Wake Up

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Soliael stood from his place on the bed, letting her walk over to the closet before following her slowly. His eyes fell on her body, following smooth traceable scars and jagged rough ones. He looked at her, no judgment in his eyes, only reverence. She was the softest form of sunlight, the kind one could stare into all day with no form of ill. She was the warmth on ones face, the heat that so many were missing.

“It's the library of the Keeper.” Soliael said with a shrug as he watched her peruse the items in the closet. “It contains all knowledge in the universe.”

That wasn't true of course, and in keeping with his policy of not lying to her was said in jest.

No library contained all knowledge in the universe, that would be entirely silly. The library did however contain all comprehensive knowledge that Soliael had ever gathered. Every journal, every scrap, every piece of paper that he had ever laid eyes on. He would argue that it was more complete than the current Jedi Archives, though that was only so because Dissero had stolen those and given them to him.

It was funny really, how much he really knew.

Perhaps his title was well deserved after all.

 

[Kira Talith]

"I doubt that," came Kira's rather chipper quip. "Bet you it doesn't have my sugar cookie recipe!" the sound of rustling fabric and clothes would follow after. La, no blue dress, but maybe later.

There had been a distinct chill in the air and she was still healing from her ills. Besides, showing off her legs wasn't really a real pressing issue with the mars that lay over them now. Her expression would drop for a moment, but then her shoulders would straighten out. The past was the past. All she had now is her present and her future. To live in the now.

"How far is it?" came her next question, her main concern being the distance. Not for herself, but for him. He still had that limp. Snug as a bug in a fresh pair of unmentionables and undershirt, she would search for a pair of pants. Soft gray ones would get her attention, and she'd slip onto the warm breeches with a sigh of comfort. A blue blouse would follow, for once fitting her petite frame comparatively to the slightly too tight robes that hand grown snug with age. She would splurge on a soft blue cardigan like pull over that would muse her hair up even further. A quick finger come would do the trick to tame the blonde waves.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He watched her dress with an almost fascination about it. Watching as she slumped slightly, then perked herself up.

An inquisitive look popped onto his face as she did so, but he didn't ask. Her thoughts had to remain her own, and if she wanted to say something, she would. The next few seconds would be a flurry of activity with her throwing on pants, a top, and a warm cardigan that was likely a wise decision, he doubted that she would remain warm the entire time.

“A floor or two down.” He said quietly, smiling as she finished dressing.

There was a beauty to her, even when clothed, that Soliael could easily get lost in.

He shook his head slightly and waited for her to turn around. Perhaps some slippers for her would also be a good idea. There wasn't any carpet in the Fortress and it was doubtful that her feet wouldn't be cold. “Worried gravity will claim you again?”

 

[Kira Talith]

Her blonde head would pan over to catch him watching her. There it was, that expression of enthrall she'd been seeing more and more of recently. She tried not to feel absurdly pleased by it. To be frank, there was still a measure of confusion why he would look at her so. Either way, it was gone as soon as he spoke anew.

An unladylike snort would follow and she gave him a dismissive little wave, "Keep the cold water away from me and I think I'll be good." Nine toes would wiggle at that. Hmm, shoes, came her subsequent thought. Bending down, she would dig into the closet for socks and boots.

"Gravity and I have a deal, y'know. It helps me knock down those who should fear me and my swift ... tackling justice." came her muffled mischievous voice amidst the sounds of her searching around the closet in her quest for socks.

"Ah hah!" a victory cheer would come from her. A second later she would hold a pair of socks and boots triumphantly in one hand.

"Score!" a dimple would flash in his direction, using her hip to close the closet shut. She made her way over to him, plopping down on the bed half on and half off to use as her perch to put the socks on.

"So, does your library have anything on those?" came her next question, tossing over what she had found in the closet. It was a small bag, still a bit dirty, even bits of dried blood on it. His blood. Hers. It was pretty heavy, and if he'd open it, he'd find six particularly interesting crystals. The ones they had collected while lost in the underground caverns. The sense of calm they emitted would not be difficult to discern, a rather curious thing indeed.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Again he followed her, slow subtle steps that were more curious than anything else. He found himself standing in front of her, his gaze looking into the small bag she had procured from the closet. His eyebrow raised as he saw the crystals, his lips becoming tight for a few seconds.

Soliael had forgotten about this.

It was not in his nature to forget about things. Even after two hundred years of living Soliael had hardly forgotten anything, especially something that had been as startlingly clear in his mind as the crystals had been. He still remembered the sense of calm from touching them, the overwhelming feeling of peace that they created. How had he forgotten.

