Where did the time go?

[Rosa Gunn]

Al in all, the meeting could have gone far worse, Rosa mused as she rose from the table and slid from the meeting, pausing as she reached the bottom of the steps she sighed. She'd witnessed the worse meetings, even been part of the reason why they had fallen apart. The fact of the matter remained that no matter how many hopefuls tried to unit the Jedi under one banner, it simply would not work. There were too many differing views on what a true Jedi was, too many pacifists unwilling to make the hard choice and too many Orders tied to governments.

She turned to look back up at the temple, so alien to the one she remembered, a melancholy smile spreading across her face. That was a long time ago, a lifetime so far behind her it was harder to draw the finer details. The creation of an embassy was a huge step forward for the Orders, but not for Rosa. Not for any Grey or Rogue Jedi that chose the path without constrictions, without governments and without a grand master to make all the calls. Forever destined to be on the outskirts though she was not bitter about it, quite the contrary in fact. She chose this life for a reason.

Her eyes moved down the structure and spotted [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] moving down the steps towards her, his fellow Silvers in tow. Another stark reminder of just how old she was getting, she shrugged off the weight of a great many regrets that laid themselves briefly on her shoulders. Everything had happened for a reason, dwelling on it would do nothing to help. She stepped forward as Thurion reached her level and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Hello little one." she said with a smile.

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

There was an undeniable sense of disappointment in the outcome of the gathering where Thurion was concerned; he'd hoped - foolishly, it seemed - that their plight would have swayed the other Jedi orders to take up arms against the growing threat in the east. A Sith Order under the leadership of Kaine Zambrano, now named Dark Lord of the Sith, would not easily fold unless made to. It was an increasingly prevalent concern of Thurion's, who has fought the man and his cohorts more times than he'd like to recall. Certainly more times than most.

Once the various members of the conclave began to return to their business, Thurion joined Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"] and her padawan [member="Stephanie Swail"] back down the same stairs they'd ascended hours earlier. Still clinging to his cane and with a hand settled upon the shoulder of his old apprentice, a bright smile graced his lips as his gaze fell upon [member="Rosa Gunn"] waiting by the base of the steps. "Go on, you two. Enjoy yourselves while we're here," he advised the two young ladies, releasing Valae's shoulder and suddenly moving faster down the last couple steps in spite of his injury.

He practically stumbled into Rosa's embrace, even dropping his cane to properly put his arms around her. "Auntie Rosa," he'd called her since childhood, back on Teth with Boolon, Jaxton and all the others. "Not so little anymore, huh?" In fact he towered over the dark-haired woman, yet while in her embrace he felt like a boy again. He pulled away from their embrace to look down at her face; she did not look much different from how he remembered her. He doubted she could say the same of him.

"You look wonderful," he smiled wide as he looked her over. "The years have been kind to you, Rosa. How are you and Seroth doing? Or... is it Seydon he goes by now? I never quite knew what name to call him by," he confessed with slight embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

"No, not quite." she said looking up at him beaming. "I can still see the little boy who asked me to leave a scar, though." she tapped a thin line on his forehead, faded from years but still slightly visible. A light laugh burst from her lips at his compliment. "Have they? I certainly don't feel like they have." She retrieved his cane with a slight wave of her hand, sliding it back into his and looping and arm through his other arm so they could walk the grounds.

It struck her then that she could not remember the last time they had seen each other. Had it really been that long? "He goes by Seydon now, its the name he chose after he took the Path and became Dunaan." she pursed her lips, that had been another year without him, another year of worrying for his safety while he'd fought tooth and claw against foes she would never truly know. Still, she'd spent far longer in the clutches of the sith...

"We're doing well. Very well, actually, all things considered. We've set up roots on Teth. The Silent Temple has been refurbished too." she grinned, "You should come see it, bring your family along, there's always space in the dorms for you." She gave his arm a slight squeeze. "How about you and Coci, and the children?" her eyes brightened, she'd never had the pleasure of meeting any of them properly, something she sorely wanted to rectify. Perhaps she'd find some time for all of them, between the wars and the Foundation, some time for all of them to come together. Her, Seydon, Thurion and his family, Jaxton (though force knows where he even was these days). She might even persuade Jorus and Mara to attend as well...and what about Teynara and Jericho? what had happened to them...?

