Private Weight of the Worlds

[Allyson Locke]

Breathing hurt, everything hurt, even just hurting hurt. Allyson worked her way to sitting back up and trying to regain some consciousness in her mind. Pain medication and healing were all she had in her days. It also included time with a mental healer that was trying to analyze her thought process for why the Corellian did what she did. Time and again, the Jedi Healer couldn't get through to her, Allyson refused any sort of connection - she didn't trust anyone, not even the ones trying to heal her. "There's nothing wrong with my head," she repeated to the healer. It was odd to want to save her comrades, to sacrifice oneself to save millions was something she believed with every fiber of her being. If she needed to sacrifice her life for someone else to live - then that was okay.

Rolling to the side, she winced, eyes fell upon her clothing - it seems the Corellian government had been by another set of Bloodstripes. How many was that now? She thought to herself as she remembered receiving the first ones. She had done something probably just as stupid and selfless, but still, it saved millions. Allyson was quiet, as she stared at the blood stripes, her mind wandered to her parents. Were they proud of her? Were they upset that she didn't settle down and just live a simple life? Had they missed her before they died? There were so many questions that she couldn't mentally fend off - not in her state.

Eyes closed as she exhaled. Sounds of the monitors beeped, alerting her and everyone around her that she was still alive. Her memory was spotty, here and there she remembered what she had done and how it felt to do what she was doing. There were no regrets, but she still wished she could have done more. Another exhale, yeah - even breathing hurt.


Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Ryv sat silently within the Jedi Master's room, eyes closed as he focused on her labored breaths. Even unconscious, she seemed to struggle with each one. A part of him wished he didn't understand that feeling the way he did, but the labors of his past remained imprinted on his mind as it likely did Allyson Locke's. It was none other than the Sword of the Jedi who requested a healer to see the dazed pilot in hopes with the aid of the force; some progress in understanding why she did it could occur. He hoped there was more to the story than what he came to expect. It wasn't too long ago, in the face of similar odds, that Ryv sacrificed himself in a successful attempt at saving two fellow Jedi. Through mysterious circumstances, both wound up incapacitated and left for dead. It earned him months locked in a prison, tortured by a senile Sith Lord. Which later resulted in months of mandatory therapy under the watchful eye of elder Jedi within the Order.

When Allyson began to stir, Ryv's eyes opened. He looked away from the window overlooking the busy Coruscant streets and focused on her. As her mind wandered to more stressful thoughts, the empath winced. While he did not press into her mind, he could still feel the raw emotion pouring off of her in her exposed state. It felt wrong being there at that moment. He wanted to get up and leave her to her own devices, rather than peer on such tender pain. Still, it also felt wrong to depart before at least checking up on her. Each of the Jedi cleared to join the attack on the Bryn'adul Warlord were his responsibility. Everything they experienced, Ryv took onto himself as his responsibility. If only he'd planned better, or made better choices in the field, or defeated the beast himself, things could've been different. Unfortunately, he was neither strong or smart enough to do those things. He'd failed them all.

Shaking his head, Ryv stood up and moved to the woman's side. He knelt and cleared his throat, hoping to draw her attention.

"Hey there, Allyson? I don't know if you can hear me, but uh-" Ryv paused, struggling to find the right words. "I hope you're okay," he shook his head, nearly grinding his teeth in frustration. Why couldn't he say anything right? Why couldn't he be the Jedi they all needed him to be?

"I've spoken to the medical droid. It thinks you've only got a couple more days in here if the bacta does right by you. Shouldn't be long until you can get back on your feet, okay?"

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

If it were any other time, Allyson would have been startled by having someone else in the room. At first, when she sensed the movements, she assumed it was her friend Jyoti, but Ryv was one of the last people she had expected. Her mind closed as she shut down her emotions. The Corellian's pity part was usually a reservation for one. She moved back onto her back and adjusted her position so that she was sitting up. Trying to look at the man while lying on her back was painful. Allyson inhaled sharply as a surge of new pain coursed through her body; she did quite the number on her body.

