Whos the Elder now...

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

Alexandra huddled in her corner, pulling apart rubble as she sat with her knees planted in dirt and her hair drapping down over her face. She was finally alone for a few days after working on repairs for the order of the grey and she had chosen a quick trip to go relic hunting on Dantooine in one of the ruined enclaves that remained on the planet's surface. There wasn't much for her to find though, being it had been combed over thousands of times over by thousands of years of treasure hunters, but even small scraps were treasures to her.

And for her, the small scrap of metal that had no hint to its history or importance was as significant in value to her, as gold was to another. Her eyes looked at every single millimeter with a hunger to it that craved knowledge and stored the piece of metal of to the side as she continued to push around rubble and force herself further into the building that was a heap of metal at this point. So far there hadn't actually been any information she had found, but the woman continued her search without halt. Which at this point was making her a very different looking woman.

Her face and body were covered head to toe in so much dirt that she looked like she would blend in, even her now black hair started to look like it was actually brown. Her clothing, which normally was robes but for today looked more like that of an archaelogist was equally turned the color of the dirt that continuously fell on her head and around her. It was like she had crawled out of the ruins themselves after being asleep in them for five millenia. To anyone she looked like a dirty tomb raiding girl, young and looking through a heap of history picked clean. Not the formerly echani master that everyone had known her as.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Walking around a few ruins on Dantooine was not on Gherron's list of favorite things to do, but if anything he had to admit it offered him some solace. Not many people did hang around those parts, so for the most part he was able to be alone with his own thoughts for a while. Kicking up dust in a few places as he walked, he adjusted the hood on his garb, a new set of armor and clothing he had recently crafted for himself. It was a little clunky, but it got the job done, with durasteel plates in some places that he believed needed the most protection, and a hood to protect his face from the wind as well as peering eyes. Even with his new look, he liked to keep a low profile whenever necessary, and especially when it wasn't necessary. One never knew when someone would take interest for whatever reason. He hoped the rifle strapped to his back would be enough to ward off any curious enough, as well as the copper pistol at his side. He'd grown rather fond of his Blackblade Rifle. With its capability of firing as both a blaster amd a slug rifle, as well as housing shotgun rounds, it was an excellent purchase indeed. As he was pondering this however, he heard some scuffling a little ways off. Going to investigate, he saw a woman clad head to toe in dirt and clay. Raising an eyebrow, he offered a few words. "Um... is there any way I could help you there?"

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

Alexandra's head perked up before she even heard his voice, looking behind er and watching him appear to pose his question. For a few moments her eyes rested on the man as something seemed familiar about him but in the end she just shrugged and turned her eyes back at the rubble, the tail she now had curling out and using it to dust off a piece she pulled out. "Im more than capable of doing this myself, no need for you to worry that head of yours." She spoke without turning her head to look at him, her eyes focused on the item and for the few moments of silence that separated her words she would only touch the force to make sure that blaster was not pointed at her.

"You know, id rather not be shot in the back, so if we could both get past having weapons on us?" Her head turned to glance at him from the corner of her eye, waiting for a response while she sat tthere with dirt caking her features. He seemed really familiar, but she could not tell why and it made her want to delve into the man's mind to figure out why that was so. He wasn't someone she had seen before, that much was true. And she knew he wasn't someone she had talked to over a comm system, so what was it.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

When the woman looked up at him, Gherron's mind reeled back for a moment. She seemed oddly familiar, and he could tell by her face that she thought the same about him. Were they possibly old friends that had changed that much as to not recognize each other? It was strange, and yet he knew it wouldn't be the last time that happened. Curious enpugh to want to fond put just who this was, he agreed and unstrapped the rifle from his bacl, though he kept his sidearm. He wasn't too keen on being completely unprotected. He was more tactical than anything these days, and more often then not relied more on his instinct than the force. "I know you from somewhere. Call me weird if you want, but we have met, I'm sure of it..." Crouching down, he peered at the woman. "What's your name?" What was he doing? He was supposed to be keeping a low profile, he chided himself. Maybe he'd still stick with his new name, regardless of who this person was to him. After all, the less that knew, the less chance of someone getting hurt.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

