Last time: Cien showed up and ruffled the Jedi's feathers. However, Kyr helped her heal.
Now: Kyr and Oppie talk to Sasha and Viran about Cien.
Chapter 13- The Twins Advise
SMACK! The sound of his fist connecting with the punching bag filled the empty training room. After his outburst at Cien, Viran had stormed off to go clear his head. He thought about heading to his room, but then he remembered that he shared it with Sasha and she was most likely in there and in no mood to talk to him right now. Even if he did try. So he headed here. Viran was always the kind to turn to physical exercise or working on machines as a way to clear his mind. And even though he finally got his ship back after all this time, he didn't want to go back into the hangar until he was sure he wouldn't be bothered. So punching this bag was the next best option.
All of his emotions were swirling around in his mind. He was angry, sad, unsure, pissed, and just confused at everything that happened. And every time he thought back to the scene in the hangar, he kept seeing Cien's face. SMACK! Seeing Sasha's angered expression. SMACK! Oppie's tone when he told him to go. SMACK! His own stupidity. SMACK SMACK!
Viran pulled his arm back and swung again, hitting the bag and causing it to react to his punch. He hit it again and again and again. He hit the bag until he heard the door to the room slide open. Catching the bag, Viran leveled his breathing as he kept his gaze forward, not bothering to turn around. Besides, he didn't need the Force to tell him who was standing there.
"What do you want?' Viran asked with his back to the door.
"I wanted to tell you I agree with you." Oppie said, leaning against the door frame. "We don't have any reason to trust her, this could be a trap, she could be playing us."
Viran turned to face Oppie, his face written with shock. "So then why didn't you say anything out there?" Viran asked as he gestured in the direction of the hanger. "I could have used the support on this."
"Because we don't have another choice," Oppie said with a frown. "We have no other leads. What you guys saw in that Sith temple, what I saw, we have to keep that from happening. And on the balance I trust her. I know you guys were the ones who had to deal with her, and I'm sorry for that. But seeing her step off the Forerunner in that state, that seemed genuine. She could be lying to us, but I don't think she is." He said.
Sighing, Viran slumped to a sitting position on the floor, rubbing his face with his hands. His very red hands from punching the bag without proper gloves. He sat there silently for a long moment before speaking up.
"Am I an idiot?" Viran asked bluntly. "Cause I seem to be the only one that would rather eat poodoo then believe her or even work with her."
Oppie walked over and sat down next to Viran. "No." He said. "I love Sasha as my sister, but you love her far more deeply. And you had to watch Cien almost take her away from you last year while I was trying to catch up to you guys." Oppie said quietly. "I can't think of any way to make her more your enemy. I understand why you are so wary of her Vir."
Viran looked at Oppie as he frowned. He then looked at his hands. "But I've messed everything up. I kept telling Sasha that I would have her back and trust her no matter what, but…" He bit back tears. "How can I ever trust someone who almost took the woman I love most away from me? And now… I don't think Sasha is even going to talk to me again." He lowered his head and put his head in his hands.
Oppie almost chuckled but caught himself, "Vir, she'll talk to you again. One argument isn't going to ruin what you guys have built up over the last sixteen years. Don't be in this because you trust or don't trust the Sith." Oppie suggested, "be in it because you trust Sasha, and be there to protect her. You do trust Sasha, don't you?" Oppie asked rhetorically.
Viran nodded. "I trust her with my life. And I will always be there to protect her until the end of time. I can't imagine my life without her," he whispered as his heart soared at the thought of a future with Sasha. "And I'm afraid that Cien could try and take her away from me again." He admitted.
"What about Dracul?" Oppie asked, "based on what we saw in our visions, you know he is going to try to take her away from you." Oppie stated, probably too bluntly. "Sasha's been in her mind, talking to her. If there was anyone who would know if we can trust Cien, don't you think it's her?"
Viran looked at Oppie, his face wet from the few tears that escaped. His heart had clenched when Oppie said that about Dracul. "I won't let him get his hands on her. I can't let him." He then looked away as he gathered his knees to his chest and rested his chin on top. "But… you've got a point. I should have just listened to Sasha from the start about Cien. I'm such an idiot."
"No, you're not." Oppie stated firmly. He thought back to the time he had spent talking with Sasha during the past year in their mind space while he had been trapped. "Perhaps you could ask Sasha, maybe even Cien, to show you what they've seen to trust each other." He suggested.
Viran thought about that for a minute then he slowly nodded as he straightened up. "That's not a bad idea. I'll talk to Sasha about it." He looked at Oppie as he wiped his cheeks. "Thanks, Op."
"No problem Vir."
Sasha honestly didn't know where she was going, but she knew that the first place anyone would look for her would be her shared room with Viran. So she just kept walking until she was sure no one would bother her. That resulted in her ending up outside of the large cabin and strolling down a path towards a firepit. The area was still close enough to the house for her to still walk back, but it was up on a path that overlooked all of Haven. She sat down on one of the many chairs around the firepit and just stared off towards the town.
The longer she sat there, the cooler it was getting outside as the sun was setting lower into the sky to mark the coming night. She thought about going back, but then she thought about everything that had happened in the hangar. The tears that had been threatening to escape, slowly started to roll down her cheeks as she thought back to all of that. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she tried to keep herself calm, but also because another cool breeze blew by and she wasn't wearing a jacket.
