Two Souls, Two Paths, One Road. (Tallia/Josh)

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Huh..." he began as he picked up the lightsaber and looked it over. "This is a unique blade indeed" he admitted. This woman just got more and more interesting the more they spoke, it seemed.

He looked over at her and shrugged. "A Jedi Queen, huh?" he asked. "I'll have to look into that. Maybe we'll go to the archives together sometime and we can read it up?" he suggested. "I'm sure Phylis could help us if she's not too busy trying to live her secret life of assassinating people"

That last bit was a joke, admittedly, from a meeting with the Jedi Council that concerned a situation with @[member="Spencer Jacobs"]. He had known Master Alince as the bookworm, the library girl up until that meeting. He'd teased the poor woman playfully at times about Spencer's revelation since. (Sorry @[member="Phylis Alince"] )

Regardless, this bit about a Jedi Queen interested him. Especially if Tallia had the possibility of becoming a second one. Not that he had an issue with that if that was her choice, but he didn't know exactly what Tallia wanted.

"I'm sorry about what happened with your sister" he said with a sigh, his tone changing to a serious one again. "Is there anyone... Below you? A cousin, an in-law, someone else in the line that could take your place if you're unable or choose not to take the throne?" he asked curiously.

"Although, really Talli... The question is... Is it what you want?" he finally decided to ask. "If something like becoming Queen is suddenly being thrust upon you sometime down the line.. What would your reaction be?"

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]
Somewhere, somehow, as Phylis was looking over her notes about the 31st Dynasty of Hapes, she frowned.
Were she a lay person she would have said someone was walking over her grave.
In the Force she knew differently. She scowled slightly.
“That’s right, Dragonsflame, laugh it up…” she muttered, and went back to work. “Hmmph, not like you could do a better job,” she grumbled.
And with that, her brief intrusion into this thread was done.

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia sensed a disturbance in the thread..

Time continued to move forward though and she quickly forgot about the brief intrusion. "I can't picture myself as a Queen at all. It's just not who I am. Despite what I've been told, I definitely don't feel much like a Princess either." She paused momentarily and focused on what she was going to say next. "But.. If the situation was dire, I don't think I could bring myself to refuse, no matter how I personally feel about it." As much as she'd hate to leave the Order, or at least be stretched farther away from it, Tallia felt that she couldn't ignore duty. It would be wrong to call herself a Jedi and back away from a challenge because she was afraid.

"I'm hoping that day is very far into the future though. Right now I'm focused on the present. Being a Jedi is my only concern." She tried not to think about this stuff too often, because it made her feel uncertain and answer-less. They were problems she knew would come to the forefront one day, and didn't really have answers to. It gave her a queasy feeling in her stomach when she didn't know what to do. Tallia liked to have all the answers.

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He smiled a bit. "I'm proud of you, Tallia" he said warmly. He ignored the disturbance in this thread.... I mean, the worst that could happen would be an attempted assassination, or maybe a lecture about an overdue library book... (@[member="Phylis Alince"])

Regardless, he sat up as he looked her in the eyes. "You have your priorities straight, you're loyal to the cause you've pledged yourself to. But at the same time, you're responsible enough to realize that sacrifices need to be made at times, and that you're willing to make it no matter how much pain it's going to cost you"

He sighed. "Honestly... It'd hurt. A lot. To see you go. But if something happens and the situation is dire... I wouldn't blame you one bit" he said. He tried to smile, just a bit, to try and reassure her, comfort her, lift her spirits. "You have to protect your family and I understand that. And no matter what, I'll be there for you if you need me" he said quietly.

"As for the present... Yeah. Hopefully that day doesn't come for quite some time" he said. "You've still got quite some time with the Jedi ahead of you at least, Talli. Focus on that for now. No need to worry about something that may not even come" he said, trying to comfort her.

If there was a way to say "I understand the situation, even if I would miss you", he supposed that would be the best way to say it, right? He tried not to think of Tallia having to distance herself or even leave the Order. I mean, it might not even happen right?

Yet, for some reason the thought made his stomach turn in knots. He had seen Jedi come and go. He had seen friends leave the order, turn their backs on him, die... Why was this any different?

What was wrong with him?

He looked down and ate a bit, re-collecting his thoughts as he played with his food a tad. After taking another bite, swallowing and washing it down, he looked back at her.

"Yknow, just because I'm the head honcho now doesn't mean I'm free from mission obligations... Okay, that's a lie" he said with a laugh. "I don't have to anymore, unless it's an emergency, but if you wanted to take a mission again sometime, I'd be happy to come along" he said with a grin. It was a nice change of topic, after all.