"Uh huh... Alexis Fean, Archaeologist, and historian... how can I help you exactly?" She looked at the man with her hand touching the saber she hid in her sleeve. It would be a simple motion to push the saber out into her hand and then to wield it, but he gave her no reason to be hostile as of yet. She wasn't sure what it was that he wanted, nor what it was he was thinking inside that head of his, but she had a feeling she would be fine. So that sense of need for hostility was absent from her and instead of pursuing a need for her saber, she drew the tail she now had over the piece of metal in her hands.

She did wonder herself why he seemed so similar, so familiar, though she reasoned that she had seen him before without any true connections. She had met alot of people over the years and not all of them reached the notability of Veino, Vulpesen, Minna, and that pain in the ass Gher-. She blinked, her thoughts cut off as her eyes focused on the man, looking for that hint of what she was thinking of. "What is your name..."

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

At the mention of her name, Gherron's mind went back to the woman who'd treated him like her own child in a lot of ways, always wanting to take care of him. Was this really the Alex he'd known so long ago? Spotting her reaching for her sleeve, his thoughts were proven right, as he remembered her tendency to keep her saber there often. "You don't need to go for that, I'm not gonna shoot you or anything", he cracked. Then, he saw a flash of recognition in her eyes, followed by her asking his own name. Kark , he thought to himself. As much as he cared for her, he decided there that he wouldn't expose himself as Gherron Vael, not unless she'd had some proof that it was without a doubt, him. I'm sorry Alex... "I'm Rylan. Rylan Thatcher. I enjoy dig sites myself from time to time." He had spent quite some time making up that name, and now, the first time it flew past his tongue, it was strange, alien to him. However, of he was to continue going about this new life, he had to get used to it.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

He hand had paused at the sound of his words and as she waited for his own name, she was ever more sure of who this person infront of her was. All she needed was one sliver of surity and as she started to stand her mind went over all the possibilities before smiling and tapping her foot as she placed a hand on top of his head, patting it like she always used to. "You sure its not Rylan Sovint? I seem to remember these two young kids that ran around and got into trouble..." There was no point hding it now, she knew the moment that he had called her out on reaching for her saber, that the man had figured it out, all that remained was to see if Alexandra was right, or if this was someone else.

"Cute kids, they were always so impressionable though." She smiled as the man infront of her was nearly nine years older than the current body she had was, it was a rather large change considering she used to be the elder of the two and now she had to make sure that this man was who she thought it was. She could always touch his mind, look inside, but she hated breaching privacy with someone. So instead, she opened her own mind up and simply spoke the word 'Hello' through the silent voice of the force.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron watched as Alex asked if his last name was Sovint, though if he wasn't so enthralled by the fact that she was in a much younger body somehow, his mind would've registered the name as the same of his fiance's. In fact, he was so interested by e fact that he didn't even think to shield himself when she opened her mind to him. The word 'Hello' reverberated throughout his skull like an earthquake. Reeling back from the sudden connection, he closed himself off from her side of the force and took a few steps back, hand firmly on his pistol. In doing so however, he'd involuntarily pushed back a bit of himself onto her, confirming to her that he was in fact who she thought he was. His eyes took on the look of a cornered wild animal, his defenses up and ready to turn tail at the slightest inclination from the woman.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

Alexandra stared as his entire body changed in its stance, her own hands touching the sabers in her sleeves to the upper part of her arm. It would take one simple pull in the force to bring them into her hands but now she wasn't too sure if she was right. He was acting far more hostile than she had expected and she was for a moment unsure if she was right. Maybe this wasn't Gherron and she had to be careful as she let the tail she now possesssed wrap around her waist to keep it out of the way. Then the bit of himself was pushed onto her and for a few second she said nothing once more and waited for Vael to make his move. "We both know that wont work, so how about we just sit down and talk like all friends."

