Carrick station was busy, as usual. Even in this uneasy peace, troops, civilians and mercenaries were all moving around and through this outpost, all with their own agendas and goals. The station even saw plenty of Jedi, so the tall dark blue Twi'lek consular raised little curiosity. She carried herself with grace, her robes placid in her wake, and there was a feeling of complete calm that settled around her, like new snow on a winter's morning. Her lekku were patterned by black, oval shaped tattoos that wrapped around their width, trailing down her back to rest just at her waistline.

She paused at the edge of the upper deck of the centre of the station, looking down at the large cantina space. The screens above flickered with news and the times on different planets and shuttles moving to and fro. People hurried by the Jedi, absorbed into their own little worlds and ignoring the vendor nearby trying to hawk his wares. She felt the emotions and life forces of the people that filed past her, just little facets of their lives and personalities in a brief moment, and it made her grateful for her connection to the Force. Her lekku swayed slightly, and her light green eyes scanned the expanse, her mind reaching out as well. She found what she was looking for and smiled warmly, moving from her position and descending down the stairs.

Though she saw the couple first, the Jedi then felt their auras, feeling herself connect. The other Twi'lek's aura was bright and full of bravado, though the Jedi was saddened at the slight slivers of pain she felt, yet was no longer surprised to feel the secretive undertone. It had been there far too long.
The young man though, he was very interesting. He wasn't Force sensitive, but she could feel his emotions easily radiate out into the Force; a warm happiness and contentment, yet there were shivers of anxiety and worry, as well as something a little more deep, like a glowing hot coal in the centre of a hearth...

The Twi'lek's aura suddenly burst with joy, drawing the Jedi's attention out of her half-trance.
"Sis! You're here!" She cried, leaping to her feet and suppressing a wince as she galloped over, pain bleeding out into her aura. "It's been so long!" She threw her arms around the Jedi, who smiled back.
"It has indeed, Zavvi." She replied, looking up as she noticed confusion and surprise in the companion.
"Captain, you never told me your sister was a Jedi!" He exclaimed, an accent she didn't recognise drawling out his words. Her sister chuckled, stepping back.
"You really think I'd broadcast that to the galaxy, really? It's cool, sure, but I kinda like my sister and would rather she stay alive. Anyway, Corso, this is Xuleena, my big sister. Xu, this is Corso Riggs, my first mate." Zavvi grinned, seeing Corso blush slightly as he shook Xuleena's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am- I mean, Master Jedi." He said, and the consular chuckled softly.
"Likewise, Corso. My sister has spoken about you before." He blinked.
"Really?" As much as Corso would've loved to know what the Captain thought about him, he was wise enough to know not to inquire whilst she was standing right in front of him.
"Yes, indeed." Xuleena turned to Zavvi, exchanging a glance with her. "We keep in contact whenever we can, but it is difficult, with one of us being a smuggler, the other a Jedi with many responsibilities." She sighed slightly. Corso got the impression of a typical Jedi; aloof and almost emotionless, though something stirred in his mind, that she seemed oddly familiar, but for the life of him he could not remember seeing her before this meeting. "I trust your wound is healing?"
Zavvi grimaced.
"Healing, yes, but it's going to scar. Those bastards got me good; my muscles are taking a while to rebuild. Could you help?"

Xuleena smiled.
"Of course, sis." They moved back to where Zavvi and Corso had been sitting, the smuggler settling down whilst Corso stood watch, the Jedi kneeling down and placing her hands on the wounded thigh.
She closed her eyes and concentrated the Force around her to channel through her hands into the tissue beneath. Her sister's diagnosis was not far off; the injury went deep, with muscle damaged. Kolto had been helping speed up the healing process, but Xuleena knew from her studies the muscles wouldn't grow back correctly, and the scar tissue would make moving the leg again hassle.

Concentrating harder, she used the Force to encourage the growth of the muscle, guiding the natural repair mechanism of the body with gentle nudges here and there. It didn't take too long to have the muscle at a satisfactory state, and Xuleena drew herself carefully out of her healing trance, returning to the real world. Corso's eyes were wide.
"Wow..." He breathed. "I've never seen a Jedi heal someone before...That was what the light was, wasn't it?" She nodded.
"Yes, it is a byproduct of our use of Force powers." She looked to her younger sister. "Try your leg now, Zee."
The smuggler hopped to her feet, tensing the muscle.
"Hey, that feels much better! Thanks, Xu!" She hugged the consular tightly.
"You're very welcome, Zee. You would have needed my aid anyway if you wanted to keep your agility, as your muscle was scarring. It would've reduced the ability of it to stretch, and I wouldn't want you at a disadvantage." Xuleena replied. Zavvi puffed herself up.
"I don't need your help, sis." She huffed childishly, pouting. To Corso's surprise, the Jedi giggled, which also made her younger sibling giggle back. The mercenary couldn't help but smile at their happiness, glad that Zavvi still had her family.