His glance fell on Kira, and he knew the answer.

Strangely he only smiled. Perhaps something else would have evoked anger or annoyance, perhaps even resentment. Yet the fact that it was Kira that had made him forget, that was something else, something different.

How odd that was. “Most likely. Though I doubt there will be much. People haven't really journeyed in the caverns all that much for the past thousand years or so.”

He didn't have to explain why.

 

[Kira Talith]

"What's wrong?" came her question as she would slip on one sock. There was no denying the tightening of his lips, the fleeting look of sternness that would latch to his face only to wane. Notably, it came when he caught sight of the crystals, but it was something more than that. Could it be because of what had happened just prior to discovering them?

The other sock would soon follow, as would the boots. A quick tie and that would be it.

"You okay?" it was evident that the Lorrdian female was worried about him.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He paused for a few seconds, then spoke slowly. “You made me forget.”

After that he remained silent for a few moments, then reached out and touched her face, gently stroking her cheek for a few moments before he expanded on what he was trying to say.

“I nearly died.” Soliael said quietly, his speech getting louder. “I have not often brushed with death, Kira. Such things don't happen to me easily, in nearly two hundred years I can count my near death experiences on one hand. Never before have I forgotten about one of them only hours after it happened.”

He shrugged slightly. “You made me forget.”

There was a clear smile on his face, and his body language told of joy.

The expression he had held earlier had been for the confusion he felt, for the odd sensation of remembering his own near death. He clearly wasn't upset about the prospect of forgetting, or the fact that he had, it had simply been an oddity.

 

[Kira Talith]

Her cool hand would settle of his right over her cheek. There she would give it a light squeeze as she'd give a faint smile.

"Well, the same could be said about you Soliael." she'd say in a quiet voice. "You're helping me let go." Of Nemene. Of that fear. She'd not had a single flashback since that first night. No white room.

Instead of seeing Nemene's cruel orange eyes, Kira saw his instead. Watching her with such care that it was hard to process; that it was still difficult to process. It confused her. The why's. There she sat, watching him with those ever curious pale blue eyes.

The blonde Jedi Master would shine him a wider smile, "Come on... you've a library to show me no?"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Solialed grabbed her hand from his cheek, and with a gentle tug he pulled her up from the bed. There was no slinging her over the shoulder this time, that would likely embarrassingly lead to him tumbling down the flight of stairs they had to take in order to reach the library.

No, this time Kira would have to walk.

He didn't let go of her hand as they began their trek. It was a relatively short one, noticeably they did not take the huge grand stairway at the back of the octagonal room. Instead they walked directly into a wall, or what should have been a wall. When Soliael stood near it the thick marble began to slide to the left, revealing a somewhat cramped, but elaborate stairway that lead deep down into the fortress itself.

When the marble opened Soliael looked down at Kira, waggling his eyebrows. “This place is full of secrets.”

He said it with a grin, then gently pulled her into the stairway.

It was well lit, and they made their way down quickly, with the taller of the two hobbling along behind the shorter, taking every step with great care and ease. Eventually they reached the bottom of the steps, and another large marble slab slid open to reveal a large hallway, directly across from them a massive set of wooden doors.

 

[Kira Talith]

"Like its master?" Kira would say wryly in turn, following him as he led her towards said mystical place that housed all of Neth the Keepers hoarded secrets. A smirk would dance over her lips, finding amusement at that thought.

"Is this it?" she'd ask as they came to the large set of wooden doors. Her hands would slip from his, and just like before and likely without a good heed of what she was capable of doing so early on in her recovery, she'd turn and walk backwards towards it.

"What secrets lie behind here, hmm?" she'd ask with impish devilry reflecting in her pale blue eyes and a waggle of her brows. "Secret alcoves? Hidden artifacts of the big bad?

The secret to the perfect grav ball pitch?" she'd say with snark, reaching the doors. Her hands would curl round the handles.

"Hmm... let's see just what does the Neth the Keeper hoard in his library?" with as much of a grand flourish as her slight body would allow her, she'd turn the locks and swing open the doors...

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

The library was oddly small in stature, not huge and expansive as one would expect. It was a narrow room that seemed to go on only for a short while before stopping. On either side lay a couple hundred books, some more ancient than Soliael himself.

At the center of the room however sat a statue.

