Kavar paced slowly around the Enclave's archives. The sublevels were unusually quiet today, and it made Kavar remember the probable rumors he had heard of Jedi students leaving to fight the Mandalorians, though he desperately did not want to think about that now. Instead, he plucked a holocron from a shelf and began analyzing it for the millionth time, just in case it had changed over the past century or so.
Kavar had almost bored himself asleep with the droning artifact when he heard distressed footsteps echo through the room. He stowed the holocron in his robe hastily and stood, turning to see a student of his, Katrina Strafe, standing in the doorway and looking rather nervously defiant. As she slowly approached Kavar, he could see that her eyes looked slightly red, and her jaw was set tightly with some strained determination.
"Master Kavar," she said quietly, her head bowed slightly in submission, "Revan…"
"Ah," muttered Kavar. "It's true what they've been saying about her, isn't it?"
Katrina dropped her eyes and moved a step past Kavar. Now, Kavar could sense the pain dripping off of his student with each step she took.
"Yes," she finally answered. "She… asked me to join."
Kavar's expression became grim as the reality of her words set in. He had expected news of this sort when he saw her walk in, but he had not truly believed that it would come. Kavar knew, though, that Katrina was particularly susceptible to authoritative figures taking an interest in her, and Revan was nothing if not authoritative.
"Y-you…" Katrina stumbled over her words as she looked hopefully up at her teacher. "You could join us, Master Kavar. You can fight better than any of us! You could be a leader," Katrina urged. A look of disbelief came over Kavar's face as he stared into his pupil's eager eyes. He put one hand on the side of her head, searching her eyes for a reason for what she was saying. Was she following blindly? Katrina had always been one to ask questions. Were Revan and Malak so convincing? More importantly, what did I do wrong? wondered Kavar. Is it my fault that she's turning her back on the Jedi like this?
"Kat, you know what the punishment will be when—if you return."
"I will be exiled," Katrina stated plainly. Her straightforwardness and accuracy took Kavar aback.
"You would risk that to follow Revan?" Kavar asked incredulously. He had not suspected that the two had even met, much less that Revan would personally take out the time to scout out Katrina, whose Force aptitude was not above average, though her charisma was irresistible.
At the though of Revan hunting down Katrina, Kavar felt utterly protective of his student. He pulled her to him in a sheltering embrace, and he felt her sobs wracking her slender form.
"I won't join you, Kat," murmured Kavar softly. "But you can still stay here," he implored, "where it's safe. Where you can grow. You're not ready to fight a war yet."
Katrina pulled back slightly. "You… do you know what the stakes are here, Master Kavar? Don't you understand what's happening?"
The agony in Katrina's aggravated look tore Kavar apart. He felt almost tempted, for a moment, to follow her, just to watch over her.
"Don't you hate what the Mandalorians are doing?" Katrina continued. "Don't you want the Republic to survive?"
Kavar wondered how much of this was verbatim from Revan's mouth, how many of these arguments it had taken to fully persuade Katrina.
"I can't," Kavar said raggedly, releasing Katrina. His student began to back away, shaking her head.
"Why?" she asked, appalled.
"My place is here, with the Council," Kavar explained weakly. "If I leave, then we might never be able to take action against the Mandalorians."
"What aren't you understanding?" Katrina asked, exasperated. Tears flowed down her face, of anger and sorrow. "That's why I'm following Revan! That's what we're going to do! Fight the Mandalorians!"
Kavar folded his arms self-consciously and shook his head. Katrina walked backwards towards the door.
"Then that's it," she whispered harshly. "You're just like the rest of them? And this is where it ends?"
"Wait," Kavar called as Katrina turned towards the door. She paused, but did not turn, so Kavar spoke up. "For what it's worth, Kat… may the Force be with you."
Katrina's shoulders shook.
"Come back in one piece. I'll be waiting for you," he finished.
Katrina ran, hair flying behind her, from the room, and Kavar watched until she had completely disappeared.
Silently, he re-shelved the holocron tucked in his robe.
A/N: Yeah, it's sappy. Give me a break. I promise, promise, PROMISE that the next chapter of Salvatoris is coming, but it's coming AFTER finals, which end on Wednesday. Hope you enjoyed this one!