"Zee," Xuleena suddenly spoke again, "don't you have some errands to run whilst you're on this station?" The two sisters shared a look, and Zavvi nodded.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'll be a few minutes, but I can do this on my own, Corso. Just stay with my sister and...Don't cause a fight or anything." She left them, though Riggs had a sneaking suspicion about something, which was further confirmed when Xuleena got to her feet.
"Let's take a walk, Corso. I've needed to speak with you anyway." She noted the flicker in his aura and smiled. "No, she's not very subtle. My little sister has never been like that..." Corso noted a brief look of sadness flash over her face. "Come with me, I know a place we can talk."


Xuleena led Corso towards an area in the station outfitted in the intention to give Jedi a room to meditate in undisturbed, but due to the serenity of the decoration (resembling the Jedi Temple back at Tython, with more potted plants) and the regular occupants, it had become a place where people could come for some peace and quiet.
Corso felt a little out of place when they entered, but there were only a couple of Jedi deep in meditation, and some people looking out of the window at the stars or sitting to one side, absorbed in their thoughts. He wondered idly what the Jedi was going to tell him as they sat on a bench, shaded by a large plant determined to escape its pot.

"What are your feelings towards my sister?" Corso blinked, not expecting her to cut right to the chase.
"Ah, well, er, w-what do you mean by that, m-ma'am- I mean Mast-" He stuttered, before Xuleena cut him off by raising her hand.
"Either will work just fine, Corso. And you may call me by name too." She looked to him, and somehow seemed to stare into him as well, which was a little unnerving. "You're not exactly subtle. I must admit, I haven't really seen a non-sensitive who is so open with his emotions before, and since your emotions affect the Force, I can easily sense your mood, and to a lesser extent what sort of things you're thinking about." His eyes widened.
"Really?" She bowed her head.
"I will not be able to know what exactly you're thinking, but I can sense the general...nature of what you're thinking, be it anger, sadness, surprise, or," she paused, "more." Corso couldn't help but blush. "But I still must ask of your feelings towards her. She may be able to take care of herself, but she is still my little sister." A brief uneasiness swept over him, and a Jedi nearby shifted, grumbling. "And I will not allow anyone to hurt her." The uneasiness lifted, but Corso caught the flash of sadness across her light green eyes. He swallowed, trying to get his thoughts in order, knowing she'd be able to sniff out any lies. Not that he would dare lie to the Captain's sister.

"Well, ma'am...I really, really like the Captain. She's so strong and beautiful and she's so nice too; we had to go fix this hydrosupply for these droids. We were jus' about to fix it when these kids showed up. Turns out they were usin' the hydrosupply whilst it was broken, 'cos it was the only source they had for free water in the district." He smiled wistfully. "The Captain just gave 'em a ton of credits an' told them to move out and find a place where they could get water, or at least have the money to trade for it for a while. She's not like the others; she's really nice when she wants to be and there's no Captain I'd rather work for." He shifted slightly. "She just gets really angry sometimes, like, really badly angry..."
Xuleena sighed softly, sensing hurt, but also the pureness of his affection, the latter which buoyed her, though the former pulled her mood down a bit. She decided it was best to tell him.
"Yes, she has an anger that is very dangerous..." Her lekku shifted, curling towards her head. "She hasn't always been like that."
"She hasn't? What do you mean?" His brows furrowed in confusion. Xuleena sat up properly, sorting out her long skirt.
"Has she ever taken her headband off?" She asked. His brows knotted further. What kind of a question was that?
"No, she always keeps it on." He glanced up. "It's the same as yours, actually." She nodded.
"Yes, it is." She took a breath. "Mine is merely for decoration, but Zavvi wears hers for a different reason. You see, underneath it is a scar, a very nasty one that she cannot bear to see or show to others. Her scar is unlike yours, true, but...It means too much." Corso sat silently, listening to Xuleena weave her story.

"Zavvi was quite a different person to the one you see now. She was more carefree, and she would never fly into terrible rages; the worst was a sulk behind a locked door. She was just generally a happier person, though she is still the type for crazy plans, and has the lust to explore that she always has. It's too much of a long story to tell you everything, but when she was fourteen, she and Mum were fighting, regularly. Mum wanted to keep Zee home more often, and as you can imagine, she didn't want to be caged. I was home from Tython that night, and that's when she decided to sneak out of the house and have her own adventure. I sensed her leaving and decided to follow her; I wanted to make sure she was safe, and, well, she wouldn't be angry at me following her, as I wouldn't tell Mum what she was doing. Usually." Xuleena shifted awkwardly, Corso feeling it too.