"Hey Sash'ika, want a blanket?" Kyr said from her side, behind her.
Sasha looked up at Kyr, slightly startled. She then looked down to the fire pit. She nodded, but didn't answer.
Kyr unfurled the blanket and arranged it over her shoulders. He took his buy'ce off and sat down on a chair next to her, folding his leg over the other and enjoying the view of the sunset over the town of Haven. "You okay?" He finally asked.
Sasha pulled the blanket around her as she shuddered slightly. Her gaze didn't move. "No." was all she said.
"Viran? Or Cien?" He asked.
"Both… I guess... " Sasha mumbled.
"That they're butting heads, or are you worried Viran doesn't trust you?" He asked after a time.
"I expected the butting heads," Sasha admitted. "But I just didn't expect Viran to be this against me in all of this… I guess he doesn't trust me." Her voice broke slightly when she said that. She burrowed her head a little into the blanket leaving only her nose and eyes peeking out. She could feel the tears falling a little harder as her heart clenched at the thought.
"He trusts you, he just hates Cien." Kyr stated. "Because of what she did to you. Don't mistake him trying to protect you for thinking he doesn't trust you. You're the kind of person who will do the right thing even if it hurts you, and he doesn't want to see that."
"I understand that he is just trying to protect me from her. It's just…" She shuddered again as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself as a cold wind blew by, but also to hold back the sobs that wanted to escape. "He keeps saying he trusts me and will have my back, yet you saw what happened in that hangar." She buried her head completely now in the blanket as she gathered her legs up to her chest. "I don't know what to do…"
Kyr sat in silence for a while, enjoying the cold mountain air as frost was forming on his armor plates. "I've never met Cien before today. You've gotten to spend some time with her over the last month or two getting to know her as something other than a mortal enemy. And even before that, you've gotten a chance to talk with her, and see glimpses of her as a person, even if she was trying to kill you." Kyr paused, "Viran has had none of that. The only time he's spent with her is locked in combat, twice, and as a faceless villain who was trying to attack you in a way that left him powerless to help you. It's not that he doesn't trust you, it's that he's got a completely different perspective on her that is nearly impossible to shake. You've told him you trust her, but does he understand why?"
Sasha felt her breath hitch. Why did she trust Cien? Was it because of the fact they have connected in this unique way through the Force? Or the fact Sasha sensed that there is a form of good in Cien? Or was it because in some twisted way, the two of them are similar? Or did it have to do with Dracul? Either way, Sasha could think of many reasons why.
"You're right. About all of it." Sasha voiced, her voice cracking still from her emotions. "I never told him why and I guess it's because I never knew why myself. I just… had this gut feeling to trust her. But if I'm being honest with myself, I trust Cien because we both share the same fear. We are both afraid of what Dracul can and will do. But I also believe it's because I have seen a side of her that no one else has seen. We've almost created this… unnatural bond in a way." She explained. She then shook her head, pulled it from where she hid and stared straight up at the stars. The tears on her cheeks glistening in the light. "I'm such a fool. I should have just told Viran the truth. I should have taken him into the mind space so he could understand. I've messed everything up."
"You haven't messed things up," he said. "Just talk to him about it." He stayed quiet for a moment. "As a Mando, you get to read people really well, partly because a lot of the people we know are buried under armor, partly because as a fighter you need to read people and know if they're your enemy or your friend. I trust her because I could see in your eyes that you truly believed we should, that you trusted her for your own reasons. Seeing her today, seeing the look in her eye when that hatch opened, I understand what you saw in her. Viran will come around, just be mindful in the future of the fact that not everyone can read minds." He said with a smirk.
Sasha looked at him and then slowly nodded. "Thank you, Kyr. This helped a lot." She sniffed as she wiped her face on the blanket. "I think I was just getting into my own head again and putting the blame on myself like I always do." She paused for a second. "Though it is my fault that Dracul managed to escape after all. I thought I had closed the portal, but he found a way through. And we wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for me. And…" She chuckled slightly. "And I'm doing it again."
Kyr shrugged. "Well if we want to play the blame game, then I was the one who kept the Empire from getting into the cave and killing you guys before the portal opened." He said with a smirk. "It's Viran's fault that he didn't stop you. Cien's fault for not killing the two of you. You can keep going in circles trying to figure out whose fault something is, or we can just accept that things worked out that way and move on."
A chuckled burst from Sasha's lips as a smile formed on her face. "You've got a point. Thanks, again, Kyr. You seem to always know what to say. So, thanks." She said wholeheartedly.
"You're welcome ma'am." He nodded. "Glad to know I'm more than just an aiming device for my blasters."
She nodded and smiled at him. "You're more than just that. You're family, too."
Kyr sat quietly for a moment before responding quietly, his voice full of emotion. "Thanks, Sash'ika."
Sasha stood from her chair, the blanket still wrapped around her, as she turned to Kyr. Then she did something that just felt right for the moment. Sasha leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Kyr, hugging him. His armor was cold against her, but she didn't let that bother her.
Kyr, startled, awkwardly wrapped his arm around her. It had been years since he had last been hugged by someone other than Kitsu. Sasha pulled away after a moment and looked down at him.
"Sorry, I just wanted you to understand how much all of that and you mean to me," Sasha said sweetly as she smiled gently down to him. "How much you mean to all of us."
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