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Grateful for her help in retrieving his cane, Thurion happily joined Rosa for a walk around the place as they reminisced together. Much of the surroundings had been remodeled in conjunction with the rebuilt Jedi Temple, yet some features and landmarks still remained the same. "Everyone is doing just fine," he smiled at her mention of his family. "Nina's all grown up, if you can believe it. So is Théo - he's currently serving as Praetor of the Iron Empire on Csilla. He is his own man, now." The last sentence was uttered with a hint of sigh; how he missed having the little rascal running about the Silver Temple on Voss, getting himself and others into mischief.

"After we retired from leading the Silvers, Coci and I settled down on Midvinter where we had another child. We named our littlest one Thirdas, and boy is he a handful," he chuckled. "He has his mother's Corellian spirit, coupled with his father's folly!" A lively and fun-loving lad, raised the Valkyri way whereas his older brother was raised largely amongst Jedi. "Ah, Teth..." he smiled at the mention. "I regret never returning there after I left that day. I would have liked to have seen you all again."

His voice turned more moody as he spoke next. "I grieved when I first found out about Boolon. We never spoke much - he never spoke much in general, really - but his presence on Teth was always felt. He was always kind to me." An odd fellow, granted, but in all his life Thurion had never met someone so devoted to peacefulness. As they wandered aimlessly they found themselves in a lush garden, with trees and flowers of every kind from all over the known galaxy coming together. Feeling a tad weary, he had Rosa walk them to the nearest park bench.

"Do you ever find yourself wishing you could go back to those days? The galaxy was so very different, back then. The Republic and Sith Empire at each other's throats, the Jedi Order in an uproar and the Senate filled with ambition and corruption... It's strange how those times seemed so much simpler, all things considered. Almost as if the world was more black and white, rather than the various shades of grey we live in today." He sighed again, propping himself up on his cane and gazing out towards the horizon filled with impossibly tall structures and lines of traffic. "Maybe it's just me getting old."

[member="Rosa Gunn"]​

 

[Rosa Gunn]

It warmed her heart to know that his family was well, that despite everything Thurion ad the little bit of happiness her deserved. Her mind lingered on the though of those she had not seen nor heard of for a long time, perhaps she'd bring it up with Seydon, see if the could add it to their list of things to do. 'Lets find our friends'. She smiled at the thought, though looked up as Thurion spoke of Boolon. "He was a good Jedi," she nodded "Sometimes, I imagine I can hear him humming when I tend the gardens on Teth. He might not have spoken much, but he was always humming." she smiled sadly. "I do miss him."


She gave a heavy sigh at his desire to go back to 'simpler times' "It makes me weary to hear you say you're old, Thurion." she shook her head settling down on the bench nestled between two climbing roses in full bloom. There sweet scent brought a smile to her face. "You are still young, you should be looking forward, not backwards. Looking back never did anyone any good." If her gentle chastising didn't answer his question about wishing to go back, then she would not do so directly. To go back, meant she would have to go forwards again, and she knew that path brought only pain.

"Nothing has really changed. It might seem simpler then because you were younger, but I can assure you that it never was." she understood his desire to go back to 'simpler times' this meeting had not produced the support he'd been hoping for. He stood on the brink, facing the ruin of something he'd worked so hard to build and it seemed no one was willing to make sacrifices to help him. "Don't be too frustrated with today, Thurion, it might not have produced the results you were hoping for, but its the biggest step the Jedi have ever made towards uniting in my time."

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Listening to Rosa's words, Thurion leaned back and enjoyed the scenery, letting the peaceful nature take hold of him. Just hearing her familiar voice again after all this time was enough to ease his mind, and when she urged him to not feel frustrated he simply turned his head to look her in the eye, then slumped down a bit to rest his head upon her shoulder. "I guess I've always had one foot in the past and one in the present, but rarely one in the future," he then spoke on the subject. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be such a downer. Today was a good day, all things considered. The fact that so many of us chose to even show up is a step in the right direction."

His gaze settled on the nearby fountain, looking exactly as it did back when he was just a boy learing about the Force. Merely seeing it again had his right big toe twitch with displeasure, remembering the time he'd been blindfolded and walked straight into its hard sides. It brought another fond smile to his lips.