"It went fairly well, until she broke into a warehouse. She alerted security and the only way she could stay away from them was by climbing the vast stacks of crates." The Jedi looked down at her hands. "As you can assume, she was playing to the crowd. Just...on a jump...she slipped. I remember seeing her fall, and the sound that I heard when her head hit the ground first." She closed her eyes tightly; one Jedi looked around at her. "She didn't move afterwards. I ran to her and tried to heal, but I was so scared, so panicked that nothing was really working. They called our parents and the emergency services..." Corso noticed her holding her hands tightly together. "She was lucky to be alive...but the impact shattered the front part of her skull and her brain began to swell...They had to operate immediately to have any chance of saving her life, and most of herself..." She crossed her legs. "They were successful, to a point. Zavvi is alive, and most of her is intact...But you can't hit your head that hard and have that sort of swelling without some things changing..."

"She has amnesia of the event, for a start. She only knows what happened to her because we told her, and even then she forgets parts of it every now and again. It also changed her personality to what you know now...the anger she has is from the damage, and there's no really way to curb it without anti-psychotic drugs. But she won't take them, because of the side effects. It also had a strange effect of making her lekku more sensitive; I think that is why she didn't need to relearn to talk or anything..."

Xuleena looked to Corso finally.
"Zavvi told me what happened on Tatooine, what she said to you, and the attack. I can't thank you enough for preserving my sister's life." A pause, and then a slight smile. "Most would have been broken or turned tail and fled from such a tempest. And yet somehow you went to her aid, despite that..." Corso shifted awkwardly.
"Well, she'd left her blasters with me, and I don't mean to disrespect how she fights, but I was worried that without her blasters something bad would've happened an' I-" He tried to explain, before Xuleena interrupted with;
"That's not love I sense, is it?" Riggs stopped, mouth hanging open for a few seconds before he remembered to shut it. He looked down at his feet, hoping his avoidance hadn't damaged the Jedi's view of him. He swallowed hard.
"...Yeah, alright. I do love her." The mercenary couldn't look at her as he said this. "I just...she told me not too long ago she didn't wanna get attached to anyone, that she couldn't bear if something happened to them."
"She's scared of something else being broken." Xuleena sighed, lekku swaying.
Corso realized she was right; Zavvi's body had been almost broken completely, and even the privacy of her mind had been struck a blow. So naturally she would guard the remaining untouched part of her well, as something she could control. His heart ached with the knowledge, with the need to go to his Captain and tell her he was there for her, and that she need not feel so vulnerable.
The Jedi consular smiled slightly, feeling Corso's emotions bleed out into the Force, reaching and coiling anxiously. So the emotions she'd felt on Taris hadn't been a fluke. Have faith.Those words were so true to her sister, but if his actions to the events on Tatooine were any indication, she knew that there might just be a chance...If he was willing enough.

She turned her head when she noticed a change in his aura, conjuring images of a small child wandering lost in the snowy cold.
"Then...How can I show her that I won't break her heart? If you don't mind me being in a relationship with her..." He mumbled, so very unsure under the weight of all this new information. Xuleena let her smile show this time.
"Well, might I suggest you let her know how you feel?" Her voice was gentle and almost motherly, though she tried not to patronize him. "She's never met a man like you before, so making the first move would be essential if you want this to go anywhere." Corso blushed.
"A-Are you sure? I don't wanna seem like those guys who're jus' hitting her up for a quick fling or somethin'..." To his surprise Xuleena chuckled richly (he figured Jedi didn't really do laughing).
"Corso, stop putting barriers in front of yourself! Have you considered that maybe she wants someone that doesn't see her as what she represents?" She said. "If you never try to talk to her, you'll never know." She leant a little closer. "Corso, you can have a chance with her. Just have faith."
Have faith. The Mantellian's eyes widened, and realization surged through his aura.
"You! You were on Taris! You were the Jedi in the rain!" He gasped. "Why were you there?"
"I had a mission on Taris myself, and when I felt my sister's presence, I went to investigate, that's when I found you taking watch." She explained.
"You did some strange things, and went in my head. What was that for?" Corso asked curiously. Xuleena crossed her ankles, one lekku twitching.
"My Master told me the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." She replied, and the young man couldn't help but frown, though remembered what he'd heard in his head: encouragement to keep going with Zavvi, and that she would help him later. His frown evaporated when he realized that they'd come full circle.

Whilst Corso was processing this, Xuleena spoke again, climbing to her feet.
"There is also another thing my Master told me. 'Seize the day, as you may never know when the sun might set'."
Riggs nodded slowly, rising to his feet, letting this all circulate around in his head.
"I think I understand..." He murmured. One of the Jedi's slight smiles.
"I think you do, Corso. Now, I believe we should head back; Zavvi will be waiting for us..."