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia was more than happy to move on from the topic, even though she was the one who instigated it. "I'd be happy to go on another mission with you." She realized it sounded like she was saying yes to a date, and blushed a bit. "I mean.. You come on a mission with me."

She smirked at her mistake and continued. "There's always need to go on more missions. I'd be grateful to have you along."

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He chuckled a bit at her crimson face. "And I'd love to go on another mission with you too" he said with a slight smile. What was it now? A date? Not a date? Cripes, these two were a confusing bunch. "You're cute when you blush by the way" he said, teasing her slightly with a joking grin.

As she continued, he nodded. "Aye" he said as he took a drink of his beverage. "Even with everything going on, there's still missions to do. Warfare or not, we still got our jobs to do as a Jedi"

"Besides...." he began with a laugh. "I would much rather spend a few days in hyperspace and on a mission with you, then on Coruscant dealing with politics" he said, smirking a bit. "Seriously, it's hell. You're a lot funner" he joked with a grin.

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Her face turned an even deeper shade of red when Josh responded to her. She could feel her emotions bubbling up to the surface. Tallia tried to shove them off. Jedi weren't supposed to act this way. Didn't attachment lead to the dark-side? Then why did Jedi form relationships? It was hard to judge what was and was not acceptable. She had formed bonds with many Jedi in the Order, many that she could not bear to lose. Was it wrong to want to protect them? To keep them safe?

"Politics are not my strong suit." Tallia said, switching gears to government. Conversation always seemed to get back to politics. "I've sat in on senate meetings before, and I usually fall asleep before they've even started voting on something." She sat her finished plate of food to the side. She had been more hungry then she had realized. "I'm not sure I could handle a job like that, It would just get monotonous after a while."

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Luckily, Josh had learned the hard way that the whole attachments and relationships thing had been cast aside as a rule years ago. It was a general rule of thumb that if you could control yourself and handled attachments responsibly, you would be fine. The only ones who looked down on it were the "Traditional" Jedi, who usually were all self proclaimed. And they tended to look down on anyone who wasn't like them anyway, so no big loss.

Josh had formed many a bond with the Jedi in the Order... It only made him fight to protect the Jedi even more. It had strengthened his resolve, his whim to keep them safe. There was nothing wrong with it, after all.

Josh's cheeks themselves turned a bit rosey seeing her reaction. But he tried not to speak of it.

He chuckled a bit at the subject change. "Ugh, I really am not a fan of politics" he said, shaking his head as he finished his food finally. "Just those couple of peacemaking meetings because Harkness isn't capable of being a diplomat were enough for me to last a lifetime. I can't stand it, I don't know how I haven't fallen asleep" he said with a laugh.

"Doing a full time job of it? No thanks. I like meditating and freeing slaves better"

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

While Josh was confident with his emotions, Tallia was fearful of them. She'd abused them before, lashing out in hate or anguish. It wasn't something she wanted to repeat. She knew that love and affection were positive things, and elements of the light-side, but she felt they could just as easily corrupt someone. She'd struggled with her emotions a long time, and to be completely honest, she still didn't have control of them. For the moment though, she didn't worry too much about that.

"Well, I would have found it hard to sleep with the Fringe breathing down my neck too." She smiled. "That treaty was a miracle." At that moment, the waitress brought their check. Tallia turned and was about to ask the waitress for a separate bill for her food, but stopped herself. She formulated a plan inside her head. She would wait to see what Josh would do. If he paid the bill, then it was a date. She grinned slyly as she looked back at Josh, waiting to see what his response was.

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

And he paid. Without hesitating. Didn't even look at her to see the sly grin. He'd promised to take her out for dinner and he'd kept his promise.

A big thing about emotions was control. Something he'd learned over 16 years. He remembered when he was afraid of them... Afraid to embrace them, hold attachments... He stayed away from relationships because that was what he was told was wrong. Of course, things changed... And he adapted. That was one of the things the Jedi learned to do. Adapt. Overcome.

He smirked faintly before finally answering her statement. "I don't trust the Fringe with a nickel" he said, shaking his head. "They'll break that treaty whenever it fits them best to try and take us down. Wouldn't be surprised if they decided to take us while the iron's hot with the Mandalorians. Don't trust the CIS after they fired Calico either" he said, giving a sigh.

"Politics are torture, Talli. Stay away from them" he said with a laugh.

