"Hey, Sis! Over there!" Aaleit exclaimed as the pair of them stumbled up to a cliff face. They had been trekking across these mountains for hours, and both of them were tired and hungry. Aaleit could barely continue walking, though she seemed excited about something. Na'iida checked along the cliff face, over to where Aaleit was pointing, to find a cave entrance carved into the side of the mountain. She did not speak, merely rushing with Aaleit still attached to her arm over to the opening in the cliff face. It was dark, though the light levels were not a concern for either of them.
"At least this will shield us from the wind," Na'iida uttered quietly to Aaleit as she placed her down, resting her against the wall. Aaleit was reluctant to let go, but eventually curled up against the wall. The walk had sapped her strength completely, and the cold and hunger were not helping.
"I'm hungry," Aaleit moaned, hugging her knees, "when are we going to find mother or father?"
It was a question that Na'iida wanted to know the answer to as well. She folded her arms, partially due to the cold, partially due to frustration. All she knew is that they were not moving from their position in the cave. There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink and no civilisation anywhere nearby. "I don't know, Aly," Na'iida admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Look, I'm sure they will come looking. You just wait," she continued, a weak, false smile on her lips as she crouched down and pulled Aaleit into a tight hug. The prospect of death looming over her was not a concern for her. She had been taught that death is a natural part of life and if the Force willed that it was her time to become one with it, then that is how it would be. She feared for her younger sister, Aaleit. Aaleit had not been educated as much, and Na'iida was afraid that her younger sibling still feared death.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the same presence that she had felt at the crash site. It was now accompanied by the sound of padded steps as it made its way inside the cave. It regarded the two children and snarled, baring teeth that looked larger than Aaleit's arms. Na'iida clutched her sister tighter as the creature came closer. If this was how it would end, then she would not try and run from it fruitlessly. What could she even do? She was only a child, and she had to take care of Aaleit as well. There was no way that she could get out.
"Hey, hey, hold it right there," came a foreign, male voice. A fourth presence appeared from nowhere, this one was almost radiant to Na'iida, though that could just be because of the desperate situation. The manka cat that had been stalking the pair of children turned to look at the new presence, snarling louder. "That's no way to treat a young lady and you should know better," the man continued, holding one hand out to the beast. The manka cat seemed to back down a little, prowling to the side of the man giving him another glance. "Out," the man urged once more, his hand still raised to the beast. The manka cat looked at him nonchalantly, before striding outside and away from the cave. Na'iida already noticed the change in the manka cat the moment the man spoke and clutched her younger sister protectively. There were things worse than death.
The man walked over to the pair of girls and crouched down to their level. He was balding, thin strands of light brown adorning the edges of his head. He wore a long, brown robe that draped onto the ground as he crouched to get a closer look a the pair with a pair of small, brown eyes. "Hello," he said gently, though Na'iida still held her sister who she now noticed had gone limp, breathing softly against Na'iida's chest. The man raised a curious eyebrow. "The Force can have effects on the minds of animals, such as the manka cat." He paused, looking directly at Na'iida, hands coming up to rub at his tanned chin. "You saw what I did, didn't you," he asked rhetorically, a smile on his face.
Na'iida nodded in response. She was shivering, though whether it was due to fear or the cold was unclear. The man stood up and offered his hand to her.
"Come on, I'll take you to the nearby settlement," he offered, though Na'iida did not move. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I can't leave a pair of children out here in the mountains by themselves. I am Jedi Master Vilis Eniell." He paused for a moment, "where are your parents?"
All Na'iida replied with was a shake of her head. She had come to accept what had happened. The man looked outside the cave momentarily. He was being sincere, or at least he was doing a very good job at hiding deception if there was any.
"I'll be honest with you, there are a lot more manka cats out there. There is no food or water for quite a way and you do not look like you're in the condition to trek across mountains. I will take you to the lands outside House Organa, but then you will have a choice."
Na'iida paused for a moment before opening her mouth. "What kind of choice?" she inquired, causing the man to smile widely once again.
"You can live as an orphan on this planet, which is called Alderaan, by the way. Or you can come with me to Coruscant. I believe both you and your sister have what it takes to become members of the Jedi Order." Na'iida had heard of the Jedi Order before, she had been taught about them briefly, but she honestly had little idea what they even stood for. She loosened her hold on Aaleit, propping her against the cave wall and reached up, taking the man's hand and standing up. She had a horrible feeling that her parents had died, she was just wondering how she would break it to Aaleit.
But what sort of future could they have as a pair of orphans? Na'iida did not fancy her chances in such a situation, especially if she had to look after her younger sister as well. It was not a question of willpower, but practicality. She went silent as she thought about it, standing eerily still as she did. She considered what she thought was best for her and what was best for Aaleit. Perhaps it would be for the best to throw themselves into something, take their minds off the loss of their parents.
"Come on," the Jedi cut in, moving past Na'iida to pick up Aaleit's unconscious form with far more ease than a man of his build perhaps should. "I have a speeder nearby. There is no rush to your decision, think on it," he looked down at her. She looked exhausted, but he could not carry the both of them and did not wish to leave one alone as the area had more than one manka cat, "or sleep on it, from the looks of things. Can you walk?"
Na'iida responded with a tired nod of her head. She felt as though she had a bit more left in her, and wished for the man to carry Aaleit, not her. If she collapsed, she had decided that she would apologise later.
The Jedi gave her a re-assuring smile, which was largely lost to her, though she knew that his intentions were good and smiled back. He turned and started to make his way out of the cave, Aaleit in his arms and Na'iida following close behind.