On the middle of a table within the very center of the room sat a small impish looking statue. It had a wide grin on its face and a small devilish smile on its face. The creature didn't look evil, simply like it was up to no good. Mischief was on its mind, and its expression was more than clear. Soliael smiled, and walked slowly passed her into the library.

“That depends my dear.” He swept his hand towards the statue. “What do you want to know?”

That was all he said, no explanation as to what the statue was, or why he pointed her towards it. Just a simple smile on his face, and a look of mischief in his eye.

 

[Kira Talith]

Soliael smiled down at her, and this time it wasn't with that penetrating gaze. It was sly and conspiring and it made her feel part of a team. Her lips slid into a smile, her eyes narrowing as she'd look up at him from the corner of her eye.

"Just what are you up to?" she'd ask, quite sure he had something up his sleeve.

The library certainly wasn't a grand splendor, but truth be told, it suited Soliael just fine. The scent of aged lobepaper and leather would fill her lungs, and there was a rather curious thrum of energy throughout the area, as if it had absorbed the fringes of his essence and vitality. It was there in the polished wood. In the very walls. The floor.

Yet nothing more so than the mischievous smiling statue sitting there upon the bodywood table, the red pulsing lines of the hardwood thrumming almost in tune to it.

Not one to be undone by a challenge, Kira held out her hand. "Got the goods then?" she'd ask for the bag of crystals, although to be frank, she wasn't quite sure what he meant by the statue -- but she had a feeling that just like its owner, there was more that met the eye.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

He placed the small bag of crystals in her hand, not throwing them in her palm.

Soliael still had no idea of their true nature, of what they could do besides cause a sense of calm and peace. That in it of itself made them unique, certainly more unique than some other crystals found in the galaxy. Diamons, emeralds, they were just pretty rocks. These things seemed to have a special effect, something that was rather difficult to describe, or ascertain.

With an almost child like glee Soliael stepped up to the statue, waving for Kira to follow.

“Go on.” He urged.

There was a hint of something on his face. The statue of course had been made with Sith Magic, though thanks to Dissero no darkness lay about it. It functioned much like a holo-recorder, save for one little detail.

It was infinite.

 

[Kira Talith]

So one petite blonde Jedi Master would slowly sashay - as much as she could with a bruised hip - over to him. Kira gave him a slow shake of her head, the image of the man with the little boy smile in front of her a stark contrast to the False God she met nearly a week ago.

"Alright then, Keeper of..." she'd say with impish devilry, " -- the knowledge gremlin." It was all meant in lighthearted teasing, but she would none the less come to a stop in front of said gremlin like creature. It was then that she would raise her brows, as if asking 'Now what?'

She would take one of the purple pink crystals in hand, a warmth pooling into her palm as soon as she did so. It was like a wash of utter calm, one that would grow stronger the longer she held it.

"So what do I do?" she'd ask, the mischievousness growing in her eyes, "Do I rub it's belly and ask 'Hey there, what can you tell me about this crystal?'"

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

“Think of what you want to know.” Soliael said pointing to his head. “Then touch the statue. Anywhere works.”

Once Kira would touch the statue with what she wanted to know in mind, hundreds, if not thousands of petabytes of information would appear. Whatever Soliael or his family or anyone he had ever learned from had in their heads would be presented to Kira. Millions of books, scrolls, ancient tablets, and even wall carvings would be presented as simple facts.

The statue was naught but a container of knowledge.

There were three of them in the galaxy. One in the Fortress, one in his temple, and one with Dissero. These unique things had been crated to suit Soliaels purpose, as a way of keeping record. Though he rarely forgot things, it was still good to have a back up.

Besides, it was easier to recall everything this way.

 

[Kira Talith]

"Alright," she'd say. Her face would scrunch up as she would think as hard as she could. One might even liken her to a child trying to make a wish on a wishing well, holding that crystal tightly in her grasp.

Finally, she'd open her eyes and reach out. Her hand would settle over the little statue's head, and to be frank, she wasn't quite sure what to expect. She'd gone through the Jedi Archives and seen various nodicrons and holocrons.

But this little guy... well.. wasn't anything like that at all.

All of a sudden, a series of holographic screens would appear in a sphere like image around her. Her breath would catch and eyes would widen. Dozens upon dozens of screens, each laden with writings that could very well span a milliena.

"Shiny..." came Kira's low whisper of awe, one that turned into a bubble of laughter as she'd glance over at him. "Serious?!" she'd ask, as if she didn't quite believe the sight that surrounded her.

Her laughter would turn into a rush of excitement, taking one step forward only to pause. Did she still have to hold onto the statue? Would it deactivate?

