Corrie was in a state of shock at the anger pounding through his chest. He didn't understand it, this white hot rage pulsating through his being. His fists seemed to clench of his own accord as Jonah stalked out of the corridor, leaving Corrie alone with Macu. It almost hurt Corrie to look at him, sensing the darkness that had almost completely taken the twi'lek.
He had felt it as a cloud in the force, something dangerous that he had felt for the first time when he had left the jovial atmosphere of the dining hall. It had built up, the cloud getting darker and darker and bigger and stronger the further they went, but Corrie had stupidly ignored it in favour of chatting with Jonah.
As soon as they rounded the corner, Corrie knew the source of the darkness, and the pull became too strong. He had instantly regretted not paying attention to the warnings the Force had been giving him, for as soon as he had seen Macu, seen the darkness roiling around him, he had known that he wouldn't be able to resist it. As he had predicted, he had immediately felt tendrils of darkness luring him in. Even those little bits of darkness were unbelievably strong. Corrie began to fight it, wondering how on Coruscant Macu was resisting it. Or maybe he wasn't…
Macu's glare seemed to want to melt him where he stood, and his intention was clear as he stepped forward ever so slowly.
Corrie matched his pace with one of his own, and all too soon, they were ominously circling in the corridor. He had never felt like this before, just wanting to fight, to punch and kick and bite, just to rid himself of this darkness within. He was scared, so scared, terror combining with the dark to send adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Come on, Rocktor. I know you're spoiling for a fight too!" he spat. He vented more of the darkness with an impressive string of curses.
A small smile of terrifying properties lit Macu's face and he attacked.
Corrie was almost shocked when Macu's first blow snapped his head sideways, but then the energy of the fight buzzed through him, and a grin lit up his face. Lowering his head, Corrie ran full force at the twi'lek and headbutted him, savouring the moment of stunned shock on Macu's face.
Then the fight was on.
Macu was bigger and stronger than Coronarcher, with much more power than him, and his rage was much stronger. The only things Corrie had going for him were speed, reflexes and pure unpredictability, all of which he used to their full potential as the pair whirled up and down the corridor, delighting in every blow that met skin.
They were an indistinguishable mass of grey and white, dark, violent energy pulsating, coursing through them. Neither thought, neither saw, or heard, they just acted, responding only to the pounding of their blood in their heads and the pain each successful blow caused.
The pair flew apart, skidding to opposite ends of the corridor.
Corrie slid painfully across the ground in a state of shock and confusion. It was obvious the Force was propelling them, but how…An all too familiar gimer stick filled his vision as he skidded to a halt beside it. Macu was all of four feet away, but the disappointment ringing strong and clear through the Force brought him back to his senses with a snap.
Despite the fact that he had stopped moving, and was lying on his back in the corridor, Corrie couldn't find it in himself to move. What had he just done? Surely he hadn't just had a brawl in the middle of the Temple. No, he couldn't get up and face Master Yoda. He was too scared and embarrassed. It seemed Macu had come to much the same conclusion, because it was a fair while before either of them moved, and when they did, it was hardly a choice.
"Initiates, to me, you will come." Yoda's tone was one of terrifying calm.
Slowly, both boys shuffled onto their knees in front of Yoda, heads bowed in shame.
The little green Master frowned at them, letting them squirm in the silence for a moment.
Corrie glared at the ground, half out of respect, half to hide the tears forming in his eyes. He could sense the comment that would come next, and fear was coursing through him. They had probably just gotten themselves disqualified from the competition. They were both going to the Agricorps. That, however, was second in his mind, pushed back by the much more immediate issue of Master Yoda's next few sentences.
"Ashamed of both of you, I am. Disappointed in both you, I am."
Corrie drilled his eyes into the carpet, willing himself not to cry. He could deal with any manner of emotional issue. He could handle being on the receiving end of anger, exasperation, irritation, horror, even being laughed at was no biggie for him, but the one thing he simply couldn't deal with was disappointment, and that was what he was being given an unhealthy dose of.