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

"Mandalorians, Fringe, Confederates.. Do we have any allies anymore?" Tallia said it as a joke, but it was a serious question. It seemed like their enemies were closing in around them, trying to crush anyone and anything that kept them from spreading an Imperialistic agenda. Things had been much simpler when they had been hunting down Sith. It was much easier to rally when you were fighting a common enemy. The more lines became blurred, the more dangerous the galaxy became for the Jedi. The Sith, as wicked as they had been, had provided the perfect outlet for the galaxies warriors to fight against. The Mando's had actually been allies then. Right now though, friendly was not a word Tallia would use to describe them.

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He sighed, not realizing Tallia's test but instead responded to her bit about their allies.

"There isn't many people you can trust in this galaxy, sweetheart. Don't squander the people that you can" he advised, organizing the finished plates with the bill in the center as he spoke. "There's a whole wide galaxy out there of people just out to get whoever they can. It's survival of the fittest. That goes for governing bodies too. If they see an opportunity to get ahead, they'll stab you in the back soon enough to get it. It's how politics work, it's how life works. Is it sad? Yeah. Is it unfair? Mhm. But that's life. It's why I don't trust a lot of people" he explained, moving his hair from his face.

"Sometimes, I don't even trust the Jedi. The Order is changing, and I don't like it. And if we don't do something soon, I have a feeling they're going to mobilize, and something bad's going to happen" he said.

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

"It gives me an uneasy feeling. Our battle isn't good versus evil anymore, or even Jedi versus Sith, the lines have become blurred, and I'm afraid the Jedi have lost their focus. I hate to say it, but when we destroyed the Sith, our spirit died with them." She was surprised it was something Josh was willing to talk about. He always seemed so optimistic about the future. As much as she loved the Order, some of the actions of it's members did not line up with what she had been taught as a youngling. She didn't want to seem stuck up, or not accepting, but some of the things she had seen and heard about were downright dark-side. If Josh had brought this subject up himself, things had to be getting worse.

"The Republic is on the verge of collapsing. We have rebels in our streets and insurgents trying to kill us from behind. We are surrounded on all sides by enemies. If we go to war, we forfeit our trade in the Outer Rim. The Republic Senate condemns Jedi as criminals instead of treating them like heroes. Things are going from bad to worse very quickly, and not just within the Order."

@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He let out a sigh. "It's true" he admitted, biting his lip. His expression was solemn. "I made a promise to always diligently serve the Jedi Order until death. The question is... If this isn't the Jedi Order anymore, what am I doing? I love the Jedi Order, I don't ever want to leave. I could serve for a thousand more years and still be satisfied. But ever since Selena Halcyon became the Grandmaster, things have gotten worse and worse. Even after she abandoned us, the Order has continued to suffer. More and more Jedi that resemble Sith moreso then Jedi are appearing in our ranks, coming out of the shadows. It's scaring me, really. If this continues, there won't be an Order left to serve. We will be another Sith cult in brown robes before long"

His eyes told of sorrow, of betrayal. He watched the waitress take the check and clean the table before continuing.

"Things are looking bad, Tallia... The Republic is doomed, and the Jedi Order with it. Something needs to be done... And if this continues, it might have to be me" he said quietly, closing his eyes.

"I just hope that when everything goes to hell, you don't get swept up in it" he said, looking at her. It occurred to him then just how much he had come to care about Tallia...

@[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia didn't want to see the Republic crumble, despite how annoyed she was with it at times. The Republic was her home and her security. She didn't want to let it go.

"There are still good Jedi out there that want to do the right thing. This isn't fair to them, to any of us. We're the protectors of the galaxy, and we're all going to go down in flames because of the actions of a few? There has to be something we can do to stop this from happening."

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh too, didn't want to see the governing body that he had served as a Jedi for so many years crumble... But what could they do? It was his home, his security... The Jedi Order, refuged by the Republic... That was his life.

"I... I don't know if there is" he admitted, biting his lip as he got up, noticing the staff beginning to give them.. Odd looks. They'd had their food and paid, they had overstayed their welcome, it seems. He motioned for her to follow him out of the restaurant as he spoke, putting his sunglasses back on to shield him from the Naboo sun.

"If there is, we'll find it, I'm sure. But things are happening so fast, that we may not have the time to. I have few doubts that the Republic can handle the Mandalorians... But everything at once? Not only are we dealing with potentially the Mandalorians, the Fringe, and the CIS... But I wouldn't be surprised if the Black Suns want revenge, and the Sith are just peeking from the shadows, just waiting to strike again. And then, of course there's all the infighting in our Order... It almost seems impossible"

"The infighting... The Council has done nothing" he said, shaking his head. "Many of them don't believe there is a problem"

He took a breath, before turning to face Tallia and slowly taking her hands, staring into her eyes.