"I'm okay. It's nothing new." Pausing, she forced a smile to the Jedi, "You didn't have to come. I know you have better things to do than to come to check on me." What more could she say? Again he was the last person she expected to see her. A sudden flood of morphine shot through her body, and she relaxed and turned back to him. "The healers were saying I was doing well. It's a good thing - I hate downtime for a long period. Feel like I'm missing out." More like people were dying in her place, the longer she sat here.

It didn't require an empath to see that Ryv had something more to say or had more going on than he wanted to let on. Allyson smiled. "How are you holding up?" She scooted slightly and patted the bedside. "I've wanted company so - stay with me a bit?" Company meant she didn't have to think about her actions, how she failed, or her dead parents. It was easier to feel and understand someone else instead of having to deal with yourself.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Seeing her reposition to sit up, Ryv took hold of the small remote designed to shift the device beneath the mattress. He pressed down on the button, only for it to slowly rise behind her and offer proper support to her wounded form. With the simple task complete, the Jedi Knight set the remote down beside her. His gaze shifted from it to her, where he managed a smile. He couldn't blame her for feeling the level of surprise she did. Beyond the initial meeting put in place to plan out the mission, Ryv hadn't made an effort to seek the Jedi Master out and introduce himself. Even with the position granted to him, placing him on the day-to-day council running the Order, he didn't consider it his place to question a Jedi Master. Wyatt handled catching folks like her up. It just made more sense.

"That's good," Ryv muttered after her initial response, happy to see things weren't as bad as they initially appeared. Even with the medical droid's assurances, the hours he spent looking over her and the others wounded in the battle didn't help in easing his stress or frustrations. Her words brought a bit of calm to his racing thoughts. Enough to allow him to focus elsewhere for the moment. "I get that feeling. Always something to do, people to see, lives to save. Spending time locked down in a medical bay doesn't help in any way," he spoke as he straightened and readied himself to leave. Did he have better things to do than check up on his charges? No, not at all. With recent events, Ryv opted to focus on internal affairs between the Jedi Order and the budding Galactic Alliance. That meant he got to lay about his apartment out in the city when not checking up on them or the wounded.

Before the kiffar could depart, Allyson's actions caught his attention. Did the Jedi Master honestly care for the company? Ryv didn't know her enough to make the call. He shrugged and took a seat, leaning forward to prop his elbows upon his thighs. Her questions took him by surprise. He couldn't recall any time recently another of the Order asked how he'd been feeling. Though, he couldn't recall an instance where anyone aside from Maynard asked the question altogether.

"Yeah, that's not a problem," Ryv eventually managed, even though he was already sitting. "I'm good. Little tired from meetings with some of the local officials. With how much politicians talk, I'm surprised they manage to find time to get home to their families," he half-joked, mostly trying to avoid delving deeper into the meaning of her question.

"I'm worried about all of you. The Bryn'adul is no joke. With everything that happened, I can't say I did an outstanding job," Ryv admitted before turning his amber gaze her way. "What about you? Can't say I blame you for trying to take out his ride, but I'm sure we could've figured it out without you having to go to such extremes."

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

The Corellian listened as he avoided her question, he glossed over it with words that one told to their mother when they were trying to keep her from worrying. She didn't blame him, though; they were nothing but acquaintances who met for a battle. Though through battle bonds were forged and their actions though separate on the battlefield, they still had them. Allyson nodded with the tellings of his days and how he felt, his fears of the Bryn'adul mirrored hers. Resting a hand on her chin, she thought about what she had found on their terraformed death planet. That information was left for another time, maybe one with more security.

"You did your job. No one is going to do an outstanding job in the middle of a warzone against a nearly indestructible enemy." His words reminded her of the ones she spoke when she woke from her coma after Anoant. "You survived, your team survived; that's what's important. We were able to gather valuable intel on the monstrosity and the tools he has at his disposal." Ryv brought up her choices with the dive.