"Resolve your differences, you must. Why do you fight?"
Corrie looked up in shock. He hadn't expected that question, especially not here in the corridor, where anyone could come around the corner at any second. "Master Yoda, could we not do this somewhere more-"
Yoda interrupted him, as if to show how mad he was with the slip of decorum. "Do this somewhere more private, we cannot, Initiate Soline. Why do you not like Macu?"
Grimacing at having made himself the centre of attention and a sudden awareness of the throbbing pain in several places over his body, Corrie gave a snort. That was an easy question, at least. "Because he insults me, teases me and takes my stuff, and then he realises it doesn't really bother me, so he does it to my friends instead, just to get to me! What's to like?" he spat.
Yoda said nothing.
"What've you been doing, then?" Macu demanded. "You're hardly blameless!"
Corrie glared hard at the floor, refusing to look at the twi'lek.
"You always start the teasing and insulting! And the fights, you hit me in the face!"
Feeling the anger build up in his chest, Corrie could resist no longer and turned a horrific glare on Macu. It was equally met. "Well you were hardly giving my back a massage, were you, Rocktor? I don't know how you didn't break it!"
"It's because you have no back bone to break!" Macu roared.
Corrie gave a loud, slightly mad laugh, ignoring the tears of confrontation that were streaming down his cheeks. "Fantastic comeback, you witless dungbuzzer, I never would've thought of that in a million years!"
Macu choked out a sob as he finally gave in. "Just because you're so good at everything! Just because you're so bloody perfect and everyone loves you so bloody much, it doesn't mean I have to!"
"Oh, like you notice anything that I do, you and your bantha sized independence! Not everyone can get by so easily without praise and attention! Some of us need compliments to keep us going! Not all of us can be so unaffected by everything!"
Both boys were then on their feet, dangerously close, with tears flowing freely down their faces, mixing freely with their blood and sweat as they screamed their hearts out.
"Well obviously something's affecting me now! I'm not as emotionless as you think! I just can't find the courage in me to make a fool of myself like you do!"
"You don't need to! You don't need the attention like I do!"
Macu's voice was thick with tears. "I just wish I could be like you! Everyone loves you and you don't even need to try! You don't even notice that everyone loves you! It's not fair! You can't do a thing wrong!"
Corrie lost control, his hands flying up to tear at his hair. "Exactly! I can't do anything wrong! Can you imagine what would happen if I stopped trying, if I just let go? What would people do if I stopped being like I am? I have to meet so many expectations, every day, and it's hard! It's so hard! I can't fall short because I need the attention that comes from being so out there! I can't survive without constant reassurance, unlike you! I wish I could be like you! You don't need anyone, you're just so strong!"
The yelling then became incomprehensible, both boys screaming over the top of each other, getting louder and louder, until finally-
"I'M JEALOUS!"
The pair immediately fell silent. In that single moment, they realised that there had never been any legitimate reason for their fighting, no reason but their jealousy.
In almost synchronised action, to avoid the awkwardness of the moment, they began searching the small crowd that had gathered throughout their shouting match. Neither saw any sign of a little, green Jedi.
"I'm sorry, Macu." Corrie murmured as they searched.
Still scanning the crowd, Macu replied, "Me too, Coronarcher."
"Call me Corrie, please. He left, didn't he?"
"Cuey. He appears to have, yes."
Corrie laughed first, but once they started, they couldn't stop. The absurdity of the situation was simply too much. Clutching at his ribs, Corrie grabbed onto Macu for support. "Jeez, Cuey, you didn't half hit me hard!"
Still laughing uncontrollably; a rather new experience for the twi'lek, Macu took a deep, shuddering breath. "Sorry! Do you need to go to the Healers?" He took another breath. "I think I do!"
For some reason, that sent them both back into hysterics.
Corrie nodded, and they took off towards the Healers through the crowd of shocked onlookers.