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Slowly taking his hand off of the weapon, Gherron cautiously made his way back over to Alex, his eyes on her the entire time, though upon closer inspection, they would show him full of more hurt than hostility. He'd been through a lot since they'd last seen each other. "It's good to see you, Alex. Didn't expect you to be so damn young... What happened to you?" Sitting down next to her, he let his eyes travel over her, wondering just how she'd had this change happen to her. He wasn't used to being the older one, even though he was pushing thirty now. But even with his mental and physical scars, one look into his eyes and she would recognize him. But he couldn't be Gherron Vael. Not right now.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

"Im surprised that its the age you focused on, not the fact i have a completely different body altogether. Also, you can thank fox brains for this situation in the first place." She let sighed and leaned back, hands moving to rest in her lap and all hints of hostility vanishing from her body as she sat there. "Short story, Sith ripped me apart, threw me in the netherworld, Vulpesen and Taeli Raaf gave me this body before the former abandoned me to be alone again. So ya... also, im pretty sure you are not suppose to ask a woman about her age." She spoke with an emotionless tone as she recounted the recent events, as if nothing in the words she said mattered to her in the slightest. It was cold and that was how she felt when it came to what had happened in the two years leading up to this day.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

"I was actually trying to avoid mentioning that", he retorted, a tiny grin playing on his face. In reality, he could tell from her story and how she looked right now that her life had taken a turn for the worse as well. In a way, it was good to know he wasn't the only one. Hearing her monotone voice though, nearly broke his heart. He remembered her as a Jedi Master with life in her voice, always taking the good side of things, instead of the bad. now, she seemed broke, just as he was. So, he recounted his own story. "There was this Sith, we fought constantly. He was the only one that could really get a rise of anger out of me, and he relished that. After one of our fights, he left me with a scar on my chest. That scar began to infect me with Sith poison, and eventually, I lost it. I let loose on my friends and innocent people. I hurt them. So I ran. I hid on this forest planet for almost a year, before Josh found me. You remember him, right? Dragonsflame? He took me out. But now i'm trying to hide. So from now on, at least for a while, I'm no longer Gherron Vael. I'm Rylan Thatcher.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

She looked at her friend and slowly closed her eyes as she breathed in and simply let the air around the be undisturbed by conversation for right now. It was a while since she had last seen Gherron, not since he had been injured and Alexandra had regretted not being able to help the man any more than she did. Though she could tell there was a shift in his emotions, something she noticed almost immediately before sighing. "Don't worry about me, im fine..." She just looked at the piece of metal she had last found, bringing her hands across of it and staring at the surface while they talked. "So what is it you do then these days, past being on the run and looking to say hidden under this new name of yours Thatcher?"

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron chuckled a little at her words. "I'm not exactly sure what there is to do, to be honest. I'm just trying to find where I left off. Also, I prefer guns these days to sabers." His mind went to the sword he'd had made, and when it would be completed. Once he had his new force-alchemized blade, he would carry it around everywhere he went. As for lightsabers... He'd grow back into them eventually, but for now, he wanted to stay as far away from his previous life as possible.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Rylan Thatcher"]

"Well, to see the day when you stop using a saber is something that I'm not quite privy to on a normal basis. I must say that you are an interestingly changed man, for better... or probably worse." She smiled and pushed her old friend a bit before resting her head on her hands, looking over the fields that stretched out for miles. "You know, I almost wish I had built my order's temple here, it's such a beautiful place at night, and while Alderaan is too, it's clear here for miles. Then again, it would also be extremely hard to hide in plain sight considering there are no other buildings for miles, so it's probably better in that forest." She leaned her head to one side as she looked at the still midday sky, waiting for the star to vanish and open up the universe to her eyes.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron pondered his friend's words for a moment. He definitely was a changed man. With the crap he'd gone through to reach this point, almost anybody would change. However, maybe it was for the better. At the mention of the temple, his head perked up a little. "The planet I was on... I'd say it would be a good place for your temple. The planet itself is so far out of the way, and it's all forest. The only thing you'd have to deal with is the settlers there. I'd probably get their permission first, as they're not too trusting since the events of the netherworld. Like all of us, they took a big hit, but being so far from everyone else, they didn't know what to make of it." He remembered Darren, the little kid he'd befriended there, and tried to imagine him going to visit the temple on a regular basis. The idea made him chuckle a little.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Rylan Thatcher"]