She shifted in her seat; he had been honest for the most part with her and his fears; it was her turn. "I was willing to die." Bandaged hands fiddled in her lap as she stared at them. "I was ready to sacrifice everything to make sure that all of you escaped. I wish I hadn't had strayed to rescue a pair who had gotten caught in some bioweapon." Allyson exhaled, and she felt tears well in her eyes as she did her best not to let them fall.

"Even though I was ready and fully expected to choose as I did - I was scared. I was so scared to die. I didn't want to die. There's so much I want to still experience, but for me." Allyson continued to look at her hands as she remembered how easy it was to nose dive the fighter into the scaled monster, "I knew if I didn't make the choice I did - my team, my comrades, would have died. Sacrificing the one, me - and saving the many - all of you, I believe that it's the right choice, and I would make it every time."

There was very little for her to live for. She knew her dear friend would miss her - but she had hoped that if she died, saving someone it would make it easier. Allyson inhaled with a shudder as she kept her tears at bay. It was only human to fear death, but she stood by her choices.

"I know its stupid, but its what I believe and every battle I enter, every mission I take - I expect not to come home. No one died, Ryv, and you did a good job. Don't ever feel guilty for my actions - they are my own, and above all else, its to save you and the others."



Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Maybe a sense of pride dwelled deep within the Jedi Knight's being, threatening to surface at such moments. But Allyson's assurances simply didn't hit home for Ryv. He wasn't just anybody. He wasn't the typical Jedi who hid away in the modern era, hoping the bad guys would go away on their own. He wept for those lost to the clutches of darkness without end. Each day was worse than the last, continually reminding him he couldn't save the latest batch of victims at the hands of the Sith Empire or Bryn'adul. Maybe for someone not holding up the weight of galaxy, those words would've brought solace to the troubled and pained. Unfortunately, Ryv wasn't that person, and more likely than not, he never will be.

While Ryv was surprised to find her speaking so openly with him, he wasn't surprised at why she did what she did. The younger Jedi did not like her answer. If he couldn't return with everyone, a large part of him didn't want to return at all. After Kintan, when he and Wyatt managed to find their way back to Peace, Ryv blamed himself for Lanik's kidnapping the moment he learned of it. Was it rational to do such a thing? Of course not. Not only were the duo separated the entirety of the battle, but there was little the kiffar could've done at that time anyway. He had neither the training or the power to overwhelm a Sith Lord and save his friend. Perhaps it all stemmed from that point. Because when it was time to make the sacrifice, he made it with no hesitation, yet here he was, ready to condemn her decision.

"I can't say I blame you," Ryv eventually admitted, choosing not the path of hypocrisy, but understanding. "I couldn't imagine living the rest of my life knowing someone I care about made the ultimate sacrifice when it should've been me," his words came out barely above a whisper. "There are people out there who are far more deserving than I am of the lives they've got. What I've got left is more than an even trade when it comes to the people I care about. It's a goddamn steal."

Ryv shifted his attention from the floor to the wounded Jedi. He reached out, carefully patting her forearm.

"For what its worth, Allyson, this mindset we have isn't a good one. You've earned life for yourself a hundred times over if those Bloodstripes have anything to say about it. I doubt you're gonna listen to me here so that I won't push on that further. But if I've got to be honest with ye? Good isn't enough. It'll never be enough."

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Ryv would be surprised, Allyson listened to every word he spoke. To her, rank meant nothing when it came to Jedi and Sith. Master, Padawan, Knight - they were just status, some of the wisest people she met were the young padawans, younglings. Their lives had not been stained with the horrors of reality. Young and innocent, they looked at the world with fresh eyes. Those bright eyes were the ones that were going to save them, not the Masters that argued and disregarded the new generation. Thinking about the children she had met with the Silver Jedi and the Jedi Order, her heart ached knowing that their fate was going to be like hers. Children warriors, there was no escape. She wondered if the same story belonged to Ryv, did they have that in common?

