Shadows of Bankor

Bare feet were buried in the sand. The sea breeze whipped through her hair as she sat, staring out at the ocean. Her arms were wrapped tight around her knees. Eyes slightly rimmed red, but dry.

Juri was humming a soft song to herself, her mind drifting with the tide.

Sound of boots against sand, it was a kind of pleasant sound to the right ear. The boots themselves, now, were much more revealed under the tighter pants that she wore, leagues beyond the baggy grey ones she used to wear. Separated, yet still, by a belt, Jenna now wore a black tank top with a light brown jacket open but over her shoulders.

She'd started carrying herself a little differently, a fancy blaster rested now on her hip.

Still, however, other things hadn't changed. Walking up beside Juri she hadn't spoken a word, just walked up beside her and then a few steps forward so that when she squared and leaned backwards she fell into a seat beside the other woman.

Crash of a wave, she looked out over the waters in the sun.

Juri didn't say anything when Jenna sat. Instead, she just breathed in, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. A hand released her knee, coming up to wipe away something in her eye.

"Oceans are mystical. Do you ever really think about it? They look so calm and relaxing, the small crashing of waves against the beach. But beneath... they're teeming with life. And in an instant, they can be enveloped in chaos."

"I hadn't, actually," she said, her voice was calm. Matching the beat of the soothing waves, "suppose they are though, aren't they, a living place teeming with life and yet all we can see from here are the waves crashing against the beach. Sitting here, listening to the calm crash of the waves against the beach, the breeze gently blowing, the taste of salt, all centering, helping me think. There's a beauty in the simplicity of it, and yet there's vibrancy, life, just beneath the surface."

"It does make for good thinking. Or for wanting to not think, and just exist." Juri appreciated the calm nature of Jenna's voice, coupled with the soft sounds of waves, and seabirds cawing above them.

"It feels so alive, but doesn't force it's existence on everything else. It just is, and will outlast everything else. Just continue on, and that's a beautiful thought."

"Kinda found it feels like you're having a conversation with someone, telling them everything you wished you could tell another person but can't, or won't," she shrugged, "something like that." Rush of a wave up the shore, "anyway," she started softly again, "it gives that clarity to just.. think, and almost just by thinking while staring out there and listening to the waves you feel heard."

"You're very wise, Jenna." Juri cracked a smile, wiggling her toes in the sand. "Or replaying the conversation over and over in your mind. Trying to see if there was another way it could have gone."

Her eyes opened, looking out to the horizon. "I think, when this is all over, I'd like to live someplace like this... on a shore. Maybe a little beach house. That sounds like a nice future, right?"

"It does," she said, a soft smile, leaning into Juri a little in that moment, support, "sounds wonderful. For me, I think about that cram-festival a lot, with the berries and spiders? Anyway," she took a breath with the waves, "thinking I'm gonna want a farm like that some day. Nice and quiet, calm, with a family around me both direct and extended. Big dinners, big family, laughs and screams of joy. Green grass for miles," she sighed wishfully.

"You're welcome to come," she said, looking to Juri, away from the water, holding the thought back for a moment, "when we get there."

"I would happily attend, Jenna. I'd like to visit." She tilted slightly, looking up past the corner of her eye. "When it's all said and done. It will take a lot of work, though. But it should be a good future to work for."

A long crashing wave came up, the tide slowly rising as they sat. A natural little orchestra.

"The Force has a strange way of guiding us, sometimes."

"I've never really believed in the Force," she said, letting out a breath. Thinking about how it was because of the Force that her brother was taken from her, and how it was used against her with the Inquisitor, a long history of misfortune coloring everything she heard about the force. Keeping herself centered with the sound of the waves, after all the waves have heard it all before. "Even with.." she shrugged, "I've met Jedi before, I've been very close to them. I don't," she paused, shook her head, "but I have never witnessed anything before-" she choked.

"Well, before I met an inquisitor. They.." she shuddered a little but maintained herself, "they're probably not the best example of the Force but they're.. they're certainly an impactful one. Sorry, I don't.. I don't know how that matters. Suppose.. I just, I don't know if I used to believe but now I don't know what I think about it."

"The Dark Side is powerful. Seductive. And a storm of rage and hate." Juri brought an arm around the woman's shoulders, offering comfort if she wanted. "It does leave an impression, but it is the being imposing their will, corrupting the natural order for their whims and desires." She could feel the trepidation in the air, and wasn't going to proselytize.

"It is a personal journey. One that only you can find your answers on. For all the darkness of the Inquisitors... trust those around you who care for you. They might be a better example."

"I- it's frightening, still, the power that it places in their hands, how they can use it to harm others and then.." she shook her head, "it's a frightening thought that anyone can do something like that," she leaned up against the woman. Happy for the comfort, but too to share it as well.

"Thank you," she finally said, "I'm going to.. I'm gonna try and remember those words in the future. So, thank you."

"It can also be used to protect and heal. The Force has no malice of its own. It is the user completely who decides." She kept herself against Jenna, enjoying yhr closeness. "Just like any other power in the galaxy. So it is all about surrounding yourself with good, and working towards it."

She beamed, and embraced the woman.

"You don't need to thank me, Jenna."

"No, I do," she said, a small brief smile, coming down from the laugh as she was suddenly embraced a bit more directly. "I.. I've.. I've got a lot of people now, people in my life I care about and can trust and it's.. it's not been like that before. There were others, when I was younger, but for some many years well.. a thief doesn't keep many friends for long, it's better to not be known to people.. it's dangerous, to let people in," she said.

"So, thank you.. I don't get to say that enough, when the people I do care about deserve to hear it," she said, that faint smile still resting.