[SpringsSong]

"Do these bonds form easily?" Lana asked, and Xyshari tilted her head from side to side.

"With some people, yes.  With others, not as much," Xyshari said.  "With me, it is unfortunately easy because of how the Cathar place such importance on family and their pride.  Therefore, I naturally crave such things, and when I find someone who feels similarly... a bond forms more often than not, especially if we're both Force-sensitive.  I formed a bond with my master easier than I expected to, honestly."

[Wild Pet Found]

[SpringsSong]

"The one who was killed by Darth Angral?" Lana asked, and Xyshari nodded.

"Well, he was the only one who I was assigned to specifically," Xyshari said.  "There were the masters at the Academy and the masters that taught me the different saber forms--but Orgus was the only one who specifically called me 'Padawan'."

"If... I may ask," Lana said, but she paused here--as though she were struggling as to how to word her question.  Xyshari looked at her for a moment before she nodded.

[SpringsSong]

"I felt every second of it, and I felt my master's thoughts as it happened," Xyshari said.  "I felt the saber burn through me, and immediately prior, I felt... fear, uncertainty, and finally... peace.  He accepted that he was going to become one with the Force, although he did not quite become one with the Force because he kept appearing to me as an apparition of the Force."

"Not unlike Marr does now," Lana mused, and Xyshari nodded.

[SpringsSong]

"The last time he appeared to me was five years ago, on Rishi," Xyshari said.  "It... was where he was born.  Where he lived until it was discovered that he was Force-sensitive, and then, he was taken to the Temple on Coruscant to train there.  He had me help around the town some before I went off to find Torch--I mean, Shae."

"So that's why everyone around town seemed a little happier after you had left," Lana said.  "You'd helped some of them."

[SpringsSong]

"It seemed wrong not to help," Xyshari said.  "So many people sick with a cough, debris from storms, broken sensors from those same storms... now those people will get better, those areas are cleared out, and they'll be better prepared for storms.  At least until it all happens all over again..."

"Now, that's hardly the attitude I'd expect from my love," Lana chided.  "You made a difference, and I'm sure that someone else will pick that up in their day to day."

[SpringsSong]

"Maybe the will, maybe they won't," Xyshari said, shrugging slightly.  "I'd like to think I made a difference in Zakuul with everything that we did, but... I'm not sure if it was for better or for worse."

"Kriff Zakuul," Lana said, a little bit of bite in her tone.  "They were taken in under Vitiate, and they worshipped the very ground he walked on.  They can't see that they're better off without him, and I suspect that their society will crumble now that he is truly dead."

[SpringsSong]

"You're right," Xyshari said.  "It felt like they were devolving towards tribalism when I was last there, and the fact that there was a group like the Order of Zildrog there to offer solace just proves that they have a lot of work to do in the coming days without their precious leadership," she said.

"Such are the ways of society when it gets built up too quickly, or when one figure is so central to it that everything crumbles around them when that person is no longer around."

[SpringsSong]

"And Zakuul was built around Vitiate--Valkorion.  Tenebrae.  Whatever his name was," Xyshari said, rubbing her forehead.  "He had what he wanted: a society that worshipped the ground he walked on, and a food source in the war between the Republic and Empire."

"That he did.  It was rather well-orchestrated, to be honest," Lana said, folding her arms as she hummed thoughtfully.  "Especially that fight on Yavin 4.  So many forces died, giving him the strength to come back... and then there was every death that was caused on Ziost."

[SpringsSong]

Xyshari shuddered visibly at the mention of Ziost.  Lana could feel the shudder, and she frowned as she lowered her head.

"I should have called you for help.  You were the one person outside of the Empire I truly trusted.  But... I couldn't bring you into that mess in good conscience," Lana said, and Xyshari sighed.

"And then Theron brought me in, anyways," she said.  "I still remember being so... angry with him when I found out that he'd inserted an operative under your nose.  And I was angrier still when that operative was reporting directly to Saresh..."

[SpringsSong]

"I should have seen that, as well, but... maybe that's just because his implants were able to block my attempts to sense if there was any deception from him," Lana said.  "That, or he was trained to hide his true nature very well," she said, and Xyshari frowned.

"I'm pretty sure the implants had something to do with it.  Remember how neither of us could sense Theron's betrayal?" she asked, and Lana gave a soft growl at the mention of the incident.

[SpringsSong]

"I get the feeling that both of us will be blaming ourselves for that for years to come," Xyshari said.  "And the other will constantly be reassuring the other that there was nothing that we could do about it.  After all, Theron did have both Jedi and SIS training as to how to shield his thoughts from intruders, and how to resist interrogations," she said.  Lana nodded.

"Still... seeing him take aim at you, seeing the look in his eyes... I reacted without thinking," Lana said.

"And made me think I was going to lose you," Xyshari said.  "I felt the shock of the weapon as though it hit my chest."

[Wild Pet Found]