"Then what is good enough, Ryv? If good isn't enough - what is? We're not meant to be perfect. I've tried to save everyone - even when I made sure everyone was gone and safe a distance away from what I was sent to do - someone was always dying." Blood was forever on her hands, Allyson knew that. It was the path she chose when she entered into the SIS when she joined the Jedi Shadows. The point of doing all of that was to protect people - yet still, people died.

"The Bloodstripes are First Class, the greatest honor a Corellian could earn for their world." She paused, remember what she had done to earn them. The memories were still hazy; she had suffered brain damage, which caused her to have amnesia - through that amnesia, she lost someone important to her. Allyson had done something so great, fended off the One Sith, destroyed their entire military station, and did not lose a life for the Alliance, yet her ultimate sacrifice was someone she loved and those memories. "If it's not our lives, its something else. You can never do something for the greater Good without sacrifice. If the sacrifice is my life, then so be it. I'm tired of other people being sacrificed for the actions I take, either it is by order or by what I think is right. If I had not done what I did - that monstrosity would have remained powered beyond belief."

She finally let the tears fall, "He would have killed Loske, You, Maynard - everyone. So to me, no one died - everyone made it home, even my life was spared."

Finally, look at him, "Good is good enough for me. Cut yourself some slack. You can't save everyone - no matter how hard you try." Allyson didn't know if it was the pain medication, but she was honest. "I've seen it just too many times - who am I to say anything though. I just crashed my fighter into the side of a giant monster to save you all. Guess I'm a hypocrite." The Corellian smiled through her tears as she winced, trying to wipe them away even from the eye that had bloody tears from the open wound and her tears mixing.

Ryv

 

[Ryv]

Ryv couldn't answer her immediate question, at least not in the way she likely wanted. To the Sword of the Jedi, perfection happened to be the only acceptable outcome. He knew the likelihood of being understood outright was low, let alone agreement. At least, typically. It seemed Allyson's penchant for empathy shined brighter than a desire to prove him wrong. Her empathetic stance took a step further the moment she went into her history and explained the events of her past. Nothing Ryv managed would ever amount to her sacrifice, which in many ways, hit home harder than anything else. Comparatively, both his victories and defeats paled when likened to Allyson's.

The moment her tears began to fall, the Kiffar set his emotions to the side and shifted in the bed. He slid his glove off while finding a place closer to the emotionally charged Jedi Master. The empath reached up with both hands, carefully brushing away the tears rolling down her cheeks without a care in the world. Her pain called out to him in ways he could only liken to the innocents of Kintan or Brentaal IV. While the travesties of both planets far outweighed her momentary pain, the raw hurt rolling off of her in waves was real. And when it came down to it, in the few moments of peace, sincerity could be ignored. So, Ryv continued to gently wipe the salty, or bloody tears away, while his calloused hands held her cheeks within them.

"Allyson, I-" Ryv began to speak, though the words immediately caught in his throat. There was far too much to unpack outright. "I get it, Allyson. I get it," his words came out soft and low, barely above a whisper. "It's hard to see an opportunity to make a difference that can better the lives of those we love, and not take that shot. If I were in your shoes, I probably would've done the same thing. But, you know it, and so do I. You can't live that way anymore. For all the good you've done for others, you deserve that same good for yourself, okay?" he hoped everything he had to say assured her in one way or another. He leaned forward to press his forehead against her own.

From that point, Ryv opened his mind to the Corellian. Bonds, emotions, and connections all came naturally to the Jedi Knight. He didn't come with the same skills as his former masters. The Jedi, who entrusted him to lead them, his friends within the Order, those people who became his family during his service, all followed him for his sincerity. He strove to understand others before he took up his weapon. And at that moment, Ryv Karis connected his mind to Allyson and accepted her pain as his own. A deep sadness bore into his heart, twisting his innards like rope and tying them in knots he could not help to untangle overnight.

"I'm here for you, Allyson," Ryv muttered, feeling the malformed grip of loneliness that latched onto her being. "You aren't alone anymore. And you won't be alone as long as I live."