Kira would cast a questioning look over at Soliael, and at his encouragement she would let go. Nope! The holograms did not disappear. How curious, she'd think in wonder. Stepping closer to the nearest screen, Kira would start to read the first bit of information. There was only a few mentions of such a crystal with similar physical characteristics. Purple pink.

"Angraal crystals..." she'd say aloud, frowning slightly as she'd turn to the next screen. "That's the only name that comes up so far... not much to go on. "

A pause, then she'd lean closer, her finger moving across a line of aurabesh, " A feeling of peace... that it seems to pulse." she'd give a nod, granting them that. "That's for sure." came her low murmur of agreement.

Kira would walk in a slow circle round the holographic screens, halting in front of another. Another tidbit of information "There is this vague reference that it can potentially be used in a lightsaber for some kind of special effect..."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

His eyes narrowed at the mention of lightsabers, trying to read the screen where she had seen the information. Sure enough she was right, though the passage was incredibly vague and not very telling. His eyes cast down towards the bag of Crystals, slowly he reached out and grabbed one between his thumb and forefinger.

In an instant the sensation of calm washed over him.

It was invasive, breaking, and entirely too relaxing. Were it not for the crystals effects Soliael would very likely have stiffened at the suddenness of the feeling. Closing his eyes Soliael began to reach into the crystal with the force, pulling into and sensing it. He was far from a metallurgist or geologist, but he could sense a life to the crystal, a purpose beyond what it held.

His eyes snapped open.

Bringing up the crystal to his face he inspected it, shining the light through it enough to inspect its more intimate qualities. Finally he looked to Kira, still holding onto the crystal.

“I wouldn't know.” Soliael said truthfully. “Never used one.”

There was a casualness to it, though no doubt Kira would be slightly startled.

It wasn't every day that a Former Sith Lord admitted ignorance, especially in a field of combat as important as Lightsaber combat. Granted he had used no such weapon on Metalorn, but she had likely chalked that up to a number of reasons.

 

[Kira Talith]

That got her attention.

"What?" her head would dart over to him, blue eyes widening in surprised dampened only by the calm the crystal would emit. Her jaw would drop. She thankfully promptly closed it before a bug decided to fly in.

Hands would play with the crystal back and forth, that sense of calm lingering. "You've never used a lightsaber?" she would blink. For the Jedi, the lightsaber was the first true test of a padawan's concentration, dedication, and capabilities as they would grow towards Knighthood. It was as basic as a youngling first learning to use protection bubble.

Kira herself only had one in her possession, a custom made electrum saber crafted by her first master [member="Ben Watts"] -- and at the time, cherished friend. One that she lost during her imprisonment and torture under Nemene's and Eve's hands.

"Why?" she'd ask, coming to a stop in front of him, head tilted back to look at him.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

Solieal looked down at her and shrugged.

“My father was a blademaster.” His explanation was a pathetic one now that he looked back on it, born of childish issues that he should never have had. “The best in the galaxy some say. Somewhere in the back of my head, I associated the weapons with him, and my hatred of him lead me to deny the weapons entirely.”

It surprised him how honest he was with her.

Would he have done so with anyone else? With Amorella? With his mother?

Perhaps the latter. Quietus had a way of making him open up like no one else, perhaps that was because she was his mother, or perhaps that was simply his nature. She never inquired however, and always knew when he would rather not talk about such things. He leaned down for a few seconds, then suddenly kissed Kira on the nose.

“I've never really thought about it.” That was the truth. He had gotten on well enough without them, but then again he had always had Sith Magic.

 

[Kira Talith]

Kira would observe him with quiet contemplation. There was no judgement in her expression, no belittlement for his confession. The slight press of his lips upon the tip of her nose was a method to fill the silence. It reminded her of the gestures she'd make when she was in full Lorrdian mode. The need to interact, to move, to do something while baring information usually held close to the heart.

The corner of her mouth would quirk, and before he'd pull away her hand would reach up to cup his cheek. One dimple went flashing his way, her fingers curling over the stubble of his swarthy jaw, nails likely raking the heavy growth there. It was as soft as a bristle brush now, no longer holding the rasp that would leave a burn on her skin.

A single thought came to mind, and her eyes would widen. She could, but... would he want to? Pearly white teeth would worry the fullness of her lower lip, barely there under the calm of the crystal she still held in her other hand.

Finally, she would ask quietly, almost as if unsure if it might insult.

"Would you... like me to teach you?"