Private Walking Away

[Xian Xiao]

A small bit of cynicism came into her emotions but for now, she kept quiet. Until he finished. Then Xian stood up and took a couple of steps away before turning back to face Soren. For just a moment, she stood taller than he was seated and it almost looked like she was trying to intimidate him. That wasn't quite right though but it might be the impression she was trying to give.

"In order to give people the food to eat, I need the credits or means to get the food. It doesn't come free, Soren. My skills, I offer freely though."

Now, she faced a personal choice. Reveal to him what she was talking about or keep it secret from him. Even Ma did know about her Force abilities and maybe the girl liked it that way. Drawing in a sharp breath, she lifted her hands to hover in front of her. If he looked at them, for a second or two, flames would be hovering above them. Closing them into fists, she turned away and hugged herself slightly.

Looking into the kitchen for Ma, the large woman was nowhere to be seen. It was as if she had left and Xian was entirely alone with Soren.

"My education stopped when I was about nine years old. Reading is my weakness and I hate it. I have no idea what path I'm supposed to be on, Mister Soren and maybe I need help with that."

There she just couldn't shut up. When he asked his last question, she looked at him with some of that fire in her eyes...a part that made Xian herself. A girl that needed somebody to care so she wasn't alone all the time. All she wanted was acceptance. Ma had done that but as she had started to grow older, it just wasn't enough.

Flopping down in the chair she had been sitting in, she shrugged but continued to watch him.

"I don't know. Just something told me to. A feeling. I can't figure it out."

Soren Dar

 

[Soren Dar]

"The Force did. The Force made you approach me. Just as it made me appear here."

He smiles as he looks at her. The smile did totally reach his eyes and his tone shifted ever so slightly to be more empathetic.

"You have been a part of the Jedi, you have come here searching for your future and then you randomly decide to talk to a stranger.

I am a Jedi Knight, Xian. And I believe the Force wants you to become more than a waitress."

He pauses a moment, considering what she said so far.

"What made you leave your training?"

Xian Xiao

 

[Xian Xiao]

While Soren was keeping up a smiling face, she still held onto her attitude. It wasn't anything bad or negative really but it wasn't entirely nice. Listening to him speak, the teen just sat in her chair and kept silent. The only sound that could be heard coming from her was her breathing. Even that was rather tense.

Lifting up a finger to stop him at one point, she let him continue and visibly flinched when he mentioned the Jedi. Waiting until he finished, the finger turned into a motion to encompass the diner around them.

"I have to approach and talk to strangers daily, Master Soren."

As if it came naturally, she changed how she spoke to him. When she said Master, there was a small tone of respect but the rest of her words were a bit cold. Considering the amount of internal anger she had, it also surprised her. The Force might have guided him here but she was just doing her job.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Xian looked over at him for a moment before looking away and outside. For a second or two, she just seemed like she was daydreaming. Then her focus returned to the conversation happening and she glanced back to Soren.

"I left because no Master would train me. Several tried and then left me like a piece of trash on the sidewalk. I can give you a list if you want. Eventually, I got tired of it and left. There was nobody for me there either. No friends, nothing. Why should I stay where I wasn't wanted?"

That was how it had felt to a young teen and she felt she had really tried to make it with the Jedi. Their lack of interest ended up driving her away and was the main reason she had returned to Castell.

Soren Dar

 

[Soren Dar]

"The feeling of being rejected must be unbearable, especially for a young person. Feeling unwanted and undesired is a sure way to darkness. Do not linger with the negative, the Jedi have proven to be flawed, more than once. But it is not self-pity or arrogance which keeps the order alive, it's goals it's tenets. It is the will to improve, to learn from our mistakes and accept our weaknesses."

He puts his open hand on his chest, over his heart and bows, seated, his eyes closed.

" I want to apologize for whatever my brother's and sisters made you feel."

He would look up again and ponder for a few moments.

"Maybe the Force did only make us meet for you to receive this apology. To finish a chapter in your life.

But your life is yours and it is up to you to write a new chapter. The Force is your ally, your continuous companion, it will guide you through darkness and lead you to serenity, if you let it."

He would search one of his pockets under the leather Armor and reveal a credit chit with which he intends to pay. He looks at her, more sternly and continues with serious voice.

"This is a mean, the lowest form of a tool. Money is an excuse, not a solution."

He would then place the money on the table and slowly move it to her, indicating that he wants to pay for meal and drinks. With a short movement he would also reactivate SU-R0C.

Xian Xiao

 

[Xian Xiao]

Listening to him, Xian almost felt she could believe him. His words and his actions seemed true but she wasn't about to trust him totally. Her life with the Jedi had proved just how fickle people could be. As he moved to place his hand over his heart, she did realize he meant what he said. Opening and closing her mouth a time or two, the teen was silent for those moments.

When he finished speaking, a large hand fell on Xian's shoulder. Practically jumping out of her skin, the teen stood up and turned to face her boss. Finding herself wrapped up in a big hug, she was eventually set down.

"The Force does indeed connect us all, brother."

With a small motion from a very fleshy woman, a hilt would be revealed hanging from her belt.

"There's a reason I accepted Xian and I expect you'll do the same."

Looking down at the girl, Ma bent over to whisper something to her and nudge her in the direction of Soren. Handing her a bag, there would be a few things in there as a care package and anything else the girl had become attached to.

"Go on, Vex. He'll take care of you and help you finish what was started when you were dropped off on Kashyyyk. Consider being here an extended vacation from what you really should have been doing."

She turned away and before she had taken more than a few slow steps, she turned around to address Soren.

"On the house brother. If I learn you ever betray her trust, you and I will be having a conversation. Now go and may the Force be with you both."

Soren Dar

 

[Soren Dar]

Soren kept his gaze on Xian even as her 'mother' approached and therefore gave no indication of her arrival. The young girl got surprised by the appearance of the woman and he would finally raise his gaze and look at her and the touching moment occuring in front of him. The Jedi remained silent as the he experience the rather intimate moment between a mother and daughter, even if it not in flesh and blood, but in heart and mind.

The aspiring battlemaster was not surprised by the fact of the woman revealing herself. He was not expecting it, but as he said and truly believes, the Force connects all beings, all happenings.

Soren was quite glad that SU-R0C just watched the scene, not offering some picky line.

Towards the end, before the woman offered her gift, Dar was rising already, re-attching the mouth section of his mask and with a nod he took back the credit chit and picked up his white coat, putting it back on.

"Thank you. I will take care of her, if she wants to."

He turns his look back at Xian.

"The Force brought us here together, I can only extend my hand. If you take it or not, that is up to you."

Soren Dar physically extended his hand and looked at her. The white clad and lightly armored Jedi Knight was standing in front of her, tall and well built, his organic hand reaching out, for her to take.

Xian Xiao

 

[Xian Xiao]

After getting set back on her feet, Xian looked up at the woman she had been calling Ma with tears in her eyes. Taking the bag that was offered, she did not look in it but listened to the short conversation spoken between her and Soren. Drawing in a ragged breath, she nodded and gave Ma a hug in return.

Turning now to face Soren, she took a step forward and accepted his hand. Glancing over her shoulder at the retreating woman, she knew her time as a simple server was finished and new time was opening for her.

Finally taking a look in the bag, she saw her own two lightsaber hilts in there, changes of clothes, and some rations that would last her about a week. At the very bottom was a necklace with an image taken of her and Ma when she first arrived on Castell. Putting this around her neck, she sighed and nodded to Soren.

"I'm ready."

Soren Dar