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson was surprised by his touch; she hadn't expected, especially from someone she had barely known. They had an odd understanding of each other; they were, for the most part, two sides of the same coin. Breaking down, she didn't do that; Allyson Locke didn't' break down in front of people. She broke down in front of one person and one person only. For Ryv to see her like this - was a rare sight. She looked at him through the tears trying to understand his actions and what his intent was. As much as she wanted to fight it, the need for comfort outweighed her fears and reservations. Her eyes searched his face as he spoke - it was as if he knew everything she was feeling. At that moment, his forehead touched hers. A connection was created, and she wanted to pull away fight it, but she couldn't a part of her wanted this. Allyson wanted to connect to share the pain and suffering that plagued her mind.

Through the connection, Ryv would suddenly find his mind reliving the woman's most painful moments. First, he would see a girl standing upon demolished rubble. Tears stained her dirt covered face as she determinedly dug through the mess. Blood covered her hands from the gravel, digging into her hands, tearing them, but despite that, she continued. Allyson's voice came with the painful cries as the girl dropped to her knees and cradled a young boy's body. She continued to dig, pulling two more bodies. The slender framed girl carried them out of the disaster, tears never stopping. The memory ended with her standing no younger than fourteen, receiving her gold Corellian stripes.

It faded, but before Ryv could try and pull away, another memory bombarded him. He would find himself inside of an X-Wing, Allyson was not much older than what she was when she was found on Corellia. She was a rogue pilot in the middle of a war, and her squad massacred as they had been outnumbered and abandoned. Still, she made it to her target; a space station loomed in the distance. Boarding, she quickly sliced her way through the panels, nothing slowed her down. She continued through everything dodging explosives and the One Sith military. Over comms, she made sure everyone had escaped in the pods - there weren't enough for all of them, Allyson stayed behind to keep the One Sith troopers from finding her comrades. Once they were off, the station exploded. She tried to escape, but there wasn't enough time. She was found floating in space, rescued by her handler - but the burning sensation of suffocation explained the never-ending pain she felt through the ordeal, waiting and hoping to be saved.

Finally, her worst memory one that she refused to ever share with anyone. This memory was the reason for her reservations, her desire to keep herself at a distance, never to let anyone connect. The Sword of the Jedi would feel the burn from constant shocks of electricity all over his body, the painful barrage of mental intrusions from a master of mentalism ripping their way through the mind of the Corellian. She never cried out in pain, until threats against a loved one and those that she cared. Allyson never spoke, she never told the Sith Lord what he wanted to hear, and she suffered for it. The pain of skin slowly peeled away would transpire from memory, everything happening across many days. Finally, instead of being rescued, there was a lapse in the force deadening drug that Allyson was able to manipulate using it to escape.

She crawled, broken, beaten, and near-death to the surface where the one person she trusted in this galaxy came to rescue her, the one person who always came to save her. Being told that her handlers had given up on her - deciding to sacrifice her to the cause. Allyson soon learned that her life was disposable. Yet, after it all. She was rewarded with the Corellian First Class Bloodstripes. She was proud of them, but she knew she should have died.

Allyson was able to reel in her memories, keeping others to fill Ryv's head. She had calmed down, for the most part, her tears staining her cheeks, but no longer falling. "I don't want to be alone. I know deep down I'm not - but sometimes I can't help but feel that way..." She paused and exhaled; everything hurt, and now her heart did having to relive those memories - the ones she kept locked way so deep in her heart. "Thank you."

 

[Ryv]

To some extent, Ryv felt bad, establishing this connection in her current state. Both emotionally distraught and under the influence of drugs meant to keep the pain away, her mind and heart were pulling the wounded woman two different directions. He knew how much she needed the connection, even if a part of her sought to contest it. Once the link came to fruition, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The storm of emotion racing towards him warned the Jedi Knight to raise his defenses, as not to be lost in the whirlwind of emotions assailing Allyson. As they finally hit, racing into his conscious thought, his hold on her face tightened faintly.

