

"You don't have to thank me."

Holding both of her hands tightly and looking into her teary eyes, the young Jedi couldn't help but smile like a total dork. He was in love yet couldn't really say the words that would make things 'official'. Perhaps this kiss was the way around doing such thing. Jyn was unique in his eyes and no matter the circumstances, he would never change her. That was a promise.

"I..."

[member="Jyn Sol"]