"I always loved coming here. Here it was always just the two of us, no-one else. We would sit barefoot in the grass and eat lunch, and afterwards she would sing me to sleep." Closing his eyes and listening to the birds chirping around them, he could almost hear her voice soothing him. "When she died, I felt like my whole world had ended. I was lost without her. But you guys kept me going, despite how painful it was. I can never repay that." Without that pain, he would surely not be the same man he is today, for better or worse.

[member="Rosa Gunn"]​

 

[Rosa Gunn]

She leaned her head against his as he sunk to her shoulder, suddenly he wasn't the tall powerful jedi he'd become, he was the little boy back on teth full of love, joy and wonder for the world around him. She slipped a hand in to his and smiled. Eyes tracking the path of a white butterfly as it danced through the flower beds.

Rosa knew the pain of losing parents all to well, her own had passed before she'd set her foot on the path to become a jedi. She'd understood Thurion's pain, to see his world fall apart and be utterly powerless to stop it was heartbreaking even without her empathy. Yet he had grown, tall and strong. A great jedi master, a wonderful father and a loyal friend, she could not have been prouder.

"There is nothing to repay, little one. Family is never in debt." she gave his hand a squeeze. "Asha would be proud of you...I am proud of you." she went quiet for a moment, a melancholy mood settling over her. "I am only sorry that I have not been around as much as i would have liked in recent years. The galaxy has not been kind."

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

He listened to her kind words of wisdom while resting his head upon her shoulder, feeling her gentle squeeze of his hand. Rather than keeping the conversation going, he found it impossible to break the peace and quiet of their surroundings. Instead he closed his eyes, listening to the buzzing of bees and singing of birds, and his thoughts turned towards when last he walked these gardens. He was but a small boy, working hard every day to please his master by learning from her teachings and following her instructions to the letter. Always pushing himself to become the best Jedi he possibly could - not for personal power or glory, but because he remembered growing up on the streets of Pelagon hearing about Jedi and their noble deeds. He wanted to be able to look after people like his younger self, to keep them from going through the same things he had.

He had just about fallen asleep when his bad leg made itself known, and he was forced to sit up again. "Damnable thing..." he muttered while readjusting his leg. "Took a beating back on Ossus from one of the Zambrano's. Braxus - [member="Darth Prazutis"]. One of Kaine's puppet family members." His distaste for the man and his kin was made rather obvious. "His brother, I think? Maybe cousin? I've given up trying to figure out their accursed family." Thurion sighed before leaning back where he sat beside Rosa.

"I see nothing but darkness and rage when I try and look inside them. It doesn't seem possible for any man to lead such hateful lives, so fully engulfed by their darkest desires. And yet, even a man like Kaine Zambrano must have loved at some point," he theorised, referring to the many children and various offspring the man had managed over his long life. "Nobody was ever born a servant of the dark side. People are either pressed into servitude or seduced by their unstable emotional state. To know that a man like the powerful [member="Darth Carnifex"] was once like every other innocent child is... deeply disturbing. Yet also inspiring of hope, however faint."

Finding himself conducting a monologue seemingly to himself, Thurion dismissed his thinking aloud with a wave of his hand. "Sorry, didn't mean to prattle on about such deep matters. Once a Jedi, always a Jedi..."

[member="Rosa Gunn"]​

​

(Sorry it took me forever to reply, I'm slowly getting back to writing.)​

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa let her own eyes slide close, her mind drifting with the ebb and flow of the force about the Temple, peace and comfort settling over the pair. Her eyes snapped open at the spasm of pain that ran through Thurion before he grumbled his complaints. "I know the darkside more intimately than I ever wanted to." she said softly, adjusting her position on the bench to place her hands on Thurion's injured leg. "Those that are as corrupt as the Zambrano's are not men, they are simply tools of darkness, much like the Jedi are tools of the light. The dark side draws you in, warps reality and becomes addictive. As for love..." she closed her eyes a slight smile on her face reaching deep into the force and pouring its energy into her hands, working to fix the damage done as best she could.

"Love transgresses through every aspect of the force. Some sith become what they are in order to protect those they love, or even to pursue the person they love. They are driven far more by emotion than we are." She let him ponder over her words, a soft glow emitting from her hands as she worked drawing on the peace around them to help her healing.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

(also sorry for the delay!)