The first vision hit far too close to home. Allyson's memory of digging through the rubble in search of her fallen family seemed bloody and unfair. Even so, Ryv almost longed for such shock and awe in comparison to what happened to his parents. Watching them wither away and die over months, unable to make a change, or help them by at least easing the pain crippled the young Kiffar. Such helplessness drove him from the core, deep into Hutt Space, and into the clutches of potentially worse people than the One Sith. Had they been taken from his as quickly as it appeared in the vision, Ryv could only wonder what the following years would've seen. Still, his personal feelings were irrelevant in the matter. What Allyson felt overshadowed everything he could muster in that instance. With more pain on the horizon, he did not turn or pull away from her. His heart bled for her tribulations, and he faced the next memory head-on.

A massive space station hung suspended in the vastness of space, surrounded by a raging battle. As Allyson's squadron faced a sudden death one at a time, Ryv's mind drew towards Brentaal IV. On the lost planet, the Imperium raced against time to evacuate the planet's residents from an overwhelming horde of chaos spawn that somehow pierced the veil between the nether and real space. Before Ryv and his allies could arrive, the populace had seen death on the most significant scale ever seen. More than sixty percent of the population was torn apart by these dark monstrosities. By the time evac-ships arrived to ferry the planet's inhabitants off-world, the Pandemonium's Champion, a monolithic titan, armored in shadowy gray plates had arrived and led the assault from the frontlines. Ryv threw himself at the powerful being, beaten back time and time again. Each time, the struggle to get back to his feet grew longer and harder. The battle saw an end when the Imperium opened fire on the planet, engaging an orbital bombardment that saw Ryv and the creature swallowed within the weapons of mass destruction.

Tears welled up in Ryv's eyes as Allyson's final memory came to the forefront of her mind. Almost parallel to her haunting tale, Allyson witnessed the torture Ryv experienced at the hands of a senile Sith Lord upon Concord Dawn. Captured by a Sith Purge Commando, the Kiffar wound up seeing a month of mental and physical torture by Sith-Imperial professionals by night, while facing the crucible of a Mandalorian prison camp by day. Beatings came equally from Mandalorians and Sith alike, as neither party found the presence of a Jedi welcome. Though, the worst of it all came from Lord Cyggys, the Sith Lord, who completely redecorated Ryv's body in terrible scars, all while Ryv struggled to survive while severed from the force.

By the time Allyson began to speak, Ryv had opened his eyes and met her verdant gaze. His emotion met hers blow for blow, with Ryv staring longingly into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Allyson," Ryv spoke out, his right hand wiping the tears away from her cheek once more. The bond between the duo seemed to heighten his perception of the wounded Jedi. Even caught in the throes of pained emotion, Ryv leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. His eyes fell shutt, as his other arm wrapped around her, carefully pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

All of his memories bombarded her, unlike Ryv - Allyson wasn’t able to control what was happening. With her mind tired from the emotions she was feeling and the drugs to comfort her healing, she was forced to deal with everything. She was strong, though, seeing everything he went through. Their paths were so similar, and Allyson found an odd sense of comfort from connection with him. He understood what she was going through, with similar experiences he could relate to. Having someone like that was hard to find.​

Looking at him, she blinked, trying to understand why he was apologizing. Did he feel sorry for her? Did he regret connecting to her like this? As much as she wanted to fight it and push him away, the comfort he presented was infectious. Allyson needed this more than she realized, and it had been so long since someone comforted her on this level. She appreciated what friends did, but this was intimate - she had missed it.​

Before she could speak again in protest to his apology, his lips pressed against hers. The Corellian’s eyes went wide, and her heart raced, which was carefully measured on the monitor beside her. His actions were a complete surprise, but oddly enough, it was what she needed right this second. Ryv’s strong but gentle pull drew Allyson closer, she pressed against him without protest and let herself for once cared about. She returned the kiss, fingertips reaching up the best she could to caress his face.​