"Listen... I want you to promise me something, Tallia. No matter what happens in the Jedi Order, no matter what happens to the Republic... No matter what's going on with the infighting in our Order, and the temptations that might be put in front of you... Never change who you are to make a group in the Order happy. Never change what you believe in. You're one of the few good Jedi left in this Order, and it'd break my heart to see you become one of... Well... Them" he admitted, biting his lip. "This is a dangerous time for the both of us. I don't even trust my fellow Jedi anymore, to the point where I fear for my life in the comforts of the Jedi Temple. I keep having to look over my shoulder for fear that one of my own will put a lightsaber through my back and call it an accident"

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia followed Josh out into the Naboo streets. It was early evening now, and the glaring sun was just now starting to set. "I-I promise." She began. "To never change who I am for the sake of pleasing other people. I'm going to be a Jedi even when there's no Order left to stand by." She meant what she said, and she knew Josh had a good heart. What she was wondering though, was what made Josh so fearful of his friends in the Order. She agreed that their actions were detrimental to peace and the Jedi way, but she couldn't imagine them trying to harm another Jedi. Perhaps he knew something that she did not.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He smiled faintly, and squeezed her hands reassuringly before letting go. "Thank you..." he said quietly. "Even if there's no Order left to stand on, I'll be there for you. Always" he promised. He worried for her safety, he really did. With how many of the Jedi had gotten, he'd heard... Rather disturbing rumors. Rumors of those who think their way of thinking should be the only one wanting to take a stand... Some rumors said it might happen through political means... Others through violent means. Some even said they might force the Grandmaster to step down (During this thread, him) to make way for one that adheres to their standards, while they attacked and massacred those that did not believe the way they did, others said they would force others to convert... It was a scary thought indeed. He saw the dirty looks some of the Jedi in that particular group gave him as he passed... He carried himself carefully around them. He spent less time at the Temple then usual these days, mostly for his own safety, really only being there for training, meetings and keeping the Order's affairs strong. If they attacked him... He knew others would come to his aid. Good Jedi. Jedi he cared about. He couldn't risk their safety...

It didn't help that the Jedi that he identified in that group were... Known for their violence. It only fuelled the fire.

Josh sighed as he came to a stop near the water's edge as they walked. Removing his sunglasses (He didn't need them with the sun setting) he took a breath and just watched the sun set...

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked faintly.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

"Yes. This whole planet is beautiful." She rested her forearms against the guardrail and stared out at the setting sun. The fading light still sparkled on the river's (or ocean's, depending on where they were) reflective surface. Gentle ripples in the water broke the pattern of light and gave the appearance of liquid gold floating on the tide. The soft rustle of leaves in the evening breeze composed a soothing melody. An anthem fit for such a gorgeous world. "It makes you wonder why anyone would ever want to live on Dromund Kaas." She smiled brilliantly at Josh and suddenly felt compelled to embrace him in a hug. Hugs were good, right?

She pulled away as quickly as she had wrapped her arms around him. "This place gives hope for the future. Maybe things won't be so complicated someday." She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes that had been misplaced by the wind. "But for now, I have a job to do." Tallia turned to walk away. "It was great seeing you again. This was a nice.." She hesitated only for a second before finishing. "Date." There. She had said it.

[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Aye..." he trailed off as he rested his forearms against the guardrail and just watched... Watched the sun set, watched the sparkling light across the ocean... It was a beautiful sight indeed. It reminded him that despite everything, there was still beauty in the galaxy... In the setting sun, in the beautiful Naboo oceans... In Tallia... Not that he'd say that last part out loud, of course... At least... Not for the moment. At her part joke, he turned to look at her with a cheeky smile. Ah, she was a hoot.

Before he could answer her though, she had embraced him in a hug. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her, for the moment holding her close, a hand on her back as he relaxed for that moment.. Just for that moment, he forgot about all the troubles he had been going through...

And then she spoke after she pulled away, and he nodded. "Maybe someday" he agreed, taking a breath as he looked at her. Tallia turned to walk away, and spoke...

"Date"

That was what she had said. It was odd, yet he couldn't hold in the smile that crossed his face as she had said it as she walked away.

".... We'll have to do another date again sometime then" he said, just loud enough for her to hear with a smirk. His confidence came back at that moment.

He considered calling her back... For some reason, he didn't want this to end. But they had work to do.

He headed off toward his ship, realizing then that his cheeks were crimson. Blast, he was the Grandmaster and he was blushing like a teenage school boy.

Yet, inside, he didn't mind at all.

[End Thread]

[member="Tallia Farn"]