[SpringsSong]

They weren't, no, but there are always exceptions to the rule, aren't there? Xyshari mused, glancing back in Lana's direction. Believe me, if someone had told me that I would be married to a Sith - not just on cordial terms with, married to - and would have led a successful campaign comprised of both Republic and Empire people, I would have questioned their sanity.

I can understand that, Ti replied One last shop to check.

Indeed - and yes, I'm sure Lana would give us pointers on Juyo if we asked her, Xyshari said.

[SpringsSong]

They walked in silence to the next shop, barely peeking inside. They had scarcely gotten their feet in the door when the shopkeeper gruffly announced that no, they were unable to acquire any of the supplies requested, and they were going to be closing, so don't expect anything soon. Both Ti and Xyshari stopped, acknowledged this with a nod of their heads, and turned around and walked back out.

He has stuff back there, Ti said, and Xyshari nodded.

He blames us for the decrease in his business after that Mandalorian business, Xyshari said.

[SpringsSong]

I'm not surprised, Ti replied. But the last thing we need right now is to give him more reason to hate us. Between the two of us, we could easily keep Lana from getting sick if she would let us, and we can easily keep ourselves from getting sick - aside from following the recommended guidelines, of course.

Which we have, Xyshari said, approaching the bikes. Lana stood up and made to get on her bike, tilting her head.

No luck? she asked.

[SpringsSong]

Let's just say there was an... incident a few years back where some Mandalorians came in, angry because a "shipment" of a pair of Force-sensitive children was... intercepted, Xyshari said. It wasn't hard to sense the children.Ti and I knew we had to get them out, because they'd been told they were being sent to a temple for training. They definitely weren't, Xyshari said.

And these two shopkeepers blame us directly for their decrease in business, while the one that did supply us... well, we kept him from becoming riddled with blaster holes, Ti said.

[SpringsSong]

Ah. I see how that would... affect how the local merchants would perceive you. I'm assuming that you hid your nature as Jedi among these people at first? Lana asked.

We did, Ti said. I was here long before Xyshari was, and the locals just knew that I was reliable in getting problems solved. After all, when she was my master, she taught me that honesty and fulfilling your promises - and not making promises you weren't sure you could keep.

Honor your promises, Xyshari said.

[SpringsSong]

Of all the Padawans I trained, he was the one that turned out the best, Xyshari said, puffing out her chest as they sped back to their little home. He excelled at his classes, he was diligent with his saber forms - though he ended up specializing in Ataru, just as I did - and he was exemplary at everything he set out to do. While it was a blade to my heart to pass the mantle of Gatekeeper on to him, I was proud to do so.

Ona, Ti said as they approached their dwelling. I was honored to take that position from you, and more honored that you felt I was worthy.

[SpringsSong]

I knew you would uphold the traditions as I was taught, Xyshari said. From the moment you walked into the council chambers aboard the Vigilant, from the moment you were brought before me at the Tower of Duty... I knew that your heart was in it - just as mine was.

You were my inspiration, Ona, Ti said. I wanted to be as good of a Jedi as you were.

And now, I'd rather just be as good of a person as I can be, Xyshari said as they arrived at their abode and began to unload the bikes.

[SpringsSong]

The three of them unloaded the bikes in silence, lifting the crates easily through telekinesis. They were done in no time at all, and were soon back inside their abode, their masks shed and set to the side.

"It was a shame the way things ended, but when the Force closes one door, another one opens," Xyshari said. "Had I remained, I probably would have fought to my last breath, never having met Lana, never getting the chance to come to terms with the feelings I developed for Loq. I probably would have, honestly, probably died with him on that desolate planet when he was ambushed, because I would have given my life to defend him."

[SpringsSong]

"And then I would not be here either," Ti said. "I would have stayed because she stayed, and I would have probably died alongside them. If not alongside, then after she died, I would not have lived much longer. In our time together, we forged a silent bond. It allowed us to sense when the other was in danger, feel if the other had been injured - and how badly. However, the downside of it is that we are so deeply bonded in this Force bond that if one of us dies..."

"...so does the other," Lana said. "She and I have a similarly deep bond. It is safe to say that, if any of us die, all of us will."

[SpringsSong]

"Unless we manage to sever it in time, but I've shared this bond with both of you for so long that I don't want to think about what living without it would feel like," Xyshari said. "It's already taken a lot to make sure that certain... feelings don't transfer over the bond. I do hope I've been successful," she said, looking back to Ti.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ti said. "I could tell that you found someone that you loved, and they made you happy. That was all I needed to know."

[SpringsSong]

"Good," Xyshari said. "Now, Lana... we were both hoping that you might be willing to spar? Not together, of course, unless you wanted to. He and I both believe in learning by practicing, and we both feel that actually observing someone who has learned Juyo would help our own understanding of the form."

"It's definitely a sound reasoning," Lana said. "I would not mind sparring with either of you, or even with both at the same time. I'd be interested in seeing just how much like one you two can fight."

"Are you sure about that?" Ti asked, laughing.

[SpringsSong]

"...should I not be sure?" Lana asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Ti and I have had several decades to perfect our cooperative fighting style, our coordination, and our bond. We could glance in each other's directions for the briefest of moments and know exactly what was on the other's mind," Xyshari explained. "Remember, I taught him everything I know about Ataru, and he and I learned Shii-cho, Makashi, and Djem-so side-by-side in order to better understand Juyo."

"Well, far be it from me to back down from a challenge, my love," Lana said. "Which saber will you be fighting with this time?"

[SpringsSong]

"My pike," Xyshari said. "It is what I am most familiar with, and the one I will be the least tempted to commit part of my strength to Force Sight with."

That's the saber with Loq's crystal, isn't it? Ti asked her silently as he grabbed his own pike.

It is, Xyshari confirmed. Whenever I do fight with that crystal, I utilize Force Sight and I can see him there, watching me. He was... quite surprised to see the situation I'm in now.

Which part? The having left the Jedi completely part, the married to someone you truly love part, the fact that that someone is a woman and was a Sith part, or...?

[SpringsSong]

Everything. You should have seen the look on his face when I slipped into Juyo, or when he realized Lana was a Sith, or when I told him that she and I were married, she said. Meanwhile, Lana reached for her own lightsaber.

"Well, whenever the two of you are ready, I'm ready," she said, idly twirling the phrik, songsteel, and cortosis weapon in her hands. "The last time Xyshari and I spawned, she actually used her saberstaff, and her eyes were glowing the whole time - I suppose because she was using Force Sight to communicate with the previous owner of the secondary crystal in her saberstaff."

[SpringsSong]

"I was," Xyshari said. "I believe I told you that he wasn't quite sure what to make of my current situation at the time - I wonder what he would make of this situation," she said, motioning to the three of them. "At least with the rakghoul plague, there's a vaccine that works if you receive it early enough upon exhibiting signs of the plague."

"Some day there will be something similar for this, too," Ti said. "And, of course, we have our ability to purge our body of minor toxins and poisons, and to guard against illness."

"You are both fortunate in that regard," Lana said.