She listened to him and as he spoke o a place to build a temple she waited before smiling and pushing Gherron a bit to the side, not choosing to speak quite yet. Only after thinking for a few moments on the idea did she finally let her voice rise a bit and her eyes shift over to him. "Don't worry about that. We returned to the old temple on Alderaan and even if we did have to move, there is an enclave on Naboo that we could always retreat to and take up residence in. Hopefully this time though, our people don't go and piss off the land lords, i never did make it up to the Mandalorians for the behavior of Vulpesen that day..." Her voice dropped at the mention of Vulpesen's name. It was clear there remained both distaste and sorrow in saying it, but she didn't acknowledge those feelings herself and simply just shrugged. "Thanks for the offer though Vael."

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Alexandra's words were enough to perk his head up a little, curious. "What happened with Vulpesen? What did he do this time?" He had to remember that he'd been out of commission for a while now, so his knowledge on current events was quite low. One one hand, it made him really consider going back to Refuge, but he knew that somehow, he was needed back in the galaxy. Something was coming soon, and it would change him for better or worse. Vulpesen, as he remembered, had somewhat of a knack for getting into trouble. Gherron recalled the first time they met, was on the battlefield. He'd been a wildcard then, and surely still was.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Rylan Thatcher"]

She looked at Rylan for a few seconds before her hands shifted and pushed off the ground, a bit of a smile returning as she stood there and brushed off her clothing and shrugged. It was clear she would be avoiding talk of the fox brained moron who she would rather beat to a pulp than talk about for now. Maybe time would temper her aggression towards Vulpesen... probably not, but the fact remained how she felt about him was nothing short of irritation considering the fact a part of her still wanted to fix things.

"Well Rylan, i heard of a cave not far from here that is rumored to have rather exquisite crystals though i can't say i found it myself. Something about it seems to be hidden and i might need the help of a fellow patron of history to find it..." Under the words it was clear what she actually needed, another mind looking through the force for this crystal cave that she was so keen on finding. What would remain there was to the mind's imagination but she knew it had to be something worth the interest. Surely there would be something there that could help her in her own little quest for certain items, and considering the myth around this cave... well it was worth the check.

"That is, assuming those bones of yours aren't too brittle for a bit of exploring in your aged years..." It was clear she was making the joke considering their reverse positions biologically. Even if in truth she was atleast fifteen years his elder chronologically.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

From her somewhat shifty gaze and uncomfortable look, Gherron reasoned that the topic of Vulpesen's exploits was probably better for another time. Watching the woman (it was so hard to see her as one now, given her current form) get up, Rylan listened as she noted a cluster of crystal caves in the area. Dwelling on her word placement, he figured she wasn't just going crystal hunting. She was looking for something specific. Catching on quite quickly, he stood up with a small twinkle in his eye, the kind that anyone who knew him would know as the one that said he was up for an adventure. "Sure, I'll bite. Though... I don't currently have any weapons, save for my fists and the force." What he didn't mention was that those two things were all he needed. His time on Refuge had helped strengthened his control over the force, as well as his own body. He knew more about himself than he ever had before, and he saw the world around him in a different light. He was also a better problem solver, as a result of being a hunter for nearly a year. Still, if he was offered some sort of weapon, he wouldn't turn it down. Backup plans were always nice, regardless of what one thought they could do.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]