How long had it been since she let someone even if it was just a moment see her vulnerable? Allyson could feel the pounding of her heart in her chest as she thought it would be wise to break the kiss before the alarms of her monitors went off. Forehead to forehead, she remained inhaling slightly out of breath.​

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Ryv .” ​

 

[Ryv]

While Allyson's heart raced from the foreign touch, Ryv found comfort in something that only briefly had become a familiar and welcome part of his life. The softness of her lips against his own, fingertips pressed against his cheek, and an electrical surge racing up his spine from the closeness and intimacy. Having lived so long without it, the Kiffar never realized how much it mattered until he gained and lost it. The struggles he endured, while for the betterment of those around him, tore him away from the people he loved and isolated him. Finding empathy in someone he least expected it from was a welcome change, made better by the intimate moment shared. As she moved away, Ryv followed for a second, unwilling to break contact and end the touch of warmth. Though, he did not chase it further, opting to respect her action in the matter instead.

"Yes, there is. Maybe not from me, but the whole damn galaxy owes you an apology. No one should have to go through the thick of it like that. And to think, it all happened more than once," Ryv wiped away a stray tear from his face and pulled back a bit. He kept close enough for hip to hip contact with her, but he almost felt claustrophobic by the sudden weight and tension the duo took one for one another. "Rewards and honorable mentions don't make up for everything you've lost. You deserve far more from the people who used you to fight their war," his tone carried with it a wave of passion and familiarity. The topic at hand hit hard for the younger Jedi, given the similarities in their lives.

"You know what," Ryv began before shifting once more. "Come here, Ally," he pressed his shoulder against the raised mattress and tugged her into his arms once more. He cradled her head against his chest, one hand wrapped around her, while the other carefully massaged her scalp and played with her hair. "When I was younger, my mother would hold me like this anytime; something caused me any pain. Physical, emotional, mental, you name it. She'd comb through my hair with her fingers, and we'd sit in silence, listening to the sounds of Coruscant all around us. Hearing Galactic City at any hour of the day was just beautiful. Speeders racing through the air, strangers were calling out to one another, workers, civilians, and even the droids. Even the sound of crime had an air of mystique, often rounded out by incredible acts of kindness and love."

Ryv loved Coruscant more than any other place in the galaxy. It was the heart of the galaxy and the driving force behind why he fought for what he did. But most importantly, it was his home. And at that moment, he sank into the sounds of the city while guarding Allyson against the galaxy's dangers. At least, for the moment.

Allyson Locke ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson didn't fully understand what was happening. Why of all people was Ryv here? She was in disbelief that they had connected, and he was still here after seeing what he saw. He drew her in, and Allyson let him, somewhere deep within her, she fought this intimacy. As he laid beside her and cradled her close to him, Allyson felt the tightness in her frame fade. Her body relaxed into him, feeling the comfort he was offering her. This sort of intimacy and care was foreign to her, and no one had done this for her in some time. Allyson remembered softly those that had been there for her; they had tried to comfort her, they had tried to understand how she felt with the death of her parents, realizing her mortality and the torture of knowing the thoughts in her mind could betray her.

A hand moved through her hair. Ryv explained that his mother used to do this for him when he needed to be comforted. Allyson's mind was exposed, and she quickly thought of her mother. It had felt like a lifetime since she had thought about her mother. The woman was quiet and a blessing on Corellia, her father, always spoke so highly of his wife. Closing her eyes, Allyson tried to picture the woman's face. It proved difficult, but soon she was able to remember a small moment when she was a young girl. She had come home in tears over a boy breaking her heart. Father was at work late as always, and her mother waited with a warm hug.

Allyson clutched the man's shirt tightly with her hand as she cried, remembering her mother's touch and comfort. Ryv made her feel safe for the first time in her life. Whatever happened out in the galaxy didn't matter - because here she could forget and find a sanctuary. Allyson continued to hold onto him as he held her and ran his hand through her hair. She needed this comfort, this moment of protection from everything that had happened to her and the horrible state of the galaxy.

For once, she was thankful to be alive.​