Heart of Glass (D7, LA)

[Cefey Raneth]

Fey chuckled a little at that. She wasn't really a science-y person as such, even if she had some intuitive idea with mechanics and computers - for her it was exploration, creativity, and learning.

"I... don't know? I mean, I'm not sure yet - if it's just that I have a bit of luck or skill with some things, but," she flushed a little now, which made her face turn a bit more purple-ish, "I think I can make people feel better?"

[Temra Zol]

Temra looks the younger woman up and down.

"Of course you can my dear." He jokes, or attempts to. "Or did you mean emotionally?" He asks with a genuine curiosity.

[Cefey Raneth]

"That's a bad joke," she said a touch defensively, but mellowed out quickly enough. "But yes, emotionally. Like, sometimes, when my friends seem to have a hard time, it feels like if I just try to think better thoughts they will feel better."

While there was still a lot of darkness and negative feelings around them, Fey managed to at least press forward enough those thoughts she had before in such circumstances. She didn't know what Temra's feelings now might be, but she wished for him to feel more... happy. It was hard to feel happy in situations like these, but at least she found those feelings herself.


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D7 LA Basic Influence on Temra: 1eF 1 Light Side


Basic Influence to make Temra feel happy, granted he doesn't oppose the influence (at which point it's contested Discipline/Willpower).

[Temra Zol]

Perhaps it was his newly awakened strength in the Force, maybe it was Fey's forewarning, but he did indeed feel his mood start to shift from cautiously apprehensive towards something more positive.

"That's....amazing. If I focus hard enough, I can sense living things like animals and people, but I can exert no agency upon them. Are you sure I'm the one who is supposed to know more about this stuff?"

[Cefey Raneth]

Fey smiled, seeing that it seemed to work. "I don't have any power like that - I don't have any radar or anything like that. Maybe... maybe it makes sense that I know how to do this, because..." she paused and took a deep breath. "Because it was kind of what I was taught? I mean, not as such as in taught to use the Force to do exactly what I did now, but to... uhm... be pleasurable."

They were already sharing such dangerous secrets, what did that hurt? There was still a lot of issues she had with her past, but maybe it made more sense when she thought about things like that.

[Temra Zol]

Temra's face went from happy and jovial to creased and frowning slightly. He knew the work that Fey referred to, work that was entirely too common for a Twi'lek to be forced into. Reaching out in support, he attempted to lay a hand upon hers.

"You honour me by sharing such a personal and painful shard of your past Miss Fey." He softly answers back.

"If what you have endured has made you strong enough to manifest this talent, then, well I don't mean to say it was worth it." He tilts his head sideways a little. "I don't know what I mean to say really except, I'm sorry."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Thank you, but it's nothing you need to apologize for. It's... something I've come to accept was a part of my life, and I'm lucky to have people I now consider friends who helped me out of it," she offered in a kind tone as she accepted his offered hand.

"What about you? Life under the Empire cannot have been easy for you either?"

[Temra Zol]

"Not as difficult as for you, though I had some difficulties." Temra admitted.

"I used to have a shop in a little backwater town on a system so small it barely makes it onto most galactic maps. The Empire, for whatever reason moved in and decided that a horned beast wasn't fit to see to their needs and ousted me from my own place. That's when Shazziq found me and brought me here, where I've been hiding out ever since."

"There's a lot of tales of unpleasantness out there. I'm grateful every day that mine only cost me coin."

[Cefey Raneth]

"A shop?" she asked with some curiosity, showing more interest for what sort of person Temra had been and still was, than whatever shit the Empire had put them through. "What kind?"

[Temra Zol]

"Nothing fancy," he answered as he leaned back a little, casting his gaze to the afternoon sky in his reminiscence.

"It was mostly a repair shop. Busted droids, vehicles, weapons, if it had circuitry I could fix it, or so I boasted. Occasionally I'd get the odd job with building something from scratch, someone would get their hands on some design templates or another - given the attitude of the galaxy at the time, it was mostly weapons and armor, and mostly NOT for the Empire."

"Looking back I guess I'm lucky they didn't look too closely into what I was doing, I may have suffered a far more severe punishment."

[Cefey Raneth]

She smiled as she imagined what that would be like. To her, it sounded like fun and something she might've enjoyed for a little bit. "Doesn't sound too bad, but I like working with that kind of stuff too. Not that I'm any good at it, but I've learned so much since I started tinkering around with old datapads and fixing up my friends' weapons and armor."

Fey cast him an understanding look. "You don't have to tell me what would've given you a more severe punishement. I won't ask."

[Temra Zol]

"I'm sure we both understand that the Empire has no need for an excuse for its cruelty, but some nights I lay awake and wonder what it would've been like if things had gone differently. If they'd never taken over my shop, I neve would've met Shazziq, would've never come here or learned about the Force. My life would've been so much different, so much simpler."

"Fate? Or coincidence?" He mused out loud. "Do you believe in fate Miss Fey?"

[Cefey Raneth]

"Hmmm..." her fingers drummed against their seat in thought. "Maybe?"

She chuckled softly. "Probably not. Or rather, I don't like the idea that things are predetermined - it just seems like too cruel a thing, I say."

[Temra Zol]

"I too would prefer to think I have some sort of say in how my life story unfolds. To know it was all scripted from the start would indeed be a little demoralising, why should we bother making an effort if the end result is already set in carbonite?"

*SIGH*

"But such things are not ours to be known, so we struggle and fight and do what we can to survive. As long as I have the sense I am the architect of my own life and decisions, I can life with that."

[Cefey Raneth]

"I can agree with that." She frankly disliked the idea that she had no control over her life. Mostly because there had already been so much of her life she had no control over.

"What are you going to do now? With the Imperials here?"

[Temra Zol]

"I must admit, I am not entirely sure, but I am done running and hiding." His tone is definitive and it appears he's made his mind up about this.

"There's talk of resisting the occupation, but I'm not experienced in such things. There's something wrong with this planet on a deeper level than the Imperials, something that's dark and malignant and evil on a far more primal scale. I'm not real versed in dealing with that either, but then I'm not sure many other people here are either."

[Cefey Raneth]

"Hmm... I've noticed that too," she said, her tone growing a bit more serious with the mention of that. "Do you think it will get worse? That horrible feeling of something wrong?"

Fey worried it was connected to the Imperials somehow. That it was either caused by them, or had drawn them here. "I don't know much about resistances or rebellions either, but I do know that I feel the same that I don't want to run and hide the rest of my life. Besides, I think I've made some friends on this world too, and I'd be upset if they got hurt by the Imps."

[Temra Zol]

"I know only that I have found another few souls who are concerned by it. I understand that if there are beacons of good in this universe there will also be pits of darkness and evil, but nonetheless its existence does not sit well with myself or these others. I think that we will try to investigate this phenomenon soon, and hopefully prevent it getting any worse."

[Cefey Raneth]

Her lips pressed together as she thought about what he said. "... Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Temra Zol]

Temra shrugs non-committedly.

"I'm not even sure there's anything I can do to help," he admits with a wry grin. "But I shall keep your very generous offer in mind. I don't imagine the Imperials will be letting many people off planet without intense scrutiny for a little while, so we may all be stuck here for the foreseeable future. We may as well try and help each other out." He adds as he passes over his comm details and frequency in case Fey needs to contact him.